Souls ReAligned (15 page)

Olivia follows, her eyes still on Ethan. With her free hand, she grabs at his shirt and drags him with her. There are only two chairs, in the very small room. Sitting across from each other, Olivia and Eva exchange a long silent look, while Ethan finds a spot out of the way.

“Why is it that you seem to know us?” Olivia asks curiously.

“Because I do. You have come to me in many past lives.”

“Past lives?” Olivia narrows her eyes and then glances quickly at Ethan. Why does he look suspicious all of a sudden? Did he know about this? All those times when she had a feeling that he was holding something back, was he? The familiarity of the birdhouse… Romeo and Juliet…

Ethan leans against the wall, looking uncomfortable; watching as Eva picks up a deck of Tarot cards and shuffles them with care. Placing them on the table, she waves her hands over them to cleanse them of previous energies. Olivia nervously looks at Ethan, expecting to find him looking amused. His face is stoic, as if he’s taking it very seriously. Placing the deck in front of Olivia, she instructs her, “Cut the deck into three piles.” When Olivia has done what she asks, she picks up all three piles and stacks them back into one deck. “Ask me your question.”

Olivia’s not quite sure where to start, “Well, when you spoke to me out on the street, you told me that he would find me.”

“Yes,” she smiles the sweetest old lady smile, making her appear a lot less intimidating. It makes Olivia relax a little. Ethan remains calm with an expressionless look, listening attentively, and staring at the ground.

“Who exactly will find me?” Olivia persists.

Eva places the deck down in the center of the table and smiles. She doesn’t need to consult the cards to answer this question.

“Him, of course,” when she points at Ethan, he looks up with surprise.

“Ethan was looking for me?” Skeptical, she watches Ethan, shifting his weight back and forth awkwardly.

“Yes.”

“I don’t understand,” Olivia looks back and forth between them, waiting for answers.

“He looks for you in every life, you’re his soul mate,” she says, as if it’s a well-known fact; like every day of the week ends in the letter “Y” or 2 + 2 = 4.

Olivia stumbles with her thoughts, trying to sort out her next question, when Eva gets a strange blank look on her face, “Shhh… your spirit guide wants to tell you something.” Looking past Olivia’s shoulder, she stares into the distance. Olivia fights the urge to turn to see if there’s someone actually there. She almost expects to see the floating head of the “Great and Powerful OZ.” She flashes Ethan a look that makes him start to chuckle. Rubbing his hand over the scruff on his chin, he tries to refocus.

“I’m supposed to ask you about Ireland,” Eva says in a serious tone.

Turning sideways, she looks at Ethan, suspiciously wondering what’s going on here. Has he arranged this whole thing? Is she a victim of a practical joke? She unleashes her best sarcasm.

“Never been. I’ve heard it’s an island.”

“You know what I’m asking,” Eva scolds her, refusing to be intimidated. “You’ve had dreams.”

In Ethan’s words… “What-the-ever-loving fuck?” Peeking at him through her peripheral vision, she hopes that the darkness of the room is shielding her reaction, “Yes.”

“Of Ireland,” Eva confirms.

“Yes.”

“He’s with you in these dreams.” She points at Ethan, who stands straighter as his body tenses.

Where is this going?
Olivia merely nods her head.

“In these dreams you feel his love so deeply, that you wake crying; because you fear you’ll never know love that strong and pure again.”

Olivia’s voice is almost nonexistent now and her eyes lower to the table. Even in the darkness, Ethan can feel her vulnerability. It makes him want to reach out and shield her tender, breakable heart.

“Yes,” she whispers.

Her answer almost kills him. Raking his fingers through his hair, he curses under his breath. Hearing her admit that she’s had these dreams too makes something twist in his gut. Trying to control the intense emotions that he’s experiencing, he fights the tears that are starting to well up in his own eyes.

“Child, these are not dreams. They’re memories of your past life. But, you already knew that. You’re fighting them, refusing to accept it.”

Ethan’s heart aches. Stepping forward, he wipes away the escaping tears with his thumb as they stream freely down her cheeks.

Eva leans across the table, holding Olivia’s hands “Don’t be sad. I told you that he’d find you, and he has. Everything is okay, now.” She wags her finger at her, scolding her. “You tried to push him away, but he won’t abandon you. He can’t. It’s your destiny to be together.”

Olivia glances up at Ethan, noticing the unshed tears in his own eyes. Olivia feels her heart flutter with his touch, their connection much stronger.

Swallowing hard, he pulls himself together and gets to the point of their visit. “She’s worried about the man who hurt her. Will he return for her?” his voice is raspy with emotion.

Picking up the cards again, Eva looks Olivia straight in the eye, “Your question is,
will the man who hurt you return
?”

“Yes,” Olivia sniffles, still trying to gain control of her emotions. She desperately wants Ethan to wrap his powerful arms around her, and settle her mind.

The cards are dealt and the psychic concentrates hard on each one as it’s turned up. When they’re all laid out in formation, she looks at their placement and touches a few of them as she thinks.

“He has never really left. He’s always watching. He must come back for you.”

Olivia starts to fidget, “What do you mean he must?”

“It’s necessary, so that all things can move forward.”

“What does that mean?” She questions her, feeling frustrated.

Eva stares at the cards again and then looks up into Olivia’s panicked face, “Soon your paths will cross again.”

Ethan places his hand on Olivia’s shoulder and squeezes it firmly. “Is Olivia going to be in any danger when he returns?”

Eva shakes her head, “You’ll protect her, as you have always done.”

He stares at Eva, wanting to ask so many more questions, but stops himself. Instead, he looks at his watch and then reaches in his pocket for his wallet, “Olivia. We have to go, Sweetheart. The limo is out front, we need to get to the airport.”

Counting out a few bills, he leaves them on the table, before ushering Olivia to the door. The psychic follows them, standing in the doorway as they head to the limo, “Your sister will be happy to see you. She misses you very much.”

Olivia’s body stiffens, as the driver opens the door for her. “Did you tell her where we were going?” she whispers to Ethan.

“No, I didn’t. Did you?” Ethan sneaks one last look at Eva. The moment that their eyes connect, there is an understanding that passes between them. She smiles at him and he nods at her, silently acknowledging.

Stuck in traffic, they sit in silence for several minutes, neither of them sure how to broach the subject. Finally, Olivia can’t stand it anymore, “Ethan, I need to talk about what just happened.”

“I thought you might,” he entwines his fingers with hers.

“Do you believe what she said? That we’re soul mates and have been together in many lives? That it’s our destiny to be together in this one?”

Rubbing his hand on his chin, his expression becomes pensive, “If someone had told me that six months ago, I would have said they were crazy.”

“But now?” She searches his face, trying to cut through the bullshit and get to the truth.

“Now, I’m not so sure.” Scratching his head, he looks down at her with a look that confirms that he’s feeling just as unnerved as she is.

“What changed?” she continues, in pursuit of the truth.

“You.” Lifting her hand to his lips, he kisses it. Holding it there, he warms it with his breath. “I’ve been trying to tell you that for months.”

“Me?”

“Yes,
you
. Since I’ve met you there are things that I can’t explain.”

Olivia thinks she understands what he’s talking about, “Like the feeling that we’ve known each other for a very long time?”

“Yes, I felt it the moment I saw you.”

“So did I,” she confesses.

“How do you explain that I knew about your weird orange peel phobia?”

“I don’t know, but that was really bizarre. Especially, when you said that you’d always peeled them for me.”

“And the daisies? That wasn’t a coincidence. They hold some kind of special significance to you, don’t they?”

“Yes,” she whispers. “In my dreams,
he
brings me daisies that he’s picked in the meadow on his way home every night.” She looks up at his face and sees something there that she’s never seen before. Her hands twist at the edge of his t-shirt. She moves over beside him, so there’s no space between them, at all. There is a new type of tension in the air, as they try to work things through.

“But there’s more,” Ethan continues. “I know other things about you that I can’t explain.”

“Like what?” Olivia listens attentively, never taking her eyes off him.

“I know that on a windy day, you love to stand facing the wind, and let it blow through your hair and against your face. And I know… how every spring; you anxiously wait for the lilacs to bloom because it is your very favorite smell in the entire world.

“Oh my God, Ethan!” She’s stunned. Her insides churn as if she’s on an amusement park ride.

“Olivia…” He kisses her quickly, hesitant about voicing his thoughts. He realizes that this is probably his only opportunity to lay it all on the table, “I know that you dream about yourself in a pink lace ball gown, lined in silk. You stand in the middle of a dance floor in a grand ballroom with black and white marbled floors and red velvet curtains. The conductor is wearing a blue sash and white gloves. When the orchestra begins to play, you waltz around the floor with grace and confidence. You’re so beautiful. You’re happier than you’ve ever felt in your life. So happy, that you don’t want it to end.”

Tears stream down her cheeks, “How? How could you know that?”

Leaning his forehead against hers, he struggles to hide the moisture gathering in the corners of his eyes. There’s no point, his emotion can be heard in his voice, “Because… I’m there. You’re dancing with me. I’m more certain of that than I am of anything else in my life. I was there and it’s
me
that you love.” Pausing, he clears his throat as he lifts his chin and leans his mouth against her forehead. “Olivia, I think she’s right. It’s not a dream. It’s a memory.”

Olivia’s heart thumps hard against her chest. She can’t stand the thought of any space between them right now.

He wraps his arms around her, when she climbs onto his lap. Holding her close against his chest, he brushes the edge of her jaw with the tender pad of his thumb. He nuzzles his nose in her hair before laying his cheek against the top of her head.

She can feel his heart beating with the same intensity as hers. It’s overwhelming. For the first time she knows, with absolute certainty, that this is exactly where she’s meant to be: in his arms, in his life…in his heart.

Lifting her head, she kisses him, softly and sweetly at first, then with growing passion. When she takes a break for air, he wipes the damp tearstains from her cheeks. Taking a good hard look at his face, she memorizes every line, every detail every fleck of green in his eyes. “That’s a lot to think about,” she whispers. “What do we do now?”

Ethan kisses her forehead, her cheek, and then her chin… not stopping until he has kissed every inch of her face. “We take one day at a time and figure it out. Just like before.”

Time has a way of passing quickly when she’s wrapped in Ethan’s protective arms. Before she knows it, they’re arriving at the airport in Halifax. Ethan has worked himself into a fury, since the flight was late arriving. Olivia tries her best to settle him, but he’s going to be late for his appointment and that’s all he can think about. Lifting her bag off the luggage conveyor, he grimaces at its unexpected weight. Raising an eyebrow at her, he makes her laugh, “I’m afraid to see how much you’d pack for a full week.” He grins as she looks at his one small duffle bag with curiosity.

“And everything you need is in there?”

“Of course. Men don’t need all the stuff you girls do. I have deodorant, a toothbrush, change of underwear and comfortable clothes. What else do I need?”

She shrugs her shoulders and smiles, “Nothing, I guess. It sounds perfectly proficient to me. But then, everything that comes out of your mouth sounds that way.”

For the first time in hours, he gives her that boyish grin, “Give me a kiss, I’ve got to run. There’s a car waiting outside to take me to the meeting. Your sister should be waiting for you just outside those doors over there.”

Olivia frowns, “You don’t have time to just say
hello
to them?”

“No, I’m afraid not. Please stop pouting. I have to go. Text me your sister’s address and I’ll join you tomorrow.” brushing a quick kiss on her lips, he starts to walk away.

“Wait! Ethan? Tomorrow?”

Turning slightly, he glances back at her. She can tell from his demeanor that he’s getting more annoyed. Heaven forbid Ethan O’Connell should fall behind schedule!

“Yes, tomorrow,” he answers, while still walking.

Gah! There’s no way she’s going to allow him to dismiss her again. Leaving her bag in the middle of the floor, she walks after him, “Wait!”

Startled by her tone, he stops and turns toward her with a questioning look.

“We’re not staying together tonight?”

“No, Liv. You’re going to spend time with your sister, and I’m going to stay in Halifax, at a hotel.”

“Alone?”

He scowls at her, “Of course ALONE! What is this all about?” Growling impatiently, he looks at his watch again.

“You didn’t tell me this was part of the plan. I don’t want you to stay in Halifax tonight.” She wants to be as close to him as humanly possible after all that transpired a few hours ago.

Ethan walks toward her, with that look in his eye. The one that warns her that she’s about to be kissed. Licking her lips to moisten them, her heart races in anticipation. Swooping down, he claims her. Forcing her mouth wide open, his tongue devours her. Dropping his bag to the floor he wraps his arms around her, pulling her as close as he can against his hard muscular body.

“I… Have… To… Go,” he says between kisses.

She tries to grasp at his clothing as he pulls away. “Ethan.”

Grabbing her hands, he holds them still, “Stop. You’re here this weekend to spend time with your sister. I’m going to stay at the hotel, out of the way. I don’t want to hear any more about it. I’ll call you tonight.”

One last quick brush of his lips across hers and he’s gone; leaving her watching his magnificent Irish ass disappear through the crowd. She resists the urge to chase after him, begging him to change his mind. She always hated those kinds of girls, the clingy ones. Clenching her jaw, she closes her eyes and takes a long slow breath.

Walking away, Ethan fights the urge to glance back at her. He craves one last look at her beautiful mouth and alluring eyes before he leaves. He ignores the urge, knowing that it will kill him to see that pouting lip again. This weekend is not about him. It’s not about all the confusing things they talked about in the limo. It’s not about how badly he wants to bring her to her knees in submission. It’s definitely not about him spreading her legs, sinking into her while she does that thing she does; squeezing her pussy so tightly around his cock it makes him come so hard that he feels dizzy afterwards. Lord knows that he wishes it were about that, and so does his cock at the moment.

This trip is about Olivia, her sister, and the time they need to spend together. His needs will just have to wait. He’ll use the evening alone at the hotel to make plans and prepare himself for his trip back home.
Shit!
That came fast. His mind races a million miles an hour. How is Olivia going to manage the four weeks or more that he’ll be in Ireland, when she’s upset about spending two days apart? Throwing his bag into the backseat of the waiting car, he climbs in beside it. Leaning his head back against the seat, he tries to think of a plan.

Olivia runs to her sister, throwing her arms around her in a hug. Tears well up in both their eyes. Megan’s husband Rick rolls his eyes.

“Girls and their blubbering. I’ll never understand it.” Reaching down, he picks up Olivia’s bag and grunts, “What the hell do you have in here?”

Laughing, Olivia takes her sister’s hand and walks along beside her, “I can’t wait to see the kids. Where are they?”

“At home with a babysitter. There was no way I was going to drag the three of them all the way into Halifax. Besides, I wanted to give you my undivided attention for at least an hour, so you can tell me
everything
about Ethan.”

Butterflies take flight in Olivia’s stomach at the mention of his name. Boy, does she have a lot to share with her sister! Starting with the whole “soul mates and past life” story. Megan will LOVE that one for sure.

Megan looks around the lobby, “Where is he? Did he come with you or did something come up?”

“He was late for a meeting so he didn’t have time to say ‘hi’. He’s staying in a hotel in Halifax tonight so we have all night to talk about him, just you and I.”

“Oh, I love that man already,” Megan gives her sister’s hand a tight squeeze. She loves the thought of having her sister all to herself. He really must love her to plan this trip for her. She can’t wait to finally meet him.

“Are you enjoying time with your sister?”

Olivia tries to contain her excitement when she hears his voice on the phone. It’s only been a few hours but it feels like forever, “Yes, we had so much to catch up on. How did your meeting go? Are you at the hotel now?”

“Yes, I’m just heading up to my room. I think it went well. There’s some viable business there. I think there would be some mutual benefits to our partnership. Time will tell.” He’s slightly amused, when Olivia lets out a small groan, “What?”

“I’m really missing you and it’s kind of hot when you talk all business like that.”

He grins as he pushes open his hotel room door and drops his stuff on the floor. Falling back on the bed, he thinks about their first overnight stay together, “I miss you, too.”

She looks at her watch and whispers into the phone, “Megan is busy putting the kids to bed. I can borrow her car and be there in an hour. We can pretend you’re an unhappily married man, meeting your lover for a secret rendezvous.”

His cock hardens instantly, making him curse as he unzips his pants to relieve some of the pressure, “I’ll be furious if you do. I don’t want you making such a long drive by yourself. You’ll see me tomorrow. I plan on being there just before noon.”

“I’m going to have a hard time getting to sleep without you here. And… I like waking up with you beside me,” she protests.

Ethan sits on the edge of the bed. “I’m having a
hard
time right now. I like hearing you say that. But, Baby, after this weekend I’m going to be gone for a very long time. You might as well get used to me not being there.”

Her stomach tightens as chills run through her body, “I don’t want to think about that. It’s too upsetting.”

Ethan gets to his feet and paces along the foot of the bed, “Then come with me.”

“I can’t Ethan. I can’t just walk away in the middle of this project. This customer has been a real challenge. He’s very difficult to work with. If I walked away now, we’d lose the account. I’m sure of it.” Well that’s part of the reason. She feels guilty for not telling him the whole truth.

“Well, then come for part of the time, a week or two? I want to introduce you to my family. I want to show you Ireland and how beautiful it is,” he softly pleads, knowing it won’t do him a damn bit of good.

There’s a long silence on the phone while Olivia tries to justify all the reasons she shouldn’t go. There’s no explaining her apprehension to Ethan. Not without him losing his mind. Things between them have just moved along too quickly. She hasn’t adjusted yet. He will never accept that as a reason, but he just won’t let it go.

She’ll turn his own game against him and distract him with sex. Smiling, she slips into her room for some privacy, “So… you don’t want me to come join you tonight?”

“I want you to stay there and spend time with your sister. What my dick wants doesn’t matter right now.” Breathing a sigh of relief, he steps out of his pants, releasing the pressure off his throbbing erection.

“So then, why don’t you lie down on the bed? Wrap your hand around that beautiful hard cock of yours, while I tell you ALL the nasty things I would let you do to me if I was there.”

Olivia is a bundle of nerves this morning, making her brother in law chuckle at her behavior, “You’d think you were waiting for a rock star or someone from the royal family. This guy has really gotten to you, eh?”

“Leave her alone,” Megan warns him. Her stern look turns into a smile as she hears a car pulling down the long driveway of their beautiful Wolfville country home.

Rick throws his head back in laughter as Olivia stiffens in her seat, looking panic-stricken. She finally follows Megan to the door and out on to the porch. When Ethan gets out of the car and Megan gets her first good look at him she’s blown away.

“Holy shit! Is that Ethan?”

Olivia’s heart pounds as if she hasn’t seen him in a million years, “Yes. That’s
my
man.” A million little nerve endings spring to life, making her tingle. It feels good to finally say it out loud, claiming him as her own. She wonders if this feeling of complete exhilaration when she sees him will ever wear off.

“He’s gorgeous!” Megan looks at her sister, amused at the blush that sweeps over her.

Ethan swaggers toward the house wearing a casual military style outfit.
Bastard!
He knows how men in uniform turn her on. The sight of him takes her breath away. The matching military style hat draws her attention to the piercing brightness of his eyes. He makes that hat look very sexy. Her heart starts to race at an even faster pace. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knows that it’s not the hat at all… It’s the man. It’s the masculine gait of his walk, the pure maleness of his hard muscled body.

The faint aroma of his cologne, sweeps gently past her on the warm late morning breeze. “I think he’s hot.” She melts into a puddle as he locks his gaze to hers, his green eyes pinning her where she stands. As thoughts of their recent phone sex replay in her mind, heat surges and moisture pools between her legs. When she overcomes the intoxicating effect he has on her, she starts toward him. Her pace quickens as she grows nearer, until she’s firmly pressed against his chest and his thick biceps wrap around her.

Rick joins Megan on the porch and watches as Ethan and Olivia exchange a toe curling
can’t breathe when I’m not with you
kiss. Megan looks over at her husband, her face flushed red in response to the sexual tension in the air. Rick raises an eyebrow and smiles, “I’m giving him five seconds to finish that kiss, and then I’m turning the hose on them.”

Cuddling up beside him, she feels the need for a little affection from her own man. “Stop it!” she giggles. The sound of fighting siblings erupts from the garage. Rick sighs and scratches his head. Leaning down, he kisses Megan sweetly, “I’ve got it. You see to your sister’s guest.”

Megan starts down the porch steps and heads toward them. She’s can no longer wait to meet the man who, in her mind, has
saved
her baby sister. Olivia is glowing when she introduces him.

He immediately lifts Megan’s hand to his mouth to kiss it. Typical charming Ethan O’Connell, he never disappoints. She recalls that, when she first met him, she was suspicious of his warm smile and chivalrous acts. He is captivating, charming, and enchanting; except for the times when he’s rude, quick tempered, and bossy, of course. There’s no doubt in her mind now, that those things are all truly part of the man that Ethan O’Connell is. He was terrified that the
real
him was going to scare the shit out of her. Instead, she’s certain that it’s made her fall in love with him all the more. It’s too easy to pretend you’re somebody you’re not at the beginning of a relationship. Secrets don’t stay secrets for long. This she knows for a fact.

It’s a perfect day to spend outside in the sunshine. The gentle breeze isn’t showing any sign of the usually cool eastern Canadian autumn air. Her sister has made Ethan feel right at home. It’s awesome that he and Rick have the same sense of humor. She catches them, a couple of times, sharing a private chuckle at the expense of either herself or her sister.

Surrounded by her family, the warmth in her heart almost overwhelms her. With Ethan by her side, Olivia couldn’t feel any more content. Playing with the kids, she’s reminded of her childhood and the times her and her sister shared with her mom and dad.