“No. I feel connected to you because of the way you smile at me. This crisis has nothing to do with the way your laugh makes my stomach feel funny or the way I can’t seem to keep my hands off of you. Or the way my spine tingles when you touch me. That’s chemistry. This crazy feeling that makes me ache to touch you. To kiss you.”

He skimmed her lips with the edge of his thumb, and she gasped. A small catch of her breath as she bit her bottom lip in rapture and he couldn’t take his eyes off her lips. He had to kiss her, to take her.

Passion filled him as he leaned down and kissed her mouth. Kissed her with the ravenous desire of a man stranded in a desert and thirsty for water. His hands roamed her body, seeking to learn every curve. He couldn’t get enough.

He pulled back and stripped off his t-shirt. He liked the way her eyes darkened as she took in his muscled chest. He might be boring, but he still worked out. She pushed up from the floor, and he tugged her shirt over her head, leaving her in only jeans and a black lacy bra.

She lay back on the floor, letting him look at her, giving him his fill of her lush body. Grinning up at him, she squeezed her legs around him and drew his hips tighter to her. “I can tell by the size of your gun that you must like what you see.”

Words failed him. He knew she was teasing, but he could only nod. She really did look like a witch, with her long, dark hair spread out around her and the black lace against her pale skin. In the dim light of the room, her eyes seem to mesmerize him, capture him in her spell. She must have put a spell on him. How else could he be feeling so much, like she affected every one of his senses? How she looked and felt, the sound of her laugh, the way she smelled, the way she tasted — Lord help him, she tasted so damn good.

He leaned down, needing to feel her, to taste her again.

“Oh, Finn,” she whispered, and a soft moan escaped her as he drew her lips into a passionate kiss, and for just one fleeting moment, he believed in magic.

A jagged sunburst scar lay in the dip of her shoulder, and he laid a soft kiss on the scarred tissue. Sliding down her body, he ran his lips down her skin and kissed the soft spot just below her belly button. Her gasp of pleasure was all the encouragement he needed as he flicked open the top button of her jeans. She gripped handfuls of his hair as he slowly unzipped her jeans and ran his tongue along the lacy edge of her panties.

Another moan filled the room, this one low and eerie, and her hand tightened on his hair as she froze. “That wasn’t me,” she whispered. “Please tell me that was you.”

He sat up, one hand automatically reaching for his gun as he pulled her into a protective embrace. “That sure as hell wasn’t me.”

The sound again, this time coming from the other side of the wall; another low moan followed by a soft thump against the wall.

Finn tossed Zia her top and yanked his shirt on. He scanned the room, his senses on high alert, listening for a clue to the source of the sound.

“It sounds like it might be coming from your office,” Zia said, her voice muffled as she pulled her shirt over her head.

Damn shame to cover up that beautiful skin. Focus, Finn. There was a ghost to catch. Wait, make that a goon to catch. Someone was probably tossing his office right now. They’d picked the wrong room to stage their stakeout.

“I’m gonna check it out. Stay here. I’ll be back in a minute.”

She arched an eyebrow at him. “Not on your life, bud. I’m coming with you.”

“Fine.” He sighed. “You better grab your stuff, then. We’re going ghost hunting.”

Zia followed Finn through the door and into the hallway, mesmerized by the instant switch from passionate lover to steely detective. He held his gun in front of him, his stance alert and ready as he glanced down the hallway, watchful of danger.

She knew she should be looking around as well, but she couldn’t take her eyes off him. Plus, he had such a great butt.

“Are you checking out my ass?” he whispered.

A giggle bubbled in her throat and threatened to escape. “Yes. Guilty as charged.”

“Carry on, then.” He never missed a beat, making the flirty joke without cracking a smile. He really was funny. How did she ever think this man was boring?

He moved a step closer to his door, passing the utility closet that sat between their two offices. Another low moan sounded, and they stopped in their tracks. A strange scraping sound came from behind the closet door, and a chill ran up Zia’s spine.

“I think it’s coming from in there,” she whispered, and pointed her EMF meter at the door. The lights on the meter went crazy, flashing and blinking. “There’s definitely something happening in that closet.”

Finn pushed her behind him, stopping to give her a coy smile, as he must have remembered her earlier comment about how she thought that was sexy.

He turned the knob and yanked the door open. A startled cry came from the closet, and it took her a moment to process the scene. She took in two people on the floor of the closet, a lot of bare skin, various stages of undress, and a slutty nurse sitting on top of what appeared to be a pirate.

“What the hell, dude?” the pirate asked as the slutty nurse giggled and flashed Finn a nice view of her exposed chest. The smell of alcohol and perfume filled the air.

“This is private property. You folks need to move it along.” Finn waved the gun at the couple before clipping it back into his holster.

“Is that gun real?” Dial-a-Nurse asked, letting loose another round of drunken giggles. The gun was more real than the double-Ds she was taking her sweet time putting away.

“Yes, it’s real, and so is the trespassing violation you’re about to get,” Finn said. Zia appreciated the way he averted his eyes, even though the woman was obviously putting on a show for him, the way she was bending and adjusting as she tried to stuff everything back into the too-tight Halloween costume.

“Relax, dude,” the bare-chested pirate said. “It’s Halloween. We’ve been at the party across the street and the door of this building was open. We were just looking for a little privacy.” He gave the woman an exaggerated wink and slapped her on the rear end. “I wasn’t feeling so hot, so this lovely nurse offered to give me a checkup.”

The lovely nurse smiled up at Finn and Zia. “Yeah, we were just having a little fun. Do you two want to join us? We’ve got plenty of pirate rum.” She burst into another round of giggles, and her companion grinned and held up a bottle.

“I think we’re good. You two better get on back to the party now.” Finn held out a hand and hoisted the pirate to his feet. The drunken nurse took a little more hoisting, and she fell against Finn much more than necessary.

Finally the couple made their way across the hall and out the front door.

Zia stepped into the crowded utility room and looked around. The light from the hallway fell into the closet, dimly illuminating the small space. A shiver ran up her back, but all she saw was a shelf of cleaning supplies down one side of the closet, and several mops, brooms, and spare materials leaning against the back wall.

Setting her EMF reader on the shelf, she was surprised to see the lights flickering and flashing, indicating the presence of a spirit.

All thoughts of a ghostly presence left her head, and she sucked in her breath as Finn stepped into the closet next to her. He was so close she could feel his warm breath on her neck as he leaned in and softly spoke next to her ear. “Well, that’s one pirate that’s not getting his booty tonight.”

Nervous giggles bubbled out of her as she laughed at his silly joke. Why did he make her feel so jumpy? She was normally so calm around men, never really letting them get to her. After what happened with her husband, she knew she wouldn’t ever let herself get too close to a man again. The risk of breaking her already fragile heart was too great. That made it easy to keep them at arm’s length.