Aftermath by Bailey Bradford (most important books of all time txt) 📗

as Lee spread his arms, his eyes wide with wonder and shimmering with tears that quickly streamed down his cheeks. Darren swiped at his own cheeks, rubbing the moisture away as he received more warm touches before, with a final lift of Lee’s long hair, the touches ended.

Lee collapsed in his chair and reached for Darren’s hand. Darren took it for an invitation and settled back on Lee’s lap. He thumbed away the last of Lee’s tears from his cheeks then kissed him softly.

“I’m okay,” Lee whispered, which was what Darren had wanted to know. “Are you?”

“Yes, a little freaked, but it’s…” Darren sucked on his bottom lip then let it pop free. “I don’t know how you feel about it, but if Stefan’s still here, still with us, that makes me happy, and he—his spirit seemed loving and happy, too.” Darren cut a glance at Severo. “Not that I’m claiming I can do what you do, but it was like Stefan, my best friend who I’d known for years, surrounded me completely in his, uh, joy?” It sounded stupid, but that’s what it had felt like.

“That’s exactly what it felt like,” Lee said unsteadily, “exactly like one full-body hug from Stefan. He was always so happy, just glowed with it almost all the time when I saw him. I could even hear it in his voice when I’d call.”

“He sounds very special. Conner thinks so, too. Does that make Conner any less of an asshole in your opinion?”

“Yes,” Darren answered before Lee could speak and possibly set Conner off again. “Even if Lee doesn’t think so now, he will.”

Lee huffed, his warm breath wafting on the back of Darren’s neck. “You just don’t want me to make him mad again.”

“Exactly. I preferred the warm, comforting spirit to the cold, ball-freezing one, thank you very much.”

“He grows on you.”

Darren raised his eyebrows at Laine. “Whether you want him to or not?”

“Yeah, although if I’d known it was Conner fucking with me when he first started I wouldn’t have been so mad about him doing it.” Laine shrugged. “Or maybe I’d have checked myself in at the state hospital.”

Lee slid his hand up to Darren’s chest and pushed until Darren leaned back on him. Looking at Severo, he asked, “Can Stefan talk to you?”

“Ah, well, here’s the thing,” Severo said as he stood up and stretched his back. “Each spirit is different, pretty much like living people, so the way they communicate varies. Conner is the only one I can actually hear in complete sentences, and that wasn’t always true. When he first came to me he was as vague and difficult to understand as any other spirit I’d worked with.”

“What do you mean?”

Severo walked to the refrigerator and opened it, helping himself to a cold soda. “Anyone else want one? No? Okay.” He shut the fridge door then popped the tab on the can and took a long, noisy drink. “Sorry. Anyway, what I mean is, spirits don’t vocalize like we do, hence the tales of moans and groans and such. It’s hard to explain, but there’s this buzzing in my head when one tries to get my attention.

“Usually I can understand bits and pieces, a word or two, maybe a sentence if I’m lucky—or they’re lucky. Either way, it’s like most spirits are incapable of getting more than a few words to me at a time. Stefan’s like that, very chaotic thoughts and images shoot from him to me. Conner’s been trying to help Stefan, so maybe he’ll help us communicate, too.”

Lee hoped so. He’d even apologize to Conner if necessary—and feel like a complete idiot while he did so. Still, if it was what he had to do to find out if Stefan had fallen or been the victim of someone he trusted, Lee would drop to his knees and beg Conner’s forgiveness. Lee wavered, trying to put his thoughts into words.

Severo came over to him and studied him for a moment before looking at Darren and giving him a thumbs-up that made Lee scowl and Darren snicker. Then Severo glanced at him and something in the man’s pale eyes made Lee’s stomach flutter. “Is there something specific you’re needing to know?”

It might have been a common thing Severo asked of anyone whose deceased loved one Severo was communicating with, but Lee felt like the man had peered right into his mind. It was unsettling. He cleared his throat, which had gone dry the instant Severo had settled his gaze on Lee’s. “I have questions about Stefan’s death. He was scared of heights, and like I told you, he was found in Mercer’s Ravine. I can’t figure out why he would have been anywhere near a ledge.”

“And there was the new friend he made,” Darren added.

“Yeah, I’d really like to know who the guy was. That’s why I tried to find Darren for so long.” But it wasn’t why he was so very happy to have found him. Lee tipped his head down and looked at the man in his arms. “And I’m so lucky to have found you.”

Darren smiled but glanced away. “But I wasn’t any help at all, I—”

Lee kissed Darren, shutting off his protest. He had seen the guilt seeping into Darren’s expression, heard it in his voice. Even though he didn’t care for an audience, Lee brought his lips to Darren’s and kissed him until Darren went limp in his arms, a soft whimper slipping from his mouth into Lee’s.

Severo cleared his throat, then said, “We’re going to go, but I’ll see what I can find out.”

“Thanks,” Lee murmured, too caught by the affection in Darren’s gaze to look away. “Lock the door, would you?”

He didn’t wait to hear the reply, instead melding his mouth to Darren’s again and losing himself in the treasure in his arms.

Darren was melting from the inside out, pleasure heating him slowly at first as Lee kissed him tenderly, then ratcheting up several degrees to scorching hot