Jinxed: A Paranormal Why Choose Standalone
Jinxed: Chapter 5

“Theo , I…” I was at a loss for words.
I knew he had experienced pain–true pain–the moment I looked into his eyes, but I hadn’t been expecting a story so filled with sorrow.

He held up his hand. “Please, don’t say you’re sorry. I’m so sick of people saying they’re sorry.”

“I wasn’t going to.” I held the hooch in both hands, the jar nearly empty at this point. My body heated, and my fingertips tingled. I was sure if I stood up, I’d be as drunk as anything. But for right now, sitting next to Theo, I was enjoying a warm glow. His leg pressed against mine, and I leaned into the touch, comforted by the caress of another who understood the fucked-up situation we were in. “I was going to say I understood.”

“Do you though?” Theo pierced me with those blue eyes of his. I was unable to look away, like we were having more of a conversation with our stares than we were with our words. “Do you really understand what it feels like to be alone in the world?” His voice had dropped to a low whisper, and he shifted closer to me. His breath was sweet, and slightly bitter, an odd combination from the alcohol.

“I understand more than you know.” I leaned in further, entranced by his calm presence, and intoxicated by more than just the booze. I understood why Theo was down here in the basement, drinking until he couldn’t feel. I knew why I took the hooch when he offered it to me. I completely got why I was drawn to his touch, talking so closely our lips were nearly pressed together.

Because sometimes it was easier to focus on one feeling than it was to acknowledge the rest. You couldn’t think about making the biggest mistake of your life if you were too drunk to feel your fingertips. You couldn’t regret a moment that never happened if you were throwing yourself completely into something–or someone–else.

Theo took the jar from my hand and set it down on the stairs. When he turned back towards me, he cradled my head in one hand, tracing my lips with the fingertips of the other. His touch was nothing more than a gentle breeze, pulling me in a direction I was already headed. “Sweet girl, I wish you didn’t.”

Something tugged at my heart, squeezing it. I looked away. “Me either.”

He laced his fingers into my hair, making me look at him, into his eyes I wanted to drown beneath. His other hand feathered down my neck. “One day you’ll tell me your story. But not today.”

With those words, he closed the distance between us, capturing my lips in a deep kiss. For a moment I found myself doubting. Unsure. Frozen. Was I really doing this? And then I remembered everything that had happened since this morning, and the surreal reality I now found myself in. My body remembered what to do.

I kissed him back, winding my hands around his lean shoulders. His skin was warm to the touch, and his breath quickened. His tongue danced with mine. With a moan, I clung to both him and some sense of normalcy. Theo pulled away with a gentle smile, one that reached his eyes and made the skin surrounding them crinkle in a delicious way.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “I guess I got a little carried away.”

I shook my head. “Please don’t apologize. Kiss me again.” I wanted the safety and reassurance another body brought me. I wanted to ground myself in the moment, remind myself I was still here, even as I floated away on a buzz.

Theo ran his hand through his waves, giving me a smirk. “If you so insist.”

He tugged me to my feet. Around the corner from the wooden staircase and the dirty cement floor stood Theo’s brewing supplies, all situated on an ancient rug. He sat down on the rug, and pulled me on top so I straddled him, a leg on either side of his lap. He looked at me, brushing a stray hair out of my face. “Now, where were we?”

There was something so casual, yet intimate in those few words I couldn’t stop myself from tangling my fingers in his hair and pulling his face towards mine. Our lips met in a clash of desperation and passion, a need to know we weren’t alone in this hell hole. His hand slipped under my shirt, sliding up my ribs.

“Is braless a thing in 2022?” he whispered.

“For me it is.” I grinned against his mouth, pulling his hand back to my bare breast. He eagerly ran his fingertips across my nipple, teasing it until it was hard and reaching for his touch. Theo leaned backwards, lying on the ground and taking me with him. I rolled my hips against him, needing some kind of friction to ease the growing ache between my legs.

Theo groaned under me. “Take them off.”

High on booze and Theo, I did just that, kicking my pants off as he helped tug them down. I unbuttoned his jeans before I could think too much about it, and he slid them down low enough for his cock to spring free. Propped up on my elbow, I ran my other hand around his thick length, imagining how it would feel inside me. I smirked. “Was underwear not a thing in 1992?”

“Not for me.” He reached for me, pressing the head of his dick at my slick opening. “But I take it you aren’t complaining.”

Things were so easy with him. Theo deserved to be free and living his life, not rotting away in this house. But he was here, and so was I, and we had to make the best of it. “Not in the slightest.”

With a glance up at me to make sure we were on the same page, he pushed inside me with a soft moan.

“Goddamn.” I fell forward, clinging to his shoulders as I let my body adjust to stretch around him. “It’s been a while.”

“Try thirty fucking years,” Theo muttered. When I snuck a look at him, laughter danced behind his eyes. I smiled, and he began thrusting underneath me.

Every hard push of his cock drove deeper into me, making me forget everything that had gone wrong. We moved together in time, our breaths syncing as our speed became more urgent, our hands grasping for any bit of skin we could replace. I could feel my release building low, spiraling through my veins, and I wanted nothing more than to replace it with Theo. His hands gripped my hips, pulling me harder against him, bruising my flesh.

“Come for me, sweet girl. I’ve got you,” he murmured, rocking my hips on top of him in a rhythm sure to drive me over the edge. “I’ve got you.”

“Oh, Theo,” I moaned. “Fuck me…” I was lost to the pleasure, not a thought in my head except for how Theo’s cock urged me to chase my orgasm.

Theo removed one of his hands from my hip, dragging his thumb across to my clit. He rubbed slow circles as I fucked myself. “Show me how pretty you look when you come.”

His quiet words combined with the overload of sensations had me shaking and trembling around his cock as I came. Beneath me, Theo continued to roll my hips through my release, moaning softly as he found his own orgasm. We stayed connected for a moment, enjoying the quiet that came after really good sex. But I couldn’t be sure if it was the quiet, or just a desperation to stay in this bubble of bliss before returning to the dank basement of our reality.

I rolled off him onto the scratchy rug, waiting for my breathing to return to normal, and my heart to stop pounding. “Well that was…”

“Definitely something.” He laughed, and I couldn’t help but join in. Because if nothing else, it was definitely something.

I reached down to my feet, grabbing for my discarded pants before pulling them on. They were dirty, but I figured it didn’t really matter. If I was really stuck here for eternity, whoever was here would see a lot worse than dusty jeans.

“Did you bring anything in with you when you walked through the door?” Theo asked from the floor.

“Umm…” I had to think about it. So much had happened since that moment, it all seemed like a blur. I’m sure the alcohol wasn’t helping. “I brought in one box.”

“Hope it had clothes in it. We don’t exactly have a ton of women’s clothes between us.”

Fuck. I hadn’t even considered the gender side of things. I wasn’t sure what the box contained, but it definitely was not clothes. “Shit. Guess I’m wearing these jeans for the rest of my life then.” For whatever reason, I found this idea absolutely hilarious. I burst out laughing, unable to stop the laughter from bubbling over.

It only took a moment before Theo was laughing as well, I’m sure because of the sounds of hysteria I was making.

“What the fuck is happening down here?”

I jumped up, wiping my eyes and straightening my clothes the best I could. Midway up the stairs stood a man, older than either Felix or Theo. In this house that meant absolutely nothing, because he could’ve gotten trapped in here last week for all I knew. His brown hair was thick and curly, and a mustache framed full lips. Dark jeans hugged muscular thighs, and he was so tall he had to stoop in the stairwell. And damn, he was hot, too. To be completely honest, my older man fantasy stood in front of me, brought to life inside the dream I was living.

Stop, Savannah. I was chalking my thoughts up to the temporary insanity of learning I was inside a house of horrors. It was the only explanation I had for why I had fucked a guy I had just met, and was now lusting after his–much older–roommate. But the way he was looking at us made me feel like I had been caught doing something inappropriate. The warmth from the alcohol made me want to do it again, see how far I could push him until he snapped at me.

“Luther,” Theo greeted, still on the floor. He seemed entirely relaxed, pants still undone around his hips. He rested his head back on his arms, and shot me a grin like we were co-conspirators. I wasn’t sure I wanted to get in between whatever pissing contest the men were engaging in.

Luther gripped the railing underneath his hand, the wood groaning in protest. “Felix sent me to make sure you weren’t harassing our new guest. Instead I see you’re fucking her.”

“Savannah. Her name is Savannah.”

I offered up a small wave, instantly regretting my choice. My awkwardness made me feel even younger compared to his mature confidence.

“Hello, Savannah. I promise we aren’t all animals like the basement dweller here.” Luther gave me a wink and a smile, and instantly his face changed. I could see the warmth brewing behind the sternness. I wondered what else would make him smile like that.

Theo groaned, getting to his feet and zipping his jeans back up. “Shit, man. Savannah’s an adult. Just like Felix and me.”

The older man’s smile immediately dropped. “Whatever. Felix wants to call a house meeting. Be upstairs in five. And leave the fucking hooch in the basement, will you?” With that, Luther turned and stomped up the stairs, much louder than the quiet way he had snuck up on us previously.

“So…how many people live here exactly?” I toyed with the bottom of my shirt as Theo made his way to the bottom of the stairs.

“Just the three of us. Felix first, then Luther, and then me. And now you.”

Just the three of us. And now you. I wasn’t sure this was a club I wanted to be a part of.

Something must have shown on my face, because Theo pulled me against his shoulder, and pressed a gentle kiss onto my hair. “It’ll get easier. I promise. I know it seems overwhelming right now, but it will get easier.”

I nodded, trying to smile even though I wanted to cry. “I guess I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

“Thatta girl.” Theo laughed and pulled me behind him. “Now come on. Let’s go see what Felix and Daddy Luther want.”

If Brynn were here, she would’ve freaked out. It was probably better she wasn’t. Daddy Luther.

Well, shit.