A Lovely Nightmare: A Paranormal Romance Novel

by Wendy Cole

  I shook my head. “No. Nope. Uh-uh.” I waved my arms in front of me. “I’ve seen way too many movies to go in that water.”

  “I could compel you.” Those dark eyes glittered with humor.

  My breath caught. “Don’t! I swear, Brady, if you make me go in that water, I will—”

  Brady held his hands up. “Okay! Here. How about this?” His arms moved again, and one by one the fins dipped back beneath the surface. He held a finger up, smile wide and opened, eyes dancing, then a moment later, the fins resurfaced.

  “Okay.” I looked at him like he was stupid. “Good job, I guess.”

  He snorted, then his wrist flicked again, only this time, four heads popped up around him. The high pitched sound that filtered towards me gave way to the fact that they weren’t sharks. “Dolphins?” I took a step forward, trying to get a better look.

  “Come in!” he called again. “The sharks are gone. You’re safe.”

  I chewed my lip. While I believed what he said about the sharks, it didn’t remove the other predator. Him. Brady was a shark in his own right, amazing to look at but also very ready to eat me.

  But…dolphins…

  No way could I pass up the chance. I looked down at my jeans and T-shirt. The same thing I’d been wearing the day before. No sooner had the thought entered my mind, my clothes vanished, and I found myself in a two-piece bikini.

  A tiny two-piece bikini.

  I covered myself as best I could with my hands and shot a glare in Brady’s direction.

  His smile didn’t waver. “I’ve never enjoyed doing magic more than just then.”

  “Ha-ha!” I called. “Not funny. Put my clothes back on.”

  He dipped down until I could only see him from the chin up. “Nope. I don’t want to.”

  “Brady!”

  “Nope!” His smile dulled to a grin as he fought to act serious. “You’ve got two options. You could come in and let the water cover all that delicious skin, or you can walk back to the hut.” He dipped down further, almost to his nose, but his dancing eyes let me know he was enjoying himself.

  I glanced at my backside. The tiny piece of material that covered it wasn’t enough to blow my nose. My skin heated, and I took the only option I had. No way was I going to give him the pleasure of staring at my butt as I escaped, and no way was I going to stand there and let him continue to ogle my front. “You’ll regret this!” I called as I took the first step into the salty warm water.

  “I doubt that, Sweetheart,” I heard him say, but I didn’t look up. I focused on my feet, too embarrassed to see what I’m sure was his victorious expression.

  When the water reached my stomach, a dolphin swam up to me, and I forgot about everything. It seemed to smile as it moved along my legs, it’s smooth, slick body running across one then the other as it swam back and forth. I reached a hand down to glide against its back. It was amazing, and I became so engulfed in it all, that I didn’t even notice Brady’s approach until his hand ran along my arm.

  “I’ll never get over how beautiful you are when you look like that,” he murmured.

  I looked up at him, and his eyes were shimmering blue, not entirely, just a shadow of what I knew lay beneath the surface.

  “This is amazing, Brady.” Another dolphin swam up, and I reached down with my other hand to touch it.

  “You haven’t seen anything yet, Sweetheart.” He grabbed my hand, and a flash of blue filled the air around us. The next moment, we were further out, so far the island was nothing more than a speck in the distance.

  I screeched, gripping his shoulders, but Brady pulled me tight and held us both afloat. I let my wide, terrified eyes linger over the never-ending open water in the opposite direction. “I liked the dolphins better,” I squeaked. “Can we go back?”

  I tried to look at him, but his face was hidden away from me, just over my shoulder. I took in his grip in my waist, his fingers against my back. “Brady?”

  He heaved a breath then looked at me. The electric blue had spread, taking over his irises completely “Trust me.” His voice was rougher than before.

  His eyes flashed, and the water was pushed away from us. Like a bubble, a force field materialized, our body’s left suspended, floating within.

  My mouth hung open, and Brady smiled down at me. “Are you ready to see something truly amazing?”

  Nervousness kept me mute. I chewed my lip and looked down into the depths.

  “Sweetheart?” Brady lowered his face down to mine, prompting me to look at him. His eyes held an emotion that spoke to some hidden part of me. “Trust me.” It was a request but a plea, spoken with so much need, I found my head nodding before my brain could process.

  Brady held me tighter and released a breath. We slowly sank, the bubble following, and even once we’d submerged completely, the cool crisp oxygen surrounded us.

  A mixture of fear and anticipation mingled under my skin. At first, all I could see was the sun shimmering through an empty murk. But the deeper we went, a new world began to take form. Schools of fish, brightly colored coral, everywhere I looked something new. Creatures I’d never even known existed stole my breath and made me stare in wonder. Brady kept me held tightly against him as he guided us along the ocean floor.

  “Did you know,” he started, flipping us so he was stretched out flat, holding me by my hips above him, our bodies perfectly parallel as we continued to glide. “Humpback whales sing in chorus to find their mates.” Suddenly, I heard it, the unmistakable and eerily beautiful sound of whales singing. My head shot up, looking into the distance, and sucking in a breath at the sight of them. An entire pod swam with purpose, far beyond the reef yet so very close. Brady’s hands twitched against me. “They all sing. Even the ones too young to mate. They join in to help make the song louder so the ones who are searching can find their females more easily.”

  “It’s beautiful,” I said, still drinking in the awe of what I was witnessing.

  Brady shifted us, and we switched course, heading closer to the colorful coral. “You see those?” he asked, turning us to our sides and motioning with one hand.

  I looked over to the colorful fish. The same blue as Brady’s eyes coated its face, but the rest of its body was black, speckled with yellow like someone had flicked it with paint.

  “That’s a French Angelfish,” Brady murmured, voice deep and smooth and much closer than before. I felt his breath against the shell of my ear, the warmth of his skin so close to mine, begging to be touched. “When they find their mates, it’s a life bond.” His hand ran across my lower back, circling me. “They spend their lives together, and if any other angelfish should try to break them apart, they join together in defense against it.”

  I swallowed hard, meeting his electric neon blue eyes and losing a little more of myself within them. “How do you know all this?” I asked as I forced myself to pull away.

  Brady’s face softened. “Knowledge is easier with magic.” He stopped at a flattened rock formation, seating us side by side as if it were a bench. It held the perfect view of everything, and I released a sigh as I tried to wrap my brain around how any of it was even possible.

  I found it too difficult to bother thinking about the past, about truths or lies in a moment so miraculous. I fought to drink it all in, but there was so much to see. Each direction I cast my eyes, some new creature would pop out, swim around, or move and relinquish its camouflage.

  “If a jinni wishes to learn something,” he continued, his voice quiet and smooth, blending in with the calm atmosphere, “he can take a book and, with the right spell, the knowledge will become his. We don’t simply read and memorize.” He scratched the back of his neck, as if he were searching for a way to explain. “We absorb it. It’s here.” He tapped his temple. “I can access it whenever I feel the need.”

  I stared at him. “So you have a library inside your head.” No fucking way. “That’s cheating!”

  Brady’s chest rumbled. “How is it cheati
ng?”

  “There’s no work involved.” I crossed my arms over my chest. It was unfair. Too easy. The more I learned about jinn, the more I realized what an advantage they’d been given.

  “You’re angry?” Brady smiled. “How can that make you angry?”

  “Things are too easy for you.” I looked away, out at the utopia we shouldn’t even be able to witness but could, thanks to his performance enhancers.

  Brady shrugged. “Not everything is so easy.” He stretched his legs out, hands gripping the rock behind him as he stretched out lazily.

  I fought to keep my eyes level with his.

  “We may not have to study the way humans do for worldly knowledge, but our magic takes years of discipline and hard work to master. The more magic a person is born with, the harder the training.” He looked so natural and relaxed as he spoke. We were at the bottom of the ocean, but Brady acted as if it were no big deal, just another afternoon at the park. “I spent my whole life, from the moment I was born, harnessing my power.”

  “But now you can do this,” I motioned around us. “Your work is done, and you get to spend the rest of your life never having to lift a finger.”

  A cocky expression filled his face, and in a sarcastic move, he lifted one finger up between us. “But I do, don’t I?” He leaned over and ran it down the side of my face as he met my gaze intently. “I feel like I’ve been working extra hard lately.” He stopped just below my chin, lifting my mouth level with his.

  I took in his words and what they meant. Me. This. All of it was for me. To try and win me over. To try and get me to—

  “I’m not sleeping with you,” I stated bluntly, leaning back and breaking the contact.

  Brady grimaced and leaned back to his original position. “See?” he grumbled. “Not everything is so easy.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  I ignored his comment, falling silent as I once again turned my attention to the ocean life.

  Brady didn’t speak again, and after a long drawn out moment, I found the bravery needed to chance a glance in his direction.

  His gaze lingered on me, trailing head and looking unconcerned with the beautiful surroundings. A lazy smile curved his lips when our eyes met.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, fidgeting slightly under his scrutiny.

  He scratched his chin, then returned his hand to the mock bench, closer to mine than it had been before. “Looking at you.”

  “Why?” My skin tingled. Did he have to? My nerves awakened, fizzling to life, acutely aware of how close he was, how easy it would be to…I didn’t want that. That would be the perfect way to find myself magically life married. Despite my thoughts, it was becoming harder to remember why that was a bad thing. Just looking around. It seemed there was nothing Brady couldn’t accomplish, and I wasn’t unaware of how scary that should have been.

  For some reason, however, I felt no fear.

  “I like looking at you,” he answered.

  In that moment, with him lounged back the way he was and completely exposed from the waist up, I couldn’t say looking back wasn’t just as nice. Probably better. Right then, Brady looked like a giant slab of cheesecake, and I was more than happy to let my eyes outweigh my stomach.

  Then, said stomach growled and ruined everything.

  Brady grabbed my hand. “C’mon, Sweetheart. Let’s get something to eat.”

  I let him pull me closer, back into the circle of his arms, and I told myself I did it because I was hungry. I didn’t like it. Those tingles were from the water pressure. It was hot in the bubble. Stifling.

  A burst of blue, and we were back at the hut. I couldn’t believe I’d failed to notice, but behind the bed was a doorway, and through that door was everything else. A living room with another full sized bed, a little dining area, equipped with table and chairs to the left of it. The open door straight ahead revealed a bathroom, and past the table was another door leading to a kitchen.

  I looked over at Brady as he pulled a chair out and motioned for me to sit. “Are you going to cook?”

  He grunted. “I don’t have to cook, Sweetheart.” He took a seat, his hands working through the air until steak and lobster materialized onto the table. Not just two settings, but literally, a plate full of steak, and a plate full of lobster. The meal would cost a fortune at a restaurant.

  Brady stabbed a steak and plopped it down onto the plate in front of me, then added a lobster tail before doing the same for himself. “You like this, right?” he asked as he looked up at me.

  “I think I’ll manage.” My mouth was salivating just at the smell of it all.

  Brady focused on his meal, and I followed his lead. It was terrific like everything else. I paused as a thought occurred to me. I could get used to this.

  “What time is it?” I hadn’t even thought about it. I hadn’t thought of anything. School. His claims. The seriousness of my situation. As if waking from a daze, my entire life outside the world he’d created rushed back to me, and the food suddenly felt heavy within my stomach.

  Brady shrugged in response, but I could tell by the way his jaw clenched that he wasn’t pleased with the question. I narrowed my eyes at him, but he didn’t look up, too focused on his food.

  “I think I should go back after this.”

  Brady was silent for a full minute, slowly chewing. When he finally swallowed, he calmly set his cutlery down and leaned back to study me. “I’ll take you back,” he said. He waved a hand, producing two glasses of red wine, then lifted his to his lips.

  Relief filled me at his easy acceptance. For a split second, I thought he’d gone back on his deal, kidnapped me and used magic to make me forget the outside world.

  He set the glass down and picked his fork back up. “Just not right now.”

  My paranoia returned. “After we eat.”

  He left me hanging, completely silent as he finished his steak and brought another to his plate. When he started to eat that one, I knew he had no intention of answering me.

  “Brady?”

  He cut another bite, placed it in his mouth, then sat back and watched me as he chewed. The epitome of calm, Brady showed no emotion. He pointed to my plate. “You need to eat more than that.”

  I pushed the plate away. “I’m done. You can take me home.”

  Brady grabbed his glass again, then stared over the rim as he took a long drawn out sip.

  Hot anger sizzled within my chest, and I ground my teeth against it as I glared at him.

  A mock toast was his response before sitting the wine back down. “I’m not done.” He started on a lobster tail.

  “But when you are,” I began slowly, deliberately, “you’ll take me home.”

  Brady nodded. “When I’m done, I’ll take you home.”

  I heaved a sigh, my anger fading slightly as I resigned myself to watching him eat. It felt like an eternity before he finished. He put away every last bit of the food he’d conjured. Seven steaks, and eight lobster tails. I’d say I didn’t know where he put it all, but there was definitely room in his massive frame.

  He cleared the table, then leveled me with his steady gaze. “I think we should talk a bit more about what you remember. Maybe there’s something that can help me figure out what’s—”

  “We can,” I cut him off. “But I’d like to go home now.”

  He produced a new wine glass and took a drink. “I said I would take you.” He sat it down, then stared at it for a second before looking back at me. “When I’m done.”

  I motioned to the empty table. “You ate enough to feed a small village for a week, Brady. I think it’s safe to say I can go home now.”

  Brady grinned. “Oh. You thought I meant the food.”

  My mouth fell open. “Of course you meant the food!”

  “Nope.” He shifted in his seat, leaning forward. “I meant you.” His lips twitched. “I’m not done.”

  We stared at each other, me glaring, him the poster boy for relaxation. I bared my
teeth at him. “I. Want. To. Go. Home.”

  He hummed. “I’d rather not. I like your face. And your ass. And you’re kind of fun when you’re not pissed off.” He tilted his head, then added, “And sometimes when you are.”

  I stood, prepared to walk, or swim, whatever it would take just to get away from him, but Brady’s look made me pause. It was heated, hotter than the sand outside our little fortress, and as it traveled down the length of me, I was compelled to do the same.

  The bathing suit.

  I covered myself or tried to anyway. There was no way I would have forgotten. He had to be doing something!

  “Are you using magic on me?” I demanded.

  Brady continued to drink me in with no shame at all. “I plead the fifth.”

  “You are vile!” I grabbed my still full glass and threw it at him, but the stupid thing had barely made it out of my hand before it disappeared. I looked around, but the only other option was the chair. What the hell? I grabbed it, but he was too fast.

  In a flash of blue, he had me held against him, and the chair was sent tumbling to the floor. “It’s not safe.” He gripped either side of my face, then leaned down to give me a serious look. “It’s not safe right now. I need to find whatever it is that’s after you.”

  “You can do that while I’m at—”

  “No!” he snapped, then paused as he took a deep breath to calm himself. “I won’t risk it. It’s done enough damage.” He led me over to the bed, sat me down onto its edge, then kneeled in front of me. “I have to protect you. I know you don’t understand that, but it’s not optional.”

  Something about the way he said it made me pause. He was just so damn…believable.

  “It’s safe here,” he continued. “Plus,” he paused, and I almost thought I saw vulnerability flash across that perfect face. “I want you to get to know me.” He studied me closely, his face unreadable. “Won’t you at least try?”

  A pain hit the pit of my stomach. I wanted to refuse. To demand to go home. To tell him I wanted no part of his Brady-loving-zombie spells or lifetime commitments.

  But I couldn’t. My tongue wouldn’t form the words. It’s not that I wanted any of it. There were no second thoughts. To say I was ready for that would be pure insanity. It was him. His feelings. I didn’t want to hurt him. That’s so fucking dumb.