Dreams of Seduction (11 page)

He was sexy as all get out wearing nothing but a pair of jeans. Jed’s body was every woman’s fantasy—hard and leanly muscled. But it was the man himself who made her heart pound and her skin flush. Jed was a good man, hard working and honest. The kind of man who wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty or do what needed to be done. Being a deputy wasn’t an easy job. In the six months since she’d been back she’d heard plenty about Jed from friends and neighbors, and he had a reputation for being tough but fair. She hadn’t really known him when they were kids. He’d been ahead of her in school. But even then he’d seemed kind.

Pulling her gaze away, Maggie went to the closet to pull out a robe. Jed touched her shoulder and shook his head. “Let me.” He picked up his shirt off the floor, shook it and held it out. Unable to resist, she slid her arms into the openings and let him tug the fabric around her. He did up four of the buttons before stepping back and surveying his work. “Perfect. I like you in my clothes.”

She liked it too, although she wouldn’t admit it. Giving him a sassy grin, she sashayed down the stairs to the kitchen with him right behind her.

It didn’t take her long to reheat the stew and brown the rolls in the oven. While they were waiting for the main course, they helped themselves to the salad that Maggie had made earlier.

Their conversation was sparse while they ate, each of them locked in their own thoughts. Maggie was still trying to process what had happened. For a woman who’d never thought of herself as an overly sexual being, tonight had been a complete eye-opener.

As they moved on to the main course, they chatted about mutual acquaintances and town news. He ate with a gusto that pleased her on an elemental level, but Maggie barely tasted the stew. It took everything in her to follow their conversation. Her thoughts kept drifting back to the memories of what he’d done to her body.

“That was delicious.” Jed pushed back his empty bowl and sat back in his chair. His hands rested on his belly, bringing her attention to the rope-like muscles in his abdomen. “What are you thinking?”

His praise warmed her. She didn’t cook a lot, but she knew she made a great beef stew. It was her grandmother’s recipe and never failed to please.

Maggie pushed back her partially eaten bowl of stew and the half roll that sat on her plate. She cocked her head to one side and contemplated the man sitting across from her and decided to tell him the truth.

“I’m thinking how unusual this is. That I don’t jump into bed with a man I barely know.” Jed’s shoulders tensed, but he remained quiet. “But it doesn’t feel as if I barely know you. It feels as if we’ve already been lovers.” There, she’d said it. As silly as it sounded, it was true.

If anything the tension in the room grew even more palpable. Jed straightened and rested his hands palm down on the table. They were large hands, strong yet gentle.

“Maggie,” he began. He stopped and shoved a hand through his hair. The silky, straight strands fell back into 

“Don’t worry,” she hurried to reassure him. “I’m not going to make this into more than it is.”

“What exactly do you think it is?” He sounded almost angry as he stared at her, his eyes narrowing.

She was beginning to wish she’d kept her mouth shut or said something light and flip instead of being truthful. Obviously something she’d said had upset him.

Maggie shrugged and picked at the button on his shirt, wishing for the first time that she’d worn something a little more substantial. What had been sexy only moments before now left her feeling vulnerable, especially considering she was naked beneath the soft cotton. “Sex. Great sex between two healthy adults.” Realizing she was fidgeting, she dropped her hand to her lap.

“It’s a hell of a lot more than that.” Jed stood and pulled his chair around until it was beside her. He dropped back onto it and reached for her hand. “Maggie, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Oh damn, he was going to tell her this was just a one-night stand. She pulled her hand away and wrapped her arms around her waist. “What?” She could get through this. She was strong.

Jed dropped his hand back into his lap and fisted it. “We have been lovers.” His voice was cold, the words clipped. He didn’t sound happy about the fact.

She waited for a few seconds, wondering what the heck he was talking about. They hadn’t been lovers before tonight. Unless you counted her dreams, which she most certainly didn’t. She definitely would have remembered that. Sex with Jed had been hot and overwhelming. An incredible experience she’d never forget.

Jed continued to simply stare at her. “Yes, we had sex tonight.” She couldn’t bring herself to call it making love when there was no love on his part. Deep in the pit of her stomach, Maggie knew she had feelings for Jed. Otherwise she’d never have let him into her bed. It was those darn dreams and fantasies.

“No.” Jed pushed back his chair and stood, staring down at her. “It’s more than that.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, drawing her attention to the bulge in the front of his jeans. “We’ve made love before.” He paused and pinned her with his amber gaze. “In our dreams.”

Maggie froze. He couldn’t mean what she thought he did. As if he were reading her thoughts, he nodded.

“That’s right, Maggie. I’ve been dreaming of you for the past few nights. I’ve made love to you over and over again, until you’ve screamed your release.” He paused. “And somehow I know you’ve had the same dreams.”

“That’s impossible.” She wrapped her arms tighter around her body. She shook her head as if to deny his words. What he was saying just wasn’t possible. There was no way they’d had the same dreams.

“Not impossible.” Jed took several steps, turned and paced back. He stopped and held his hands out by his sides. “I’m a 

Maggie was beginning to feel like she’d entered an alternate dimension. Her life was boring and predictable and didn’t include mind-blowing sex with a man she barely knew and shared erotic dreams. Yet that was exactly what he was suggesting.

“What exactly does that mean?” The food she’d eaten settled like a stone in her stomach.

“It means that I can astral travel. I can leave my body and go other places.” Jed paused and prowled closer. He hunkered down beside her, but didn’t touch her. “You called to me the other night. Your spirit drew mine here. I watched you pleasure yourself in your bed. I heard you whisper my name after you came.” He rested his hand on her bare leg and her cold skin absorbed the heat. “Since that night, even though I haven’t allowed myself to spiritwalk, you’ve been in my dreams.”

Maggie went hot and then cold. Her vision dimmed and, for a moment, she feared she’d black out.

There was no way he could know about the other night. Not unless… “You sonofabitch.” Her hand snapped out and connected to the side of his face. The sound was sharp, his flesh firm beneath her hand.

“You were spying on me.”

Jed’s mouth firmed, his eyes narrowed. “I did, but not in the way you think. I wasn’t sitting outside your window, Maggie. My spirit was inside the room with you even though my physical body was back in my bedroom at home. No one has ever compelled my spirit to come before. Not until that night. I couldn’t resist your call.”

“You expect me to believe that.” It was too much for her to take in. He’d watched her pleasure herself. Watched her orgasm as she’d groaned his name. No wonder he’d asked her out. After that display, he rightly figured she was a sure thing. Heat burned her cheeks. She felt violated, their time together tainted.

Jed stood and stared down at her. He turned away, but not before she saw a flash of pain and hurt in his eyes. She didn’t want to hurt him, but did he really expect her to believe what he was saying?

Spiritwalking? He had to have been spying on her. There was no other way. Was there?

She thought about Rhiannon and her claims of being a witch. Her friend was different. Special. Was it possible Jed was telling the truth? Her brain couldn’t sort through everything, not with her heart aching.

“You’ll believe what you want to believe, but I’m telling you the truth. It was never my intention to spy on you or invade your privacy. For that, I’m sorry.” He was as still as stone as he looked back at her.

“But I had nothing to do with the dreams. They came to me without my asking.”

“This is crazy. It’s like me believing the candle ceremony that I did with Rhiannon and Esther the other night compelled you to come here,” she blurted out.

Jed blinked slowly, his amber eyes seemed to glow brighter. “What kind of ceremony?”

Maggie shrugged. Her hand stung where she’d hit Jed and she curled her fingers into her palm. She couldn’t believe she’d struck him. She’d never hit another person in her entire 

“It was a silly ceremony with candles. It was supposed to bring a lover into our lives, but at the last second Rhiannon asked for a true love instead.” She straightened her shoulders. “It didn’t mean anything.”

“Didn’t mean anything,” he repeated. “I guess that tells me everything I need to know.” Jed disappeared from the kitchen. She heard his footsteps on the stairs but couldn’t make herself move.

Tears pricked her eyes, but she held them back with sheer force of will. He couldn’t really expect her to believe the whole spiritwalker thing or that they’d shared dreams. It couldn’t be true. It was crazy to even think it might be.

She didn’t know what to believe. A shiver skated down her spine and Maggie trembled. Drawing her legs up to her chest, she pulled the tails of Jed’s shirt around her chilled limbs. Burying her face against her knees, she took a deep breath to try to steady herself.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs and she felt Jed’s presence before she looked up and saw him standing in the doorway. He was dressed, except for his shirt. Ignoring her, he grabbed his jacket and slipped it on over his bare chest.

“I’m sorry I hit you.” She had to say it. His cheek was still red, but already the mark was beginning to fade.

“I’m sorry too.”

Maggie knew from the tone of his voice he wasn’t talking about the fact that she hit him, but the fact that she didn’t believe him. “Jed,” she began, not quite knowing what she wanted to say.

He shook his head. “Don’t. It’s real and if you’re honest with yourself, you know it. I think that the magick you performed with Rhiannon drew my spirit to yours when I went spiritwalking. We’ve shared dreams. That I can’t explain. Maybe it’s because we’re connected on more than a physical plane. I’m not sure. All I know is that tonight felt right. Being with you felt right.”

“I—”

He cut her off. “No! Let me finish. This is as real as it gets. I want to be with you, but you have to believe in me and in yourself. I am a spiritwalker. It’s part of who I am. That’s never going to change. If you can’t accept that, I need to know now before my heart gets any more tangled up than it already is.”

Jed reached out and brushed his hand over her hair. “Such fire, yet you’re so filled with fear, refusing to believe in what you know to be true. Refusing to trust yourself. You reached out to my spirit, Maggie.

Don’t be afraid to take what you want.” Dropping his hand back down by his side, he stepped away. “It’s up to you.”

He turned and walked away without a backward glance. Maggie’s stomach churned and her skin grew cold. She jumped up from her chair and hurried after him, but it was too late. The door closed, the sound harsh and final. Maggie leaned against the panel and listened to the purr of an engine as he started his vehicle and drove 

Like an automaton, she returned to the kitchen and cleaned up from dinner. The dishes went into the dishwasher, the leftovers in the refrigerator. Turning off the light, she dragged herself up the stairs to her room.

Maggie paused just inside the door. The sheets of her bed were tangled and the scent of Jed, of sex, lingered in the air. A tear rolled down her cheek and she swiped it away.

“It’s not real. It can’t be.” She crawled into bed and pulled a pillow into her arms. It smelled like Jed.

She buried her face in it and breathed deep. Her body responded immediately.

Thrusting the pillow away, she glared at the candle that sat on her bedside table. “Magick isn’t real.

Spiritwalking isn’t real. It can’t be.” She turned off the bedside lamp and let the darkness envelop her.

Chilled to the bone, she pulled blankets tighter around her and burrowed into Jed’s shirt. It was almost like having his arms around her. Almost.

Tears rolled down her cheeks. Giving up the fight, she grabbed Jed’s pillow and buried her face in it.

What if it was real?

Maggie cried until she had no tears left. What was she going to do?

Jed was careful on the drive home. With his emotions so volatile it would be easy for him not to pay proper attention to the road. And the last thing he needed was to be in or cause an accident.

He smacked the flat of his hand against the steering wheel, ignoring the sharp pain that shot up his arm. Anger and frustration filled him, but overriding it all was a sense of loss. Maggie. She was the woman for him. The other half of his soul. He knew it even if she didn’t.

She didn’t believe in magick or in the possibility that there was more to the world than what could be seen with the naked eye. His gut clenched. He couldn’t change who he was. Not for anyone. Not even for Maggie. It was too much a part of his identity.

He parked the truck, walked up the dark pathway and let himself into the house. Usually his home gave him a sense of peace, of security. Tonight it felt cold and empty. Like his life.

What if Maggie didn’t change her mind?

He fisted his hands by his sides as he made his way to his bedroom.
No
. He couldn’t think that way.

Her spirit had reached out to him. She’d done it once. He had to believe she would do it again. Time. He had to give her time.

He’d shocked her tonight. That, combined with the mind-blowing sex they’d had, was probably more than he could have expected her to handle.

He stripped off his clothes, tossed them aside and climbed into bed. His arms were empty. His soul felt cold. He wished he were back in Maggie’s bed with her snuggled up next to him, her butt tucked next to his groin, her back against his