Ghostly Touch (2 page)

             
With her arms outstretched one more time, Zula began to chant the name of the goddess of the full moon once again. “Jana. Jana. Jana.”

Over and over until the wind whipped around her body, blowing her long, black hair in every direction. Zula stepped to the altar and laid the Athame horizo
ntally above the bowl, and raised her hands above her head with her face lifted to the moon.

             
“Jana, Goddess of the Moon. Goddess of New Beginnings. Hear my plea. Jana, Goddess of Moon. Goddess of New Beginnings. Hear my plea.” Zula waited.  She felt familiar heat coursing through her blood stream, indicating she’d reached the celestial plane that allowed her magic to flow freely between that which was, and that which would be.

             
With a smile, she continued to cast her spell. “Jana, Goddess of the Moon, I call out to you. Hear my plea, as I cast a spell for that which will be. A dream lover no more, I beg of thee, but instead a man, flesh and blood shall he be. Offering freely, his heart and love to me.”

             
Zula scooped the herbs and flowers from the air where they’d continued to swirl and held them up in both hands. “A petal of fox glove for a strong heart,” she said and dropped the flower in the saltwater. “Blue violet for faithfulness and heliotrope for devotion. Spanish jasmine for sensuality, and amaryllis for beauty. Forget-me-not and red rose for true love, and yellow iris for passion.  Red and yellow rose petals for happiness.” Zula chanted as she dropped each flower into the water.

             
Next, she picked up the bowl of petals and held it high above her head. “Jana, Goddess of New Beginnings, hear my plea. Take this water of the sea, take these flowers as an offering to thee.” The wind whipped and keened as the bowl rose out of Zula’s hands and disappeared into the sky. Zula fell back onto the ground, exhausted and weak.

             
“Damn it,” Zula said as the water from the sink refused to go down the drain. “Looks like we’ve got a clog, Thad. Where’s the plunger?” Zula attacked the stubborn drain with the plunger but no matter how many times she tried, the pipes remained clog. “I hate calling a plumber,” she told the cat as she picked up the phone book. “They’re so overpriced. But what else am I going to do? You have any ideas?” She looked at the cat, as he washed his face with one paw. She smiled and finished dialing the phone.

             
“Yes,” Zula said into the mouthpiece. “How soon could someone be here to unclog a drain for me?” She looked at the clock on the wall and sighed as she listened. “Yes, I suppose that will have to be alright. I’ll be here. Thank you,” she said and gave her address and phone number before hanging up. “Looks like we are without a sink for a few more hours, Thad. So let’s put away the Halloween decorations while we wait. What do you say to that?” She picked up the cat and nuzzled him with her nose, as she went to the porch and looked at the job ahead.

~ * ~

              Zula worked for two hours when she finally put the last of the boxes of Halloween decorations in the attic and went back downstairs. She began sweeping the porch and glanced up as the Speedy Plumber truck pulled to a stop in front of her house. Zula smiled as the man came up the walk.

             
“Hi,” he said. “I’m Connor.” He handed her a business card. “I hear you have a clogged drain.”

             
“Yes,” she said, taking the card. “It’s the kitchen sink. Follow me, I’ll show you the way.”

             
“This is a huge house,” he commented as they walked through the living room. “You and your husband must have a lot of kids.”

             
Zula glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “No,” she said. “No husband and no kids, either. Just me and Thaddeus.” Connor looked around. “My cat,” Zula explained.

             
“Oh,” Connor chuckled. “I have a dog. Roger. He’s a Black Mouth Kerr.”

             
“Big dog,” Zula said as they went through the dining room and she pushed the kitchen door open. “Here we are.”

             
“He’s an old dog,” Connor told her as he set his toolbox down. “I’ve had him since I was a teenager. He doesn’t get around like he used to, but he’s a good dog.” He paused for a moment as he looked at Zula. “I’ll, uh, I’ll try the snake first and see if that does it. If not, I’ll have to get under there and take the pipes off.”

             
Zula smiled. “Fine. You do whatever you need to do. Would you like something to drink? I have a new batch of sun tea.”

             
“That sounds great,” he replied.

             
“Sweet or unsweet?” She asked.

             
“Sweet, please.” Connor said as he reached for the drain snake and went to work.

Zula filled two glasses with ice from the refrigerator door and then poured tea from a glass container. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure Connor was busy with his work, and then dipped her finger into his tea.

“Sweet,” she whispered, the spell working in her mind as she stirred the tea.

She turned around with the glasses in her hand and watched Connor for a moment. He had dark hair that fell into his eyes and over his collar, and she’d noticed his eyes were so dark they appeared to be black. He was very tall and broad through the chest, with muscular arms. His shirt had been tucked in at his narrow waist, allowing her a view of his ass, which looked awfully cute in his Levi’s.

              “I’ll just set your tea right here so you can reach it,” Zula said.

             
“Thanks,” he said as he continued to work the snake through the drain. “I don’t think this is going to do it. I’m going to have to take the gooseneck off and see if something is caught in the pea trap.”

Suddenly feeling nervous, Zula quickly brought the glass of tea to her mouth and sipped. She watched Connor as he retrieved tools from the box and then lay under the sink to work on the pipes. He certainly didn’t look like the cliché plumbers she’d seen on television commercials with their potbellies and butt cracks showing. He moved gracefully, as if he was sure of himself and knew what he was doing. He didn’t appear nervous about being in her home and, of course, Zula knew he shouldn’t be. This was his job and he was in and out of people’s homes every
day. But she couldn’t explain why
she
suddenly felt nervous. And very aware of herself.

             
She glanced down at her attire and grimaced. From cleaning up the Halloween decorations she had dirt on the knees of her jeans, as well as glitter and spider webs on her tank top.
Ugh
, she groaned to herself.

             
“I’ll be right back,” she told him.

With only a grunt for a reply, she hurried up the stairs. Zula pulled the top over her head and dropped it on the bedroom floor, then wriggled out of the dirty jeans. She didn’t want to appear as if she had changed just for him, so she put on clean jeans and another tank top and went into the bathroom to wash her hands. She glanced in the mirror and shook her head in disbelief. Her hair was in a Scrunchie on top of her head, and covered in spider web material and there were smudges of dirt on her face. “Great,
” she said to the reflection. “What a catch you are. And a Scrunchie in your hair, no less!”

             
Quickly removing the Scrunchie, she ran her hands through her hair to rid it of the spider webs and then took a few swipes at it with a brush. She turned on the water, washed her hands and face, then dried.

“Okay, not great, but at least you’re clean.
” She frowned at herself and then hurried back downstairs to find Connor putting his tools away.

             
“You’re finished?”

             
“Yes.” He gulped the tea from the glass and set it on the counter. “Good tea,” he said, “not too sweet. Anyway, there was a bunch of hair and grease caught in the pea trap, but see,” he turned on the faucet, “it’s flowing freely.”

             
“Thank you. How much do I owe you?”

             
Connor looked at his wristwatch and calculated. “Seventy-five even.”

             
“I’ll just write you a check, unless you prefer cash?”

             
“Whichever you want,” he replied. “It doesn’t matter to me. You do know you need to upgrade your pipes?” He asked as Zula wrote out the check.

             
“No. Do I?”

             
“Those pipes look like they’re about fifty years old and they’re starting to corrode. I’d recommend going with PVC. It’s a lot cheaper to install and if anything happens, a lot easier to fix or replace.”

             
“How much do you think it would cost to replace them?”

             
“The whole house should be done at the same time, and considering the size, it’s not going to be cheap. How many bathrooms do you have?”

             
“Five. Two downstairs and one in each bedroom upstairs.”

             
“I can write up an estimate if you’d like and call you with the quote later, if that’s all right?”

             
“Of course. You have my number. Call anytime.”

             
“I’ll do that, Zula,” Connor said with a smile that hit Zula in the pit of her stomach. “You have a great afternoon.”

             
“Yes, I will. Thanks.” Zula shut the door behind Connor and then peeked out the window to watch him as he walked to his vehicle. Yep, he had a mighty fine ass.

                                                                   ~ * ~

              His lips were soft and smooth as he kissed her and then tugged on her bottom lip with his teeth. His hands were everywhere at once, all over her body, exploring, exposing, and exciting her. She wanted to touch him, to rake her nails over his skin, but she was tethered to the bedposts, spread eagle and helpless. The only thing she could do was take what he offered her and writhe in the exquisite agony he caused her. His fingers felt like fire everywhere he touched her, enflaming her body, making her blood feel as if it were bubbling just beneath her skin.

             
“I can’t take anymore,” she whispered raggedly. “Take me now. I want you inside of me.”

             
His laughter was teasing and light as he sat up, straddling her thighs. His cock was hard and bounced against his stomach as he leaned over and grasped a tit in each hand. He pressed her breasts together and put his face between them, licking and sucking both nipples at once. 

“Mmm,
” he moaned as he suckled first one nipple and then the other. He placed a kiss on her chin, on each eye, the tip of her nose and then licked her lips. “I love your mouth. I love your tits. Tell me what you love, Zula. Tell me how to please you.”

             
“Touch me,” she said. “Run your hands over me body. I want to feel the rough calluses against my skin. Suck my toes and lick my legs all the way up until you reach my pussy and then dip your tongue inside of me. I want to feel you in me, your tongue, your fingers, and your dick. I want you all over me, in me, on me. Everywhere.”

             
As she spoke, his hands did as she instructed. He ran his rough palms over her silky stomach and down her legs to her perfect feet. He massaged her feet as he sucked each of her toes in and out of his mouth, and then licked around her ankles and up the insides of her legs until he reached her pussy. She was tied to the bed, unable to do anything but moan and squirm beneath his touch and he loved this feeling of power.

             
He buried his face in her pussy, sucked her clit into his mouth and then dove deep inside her with his tongue. Her hips bucked against his face as he squeezed the insides of her thighs with both hands and then inserted two fingers into the dark, wet depths of her body. She moaned louder and tossed her head from side to side as he finger-fucked her, and then slid one thumb deep into her ass. Her body clenched around his appendages as she reached her climax and the flood of juices from her pussy spilled into his hand. He lapped at her pussy, cleaning her and leaving her even wetter than before as he plunged his swollen cock into her.

             
She screamed again as his dick went inside of her to the hilt and he grasped her shoulders for leverage. He pounded her body over and over, unable to get enough of her, unable to be as deep inside of her as he wanted to be, unable to crawl into that hot, wet space and stay there. When he came, his own voice sounded as if it came from somewhere outside of him and he became lightheaded. His body dripped sweat and shook as he came, all of his energy spilling from him into her.

~ * ~

              Connor sat straight up in his bed, confused by his surroundings for just a moment. He fumbled for the bedside lamp and switched it on, then looked around. He was in his own bed, and he was alone. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and raised the blankets to look down at himself. His boxers were stuck to his skin and there was a large wet spot on them.

             
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said. “A wet dream at my age?” He threw the covers back and climbed out of bed to clean himself up and put on clean underwear. “It’s been way too long since I’ve been laid,” he muttered and went back to bed.