Wishing on a Dream

by Michele Notaro

  I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist, his automatically coming up to my shoulders as I slanted down to press my lips to his. When he leaned his whole body into me, I slid my hand up his back and into his hair to deepen the kiss, and his answering whimper made me smile. Our tongues brushed and danced together, and I soaked him in, wanting more.

  I trailed soft kisses along his jaw and down his neck, and he moaned as he tilted his head to the side to allow more access. His hands gripped my shoulders, digging into me and keeping me against him. My mouth made its way back up his neck to his mouth, and I kissed him deeply again. I could feel his growing hardness against my thigh as I was sure he could feel mine against his stomach, but he’d been timid enough with me that I didn’t think he was ready for anything more than kissing, if he’d ever want more than that. I wanted to ask what his limitations were, but I chickened out.

  “Grady,” he breathed.

  “Yes?”

  He groaned. “I need… I need to tell you something.”

  I pressed a lingering kiss to his lips before pulling back. “Right now?”

  He nodded, then glanced into the living room. “Will you sit with me so I can explain something?”

  “Sure.”

  He groaned in frustration before pressing a very quick but very hard kiss to my lips and moving to the couch. I trailed after him, sitting and angling my body toward him. It took Alaric a minute before he stared into my eyes and asked, “We need to discuss the tightness in your chest.”

  That wasn’t what I’d expected him to say at all, so it took a second for me to respond. “Okay, but I haven’t felt it since this morning.”

  He nodded, not looking surprised. “It’s been the same for me.”

  “You felt it when you woke up, too? I thought it was just me.”

  “No, I felt it as well this morning and when we each took showers.”

  “It’s this soul linking thing, right?”

  He sighed. “Yes, I’m afraid it is.” He huffed out a breath. “You… I don’t know how you did it because I thought you had to do a whole ceremony or something, but somehow, you pledged yourself to my soul.”

  My brow furrowed. “I still don’t understand what that means. You keep saying it, but I don’t get it.”

  “I tried to tell you before, I tried to-to stop it, but…” He sighed. “You connected us together, but… it’s not exactly unbreakable yet.”

  “I feel like you’re talking in riddles.”

  “A human, when they feel an emotional connection to a warlock, they can link with them. It makes it so the human will live as long as the warlock—their life force becomes tied to the warlock’s so they’d live and die together—but they’ll not only want to stay close, they’ll need to be close. Otherwise, the chest pain happens, and possibly other symptoms. Although I was under the impression that the pain was one-sided, the human side, but since I’m feeling it, too, that was either a lie, or this is different than your typical soul-pledge. You’re experiencing pain because we’re separated, and I don’t think I can help you with that as long as we’re tied together.”

  “Okay, that’s… that’s a lot.” I thought about what he’d said for a minute. “Wait, so as of right now, I’m going to live for a thousand years?”

  “Yes, that seems likely.”

  I blew out a breath. “Okay, wow. That’s… wow. That’s insane.”

  “Part of the link drives us to want to be together. It doesn’t, no, it wouldn’t make emotions appear out of thin air, but it does enhance them.”

  “So… what I’m feeling is intense because of the link?”

  “Yes.”

  “But it doesn’t mean the feelings are fake, does it?”

  “No. Absolutely not.”

  I nodded. “Good.”

  “Right now, the soul-pledge is breakable. If you decided you didn’t want to be linked with me, we would need to separate ourselves for a while until the link, the pain, goes away. The link would fade and thin out until it was gone.”

  I sucked in a sharp breath. “Do you… is that what you want?”

  “No, Grady. That isn’t what I want.” His voice was a quiet murmur. “But this isn’t about what I want, it’s about what you want.”

  “No, it should be about both of us.”

  He stared at me for a few seconds. “Fair enough.”

  “You said right now it’s breakable, does that mean it will become unbreakable?”

  “Yes. The more time we spend together, the stronger the link will become until it’s so strong, not even the strongest magic can break it.”

  That was… intense. “Oh.”

  He nodded, then closed his eyes and muttered, “There are ways to speed up that process though.”

  “What ways?”

  He opened his eyes to stare right into mine. “The closer we become physically, the quicker the link grows. I apologize. I should have explained this before I kissed you and asked you about courtship.”

  I couldn’t help the smile that spread over my lips. “So if we have sex, we could potentially be stuck together for the rest of our very long lives?”

  His cheeks turned so red, so fast. “Precisely.”

  “And you asked me if we could date because… you want this link?”

  His cheeks turned even redder, and the blush spread over his entire face. He hesitated before sighing out, “Yes.” He quickly added, “But I don’t want to take that choice away from you, and I don’t want to jump into this without thinking it over. This is a very big decision that should not be taken lightly.”

  I wanted to kiss him, hard, but I refrained because I got what he was saying and why he was so worried. I felt like I’d known him my entire life, but in truth, it had only been weeks and he could live for another eight hundred years. If I linked with him, I would live that long too… something I couldn’t even fathom. He was right, this shouldn’t be taken lightly. I licked my lips, then said, “If you want me to, I’ll think it over for a few days—”

  “Take as long as you like. You can have months, years if you need it.”

  I smiled. “I’m leaning toward wanting this soul link thing, just so you know, but I get what you’re saying, so I’ll think it over because I don’t want you to think I’m being careless with my decision.” I chewed on my lip for a moment. “Would it be okay if I told Laz about it?”

  “Yes, of course. I know you trust him, therefore, I trust him with my secrets.”

  Wow. “Wow.”

  Even though he just warned me against it, I had to kiss him. So I did. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. He froze in surprise for a moment before he pressed back. He only let it last for a few seconds before he pulled away with a soft smile.

  Taking a few days to think it over was going to be difficult, especially since I already knew what my answer would be, but I was going to have to convince Alaric I wasn’t being rash. No way in hell would I give this, give him up ever.

  I woke up for the second day in a row with a huge pain in my chest. It was like an elephant was stepping on me, so I got out of bed and headed down the hall. Halfway to Alaric’s room, I realized it was still dark out. The pain must’ve woken me.

  Alaric had his bedroom door open, so I didn’t even think about what I was doing until I was standing on the side of his bed and Tiberius lifted his head up to look at me. He was sitting on Alaric’s pillow, pressed against the top of his head as Alaric slept on his back with his hands resting on his chest. The owl stared at me for a moment before he tucked his head back down to sleep, obviously dismissing me as non-threatening. Which was kind of great, because that meant he trusted me, right?

  My chest hurt a lot less now that Alaric was only a few feet from me, but it was still aching, and I instinctively knew it would continue to ache unless I got closer to him, unless I touched him.

  With a small sigh, I lifted the edge of the blanket and scooted into the bed. Alaric woke with a startled sound comin
g out of his throat before his eyes locked on me. He stared at me for a moment, and I stared back.

  I bit my cheek, then asked, “Can I stay here?”

  “Of course.” His voice was hoarse and thick with sleep.

  I slid the rest of the way into the bed until I was pressed against Alaric’s side. After several minutes, he moved around a little and lifted his arm so I could lay my head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around me, and I sighed, the deep ache finally dissipating.

  “Are you alright?” he asked me on a whisper.

  I nodded and draped my arm over him, nuzzling my face on his chest. “I don’t want to break the link.”

  “Grady, I don—”

  “I promised you that I’d think about it, so I promise I still will, but… I don’t want to break it. We don’t know each other well, but ever since I met you, even before this link thing happened, I felt like I’ve known you forever. I felt a connection to you the moment I picked up the snow globe, and it grew stronger the first time we dream-walked.”

  He was quiet for a long moment before he whispered, “I felt the same.”

  That settled something inside me. I’d been a little worried that this whole thing was one-sided or something, but Alaric didn’t tell lies, he only spoke the truth, so if he was saying he felt the same, I knew he did. He’d felt this thing between us just as much as I had.

  His lips pressed to my forehead and he whispered, “Go back to sleep, my sweet dove.”

  With a sigh of contentment, I closed my eyes and followed his instructions.

  Chapter 16

  Alaric

  It had been two days since I’d told Grady to think about the soul-pledge, and every night, he’d crawled into my bed in the middle of the night. During the day, he’d been giving me kisses and hugs and holding my hand. If he decided he didn’t want the soul-pledge, I’d honor his wishes, but gods, was it going to be difficult to let him go. I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to, but I’d do anything for Grady. Anything at all.

  Including letting him take me to a store bigger than a mansion that was filled with clothes.

  He’d already made me try on several outfits to see what size I wore, and I’d since decided that I was not a fan of shopping.

  “Are you sure it’s okay to be spending this amount?” I asked after seeing the sales tag on a pair of jeans. I knew things were expensive and that times had changed, I’d seen it myself in the stores I’d been sold in and on television, but thinking about Grady spending that amount on me made me uncomfortable.

  “It’s fine, Alaric. I promise.” He threw another shirt onto the pile of clothes I was carrying.

  “Will you help me find a job so I can pay you back?”

  He stopped in his tracks to turn and glare at me. “You’re not paying me back.”

  “But—”

  “You’re not paying me back.”

  “All I’ve done since I… arrived is eat your food and cost you money.”

  He rolled his eyes at me. “If you’re worried about it, you can work with me at the store.”

  “You would truly hire me?”

  He barked out a laugh. “It’s not a big deal, Alaric, but yes, I will. We’ve been looking for someone new, anyway. I have to go back to work tomorrow, so we can fill out the proper paperwork and get you started. I’ll teach you what to do.” He stopped and licked his lips, making me wish I was the one licking them. “I’m not sure what to do about getting you the proper identification and everything, though. I don’t even know who to ask about getting fake papers.”

  “If you show me what they look like, I might be able to replicate them.”

  “Really?”

  I nodded. “If I have a blank slate—perhaps, a blank piece of paper—I can manipulate it to show what we need.”

  He grinned. “Perfect.” He grabbed another shirt to add to the ever-growing pile. “There, let’s start with this so we can see what you like. I don’t want to buy you a bunch of things you won’t be comfortable in.” He went to turn, but I grabbed his hand to stop him.

  “Thank you, Grady.”

  “You’re welcome.” He squeezed my hand before walking toward the front of the store. “You’ve got to stop thanking me, though. I swear you’re the most polite person I’ve ever met.”

  “And that’s a bad thing?”

  He laughed. “Not at all. After we check out, we can head over to the pet store.”

  “We have to go to another store?”

  He stared at me in amusement. “Yes.”

  I accidentally groaned out loud, and he laughed. I muttered, “This is worse than cleaning the horse stalls at the farm.”

  His laugh grew louder, obviously hearing my comment. “Only one more stop. I want to see what kind of bird perches they have at the store. I was thinking I should get two for downstairs, two for upstairs… or maybe just one if I can convince you to move into my room.” Before I could respond to that, he continued, “And if you’re coming to work with me, I should get one for the shop.”

  “You’ll let Tiberius come inside as well?”

  “Of course. He can be the store mascot.”

  “I don’t know what that means.”

  “That was a joke, kind of. We can set him up behind the counter so customers won’t be near him. I bet all my regulars will love him, though.”

  “Tha—”

  “You don’t have to keep thanking me.”

  I squeezed my lips together.

  He chuckled. “It’s killing you not to say it, isn’t it?”

  I nodded.

  With a huge smile, he said, “Go ahead, then.”

  “Thank you.”

  He laughed the entire time we checked out and was smiling while we were at the pet store, too.

  When we got back into the car with an obscene number of “perches” in the back—even though I’d told him I could make some—he asked, “What’s wrong?”

  “I feel bad for the animals in those cages. They aren’t meant to live in such small spaces.”

  “Yeah, pet stores are kinda crap with that. Hopefully they’ll all be adopted.”

  I nodded. “I hope so.”

  “If I ever get another pet, I want to rescue one.”

  “Rescue from what?”

  He grinned. “A pet rescue. Where unwanted pets get taken when their owners give them up or can’t care for them anymore or if an animal is found outside or is injured or something.”

  “That sounds awful. Those poor animals.”

  He reached over and patted my hand. “If Tiberius wouldn’t eat anything we brought back, I’d say let’s go adopt a pet, but I don’t think he’d be very happy about it.”

  I sighed. “Probably not.”

  After a few minutes of driving, he glanced over and said, “I have an idea since you’re looking so sad over there.”

  “What idea?”

  “We could look into volunteering at a rescue, and if you really do want to make things like you were saying in the pet store, maybe you could make some blankets and things that the rescue needs, and we can take them to donate.”

  “I could do that?”

  “Yes. I’ll look into it at home.”

  “That sounds wonderful. You’re amazing, Grady.”

  He snorted out a laugh. “Hardly.”

  “Please come to bed with me,” Grady said after dinner. He was standing near the sink, giving Tiberius pieces of some gross treat he’d found at the pet store. I didn’t look too closely at it after I smelled it from across the room, but Tib seemed to be enjoying it.

  Keeping my distance from Grady was obviously futile, so I nodded. “Alright.”

  His answering smile lit up the whole kitchen. “Great.” He leaned over the counter to kiss the top of Tiberius’s head before grabbing another treat out and closing the container. I heard him mutter to Tib, “Putting the perch in my room was a good call, Tib.” I didn’t know what he meant by that, but Tib seemed to love the fact that Grady had
a secret with him and that he’d given him a kiss. Grady fed the last treat to Tib, then set the treat container inside the refrigerator, washed his hands, and walked over to wrap his arms around me. “This is me officially telling you that I want to keep the soul-pledge.” He’d told me this several times a day, every day.

  I dropped my forehead—it landing on his chest since he was so much taller—and wrapped my arms around his waist.

  “You know, if you keep this up, you’re going to make me think that you’re the one that doesn’t want it.”

  I lifted my head with wide eyes. “You know that isn’t true.”

  “Do I?”

  “Grady, I’m so sorry if you’ve thought that for even one moment. I’m only worried about it being forced on you.”

  “It wasn’t forced on me.”

  “I don’t want you to regret it in a few months, or years, or a few hundred years from now. I don’t want you to feel like I didn’t give you the option.”

  He sighed. “I understand your worry, especially after everything you’ve been through, but I’m telling you that every part of me feels like this is right. Whenever I’ve thought about not being linked to you—like I promised I’d think about—it makes me ache… not only my chest, but… something deeper.”

  I swallowed thickly. “Your soul.”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “I feel the same.”

  “Then why are you fighting this so hard?”

  I bit my lip, then licked them. “I know what it feels like to have your life taken away from you, and I would never in a million years wish that upon you. I never want you to feel the way I felt when… when I was first imprisoned. And I certainly never want to be the cause of that pain.”

  “Oh, Alaric.” He grabbed my cheeks and pressed his lips to mine gently. “You could never make me feel that way.” He pressed a little harder against me. “You are the kindest, most considerate person I’ve ever met.” Another light kiss brushed against me. “I’m not doing this because I feel pressured to, I want this. More than you know.” He kissed one cheek, then the other, then the corner of my mouth. Each kiss was making me melt and lean against him further. “I’m… I’m going to be selfish right now for the both of us. We both want this, so we’re going to keep it.”