by Jill Sanders
She shoved her tablet into her bag and threw it over her shoulder. “Go home, Drew. I’ll send you what I have.” She walked to the door and opened it.
“Brea.” She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Regardless of what happens, your spot at the station will be there.”
She tilted her head and smiled. “Thanks, Drew.”
The entire drive home, she was almost in shock. What had caused Drew to act that way? There was some serious crazy stuff going on lately. And it was her job to figure it out, wrap it up with a freaking bow, and hand it over to Drew.
Maybe that was his angle? Get the story, then cut her lose? She knew she wasn’t the only journalist sniffing around town. She’d seen the crew for WSUN in the coffee shop just that morning when they’d been at the diner.
If they were in town, too, that meant Drew was really getting itchy to get his hands on the story. She doubted he’d be leaving town anytime soon, but she hoped.
When she pulled into the drive, the rain started, the kind of rain that came down in buckets. Big ones. She grabbed her umbrella and ran through the mud only to bump into Jess on the porch.
“Hey,” Jess said, frowning at her.
“Sorry, I didn’t see you.” Brea shook her umbrella off.
“It’s okay, I was just… waiting for you. I knocked, but…” Jess frowned at her. Her fingers bunched in front of her. There were dark circles under her eyes and she looked like she’d dressed in a hurry. She nodded towards the chairs on the front porch, then walked over and sat down. Brea followed her and sat across from her, setting her bag on the chair beside her.
“Ethan’s probably still sleeping.” Worry flooded her mind, but she didn’t want Jess to see it.
“Listen, I heard about… your deal.” Her eyebrows went up. “From Xtina. She said that you show up in places…”
“Yeah.” She shook her head. “I still can’t believe it myself.”
“I’ve seen it,” Jess said, and for the first time, Brea realized the woman looked scared.
“Are you okay?” she asked, leaning forward.
“Yeah.” Jess rolled her shoulders and relaxed slightly. “I’ve seen…”—she closed her eyes and sighed—“something, my whole life, but it didn’t make sense until Xtina told me what you could do.”
“What have you seen?”
She shook her head. “It’s not important at the moment. Can you control it?”
“Control?” She laughed and shook her head.
“Well, you’ve got to work on it.” Jess sat forward. “You have to learn how to control it.”
“How? If you have any clue as to what I can do…”
“Hi,” Ethan’s voice came from the doorway, causing both women to jump.
“You’re awake.” Brea stood and walked over to him. She noticed that his coloring was much better than it had been earlier. The dark circles under his eyes were gone and his dark eyes looked a lot clearer.
“Everything okay?” He let Brea lead him to a chair.
“Yes.” It was Jess that spoke. “We were just having a chat.”
“About?” Ethan asked Brea.
“Brea’s talents,” Jess supplied before she could stop her.
“Talents.” Brea laughed. Right, talents.
“Her abilities,” Jess said after Ethan looked at them blankly. “Teleportation.”
His eyes moved to Brea. “And?”
“She needs to learn to control it,” Jess said, looking even more agitated. “Fast.”
“Why?” Ethan asked, beating her to the punch line.
Jess glanced over at the big house across the field. “Something’s coming.”
Chapter 12
Ethan felt better. Much better. Like he’d taken some sort of wonder pill. He’d woken up fresh with his mind clear. He felt great. Well, except for the nagging pain in his shoulder and arm. He might even be able to go a full twelve hours without falling over.
The rain was coming down pretty hard now. The sound of it had woken him.
When he’d walked out onto the porch, Brea looked like she’d been struck by lightning.
Then Jess had thrown a spooky wrench in the evening.
“Something’s coming,” Jess said, as she looked over at the big house across the field.
“How does she control it?” Ethan asked, looking between them.
“Like, I should know,” Jess said, turning back around.
The sky had grown dark, very dark, due to the cloud coverage. The weather didn’t look like it was going to let up anytime soon.
“Well, any clues?” Brea asked.
“Nope, none so far. All I know is that something bad is coming.”
“Okay,” he said, running his hands through his hair. “Any clue when?”
“Full moon,” Brea and Jess said at the same time.
“Okay, so, about two weeks from now?”
“No,” Brea said. “The hunter’s moon.”
“Hunter’s moon?” He didn’t know much about the moon phases.
“Yeah, the next one is in October. Only appears once every four years.”
“This October?” He got a nod. “That’s next month.”
“Yup,” Jess said, crossing her arms over her chest. Her phone beeped and she glanced down at it. “Listen, I’ve got to go.” She moved towards the stairs.
“Here.” Brea handed her an umbrella. “There’s more inside.”
Jess took the umbrella. “Work with her,” Jess said before turning and leaving.
“Okay, so how do you want to do this thing?” he asked when they were alone.
She surprised him by laughing. “What I want is a drink.” She got up and disappeared into the house.
He followed her, desperately wishing for a beer but unsure all the pills were out of his system yet.
Brea went into the kitchen and poured herself some wine. She paused, then poured herself some more, shrugging at him.
“It’s been one of those days.” She set the bottle down and swallowed a drink.
“So, how did the meeting go?” he asked, sitting down on a bar stool.
She laughed. “Not as crazy as what we were just talking about out there.” She nodded towards the front door.
“Yeah, so what do you make of all that?” He took a bottle of water from the fridge.
“I’m not sure how she thinks I can learn to control… my talent.”
“Have you tried?” he asked, taking a drink.
“Yes.” She sat down on the sofa.
He followed her. “And?”
“And, nothing ever happened. Xtina even offered to help, but nothing.” She shrugged.
“When was the last time you…”
“Transported?” she supplied.
“Yeah.”
“The night I showed up in Hidden Creek. The night you got hurt.”
“Yeah, Mike told me that it was… how did he put it… a shared experience.”
“Was that the time you lost time?”
She nodded. “Apparently a few days.”
“And it felt like no time had passed?”
“Yup, one minute I had just walked into my apartment in Atlanta, and the next I’m standing on Xtina’s front porch, my skin tingling.”
He reached across the bar and touched her hand. “We’ll figure this out.”
“Yeah.” She rolled her eyes. “How about I make us some dinner?”
For the next few minutes, he sat at the bar and watched her cook. He laughed when he noticed she was cooking breakfast.
“Is that French toast?”
“Yeah, I like breakfast for dinner when I’m stressed,” she said, flipping a piece of toast.
“Hey, no argument from me. I love French toast.”
She set a plate in front of him and he felt his mouth water at the look she gave him across the bar.
“Looks like you got some rest,” she said, sitting next to him.
“Yeah, I feel like a new man.” He reached over and to
ok her hand in his. “I know things have been… rushed.”
She smiled and took a sip of her orange juice.
“But with the dreams we’ve both had, I can’t help feeling like we’re moving too slow.”
Her smile fell away and her eyes met his.
“Ethan, sometimes…” She shook her head and squeezed his hand, then dropped it. “Sometimes I’m not even sure what is real or dream anymore.”
“Yeah, I get that. When I was over there”—his mind turned to his last mission—“I was pretty sure that line was so blurred, I was going to screw things up. Actually, it’s probably the reason for this.” He held up his shoulder.
“What do you mean?” She shifted slightly towards him.
“I was so far gone in fantasizing about some sexy blonde with eyes like the moon that I didn’t see the sniper.”
Brea’s heart fluttered in her chest and she couldn’t stop from smiling as she finished her food.
“Did it hurt?” she asked as she put the last dish into the dishwasher.
“What?” he asked, caging her against the countertop. His hand moved over her hip, holding her close.
“That.” She ran her finger over his bandage, enjoying how wonderful he felt up against her.
“It only really hurts when I move.” He smiled at her and she felt her knees weaken.
“Then you’d better not move.” She leaned up and placed a kiss on his lips. She took a step and nudged him again until his back was against the countertop, her lips never leaving his.
His eyes stayed on hers as she unbuttoned his shirt button by button.
When she nudged the cotton over his shoulders, he moved slightly and she saw the pain cross his eyes briefly.
“You’re not supposed to move.” She glanced at him and tossed his shirt away. “Remember?”
His smile returned. “I’m at your command,” he said softly.
Her eyes stayed locked with his as she ran her fingers over his impressive chest and arms. “This is very impressive.”
She leaned down and ran kisses over every spot her fingers had just been. She heard him hiss, but when she glanced up, a smile played on his lips.
“So you mean to torture me?” He chuckled and she felt it rumble in his chest. “Maybe we should move to…” He nodded towards the back of the house.
“No, I kind of like it here.” She pushed him back again until he sat on the edge of the countertop.
She stepped between his legs, holding him close and pulled his head down to her as she kissed him over and over. She felt the urge grow so fast in her.
When his fingers moved up to nudge her shirt aside, she playfully slapped his hand.
“Help me out here,” he said, nodding towards her shoulder.
She took a step back, then slowly removed her shirt.
She never, in a million years, would have believed she would be stripping for anyone. Especially someone she’d met only a day ago.
But, she had to admit, it was amazingly liberating. She peeled off every scrap of clothing, but stopped when she stood in the kitchen in only her matching panties and bra.
His eyes ate her up, watching every move she made. When her finger dipped under the strap of her bra, his lips curled up. But instead of dropping the rest of her clothes, she stepped forward and reached out to run her finger over the top of his jeans.
His eyes closed and he rolled his head back and groaned with pleasure when her hand roamed over his hardness.
“You like this?”
“My god!” he said. “Yes.”
She opened the button on his jeans, then slowly slid his zipper down. When she nudged the jeans over his hips, her breath caught at his beauty.
Biting her bottom lip, she smiled up at him. “Step out.” She helped him step out of his jeans. “Now the fun begins.”
When her lips covered his, she felt her entire body respond as she touched him everywhere.
“Brea,” he said between heavy breaths, “let me...”
She chuckled, stopping him. “Soon.” She pushed his boxers down his legs and wrapped her hand around his arousal. She heard his breath hitch as he sucked in a breath.
“I can’t help but feeling empowered.” She smiled as she moved her hand over him. “Like a genie, finally out of my bottle.”
He growled, actually growled, as his dark eyes burned into her.
Then, before she could respond, her back was up against the fridge. In one quick swipe, her panties were ripped away from her as his fingers cupped her.
A scream escaped her lips, just before he covered them with a tender kiss. There was so much power here. Between them. She felt it growing, building, until her body arched to take him in.
Even then, she wasn’t satisfied and begged for more.
“Ethan,” she begged, “I need…”
“What, say it. Say it,” he moaned as his lips traveled over the hollow spot between her neck and her shoulder.
“You,” she uttered softly. “I need you inside me. Now.” Her nails dug into his hips as she wrapped a leg around him.
Then he was spinning her around once again. With his good arm, he hoisted her up easily until she sat on the edge of the bar. His thighs nudged her legs wider until he stood between them. She felt him just outside her and closed her eyes on a moan.
“Yes.”
“Look at me,” he said, next to her lips. “I want to see your eyes change as I enter you.”
Her eyes slid open as he took her in one quick motion.
She was completely destroyed. Her heart ached, actually ached as she watched pleasure spread on his face.
She’d never felt anything as powerful as the release he’d given her. Somehow, she knew he was feeling the same thing. His entire body jolted with it, and when they both started to relax after, she felt warmth spread straight to her heart.
When he smiled at her, she knew there was no way to fight her feelings anymore.
“Why is it I feel like we’ve known each other forever?” she asked as he stepped back and handed her his shirt.
She smiled as she pulled it on and buttoned a few buttons, covering herself.
“Because we have.” He pulled up his jeans with his good hand, then grunted when he tried to use his bad arm to help. “In a way.”
“Yeah, our visions.” She rolled her eyes. “Okay, how about we try something?”
His laughter stopped her from finishing putting on her jeans. “What?”
“Didn’t we just try something?” His eyebrows wiggled. “I’m game, though I might need a minute.”
She chuckled. “Later. For now, how about we play twenty questions?”
“Sounds fun. How about some popcorn?” he asked, walking over to the cupboard.
“You start a fire; I’ll make the popcorn.” She took the box of microwave stuff from him. “It’s gotten chilly in here.”
Ten minutes later, they sat in front of the fireplace with a large bowl of popcorn and two root beers, asking each other any questions they could come up with.
She found that they had the same favorite color, red. The same favorite number, 27. And, even odder, the same favorite shape, a pyramid.
“I’ve always wanted to go to Egypt,” she admitted.
“I did too, until I had a mission there.” He shook his head. “Let’s just say, it’s not like you see in the photos.”
“Yeah,” she sighed. “If only you could go back in time.” She tucked her legs underneath her and smiled when he handed her the blanket from the back of the sofa.
“It’s normally not this cold this early.”
“I guess hurricane season brought a bunch of cold winds.” He tossed a few more logs on the fire. The rain was still coming down, and every now and then, lightning would flood the room with light.
“I don’t mind the cold. My father used to take me to Colorado every Christmas. We’d spend a week skiing and playing in the snow.” She remembered all the fun they would have together. “But, after
I graduated, our trips stopped.”
“What about your mother?”
Sadness still overtook her when she thought about the woman who’d given birth to her. “She died, giving birth to me.”
“I’m sorry.” He gathered her in his arms. “So, your aunt…”
“My father and my aunt Misty were an item before my parents, something I didn’t know until I saw a picture in the local paper from back then. All my dad told me was that my aunt died in a freak accident in high school. My parents married shortly after graduating and, a few years later, they had me. Then my father became a single parent.” She rested her head on his good shoulder.
His arm wrapped around her shoulder and she sighed at how wonderful it felt.
“I guess we both found out some new stuff about our parents,” he said.
“From what Xtina has said, it didn’t sound like your parents had a choice. I can’t imagine what you’re going through, finding out you have a brother after all these years.”
He shifted and cringed with pain.
“You need some more pills.” She moved to get up, but he stopped her.
“No, I’ll be fine. I just need some more rest.” He pulled her back down until she rested against his chest. “I wonder why my parents didn’t tell me about Jacob? Instead, they left it up to Mike.”
“They’re probably having a hard time with it,” she suggested. “The last time I talked to my father, he wouldn’t answer any questions about Misty or my mother. Come to think about it, he seemed reluctant to mention that he’d lived in Hidden Creek before.”
They were silent for a while, listening to the thunder as the storm slowly moved away from them.
“What could have happened here to cause my aunt to appear like this?” she said, after a yawn.
“You’ve seen her?” he asked, brushing a hand down her hair.
“Twice now. Once in the hotel, the day I left… and the other…” She leaned up and looked at him. “Earlier today.” She nodded towards the spot. “Right over there.”
Chapter 13
By the next morning, Ethan felt almost back to normal, which was odd. It was like being with Brea had somehow sped up the healing process.