Casper (Graveyard Kings #3)

CHAPTER ONE

LUNA

I bounded along, excited by the costumes and the spooky vibes. Halloween had always been my favorite time of year. I paused to glance back at Athena and Ripley who were taking their sweet time ambling through the park.

“Hurry up, you guys,” I called. “We have to meet Storm and Codie. They said they’ll wait by the freak show stage. I want to get there in time for the sword swallower. That shit always creeps me out.”

A girl passing by stopped to compliment me on my Cheshire Cat outfit. Since my hair was a blend of chunky pink and purple, I’d opted for a pink and purple Cheshire Cat costume this year. An adorable striped tutu with a corset top and fuzzy cat ears clipped into my hair atop my head.

“Thank you.” I beamed at her before telling her I loved her fantasy elf costume.

“Slow down, girl,” Athena said when she caught up. “I don’t have half the energy you have.”

“Maybe we should get you a coffee or something.” I scanned the food vendors for a place with coffee options.

I couldn’t help that I was a relatively high energy person. Although I couldn’t fault Athena for being less than enthused. She’d helped move Ripley into her apartment earlier in the day. Codie had recently moved out to live with her boyfriend, Stray Hurley, so Ripley had taken her room at Athena’s.

Athena made a face. “Coffee? On Halloween night? I think not. Let’s find some booze instead.”

Her dark green eyes sparkled playfully. She wore her long brown hair tied back in a braid to go with her Lara Croft outfit.

Next to her Ripley McKay absently chewed a painted pink fingernail.

She was dressed as an anime character I didn’t know.

In a pink and white dress with white knee-high boots and her shoulder length blonde hair, she was getting attention from fellow anime fans.

“I could go for a drink,” she said. “It’s been a long day.”

I continued to lead the way through the vendors and costumed attendees until we reached the stage at the back of the grounds.

Every year Wintervale put on a Halloween event filled with haunted houses, crazy performers, and various activities like escape rooms and a house of mirrors.

An effort from our small city to create community.

It was a nice way to kick off the evening before the partying began.

“Luna,” Codie squealed my name as we approached. “You look cute as hell. I love the outfit.”

She stood with Stray in a small group that included his friends, Casper Callahan and Rebel Kane, along with our close friend Storm, Rebel’s new wife.

The guys were three of the five men known as the Graveyard Kings.

Campus crime dealers that specialized in black market goods.

Some of the stories I’d heard from Storm and Codie were beyond crazy.

I couldn’t imagine being with someone like that.

Our group stood to the left of the stage, away from the growing crowd. Currently the stage was empty, the lights low. Good. We hadn’t missed anything.

“Thanks.” I nodded at her simple black cat costume. “You went all out like usual I see.”

I followed up with a roll of my eyes. Codie Edwards never had been one to put much effort into a costume despite how much she loved clothing. At least she tried.

“Of course. You know me.” She grinned. “At least I dressed up. Not like Casper here who couldn’t be bothered.”

Casper’s brilliant green eyes landed on me.

His gaze travelled over me before finally reaching my face.

With his angled jaw and slightly crooked nose most likely from fighting, he was ruggedly handsome.

Blue streaked black hair and one arm inked in a full sleeve that started with a black raven wing on the side of his neck added to the appeal.

He offered me a small smirk of a smile before signing something in response to Codie’s remark. Casper Callahan didn’t speak. From what I’d heard, he watched his parents die a gruesome death as a kid and hadn’t said a word since.

“Casper is a ghost,” Stray translated for him. “He doesn’t need a stinking costume. Those are his words, not mine.”

“Ahh I see,” I laughed with a shake of my head, taking in Casper’s blue jeans and the black t-shirt that showed off his hard body. “I guess there’s no arguing that.”

“How come nobody’s talking about my costume?” Storm broke in. Turning in a circle to show off her Corpse Bride attire, she pointed at Rebel who wore the suit to match. “I even convinced Rebel to do a couple’s costume.”

Rebel snickered. “Only because you made me a promise. If I dressed up with you tonight, then you would—”

Storm clapped a hand over his mouth, keeping him from finishing that sentence. “I don’t think we need to share that with our friends. New subject. Who wants to check out the haunted houses after this? They’re supposed to be pretty scary.”

Lights on the stage began to flicker. Creepy music started up. Something was about to happen.

The tiny hairs on the back of my neck prickled, giving me the sensation of being watched.

I glanced over to find a guy in a hideously grotesque monster mask staring at me.

At least I thought he was staring at me.

The mask made it impossible to tell for sure.

A shot of fire went up from the stage, drawing my attention. I forgot about the guy in the mask.

For the next twenty minutes, I stared in awe at the performers.

People breathing fire, swallowing swords, and juggling knives.

It was amazing. At some point, Codie and Stray moved over so I found myself standing between Athena and Casper.

I couldn’t help but notice his spicy cinnamon vanilla scent.

Damn that was nice. He’d smelled as good when we walked down the aisle together at Rebel and Storm’s wedding.

When the show ended, we all dispersed with the rest of the crowd. We started with the house of mirrors. The narrow maze-like halls were too skinny for us to go as a group. Codie suggested that we split off into pairs, conveniently pairing me with Casper.

I shot her an inquisitive glance, my brow arching in a silent question. She merely batted her long lashes and smiled. What was this devious girl up to?

Since I didn’t want to make the situation awkward, I went with Casper into the maze of mirrors, following closely behind Ripley and Athena. The mass of reflections bouncing back all around us quickly messed with my head. It didn’t take long to get lost.

Casper stuck close, like he was afraid of losing me.

I became hyper-aware of his large body pressing close to my much smaller frame.

At one point I came to a dead end and jerked to a stop.

Casper crashed into me from behind, quickly righting himself before he knocked me down.

He held up both hands and flashed me an apologetic frown.

“It’s cool,” I said. “Let’s try this way instead.”

We backtracked the way we’d come and took a different turn.

I kept chattering, inane chitchat to keep us from being plunged into awkward silence.

I didn’t mind that Casper didn’t talk. His body language spoke for itself.

However, I kept feeling like I needed to break up the quiet and soon found myself rambling about how I’d opted to wear running shoes with my costume so I wouldn’t get sore feet. He must’ve thought I was a moron.

Finally, we emerged from the house of mirrors. Our friends were already outside except for Stray and Codie who must not have made it out yet.

“No Codie and Stray?” I asked.

“My money is on them getting it on in some forgotten corner where they can watch themselves from every angle,” Athena laughed. “Lucky fuckers.”

Rebel stretched his arms over his head, popping his shoulder. “Damn, why didn’t I think of that?”

“That’s a hard no,” Storm piped up, smoothing back her wine red curls. “Don’t even think about it.”

“Maybe in the haunted house,” Rebel continued as if she hadn’t spoken. He palmed a handful of her ass through her dress, snickering when she slapped his hand away, a coy smile curving her lips.

While waiting for Codie and Stray to emerge, the rest of us wandered over to a vendor selling alcohol.

I opted to play it safe with a beer, not wanting to get too intoxicated before navigating a haunted house with scary people jumping out at me.

Finally, those two joined us, looking flushed and sweaty.

“I called it,” Athena said with a smirk.

“We got lost,” Codie insisted. “It was confusing with all those mirrors.”

Ripley finished her beer and tossed the cup in a nearby trashcan. “I’m sure it had nothing to do with being chased by your mask wearing boyfriend either.”

Stray chuckled, shoving his eerie demon mask up so it sat atop his head. “Damn, strawberry, your friends know you well.”

We hadn’t always known about Codie’s little kink, but we did now. I wasn’t one to kink shame. We all had our personal quirks and interests. I enjoyed my share of kinky sexy time with the right person.

Unfortunately, most of the guys I hooked up with didn’t know the first thing about making a woman feel dominated in a way that was sexy and sensual without being forced and fake.

There was something to be said about a man that could possess me in every way, stealing away my control while making me melt.

My gaze strayed to Casper. Something told me that he wouldn’t have a problem making me submit. His eyes met mine, and I quickly glanced away before he could somehow see the filthy thoughts in my head.

As far as I was concerned, the Graveyard Kings were off limits. Maybe Storm and Codie had it in them to handle men that lived a life of crime and violence. That wasn’t for me.

After the rest of us finished our drinks, we headed for the first haunted house. Again I noticed the man in the nasty mask staring from several feet away. Was he following us? Should I say something to the others? There were a lot of people here. It was probably a coincidence.

We entered the haunted house as a group.

Codie still managed to maneuver us around so I ended up next to Casper as we made our way through the darkened interior.

She was quite obviously trying to play matchmaker, although I couldn’t figure out why.

Had Casper indicated an interest in me? Or was she concocting this whole thing on her own?

A zombie with rotting skin leapt out from the shadows then, scaring the thoughts out of my head. We only made it a few more feet before a man with a chainsaw began to chase us. Of course the guys had to play it cool, completely unfazed by the chaos going on while us girls took off running.

The place was dark. Strobe lights flashed here and there, giving us a scant view.

Spiderwebs dangled to catch in our hair, tickling our faces.

At some point we were forced to follow a singular path, driven by the creepy horror characters that gave chase.

We soon entered into a large area with halls that branched off in four different directions.

The strobe lights made it impossible to know which way the other girls had gone.

Storm quickly got left behind trying to navigate the way while wearing a dress with a large skirt. Even though I kept glancing back for her, she never appeared. Other people were in the house with us, strangers screaming all around as they made their way through.

Not knowing which way to go, I chose the path to the right. They probably all ended up leading us outside eventually. Or so I thought.

After following several winding halls, I found myself in a dark space that was suddenly all too quiet. The noise of the house sounded far away. No haunted house characters jumped out at me. I was alone.

Except I wasn’t alone after all. I turned in a slow circle and screamed when I saw the man in the scary monster mask standing a few feet behind me.