“Then maybe I’ll get to go,” she whispered seriously.
Ryan clutched her shoulders and held her away from him. “Look at me,” he demanded and waited for her to meet his gaze. “Don’t even think about such a thing. If it’s your time, you’ll go, but don’t you dare wish for it to come one minute sooner than it’s supposed to.”
She hadn’t meant to upset him. “I’m sorry. You’re right. Let’s just enjoy the moment.” She pulled off the comfy robe and tossed it aside. Her mouth curved into a sexy smile and she ran her fingers through his chest hair. “You lay still and digest your meat and potatoes. I’m just going to do a little exploring.”
He stopped her just before she closed her teeth over one of his nipples. “Wait. Before we completely get out of the serious zone, I have one more thing, well, two actually. I want you to make me two promises.” She arched one brow and went for the nipple again. For a few seconds he gave into the temptation of her tongue before stopping her again. “I’m serious, Hope. Two promises or…or you can’t have me.”
The thought of him resisting her made her roll her eyes. “Go on. Tell me what you want me to promise.”
“Understand, this is just in case we only have tonight.”
She clucked her tongue.
“First, you have to promise not to grieve.”
“Not possible. What’s number two?”
He frowned at her. “I want you to remarry.”
“Also not going to happen.”
“At least promise to date.”
“Nope.” She exhaled heavily. “Okay, reverse roles. What if I died tonight and you stayed alive? How long would it be before you went out hunting for another girl?”
He opened and closed his mouth several times before he gave up trying to give her an answer. “You never have played fair.”
“Then don’t ask me to start now.”
It was his turn to exhale heavily. “I need to brush my teeth. I’ll be right back. Don’t move.”
She smiled as he headed to the bathroom. “Now that is a promise I can keep.” His absence was less than five minutes but that didn’t stop her from missing him.
His grin broadened with each step he took back to the bed. “Ready or not…”
She glanced down at the relaxed organ between his thighs. “Hmmm, you don’t look very ready to me.”
He stilled at the side of the bed, glanced down and pretended to look sheepish. “Maybe there’s something you could do to help it along.”
She sat up and scooted to the edge with one of her legs on each side of his. “Well, I could try this…” She petted his penis with feathery strokes and it grew an inch. The fingers of one hand encircled and gently stretched the flesh while the other fondled the sacs below.
Ryan sighed with pleasure, placed his hands on her shoulders and waited for her to take him to the next level.
When her tongue flicked over the head of his sex and swirled around the tip, it extended to its full length but she made him wait a little longer while she ran her tongue up and down the sides. Her fingers tightened and she was rewarded with a drop of pre-cum. With exaggerated slowness she poked the tip of her tongue into the tiny opening then closed her lips over the cap.
Ryan held his breath as her mouth moved lower and lower until she had taken in his whole cock. He had thought he would never again experience such pleasure. Desire flooded through his body as he watched her pull away, nip the head then suck him in again. She knew exactly how to make him crazy and how to tease his balls to add to his excitement. But it was the look of total adoration on her face that did him in. She absolutely loved doing this. She got aroused by making love to him and feeling him come awake in her hands and mouth. It was one of the millions of reasons he loved her but it was the only one on his mind at the moment.
He would have been happy to let her continue as long as she wished but her skill brought him to the edge much too soon. He eased out of her mouth and urged her to lie back. Kneeling between her feet, he repositioned her so her legs rested over his shoulders, giving him one of his favorite views.
As he knew it would be, her sex already glistened with her own juices. He blew a puff of breath at the sassy little nub and her vagina contracted in response. He kissed her belly, the inside of each thigh then each of her pink lips. When she moaned and arched her back, he did not make her ask aloud. His tongue dipped into her passageway then slid up over her clit and down again. Only when she gave him more of her sweet cream did he completely cover her cunt with his mouth and feast on all she had to give.
When she began tilting her hips to a beat, his teeth and tongue focused on her clit as he slid three fingers into her vagina and swiveled them one way then the other. She gasped and he did it again. He played with her until she began squirming with anticipation. Then he stopped. Before she had a chance to come off her high, he rose to his feet and turned her onto her knees with her perfectly rounded ass poised for easy access.
Grasping her hips, he rammed his stiff cock into her well-primed cunt. When he withdrew to plunge again, she pushed to meet his thrust, taking him in as deeply as possible. It was another raw, hip-pounding, waited-too-long-for fuck. And it was exactly what they both craved more than anything in the world. There was no need for words of love or guidance. Their bodies did the talking for them.
Desire. Passion. Hunger. Harder. Faster.
Ryan pumped his sex in and out of hers, hovering at his brink, restraining himself until he heard the sound he was waiting for. The warning of Hope’s orgasm began as a whimper and built to a passionate moan of fulfillment. God how he loved the way she moaned. As his semen flooded into her, he prayed this was not the last time he’d hear that sound.
He kissed her back and stroked her arms and hips until he felt her muscles relax. Minutes later, they fell into a blissful sleep, curled on their sides, with her body still joined with his.
* * * * *
Hope awoke slowly the next morning, somehow knowing what awaited her. Between her thighs she felt the evidence that proved last night had not been a dream or hallucination. She could still taste Ryan on her lips, smell his scent on the pillow. But it felt as if something was missing, as if the man himself, who had been part of her life for as long as she could remember, was missing.
She opened her eyes and scanned the room. It wasn’t just a feeling. He was gone. His body, his spirit, his soul had departed her world. Despite the fact he had died a year ago, tears filled her eyes but before a single droplet ran down her cheek, she was abruptly distracted by her environment.
She was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, lying on a neatly made bed. Across the room she saw a suitcase instead of the overnight bag she’d carried into the room yesterday. As cautiously as though it might have a bomb in it, she walked over to the case and opened it, only to be more confused. Inside were the black bra and stockings she had packed but clearly remembered dropping on the floor last night. And an extra set of casual clothes. There was also a red, lacy nightgown she hadn’t seen for…a year. She had thrown it in the trash the night Ryan had died.
Her bewilderment progressed to an anxiety attack when she realized what else was in the suitcase—Ryan’s clothing. She yanked open the closet door. Her black dress and Ryan’s dark-brown suit and peach shirt were hanging there. Her strappy heels and his loafers were lined up beneath their dressy clothes.
How could this be? The only logical answer was that someone was playing a trick on her but no one she knew could ever be so cruel.
Slowly she realized the room didn’t even look the same. She was certain the painting over the bed had been of a toucan but now there were two white cockatiels in the lush vegetation. Another inconsistency was in the bathroom. She had no doubt she had left her toiletries on the sink counter, but all of her things were in a small bag on the floor. And Ryan’s shaving supplies were with them.
Her mind reeled with the inexplicability of it all. Because she couldn’t think of anything else, she walked
to the door, opened it and noted that the room number—804—was another incongruity. She definitely checked into room 712. She knew that for sure because she had requested room 804…the one she had been given a year ago.
The only explanation that popped into her mind was completely crazy. Fortunately there was an easy way to prove or disprove it. She rushed to the phone and called the front desk. “Could you tell me the date please?” The reply only confused her more. It was still her anniversary, as though she’d just arrived, had not yet had dinner, had not spent the night in Ryan’s arms. But that still didn’t explain everything else. Not caring what the clerk might think, she asked, “Could you tell me what year this is?”
The polite response confirmed the impossible. It was one year ago, their fifth anniversary. Not the sixth. Either she just woke up from the worst nightmare ever or somehow time had been rewound.
But where was Ryan?
A quick glance at the digital clock on the desk let her know it was three-fifteen. It was afternoon, not morning. Ryan had headed to Fort Lauderdale to pick up the Tiffany lamp about a half hour ago. He would be on I-95 now, heading south, not north. The texting attorney was still in his office…nowhere near the intersection where everything had changed in an instant.
Without wasting another second she grabbed her cell phone and called him.
“Hey, babe. What’s up?”
Her heart was pounding against her rib cage but she managed to sound calm. “Hey, you. Sorry to call you while you’re driving…you are using your hands-free—”
“Yes, little worrywart. Safety first. I thought you were going to get a massage.”
“Oh, yes, I was but then I realized something important. That Tiffany lamp isn’t genuine. Something about the photograph had bothered me and I only just figured it out. So I want you to turn around and get your butt back here immediately. No. I don’t mean that. Drive carefully. Very, very carefully.”
Ryan laughed. “I don’t know what you’re up to, Mrs. Partridge but I hear it in your voice. Okay. Exiting now and heading back north. I should be there in a half hour or so. Traffic’s pretty light.”
“Good. I love you.” She could imagine him grinning.
“Happy anniversary.”
She couldn’t wait to tell him about everything that had happened. How they were wrong about the Davenport being nothing more than an old, expensive hotel. How weird and unexplainable things actually do happen there. How they made a wish and were given a miracle so much greater than what they had asked for.
But she didn’t want to risk saying anything that might take his mind off the road ahead. She would tell him later, after he had safely arrived back at her side. After they’d shared the decadent dining experience he had promised her. After they’d made love in the ocean to commemorate their fifth anniversary. She could tell him when they were snuggled in bed together. After all, they’d just been given the gift of time.
Nevertheless, Hope didn’t completely believe another miracle had occurred until Ryan showed up in their room and handed her a gift-wrapped box. She cooed over the beautiful amethyst and quartz crystal pendant as though she’d never seen it before. But secretly, no present could ever make her as happy as having him return in plenty of time to make their dinner reservations in the Emerald Dome.
When they entered the elevator, Hope was pleasantly surprised to see the intriguing bellman, Reynard. “Hello again,” she said with a bright smile. He nodded and Ryan gave her a quizzical look.
The elevator doors reopened one floor down and Reynard started out. As he had done before, he stopped at the last second to offer a suggestion. “I hope you’ll be dining in the hotel and not driving anywhere. A really terrible accident just happened across the bridge. A man ran a red light and smashed into a semi. Died instantly. Traffic will be tied up for hours.”
Hope’s jaw dropped and she knew instantly who was in that accident. “The attorney died?” At least he didn’t suffer this time, she thought.
“Karma,” Reynard said, gave her a wink and was gone before she could question him further.
“Strange guy,” Ryan said. “I gather you talked to him before?”
Hope felt a wave of dizziness and clutched Ryan’s arm for balance. “Darn heels,” she said. “No matter how sexy they are, I don’t wear them often enough to be graceful. What did you say?”
He looked as though he didn’t quite accept her explanation but he repeated his question.
“The bellman?” When she’d entered the elevator, he’d seemed familiar, but now she couldn’t remember where she’d seen him before. “No, I must have thought he was someone else. It was nice of him to warn us about the traffic jam though.”
“Nice, but still a little strange.” Ryan shook his head. “How did you know an attorney was involved?”
She furrowed her brow. There was something in her head about an attorney but she couldn’t pull it out. She shrugged and laughed. “I have no idea where that came from.”
“Another redhead moment?” he teased and tugged on one of her loose curls.
“Maybe a ghost whispered it in my ear,” she said, widening her eyes as though the mere thought frightened her.
Ryan chuckled. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? But I think our original conclusion was right. There is nothing haunted or weird about the Davenport Hotel.”
The elevator doors opened and they headed toward the Emerald Dome restaurant. Hope had the oddest feeling she was going to tell Ryan something important. Something about the hotel and ghosts.
But it was completely gone from her mind. She shook it off. If it was that important, it would come back to her later.
She looked up at her handsome husband and smiled. “You’re right. It was just a redhead moment. Let’s go celebrate our fifth anniversary. You know, I was going to order the filet mignon but I’m more in the mood for lobster tonight. What do you think?”
Ryan chuckled then gave her an eyebrow wiggle. “I think, as queen of this Amazonian planet, you should be granted your every wish.”
The suggestion for tonight’s theme made her vagina clench. “And as the Earth man who just crash landed on my world, where no male is permitted, you have no choice but to submit to my wishes.”
“Believe me, your highness, it will be my pleasure to obey your every command.”
* * * * *
The First opened The Book to enter a final record in the matter of Ryan and Hope Partridge. “Karma? Are you satisfied with Death’s decisions?”
“Yes.” Though his tone suggested a “but” was about to follow, he kept the additional thought to himself.
“Love?”
“Completely satisfied. Though I am a bit confused about Time’s involvement. You know scientific matters are not my forte.”
“And yet you have such a way with chemistry,” Humor added to lighten the mood.
The First addressed Time. “It would be appropriate to record your specific actions in The Book.”
“Of course. Also, I would like to acknowledge Creativity’s assistance on this matter. The solution was quite simple really. Ryan, Hope and the attorney’s family had interacted with very few others in the last year. Exchanging one life for the other would barely create a blip.” For purposes of the record, Time explained the process which was not at all simple to anyone else. “When they awaken, it will be exactly one year later and the handful of people affected by the exchange will have had appropriate memory corrections.”
“It is so noted.” The First recorded the matter as finalized and turned the page. “Is there any new business?” None of the Council was the least bit surprised when Love spoke first.
“Something is about to be discovered on Crystal Island and I am concerned that, if we don’t intervene, it could be to our detriment.”
“You have piqued our interest,” Fate said on everyone’s behalf. “But how is Love relevant?”
“Love is always relevant,” she replied gently. “In this case, Love
is at the root of the impending problem. But more important is that the problem involves the Davenport family and Crystal Island itself.”
About the Author
Marilyn Campbell has been writing fiction novels, nonfiction works and screenplays for nearly twenty years. A true thrill-junkie, she has jumped out of an airplane, raced around the Indy 500 track, driven solo throughout the United States and believes a great roller coaster ride can cure whatever ails her. She resides happily in the Lone Star State with her daughter Joie and their lovable four-legged companions, Sweetie and Milk-Dud.
Marilyn welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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Also by Marilyn Campbell
In and Out of Time
Primal Beat
Start Your Engines
Work It
Zenith Rising
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