Dreams of Seduction (12 page)

Sighing, he rolled over and stared out the window. He’d had a healthy sex life over the years, but he’d never come close to experiencing anything like what he’d felt with Maggie. The sex had been phenomenal.

Maggie responded to his every touch, every caress as though she’d been made for him. She’d held nothing back, letting him have every cry, every gasp. The pulse-pounding orgasms had been off the charts. Yet he’d been content to pleasure her in the shower. Her happiness was more important than him finding release.

But it went even deeper. The connection between them was more than physical. It was spiritual.

Emotional.

He’d hoped when she mentioned magick that she would be open to the idea of spiritwalking. Maybe he should have waited to say anything. Maybe he shouldn’t have told her so soon. But he hadn’t wanted to start their relationship with a lie. He felt bad enough about intruding on her privacy the other night.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to relax. Time. It would take time, but he was patient. Like his totem animal, the bear, he was a methodical hunter. He could wait. Maggie was worth it and a life without her was something he wasn’t even willing to contemplate.

Chapter Nine

Maggie pried open her eyes and stared at the clock on her nightstand. Seven. It was too early to get up, but there was no point in her staying in bed any longer. She’d tossed and turned the whole night through, just as she had every night since she and Jed had made love. That was five long nights ago.

Sighing, Maggie shoved back the covers and sat up. The collar of Jed’s shirt slipped over her shoulder and she shoved it back up. She’d worn it to bed every night, unable to make herself wash it, store it away or return it to him. It was cowardly, but she didn’t care.

She’d been avoiding everyone for the past few days. Even Rhiannon and Esther. Their messages were piling up on her machine, their pleas turning to demands. But Maggie just wasn’t ready to talk about what had happened with Jed. She knew if she didn’t contact them soon, they’d come looking for her.

On the upside, she was painting again. This past week, she’d started the most ambitious project she’d ever undertaken. After years of not practicing her skill, she’d expected to be rusty. But the sketches had flowed and she’d known almost from the start what she was going to paint.

Sitting on the side of the bed, she stared at the canvas propped up against the wall. She’d finished it last night. The painting was about four feet wide and three feet high. The forest was deep with shadows, the sunlight barely penetrating the thick foliage. Autumn leaves dotted the trees, brightening the various shades of green. A man stood in the center, his arms raised to the heavens. He was shirtless, his black hair hanging around his shoulders. His jeans were faded, his boots scuffed. A mist surrounded his body, drifting away from his fingertips. Behind him, hidden in the trees, was a bear, the outline barely visible, more ghostly than real.

There was no denying the man was Jed. That’s how she pictured him. Elemental. Powerful. All male.

One with nature.

What was she going to do about Jed?

Sitting on the side of the bed, she stared at the painting. Even she knew this was the best work she’d ever done. As if guided by unseen hands, she’d been driven to paint. Everything she felt for Jed was there in the painting, in every loving line she’d drawn, in every choice of color, which she’d struggled to find the exact perfect shade.

Sighing, she glanced away, unable to look at it any longer.

Spiritwalking. Astral travel. She’d done some research over the past few days and was shocked by how much she’d found out about the subject. Many people, including some scientists, believed that this could really be done. That a person could leave their physical body and visit other places and people.

A chill crept up her legs. Maggie pushed herself off the bed and headed for the shower. It was the fastest shower on record. She didn’t linger in there. Not anymore. Not since
that
night.

Memories of what Jed had done to her, what she’d done to him and what they’d done together, haunted her every waking and sleeping moment. Every time she closed her eyes, she was inundated with scenes of their naked bodies, limbs entwined as they made love. She might not have laid eyes on him since the night they’d made love, but he was always in her thoughts.

Making love
. She’d been forced to reevaluate that night. No matter how she tried to convince herself otherwise, she knew she’d made love to him, with him. It wasn’t just sex between two adults. There was a connection, something tangible between them that went a lot deeper than merely physical pleasure.

She pulled on a pair of well-worn jeans and a long-sleeved cotton shirt in a hunter green over her underwear and added a pair of thick socks. Grabbing her tennis shoes, she slipped them on and tied the laces. She needed to get out of the house.

At the last second, she grabbed the red candle from the bedside table. Hurrying downstairs, she pulled on her jacket and shoved the candle into her pocket before she snagged her purse and keys. The sun was peeking over the trees in the distance, announcing the start of another day. And not just any day.

Halloween—the day when the veil between the world and the supernatural was thinnest.

That is if you believed in that sort of thing.

She closed and locked the door behind her, taking a deep breath of the fresh ocean air as she went down the walkway. The sky was a clear blue and thick, fluffy clouds dotted the horizon. She kicked a rock out of her way as she strode down the side of the road, heading toward town.

What did she believe?

She was no longer certain. She’d been over and over what Jed had said to her that night a hundred times, if not more. There was no way he could have watched her pleasuring herself. Once she’d had some time to really think clearly about it, she’d logically assessed the situation. There was no tree outside her window for him to climb and it was impossible to see in her window otherwise. Plus, she just couldn’t picture Jed skulking around outside her house trying to see into her room. It was totally out of character.

So what did that leave her with? A lucky guess? Or was his claim of being a spiritwalker true? If it was true, how did she feel about it?

Maggie shoved her hands into her coat pocket and picked up her stride. She could almost hear her grandmother scolding her for not believing. Bride O’Neill might have lived in America most of her life, but she’d brought her beliefs and superstitions with her from Ireland. She had believed in spirits and magick and things that went bump in the night.

A crow swooped out of the woods and dipped in front of her before disappearing into the thick brush on the opposite side of the road. Its loud caw broke the silence of the morning. The low-lying mist was dissipating as the sun rose higher in the sky. Dew covered the grass and plants along the side of the road, making them glisten in the light.

Maggie stopped and closed her eyes, absorbing the calm of the morning. She could feel the heat of the sun on her cheeks as it rose higher in the sky, the light autumn breeze as it tugged at her jacket. The morning was alive with the buzz of insects, the sway of the tree branches and the sound of the ocean crashing against the shoreline in the distance.

A sense of peace descended on her. This was magick—the earth beneath her feet and the air that swirled around her. Did it really matter if Jed could do as he claimed? Did it change the heart of the man he was?

No.

Her friend Rhiannon claimed to be a witch. Maggie had felt the breeze she’d conjured indoors and witnessed the power she’d raised during the candle magick. There was no denying what she’d seen and felt with her own senses. Why was it easier to accept Rhiannon’s claims and not Jed’s?

Because she wasn’t in love with Rhiannon.

Maggie’s eyes snapped open. The world around her was the same, but she wasn’t. She loved Jed Bearson. Impossible as it seemed, she loved him. It had been attraction at first sight that had only deepened over time. The fantasies, the dreams and the reality had only strengthened those feelings.

She had to talk to someone.

Hurrying down the side of the road, she headed to A Touch of Magick. Rhiannon was probably there by now. Maggie knew her friend liked to get an early start on the day. Besides which, she’d be leaving work early to go home to give out treats to the mini ghosts and goblins. Rhiannon had been looking forward to this night for weeks.

Traffic was sparse, but there were folks out and about. A school bus rumbled by and several children waved as it passed. She waved back, smiling at their excited, happy faces. No doubt they were looking forward to tonight, daydreaming about all the candy they’d collect.

Her footsteps got faster the closer she got to A Touch of Magick. The lights were on inside. That was a good sign. She ignored the brightly decorated stores as she passed them. The entire town was festooned with pumpkins and bundles of hay. Ghosts and goblins hung from windows and railings, tossed about in the breeze. What would people do if they knew that there was more to the world than they could see with their own two eyes? Maybe many of them already knew.

Maggie knocked on the door of the shop. Shading her eyes with her hand, she peered into A Touch of Magick searching for Rhiannon. Her friend appeared a moment later, a frown on her face. It changed to a smile the moment Rhiannon saw her.

Sighing with relief, Maggie waited as Rhiannon unlocked the door. Rhiannon’s smile faded when her friend took a good look at her. “Come in and tell me what’s wrong.”

Maggie stepped inside and closed her eyes, absorbing the comfort that seemed to emanate from the very walls of the shop. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the inviting atmosphere that Rhiannon had created here or if it was something more. Magick.

Either way, she was grateful for it.

“Maggie?” She could hear the concern in Rhiannon’s voice. Her friend touched her arm. “Why don’t you sit down and I’ll pour you a coffee.”

Opening her eyes, she let Rhiannon lead her to the coffee shop area and seat her at a table. Keeping one eye on her, Rhiannon poured up two mugs of freshly brewed coffee and carried them back to the table.

Sitting across the tiny café-style table, her friend pushed the mug toward her. “Talk.”

Maggie opened her mouth and closed it again, shaking her head. She wasn’t quite sure where to begin.

Rhiannon frowned, her brows wrinkling. “Don’t tell me it’s nothing. You look like hell. You obviously haven’t been sleeping and you look like you’ve lost weight.”

“Do you believe in astral travel or spiritwalking?”

Rhiannon tilted her head to one side, obviously taken aback by the subject. She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment and then nodded. “You know I’m a witch.”

Maggie nodded as she wrapped her hands around the thick pottery mug and breathed in the aroma of freshly brewed coffee.

“That’s a skill I haven’t been able to master, but my grandmother could astral travel and so can my father. Why?”

“Because Jed claims that he came to my home, to my bedroom one night. The same night we did the candle magick in your backyard.” Picking up the mug, she took a large mouthful and swallowed, praying the caffeine would kick in and give her a much needed jolt of energy. “He said that he felt pulled toward me and that he’d never felt anything like it before in his life.”

“Jed is a traveler.” Rhiannon tapped her fingers against the tabletop, making her bracelets jingle. “I wondered about him. He exudes a quiet power that I couldn’t quite place.” She reached out and covered Maggie’s hand with hers. “The question is how do you feel about it?”

That was the question she’d been asking herself for days now. “At first I was angry. I thought he was lying, that he’d been spying on me.” Tugging her hand away, she gripped her mug securely, letting the warmth soak into her palms. “He knew what I’d been doing that night in my room.” She felt her cheeks getting hotter and knew she was blushing. “He watched.”

“Oh?” Rhiannon stared at her for a long moment. Then as if a light bulb went off in her head, comprehension set in and her eyes widened. “Ooh. I see.” A tiny smile made her lips turn upward. “Well, that’s awkward.”

“It’s humiliating.” Maggie fought the urge to bury her hands in her face. “He watched and he knew I whispered his name at the end.”

Rhiannon propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands. “How did you find out?”

“I ran into him at Clancy’s a few days after the candle ceremony. One thing led to another and somehow he ended up coming to dinner at my house.” Maggie felt her breasts growing heavier at the memory. “We were all over one another before we even sat down to eat.”

“Oh, my.” Rhiannon leaned closer. “That’s…” She paused, searching for the right words. “That’s unusual for you.”

Maggie snorted. “That’s being kind. We both know that I have no sex life. Had no sex life,” she corrected.

“How was it?”

Maggie closed her eyes and let the memory of that night wash over her. Her panties dampened as her core wept with need. She swallowed hard and opened her eyes again. Rhiannon was leaning back in her chair, staring. “Incredible. It was incredible.” Wrapping her arms around her stomach, she held on tight.

She felt she was on the verge of coming undone again and that just wouldn’t do.

“I can see that. Maggie,” she began, her voice soft. “What happened? It’s obvious that you care for Jed. You’re not the kind of woman to have a one-night stand.”

“After—” she shrugged, “—you know. After. We had supper and then he told me about being a spiritwalker. That he’d watched me that night. That his spirit was drawn to mine.” Maggie released her desperate grip on herself and took another mouthful of coffee. “Then he mentioned the dreams.”

“Dreams,” Rhiannon prompted when she hesitated.

Pulling her braid over her shoulder, she played with the red tail. “Yeah. I’d been having these incredible dreams. Erotic fantasies that all featured Jed. Seems he’d been having dreams too.”