Chapter 9
Riley pulled me against him, his body tense as if preparing for an attack.
But all I could focus on was the feel of his arm around me and how my hands had naturally settled against his chest. His warmth surrounded me, and in the darkness it was too easy to be aware of the muscles in his chest even through our silly costumes.
When nothing else happened, Riley met my gaze with a lopsided grin. “Guess we overreacted.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
But I didn’t move, and neither did he. The silence stretched between us, taut and unyielding.
Some of the tension bled from him into the space between us until the air grew charged, like the pause before a storm—or a kiss.
Riley’s lips lifted in their usual smirk, but he said nothing.
His dark eyes gleamed with a flash of gold, a wordless challenge that stole my breath.
His fingers tightened around my waist, pulling me infinitesimally closer.
The tension thickened until the only way to escape it was to drop my attention to his lips, which hovered just a few inches above mine.
But that just made things worse. My fingers curled into fists where they rested against his chest that rose and fell with quick, uneven breaths.
“I thought you weren’t scared of haunted houses,” I whispered, staring at the top of his tuxedo costume.
“I’m not, but I am scared of how you might react to this.” He moved his hand from my waist up to my chin, gently tipping my face up.
I needed to pull back, to end this moment before it could turn into something we both might regret, but I couldn’t make myself move.
His hand cupped my cheek, then his thumb coasted along my cheekbone with the gentlest touch, like the flutter of dragonfly wings. Even that was enough to send a shiver racing through me.
The air between us hummed, a gravitational pull urging me to close the distance between us. Unable to resist, I took one step closer.
“Riley, I…” I wasn’t even sure what to say, but it didn’t matter because Riley leaned down and pressed his lips to mine.
Warmth blazed through me like Riley’s magic heated me from the inside. At first it was soft and exploratory, but then he tilted his head to the side, slanting his lips against mine. His hand slid back to tangle itself in my hair while his other tightened on my waist.
I gasped and went onto my tiptoes to press against him, holding onto his broad shoulders for support. Heat radiated from him, chasing away the last of my chills and uncertainty and making me feel like butter melting over a fresh apple cinnamon croissant.
Riley tasted the way he smelled, like an autumn bonfire and a hint of coffee. The slight scratch of his stubble contrasted with the softness of his lips.
“Boo!” a girl shouted as the door behind us flew open.
I sprang away from Riley, trying to calm my breathing.
The girl swung her flashlight around like a strobe light, then she froze. “You’re not Kimberly.”
“Um, no. We’re not.” I pulled my Sally hood back on over my slightly disheveled hair so she wouldn’t recognize me.
“What a bust,” she said. “What are you doing up here?” She flicked the flashlight between us, blinding me. “Actually, never mind. That was a stupid question.”
I blinked a few times, trying to get rid of the spots in my vision. “We came up here because we’re looking for someone.” At least no one could tell I was blushing since my face was covered.
“Uh huh.” The girl turned and headed for the door.
As my vision returned, I could somewhat make out the shape of her pumpkin costume and the tint of her red hair. “Wait. Are you Eve?”
“I am.” Hesitancy filled her voice, but she paused by the door.
We’d found her.
“We need to talk to you,” I said.
“Why?” Eve said.
“It’s about Graham Duvall.” I took a step closer.
Her cheerful expression dropped. “Oh.”
“We heard you were with him at the Tea and Tarot the night he died.” I watched her carefully for any signs of guilt—whether she was the murderer or the one he might have cheated with.
She pulled on her long red ponytail. “Not this again. I already talked to the police.”
“You did?” I blinked at her, though I shouldn’t have been surprised. It was good that they were working through the same suspects as us. Hopefully, it meant that we were both on the right track.
“Yes, and I already gave them my alibi.” She put a hand on her hip. “Graham was totally fine when we parted ways, and I didn’t see him again that night.”
“You don’t seem too sad about his death,” Riley said carefully.
She twisted her lips. “Honestly, I didn’t know him that well. It’s sad that he was killed and all, but you can only be sad about a near-stranger for so long.”
I froze. They were near strangers? That ruled out my theory that Eve was the girl he cheated with.
My balancing magic didn’t react to her at all, and maybe that was worth paying attention to.
It wasn’t exactly a lie detector, but the more I listened to it, the more I was learning how much it could tell me about others and their intentions—like how perfectly calm it was with Riley.
“Why were you meeting Graham?” Riley asked.
Eve glared at him. “I don’t think it’s any of your business.”
Riley smiled at her and pulled out a notebook that reminded me of the one Lizzy always carried around. Was that just a reporter thing? Didn’t they realize they could just as easily keep notes on their phone?
“I’m trying to make sure I have the story fully covered for my article for the paper,” he said.
Her eyes widened. “This is going in the paper? You should’ve said so,” she said. “Graham and I met because he asked me to tutor him for one of his classes. He didn’t like to meet anywhere near campus because he wanted to hide the fact that he needed help, so I suggested the tea shop.”
“If you didn’t know Graham very well, why did you two make plans to come to the party together?”
She wrinkled her nose. “We didn’t.”
“We heard that the two of you were talking about the party at the Tea and Tarot yesterday,” Riley said.
“We were just talking about it since we were both planning on going,” she said. “But not together. I’m dating someone, and I’m not interested in cheaters, anyway.”
“Where did you hear that?” The words slipped from me. I’d only mentioned my suspicions to Jaxon and Elaine, who’d told Caleb.
Eve shrugged. “It’s all over town.”
“I see.” My stomach sank. Even though it wasn’t surprising, it still sucked to hear.
Had Caleb spread the rumor to throw suspicion off himself?
“Do you know who he cheated on her with?” I leaned closer, trying to mimic her body language and make her think I enjoy gossip as much as she did.
Maybe there was still a chance to figure out the identity of our other suspect.
Eve flipped her hair over her shoulder and held the flashlight under her chin like she was going to tell a ghost story. “That’s the real mystery, but whoever she was better hope it stays a mystery, or I could picture the ex-girlfriend going for her next.”
“Eve!” someone called from down the hall.
“Over here,” she shouted over her shoulder before turning back to us. “Well, I better go.”
“Wait,” Riley said. “Did you tell anything else to the police that you think might be important?”
She twisted her lips. “Nothing comes to mind.”
“Did Graham mention anyone else he had plans to see that night?” I asked.
“He said we needed to keep the study session short since he had to get back to eat dinner with his roommate.”
I stiffened. “His current roommate?”
“Yeah. I guess they’d been fighting a lot lately, so they were trying to hash things out over dinner.” She glanced over her shoulder again. “Look, I gotta go. Sorry to interrupt you two.”
But Jaxon hadn’t mentioned seeing Graham that night or anything about fighting.
I turned to Riley, and my gaze automatically fell to his lips.
The memory of the kiss was fresh, impossible to forget—the warmth of his skin, the taste of coffee, and how time had seemed to stop when his lips met mine.
His touch lingered, like a spell woven into my skin, addictive and leaving me humming with energy.
I swallowed hard, my heart racing. Now wasn’t the time for that. Even when it happened it hadn’t been the time for that.
“So I guess Jaxon lied to us, huh?” Riley put his hands in the pockets of his black pinstriped suit. “Guess that explains who the other drink was for.”
“I guess so.” I turned toward the door, trying to marshal my thoughts into some semblance of order. If Jaxon had lied about not seeing Graham on the day of his death, could he have lied about other things too? “We should go talk to him.”
Riley caught my arm as I headed for the door and gently tugged my hood back down, his dark eyes smoldering in a way that sent a shiver down my back. “Or we could pick up where we left off,” he said in a voice as deep and rich as a chocolate velvet cake.
“I can’t.” Shaking him off, I walked toward the door, resisting the urge to run my hand across his sharp jaw and feel the roughness of his stubble.
I couldn’t dwell on what might’ve been the best kiss of my life, or I’d just make myself sad it was fake.
And I definitely couldn’t repeat it. Because his kiss had made me realize I wanted someone to care for me the way he did—only I wanted it to be real. “We shouldn’t kiss like that.”
“Would you have preferred a French kiss? I wasn’t sure if you’d think it was too much for the first time.” He grinned at me.
I looked away so he couldn’t see the way his words sent a flutter through my stomach, or how the promise in them wrapped around me like a spell.
“I saw Jaxon downstairs. If we hurry, we can probably catch him.” I scurried down the hall and had already re-entered the secret passage again before Riley caught up to me.
The door behind the painting clicked shut, and he turned back and tried the handle. “That’s odd. It’s locked.”
“That’s okay. We’re going forward, anyway.”