Dreamlike State (The Magic of Black Forest Book 1) (27 page)

I would have preferred to stay home but Colleen had other plans. She took me shopping, claiming that I needed a new wardrobe and she was just the person to help me find one. We spent hours shopping. I ended up buying four new outfits, one that Colleen insisted I wear home. She said Bradley would love it, so of course I wore it.

The men weren’t back when we got to my house. Seager was nowhere to be found either, so I assumed he was with the guys. After Coll and I unloaded the truck, I hung up my new clothes and we took a walk back.

The guys were almost in sight when Colleen said, “Uh-oh. Maybe we should wait for them at the house Nat.”

“No, I don’t think so. What do you mean by uh-oh?” I squinted my eyes to see what Colleen was referring to but I couldn’t see anything but forest. “What do you see?”

“Female vampires…” She turned, and then looked at me and grabbed my arms saying, “No worries Brad and Jess are finishing up the bridge. The women are with Dave. Remember to trust Brad.”

“I do trust him.” I started walking towards the bridge when Seager came running out of the thicket. He was whimpering excitedly. He ran at me so fast that he didn’t have time to stop before he collided with me, knocking me down to the ground. It’s the first time in a long time that my ribs didn’t hurt.

“I’ve missed you. What took you so long? You had both Brad and I worried.”
He licked my entire face.

“Colleen!”
That’s the only word I needed to say telepathically. He complimented me on my new outfit while I hugged and kissed him. We haven’t been apart since the beginning of the year. Next time I think I’ll take him with me.

“So who’s here, Seager?”

“Some of Dave’s groupies showed up uninvited. Brad told Dave you wouldn’t be happy about having them here but Dave just responded that he wasn’t living with you, Brad was. That he shouldn’t have to give up dating just because Brad did. There seems to be some friction between the two of them today.”

“Good to know. I don’t want those two fighting because of me. I’ll behave.”

It was hard at first. When I walked up, I noticed the eyelash girl was there and flirting with Bradley. I waved hello to Dave and his girls as I passed then ran up to Bradley and Jess. This time when I looked at the girl, Cheryl, who longed for my man, I saw her through my new eyes. I knew instantly that she was a vampire. Instead of being jealous and making any rude gestures or comments, I politely said hello and thanked her for coming.

I danced towards Bradley, twirling around. When I couldn’t get any closer without knocking him over, I stopped and asked, “What do think about my new outfit?” I could tell he was pleased that I didn’t let her get to me.

“My love, once again you amaze me. I’ve missed you. You’ve been gone too long.” Then he kissed me. When he finally let me go, I giggled. I was glad I didn’t get upset.

The rest of the day was wonderful. I took over by being Bradley’s assistant. I handed him tools and we flirted with each other until the bridge was finished. I ignored the sighs that some of the other women made. After we cleaned up, the four of us went back to the house while Dave and his groupies went deeper into the woods.

Jess and Colleen stayed for dinner but left soon after. Jesse was complaining that he hadn’t had alone time with Colleen in over two days. He had some lost time to make up for.

As we sat on the front porch enjoying the night air I asked Bradley if he and Dave were fighting. I mentioned that there seemed to be some friction between them earlier.

“Dave and I are fine. He’s just upset that he hasn’t found a steady woman yet. All of the sudden he wants to settle down. I told him that’ll never happen as long as he keeps those other women around.” He chuckled. I heard the sound of wind chimes. Instinctively, I went to the edge of the porch to see what was out there but it was too dark.

“Natalia, please go into the house, someone’s here.” As he guided me into the house, he locked his gaze on me and knew that I was already aware of our visitor. “How did you know?”

“I’ll explain later, who is it?” I ask hoping that I wouldn’t have to explain everything later. It was inevitable I would have to tell him once we got rid of our unwelcomed guest.

We heard a knock at the door, which Bradley insisted on answering. He had me wait in the kitchen. He knew who was there but would not tell me. I tried to listen but I could barely make out what he was saying. All I really heard was him asking what they were doing here and why did she bring him by knowing how we felt about him.

I got a sharp pain in my stomach then a picture of Anthony flashed through my mind. I had totally forgotten about him. Who would have told him where we were? I walked out into the living room to see what was going on, but Bradley wasn’t there. When I peeked through the curtains, I saw him staring down the drive watching whomever it was leaving. In a blink of an eye, he was gone. I grabbed the door handle to fling it open but Seager stopped me, telling me that Bradley would explain everything when he returned, and that I should trust him. That comment frustrated me. Lately, everyone is telling me to trust him. I do, beyond a shadow of a doubt, trust him. I’ll have to be more observant to see how it is that everyone is getting this impression.

It took a while before I heard the wind chimes again. I peeked through the curtains and saw Bradley standing in the drive looking up at the trees. The very next second, he was walking in the front door. I didn’t even see him move.

“So the trees told you someone was coming?” He said inquisitively. “When did you do that?” He looked disappointed that I didn’t tell him about it sooner.

“You heard the wind chimes? I did it a few weeks ago. I was hoping to get advanced notice of any kind of intruders. I guess I didn’t do the spell right if you heard it.”

“I didn’t hear a thing. When I got to a certain point on your driveway, the leaves started to rustle even though there’s no breeze. I noticed it the other day but couldn’t put my finger on it. If I didn’t know about you being a witch I would have never put two and two together. So don’t worry, your spell worked.” He reached out, grabbed me, and pulled me to him.

“Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I wasn’t sure if it worked or not. Since we’re on the subject, I put a shield around the upstairs as well. I had to block anyone from going up there, to protect my book, amongst other things.” He let me go before I could hold onto him. He walked up the steps with determination only to be met with my invisible wall. The wall threw him down a few steps after he walked into it.

“I guess that spell works too.” I shrugged my shoulders sheepishly. “It has nothing to do with you, please understand that no one can ever get their hands on my book. In the wrong hands there could be severe consequences for me, you, and Seager.” I felt as though I betrayed him by keeping this information from him.

I was relieved when he ceased my rambling by putting his finger over my lips, “Natalia, stop explaining why you did what you did. I know it has nothing to do with me even though I would have liked to have known sooner.” He stared at my lips while he spoke. I could see it in his eyes that just by touching me he was tempted to kiss me. The thought made me smile. At that very moment, his lips were on mine. As I came up for air, I ruined the moment by asking him who it was at the door. His eyes turned hard.

“It was Cheryl. She brought Anthony over, said they wanted to hang out.”

“Why would she do that? Are they going together?” I wished I would have put my shield down to see what they were up to. I didn’t think of it until now.

“Anthony said he bumped into Cheryl at the bar. He overheard her talking about us and asked if she could bring him by. He wanted to apologize for how he acted last year. I think he tricked Cheryl into bringing him by. She’s always wanted to be with him. She was just trying to please him.”

“Anthony’s back? Great.” I looked at him and worry consumed his eyes. He was definitely wondering what I was thinking. So to put his mind at ease I asked, “What are we going to do about Anthony?” I paused for a minute. “I thought Cheryl liked you? Please explain.” Relieved that I didn’t hide my feelings from him, he smiled, and then sat on the couch pulling me onto his lap.

“I’m not sure what we’re going to do about Anthony yet. Tomorrow I’ll talk to Jesse and Dave. Maybe they’ll have some insight as to what we should do. About Cheryl, she has always wanted Anthony. They used to date when she was human.” He stared at me waiting for a response but there was no need. He already knew I’d created a list of questions in my mind.

“Two years ago Anthony and Cheryl dated. One night Anthony lost control and bit her. Instead of finishing her off, he left her there by herself.” –What did he mean by finish her off? Is that what he would do to me if he ever lost control? -- “Dave and I found her in the studio but it was too late for us to do anything for her. We waited by her side while she died and was reborn as a vampire.

“When she woke up she was frightened. We took her out to feed and taught her the ways of a vampire. We explained how it had happened and that she should stay out of direct sunlight. The difficult part was telling her that she couldn’t go see her parents anymore. Being close to them, it was very hard for her to process. In their eyes she died in a car accident.” His apologetic eyes said everything, he felt horrible about her situation. I touched his hand to comfort him and to encourage him to continue.

When he didn’t I asked, “Why didn’t Anthony stay with her or come back once he knew what he’d done?”

“It’s hard for me to believe that even after he did that to Cheryl, I still let him in my life. I believed him when he said he wanted to make it up to her. I just never noticed that he would disappear anytime she came around. It was after you and I met, after he started chasing you, that he explained why he did what he did. He said that her blood didn’t taste good to him and that after she changed she was no longer appealing to him. Though, that didn’t seem to stop him from having sex with her.” He shook his head with disgust.

“Bradley, have you ever had sex with Cheryl?” The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop myself. I don’t know why it bothered me so much. I had this gut feeling that they’d slept together.

Without looking at me he confessed, “Yes, a couple of times.” Even though I already knew they’d slept together, I was still shocked by his honesty.

“Was it before or after she became a vampire?”

“After. I told you Natalia that you are the only human I’ve ever been with. No other has ever taken hold of my heart as you have. You must believe me.” Holding my hand in his he searched my eyes for confirmation.

“I believe you. I knew there had to be something more going on between the two of you…”

“There’s nothing going on between the two of us. We’re just friends. The times that it did happen, I was weak. I never knew what love was until I met you. I confused sex for love.” He kissed my lips tenderly. “Can we please talk about something else?”

“Sure.” He smiled appreciatively. That smile quickly went away when I asked, “When will we have sex?” Again, I broke a promise I made to myself. Here I was trying to guilt him into having sex with me. I’m such a selfish person. “Ignore that question, Bradley. I’m sorry. I know we can never do that.” I quickly embraced him.

He kissed the top of my head and sighed. “I wouldn’t say n
ever
, Natalia. I think my self control is getting better and…”

Before he could finish my phone rang. Frustrated, I answered it. I forgot about our conversation as soon as Colleen asked me to be her Maid of Honor. Of course, I said yes. I was relieved to find out that Bradley was the Best Man.

After I hung up the phone, I jumped back onto Bradley’s lap and told him that I get to be in the wedding party. I crown my fingers around his neck and kissed him passionately. With his hands on my hips, he pushed his hips upward, pressing his erection against the center of my thighs.

Breathlessly he murmured, “I didn’t think you were into marriage.” Pulling my lips from his neck, I stared at him bewildered as to what could have made him think that.

“Had I asked you to marry me, would you have said yes?” He whispered the question into my ear then slowly caressed his lips along my jaw line.

Gasping I replied, “I don’t know, you never asked.” I giggled softly into his ear.

With both his hands cupped on each side of my face, looking me in the eyes, he asked, “Will you marry me, Natalia?” I could only imagine what I must have looked like. I probably looked like a goofball. For the longest time I just stared at him. It was as if I was waiting for the punch line. It wasn’t until he took his hands from my face and his eyes from mine that I realized he was serious.

Quickly I grabbed his scruffy chin and said, “Yes, I will.”

Chapter 18

Since Jesse and Colleen are getting married in less than a month, Bradley and I decided to wait until after their wedding to announce that we were getting married. We didn’t want to take away from their moment.

The time passed by quickly and before we knew it, it was the day before their wedding. Colleen stayed at my house for the night. I invited Cheryl to join us for a girl’s night. We were going to do girly things like our nails and hair.

Since Bradley told me about Cheryl, I made an effort to include her more. She turned out to be a nice person. I was shocked to learn that the reason she wore so much perfume was because Anthony said she smelled disgusting. I told her, kindly, that she wore too much and she would be happier if she’d cut Anthony out of her life all together. In the last month, we’d become friends. Not like Melissa and me, or even like Colleen and I, but friends still the same. I only had one request; she could never bring Anthony around my house again. She agreed.

While the three of us stayed at my house, Bradley and Dave took Jesse out for his bachelor party. I asked Bradley what they were up to and he said I’d have to trust him. I did, so I didn’t push him for an answer. He also mentioned that he wouldn’t be staying with me tonight. That he planned to hang with the guys all night. I was a little disappointed until he reminded me that we would have to do the same thing when it came time for our wedding and we should consider this a practice run.

As it turned out, we had a blast. We did our fingers and toes. All through the evening, we took lots of goofy pictures, printed them out, and made a collage to put up at the reception. We didn’t stay up too late, well at least Coll and I didn’t. We, unlike Cheryl, needed sleep.

I was just about to fall asleep when I heard the wind chimes. I went to the living room and Cheryl was sitting there in the dark watching chick flicks.

“Is everything okay, Nat? If I’m keeping you up I can leave.”

“Everything is fine. I just wanted to check the locks.” I jumped back startled when the deadbolt unlocked itself. Sensing my fear, both Seager and Cheryl jumped in front of me, knocking me onto the steps.

As the door opened, Cheryl moved quickly through it with Seager following right behind her. I shut the door behind them unsure what to do next. I heard growling and snarling outside then I heard Cheryl yell out. Prepared to defend my dog and new friend, I whipped the door open and was about to throw a spell when Bradley appeared at the door. His hands up in the air with his palms forward he whispered, “I give up.” I peeked out the door to see Cheryl and Dave laughing while Seager was trotting towards the house.

Bradley pulled me outside and shut the door quietly. “I thought you’d be asleep. I wanted to surprise you.”

“Well you did. Where’s Jesse?” I laughed.

“He’s sleeping.” Before saying anything else, he kissed me.

“Brad couldn’t go an entire night without seeing you. We didn’t expect this one…” – He pointed at Cheryl. – “…to attack us.” He chuckled as he wrapped his arm around her waist. She giggled quietly.

As Bradley was thanking Cheryl for protecting me, I had a thought. Cheryl would be good for Dave. Neither of them knew it yet but they belonged together. With my help, they’d realize it sooner rather than later.

The guys stayed for a few minutes then went back to Jesse’s. I was exhausted so it didn’t take me long to fall sleep.

Morning came quickly. Cheryl woke me first so that we could make Colleen breakfast. Pleasantly surprised, she thanked us for making her day even more special.

After breakfast, we started to get ready. While Cheryl cleaned up the kitchen, I told Colleen about my theory on how Cheryl and Dave belonged together, that we needed to help push them together. Without hesitating, she agreed to help me.

After the two of us were ready, we looked at Cheryl. For the first time in my life, I made a comment about someone’s dress attire. I told her that she needed to wear something different. I let her borrow the dress that Bradley bought me for New Year's Eve. We did her hair and toned down her makeup… a lot. She looked beautiful, like a very different woman. I also let her use some of my favorite perfume. It smelled like berries.

I stopped wearing it because Bradley said he preferred my fragrance. It wasn’t what he said but how he said it. He whispered the words softly in my ear then skimmed the tip of his nose down the side of my neck, barely touching my skin. I heard him inhale deeply, slowly, until his lungs were full. Smiling, he exhaled. His breath shook when he asked me to stop wearing any perfume. When I told him that I like the way my perfume smells, he sucked my earlobe into his mouth then seductively admitted, “But I like the way you smell…” before licking the hollow of my ear. My body shook with anticipation. “…and tastes,” he chuckled quietly, brushing his warm breath over my ear. It was all very arousing. So to have more moments like that I stopped wearing it regularly, saving it for special occasions.

After we finished with Cheryl, we got Seager ready. We made him wear a blue bow. He wasn’t happy about it but wore it anyway.

Once everyone was ready, we jumped into my truck and headed to The View. Before we left Colleen asked Cheryl to join the wedding party and that she could walk down the aisle with Dave. Naturally, Cheryl said yes. She’s been smiling ever since. I’m glad I got to know Cheryl. Clearly all her insecurities have been created by Anthony. She’s a different person today than the one I met last year.

On the way to the wedding, I grew concerned that my magic didn’t work. Last night before Bradley and Dave showed up, I cast a spell that should have decorated Hyner View. It was the first time my body shook uncontrollably when I conjured up a spell. The View is about forty minutes away, that’s the farthest attempt I've ever made. The spell and distance tired me out. After their wedding, this combination will only be used for emergencies.

The guys were already there when we arrived. Bradley made Jesse turn around as we got Colleen out of the truck.

When Colleen saw the decorations, she started crying. “Oh, Natalia, they’re beautiful. Thank you.”

“You can thank me by not crying. You’re going to mess up all our hard work. Tell her, Cheryl.” Laughing, Cheryl agreed and handed Colleen a few tissues.

To let Bradley know about the changes we made, I let my shield down and told him everything even the part about me trying to get Cheryl and Dave together. I’ll never get over the look on his face when he heard me telepathically. He had that devilish sexy smile on his face. His crooked smile used to be my favorite as it dazzled and rendered me speechless. It’s his devilish smile that’s now my favorite. It sent electricity through me making my legs weak. All I wanted to do was to have my way with him. I watched his eye color fade to black.

“Oops. Sorry about that, love.”
I couldn’t help but snicker as I put my shield back up. Looking at the watch on Jess’s wrist, Bradley just rolled his eyes with frustration making me giggle even louder.

The town Judge, who by the way is a grizzly-shifter, was there to marry Jesse and Colleen.

We were lucky that it wasn’t too breezy out today. The weather was perfect. There was a slight overcast blocking the sun from making an appearance to the wedding.

I’d never seen so many vampires or shape-shifters before. Most of the people here lived in Clinton or Lycoming County. I’d seen them at the local stores and bars. With my new eyes, I could spot either from a distance. Some of the vampires had red eyes, which freaked me out a bit.

From the moment, the ceremony started and until the Judge said ‘you may now kiss the bride,’ Bradley never took his eyes off me. As the Maid of Honor, I had certain duties that forced me to take my eyes from him, at least for a few moments. This was their moment, it had to be special. I was not going to be the one to ruin it.

I also noticed that Dave spent a lot of time staring at Cheryl. I was positive that if she could have blushed, she would have every time she caught him looking at her. She looked like a totally different person without all that makeup.

When the Judge announced the newlyweds as Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Skylar, twelve white doves flew overhead dropping white rose petals on top of the crowd and wedding party. Colleen gasped then started crying. Jesse took her in his arms, dried her tears, and then kissed her long and hard. Everyone applauded. I had tears in my eyes as well, I was so happy for them.

After Jess and Colleen started down the aisle, Bradley followed pausing next to me. His seductive dark stare held me captive. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. My mouth suddenly dry, I licked my lips. The devilish grin turned wickedly sexy. Wrapping his arm around my waist, he snuggled my body firmly against his and we followed them down the aisle. He growled lightly into my ear, telling me I looked delicious. With his lips against my neck, I led us forward through the crowd, grinning and blushing from ear to ear.

My smile disappeared when I saw one of the vamps looking at Bradley, disgusted by his public display of affection. When I make eye contact with him, my instincts immediately told me to look away. His hatred and disgust sent a wave of fear running through me. I had a strong feeling that I had met him before and more importantly, that I should stay away from him.
Great!
I was going to wait until after the reception to mention the matter to Bradley. He was too happy and this would only upset him.

After pictures, we were going to the studio for the reception. Over the last few weeks, the guys had converted it into a huge party room. Soon people would be there to prepare food and set up the bar. It left me very little time to spread lilies on every table along with the swans, doves, and ribbons. So as Jesse and Colleen got their photos taken, I concentrated on decorating the studio. Had I known how tired I would be afterwards I would have come up with a better plan for decorating. Bradley rubbed the beads of sweat that formed on my forehead as I struggled with my decorating spell. It was even harder this time, with so many people around, I worried about being seen. Bradley blocked me by hugging me tightly as I hid my face in his chest. I was thankful when I finally finished.

The photographer took pictures of the entire wedding party together. Then Jesse insisted that he take a picture of Bradley and me without the rest of the bridal party. He took several photos as we messed around with different poses. For one of the pictures, Bradley lifted me up and wrapped my legs around his hips. With one hand on my buttocks and the other gripping my hair, he pulled my head back and pretended to bite my throat. There were several gasps coming from the crowd. I felt his laughter as he kissed my neck. Dave and Jesse applauded while hooting and hollering. Colleen and Cheryl laughed.

“That’s enough!” We heard someone yell.

Reluctantly, Bradley pulled his lips from my neck and sighed. He gently put me down on my feet smiling at me the entire time. He kissed my nose before we turned to see who objected to our public display of affection. I already knew who it was. It’s the same vamp that was disgusted with him earlier. This time I got a really good look at him. He looked like Bradley except his hair was blonde and he had red eyes with a scar along the length of his cheekbone. The man walked up to us. Bradley froze with disbelief. It’s obvious that the vamp was related to him.

All of the sudden I felt someone grab me from behind, yanking me backwards. That caused Bradley to wake and growl furiously. We both calmed when we realized it was Dave that placed me in the protective circle of three vamps, two shape-shifters, and one dog.

“What are you doing here Andrew?” Bradley demanded.

“I was in town and heard that friends of my son were getting married. So I thought I’d stop by and congratulate the couple while saying hello to my son… Hello son.” He reached out his hand in an attempt to shake Bradley’s. When Bradley didn’t accept the gesture he angrily said, “Don’t be so rude, boy!”

“I am not your son, I have no father. You are not welcome here. Please leave.” Hearing the hurt and anger in his voice, I reached out taking his hand into mine, to comfort him.

“Take your filthy hand from his.” His father snapped as he lunged forward. Bradley and Dave both grabbed him and threw him to the ground. Immediately they returned and took their stance closing my protective circle.

“Don’t talk to or even look at her. Stay away from us both.” Bradley reached back and took my hand into his. My heart ached as I remembered that his father raped his mother and then left her for dead. Seeing Andrew surely brought those memories back, causing Bradley even more pain.

A protective instinct took over, making me act totally insane. It’s crazy for any human to say what I was thinking. Foolishly, I had no problem demanding, “Get out of here, blood sucker. You weren’t invited and you’re ruining their wedding.” Bradley, Dave, and Jesse burst out laughing. However, his father didn’t feel the same. It infuriated him.

Bradley was still smiling when he turned around and gently skimmed his fingers against my cheek. “I love you, too and we won’t let him ruin their wedding. Please be patient, my love.” I placed my arms across my chest which only made him chuckle some more.

He turned back to face his father and in a very calm manner requested, “If you ever cared about me at all, you’d leave and never return.”

“I’ll leave but only because it is not my intention to ruin your friends’ wedding.” His father pointed at me and threatened, “You would be wise to show me some respect, young lady, for the consequences will be severe if you don’t.”