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  CREATED BY JUTOH - PLEASE REGISTER TO REMOVE THIS LINE

  Chapter Fourty

  “Casper?” The house was dark when Trina entered, even though the sun had set. His truck still sat in the driveway. When he didn’t answer, she pushed through the French doors. She found him right there in the kitchen. A beer sat in front of him, the sides dull with condensation, the bottle still full. “Are you all right?”

  Amber eyes rose to meet hers. “Sorry. Just thinking.”

  “By yourself in the dark.”

  He glanced around, as if just noticing. “Seems that way.”

  “I wanted to show you the finished product. It turned out pretty cool.”

  Casper examined the full beer. “I don’t know.”

  “I thought you’d be excited for me.”

  He angled his head. “I thought so, too.”

  “C’mon,” she said low, and took his hand. Casper let her lead him.

  She had a burned copy of the show in the Blu-Ray player. Trina sat on the couch, patting the seat next to her as she raised the remote. Casper sat next to her. She pushed play.

  A shot of the Carstairs house appeared, Trina moving outside with a flashlight. The voice over started. “My name is Trina Adams. I investigate the paranormal. In the past, I have been fooled into believing ghosts were real.”

  Shots of her reaching out for a camera, seriously studying a computer monitor, and turning quickly, flashlight aimed, went by. She felt Casper sit up beside her at the next clip. “Sometimes, investigating gets me in an awkward situation.”

  Trina blushed a little, looking at herself on screen, stuck in a mortuary drawer, getting pulled free. “Get me out, I’m stuck! I want my mom! Somebody get me a beep donut!”

  The voice over continued. “This time, I’m out to prove it to myself.”

  “What the hell—” Casper started.

  Trina put her index finger to her lips. “Shh.”

  Her voice continued on the television.

  “This is…” The opening sequence reached its climax. Ghostly, animated words spelled out the title.

  Hot Spots.

  She paused the video, unable to avoid Casper’s astonished look.

  “You put in Donut Girl?”

  Trina shrugged. “You know I’m always keeping a positive attitude, trying to make lemonade out of lemons. More people know Donut Girl than Trina Adams. I kind of have to embrace it.”

  “Really?” His eyebrows twisted.

  “Someone said I need to get out of my comfort zone to make things better. Well, a million views might build an audience, so here I go.” She smiled, feeling a little scared by the decision, but utterly happy at the same time. Except Casper’s expression made her smile fade. “You don’t like it? What about the title?”

  He closed his eyes. “I think it’s a great title.”

  “You seem less than enthused.”

  With downcast eyes and a sad smile, he shook his head. “I’m such a moron. All the stupid shit I’ve done to get you to leave. And now it’s happening. Hard to work up any enthusiasm.”

  They were quiet for a while, Trina empathizing with Casper’s pain. But not fully. “I’ve been thinking about what you said. How I’m always waiting for something good to happen, even when good things happen.”

  “And?”

  “And you’re wrong.”

  “The fuck I am,” he finally met her glance.

  “Maybe I’m a little screwed up. But really, what’s wrong with always looking forward to something?”

  “A little screwed up?” His brows rose. “Are you being serious right now?”

  “When the network called, I decided to take someone’s sage advice. I seized the opportunity. The show’s greenlit again. I’m going to be working hard, traveling a lot.”

  Casper gave her the duh! look.

  “So I’m going to need something good to happen in the future. Someplace to come back to, to call home. Or maybe someone.”

  He didn’t say anything.

  “Would that be so wrong?”

  Casper didn’t move, didn’t speak.

  “I’m talking about you, you moron.”

  “I know. I’m just messing with you.”

  She slapped his arm. “Asshole.”

  “You kiss your mother with that mouth?”

  “I’ll kiss you with this mouth.”

  “Prove it.”

  ***

  Even as they kissed, he lifted her. The combination of strength and gentleness zinged through her, as much a turn-on as the heat and softness of his mouth on hers. It had felt so wrong the first time, which had been arousing. This time, it felt right, and to her shock, the idea was even more arousing.

  There was nothing bestial about him now, despite the animal she knew lurked within him. His fingers played with her hair. Who knew her scalp could be an erogenous zone?

  “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered in her ear, “and so lucky.”

  He bit her earlobe, almost making her unable to ask: “Why lucky?”

  “Everyone knows contractors make the best lovers.”

  Trina pulled the T-shirt off of him, biting one of his nipples. “How so?”

  He gasped a moment, hand cradling her neck. “It’s part of the language. Think about it. Screwing, hammering, wood, building to a climax.”

  “I think you should shut up and kiss me.”

  He acquiesced without words. She loved the feel of his kiss, the intensity and focus. Trina could kiss him forever. More than his physical desire for him gave her a charge; it was his confidence, absent of possession, that she belonged to him. She tugged at her shirt, pulling it out of her jeans.

  Casper leaned back, helping her undress. Trina watched his face, the way his eyes took her in as he uncovered her skin. With a fierce shove, she knocked him backward. Straddling him, she pulled off his jeans.

  “You think you can dominate me? I’m an alpha wolf.”

  She fell on top of him. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I can.” When Trina licked his ear, Casper groaned, making “pretty sure” definite. She slid out of her own pants. His member throbbed against her hip.

  “Did you really fall for me at first sight?” Her hands splayed across the topography of his chest.

  “Yeah, I did. Snotty nose and all.”

  “You trying to kill the mood?” She levered herself against him.

  He groaned. “Don’t think I could if I tried.”

  Her hand slipped past the elastic of his jockey shorts. “Someone told me I need to learn how to seize the moment.”

  “Sound advice.” Casper gasped as she gripped him. “But maybe you shouldn’t be using your hand to seize it.”

  Banter stopped. She kissed him more intently. They moved together until both were fully naked. Trina angled her hips, feeling him against her sex. Sweetly impaling herself, she felt his fingers dig into her ass cheeks. Casper urged her on without breaking from her lips. Trina cried out into his mouth as he entered her.

  The first time had been good, so good, taboo, almost, a fleeting naughtiness between practical strangers. But this time was astronomically better. She trusted that he knew how to please her, enough to allow herself greater release. More than that, this wasn’t the one time, but the beginning of good things to come.

  Afterward, she lay in the dark watching him sleep. The things he had done for her were almost impossible to contemplate. Trina felt secure that he could repair any damage done. She gazed at his strong hands slowly moving, gripping the sheet. Smiling to herself, she snuggled against him.

  As sleep neared, she became aware of a new sensation. Trina tried to analyze it before unconsciousness took her. It felt warm and welcoming, a sense of security and safety. She felt it even more strongly as Casper, still asleep, took her in his arms.

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