Free Excavated by Noelle Adams Page A

accent—made her want to laugh. “So you think these current stories are
just made up by people who hope to encounter the supernatural.”
    Michael
nodded his shaggy head. “There’s real power here—no mistake. But it’s not in a
ghost or a haunting.”
    Lucy
felt the little thrill she always experienced when someone gave her a perfect
sound bite. She nodded at Sawyer, indicating he could stop the filming.
    She’d
been planning to walk with Michael to the ferry now, since she knew he wanted
to get back to Mainland before evening. But he turned to Philip and asked
another question about a necklace they’d unearthed a few weeks ago. Philip
launched into an enthusiastic explanation that eventually led to an argument
about whether the ancient people here used jewelry for worship or for
adornment.
    Lucy
shook her head and gave up.
    ***
    Philip was surprised by
how much he’d enjoyed the afternoon. He hadn’t had many hopes for the
pseudo-expert Lucy had brought over, but he’d found the man informed, engaged,
and fascinating.
    It
was late when he and Lucy watched Michael leave on the private ferry Lucy had
arranged for him.
    The
rain was still coming down.
    Lucy,
having changed out of her Girl Meets Ghost clothes, now wore jeans and a
hooded raincoat. She glared up at the steel gray sky with a frown. “I was
hoping to finish the shoot in the barrow tonight.”
    He
shook his head. “It will be a mud pit. You’ll have to wait another night or two
until it dries up.”
    He
didn’t mind that the night shoot was delayed. He didn’t feel like spending
another evening in a wet, muddy tomb.
    Besides,
he could think of more interesting things they could be doing tonight.
    Lucy
just kept frowning and headed back to the trailer with Arthur at her heels.
They’d eaten dinner with Michael and the others two hours ago, so he assumed
she was planning to go to bed now.
    He
wondered if he was invited.
    She’d
said last night that they should have sex again, and this morning she’d tried
to make a move on him, one he’d been sorely tempted to accept. He would have
accepted had he not been feeling far too soft and needy for a casual sexual
encounter.
    But,
since then, Lucy had acted purely professional—interacting with him in her
normal intelligent and ironic way.
    Maybe
she’d decided it should just be a one-night stand.
    Philip
could understand that. A one-night stand was less complicated than a one-week
liaison. But he didn’t feel like he’d gotten quite enough of Lucy, and he was
hoping for a few more nights with her.
    At
least one more night. At least tonight.
    They
made it to the trailer and Philip stopped, unsure of whether he should go with
her to the bedroom or head to the office to sleep on the couch.
    She
stopped too. “What’s the matter?”
    “Nothing.”
He wondered how he was supposed to discreetly ask whether she wanted to spend
another night together. He was really out of practice at this, and it made him
feel like an idiot.
    It
had been a very long time since he’d had sex.
    “You’re
coming in, aren’t you?” she asked, gesturing to the bedroom door. She was
frowning even more deeply, as if she was surprised and displeased by his
reticence.
    “Of
course.” He let out a breath of relief and added with a teasing lilt, “I don’t
sleep on that couch unless I have to.”
    She
laughed deliciously as they entered the room, and then they were on each other
again.
    Philip
had assumed that tonight he would be less urgent and hungry—since he was no
longer breaking a long dry spell—but he had no more control than he’d had the
night before.
    While
Arthur went to his blanket to settle in for the night, they tore off each
other’s clothes and tumbled onto the bed. He couldn’t stop kissing her, even as
he tried to focus enough to caress her with some degree of skill.
    Despite
his efforts, he couldn’t summon any skill at all. He was just as eager—almost
clumsy in his driving need—as the night