The Haunted (Sleeping with Monsters Book 1) Read online

  Richard looked horrified. “What on earth were you doing climbing?”

  “I was trying to see if the wood in the hayloft was rotten or not. I want our baby to have a pony.”

  “I need you to be safe, pet – what if something had happened to you?” Richard made a face and shook his head. “Besides, our child won’t be able to ride until it’s three or four.”

  “I like to think ahead.” His concern was charming, and she smiled winningly at him. After last night everything seemed possible again. Maybe there was a way that everything could work. The three of them, and one small child.

  He smiled back at her and her heart raced like it used to and then -- there. At the corner of his mouth, Daphne could tell something was missing. It was like a fraction of his smile had been stolen away. A piece of him broken off, given to someone else.

  She could see him trying to give his whole heart back to her. She’d held all of it once before, she was sure. But now that another woman owned a part of it, it wasn’t fully his to give again.

  “I do hope things work out,” he said, patting gently at her stomach.

  “Me too,” she said, hollowed out by sadness.

  He walked past her on his way in to the bathroom, and Daphne finally glanced at a clock.

  “Richard – you’d better put on some pants.”

  “Why?”

  “I invited someone from town up for lunch today.”

  Richard made a questioning sound as he peed.

  “An antiques dealer. Her name’s Beth. Her aunt used to work here – I think we should get rid of some of the statues.” She said things she didn’t mean just to have a reason to talk to him.

  “I thought you liked the statues?” A flush and then the sound of the faucet.

  “I do, but they’re unsafe – I don’t want him climbing on them, if we have a boy.”

  “Climbing up on things – sounds like someone else I know. Hopefully he won’t be as clumsy,” Richard said.

  Daphne bit her lips, holding emotions in. “We can only hope.”

  Daphne went downstairs to consult with Arthur and found he’d already set the table for three. “You’re perfect, you know that?”

  “Thank you, Ma’am,” he said with a bow.

  Beth arrived precisely at noon, and looked around in awe. “It’s even bigger than I thought it was. And the lawns outside – and the trees –“

  “I know.” Daphne grabbed Beth’s hand in a schoolgirl way, excited to finally have someone else to show the house to.

  “I can’t wait to get the grand tour.”

  “I can’t wait to show you! But – lunch first. Or Mrs. Dudley will be terribly upset.”

  Daphne and Beth chatted while eating, and the third place setting sat empty. Richard’s work called, which was just as well, she wasn’t sure he’d bothered to get dressed yet. It’s not like there were any antiques in their bedroom or his office anyhow – she’d just avoid those places – and would hope he wouldn’t flash Beth. Beth was a little mystified at Arthur’s helpful presence.

  “He won’t bite, honestly,” Daphne said. And realized Beth’s concerns might be other – “Also, we’re paying him well, I swear –“

  Beth laughed. “It’s not that. It’s just that I can’t imagine my aunt serving anyone. I mean, she’s been a hundred since I was two, so just thinking about her scurrying in and out, carrying plates –“ She shook her head to indicate the impossibility.

  “She and Arthur didn’t overlap – he only served the old family. He came out of retirement for us.”

  “Old indeed! My aunt only worked here for three years.”

  “Oh? What happened?” Daphne leaned forward, eager for gossip about the house, even if it was twenty years out of date.

  “I have no idea. If she was anything back then like she is now though – I’d guess she probably got fired, after throwing silverware in her purse.”

  Beth laughed and Daphne laughed, and god, she loved laughing.

  Beth stood. “Come on – I want to see it all. The whole thing.”

  Daphne took Beth through every room, every nook and cranny of the place, except for Richard’s office and their bedroom and the dungeon where the Master had taken her, since she still didn’t know when that was. Beth inspected everything closely, all the pieces of furniture and statuary, tracing her finger along seams and trying out drawers, occasionally making a satisfied noise.

  “Well?” Daphne asked when they were through.

  “Welllll,” Beth said, pursing her lips like she was about to tell Daphne sour news. “The whole house is an amazing example of American primitive.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s homemade art. And furniture, obviously. He knew what he was doing – the drawers pull smoothly, the slats fit together well – but because it’s not of a more popular style, or by a famous craftsman, it lacks extrinsic value.” Beth walked over and tapped at a statue, and Daphne wondered a little crazily if her actions made it mad. “You can’t break it up – they’re only worth anything, in context, as a full set here, really. You could sell tickets though, or have open houses – set this place up as a kind of small museum.”

  “Oh,” Daphne said, deflating. “I mean, I wasn’t ever going to sell any of it. I was just curious.”

  “Of course you were!” Beth said. “The lawns are lovely, and you have so many bedrooms -- you could turn this place into a bed and breakfast, easy.”

  Daphne snorted at the thought of strangers trampling in and out of the Master’s house. “Maybe,” she said.

  “Do you know anything about the original owner? He must have been a bit of a kook – building and carving so much -- it’s a crazy labor of love.”

  I know everything and nothing about him, Daphne longed to say. “Just what I’ve heard from Arthur. He said the Master was a very stern man, but he only knew him at the end of his life.”

  “The Master?” Beth’s eyebrows rose.

  “Arthur’s name for him, not mine,” Daphne lied, and it tasted bitter on her tongue. “Would you like to see his workshop?”

  “Yes, please,” Beth clapped her hands, and Daphne led the way out.

  They walked through the fallow vegetable garden, which Beth oo’d and aw’d over, the sound of lawn mowers in the air. And when they turned around a row of hedges, they ran straight into Jason. They saw him before he saw them, he was trimming back the edges of a bush with the same clippers he’d held when he’d seen her in the window.

  “Hello,” Beth said, with a bit of a leer, and he looked up, startled. At seeing Daphne, he smiled.

  “Hey,” he said, lowering his ear-protectors.

  Beth veered towards him, instead of staying on the stable’s path. Daphne grabbed the other woman’s arm and introduced them quickly. “Beth, this is my gardener – gardener, this is Beth.” Jason’s face clouded at that, and Beth fought her for just a second, before letting herself be dragged back.

  From inside the workshop, the lawn mowers sounded like distant bees. Beth wandered around the small dark room appraisingly. “Well, this only confirms it,” she announced, at the end of her circuit, kneeling down to consider the half-formed statue that’d watched Daphne and Jason fuck.

  “He was some kind of crazed lone genius…but that’s it.” She rose up and dusted off her knees and gave Daphne an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, I know you were hoping it’d be worth a mint –“

  “Oh, not really. My husband and I are well off. I was more just curious what we had. I’d never seen anything like it before.”

  “Neither have I – and I’ve spent half my life doing this.” She glanced at her watch. “I should be getting back to the store –“

  “I’ll take you back,” Daphne said, gesturing towards the stairs. Beth took them casually – and three steps from the bottom, fell hard on her ass.

  “Oh my gosh!” Beth clung to the wall, staggering back up.

  Daphne trotted down quickly. “Are you okay?”
<
br />   “I just – phew – it’s –“ she looked around herself. “It felt like someone pushed me.”

  “What?”

  Beth crossed her arms, as if protecting her chest. “It was so weird. I could have sworn I felt somebody’s hands.”

  “Are you having a heart attack?” Daphne asked. “Or a stroke?” She fluttered a hand out to Beth’s forehead, and Beth ducked down.

  “No, I’m fine. Just clumsy.”

  Daphne gave her a pained smile. “I know how that goes.”

  Daphne took Beth straight through the house, and Beth chattered nervously along the way, worried perhaps that her outburst in the workshop had seemed strange. It would have, if Daphne hadn’t known better.

  She escorted her to the front door, and opened it up, spotting Beth’s car in the driveway.

  “Pet! Pet!” Richard called from above. Daphne twisted, and saw him loping down the stairs, two at a time. Luckily, he was dressed. “I wanted to meet your friend –“

  “You missed lunch,” she chided.

  “Work – but I’m here now. Richard, owner of this vast estate,” he said, introducing himself after reading the landing, with an silly affected bow.

  “Beth, owner of the antique store in town,” Beth said, bowing back.

  “Well, are we unimaginably wealthy, or are we living in rustic squalor?”

  Beth’s expression was surprised and she inhaled –

  “I’ll explain later, Richard,” Daphne said, putting a hand on his arm. “Beth’s got to get back.”

  “Drat. Well, I’m sorry for being rude – you’ll have to come back for our dinner party –“

  “What?” It was Daphne’s turn for surprise.

  “It’s tomorrow night” Richard said, as though he hadn’t heard her. “Seven o’clock, if you’d like to come. It’ll be casual – as casual anything inside this house can be.”

  “Thank you – I’d love to attend!” Beth said, and stepped outside, waving at the both of them. “Anytime you want to come and see me in town, please do,” she said, with a nod towards Daphne, and then got into her car.

  Daphne waited until the front doors were closed to round on Richard. “Dinner party?”

  “I forgot to tell you – I invited half the board over. Everyone wants to see this place.”

  “But it’s not ready yet – the rooms aren’t done –“

  “Once you’re done redecorating, we can have a proper housewarming. This is just going to be a few of the boys and their wives.”

  “But there’s not enough bedsheets –“

  “I ordered ten sets of sheets and towels online this morning. They’ll get here in time. Just like the other things I saw you order,” he said, waggling his eyebrows.

  Daphne blanched. When she’d been ordering pregnancy tests is when Becca’d chatted her. Had Becca talked to Richard since?

  “We don’t even have curtains –“

  “We’ll string up the extra sheets then.” He grabbed her shoulders and squeezed her tight. “Don’t worry -- I’ve already warned everyone. It’ll be fine.”

  “If you say so.” Frowning, she capitulated again.

  Richard raced back up the stairs, back to ‘business’, and Daphne walked to the library and looked up at the Master’s portrait.

  “Why did you push her? That wasn’t right.” She looked around the room, waiting to feel him. “Was it because she was touching your things? I was never going to sell them. I just wanted to have a friend –“

  Daphne realized the Master hadn’t shoved Beth down the stairs to hurt her badly – he’d just pushed her back up them, and waited until she was almost all the way down first, like a warning. But still – it was frightening.

  “I don’t like it when you’re rude to company.”

  “Oh really?” a voice behind her asked. She jumped and whirled. Jason stood there, arms crossed in the doorway.

  “Good enough to put my cock in you, but not enough to be introduced?” he said as he advanced, shaking his head.

  “Shhhh –“

  He sliced the air between them with one hand. “This – whatever it was – it’s through.”

  “Please, no –“

  “I thought you were different –“

  “I am. I was just startled. This is the first time I’ve done anything like this. I don’t know how to be – and Richard’s home. He came back last night, without telling me.”

  The cloud over Jason’s face lessened as she spoke, giving her the nerve to come near.

  “I can’t let anything on,” she moved to touch his arm, remembering the way it felt around her in the workshop, how strong it had been. “But I’m sorry for embarrassing you. I’m not like the others. I swear.”

  Jason inhaled and exhaled deeply, blowing air through his nose like a winded horse. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to be treated like that again.”

  “I wouldn’t.” She wanted to touch his face with her other hand, run it up through his hair, and pull his mouth down to hers. Being so near to him – with Richard here, it was dangerous. But at the thought of Richard’s withholding smile this morning – she rocked up onto her toes and kissed him.

  He stiffened in surprise, and then he pulled her to him and kissed her voraciously. They both knew it was an awful idea, which was why they kept going – inside the house the threat of being caught, made every touch burn twice as hot.

  Jason put his hands around her waist and picked her up, carrying her across the library towards the massive desk at the far end, under the Master’s watchful gaze. He had to understand, he had to – Daphne closed her eyes as he lay her down behind the desk and let her body do all the thinking.

  Her hands reached for his belt, tugging his pants down, as he shoved her skirt up. She felt like she was proving herself to him, that she wasn’t like all those other women who were embarrassed to be seen with him, who never let him inside their fancy homes. She wanted him under this roof – and inside of her.

  As he entered her it was hard not to moan. But both of them were being utterly quiet now, the only sound that of him mounting her, the soft slide of his cock into her pussy and the light pounding where their flesh met.

  One of his hands behind her head cradled it from the hardwood, the other held himself up over her, arm flexed. She looked up, winding her hands in his shirt, sweat dripping down onto her as he sped up. His face was serious, dark, and she realized that he didn’t care if she came, this was about him taking his own pleasure from her, conquering her underneath her husband’s nose, which perversely made everything hotter, and she started to rock her hips in time with his, his eagerness urging her on to please him, to help him fuck her until he lost himself in her again.

  “Please please please,” she whispered, and he curled down, breath hot in her ear.

  “Shhhhhhhh,” he warned, and she could feel his cock stiffening, ready to shoot his load.

  “Daphne!” Richard’s voice boomed from the second floor. “Dappppphnnnneeee….”

  Jason’s fingers curled into her hair, pulling her head back.

  “I’ll be right there!” she somehow yelled back up to her husband in a normal voice.

  Jason’s thrusts became erratic and she knew he was close – as close as she was to getting caught and then – he growled in her ear, fucking her into the floor, so hard it hurt. She bit her lips to stop from whimpering and felt her pussy quiver around him, wanting more as he gasped aloud, rough and harsh in her ear, his cum spilling out inside of her, just as she was so close to coming herself –

  “Daphne!” Richard shouted, now from somewhere on the first floor – and Daphne hit Jason’s shoulder in frustration. He rose up and pulled out, reaching down to hide his flaccid cock back in his jeans.

  “When does he go again?” he asked her, breathing hard.

  “There’s a dinner party this weekend. Next week, maybe?” Daphne said, rising to kneel, pulling her underwear back up and pushing her skirt down, feeling his hot cum spill bet
ween her thighs.

  “Good.” Jason said, as she stood.

  “Hide here until I come back –“

  He nodded, and tucked himself under the desk.

  “There you are, pet!” Richard said, coming into the library. He was in his robe, again.

  “Yes, dear?” Daphne said, and smoothed a hand through her hair. “I’m sorry – I was taking a nap –“ she pointed towards the couch.

  “You were tired?”

  “Just all of a sudden, yes.”

  “Do you think….” he said, eyeing her belly.

  “I don’t know. Yet.” She gave him a coy smile and prayed he wouldn’t cross the room to her.

  “I was thinking about taking a break myself. After last night in particular –“ one of his eyebrows rose, and ran a suggestive hand down the front of his robe.

  It was her – and Jason’s – easiest way out.

  And – heaven help her – her body was still hungry.

  “Race you to the bedroom –“ she said, and turned, running down the library’s back hall.

  She only beat him to the bedroom because he wanted her to win – all the better for her purposes. The second he got in the door she flung herself at him, shedding clothing, hoping that the remaining scent of Jason would fall away with them. And when they fell to the bed together, kissing, he whispered, “You’re so wet again,” without suspicion.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Daphne came twice for Richard. The first time was Jason’s really, the orgasm he’d stoked inside her still lay in wait like a coiled snake, only waiting for the chance to strike. Four strokes in, and her clit rubbing against Richard’s stomach and she was thrashing in the bed for him, making him feel masterful over her. He stayed still, relishing the feeling of her pussy milking his cock, and then he took his time, believing himself to have already conquered. It made him more patient than usual, thinking that he’d turned her that on, taking all of the pressure off of him.

  Instead he wanted to enjoy himself in her. He sped up and slowed down, kissed her nipples, and rose up between her legs to stroke his thumb at her clit. She didn’t want to come again for him, yet he rode her with such easy familiarity and she let herself be ridden – her hips twitched without thinking and the muscles of her belly tightened. And when he realized her second time was near he was like a child unable to stop himself from putting his hand into a flame, he was intent on drawing it from her, he wouldn’t stop until he had.