Come to Me (3 page)

A millisecond
later, he plunged hard inside, filling her completely. He swallowed her cry of
shock and softened the kiss, sucking gently on her lower lip, his breathing
harsh. She gulped.

Jack held
himself steady, not moving at all and waited for Summer to relax again. “You
okay there, baby?” He rested his forehead against hers.
Intimate
.

She forced her
muscles to ease as she sucked in a breath and blew it out again. “Yeah.” She
gave a breathless giggle. She'd been impaled for sure. He'd felt big through
his jeans, but
God
…she'd underestimated. He shifted his hands and
gripped her firmly around the hips, and she braced herself, heart hammering.
This was going to be one hell of a ride.

He slid out,
lifting her easily, and then slammed back in. They both groaned. In, out. Again
and again. Each thrust filling her. It seemed entirely natural for her to delve
her hands into his hair, their lips meeting with hunger as he…
fucked
her—there was no other way to
describe this raw, needy coupling.

Her orgasm built
rapidly. She teetered close to the edge, her stomach tight and her legs taut.

“Now,” he
growled and hammered into her sweet spot.

Summer’s insides
convulsed, the tremors sweeping her from head to toe. Jack tensed. She felt his
arms wrap around her, hauling her to squeeze against his huge chest as he came,
muffling his shout against the side of her neck.

Aftershocks
wracked them both. Summer wondered if she’d lost the use of her legs; they felt
so weak. It didn’t matter, for Jack held her securely, as though he never meant
to let her go.

She ended up
lying sideways across his lap, nestled against his body, with her legs curled
up beneath her. Jack stroked her hair, kissed her face and caressed her
breasts, each touch like a promise.

“Did you live
here, Jack?”
 
If she didn’t talk to him,
she’d fall asleep and lose this wonderful dream.

“Here?” He gave
a little huff of laughter. “I still live in the ranch, Shu-gah. This is just
where I come when I want to look at the stars and think.”

He didn’t
realise he was dead. It felt like a knife twisting in her side. She swallowed
and tried to speak calmly. “What did you want to think about tonight?”

He guided her
head to the crook of his neck and tugged playfully at the end of her braid. “I
wanted to think some more about the pretty little lady that’s been disrupting
my dreams.”

“That would be me?”

“Damn right,
Sum-mah. I don’t know where you came from, but I can’t wait to see you every
night.”

Summer didn’t
remember falling asleep in Jack’s arms, but she woke up alone and back in her
own bed. The morning sun slanted weak rays across the floor, and she lay there
for a minute, slightly disoriented. It
must
have been a dream, but the
most vivid she’d ever had. She’d felt the cool grass beneath her feet, smelled
the campfire, tasted coffee in his kiss. She stretched, trying to avoid
disturbing the sleeping dog beside her, and realised her muscles all ached.
They ached as though she’d spent the night shagging.

Lisa frowned
when Summer walked in to the shop. “You don’t look so good this morning, hon.
Has Naps been keeping you awake all night?”

“No, he was
quiet.” Summer was at a loss. How could she even say what she was thinking,
without sounding like a lunatic? “I was dreaming about that cowboy and I guess
I didn’t sleep too well.” She put away her coat and bag, and then started to
flick through her sampling notes. “I was thinking” —she made her voice ultra
casual— “I might go to that Chocolate Conference next week, after all. You’d
look after Naps for me, wouldn’t you?”

Silencing her
friend was rare. She looked up to meet Lisa’s gaze. “What? What’s the matter?”

“You said it was
too expensive to justify going. Too far away. You didn’t want to leave Naps on
his own.” She counted on her fingers. “That’s three reasons. Oh, and the big
one. You couldn’t see the point of travelling all the way to Dallas, when we’re
trying to sell chocolates in Manchester. If you remember, we thought they’d
messed up the invitation. Manchester-Texas, not Manchester-England.”

***

Summer was glad for
the séance booking that evening. Three sessions in one week was rare, but the
money was more than useful, especially if she was considering a trip to Dallas.
Jack had claimed his ranch was west of San Antonio, and she calculated that to
be around three hundred miles from Dallas – just a few hours drive.

She settled down
at the table and gave encouraging smiles to the elderly couple holding her
hands. They wanted to contact the gentleman’s sister, but with luck, Summer
would get to speak to Jack again first.

Before she’d
even had time to open her mind, a middle-aged woman stood before them.

“For God’s
sake.” The woman crossed her arms and scowled at them. “What do you want now? I
can’t give you the lottery numbers and, even if I could, I wouldn’t. Okay?”

Summer held back
her disappointment. Maybe Jack would appear later? Fixing her smile firmly in
place, she conducted an unsatisfying interview with a distinctly pissed off
spirit and breathed an inward sigh of relief when it was over. The couple
prepared to move, but she clung to their hands. “One moment please. It’s normal
to get more than one spirit, and I’d like to wait and see if anyone else comes
through.”

The woman
grumbled. The man muttered something rude. Summer kept her eyes closed and
ignored them both, calling in her mind for Jack.

He didn’t appear.

The fragrant
smell of wood smoke drifted into her nose, and a feeling of calm stole over
her. Opening her eyes, Summer smiled.

She was back.

Squidging her
bare toes into the grass, she absorbed the sensations and considered them
carefully. Cool, damp, spongy underfoot and with a sweet tang like clover. The
stream trickled and splashed, the moonlight dancing in undulating ripples over
the broken surface. She heard the distant whistle of a lone night bird over the
ever present rattle of the cicadas.

When she turned
around, he’d be there. She wanted to hug herself. Instead, she circled slowly
and feasted her eyes on the man sprawled by the tree. The hunger in his eyes
called to her, but it was his sexy grin and the flash of dimple that sped her
footsteps so she could stand before him.

“Where were you
tonight, Jack? You didn’t show yourself.”

He cocked his
head to one side, as though puzzled. “I’ve been here, Shu-gah. Waiting for you.
Where else would I be?”

She took the
hand he held out to her and and knelt between his legs. “I held a séance
tonight and I thought I’d see you there.”

He meshed their
fingers together and lifted the joined hands to his mouth to press a kiss against
them. “A séance? Why would you do that?”

“That’s what I
do.” She searched his face, looking for awareness but finding only amusement.
“I talk to spirits.” Still he didn’t seem to understand. Her heart sank.

Before she could
say any more, he chuckled and stroked her cheek with his free hand. “That’s
maybe the strangest thing I ever heard, Sum-mah. You’re sure full of surprises,
baby.”

He thought that
was strange? Having a spirit invade her bed – and her dreams – was so far from
normal, she couldn’t begin to quantify it. Any further thoughts were quashed
when he ran an inquisitive finger along the shoulder strap of her camisole.

“This is
pretty.” He pressed a hot, open mouthed kiss on her shoulder, his lips
following the delicate lacy strap to close around a nipple.

Heat surged in
her belly and moisture pooled between her thighs. Helpless, almost drugged by
sensation, Summer flattened her hand against the bulge in his jeans, and his
cock jerked at her touch. Jack bit gently on her nipple through the sheer fabric,
and she moaned. She had to touch him. One hand still linked tightly with his,
she tugged at the button fastening. It was a struggle. “Help me,” she groaned,
barely able to speak.

He ignored her
and sucked harder while she squirmed and writhed in his lap. This was torture.
A new sound punctuated the quiet, and she paused for a moment. Jack stilled,
then grunted and sighed against her breast. Hot air fanned across her skin.

“He picks his
moment.”

As Summer tried
to make sense of his words, she recognised the interruption – the latest song
from her favourite band,
Silken Touch
. A ringtone. Jack released her
hand and dug an iPhone from somewhere behind him. “This had better be good,” he
growled into the phone while Summer sat back, watching, waiting for him to
finish. He flashed an apologetic smile, carefully re-linked their hands and
rubbed his knuckles against her jaw.

She tried to
listen, while pretending to ignore him. “I rang you three days ago. Just as
well it wasn’t urgent.” He sounded annoyed, but when he looked at her, she saw
only desire on his face. He talked a little more, cattle details by the sound
of it, dates for some market or other. It took a moment before Summer realised
two things: Jack had a top of the range iPhone – the most recent model—and his
ringtone was for a brand new song. Either her subconscious was inventing all
sorts of tiny, insignificant details, or Jack had died very recently. Sometime
in the last two weeks.

“My brother.” He
slid the phone out of sight again and wrapped his arms around her, pulling
Summer tight into his embrace.

She rubbed her
cheek against his stubble, relishing the scratchiness against her soft skin.
“Is everything okay?”

She felt him
sigh. “I suppose it’s getting better. We had a big bust up nearly a year ago.
He left the ranch to go work in an office.” He sounded disgusted.

His hands were
tracing lines up her back, finding every sensitive spot along the way. It took
an effort, but she managed to answer him. “Was that so bad?”

“I guess not.
But it’s a struggle running the ranch by myself. And our father left it to both
of us.”

Oh God. If she
didn’t kiss him and soon, she’d spontaneously combust, but she sensed she was
on the verge of something important.

“If anything
happened to you, Jack, would he take over the ranch?”

“I don’t know,
baby. I’ve been asking if he’s gotten bored with shuffling paper, but he says
no, not yet.” His lips were in her hair, playing with her ear, nuzzling her
throat.

She wanted to
cry. She understood now.

Jack’s spirit
couldn’t rest until his brother returned to take over the ranch.

Chapter 13 – A Dream Within A Dream

“Jack, I think
I’m here to help you.”

He traced the
shell of her ear with his tongue before he spoke, his voice a soft rumble.
“Baby, just being here is helping me. I wish…” He sighed and kissed her neck,
scraping his teeth over her tendon and making her purr. “I wish you were real.”

He sounded
wistful, and her vision blurred for a moment. She had to handle this very
carefully. “I
am
real. You’re not imagining this. My name is Summer
Meadows, and I’m a psychic.”

“Sum-mah
Meadows, I’ve been dreaming about you. It feels like I’ve known you forever,
but every time I wake up, you’re gone.”

She guessed that
time passed differently for spirits on the other side, wherever that was.
Regardless of that, she somehow had to get Jack’s brother to go back to the
ranch. Maybe then, Jack would be able to rest.

The prospect of
not seeing him again, not making love with him again, made her chest hurt, but
it had to be done. She’d go to the conference in Dallas, drive out to Silver
Creek and try to find his brother.

***

Summer burrowed
her head into the pillow, realising as she did so that she could still feel
Jack snuggled up behind her. A dream within a dream. She took advantage of his
warmth and tugged his arm tighter around her waist, enjoying the feel of him
naked. When she wiggled her bum against his groin, his cock twitched, and she
smiled.

It was still
quite dark when she opened her eyes, just a dim glow filtering in from the street
lamps. Jack’s breath was slow and steady against her neck, and she wondered
fleetingly about the weirdness of dreaming about her dream lover when he was
asleep.

How much longer
would she have him for? She was due to fly to the States in two days time, and
it was conceivable that she might find his brother by the end of the week.
After that, her plans were a little hazy. A séance probably – once she'd
convinced him she wasn't a raving lunatic. She closed her hand around Jack's
and lifted it to her mouth, dropping tiny kisses along his fingers. He might
not be real, might be just a spirit taking up residence in her bed, but she'd
still miss him.

 
“I ain't tired you out yet?” His drawl was
rougher than usual. “Damn, Shu-gah, you're gonna be the death of me.”

His words
crawled over her like ice and she sucked in an agonised breath. “Don't say
that,” she whispered. She rolled over and trailed her fingers down his stubbled
cheek. God, he was gorgeous. Why could she never find anyone like him in real
life? “Hold me, Jack.” She wanted to make the most of every last minute.

Summer accepted
the blanket from the steward, happy to try and sleep, and hopeful about the
idea of seeing Jack.

Even though she
dozed easily on the long night flight, her dreams were empty. She awoke with
her neck in an awkward position, and a dry, stale taste in her mouth, the muted
tones of Silken Touch’s latest album playing on auto-repeat on her iPod.