Now, as long as he didn’t meet any cops between the hospital and the plantation, he’d be there soon. And he and Celeste could pick up where they’d left off in that hospital room…

4

THE SOUND of a slamming door roused Celeste from her sleep. She opened her eyes prepared to be surrounded by the cold darkness of the middle room. But she wasn’t in darkness, she wasn’t cold and she wasn’t in the middle room.

Instantly, she remembered where she was, and why. She was in Adeline Vicknair’s sitting room, its hues of rose and pink a welcome change from what she’d been anticipating. And she was here because she’d been given another chance to see Dax. She looked toward the tall grandfather clock centered between the room’s two heavily draped windows. Fifteen minutes past ten. Less than two hours until midnight. Would she get longer than Adeline’s estimate?

Would she get less?

Would she get a chance to be with Dax, really be with him, before she had to leave?

Pounding footsteps echoed outside the door of the sitting room, and Celeste held her breath, hoping that the person so eagerly charging up the stairs was…

“Dax.”

His brown waves were tousled, his hazel eyes were intense and eager, and his breathing was heavy, loud enough for her to hear him exhale when he saw her. “You’re here.”

“I told you I would be,” she said, though she’d also wondered whether the powers that be would allow her to stay, after she’d become so exhausted at the hospital. She watched him enter the room, muscles flexing under his shirt, legs moving purposefully toward her, sexy mouth promising to please, and she was very, very grateful to whoever had decided to let her stay on this side a little longer.

He stopped next to the settee and looked down at her, then toward the clock. “We don’t have long, Celeste.”

“I know.” She stood and took a tiny step, closing the gap between them. “And I don’t know whether I’ll have another chance to be with you, Dax. I don’t know if I’ll make it back, once I leave again.”

“I’ll find a way,” he promised.

She smiled. “I’m sure if you can, you will, but just in case this is my last time here, I want to know…” She brushed back the brown waves at his temple, then slid her fingers through his hair.

The sizzling bolt of electricity that rocketed through her was even stronger than last time, even more potent.

“What do you want to know?” he asked, those eyes gazing into hers while she attempted to control the maddening, exhilarating rush from touching him.

She examined the golden flecks in the middle of the brown and green. She wanted to remember the uniqueness of them, the uniqueness of him, beyond the middle realm.

“Tell me, Celeste. Whatever you want to know, whatever you want to do,” he urged.

Her mouth was dry and her center burned for something that she’d never had. She licked her lips, and forced her throat to work. “I’ve been with a man before-” she smiled softly “-or rather, I’ve been with a boy.”

Those gorgeous eyes widened, but he didn’t speak.

She cleared her throat. “I’ve never been with anyone who knew-really knew-how to please a woman.” Celeste moistened her lips again. “I want to experience that before I cross, Dax. And I want it to be with someone I care about, someone who makes me feel things I’ve never felt before, the way I feel when I merely touch you.”

“I wanted you this summer,” he said, his voice raspy with desire. “And I’ve wanted only you since you left.”

She pushed her fingers through his hair, relishing the feel of the coarse strands tickling her palm. Then she moved her hands to the top of his shirt and unbuttoned the top two buttons. Then, too eager to wait until the rest were undone, she slid them inside, running her palms across the broadness of his chest, then finding his flat nipples and circling them with her fingertips.

“I want to touch you,” he said. “So bad it hurts.”

With her lips a mere fraction from his, she smiled, and continued circling his nipples with her fingers. Odd, how exciting it was to feel them harden beneath her command. “I know you do, and I know that this would be easier if you could, since you obviously know more about where to touch, and where to be touched, than I do.” She gently pushed against his chest, guiding him back until he sat down on the settee. “So I suppose you’ll have to tell me what to do.” She did her best to sound confident, assured and ready to do…anything he instructed.

“Tell you what to do,” he repeated, and she noticed that he shoved his hands between the cushions on the settee, apparently not trusting himself to control them.

“Yes,” she said, and her voice was deeper, richer with her desire. But she was also feeling something equally as potent; her body growing weak. Consumed with passion, but weak with exhaustion. She prayed that passion would win out this time, at least long enough to…

She lowered herself in front of him, moving her body between his legs. The hard bulge that distended his jeans was undeniable, and she wanted to feel that part of him, with her hands, then with her mouth, and then inside of her. “Tell me what to do,” she said again, then she looked at him, and lost all fear. “Tell me,” she repeated.

He leaned forward, brought his face closer to hers. “Kiss me, Celeste.”

She looked at that sexy mouth, thought of how many times she’d dreamed of kissing him, of tasting him, of exactly how it’d be to tease that sexy smirk with her tongue. Then she eased closer and made her dreams a reality.

The first touch of her mouth on his caused her entire body to shudder with need, a need to continue, to delve deeper for more. She swept her tongue against his lower lip and moaned her contentment when his mouth opened for her perusal. Easing her tongue inside, she couldn’t control the urge to slowly slide her entire body against his as she tasted him. She yanked his shirt out of his jeans, hurriedly undid the remaining buttons and pushed the sides apart. Then she pressed her breasts against his chest, felt the rumbling beat of his heart against them, and was even more excited. She moved her tongue farther inside, stroking his, while her hips moved in direct correlation. Her need grew exponentially.

Dax’s tongue mated with hers, then moved hungrily within her lips. He stroked the top of her mouth, slid over her teeth, then sucked her tongue. Her body began shivering, shaking. She’d never kissed anyone like this. She’d never been kissed like this.

The bulge between his legs grew even harder as she rubbed against it. She wanted him. And she didn’t want to wait.

A low, deep growl rumbled from his throat and vibrated erotically against her tongue and mouth. That growl sent her desire higher still, knowing that Dax was on the edge as well, and she felt the burning inside getting stronger, hotter, pulling her deeper…pulling her…away.

No! her mind screamed when she realized what was happening. No!

“CELESTE!” Dax knew what had happened, but he couldn’t believe that the powers that be would do that to him, to them. “Damn!”

She’d vanished, in the same way he’d seen ghosts fade away before, but none of their disappearances had ripped his heart out in their wake. One moment she’d been here, touching him, kissing him, driving him near mad with desire, and then-gone. And he was left hard, aching and ready. Ready for something that would possibly never happen. Had that been their last chance? Had she crossed over completely this time? And how would he know?

Just the thought of her hands on him, of her mouth on his, had his cock pressing solidly against his jeans. “Damn.” He wanted her, and there was more to it than the physical need that had him hurting; he wanted Celeste, the woman who’d touched his heart in the summer when she stayed behind to help Chloe, and the one who, when she returned, had helped another young ghost before allowing her own needs to be sated. And she did have needs-intense needs.