Seduction of Souls (7 page)

Passion engulfed them as the
y hurriedly shed their clothes, all the while maintaining eye contact.  Their link not being broken from the moment they set eyes on each other.  Kissing each other fervently, their skin flushed pink as their fire for each other ran through their bodies. With a fast and furious pace they fulfilled their desires.

Sated, they lay in each other’s arms in the empty stall of the barn.  Without regard for the consequences
, they both fell into a deep sleep, only to be startled awake by the roar of her enraged father.  His face contorted, red in his fury. He stood in the opening of the barn stall, a horsewhip clinched tightly in his beefy fist, his knuckles white.

“Charity!”

RayeAnn
startled awake, sweating profusely and gasping for breath.  She began to tremble in fear, trying to mentally reassure herself that it was just a dream, not real.  She heard Bryn running through the house as she called RayeAnn’s name nervously.

“In here.”  My lord
, she needed some sense of reality to hold on to.

“Are you all right?  I heard you screaming all the way up in my room.”

“Yeah, I’m fine.  Charity paid me another visit, only this time I wasn’t picking daisies in a fricking field.”

“Tell me about it.  You’ll feel better once you get it out of your system.”

She didn’t have to be asked twice.  Sitting up on the couch and still dressed in her clothes, she let the story tumble out of her mouth, leaving out nothing.  Bryn sat next to her, absorbed in the story.  Every once in a while she nodded in understanding.

After
RayeAnn finished the story they sat in silence, both staring off into space, consumed by their own thoughts. 

“Do you think it’s possible that this happened because of the research you did tonight about Nathaniel?”

“No, my gut tells me it was real, or rather, that it really happened.  I was Charity again, not an onlooker, and my research still hasn’t connected the two of them.  The only real connection is Ryker’s dream.  It makes me wonder if Ryker had a dream as well tonight.”

Right on cue the phone rang shrilly on the desk.

“My guess is yes.  Not many people call us at four in the morning.”  Bryn reached for the phone and answered the question she knew would come out the phone before it was asked.

“Yes.  She did.”
  She stood in front of the desk, her free arm across her torso.

“Are you psychic? 
RayeAnn never mentioned that to me.”

“No, I’m not
, but I am smart.  Here’s RayeAnn.”  Bryn extended the phone to her without comment.

“Ryker?  Did you have a visit from Nathaniel?”

“Yep.  I’m guessing Charity visited you, too.”

At the same time they spoke the same words, “tell me about it.”

“Ladies, first.”

And so, yet again she went into her
long story about the dream from beginning to end, including the feelings she felt while the dream was going on.  She ended with a synopsis of the research she had done that evening and her plans for follow-up.

“Your turn.”

“Ditto.  Except mine was from the perspective of Nathaniel.”

“Ryker, has this ever happened to you before?  Do spirits regularly visit you in your dreams?”

“No, never.  I’ve seen a lot of really weird shit, but nothing like this has ever happened to me or anyone else on my team.  I’ve got some contacts, past professors of mine from college, that I’m going to check with tomorrow and see if I can get a grasp on how to handle all of this.  I have to be honest here, I’m not sure what else to do other than let it play out.”

“Umm,
I’m not liking that plan too much.  I hate the feeling of not having control over my mind or body, it freaks me out.  We need a Plan B.  In the meantime I’m going to get myself a large bottle of NoDose.”  The words had barley escaped her lips when books started flying off the shelves, swirling through the air before slamming onto the floor violently.  Not just one or two books, mind you, more like fifteen or twenty all at one time and from all different shelves.

B
oth women began screaming, ducking down and covering their heads with their arms for protection.  Bryn rushed to join her on the couch, both of them shaking so powerfully that the couch began to vibrate across the room.  Just as suddenly the commotion stopped.  The only sound came from the phone that now lay on the floor.

“
RAYEANN!  Answer me, goddamn it, what the hell’s going on over there.”  With a quaking hand she picked up the phone and answered him.

“Someone doesn’t like the Plan B idea.  We need you to come over here right away.  You won’t believe it unless you see it for yourself.  Hell, I’m not even sure I believe it, and I just lived through it.  I’ll put the coffee on, how soon can you get here?”

“Already on my way.  When I heard the screaming I ran out to the car, should be there in twenty.  Don’t touch a thing. Just answer me this, are you and Bryn all right.”

“Physically, yes.  That’s the best I can give you at the moment.  Hurry over, please, I’m scared.”
  Tears stung her eyes as she hung up the phone.  Bryn stood next to her and took in the disaster area formerly known as the library.  Whatever or whoever it was had thankfully left RayeAnn’s desk alone.  Shaking her head, she headed for the kitchen to make the coffee, clutching onto the furniture for support of her quaking body.

CHAPTER 8

“Either someone had a nasty temper tantrum or you’re the messiest researcher I’ve ever met.”  Ryker smiled at RayeAnn and tried to lighten the heavy mood that hung in the air. 

He was stunned at the obvious violence of the attack, for he couldn’t think of a better term to describe it at the moment.  Suppressing the shiver that wanted to make his body
quiver, he surveyed the damage.

“
Did the books fly off the shelves one at a time or all of them at once?”

“All at once.  Why?” 
RayeAnn frowned as though she found the question odd. 

“Just curious.” 
He shrugged in a nonchalant way, as if this happened every day of his life.

“Oh, on my way here I called the rest of my team.  They should be arriving shortly
, so don’t freak out when someone knocks on the door.

“Are you insinuating that we’re a couple of hysterical females?
You’d have freaked, too!  Are you telling me, Mr. cool and calm, that flying books wouldn’t bother you?   What gives you the right to judge us?  Just who the hell…”  His hand covered her mouth before she could finish what she was saying.

“No.  I just didn’t want you to get scared about who would be knocking at your door before five in the morning.  Don’t go putting words in my mouth there, Rat.”

“What did you just call me?”

“RAT.  Those are your initials, R.A.T.  It’s a little thing I do, calling people what their initials spell.”

“Well, don’t.  I don’t want to be known as a rodent.”

“Hey, blame your parents.  I just call it like I see it.”

“And another thing, don’t ever cover my mouth again while I’m speaking.  This is my house, buster, and I’ll say and do whatever the hell I want in it.  How rude.”

“I had no choice, you were rolling completely off the grid there.  It was the only way I could get your attention.  If you want me to stop
, then pay attention when I’m trying to talk to you.”

“All right, enough children.  Do I have to put you in separate rooms on a time out?”  Bryn stood with her hands on her hip
s, glaring at both of them and looking as angry as a wet chicken.  “Now, shake hands and play nice, or no dessert tonight.”

RayeAnn
stuck her hand out, but instead of taking it, Ryker pulled her into his arms and kissed her within an inch of sanity. The tingling she felt throughout her body was about a man and a woman and nothing else.   Nothing otherworldly, but certainly magic, zinged throughout her body.  The only word that came to mind was more.  When he deepened the kiss, pressing his tongue to her lips she responded immediately.  Soon their tongues were caressing each other in a sensual, slow dance.  Her mind drifted dreamily as her hands moved over his muscled back.  When he broke the kiss, releasing her body at the same time, she fell onto the couch in stunned silence, something that she had to admit didn’t happen very often to her.  Especially the silence part.

She looked into those deep blue eyes of his, sensing that the kiss had stunned him just as stupid.  Neither one regain
ed the ability to speak before someone came knocking at the door, bringing her back to reality with a little jump.  On her way to the front door she spoke to him over her shoulder.

“That was the best handshake I’ve ever had.”  Smiling broadly, she swung the heavy oak door open to greet her guests.  Still a little weak kneed from the astounding kiss, she made a mental note to piss him off more often.

Two attractive men stood on her porch, hopping from one foot to the other in an effort to keep warm.  The blond hunk spoke first while his breath came out in a fog of warm air. 

“Hi, I’m Jarrod
, and this is Tim.  We’re here with Soul Search, Ryker called us.”

“Great, come join the party.  Can I get you two anything?  We have fresh coffee, juice, water, whiskey…pretty much anything you want.”

“Coffee would be great, thanks,” Jarrod answered for both of them, motioning back and forth with his finger between the two of them.

When
RayeAnn looked up she saw something she thought she would never see in her lifetime.  Bryn, hard working, take no prisoners in love, tell it like it is Bryn, was gaping like a twelve year old girl with a crush on the new handsome English teacher.  She could practically see the little hearts circling around her head.   Looking behind her she wondered which man had her in such a state.  No question about it, Tim was practically drooling.

“Bryn, would you mind helping me get Jarrod and Tim their coffee?”
  When she didn’t answer immediately, RayeAnn tried to cover for her.

“Oh, gosh, where are my manners.  Jarrod and Tim
, this is my best friend and roommate, Bryn.  Bryn, may I present to you Jarrod and Tim from Soul Search.”

As subtly as possible she gave he
r friend a short, quick jab in the ribs with her elbow, trying to bring her back to life.

“Oops, sorry, didn’t mean to poke you.”  She stepped into Bryn’s line of vision to break the trance.

“Umm, nice to meet you both.  Ryker will show you around while we get the drinks.  Make yourself at home.”

Purposely they walked casually to the kitchen.  Maturity did have some rewards and one was learning to not scream and jump up and down until you we sure
guys were done checking out your ass on your way out.  Once the door was closed completely, they were silently cheering, giving each other high fives and body bumping like two seasoned football players. 

“
You first.  Tell me all about that amazing kiss I witnessed.  Was it as good as it looked?”  Bryn prompted, her hands giving her the come-on motion.

RayeAnn
rolled her eyes as if she were tasting something divine while her hand hovered over her heart.  “Better.  The best I’ve ever had.  It was…I don’t know a better way to describe it.”  She let out a huff of breath while a satisfied grin took over her face.  “I noticed you were stunned by Tim’s brilliantly good looks.  Come on, spit it out.”

“He’s gorgeous!”  Bryn giggled briefly.  “Do you think he’s interested in me?”  She bit her bottom lip.

“Umm, duh!  Of course he’s interested.”  RayeAnn put her hands on her hips and shook her head.

“Do you think Charity and Nathaniel have anything to do with our reaction to these men?  Both of us have extensive man experience, yet here we are acting like a couple of school girls.  It’s so unlike us.  We’re always the ones in control…always.”

“Maybe that’s why you went off on Ryker.  You felt your control slipping and it scared you.”

“Damn, you’re smart.  I think you’re exactly right about that.  But I also think we need to keep that little tidbit to ourselves.  Did I mention he has a degree in psychology?”

“No problem.  Let’s get this coffee out to them before it gets cold.”  They loaded all the coffee and accessories onto two trays and walked calmly back to the library.

********

Jarrod and Ryker stood with their arms folded across their chests, staring at Tim and waiting for an explanation.  He refused to make eye contact with either of them, looking around the room so hard he almost wrenched his neck.  Tim finally looked into Ryker’s curious eyes.

“Well, spill it.  What the hell just happened between you and
Bryn?  Do you know her?”  Ryker began the interrogation.

Tim ran his hand through his hair and down his face. 
“Hell, I don’t know what happened.  I’ve never laid eyes on her before today, at least I don’t remember ever having that shit happen before.  It was like I was dumbstruck.”