Dreams of Ivory (5 page)

Jackson dreamt of himself standing above his body in his bedroom, this time wearing at least pants.

What the hell?

He could tell it was a dream because everything was a little hazy, but it felt really fucking real to him.

“I see you know you’re sleeping,” a voice said from behind him.

Jackson whirled around, his heart beating against his chest in a fast staccato. “Who the hell are you?”

This was one weird fucking nightmare.

The man standing before him wore jeans and a T-shirt. His brown eyes, brown hair, and everything else about him looked so average Jackson wasn’t sure if he’d even remember the man later.

“I’m a friend of a friend,” the stranger explained. “Do you know who the sandman is?”

Jackson blinked. “Yeah. He’s the one who puts little kids to sleep. You’re telling me you’re him?

The stranger just smiled. “No, I’m not him, but I know him. Or at least,
one
of the sandmen. He owed me a favor, and now you’re going to take the brunt of it.”

“What do you mean? I’m going to wake up now.”

He tried but couldn’t, as if someone was forcing him to stay asleep.

The stranger laughed. “I’ll let you wake up in a moment. First, I want to tell you about the sandman. You see, it is said that they sprinkle sand or dust on or into the eyes of a child at night to bring on dreams or sleep. The grit or blinking when they wake up is the result of the sandman’s work.”

Considering all Jackson had seen within his family, it didn’t surprise him that the sandman existed, but hell, this guy was freaking him out.

“Okay, yeah, I knew the stories, but why are you telling me about them?”

The stranger grinned. “I wanted you to know your new job.”

“What? Oh fuck no. I’m not a sandman.”

“No, but you will be. You see, I know you hate magic, so what better way to punish someone than to make them deal with what they hate?”

The stranger moved to stand over Jackson’s sleeping body, and Jackson reached out to grab him, only to come up with air.

“You’re asleep, dumb-ass. You can’t touch anyone unless you have the powers of the sand.”

“What the hell did I ever do to you? Why are you doing this?”

The stranger took out a pouch and poured black sand into his palm. “Oh, it’s not you, but don’t worry, it’ll still hurt the one I want to hurt. Now, the sand you’ll use in the future is gold. This black stuff is to make a new sandman.”

Jackson tried to wake himself up, pinching his arms and thrashing, but nothing worked.

“Don’t do this,” he begged.

The stranger shook his head. “Be sure to thank Honor for this.” He sprinkled the black sand on Jackson’s eyes, and in the dream, Jackson screamed, an odd power squeezing him tight as darkness threatened to take hold.

Honor?

This man wanted to hurt Honor. That couldn’t happen, but hell, how was he going to stop it?

Jackson’s vision blurred as he fell to his knees, an odd sense of something far greater than him taking over. His arms shook, his body broke out in a sweat. Magic—it had to be magic—filled him.

He didn’t want to be the sandman.

He didn’t want this magic.

He didn’t want anything.

Chapter 4

Honor had to be dreaming—there wasn’t another answer for it. She stood in the field next to the lake she loved so much, yet everything felt a bit off. It was as if she were walking through fog, trying to get to the other side of the lake but couldn’t.

Why would she be dreaming about this lake?

“Honor, you’re here,” Jackson said.

Honor turned to him, her heart in her throat. “Jackson,” she croaked.

Great, now she was dreaming about the man.

Again.

“I don’t know why you’re here or why I’m dreaming about you, but I’m so glad you’re here.” He walked toward her then framed her face with his large hands. “God, I missed you. I can’t tell you that when I’m awake, but I do. I think everything is about to go crazy, but thank God you’re here.”

Honor blinked. Something was wrong. This might have been a dream, but it felt a little too real for her.

“Jackson, I don’t think—”

The alarm woke her up and she blinked as her eyes opened. 

That was weird. 

Really freaking weird.

She got out of bed and started getting ready for the day, but Jackson was never far from her thoughts. In reality though, he’d never left her thoughts for long in all this time.

The knock on the door surprised Honor. She wasn’t expecting anyone, and considering she didn’t
know
anyone in Holiday other than Jackson, Clementine, and Connie, Honor had no idea who it could be. Yes, she’d visited Holiday several times before, but she’d only stayed with her aunt and met with Jackson. She’d been too shy to really meet others before.

Connie was out of town for the next week, leaving Honor with free range of the inn. Her aunt would have just walked in, closed door be damned. And there was no way Jackson would be stopping by so...

Since there was no peep hole, she opened the door and froze.

“Jackson?”

Dear Lord, the man looked as though he hadn’t slept. Instead of his normal slacks and buttoned shirt, he wore a plain white T-shirt and old, faded jeans that encased his thighs quite nicely.

She tore her gaze upward to his unshaven face and pulled him into her bedroom, closing the door behind him.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

He shook his head then opened his mouth to speak; only nothing came out.

“Come sit down, Jacks, and tell me what happened. Is it your brothers? Their wives? I heard they were all pregnant. Is everyone okay?” 

He looked so lost, as though someone had pulled the rug right out from under him. She’d never seen him this way. He’d always been so cool and collected, except when he’d been younger and she’d broken through his shields. He’d laughed with her in the privacy of their summer, but this was different.

She forced him to sit on the edge of the bed then ran her hands through his hair like he’d loved when they’d been together. He’d cut it short, but she could still get a good handful if she wanted. 

“They’re fine. It’s not about them,” he said, his voice a little hollow.

Honor cupped his cheeks, ignoring the way his stubble scraped against her skin, causing her to remember other places his beard had done just that when they’d been together.

Damn it, this wasn’t the time to skip down memory lane.

“What is it, Jacks? You’re scaring me.”

He tilted his head up, and she looked into those deep blue eyes, her heart racing.

“I think I’m scaring myself.”

She rubbed her thumb along his cheek, letting him take his time.

“I had a visitor last night,” he said, his voice gruff.

Honor resisted the urge to grind her teeth at that thought. A visitor? As in a woman he slept with? There really wasn’t any reason she needed to know that or imagine the perky boob model spreading her legs for him.

Okay, that was a little too jealous for her.

“Okay,” she said.

“I don’t know why I came here, Honor. I mean, you don’t know about Holiday and what happens here, so now I’m just sitting here and going to make you think I’m crazy. God, maybe I am crazy.”

His behavior made her stand straighter. Oh, she might not know the day-to-day things in Holiday, but she knew enough about the secret goings-on—including the fact that the Coopers seemed to be attracted to magic.

The brothers couldn’t hide that from her aunt after all.

“Jackson, are you talking about magic?” she asking, bracing herself for an outburst.

His eyes widened, and then he clenched his jaw. “So you know?”

She nodded then brushed his cheek again, needing to touch him, even though she knew it was a mistake. “Yes, Jackson, I know. My aunt’s told me all about you Cooper brothers and everything that’s gone on.”

He swallowed hard, and she marveled how sexy he looked as his throat worked.

Damn,
so
not the time.

“I knew most of the town knew about Jordan being a witch, even though they don’t really believe it, but I didn’t know they knew about everything else.”

Honor shook her head. “I don’t think everyone knows, but my aunt does.”

She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the inevitable outcome when she told him the truth. It wasn’t as if they’d ever had a chance anyway.

“Why would your aunt know about us?”

“Tell me what happened last night, Jacks,” she said, hedging away from the question.

“I will once you tell me what you’re hiding.” His voice held a slight edge, but she ignored it. He was usually all bluster—or so she’d remembered.

Honor blew out a breath then shrugged, pulling her hands from his face. The loss of contact annoyed her, but she needed to get over it.

“Fine. My aunt is the Ivory Queen. Meaning she’s the queen of all tooth fairies. I’m also a tooth fairy, though I haven’t been doing my duty for a bit.” Not like she’d tell him for how long and why. “So, yes, I get the whole magic thing and the fact that we’re not as alone as we think in terms of holiday paranormals.”

Jackson blinked then narrowed his eyes.

Great, here it comes
.

“You’re…you’re one of them?”

Well, that got her back up. “Really? ‘One of them’? Prejudiced much? Aren’t your brothers deeply entrenched in all of this?”

Jackson held up his hands, his color looking a little better than it had when he’d first walked in. “I’m sorry. That came out wrong. I seem to be putting my foot in my mouth more than usual lately.”

Honor crossed her arms over her chest, ignoring the way Jackson’s gaze went to her breasts before moving to her face.

Subtle.

“I get you’re freaking out, and, yes, it wasn’t something you were expecting, but you need to make sure you don’t act like you’re better than your brothers because you aren’t magical.”

Jackson winced then lay back on the bed, his shirt riding up a bit so she could see his flat stomach and that little happy trail that led to even more delicious things.

Hell, she
really
needed to get her mind out of the gutter.

“Why did you just wince? What’s wrong?”

Jackson put his arm over his eyes and sighed. “When I can think, we’ll talk about what it means that you’re the tooth fairy, okay? I promise I’ll sit and listen to it all and try not to act like the ass I am.”

“You’re not an ass.” Well, not usually.

He let out a dry chuckle. “Sure, Honor, whatever you say. The reason I winced before is that when you said I wasn’t magical… that isn’t entirely true anymore.”

Chills ran down her back, and she moved to kneel on the bed by his side, ignoring the heat that radiated off him.  She moved his arm and looked down at him, not liking the frown on his face.

He reached out and held a piece of her hair in between his fingers, not really focusing on anything.

“Jackson?”

“My visitor last night knew the sandman. I don’t know who the guy was, but he…hell, Honor…”

She gave into her impulses and cupped his cheek again. “Tell me.”

“He threw this black dust into my eyes. Only it wasn’t my eyes. I mean it was, just… hell, I’m screwing this up. I was asleep, and then I felt like I was outside my body. I watched as this guy threw black sand in my eyes and told me I’d be a sandman.” He met her gaze, and she wanted to weep for him. God, he looked so scared. “I thought it was a dream, Honor. It had to be, but then it hurt, and I woke up. I had black sand in my eyes and I wiped it away like you do when you rub sleep out of your eyes. What am I going to do?”

Her stomach clenched, but she tried to hide her fear and whatever else she felt from her expression. “He made you a sandman?”

Jackson nodded. “That’s what he said.”

“They aren’t supposed to be able to do that unless you agree, Jackson. It’s against their laws.”

He gave a wry smile. “I don’t think the man cared. And, anyway, he said he wasn’t a sandman himself, just someone who knew one.”

“Oh, Jackson. I…I’m sorry.”

What else could she say? It didn’t make sense, yet she could feel something different about him, as if she could see something familiar…a new magic that hadn’t been there before.

“I don’t know what to do, Honor.”

He looked so lost, so unlike the man she’d known.

Something else about what happened bugged her. “Jackson, why did you come to me with this? Before this morning, you didn’t know I knew about magic or that I
was
magic.”

He met her gaze, and she sucked in a breath. “He said to thank you, Honor. He knew who you were and said he couldn’t hurt you the way he wanted, and this would have to do. What did he mean by that?”

She froze, her heart in her throat. “Why? Why would he say that? Why would they use you to hurt me? What did I do that this man, whoever he is, hates me so much?”

God, this was all her fault. Jackson was lost and immersed in something he hated because of her. She never should have come back.

He sat up abruptly and cupped her face. “Stop it. This man, whoever he is, is to blame. I don’t know why he thought to hurt you through me, or why he wants to hurt you in the first place, but we’re going to figure this out.”

She smiled at him. “I thought you came here for answers to at least feel better. Now look at you. You’re calming
me
down.”

A shiver ran through her as the rough pad of this thumb brushed along her cheek. “I came here because he said your name. I have no fucking clue what to do now, but this isn’t your fault, Honor. It’s the fault of some man who wants to hurt you. He’s the one to blame. We’re going to figure this out.”

“We will. I’ll talk to my aunt, and you and I can get together to figure out how to deal with what you are now.”

He sighed, and she leaned into him. “I’m sorry, Jacks. I know you don’t want this, but I don’t think there’s a way to go back.”

“I don’t think so either. Hell, I’ve spent the past few months saying how much I hate magic, and now look at me. Karma’s a bitch.”

She inwardly winced at his words, but she wouldn’t let him know how much they hurt her. He might hate magic, but now there was no turning back.