Naughty Nightly

by Sage Spelling

  Naughty Nightly

  Sage Spelling

  Edited by

  Nancy Cassidy

  Illustrated by

  Rocking Book Covers

  Contents

  Introduction

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Acknowledgments

  Other Books by Sage Spelling

  About the Author

  Maddie Steel was convinced she’d lost her grip on reality. After a year filled with grief-fueled nightmares and the relocation to a small town in northern Michigan, she wasn’t equipped for the whirlwind that awaited her when a mysterious spell book arrived at the door. She didn’t believe in magic, not since she visited the supposed witch shops for love potions and magic spells as a teen. Yet, the same juvenile hope sparked in her wary heart with every word she recited from the spell used to reunite soul mates.

  Then the naughty dreams began . . .

  She was convinced her subconscious created Rami, a delicious sandman who invaded her dreams every night . . . until she woke one morning with Rami’s chain around her neck.

  Is it possible the man of her dreams is more than a figment of her imagination?

  1

  How could I be awake before the timer on the machine even started to percolate? I wanted to set the glass kettle aside and catch the bitter drops of golden life with my awaiting mouth, but even in my pre-caffeinated state something told me that it wasn’t a wise move.

  The scent of the Arabian beans danced in the air and my mouth watered for the first steaming sip. My eyes seared from the effort of keeping them open and I staggered to the stool facing the coffee machine. I’d only managed two hours of sleep before the horrible nightmare took my mind hostage and exhaustion seeped into my bones. The fatigue of sleepless nights had worn me down and I didn’t know how much longer I’d be able to handle functioning with little to no sleep.

  The tweet tweet of the doorbell awakened me from my catatonic state. Seriously, whoever had created a doorbell that mimicked birds chirping like a Disney-Cinder-freaking-Ella movie should’ve been slapped across the face with an open hand. I smothered my face with both hands and rubbed my burning eyes. The doorbell chirped again and reverberated in my skull. Hannah was nothing if not persistent. I knew it was her, who else would be at my door at eight am? Half-heartedly, I tottered to the Victorian double doors and struggled with the handle, only to realize the deadbolt was locked. The bell chimed again.

  “Oh, my God, hang on.” I shouted through the closed door.

  I unlocked the deadbolt with a little more aggression than needed. At this rate, I might punch the next person to ring the damn thing. Another item to add to the never-ending list of home improvements. The house I’d inherited after Aunt Mary died may be rent free, but it’s a freaking money pit eating away at my savings one home improvement at a time.

  “Hey there, Maddie. I sure do love that door bell.”

  Too bright and bubbly, my neighbor, Hannah, was already suited up in a sexy, but professional twinset pencil skirt and blazer. I admired her dark hair blown-out in exquisite waves. Her flawlessness brown skin was enhanced by just enough makeup to highlight her honey colored eyes. My eyes burned from the gleam of sunshine surrounding her through the archway.

  “Why are you so cheerful before coffee?” Feeling self-conscious of my ratted dirty-blonde hair and oversize T-shirt, I tugged at the hem.

  “Good morning to you too, sunshine.” She pushed past me in her customary way. “Those baby blues are much prettier when you’re not glaring at me,” Hannah said.

  “Bite me.”

  “I find it hard to believe that you actually had a bedside manor before coming to Caraway.”

  “Nurse Ratchet had nothing on me.”

  “Clearly, Nurse Steel.”

  I ignored Hannah’s sarcasm and headed to the kitchen. The bittersweet aroma of freshly brewed coffee permeated the air and beckoned me. Good old wonderful caffeine. The scent alone reduced my grouchiness, but that beep beep alerting me that the brewing process was completed “Coffee?”

  “Make it to go. I have to show the Jacob house. I just stopped by to give you this package that was accidentally placed in my mailbox.”

  The tawny package she heaved into my arms was from Ally Monroe, all the way from Greece and was dense as a toddler. My heart stung. Ally and I had been attached at the hip for most of our lives and a part of me resented she’d moved on without me. Scratch that. I wasn’t just resentful that she’d moved away without me, I was hurt she abandoned me when I needed her the most. Losing my only three living relatives in a span of six months left me drowning in a sea of sorrow. Ally was the only person that knew the old me. She remembered the fun, outgoing version—the one before tragedy ruined me.

  Hannah motioned to the package. “So that nutty friend of yours really moved halfway around the world and got married?”

  “Yup. Her last email said they were having a baby.”

  “That’s so crazy.”

  “It’s insane.”

  After setting down the package in my newly renovated kitchen, I took out my I don’t do mornings traveling cup for Hannah and my I kissed the frog and he’s no prince mug for myself from the cherry cabinets. My mouth watered while I poured the steaming liquid to the rim of the mugs and handed the travel cup to Hannah. The moment the bitter warmth lingered beneath my nose, it wiped away the cloud of pressure between my eyes. My mood lightened with the first sip of sweet heaven.

  “Shit yeah, that crap doesn’t happen to me.” Hannah added two lumps of sugar to her coffee cup and stirred idly.

  “Girl, me either.”

  But it did happen to Ally. She’d said she had this feeling her soul mate was in Greece and had to find out. Ally had always been a free spirit and I thought she’d change her mind before getting on that plane. Imagine my surprise when I’d gotten a call that she’d found him and was getting married.

  “The thought just depresses the hell out of me.” Her eyes narrowed. “What if Bobby and Aaron are the only options for soul mates we’ll ever have?”

  “Considering they’re in love with each other, we’re screwed.”

  “Which reminds me, dinner at my house, six sharp tomorrow with the lovely couple.”

  “So that we can be green with envy of their devotion to each other?”

  “Yep.”

  Steaming cup of coffee in hand, I examined the package. Ally’s big loopy handwriting was exactly the same as it had been when we’d written notes in class as kids. A lonely ache stung my chest. I hated that self-pity was always so close to the surface.

  Concealing my grief, I placed the cup on the counter. “Wonder what’s in this thing.” I pointed at the package.

  “It’s too heavy to be a vibrator and too small to be a man.”

  “Dang, I could really use a vibrator.”

  “I’ll call my sex toy lady for you after my meeting.”

  I beamed. “Why would I need a man, if I have you taking such good care of me?”

  “Girl, because it’s more fun with two people and sorry love, but you’re not my flavor.”

  Our laughter echoed in the kitchen, but when I picked up the knife to open the packaging it shook in my hands. I tore open the box to find a pretty pink envelope laid over a wrapped pale pink package. My throat tightened when I took out the note card from the envelope and read Ally’s note.

  Dearest Maddie,

  This book brought me all the happiness my heart can hold and I hope it does
the same for you. With an open mind and vulnerable heart, read the marked passage out loud.

  Love and miss you lots!

  Your sister from another mister,

  Ally

  After I handed the note to Hannah – I unwrapped the pink tissue and found a red velvet book bound by gold ribbons. I marveled at its beautiful craftsmanship. My heart warmed at the engraved title: Keeper’s Book of Spells.

  “Antique looking.” Hannah’s finger traced the gold lettering of the title.

  “We loved these kinds of things as kids.” Heartwarming memories of Ally and I returned in flashes. Two blonde, nerdy teenagers going to the Detroit Tea room for psychic readings. We spent all our free time pouring over spell books that could make us more popular, prettier, and even love spells to get the captain of the football team to notice us. Of course, none of them worked, but Ally and I had the time of our lives trying.

  “What passage did she mark?” Hannah asked over my shoulder.

  I untied the gold ribbon binding the book and used it to find Ally’s marked passage. “A section called, Soul Mate Bond.”

  Excitement rolled through me. Picking up Ally’s letter, I reread it. With an open mind and vulnerable heart, read the marked passage out loud. It was kind of hard not to read something like this with an open mind. With the magnitude of loss I’d suffered this year, I’d yearned to find someone and somewhere I belonged. But I hadn’t realized it until this very moment. And even though this was likely completely bogus, I really did wish the universe would just once turn in my favor.

  I turned to Hannah. “Are you in this with me?”

  “Hell yes.”

  “Awesome.” I read the instructions. “Not a love spell.”

  “Got it,” Hannah confirmed.

  “This is to reconnect with a soul mate if you have one. Soul mates could be best friends, family, or even animals.”

  “Okay, so my soul mate could be a bulldog, which really wouldn’t surprise me.” Hannah muffled a laugh.

  “Must read three times out loud.”

  “Dramatically.”

  “Yep, let’s give it all we got. Ready?”

  Hannah giggled, “I feel like a school girl.”

  “Here goes nothing.” Insecurity bubbled in my chest as I cleared my throat. “Let’s hold hands.”

  “What for?”

  “I think we share our energy or something. That’s what Ally and I used to do.” We clasped hands and read out loud to the empty kitchen.

  “Now, then, and always, your heart belongs to me.

  Now, then, and always, I hold your heart in mine.

  Now, then, and always, we are two halves of one soul.

  Now, then, and always, I call you to me.”

  Despite the foolishness that washed over me, I said the words with so much passion that the desperation in my voice disgusted me. Yet, I didn’t stop until I’d echoed those words three times. Tears threatened my eyes when we’d finished and I spotted the same sentiment in Hannah’s expression, but she quickly masked her feelings.

  She never talked about her emotions – she was too guarded for her own good. All I knew about Hannah were the parts she showed me. A kick ass businesswoman with killer fashion sense, a good-hearted person that would walk barefoot on hot coals for her friends, but that’s it. I knew nothing about her life before Caraway. She once mentioned a large family in Detroit, but never took the four-hour drive home to visit. For the first time, I looked past my own baggage to see I’d been too self-absorbed to notice that Hannah may have her own secrets.

  The horrid tweet tweet of the doorbell chimed and we leaped in the stillness of my kitchen. A flicker of hope sparked in my chest. Could it be my soul mate or Hannah’s? Could this silly spell really have worked? I dashed to the door giggling like a schoolgirl, partly because of my deranged behavior, but mostly because deep in my heart I yearned for a magical fix for the broken pieces of my heart.

  “Go get our men.” Hannah cheered behind me.

  The adrenaline surged in my ears as I nearly collided into the door. Saying a quick prayer to the heavens, I jerked the door open. A young, dark haired girl stood on my front porch.

  “Hi, my name is Tina and I’m with YB Construction.”

  My face seared with embarrassment. Had I really believed some handsome man was going to be standing at my doorstep on bended knee and ready to tell me he was my long lost soul mate? There were medications for those types of delusions and I might just need a script.

  “Got to run.” Hannah’s laugh was loud enough for the whole block to hear her. “We tried, buttercup.”

  Embarrassment washed over me and I flipped her the bird as discreetly as possible, then returned my attention to the bewildered sales girl. “I’m sorry about that, my morning has been an interesting one.”

  “No worries.” Tina was maybe eighteen with bright green eyes, a long and lean frame sporting a black polo and slacks.

  I half-listened to her sales pitch and agreed to have her boss come out for an estimate for a new roof next Thursday afternoon. Aunt Mary had never updated the roof in the thirty-seven Michigan winters she’d lived in the house and with all the snow we got in Northern Michigan, that the roof was still standing was very much a miracle. With the sale of my parents assets and the savings I’d had before I’d quit my job as a RN at Buford Hospital, I’d been able to work on renovating my aunt’s home to make it my own.

  My gaze drifted out the window and beyond to the roaring waves of Lake Huron behind my house. There were fewer memories of my parents to haunt me in this town, but the lake always reminded me of the summers I spent visiting Aunt Mary. The memories of summer nights and bonfires poked at the hemorrhaging wound in my chest. I shook my head and locked my self-pity somewhere deep inside my heart. It was time to paint the guest bedroom and ask the town doctor if he was hiring.

  2

  My limbs ached and I was exhausted when I finally climbed into the scorching bubbly tub. The best thing I’d replaced in this house was the jet tub in the master bath. I took full liberties to relax in it every night. Because I’d fallen asleep one or twice, I never completely filled the tub – the water barley covered my breasts, but the jets still helped relieve the aches in my sore limbs and of course it was great for masturbation. I wasn’t joking about the need for a vibrator, because sometimes a girl needs to masturbate with a little soft porn in bed when sleep is out of reach.

  I shifted slowly so one of the jets sprayed against my core. I moaned on contact. How long had it been since I’d had sex? One year? It hadn’t even been hot sex. More like warm sex. No, lukewarm sex. That wasn’t right either. Honestly, it was barely tepid. Closing my eyes, I relished in the feel of the sprays and slid my fingers against my aching core. Warmth traveled throughout my entire body and exhaustion rolled through me. The world slipped way and I floated, feeling lighter and freer.

  Heat kissed my skin and the sound of waves crashing echoed in my mind’s eye. I must have left the window open. Water trickled around me and splashed my searing skin. A soft breeze kissed my face and the sweet scent of coconut and mangos delighted my nose.

  I’d lit a vanilla candle, not a fruity blend. Droplets of water tickled my face. How in the heck did the shower turn on, anyway? My eyelids snapped open and instead of the candle light in my bathroom, sunlight and open sky blazed round me. I was no longer in my bathroom, but perched on rocks under a glorious waterfall. The waterfall boomed out of the gray stone wall and crashed into an exquisite cerulean pool. Lush greenery I didn’t recognize and bunches of green grapes intertwined between the plush leaves all around the walls that framed the pool. I’d read about them before, they grew around shorelines of the ocean. Sea grapes. Yeah, Sea grapes, that’s what they were called. Where was I?

  The indigo pool beckoned me. Pleasure rolled through me as I dove into the brilliant blue water. The pool swallowed me and I kicked my legs to reach the surface. Feeling weightless, I shamelessly floated on my back and basked
in the heat of the sun while cool water slid against my bare sex. My fingers caressed my most tender parts. I couldn’t remember the last time my mind and body was this at ease. I was so damn uninhibited. No cares. No worries or burdens. For the first time in a long time, the pain in my chest was absent. Palm trees as tall as the heavens and little white cloud pillows decorated the topaz sky. The distant calls of the crashing ocean waves and seagulls echoed around the deserted pool.

  “Need help?”

  Water enveloped my head and my graceful swan float turned into an episode of Bay Watch and I was the tragic drowning victim. I struggled to the surface just as strong arms pulled me up onto my feet. I gasped for air trying to make sense of what was happening. I was dreaming that I was in a Bay Watch episode?

  Water dripped into my eyes from my hair and gentle fingers pushed the tangled mess from my face.

  “Thanks.” I felt my lips move, but the breathy voice that came out was nothing like my own.

  “Are you okay?” The raspy inflection that should’ve startled me only served to make heat surge from my toes to my fingertips. My gaze traveled a naked chiseled torso of tanned perfect skin and stared into hungry dark green eyes behind a black Phantom of the Opera type mask. It covered the right side of his face and intrigued the hell out of me. Without thought, I reached to touch the black leather and he jerked his face way from my outreached hand.

  “You can touch me anywhere else.”

  Yes sir. When would a girl like me ever get a chance to fondle a God like him again? I traced his massive chest with my fingers and warm, hard skin flexed beneath my fingertips. His lust filled groan echoed around us and my knees weakened.