Charlie St. Cloud Page 0,61

time we have.” He kissed her gently on the cheek. Then he whispered, “Come with me.” He slipped from the couch and stood up.

Tess watched him beckon and she didn’t know what to do. One candle was still burning on the coffee table. The fire was out. The room was silent.

“Come upstairs,” he said. “I won’t bite.”

“We can’t,” Tess said as the sadness returned. “It’s impossible. I couldn’t even knock on the door. I’m not really here.”

“Can you feel this?” he said, leaning forward and kissing her on the corner of her eye.

“Of course.”

“Can you feel this?” he said, running his hand across her shoulders and down to her breasts.

“Yes.”

“You’re still in between. You haven’t crossed over yet. Anything is possible.”

“Pretty smooth,” she said. “So this is how you get into a ghost’s pants?” She poked him in the ribs. Then he took the candle from the table and crossed the living room. “This way,” he said.

Tess followed through the darkness, up a steep staircase, down a little hall into his room. It was small and cozy, with a vaulted ceiling and exposed beams. A big craftsman bed took up almost all the space. He set the candle on the nightstand.

In the low light she could see Charlie take off his T-shirt and dive onto the bed. Below his muscled chest and stomach, his sweatpants were enticingly low on his waist. A small part of her wanted to play hard to get and make him work. It was a reflex from years of experience and disappointment. But that was ridiculous. This wasn’t the time for games. It was now or never.

“Tell me the truth,” she said. “Have you ever done something like this before?”

“You mean sleep with a spirit on a second date?” He was flashing that incredible dimple.

“Don’t push your luck, pal.” She pulled the clip from her hair, and it fell around her shoulders. She began to unbutton her shirt. And suddenly she noticed. The lines of her hands were softer. Her skin was fainter. Even the feeling of her clothes was different. Everything was less substantial. It took a moment to process, but then she realized.

She was beginning to fade away.

It filled her with pure terror. This was really, truly the end. Soon she would evanesce to nothing. It made no sense. Sam had promised the timing would be her decision. She had made up her mind: She didn’t want to go yet. She wanted to stay right here with Charlie.

“Hey, what’s taking so long?” he said.

“Calm down, boy.” She didn’t know what to do, but there he was with his arms open. And so she finished the last buttons of her shirt and kicked off her shoes. She dashed over to the bed and blew out the candle. She didn’t want him to see her this way. She didn’t want him to know it was already happening.

Then she dived onto him, feeling his warmth against her own. Their fingers touched, and they were together, his arms encircling her waist, and her hands moving around his neck. Their kiss was deep, connecting, like a familiar story with a beginning, middle, and end. They caught their breath, and then she kissed his forehead, face, and shoulders.

Now her hands were on his chest, her fingers gliding along the faint ridges of what seemed like scars. “What’re these from?” she asked.

“Burn marks when the paramedic shocked me.”

She kissed each one gently and then moved lower, gliding her mouth over his stomach and hips, untying his sweatpants, sliding them off. Then her hands wrapped around him, all heat and power, and she reveled in a new discovery: He was the most perfect man she had ever touched.

She didn’t want to let go, but he rolled her over onto her back, unzipped her jeans, and in one fluid motion lifted her up to pull them off. His strength was impressive, and his instincts were very, very good.

He handled her as if she was weightless, and her anxiety began to melt away. After kissing for the longest time, they began to fold into each other slowly and smoothly, and she felt him fill her completely. For the first time ever, venturing deeper, Tess lost her sense of where she ended and he began.

When it was over, they held on to each other with all their strength. Tess was afraid even to loosen her grip. She was clinging to love and life. Soon Charlie was ready again, and they found their rhythm. This time