Ryan doesn’t expect too much from his weekend at the Shadows and Souls fan convention in Tahoe -- he wants to meet his online friends, engage in a few heated debates about the plot for the upcoming season, and maybe shake the hand of the TV show’s star, Johnny Marlowe. But his weekend goes off course almost immediately after his arrival. First, the hotel loses his booking. Then Johnny Marlowe talks to him like they’re actual friends. And while his head is still spinning, a ghost attacks him in the elevator.<br><br>Despite fighting ghosts every week on television, Johnny Marlowe does not believe in the spirit world. However, he does believe he should get to know Ryan better. Fan or not, the man is not only gorgeous, he’s down-to-earth, fun, and makes Johnny forget about the fake life he’s forced to lead and the ex-boyfriend who refused to participate in the charade. Unfortunately, every time Johnny tries to get close to the handsome ginger, something explodes or the earth shakes or lights blink out -- and none of that is as sexy as it sounds.<br><br>Johnny doesn’t believe in ghosts, but he knows he has to get to the bottom of this haunting if he ever wants to get close to his biggest fan.

Between the Shadow and the Soul

“You’re going to make me wait all the way until tomorrow? That’s hardly fair.”


“Wait? Hell no. I’m thinking you’ll need to sleep tomorrow, is all.”


“I’m on a show that shoots half its stuff at night, and the other half gives me a six A.M. call. Sleep is not something I’m intimately acquainted with.”


Something about that struck Ryan as hilariously funny. His laughter boomed from his chest, carefree and infectious, and Johnny laughed a little, too, though he didn’t get the joke. “I think I forgot about that.”


He lifted up to stare at him. “Seriously?”


“Yeah. Seriously. Considering…well, everything, I’m just as shocked as you.”


Shocked was only part of it. Elated was the other. Unable to resist, he stretched to seal his mouth over Ryan’s in a hard, quick kiss.


“That might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”


Ryan’s smile bloomed. “You’re the nicest thing that’s ever happened to me.”


Chapter 38