"Who would be listening in on Belle's grandmother?" Kellan asked. A couple of ideas hit him at once. "We need to learn more about her life. Who did she associate with? What business did she sell off? Did she have any enemies? She couldn't have been just a psychic. Haunted house or not, there's no way a street psychic could afford this place. She had something else going on. Whatever it was, someone was interested enough to bug her place. Check with your fed contacts. I want to know if there was any reason for the feds to be investigating her."
Tate huffed a little. "That would explain the crappy technology. I'll sweep the house and find out if there are any other bugs. I suspect so. What do we tell Belle?"
She was worried enough as it was. He didn't want to put more stress on her shoulders. "How do we tell her we think her grandma might have been involved in something criminal?"
"Maybe it wasn't criminal," Eric said.
Eric was being naïve. "Something went on in this house, and you know damn well it's not about ghosts. Spirits from the beyond didn't plant that device. A person did, obviously a while back. But someone wanted to keep tabs on Marie Wright. If that bug belongs to the feds, then she was involved in something nasty. If it doesn't, then it's very likely she was still involved in something nasty. Completely innocent people don't normally have bugs in their houses. I don't want to tell Belle anything until we at least know what Grandma was involved in."
"Belle doesn't have much family." Tate looked back toward the door. "She's been reading her grandmother's journal. I think she's really starting to admire the woman. I would hate to crush that. Kellan's right. I'll see what I can find out before we say anything."
"What are you going to tell her when you walk through the house looking for bugs?" Eric asked.
"That I bought a ghost hunting kit and I'm looking for evidence," Tate shot back. "Which is kind of true. I'm looking for spooks."
The door creaked as it opened. They turned to see Sir running by as Belle let him out of the house. She smiled a little. "If you need fresh air, you could always open a window."
That restless feeling was back. The minute she walked into a room, he felt antsy, anxious. There was so much he wanted from her and so much he didn't deserve. "It got crowded in there."
She joined them. "Well, the good news is, the whole house is empty now. Mike got an emergency call. The draper left. Everyone else went to lunch. We should be quiet for a few hours."
Eric sighed with obvious relief. "Thank god. I have a conference call in five minutes. I thought I would have to yell over the sound of that saw whining." He strode back into the house.
Tate leaned over and gave Belle a kiss. "I have errands to run, baby. I'll be back in a few hours. I'll be here in time for the cleansing."
She nodded. "Okay, but she said I needed to clear out the house. The fewer people here, the better."
Tate left, and he was alone with Belle. How could it be more awkward to talk to a woman than to make love to her? He hated the fact that he felt anything but comfortable with her. She was one of the few people in the world he could really relax around, and now all he could think about was the fact that he was going to be the outsider, the interloper. Tate and Eric would be here with Belle-live with her, love her. They would be her family, her men. He would be back in Chicago with new partners. He'd be alone again without friends. Without a woman. He'd have nothing.
"Hey." Belle approached him, putting her hands on his waist and tilting her face to his. The sun hit the glowing brown hue of her skin, making it come alive. So fucking gorgeous. "We have the whole house to ourselves. What should we do? Have any ideas?"
He knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to lay her out and take her over and over again, as many times as he could until she shut him out in favor of the men who gave her love and forever. His cock twitched, but his heart took a nosedive. "Belle, I don't know if that's a good idea."
He'd never made love to her without Eric and Tate around. He wasn't sure he should. They knew what they wanted. They wouldn't hesitate to tell her they loved her, worshipped her, and wanted to spend the rest of their lives with her. He was a sad sack who could never give her what she deserved.
Belle went up on her tiptoes, brushing her lips against his. A light touch, almost a whisper, but it made his cock go instantly hard as a rock. "I think it's a brilliant idea. It's the best I've had all day. Tate and Eric won't mind. They've got things to do."