Dreams of Seduction (5 page)

Since she was only going to see her friends, she didn’t bother with makeup. Not that she ever bothered with much beyond mascara and lipstick unless she was going somewhere important—another fact Mitchell had complained about.

Back in her bedroom, she grabbed a pair of jeans and a fitted cotton blouse in a deep lavender that always made her feel pretty. She stuffed her feet into a pair of canvas sneakers and hurried down the stairs.

She could hear a car in the driveway and knew Esther had arrived.

Maggie grabbed her coat and purse and hurried out of the house, locking the door behind her.

“Sorry if I kept you waiting,” she said as she slid into the passenger seat and buckled up.

Esther smiled. “No problem. I don’t know about you, but I need something to get me going. I vote we stop at Clancy’s and pick up something yummy.”

“Chocolate.” Maggie’s stomach rumbled.

“You’re reading my mind.” Esther laughed as she pulled away from the house and headed into town.

It didn’t take long for her to run into Clancy’s and return with a white bakery box. Maggie was finally awake by the time they hit A Touch of Magick.

Rhiannon was waiting for them, an anxious expression on her face.

“Sorry, we took a little longer than I thought.” Esther held up the bakery box as an offering. “I figured Ada wouldn’t be here yet and you sounded like you could use something.” She glanced at Maggie. “Plus it took a bit of work to get Maggie out of bed.”

“Hey, Rhiannon.” Maggie yawned, but smiled as she gave her greeting.

They were soon settled at a table and she had a mug of Irish Cream Coffee in front of her. The chocolate croissants they’d gotten from Clancy’s were piled on a plate in front of them. Maggie reached for one.

“Okay, spill,” Esther ordered.

Maggie munched and listened as Rhiannon told them about finding graffiti on her store the morning before. Maggie was appalled when Rhiannon revealed the words that had been written there. Having words like “witch” and “devil” written on her wall had obviously upset her friend. Not that Maggie blamed her.

People could be thoughtless and cruel.

The only good thing to come out of the situation was that Rhiannon had met a man. A sexy, available man. Deputy Ryland Stone.

“You like him.” Maggie picked up her croissant, took a big bite off one end and chewed as she talked.

“I know him from when I lived here as a kid. He’s a couple of years older, but he used to do chores for my grandmother during the summer months.”

She offered what little she knew about Ryland. Esther sipped her tea and listened while Rhiannon sat with rapt attention. Her friend was obviously more than a little attracted to the deputy.

“It was wonderful. It was awful. He took me to The Seaside.” Rhiannon told them about her date with Ryland, finishing with a sigh.

Maggie let out a low whistle. “Not cheap. Kudos to him.”

Rhiannon laughed, but quickly sobered. “He kissed me in the parking lot before we went in.” She hesitated for a second before plunging onward. “Every car alarm in the lot went off.”

Esther stared at her friend. “Surely you don’t think you had anything to do with it.”

Rhiannon rubbed her forehead and drank another mouthful of coffee. “Do you remember me telling you I had problems with my magick?”

When they both nodded, Rhiannon continued.

“My sister called and she thinks my problem is that my magick is trapped inside me.” Her friend seemed embarrassed by her revelation, but she continued. “According to Gwen, I need to have sex with the right man to release it.”

Maggie didn’t know what to think. It was obvious Rhiannon believed everything she was saying. She took another bite of her croissant, savoring the chocolate. If Rhiannon really was a witch, had the spell the other night worked?

Maggie shook her head. They needed to be logical about this. “I haven’t had anyone approach me since the candle ritual.” Dreams didn’t count. She could have had them anyway. It was simply coincidence she’d had them after they’d cast the spell. All the talk about sex had simply put it in her mind. Totally logical explanation. She turned to Esther. “Have you?”

“No. Not unless you count Ryan Jamieson, which we can’t because he’s always trying to get me to go out with him.”

“Okay then.” Maggie nodded. Ryan Jamieson was a firefighter who had made his attraction to Esther well known. Ryan hitting on Esther wasn’t due to any magick spell they’d cast, but to everyday, ordinary lust. “That settles it. It’s coincidence that you met and fell into lust with Ryland. Enjoy it. If it helps you get over your problem with your magick, you won’t need to form a therapy group or start a twelve-step program to get past the obstacle that has haunted you for most of your life. Right?”

They spent the rest of their visit trying to reassure Rhiannon. Personally, Maggie thought her friend was making too much of it. She’d met a man she liked. They’d gone on a date. If they ended up having sex there was nothing to worry about. They were both adults.

By the time they left, Rhiannon was feeling better and Maggie had a caffeine and chocolate buzz. She shouldn’t have eaten that second croissant, but it had been too good to pass up.

“What do you think?” Esther asked Maggie as they climbed into Esther’s car.

“I think she should go for it. Have some hot sex and enjoy herself.”

Esther put the keys in the ignition and started the car. Checking for traffic, which was still light this early in the morning, she pulled out and started toward Maggie’s house. “Really?”

“Yes. Why is it okay for a guy to have sex simply because he wants it, but not a woman?” Maggie crossed her arms over her chest and stared out the window, trying not to let her bitterness show.

That had certainly been Mitchell’s excuse. He was a guy. He had needs. She was cold in bed. She still got angry when she thought about it. What about her needs? He hadn’t cared enough to try to fulfill them.

But she really wasn’t angry with Mitchell. Not any longer. No, she was mad at herself for putting up with such a dysfunctional relationship for so long. All the signs had been there, but she’d ignored them.

The cheating had been the final straw.

Maggie forced her attention back to the conversation at hand as Esther replied. “Do you really think it has anything to do with that candle spell? Be honest. Rhiannon’s not here.”

Maggie nibbled on her bottom lip. “I’m not sure. The practical side of me says hell no, but I just don’t know. It’s an awful coincidence coming so close to when we did the spell.” She shook her head, refusing to believe a few words spoken in a backyard could hold any kind of influence or power. “It has to be a coincidence. There is no such thing as magick or the paranormal.”

That was her story and she was sticking to it. If she believed in magick then maybe her dreams had some deeper significance. And that just wasn’t possible. They were dreams. Nothing more. Nothing less.

She kept her thoughts to herself as she climbed out of Esther’s car and watched her drive away.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she breathed deep. The salt air was crisp and invigorating. She should go for a walk.

Instead, she trudged up the walkway and let herself into her home. The silence was deafening.

Shutting the door, she dumped her coat and purse and walked up the stairs. Her bed was unmade, the sheets tangled.

She should make the bed and do some chores. There were still several closets to explore and three huge bookshelves to sort through. She should get started.

She should do a lot of things. But right now she didn’t want to do any of them.

Kicking off her sneakers, she curled up on the bed, pulled the covers over her and drifted off to sleep.

Jed rolled his shoulders, working the stiff muscles. He was tired, but invigorated at the same time.

Painting did that to him.

He stepped back from the canvas he was currently working on. It was a large piece, measuring three feet by five feet. It was also very different from anything he’d ever done before.

Up until now, he’d focused primarily on nature. The woods, the animals and how they interacted. The painting before him was very different. It was a woman. And not just any woman, but the one who’d been haunting him for months. Most of her face was obscured as she lay across a bed, her pale arm extended to her unseen lover.

The phantom man was little more than an outline, but the tortured expression on his face was all too visible.

He was calling it “Dreams”.

This painting would never be sold. Was for his private viewing only. After spiritwalking to Maggie’s bed the other night, he’d had to force himself not to invade her privacy again. But that hadn’t stopped the dreams.

Dipping his brush into the cerulean blue on his palette, he added some to the deepening shadows in the painting. He closed his eyes, trying to remember every detail from Maggie’s bedroom—the furniture, the bedclothes, but most of all, the woman herself.

Her brilliant red hair rippled like waves on the pillow. Her lush curves were hinted at as the sheet skimmed her body.

“Fuck.” Jed tossed the palette down on the table and dumped his brush in cleaning solution. He was done for now. He had to stop torturing himself like this.

His cock was like a steel spike. Walking around with a perpetual hard-on wasn’t fun. Last night’s dreams had given him some relief. And didn’t that make him feel like a horny teenager again. But they did nothing to relieve the ache in his soul.

“Maggie.” He said her name aloud, tasting it on his lips and tongue.

He raked his fingers through his hair and turned, stomping out of the room. He shut the door to his studio behind him. “If you were anyone else, I’d arrest you for being a stalker,” he muttered as he made his way to the kitchen.

But he knew better. There was nothing unhealthy about his attraction to Maggie. Plus, he knew whatever happened, he’d back off and leave her alone if that was what she truly wanted. Above all else, he wanted her happiness.

His heart ached and he rubbed his chest. He prayed she’d give him a chance, wouldn’t walk away from what they might have between them. He’d waited, sensing she was hurt, wounded when she’d moved back here. It hadn’t been easy, but he’d given her time to recover from the tragedies that seemed to envelop her, not wanting to frighten her off.

The other night had changed everything. Somehow, she’d called to him, pulling his spirit to her. That had to mean something. He had to believe it was the universe telling him it was time for him to approach her. Jed held tight to that thought as he entered the kitchen.

The coffee pot had been set to go off at six this morning, but that was two hours ago. He’d been painting for about four hours now. He’d awakened early, unable to sleep, and had decided that painting was the best way to try to work Maggie out of his system.

It hadn’t worked.

Usually, he could lose himself in his work. And he supposed he had. Problem was, all his thoughts were of Maggie.

He dumped the cold coffee down the drain and ran cold water into the pot. He pondered his next move as he measured out fresh coffee and set a new pot to perking.

The new day called to him and he unlocked the back door and strolled out onto the deck. The air was cool on his bare chest, but he welcomed it. When he’d rolled out of bed this morning, he’d barely taken the time to haul on a pair of jeans, needing to paint.

He rolled his shoulders, trying to release the tense muscles. Taking a deep breath, he slowly released it. A crow landed on a fence post and cawed twice before flying off again. Jed raised his head to the morning sun and closed his eyes.

He could sense the pulse of the world waking to another day. Was Maggie up yet or was she still warm and cozy in bed? His dick jerked and Jed let out a pained laugh. His body wasn’t going to give him any rest.

Turning, he went back inside and poured up a mug of coffee. He needed the jolt to kick start his day.

He knew he’d have to approach Maggie and soon.

He couldn’t go on like this much longer. Taking a sip of the fragrant, mellow brew, he headed to the bathroom. It was time to shower and officially start his day.

Chapter Five

Maggie yawned, her jaw opening so wide that it gave a loud crack. She covered her mouth with her hand and tried to will some energy into her body. She’d thought a morning walk might help dispel some of the grogginess that seemed to be her constant companion these days. So far, it wasn’t working.

She hadn’t slept well at all. Not that it was different from the night before or the night before that.

Ever since the night they’d cast that candle-magick spell at Rhiannon’s house, she’d tossed and turned. She paused and thought for a second, counting off the nights. Four in total now. When she slept at all, she dreamed. Long, hot, sexual dreams featuring one sexy Jed Bearson.

“That’s what you get for using a fantasy of him to get yourself off,” she muttered. The dreams were amazing and so realistic it was uncanny. Her body ached in unfamiliar places and she was usually naked when she woke in the morning, having discarded her nightgown sometime during the night.

Shoving her hands in the pockets of her fleece jacket, she lengthened her stride. It was the perfect fall day with the sun shining down on her and a bite in the air. She figured the walk would give her time to think, and not about her dreams. Maggie needed to decide what she was going to do with the rest of her life.

The past six months had been spent recovering from the emotional shock of her grandmother’s death, plus the discovery that her ex-fiancé had cheated on her with her former best friend. But it was time to leave that in the past and put it behind her.

And she’d been doing just that the past few days. She’d worked like a demon, gutting closets, unloading bookshelves and digging through drawers. She had sent several bags of garbage to the dump, had more than a dozen boxes filled with stuff for a yard sale and about a half-dozen pieces of furniture she wanted to get rid of.

She had to decide soon if she was going to go for a late sale before winter set in or wait until spring.