Page 76 of If I Stopped Haunting You

Her mouth opened wide for him, tongue seeking his as his hips dug into her. They crashed into her door and her hands rummaged for the doorknob.

“Hold on,” she said, breaking away, laughing as his nose skimmed along her jaw. She twisted the knob, and they fell into her room, stumbling toward the bed.

His hand snuck around and grasped her ass, fingers inching ever closer to the heat between her legs, and Pen bit down on his earlobe, breathing hard as her arms tightened around him. Everything in her wanted to tear away his clothes, to straddle him as she’d done in the snow, and the memory of how he felt beneath her, how he’d hardened against her even then, made Pen blush.

Neil kicked the door shut behind them and carried her to the bed, laying her down. He tasted like beer and cinnamon, a strange, intoxicating mix that had her pressing her hips in closer, searching, wanting. Her hands glided over his shoulders and tangled in his hair, and Neil moaned into her as her nails scraped down his scalp.

And finally, alone in this room, it could be just him and her, two writers lost somewhere among the mess of this place.

His hand slid to her waist, thumb brushing the underside of her bra once more, digging in under the wire to lift it from herskin. She arched into him, gasping as his fingers skated across her breast, and she erased the small gap between them until her body was flush with his, her movements hungrier, her kisses sloppier.

Perfectly imperfect. She didn’t understand why they’d hated each other before. She was angry at the world, sure, but she’d projected it on him. Wouldn’t she have done the same in his position? Five years ago, wouldn’t she have taken whatever publishing deal was offered to her, even if it meant changing everything?

He slipped one hand under her thigh and pulled her leg up and around him, the length of him pressing flush with her, and Pen refocused on him, on thefeelof him. She clamped down on his bottom lip, dragging it between her teeth as she leaned back on the bed. He made a low sound that vibrated against her chest, and Pen scrabbled greedily at him, hands roaming over his shoulders and neck, diving into his hair.

“You feel so good,” she said against his lips.

“Did you ever imagine this?” he asked, pulling back to look at her.

“Never in a million years.”

And that, in its own strange way, was a kind of magic.

Neil kissed along her jaw, and she tilted her head, letting him in, hips crashing into his. He bit her there, in that special little place he’d found in the study, letting his teeth graze the soft skin behind her ear and down her neck, and her pulse spasmed beneath him, playing a melody against his mouth.

Pen wanted him, damn, she wanted him. Against all odds, against the things she’d felt for him a day ago, a week ago, a month ago, she wanted nothing and no one more than him. Screw the ghost, screw this castle and all the people who’d failed her over the years. He was here, and that’s all that mattered. Pen slid out from under him and scrambled on top, her fingers splayed over his chest as she settled on his lap.

His fingers slipped into the belt loop of her jeans, tugging her hips closer, and she ground against him, making a frenzied sound as his fingers inched ever closer to her zipper. Pen could feel his hard-on through his jeans, feel what she—this close and this horny for him—did, and she rode his length, relishing the way he gasped her name against her ear. God, she was turned on. She could get off from this alone.

“Wait.” He pulled away, his lust-glazed eyes struggling to focus on her. Their chests rose and fell together, hot breath mingling in the small space between them. “Fuck,” he cursed. “You don’t think we’ll be the first to go if we have sex in a haunted castle?”

“What in the world convinced you that saying that out loud was a good idea?”

“Think about it, every horror movie ever has the couple dying when they’re trying to, you know…” He mimicked thrusting and Pen covered her mouth and nose, snorting.

“Listen,” she said, still laughing as she smoothed her hands over his face and scraped her nails through his light stubble, “if having sex right here, right now is our downfall, then I’ll take it. I can imagine the headlines:Very Attractive Native Couple Found Dead with Their Pants Around Their Ankles in Haunted Castle. Did They Fuck Each Other to Death, or Was It Foul Play?”

He laughed and leaned up on his elbows. “Did you just call us a couple?”

“Did not.”

“I think you did.” His lips skimmed along her chin, and Pen sank into the touch. Her hands slid up his abdomen, skating across his warm skin, and she reached down with a coy smile, unzipping his fleece, then nudging it off him. She pressed her lips to his throat.

“Too many clothes,” she said against his skin. His scent was even stronger along his neck, the musky aroma nearly making herdizzy as she reached between them with one hand and gripped the outline pressing against his pants.

“Is this for me?”

“Only… for you,” he bit out.

Pen tightened her hold on him, squeezing, and Neil gritted his teeth, unable to look at her.

“Maybe we should—”

“Yes,” she rasped.

She climbed off him and hurried to her duffel, searching through her things. Pen could feel his eyes on her as she riffled through her bag, producing a condom.

“Do you always carry a condom with you?” he asked.