STORY EXCERPT

Sinclair Thomas’s heart beat faster and his chest ached for the terror his daughter and even his husband might be in for. He didn’t want to do this all over again with Daisy and the Dallas men.

The quartet had already killed at least five people that they knew of with a trail of unconfirmed murders in their wake. And all of it had been in the pursuit of money and the infamous Moss-Gate Manor.

“No.” Sinclair breathed out roughly, his hands shaking a little, but he quickly reined in the panic attempting to seize him in her rough hand.

“Sin, get the security team back,” Tanner Clemens-Thomas, Sinclair’s husband, commanded as he moved into his arms. Horror was etched into his face, making his voice quiver. “We have to send her back.”

“I’ll call them now,” he said. With any luck they could get the entire team they’d just had back. “Call Roni and tell her to get home now.” He had no idea why that ghost thought Veronica would be a victim.

The young woman had nearly died in her brush with Moss-Gate Manor. What more could the place have in store for her, for any of them?

“I—”

“Do it,” Sinclair ordered. “This is no time to let your emotions get the best of you. She’s your kid sister, our baby girl too. We’re not going to let anything happen to her if we can help it. Now call her.”

Tanner nodded and made his way back to the kitchen.

In the last week, some damaging information had come to light about Veronica and her brother Nelson, who had recently been killed. Their aunt or someone had taped the two jesting about killing Tanner, Sinclair and even to a degree his and Tanner’s baby girl Sunny.

The recording had upset Sinclair, but it had driven Tanner right past angry to pissed off. Sinclair didn’t really blame him, given what had ultimately ensued despite the tape, according to Veronica, having been made a year ago.

On the other hand, Sinclair wanted to forgive her, to give her a chance to redeem herself.

“Margaret, was that you in the garage?”

“Yes, the baby isn’t safe. Just like before.”

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Not another past life problem.

Margaret held his gaze, her expression hard though her eyes glittered with fear. “He was at the house, you know.”

“Who was at the house?”

“When Moss-Peterman was alive, they visited the house. In fact, Peterman’s cousin wanted the house, but he couldn’t inherit it because he wasn’t a blood relative,” Margaret told him.

A lawyer named Peterm—no. That was just too coincidental.

Peterman was a cohort of Richard, Trent, and Edward Dallas, the men who’d been behind the murder of Tanner’s younger brother. Peterman, Edward and Trent Dallas were still in jail for their part in the attempted murder of Sunny.

“He was merely adopted into the family. He would have killed Joy Moss because he knew she was to inherit the house,” Margaret confided.

Only Joy Moss hadn’t been the only heir, unfortunately. Sunny’s father had been the next heir in line and with him dead, the property had been his daughter’s.

Since Sunny had inherited that house, their lives had been turned upside down. It was as if that place was cursed.

“How are they tied to you?” He sighed and walked a few steps further into the living room.

They had been down this road before. It was convoluted and tiresome. At the same time, Sinclair knew he couldn’t discount this. He and Tanner had had a few unpleasant experiences with the ghosts of Moss-Gate Manor.

The house was an old one, and Sinclair was still writing a true crime story about the first family that had owned the manor. In the course of writing it, Sinclair had learned he and Tanner had been lovers in a past life and that relationship had come back to bite them in the ass in this lifetime.

Their past life nemeses had tried to kill them and ghosts from Moss-Gate Manor had warned them, tried to help them. Most of the family had been implicated in the past life issues. Only Sunny’s part in the dance had been vague, almost non-existent since she’d been a child who’d been killed while still young.

“Margaret, where is this all going?” he asked, facing her. The last thing Sinclair wanted to do was jump to conclusions. He wanted all the facts she could give him before he went charging back out to that house looking for more old journals.

“You think I’m playing games just to get you to help us,” she said. “We’re stuck there because of your family, because of Cassandra and Veronica.”

Cassandra was Sunny’s given name, but they never used it.

“How?” he pressed.

ADULT EXCERPT

When they reached their room, Tanner sighed, and Sinclair hugged him.

“I will do what I can to make this okay,” Sinclair assured him and kissed him.

Tanner closed his arms around Sinclair, needing the comfort of the warm embrace. “I know. I love you so much. I just don’t want to lose you, to lose our family.”

“I won’t promise you you won’t lose anyone else,” Sinclair murmured. “I’m not a god, but what I am is a man who’ll die to keep you and the girls safe. Kill for you.”

Tanner looked up at him, cupping Sinclair’s cheek. He had already killed for them so there was no question of that.

“I just want this to be over,” Tanner said softly. “I just want to live the happy life I thought we were going to have.”

“We just need to get through this,” Sinclair said. “The rest…” He broke off, his face a mask of determination but fear filled his brown eyes for a moment before quickly dying like a fire’s embers.

Tanner kissed him, wanting to take that fear away, wanting to vanquish his own fear.

Sinclair’s lips parted beneath his, allowing Tanner’s tongue to sweep into Sinclair’s mouth, to stroke against his. Tanner’s eyes drifted closed, and he allowed the world at large to fall away.

Tanner curled his arm around Sinclair’s neck and arched into him.

“I need you,” Tanner whispered and tugged Sinclair’s T-shirt up and Sinclair lifted his arms, allowing Tanner to tug it up and off before tossing it to the bed. Then, Tanner stroked his hands over the expanse of chocolate-with-cream skin even as he kissed Sinclair’s throat, licking up the slim column.

Tanner curled his tongue in the base of Sinclair’s throat before drawing it down to flick a taut nipple. He curled his tongue around it, sucked it even as he ran his hand over Sinclair’s hip.

Sinclair moaned, pushing his fingers into Tanner’s thick long blond locks.

Tanner nipped the tiny point, drawing a tight moan from Sinclair. Then Tanner turned his attention to the twin. He grazed it with his teeth before laving it while he pushed his hand down Sinclair’s lounge pants. He sucked Sinclair’s nipple as he gripped the hard prick, gliding his thumb over the mushroom head.

Stroking the warm flesh, Tanner lifted his head, gaze locking with his husband’s. The heat in Sinclair’s stare drew Tanner in, making his blood boil, his breathing quicken.

“I wish we had more time,” Tanner murmured and kissed Sinclair and then stepped back from him, eyes going over Sin’s chest, his flat and defined stomach before going to rest on the strong muscled arms that always held him close.

He was the most beautiful man he’d ever seen.

Tanner pushed his briefs down and tore his shirt off before climbing onto the bed and lying on his back. He watched, his heart pounding as Sinclair finished undressing.

“I think we have enough time for me to give my husband a little comfort.” Sinclair locked their bedroom door and then crossed the room to open a dresser drawer and removed a tube of lube and condoms before making his way to the bed.

Sinclair dropped the items next to Tanner before moving over him. Then, he claimed Tanner’s mouth for a long kiss before trailing kisses down to his chest. Sinclair closed his lips over a hard nipple and scraped it with sharp teeth while pinching the other.

Tanner arched into him when Sinclair took the tiny point between his teeth. The pleasure shot through him, a rough hand. He closed his eyes, and Sinclair bit him again.

Delicious shards of pain coursed through Tanner, and he gasped, stroking his hand over the back of Sinclair’s head.

Sinclair’s moist tongue played over the areola, licking the tiny tip before kissing his way from one nipple to the other. Sharp teeth scraped, caught the hard bead.

Pain coursed through him, making his cock leak against Sinclair’s leg.

“Oh, God, Sin!” Tanner arched closer, hungry for the dark pleasure, and Sinclair sucked his nipple harder. Before Sinclair, Tanner had never known sex could be this sweet.

Sinclair’s lips moved lower, teeth nipping, biting, and tasting the planes of flat, hard stomach. He flicked his tongue over the outturned pout of Tanner’s belly button before biting it lightly.

Tanner hissed. His breathing grew rougher.

“Oh, Sin, we don’t have time,” Tanner cried. “Sunny could come charging in here any minute.”

Sinclair chuckled. “Anya will keep her busy for a few more minutes. Relax.”

Sinclair dipped his head to lick over Tanner’s groin. He fisted Tanner’s dick while he drew his tongue around the rim of the crown. Next, Sinclair flicked the slit before sliding down the hard ridge as if Sinclair had been waiting all night to taste him.

Tanner gasped and locked his nails into Sinclair’s back. “Sin, you’re driving me insane. Stop teasing. Fuck me.”

Sinclair took the tip into his mouth before drawing his tongue down the length of Tanner’s cock to his balls.

“Mmm.” Sinclair licked first one orb then the other before Sinclair reached for the lube. He lifted his head and flipped the cap and then squeezed some into the puckered hole of Tanner’s ass. Next, Sinclair pushed the tip of his finger into the tight channel.

“Sin. I need you.” He groaned and draped his leg over Sinclair’s shoulder, hoping that would get Sinclair to speed things up.

“I know what you need,” Sinclair murmured.