Page 31 of Ghost Hunted

“Who’s that?”

I frown. “He’s her boyfriend. Her husband. Don’t you remember?”

“Uhm, yes.” She rubs her eyes. “Yes, of course I do. I’m sorry, Logan.”

“Those drugs really did a number on you, didn’t they?” I stroke her cheek.

“It’s just that those bikers… those masked bikers…”

“It’s okay, Lia. We killed them, and we’ll talk about it tomorrow. And I’m going to fix you. I’m going to get you all fixed up, I promise.”

“How are you going to do that?” she breathes.

“Well…” I sit back up, biting down on the pained grunt that threatens to leave my lips when I move my arm. Then I admire her as she lies on the clothes. “I’m going to start by fixing your body. I’m going to touch it until I’m sure you’re not a ghost, but a very naughty girl.”

“Logan…” This time, my name in her mouth is accompanied by a small smile.

I remove her shirt entirely, admiring her nakedness. “Maybe you’re not a brat, but your body is. You’ve got a very naughty body, and I’m going to punish it.”

The words came out forced at first, but I keep repeating some variation of them until they roll off my tongue, and after a while, it gets easier to pretend.

I do my best to pull off her jeans too, despite my stiff arm, then edge back to look at her. She really is just as beautiful as ever. In the crackling firelight, I can make out the lines of her waist, curving toward her wide hips, and the ass that’s hidden from me, but that I can tell is as fat as ever. Maybe even fatter.

And then, her legs, still slim, though the tops of her thighs are riddled with the cellulite that was once only visible on her ass. She’s wearing white cotton panties with a tiny bow in the center, and no bra. She never did wear a bra.

“How should I punish you?” I murmur, kissing her belly button. “How should I punish you for disappearing for eighteen years, ghost girl?”

I shouldn’t have said that. At once, the playful, albeit strained atmosphere melts, replaced by something equally strained but painful.

“I deserve it,” she murmurs. “I deserve pain. I deserve punishment. I deserve to die, Logan.”

“Stop that.” I lie down beside her, squeezing her to me. “The only reason you deserve punishment is for having the sexiest body I’ve ever fucking seen.”

Her sad smile tells me she doesn’t believe me. “You were going to kill me, Logan.”

“That’s because our daughter was right. I’m cruel, and you’re the victim. If life were fair, you’d be punishing me. But life isn’t fair, and the only person who’s going to sleep with a red ass tonight is you.”

The sadness melts from her smile, and I reach a hand around her to touch the part of her that I once kept permanently bruised.

“Who owns you, Lia?”

She licks her lips, looking up at me shyly.

“Aren’t you going to tell me who owns you?”

“I wish…” She rests her forehead against my chest. “I wish you would remind me.”

I press a kiss to her, then flip her so suddenly onto her stomach that she lets out a squeak.

“Careful what you wish for, baby.”

I run my hands down her back, to the slope of her ass. I was right. It is fatter than it was all those years ago. Thick and magnificent, and I can’t wait to sink my cock between those cheeks.

“Get on your hands and knees, Lia. Get on your fucking hands and knees.”

8

Lia