Ghost
The object in his hand caught the glow from the light spilling from the floor-to-ceiling windows.
It was a long, heavy wand made of clear, hand-blown glass.
It looked like it belonged in a glass museum, or on a doctor’s surgical tray.
It was thick, slightly curved, and condensation slicked the surface.
My pussy was still throbbing, still wet and ready. He grabbed my ankle and dragged me toward him until I was at the edge of the bed. My breath hitched as he ran the glass up my thigh. The cold bit into me. He’d run it under ice-cold water. It was a shock, a sharp bite against my warm skin.
“You’re so warm, Vera,” Dane murmured, his voice a low vibration as he sat on the edge of the mattress. He didn’t wait. “Let’s see how you handle the cold.”
He pressed the tip of the wand right against my clit.
I whined, my hips jerking off the bed. “Dane.”
“I know, Babygirl. You want to be filled, don’t you?” He used his thumb to spread me, his eyes dark and focused as he teased my opening. “Fuck it.”
My eyes darted to his. My hips rose to meet him, the head of the wand sliding in, the freezing temperature making my walls squeeze. I ground my hips, taking more.
A vibration cut through the air. Dane stiffened.
He didn’t pull the wand away. The chirp came again.
He cursed under his breath, a low, guttural sound of pure frustration.
His gaze flickered from my exposed, trembling body to the device on the table.
For a second, I thought he might ignore it. I wanted him to ignore it.
He held the wand where it was and in a slow, agonizing slide, he reached over and grabbed the phone. Without a word, his thumb hit the screen and he lifted it to his ear.
“What?” his voice was stripped of the warmth it held when he talked to me. His eyes dropped to the wand as he moved it in and out of me. I bucked, my back arched. Keep moving, he mouthed.
My legs quaked as I obeyed. I ground against the glass, taking it deeper. The muffled, frantic voice on the other end of the line was a sharp contrast to the silence of the room. Dane’s thumb brushed the side of the wand as he moved it, his rhythm steady and unbothered by the person on the phone.
I stared at him through hooded eyes. The cold hardness hit that spot, and a violent shudder wracked me. I was reaching for the edge, my breath coming in short, needy hitches. Daddy’s eyes tracked every tremor, every desperate roll of my hips.
“So good—” I gasped.
“Come for me,” he commanded, his voice rough as he angled the wand.
Slick coated it before he thrust it deeper.
There was muffled, ‘What?’ on the other end of the receiver.
The cold glass hit that devastating spot and I shattered, my walls clamping down so hard I thought I’d crack it.
He worked me through it, unrelenting, until I was a trembling, oversensitive mess.
“It’s under control,” he growled into the phone, but his eyes never left mine—watching me fall apart. He hit the screen to end the call and tossed the device on the pillows.
“Dane,” I rasped, my body humming.
“You did so well for me, Babygirl.” He leaned in, his lips brushing my ear.
“Am I interrupting?” A voice called from the doorway.
Kade stood there, tracking the wand still buried inside me, two full bags dangling from his hands. He didn’t wait for permission—he never did. He crossed the threshold in three long strides.
Dane slid the glass out of me in one agonizingly slow pull, leaving me empty. He shifted immediately, sitting in front of me, his broad back blocking me from Kade’s gaze as his brother approached the bed.
“What do you want?” Dane said, his voice clipped.
“I brought snacks for Fort Ghost,” Kade said, stopping at the foot of the bed. He lifted the bags with a small smirk, then began emptying them onto the sheets—he kept a slight distance, his presence impossible to ignore.
Dane’s tense shoulders melted as his brother stood in front of us.
“Fort Ghost? What’s that?” I asked, sitting up and folding my legs beneath me. Shyness crept in. I tugged Dane’s shirt down over my thighs, aware of how exposed I’d been.
I looked at Kade. He wore an oversized black t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off at the seams and a pair of low-slung charcoal joggers.
The collar was stretched, hanging off one muscular shoulder to reveal a glimpse of a jagged scar.
He looked like a beautiful, chaotic mess—a stark contrast to the rigid, military power that radiated off Dane.
“It’s something we did as kids,” Kade said, his tone softer. He tossed a bag of gummy bears toward Dane, who caught it without looking. “When our foster parents thought we were asleep, we’d build a secret fort and hang out.”
Dane’s jaw tightened. I reached out, my fingers brushing his back.
Kade hopped onto the corner of the mattress, his energy replaced by something heavier. “Sometimes we got lucky and had food—stuff we’d stolen before they locked the cabinets.” His voice dropped, almost reverent. “We’d eat it while we played games or watched movies on a tiny, cracked screen.”
My chest tightened. I looked between them—two men who’d survived something I could only imagine. My Mother wasn’t the easiest to live with, but she never starved me. The food pantry was never locked.
“It was the only place in the world where no one could touch us,” Kade finished quietly. “The ghosts of the house couldn’t get into our impenetrable fort.”
The room fell silent, the weight of their past pressing in on us. A muscle jumped in Dane’s cheek until he finally drew a long breath, snapping the tension. He ripped open the bag of gummy bears and offered me one.
“We played a game last night. Let’s continue 21 questions,” I said, snagging the bear from his fingers and chewing. Pineapple flavor.
Kade didn’t answer. There was a spark in his eyes before he scrambled off the bed to grab a heavy, dark wool blanket from the corner.
I watched as he dragged the fabric, which was frayed and riddled with small holes at the edges toward the headboard.
With a practiced flick of his wrist, he hooked the edges into small, silver loops hidden in the ceiling and the bedposts. Hooks I hadn’t noticed earlier.
The blanket fell over the bed, shrouding us in darkness. It turned the massive mattress into a cave, cutting off the rest of the room. My heart did a slow, heavy roll in my chest. I swooned; the sheer intimacy of the gesture hit me harder than the wand ever could. This was the Fort Ghost.
The sound of a wooden drawer opened and shut, and a moment later, Kade popped back into the enclosure with a mini lantern. He pushed the button down on the top, bathing our fort in a warm, amber glow.
Dane leaned against me, his shoulders relaxed. The little lantern caught the charcoal mask on Kade’s face, making him look like a kid up to no good.
A sudden bubble of laughter caught in my throat and spilled out.
“What’s so funny, Lumberjack?” Kade asked as he grabbed two packets from the pile of goodies.
“I just…” I shook my head as I looked at the goop slime on his face. “The two of you, doing this together, with goop on your face?”
Kade grinned, his teeth flashing white against the mask. “We did. Every Friday for three years.”
Dane didn’t laugh, but the corner of his mouth tucked up. “Yeah, no. We haven’t done this in years.”
I froze. “Is that… eucalyptus?”
“Don’t make fun of me yet; I have more,” Kade said as he passed me a cucumber one and thrust a charcoal one into Dane’s lap.
“You start, Babygirl,” Dane said as he ripped the packet open. He smiled at me knowingly and my heart flip-flopped in my chest. I smelled that. It was brief, but it gave me hope.
“Okay. How old are you?” I asked.
“Twenty-eight,” Dane responded as he smoothed out the mask on the edges of his jawline.
“Kade?”
“Twenty-five,” he said as he leaned forward, his elbows on his thighs. “What about you?”
“I’m twenty-four,” I laughed.
“What would you have done if you were older?” Kade teased.
“I would have been mortified,” I admitted.
“Why? I’d like you if you were a cougar.” Kade wiggled his eyebrows and bit into his bottom lip.
“Oh, I’m sure,” I laughed. “So, what do you guys do? Besides building high-end forts and scaring people at parties?”
Dane’s expression smoothed. “Outside of being a Sergeant, I run a private security firm. High-level protection, asset recovery. It’s demanding, but it keeps the lights on.”
I looked at Kade, who was currently trying to toss a gummy bear into the air and catch it in his mouth. He missed. “And you? Asset recovery assistant?”
Kade snorted. “No. I’m a tattoo artist.” He leaned in closer, his voice dropping. “Would you like me to ink you?”
“I’m an aspiring author. I spend my free time worldbuilding and deciding who to kill off.”
“I’ll help you with the spicy scenes,” Kade teased. He groaned as Dane punched him in the shoulder.
“My turn. Did you like it when Kade watched?” Dane asked. My cheeks heated as my eyes danced between him and his brother. Butterfly wings fluttered against my belly.
“Yes,” I answered. “Kade? Did you enjoy watching?”
He chuckled. “Liked it so much I jerked off three times last night.”
I covered my mouth as my jaw fell open.
I grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. The bastard just winked.
He grabbed a bag of cheesy goodness and offered me damnation. I didn’t even hesitate as I grabbed a handful. He kept the bag within arm’s reach and that had me smiling.
“What don’t I know about you…” Kade hummed as he tapped his leg. “How many guys have you been talking to on Mythinder?”
My brows shot into my hairline and Dane squished his bag of gummies.
“Let me see…” I trailed off, refusing to let him rattle me. I started counting fingers. “Four.”
Kade whistled.
“What do you enjoy doing?” Dane asked.
“I… like to read.” Short. Simple.
“Kinky,” Kade teased knowingly. I stuck my tongue out at him.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.
“Oh, nothing. Just that you and Dane have that in common.”
“Let’s back up for a minute. You read?” I asked the man stretched out on the bed beside me.
“Yes,” Dane answered.
“What do you read?” I asked hesitantly.
“That’s three questions,” Kade said, holding up three fingers. I shushed him and stared at Dane.
“Porn,” he said seriously. I snorted and then we laughed.
“I knew you were perfect, but damn,” I sighed. Dane was an amazing man, but sharing a hobby with him made me giddy.
Dane shifted, his hand moving to rub the back of his neck. “I’ll be right back.” He slipped from under the blanket, and I heard his footsteps fade toward the bathroom.
The moment the door clicked shut, the air changed. Kade’s playful energy dipped, replaced by something sharper, more deliberate. He turned to face me fully, his face serious.
“I need you to understand something,” he said quietly.
“What’s up?”
“Dane doesn’t let people in. Ever. He barely lets me in. I kind of just… exist near him. This?” he gestured around the fort. “It’s a big deal.”
I swallowed. “Kade—”
“I’m not trying to scare you off,” he interrupted, his voice low but firm. “I’m telling you this because if you hurt him, if you make him think he can have this and then take it away…” He paused, his jaw working.
The weight of his words settled over me like the blanket above us—heavy, protective, suffocating.
“I’m not going to hurt him,” I whispered. I’m just happy to be here.
“Okay. Just hear me on this. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect him. Even from you.”
Before I could respond, the bathroom door opened. Footsteps padded back toward us. Kade leaned back against the pillows, rolling his shoulders like he was shaking off the heaviness of what we’d just discussed.
Kade’s expression shifted instantly—back to that easy, chaotic grin. “So,” he said louder, grabbing another handful of chips, “are we gonna talk about how my dick’s bigger than Dane’s?”
Dane ducked back into the fort, eyeing us both suspiciously. His gaze lingered on me, searching, but I forced a smile. He settled beside me, his warmth pressing against my side.
“That’s a lie.”
“Your turn,” I said to him, trying to shake off the tension.
“Alright. Vera—what’s the worst date you’ve ever been on?”
I groaned. “Do I have to answer that?”
“Rules are rules,” Dane murmured, his lips quirking.
And just like that, the heaviness lifted.
We fell back into the rhythm of questions and answers, laughter and teasing.
Kade’s warning still echoed in the back of my mind, but for now, I let myself sink into the safety of the fort, the warmth of Dane’s body beside me, and the strange, fragile trust building between the three of us.
Hours passed. The lantern faded. Our voices grew quieter, softer, until we were barely whispering in the dark.
“I haven’t felt this safe in years,” I admitted, my voice small.
Dane’s arm tightened around me. “Good.”
Kade was on his side, propped up on one elbow, watching me from my right.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “For this. For all of it.”
Kade didn’t wink this time. Instead, his gaze held mine. “You know what the scariest part of Fort Ghost was?” His voice was a whisper, low enough that it felt like a secret meant only for me.
I turned my head toward him, my breath catching. “What?”
“Knowing it had to end.” He shifted, his hand coming to rest on the blanket between us, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from his palm.
“Every morning, we’d wake up and the blanket would be gone.
The real world would come crashing back in—foster parents, locked cabinets, all of it.
And for years, I told myself I didn’t need it anymore. That I’d outgrown hiding in forts.”
His jaw tightened, and for a moment, I saw the ghost of the boy who’d stolen food just to survive.
“Then you walked into that party,” he continued, his voice rougher, “and I realized I’ve just been waiting for someone worth building a new fort for.”
My throat closed. “Kade—”
“Don’t.” His hand moved, fingers brushing against mine in the darkness—a fleeting touch that felt like a brand. “Just… don’t run when the blanket comes down. Please.”
The ‘please’ nearly broke me. Kade had been quiet, other than during the truth game, but here, in the safety of Fort Ghost, he was vulnerable.
He rolled over, his back to me now, and within seconds, his breathing slowed.
But I stayed awake, staring at the curve of his shoulder in the darkness. His words echoed louder than I wanted them to, settling into the cracks of my chest right alongside the weight of Dane’s steady breathing.
“Get some rest,” Dane murmured against my hair, his arms pulling me tighter against him. His voice was thick with sleep, already half-gone.
I swallowed hard, my gaze still locked on Kade’s back. “What if I’m not tired?”
Silence stretched between the three of us, heavy and charged.
Then Kade’s voice cut through the dark, low and amused. “Oh, this is gonna be fun.”