In the Midnight Hour Read online

  “There’s a large room,” said the ghost, following them. “They used to put the girls in there when they misbehaved. I felt sorry for them. They’d cry and cry ….”

  Sarae exchanged a look with Remy.

  “Tell me more,” said Sarae as they climbed the steps.

  The crushed farmer followed. “There’s a freezer in that room, too. Full of meat. You know, these hoity-toity people can afford steaks. But all they have in that freezer is fatback, scrapple. Not even good quality stuff. I think they feed some dogs with this, even though they don’t have any dogs.”

  Remy stopped in the middle of the kitchen. “Feed dogs?”

  “Yeah,” said the crushed farmer. “They’ll take out a bunch of fatback and put it in a bag and put it in their car and drive away. Hell, they do this pert’ near daily.”

  This was strange, but just then Sarae heard a groan from the living room. She rushed out of the kitchen to where Carol, her eyes still closed, was turning her head side to side as if trying to awaken from a bad dream.

  From the kitchen, Remy murmured, “You are freed. You are freed. Go, now, and travel beyond the veil.”

  The chandelier overhead suddenly glimmered from a starry light that shone from the kitchen. Sarae felt the soft wind of heaven waft into the living room.

  “Thank you, sir. God bless you, sir,” the farmer said.

  The starlight in the kitchen faded away, and the soft breeze dropped as the portal in the kitchen closed.

  Then Remy strolled to Sarae’s side, his mirrored sunglasses on once again. He put the cheese in his pocket and picked up the glass of water that sat on the coffee table, as if he’d never left Carol’s side.

  “Wake,” he commanded.

  Carol opened her eyes – then opened them even wider at the sight of Remy and Sarae standing over her.

  Sarae reached out a hand. “Are you all right, Mrs. ….”

  Carol’s eyes opened wide. “Get out,” she hissed.

  “We were just leaving,” Remy said. “But we need to be sure you’re all right. You fainted dead away ….”

  Carol sat up fast, breathing hard. “You. I don’t care who you are. I don’t know what you did to me, but if you roofied me … I swear to God you’re going to pay for it!”

  “Roofied?” Sarae burst out, shocked.

  Carol jabbed a finger into her face. “Get the fuck out of my house! Now! I’m calling the police!”

  “Now, ma’am, I’ve already talked to the police,” Remy said in his reasonable voice. “We’ve already been working together on….”

  “Shut the fuck up!” Carol screamed, spittle flying from her lips as she shook her blonde hair every which way. “Get the fuck out of my fucking house or I’ll sue your ass for every penny you got!”

  And just like that, Remy thought as he got out of the way, another white woman loses her freaking mind.

  “Do you want us to call an ambulance?” Remy asked mildly. “You seem to have gone completely out of your mind.”

  “GET OUT!” Carol screamed. She ripped the glass of water out of his hand and flung it aside, where it burst against the wall. “And if you ever set foot on my property again, I’m going to hang you from the nearest tree myself!”

  “Lynching is outlawed, honey,” Remy said.

  He lifted his right hand, where magical powder still glowed blue.

  He snapped his fingers in her face, and a blue spark leapt up.

  “May every invective that comes out of your mouth come back to visit you,” he said.

  He then put a hand on Sarae’s shoulder and steered her out the door, walking behind her as if to shield her as Carol screamed hate.

  That door slammed behind them.

  As soon as Remy was in her truck, Sarae jumped into the driver’s seat, turned on the ignition, hit the clutch, and hit the gas so the truck roared and belched out black smoke from the exhaust.

  “Hey, bitch,” Sarae shouted out her window, pushing the gas to the floor, “call the fucking police on this! You cunt!”

  Carol’s white face was in the doorway of her house, her mouth in an angry red “o.”

  “Yeah, well fuck you!” Sarae shouted.

  “Now, now,” Remy said, fastening his seat belt. “Play it cool, Sarae. We’re going to your house to sleep on your nice, soft mattress. Remember?”

  “Hold up, I’m just a little pissed off at the moment!” Sarae informed him.

  Sarae took her foot off the clutch and the truck squealed forward, going from 0 to 40 in a second, inches away from taking out two cars sitting in the cul-de-sac.

  “That bitch!” Sarae cried as her truck roared toward the highway. “That goddamned bitch! With all her fucking talk about monkeys and lynching! She can fuck herself with her fucking attitude! I hope she dies in a fucking hole!”

  “I need you to breathe,” Remy reminded her, sitting back. “Breathe, Sarae. We have Chloe’s hair. We’re going to find the girls.”

  “Yeah, I hope the hell we do, because fuck Carol!”

  Remy cleared his throat. “She only lost her shit because she fainted dead away and woke up to find us standing over her. She’s going to believe whatever poison comes to mind.”

  “I don’t give a ripe goddamn what her motives are. I bet she’s killed the girls already. I bet she has!” Sarae cried. “I wouldn’t put it past that cunt.”

  Remy shook his head. “I don’t think she has. Don’t forget, it’s not just Carol in this game. But I have a very strong feeling that the girls are still alive.”

  Sarae pulled out onto the highway, now going at a more reasonable speed. “How? Where are you drawing that conclusion?”

  Remy was quiet for a moment, thinking. “I’ve done a lot of cases like this one,” he said. “There’s often a point where you realize that you’re going to be looking at a dead body. And it’s hard to quantify how you get that feeling … a lot of small, very subtle indications, usually. And the spirit world, of course, fills you in on those details. I’m not seeing that yet.”

  “Are you sure?” Sarae asked.

  “Nothing in life is certain.” Remy looked at Sarae when he said that, his face for some reason looking … almost sad, she realized. And she was a little taken aback, not knowing why that sadness was there.

  But the next moment, it was gone.

  All of a sudden, she was very tired.

  She took a drink of the coffee that she’d left in her cupholder earlier that morning. She still had Chloe’s hair in her pocket. And what was that weird story about them having that secret room, and driving off with crap cuts of meat every day? Fatback was basically meat that was too fatty to make bacon out of. That wasn’t healthy eating.

  “First,” Remy said, “we have to get some sleep. We are going to have a long night ahead of us.”

  “Sleep?” Sarae asked. “But, um … we’re going to do more than sleep when we get to my house. Right?”

  Remy pretended to look glum. “Oh, I guess we could have some sexy times.”

  He lifted his face to her.

  Then he grinned wickedly.

  Sarae just about combusted right there.

  Oh, this was going to be good.

  Sexytimes

  On the way home Sarae kept breaking the speed limit. She was exhausted almost out of her mind and really wanted to sleep – but she was also just about beside herself with excitement.

  Remy lay his hand on her leg.

  “If you don’t mind,” he said, stony-faced behind his mirrored shades, “I’d like to spend these moments before we go to your house in silent contemplation of the mysteries that lie before us.”

  Sarae was silent. “Um … are you serious?”

  “No.” A corner of Remy’s mouth twitched in a smile. “I’m just shitting you.”

  She snorted a laugh. “Sorry,” she said. “I hope there not going to be very much silent contemplation when I get you home. I hope there’s some screaming.”

  Remy sucked in a breath and
blew it out. “Ohhh,” he said.

  She laughed again. “But I really don’t know what I’m doing,” she added quietly.

  “It doesn’t have to be perfect,” he said. “No pressure. I’m just here to have fun, and … uh, to watch you having fun. To see you come in my arms, I hope.”

  Sarae felt her face go a little red, blushing but excited. “I hope so too.”

  She pulled up in front of her house.

  “Here we are,” she said, her throat suddenly dry. Sarae hopped out and slammed the door.

  She lived in a little house out by the forest, a ways off from the rest of the tiny town. At least she was out of sight of gossiping eyes.

  She took Remy’s hands and pulled him along. “Come on,” she said.

  “How can I keep my sophisticated edge with you grabbing my hands and pulling me along like a little girl?”

  “Take those damn sunglasses off,” she said as they hurried to the front door. She unlocked it and pushed it open. “I want to see your eyes.”

  He slipped his glasses off. “I’m going to take off more than that,” Remy growled, sliding them in his pocket.

  She pushed the front door shut behind her and locked it and hung up the keys on the hook.

  He was looking around. “Nice place,” he said.

  “Glad you like it,” she said. When he looked at her, she took his face in both her hands and pulled him to her and kissed him.

  He responded at once. His mouth softened, his dry lips nuzzling hers. And then his mouth opened to hers and his tongue darted into her mouth. His hands rose to her face.

  The blood pressed into her face, her heart thudded, and she opened to him. His kisses were deep and probing. He wrapped his arms around her and she pressed her body tight against his, that ache between her legs growing.

  She felt him harden against her leg.

  For a moment she was a little ashamed of how her body was responding to him, and she pulled back slightly.

  His eyes opened to her. “You okay?”

  “Yeah. Yeah. I’m just ….”

  He brushed her hair back from her face.

  “Do you want to lie with me? Just lie down? You don’t have to take your clothes off yet if you’re not ready.”

  Oh, the hell she wasn’t ready. She hadn’t been lusting after this man all day and all night to let a little embarrassment stop her now.

  Sarae brushed her both her hands against his face, the five o’clock shadow under her hands, his skin soft beneath her fingers.

  Passion flamed in her again. She kissed him. “Yes. I want this. Come with me,” she whispered, and she led him around the corner to her cozy little bedroom.

  She kissed him again, leaning back against the wall. His kisses roved over her face, then down to her neck. He buried his face there, sliding his hands down her back and over her buttocks, then up again over her waist and her breasts.

  “You feel so good, so good,” he murmured into her neck.

  She slid her hands into his suit jacket and slid it off him, pressing her body against his, wanting all of it. His kisses kept raining on her neck as he started unbuttoning her jacket. Then he opened his mouth to her again, giving her long, luxurious kisses, so passionate that she felt like she might pass out.

  Sarae started undoing his shirt buttons with trembling fingers. His hands cupped her head. Remy kissed her hair. His hands slid over her shoulders to unbutton her shirt, the cool cotton opening farther and farther as he nimbly worked his way down.

  “Hold on,” she said into his mouth, and he lifted up. “I can’t unbutton your shirt if I can’t see what I’m doing.”

  “Let me help you,” Remy said with a hint of a grin.

  In an eyeblink he had his shirt off, revealing chiseled abs. Sarae ran her hands over them as he finished unbuttoning her shirt, and in one fluid movement it was off, exposing her soft blue bra.

  “Oh, yes,” he breathed.

  He reached behind her and unfastened her bra. Sarae ran her hands down his hard body, her breath going faster. She could feel that primal heat coming off him, and she wanted nothing more than to lie down and let him hammer her into oblivion.

  Her bra fell to the floor, and Remy’s mouth latched on to her nipple. She leaned back against the wall with a gasp. His mouth was gentle, his tongue caressing it into a hard point. She fought to undo his pants, those skin-tight pants she just wanted to rip off his body.

  In one practiced move, Remy pulled down her skirt. Then he stripped off his pants and underwear in one swift motion.

  When his cock sprang out, she just about came right there.

  Remy sank to his knees, his hands gliding down her back, and he buried his face between her legs.

  Sarae gasped again, pushing back against the wall, gripping his head as he kissed and licked her. She’d never had a man go down on her before. She’d never had any of this happen to her before. Her knees felt like they were about to give out from pleasure.

  “If you keep this up I won’t be able to stand,” she groaned.

  He laughed gently into her muff. “I need you to be satisfied,” Remy said, and his tongue licked lightly between her folds.

  She opened her legs to his mouth, but Remy was already standing back up. His body slid against hers, his hard cock pressing against her leg, tantalizingly close to where she wanted it to go, and she never wanted anything more in her life.

  Remy took her hand and guided it down to his cock, his dark brown eyes gazing hungrily into hers. “Rub me,” he said.

  She had never felt a cock before. Sarae wrapped her hand around it, curious. It jumped in her hand. “Oh my God, it really does throb!” she said aloud, and Remy laughed.

  “Laugh at me, will you?” she said, teasing, and she stroked it experimentally. Remy’s cock hardened even more, and his laugh turned into a groan.

  Sarae smiled, sliding her hand slowly up and down his shaft, and his hands tightened and his eyes rolled back in his head. “You like that?” she asked.

  He groaned again, but said thickly, “Oh, no, you can’t be doing that to me yet,” as he kissed and nibbled her neck.

  Her hand tightened on his cock, and she stroked him harder, just to show him who was boss. The moan that eased from his lips into the hollow of her throat made her so hot.

  “I love this, but I need to make sure you’re satisfied first,” he said.

  Remy brought his mouth to hers, and his kiss tore her mouth open. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he lifted her easily off the ground. His cock pressed against her leg, so close to her vagina. She longed to slide down and let him pierce her.

  He gently lay her on the bed, poised over her.

  “I want you to….” Sarae began, then swallowed and whispered, “I want you to fuck me.”

  Remy shuddered with pleasure. “Oh, no, I can’t do that to you yet,” he teased, covering her body with kisses, working slowly downward. “You’re still a virgin.”

  “I hope not for long,” she whispered.

  Remy paused at her breasts, gently lapped her nipples to hardness as she gasped and clenched her body beneath his. His hot cock kept nuzzling her leg.

  “Oh, no. You’re going to have to wait,” he said teasingly. “First I have to get you so hot and wet that you lose your mind. When I penetrate you, it might hurt, and I want you to get all the pleasure you can out of this first time.” His kisses slowly wended down her body, closer and closer to where she had her legs open for him.

  “Ugh, don’t make me wait,” she pleaded.

  But then he stopped at her open legs, parted her lips, and kissed her on her clit.

  His tongue slid through her wet folds. She gasped as dizzying pleasure soaked her body.

  His hands slid under her buttocks, and he lifted her to him. Each expert stroke of his tongue sliding over her clit made her gasp for air. Her legs tightened around his head, then opened wide.

  He thrust his tongue inside her, and Sarae felt the orgasm rising. She cried o
ut, her body tightening as his tongue thrust and thrust.

  The final thrust sent her over the edge. She bucked against his face, his gentle hands tightening on her. She came hard as he gently lapped her, riding wave after wave. Sarae finally collapsed, panting and dizzy.

  “But … but you didn’t get to finish with me,” Sarae said mournfully when she’d caught her breath.

  Remy smiled wickedly from between her legs. “I’m not done with you yet.”

  Then he rose up and kissed her, bringing her taste to her mouth.

  Then Remy brushed her hair out of her eyes, wiped the sweat away. “Because now … now it’s my turn.”

  “One more round?” she whispered up into that smile of his.

  That hot smile, so wicked, and his body hot against hers. She could feel both their hearts pounding together through her chest.

  “After what you just did to me,” she said, still out of breath, “I could let you love me for the rest of the day.”

  “Tempting. Very tempting. So let’s get started,” Remy said, his voice husky with lust.

  Their lips crushed together in a hard, wet kiss.

  Whispered Confessions

  When Sarae had taken his hand in the car, Remy had half gone out of his mind.

  Probably a good thing he was wearing mirrored shades. He didn’t want her to know how much she’d gotten to him.

  She was in danger if he didn’t flee soon.

  He had to leave her behind. Remy knew this.

  But there was no way he could have resisted her invitation to come to her house. No way in hell.

  And he was going to drive her out of her damn mind before he had to go.

  Now Remy lay over her, being careful not to crush her under his weight.

  Sarae’s face glowed up into his, her color high from that orgasm he’d just inflicted on her.

  He couldn’t wait for the follow-up. Because now it was his turn. And he was going to enjoy, so much, bringing her to the edge again.

  But first, he reached over on the bedside table where he’d put his wallet and took out a condom. “I hope you don’t mind,” he whispered harshly, opening the package with shaking fingers. God, he wanted her so much.