The Magic in her Gift (5 page)

Sara watched him walk away and had to
bite her lip to keep from screaming.

I’m leaving you my magic so
you can create your own happiness. Anything you can imagine is
possible. Reach for your dreams with your gift.

Sara could hear her grandmother’s voice
in her head. “But how, Grandmother? How do I make my dreams come
true?”

Chapter 3

Sara walked into her grandmother’s
bedroom and closed the door, fighting the urge to slam it shut.
Dinner with her mother and Bart had been a true test of her
patience. The casserole Elias provided had too much fat, the iced
tea had too much sugar and dessert should’ve been skipped all
together. And to top the evening off, she had to listen to Bart
trying to charm her mother into selling the island so he could earn
a stupid commission.

“
Where’s a damn Domino’s
when you need them?” Sara walked over to her suitcase and lifted it
to the bed. Unzipping it quickly, she placed the letter from her
grandmother on top of her clothes and then dug around in the side
pocket and pulled out a Snickers bar. Smiling, she peeled back the
paper and took a huge bite. Groaning softly, she let the chocolate
endorphins flood her system, taking away the stress of the
evening.

Finishing off her candy quickly, Sara
pulled her clothes from the bag and walked over to the closet. The
squeak of the door hinges sent chills up her back as she pulled
open the door. Inside, her grandmother’s clothes hung neatly on
metal hangers, her bathrobe hanging on a hook in the door. Several
pairs of shoes lined up in a neat row under the dresses with a
basket sitting at the end. Sara checked the contents and discovered
a pile of orphaned socks, no two matching. Laughing, she pushed the
clothes aside to make room to hang her own things. The sound of the
hangers sliding along the bar sounded loud in the small enclosure.
Turning, she took down the hanging robe and held it to her
nose.

“
Is this what you smelled
like, Grandmother?” The scent was a combination of perfume, soap
and powder. It made her think of warm hugs and kisses. Smiling, she
took the robe and laid it on the bed. Not wasting any time, she
stripped off her clothes and bundled the soft, terrycloth garment
around her. Pushing all the pillows off onto the floor, she pulled
back the bed covers and then walked over and turned out the
overhead light. Softly, her feet bare on the braided rug, she
padded back over to the bed and sat down.

“
Did you share this bed with
Karl?” She ran her hand over the silky, clean sheets. “Did you
share a great passion with him?” Sara began to unbraid her hair,
thinking about the last time she’d slept with Bart. “Grandmother,
do you think I’ll ever have passion?” She snorted. “Not if I marry
Bart.”

Sara walked over to the dresser and
picked up her grandmother’s hairbrush. She slowly began to comb her
long hair. It fell several inches past her shoulders now. The feel
of it against her neck always made her feel feminine when it hung
loose.

Use your gift, Sarafina. The
magic is in your gift.

“
Grandmother?” Sara looked
around the room with a frown on her face. “If you came to me in
Atlanta, is it so strange to think you’d come to me here, in your
own house? Where are you when I need you?” Getting no response, she
put down the brush and went to lie down on the bed. “Help me,
Grandmother. I don’t know what to do.” Getting no response, Sara
closed her eyes and succumbed to the exhaustion of her long
day.

Sara looked around and
wondered how she came to be on the beach dressed in her nightgown.
The sand felt warm under her bare feet, the breeze softly caressing
her face. The moon was bright and round in the sky, seeming to
shine directly on her beach.

She had just begun to walk
toward the house when she caught a movement from the corner of her
eye. She looked down the beach and stumbled to a halt, her eyes
widening, her mouth going dry. A man walked slowly toward her, the
most handsome man she’d ever seen. He looked close to six feet tall
with dark hair and broad shoulders. Dressed only in a pair of
shorts, she could see the smattering of dark hair across his chest
that narrowed down his abdomen and disappeared beneath his
waistband. His thighs were large and muscular, framing the bulge of
his erection clearly outlined beneath his shorts. She raised her
eyes to his and saw the face of a predator, a man with a mission.
She trembled as he came near, close enough for her to see the blue
of his eyes.

“
Who are you,” she
whispered.

“
My name is Meloir, and you
are my Heart Mate.”

“
Your name is Meloir? Wait,
what’s a Heart Mate?”

He stepped closer and cupped
the back of her head, threading his fingers through her hair.
“Destined soul mates,” he groaned against her lips as he lightly
pressed his mouth to hers.

Leaning back, he released
her hair and grabbed her waist, pulling her closer. As her hands
rested on the soft hairs of his chest, his hands moved around to
her back, skimming up her spine and then curling around her neck.
Sara whimpered in her throat when his thumb glided along her bottom
lip. She couldn’t resist letting her tongue lightly touch his salty
skin.

Growling softly, he cupped
Sara’s face in his hands and brought his lips down to hers.
Temptingly, he ran his tongue over her flesh, coaxing her to open.
Her gasp of surprise gave him the opening he needed, allowing him
to lick his way inside. Devouring her mouth, his hands slowly swept
down the length of her body.

Sara pressed closer, rubbing
her taut nipples against his chest. Ending the kiss, Meloir moved
his mouth to her shoulders, pressing feathery light kisses against
her skin and then trailed his lips back up her throat to her
mouth.

“
Your skin is like silk, so
soft and warm. I want to feel it all,” his words whispered into her
open mouth.

Lowering his hands, he
cupped her breasts, squeezing gently, her head falling forward to
lie against his chest. She could feel his moan vibrate against her
ear. He traced her softness through the gown, teasing the tips of
her breasts until her body trembled with the need to feel his
fingers on her flesh.

Moving his hands up her
arms, Meloir slid the straps of her gown over her shoulders and
allowed the silky garment to fall. For a moment it caught on her
distended nipples and then he gave it a tug and let it pool around
her ankles.

“
You’re so beautiful,” he
whispered as he softly thumbed her nipples, teasing them into even
harder points.

She moaned softly when
Meloir covered one of the tips with his mouth, sucking and flicking
the nipple with his tongue. Her nerves screamed with pleasure as
she arched her back to push further into his mouth while his
fingers molded and squeezed her other breast.

“
No man will ever love you
the way I will, Sarafina. You must call for me. Join our hearts
together for all time.”

Sara heard his words, but
before she could question their meaning, he pinched her nipple
hard, sending little tremors of excitement coursing through her.
Her hands closed around his neck, sifting through the hair at his
nape, and pulled his lips to hers for a kiss. Plunging her tongue
into his mouth, she barely registered when he lowered her to lie on
the sand. Pulling back, he let his eyes rake over her body from
head to toe and then centered his gaze on the apex of her thighs.
She gasped when he ran his thumb over the silky fabric covering her
feminine secrets.

“
Shhh, it’s all right,
love.” Meloir caressed her stomach and then allowed his fingers to
dive under the waistband of her panties to rake through her curls
and spread her lips apart. Reaching up, he dragged his mouth along
the skin of her shoulder and neck and then ravaged her mouth in a
kiss, his tongue raking over every surface in her mouth. Abandoning
her lips, he let his tongue trace a line down the middle of her
body, stopping when he reached the elastic of her panties. Slowly,
inch by inch, he slid the silk down her legs until they slipped
past her feet.

“
Meloir, I—”

“
Let me love you,
Sarafina.” Meloir took one of her feet in his hands and began to
suck each of her toes in turn. His hands moved slowly over her
shins, her knees and up her thighs, stroking the sensitive skin
with his fingertips making tiny circles. When he reached her
feminine curls, he smiled. “You’re already wet for me.”

Meloir’s hands roamed over
her stomach and then slid around over the swells of her hips and
buttocks as he moved up her body. His hands massaged her cheeks as
he nipped each breast with his teeth, her arms coming up to wrap
around him. He hugged her tightly, pressing his hardness against
her mound. “I want to taste you, Sarafina. I want to bury myself
inside you.”

“
Yes, please. I want you to
touch me. I want to feel you inside me.” Sara could barely form
sentences, her mind racing to memorize the touch of his hand, the
feel of his mouth.

Sara groaned as Meloir moved
his hand to her core. She closed her eyes and opened her legs a
little wider. She knew the area between her thighs was wet. He
kissed her savagely as he traced the cleft of her sex, parting the
flesh. Gently, he inserted two fingers into her slick folds, slowly
pumping them in and out. Letting his thumb slip over her mound, he
caressed her swollen, aching clit.

“
Meloir,” she screamed,
bucking her hips toward his invading fingers.

Scooting down, Meloir pushed
his shoulders between her thighs and lowered his face to her pussy.
Carefully, he pushed back the protective hood and lapped at her
clit, holding her hips steady for his sensual assault. “God, you
taste even better than you smell.”

Sara cried out, her
fingernails digging into his scalp, as Meloir continued to lave the
throbbing bundle of nerves between her legs. She couldn’t stop her
scream when he clamped his lips over her clit and
sucked.

As Meloir continued to lick
and suck, he pushed two fingers inside her core, setting up a
rhythm of in and out. He closed his fingers over her clit and
pinched, then tugged. “Come for me, Sarafina. Come over my tongue.
Give me what I want. Let me taste your passion.”

Sara breathed raggedly, her
body straining toward release. When Meloir returned his lips to her
clit, her body stiffened and then shuddered. Arching upward, she
let out a cry as she came. Meloir continued to lick and suck,
throwing her body from one peak into another. As she began to wind
down, he continued to lick her through the aftershocks of her
orgasm. Finally, her body went limp from the force of her
climax.

Rising up, Meloir slid
quickly up her torso, his erection teasing the entrance to her
body. “Sarafina, you must send for me. Your heart must yearn for
mine. Trust your heart, love, and let the magic bring us together
for all time.”

“
Make love to me, Meloir.
Please, I want to feel you inside me.”

“
I want to be inside you,
love.” Meloir pushed up on his hands, looked down and lined up his
cock with her pussy. “Now, I make you mine.” Roughly, he pushed his
hips forward and Sara screamed.

Sara’s eyelids flew open as she sat
straight up in the bed. She tried to catch her breath as she looked
around the darkened room. Trembling, she pulled a pillow across her
stomach and held on tightly. “Just a dream,” she groaned. “Just a
stupid dream.” Getting up, she went to the window and looked out at
the ocean. She could see the sandy beach from where she stood. “It
was so real,” she whispered. “Why can’t I have passion like that in
my real life?”

You must send for me,
Sarafina. Send for your Heart Mate.

Sara froze at the sound of the voice in
her head. “Oh my, God, am I going crazy?” Frightened, she curled up
in the bed and pulled the covers to her chin.

Stifling a groan, Sara took in the
scene before her, wishing she’d stayed in the bed a little longer.
Her hopes for a quick cup of coffee banished with the presence of
her mother and Bart in the kitchen.

“
Good morning, dear. You’re
not looking at all rested. Didn’t you sleep well?”

“
Morning, Mother. No, I
didn’t sleep well at all.” Sara walked over to the coffeepot and
had to mentally count to ten when she found it empty. Methodically,
she began making a fresh pot. “How did the two of you
sleep?”

“
Dreadfully, dear. It’s just
so stressful being back in this house. I’m not going to be able to
relax until all this is over and we’re back on the plane on our way
home.”

“
You should try to get some
rest, Gwendolyn. All this fresh air and sunshine is good for you.
Besides, tomorrow we’ll be on our way home, if not sooner. After
that, I can find you a buyer for the island and you’ll never have
to see this house again.” Bart walked over and put his empty coffee
cup in the sink, stopping to kiss Sara on the cheek. “I’m going to
sequester myself in the bedroom for a few hours to make some
business calls. Just knock on the door when the attorney arrives
for the reading of the will.” Not waiting for a response, he turned
and strode from the room.