He was getting the strong sense that maybe he was the only one in the room who was okay with what had happened. Amanda obviously wasn’t. At all. In fact, she looked ready to throw up or possibly tear her hair out by the roots at the thought that they’d slept together.
Talk about a buzz kill.
“I thought maybe—” he began.
“Jacob, listen to me,” she interrupted. “This is bad, okay? We were under a malicious spell. It made us do something that neither of us is proud of. I don’t blame you, really I don’t. It’s best we completely forget it ever happened.”
A cold chill slowly filled his veins, effectively dousing the heat of his previous arousal. If there was one thing he was good at in life it was taking a hint from a woman who obviously didn’t want him. “Good idea.”
“Nobody can ever know about this.” There was a bit of panic in her voice now. “I can’t screw things up. I’m with David and he’s wonderful. I’m going to my new job next week and my new life. That’s what I want and if anything goes wrong then I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“Fine.”
“Luckily the…the spell seems to be over. I feel totally normal again.”
“Me, too.”
He got out of bed and tried not to flinch when Amanda purposefully turned her back so she wouldn’t have to see his nude body.
It was like having a glass of ice water thrown in his face. She was rejecting him soundly and hell if he would give a damn one way or the other. The raw emotions that had ventured close to the surface retreated back deep inside of him where it was much safer to hang out. The headache remained and he held on to that pain. It was something solid to concentrate on as he got dressed.
He forced a grin onto his face. “It wasn’t any big deal for me, anyhow. Just another Friday night. Consider it already forgotten.”
He was sure it was only his imagination and wishful thinking that the statement made Amanda wince a little.
DAMMIT. It was supposed to be a simple haunting investigation. That was it. In and out in twenty minutes. Now more than ten hours had gone by—not including drive-time—most of which had been spent unconscious. The rest of it was spent—
Amanda gritted her teeth and stared out of the window as Jacob sped down the highway on their way back to Mystic Ridge, cursing her own lack of self-control. That’s what it was all about, wasn’t it? When you were a psychic like her it was all about control. Otherwise, she’d have ghosts hanging around her all the time trying to get messages to the living. She couldn’t deal with that. It was bad enough dealing with the level of power she used to do her job.
She wouldn’t think of last night. She wished the memories would magically fade away, but if anything they were getting stronger as the minutes ticked by. Forget about being haunted by spirits, she was going to be haunted by memories.
Of Jacob.
I’m just one more notch on his bedpost, she thought dryly. She flicked a quick glance at him. He kept his eyes on the road and he’d barely looked at her since they’d gotten in the car. The drive was even more uncomfortable than the ride up. His impossible-to-ignore presence next to her had only been uncomfortably distracting then. Now…well, now was another thing altogether. Now it was torture.
Maybe some of the clock’s magic was still at work, because part of her wanted to touch him so badly her hands ached. But she wouldn’t. She’d sit calmly next to him with her hands in fists on her lap and will herself to forget how he felt inside her, how good he tasted, how delicious he smelled.
Sure. That would be totally easy.
Luckily, he seemed to be having no problem forgetting. He’d said as much in the room before they left. Just another Friday night.
After all, the guy wasn’t exactly hard up for a date. He could have any woman he wanted.
Then she thought about David, which actually made her feel sick to her stomach. He’d never know about this. It wasn’t as if she’d really cheated on him.
She cringed at the thought. Her future with him was still set in stone. It was what she wanted. He’d never understand enchanted clocks and cursed ghosts. He’d simply see it as a breach of trust, especially since he’d suggested they wait to consummate their relationship until after she moved to Manhattan. He was probably the most traditional guy she’d ever gone out with.
She hadn’t had sex for a very long time. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed it.
But sex with Jacob wasn’t exactly the same as anything she’d ever experienced before. It was…well…beyond.
Beyond. Sure, that was a great way to describe something that never should have happened in the first place. Stupid enchanted clocks!
She bit her bottom lip so hard she nearly drew blood.
“So…what?” Jacob said after several more minutes had gone by, and Amanda tried to focus on anything else. “You’re not talking to me now?”
“I guess I feel like there’s not much to say.”
“So, what’s the plan?”
She eyed him suspiciously. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I figure the homeowner is not going to go quietly into the good night. She’ll be on the phone complaining to Patrick about how she, uh…found us.”
Her stomach sank. “You’re right.”
“So it’s not like we can keep it completely between the two of us.”
“Obviously Patrick will understand if we tell him what happened.”
“And what was that again?” He raised an eyebrow. “Just so our stories are straight.”
“We were investigating a clock that might have something to do with the curse the spirits are dealing with, and we got…got in the crossfire of its magic. And we were temporarily enchanted ourselves and luckily nothing more dangerous occurred.”
“Temporarily enchanted. That’s a good way to put it.”
The sarcasm was not lost on her. “I don’t know what you want me to say to that.”
He shrugged, still keeping his eyes on the road. “I don’t know. I was just wondering if any of it could have been remotely real.”
She swallowed. “Real? It was a spell.”
His eyes flicked to her for a half second. “You seemed pretty into it. In fact, I believe I was the one who wanted to stop, but you basically threw me on the bed and had your way with me.”
Her cheeks were on fire. “I’m not having this conversation. It was a spell. A stupid, ridiculous spell and the kind of thing I will happily be getting away from when I quit PARA and move. It meant nothing. Now I would really appreciate if we could change the subject entirely so I can try to forget it.”
“Try?” His lips twitched.
Her eyes widened slightly. “You think this is funny?”
“Believe me, LaGrange. Funny is one thing I don’t think this is.”
“That makes two of us.”
The edge of amusement in his expression faded and there was a flicker of something else in his eyes. Anger, or…was it frustration?