Ghost Country

By Celia McKinley

GHOST COUNTRY: DREADFUL DESIRES #9

An erotic horror series revolving around supernatural monsters, from depraved tentacles and perverted plants to haunted dummies and the living dead.

One year after a grisly murder forced the closure of Garrity Hotel, the desert town of Hope Springs lies abandoned. An unusual pair of ghost hunters arrive to investigate reports of a vicious owl monster and instead find a mysterious young woman, kicking off a story of implacable vengeance and supernatural romance in this novelette sequel to both "Season of Owls" and "Cemetery Girl."

Includes a sneak preview of "The Midnight Wind" and "Cemetery Girl."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Celia McKinley
• Release date: Nov 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005139315

Celia McKinley

Celia McKinley is an evocative writer of erotica and romantic fiction centered around themes of forceful seductions, sexual awakenings, and dark supernatural desire. Explicit but never crude, taboo but never degrading, her stories of sensual abandon and surrender strive to celebrate the irresistible allure of the forbidden and the beauty of sexual fantasy.

Book preview

Ghost Country

Dreadful Desires #9

Copyright 2021 Celia McKinley

Published by Celia McKinley at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

All depicted characters are 18 years or older. This book contains explicit, taboo sex scenes that some readers may find offensive.

Table of Contents

Prologue: Six Months Ago

Part I: The Weird West

Chapter 1: Sundown

Chapter 2: Fly by Night

Chapter 3: First Impressions

Chapter 4: Twenty Questions

Chapter 5: Help Me Forget

Part II: Desert Moon

Chapter 1: Beneath the Stars

Chapter 2: Trust Me

Chapter 3: Black Velvet Night

Part III: Dead Man’s Hand

Chapter 1: Showdown

Chapter 2: Aces and Eights

Chapter 3: Midnight Oil

Chapter 4: The Fifth Card

Epilogue: The Morning After

Sneak Preview: The Midnight Wind

Teaser Chapter

About Celia McKinley

Other Books by Celia McKinley

Connect with Celia McKinley

Prologue: Six Months Ago

"Who is this?"

The sandy-haired man fumbled for the lamp without looking up from the phone. He knew the picture on the screen, of course – loose ginger ponytail, glasses, a nervous smile – but he had to assume that someone else had her number now. That didn’t explain why they’d be calling him, but maybe it had something to do with her memorial fund, or the investigation, or...

David? Oh, thank god! David, it’s me!

For just a second the phone began to slip out of his hand, and he gripped it tighter. His blood froze into ice beneath his skin; every breath came in a frantic shudder. He recognized the voice, but he asked the question again simply because he couldn’t come up with any new words.

Who is this?

It’s Barbara! Can’t you hear me?

He shook his head to himself, slowly at first, then quicker and quicker. The bedroom swam behind a shimmering veil of tears; his voice rose in a sudden burst of choked anger.

Who the hell is this?

Why do you keep saying that? the voice sniffled. It’s me, it’s Barbara!

David had dreamed about this sort of thing, for the first month or so. He’d get a call from the police or the hospital that it was all a misunderstanding. They’d found his sister safe and sound, and if he could just sign some paperwork everything would be back to normal. He’d always woken up before he arrived, before he could see her; sometimes he’d tried to race back to sleep, just to keep the dream going, but it never worked. And then the dreams had stopped.

How? he breathed into the phone. Barbara, how are you calling me?

I don’t know. David, I’m scared.

It’s okay. Just tell me where you are.

I don’t know.

You’re on your old phone. Are you down at the station?

What station? David, I don’t have a phone!

Then how are you talking to me?

I don’t know! My lips aren’t moving and I can’t see my hands and I don’t know if I’m standing up or lying down and it’s dark and there’s no one else here and...

I’m here, it’s okay. We’ll figure this out. What do you see?

I see you.

He rose from the side of the bed and slowly stared around the empty room, and then back down at the smartphone. His hand began to shake as he lifted it back to his ear.

What are you talking about? he said as slowly, as calmly as he could manage.

I’m looking at you. You’re in your boxers, standing beside the bed.

This wasn’t one of his dreams. In his dreams, he was always overjoyed; there wasn’t any doubt that she was alive. He looked around the room, at the black window behind the curtains and the darkness behind the closet