Wishful Thinking (7 page)

Her cry of completion blended with his. He collapsed to one side and pulled her close to his chest. Never had she felt so happy and fulfilled.

And beyond any doubt or common sense, she knew she was in love with him despite her warnings not to do just that.

Chapter Eight

Jovie came back to consciousness deliciously sore and undeniably sated. She pushed onto her elbows and looked about the conference room in wonder. A new pyramid of six gold bars occupied the far end of the table. Groans emanated from the wood as if the piece of furniture strained under the heavy weight. Another list with client names written in gold ink waited for her.

Standing, she wobbled since her legs refused to support her. Now that sanity had returned, she could analyze her feelings. She retrieved abandoned bits of clothing and dressed but couldn’t shake the realization. However it had occurred, and in such a short time span, she had come to love Rand, to believe in him beyond a mythical being. More troubling, it wasn’t a flash in the pan type of feeling. This was a deep, abiding love that only came in joining together with another person beyond the physical—as if she had indeed found the missing half of her.

More than flesh, she’d bonded with his spirit, his soul, and there was no way she’d let him return to the nether realm. He belonged with her.

I need him.

By the time she’d put herself to rights and slipped into her abandoned suit jacket, Rand made his appearance from thin air.

Dressed once more in dark jeans and a t-shirt, he swaggered across the floor until he stood directly in front of her. “Did you enjoy our interlude, my dear?”

“Yes, very much.” She devoured him with her eyes, memorizing every dip and plane of his chest, the breadth of his shoulders, the nip of his waist, the slight dimple in his chin. How the hell was she supposed to watch him return to the creamer pot?
I can’t do it.

“That is good to know.” He cupped her chin in a hand. “You are satisfied with how the tasks were performed?” His gaze flicked to the table behind her then back to her face.

“I’m beyond words at how you accomplished it.” She still didn’t know how his magic worked, but she supposed it didn’t matter. He’d changed the paperwork to gold just like he’d promised. There was plenty of time for them to discuss the details—a lifetime really.

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “That is even better.”

“Why?” When he grinned, tingles began low in her belly and ebbed outward.

“Now I must demand payment for all I’ve done for you.”

The answering smile fell from her face. She backed away a few steps. “What do you mean? I’ve already given you payment for each task.”

“This is true; however, those trades were only for me agreeing to do the magic. And, of course, the physicality of arranging the gold bricks into a pleasing design.”

Jovie gawked. Her jaw dropped and she closed it with an audible snap of teeth. “I gave you my jewelry. We had sex. What else can you possibly want from me?” A slow burn of anger cycled through her chest, climbing and filling her body until her skin burned with it. “Damn it, I slept with you.”

“And you are unrivaled among every woman I’ve been with.”

"You used me, which makes you no better than Clinton."

"No, far from it. What we shared came from my heart and will never be repeated with another. You are that one human that makes my life complete."

"Oh, please."

The fleeting sadness appeared in his eyes, this time clouding the brilliant green and dulling it. “I told you that using magic has steep consequences. It is no less true this time.” He ran a hand along his jaw. “The penalty for such a thing, thrice over in fact, is the exchange of your life for mine, so I will be mortal once more.”

“What?” Stabs of pain lanced through her stomach. She pressed a hand to her midsection where the sharp ache grew. She drew in a deep breath, blowing it back out. “You would really ask me to consign myself to the creamer pot so you can be free?”

“Yes. This is how it must be and how it is with a matched pair such as us. I told you we were interchangeable.” Rand shrugged. “I have done all that you asked. We have enjoyed each other’s bodies. Now payment needs to be realized.” His eyes became cold and glassy. “Magic isn’t a fairy tale substance to play around with. It’s harsh and exacting and will take its toll on both mortals and immortals alike. The exchange of life is the penalty you must pay.”

“You tricked me.”

"No. I warned you all along, at each level, and you agreed to deal with the consequences."

"Still a trick." She wanted to vomit at his audacity. She yearned to scream at the injustice, at the level of hurt she felt for allowing him into her heart. He dashed her hopes and dreams into pieces as if he’d physically stomped on her chest. “I slept with you. I let you do things to my body without regret. I trusted you.” Tears welled in her eyes. “And you lied.”

“I did no such thing. In fact, I did nothing but tell you the truth, always. You chose not to listen to all the words.”

When he would have reached for her, Jovie stepped away. “How was I supposed to know the rules? I’ve never come into contact with magical beings before.” Annoyed when a tear splashed onto her cheek, she scrubbed at her face. “I trusted you.” That fact bore repeating as she seldom gave herself into another’s keeping. Embarrassment seeped through the anger, heating her face. “None of it meant anything to you, did it? You only had sex with me because you knew I’d have to make this sacrifice.”

“No.” Uncertainty highlighted his features. “I enjoyed it as much as you.”

“You’re a man and would drill your cock into anyone available whenever the urge strikes.” She wrapped her arms around her middle, suddenly sick. “I thought you were different.” Sniffling, she met his gaze. “Was your talk of being released by just the right person hype as well? Maybe we’re not meant to share a connection.” The last disappointed her the most.

Rand shrugged. “I only know the rules as they’ve been given to me. I have a responsibility to whoever releases me from the nether world, and that person is the one mortal beings like me are bound to for the rest of time. Once my help has been rendered, I have no choice but to exchange places with that mortal or die. My time is expired either way. It is how this works.”

"You said you and I belonged together."

"We do, and this is what I feel, yet I am bound by the rules of the nether world. I did not ask to be cursed."

"Neither did I. In fact, I've never heard of such a thing before. It doesn't seem fair to be trapped in it now."

"I agree, yet it doesn't lessen the fact."

She shook her head and retreated further until her backside hit the door. “I’m sorry, but I have to refuse.” The resignation in his eyes buried her with guilt. “I can’t make such an enormous decision without thinking it over.”

“I understand.” He waved a hand toward the door. “Go. I will grant you a two week pardon. At the end of the term, I will visit again to exchange places.”

“Since the tasks have been completed, are you able to leave this room?” She tried the door handle. A thrill raced down her spine when it opened at her touch. He had told the truth earlier, at least. She'd never been locked into the room. Why hadn't she believed before? Realization slammed into her. Because she trusted Rand.

“Yes, but I cannot be far away from my home. Place the creamer pot in a safe place. Until the next fortnight, I bid you goodbye.” He snapped his fingers and vanished.

Jovie didn’t wait around to see what happened next. She darted to the catering cart, grabbed the creamer pot and ran from the room, never looking back as her heart broke all over again.

* * * *

Two weeks later, Jovie sat behind her massive new desk in an office on the executive floor. Life had changed exponentially for her since she walked out of that conference room all those days ago. Dan had taken ownership of the gold bars. He and Clinton bought a golf course in Florida, leaving Jovie with the reins of Romantic Escapes for awhile. She didn’t mind, especially since she could run the company as she saw fit and the clients loved the new leadership. With the three lists of new clients and new parties, she'd gone a long way into building the company into a viable, productive business.

She'd decorated her office in soft shades of pink and gold, complete with the attached bathroom and sitting area, amazed at how fast things happened when there was actual money to throw around instead of empty promises. She now had a company car, an expense account and more responsibility than she could ever ask for. Life was indeed good—magical.

Everything had been accomplished with speed and very little issues, almost as if Rand still helped smooth her way from the confines of the creamer pot.

Not a day went by where she didn’t think of him. In one night, he’d become the single most important person in her life and in the same night, he’d fallen to the most hated being of her existence. That didn’t stop her from wishing he’d come back and say he’d made a mistake, that the universe was testing them both. She wanted him to return, sweep her into his strong arms and say he’d figured out a way they could be together permanently, beat the odds as weird as they sounded.

Rand had been put into her life for a reason and she’d like to hope it was for more than a casual lay on the conference room floor. Surely a few lessons to bolster her self-confidence wasn’t the end of their time together.

Tapping the end of her pen against her bottom lip, she smiled at her day planner. The sex had been the greatest intimacy she’d ever experienced. Even now, the mere thought of Rand’s hands on her body caused her panties to dampen from arousal.
God, I miss him.
Sometimes she’d catch herself turning to ask him a question or share an exciting tidbit with him only to remember he wasn’t there and never would be. In spite of the storybook meaning, she had no choice but to believe in it.

The situation is impossible. The sacrifice is too steep. Me for him or vice versa.

“You need to think differently, my dove. Impossibility often means an opportunity to grow.”

Jovie jerked her head up at the sound of his voice. The rich timbre sent shivers over her body that mimicked the strongest orgasm. She dropped her pen and stared. A black t-shirt molded to his chest and a pair of faded jeans hugged his ass and thighs like a second skin, letting her mind dwell on remembered pleasures. “Rand.” Fear and excitement warred for dominance in her chest. What would he do? What would she?

“Watching you every day but not touching or talking has been torture.” He glanced about her office. His gaze settled on the creamer pot which rested on a bookshelf near her desk. “You’ve wasted no time getting acclimated to your new life.”

“It’s proved to be everything I wanted from a career.” His presence filled the office, encroached into her personal space like he’d always been there and imparted her with a feeling of happiness and contentment. “I’ll give you my brand new condo, my car, anything, if you’ll reconsider this insane request.”

“Oh, Jovie. If only it were that simple.” He came around her desk to perch on the corner of that piece of furniture. “The powers-that-be are very strict. Your life or mine. No exceptions. I have already spent enough time in the nether world. I’d like to live again with flesh and blood.”

“So would I.” She swallowed and crossed her legs when he brushed against her. “My life has only started. Would you really be so cruel as to take that away?” His beach-like scent filled her nose until she couldn’t breathe from wanting him so badly.

“You are right, of course.” Sadness tinged his grin. “I can deny you nothing. I never could.”

“Except this one little thing.” She swallowed against the tears clogging her throat. “Rand, there must be another way.” Giving into the urge, she laid a hand on his thigh. He flinched. An involuntary sigh escaped when he lifted the hand to his lips.

“I’m powerless to object, so here is your last chance for freedom.” His words warmed her skin. “You have three nights to find out what my full name is. If, after that time, you are unable to give me the correct name, you have no choice but to take my place in the creamer pot. Do you understand?”

Jovie nodded. After all, how hard would it be to determine his name when he’d already told her to call him Rand? “I understand. No more tricks?”

"This is correct."

"If I fail and end up in that pot, what's to say someone else couldn't set me free?" There had to be a loophole.

He shook his head. "I am sorry. You unlocked my seal. It would follow that I would be your key as well."

"I see. And why would you set me free if it meant you return to that prison."

"Sadly, this is so."

She ignored the doubts that crept up to steal the joy of her reprieve. “Will you stay visible to me each night?”

“If you wish it.”

“I do.”
And I wish so much more.
If only things were different.

He took one of her fingers into his mouth and stroked it with his tongue. “There are millions of names in this world, my princess. You’ll be hoarse by the time you say them all to me, but I wouldn’t want to spend my time any other way.”

Blinking away her tears, she nodded again. “Until tonight.”

Chapter Nine

Taking a swig from her third bottle of water that night, Jovie folded her arms on her desktop and dropped her head on them. This was going to take forever. She’d pulled up every baby name site on the Internet and scrolled through thousands of names from countries all over the world then abandoned them for different surnames used globally. Still nothing remotely close—according to Rand himself.

She lifted her head and looked at the object of her frustration. It was unfair he appeared so calm and cool, sitting on the settee near the floor-to-ceiling windows as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

Bastard.

“None of the last names I’ve come up with are correct?” She propped her elbows on the desk and buried her head in her hands. A headache loomed across her forehead from the constant stress. Midnight was two hours off and she hadn’t accomplished much except guessing his first name—Randal. Obviously, that wasn't much of a stretch. She'd simply went down the alphabet again until she'd hit his middle initial—L. Again, that bit was too easy since his first name was Randall with one
L
. It made sense, especially in magical being logic, that his middle initial was also an
L
.