7. The chill of the grave
seven
The chill of the grave
JAMES
Cold. I feel so cold. The blood freezes in my veins as the ghost enters my body forcefully. I can feel his anger, his confusion, his longing for revenge. He wants to face his enemy, even if he has to possess a weakling to do it.
“Don’t...you...fucking...dare...” I say through gritted teeth. And who are you calling a weakling!
I resist and struggle against his hold. The ghost’s presence feel slimy and as cold as ice.
In my mind, I can feel him dig his claws in me, like a parasite.
It’s the worst feeling, like that time when I took mushrooms when I was a teenager and spent the night staring at the wall while the party continued around me, as if I wasn’t the master of my body anymore.
I do the only thing I can think of, and I bite back like a cornered animal. The ghost screams in my head and with my throat.
But then Ewan’s voice booms. “Get out!” His warm hands land on my back, pushing, and I feel the Warrior being expelled from my body. He reappears in front of us, dishevelled and confused. “You’re not welcome here anymore. I banish you from this house!”
Ewan’s words hit the ghost like a physical blow, and his eyes widen. He whispers something in Gaelic, tears running down his face, before dissipating.
My knees buckle and Ewan catches me before I can hit the floor.
“Tha..thank..you...” I say, teeth chattering.
“Oh my god, are you okay?” He’s patting my body, making sure I’m alright. “Did he hurt you?”
“I’m...alright... just... just... cold...”
“Shit, you’re right. Your skin is freezing.”
“I need.. a warm... shower...” I say.
“Of course.”
Ewan hauls me to my feet and he almost carries me up the stairs and to the communal showers. Halfway there, the cats reappear and zoom around us, meowing loudly. Thankfully, they don’t follow us inside the bathroom. I don’t have the energy to face more uncanny events right now.
Ewan turns one of the showers on, and as soon as I see the steam rising, I step under the water with my clothes on. I’m so cold, I feel like I’m dying. I turn the heat up and drop on the tiles, the hot water pelting my shoulders.
“James?”
“Yeah... I’m okay...” My teeth are chattering loudly.
“I'll be right back,” Ewan says. “I’ll get you a towel.”
“Thank...you...”
I watch him leave through the water droplets caught in my eyelashes.
I feel drowsy, and I know that it’s a bad idea to fall asleep when you’re that cold, so I bite my hand hard enough for the pain to shake me out of my lethargy. I feel numb now, and that’s worrying. The hot water is barely dulling the effect of the cold that has taken a hold of me.
Fucking... ghost...
I didn’t know spirits could possess hosts like that. Maybe I should start paying more attention and read the damn handbook.
I must have fallen asleep without realising it, because I’m awakened by Ewan shaking my shoulder. My cheek is squished against the wall.
“James. James!”
“Yes,” I mumble. “I’m alive...”
He sighs. “Don’t even joke about that. Let’s take you out of the shower before you drown.”
“You’re getting wet,” I say when I notice his sleeves getting drenched under the shower.
“It’s okay. I don’t care.” He puts his arms under my armpits and hoists me effortlessly out of the stall.
He helps me out of my wet clothes, leaving only my boxer briefs, and wraps me tightly in a towel. I’d feel self-conscious if I wasn’t so damn cold. He turns the water off and we exit the bathroom.
By the time we make it back to our room, my teeth are rattling in my skull again and I’m shaking like a leaf in the wind. I shuck off my wet boxers when he has his back turned and put on dry ones with great effort, then give up on the rest.
Ewan tucks me into bed like a caterpillar in a cocoon, then he sits on the edge of the bed and watches me for a moment.
“Better?” he asks.
I shake my head jerkily. “I feel like I’ll...never...be warm.. again...ExorSquad...better...give me...a hazard pay...for this...”
He drops a hand on my shoulder, face scrunched in worry. “What can I do to help? Should I take you to a hospital?”
I shake my head again, then I say, “Get...in bed...”
He blinks rapidly. “What?”
“You’re warm... It’ll help...”
His mouth makes a comical oh when he understands what I’m implying.
“If you’re okay with it...” I add, suddenly realising I might have asked for too much. He’s been avoiding me since the events of the library. “Nevermind... I’ll survive... don’t worry...”
“Aye! Alright. I don’t mind.” His ears are pink.
He gets to his feet and pulls his wet shirt off, but when he’s about to look for a new one in his bag, I say, “Stay...like this. You’ll be warmer...”
Now I’m just pushing my luck. But I’m not doing it for an evil design to know what Ewan’s skin feels like, I just know he’ll share his body warmth better like this. Or at least that's what I like to tell myself.
“Su—sure,” he says.
He takes his shoes and socks off, but keeps his overalls on, the top half hanging around his waist. He grabs his comforter and then climbs over me to get to the other side of the bed.
“Light off, please,” I request before he gets too comfortable.
He slaps the switch by the bed, and we are plunged in darkness. Quickly, my eyes adjust and the bed is bathed in the warm glow from the lamppost in the street. Ewan throws his comforter on top of the both of us, and I finally emerge from my cocoon like a frozen butterfly.
He hisses when I get closer to him. “You’re cold...”
“Sorry,” I mumble.
“It’s okay. I’m just... worried about you.”
I sigh. “And you’re a furnace... Fucking... amazing.”
“Good. Good...” he says in the dark.
I get closer to him still, until I’m snug against his chest, and I sigh with relief. I’m still shaking violently, but it helps. Ewan hesitantly places his arm around me, and when I say nothing, he tightens his embrace.
“This is fucking amazing,” I mumble.
I don’t have the energy to pretend otherwise and play games. If he hates it, he can fucking say it and we’ll finally know where we stand.
“I didn’t know ghosts could do that,” he says after a moment. “That was a possession, right?” He shudders.
“An attempt, at the very least. I could feel him inside me. I could feel my consciousness slip away.” It’s my turn to shake with disgust. “Damn ghosts.”
“In Lana’s notes, it says he died of choking during a banquet. A shameful death for a warrior, and he’s been resentful ever since, looking for a fight.”
“Hm, it doesn’t explain why he’s been flashing us,” I say, pushing my face closer until my nose brushes his collarbone.
His laugh sounds breathless. “Maybe you’re right to assume they’re all perverts.”
“Yeah.” I chuckle. “How come you smell so good?” I ask out of the blue.
“Wh—what?”
“You smell like peaches.”
His breathing speeds up. “Maybe it’s my shower gel...”
“Hm, maybe.” But he also smells like clean sweat, and I want to taste his skin.
Suddenly, I feel something poking me in the lower belly. Ewan tries to wiggle away, but my legs are hooked around his.
“Ewan,” I say. “Are you hard?”
He starts to hyperventilate. “N—no? I—I’m—” His voice dies, and I know he must be scarlet.
I rub my body against his obvious erection, and he gasps.
“No need to be ashamed,” I say. “There’s nothing more natural.”
My cock gives a feeble attempt, too, but I’m far too cold to feel a thing.
Nothing’s more natural than two coworkers half naked in the same bed, rubbing erections. Right, James. Tell yourself that.
“I’m—I’m sorry...” he whispers. “About yesterday, too...”
I rub my nose against his throat. “What are you sorry for? For being excited in the library? You heard Lana and Shirley. It happens to everyone.”
“Yes, but, what I did to you was untoward.” He lets out a shaky breath. “And you looked angry. I’m sorry...”
I snort. “Angry? Oh, Ewan. I wasn’t angry at you. I just needed you to get away from me before I pushed my cock down your throat. My control was hanging on by a thread.”
His gasp is sudden, and his cock jerks against my belly.
“What?” he chokes.
“You heard me. You looked so good on your knees, I was losing my mind.”
He whimpers. Oh, this man came out of my wet dreams.
“You know what I did when you escaped?” I ask.
“N—no...”
“I ran to the bathroom and came all over the wall after a few strokes, thinking about you coming inside your overalls.”
He moans. “James...”
I can feel the tension building up in his body, and it’s getting hot under the comforter, finally infusing some warmth back into me.
“Do you want to do it again, Ewan? Suck my fingers while you come? Because I enjoyed that greatly.”
I can feel him nod quickly in the dark.
“I need words, Ewan.”
“Yes... Yes, please...”
“Good boy.”
He whimpers again.
“My hands are too cold to touch you, and I can barely feel my fingers,” I say. “You’ll have to make yourself come, I’m sorry.” I slide my hand up and touch his cheek. “But you can suck on them.” I find his mouth and caress his generous lips.
To my great pleasure, I feel the tip of his tongue on my numb fingers. That’s all the consent I need to push my thumb inside his mouth.
I groan. “Fuck, you feel so warm inside.”
Ewan moans as he sucks me deeper.
“That’s it, baby.” The endearment comes out naturally, before my brain can even comprehend what I’m saying. But Ewan seems to enjoy it, if the way he’s rubbing his erection on me is any indication. “Touch yourself. I need you to come for me tonight.”
He gasps around my thumb, and I take the opportunity to slide it out and insert my two longer fingers instead.
I feel movement under the comforter, and I know he just grabbed his cock. How I wish I was in a state to pull his overalls down and suck him dry.
“Yes,” I whisper. “Work yourself for me. I want to feel you come.”
He moans around my fingers.
Our chests are touching, and his skin is getting deliciously sweaty. I give in to my earlier impulse, and taste his skin. I lick his throat, and his sounds turn feral.
I smile against his neck and I start to push my fingers in and out of his mouth, imagining it’s my cock.
“Fuck, your mouth is made for this,” I say.