The Librarian's Ghost (Supernatural Explorers Book 2) Read online

  Will went over and put his arm around Jason’s shoulders. “We were stuck in here for hours, we couldn’t hear anything—even the damn window was boarded up. We made it work. Now what were you up to in the so-called twenty minutes before you came up here and informed us we’re all on different time? Did you guys make it into the basement?” Will looked back at Payne as he asked the last question.

  “No, we couldn’t get the lock off. We came for permission to break the door.”

  Payne shook his head without even thinking; it was out of the question. “No. No, that’s original to the house.”

  They all looked at him like he was crazy. And Will came over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

  “I know it freaks you out for some reason, but we’re really going to need to get into the basement or you’re going to be stuck with this scary-assed ghost who locks people in rooms for the rest of your life.” Will rubbed his shoulders gently, fingers barely pushing in. The touch was a comfort, easing him.

  Jason was still looking at the two of them like they’d lost their minds. Not just him either. The other three behind him seemed to think he and Will were behaving oddly too. Oh God, were they?

  “Would you put your eyes back in your head?” Will kept massaging him. “We had nearly an entire day to kill, just the two of us stuck in this room.”

  “We had a lovely date, didn’t we?” They’d had a… meeting of the minds.

  “Yeah, we did.”

  “Date?” Blaine stepped in from around Jason. “Guys, I’m not sure you’re yourselves.”

  “I’m just fine.” Maybe he’d gone a little horny, but they had the sense to stop, give themselves time. “And so is Will.”

  “Twenty minutes ago you couldn’t stand each other. Now you’ve been on a date?”

  “First of all, we’ve been up here all day long,” Will pointed out. “We’ve had lots of time to talk. We ironed shit out.”

  “And you’re discounting that there might be ghost interference going on here?” Blaine asked.

  “No. But you’re discounting that the immediate dislike could have been ghost interference.” Will had a very belligerent set to his shoulders.

  “Can we all go down to the kitchen?” Payne suggested. “None of us want to be here, trapped.” While in the end it had been fun with Will, there was not a lot of room for six adults, and they’d nearly polished off all his supplies.

  Will agreed immediately. “Yeah, we’ve eaten most of your stash.”

  Once again, he and Will were on the same wavelength. “Right? We’ll have to refill.”

  “Bring an ax,” Will suggested.

  Payne began to cackle, hooting with laughter. He was going to be the only person in the country who slept with an ax under the bed that wasn’t to use against intruders. Instead he’d need it to get out.

  Will’s buddies stepped closer to each other. It was subtle, but it definitely happened.

  He stopped laughing and looked at them. “What?”

  “I’m not sure the two of you are okay. Let’s go downstairs, eh?” Jason and the others backed out of the room, encouraging him and Will to follow.

  He sighed softly. The first really positive thing to happen in weeks and no one was happy about it. Will rolled his eyes and fell into step with him. Well, not quite no one.

  Will touched their shoulders together. “We were wondering if it was real or not.”

  “The intensity, yes, but not the laughter.”

  “No, I’m definitely a funny guy. I’m not giving that title up.”

  “You’ve both lost your minds,” Darnell muttered. “I’m calling a priest.”

  Will shook his head. “We really are fine, you know?”

  “Yeah. I think we really are.” He wanted to reach out, touch Will’s hand.

  Instead, Will touched him, the faintest brush against the back of his hand. Yeah. Still electric. Cool.

  Will glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes and gave him a little grin. Payne’s lips quirked of their own accord, and he found himself fighting the giggles. He almost felt drunk on happiness. On Will.

  Maybe it was heightened. Maybe it wasn’t. So what? He deserved a little happiness, didn’t he? Even if it was helped along. Even if it was fleeting.

  They got down the stairs and as a group stopped in front of the basement door. Payne and Will were at the back of the group, or Payne would have gone on into the kitchen. He didn’t want to be standing at that spot.

  “Okay. We need to get into the basement,” Jason said, looking right at him.

  Payne shook his head. It was scary down there. He had to stay away. They all did.

  “I know you don’t want to, and you don’t have to go down there. But it’s clear there’s something in the basement connected to everything that’s been going on. So, we need to go down there and see.” Jason spoke clearly and slowly.

  Will’s hand landed on the small of his back. “You won’t be alone, you know? I promise.”

  He opened his mouth to say yes, just to get it over with, get it done, but the word wouldn’t come out. Everything got fuzzy around the edges, the only solid thing was Will’s hand on his back. He thought for a minute he was going to pass out again, only this time he could feel it happening.

  Will kept touching, kept petting him. “Let’s take him out and let him breathe, okay, guys?”

  He could barely hear the words. It was like he was wrapped in cotton wool. The cool air hit him suddenly, and he gasped, shocked to discover they were outside.

  “Hey. You really have to stop passing out, man.” Will was holding him, cradling him against the strong chest.

  He struggled for half a moment before he curled his fingers around Will’s shoulders and held on. He shook his head. That didn’t make any sense. “I passed out?”

  “Little bit, yeah.” Will rolled his eyes.

  “You passed out last time we got pushy about the basement,” Flynn noted.

  Jason nodded. “And yesterday it seemed like you were possessed every time the subject came up. That makes us believe it’s important for us to get down there.”

  “I’m not possessed. It’s just a bad place.” Talking about the basement made him really uncomfortable.

  “We want to help you with that. Hell, that’s what you’re paying us for, right? We’ve got to get to the basement. No matter how hard whatever’s down there fights us.” Jason made a face. “Are you sure we can’t break down the door?”

  “Why don’t we buy one of those lock cutting tools?” Will suggested. “Or hire someone to cut it off. Does that work, Payne?”

  He nodded, even though he didn’t want to. It did work—he didn’t like it, but it covered all his objections, and he couldn’t think of any other ones at the moment.

  “That’s a great idea, Will.” Jason patted Will on the shoulder.

  “Gee, thanks for sounding so surprised that I came up with a good idea, Jason.”

  Payne chuckled softly, and Will patted his ass.

  Jason gave him and Will an eagle-eyed look. “You two are being super weird. I just thought you should know.”

  “You’ve said. Are you two dating?” Payne was going to kill Will if that was the case. Except maybe it was the house, so it wouldn’t be his fault.

  “Is who two dating?” Jason asked.

  “You and Will. You seem very concerned that we’re getting along.” Not that he was jealous.

  Jason snorted as he shook his head. “No. No, we are not dating. I’m just concerned about the fact that you guys hated each other on sight and twenty minutes in that room together and you’re, well, flirting at the very least. I just think it should be noted that there’s been a lot of unusual behavior going on when it comes to this house.”

  “You’re right about that.” Will looked back at the door. “Though frankly, the out of character stuff for me was my assholery when we first got here. You’re not usually one to harp on stuff, Jason. Maybe you’re being affected too.�
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  “Maybe,” Jason admitted. “This place is… wow. It’s intense.”

  “So do we need to do another trip away to go over what we think, just to make sure none of us are being affected by the place?” Will asked.

  “We could all come to the barn. All of us. Just for the rest of the day, tonight.” Blaine nodded, eyes serious. “We’ll have pizza, make a game plan, sleep.”

  Something inside Payne whispered, “What if these guys are ax murderers?”

  “Works for me,” said Will.

  The other guys agreed, and they all turned to him expectantly.

  Will took his hand, and he nodded. “Okay. Okay, let me grab my laptop and my chargers, huh?”

  “We all going back in with him?” Will asked. “In case the door shuts and gets… let’s go with ‘stuck.’”

  “Yeah. We stick together in the house,” Jason said. “Just in case. I think we should make that the standard. Don’t do anything alone, and try not to get separated.”

  Will nodded, and all six of them trooped back into his house.

  “I’m going to stay here, holding the door open,” suggested Flynn.

  “Be careful, babe.” Blaine kissed him. “Seriously.”

  Will rolled his eyes. “Honeymooners.”

  Flynn stuck his tongue out at Will before answering Blaine. “I’m only standing here keeping the door from closing. I’ll be fine.”

  They all trekked to the library, where Payne grabbed his electronics, then his bedroom where he gathered up toiletries and a few clothes. It was a little ridiculous, but at the same time he was happy to not be doing this alone.

  “It’s like we’re your bodyguards,” noted Will. “Which I guess in a way we are. Though it’s your spirit that seems to keep taking a hit from this thing.”

  “Are you going to start singing Whitney Houston?” Payne asked.

  “Oh, you don’t want Will to sing,” Jason assured him. The other guys quickly agreed.

  Payne snorted, shook his head. “I’m going to follow you guys in my car, okay? How far is it?” What was he thinking? Going to a barn? With virtual strangers.

  “I’ll drive with you,” Will offered.

  “Sure. Totally.” He was all over that. It didn’t matter that he didn’t know Will all that much better than the others. Who was he kidding? No matter how much so-called real time had passed, he and Will had an entire day together under their belts.

  “This way nobody has to worry about following anyone.” Will handed his keys over to Darnell. “Who’s picking up the pizza on the way back to Blaine’s?”

  “We will. If you get there first, you know where the key is.”

  “Thanks, Blaine.” Will turned back to him. “Lead on. Gotta admit, I’m looking forward to having a drive in your ritzy vehicle.

  “Ritzy? Vehicle? It’s just a car.” Dork.

  “Well, it’s a better car than I’ve ever ridden in. You have seen the van we go around in, right?”

  “Yeah, it’s… a conversation piece.”

  Will snorted as he settled into the passenger seat, wiggling his ass. “Wow, this has a great passenger seat. I bet if we didn’t have to worry about cops and other traffic we could make it to Blaine’s in record time.”

  “Probably. You’ll have to give directions, huh?”

  “Yeah, no worries. It’ll take a little over an hour.” Will rubbed his hands along the leather seat. “We can continue our first date.”

  “You still want to?” He was pleased and surprised.

  “Oh. Does that mean you don’t?” Will looked disappointed.

  “I want to. I don’t care if it was the house. I was enjoying getting to know you.”

  Will’s expression cleared. “Oh good. I do too. And I think the fact that we still want to continue our date now that we’re out of the house means it wasn’t the house. If you know what I mean.”

  “Right. We both aren’t immediately growling at each other.” Just the opposite, in fact.

  “Well, that was the house. I told you that you were my type.” Will looked smug. “And now we have a whole hour—a whole real hour—to get to know each other better.”

  “Okay, we should start with the radio. What do you like to listen to?” Tunes were important, in Payne’s opinion.

  “I’m pretty easy, but I’ve always liked classical for driving.”

  “Oh?” He liked that. “Pick a station. I’m interested to hear your favorites.”

  Will fiddled with the radio until he found a station, an upbeat piece filling the car. Mozart, Payne thought. He approved.

  Payne headed out onto the highway, the windows open, the wind blowing, and the world seeming… lovely. Will hummed along with the music, even made a few conducting motions with his hands. Frankly, it was adorable. Unexpected. Insane. Wonderful but insane.

  Payne found himself laughing. The world seemed fresh, new. He hadn’t felt this good since he’d moved into the house.

  “That’s still a great laugh, Professor.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Will. I do appreciate it.”

  “So what do you like to do on your downtime?” Will asked, watching him. There was something warm about that gaze, something comforting and exciting at the same time.

  “Read, watch movies, bake. I’m a little bit of a homebody.” If by little one understood a lot. He worked at home; he hobbied at home. Hell, there were times he made his grocery order from home and only went out to pick it up so the number of people he saw was minimal.

  “You bake? I like to eat baked goods. There we go—another thing in common,” Will proclaimed.

  “I do. I mean, I’m learning. It’s a gorgeous kitchen for baking, isn’t it?” He’d made sure he’d have everything he needed for making anything, for experimenting and having fun with baking, cooking, food in general.

  “I’m going to have to go with I guess so. I’m not much of a baker,” Will admitted. “But it’s a lovely space. Lots of room.”

  “It is. I put in a proving drawer and everything.” Like they had on all the baking shows.

  “Are you going to hate me if I tell you that I have no idea what that means?” Will asked.

  “No. It’s a drawer to help bread rise.” He explained and drove, talking about his kitchen and the things he wanted to try, with Will listening and directing. It was lovely.

  The hour went by far too quickly, and as they drove up the driveway toward a barn, he couldn’t help but wish that it had been longer. A lot longer.

  “This is where you live?” he asked.

  “No, I’ve got a tiny bachelor’s in town. This is Blaine and Flynn’s place. Looks like a regular old barn, right? Looks totally different inside. It’s kind of cool.”

  The van with Supernatural Explorers on the side was already there. And there were lights peeking through from inside.

  “And I thought we were going to beat them here.” Payne was sure that’s what Will had said would happen.

  “We might have taken the longer way around,” Will admitted. “I hope you don’t mind. I wanted to spend more time with you.”

  That was the nicest thing anyone had done in a long time. “I don’t mind at all.” He leaned over, begging a kiss.

  Will leaned in too and pressed their lips together. The zing was still there, an electric shock that woke his entire body up. He gasped, opening right up for the kiss. Will cupped his cheek, fingers sliding on his skin as the kiss continued. Payne’s skin tingled at every point of contact.

  This wasn’t the house. This had nothing to do with the house.

  It was Will. Him and Will. Their chemistry together.

  The kiss deepened, Will slipping his tongue between Payne’s lips. Payne didn’t want it to end. He reached up, cupping Will’s jaw and keeping them together. Will’s moan filled his mouth and made the kisses that much better. Pressing as close as he could within the confines of the vehicle, Will deepened the kiss even more, and Payne shifted to take it, which bumped his elbow into the
horn.

  They jumped apart at the sudden noise.

  “Oh, sorry. God. Sorry. I want you.” He looked into Will’s eyes, then at Will’s lips while he licked his own.

  The other guys rushed out of the barn like a swarm of bees, coming right for them.

  “Oy. I want you too, but we’re going to have to put a pin in it—given we’ve got company.” Will gave him a last quick kiss anyway.

  “No fair,” he complained. “We could just drive away.”

  Will looked mightily tempted, but then the others were at their car doors, and Will sighed. “We should eat and figure out what’s going on with your ghost.”

  Jason banged on the car door, and Will opened it.

  “Okay, okay. We’re coming. God. Can’t a couple of guys share a quiet moment together?”

  “You beeped the horn,” Jason pointed out.

  Will’s lips quirked up into a half smile. “Yeah, but it wasn’t on purpose.”

  “My elbow slipped.” Payne grinned, going for goofy. “Total accident.”

  Jason rolled his eyes but then laughed with the others. And Will touched his thigh before getting out of the car. Payne following suit.

  “Are you guys feeling better now that we’re away from the house?” Flynn asked.

  “I am,” Jason said before he or Will could say anything. “I didn’t even realize I was feeling off until I wasn’t anymore.”

  “It was a lovely drive. Seriously. We had a ball.” God, how much did that suck? It was his house, and here they all were, him included, feeling better now that they were away from it.

  Will’s arm went around his waist like he understood. “What about you, Blaine? Have you been feeling affected at all by the stuff going on at the MacGregor house? What’s your take on the whole thing?”

  “I think there’s definitely more than one entity. Seriously. I think we’re dealing with a number of beings.”

  “A number? Like more than two?” Will asked, looking less than happy at that thought. “I mean, we discovered some bad stuff went on there in its early heyday, so I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. ‘A number of beings’ so doesn’t sound like an easy fix, though.”