Stage Fright by Gabrielle Holly Page B

packed house erupted with applause and Thomas reached over and squeezed Toni’s hand. She stole glances at him throughout the movie and when a beautiful actress dressed as a cigarette girl entered the scene, he smiled. He mouthed the words as Claudette Becker delivered her line, ‘Will there be anything else, sir’?
    She was only on the screen for a moment, but Toni could feel the affection rolling off Thomas. In that moment she felt as if she finally understood him and his desperate need to prove the existence of life after death. She had seen the relief on his face when they’d played back the video and found that the ghostly audience had been caught on tape. He’d said that people would probably claim that they’d faked the footage, but he didn’t care. He knew it was real. It seemed as if the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. Toni felt different too. As soon as Kip had disappeared, she’d felt something shift inside her. The underlying edginess that had been with her since her first ghost encounter had instantly dissolved away. She felt certain that she’d been visited by her last spirit. The realisation made her somewhat sad, but mostly relieved. She was looking forward to a life where she was ‘just Toni’. She glanced at Thomas and concluded that she was also looking forward to a life spent with just him.
    They stayed until the last credit had rolled and the applause had died down, then found Mike in the lobby surrounded by well-wishers and locals thanking him for bringing back the Bijou. When the last patron had left, Mike locked the front door, flicked off the marquee lights and joined the others at the counter. Bridget served up buckets of buttered popcorn. Mike grabbed four disposable cups from beside the pop machine and filled them with champagne. “To new beginnings,” he said and raised his drink. The others repeated the toast, touched their cups together then drank.
    “Congratulations, Mike. What a great night! Here’s to a long and happy future,” Toni said raising her glass again.
    Mike smiled. “What about you, Becker? What are you going to do now that we actually caught evidence of ghosts on camera—this time without Toni frying the equipment?”
    Toni playfully stuck out her tongue at Mike and he winked back at her.
    Thomas wrapped his arm around Toni’s waist and pulled her close. “I think I’m ready to retire from the ghost-hunting business. Maybe I’ll settle down, get married.”
    He tightened his grip and Toni stared up at him. He smiled at her. “What do you say, Bianchi? Do you want to spend the rest of your life with a washed-up TV star?”
    She answered by wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him.
     
    * * * *
     
    Toni lay back on the pillows and watched Thomas undress and her body thrummed with anticipation. He slid into bed beside her and propped himself up on one elbow. With his free hand he traced the swell of her breasts, her nipples tingled and tightened at his touch.
    “I love you, you know,” he said.
    “And I love you, Thomas. Only you.”
    When he moved to lie on top of her, she could feel his hardness against her thigh and her sex grew hot and wet. She ran her fingers over the muscles of his arms and shoulders, up his neck and across his handsome face. Lacing her fingers in his hair, she pulled him into a kiss. While his tongue probed her mouth, she wrapped her hand around his cock and guided him to her opening. He gradually pushed into her and she spread her legs wide to accept him. He took his time loving her, pulling out of her to tease his way down her body and taste her pussy. Sliding a long finger into her wet canal he expertly stroked the bundle of nerves just inside. Still massaging her G-spot, he clamped his lips over her clit, sucking and flicking the nub with his tongue. The sensation was like nothing Toni had ever felt and she arched into him. Pleasure surged from inside and out, like waves crashing into each other on