Free Raven's Rest by Stephen Osborne Page A

room. In my days at the Raven’s Rest, I’d learned to take note of the signs that told me I wasn’t alone in the room: The hair on the back of my neck bristling. A sudden cold spot. The dimming of the lights.
    The room seemed normal, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Trey followed me in, his mouth open as he took in the room. “You’ve been here how long? This must be setting you back a packet!”
    “It’s off-season, thankfully, so the rates are reduced. Still, it is gouging into my savings.”
    Trey slipped off his jacket and tossed it onto the bed as he gazed around. “Love the fireplace.” He bounded over to the window and gazed out. “Nice view of the gazebo. Any ghosts hang out there?”
    “None that I’ve seen, although Lonnie informs me apparitions are often spotted out there. Are you saying you’re a believer now?”
    Trey turned from the window and flashed me a wicked grin. “I’m still on the fence. When I see one, then I’ll believe wholeheartedly.”
    I moved over to him, putting my arms around him. “They’re pretty quiet tonight. Maybe they’re gearing up for Halloween.”
    He kissed me briefly. I could still taste the popcorn butter on his lips. He stared into my eyes. “I wish I knew why I was so damned attracted to you.” When he realized how that might be taken, he added, “You’re so different from the guys I usually like.”
    “Funny. I was thinking the same thing about you.”
    “So what was your ex like? Kevin, I think you said his name was.”
    I pulled Trey close to me. “He was sexy as hell. He’d played basketball in high school, so he was the jock type. When we started going out, I thought he was Brad Pitt and Cary Grant and Peyton Manning all rolled into one.”
    “Interesting combination. Who’s Cary Grant?”
    “Actor back in the black-and-white days. The epitome of sophistication and charm, traits I soon learned that Kevin could only fake for short periods of time. He… well, let’s just say he was moody. He yelled a lot. We fought constantly.”
    “So why did you stay with him so long?”
    Because I thought I deserved him. Because he told me I couldn’t live on my own. Aloud I said, “I’m not sure. I guess I always hoped he’d change. Become nicer.” I really didn’t want to talk about the past. The present was very much in my mind, and to get Trey thinking along the same lines, I put my hands on his butt and squeezed. “Do we really want to talk about Kevin?”
    Trey smiled. “Who’s Kevin?”
    And then he kissed me. I was pretty sure I melted in his arms. We swayed a bit as I closed my eyes and put all thoughts but Trey out of my mind. His taste, his scent. The way he gently bit my tongue as we kissed. The way I could sense, through his lips and tongue and the way his muscles felt against me, that he was fighting back the urge to giggle when our swaying almost made us lose our footing and we collided against a chair. Even that couldn’t make us break off that kiss.
    When I opened my eyes, I found myself looking into his. There was a question there. My intuition was that he was wondering if we were going to go further, and if we were, if I was ready. To answer, I planted my lips against his with a fierce passion, and ground our pelvises together. If that didn’t let my intentions be known, nothing would.
    With a slight giggle, Trey forced me to back up until my legs came into contact with the bed. I began to peel off his black T-shirt. He scrambled to yank my sweater off me. Once we were both shirtless, we went back to kissing. My hands were all over him, on his neck, his back, and, briefly, on his firm buttocks. It was like I was desperate to touch every part of him. His skin felt warm and electric.
    Trey pushed forward, and we both fell onto the bed, our lips parting for the briefest of moments as we bounced on the mattress. Trey was grinning like an ape. He was on top of me, and I have to say I liked feeling his weight on me. There was something