Page 8 of Spirit Witch

“You keep calling me a strange name.It’s a word I don’t recognize,” I said, trying to focus on anything other than the desire to kiss him that was rising within me.

“Nizhoni,” he replied and nodded his head.The action sent a ripple of dark hair over his shoulder and holy crap, was that sexy.

“This is my dream,” I stated, despite his previous objections.“So, why don’t I know what that word means?”

“You never did listen very well, Nizhoni.But I will repeat myself for you.Who says this is your dream?”

His retort was accompanied by a wicked smile, and I was truly intrigued.This wasn’t the way my dreams usually worked.Typically, I was alone and in a place I had visited while awake.Like a department store or city park, somewhere I’d actually been to once upon a time.

But not this time.

This dreamscape was familiar, yet foreign.It was the most beautiful meadow I had ever seen, but I had never been there before.The purple mists swirling about pulsed like magic, and the glittery butterflies were nothing like the ones I’d seen in real life.

Not to mention the fact, I had certainly never ever conjured a dream lover before.Make that an extremely good-looking dream lover.He was staring at me, his gorgeous head cocked to the side, and I wondered at his ancestry.He could have easily come from anywhere and nowhere all at once.His broad forehead, perfectly arched black eyebrows, thick lashes, glittering eyes, plump lips, and bronzed skin made it impossible for me to hazard a guess.

That’s because he’s just a dream, Enid.My nagging inner voice reminded me.

“Well?Tell me whatNeej-oh-neemeans,” I demanded, enunciating the word as carefully as I could.

But he just grinned wider and shook his head, sending waves of black hair cascading over his shoulder.My fingers itched to touch it, but I refrained.

Barely.

He backed up a step, releasing his hold on me, and I found myself wanting to close the distance.

“So, um, can we fly with these?”I asked, changing the subject again and looking to him for some sort of guidance.

“You tell me, Nizhoni.You’re the one who thinks this is a dream,” he teased.

I watched dream boy as he flapped his beautiful wings and rose a few feet off the ground.He winked, then took off faster than my eyes could track him, touching down before I even had the chance to scramble to the other side of the meadow.Watching him stole my breath, and my chest squeezed tight, feeling full for the first time in like, ever.He came back, wings flapping lazily, and settled back onto the soft grass on his feet.

“See, Nizhoni.It’s possible.Now, you try.”

I frowned, trying to envision the wings on my back moving.Nothing I did made it happen, and I was soon frustrated with myself.Insofar as dreams went, this one kind of sucked.

“Stop thinking,” he said right beside my ear, and I shivered involuntarily.

He stood directly in front of me, head cocked to the side as he stared me down.I was taken aback by his stark, masculine beauty.He wore a pair of dark brown leather pants with laces up the side.Something I would picture on a rock star or country singer, maybe a cowboy at one time or another.They looked good on him, as did the leather boots I saw peeking out from the bottoms.On the contrary, I was barefoot, but the soft earth beneath my feet felt cool and soft.

I never wore shoes if I could help it.But footwear wasn’t my concern at the moment.Dream boy was looking at me like he could see into my very soul, and I just couldn’t understand why someone I made up was having such an effect.

Was it possible to crush on a figment of my imagination?

I supposed it could happen.Look at Mabe and the others, always reading romance novels and crushing on new book boyfriends every other week.I never had time to read.I was always too tired when I got back to the room to do anything besides eat and pass out.Dodging fades wherever I went took up a lot of energy.

“Who are you?Have I seen you before?I must have, otherwise why would I be dreaming about you,” I said in a rush.

This was my first fictional crush.But dream boy wasn’t from any movie or book.I racked my brain trying to remember where I might have seen hide or hair of this handsome manifestation, but I simply could not recall.He was better than fiction, though.At least, in my dreams, he was.

“I think you really don’t know the answers to those questions, do you, Nizhoni?”He touched my face and sadness flashed in his deep brown eyes, sending sparks of recognition flowing through me.

The strength of that emotion moved me, so I gasped, feeling his grief as if it were my own.I wanted to console him, to comfort the strangely beautiful dream boy I’d somehow conjured.I turned in his arms and leaned into his warm, hard body.Truth be told, it felt really good to be held by him.So good, it started to feel real.

“Don’t be sad.It’s only a dream,” I whispered, eyes wide as he leaned down closer to me.

Was he going to kiss me?

I hoped so.My heart raced inside my chest, beating a hundred miles per hour.I swayed on my feet, drawn to him like a moth to the flame.Everything hinged on this moment, and I wanted him to claim my lips with a desperation I had never felt.

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