Believe
A Single Title from
Dreams & Desires, vol. 4
by
LaVerne Thompson
Freya’s Bower.com ©2011
Culver City, CA
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Believe: a single title from Dreams & Desires, v.4
Copyright © 2011 by LaVerne Thompson
For information on the cover illustration and design, contact Posh Gosh.
Cover art Freya’s Bower © 2011
Editor: Marci Baun
ISBN: 978-1-936222-63-6
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes. If you are reading this and did not purchase and/or win this copy from either the author or publisher, you have an illegal copy and are hurting the author. Delete this immediately from your computer/ereader and purchase it from either Wild Child Publishing.com or one of our certified distributors.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Warning:
This book may contain graphic sexual material and/or profanity and is not meant to be read by any person under the age of 18.
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Chapter One
The rain began to fall against the window, and her gaze tracked one drop sliding down the outside pane. She sensed more than heard him come up behind her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her around. “I love you,” he whispered. She couldn’t breathe. Her lungs expanded to take in precious air, but before she could do so, he covered her mouth and gave her his. Becoming the very air she breathed. His tongue probed against her own, and she welcomed his touch. Like ivy at the side of a wall, she clung to him, and he gathered her closer in his arms. Every hard inch of his body aligned perfectly with hers, and still she wanted him closer.
The harsh sound of a cell phone going off provided an unwelcome interruption, ending the daydream. Anna’s eyes opened. She blinked at the glare from the fluorescent lights, awaking to a rude reality. The rain beat harder against the window.
A first. Usually her erotic dreams were saved for the middle of the night. They’d started about six months ago when her last relationship ended. Maybe she just needed to get laid. But then she’d have to deal with a man underfoot again, and she wanted a small break from relationships. Until then, her dream lover more than sufficed.
She quickly glanced around the coffee shop to see if anyone had noticed she’d fallen asleep sitting straight up with her eyes closed. This place was only a few blocks from campus and a favorite hang out for the college kids. Normally, at this time of night, the place would have been packed. Since finals had ended and summer vacation had officially started a few days ago, there were still quite a few available tables. The coffee shop would remain like this through most of the summer, until the college students returned to town. Anna took pleasure in the changed atmosphere of peace and quiet. But she missed her friends.
Summer school started in a couple of weeks, and by the end of it, she’d have her teaching degree. At thirty, it had been a long time in coming but worth the wait. As a teenager, it had been the last thing on her mind.
At eighteen, while everyone else started college, she had been busy getting married to an older man who’d swept her off her feet her senior year. John had been good to her, and she missed the closeness. They’d had ten years together before cancer took him away. She’d loved him and devoted herself to him, fitting into his life. All that lay in the past, and she’d since built a life for herself, primarily by enrolling at the university, one of the first things she’d done even before he’d died. She had grown up, become her own person, and never looked back.
She took a sip of her Chai tea. Her favorite. Cold, not so much. She glanced around again, but still no one paid her any attention. Or so she’d thought. Something drew her gaze straight ahead to the opposite corner of the room. That’s when she saw him.
Unlike her table, which sat directly under the lighting in the place, this person managed to find the one sliver of shadowed area in the room. She couldn’t see his face, but size alone proclaimed him a male. His body seemed to take up a lot of the corner. One leg covered in dark gray jeans stretched out well past his table. The rather large-sized boots were the other give away. She felt his gaze caress her. The way a man watched a woman. For a moment, she thought he’d even been the man in her dreams. She shook her head. How silly. He probably wasn’t even interested in her.
She wasn’t a curvaceous babe like her friend Nancy, nor did she have a cover girl face and body like her other friend, Larissa. Oh, she had a cute face; some would say flawless and difficult to tell her age, but some people found her too tall and all angles of skin and bone. Her fanciful friends described her as elfish with her pointed chin and ears that seemed to curl upward just a little at the tip. The kids at the treatment center had another name for her, “Skinny Minny.” And, at her age, she still fit into a size B cup, C in a good padded bra. At least she had great legs. Yeah, they were on the skinny side, but they were long and toned from all her years swimming and running. She’d run track and swam all her life for the joy of it.
Deciding to ignore the guy in the corner, she pulled out her cell phone and checked her email. There were a few of those as well as a couple of texts from her friends wishing her a great summer and letting her know they’d all gotten to their respective homes out of state safely. Of her college friends, only she remained in town. Anna answered her friends and let them know she sat at their favorite hangout, having a drink in their memory.
After she put her phone back in her purse, something compelled her to look in the direction of the person cloaked in shadow again. Even though she couldn’t see him clearly, she knew he still stared at her, and this time he smiled. She blinked. How could she have known that? Her purse still in her hand, she opened it again to search for her keys. She froze. The pair of boots worn by the man in the corner appeared in her line of vision. He must have been moving incredibly fast to cover the distance, or it took her longer to find her keys than she thought. When she finally looked up with her car keys in her hand, she stared at a wall of wide chest. She kept looking up. He pulled out the chair across from her and, like a man sure of his welcome, sat down. Her fingers went slack, and she dropped the keys back into her purse.
A lion. The thought popped into her head. He reminded her of a painting she’d once seen of a golden lion standing alone on top of a grassy hill. The artist showed him sunbathed in golden light, and the wind blew his great blond mane across part of his face. She remembered thinking the lion’s expression looked so sad and lonely, like he missed his mate.
“Hello,” he said. “Please do not leave. I just wanted to meet you.”
Even his words sounded like purring, but she couldn’t place his accent. “I…I’m sorry but I was just leaving.” She pushed her chair back to stand.
His golden deep-set eyes showcased in a pale face of strong, sharp perfect features, held her to the chair but her own desire kept her there. Like the majestic lion, he was truly beautiful with a hint of wildness. That wildness abou
t him intrigued her more than it scared her.
When the stranger sat down, she had to look up to continue to stare into his eyes. A flash of awareness, of familiarity, washed over her. She knew this man. Yet she’d never seen him in her life.
“Have we met?” she asked confused.
He hesitated before answering. “No. My name is Killian al Ral. And you are Anna Patrick.”
That gave her pause. “How do you know my name?”
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Chapter Two
The woman seated across from him captivated Killian. Her skin was a warm brown, the color of the sacred trees of the al Ral fae. Her eyes were big, better to see the deep amber color of them, his favorite stone, set in a perfect oval face. Her eyebrows intrigued him. They had a slight slant to them, hinting at some mixed heritage. Perhaps of the dark water nymphs among the fae. Her thick deep brown wavy hair had reddish highlights and hung past her shoulders, curling at the ends. Yes, everything about her absolutely enchanted him.
He had neither yearned for nor ever felt the need to have a mate. Most fae understood the concept of mates; they just didn’t have the need or desire to pledge themselves to one person for eternity. Too long for most of the al Ral to commit, which was why in the distant past few such claimings had been made. The fae considered the mate quest a madness that only fell upon a select few among them. Curse or gift, it had been called both. But since their queen had mated, in the last five hundred years, all that had changed. More of the fae were having dreams and setting out on mate quests.
Killian had laughed along with everyone else when one of their kind fell to the madness. He wasn’t laughing now. He hadn’t been with a woman for the last hundred years. Nor had he had any rest because he’d begun to dream of his mate from the moment he closed his eyes until he opened them. And still he thought of her. A nameless, faceless woman, it hadn’t been until recently he’d seen her face and known his mate. The woman who sat across from him now. Fae blood ran in her veins. He could see it in her features, and he could sense it. Faint though it might be, several generations back, but apparent to those who knew what to look for. Which meant she could live in his world. Some humans could not cross over to the fae realm and return or remain sane. She would be able to cross and return with her sanity intact. But he would not take her away too soon. Her dreams revealed the importance of her education, and he could not deprive her of that. Besides, he enjoyed the human realm, too
At least, he no longer had to search. It figured his quest would be harder than most. His brother’s quest only lasted a human year, and he and his friends had laughed their asses off when his brother left for his. Killian grimaced. His brother had been checking up on him and having the last laugh.
Only one problem, his mate wasn’t completely fae and did not know who and what he was to her and she to him. For all intents and purposes, she appeared human, and still she had to pledge herself to him back in the fae realm of Tal al Ral. But maybe on some level, she knew him. Those dreams they shared weren’t normal human dreams he merely invaded or directed. No. Her essence met him in the dream realm. No human would be able to do that. Somehow, her fae blood helped her to meet him there, where they’d been lovers for some time now. Though fine for a dream, it wasn’t real.
“I’ve seen you around campus,” he finally said, realizing he’d been silent a little too long. “And I’ve seen you come in here a few times. So I asked around.” And he had.
“Oh.” She blinked and frowned.
By, gods she had some of the longest lashes he’d ever seen. He wanted her to run those lashes against his skin. To know if they felt as silky as they looked. His chest expanded, and the blood in his veins throbbed at the thought he’d find out. His mate. And he’d come to claim her.
“Are you a student here?” she asked.
“I’ve sat in on a class or two.” He had. He’d entered the lecture halls during some of her exams, unseen and read the tests. She’d aced every one, and he’d felt pride in her intellect. He’d followed her all of last week when she’d been with her friends, but he knew they’d be leaving soon and
waited until he could be alone with her.
“Which ones?” she wanted to know.
He named two of the classes she’d been in. They were also classes held in large lecture halls.
“Oh, perhaps that’s where I’ve seen you. Well, as you can see, I was just leaving. It’s nice meeting you, Killian.”
“It was nice finally meeting you too, Anna.” As she got up to go, he touched the back of her hand with the tip of his finger. That one touch generated enough heat throughout his blood to warm the entire coffee house. He’d found his mate. He could tell from her indrawn breath she’d felt the heat between them too.
“Will you meet me again, here, tomorrow?” he asked. “Same time?” He took a risk letting her leave. Unable to resist touching her in the flesh—at last, he ran his thumb down her hand before moving his away. They’d been meeting on the dream plane for a while now; it’s how he’d found her. The dreams drew him to her; they guided him.
She watched his hand enclosing hers, and then lifted her head to stare into his eyes. He let her see the yearning he had for her in their depths. She nodded her head, agreeing to meet him. Her agreement allowed him to release her hand and let her go. He wondered if, now that they’d met, she’d seek him out tonight on the dream plane. He couldn’t wait to find out. But he also couldn’t wait to finally make love to her in the physical world.
The dreams drew her to him, although she didn’t know it. He waited until after she’d left before following behind, to make sure she got safely to her car. He would have offered to walk her out, but he didn’t want to spook her. She still wasn’t sure about him, but allowed her attraction to him to control her actions. It was also why he’d offered to meet her here again tomorrow. Safe neutral ground. He wanted her to become accustomed to him in the flesh, in familiar surroundings. He grinned. Clouding the minds of anyone watching him so they would look away, he opened up a portal and entered the fae realm of Tal al Ral.
The slit he’d created into the other world closed behind him, along with the dark, wet weather. He stepped into a world of warmth and the sun at its highest. But it was almost always like this, unless his queen desired the light of the moon. He’d entered close to the pond near his home. Removing his heavy boots, he walked upon the thick grass, enjoying the sensation of the softness of the perfectly cut blades against the soles of his bare feet. By the time he stepped into the warm water, he’d wished his clothing gone. Naked, he dived in and swam underwater, for the first time in a human century, enjoying peace. Not long by fae standards, but he’d spent most of it in the human realm searching. Because Fate had decreed that’s where he’d find her. At last he’d reached the end of his quest. Soon he’d claim her. He swam to the surface and floated on his back, staring at a sky so blue only an artist could have gotten that uniquely blended color, or a fae queen. Allowing the quiet of the day to soothe him, he closed his eyes and drifted into sleep, knowing he would not sink beneath the water.
The sound of a splash off to the side had him opening his eyes. Turning his head, he saw the surface of the water rippling where something or someone had dived into the pond. He was no longer alone. But his senses gave off no alarm. Nothing in this world could harm him. Slender fingers brushed lightly against his back as someone swam under him. That one brief touch told him who had invaded his home. He straightened up in the water. His feet didn’t touch bottom, but he treaded water, waiting for her to surface and face him.
Like the dark water nymphs she had descended from, she rose gracefully from the water. She threw her long wet hair behind her and away from her face, splashing him with droplets. She smiled. The water ran down her face and nude body, and he watched several drops racing across her perfectly shaped breast just before she sank back into the water to her neck. He missed the sight of her naked body, but not for long, oh no. Not for long.
&nbs
p; “I’ve found you,” she said and moved close enough to touch his shoulder. Her hand caressed him, and his nerve endings fired off numerous messages of immense pleasure to his brain. Her hands moved until her arms wrapped around his neck, their legs entwined, as he took her tiny waist in his hands to draw her flush against his heated skin. Her mouth descended over his, and he opened for her, welcoming her. He would never again be intimate with another woman. Their tongues met and mated, and their bodies sank to the bottom of the deep pond. His feet touched the sand, and he used his powerful thighs to push them back to the surface. Somehow, without taking his mouth off hers, he got them out of the water. She wrapped those long legs of hers around his waist while he walked them beyond the water’s edge. Laying her down on the soft grass, he covered her with his body.
Opening his eyes, Killian smiled and got out of the water. This time Anna had come looking for him on the dream plane, and it was she who’d found him. Time to claim what was his.
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Chapter Three
Anna got to the coffee shop early. She kept telling herself all day she shouldn’t go, yet knowing she would. Besides, it wasn’t unusual for her to stop in there after work at the computer store she managed before heading home, and she needed to calm her nerves. She grabbed a cup of her favorite drink and made her way to a table. On impulse, instead of heading over to one of the tables nearer the windows where she and her friends normally sat, she found herself heading to the table in the corner where Killian had sat last night.
Not that she was hiding from him, exactly. She just wanted an opportunity to observe him for a minute before he saw her. Who was she kidding? She wanted to be there. She just wanted a chance to hide the thoughts swimming around in her head before facing him. Last night, she’d had one of those dreams again. Only this time, she’d been making love with Killian, falling in love with him. It had always been Killian. But now she could see his face. For so long, only getting her teaching degree mattered. Now that would happen at the end of the summer, but the other thing she wanted was to love and be loved again.
Believe: A Single Title from Dreams & Desires, vol. 4 Page 1