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He arched an eyebrow. “I never once said I was the romantic type.”
“No shit,” I countered. “It’s a good thing I don’t care about romance or we might have a problem.” I leaned up on the pillow, glancing down at him. “So what do you want to discuss that’s so important it couldn’t wait until after I’m done staring at you adoringly.”
“Me.”
I grinned, just to tease him. “A girl might take offense that her lover only ever wants to talk about himself.”
“Tess, we need to discuss what’s going on with me.” He frowned. “You have to stop avoiding the conversation.”
Maybe I had been. Sue me. I preferred to live in my bubble of delusion where Kipp wasn’t actually a ghost, and everything was peachy keen. “So talk.”
He drew in a long deep breath, which was out of habit since he didn’t need to breathe. “We have yet to figure out why I’m still here. Why I’m so different than the ghosts you’ve met.”
He didn’t need to spell it out. I’d be aware of how different he was from day one. He never once acted like a normal ghost. He had his memories intact, didn’t understand his purpose to cross over, and I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to know the answers. I wanted him to stay put. Not search for answers to leave. “I know you want to find out this stuff, but I have no clue why you’re different.”
“Then we need to find someone to ask.”
I inhaled deeply, wishing away my thoughts, but realizing it was our best shot. “We could ask Dane.”
“No,” he replied, his tone curt.
I studied my ghost, searching for a hint of his feelings, but found none. “What’s your deal with him?”
He shifted onto his back and scowled at the ceiling. “He has bad intentions.”
“How can you know that?” I laughed. “We’ve had one conversation with him. From what I saw he only wants to help me understand my ability.”
He glanced at me. “Call it cop’s intuition.”
I might have doubted him, but I’d seen his intuition in action with the Hannah Reid case. It proved accurate. “You think he’s up to no good?”
He settled onto his side and resumed his trailing of my thigh with his cold touch. “To put it simply.”
I nibbled my lip, staring at him, wondering if he was only telling half-truths. “Are you sure you’re not worried that he’s handsome? I can tell you that I’m not—”
He shook his head, interrupting me with a stern look. “It’s not that. I’m not jealous of him.”
“Sure, you’re not,” I replied, not believing that for a damn minute. “I’d bet money on the fact that you’re acting a wee bit jealous.”
His brow creased. “Do you take me for the type to be jealous of another man?”
I considered that, then nodded. “Yes, I do.” He’d proven that a few times over.
The corner of his mouth lifted. “Maybe I’m overprotective when it comes to you, but I can promise this is different.” He shrugged. “Besides we’re solid. I have nothing to worry about. There’s just something about him that rubs me wrong.”
Warmth slid around me to hear Kipp so confident with things between us. At the same time, I tried to see what Kipp did in Dane. But I didn’t get anything that strong from him. Maybe I was too trusting or perhaps Kipp searched too deeply into something that wasn’t there. “Regardless of the fact that you don’t like him, he’s probably the best chance I have in understanding…” I waved over my body, “all of this.”
“Exactly why I allowed it,” he replied.
A man who said he wasn’t jealous just spoke like a possessive fool. “If you understand that, then you’re going to have to back off him a little bit. I need to spend time with him, talk to him, and I’m not at all interested in having you pissed off the entire time.”
“I’ll try to be good,” was all he said.
His gaze said otherwise.
I sighed, examining him again, and didn’t like where my thoughts headed. He might believe we were solid, but somehow by the dark depths of his eyes, I doubted him. “You do know, though, that I have no interest in him, right?”
“Of course I know.” He chuckled. Classic arrogant Kipp. “No worries about that. I know where your heart lies. But it doesn’t change the fact that it feels like he’s up to something.”
