Among The Cloud Dwellers (Entrainment Series) (20 page)

“I think you’re
afraid
. So this mental jerking-off thing that you’re engaging in is not really because you’re worried about him being or not being Xavier. You’re worried about him not being the one because
you’re
not ready to be with the one. Full stop.”

What did I tell you about her way of speaking? And she wasn’t even done yet. “You don’t even worry about normal insecurities like other women, like why me? Or is he for real?

“Are you listening, Porzia? You’re spending so much energy building insurmountable obstacles that it’s insane! Why not use such ill-spent energy to create an enormous amount of healing magic instead?” She shook her head. “I guess I’m doing the same about Jason, just on a smaller scale, eh?” She pushed her glasses up her nose.

“I
am
listening!” I said, frowning. “What’s more, I think you’re right.”

Accidenti! She was.
“I don’t know how to harness the magic.”

“Of course you don’t.” She smiled. “Magic finds you as soon as you stop building obstacles. Don’t worry. When are you going to see him again?”

“In a couple of weeks, I guess. He’s got some things to take care of and then he’ll be flying over to see me here.” Right at that moment I realized how much I missed him. The distance between us stretched my emotions like vibrating, colored threads extended to their limits, threatening to snap at any minute. And what of the effort he was making, hating to fly as he did and leaving his beloved Australia—to see
me
? “He told me he’s sending something I should be getting any day now.”

“No wonder you’re hauling ass,” she laughed.

She was right again,
I thought as we drove on through the night.

I
n the company of a breathtaking sunrise, we woke the pet sitter and her charges. We paid her in the midst of warm effusions, wiggling tails, purring, barking, panting, and hugs, recovering Eros and Peridot. They were so relieved to see us they diplomatically ignored one another and continued to respectively purr and pant happily in the small cockpit of my car.

I dropped Benedetta and her beast off and waited until she reached her door. What an adorable sight: my lithe friend in her olive green sundress and her dog, sleek and sinewy, at her side.

On a whim I called after her, “Bene—what’s your favorite fairy tale?”

She spun around and yelled back, “Fairy tale or myth?”

“Fairy tale!”

“
The Ugly Duckling!
” she yelled back.

A smile stretched across my face as I drove the short distance to my place. The sun slowly spread its arms and reached out to weaken the grip of darkness. Alone at last, I wondered about what Gabe had sent me and sped up.

*

There is no place like home. Peridot agreed with me at once. I dropped him inside and closed the front door with a kick. I set my bag down and followed him into the kitchen. He sniffed at his food bowl, made a disgusted face, and sang protest right by it, giving me a look which I translated accurately:
You wouldn’t dare do anything else until after you’ve dumped this old crap and refilled my bowl with something that better be worth my having spent a few days at whatchamacallit pet-sitter purgatory. Thank you very much.

I set aside my own priorities and microwaved a bowl of cream for him, just enough to take the chill out of it. He didn’t even blink; he just dismissed me with a tail flick and sank his nose into the freshly warmed cream.

I leaned against my kitchen counter in silence, lost in thought. I stared at Peridot lapping at his bowl without really seeing him. I felt tired after the long drive and the many adventures and went over to collapse on the couch, falling asleep almost immediately.

I awoke after an hour or so of napping, still a bit bleary but with a feeling nagging at me about the recent culinary experience. I wanted to get the feel of Savannah into words while they were freshly brewing in my mind and got up to make some coffee.

Sitting down with an espresso and a croissant, I worked through my notes, incorporating them into the basic outline for my article. I became so immersed in my writing, the hours slipped by before I finally took a break to unpack my bag and freshen up a bit.

After a quick shower, I laid down again for a while. I didn’t even notice as a very satisfied Peridot curled up at my feet, and the gentle woop-woop of the ceiling fan lulled me into a dreamless sleep.

It must have been early evening when a buzzing noise pierced my slumber. What sort of suicidal idiot could be so stubbornly leaning against my doorbell? Groggily, I stumbled out of bed, not caring that I was in my pajamas. I cracked the front door open, rubbing my eyes, yawning shamelessly, wishing—with every bit of my heart, soul, inner child, and future lives’ personas—this idiot to be felled by one of those fatal lighting strikes that randomly roam the Florida Panhandle beaches.

I smelled lavender. A second before I opened my sleep-cemented eyes, struggling to focus on the idiot, I smelled lavender.

“Hi, luv. You forgot this back home.”

Omadonnasanta!

Gabe waved a sprig of lavender under my nose, and my stupor evaporated. I leaped at him, straddling his waist with my legs crossing behind his back, kissing every exposed bit of his skin I could reach.

“Wow! What a welcome!” he said, kissing me back, laughing through that lethal, crooked grin of his. “And who’s this?” he asked, looking down behind me.

My eyes followed his gaze to land on my cat. Peridot stared up at us, an amused look on his face, his tail flicking to an invisible rhythm.

“
Micio
, get back inside,” I ordered my cat, thinking that if I were he, I wouldn’t listen to me either. I wasn’t in any position to impose disciplinary rules at the moment, precariously hanging from Gabe’s waist.

But who cares what my cat was thinking?
I was dangling from the waist of my beloved. His strong hands cupped my thighs, holding me firmly against his solid body. I finished drowning him in kisses and now inhaled his delicious masculine scent. My limbic brain reacted swiftly to his pheromones, sending one single, solid pulse through my feminine channels. Reaching deep down it lit a flame, melting me from the inside out. Liquid need, pulled like a high tide, glazed my eyes. I lowered my eyelids to whisper against his mouth, “I want you so bad it hurts.”

His sharp intake of breath, followed by a smooth, stealthy move, brought us inside. With a kick, he shut the door and landed us on the sofa. I closed my eyes and plunged into the kiss. His indecently sexy lips devoured me with a hunger that matched and incited my own.

Oh, the pleasure! To taste him again was overwhelming.

I couldn’t believe it. I kept running my hands all over him, making sure he wasn’t some sort of conjured manifestation of my frustrated need. “Gabe,
amore mio
, you’re for real?” I said softly, dreamily.

“Yeah, luv, real—,” he answered. His voice, a beckoning caress thickened by yearning, his hands quick against my shorts, pulled and tugged, tearing the thin material away from my hips. I kicked my legs free and hurried to pull his shirt up from his jeans and above his head. I felt material rip and his fresh breath on my exposed nipples a second before I screamed his name out loud as he took my breasts in his hands and captured the aroused tips with his mouth. My hands caressed his neck and crawled up his hair—thick, luscious silk beneath my fingertips. I yanked hard when his mouth sucked along that thin line between pleasure and pain, weaving me in and out. I felt every shade in between; from one extreme edge of pleasure to the opposite, red tips dipping in ache, matches waiting to be stroked, latent fire waiting to ignite.

“I missed you so bloody much,” I heard him say through the dense cloud of pleasure fogging up my senses. I blinked and found myself drowning in his deep blue eyes, liquid pools of ever-shifting, stormy waters.

“I missed you too, Gabe,” I said as I lowered my hands to unfasten his belt. “I want you inside me.” I lifted my hips and quickly unbuttoned his jeans. I saw him grin, pleased with my feral urgency. His arms swept me up and the world spun upside-down for an instant. He stood, turned, and laid me back on the couch. I settled against the pillows and watched him, holding my breath. He kicked his shoes off and got rid of both his jeans and boxer shorts in one single move.

Dear gods, thank you for creating such a masterpiece.
He lowered himself onto the sofa and pulled my legs around his waist. With a sinful light twinkling wickedly beneath his dark lashes, he held my gaze.

“This is how real I am,” he whispered. I felt him enter, slow and hard, working his way deep within me, radiating pleasure pulses so intense I couldn’t help but moan his name as I raised my back and pulled him down to me. I kissed him deeply. My hips pounded against his in a hot, passionate rage that involved all senses. Swept away in the blissful moment, I was barely aware of my surroundings. His eyes, locked into mine, showed me how much he needed me. His arms wrapped around my body held me, shifting me ever so slightly to intensify the already unbearable pleasure. He slowed his pace, withdrawing almost completely, coming to a full stop.

“Oh, you’re not going to do
that
to me again.” I remembered how his teasing drove me crazy the last time. I managed to pull myself up against his chest without losing our intimate connection and pushed his body with my entire weight. It carried us both up until he sat upright and I straddled him. I relaxed, lowering myself down his hardness, holding him tight, in total control of every move. Or so I thought. I felt his hands on my hips guiding me, sliding himself slowly in and out, building up my level of pleasure as the rhythm became a crescendo of thick bliss. It ignited every cell of my body, filled it to its rim, and pushed it overboard to peaks of shuddering climax that spilled in a cascade of throbbing spasms, vibrating against the limits of my human form. And I realized that I wasn’t alone in my rapture. Slowly, I opened my eyes and inhaled his bliss. I exhaled my own, allowing him to breathe me in.

*

With my head against his shoulder, his heartbeat reverberated in my own chest as it slowed with mine. Wrapping my arms around his neck as his hands rubbed my back, I allowed myself to return to this dimension. Our bodies, breathing in unison, rippled the fragile silence. My feelings began to shift from a tangible present to cherished memory; the flavors weakened with every swallow of fading aftertaste. I looked out the window to catch the day sneaking away.

I stirred in Gabe’s arms and turned my face up to look at him. “I can’t believe you’re actually here with me.” I kissed him lightly.

“Would you like me to show you all over again?” His tongue darted softly between my lips. I almost felt like biting but only smiled instead.

“How much time do we have?” With one day already ending I was afraid it would never be enough to show him how much I cared.

“A few days. I need to get back for the Australian Safari. I know this was kind of sudden, and I know you’ve got things to do. But I wondered if you could work around the fact that I’m here and maybe we’ll be able to spend some time together.”

A few days? Merda! Not enough, but better than nothing.

“I have a few assignments on deadlines, but I can work with you being here with me.” I thought about it and smiled. “You could just be my Guinea pig and bear with me through all the food and wine I have to deal with.”

“No worries, luv. I’m sure whatever you feed me will taste great.” He didn’t even bother to stifle a huge yawn. I slid away from him.

“You’re tired.” I stood and walked slowly toward the front door where he had abandoned his bag in the heat of the moment. I knelt and picked up what it took me only a second to recognize as the sprig of lavender I had unrolled from my napkin in the small restaurant by his shop where we’d had lunch.

“I can’t believe you brought me this all the way from Australia.” I walked back to him with both his bag and the lavender. “Thank you for remembering it.”

“No worries,” he mumbled a second before drifting into sleep.

I spent a few minutes watching him drift, breathing quietly so as not to disturb his descent into dream realm, still not quite believing my eyes.

My nostrils tingled, inhaling an ocean-scented essence streaked with the syrupy aroma of sex. My body ached pleasantly, still pulsing with the aftershocks of our lovemaking. My skin glowed magically in the same hue as his, telling me my eyes weren’t mistaken. He was with me for real.

Making the least amount of noise possible on my bare feet, I walked to my bedroom where I found my journal tucked in the first drawer of my writing desk and opened it randomly. I laid the sprig of lavender between the crisp white pages, wondering for a second where I will be in my life when my pen finally touches those immaculate, blank pages. As I closed the drawer, I noticed my brochure from Umeracha folded with my airline itinerary and a small sealed envelope. I frowned, trying to remember where I had last seen it. Picking it up, I realized it was Madame Framboise’s farewell note. I had forgotten all about it until now. With a fingernail, I ripped the envelope open.

My dear Porzia,

It has been a pleasure, even if short-lived, to finally meet you. I apologize for my absence at your departure, but I assure you, your grace and charm are things I will long treasure in my heart.

I wish you a warm and brilliant future. I wish you success and rewards in your career, personal gratifications, fulfillment, and an enchanted, unrestricted love, free of earthly boundaries and human expectations to fill your warm, loving heart. Never forget life is a mystical journey, 78 steps to transformation through the Minor to Major Arcana and ultimately, fulfillment.

Framboise

I read it, twice. I understood exactly what she meant. Her simple words shot straight to my heart, and I felt her sincerity from across the world reach a special place within me, where light hadn’t shone in eons.
I’m on my way, Madame Framboise . . . I’m on my way, Joséphine . . .

Peridot chose that moment to come by and sniff at the paper; he actually attempted to take a bite. Perhaps he smelled Madame Framboise’s cat or perhaps he was just being his old nosey self. I folded and tucked the note in my journal next to the lavender. Casting a glance over my shoulder, on the couch in the living room Gabe was sound asleep. On tiptoes I walked into my living room, closed the sliding doors and pulled the curtains. Peridot had jumped on the sofa and was staring at the phone as if willing it to ring with all the strength of his mystical feline mind.

As usual, it only took a second or two.

I answered on the first ring. Evalena’s voice greeted me cheerfully. Gabe didn’t stir.

“Hi, hon! Did you have a good time?”

Hmm, does she mean in Savannah or just minutes ago?
With Evalena, one never knew. I chose to answer about the trip.

“We had a
blast
, Evalena,” I said, thinking particularly about Delilah’s explosive potion. “How’s everything with you?”

“All is well, thanks. I won’t keep you long. I’m calling to see if you’d like to come over for dinner tomorrow.”

She does not particularly like to talk on the phone. Her calls are always short and to the point.

“Well, Evalena, Gabe is here. He just arrived this afternoon, and if it’s OK with you, I’d like to bring him along.”

“That would be great. How about seven, then?” She didn’t sound the least surprised.

“Sounds good to me. I’ll bring the wine.”

“OK, see you guys tomorrow.”

“OK. Thanks, Evalena.”