The Winter Spirit ARE by Indra Vaughn Page B

to go after you died. And that would be good, right? Maybe it’s not that empty place. Maybe it’s better.”
    “Or maybe it’s nothing. Maybe there’s nothing at all beyond death.”
    I thought about that for a minute. My family was Catholic and my grandmother had dragged me to church for as long as she could, but I’d never really believed in any of it.
    “Wouldn’t that be preferable to hanging around in mirrors for eternity?” I asked. I tried to imagine infinity passing me by, watching others live their lives while I was stuck, unable to do anything, and my stomach clenched with fear. “This house won’t last forever. What happens if someone tears it down? Where do you go then? Don’t you want to move on?”
    Gabriel gave me a soft smile and brushed the curls away from my face. “For decades I wished nothing else,” he said. “But now…” He kissed me lightly. “Now I find I’d rather hang around for a little longer.”
    “Oh.” I felt my cheeks go red. “I’d like that too,” I said, but the idea that he’d still be here all alone after I was long gone…
    “We don’t have to think about it right now,” he said, and drew me closer so my head rested on his arm.
    “Can I ask you something else?”
    “Sure.”
    “Why this place? Why are you here?”
    Gabriel smiled. “This used to be part of my family’s estate. It has changed quite a bit, but the foundations and the walls are the same. I guess that’s why I was drawn here.”
    “Can you leave?”
    “Go outside, you mean?”
    I nodded.
    “Not when I’m in the mirrors. And I’ve never tried in this form.”
    I thought about that. “Do you want to? Tomorrow morning maybe? We could try walking around, see what used to be your land.”
    Gabriel slowly began to smile and it warmed my soul. “On Christmas Day?” I saw the flicker of agony in his eyes but he didn’t acknowledge it, so neither did I. “There are a few other things we could do.” He grinned and trailed his hand down my belly.
    I batted him away. “We can spend all afternoon and evening doing that. And all day on the twenty sixth too.” His last day. “But we should go outside, get some fresh air first. You know, in case…” He didn’t get the chance again. I didn’t say it, didn’t have to.
    He smiled at me, his eyes vivid blue like liquid paint. “I’d love that,” he whispered.
    I loved the idea a lot less when he poked me at six am. “It’s still dark out,” I moaned, turning my face into the pillow.
    “It won’t be by the time we’re dressed.”
    “Five more minutes.”
    He kissed the nape of my neck, tugging lightly on my curls. “Up you get, my love.”
    “Mmm, not yet.” I was awake now, but I very much enjoyed how he was trying to get me out of bed.
    “There could be a hot shower in your future. Together. I’ve always wanted to try one of those.” He snuggled closer and pressed his groin into my thigh, which made me perk up. “You always look so damned tempting through the steamed up glass.”
    I spun around and sat up, staring at his grinning face. “You spied on me?”
    He raised his eyebrow. “What else am I supposed to do with all this time on my hands?”
    I clutched the duvet to my chest. Oh God, the amount of times I’d jerked off in the shower over the past nine years. Gabriel had even starred in some of my fantasies. I felt my face go beet red. “You could’ve looked away like a gentleman,” I said, appalled.
    He stretched out on his back, tucking his hands behind his head. The biceps in his arms rolled enticingly, and the milky white skin of his chest looked so delicious I almost forgot to be indignant.
    “Being a gentleman is overrated,” he said smugly. “So. Shower?”
    He didn’t wait for me. With one swift move he rose from the bed and walked straight into my bathroom, naked as can be. I almost swallowed my tongue as I stared at his ass, and then scrambled after him in a hurry. Before I stumbled into the bathroom,