Casting Dreams

by J. L. Weil

  To the stone circle.

  He stood in the center, watching me with those unforgettable eyes.

  My hair was plastered to my face. I should have been freezing, but our eyes locked and my body was on fire.

  It was no wonder I never felt about any other man the way I felt about Conner. There was no one else remotely like him in the world. The dimple. The pierced tongue. His scowl. His smirk. The whole package made me sigh like a sixteen-year-old.

  “You’re okay,” I murmured, stepping into the circle with him, the stone circle shadowed by ancient trees. A surge of power danced over my skin. Inside the stones, the storm didn’t touch me, but continued unabated in the woods surrounding the circle.

  His eyes closed for a moment, long lashes sweeping over his cheeks, before walking to me. “Mirela Rawlings with the eyes of a gypsy, do you want me to touch you?” His hand released the curl, moving to the slender line of my neck.

  Wow.

  When I came here, I hadn’t been expecting to be seduced, but I could see the hunger in his eyes. “I-I don’t know what I want.” Not true. I’d wanted Conner for so long, I couldn’t remember a time not wanting the man in my dreams. So why wasn’t I jumping at the chance to be with him?

  Something in his eyes warned me: if we were to be together, it would change things forever. There was a full moon tonight. Mystical things happened under the most powerful lunar phase.

  “Don’t you?” His other hand slipped up from my hips, settling under the gentle curve of my breast. Then his fingers spread, circling underneath one slope.

  The smell of damp earth and fresh rain surrounded the stones like a Yankee candle. I couldn’t move, could barely breathe as I stared into his eyes. Get a grip, Mirela. But it was pointless. My body was going to betray my common sense. Consequences be damned.

  My eyes clouded before fluttering closed, and I leaned into his touch when his teeth grazed along my jawline.

  “Tell me you want this,” he murmured.

  My lips parted as the memory of kissing him in the dream flashed through my mind. “I want this. Want you.”

  He jerked me against him, and that hot mouth of his took mine, demanding a response. My arms lifted to circle his neck, and in one smooth movement, his hands were under my shirt, impatient to touch me.

  My breath sucked in as his hands skimmed over my belly, setting off little charges where he touched. I shivered.

  “You’re cold.”

  I shook my head, but he waved his hand in the air, materializing a fire. “As long as your lips are on mine, I can’t possibly be cold.”

  “That I can do.” His mouth didn’t merely cover mine, but branded it, while his slightly rough hands tugged my sweater up and off in one quick movement. His lips claimed mine again before I had a chance to catch my breath.

  A gust of wind blew over my flesh, cooling the flush that had taken over my body. His kiss was like having wine running in my blood—potent, with a lovely jolt. I craved more. Need simmered inside me as he deepened the kiss, and a sound of pleasure purred in my throat.

  I tugged on the bottom of his shirt. It was only fair. I shouldn’t be the only one half-naked in the forest.

  Oh my God. I was shirtless in the woods. Anyone could see me. Well, not anyone, but if by some off chance someone was taking a stroll in the rain, they might stumble upon quite the show.

  The cool metal on his tongue danced with mine, and I no longer cared if half the town showed up to watch. Conner nibbled and nipped, his hand roaming. My body softened, and, pulse quickening, I yielded into him.

  “You better lose the boots.”

  “Just the boots?” I teased.

  “Oh, we’re getting there. I want to savor every inch of you.”

  I wanted that too. Kicking off the boots, Conner hooked a finger in the waist of my pants, unbuttoning them and then sliding them down until they pooled around my feet. Our eyes met, his bright and almost feral.

  He sprang, the movement so quick that both my vision and mind blurred. Two could play this game. My hands surged under his shirt, desperate to feel his flesh, the hard muscles, the ridges that carved out his stomach.

  My mouth was on his throat, teeth grazing at the vein where the blood beat hot. He swept me up, before laying me on the ground. I reveled in the feel of his body pressed down into mine, arching urgently against him.

  He was touching me, stoking a fire of a different kind, deep in my belly. The blood in my veins swam so fast I could hear the roar of it in my head. “Now,” I whispered. “I need you now.”

  I’d known our first time would be wild and strong. I’d craved it and even feared it, what he could make me feel. But beg? I never thought he would have the power to make me plead, to beg for mercy.

  “Not yet.” His teeth scraped over my shoulder as his hand possessed my breast, only to be replaced by his mouth. A finger edged into the side of my panties.

  Lust whiplashed within me, raging and slashing as boldly as the storm outside the circle. My nails raked over his back. Body quivering and flushed, I wrapped my legs around him. “Now,” I whimpered.

  This time, he didn’t stall or argue. The energy that burned inside me whipped to a point, ripping a cry from my throat as he drove me to the first climax with his mouth alone.

  My body quaked and my breath caught, but that quick and heavenly release only fueled my hunger for more. Beneath my lips, his pulse beat in frenzy. My skin was damp and slick with the erotic fragrance of lust.

  The moment his mouth reclaimed mine, the kiss was born of pure madness. No room for thought or reason, only the war of tongues as we fed on each other.

  Here was the only man who could make me feel such desperation.

  Breathless and spinning, I didn’t know what came over me. Power filled my veins, and as I stared into Conner’s eyes, they were glowing, bright aqua and beaming with magick. I rose over him, lost in the frenzy of sensation and gave myself over to the feral need to take and be taken.

  I wrapped myself around him, building the pleasure for both of us. Murmurs tumbled from my lips. I don’t know where the words came from. They were just there, compelled to be uttered, ancient Gaelic that came from the heart. “A ghra. A amhain. Ceangailte do gach eternity.” My love. My only. Bound for all eternity.

  A beautiful, cool green light pulsed from me, outlining my body in a halo.

  “Mirela. Don’t,” Conner warned.

  But I couldn’t stop it. I’d lost all control—over my body, my mind, my power. The green glow shimmered, seeking its mate and demanding an answer in return.

  Conner shut his eyes for a brief moment, and when they opened, his irises were rimmed in gold, darkened and fierce. Moonlight shadowed his face. “I’m sorry, Mirela. I can’t stop.” His breath was ragged as if he was struggling to withhold that part of himself from me.

  I felt him quiver, and I didn’t understand it. Why was he apologizing? Stop? Why the hell would he stop? “Don’t even think about it,” I murmured, tightening my legs and taking a nip at his lip.

  He growled, and echoed the chant. His light, blue and brilliant, glided against mine, swamping my powers with his as they entwined and merged. His lips took possession of mine again.

  Something happened. Something magickal. The ground underneath us trembled, the stones sang, and I never felt such pleasure and hunger all at once. There was a rush of wind in a song, a babbling of water like harp strings, a crackling of fire, warm and mesmerizing.

  Moonlight bathed over our joined bodies, the stones hummed in unison, shimmering under starlight, and the light of our joined magick danced. Conner and I weren’t the only ones trembling in magick. This whole place was pulsing with it.

  I whispered his name, mindlessly, and offered everything. He moved inside me with long, slow thrusts as he laced our fingers together. Lights and sparks twirled in the darkness, and as we climbed, our magick burned brighter, building toward a flash that exploded.

  Then I was flying a second
time. And he was right there with me.

  A wolf howled.

  I felt utterly whole—complete—loved.

  The torch of emotions burned brightly inside me, but as the glow slowly wore off, the depth of what had just transpired between us settled over me.

  I lay on my back, staring up into the canopy of stars strewn in the dark sky. “What was that?”

  “That was sex.”

  It had been way more than sex, and he knew it. I propped up on my elbow, looking down into his relaxed and satisfied face. “Oh, no. You’re not getting away with this evasive crap. I want answers. I deserve them after what we just shared. You called me here. For this.”

  He nuzzled the top of my shoulder. “Aye. I did.”

  “What changed your mind? Last time we spoke, you wanted me to stay far away from you.”

  He ran a hand through his disheveled hair. “Who’s said I’ve changed my mind?”

  I gave him a pointed look. “I’m naked under moonlight.”

  He sighed. “I don’t know. Something happened when I saw you earlier tonight.”

  “At the pub, when I was with Sean. You were jealous.” It was an easy conclusion, since in the back of my mind it had been the driving factor in my decision to go on a date with Sean in the first place.

  “Maybe.”

  “What did we just do? What did I do?” In all honesty, I was the one who started it. I’d always known I had a wee bit of magick, but what Conner and I had done together…

  It had been spectacular.

  Mind-blowing.

  Goddamn magickal.

  He took my hand. “We need to talk, but not here.”

  I couldn’t agree more. I’d had my fill of nature for the night, and a warm, fluffy bed sounded divine. Gathering my clothes, I slipped into my shirt and stood up. I had one foot into my pant leg when I heard a sound.

  A low growl.

  I lifted my head. “Um, Conner. We have guests.”

  The circle was surrounded by a pack of wolves. And they didn’t look friendly.

  Chapter Twelve

  “What the hell is going on?” I muttered, taking a step back.

  Conner stiffened beside me. His hand was in mine, and a surge of power trembled from his fingers. “We need to go.”

  “You think? And just how do you suggest we get out of here without them feeding on our flesh?”

  “I got this covered.”

  I turned my head toward him, and the retort died on my lips.

  His eyes.

  The amber glow around the edges of his irises slowly began to meld into the aqua part, overtaking it completely until his eyes were glowing gold. A rumble started deep in his chest, building and building. The volume and sound that came from him pierced my ears and had the wolves bowing at his feet in surrender.

  It was easy for me to forget Conner also had wolf blood. I’d only seen the druid, but it was evident he was more than a man with magick. That part of him was as powerful, maybe even more so than the druid.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you could do that?” I mumbled, the eerie silence in the woods starting to get awkward.

  “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

  “I’m just figuring that out.”

  I sat on one end of my couch, Conner on the opposite, with as much space as possible between us. In the safety of home, far from the circle of stones and the pack of wolves, my head cleared, and the aftereffects of the night came to a halt.

  I’d slept with Conner.

  I did whole lot more than sleeping. We had shared magick. Who would have thought that possible?

  Apparently, I did. Even though I didn’t know what we had done.

  I could smell the trees and the rain on him. But that was all. He was feet away, watching me carefully, yet I could sense him…inside me. There was no other way to explain it. He was like an itch I couldn’t scratch.

  “Are you going to tell me what just happened between us?” Like why the hell I was so energized and ready to go round two with Conner under the sheets, preferably my thousand thread count Egyptian cotton upstairs. “The stones…what we did there, it means something, doesn’t it?”

  “I thought I could resist you, thought to give you more time, but I underestimated the feelings you entice from me. I didn’t expect them to be so strong, so swift. I didn’t expect to feel so protective. I told you we were linked. Our magick recognizes what we are to each other.”

  “And what is that?”

  The tilt of his lips spread. “Our souls are entwined and will always be able to find the other. We’re drawn together now by more than just magick.”

  I sighed. “So we’re…?”

  “Soul mates? Aye, Mirela.”

  I lost the ability to breathe.

  “I can feel your magick inside me. It’s a part of me now.”

  My pulse quickened. It was exactly how I felt, but unlike Conner, I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about this change in my life. “Is it permanent?”

  His eyes danced. “Aye. We’re stuck with each other.”

  “Forever?”

  “In this realm and the next.”

  “You’re talking about eternity?”

  “My heart, soul, and flesh will only belong to you.”

  His words left me breathless. Conner…all mine for eternity. My brain worked around what that could mean. Mind-blowing sex. Life-altering sex. Literally. “Did you know?”

  “Since I can remember. Your name whispered in the wind. Your face appeared in the mist. Your magick summoning me.”

  In a way, it had been the same for me—in dreams.

  “How did I know to do that?”

  He made use of the space between us, stretching out his tall frame. “Some things are instinctual.”

  I gave him a dry glare.

  The grin stayed on his lips for a few seconds before slowly fading. “Okay, your memories were probably blocked.”

  “Why would you think that?” I asked.

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Oh my God. It was you, wasn’t it?”

  Exhaling sharply, he stared at the blank TV screen that rarely got any use. “Depends. Are you going to lose your temper?”

  “Probably. I’m halfway there.” An annoyed feeling descended upon me.

  Conner tipped his head back against the couch. “I can tell.”

  “Not fair.” This whole being linked mojo was inconvenient when it seemed to be only one-sided. Either that, or I didn’t know what I was doing. Occasionally, I got little bursts of emotions, but they could have very well have been mine. “Why would you take something like that from me?”

  “Believe it or not, it was one of my only selfless acts. I wanted to give you the chance to be your own person, to grow up with the ability to have choices. You had just lost your parents—”

  “And that was when the visions of you started,” I interrupted.

  “That was all you. I can’t stop your gifts. Those have always been yours, but the dream sharing we did, that’s what I locked away, gave you a fresh start, time to heal.”

  What if I had needed him to heal? What if not knowing who he was to me only made what I went through harder? Or maybe I’d always known. Conner might have blocked memories of him, but in my visions, I’d known there was something special about Conner, special enough to make me risk my own life to save him at whatever the cost.

  I should have been pissed—through the roof angry—but I couldn’t muster up the energy. I was depleted inside. From the romp in the circle, and the magick I didn’t know I could do. “I didn’t know I had that kind of power.”

  “You definitely do, Mirela. You just needed a push to unlock it.”

  “Well, that was one helluva push.”

  He grinned. “We could always do it again, to practice. It’s the only way you’ll learn to control it.”

  I snorted. “By having sex with you?”

  His lips curled.

  Warmth settled into
me like a sip of whiskey on a cold night, comforting and relaxing. “I should be mad at you. I should be giving you the silent treatment. I should be kicking you out of my house. But instead, you’re sitting on my couch looking smug.”

  “Admit it. You like having me here. With you.” Idly toying with my hair, he studied my face.

  How had he suddenly gotten so close? Not that I was complaining. I did like having him here. Far too much. “Do you honestly need me to tell you that? I’m guessing you can feel what I want.”

  He twined a curl around his finger and gave a soft tug. “But hearing you say it does wonders for my ego.”

  I tugged back, releasing my hair from his clutches. “Please. Your ego doesn’t need my help.”

  “I’m a selfish man. I proved so tonight. I couldn’t stay away from you, regardless of knowing the danger. If you’re hurt because of what I am—”

  I leaned over and pressed my lips to his, silencing him. “This was my choice as well. I don’t regret being with you.”

  He kept me close. “Stay with me tonight and wake with me tomorrow.” His voice had grown thick and sleepy.

  How could I resist? I didn’t point out that we were at my house, and it was him staying with me. Little details didn’t seem to matter. As I settled down beside him, his lips curved. “You smell like the woods and home,” he said, curling an arm around my waist.

  It didn’t take long for his chest to rise and fall in even breaths. We slept near the fire with moonlight blanketing us, his chest pressed to my back. I had a perfectly fine bed upstairs, but I was content to lie on the couch with Conner. I closed my eyes, laid my hand on his heart and drifted off.

  The vision came on strong and forceful, giving me no forewarning. One second I’d been staring into the flickering hearth, and the next, I was gazing at the wolf.

  Thick fog curtained the air, and with it came a bitter cold. I drew in a sharp breath, braced for the wolf’s attack.

  But it never came. His focus wasn’t on me, but on the circle of stones—on Conner, his amber eyes glowing and fangs exposed.