"Someday I'll share this with someone special..." The sun slowly began to set and Jessi couldn't stop staring at the waves as the colors from the rays changed it. Suddenly she felt she was being watched again. She turned around and discovered nothing but the open patio doors leading to an empty country style kitchen.
She shook her head to lose the strange feeling. Carrying her cup, she walked back to the kitchen and closed and locked the patio doors. She needed this day to end before she lost her mind. Tomorrow the movers would bring the rest of her things and she would have a lot more organizing to do. She put the cup into the sink, turned off the music and went upstairs to take a shower and go to bed, or actually her sleeping bag, since her bed wouldn't come until tomorrow. As she settled herself into the sleeping bag the air turned cold, so she pulled the extra blanket tighter around her. In an instant warmth seeped into her body and she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Three
Jessi watched the waves as she lay in the lounge chair on her patio. They calmed and captivated her.
The man she’d seen in the reflection of the patio door appeared before her. She sat up, ready to run, but his eyes showed love and kindness towards her. Jessi stilled, mesmerized by him. The air around him sizzled and her body craved to be closer to him, to experience his heat.
"Hello." Her words sounded breathy. Her heart pumped loudly in her ears. His lean body glided to her and knelt in front of her. Brown eyes. Her heart jumped. He had luscious, creamy brown eyes. They held a darkness, but a warmth surrounded her body as she stared into them. He caressed her cheek. Every nerve in her body came to life. She could scarcely believe the sensation came from a simple touch.
"What's your name?" His deep gentle voice seemed to rumble from deep down.
Jessi's mouth went dry. "Jessi......Jessica," she whispered to the handsome stranger.
"Jessica." He tested its sound. "That's a beautiful name and it fits you perfectly." His hands raked through her dark hair.
“I prefer Jessi.” Her voice was soft.
His mouth curled in a smile. “Jessi...” He gestured towards the beach. “Do you want to take a walk?”
She realized he was shirtless and her hungry eyes grazed over his torso. His arms were well toned and his chest and abs were lean.
“Yes,” she told him.
He pulled her up and took her in his arms. The heat from him absorbed into her body. The warmth traveled to a pool in her belly. Her heart raced faster. Her hungry lips itched to kiss him. She reached out and touched his face. Currents sparked from the touch and traveled through her whole body, inflaming it even more with desire.
Never in her life had she felt so alive with passion.
He leaned closer to her, his forehead touching hers. “I feel it too.”
Jessi pressed her body against his, needing the heat from him. His hot erection pushed against her belly and the warmth in her belly became a roaring fire.
He leaned down and kissed the base of her neck, which caused her nipples to rise and beg to be touched by him. His teeth nipped the hollow spot on her throat. She moaned and ran her hands through his hair.
His hot, tender lips left kisses as he traveled up her neck until he stopped and stared into her eyes. Those creamy eyes were dark with desire and need. A need Jessi’s body screamed that it wanted to fulfill.
Her mouth opened and his crushed down against hers. His tongue explored the sweet taste of her mouth. The beat of his heart increased as his tongue deepened the kiss. The fire of lust inside of her turned into roaring wildfire consuming her body as she tasted the want and need of this man. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his, craving more of him.
His hand traveled down her blouse and began to unbutton it. The waves continued to crash and pound. Jessi broke the kiss and looked at the stranger, who became translucent. The waves pounded again.
“What…?” she asked as the pounding grew louder.
The stranger and beach suddenly disappeared.
The pounding continued and Jessi opened her eyes, only to realize it was all a dream. Her dream had felt real. Her lips still tingled from the kiss.
She sat up and realized the pounding was coming from the front door. She jumped out of the sleeping bag and peeked out the window. The movers stood outside with her furniture, waiting for her to open the door. Jessi opened the window and called out. "I'll be right down!" She put on a pair of socks from her overnight bag and walked down the stairs to open the door.
"Are you Ms. Brettwood?" The head mover lifted his head from reading the list.
"Yes, I am." Jessica moved some strands of stray hair from her face.
"Sign this, please," the man instructed as he handed her a release form.
Jessi signed the form and then both men went to the truck to unload her furniture.
Jessi moved some things out of the living room to make room for the furniture. One empty box remained in the center of the room when she heard the men enter through the front door. She left the box and went to prop open the front door.
"Where do you want this?" The movers held the couch in the doorway and waited for instructions.
"In the living room, but let me go first, so I can move the last box," Jessi told them. She hurried into the living room, but couldn't find the box. She scanned the area until she found it nestled in the corner of the room where she’d left a few things earlier. How did it get there?
"Lady? This is heavy, where do you want it?" the mover asked. He and his partner held the dark brown couch.
Jessi snapped out of her daze and pointed to a corner of the living room. "Can you put the couch in that corner, please?"
"Okay." The movers walked in and placed it where she indicated, then they turned to get the rest of the furniture from the truck.
Jessi couldn't move as she stared at the brown box in the corner. I didn't move it! So how did it...? Something about this whole situation made her nervous. She knew she didn't move it, and no one else could have, since the movers were with her.
And her dream this morning - the man in her dream was the same man she saw yesterday in the reflection on the patio door. Her sexual frustration probably fabricated the dream. But it had never happened to her before, so why now?
She turned back to the movers and sighed. So many things needed her attention right now. The movers came in with the love seat and she continued to direct them, all the while hoping she wasn't losing her mind.
"Thanks so much!" Jessi closed the door as the movers left. All the boxes scattered in the room formed an intricate maze Jessi started to learn to navigate through. Unpacking would take her a good month and organizing everything another month or two. Jessi threw her hands up in the air. Might as well tackle this job head-on.
She found the box labeled Living Room. She opened it and started to take out all her pictures. The first picture she picked out showed an image of her on a horse, her first time riding at only four years old. The camera had caught her smile as she held onto the saddle.
In the second picture she stood with her brothers Harold and Richard on their trip to Paris. The sun made had them all squint as they smiled in front of the Eiffel tower.
Bitter memories flooded her as she recalled the last time she saw both of them. They’d both sided with her parents that she should give Ben another chance. She’d told them all to go to hell and stormed out. They stopped talking to her after the incident. The pain of their disapproval of her divorce still hurt. Still, she missed both of them and hoped maybe over time they would all be able to reconcile.
She strolled over to the fireplace and settled the frozen memory on the mantle. She’d always wanted a fireplace mantle to put her pictures on, and now she finally had one.
The doorbell interrupted her thoughts. Zigging through the cardboard maze she hurried over to answer it. Opening the door, she discovered a little old lady holding a basket full of baked goods.
"Can I help you?"
; "Hi! I’m Betty, your neighbor next door. I wanted to introduce myself and welcome you to the neighborhood. I baked these goods for you, since I'm assuming you haven't had a chance to cook anything."
"Oh, hello!" Jessi moved away from the door to let her in. "Would you like to come in?"
"Why yes, thank you very much." Betty slowly walked through the door and into the foyer.
"I'm sorry my house is still a mess." Jessi apologized as she moved a box out of the way. "The living room is this way." She ushered Betty down the hall and into the living room. "Please have a seat. Would you like some coffee or tea?"
"Oh, tea would be fine." Betty walked over to the couch and set the basket of goodies on the glass coffee table.
"What kind do you like?" Jessi called out as she headed to the kitchen, which was adjacent to the living room. "I have some herbal and Earl Grey."
"Earl Grey should be fine. Thank you."
Jessi walked into the kitchen and opened the wooden cabinet. It was a good thing she had two cups and her tea already unpacked. "Have you lived in the neighborhood for very long?"
"Oh yes, I’ve lived in the neighborhood for over thirty years. I am one of the original owners who moved into this area when the houses were brand-new. How do you like your home so far?"
Jessi smiled as she pressed the button on the kettle to boil the water. "I absolutely love the home. The kitchen is the perfect size, with tons of counter space, and the bathroom upstairs is the size of Texas." When the water boiled she poured some into the cups. "It's everything I have ever wanted, and the ocean in the back is so beautiful." She held the two cups tightly as she maneuvered around the maze of boxes and took them over to the coffee table in the living room.
"Yes, everybody loves the ocean. The sound of the waves is so calming, especially at night." Betty reached to take a cup from Jessi. "I'm sure you'll love this neighborhood. It's very family friendly." She gently took a sip of tea.
"Yes, I've noticed there are a lot of families in this neighborhood and many children are running around."
Betty's eyes sparkled as her lips formed a smile. "Are you living alone, or do you have a fiancé or boyfriend?"
Jessie sighed. "No, it's just me right now. I'm a freelance writer, so I work the majority of the time, and I don't have much of a social life," she said with a bit of sorrow.
Betty reached over and patted her hand. "There is someone for everyone." She smiled. "You'll find that someone soon. You're young and smart, I can see, and I'm sure you'll meet someone in this town. I heard a lot of the young, single men spend their time at the local watering hole. D. Beer Belly. Maybe you should go there when you feel like you need to unwind."
Her nose wrinkled. "I'm not the kind of person who goes to bars." Jesse took a sip of her tea. "I prefer going to the museums and symphonies or any other cultural activity."
"Well, we don't have many of those. The only thing close to cultural is the yearly music festival."
Jessi rubbed the cup. "Somehow that doesn't sound very appealing to me."
Betty laughed. "You must have a sixth sense. The festival is not great, full of drunks and bands that can't hold a note."
The scent of the freshly baked muffins teased her nose and Jessi craned her neck to find out what goodies were in the basket. "Those muffins look delicious. You made them yourself?"
"Of course, dear, I always make everything from scratch. Go ahead, try one. Let me know what you think."
"You don't need to twist my arm." She gently picked one she guessed was a blueberry muffin and sank her teeth in. Jessi swore if she could eat a cloud, this is what it would taste like. It melted in her mouth. "You should start a bakery," she mumbled in between bites.
Betty smiled. "I used to own a bakery a long time ago, but then I retired."
"Really? That's a shame, because these muffins would be worth a fortune."
"My daughter took over the bakery. The recipes are all the same as I passed them down to her. You should stop in sometime. It's Back to Basics Bakery on Main Street, ask for Sally. She's my daughter, and you tell her you're my new neighbor."
Jessie smiled as she folded the muffin paper and put it on the table. "I will definitely be sure to go into town tomorrow. These are incredible, and I'm pretty sure by tomorrow morning I will have eaten them all."
"I'm glad I can still make people smile with my cooking." She picked up her cup of tea and slowly sipped. "What is it that you are writing about?"
She didn't feel like mentioning her past life about being a blogger on love, so she chose to tell her about her latest project. "I learned about the dig in town and want to write a book on everything that was discovered."
"That is quite a huge expense to move to write about artifacts."
Jessi grabbed a napkin from the basket and wiped her fingers. "I came here last year when they first found the site." Fortunately, the discovery was found shortly after Ben confessed his infidelity, and she’d jumped at the chance to run away from him, even for a while. "I fell in love with the town and the area and knew I wanted to live here."
"Oh?" Betty put her cup down.
"When I went back to New York I sold my home as soon as I could and decided to come back here and write about this historic find."
Jessi omitted the fact her divorce from Ben was the final push. After five years together their marriage had ended in a firestorm. Pain filled her every time she tried to look back at the happy memories, knowing he was unfaithful to her. She needed to start fresh with no baggage from the past to block her future. Ben was a mistake that would never happen again.
"Well, you will love this town. It's not too big like the city, so you will probably recognize a lot of faces as the days go by." Betty took another sip of tea.
"It is a nice town. I remember how welcoming people were to me when I was here last year. I wasn't able to stay long, only about two weeks, so I want to go do some exploring as soon as I can."
"Have you been to the lighthouse?"
Jessi shook her head.
"Oh, sweetheart, the lighthouse is the heart of this town. It has a long history of saving many lives along the coast. You should go up there for a visit."
"I think I will. I'll go tomorrow after I finish unpacking a few things."
Betty patted Jessi's knee. "You’ll love it. You look like you need some fun in your life, my dear." She put her cup down on the coffee table and smiled. "I'd better let you finish your unpacking so you can get some sleep. You look very tired."
"Yes, I am. It's been a long day and I've been running around like crazy."
"You look like it. If you need any help just let me know. I wouldn't mind helping you if you need it."
Jessi walked her to the door, slowly navigating between the boxes. "I may just take you up on that offer, especially if you bring me more of those muffins."
"Oh, of course I would, dear! Have a nice night!"
"You, too. Thanks again!"
Betty smiled and shuffled her way down the walkway back to her home. Jessi had a good feeling about her neighbor. She seemed so genuinely sincere and friendly, so vastly different from the people in New York, where everyone only cared about themselves and not who they were about to crash into.
After she locked the door she headed back to the living room and froze. Her dream lover stood looking through her framed photos. He picked up a photo of her and Abigail at the Empire State building. His fingers caressed the glass that covered her image, almost as if he wanted to caress her that way.
Jessi inched her way forward, with her hand pulling out the pepper spray from her pocket. No way was he disappearing again. She wanted answers and she wanted them now. Who did he think he was walking into her house! She reached out and took hold of his shoulder. Her hand tightened on his shoulder to prevent him from escaping. Her other hand held the pepper spray pointed directly at his face.
"Who are you?" Her eyes burned.
His head turned and his eyes widened as he stared at her
hand on his shoulder. "You're... touching me."
"You're damn right I'm touching you, and I'm going to put my foot up your ass if you don't tell me who you are and why you are here!"
"Don't you remember your dream last night?"
Jessi stiffened, her hand still on his shoulder, the other still aiming the pepper spray at him. "I don't know what you're talking about."
The man moved his large hand over hers. A flash fire sizzled through her whole body, crumbling the anger she felt.
"I visited you in your dream last night." He twisted his body and took hold of her hand. "Don't you remember the kiss?"
Jessi's mouth dropped open. "How did you...?"
"I was there, too, don't you remember?"
Her heart beat an erratic rhythm as her mind tried to comprehend what he was saying. It didn't make any sense to her. How could he have been in her dream when he was standing in front of her?
Those dark eyes captivated her. She could drown herself by staring into them until she could no longer breathe.
"Jessi..." he leaned close to try to capture her mouth.
Jessi shook her head. "No!" She pushed him away and pointed the spray at him, shaking her head in anger. "This is all crazy! What's really going on? How can you be here and in my dream last night? How do you know what I was dreaming last night?" His intense eyes called out to her.
"This is some sort of sick reality TV show! And you've got to be a magician! That's it! You're a magician and this is a reality TV show you're filming to see how long it will take before I go crazy. That would explain why you keep disappearing every time I see you."
The man stepped forward and she pointed the spray at him again. "One more step and you're dead!"
"That wouldn't be anything new for me."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Jessica..." He moved again and she pressed the button to release the spray in the face.
Mystic Realms: A Limited Edition Collection Page 164
