Reclaimed(5)
Author: Diane Alberts

“Something came to your house?” he asked. His grip tightened on her arms, and his eyes flashed possessively. “What was it?”

“I have no idea! But it jumped on the roof. It reminded me of you, except for one minor detail: you’re not real. You’re a figment of my imagination.”

“Don’t doubt me, Sabrina. I’m real. I’m here. I’m always here for you.” He captured her hand and kissed it. “Go to McGuiness’s Tavern tomorrow morning. I’ll be there. You’ll see I’m real, and not some silly dream.” He caressed her cheek, and she trembled.

“But who are you?” she whispered. She licked her dry lips and clutched her hands into fists. His gaze followed the movement of her tongue, and he grabbed her and lifted her so her feet dangled in the air. Despite the roughness of the movement, fear didn’t consume her. Hunger for his kiss overwhelmed her—made her tremble in his arms.

Instead, he seized her hair and jerked her head backward. Her neck exposed, he lowered his head to the sensitive spot where neck and shoulder met. She heard him inhale deeply, and she shuddered in his arms. His breath felt cool on her skin, and she trembled in an odd mixture of fear and desire. When his lips met her skin, it seemed as though a bolt of lightning jolted through her body, making her jerk in his arms.

Instant lust.

“I’m yours, Sabrina. And you’ll get your questions answered. All you need to know right now is you’re mine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“No, wait. Tell me now,” she demanded. But she spoke to air, for as quietly as he’d come, he had left. Once again, she stood alone in the dark night. She looked up at the moon and shivered.

“Son of a bitch,” she mumbled. Only the silence of the forest surrounding her answered.

***

Sabrina had lost it, simply lost it. They might as well slap on the straightjacket now and strap her to the bed.

Padded walls, here I come.

Things were getting out of her control. She obviously struggled to separate dreams from reality, and night from day. While awake, she saw shadows jump onto her roof and heard evil chuckles echoing in the night. Yet, when sleeping, she would dream of a man tempting her to fall in love. Everything had become backwards.

It made no sense.

Yet, even knowing she hovered only a couple of steps away from being committed didn’t stop her from taking extra care arranging her hair and applying her makeup before rushing out of the house.

She had no errands to run, nowhere she needed to be.

One thing remained certain, however: she was going to the McGuiness’s Tavern for every meal necessary. Hell, she’d even sleep there next to Zeke. Desperation to see if her dream became reality, or if she was going insane, ruled her.

And yet, she feared the answer.

***

Upon arriving at the tavern, Sabrina discovered, much to her disappointment, they didn’t open until lunchtime. Even Zeke, ever present, hadn’t shown up yet. His empty jar still sat there, but he was nowhere in sight. Lunchtime wouldn’t arrive for two more hours, so she hovered outside the door. She could go shopping until lunch, or go home and come back later. Or she could, more sensibly, return home and forget this whole idea. The very suggestion a man in a dream could tell her she would meet him in the reality of daylight rang of ludicrousness, so why had she even come?

She cursed and decided to head home.

Absorbed in contemplating her stupidity, she spun and crashed into a rock-solid wall. She broke free from her thoughts and raised her gaze to see she hadn’t run into a wall at all. She’d collided with a man. A very tall man, considering the fact her nose throbbed from slamming into his chest. She stumbled backward and embarrassed herself further when she tripped over her own feet. Arms reached out to steady her, and she blushed in mortification.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t watching where I—” She broke off. Finally finding her feet steady on the ground, she lifted her gaze to his face.

Mistake.

Huge freaking mistake.

It was him. She stared, stunned into speechlessness. He’d come. He’d actually showed up. And, perhaps even more shocking, he looked even more attractive when she rested in his arms. A small tingle raced up her spine, and her heart quickened.

“It’s okay. Please, don’t worry.” He cocked his head to the side with a small smile and inquired, “Do you come here often? I think I’ve seen you here before. Oh, that sounded like a horrible pick-up line, didn’t it?”

She laughed—with a hysterical undertone, to be honest—and mentally flinched at the forced quality that rang through it. “No, I do come here quite a bit. I’m new to the area, and this has become a common place for me. Um, my name is Sabrina. Sabrina Hodges, nice to meet you.” She stepped back to offer him her hand. A covert glance at her outstretched fingers revealed they weren’t shaking like the rest of her body. But it went to hell when his fingers closed over hers. Pure electric energy shot up her arm, settling into unadulterated lust.

Dear God.

“I’m Isaac Sterling. Nice to, uh, run into you, Sabrina.” He smiled fully and her eyes widened. It was not fair to unleash such a devastating creature upon women. It became obvious to her, here and now: God was a man.

Unfair.

“If you were looking for breakfast, it isn’t open yet, but I might be able to take care of you. My friend Connor is the cook here, and we had a meeting planned inside. Why don’t you come in? He’ll make you an omelet you’ll never forget.”

“Oh no, I couldn’t. I just wanted to grab a bite to eat. It’s nothing that can’t wait.” She protested and shook her head. “Really, I’ll be fine.”

“Ach, now, you wouldn’t be turning me down, would you? Talk about breaking a man’s heart on the first meeting….” He held his left hand dramatically over his heart.

She couldn’t help but return his smile. She watched his eyes widen and then darken, and she beamed even wider at seeing the evidence of her effect on him. “Well, I’d hate to break such a kind man’s heart.” She leaned in and whispered, “You did forgive me for running you over.”

“Indeed. I saved you from falling, too,” he said. He chuckled and gave her an exaggerated wink.

“A gentleman wouldn’t have reminded me, you know.”

“Who told you I’m a gentleman?” he teased. His crooked grin caused her heart to do odd little flip-flops in her chest.