I think you should have the lobster. I’d rather have a big juicy slab of prime rib, with lots of horseradish sauce and a fully-loaded baked potato.
Hope smiled to thank him for playing along. They had often told people their relationship worked because they never compromised. She got her way half the time and he got his the other half. Of course the truth was, whenever he won, she usually did too. That thought made her smile at him again and he grinned back in the way that always showed off the dimple in his cheek. God, how she loved that crooked smile of his.
She had become accustomed to the fact that his appearance never altered. He was always wearing his favorite worn blue jeans and one of the dark-green t-shirts that advertised their shop in yellow lettering. His long, light-brown hair was brushed back into a ponytail at his nape and he was wearing the small, gold, hoop earrings that made the flecks in his hazel eyes light up. As though in reaction to her appreciative scrutiny, he leaned back in the chair with his hands folded behind his head. The pose gave her a peek at the tribal tattoo on his left inner forearm and that made her smile too. He had gotten it on a whim but she had been surprisingly turned-on by the exotic art. If it wasn’t for his being slightly translucent, she could forget he wasn’t really there.
Speaking of things I’m hungry for, you look absolutely delicious tonight. Every man in the room is drooling over you.
She made a face at such a ridiculous exaggeration. “Jealous?”
Never. By the way, thank you for wearing my gift tonight. I had really hoped it would go with whatever outfit you were wearing.
She touched the amethyst and smoky quartz crystal pendant held together by a delicate design of silver wires. The silver rope chain was just long enough to set the pendant at the top of her cleavage. The gift-wrapped box had been given to her with the other things that had survived the crash. But she had never unwrapped it…until today. “I love it.”
I bought it at the hotel gift shop before… before I left for Miami that day. The clerk had said the crystals were harvested here on the island and held very strong energy.
She rubbed the crystals between her fingers then shrugged. “They do feel unusually warm but I don’t feel any stronger.”
An attractive young waiter came by to take her order and she unintentionally turned her adoring smile on him. As she told him what she’d decided on, his gaze slid down to her chest.
Get your mind out of the gutter, kid. She’s way out of your league.
Hope almost giggled but then she noticed how abruptly the young man averted his gaze. As soon as he’d walked away, she said to Ryan, “Did you see that? It was like he heard you.”
He shrugged. Coincidence. It just took him a few seconds to remember his manners. No one except you has seen or heard me since…before.
“I know. But I keep hoping—”
I was thinking it might be fun to go for a swim after dinner…before we go up to the room. He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively to make sure she got the message.
She narrowed her eyes at him. He knew very well what power his eyebrow wiggle had over her but to combine it with a reference to one of the sexiest hours of their honeymoon week sent a spear of desire straight to her core. “Not fair.”
Haven’t you heard? All’s fair in love and war. Speaking of war, how would you feel about pretending to be a beautiful, foreign spy who was turned over to me for interrogation?
“Ryan…” Her hushed tone fell somewhere between warning and pleading. She knew where he would go next and how it would affect her. The problem was, there was nothing she could do about it until she got up to her room.
Of course you’d be all confident and threatening—a German accent would be good—but I know your secret weakness for cock and won’t hesitate to use it against you.
“I am not listening.” But her body temperature was already rising.
It’s my job to get you to talk and I take my duty very seriously. I would strip you naked and tie your wrists and ankles to the bedposts.
She couldn’t block the image he’d planted in her mind. She was helpless and exposed and he would toy with her breasts and pussy—he would probably even use a vibrating device on her until she told him anything he wanted to know just to have his big, hard weapon ramming inside her.
Hope crossed her legs and squeezed her thighs but nothing could stop the trickle of cream from escaping her vagina. “You are the devil.”
“I beg your pardon?” the sommelier asked with concern.
“I’m sorry,” she said, feeling the pink tint on her cheeks darken. At least the interruption effectively aborted the fantasy. “I was talking to myself.”
The man gave her an understanding smile as he uncorked the white wine she’d ordered, passed the cork under his nose and offered it to her for inspection. She gave it a sniff, nodded her approval and he poured a small amount into her glass. Though this was hardly a daily routine for her, she knew enough to take a sip and let it sit on her tongue a moment before swallowing and motioning for him to continue.
Abruptly, the memory of having followed the exact same steps last year seemed as fresh as if it had happened yesterday. On the day of their fifth anniversary, Ryan had gotten a message that he’d won a bid for a Tiffany lamp offered on eBay, but he had to pick it up in Fort Lauderdale that day. He insisted Hope hang out on the beach or get a massage while he made the trip. He also told her to get dressed up for a decadent dining experience in the Emerald Dome restaurant. Ten minutes before their reservation time, he called to say he was running a little late and for her to go on down to the restaurant to make sure they didn’t give away their table.
Ryan had said he was only about fifteen minutes away but an hour passed without him appearing at the table. She remembered how she kept hearing his voice, calling her name, telling her he was there, right in front of her. His voice had started out happy but had rapidly become frustrated, then furious, then frightened. She had repeatedly scanned the entire restaurant but she couldn’t see him anywhere.
Seeing him didn’t happen until she got home after the funeral.
But that horrible night, one year ago, she just thought her ears were playing tricks on her. When her cell phone had finally rung again, she had grabbed the phone out of her bag and launched into a mock scolding without noticing he wasn’t the caller.
The voice on the other end of the phone hadn’t been Ryan’s. It had been the police.
If you’re going to be morbid, I’m leaving.
She blinked at the beautiful young man across the table then quickly dabbed her eyes with her napkin. “I believe you tried that before…and got about ten feet.”
He frowned. Ten feet would take me over to the next table. Enough to make it difficult for you to talk to me without looking crazy. I thought there weren’t going to be in tears tonight.
“It was the wine. I remember having the taste in my mouth when—” She sniffed. “I should have ordered a different wine. Or skipped it altogether.”
What you should have done was go somewhere else, with someone else. You should have gone to your sister’s and let the kids distract you.
“Oh yeah, that wouldn’t have been masochistic at all. Okay. I’m sorry. No more tears tonight. From now on, I’m out on a date with my favorite guy.”
Who just happens to be invisible.
“Until the day comes when you’re invisible to me, you’re still the only guy I want to be with.” She meant it as a joke but Ryan didn’t laugh.
How do you know? I’m the only guy you’ve ever been with. There are lots of good men out there—living, breathing men who—
“Stop. Leave it alone tonight. Tonight you are the only man on my planet.”
There was nothing new about that. Once Ryan entered her life at the age of seven, no other male ever had a chance of catching her attention. Because both their parents had begged and bribed, they’d put off the wedding until they’d graduated from college, but they remained inseparable. In their third
year of marriage they took their partnership into the business arena and opened an antique shop in Orlando. No one was surprised when it was an overnight success. Their love made everything easy.
For the next hour Hope gave herself over to the tastes and smells of the best meal she’d had in a very long time. Ryan kept her giggling with his pretend eating of his imaginary food and making threatening comments to the poor waiter who was doing his best not to stare at Hope’s breasts.
She only had two glasses of wine, yet when she rose to leave, a wave of dizziness caused her to sway. Ryan automatically reached out to steady her but, as always, the gesture was futile. He was unable to make physical contact with her.
“I’m fine,” she assured him quietly. “Just stood up too fast I guess.” At first it had nearly killed her that she could see and hear Ryan but they were unable to touch each other. As time passed, they tapped into their mutual enjoyment of verbal seduction and make-believe in the bedroom and she learned to appreciate the limited gift she’d been given. But it never stopped her from missing the real feeling of his hands on her skin or his lips on hers.
Hope fully expected Ryan to get back to titillating her with words the minute they stepped into the elevator, but another couple and a bellman pushing a luggage cart entered behind them. They all nodded politely to Hope and she gave them a half-smile in return. There was something about the bellman that made Hope take a second look. He was wearing the standard red-and-green floral shirt of his position but he was unusually attractive with caramel-toned skin and slightly angled, golden-brown eyes. According to the tag on his shirt pocket, his name was Reynard, from Jamaica.
Reynard and his charges exited the elevator on the floor below hers. Just before the doors closed again, the bellman pressed his hand against one to hold it open. He gave Hope an oddly mischievous smile and said, “There is a lovely full moon tonight. Be sure to step outside and make a wish. Miracles have been known to happen at the Davenport Hotel.”
He released the door, his gaze shifted to Ryan and he winked.
Hope whirled toward Ryan the instant the doors were securely closed. “He saw you!”
He frowned. Maybe he meant to wink at you and his eyes crossed.
“Try again.”
Well, maybe when you work here long enough you start to see all the ghosts.
“All the ghosts? The only one I’ve seen is you.”
Really? They’re everywhere. I just assumed you could see them.
The elevator stopped and Hope held her response until they got inside her room. “So tell me about all these ghosts.”
Instead of complying, he turned away from her and said, Hey guys, do you mind? It’s our anniversary.
“Who are you talking to?”
You don’t see them?
She glanced from side to side. “See who?”
Rather than answer, Ryan continued to stare at something only he could see. Occasionally he nodded. Oh, I see. He appeared to be listening to someone. That’s very kind of you. Another, longer pause. I’ll definitely consider it. Thank you.
Several more seconds passed before he returned his attention to Hope. Okay, they’re gone.
“There were other ghosts in this room?” Hope was caught between being intrigued and creeped out.
Yes, Bob and Stella Horowitz. They consider this their room, but they understood and agreed to vacate for tonight.
“I wonder why I couldn’t see them.”
He shrugged. Maybe because you actually want to see me.
Hope gave the idea some thought. “Is that what they told you?”
No. They…it wasn’t important.
“Hmmph. You know better than to do that with me. Now I have to know,” she said with a smile. “You thanked them and told them you’d consider something. What were they offering you?”
They asked if we wanted to switch partners for tonight.
Hope’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”
Ryan cracked up. No. I’m not. I promise to tell you what they said. Later. Right now I’d like to see what toys you brought with you.
He didn’t need to wiggle his eyebrows for her body to jump onto his train of thought. “I didn’t bring any toys—I was thinking about maids—but I wouldn’t mind trying that spy fantasy you started earlier.”
And it will be my pleasure to interrogate you. But I’m still thinking about the strange bellman.
“Ryan, you’re being silly. He wasn’t flirting with me.”
I agree. It was more like he was giving us a message. Maybe we should do what he suggested. You know, make a wish on the moon.
She arched a brow then shrugged. “Fine. I wouldn’t want you saying we missed our chance to experience a miracle because I wouldn’t dance naked under the full moon.”
I hadn’t thought about the dancing naked part, but if you think it would help…
She clucked her tongue and crossed the room to open the drapes. When she saw the private balcony overlooking the ocean and the brilliant silver-white orb lighting the beach, she quickly opened the sliding-glass door and stepped outside. “I’d forgotten how beautiful this view is,” she murmured with considerable reverence.
It’s always in my mind, he replied from behind her. It’s one of the positive things about being dead. I can pull up any memory I choose and see it as clearly as though it were real.
“Oh gee, I can hardly wait for my turn.”
Don’t say that. Ryan’s voice was stern.
“I was kidding,” she insisted, turning her head back to smirk at him. “Sort of. I haven’t had a suicidal thought in months.”
Not funny.
She waved a hand at him. “Just make your wish. You got me horny and you know I’m not very patient when it comes to gratification.”
He cleared his throat and looked up at the moon. I wish… I wish I could make love to my gorgeous wife, feel her melt in my hands, taste her lips, suck on her luscious breasts and slip my stiff cock into her tight, wet pussy. I wish I could make her cry out from an orgasm so strong it would make up for the whole year I haven’t been able to do it for her.
With each part of his wish, a part of Hope’s body awoke and responded. She remembered how it felt when his fingertips grazed her skin until liquid heat ran through her veins. Her lips parted in anticipation of his kiss and her nipples contracted as if he’d actually closed his mouth over them and sucked and tickled her with his tongue. Thank goodness for her well-developed imagination.
Then she pictured him naked and aroused for her. His strong shoulders, broad, sculpted chest with just a smattering of light-brown curls that arrowed down to his erection. His big, beautiful, perfect erection. It didn’t matter that she’d never seen another man’s penis. She just knew Ryan’s was perfect. Because when he drove it inside her and her vagina tightened, it was a perfect fit.
Now you. Make your wish.
She wanted to continue floating in the onslaught of sensations coursing through her body, but she took a breath and put everything she was feeling into her wish. “Dear Lady of the Moon, or whoever might be listening, I wish you truly had the power to make Ryan’s wish come true. I wish I could really be with him, feel him again, make love to him…even if it was just once more. If I could have this wish, I would never ask for anything again for the remainder of my life.”
Chapter Three
The full Council of Abstracts always tuned in whenever Death was asked for an opinion. Justice, Karma, Love, Hate, Synchronicity, Patience, Mother Nature, and so on, every single Abstract entered the Collective Consciousness. Even Creativity stopped what she was working on to hear what he would say.
The First opened The Book and called the Council to order. All thought exchanges ceased as Death was filled in on the matter of Ryan Partridge and his wife Hope. “It has already been determined Ryan was a worthy human who made the most of the years he had been granted.”
Karma added, “His life was not terminated prematurely. It ended as scheduled. Al
so as scheduled, Hope has fifty-two years left in her current life. It should be noted, because his life term was to be a short one, Ryan and Hope were introduced as children and given the opportunity to spend twenty years together and, since they did not waste a minute of it, I see no reason for any alteration in their plans.”
“Your opinion has been noted in The Book,” The First confirmed.
Love spoke next. “I disagree with Karma on one point. There is a valid reason to alter their circumstances. Their original life plans did not call for them to meet until they were out of college. It was my request to allow them to meet as children. The moment my request was granted, we interfered with their destinies. Now, although I felt justified when I put forth my request for them, I see I may have made things worse. It is possible that arranging for them to spend nearly all their lives together is what caused the current dilemma.
“It has been a year since Ryan’s life term ended and neither he nor Hope have moved forward. In fact, during the last year she has completely withdrawn from family and friends. She may as well have passed on along with Ryan. They are currently on Crystal Island and have made a mutual wish upon the full moon. I believe the parameters for bending the laws have been met and interference is warranted.”
Karma reluctantly concurred. “However, it should be noted they made their wishes only after the fox suggested it.”
The First sent a private question to Love and she answered. Yes, she had used the fox—more formally identified as Deception—but, technically, no rules had been broken. Her friend was still securely caged on Crystal Island in the guise of Reynard the bellman.
As usual, The First withheld any thoughts until the rest of the Council had a chance to log opinions. Crystal Island was only one of the domains overseen by the Council but it was the one that required the most attention. Its unique properties and location created a portal to other times and dimensions. Also, because of its unearthly benefactors, it became a place where the natural laws of man’s existence could occasionally be bent. Bending one of those laws, however, required unanimous agreement of the Council. It also required specific timing. For that reckoning, The First called on Time.
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