Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology)

by Chrissy Peebles

  Simon looked at her with admiration and gratitude in his eyes. “You’re a kind hearted soul, Juliana. I’d be in your debt if you can help me find out what happened to Dottie and my family.”

  “Okay,” she agreed as she stood up. “I’ll try to be back tomorrow, that is if I can find this place again.”

  “Come back at this same time.” Simon said standing up as well. “The sun will lead you here.”

  Simon moved towards her, the setting sun cast a golden light on him. And there it was again, the pull that beckoned her to him.

  “Thank you,” he said giving her a look that could melt a host of candles. But his lopsided grin was sad. “If I could really touch you, if I could tuck your hair behind your ear without scaring you, I would. If I could really feel your skin to see if it’s as smooth and soft as I imagine it to be, I would.”

  Juliana’s pulse raced. Her heart pounded hard inside her chest. Her insides quivered at Simon’s words, his voice sending pleasure zinging down to her sex. She swallowed as her need became stronger. God, she must really be out of her mind to want to make love to a ghost! But there was something about Simon, something that made her think that there was more to him. Trying to find an explanation at that moment was futile when her need to have him was making her think incoherently. If the whisper of Simon’s touch was all she could have at that very moment, then so be it.

  “You could try,” she ventured softly.

  His mouth widened to a smile that held so much promise. Of expectation. Of hope. He raised his hand to her face. Juliana closed her eyes, her chest rising and falling with anticipation before she gasped. A frigidly cold hand touched her face. She didn’t move away, more intent on wanting Simon to pass through her. She was soon rewarded with a tepid touch which gradually warmed and eventually felt like a caress from someone living.

  “You are soft,” Simon whispered. “And beautiful.”

  Juliana opened her eyes and their gazes locked. He didn’t let go of their connection as he continued his exploration. Juliana raised her own hand and placed it on his face. Simon stopped what he was doing and closed his eyes, groaning.

  “Can you feel that?” She asked with wonder. She could feel Simon’s skin but it was akin to touching muslin, soft but not quite there.

  “Yes,” he murmured. “I’ve forgotten what it feels like to be touched.”

  Juliana’s skin deliciously prickled everywhere. How could a ghost make her feel so alive?

  “You know what I wish, Juliana?” Simon asked. When she shook her head, he continued. “I wish I were real. I wish I wasn’t dead. You know why? Because I wish I could make love to you, to really touch you, to feel you. I wish I could taste you, your mouth, and your skin. I wish I could lick you down there and make you cream for me.”

  “Oh God…Simon,” she closed her eyes, his words wreaking havoc on her system.

  “I’m sorry if I offended you,” his voice low and husky. “But you need to know how you make me I feel.”

  Juliana looked at him, nearly drowning in his gaze. Her body was a livewire and Simon was the fuse. “I’m not offended, because I want you too. I don’t know how this can happen and at the moment I don’t care. But if we can have the same thing we had last time…”

  Lust flared in his eyes. A vaguely sensuous light passed between them.

  “Yes. Please.” Juliana answered his unspoken question, her eyes imploring him. “Wholeheartedly. Completely.”

  Inch by inch, Simon moved towards her, walking through her. Juliana’s moan stuck in her throat at the initial clamminess before her body warmed the more Simon passed into her. The moan tumbled from her lips, her body succumbing to the desire inflaming her. Her breasts swelled and she hummed when she felt Simon’s hands cup them, grazing her nipples that she felt them harden. She inclined her head to one side when she felt his lips graze her neck before nibbling her earlobe. Her channel clenched and her clit throbbed. Simon’s touch felt so real, the pleasure so intense. Instinctively, her hands reached to hold his arms but she could only feel a whisper of skin, of sinew, of matter. She cried out softly when she felt his mouth on her breasts, her nipples budding underneath his expert tongue. Her clothes were not a barrier when it seemed that Simon’s hands were underneath them. Then she heard Simon’s groan of satisfaction before she felt him thrust into her. Her lips opened at the phantom invasion of his tongue. Blood roared in her ears and seared her veins. Her heart wildly beat in her chest. He felt so real, taking her to heights she thought never existed. She fell to the ground as she cried out her release.

  “Oh God…..Simon!”

  “Juliana!”

  Juliana didn’t know how this could happen. All she knew was that she felt Simon’s warmth inside her as they crested, taken over by their joint climax. She arched her back as another orgasm lifted her even before the last one ended. She collapsed to the ground, her body boneless and replete with Simon sprawled beside her. It was several moments before Juliana felt her heartbeat slow down. She heard Simon chuckle.

  “What?” She asked.

  “This is the first time I’ve made love to a woman wearing clothes.”

  Juliana grinned, giggling a little herself. “Speak for yourself. This is the first time I’ve had sex with a ghost.”

  Simon turned to his side to face her. “It wasn’t just sex, Juliana. I made love to you. You are so easy to love,” he sighed as he lay back on the ground staring at the darkening sky. “If only things were different…”

  Juliana faced him, a blush and soft smile on her face.

  “But it’s not, is it? Soon this will be a thing of the past,” she said. “Once I find out what happened to Dottie and your family, you can move on.”

  As soon as the words came out, the intimacy between them slowly disappeared. Simon gave her a short smile before standing up to move away from her. Juliana could have kicked herself. She knew that her words had soiled the moment. She sat up before standing. Simon was facing the bushes again with his back to her. She wanted to say something more to bring the closeness back. But what else could she say?

  Without another word, Juliana left.

  Chapter Five

  Simon looked over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of Juliana before she left. He swore softly before turning around to walk towards the gap. Tentatively, he stretched out his hand, hoping against hope that his hand would pass through. But like all the times he had tried to do so, it was futile. Something blocked him. Something he couldn’t see. The first time he had seen Juliana, he had hidden in the shrubs before he appeared. He had not been able to believe that someone had been able to enter the fortress enforced upon him. But Juliana had broken through.

  Despite the turmoil in his mind, a part of the weight lifted from his shoulders. He would finally know what had happened to Dottie. Had he been able to save her? Was he able to push her out of the tram’s way? Everything had become hazy after he had held Dottie before letting go. Simon massaged his nape to ease the stiffness in his muscles. The sun was almost gone and the moon was making its way up to the heavens. Hands in his pocket, he looked up counting the stars he could find. Juliana would probably be at home among them. He mouth softened to a smile, his eyes crinkling in slight amusement. Dottie would have had a field day. Captain Simon Lowe of the King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment, man about town, and heart breaker, now a romantic. He closed his eyes and groaned at the memory of going through Juliana once again. Of the indescribable passion he felt in her that matched his own. If he were alive, he’d court her, shower her with gifts, make love to her all night until they were both sated.

  He sat down on the grass leaning against the cool stone bench.

  Simon’s thoughts returned to that fateful day in Madame Merta’s place. The fortune teller said that he was going to meet someone while he was away. Technically speaking, he was away. Was Juliana the person the cards referred to? He would never know now. His arrogance which had caused his injury had also caused his current predic
ament. Unable to move on and to pine for a woman he would never have. His lips curled. The bitter taste of regret was more than the taste of bile in his mouth.

  “I’m sorry,” he murmured as he closed his eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

  He heard the rustle of leaves near the grove’s opening. Raising his head, he waited for Juliana as pleasure trickled into his system. She had returned quickly. Had the day passed already in the other side of the grove? But it wasn’t Juliana who entered.

  It was Madam Merta. The way she looked brought a frisson of fear down Simon’s spine. Gone were the silks that covered her in the past and while her visage was the same, she was now a black cloaked spectre with pale white skin, ruby red lips and soulless eyes. She was a far cry from the last time he saw her.

  In a flash, Simon was on his feet, a bolt of excruciating pain flashing up his thigh at the sudden action. Why the hell could he feel pain when he was already dead?

  “You are not dead, Simon. You are in-between.” Madam Merta replied to his unspoken question. He voice sounded as though it came from the bowels of the earth.

  Simon’s jaw ticked. He didn’t know how to react. It was as though the rug had been pulled from under him. He wasn’t in his element. He didn’t know his enemy.

  “Why?” He bit out. He didn’t know what else to say. His mind churned. All this time, he believed that he had passed through the ether. That he had some unfinished business to fulfill before he was allowed eternal rest. But there was no unfinished business because he was still alive.

  “A lesson.” Madam Merta answered as she glided towards him.

  “What lesson would that have been?” Simon felt his eyes burn with the anger of more than a hundred years. His blood boiled. He didn’t care if Madame Merta had brought the hounds of Hell with her. He wanted to lash out at the ghoul facing him and had there been hounds, he would have broken their necks.

  “You mocked Fate.”

  He snorted in derision. “And you are Fate’s enforcer.”

  “No, Simon Lowe. I am not Fate’s enforcer. I am Fate.”

  Simon inhaled sharply, his hands balled into fists. He bit out, “I did not mock you. You should know that. I was only looking after Dottie’s interests. I didn’t think my sister needed a deck of cards to tell her what her destiny was going to be.”

  Fate stared at him and something flashed in her eyes. Sympathy? But it was gone before Simon could even decipher it.

  “There was more to your life,” Fate said. “You had allowed your anger to dictate your every waking moment.”

  “I was a bloody cripple! And despite that I wanted to go back to the war. I belonged in the battlefield but I couldn’t get a commission because of my bloody knee! It was my right to be sent back!”

  Simon didn’t care about the displeasure that marred Fate’s face.

  “What on earth for? You had already proved yourself. Did you want more glory? Adventure? When the war ended what then?” Fate mocked. “War shouldn’t be a way of life.”

  Simon turned away, his body trembling with rage.

  “I would have come back achieving my mission of defending the Empire. It was the destiny I chose.”

  Fate remained silent.

  Simon continued, his voice harsh with pain and accusation. “I didn’t know Fate interfered with destiny. You took my life away. My family is dead. I don’t know what happened to Dottie, and I’m in a prison worse than the prisons for the Boers.”

  He heard the swish of Fate’s cloak before he saw her stand beside him. “It has been done. I cannot return you from whence you came, but I can bring you to a time you can become.”

  As she moved away towards the shrubs, Simon turned to her.

  “Become what? Become where?” he snapped. “I don’t care for your riddles!”

  Fate faced him and once again, Simon was face to face with Madame Merta.

  With a smile, she said one word.

  “Ask.”

  Chapter Six

  Juliana couldn’t contain her excitement. If coincidences were to go by, she had just hit the jackpot. One of the cases her company was involved with was looking for the heirs of Dorothy Mellor formerly known as Dorothy Lowe. She had unearthed Dorothy Mellor’s picture and Juliana was sure that this was a picture of Simon’s sister. A news clipping was also included in the file. Juliana now remembered why Simon’s name sounded so familiar. Dorothy Mellor had a brother named Simon Thomas Lowe who had seen action in the Second Boer War. He had been wounded and was recuperating in England when he met an accident that took his life. There was no doubt in Juliana’s mind that this was Simon.

  She was happy for Simon that he could now move on to find the peace that eluded him for so long. And yet she was torn. She had to agree with Simon – if things could have been different. She knew that if she showed Simon that Dottie had lived, he would eventually go. When he left, Juliana knew that she’d be mourning for the dead. Again. She had developed feelings for Simon. There was no doubt about that. Lust or love, she didn’t know. Their meeting wasn’t exactly normal. Still, he was the spirit of a dead person and wasn’t any different from Brody. Juliana wondered if she was doomed to always love someone dead.

  Dusk was closing in on the park. A jogger passed her, unmindful of her presence. Juliana kept walking towards the grove. It had rained earlier and the wind was stronger, colder. It whipped Juliana’s face making her burrow deeper into her coat. The afternoon sun rode low on the horizon turning the water sodden park to a garden of splendour. Water drops suspended in blades of grass twinkled like tiny diamonds in a sea of green velvet. Juliana smiled. She couldn’t have picked a better time to tell Simon.

  The sun finally hit the place where the grove should have materialized, but nothing happened. Puzzled, Juliana checked her watch. It was just after four in the afternoon. Looking around, Juliana found a groove in one of the trees and decided to wait there. Her mind drifted to Simon and imagined how relieved he would be. Relieved was a relative statement. Simon still had that air of superiority that rankled; but Juliana was beginning to think that he only acted that way because he was impatient to move on. Juliana smiled wistfully. If Simon was still earthbound and Brody seemed to have moved on, her husband must have finished whatever he was meant to do on earth. Perhaps this was why she wasn’t able to sense Brody.

  She continued to watch for the grove which should have appeared, but nothing was there. The ground remained vacant. She shivered.

  “Five more minutes,” she muttered, refusing to acknowledge the feeling of desperation and loss crawling into her gut. The five minutes came and went with the sun basking the area in a golden glow. Juliana straightened from the tree and walked to the centre of the clearing. She turned around slowly in place. What had happened? She shaded her eyes against the dying rays of the ball of fire in the sky. The more the sun set, the more the feeling of desolation settled around her heart.

  She inhaled deeply, the sigh whooshing out of her slowly. Self-doubt plagued her. Could Simon have been a dream? A break from reality her mind had conjured to pull her from the brink of possible insanity? If that was the case, then whatever force watched over her had succeeded. The dead had to remain in the realm they had entered and the living carried on, slowly allowing life around them to permeate their existence with the good that still remained in the world. It wasn’t Juliana’s time yet to join the dead in their journey, whether that was Brody’s or Simon’s. Hers was to help them. To remember them.

  To love them.

  Juliana hadn’t realized that tears had made its way slowly down her cheeks until she sniffed.

  She looked at the documents she held in her arms. Her eyes fell on Simon’s name in the news clipping before she brought the papers to her chest, resigned to the fact that she would never see Simon again. He must have found a way to move on.

  And she hadn’t been able to say goodbye.

  She closed her eyes, the wealth of pain tightening her chest. She let out a deep sigh.
r />   “Rest in peace, Simon,” she said softly.

  Then she walked away from the grove for the last time.

  Chapter Seven

  The radio blared The Calling’s ‘Wherever you will go’ as Juliana’s car came to a stop. She got out and beeped the car door locked before walking towards the bungalow’s door. The thin dusting of snow on the roof of her car, on the pavement, and on the leafless branches of the trees flanking the off-road parking belied the coldly bitter December morning. Several weeks had passed since her ghostly encounter. She would have wanted to relegate it into the recesses of her mind except that her manager had asked her to take over the Dorothy Mellor case after the original case manager left to migrate to Australia. Seeing Juliana’s keen interest in Dorothy’s story, it was but natural to for her to see the case to its completion.

  She had previously called several times prior to arriving at the quaint house but no one had answered until she decided to send Dorothy Mellor’s descendant a letter. Another case manager had taken the message for Juliana from Dorothy’s great-great-grandson. He agreed to meet with her the following day. From her notes, Juliana knew that he was a professor of History. He had requested that they meet before he left for the university.

  She rang the bell, hearing it softly chime inside the house. She looked at the street while waiting, her breath coming out in short smoky puffs. The centre of Manchester was different from where she was now, in the Pennines, where it snowed often. She sniffed, feeling the wetness on the tip of her nose. She fished some Kleenex from her coat pocket just as she heard the doorknob turn. Expecting to see the professor, her eyes rounded slightly in surprise when she saw an old lady with the warmest smile.

  “Yes?”

  Juliana’s heart made a double thump. The woman resembled Dorothy Lowe’s picture. She almost couldn’t contain her excitement. There was no doubt now that this woman was Simon’s descendant.