The Magic in her Gift (14 page)

Sara set the suitcase beside
the door and then walked over to look out the window. The moonlight
glistened across the tranquil ocean waves. She looked down at the
sandy cove. The memories of her dream lover hopelessly entwined
with her thoughts of Mel.
Sometimes I feel
as if they’re the same man, but they don’t look alike. Both of them
make me feel alive in ways I never thought possible.

She closed the blinds and
walked over to the dresser. Her reflection in the mirror seemed
alien.
How can I marry Bart knowing I’ll
never have children? Can I live my life never having a family of my
own?
Sara closed her eyes tightly. “I can’t
do it,” she whispered. Her eyelids flew open and she took a shaky
breath. “I won’t do it.” Swallowing hard, she nodded at her
reflection and then switched off the light before climbing into the
bed.
How the hell am I going to tell Bart
I’ve changed my mind?
Sara punched her
pillow twice and let herself relax.

Sara looked out toward the
ocean and frowned. “How did I get out here?” She was standing on
the balcony outside her bedroom. A movement on the beach caught her
eye and she groaned. “I’m dreaming.” She studied the figure walking
toward the house. “If he’s here, it has to be a dream.”

Meloir walked steadily up
the steps to the porch, his eyes never straying from her gaze.
Without a word, he pulled Sara into his arms and buried his face in
her hair. Without warning, he bent and lifted her in his hard arms,
carrying her straight back to her bedroom. Desire burned hot in his
eyes as he let her slide down his body. He drew her chin up and
captured her lips with his, delicately licking around the outer
edges of her mouth before slanting his mouth over hers.

Meloir pulled her fingers
away from his arms and kissed the tip of each one before he sat
down on the bed and pulled her gently between his legs, sliding his
hands around to cup her buttocks. He leaned close and flicked his
tongue against hers right before sweeping through her mouth, taking
her lips in a probing kiss. Their tongues twined together in an
erotic duel.

“
Meloir,” she whispered,
“why can’t you be real?”

“
Shh,” he crooned. “I am
real, my Heart Mate.” Meloir moved to her neck with his lips and
nibbled at her throat. He sucked lightly at first, then harder,
leaving his mark. His hand ran over her almost reverently from her
shoulder to her hip and then up again, cupping one breast. Sara
moaned and arched her back when he fingered her hypersensitive
nipple.

Sara wanted to feel his
touch on her bare skin. “Please, touch me.”

Meloir’s fingers sneaked
beneath her gown, his thumbs lightly running over her hardening
nubs. He pinched and kneaded her nipple, causing her to moan
louder. His hands grabbed the bottom of her gown and yanked it over
her head.

“
You’re so beautiful,
Sarafina.”

She caressed his cheek with
a trembling hand. “You make me feel beautiful, Meloir.” In a bold
move, she took his head between her hands and guided it to her
aching breast.

Meloir licked her nipple,
driving her higher as his hands roamed her rounded body. He lifted
her breast in his hand and circled her nipple with his tongue just
before he sucked it deep inside his mouth, making maddeningly slow
circles around the peak.

His hands smoothed down her
sides to her panties where his fingertips toyed lazily with her
vaginal lips through the damp cotton. Meloir hooked his fingers
under the waistband and pulled, slipping them past her hips. He
grabbed her hands when she tried to cover herself.

“
No, love, never hide
yourself.” He reached between her legs and ran his finger through
her feminine curls. “You’re so wet and glistening.”

“
Oh, God,” Sara groaned.
She could feel the heat of embarrassment in her face.

Meloir stood and scooped
Sara into his arms and then laid her gently on the mattress. He
stripped his clothes off and crawled onto the bed, settling between
her spread thighs. He nudged her legs farther apart and used his
fingers to spread the lips of her sex. He brushed the hood of her
throbbing clit and then probed her opening, parting the petals of
flesh and sliding one large finger along her cleft.

“
You’re so hot, and so
creamy,” he groaned. He teased her clit, pinching it sensuously
between his thumb and forefinger and then leaned in and ran his
tongue up the slit of her pussy. He laved her most intimate place
with his moist tongue, stroking down her slit and back up. She
arched her back, straining toward the coming release.

Meloir took her clit between
his lips, swirling his tongue around the sensitive flesh before
biting down softly with his teeth. Sara exploded, crying out his
name as waves of pleasure washed over her. Meloir lapped and sucked
until the last wave of pleasure receded.

“
You’re so beautiful when
you come.” He moved beside her on the bed.

Sara gasped at the feel of
his warm length against her soft body. She could feel the hard
length of his cock pressed against the inside of her thigh. Sara
brushed her lips against Meloir’s chest and dragged her tongue
through the sparse hair. She nipped lightly at his nipple and
trailed her hand down his taut abdomen. Her fingers gripped around
his hard shaft.

“
Yes,” he cried, making a
groaning sound deep in his throat. “Yes, touch me Sarafina.” He
closed his eyes and made a harsh sound as her hand stroked firmly
up and down his cock. “I love feeling your hands on my
skin.”

Sara grinned. “I love being
able to make that sound come out of you.” She flicked her tongue
out and dragged it slowly over the tip, tasting the pre-cum
gathering there. His hips began to thrust, moving his shaft in and
out of her mouth. Gathering her courage, she took him deep, feeling
him hit the back of her throat, and swallowed.

Meloir jerked, ramming his
cock even further and then quickly pulled away. He flipped her onto
her back and forced her thighs apart with his hips. “I can’t wait
any longer, Sarafina. I need you now.” He suddenly mounted her and
thrust deep. “You’re so damn tight,” he growled. He flexed his
hips, sheathing himself to the hilt in one stroke.

Sara’s eyes closed and she
locked her legs around his waist. He withdrew and thrust deeply
inside her again and again, holding onto her thighs as he pumped
between her legs.

“
Meloir,” she cried, her
inner walls clutching at his cock when she came. He leaned down and
moaned into her mouth as he released his seed deep inside her. Sara
held on tight, afraid to let him go.

Meloir pressed his head to
Sara’s breast and closed his eyes. “We have to say goodbye now,
Sarafina.”

Sara pushed him back and
stared into his eyes. She could see her own anguish reflected in
the blue pools. “Why?” she asked fearfully.

He fell onto the mattress
and pulled her body close to his. “You’re going home and I can’t
follow you.” He looked at her yearningly. “If you could find the
magic, we could stay together, Sarafina. No one would ever be able
to part us again.”

Sara closed her eyes to shut
out her pain. “There isn’t any magic, Meloir. There never
was.”

Meloir caressed her cheek
and placed a light kiss against her lips. “I’m sorry, my Heart
Mate. The magic’s there, but you have to be able to find it on your
own.” He raised her fingers to his lips and kissed each one. “I’ll
miss you, Sarafina. You’ll always be in my heart. If you ever find
the magic, call for me and I’ll be there.”

“
No,” Sara screamed as she
wakened. Her hand brushed the tears from her cheek. She twisted
sharply toward the window when she heard an echoing
voice.

“
Don’t make the same
mistakes I did, Sarafina. Find the magic and follow your heart.
Make your true love’s wishes come true.”

“
Grandmother,” Sara sobbed.
“Tell me how to find the magic.”

Chapter 8

Sara found Bart in the kitchen, talking
on the phone. She’d been unable to go back to sleep after waking
from her erotic dream. It had taken most of the night, but she’d
finally realized she wasn’t willing to give up her dream of having
a family of her own. Now she just had to break the news to
Bart.

“
Okay, we’ll be ready when
you get here.” Bart hung up the phone and smiled at Sara. “Good
morning, dear. Did you sleep well?”

Sara’s mouth dropped open. She’d never
heard that level of concern in his voice before. “Uh, no, actually
I didn’t.”

“
I’m sorry, Sara.” He pulled
out a chair. “Come and take a seat and I’ll get you a cup of
coffee.”

Frowning, Sara walked over and let him
hold the chair while she sat. Determinedly, she set her jaw. “I’d
rather have a Pepsi.”

Bart squared his shoulders, stiffening
visibly, and after a moment’s hesitation, got a Pepsi from the
fridge. He popped the top and handed it to her, chuckling. “This
isn’t really good for you, but here you go.”

Sara let out the breath she’d been
holding. “Thanks.” She took a quick swallow and looked up at her
fiancé. “Who was on the phone?”

“
Elias wanted to make sure
we’d be ready to leave pretty soon. He said the weather shows clear
sailing today so we can leave whenever we’re ready.”

Sara nodded toward the empty chair.
“Could you sit down for a minute? I need to talk to you about
something important.”

Bart grabbed his cup and settled into
the chair with exaggerated casualness. “Yes, I need to talk to you,
too, Sara.”

She took a deep breath. “Bart, I
can’t—”

He waved his hand in dismissal. “I’ve
changed my mind,” he announced.

Her brows drew together, her eyes
narrowing. “Changed your mind about what?”

Bart leaned back, relaxed, at ease and
in control of the moment. “I’ve decided we should have a
baby.”

Sara felt her eyes water as she stared
at him incredulously. “You, you want a baby? With me?” she asked
haltingly.

He crossed his arms across his chest.
“Yes, I do.” He picked up his coffee and blew on the brew. “I
thought about what you said last night.” He took a small sip. “I
think it would be good for you to focus your energies on a baby.”
He narrowed his eyes. “As long as you understand I’m going to
ensure that my practice will go to Michael someday.”

“
Your practice?” Sara said
in confusion.

He waved his hand in the air. “I’m
confident I’ll have my own law practice within the next five years.
It’ll be my legacy to leave it to Michael.”

Sara watched as Bart sipped
at his morning caffeine.
He’s offering to
give me what I want. I was ready to walk away and now I can have it
all.
Sara frowned. “I’d never allow you to
treat any child of ours any differently.”

His eyes narrowed. “Give me a little
credit, Sara. I’d never treat one of my children better than the
other. I’ll love them equally. I just want my professional legacy
to go to my firstborn. Is that too much to ask?”

Sara dropped her chin, her
hands tightening around the soft drink can. “I’m sorry, Bart. I
know you’d love any child we created together.” She raised her eyes
to his and studied his face.
I’m not
getting any younger. If I don’t take him up on his offer, I might
never get another chance.
She let out a
shaky breath. “I just want a baby to love, Bart. It doesn’t matter
to me who gets what when we’re gone.”

He reached across the table and took
her hand. “Then let’s go home and get married, Sara. We can start
on that baby right away.”

Sara stared at his hand and wondered
how much the fear of losing her new fortune had prompted Bart’s
offer. Tiredly, she placed her hand in his. She didn’t really care
what his motives were. She was going to have a child that would
love her, unconditionally. She gave him a tentative smile. “I’d
like that a lot.”

“
Got any coffee in the
house?” Elias’s voice called out.

Sara jerked her hand back and wiped at
the moisture in her eyes. “In the kitchen, Elias,” she called out.
She glanced away from the self-satisfied smirk on Bart’s
face.

“
Good morning, all. It’s a
beautiful day for sailing today.” Elias’s cheer was infectious as
he came strolling into the kitchen.

Bart stood and nodded toward the
counter. “Help yourself to the coffee, Elias. I’m going to finish
getting ready and bring the bags down.” He glanced at Sara. “Have
you finished packing?”

She nodded. “My suitcase’s by the door.
I don’t have anything left upstairs.”

“
Excellent,” he beamed. “I
won’t be long.” He stopped to set his cup in the sink before
leaving the kitchen.

Elias poured himself a cup of coffee
and took Bart’s chair. He peered at her over the rim of his cup.
“You okay, Sara?”

She nodded, afraid her voice wouldn’t
be steady if she answered him.

He reached over and laid his hand on
her arm. “It’s not too late, little girl. You say the word and I’ll
take him back to the mainland and send him on his way.”