door of the old general store and down the uneven steps. Outside, he propped one shoulder against the rough bark of a huge pine tree.
Mist rose eerily from the forest floor, forming pale clouds near the buildings and giving the shadowy old town an aura of mystery. “You could almost believe real ghosts live in this town,” Colton murmured.
“And do you see any spirits?” Cassie stood next to him, her gaze following his. “Any ghosts from your past?”
“The only ghost I’ve had to deal with is you,” he admitted.
“Me?”
“That’s right.” Touching her lightly under the chin, he tipped her face up to his, staring into near-perfect features that were already indelibly etched in his mind. Her cheeks were rosy, her hazel eyes wide as they searched his, her ebony hair curling softly around her face. “I’ve been trying to exorcise you for eight years.”
“And were you successful?”
His mouth tightening at the corners, he said, “Doesn’t look like it, does it?”
“It did for eight years.”
His eyelids lowered to half-mast. “Not really.”
Cassie’s heart pounded. If only she could believe him. “And now?”
“Now is difficult, Cass,” he admitted. “A real problem. Every time I shove you out of my mind, you find a way to push yourself right back in.”
“Not true. I haven’t bothered you once.”
“Ah, Cassie,” he said with a world-weary sigh, his defenses slipping. “You didn’t have to try. You were always there—even when I thought I’d forgotten you, something would trigger a memory, and there you’d be.”
“If you expect me to believe that you’ve been pining for the past eight years—”
“I don’t pine.”
“I didn’t think so.”
“But I was bothered.”
“Not enough to call, or write, or stop by,” she pointed out, trying to remember just how much pain he’d caused. But here in the half-light, alone with him, those agonizing memories seemed to slip away.
“I wasn’t around.”
“Your choice,” she reminded him, aware of his fingers, hard and warm, against her chilled skin, and angry with herself for even listening to him.
“I didn’t want to be bothered,” he said tightly, slowly caressing the column of her throat, his gaze delving even deeper into hers.
Darkness settled between the decrepit facades of the time-worn buildings, and Cassie wished she had the willpower to draw away, to demand to be taken home, to tell him she never wanted to see him again as long as she lived. But she didn’t. Mesmerized by his silvery eyes, she asked, “What made you change your mind?”
“You.”
She laughed, and the sound echoed through the trees.
“I’m serious,” he said softly. “As long as I was in another city, or state or country, I could keep away from you. But once I was back here—”
“You’ve been here for months,” she cut in, forcing herself not to fall under his spell. “You didn’t come see me until Black Magic disappeared.”
A crooked smile twisted his lips. “Part of the time I was laid up,” he replied, bending to push his face closer to hers.
“And the rest?”
“Willpower.”
“So much for my powers of seduction,” she mocked.
“Oh, you’ve got them,” Colton whispered, his breath fanning her face, “and I’m not immune. But I had everything under control. Until I saw you again.”
“What’s this all about, Colton?” she asked, her voice sounding more ragged than she’d hoped. She wanted to appear in control when all of her senses were reeling; her nerve endings tingled from his touch, her nostrils were filled with his scent, her eyes were riveted to the sensual line of his lips.
“I just wanted to be alone with you,” he admitted, his voice as rough as her own.
“In a ghost town?”
“Anywhere.” Suddenly his mouth crashed down on hers, his fingers winding in her hair. The sounds of the night disappeared, and all Cassie heard was the wild cadence of her heart and the answering drum of Colton’s. All she felt was the strength of his arms surrounding her and the force of desire raging between them, a desire so strong it destroyed all rational thought, a desire so potent it heated more quickly than it had eight years before.
“This—this is a big mistake,” she murmured, dragging her mouth from his and searching for some shred of her sanity. What am I doing? she wondered, her breath short and shallow.
“Not our first.” He kissed her again, thrusting his tongue wondrously between her teeth. With one set of fingers tangled in her hair, he pressed his other hand insistently against the small of her back.
Through her clothes she could feel the sheer force of his body,