Ascension by Bailey Bradford (desktop ebook reader txt) 📕

back in Conner’s expression. “But okay, you don’t really know me, maybe. I’m just a man, Ro, who’s been lonely for a long time. A man who lost part of himself, or hid it away, whatever. You’ve given me back the sexual desire I’d buried, but more than that, you make me happy, deep down inside. I’m sorry it hurts your dad and siblings, I’m sorry it hurts Sev and Laine and the people who knew you in McKinton. But I’m so fuckin’ glad to have you here, in my arms.”

Ro moved, putting himself in Conner’s arms. Everything about Conner felt right. “Figures I’d have to die to find the perfect man.” The irony of it made him want to giggle, but he held it in.

“Same goes, Ro.” Conner’s chest heaved with silent laughter, his breath puffing out against Ro’s temple. “And before you get distracted again, let me just tell you. I went to see Laine because he’d been able to communicate with you last night, just like Sev had. I’ve never seen anything like that before, and I’ve been in this world for a long time.”

Ro didn’t know what to make of that, so he just murmured an encouraging sound.

“Well, I wanted to know why you could do that. I’m curious like that,” Conner said, sounding proud of himself. Ro smiled and rested his head on Conner’s chest as the man continued talking. “Laine was in his office, and he looked—well, he looked old and tired. It hurts seeing him and Sev grow old. I worry about what will happen when they die, you know.”

“You don’t want them separated in death,” Ro said, realizing how awful that would be for his uncles. “God, is there any way to make sure they aren’t?”

He felt more than saw Conner shake his head. “Not that I know of, but maybe one of the curanderos or someone like that would know.”

“They aren’t really anyone to mess with.” Ro didn’t know any of the Hispanic folk healers that many called witches, but he did know they could be dangerous if they weren’t good people. “Surely God or Fate or whatever there is after life wouldn’t be so cruel as to keep Laine and Sev apart. That’d be hell. Literally.”

“I think so too. I just have to believe they’ll be together, and try my best to be there when they pass. It’s gonna hurt like a mother, even if they might get to become spirits.” Conner sighed. He cupped Ro’s nape and thumbed the sensitive skin there. “They should always be alive, you know. I wonder if reincarnation is real.”

“Maybe people go up like you said Mom did, and are sent back down as a new soul?” No, that didn’t fit in his brain. “Or, not a new soul, but like a cleaned-up version, all the bad taken out and the memories dulled down before they can go into a new body. Someone said once, and it really struck me as a beautiful saying…” Ro closed his eyes, remembering. “I had a friend in high school here, and her grandpa died of cancer. She told me she hadn’t said goodbye to him, because she believed that when his eyes closed in his old body, he was just blinking. He’d open them again in his new body, and I just thought that was such an amazing way to think of death.”

“It really is,” Conner agreed. “I think I’ll adopt her theory. That makes me feel better, somehow, about those who go up. Thank you for sharing that with me.” Conner brushed another of those sweet kisses over Ro’s lips. “Now, I was telling you about visiting Laine this morning. He knew I was there before I even tried to tell him, and he started in about hearing you. Laine and I have this way of communicating. He’ll ask me a question and I tap his shoulder or hand once for yes, twice for no, three times if he has to ask something else. It’s not perfect, but it sure beats not being able to talk at all. Anyway, he said Sev thinks maybe you’ve always been psychic, it’s just the reverse of Sev’s abilities.”

There went that potential headache again, trying to build up right between Ro’s eyes. “So I’m only psychic when I’m dead? That’s fucked up in more ways than I can count.”

“Maybe, maybe not. You can communicate with the living, Sev can speak with the dead. Y’all are the flipside of each other’s coin, or something like that.”

Ro didn’t know quite what to think of that.

Chapter Ten

Now that Conner had filled Ro in on his morning whereabouts, a distraction seemed like a damned good thing. Conner brushed away their clothes with a thought, delighting in Ro’s startled gasp. He waggled his eyebrows and smirked. “What, you don’t want all the other dead guys seeing us?”

“They can?” Ro asked, his face turning dark with a flush. “Really?” he squeaked.

Conner did love to tease, but Ro was looking a little too distressed for teasing to be fun so Conner let him off the hook. “Only if we want them to. I don’t mind some exhibitionism, but right now I want you all to myself.” And he didn’t want Ro thinking about anything but him and the way they were together. “Fuck me?” he asked, hoping his blunt words would do the trick. “I stole some lube from Sev and Laine. They won’t mind.” They’d probably give him hell then pick on him mercilessly. Conner was looking forward to it, once everything settled down.

Ro pushed away from him, and Conner thought Ro was going to say no or scold him or something. Instead Ro grabbed Conner’s ankles and pulled. For such a little guy, Ro was strong enough. Conner yelped as he was jerked onto his back. It was a good thing he wasn’t really leaning on the tree behind him or he’d have been scratched all to hell and back. Ro gave him