With Love; Now & Forever (12 page)

he finally tore herself away from their kiss, both of them searing with need but knowing the office wasn‘t appropriate.

“I am willing to share my past with you, Mr. Montgomery but I am hungry for more than just you and I have a feeling we are going to need sustenance.”

“I know of a quaint little Italian restaurant down the block, we could go there if you’d like.” The desire thickening his voice and clouding his eyes and she felt a tremor run through her body.

“No,” she said quickly “I don’t think I can keep my hands off of you. Why don’t we pick something up and go back to my place.” She surprised herself by the suggestion. Though she had never let any of her former lovers into the sanctuary of her home, she knew Rick was different and she wanted him to see that revered part of herself. He was someone she wanted to be with, forever.

Thai.” he smiled, deep dimples lighting his face. “I’m not going to ask how you found that out. We could
pick it up on the way, I’ll just call ahead.” She said, gazing
into his eyes, wondering if she would ever get tired of looking at him. Probably, she decided, in a hundred years
or so.
Within an hour they were at her place, seated
comfortably on her couch, shoes kicked off at the door,
eating out of the Chinese boxes, alternately sharing the
Sesame Chicken Satay and the Teriyaki beef. They opened
a couple bottles of domestic beer and making light
conversation, told each other what they had done the week
they had been apart.
After eating their fill, Rick helped her put the leftovers
in her refrigerator. She grabbed both of them another beer
and sat back down on the couch. Ana had felt the old fear
of judgment rise up in her stomach, but when she looked at
Rick’s face, the fear dissipated, she knew she could tell him
anything.
She began to tell him about how she met Austin at
school and how their relationship progressed, how Austin’s
mom had walked in on them and the argument that ensued.
She felt grateful that Rick didn’t ask any questions or
suggest different ways she could have handled the
situation, instead he sat there quietly, just listening. As with telling her story to Jennifer and Sally, she
started to cry when she talked of Barry’s betrayal and then
her mother’s harsh accusations. To her relief, he didn’t
whisper for her to hush, to try and push her horrid thoughts
aside. Instead he gathered her in his strong arms, letting her know he was there and didn’t judge her. She talked about her first job, how horrendous it had been and of Greg’s subsequent job offer and explained how her hurt propelled her need to be successful and independent, of her emotionless relationships with men and Sally’s
determination in finding Austin, which resulted in her trip
to London for the reading of Austin’s will.
He felt the anger surge through his body as she told her
story, his fury at the grown man who had tried to take away
her innocence and betray her in the worst way a man can to
a girl, a young woman. He knew better than to put words to
his outrage, she was so full of guilt and she would take his
words of infuriation towards her instead of its intended
purpose, Austin’s father. He also felt sadness that she
wasn’t able to experience her true love with Austin, she
was only able to taste it and have a fleeting moment with
how wonderful that experience could be. Knowing that all
he could do was be supportive and loving, he allowed
himself to be her rock and her guest into her past. Several moments of silence passed with Rick just
holding her, rubbing her back and then she heard him
murmur into her ear.
“So we need to thank Sally’s stubbornness for bringing
us together?”
Ana started to giggle, the serotonin released during a
good cry surging through her body. “Yes, I think we do!”
she looked up at him, seeing the love on his face. He leaned down and kissed her so lightly she almost
thought it was a figment of her imagination.
“Thank you, Ana, for trusting me.”
“I do. I do trust you, Rick.” she sighed against his lips.
She brought her hands up behind his head, running her
fingers through his thick hair even as he brought his head
down to intensify their kiss.
“Oh Ana, I want you so much.”
She didn’t answer him, letting her body tell him what
she was feeling. He responded as if she had spoken the
words, his hands moving over her, gently exploring. She
allowed herself to let go, giving up the control she had
always had with her previous lovers.
His body surprised her, she had been so caught up in
their first kiss, she hadn’t realized the appealingly sculpted
muscles hidden beneath his shirt until she had it
unbuttoned. She had dated many professional businessmen
that were so caught up in their careers that their bodies had
become a soft from too many business lunches and
meetings. Rick’s was just the opposite, his chest was
defined with strong muscles that extended down into a tight
abdomen. Instead of finding him bare-chested, which was
the current trend of the modern metro man, she found soft
curls of hair that trailed down and disappeared beneath the
waistline of his slacks. With the excitement of one unwrapping an unexpected present, she kissed her way along his chest, her hands fumbling with the button on his slacks. She paused with confusion and doubt when he
grabbed her hands and stilled her.
“I want this to be special, Ana, we have all night. I want
to make love to you for the first time on a bed, not here on
the couch like a couple of kids.”
She looked up at him and saw the intensity and respect
in his eyes. She nodded and without saying a word, stood
up, still holding one of his hands, lead him to her bedroom.
She released him to turn on her bedside lamp, leaving him
at the doorway and when she turned, she found him
appraising her instead of appraising her room. Although
she had never had anyone other than Sally at her place, she
had decorated her home with exquisite fabrics and drapes,
giving a warm homey feeling that had always cheered her.
Growing up, she’d hated the off-white walls her mother had
insisted on in her own home and instead, painted her rooms
with warm mauve and blue walls, accenting the spaces with
complementary abstracts personally designed by the
upcoming artist from the mid-west, C. Lingenfelter, and
she chose fabrics and colors to enhance the exquisite pieces
of art in each room.
She felt a tingle go through her as she realized she was
the only thing he saw. He moved towards her and took her
in his arms, whispering her name as he kissed her earlobes and the tender spot below them. She pulled at his unbuttoned shirt, wanting to free him from the material that came between them and he released her long enough to pull his arms from the sleeves only to bring them back to frantically work at the buttons on her blouse. She laughingly pushed him away, seeing his large fingers fumble with the petite buttons and also longing to free herself from the restricting fabric as much as he did. When she unfastened the last button, she met his eyes, staring into
his beautiful face, pulled her blouse off of her shoulders. She let it fall to the floor and even as she was reaching
for Rick again, she heard a loud crash from a small dressing
table in the corner of the room. They both jerked at the
unexpected interruption and as Rick walked towards the
table, Ana gasped, “Austin!”
He knelt down and picked up the shattered frame,
revealing a picture of Ana and Austin, smiling out at the
unseen viewer. Ana stood beside his crouched body, staring
at the picture as if it were a living thing. Rick stood up,
holding the broken picture when it suddenly whipped out of
his hands, tearing at the flesh of his fingers before it
slammed against the wall, shattering what glass was left. “Oh my God!” Ana whimpered when she saw Rick’s
wound. “I thought you said Austin was at peace!
Obviously he’s not! He’s upset that we are together!” Rick didn’t say anything, grabbing for the tissues on her vanity to clean up the blood that was flowing freely from his hands when Ana’s table lamps started flickering, the
lights pulsing as if they were living things.
“This isn’t Austin, Ana. There is a presence here and I
guarantee it’s not Austin, this is a very angry soul. I am
being blocked, this person doesn’t want to be known, they
don’t want to talk to me. The anger is so overwhelming.
I’m feeling a tightness in my chest, I can’t breathe.” Ana saw Rick stagger, his face contorting with pain, and
then started panicking when she saw a blue tint appear in
his lips and realized he was suffocating right before her
eyes. Crying out, she reached for Rick as he dropped to his
knees, struggling for air.
“Stop it! Stop it! Please! Let him live! I’ll do
whatever, just let him live!” she held onto him, sobbing. She didn’t realize that the lights had stopped pulsing or
that Rick had started gasping for air, she only became
conscious of this when his arms came around her, holding
on tightly. They sat there, holding each other, tensed for
another attack while Ana regained her composure before
going to the bathroom, returning with bandages and gauze.
Neither said a word as she treated his wounds. When she
finally looked at him, he saw the agony behind her tearfilled eyes.
“You need to leave now.” Ana said softly.
Rick searched her eyes knowing she hadn’t asked him to leave, it had been a demand that left no room for argument.
“Ana, please, I don’t think…”
She placed her fingers gently to his lips, cutting him off.
“Don’t argue, please, just go.” She turned away from him
and went into the living room.
Realizing she wasn’t willing to talk about what had
happened, he quickly got dressed and met her at the front
door. He took her hand and looked into her eyes with so
much concern, she thought she would collapse from the
pain.
“I will call you and you
will
talk to me, Ana. I’m not
losing you now that I’ve found you, not because of
something like this.” He released her hand and walked out
the door.
He appreciated the fact that she was scared and probably
confused but as independent as she was, he knew she
wouldn’t accept his help right now. She would want
answers and she would eventually come to him for those
answers but right now she needed to come to terms with
what had just happened. Hell,
he
didn’t even know what
had just happened! He had dealt with many different spirits
with many different emotions in the past. Some were
happy, released from the pain and illness they had been
inflicted with, sad that they were torn from loved ones,
confused when their death happened suddenly and, even
anger. Anger at dying, at a betrayal that happened right before their death, even anger at themselves for the way they treated their family. What he and Ana experienced tonight was pure rage and he even thought he had sensed some jealousy, the aura around the spirit was a man but definitely
not
Austin. Each time he had communicated with Austin, it had been a peaceful interaction, Austin definitely being an enlightened soul, seeing the bigger picture of love, compassion and the life lessons humans are put on this earth to experience. His aura was always soothing, beautiful and filled with bright colors. The aura of the spirit tonight had harsh colors of blacks, grays and dark reds, writhing and twisting in a tumultuous cloud. He was too tired and sore to try and contact the spirit again tonight but he vowed to make contact with this threat for
his and Ana’s sake.
After Rick left, Ana locked all the doors and windows
before collapsing onto the floor of her living room. She
began to sob, feeling all the fear of what just happened
wash over her. Two and a half weeks ago, she had been
naïve and inexperienced about readings, psychics and
ghosts. She couldn’t say she regretted gaining knowledge
of the afterlife because that would mean she regretted
meeting Rick and she didn’t, she just wished it had been
different. Tonight had scared her, scared her because of the
unknown attacker, of believing that Rick was dying right in
front of her eyes and the thought that Austin was possibly the cause. She couldn’t wrap her mind around that last thought. She refused believe that Austin was the cause of the attack, he was a loving, beautiful person in life and her experience at the reading indicated he was that way in death. He wouldn’t have revealed the exquisite pieces of art he had left her or uncovered the breathtaking portrait he had created of his wife if he had become the evil presence she and Rick just experienced. Earlier, his messages through Rick were of happiness that Ana was free of her self-inflicted burden and delight at the growing friendship
she and Jennifer possessed.
It didn’t make sense that Austin had had such an
extreme change of heart and now wished her and Rick
harm.
So if it wasn’t Austin, who was it? The more she
thought about it, the angrier she got. She finally found true
love again when she hadn’t believed it was possible, this
was her second chance! She was tempted to call Rick and
apologize for kicking him out and then seeing if they could
figure this out together, to try and find out who this threat
was, but the image of Rick’s face, blue with the lack of
oxygen and his bloody hands stopped her. She couldn’t
risk losing him, couldn’t risk losing another man she loved.
She would have to do this on her own and keep Rick out of
it. Surely there were other reputable psychics out there,
one who wasn’t directly involved and who could help her
figure out the mystery.
Knowing she couldn’t sleep in her bedroom that night,
she curled up on the couch with a throw and for the first
time in years, prayed. “Please let Rick understand.”

ally was sitting in Ana’s office with coffee and chocolate crescent rolls waiting. She wasn’t sure if Ana would be in or not but wanted to be

prepared, just in case. She hadn’t called saying she wouldn’t be in but she had never been with a man like Rick either, so all bets were off.