“Like I told you before, I would never leave you. I have a feeling that whatever is going on will be revealed soon. Besides, don’t you want to hear my wonderful news?” I smiled at her broadly, hoping that she would stop beating herself up.
She nodded as she sat down in the chair across from me, leaning back as if she didn’t want to be near me. I frowned and placed my arms on the desk, folding my hands. “Well, this morning I had only one good thing to share, but now I have two. I just got off the phone with the real estate broker and the offer I put in for the apartment yesterday was accepted. If all goes well, I will be the proud owner of a German home in fourteen days.”
The look of shock on her face was priceless. “You really are staying here,” she breathed out, and I could see her shoulders visibly relax.
“Of course,” I assured her. “I’ve spent too many years being lonely and miserable. I’ve never been happier than I have here. With you.”
“I’m so happy for you, Klaus,” she said, as her voice hitched. “I feel like everything is moving so fast and I shouldn’t feel this way about you. But my heart knows that you are it for me.”
I took her hand in mine and rubbed circles on it with my thumb. “You have no idea how happy that makes me, Lorelei. I had hoped that my feelings weren’t one-sided.”
We sat in silence for a few minutes, both of us lost in our own thoughts as we looked in each other’s eyes. Footsteps broke the spell we were under and we both jolted back as we rushed to keep ourselves busy.
“Herr Wilhelm,” I greeted the director. “Just the man I wanted to see. I was about to share with Dr. Nixen the good news, but it works so much better for you to be here too.”
He radiated excitement for my news, rubbing his hands together, and asked, “What do you have to share, Dr. Hoffman?”
“I have a lead on the mysterious painter. It’s come to my attention from a friend that an older woman in a remote village shared a story that had been passed down from generation to generation. She claims the artist was the relative of a family friend. It seems as though she may have some more art from him. We would obviously have to verify the origin, but I have set a trip to the location for the soonest possible time, which is in three weeks.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. The coven did have roots with my family, and I had given my aunt a painting long time ago that she shared with the other witches. I just didn’t believe that it survived, nor were there any friends involved in the lead.
Shock covered Lorelei’s face while Herr Wilhelm couldn’t contain his excitement. “This is wonderful for the museum!” he exclaimed, before his face fell. “I’ll have to check the budget. I’m not sure we have enough to cover a trip. We aren’t the Louvre.”
“Sir, I wouldn’t dare ask you to take money from the funds that are so precious to this museum. I had planned on paying for this myself. I’m only asking for permission for the time off that we would need to investigate the claims.” I knew I was offering something significant and he couldn’t say no.
The time away with Lorelei to try to jog her memory and to see if the curse could be broken was the most important thing to me. I couldn’t stand losing her again. My heart clenched at the idea, as the flashes of her previous lives played in my mind like a movie reel. I shook myself out of my depressing thoughts as I had to focus on the task at hand.
He still looked doubtful, so I sweetened the deal, “I’m sure you are aware that I come from a long line of well-respected experts in the field of art. With that came the funds for me to follow my passion. This piece is my passion. I’m not the one to like the limelight myself but I would love to start a Hoffman family fund for the arts, starting with Nixie.”
That was all it took for Herr Wilhelm to give Lorelei and I the ability to take ’as much time as we needed.’
Once he left, Lorelei looked at me curiously. “Are we taking anyone else with us on this trip?”
“No. Just you and I,” I winked at her. “I’m sorry I didn’t ask you first. I should have thought about the fact that you may not be able to get away for a long period of time.”
She threw her head back and laughed, the melodic sound going straight to my dick as it always did. “The only thing that would miss me is my wine bottles. I don’t even have a plant to care for.” Her tone of self-depreciation saddened me. Soon she would see why she never held anything of value in her life as her subconscious waited for me.
“Good. I hope you don’t mind sleeping in a tent, though. The village is deep in the forest with no roads. We will have to hike quite a way to get there.”
“It’s a good thing I can make a mean s’more,” she giggled. “I used to camp a lot as a little girl. Every year, my parents would take me to a campground that was deep in the forest and situated on the banks of a river. I always felt so at home there. For some reason I’ve always been drawn to forests and rivers.” She got that wistful look on her face and I gripped the desk to keep myself from jumping over it and stripping her down right there.
I cleared my throat, “What exactly is a s’more?”
She rolled her eyes, “Europeans don’t know the yummy goodness they miss out on by not having a s’more. It’s an American tradition for campfires. You roast the marshmallow over a fire and then sandwich it between a sweet graham cracker with a chunk of chocolate on it.” She made a face of ecstasy as she described the gooey goodness of this strange treat.
“If it causes you to make that face, I’ll buy you a boatload of this treat you are so fond of,” I told her in a husky voice. “Of course, I might be a little jealous since I want to be the only one that gives you that look.”
She winked at me, “Just wait until you try one and you’ll be making the same face. Anyway, is there anything I need to do to be ready?”
“Just bring a few sets of clothes and your beautiful self,” I told her. “And don’t pack any pajamas because you will be naked in my sleeping bag every single night.”
Her expression turned heated at my words and her voice dropped low, “You’re making it very hard to work with you, Klaus. How am I supposed to concentrate when all I can think of is making love to you?”
I grinned wickedly, “I plan to relieve your little problem as soon as we are done here. Dinner in my room tonight?” I licked my bottom lip, “You can bring the dessert.”
Her eyes roamed over my body as she leaned forward, her shirt dropping low to reveal her ample cleavage. “And what is it you’re in the mood for tonight? Sweet or a little bit spicy?”
I gulped as I thought of putting my face between those breasts and sucking on her nipples. “I think I’m in the mood for a little spice tonight.”
.
The weeks passed so quickly and before we knew it, Klaus had closed on his new apartment. He invited me over to celebrate, not that we had spent many nights apart in the past two weeks. He had taken the day off to get everything set up, with the furniture deliveries all having been scheduled for that day.
The day was long and boring without him around. I found myself staring off into space frequently. The strange dreams had continued to come at the most peculiar of times, and that day was no different than any other. At least I no longer seemed to feel woozy when they came. This time I had flashes of a farm, Klaus dressed in the same worn pants that he wore in every other dream. He had a large sickle in his hands, his shirt lying next to me as I watched him from a spot in the soft grass. His muscles rippled as he swung the tool and chopped a row of some sort of large plant down. I got butterflies in my stomach as he turned and waved at me with a smile.
It was a very quick dream, but it was enough to make me want to run my fingers along his hard body. I looked at the clock and swore. It seemed that time was not kind to me on this day. I glanced at Nixie, which was carefully propped up, waiting for me to take a look at the back.
I sighed and got up to go over there and do the work that I really should get done. The letter that had been promised to us still hadn’t been delivered. Herr Wi
lhelm had called, and they said they had trouble with their machine and could not figure out what was wrong with it. It scanned other documents but wouldn’t pick up any traces of this one. They guessed that it might have to do with the pigment used in the letter but couldn’t be sure. The Louvre director was insistent that he would not waste any more time on it since we would obtain the original in what he expected to be a month’s time or less.
I wanted to read that letter before we went on our trip but that wasn’t meant to be. I sighed and got to work, hoping the time would go by faster, and that I could concentrate. I approached the painting and it seemed to move, the colors wavering as if it were alive. I blinked rapidly thinking that my eyes had to be tired from all the work on the computer I had done that morning.
I rubbed my eyes and looked again. Nixie was back to normal as if nothing happened. I shook my head at myself. “Way to make losing your mind even worse Lorelei.” I picked up my magnifying glass off the table and inspected it to make sure there was no dust or smudges that could get in the way of my work.
Satisfied that it was clear, I looked up from it and dropped it on the floor in shock. The woman in the painting was slowly waving to me as if beckoning me forward. I didn’t even notice as my shoes crunched over the broken glass on the floor. “What the hell?” I questioned out loud, as I rubbed my eyes again.
“Break our curse. Remember,” a faraway voice whispered, before the painting went back to normal. Then I did what any other sane person would do. I turned around and ran out, just barely remembering to grab my purse on the way out.
I headed to the bathroom and locked myself in, as tears streamed down my face. I was sure that I was losing my mind to some mental illness and would end up locked away. It was one thing to have daydreams and nightmares that seemed so real, but it was another to hallucinate a painting moving and voices whispering to me.
I didn’t know what to do, if I should go to Klaus with this or if I should call my doctor. Klaus was the more appealing option, though I was scared of what he would say this time. He had been extremely interested in my dreams and so supportive. I really couldn’t have asked for a better boyfriend. He hadn’t told me I was crazy when I heard the woman on the train speak, though it was a possibility that she really did speak to me.
But this, this was an entirely different story. There was no rational explanation as to why in a completely empty room I would hear voices.
I splashed cool water on my face and looked at my watch. I still had an hour before I was supposed to be at Klaus’ new home, but I didn’t think I could wait any longer. I didn’t want to ruin his excitement, but I also knew that I needed him. I was scared and I hoped that he would be willing to hold my hand as I went to the doctor. Maybe I had a brain tumor and that was far less scary to me than thinking I had an untreatable mental illness that would force me to go back to America and lean on my parents.
Having made up my mind, I primed myself to look as presentable as possible and sent Klaus a text saying that I would be early. I kept my head down as I made my way through the museum to the exit, not wanting to have to talk to any of my colleagues. I stopped and picked up dinner as I had promised Klaus I would. Luckily, the pub was filled with rambunctious customers that were more interested in the football game and paid me no attention.
I hailed a cab instead of walking because my legs felt wobbly and I wasn’t sure I would make it that far with the way I was feeling. My nerves were shot, and my stomach flipped as the driver pulled up to the renovated brick building that was Klaus’ new home.
A sense of déjà vu washed over me as I made my way up the steps to the front door and rang his bell. He buzzed me in, and I hiked up the wooden stairs admiring the old carved railing that looked to be the original. If I weren’t such a mess I would stop and study it.
As I exited on his floor, my mind started to swim. I knew I hadn’t been here before, yet it all seemed so familiar. It was as if there were something right on the edge of my mind and before I could grab a hold of it, it would float away.
All thoughts flew out of my mind as I spotted Klaus leaning against his door frame, his arms crossed and a look of joy on his face. He looked not only so damn sexy, but also so happy. There was no way I could ruin his night by telling him what happened. I’d let him have his night and tomorrow I would tell him. Though, I had made a promise to always tell him the odd things that happened, I didn’t recall ever putting a time on it. One day wouldn’t make a difference.
I squared my shoulders and shook off the bad feelings, determined to make this night so good that he would never forget it. I would give him all my love tonight and finally tell him the words that he had been waiting to hear from me. Yes, tonight would be about Klaus and nothing else.
I held up the bag for him to see. “I got some of your favorites to celebrate your official move to Germany,” I forced a smile on my face, which I didn’t have to force for very long as he cupped my face and kissed me with fervor, leaving me breathless.
Once he came up for air, he said, “Love, you are so thoughtful. I would love nothing more than to forget the dinner and take you straight to my bed.”
I moaned at the idea, “I would love that too, but you must show me this place you loved so much that you bought it immediately. Let’s eat first and then you can give me the tour.” I winked at him and pulled away as I headed to the kitchen that I could see through the doorway.
“I don’t suppose you remembered to get dishes?” I asked, as I pulled the food out of the bag and set the aromatic containers on the counter.
He brushed up against my back and I leaned back into him as he reached to a cabinet above my head. “Of course, I remembered,” his breath brushed against my neck. “You’ll find I’m very domestic for a bachelor. I even washed them all by hand before putting them away.”
I giggled, “Oh, you better stop now before you make me have an orgasm at all your domestic skills. What I can’t figure out is how you’re still single. What am I missing that isn’t perfect about you?”
His smile wavered a bit. “Honestly, it’s not me. I just haven’t found anyone that I felt right with. I’ve rejected every woman that has tried. I’m surprised there aren’t a lot of articles in the gossip magazines about the terrible bachelor that breaks women’s hearts left and right. Though I think I did read one that questioned my sexuality.”
“I can attest that you are definitely into women,” I responded, laughing at the absurdity. “It’s funny that we have very demanding careers and the media thinks that we should put the time into a relationship on top of our work. Not that I get any media attention with my low profile.”
“I’ll give you all the attention you could ever want and more,” he teased, though he sounded completely serious as he sealed it with a lingering kiss on my cheek. The softness of his lips made me never want to stop feeling them on any part of my body. Sadness overtook me as I thought about how this could all go away so quickly considering my questionable mental state.
He seemed to notice right away and tugged me to him and wrapped his strong arms around me. “You are the only woman that has ever caught my attention. No one could ever compare to a woman as smart and as caring as you.”
I buried my head in his warm chest, loving the woodsy scent that clung to him as I inhaled it. “You are such a flatterer.” I loved that he always made me feel so good and knew the right thing to say. “Let’s eat and then you can show me your new place before we have dessert.” I hadn’t looked around on purpose, noticing only the modern kitchen with a small breakfast bar and the light that shone through the large windows.
He led me to the island and pulled out my chair like a gentleman. Klaus wanted to know about my childhood camping trips and more about the s’mores that were foreign to him. All the way through dinner I entertained him with stories of fishing on the river and the time that I accidentally pulled too hard on the fishing pole, which caused a fish to land right down my mother’s shirt. We laughe
d and enjoyed our time, my earlier sadness gone.
“Are you ready for the grand tour?” he questioned. I answered yes, and he spun my chair around making me giggle. “You’ve seen the kitchen, and this here is the living room. It has a beautiful view of the city.”
I took in the small space that seemed much larger with the modern minimalistic furniture he picked out. The deep colors of the couch and chairs contrasted with the wood and brick that lined the walls. He had yet to put up any personal items, but I guessed that he would do that when he emptied his living quarters in France. “It’s quite lovely,” I told him earnestly. “This is so much larger than most in this country.
“I thought about putting an art area over by the left window. The space seems just big enough for me to be able to paint again,” he pointed to the empty spot that I hadn’t noticed before then.
“I didn’t know you painted. You’re holding out on me, Klaus.” I teased, though I was quite surprised that he hadn’t mentioned it before. He pulled me from my seat so that I could take a closer look at the area. I could picture him standing there in front of an easel, paint covering his clothes, and a paintbrush sticking between his teeth as I curled up on the couch and watched him.
Such a domestic picture that I imagined, and oddly enough it seemed familiar. My mind pictured the Klaus of my dreams in his worn white shirt and tan pants, his hair longer than it was now.
I was pulled out of the vision by Klaus, “Are you okay, love?” Concern filled his voice and I realized that he must have been speaking to me as I spaced out.
“I’m okay. I’m sorry, I guess I just got lost in picturing what that set up would look like,” I blushed.
He looked at me curiously as if he knew there was something I wasn’t telling him. As much as I wanted to, I didn’t want to ruin this night. “So, what’s next on this tour?” I asked, trying to brush it off. He led me to the master bedroom, and I was amazed at how large and beautiful it was. Even with the king size bed in the middle, there was plenty of room to move around and then some. The normal European wardrobe was absent and in its place was a door that led to a walk-through closet and the master bathroom. I gasped at the size and the modern amenities.
Lorelei Page 10