Mac smothered a chuckle at Gayle’s impatient huffing from the passenger seat of her car. For the first ten minutes of the forty-five minute drive, she’d been excited about the surprise he had planned for her, but for the last twenty or so, some very unlike-Gayle complaining had started. He was learning all kinds of interesting things about the woman, now that he was staying at her place twenty-four-seven. For instance, he’d learned she was all about spur-of-the-moment fun, but riding along in pitch darkness irritated the piss out of her.
“Can I take this damn blindfold off yet?” she asked as she lifted her hand to the black satin sleeping mask he’d bought especially for tonight’s events.
“Touch it and you can forget your surprise,” he warned.
“You are so mean,” she said with a pout.
He allowed himself a small chuckle before his humor faded and fear of losing what he had with Gayle clobbered him again. For the most part, he kept a lid on the unwanted feeling and enjoyed being with her. The other night, though, after she’d gone on a chase that took her away overnight, his nightmares had returned full force.
Except Ally was no longer the star player in them. Gayle was. It seemed he’d put the guilt he’d carried, for not being there the day his wife died, to rest. But it had only been replaced with his gut-wrenching fear a tornado would rip another woman from his arms—a woman who actively pursued them. The nightmares were vivid, stemming from the tornado that sideswiped them while they lay unprotected in the ditch. But this tornado didn’t miss them; it yanked Gayle from him every time, and tossed her around like a ragdoll before it hurled her to the ground. It was her hazel eyes staring lifelessly up at him, not Ally’s blue ones.
He’d begun to dread the next big system. Thankfully, all remained quiet. He wasn’t ready for the powerless feeling of putting his faith back into trust and hope. Because once Gayle left, he would be powerless to stop anything that happened to her, and that made him feel defenseless, vulnerable. He hated that feeling.
Shaking out of his ugly thoughts, he forced himself back to the present and how she made him feel when he was with her, which was happy. Content.
One of his favorite parts of the day was curling up on the couch watching TV before they went to bed. He’d forgotten how nice it felt just to have someone sitting beside him. Someone to share the shock or laughter when something unexpected happened in the show they were watching.
Four nights ago, the idea for tonight had planted in his mind from one of their nightly couch cuddling sessions, and he just couldn’t pass it up. She’d been more than diligent in making him step outside his comfort zone since they’d met, and it was time to return the favor. And do something extra special for her.
He parked her car in front of a line of overgrown shrubs and cut the engine. She immediately went for the blindfold.
“Don’t,” he warned.
She growled at him, and he had to clamp his teeth together to keep from laughing. Man, he couldn’t wait to see her reaction. He grabbed his duffle bag from the back seat, then climbed out of the car and hurried around to the passenger side. She had already unbuckled her seatbelt. As soon as he opened the door, she thrust her hand out and said, “Get me out of here.”
Taking her fingers, he helped her out of the car, pausing a second to admire the tan legs her denim shorts showed off and the purple halter top which dipped enticingly between her breasts. Hopefully, she’d still let him touch them after this.
He guided her across the uneven pavement until they stood in front of a rundown porch with peeling gray paint. Now, where did he want to be? Definitely somewhere he could see her reaction. He stepped off to the side so he could witness every emotion but not obstruct her view.
“Okay, you can take it off now.”
“Oh, I can’t wait, handsome.” A grin curved her lips as she clapped her hands and ripped off the mask.
Mac stilled, anticipation making him almost giddy.
She blinked a couple of times, then focused on what was before her and blinked some more. The grin twisted into a confused scowl. “What the hell is this?”
Time to have some fun. He tugged a piece of paper out of his back jeans pocket and offered it to her. She eyed it suspiciously, then unfolded it. “Graymore Manor.” She studied the page a second longer and her head snapped up. The expression on her face screamed, “You bastard!”
“Hell. No.” She took two steps back. “What the fuck, Mac? You brought me to a haunted house?” She spun around and started for the car. “Screw this. I’m going home.”
“I. Dare. You,” he sing-songed after her.