Oleander House: Bay City Paranormal Investigations, Book 1

He darted a glance at Bo, trying not to show the effect that feathery touch was having on him. Bo stared without focus at a spot in the corner. He didn’t seem to notice he was stroking Sam’s back.
    Maybe that’s his comfort mechanism. Like a security blanket.
    Even if it wasn’t intentional, it felt good for Bo to touch him like that. Too good. Sam stepped discreetly away. Bo’s hand drifted down to pick at a hole in the leg of his jeans. Sam swallowed his thumping heart back down and tried to focus on the subject at hand.
    “I think,” Bo said, his voice slow and measured, “that while we may not be in any immediate danger, we need to be extremely careful. We haven’t actually seen anything yet, but we know the history of this house. We know that Cecile, Sam and Andre have all felt things here that are disturbing. We need to keep our wits about us, stay calm and do everything by the book.”
    David nodded, his face solemn. “There must be some connection between what’s on those tapes and the things that have happened in this house. We have to figure out what it is.”
    “Exactly,” Amy agreed. “And in order to do that, we’re going to have to be very meticulous. No detail is too small.”
    “And never investigate alone,” Cecile said, echoing
    Bo’s instructions from the first night.
“Right.” Bo laid a hand on Cecile’s shoulder.
“Cecile, I want you to tell us exactly what you feel,
whenever you sense anything, okay? No need to
embellish, and no need to keep anything to yourself.” He
turned his sharp gaze on the rest of the group. “That
goes for the rest of you too. I know that Cecile is our
psychic here, but I don’t think we can discount anything
in this investigation. You’re all professionals, and I trust
your instincts. If you sense anything at all, tell me. Got
it?”
Everyone murmured in agreement. Sam wondered
if he imagined Bo’s gaze lingering on him.
Bo nodded. “Good. Okay, we’ve got film to
develop, who’s gonna volunteer to go?”
“‘Fraid we’re too late for today,” David said. “The
drugstore isn’t open on Sunday.”
Amy frowned. “What about that place in Gautier?
It’s got one hour developing, and I’m pretty sure it’s
open.”
“It closes at four thirty,” Andre said. “We’d never
make it there in time.”
Bo let out a sigh. “Guess it’ll have to wait ’til
tomorrow.”
“David and I can take it to Gautier in the morning,”
Cecile volunteered. “We can pick up anything else we
need while we’re there.”
Bo gave her a wide smile. “That’ll be great,
thanks.”
“So what do we do now?” Sam asked. “There’s
more tapes to review, right?”
“There sure are,” David answered. “Gotta listen to
what you and Andre recorded this afternoon, plus there’s
the videotapes from the nursery that’re piling up.” He
grinned. “Plenty for all.”
Amy heaved a deep sigh. “Right. Okay, boys and
girls, let’s get busy.”
In the scramble to claim chairs and tapes and
headphones, Sam and Bo stood and stared at each other.
Bo’s confusion and fear were plain on his face, almost
as plain as his desire. Sam’s palms itched with the need
to touch him, to run his hands over that dusky skin, to
kiss those plush lips. To feel the brush of Bo’s hair
against the insides of his thighs.
The mental image of Bo’s head bobbing between
his open legs was more than Sam could take. Forcing
himself to break Bo’s gaze, Sam turned away and
snatched the first tape he found that hadn’t been marked
as reviewed. After a moment, Bo did the same. Sam
watched him for a long time out of the corner of his eye,
thinking about what had and had not happened, and
wondering.
Chapter Eight
    When David said he’d work through dinner to finish reviewing the nursery tape he’d started, Sam volunteered to stay and finish the other one. Bo gave him an odd look, but didn’t argue. Sam figured Bo wasn’t any more eager than he was to sit at the dining table together and try to pretend nothing was wrong.
    By the time his tape finally ran out at eleven thirty, Sam was exhausted. He popped the tape out, wrote “reviewed” on the label and switched the equipment off.
    “Hey, David.” He nudged David’s shoulder. “You done?”
    David nodded as he removed his tape and took his headphones off. “Yep. I got nothing here, what about you?”
    “Nothing on this one either.” Sam yawned and rubbed his eyes. “Damn, I’m tired.”
“No shit.” David stood and