The Haunted - Jessica Verday [117]
Caspian licked his lips, and a muscle in his jaw clenched. “You have another.”
“Another?”
“Another leg,” he said.
I smiled. “You’re right.” Squeezing out some more lotion, I massaged my other calf and worked my way up past my knee. I closed my eyes, picturing his hand there, on my leg…
warm and firm… sliding up the towel… caressing my skin… The lotion bottle suddenly fell out of my hand and rolled away, banging against the end table with a thud.
An instant later the lamp crashed to the ground.
I jumped and met Caspian’s eyes. He looked just as startled as I was.
There was a knock at the nearby door and then Ben said, “Abbey? Are you okay?” I let out a frustrated sigh and tucked my hair behind one ear. The pounding continued, and I glanced at Caspian.
“We’ll finish this later,” he promised.
Standing up, I felt a little wobbly in the knees and went to open the adjoining door.
“Remember, you’re in a towel,” Caspian called out.
I looked down and pulled it around me tighter. Cracking the door open a couple of inches, I stuck my face near it. “Ben, I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? I heard a loud bang.”
“Yeah, I just knocked over a lamp.”
“Are you almost ready to go?” he said.
“I just got out of the shower. I’m not dressed yet. Give me ten minutes.”
“Oh. Okay.” He backed away, and I shut the door.
Returning to my suitcase to get some clothes, I told Caspian, “We’re leaving in about ten minutes.”
“I’m ready,” he said, folding his arms over his chest.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” I looked down at his bare chest. “Your shirt?” His muscles flexed. “You seemed to like it better off. I could just walk around like this. No one would see.”
My mouth went dry. “I, um… yes.” Then common sense kicked in. “But I don’t want to be distracted all day.” I ducked my head and rummaged through the suitcase, pulling out some jeans and a black baby-doll tee.
In the bathroom I dried my hair and got dressed next to the toilet, privacy firmly in place.
All my earlier brashness had deserted me. When I walked out, Caspian was waiting by the door. And his shirt was back on.
“I liked your other outfit better,” he said.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” But I gave him just the tiniest of smiles.
“Just you wait until you’re asleep,” he threatened. “I’m going to ogle you until my eyeballs fall out.”
I grabbed my cell phone from next to the bed, and right before I opened the door, I winked at him. “Promises, promises.”
He grinned, and we went out to meet Ben.
We found Shepherd University pretty easily, and Ben dropped me off at the main campus.
“You’ll be able to find someplace to eat here, right?” he said.
“I’ll be fine, Ben. I’m a big girl.”
“Okay. I’ll be helping out at the junkyard all day, so I’ll be back around six.” I waved him off and waited until he was out of sight. Then I opened my cell phone and dialed the cab company that I’d preprogrammed in. Ten minutes later the cab was picking us up.
“Martinsburg,” I told the driver. Caspian stayed silent beside me. Once we reached the downtown area, the cabbie asked where I wanted to be let off. We were next to a florist shop, so I said, “Here’s fine,” and thrust some money at him. Caspian got out first, and I followed quickly behind.
As the cab sped away, I turned to Caspian. “Does anything look familiar?” The streets were empty, so I didn’t have to worry too much about anyone seeing me talk to myself.
“Yes. Of course. This was home.”
“Where do you want to go?” I asked him.
“That’s up to you,” he said. “This is your visit.”
I nodded. “Do you want to walk around here for a while? You can tell me about the town.” He jerked his head in some semblance of a yes, and started walking. I hurried to catch up, and waited for him to say something. He stayed quiet for a long time.
Finally, as we passed a balloon shop, he spoke. “See that door there?” I craned my neck and saw a glass door. “I cut my foot on it. Sliced