Page 44 of The Devil and His Ghost

“Okay. That one. I want to do that one again,” I told him when we got off.

He shook his head. “We can do them all again. After you’ve tried everything once.” He gently placed my glasses back on my nose and behind my ears.

I wiped my black hair off my face. I just knew the rides had made a mess of the long strands. Noticing my efforts to tame the crazed locks, Xander grabbed my hand and led me to a bench by a kiosk.

“Wait here,” he told me.

I sat down and waited, running my hands through my hair while watching Catsper chase after some kid with a balloon. It was a good thing the cat’s nails couldn’t reach from beyond the grave to pop it, despite how hard the ghost cat was trying. Shaking my head, I continued to comb my hair with my fingers, which put it back in decent order, but I knew it was just going to get messed up again on the next ride. I wished I’d had enough foresight to bring a hair tie, but Xander had kept his plan for the day a surprise, shadow-walking us from the inn to the amusement park.

Xander reappeared by my side and sat on the bench next to me. He handed me a glistening red candied apple on a stick. “For you. Turn around for me.”

Happily accepting the food, I put my back to him. I stilled, mouth opened and hovering over the candied apple as Xander’s fingers gently brushed through my hair. I held my breath while my heart only sped up as he combed my hair away from my face to begin braiding it.

Swallowing hard, I looked over my shoulder. “Th—Thank you.”

“No problem,” he replied, continuing his work on my hair. “This way it won’t get ruined after every ride.”

I finally bit into my apple, which exploded along my taste buds in a sour and sweet mixture. I groaned in delicious delight, only remembering to contain my enthusiastic sounds when Xander briefly tensed behind me before clearing his throat and continuing my braid.

Although, a twisted part of me liked that I affected him so much.

When Xander finished my hair, I faced him and peered at his phone to take in my reflection. A few baby hairs framed my face, but the long, dark braid was flawless. The same couldn’t be said of my lips, which had gone from a pale pink to candy red due to the apple. I licked them, and Xander noticed, smirking.

Seeking to divert his attention, I asked, “Why are you so good at braiding hair?”

His raven hair was longer than it had been the previous times I’d seen him, but it was still far too short to tie back or braid. Though, it looked very inviting to my fingers.

“I’m from the age of Imperial China, remember?” he pointed out. “I used to have long hair, and braiding was a part of the tradition through the years.” He gestured happily at my head. “I’m glad to see I’ve still got it.”

I finished off the candied apple while studying him and trying to picture him with long hair in traditional Chinese men’s fashion. The mental image of inky black hair falling like a waterfall at night down his back and across his chest while he flashed me that signature smile and shed his inner robes had a hot wave of arousal washing through me.

I swallowed down the impure thoughts with the last of the apple. It was only then that I realized I hadn’t shared any with him. I pursed my lips and said sheepishly, “I hope you didn’t want any.”

He chuckled and took the stick with the apple core from me. “It’s okay. If I did, I could still have a taste.”

While he tossed the food into the trashcan beside us, I raised a brow. “How?”

He looked over his shoulder at me with eyes narrowed in thought as though weighing whether or not to do something. Finally, he shrugged, seemingly having made up his mind, and offered me his hand. I took it and stood.

No sooner had I gotten to my feet than he pulled me in by the hand and angled his face toward mine. His tongue lightly grazed the corner of my lip, making me suck in a sharp breath. The lick was over all too fast, and despite my better judgment, I wanted to lean in while he was busy pulling back.

“Yum,” Xander breathed roughly as he stood back to his full height. He licked his own lips while a sweltering fog seemed to glaze over his eyes as they searched mine.

The desire in his voice and on his face vanished. He beamed at me as though he hadn’t just ignited my insides with something powerful and needy. Pulling me along, he remarked casually, “Let’s see which ride is next, shall we?”

I placed a hand over my chest and squeezed my shirt.

If my racing heart lets me live that long.

Chapter 17

Xander

(Two Years Ago)

THE VICTORY ALARM BLARED TO life as lights flashed and the crowd around me cheered animatedly.

The game master stared at the five balloons I’d busted with darts, all of which signified winning the grand prize. She recovered from her shock fast and smiled at me. “Amazing job, sir. Please! Choose any of the jumbo grand prizes.”