The dynamic this group had was crazy. Seeing them interact on camera was always fun but being behind the scenes was even better. Brea had an energy about her and they were drawn to like moths to a flame. I’d wondered how one person could be with so many others, but seeing them together it was seamless. I’m sure they had their own problems, but each of them had such starkly different personalities it worked.
An unfamiliar sharp pain hit me in the chest.
Jealousy.
I wanted what they had so bad, from the lifestyle to the group, but I knew that not everyone had Brea’s luck. For now I’d soak in every minute we had here. Learn from them then figure out my own path after the investigation was over. I still wanted a life, a job, a family. My veteran disability pay wouldn’t go that far, but I’d saved enough over the years that I’d have time to figure out what I wanted to do. Before the accident I had plans to find a nice tech job, work a nine to five and start a family with some handsome businessman. Now that dream had faded away with my sight and I was left without a direction.
A shrill scream cut through the night and I blinked up, using the camera to see the larger of the two figures waving his hands around wildly. I wished I could see it in all its glory, but Ethan’s scream was just as amazing as she’d described. Brea and I started laughing hysterically until tears were running down my face.
“You guys are dicks!” Ethan yelled down at us. He was laughing now at least.
“Come on, we’ve got more beach to cover,” Brea said around her laughter, taking my hand and leading me around the cliff to the second stretch of beach. “This side is the widow’s beach.”
“We need to set up a weatherproof camera next time we expect rain,” I noted. “There’s another info board I think.” I squinted my eyes like that might make them magically work. Unfortunately everything beyond a few feet was completely blurry. I could make out a shape or two if it stood out enough, but everything melded together in a blur of colors. Or in the night, a blur of shadows.
Except ghosts.
They stood out like lighthouses, beacons of light amid all the dark. I couldn’t make out details unless they were close enough, but it was a lot easier to make them out than anything corporeal. On the bright side, I’d never have that awkward tv show moment of talking to myself and not knowing if they were alive or dead.
“Over here?” she asked, confused. “What do they need it for?” We walked toward the block of shadow I assumed was an info board. I was getting fairly good and guessing some shapes. “Oh, it’s the story!” she gasped. “How did we miss this?”
“We haven't come out this far yet,” I reminded her. “Read it?”
She pulled out her flashlight and clicked it to life. “Sorry if it glares, Darklings. But my superpowers don’t include reading in the dark, especially when said board is covered in barnacles and sand.”
Grabbing my sleeve in my hand, I swiped it over the surface for her, clearing away what I could before she started reading in a clear voice over the noise of the ocean.
"The year was 1895, and Serenity Harbor was thriving. The Serenity cannery was still a leading source of income for the town and people were even moving to town to work. A young couple that grew up in Serenity were married on this very beach. One morning, the husband went out with his fishing boat, like he did every day. Only this time the boat never returned.
“The town held its breath and waited days for it to return. The Coast Guard and Serenity Harbor’s own sent out multiple search and rescue groups each day, but no one could explain the sudden and mysterious disappearance.
“Weeks later the town awoke to a heavy fog covering the harbor early one morning. The only thing that cut through the thick haze was the light on top of the missing ship that had crashed onto this shore. A lonely, pained wail let out the moment the young bride found her husband on board. She didn’t move for days, her cries filling the town with her melancholy sobs. Suddenly one night, the sound of her misery faded into nothingness. The next morning, she was found lying on the shore next to the wreckage, her heart too broken to go on.”
“Wow, that’s fucking depressing,” I said bluntly. Brea huffed out a shocked laugh but I noticed she was swiping away tears.
“Gah, it is,” she groaned. “Remind me not to read local history anymore.”
“Solid plan,” I said as I glanced at my watch. It was already three thirty and I was struggling to keep my eyes open. This lifestyle would definitely take some getting used to. But even as I fought off my fatigue, I was so excited to see what we all found in the morning. If our in-person experiences were this intense, then surely the audio would be just as insane.
ChapterSeven
Brea
“Good morning.” The husky voice in my ear roused me from sleep as Ryker pushed his hips into my thigh. He was hard as steel and that was all it took for me to be completely awake.
“Good morning to you, too,” I chuckled before springing out of bed and rushing into the bathroom. I hastily did my business and brushed my teeth before rejoining him. My mouth went dry at the sight of him naked, arms crossed behind his blond head and a lazy grin on his face. He’d insisted I sleep in here last night to make up for our stunt on the beach, but we were so exhausted we’d passed out when we got back. But it seemed Ry hadn’t forgotten his original plan.
“Come here, baby, I need you,” he urged. I just had on a tee shirt so I crawled up the bed and straddled my hips over his. His erection teased at my hips but I was going to make him wait.
He pulled me down into a possessive, hungry kiss. His tongue warred with mine as his hands pushed my tee upward before ripping it off so he could tease my bare skin with his calloused fingers. The last lingering fog of sleep seeped away as I lost myself in the feel of his mouth and hands.
Ryker pulled away and grinned up at me. “I hear orgasms are better than coffee at waking you up.”
“Challenge accepted,” I laughed. It turned into a gasp as he flipped us, pinning me to the mattress before trailing down so he was settled between my legs. His fingers teased at my thighs as he spread them wide, licking a stripe up my pussy. My eyes rolled back as he flicked his tongue over my clit and slid a finger into my center. Instead of setting a pace that would make me come hard and fast he built me up slowly. He curled his fingers as he pumped them in and out of me, stopping randomly to focus on nibbling and sucking on my clit, everything so random that even as my orgasm built, it never quite reached the edge of release. It was maddening in the best fucking way. I was dripping for this man, needy and calling out his name as I tried to grind against his face and take what was mine. But even if Ryker was shy, he was dominant in bed and refused to budge, keeping me in place as he continued the game of building and slowing down until I was ready to explode.
“Nope. I want you to come so hard around my cock you forget your own name and only know mine,” he chastised when I tried to grind into him again. I whimpered at his words and he took that as an invitation to roll us back over and slam me down on his cock. How he managed to do it so quickly was insane on its own, but the feel of him filling me, stretching me out perfectly, was too good.
“Fuck,” I groaned as I tried to start moving but he stilled me with a bruising grip.