Free Framed and Hung by Alexis Fleming Page B

kiss and Jake had met her in kind. Definitely hot. Hot enough to singe her right down to her toes, and given Jake’s response, his toes weren’t doing much better.
    She shook her head again. ‘Enough already, Zoe. Get your butt into bed.’
    After shedding the rest of her clothing, she took a quick shower and donned a pair of frilly baby-doll pyjamas. Then she headed back into the bedroom, only to drag to a halt at the foot of the bed.
    ‘Damn it, what the hell is going on here?’
    There was a big depression on one side of the bed. The bed she and Rachel had remade earlier. Someone had been in her room and used the bed.
    ‘Well, I’m sure as hell this wasn’t Goldilocks or one of the three bears.’ The only other person it could have been was Jake. But what the hell for? Had he come in here before he’d joined her and Rachel in the Garden Room? Had he hoped to find her here, and when she wasn’t, waited for her to show?
    More mind games? Only one way to find out. She beat her clenched fist on the wall separating their rooms. ‘ Jake . Get your ass in here.’
    She waited a moment and then heard his door open. Marching over, she wrenched her own door open.
    In nothing but a pair of boxer shorts, Jake came at a run. ‘Zoe, what’s the matter? Are you okay?’
    She pointed at the bed. ‘That. Is that your doing?’
    He frowned and stepped inside, running a hand through his hair. ‘Ah, not certain what you’re talking about.’
    ‘My bed.’
    ‘Um…yeah, your bed. What’s wrong with it?’
    Zoe planted her hands on her hips and glared at him. ‘That bed has already been straightened three times today. I wanted to take photos of this room for the Heritage Society, but every time I fix it up, someone comes in and lolls all over the bed. You’re the only other person here so…’
    ‘I swear, it wasn’t me. I wouldn’t come into your room unless I was invited.’
    ‘Then who the hell else would…’ Zoe’s words trailed off as she stared at the bed. She could have sworn the cover had moved. Then something else caught her eye. ‘ Oh my God . Look.’
    Jake’s gaze followed her pointing finger. The depression in the bed rolled to the right. The side of the bed compressed as if someone was lying there and had shifted position.
    ‘It looks like — ’
    She didn’t wait for him to finish. Instead, she crept to the side of the bed and waved a hand over the area. Resistance? No way! She moved her hand again and it sliced through the spot above the hollow. Cold coated her fingers and inched up her arm, freezing her in position.
    ‘Effin’ hell, there’s someone…something…sitting here.’ She tried to drag her hand back. The icy feeling gripped at her and then her arm came free. She stumbled back, slamming into Jake’s chest as he moved closer. He grasped her shoulders and held her steady.
    Zoe’s heart thundered loud in her chest. Her hand felt clammy. She rubbed it across the front of her baby-doll top, nipples reacting to the icy touch. Then, as she watched, the depression in the bed lifted, leaving only the crumpled bed cover remaining.
    ‘Flippin’ hell,’ Jake said. ‘I think we just met our resident ghost.’
    A strangled groan issued from Zoe’s lips. ‘It can’t be…’
    ‘I don’t know how else to explain what we just saw. The cleaning staff have complained before about someone messing up the beds.’
    ‘Yeah, but — ’
    A buzzing noise interrupted Zoe. It came from the side wall. She angled her head, trying to track the sound.
    ‘Flippin’ hell,’ Jake whispered again. He still held Zoe by the shoulders, and as one they turned to face the side wall.
    The full-length mirror blazed with light as if lit from within. A flash of blue-white and the illumination dimmed. The silvered surface rippled, like a stone had been thrown into a pond. As if something tried to escape. Well, maybe not escape, but it certainly attracted attention. And Zoe guessed that that was what it was