Chapter 5
Gideon
Yes, the first thing he did when he woke up that evening was kiss Ryder.
It was also the second, third, and fourth thing he did.
He could finally kiss Ryder whenever he wanted, as often as he wanted. It was the very best dream coming true.
He was also interested in trying out other fun things with Ryder, but if he was the first man Ryder had ever kissed, it was likely he hadn’t done other things with men. Probably not a good idea to launch straight into begging Ryder to stretch Gideon’s hole and fuck his brains out.
No, they could begin with kissing and cuddling. Work up to the dirty, sweaty sex.
Oh God, he missed dirty, sweaty, sticky, cum-filled sex.
It had been so long.
There had been few sexual exploits while he was a vampire, but more than he wanted to admit while he was human. He’d lived with three to four other guys in their twenties. If they hadn’t been dancing or working out, they’d been getting off together…the very definition of friends with benefits.
But this wasn’t that.
This was dating.
They didn’t need to discuss or officially give it a label. He could feel it in Ryder’s every touch. He now belonged to this vampire—body, heart, and soul. It was heaven.
Unfortunately, they didn’t get the chance to linger in bed. Gideon woke to discover Ryder had talked on the phone with Winter, explaining their ghost problem. He and Fox were on their way over to have a look at the trunk.
That left him enough time to shower in Ryder’s bathroom and scurry upstairs to grab some clothes. His condo was completely silent when he ventured inside with his new boyfriend. The ghost had moved nothing else during the day. Had the ghost gotten bored after they left? Had it departed on its own?
Thankfully, they were off work tonight, so they could focus on the ghost and maybe this new relationship thing.
A knock at the door had Gideon’s heart tripping in his chest. He hurried over and tried not to gulp when he found himself face-to-face with Winter Varik.
Not that he appeared to be the scariest creature in existence with his long, messy hair, hoodie, and jeans.
Winter might be the youngest of the four Varik brothers, but he was definitely the most frightening, regardless of his appearance.
Even after being made an official member of the clan, Gideon still found the vampire intimidating.
Winter could become invisible and kill you without you ever knowing he was there.
How could all the vampire world not be terrified of him?
But then Winter smirked. “So, you’ve got a ghost problem?”
“I’m assuming you didn’t notice this ghost during the security install,” Gideon said, motioning for him to enter. He frowned. Winter was alone. He even leaned out his front door and gazed down the stairs toward the door to the building. No one was out there.
“Fox is in the car. His presence blocks my ability to see and hear ghosts. After I check your place out, he’ll come up,” Winter explained as he wandered into the condo.
That was right. He knew that.
“And to answer your question, no. When I was here, I didn’t see any ghosts in your place,” Winter continued. It felt like there was a heaviness and a distinct pause in his words the moment he stopped at the threshold of the living room.
“But I’m assuming you spotted one in my place,” Ryder continued, his voice echoing along the hall.
Gideon closed the door and hurried after Winter. He stopped behind the Varik and stared at Ryder. “Seriously? You think there’s a ghost in your condo?”
“There are two, actually,” Winter corrected.
He rubbed his bottom lip with his thumb, his smirk returning as he glanced over his shoulder at Gideon and then Ryder.
“But they weren’t there every night when I was working.
One liked to hang out by the front windows, and it never talked to me.
I wouldn’t worry about them. They don’t see the living world any longer. They won’t bother you.”
Gideon dropped his head and groaned. He didn’t like the sound of this. Winter walked the rest of the way into the living room and Ryder immediately crossed to Gideon, wrapping him up in powerful arms. Okay, that helped. The light kiss to the top of his head helped even more.
“You’ll never know the ghosts are there. In a few days, you’ll probably forget Winter even mentioned them,” Ryder murmured into his hair.
That was probably true. A grin spread across his lips as he thought about all the ways he wanted to distract himself from the ghosts if Ryder let him.
“Ryder said the lights were all flipped on and the ghost did this with the stools?” Winter inquired.
Gideon reluctantly stepped out of Ryder’s arms and followed Winter to the dining room. “Yes. There was also a lot of knocking and giggling.”
“Plus the pillow fight,” Winter said, sounding as if he were trying not to laugh.
“Yes,” Gideon hissed.
He shrugged. “At least it wasn’t throwing knives.”
“What the hell!” Gideon shrieked, grabbing his hair. “Keep your voice down. Don’t give it ideas.”
“Not cool,” Ryder growled.
Winter stared that cold, unnerving look of his, meeting Ryder’s glare without flinching. Gideon didn’t know what the fuck he saw, but the Varik nodded. “You’re right. Sorry. If it helps, this sounds like a child who just wants to play with you. They don’t mean any harm.”
That might be true, but it was still extremely creepy.
“Do you see anything?” he asked, releasing his tight hold on his hair.
Winter strolled into the living room. “Nope, but after all of last night’s activity, it might have exhausted itself.
On the bright side, ghosts are rarely active during the day.
I don’t know the reason, but they seem to lack the energy they need to make noises and move objects, so if you’re stuck with the ghost, it shouldn’t bother you while you’re sleeping. ”
“But at night, when I’m here?”
The scary vampire kind of winced. Yeah, that said enough. Gideon was fucked if the ghost was in the mood to play and he wasn’t.
Winter walked over to the sofa and thumped the side of the trunk with the toe of his worn combat boot. “This the trunk you picked up?”
“Yes.”
“Nice. Had one like it myself a long time ago. Loved that thing.”
Gideon thrust both of his hands out toward Winter while looking at Ryder. “See! They’re a treasure. I can’t get rid of it.”
Ryder only had to lift his eyebrows at Gideon, and his shoulders slumped. Keeping the trunk meant possibly keeping the ghost.
Without hesitation, Winter reached down and tried to open the trunk. It appeared as if he were being cautious. Fearful of a pillow to the face? But the trunk wouldn’t open.
“I didn’t lock it,” Gideon called out.
Winter grunted and tried again. Still no luck. “Let me try something. I’ll be right back.”
Before Gideon could even reply, the Varik brother disappeared as if he were swallowed up by a darkness he hadn’t even known was there. A squeak escaped Gideon. No matter how many times he saw that, it didn’t stop being creepy.
Ryder stood beside him and draped an arm across his shoulders, drawing him into his chest. Gideon cuddled close. How did this man always know exactly what to do? Leaning on Ryder, Gideon kept his eyes locked on the trunk.
The lid suddenly jumped open, followed by the same high-pitched giggle. A chill wind swept past him toward the dining room. One of the stools spun in place as if someone had hit it. Lights that had been off popped on. There was another breeze, and the trunk slammed shut.
Winter slipped into existence in the dining room doorway, and Gideon jumped. Even Ryder flinched, his arms tightening on Gideon.
“Warning next time!” Gideon cried out.
Winter just stared, and Gideon sighed. Right. How the hell was Winter supposed to warn him?
“Well?” Ryder prodded.
“You’ve got a ghost,” Winter replied as he pulled his phone from the back pocket of his jeans. He typed out a message and shoved the phone into the front pocket of his hoodie. “Fox is on his way up.”
“We already knew we had a ghost. What kind of ghost? Is it dangerous?” Gideon demanded. He was ready to strangle Winter. This was why the brothers were constantly bickering. They were constantly driving each other insane.
“It’s hard to say. The ghost moves fast, but it’s small. Definitely the ghost of a child. I think it’s a little girl,” Winter explained.
There was a distant pounding up the exterior steps, followed by the door opening.
“Seriously? You have a child ghost haunting your place?” Fox called out as he entered. The witch grinned broadly at them as he crossed to his vampire mate and wrapped his arms around his waist, snuggling him as if they’d been separated for days rather than minutes.
Not that Gideon could talk, since he was still in Ryder’s arms. But he had an excuse—the ghost startled him.
“Please don’t sound so excited about this,” Gideon sighed, leaning his head on Ryder’s chest.
“But this is so cool!” Fox countered. The man sounded as if he were going to explode with his joy. “This is one of the first times I’ve heard of a ghost interacting with the living. Most of the time, they barely even acknowledge Winter in the dead world.”
“Except she can be unnerving,” Ryder said.
As if to underscore his point, a soft giggle drifted out of the trunk.
Fox jumped, squeezing Winter tighter before catching himself. He laughed and held his arms out in front of him. “Holy shit! I’ve got goose bumps! What else does she do?”
Gideon dropped his face into his hand.
“How do we get rid of the ghost?” Ryder inquired.
“Get rid of the trunk,” Winter said in a blasé tone.
Gideon whimpered and turned into Ryder, pressing his face against his chest. This was not the answer he wanted to hear.
“Gideon loves the trunk,” Ryder stated, his tone flatly announcing that throwing out the trunk was not an option.