Neptune's Ring (29 page)

The curtains were pulled aside as the misty
figure gazed out upon the crying woman and she wondered what has
caused such great sadness in someone so young and beautiful. Then
she remembered how her own young life had been taken so cruelly,
when there was so much promise ahead for her and a single tear
rolled down her right cheek. She wished she could reach out and
place a comforting arm around the young woman, but her physical
limits in this realm were so limited, so she sent all the positive
energy she could muster to the young woman drowning in torment.

Vanessa was working in the control room with
Killian, when she was overwhelmed with a need to call Levi. For
some unknown reason, she felt compelled to call Levi and she prayed
that her love was not in danger as a knot formed in her
stomach.

She lifted her cell phone from the console
and found that she had missed a call from Levi. She listened to the
message and smiled as she stepped outside to return her call.

Levi jumped when the cell phone rang in her
pocket and clumsily fished it out by the third ring. She hoped she
could get it open in time to catch the call.

Vanessa was about to end the call when she
heard Levi’s voice. “Hello, baby, are you there?” Levi asked.

“Yes, Levi I am, are you ok?” Vanessa
asked.

“I am fine, Vanessa, why do you ask?” Levi
said.

“Because I just had the most uncontrollable
urge to call you,” Vanessa said.

“I was thinking about you and how much I
missed you baby,” Levi said. “I am sitting out on the porch with a
cool breeze blowing and it reminded me of you.”

“I miss you too, darling, and enjoyed getting
your email and voicemail today,” Vanessa said. “Did you have a good
day?”

“It was fantastic,” Levi said. “The
construction is moving along nicely and the weather today has been
simply perfect.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Vanessa said. “We
have been busy here too and Killian sends her love.”

“Be sure to give her a big hug from me,” Levi
said. “Baby, it is so good to hear your voice.”

“You must be missing me just a bit,” Vanessa
said.

Levi laughed loudly, a sound that made
Vanessa smile. “More than just a bit, baby. I miss you something
terrible.”

“Hopefully the time will pass quickly,”
Vanessa said. “I look forward to sharing the island with you and
holding you in my arms again.”

“I can almost taste your sweet kisses,” Levi
said, as she closed her eyes and remembered the last kiss they had
shared before Vanessa left the port.

“I will have many of those just for you, my
baby,” Vanessa promised.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Levi,” Vanessa said. “Will
you call me before you go to bed tonight?”

“Yes, love I will.”

“I will be waiting for you,” Vanessa said.
“Goodbye for now, my love.”

“Goodbye, my sweet,” Levi said and closed the
phone.

Levi looked up toward the house and could
have sworn she saw the curtains move. Surely it was her
imagination, yet again playing tricks on her as the house was
sealed up tight. She stood and picked up the bottles and the
proposal from Codi and walked inside.

Levi built a sandwich and sat at the
breakfast bar to eat as she read over Codi’s proposal. The more
times she read over it, the more she thought it would be a good
idea and she hoped she could convince the other’s to use her
services.

She put away her dishes and walked into the
bedroom and stripped out of her clothes. She took a shower and sat
on the bed as she turned the television on and switched through the
channels. Nothing captured her attention, so Levi turned on the
sound system and filled the room with the soothing sounds of a pan
flute player. She leaned back against the pillows and picked up her
cell phone.

“Hey baby,” she said when Vanessa answered
the phone.

“Hi, my love, how are you?” she asked.

“I am good sweetie, just missing you,” Levi
said.

“Is that a soft little purr I hear in your
voice?” she asked.

“Yes, baby it is. I am lying here on this big
old bed thinking of my sweet baby,” Levi said.

“What are you wearing, my love?” Vanessa
asked.

“A robe and nothing more,” Levi said.

“Oh baby, that sounds so nice. Can you feel
me lying next to you on the bed baby?”

“Oh, yes, Vanessa,” Levi said as her hand
slowly opened her robe.

“Can you feel my fingers stroking up your
side Levi and over your sleeping nipple?” Vanessa asked.

Levi closed her eyes and imagined her fingers
were Vanessa’s as her fingers caressed her body. “Uh hmm baby, but
my nipples are wide awake now,” Levi said.

“Yes, I can feel them now, so nice and hard,
baby,” Vanessa whispered. “They feel so good under my tongue,” she
said.

Levi gasped as her nipples grew so hard they
ached, as she listened to Vanessa’s voice in her ears. “Oh dear
goodness, Vanessa,” Levi groaned as her fingers toyed with her
nipples. “I want you so badly.”

“Come with me, Levi,” Vanessa whispered into
the phone.

“Oh yes, baby,” Levi said.

“Can you feel my hand sliding down your body,
my fingers playing in your soft curls?”

Levi’s right hand moved between her legs to
find her body soaked with excitement as her fingers slipped between
her trembling lips.

“Sliding slowly in and out of you as my teeth
nibble your nipple,” Vanessa whispered.

She could hear Levi’s breathing growing more
rapid as her fingers penetrated her body and her excitement
grew.

“Oh yes, baby, that’s it, stroke it nice and
slow,” Vanessa said. “Make it feel so good.”

“Vanessa,” Levi breathed. “I’m coming baby,”
she moaned.

“Yes, Levi, let me feel you coming, my love,”
Vanessa said as her own arousal took over and she felt her spasms
begin deep in her body.

“Oh yes, Vanessa,” Levi groaned loudly and
then went silent as she dropped the phone beside her on the
bed.

Vanessa could hear soft moans as Levi’s
pleasure continued for several more seconds, and then she heard
Levi fumbling for the phone.

“Oh my god, that was intense, Vanessa,” Levi
said still short of breath.

“It sounded wonderful.”

“It felt incredible,” Levi said, and Vanessa
could hear the grin in her voice.

“Now imagine I am holding you in my arms,
cradling your body into mine as we drift off to sleep, baby,”
Vanessa said.

“Sweet dreams, my love,” Levi said.

“I will call you tomorrow,” Vanessa said.

“Goodnight, Vanessa, I love you.”

“I love you too,” Levi said as she closed the
phone and held Vanessa close in her dreams.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Celeste watched over Levi until she was sure
she was sleeping. She smiled at the change she had seen come over
Levi from the earlier evening when her tears flowed uncontrollably.
In her sleep and her dreams Celeste watched as she clutched her
imaginary lover, with a smile on her face.

Celeste saw the gold light house lying on
Levi’s neck and her hand went to her chest. There shimmering in the
moonlight was the St. Christopher medallion Roberto had given her
on her fourteenth birthday. It was her most prized possession
during her life and now in her death, she would use the medallion
to help her distraught spirit reach a final peace. It was time
Celeste allowed Levi to know her spirit was still present in the
house and that she would be bound forever on the island without her
help.

She drifted into the office where Levi’s
journal still lay open. She reached behind her neck to unclasp the
medallion and placed it across the open pages of the journal.
Celeste hoped that Levi would see the necklace as proof of her
existence and would begin to put the pieces of her life’s mystery
together. Using all of her might, Celeste picked up Levi’s pen and
struggling against the strain of her limited existence wrote ‘Help’
on the empty page. She dropped the pen and watched it fall to the
floor, but was unable to garner the strength to pick it up and
place it back on the desk. She could only watch as it rolled across
the room.

Weary from her efforts, Celeste drifted back
into the shadows.

When Levi woke the next morning, she showered
and grabbed a cup of coffee. She had planned to send Vanessa an
email before going to the resort and when she walked into the
office, she was surprised to find her pen on the floor, halfway
across the room from the desk. Levi bent down and picked up the pen
and walked the final steps to the desk.

While Levi reached to place the pen by her
journal, her eyes came to rest on the medallion and the coffee cup
fell from her hand. Levi did not feel the splatter of the hot
coffee that splashed against her ankle as her eyes were transfixed
on her journal. She reached for the chair and sat down heavily, her
eyes never leaving the medallion. She leaned forward and saw a
single word scribbled on the page. The word “Help” was written on
the page in large letters, written like the hand of a small
child.

There had been no one else in the house and
the only other person that had been at the house was Codi and Levi
had watched her leave the island. There was never an opportunity
for Codi to enter the home unobserved during her visit. Curious,
Levi reached forward and touched the gold medallion, expecting it
to feel cold, but as she picked it up it was warm against the palm
of her hand.

“Celeste, are you here with me?” Levi
said.

Levi watched as the coffee mug she had
dropped to the floor turned slightly on the floor. I know that
can’t be my imagination, Levi thought as the cup moved again.

“How can I help you?” Levi pleaded. “Can you
tell me somehow?”

Celeste was frustrated that Levi could not
see her, even when she focused hard to move the cup. How could she
tell the young woman what she needed her to do, when she had no
voice in the spirit world.

“I want to help you, but I need your
guidance,” Levi said. “Can you help me?”

Levi strained her eyes and ears for any sign
or sound Celeste may be able to make, but the room was deadly
silent. “Find a way if you can,” Levi said then walked into the
kitchen to grab a paper towel to clean up the spilt coffee. She
poured a fresh cup and walked back to the computer, to send an
email to Vanessa.

The room remained quiet and when Levi
finished sending her mail she left the computer turned on. She
looked at the gold medallion and felt an urge to place the chain
around her neck. She felt that it was an important clue, that would
somehow help her solve the mystery she found herself involved in
and she did not want to take any chance that it would disappear as
mysteriously as it appeared.

She placed the chain around her neck and
fastened the clasp securely. The medallion rested just above the
light house Vanessa had given her and was in plain sight, its gold
shining brightly against her black shirt. Levi picked up her coffee
and the camera and walked into the kitchen where she tucked Codi’s
proposal under her arm.

She left the house and drove down to the
resort in search of Carlos. She was surprised to find two of the
three walls of the pool bar were up and the crew was working
diligently on the third as she walked toward the resort.

She walked into the front lobby and was
greeted by several of the workers.

“Are you looking for Carlos?” one of the men
asked.

“Yes, please, do you know where I can find
him?” she said.

“He is in the second room on the right,
Miss,” the man said.

“Thank you,” Levi said and walked into the
hallway.

“Good morning, Levi,” Carlos said when she
stepped inside the room. “Tell me, do you think this shade is too
dark?” he asked.

Levi looked at the wall where one of the
painters had used a roller to paint a swath on a wall. “I don’t
think it will be too dark, Carlos,” Levi said. “We have magnolia
drapes ordered and the linens and light fixtures will be light
colored as well, but if you think it is too dark, I will trust your
judgment.”

“I think we would do better to lighten it
just a shade or two,” he said. “The beds and the floors will be
dark, so I think we should go with a lighter shade of mocha.”

“Make it happen then,” Levi said with a
smile. “I need to go into town on some business this morning, is
there anything you need?” she asked.

“No, I think we are good here,” he said. “I
will place a call to Renaldo’s to send over more base so we can
lighten up this color and hopefully by the time you return we will
have a few of the rooms painted.”

“Very well, I will see you later,” Levi
said.

“Travel safe,” Carlos said as Levi left the
resort.

She walked down to the boat house and made
her way across to the mainland. She walked to Cat’s office and
watched as she faxed the proposal to Nat and Liz.

“Are you ready for some breakfast?” Cat
asked.

“Most definitely,” Levi said as she smiled to
her friend. Levi took the papers in return and tucked them away in
her envelope.

“So, do you think you can finish one of those
omelets today?” Cat said with a devilish grin.

“Yes, I think I can today,” Levi said
returning Cat’s smile.

They walked across the street and placed
their orders over steaming cups of coffee.

“Cass called last night and said to tell you
she would be arriving Sunday afternoon,” Cat said.

“That is great news, I look forward to having
some company,” Levi said. Her fingers subconsciously went to her
neck and fondled the medallion as she talked with Cat.

Cat observed Levi’s motions and noticed the
medallion, but she did not make any comment on the new piece. It
looked somewhat familiar to Cat, but she could not place where she
had seen a piece like that before.