The faint light from behind the curtains suggested life inside. I rang the doorbell and adjusted my coat around my shoulders.
I didn’t have to wait long. The door opened, and I was greeted by a leggy blonde woman in a crop top and pigtails.
Oh. Whoops. This wasnotCasper. This was…his daughter? His wife? Honestly, hard to tell with men these days.
Thumping music played in the house behind her. Her eyes flickered over me, scanning me from head to toe.
“Are you a Seeker?” she asked.
I was seekingsomeone. So, sure. I played along. “You know it.” I held up the card, hoping it would let me through.
Her eyes registered the card, and her expression relaxed. She widened the door and motioned me inside. “Come in.”
Victory.My heels clicked as I stepped up the last of the brownstone steps and entered.
I was met with autumnal tones; fire red and low gold. A hypnotizing beat played on the speakers, something without words but full of percussion. I could hear the clamor of people, but the sounds seemed like they were mostly coming from upstairs. Some kind of party?
As I walked through the foyer, we stopped at a man kneeling on the floor. He was completely wrapped in a black leather suit, and I meanwrapped, mummy-style, from head to toe. A black mask covered his head, leaving only slits for his eyes. Where his mouth should be was, instead, a closed zipper. His head was bowed, his arms open in wait, and he was so still, it took me a moment to realize he wasn’t a bizarre statue.
The blonde motioned to him. “You can give him your coat.”
“Oh. Thank you.”
I shrugged out of my coat and slung it over his arms. He rose suddenly, like a coin-operated-animatronic who had just been dropped a sweet penny. He opened the closet and hung my coat as though it were woven with pure gold.
I hadn’t made it past the foyer, and already, I wanted to know everything about this party.
I felt the blonde studying me. “It’s your first time, right?”
“Uh…yeah.”
“I have some paperwork you’ll need to fill out. Do you have your ID?”
Paperwork? For a party?“Sure…”
The front door clicked open and a new flock of people entered. The blonde’s mouth thinned, seemingly annoyed at being interrupted. “I have to check them in. Can you wait over there just a moment?”
She motioned me through the front room. It was set up like a lounge area with a bar, a few couches, and sexy, dim lamp light. I took a spot at the bar, which appeared to be self-serve, since I didn’t see a bartender. I craned over the bar top to hunt for the liquor, but I found nothing but water and seltzer.
Someone brushed up beside me. “Phantom hides the good stuff,” a male voice said. “But I can help you find what you’re looking for.”
I glanced up. He was gorgeous. Early thirties, maybe. A band shirt over a tight body. Dark skin with the greenest eyes I’d ever seen.
I lowered myself from my tip-toes. “Oh, yeah? What am I looking for?”
“No idea.” He grinned. “But I can’t wait to find out.”
He was looking at me like he wanted to devour me, and the look sent a ripple through me. I thought I might let him, until another voice interrupted us. “Settle down, Carver. She’s here for me.”
That voice. It was same voice that had reached into my consciousness and brought me back to life. It had the same effect, even now—the second I heard it, I felt parts of me tingling, waking up.
Carver pulled back. “My bad.”
Carver retreated, revealing the man on the other side of the bar—there he was. Casper. Only instead of the paramedic uniform, he wore a black t-shirt, blue jeans, and those same, weathered shoes. I found myself pulled by things I shouldn’t be pulled in by—the silver in his hair. The darkness around his eyes. The stern pinch at the edge of his mouth.
I felt a strange swooping in my stomach. The odd pride of being claimed by a man who was clearly the lion of the pack.
I slid down the bar, closing the Carver-sized gap between us.
