by Jaci Burton
His eyes darkened and he cast her a wicked smile. “Would you like to have children with me? We could make beautiful angels together, Maria. But we would have to live as mortals to do so.”
Before she could answer him, he threaded his fingers through her hair and cupped the back of her neck, drawing her lips toward his. When he kissed her, her toes curled, lightning struck, the room darkened again and she clutched his arms to keep from falling in a heap at his feet.
Lord, that was some kiss. His tongue was sweet, his lips full and gentle as they coaxed her response. She whimpered against his mouth and licked at his tongue, suddenly wishing they were alone, that this was real, instead of a dream.
“I can make all your dreams come true, Maria. Let me show you.”
They were no longer in the ballroom. Instead, a king sized bed centered a room draped in silks. Everything was pure white, except for a single red rose between the pillows of the bed. Ross took her hand and led her over to the four-poster, standing her next to it and bending down in front of her.
She found it hard to breathe. Her throat had gone dry, her pulse racing so fast and furious that her limbs began to tremble. “Wha…what are you doing?”
He lifted first one foot, then the other, slipping her shoes off. When he looked up at her and smiled, she felt like a puddle of liquid. “I’m undressing you. Do you mind?”
“Uh…no.” Fantasy, Maria. Think dream-state here, and just go with it.
He was like a musician, playing a sensual melody on her body. He stood and twined his arms around her back, reaching for the zipper of her dress. She swore she’d never heard anything more erotic than the sound of that zipper slowly traveling south. When he began to slip the dress off her shoulders, she hesitated. Even in her dreams she was self-conscious about her body.
“Relax,” he whispered, drinking from her lips in a kiss so tender she melted like chocolate in the summer. His lips moved down her neck and across her bared shoulder, then followed the trail down her arms. Every inch of her skin that he revealed undressing her he worshiped with his lips. Her legs trembled and she held onto his arms for support.
“You have a beautiful body, Maria,” he said when she was finally naked. Ross stepped back and removed his jacket, then his shirt, revealing a bronzed chest that she longed to touch. His abdomen was flat and muscular. Thoughts of what in the world a guy who looked like Ross was doing with a girl who looked like her ran rampant through her mind. Funny how even in her fantasy dream state her insecurities showed.
“Believe in the beauty you possess,” he said, his gaze roaming over her breasts, her belly and her hips. “You have the most incredibly sexy legs I’ve ever seen.”
Still watching her, he flipped open the button of his slacks and drew the zipper down. Maria watched and licked her lips as he slid his pants down over his muscular legs. Dark, fine hairs curled on his thighs, leading to a vee of dark hair between his legs and the most perfect cock she’d ever seen. If she’d ever seen anything that was ‘just right’, Ross’s cock was it. Just long enough, thick enough and perfect enough that she felt the moistening between her legs and an eager anticipation swell inside her.
He pressed her onto the bed and kneeled over her, nudging her legs apart and settling against her. Her framed her face between his hands and kissed her. Warmth spread throughout her limbs, centering in a pool of damp desire between her legs. A thrumming need began to hum inside her.
“I’d like to take all the time in the world to make love to you, Maria, but we’re limited right now. Besides, I can’t wait any longer to be inside you.”
His barely leashed control excited her. Knowing he wanted her so badly that he couldn’t waste time with the preliminaries suited her just fine. She wanted him. Now. In response she lifted her hips, her clit brushing against his cock and setting her on fire.
He reached between them and positioned his shaft at the entrance to her sex. He took her mouth in a heart-stopping kiss at the same time he thrust inside her.
Oh no. This couldn’t be happening. He filled her completely, stroking slowly and then building up a rhythm. Sparks of intense sensation flew around her as if magic sex dust had been poured over her entire body. She felt the contractions begin, surprised that she could even think about climaxing this way. It had never happened before. It couldn’t.
But it was. And Ross felt it too. His lips curled in a wicked smile as he drove hard against her. She splintered into pieces as an amazing orgasm had her crying out his name and raking her nails down his back. With a loud groan he came with her, clenching her buttocks and holding her close to him.
Wow. Never had sex been so…fulfilling before. Oh, why couldn’t it be like this in her real life? Where were men like Ross in her reality?
If she was lucky, she’d never wake up.
“It will always be like that between us, Maria. All you have to do is say the word.”
She blinked, not understanding this dream. When she opened her eyes, they were back in the shop. Ross held her. Funny he was still wearing his jeans and t-shirt and she was once again dressed like a sloppy hairdresser.
“Did I faint?” she asked, wondering why she was still in his arms.
“No. I just gave you a glimpse of what your future could be like.”
“That dream wasn’t real, Ross. None of that was real.”
“You look incredible in black velvet, Maria. And out of it.”
Wait a minute. If she’d passed out and had some kind of fantasy, how would Ross know? She blinked, pinched her arm. Ow, dammit!
No, this time she was wide awake. “Are you telling me that what I just thought I dreamed actually happened?”
“Yes. You need only to open your heart to realize it.”
The last time she had opened her heart, some big gorilla of a moron had walked right in and stomped his ugly monkey feet all over it. Now, while Ross didn’t look anything like a gorilla or a moron, she still guarded her special treasure carefully.
“I know you’ve been hurt before,” he said, as if he could read her hesitation. “But those were the wrong men for you. I am the right man.”
“Oh, you are, are you?” She’d heard that one before, too. Yet remnants of their lovemaking still heated her body.
“Yes. Would you like me to show another way it can be between us?”
Did she want that? He had magic, of that she was now certain, although a part of her still found it hard to believe he was who he said he was. But the lure was irresistible. She had to know. “Yes, Ross. Show me.”
“Close your eyes, and think about what you really want.”
“You mean fame, a new car, enough cash to pay the rent? That sort of thing?”
He shook his head. “No, not that. Your dream of love. What do you want from love, Maria?”
She already knew the answer. It had been her dream since childhood. She closed her eyes and imagined herself in a house. Nothing fancy, just a nice little ranch-style. One story, four bedrooms, two baths, a man she loved with all her heart and a couple kids running around. And a big back yard. And dogs. She’d never had dogs and she always wanted them. Of course her cats, too. And a job she loved. She wanted her own shop, the kind of place everybody in the city would want to come to. Trendy, but not snooty. And she’d only work part-time so she could have fun with her kids, be the PTA mom and that sort of thing.
“Open your eyes.”
Suddenly she was there. In the suburbs, exactly the house she wanted. Dogs barked out in the back yard, a beautiful brown Labrador and an Irish Setter. Two little kids ran after the dogs, one a tiny cherub about three years old, with brown hair and curls like her, the other a boy, maybe a year or so older, who looked just like…
“Ross.”
He stood next to her and caressed her cheek. “Your dream is wonderful. I can make it happen for you—for us.”
How could they actually be standing in the kitchen of her dream house? How could any of this be real? How could her he
art be so filled with the love she never thought she’d have?
“Like I told you. You need only to believe in the magic, to believe in love, to believe in me.”
She searched his face, then asked, “But what do you want, Ross?”
His lips met hers in a kiss that seared her senses. He folded her into his arms and she felt safe, protected, loved…truly loved, for the very first time.
“That’s easy. I want you, Maria. In any way you can dream of. In the clouds, or living a mortal life, my soul is connected to yours forever.”
“You would give up your magic to live a mortal life with me?”
“Yes.”
Could she do this? Could she admit to loving someone she’d only just met? This whole scenario bordered on the ridiculous, and yet she couldn’t deny the tug of something real, something tangible, on her heart. Ross truly was everything she’d ever dreamed of. Gorgeous, yes, but more importantly kind, considerate, funny and easy to talk to. Is that what the term “soulmates” meant? She’d always wondered.
He was her dream man.
So what was she waiting for?
She looked up at him and smiled. “I want a mortal life, Ross. I want the house and the kids and the dogs. More than that, I want the kind of love that I’ve dreamed about.”
“Done.” He bent his head and took her lips again, and this time when she clutched his shirt and felt his heart pounding against hers, she knew it was real.
There really was a chance at love out there. And she’d found it in the most unexpected way.
“Now what?” she asked, breathless after his thorough kiss.
“Now we get to know each other, the way it’s supposed to be. We have all the time in the world, Maria. We have the rest of our lives.”
“So, first we date?”
He helped her lock the door to the shop, then offered his arm as they walked down the street. “Sort of. I think I already know who and what I want.” He stopped and turned to her, taking her hands in his and offering a wickedly sexy smile that sent her pulse racing. “Maybe we can bypass some of the preliminaries?”
“Oh good. Because I had this thought about how I would like to spend Valentine’s Day.”
“Really? How’s that?”
She stopped when they reached her apartment. She wound her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his, murmuring, “Well, it has nothing to do with watching Meg Ryan flicks on television.”
“Whatever you want to do, Maria. By the way, I am Eros, you know. Not to brag or anything, but I know a thing or two about lovemaking.”
When he licked at her lips, shockwaves roared through her body. She could well imagine what he knew. She had experienced only a glimpse at what he knew. She wasn’t sure she could survive it. But then again, maybe she’d surprise him, too.
She wanted a lot. And tonight she was going to see that every one of her dreams were fulfilled. As she led Ross upstairs to her apartment, she realized that she wanted to fulfill some of his dreams, too.
The fun would be in discovery. The magic would be the love she already knew she’d found.
