Page 7 of Enchanted Kisses
He stood several feet away, looking exactly as I remembered him. Was he real or was my mind lost in a delusion I couldn’t escape?
My gaze locked with his turquoise blues, and my chest ached. More tears pooled and my vision blurred, but I refused to blink. What if he disappeared?
“Is it really you?” My voice was faint.
Caiden gave a tense nod, his gaze jumping from me to the guy behind me.
Unable to resist, I stepped toward him. My knees felt wobbly and weak. I lifted my arm, my fingers reaching…to what? Slap him? Poke him? Grab him and pull him close?
Halfway to Caiden, my legs locked in place and the air chilled.
Fingers as cold as ice pressed against my temples.
I squeezed my eyelids and winced in pain.
“Not so fast, pet,” the guy said in his accented voice. “I gave you permission to call him. I didn’t say you could do more.”
Burning devoured the coldness in my head and spread down my neck to my shoulders. I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound emerged.
“No!” Caiden lurched toward me, his eyes wild with fear.
Darkness swallowed me whole.
2
Best Dream Ever
My body shook with small tremors as I woke.
Slowly, I blinked my eyes open. Orange lights glowed from a familiar dashboard. I was in my car, slumped in the passenger seat, with my head resting on the center console.
I tried to sit up, but my body wouldn’t cooperate. The scent of oak and nutmeg stirred sensations inside me.
“Caiden?” I croaked.
“I’m here, Lily.” Gentle fingers brushed the hair from my face. “Don’t try to move. Not yet.”
His familiar voice and accent were like music to my ears—the sweetest lullaby. I melted into the leather seat and let my eyelids close, a smile easing across my face.
“Wake up, Lilypad.” Caiden caressed my cheek. “We’re here.”
“Just a little longer.” I wasn’t ready to wake from this wonderful dream.
“Is your father home? I don’t see his truck.”
“I don’t want to talk about my dad. I want to talk about you.” I didn’t know whether I was speaking aloud or in my head; I only knew I was content.
“Right then.” A door clicked open and then closed. Another one opened, followed by a soft chuckle. “You look adorable curled up like that. I almost don’t want to move you.”
“Then don’t.” My voice held no punch.
Hands slid under my body and lifted me from the seat. With my eyes still closed, my head lolled against something warm, cottony, and delicious.Caiden. I nestled more into his chest.
“Mmm.”Best dream ever.Never want to wake up…“Why did you leave me?” I asked the same question in every dream because I never got an answer.
“I had to,” he said. “But it was never you I was leaving. And now that I’m back, I can stay.”
I laughed weakly into his shirt. “You’re not Caiden. He would never say that. He’d just give me a look.”
