Love in Fantasy (Skeleton Key) (5 page)

He stands with Willow still cradled in his arms, then lets her feet swing down so that her body lowers along his inch by inch. Embers of desire have been glowing and now they have ignited into a steady flame, heating her from the inside out. “I missed you,” she whispers.

James looks confused for a moment, then a look of understanding crosses his face and he hugs her tightly. “If in some fucked up universe, I really let you go, then I missed you more, because I was the monumentally stupid ass who gave up the one thing in life he valued more than anything else. But, I have no doubt, eventually, I would have come for you. Like I promised.”

Willow smiles and kisses his lips softly, then jumps away when the loud ring of the doorbell slices through the quiet.

“I’ll get it! I’ll get it! I’ll get it!” Eric squeals as he races towards the front door.

“Eric, we don’t open the door without asking who is there,” she chides and he drops his hands from the doorknob with a sheepish grin.

“It’s not like he didn’t know it was me,” a voice calls through the door. Willow rolls her eyes and marches to the door, flinging it open. Her sister Chloe, the next one down in the lineup, stands on the porch grinning. A large, muscular man stands protectively behind her. With his light brown skin, dark eyes, and long, inky-black hair in a braid down his back, he resembles the societal ideal of an American Indian. Damon is Cherokee, in fact, and next to her pale skin, dark, reddish-brown hair, and sea-green eyes, they make a striking couple.

Although, they aren’t really a
couple
, in the romantic sense of the word. Chloe is an singer and had recently been having problems with “overly-friendly” fans. She hired Damon to protect her. His eyes never stray far from Chloe, but it’s obvious he is completely aware of his surroundings. It’s also glaringly obvious that Chloe is ignoring him. It’s inconceivable to her that these two don’t recognize the sparks flying between them. Or, choose to ignore them.

“I’m trying to teach him good habits, Chlo. You think you could go along with it and stop being a trouble maker?” Willow asks with exasperation. “I’m going to need Miracle Max to brainwash the kid after you’re done with him,” she mutters, then she smiles over Chloe’s shoulder. “Hey Damon, you got stuck on babysitting duty tonight?”

“Same as every night,” he says gruffly and James coughs to cover a laugh while Chloe fumes. To Willow’s amazement, though, Chloe refrains from responding to the insult.

“So, where is my other handsome man?” she asks brightly.

“He was napping, but he’s probably up by now,” James says.

“Would you get him?” Willow asks James over her shoulder.

“Sure, buttercup. As you wish.” He kisses Willow’s neck before walking away.

“You got everything, bud?” Chloe asks Eric.

“Yup!”

“Kee!!” another little high pitched voice practically screams in excitement. Willow turns and sees her almost two-year-old nephew, Nate, struggling in his father’s hold, reaching for his aunt. James barely manages to keep him from flinging himself away before he’s able to hand him off to Chloe. She grins widely, “Auntie is the best job. I’ll spoil you two rotten and bring you back for Mom and Dad to deal with tomorrow.”

Willow rubs her temples and groans, “Chloe, I swear on
your
life, if you bring them back hopped up on candy and ice cream again, I’ll be pouring sugar over your grave.” She points a finger at Damon. “You’re supposed to protect her, Fezzik, so keep her from turning my precious babies into little monsters or her life will be in danger,” she snaps. Damon rolls his eyes, but nods. They gather up the kids and the mountain of stuff that always accompanies them, and leave for their “sweepober.”

As they drive off, James waves and yells, “Have fun storming the castle!” Willow laughs and rolls her eyes at James as she waves to the kids as well. When they are no longer in sight, James shuts the door and spins Willow around, shoving her up against the door and attacking her lips. “Fuck,” he pants as he rips his mouth away. “I need to be inside you, Willow.” His mouth trails down her neck as he unbuckles his belt and lowers the zipper on his jeans. He takes his cock out, long and thick, it’s tip already red and angry looking. Willow moans at the sight and James swallows it in a deep kiss, his hands palming her ass and lifting her off of the ground, forcing her legs to circle his hips. His cock rubs along the fabric separating it from her wet heat. “Who do you belong to, Willow?” he asks raggedly.

“You,” she whimpers, rubbing against him restlessly. “I’ve always been yours.”

“And, you’ll be mine forever,” he grunts. “Do you want me inside you, buttercup?” he asks tightly. She nods frantically, unable to speak. “As you wish,” he answers as he releases one ass cheek to shove her panties aside and thrust deep into her pussy. “Fuck, yes!” he shouts. Mindless with passion, he begins to pound into her, every one of her screams of ecstasy fueling his energy, urging him to mark her, brand her so she and everyone else will always know who owns her body and her heart.

A gossamer fog surrounds them, as though, together, they create magic and it heightens their senses. Everything is more.

“I’m—I, I’m coming!” she cries. James slips a finger between them and rubs her little bud furiously.

“Come, buttercup. Come all over my cock,” he purrs.

Willow explodes into a burst of light, heat engulfing her, like she’s landed on the sun. James pumps a few more times before he plants himself deep inside her and shouts her name as he fills her with his come. Their bodies are shaking and sweaty, their hearts pounding, but James kisses her gently and whispers, “I’ve never stopped loving you, Willow. Please forgive me.”

James comes awake with a start and looks around, finding himself still in his new office. He blows out a breath of air, overwhelmed by the dream he just had and the suffocating desire for it to be real. It had taken him years, but eventually, he realized what a fucking idiot he’d been to let Willow go. Now he was home and he was going to claim her once and for all, remind her that he’d promised to always come for her, especially after living out that little fantasy, the one where he’d returned after college to create a life with her, a home, children, all the things they had once planned for. And, fuck, he’d almost come from the dream alone. He’d fight “to the pain” for her. If he had to deal with the shriek of every child—every babe that wept in fear at his approach, every woman that cries “Dear God, what is that thing?” reverberating forever in his perfect ears, he would.

Sighing, he pushes to his feet, grabs his keys, and heads to the parking, dreading the solitary evening ahead of him. He gets a little turned around at some point, and finds himself in a hall with office doors lining each side from beginning to end. They are mostly dark, but one has a light on and he strolls to it. Finding it unlocked, he cautiously and quietly opens it. Time seems to stand still as he drinks in the sight before him.

Willow lies with her head on her arms, asleep on her desk. She is every bit as beautiful as she had been in his fantasies. He knows he should probably leave but his feet move of their own volition, taking him to her. He brushes her hair back from her forehead and kisses it, softly calling her name. Then, he moves down to kiss her lovely pink lips. Her eyes slowly open and she looks at him with a smile, love shining in her eyes. He’d expected anger, pain, anything but this. Sitting up, she cups his face in both hands and kisses him sweetly, chuckling when she pulls back and sees his wide-eyed shock.

“We’re going to talk,” she says sternly. “You’ve got a lot to make up for, and a lot of explaining to do. But, I know in my heart that I’ll forgive you eventually, and I see no reason for both of us to suffer even more in the process.” Then, her voice and expression soften. “But, I don’t want to waste any more time. I want to start building the future we always fantasized about.”

James sweeps her into his arms. “As you wish,” he whispers before kissing her passionately, not one to question a gift so precious. It won’t be easy to conquer their past, but his buttercup is his true love and, eventually, they’ll get their happily ever after. It seems dreams really do come true.

One down, ten to go

I
’m absolutely dragging this morning, having spent a good portion of my night fantasizing about Pippa. I wonder if she was dreaming about me? I’m going to pay her a visit this evening and make sure I’m all she’s thinking about when she goes to bed tonight.

I’m about to leave for work when I remember Wilhelm. I don’t know how to get him back and I need him to continue working through Pippa’s sisters. Maybe there is something in the box that will give me a clue. I jog up the stairs to my bedroom, hurry over to the box, and open the lid.
What the fuck?
The key is resting in his little bed of velvet. I start to wonder how, then realize I shouldn’t even try to comprehend what’s happening. I grab him and put him in my breast pocket again.
I’m going to go with the flow.

Later, as I’m getting ready to leave, James and Willow stop by my office. I’m a little surprised at their request for a leave of absence and their news that they are working things out between them. And yet, I know I shouldn’t be. I mean, if I’m going to believe in a fucking magical key, I might as well believe in its abilities. Besides, now I’m one step closer to my Pippa.

Sweet dreams are made of these