by Ginny Lynn
Power always acknowledged power, no matter how subtle. A prayer was murmured from my tense lips as I pushed through that sensation and moved onward to see the names on the headstones. The more ornate ones were for the first generation of the Fenmore family with the small ones set deep into the grass being other names not familiar to me. I wondered if it was servants or people who had married into the Fenmore family. Maybe I could find a bible with the names of all involved in the family amongst the items in the attic.
In the very back corner was a stone buried under an overgrowth of weeds. This set me back a bit as I could clearly read the names on the other stones and wondered why someone had completely left this one uncared for. A current pushed at me again and it was hard enough for me to wobble as I fought for balance. It may not have succeeded in downing me but it blew some of the debris away as if blowing out a birthday candle. Stooping, I swiped at the layers of crusted earth to see the name had been scratched off as if no one wanted this grave to be known. A very disconcerting thing to see. The spine jolt came back when I placed my palm flat on the desecrated granite at my feet. I was swooped into another vision and this one hurt. It was as if a filet knife was being yanked down between the layers of my tingling skin and the ungiving bone of my spine. Crying out with the pain that emanated, I fell into another mental episode from the past.
The diary was in the arms of a slim woman. I could tell this by the view of her side where the book was nestled under her arm at her right hip. There was no face to her. It was as if I was the lady and was looking down at her prized possession. Her feelings were clear to me, in my head. She had found something she was certain would get her the one thing she wanted above all else. Having already made a deal with the devil to get this wish, she was entirely committed to seeing it become reality.
She was looking at the greenhouse and I heard her slip of mirth as it escaped her curved lips. This young lady was wearing a simple white sundress but with a wool scarf around her shoulders. She could feel the chill seep into her but her mood would not be downed as she’d finally found the link she needed. She was boiling over in her self-satisfaction, like a feline that could see the mouse in its growling belly. The cat in her would put out the cheese and wait for her unknowing victim. It was hard for her to wait the three days it would take for things to be lined up but she was confident of her skills. I could see a shadow move along the green glass of the greenhouse but not who was working behind those tinted windows.
My host began to sing a French song to the shadows she was embraced in. She lurked under a tree in the yard, while no one was looking for her. If her father found out she was skipping out on her chores, he’d deny her the money she needed for her supplies. She swung around and scanned the yard to see if she would be caught peeping at her prey. Seeing the misty version of the estate house behind her, no one was walking about. She was safe to make her way back to the front where she had been tending the flower beds the lady of the house adored so much. No one knew some of the plants were not in the plans but of her own choosing. These were special. In three days, they would join her shopping list items and would be put to their proper use. Finishing her whispered song as she gazed once more at the greenhouse, she tiptoed back to the front of the house where her bag and her chores awaited her.
My lungs screamed for air as I came to find myself lying upon the grave like a mourning loved one. Dirt and debris were a fine layer upon me as I slowly got to my feet, dazed. The pain slowly ebbed away as I brought my senses back to the present. Whoever that lady was, she had a grudge against someone. I felt sorry for the person in her sights as I could taste her anger on my tongue like raw vinegar. Turning to look back at the house, her version of it was a newer image where my distant one was more weathered and broken in. She’d been here when the trees were younger and the greenhouse had been built on. I’m guessing it was about eighty years ago as I recalled her clothing and the newness of the leather book. I gasped as I realized the book in her arms had been the diary that had called to me from the attic. So, it had to be Aster that I was hosted by.
The psychological insights from her diary made sense as she was a woman scorned. It didn’t make her sane but it made me feel that she wanted satisfaction from the person who had hurt her pride. If she’d been more mature then she could have simply talked to the person from the greenhouse or she could have seen her way to letting go of the negativity that was bleeding into her soul like cancer to a sick child. The scene had me more intrigued with what I would find on the next day’s listing in the diary if there was one. I had stopped at the end of the first long day when it had prattled on and on about the wrong she needed to have made right.
Making my way back to the house, after dusting my body off, I would have to cleanse the cling of the dead off of me when I got to my room. I’d have to make a stop in the laundry room and hope my load was dry but I just couldn’t bear the thought of her decaying form on my sensitive skin. I wasn’t old-fashioned but my curse knew it had been caressed by another and I had to stop the feeling of that anger filled link. Maybe a cup of chamomile tea would soothe me after I got cleaned up. I hoped so because I felt like a traveling case for the train of souls as I shuddered from the memory of the vision riding my mind. Anyone in the field of death had heard the rumors of grave dust being used for dark magic and I didn’t want to find out if it could turn into something tangible. No, not this girl.
At the door, I noticed my shoes had a layer of debris and dust on them. Slipping them off, I twisted the doorknob open and got my eyes to begin the adjustment to the lack of light in the front rooms. It wasn’t dark, per se, but it wasn’t as bright with the sun to the back of the old house. The kitchen would be warm and cheery at this time of day, which would be comforting when I sat down to have dinner with Kenrick. I had two hours before I needed to be back down here so I tucked my shoes under my arm and headed to the utility room for my clothing. That one load was waiting to be dried as I realized I hadn’t waited long enough to put it in the dryer before I had gone on my walk. It left me with nothing to wear after my shower and before my dinner date. I was not about to have him find me this way but I was at a loss for what to wear while my jeans and three shirts were tumbling in the heat.
Fumbling around the shelves and behind the door, I didn’t see anything other than a cheery blue paisley apron that was more for looks than for actual heavy duty cooking. I was not about to have my fanny sticking out like a nudist in a cooking show. I giggled but just couldn’t see myself doing it on purpose, even if it was large enough to almost touch in the back. My rear would be visible in an eye-catching slip of two creamy inches. I blushed at the mental image and finished my task of turning on the dryer before I headed back to the front door where I could bang off some of the debris. I’d have to run a soapy cloth over them once I was in the restroom. Jogging upstairs with my shoes jostling under my arm, I prayed there was a sheet or a towel large enough to cover up with once I got the ick off me.
I plopped my shoes by the tub and started running the water. It would have to be a short one as I was not liking the idea of having the grave dirt in the bathtub with me. The thought was unnerving as I pictured the particles as souls floating in the River Styxx. I stopped the water and changed my mind. A sponge bath would be sufficient and I didn’t need all that water to freak me out. I saw a bottle of lavender oil under the sink and a towel large enough to get all the way around me. My tiny ray of hope shined. Terry cloth would make me a more decent sight for the man that could run through the hall at any given moment and the oil to soothe my raw nerves.
Hot fragrant water lapped around my calves as I folded myself into the tub and began sloshing water over my skin. Trying not to think of where the grime came from, I hummed a tune to distract myself. It didn’t take long to feel better about my rinsed skin, and I grabbed the towel for a quick rub down. I squeezed my hair in the towel and was just securing the edges together when I heard my name being called from the hallway. If I ans
wered, would he try to come in or would he stay away? Did I want to risk it? Peeking my head out the doorway, I went for middle ground.
“I’m not decent. Whatcha need?” I asked and kept my voice neutral.
“Oh, I’m going to go pick up some things and will be back in an hour to start fixing dinner.”
“Okay. Thanks for letting me know,” I replied awkwardly.
I saw his shadow as he paused at the top of the staircase. Did he want to come up the hallway? I hoped not as I probably looked dreadful.
I heard the floorboard creak as he turned to go back down the steps and then him opening the front door. The question hit me that I hadn’t seen a car yet. I’d ask him about it later because I certainly wasn’t running out there right now. Going to my room, the lavender was comforting on my flesh. That and the borage of visions had me thinking of a nap. Never being where I could indulge myself like that, I thought what the heck. I wasn’t hurting anyone and had no plans for a little while.
Having made my decision, I plopped down the shoes I had cleaned up in the bathroom and tossed the towel over the radiator by the door to the hallway. Tucking myself between the cool sheets made me shiver but it didn’t take long to radiate enough warmth to take the chill away. I stopped my mind wandering over the events of the day, this morning and this evening. If I didn’t then I’d be awake for days and that was just asking for trouble. The few nights I stayed awake for exam cramming had turned into three days of back to back visions which had me wanting to slam my head into a broad brick wall. Being in a coma would have been preferred to seeing every single past experience from the few people I had touched in the halls on campus. It had been horrifying. I knew more about them then I did about my own grandmother.
Once cleared, my mind let me sink into the depths of a quiet open space where I was always safe. The white noise was created by my forcing my mind to push activity out in waves. They rolled over me and I forced myself to absorb the sensation. It was like squinting your eyes shut so tightly that you see spots, but with my hearing. Concentrating, I heard the steam coming from the towel drying on the radiator. It was soothing. It pushed me down further, under a blanket of peace. Feeling a brush of steam across my cheekbone felt wonderful as I turned my head into the warmth of it. Inhaling, I took in the smell of fresh cotton and cut wood. That wasn’t what it was supposed to smell like. Not wanting to open my eyes, I felt it again and forced myself to comply. I’d probably never get back to sleep now. Swallowing my gasp, I saw Kenrick leaning over me.
Chapter Nine
“What the fuck are you doing in here?” I grasped the cover to my thumping heart.
“I’m not,” he responded with a ghost of a grin.
“Yes, you are,” I replied.
“No, you’re dreaming again.”
Was I? He sounded so sure, like it’d be crazy not to believe him.
“I’m not asleep. I was trying to when you waltzed in here and overstepped your bounds. If you feel bad about it then you can let me get back to it.”
“You are most certainly dreaming and I can prove it to you,” was his comment as he stayed right over me.
“How are you going to do that, by disappearing into thin air?”
“I’m going to kiss you and you’ll kiss me back.”
I barked a laugh at him. “How is that going to prove anything?”
“If you were awake and I had indeed had the indecent thought to come in here and seduce you, I believe my body would be on the floor in a broken heap.”
“You’ve got that right,” I tried to sound convincing.
“Then what is your worry? If this is a dream, no damage has been done. If it’s real then you have my permission to do with me what you like.”
The devilish gleam in his eyes turned his sentence to a more sexual line of thinking. Did I believe it to be true, that I was having another sexy dream? I’d had one earlier so it was possible. I’d also experienced enough visions to have loads of mental issues messing with my state of being. Something inside of me truly accepted his reasoning. Pinching myself, it hurt but the image before me didn’t change. I was still naked in bed with a handsome man leaning over me like I was his next meal being served on the table. My body went hot and cold all at once.
“You pinched yourself in a dream? Does that ever really wake anyone up?”
“You’re being damned calm about all of this.”
“Being a dream has its advantages, my dear.”
He just watched me. It was disconcerting.
“Fine. Just a kiss and then you can go invade someone else’s dream,” I gave into the insanity of my subconscious.
Was there a glimmer in those sexy eyes? Dreaming, I reminded myself. When those lips touched mine, I lost the battle of my inner desires. Just that simple, I wanted him. Last time, he was more delicate in his actions. Not this time. He’d already had a taste and I was now something to devour. His tongue pushed forward and took possession of the lonely emptiness. Letting go of my grip on the covers, I grabbed a handful of his soft wispy hair and used it to pull him down onto me. It took a moment to become comfortable under his masculine frame but a chuckle vibrated from his chest while I squirmed for a moment. I could feel a grin on the mouth happily glued to mine.
Sliding my eyes down his lean body, I saw jean-clad legs, bare feet, and a black t-shirt. Yummy. Why did the sight of his naked feet make my stomach flip? Was it the intention behind it knowing this was the type of man who was always seen fully clothed during daylight hours? It just worked for me. If he’d been in sweatpants then I might have started foaming at the mouth. But my lips wanted something more substantial than white foam. They wanted to slide across every part of this devilish man. Twice. The urges in me right now were foreign to my stale love life, shockingly so. If I was going to have any more of these dreams, then I would try to take care of a majority of them. Why not when it was all in my fantasy riddled head.
I kissed him like I was starving and I was. When he lifted his head, I felt bereft and breathless. I wasn’t so bothered when I noticed it was so he could remove his cotton shirt. He may not be a mountain of manly muscles but his lean body had hills and valleys like a man who took great care in his health. If this happened to be a farmer build then sign me up for a few days in a field for some ogling bliss. My fingertips explored that expanse by instinct alone. His body was a bit cool but that might be because I felt like combusting against this man as he drove me to wanting an eye-rolling orgasm of epic proportion. And my body knew he could give me the tickets to fly.
His lips met mine but he hadn’t set himself back against my chest. I peeked an eye open and saw he was holding himself up on one arm as the other grabbed the comforter which covered my naked breasts from his view. Slowly peeling it back, he pulled it down to my waist. A shiver ran over my exposed skin as anticipation built instead of paying attention to the warmth being taken away from me. The look in his eyes was dark enough to hide in as he peered down at my pale breasts. Biting back an apology for my lack of voluptuous curves, I waited for the disappointment to show on his face. It didn’t. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t see his face fully because he was sucking one of my budded nipples into his lava warm mouth.
Moaning, I shut my eyes and dropped my head back to the pillows. He was hungry at the meal of my flesh. He scooped as much of one perky breast into his mouth as he could, teeth scrubbing into the tender flesh, and sucked until I felt liquid run down to my core. I’d never had this done to me before. Sure, a guy or two had fondled my boobs during a hot goodnight kiss but not to this extent. The attention he paid to them had me glad to be the size I was graced with. Any more and he couldn’t have gotten it all in his mouth and too little would have given me less of a sensation of him pulling my need out of my body with every tug of his tongue. He did the same to the other side and I about came off the bed as my moan slipped up my throat.
My hands were fisted in his hair by the time he was done there and I forced myself to lo
osen my grip as he pulled his face down to my navel. I would have never thought of it as a sensitive area but the way he nipped at it had me wishing he was much lower with that talented mouth of his. He slid off of the bed, with his teeth biting tenderly into the mound of my soft belly and I almost slipped down with him as I didn’t want his touch to stop. Hearing him fumbling around, I turned to see him undoing his jeans as he kneeled over the bed. He was adept at his skills as he laved over the tissue he had made hypersensitive with his attention. His eyes met mine and he let go of me as he stood up and let his pants shimmy down his strong legs. There was no underwear in sight so he’d either gone commando knowing he’d be in my room or he’d been crafty enough to shed them with his jeans. Scanning down the length of his male form, I was delirious with the way my dream was turning out.
Surprising me, he slid a hand under the blanket, lightly tickling my hip, before he cupped my crotch. As I looked at him in surprise, he swooped down to kiss me with even more heat than the one before. I ran my fingers over his nipples as he moved his mouth to nip at my neck and shoulders. While he distracted me here, his slightly calloused fingers were pulling my right leg closer to the edge of the bed. He traced the length of my leg, from toe to thigh, once he had it settled over the edge beside his bent form. I shuddered when his hand cupped me again, molded to it. I wanted more and he was experienced enough to know it. Taking a rose pink nipple between his front teeth, he flicked his tongue over it several times as his hand went where I wanted it. And I did. I was in a frenzy of need, like never before. He had my body coming alive at his slightest touch. Then he ran a finger over the cleft of my sex. I gasped and he sucked my nipple so hard I cried out as he slipped a finger to rub across the nub of me, making my spine bow.