PROLOGUE
I sighed, feeling more at peace than I had in a long time. Had our worlds actually aligned tonight?
Rolling over onto my side, I reached out and slowly pulled my fingers through his silky, dark curls and felt the first rush of excitement. Thick, raven coils of hair fell carelessly across his shoulders; locks far thicker than those of any average man. But then again, Jonathan Maxwell is anything but average. The fact that he looks like a little boy in need of a haircut just makes him all the more appealing to me. His messy mop of curls often mask his extraordinary copper colored eyes, tempting me to hook a random curl or two behind his ears so that I can better see those beautiful eyes all the better. But he’ll have none of that. Once his mane becomes too distracting, I know he’ll simply whack it off. It won’t be long before those gorgeous waves riot back to life.
Things haven’t been exactly perfect between Jonathan and me for a little while now. And lately, we’ve hit more than our share of unexpected bumps on our zigzagged road to happily ever after. Unfortunately for me, there is still one incredible “zag” that I have yet to share with Jonathan, one that might just end us forever in a fiery emotional crash. After all, not every mortal man can handle learning that his girlfriend is a witch.
I forced myself to tuck those fears back into my memory-pantry and chose to relax instead. Mentally detouring from the inevitable stress of my big reveal, I curled closer into Jonathan’s arms and looked up into his eyes, anxious to join his warm lips with mine.
“I love you Olivia, always have, always will,” Jonathan whispered in my ear.
Those were the words I so needed to hear. Gently running my fingers across his smooth jaw line, I guided his mouth toward mine, anxious to feel his touch and ready to demonstrate my love for him.
Breathing in his intoxicating scent, I froze.
Jonathan had disappeared and in his place a strange heaviness filled the air. The blanket that had nurtured us with its warmth had suddenly grown damp, wrapping me in its icy fibers. Jonathan’s hair quickly transformed into sharp edged, straw-like creatures that rejected my attention. I tried to pull my fingers free, but they were caught up in some sort of wet, earthy mire that smelled of wet grass. My head ached and my heart raced. Something had gone wrong, terribly wrong.
CHAPTER ONE
I awoke with a start, feeling disheveled and disoriented. Rubbing my eyes, I squinted up into skies powdered with tufts of gray clouds and heard the unmistakable sound of nearby crashing waves. I closed my eyes again, longing to return to my warm nest of dreams. But it was useless; my time with Jonathan had instantly evaporated and I was left with just a memory.
I sat up slowly, shading my eyes from the tiny shards of sunlight that speared out between the gray clouds. Seagulls flew overhead and the air smelled of the sea. Heavy morning dew coated not only the grass, but all of me as well. My heartfelt empty and my body cramped from the cold bed of sod I rested on.
I had done it again!
I was no longer snuggled safely in Jonathan’s arms, nor was I at home in my own bed. I was somewhere else altogether, somewhere I had never planned to be.
Shaking my head, I let out the breath I had been holding too long, as my shoulders slumped forward in defeat. Once again, I had lost control.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, this was nothing new; it had been going on for some time now. I just hadn’t expected to happen again this morning.
Closing my eyes last night, I had pulled my blankets around me and drifted off to sleep, only to awaken here this morning. It wasn’t something that I planned. I hadn’t chosen any of this, but the traveling nightmares continued - random, unpredictable, and uncontrollable.
The thing was, I had gone three weeks without one night flying episode. And just when I thought it had all stopped and I could finally relax, wham! It began all over again and here I was. I wish I could say that I’d had something to do with it, that I had ordered my magic to take me here, but I’d be lying. A mixture of shame and distress nearly took me over the edge, before I forced myself to take a calming breath.
If there was any positive light to shed on this picture, at least this morning I recognized where I’d landed and there was something to be said for that! Every other time, I’d come to, frazzled, afraid and unaware of where I was, how I got there or how I was going to get back home.
Charged with a newly found determination, I stood up; convinced that today was going to be different. I was going to make it different. I was sick and tired of being tossed around by the Fates. I was in charge; my destiny was my own to decide. Today would be the day I would discover exactly what was happening to me and why. And today, I would make it all stop… I hoped.
The morning breeze brought a chill and I wrapped my arms protectively around myself. Shivering, I glanced down to find that my pajamas had become transparent, wet through and through from the damp grass. A stray leaf had lodged itself in my hair and I swiped at it, hoping that there were no others hidden in my nest of wet hair.
Cold to the bone, goose bumps riddled my body, made worse by the heavy sea fog that saturated the surrounding grounds. Only my cheeks were warm, hot with embarrassment as my nude body became even more visible through my pajamas. My teeth chattered as my bare feet sank into the damp, mucky soil. Only my toenails, recently painted with Pink Polynesian polish, were visible through the mud. I shook the cobwebs from my brain and took a deep breath as a wave of self pity threatened my spirits once again. A quick conversation with myself coupled with a teaspoon of self-admonishment gave me the strength to pull myself back together.
I needed to think fast, realizing that the approaching hours would surely bring a slew of hillside hikers. I needed to get out of here before someone saw me, but how was I going to get home? What made it all the worse was that my magic had been acting up lately like a spoiled child, becoming less than dependable.
No reliable spell, no car, no phone, no money! And, of course, the more pressing issue of my see through, soggy jammies?
I sighed, feeling more at peace than I had in a long time. Had our worlds actually aligned tonight?
Rolling over onto my side, I reached out and slowly pulled my fingers through his silky, dark curls and felt the first rush of excitement. Thick, raven coils of hair fell carelessly across his shoulders; locks far thicker than those of any average man. But then again, Jonathan Maxwell is anything but average. The fact that he looks like a little boy in need of a haircut just makes him all the more appealing to me. His messy mop of curls often mask his extraordinary copper colored eyes, tempting me to hook a random curl or two behind his ears so that I can better see those beautiful eyes all the better. But he’ll have none of that. Once his mane becomes too distracting, I know he’ll simply whack it off. It won’t be long before those gorgeous waves riot back to life.
Things haven’t been exactly perfect between Jonathan and me for a little while now. And lately, we’ve hit more than our share of unexpected bumps on our zigzagged road to happily ever after. Unfortunately for me, there is still one incredible “zag” that I have yet to share with Jonathan, one that might just end us forever in a fiery emotional crash. After all, not every mortal man can handle learning that his girlfriend is a witch.
I forced myself to tuck those fears back into my memory-pantry and chose to relax instead. Mentally detouring from the inevitable stress of my big reveal, I curled closer into Jonathan’s arms and looked up into his eyes, anxious to join his warm lips with mine.
“I love you Olivia, always have, always will,” Jonathan whispered in my ear.
Those were the words I so needed to hear. Gently running my fingers across his smooth jaw line, I guided his mouth toward mine, anxious to feel his touch and ready to demonstrate my love for him.
Breathing in his intoxicating scent, I froze.
Jonathan had disappeared and in his place a strange heaviness filled the air. The blanket that had nurtured us with its warmth had suddenly grown damp, wrapping me in its icy fibers. Jonathan’s hair quickly transformed into sharp edged, straw-like creatures that rejected my attention. I tried to pull my fingers free, but they were caught up in some sort of wet, earthy mire that smelled of wet grass. My head ached and my heart raced. Something had gone wrong, terribly wrong.
CHAPTER ONE
I awoke with a start, feeling disheveled and disoriented. Rubbing my eyes, I squinted up into skies powdered with tufts of gray clouds and heard the unmistakable sound of nearby crashing waves. I closed my eyes again, longing to return to my warm nest of dreams. But it was useless; my time with Jonathan had instantly evaporated and I was left with just a memory.
I sat up slowly, shading my eyes from the tiny shards of sunlight that speared out between the gray clouds. Seagulls flew overhead and the air smelled of the sea. Heavy morning dew coated not only the grass, but all of me as well. My heartfelt empty and my body cramped from the cold bed of sod I rested on.
I had done it again!
I was no longer snuggled safely in Jonathan’s arms, nor was I at home in my own bed. I was somewhere else altogether, somewhere I had never planned to be.
Shaking my head, I let out the breath I had been holding too long, as my shoulders slumped forward in defeat. Once again, I had lost control.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, this was nothing new; it had been going on for some time now. I just hadn’t expected to happen again this morning.
Closing my eyes last night, I had pulled my blankets around me and drifted off to sleep, only to awaken here this morning. It wasn’t something that I planned. I hadn’t chosen any of this, but the traveling nightmares continued - random, unpredictable, and uncontrollable.
The thing was, I had gone three weeks without one night flying episode. And just when I thought it had all stopped and I could finally relax, wham! It began all over again and here I was. I wish I could say that I’d had something to do with it, that I had ordered my magic to take me here, but I’d be lying. A mixture of shame and distress nearly took me over the edge, before I forced myself to take a calming breath.
If there was any positive light to shed on this picture, at least this morning I recognized where I’d landed and there was something to be said for that! Every other time, I’d come to, frazzled, afraid and unaware of where I was, how I got there or how I was going to get back home.
Charged with a newly found determination, I stood up; convinced that today was going to be different. I was going to make it different. I was sick and tired of being tossed around by the Fates. I was in charge; my destiny was my own to decide. Today would be the day I would discover exactly what was happening to me and why. And today, I would make it all stop… I hoped.
The morning breeze brought a chill and I wrapped my arms protectively around myself. Shivering, I glanced down to find that my pajamas had become transparent, wet through and through from the damp grass. A stray leaf had lodged itself in my hair and I swiped at it, hoping that there were no others hidden in my nest of wet hair.
Cold to the bone, goose bumps riddled my body, made worse by the heavy sea fog that saturated the surrounding grounds. Only my cheeks were warm, hot with embarrassment as my nude body became even more visible through my pajamas. My teeth chattered as my bare feet sank into the damp, mucky soil. Only my toenails, recently painted with Pink Polynesian polish, were visible through the mud. I shook the cobwebs from my brain and took a deep breath as a wave of self pity threatened my spirits once again. A quick conversation with myself coupled with a teaspoon of self-admonishment gave me the strength to pull myself back together.
I needed to think fast, realizing that the approaching hours would surely bring a slew of hillside hikers. I needed to get out of here before someone saw me, but how was I going to get home? What made it all the worse was that my magic had been acting up lately like a spoiled child, becoming less than dependable.
No reliable spell, no car, no phone, no money! And, of course, the more pressing issue of my see through, soggy jammies?