Chapter Six

I slow, gravel crunching under my feet, and stretch my arms up over my head. Sweat rolls down my back, and I’m dying for a cool shower.

“Anything?” I ask Binx, looking over at his shadowy figure. He accompanied me on another run, and we went the same way we did the other day when I swear I felt the Ley line buzzing with an influx of energy.

“Nothing unusual,” he says.

Exhaling and swatting away mosquitoes, we start back down the road. The sun is getting lower in the sky, which means Lucas will be arriving soon. I’m tired and want to eat dinner, watch mindless reality TV, and crash in bed together.

But Lucas is just starting his day.

Being on opposite schedules is hard enough, but adding the hour of travel it usually takes to get to each other’s houses makes it even harder. It would be different if I lived in Chicago with him and we got to spend time together during the day. Granted, we’d be confined to the house, but just being together would be so fucking nice.

“What’s going on here?” I ask Binx after we make it another mile down the road. A silver Lexus pulls into the newly cleared driveway to the big white abandoned house, followed by a large black van. A woman is driving the Lexus, and I think it’s Natalie Daniels, a realtor here in Thorne Hill.

My heart sinks even though I had a pretty good idea someone was interested in the property when I saw the driveway being cleared. The house sits on twelve acres, which is a lot for one residence to have, but not really enough to develop into a subdivision. I think. I hope. I can’t handle that many people living around me.

One, because I just don’t want them around me. And two, it’s in everyone’s best interest not to live close to me. If I hear about plans to cram a bunch of houses on the property, well, I’ll just say I’m not against using my powers to make anyone who shows up to work think the property is extremely haunted.

I slow to a walk when I get to my driveway, wiping sweat off my forehead. Binx shadows past me into the house, going right for something to eat. I stretch for a few minutes and then head inside, getting into the shower. My mind goes back to the white house, and part of me regrets not using magic to acquire it when I was in the market for a house to buy.

Money spells never work out in the long run, and doing a spell to get the bank to sell this place to me for a thousand bucks would only get me so far. I’m not the kind of witch who will cheat or scam the workers needed to put that place back in order.

Oh well. I can’t dwell over it. Not when there are much bigger things to worry about.

“Starting without me?”

I jump, almost slipping and falling in the shower. “Seven Devils, Lucas!” I pull back the shower curtain and glare at him. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”

He chuckles. “I thought you were witch enough to sense me.”

“I’m plenty witch enough,” I snap and close the shower curtain, moving back into the water to rinse the conditioner out of my hair. “I have half a dozen protection spells on the house to keep the unwanted away. And three familiars who would eat you for breakfast. Wait no, dinner. Or is the phrase breakfast? You get the point.”

He just laughs again. “Are you almost done, or should I help you get the hard to reach places?”

“Almost done. Sorry to disappoint.”

“I’m not disappointed. We’ll be showering again later after I’ve thoroughly fucked you.”

“I don’t know how you can be so revolting and yet romantic at the same time.”

“It’s a gift.”

I run my hands through my hair, feeling for any remaining conditioner. I give myself one good rinse and then shut off the water.

“You are beautiful,” Lucas says, admiring my naked body as soon as I step out of the shower and reach for my towel. “I might have to fuck you now.” He draws his fangs and rushes over, taking me in his arms. My wet hair drips all over his shirt. Pressing his forehead to mine, he closes his eyes and gently cups my face in his large hands.

“You’re so warm,” he says quietly, almost as if he’s talking out loud to himself.

“I like hot showers.”

“I know.”

“I like them better when they’re with you.”

He smiles. “Now we’ll have to find a reason to get dirty tonight. Have any more bodies to bury?”

“God, no,” I laugh. “Why, do you?”

“Not today.”

“Good.”

We go into my bedroom, and Lucas lounges on the bed with one of my romance novels while I get dressed. The heat of the day is hanging onto the night, so I put on a short black skirt and a red crop top.

“Did you want to go out tonight?” I ask, sitting on the edge of the bed while I towel dry my hair.

“If that is what you would like, then yes. Are you wanting to get something to eat?”

I nod and trade my towel for my brush. “I’m in the mood for some comfort food. I don’t know if you saw, but I think someone bought my haunted mansion down the road.”

“They haven’t signed all the paperwork yet. There’s still time to back out,” Lucas says, not looking up from the dark romance in his hands.

“How do you know that?”

“Because I told the bank I wouldn’t finalize the purchase unless you approved of the house. It’s in poor condition.”

I freeze, brush getting stuck in a tangle in my hair. “What?”

“The house isn’t beyond repair, but it’s deteriorated rapidly over the last few years.”

I heard everything he just said, but I still can’t process it. “What?” I repeat.

“I’m buying you the house, Callie.”

“What?” Apparently, I only know one word tonight. I blink, shake my head, and don’t know if I should laugh, run to Lucas and thank him, or tell him I can’t accept something as big as a house.

“A house…but that’s…that’s…in poor condition,” I stammer. “I…I can’t afford to fix it up.”

“I can,” he says casually, as if offering to buy me my dream house and then pay to restore it is no big deal. Setting the book down, he reaches for me and tugs me onto the bed with him. I yank the brush free from my tangled locks and fall against him. “I’ve had a long time to acquire my wealth. And I’ve had a long time to realize that money alone doesn’t make you happy.”

“Money can’t buy happiness, right?”

“I suppose. But if buying you that house makes you happy, then it is buying me happiness.”

“I’ve dreamed about living in it for years. But I just…I never…” I’m stammering again, still not sure how to process everything. “It’s a lot of money.”

“Which I have. I’m not trying to brag or impress you, because I know material wealth isn’t something you find impressive to begin with. But I can buy that house and pay for restorations. What’s the point of having all this money if I can’t spend it on the one I love?”

“But it’s not like you’re buying me a fancy purse. You’re buying a house. A house. And then funding the restoration. That’s not going to be cheap.”

“I know. I already had a contractor take a look at it to make sure it was structurally sound enough for you to walk in.”

“It’s just…just so much.”

“It’s not without a selfish reason,” he goes on, running his hand over my arm. “I don’t like the distance between us. Renovating that house allows me to make adjustments, ones necessary for me to live there.”

My heart flutters again. He wants to move in together? Already? Suddenly, I’m dizzy, head spinning and heart racing. The logical part of my brain screams at me to tell him no way José, we can’t buy a house together. Only, it’s not together since he’s the one buying it.

Then again, I don’t see a reason not to do it. I love him. He loves me. And I was just mentally complaining to myself about how much I hate being away from him when our time is limited to the night.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Say you’ll come look at it with me.”

“Tonight?”

“Yes.”

I turn my head up, looking into his deep blue eyes. “Yes.”

He smiles before kissing me. “Good. We can go as soon as you’re ready.”

“Just let me brush my hair.” I move out of his arms and grab the brush, quickly raking it through my hair. “Give me five minutes.” Lucas watches me as I scramble to brush out my hair and then use magic to braid it. Then I put on a pair of socks and my favorite boots.

“Did you want to get something to eat first?” Lucas asks.

“I’m too excited to eat,” I tell him with a smile. “I haven’t been in the house in years.”

“You’ll be back in a few minutes now.”

I tell my familiars where we’re going and take Lucas’s hand. He drove the black Mercedes tonight. We get in and drive down the road, getting to the house in two minutes.

“Oh wow, they put lights up everywhere.” I unbuckle my seat belt, staring wide-eyed at the mansion. It’s bigger than I remember and looks sad, like it’s begging for someone to move in and bring it back to life.

“They think we need them to see,” he chuckles. Lucas can see in the dark and one energy ball puts off a ton of light.

“We should humor them, then.” He puts the car in park and shuts off the engine. “So they don’t know you’re a vampire?”

“They didn’t ask, and I didn’t say.”

“But it’s night.”

“I’m coming from work in Chicago and this is the soonest I could get here.”

“Ah, makes sense. I’m sure they’re pretty desperate to sell this place too.”

We get out of car, and Lucas takes my hand. The real estate agent, who is Natalie Daniels, by the way, is standing on the porch, looking down at her phone.

“She’s scared,” Lucas whispers. “I can sense her fear.”

“The house has a certain energy to it,” I whisper back. “It’s a little chaotic and probably has something to do with the family plot I accidentally brought back to life a few weeks ago.”

“Humans can’t sense that, though.”

“No, but the energy makes them uneasy. It’s like a natural defense mechanism that drives them away from anything supernatural.”

Lucas nods, and Natalie looks up, relief on her face when she sees me. “Callie Martin, right?” She extends her hand to shake. “You own that cute little bookstore called Novel Grounds downtown, right?”

“Right.”

“That’s what I thought. I’ve been meaning to stop in and grab Erin Rylie’s latest book.”

“We have it, and it’s good. I read it in one sitting.”

“Oh, now I really need to stop in and get it. I have it on my e-reader, but I just prefer the feel of a book in my hand, which I’m sure you do too, owning a bookstore and all,” she laughs.

“For sure.”

She smiles and then looks at Lucas, extending her hand for him to shake. His hands are cold, but she doesn’t seem to notice, or at least suspect him to be a vampire.

“I have to say, I was surprised when the bank called and asked me to show this house,” Natalie starts, turning and moving toward the front door. The covered front porch is amazing, though the floorboards under my feet feel like they might give out at any moment.

“I’ve had my eye on it since I’ve moved to Thorne Hill,” I admit, running my eyes along the porch to the front door. Only it’s not one door, but two, and my pulse bounds, imaging stepping into the grand foyer beyond those double doors.

“Oh, you’re buying it?” Natalie asks, and I know she’s wondering how the hell I could afford this place.

“We are,” Lucas says, giving my hand a little squeeze. “I’m always on the lookout for a new investment, and Callie has good taste.”

Natalie nods, turns on her phone flashlight and pushes open one of the doors. I’m practically salivating by the time I step into the foyer.

“Wow,” I whisper to myself. It’s even grander than I imagined. The foyer is two stories tall, with a sweeping, grand staircase several yards ahead. I can already see myself dramatically running down the steps, silky robe fluttering behind me.

“It was quite impressive at one point in time.” Natalie steps around one of the spotlights, shining her flashlight down on the floor, which is littered with crushed beer cans and other garbage. “It’s a shame it got this bad.”

“It is bad,” Lucas agrees, looking around the large foyer. There are rooms on either side, and I know from the last time I was here that one is a sitting room and the other was most recently used as a fancy dining room, with the original chandelier still in place. It’s broken and rusty, but at least it’s there.

“This will look so pretty at Christmas.” I point to the banister. “I can see the garland and lights. And there’s enough room in the foyer alone for a twelve-foot tree.”

Lucas cocks an eyebrow. “You’re thinking about Christmas?”

“Of course! How are you not?” I joke, though I’m not sure if Christmas was a thing back in Lucas’s human days. Vampires aren’t big on human holidays.

“I see it.” Natalie turns, shining her flashlight on the stairs. “It would be very impressive.” We slowly move into the house, going into a hall off the foyer. “I’m not sure if you’re aware of the history of the house,” Natalie starts. “It was built in 1888 by Doctor Frederick Jones. He was one of the first surgeons in the area and sometimes saw patients in this house.”

“There you go.” Lucas elbows me. “If you’re lucky, we’ll run into the spirits of tortured patients in the basement.”

I stifle a laugh, and Natalie shifts her gaze from Lucas to me, hoping he’s only joking. She takes a few steps forward, holding up her phone for light. The house is way too big to have lights put in every room. Extension cords run along the floor, and another bright spotlight shines up ahead of us.

“The house stayed in the Jones family for a hundred years, but by then the family had fallen behind on taxes and were in a lot of money trouble. The house went to auction and has had a slew of owners since then.”

We’re outside another room with a large bay window and a big, fancy fireplace. “Why did it go through so many owners?” I ask, realizing that I’m talking about the house as if it were a dog up for adoption. “I can’t imagine leaving this place if I bought it.”

“Ghosts,” Lucas teases, and this time Natalie laughs, high-pitched from nerves.

“The upkeep on a place like this is a lot. The house itself is nine-thousand square feet, and then you have the outbuildings in the back as well as the servants’ quarters. And that’s not to mention the grounds. I was told by the town historian that this place used to have beautiful gardens.”

“Is this fireplace original?” I ask, gently running my finger over the detailed cast iron.

“Yes, you’ll find a lot of the original house still intact. Well, more or less so.” She digs a paper out of her purse and uses her flashlight to read it. “There are thirteen fireplaces total in this house, all original, though the last owner did have a few restored back in 2003, so I’m not sure how much exactly was changed.”

I nod, eyes wide, and look around the room. Everything is so detailed, including a build-in shelf next to the fireplace with intricate carving. “Look at the woodwork!” I turn to Lucas, smiling.

He flicks his gaze to the ceiling. “Look at the water damage. And the graffiti. And the black mo—”

“And the stained glass above that door! I’m surprised it’s still intact.” Lucas steps in close to me and slips his arm around my waist. “Imagine this living room, all restored. We’d put a couch there, with an altar hidden in the corner. And a soft rug, right in front of the fire. I can just see us spending our nights in front of it,” I say quietly so only he can hear.

“Do you see us fucking?”

“Of course. You start a fire, even though the night is hot. And then you lay me down and take me right there, so close to the hearth we can feel the heat on our skin.”

He turns to Natalie. “We’ll take it.”

I elbow Lucas hard in the ribs. “Let’s see the rest of the house first.”

Chuckling, Lucas holds my hand as we walk through this room, into another room, and then another, and then finally into the kitchen, which was last updated in the late 70s. The entire thing needs to be gutted and redone. We tour the rest of the downstairs, and the conservatory, with large glass windows, is a top contender for my favorite room in the house.

And then Natalie shows us the library, complete with the original wooden shelves.

“This alone makes me want this place,” I tell Lucas.

“I figured it would.”

We check out the basement, which is damp, smelly and in need of a lot of work. Then we head back up and take a back staircase in the hall by the library that goes upstairs. The rooms up here are just as damaged and vandalized as downstairs, with cracks in the drywall and water damage from rain and snow.

There’s a spiral staircase in a closet, which seems a little strange to me at first. There are no lights up here, so Lucas and I both get out our phones for light. Lucas doesn’t need it, of course, but the extra light helps me see. The attic is large, with tall ceilings and solid wood flooring.

The energy shifts again, and I’m picking up something more personal…like a specific energy belonging to one person.

“What’s through here?” I ask, pointing to a little door in the wall.

“I’m assuming storage,” Natalie tells me, gaze darting around the attic. She doesn’t like it up here, and if I were a normal human, I might not either. It’s quite spooky. Taking my hand from Lucas’s, I go to the little door and try to open it. It’s locked, and we don’t have a key. I lean in, whispering an incantation to unlock the door.

Stale air hits me when the door swings open, and Lucas quickly walks over, dropping to his knees next to me.

“Do you smell that?” he asks, and I shake my head. It just smells old in here, and kind of like wet leaves and rotting wood. He looks in, not bothering to use the flashlight. “Get back,” he shouts, throwing out his hand and pushing me away.

“Why, what’s—?” I don’t get my question out before I get the answer. A very rotten zombie drags itself out of the little cubby, moving fast as it snarls and growls. Oh shit. I guess we didn’t get every zombie.

Natalie screams and starts running away, dropping her phone and bumping into a wall. Lucas rushes forward, moving with vamp speed, and grabs the zombie by the head and twists, snapping its neck and pulling the head clean off. He drops the head and speeds over to Natalie, holding her spellbound.

I flick my wrist, sending the body and the head back into the cubby and close it up, sealing it with magic.

“Sorry,” Natalie starts, still looking into Lucas’s eyes. “I get scared easily. This place has always given me a fright since I was a little girl.”

“The shadows play tricks on your mind,” Lucas goes on, changing Natalie’s memory. “We opened the little door and there was nothing inside.”

“Right. Just storage.”

Lucas breaks his hold on her, and turns, extending his hand for me to take.

I look into Lucas’s deep blue eyes and smile. “He was right the first time.”

“I usually am. But what am I right about this time?”

“We’ll take it.”