Page 27 of With All My Haunted Heart

“I did. I had a whole plan for testing the wards in the morning, but I was tired and careless. I should have locked up the crystal the moment I unpacked it.” With great effort, I drag my gaze back to Xander. “Could you find me some pain meds? And some toast or something?”

“I can go,” Elle offers, but Xander stands and shakes his head.

“You’ve been blaming yourself for this all day,” he says in a whisper when he reaches the door and stops beside Elle. I keep my attention fixed on my hands, but heat still crawls up my throat. “Talk to her. She’s really okay.”

Xander leaves Elle standing in the doorway, her head tipped back like she’s trying to keep from crying. An echo of the ghost’s anger rears in my memory, a flash of my hand fisted in her hair. I speak first. “I…I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“What?” Elle wipes the pads of her fingers under her eyes. “No, I’m fine. I’ve been worried about you.” She finally abandons her post by the door and claims Xander’s previous perch on the edge of the bed. The mattress dips under her weight, drawing her closer. “Can I check?”

Her hands hover over my abdomen, and she must see my confusion, because she clarifies. “You made me shoot you with a Taser. I want to make sure it’s not infected.”

“Oh.” I swallow hard, distracted by the heat of her thigh against my hip, near burning despite the layers of clothing and blankets that separate us. “Sure.”

With careful fingers, Elle draws up the hem of my shirt. Her touch skims against my stomach, raising goose bumps in its wake, and she frowns when she reaches the most tender parts.

“How bad is it?” I can barely breathe with her this close, her touch like a live wire against my skin. I can’t stop myself from imagining her hands pressed tighter to my body, roaming to other, more delicate places.

“It’s bruised,” she says at last, lowering my shirt back down to hide the injuries. “There are slight burn marks, too, but it looks okay given the circumstances.”

“ ‘Okay.’ Just what every woman wants to hear when someone stares at their naked torso.”

A startled, barely there laugh escapes her lips. “I was talking about the wound. Not you.”

“And what do you think of me?” I ask, pain and fatigue loosening my tongue.

Before I can take it back, Elle has cocked her head to one side, considering me. “I haven’t decided yet.” Her words are whisper soft but heavy with promise. “More than okay, at least.”

I chuckle, but even that’s too much for my battered body. I groan, and Elle springs off the bed like she’s electrocuted me. Again.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

My hand finds hers, and I tug her back to the edge of the bed. “It’s fine. Just stop making me laugh. Everything’s sore.”

She worries at her lower lip, but she doesn’t take her hand from mine. “Because of the ghost? Or because you made me tase you?”

“Both?” I settle deeper into the pillows, letting them support my weight. “You did the right thing, Elle. Possessions like that are dangerous. The spirit wanted to hurt you, and when it was done, there’d be nothing to stop it from throwing me out a second-story window.”

“Fuck.”

“You did the right thing,” I say again, squeezing her hand. “This wasn’t the first time I’ve accidentally gotten myself possessed. It comes with the territory. I’m not used to living with other people. I should have taken extra precautions.”

“So, no partner at home? No roommates?”

“The only nonrelative I’ve ever lived with is Xander.” I stare up at the ceiling, my life feeling suddenly barren and cold. “I don’t even have cats. I’ve wanted to adopt a pair of kittens for as long as I can remember, but it never felt like the right time.”

A thoughtful hum reverberates in her throat. “Can I ask you something?”

“Pretty sure you just did.” When she levels me with an unamused look, I nod. “Go ahead.”

“If electricity is so effective at destroying ghosts, why do people hire witches to cleanse buildings?”

A wave of exhaustion washes over me, but I fight to remain awake for her. “Electricity only works if it comes in contact with the entirety of the ghost’s form. When they’re not crammed inside a living body, or otherwise contained in some way, they’re amorphous. Electricity is also hard to control. It would be impossible to fill the manor with electricity without burning the whole place to the ground.”

“But when that ghost was inside of you,” Elle says, testing her understanding, “the electricity was able to get to all of it. Because it was contained within your body.”

“Pretty much,” I say, though the words come out mumbled as sleep tries to claim me. I realize Elle never pulled away from my touch, and a surge of bravery lets me brush my thumb across her knuckles. Her skin is soft and warm against mine. “Don’t give up on your dream, Elle. This was a terrible fluke. We can safely haunt this place.”

There’s a smile in her voice when she responds. “You’re awfully confident for a witch who was possessed less than twenty-four hours ago.”