Taken Over (Book 2 The Ravening Series) (9 page)

  
I listened to the sounds of the birds and squirrels moving through the trees, reassured and lulled by their presence. I had learned in the beginning that when the aliens were near
,
the anim
als became eerily quiet. A
pparently they were even terrified
, and scared off
by the monsters lurking about. I listened to them jump and play, smiling softly as one squirrel yelled angrily at another before skittering down a tree.

   It was all so peaceful at the moment, it was nearly perfect. If only…

   And then Cade was sitting beside me, his
midnight
hair falling over his hard, handsome features. His
stunning
onyx eyes gleamed in the filtering light of the day. There was sadness in his gaze, but also a
love so deep that I felt it to the very
bottom
of my soul.
“Bethany,” he breathed
.
H
is strong
,
calloused hand
s
r
an
gently over mine. His fingers played delic
iously
over my
skin as he shifted closer
. I could feel the heat of his lean,
hard
muscled body against mine. Shivers of delight and desire raced over me, I could hardly breathe
past
the need thumping through me. “
My
Bethany.”

   Tears choked me. “Yes,” I agreed, unable to do anything else because it was so unbelievably true. I
was
his, I would
always
be
his
. “I’m dreaming
again
aren’t I?”

   It had been a
while s
ince he had haunted my dreams, a
while since I had
dreamed
even.
I must have fallen asleep for far longer than I
’
d
intend
ed to. It was odd how very aware
I was of these facts
at this moment
.
This was a dream, he wasn’t real,
it would all go away,
but it was all so wonderfully perfect right now that I didn’t care.

   “You are,” he confirmed.

   “I miss you. So much.” My voice cracked on the words, his thumb gently wiped away the tear that slid free. “I’m broken without you.”

   “You’re not broken Bethany, you’re just wounded. You’ve been here before, you will survive this
too
.”

   “I know. I know I will. I just wish you were here.
All the
time
I wish you were here.
”

   He leaned forward; his lips were soft against my cheeks as he kissed my tears away. Those lips, those wondrously marvelous and warm lips were everything that I remembered as my heart hammered in eager anticipation.
I felt the brush of them in every
fiber of my being
as warmth spread out from the point of contact. The heat seeped through my body, warming
all
of my frozen cells.
“I wish I was here too.”

   A small sob escaped me, and then his lips were upon mine
, desperate and fervent in his fierce need
.
M
y heart leapt and soared in my chest, everything within me screamed for so much more. I melted against him, clinging to him, never wanting to let go of his solid arms as my mind spun with happiness and desire. Even though I knew this wasn’t real, that it couldn’t last
,
I allowed myself to be swept up in the joy
and wonder
that filled me.

   It may not be
just an illusion
,
but it was so unbelievably right that
the agony within me ease
d
. I
found I
could actually breathe again as his tongue swept into my mouth
.
H
is hands found my cheeks, my hair, and my collarbone before stroking over my arms
once more
. He moved suddenly, lifting me and
settling
me
into
his lap
.
H
is hand entangled in my hair as he pulled my head back, his lips travel
ed
over my throat for a brief moment.

   “
My
Bethany,” he whispered again.

   I was crying freely now, I couldn’t stop it as pleasure
and sorrow
encompassed me. “Yes,” I agreed over and over. “Forever,” I vowed.

   He pul
led slowly back; his midnight eyes
were
brilliant, sparkling in the bright light of day. I hated the grief in them, the loss. “You must hold onto your hope Bethany.”

   “I can’t hope for you to return anymore, it’s too hard, it’s too much.
” I could barely speak through the agony wrenching at my soul.
“
I’ll love you forever and always, but I have to let myself grieve for you now. I must.”

   His fingers stroked lightly over my cheeks, his head tilted slightly to the side. He was magnificent in the light, heartbreakingly handsome, and he was
mine
. Even if he was gone forever
,
he would always be mine. “I did not say hope for me Bethany. You must grieve me, you must let me go one day, but you have to hold o
n
t
o
your
hope.”

   “I have no hope anymore,” I breathed.

   “Of course you do. You wouldn’t be here
, and you wouldn’t be doing
this
,
if
you didn’t. You must cling to your hope
, hold onto it, and use it to get you through these hard times.”

   I frowned at him, not understanding what he meant, and then I got it. “I do have hope for mankind. I
do
have hope that we will survive.”
   His grin was breathtaking, his eyes alight with delight. “I know you do, and as long as you hold onto that hope you will survive.”

   I frowned; his words had broken
my
small bubble of bliss I
’
d
discovered
in
this dream world
. “Of course you know,” I whispered through the growing lump in my throat. “This is only a dream, you are only my subconscious. Of course you know that there is hope still within me, even if I hadn’t
realized it
until now
.”

   Sadness crept over him, his hands stroked
through
my
honey colored
hair
as he
spread it out before us.
In the real world m
y hair wasn’t lo
o
s
e
; it was tied back in
a long braid and twisted
in
to
a bun in order to keep
it f
rom tangling to badly. It also wasn’t this clean as
regular
showers and bathes were a luxury that we didn’t always have anymore. I was glad that it was gleaming and shiny in
this world
though. I didn’t care if he was real or not, I still wanted to
be clean and
look
as
good
as I possibly could
for him, no matter what.

   “Beautiful,” he whispered. “My beautiful Bethany.”

   I closed my eyes. Even if I didn’t agree with his words, especially next to his
masculine
perfection, they were wonderful to hear.
M
y nose
was
a little too pointy
, my face still round
,
full
, and babyish
even
though I’d
lost
weight
.
I was too skinny, awkward
, and clumsy
. There was no grace, no perfection about me, but in Cade’s eyes there
wa
s. Or at least there
had
been. I knew that with absolute certainty.
Even with
all of my imperfections h
e had found me beautiful
,
and he had loved me.

   I opened my eyes, blinking away my tears as I tried to focus on his beloved face. “Magnificent Cade.”
   That striking grin was back. It was even more beautiful for the rarity with which it had existed in real life. “If you say so.”
   “I know so.”
   His hand stilled in my hair, he bent to kiss me again. “It’s almost time for me to go, but you must remember what I said. You can do this Bethany; you can succeed where others wouldn’t.
You’re so much stronger than even you realize.
I know your soul, your heart, and though you’re wounded now, you will one day bring the pieces back together.”
   “The biggest piece will always be missing.”
He studied me for a long moment. Though this was my dream, his anguish and longing seemed almost real. Almost
palpable
.
Once again I was struck by the strange reality of this dre
am. His need for me, his hurt for me and everything we’d had and everything we’d lost, was there. I could feel it.
His torment beat against me so fiercely that I felt I had to say something to try and ease
it
. “But I can put the rest of the puzzle together,” I tried to assure him.

   He smiled wanly at me as he began to stroke my face again. “I love you Bethany.”
   I buried myself against him, clinging to him as I pressed my face into his neck and cried freely. I had never
said
those words to him in life, it was something that I would always regret, but I said them now, and I said them repeatedly, and fervently. I hoped that somehow he would be able to hear them, that somewhere a piece of him still existed and
could
fe
e
l the genuine outpouring of my love for him.