CHAPTER 20
“You wouldn’t,” Ashlyn said, but something, mostly that long-suffering that he released, told her that he would.
Not that she believed in ghosts because she didn’t.
Not even a little bit, Ashlyn told herself even as she found herself thinking about that time in her uncle’s basement years ago only to remind herself that it was her head injury that caused her to hallucinate. She fell down the stairs, made her head injury worse and imagined the whole thing, but even now, part of her wondered...
She could still feel his cold hands wrap around her arm just before he-
Taking a deep breath, Ashlyn closed her eyes and slowly exhaled as she told herself that there was no such thing as ghosts. Shayne was just screwing with her head and as soon as she figured out how he did it, she was going to make him pay.
Until then, she was, unfortunately, at his mercy.
“I’m afraid that ye won’t leave me with much of a choice, lass,” Shayne said with a heartfelt sigh that had her eyes narrowing dangerously in the dark.
“You do realize that I’ll make you pay for this later, right?”
“That just went without saying, lass,” Shayne said as he shifted his hold around her with a satisfied sigh.
For a moment, Ashlyn debated going back upstairs and putting all the skills that she’d learned over the years to good use and sneaking into his room, grabbing her bag, and making a run for it, but since that would require her to get up and face whatever was in that room, she decided that it would probably be a good idea to stay where she was, cowering until dawn.
“One kiss,” she said after a slight hesitation.
“That’s all I’m asking for, lass,” he said with a long-suffering sigh that had her right eye twitching.
“Two seconds on the lips and then, we’re even,” Ashlyn said, deciding that it would be a good idea to lay some ground rules, mostly for the sake of her sanity.
“Ten,” Shayne countered.
“Two.”
“I’m afraid that’s not gonna work for me, lass.”
“Five,” Ashlyn said, only to follow that up by shoving the blankets off her head so that she could give herself an edge and glare at the bastard.
“Ten,” Shayne said with a heartfelt sigh as he gently tapped her on the nose.
“Five, and if you tap me on the nose again, I’m going for your nipples,” she bit out, intensifying her glare.
“Ten and I’m afraid that I’m not into the rough stuff, lass,” Shayne said, making it really difficult not to smile.
“Five and I’ll resist the urge to shift my knee and turn you into a eunuch,” Ashlyn said, then just for the hell of it, moved her right leg against his.
“Five it is, lass,” Shayne said, nodding solemnly.
“We’re even after this,” Ashlyn said, shoving the blanket back as she shifted over him.
“For now,” he said, making her eyes narrow dangerously on him even as she told herself that she was only doing this to shut him up so that she could go back to cowering seconds before she found herself thinking about that kiss at the faire and just how badly she’d wanted more.
“I owe you one kiss,” Ashlyn reminded him.
“Three, lass,” Shayne said, deciding to piss her off.
“You’re only getting one,” she said evenly.
“I wonder where Tristan keeps his Ouija board,” Shayne murmured thoughtfully as he glanced around the office and-
“Fine. One now and two later at the time of my choosing,” Ashlyn said, hoping beyond hope that he took pity on her and let this go.
