**AUTHORS NOTE** Dialogue marked with **s denote mental conversation between the characters
We’d rented the old mansion-turned-studio
because we just weren’t getting the vibe at my place. The studio
was on the ground floor, while the bedrooms and such were on the upper
two.
I had staked claim to the largest
of the bedrooms on the second floor. The center piece of this room
was a huge, antique four-poster with heavy velvet curtains.
Phil and Rick had ribbed me about ‘the king claiming his chambers’.
To which, I replied they were only jealous because the room had its own
loo.
I opened the door and entered the
room. The light of early morning filtered through the windows.
A feeling of calm overcame me as I stripped off my clothes to crawl into
bed. I had felt the presence in the room the first night we stayed
here. It was rather soothing, actually. I felt protected by
it in some odd way.
I slid under the covers and managed
to pull the heavy drapes closed. I was so exhausted, I must have
fallen asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I was awakened some
time later by the feel of movement next to me.
Opening my eyes, I looked at the empty
space next to me. My eyes snapped shut again. ‘Get a grip on
yourself’ I thought. Being cooped up in this house with no female
companionship was beginning to get to me.
Several days in a row, this occurred.
I could feel someone climb in next to me. I could smell the
faint scent of perfume. Hell, I even swear I could hear someone breathing
beside me! I didn’t dare mention it to the lads. They
would really think I’ve gone ‘round the bend then.
Tonight, I turned in early.
Well, for me, it was extra early – before midnight. I figured I need
the rest. The stress of this recording is causing me to honestly
believe I’m losing it.
I was in the bath when I first saw
her. I stepped out of the tub, reaching across the tiny room
for a towel on the bar. Glancing in the mirror, I swore I saw the
movement of white damask and dark hair.
I quickly dried off, deciding to wrap
the towel around my waist in case someone HAD gotten into my room.
“’Ello?” I looked around and didn’t find anyone.
Clicking off the light, I went to
climb into bed. The sheets were cool on my body, just out of the
shower. I laid on my back quite a while, staring at the ceiling,
eventually nodding off into an uneasy sleep.
That is when I felt tiny hands snake
across my chest. Slender fingers stroked trails of heat across my
skin. I opened my eyes. The most beautiful brunette woman smiled
at me. I couldn’t help but quirk a grin back at her. “Evening,
luv.”
A delicate finger was placed across
my lips. She made no sound, but I could hear her voice quite clearly.
**No words,** she told me as she looked into my eyes. **I’ve been
waiting for you to come to me. There is no need to speak now that
you’re here.**
I pursed my lips, kissing her finger.
She slowly lifted it, placing it to her own. **How long have you
been waiting?** I asked, her violet eyes still locked on mine.
**Oh Joseph, it’s been an eternity
since you were with me last. I had begun to think you’d never return.**
Eternity? Return? I had
no idea what she meant by those words. **We’ve been together before?
** My curiosity had to be appeased.
**A life time ago, my love.
I knew that if I stayed, I’d see you again.** The woman caressed
my face. The touch of her hand warmed my skin. **My sweet Joseph,**
she smiled, **you never did believe me when I said I’d wait forever to
be with you.** A soft giggle escaped her lips. Full, luscious,
kissable lips.
As if she read my thoughts, she leaned
over and pressed them to mine. **I can read your mind, silly man.
We are one. We always have been and always will be.**
**Oh.** With a small degree
of hesitation, I reached up to touch her. She was real – smooth,
warm flesh beneath my fingers. **How…? I don’t understand.
How can I be…? Your Joseph lived so long ago.** She turned
her head, nuzzling her cheek into my hand. **I’m not the same man.**
Her hands again stroked my chest.
**Your body may not be the same, but your soul is. Throughout eternity,
no matter how many lifetimes you have, that is the one thing that will
never change.**
I trailed my hands down her sides.
She let a small gasp as I passed the curve of her breasts. I noticed
her thin sleeping garment was rather old fashioned, but I’m sure, considered
risqué for its time. **If I’m here, why are you still…?**
A tear formed in her eyes. Instinctively,
I wiped it away with my thumb. “Don’t cry, luv. It’s okay,”
I whispered, the room had suddenly grown too silent.
**I’m between lives now.** She
licked her lower lip and tried to smile at me. **We should have been
together this cycle. There was an accident during the childhood
that wasn’t …** she trailed off. She looked around the room, mentally
inventorying her memories. Suddenly, I knew of the accident, and
how the little girl drown before she was very old. I sat up, pulling
this woman to me and comforting her as best I could. **I chose to
come here and wait for you instead of having a new life. This was
such a special place for us.**
Holding her in my arms, I felt
a desire to be with her begin to surface in my brain. How was that
possible? This woman was little more than a ghost, if that even.
Surely she was a product of my imagination, or only a dream. **You
are the presence I have felt in this room. And the one who I‘ve felt
lay beside me at night?**
She nodded. **It’s all right
Joseph. I know that in your life cycle, you have no memories of what
came before. I don’t either. But yes, it was me. I have
waited here for you for over thirty years. The other spirits have
begged me to move on and take a new cycle. I told them all you would
be here. I knew you would.** She began to untie the laces at
the front of her gown.
**If you died as a child, how
are you an adult now?**
She looked up at me from her task.
A sly grin crossed her flawlessly beautiful face. ** Because, silly, we
can take on what ever appearance we like. I have always chose to
look as I did on our wedding night.** Wedding night? My eyes
must have popped out of my head because she laughed. The first actual
sound I had heard her make. Crystal clear and sharp, it rang
like a bell and echoed through the large room. **Yes, Joseph, our
wedding night. As I recall, you looked very handsome that evening.
Although, I must say, you don’t look particularly bad in this body, either.**
It was my turn to laugh. I pulled
her close, taking her mouth with mine. She opened for me, welcoming
my kiss, as she longed to taste me again. Her tongue stroked against
mine as she buried her hands in my hair. **Oh Moira.**
**Yes Joseph,** she answered.
I knew her name. **You reminded
me?**
She delved deeper into my kiss.
**No silly, you did. ** I again heard her laugh, although our lips never
parted. Was I hearing her in my ears or my mind? **Oh my darling
Joseph, stop questioning why. Just enjoy this chance for us to be
together again.**
She shifted her weight on my lap,
rubbing over my arousal. **Oh God, Moira, don’t do … I can’t … I
want…. ** I finished unlacing her gown and pushed the silky fabric from
her shoulders. Her milky skin glowed in the moon light. She
sat up looking proudly at me as I eyed her full breasts.
**Some things never change,** her
words rang in my ears.
I grinned sheepishly. **Well,
you know what they say – Men are creatures of habit. ** She smiled, taking
my hands and placing them on her body, cupping them to her bosom.
My fingers glided over them, finding the pink tips and teasing them to
taut peaks.
I glanced up to Moira’s face.
Her eyes were closed and a smile of pleasure clung to her lips. **Oh
yes, Joseph. Harder please. Use your mouth.** I sucked her
left nipple into my mouth, feeling the bud tighten even further as I licked
it lightly. I was aware of her gasp. She held my head to her,
applying just enough pressure to let me know she wanted the same on the
other side. I obliged, then took both in my hands, pinching
and tugging with my fingers as I alternated flicking my tongue over each.
Her breath seemed to deepen and I could hear her soft moans.
**Oh Joseph, you are so…. ** Her hands
slipped down to my shoulders as her body tensed under my touch.
**You’re cumming, aren’t you?**
**So, that’s what you call it now,
huh?** I knew she was smiling, though I didn’t look at her face.
**Yes. I am.**
I slipped my hands to her sides.
Carefully, I rolled her over, laying her on the empty space next to me.
I kissed and nipped and tasted her skin as I worked down her body.
I had to tug her gown off of her, since it had pooled at her waist.
I looked down at the naked woman with me.
I ran my fingers across the bare skin
of her sex. **How old were you when we wed?** I asked, knowing
it hadn’t been uncommon for a girl to be married off before she was completely
in her womanhood.
**Eighteen.** She saw me sigh
with relief. **You don’t remember – you had heard a story that Asian
women removed their body hair and wanted to know what it was like. You
asked me if I would.**
**And you did.**
**I made you help,** she grinned up
at me. **I wasn’t that good with a straight blade. You did a rather
nice job – you were so scared you’d cut me.**
I cupped her in my hand, running my
fingers along her slick opening. **Very erotic,** my mind whispered
to hers. I leaned down, swirling my tongue over the smooth skin.
I slipped further down, stroking her clit lightly. I continued to
slip my fingers over her, spreading her wetness along her entrance.
I gently lapped my tongue over her lips. **You taste wonderful, luv.**
I slipped my tongue into her passage. Moira arched upward, lifting
so I could more easily access her.
**Oh, God,** she groaned as she grabbed
at the bed covers. **Oh, Joseph!** Her body convulsed.
I held her hips as I continued to drink the juice of her passion.
Her body calmed and I rose to lay
beside her. We laid on our sides, facing each other, our free hands
exploring our bodies. **Thank you for coming to me,** I told her.
She shut her eyes and I caressed her cheek.
**Please, take me Joseph. I
need you to make love to me now.** She slowly opened them, looking
into my eyes. **I only have until sunrise. After that, I’ll
revert back to my spirit.**
**Will I see you again?** I
suddenly felt my chest tighten, realizing I didn’t want to lose her.
**Moira, you will be flesh again, won’t you?**
Her gaze dropped to her hand on my
chest. **My next life cycle.**
I heard myself gasp. **No.**
I lifted her chin. **I could live another fifty years and never see you
again?**
She brushed my hair behind my ear
and tried to smile. **Yes.** She sighed. **I know it seems unfair,
but it has to be that way. In the morning when you wake, you’ll have
no memory of me at all. You will have had a pleasant night’s sleep,
nothing more.**
**But I don’t want to forget you Moira.
There has to be a way I can remember you.**
She shook her head. **I don’t
know Joseph. I can remain with you if you’d like, but I can’t say
you would know I was there.**
There had to be a way. How could
I be with her, only to not remember? True, I had been with a countless
number of nameless women, but I had never FORGOTTEN any of them.
I didn’t want to forget a woman I had such a connection with. **Oh, God,
Moira….**
Her hand slipped behind my head as
she pulled me into her kiss. **We’ll see what happens. Now,
sunrise is soon, Joseph. I want to feel you inside of me.**
Her tongue stroked feverishly against mine. **Please, luv. Don’t
make me wait another lifetime.**
I lifted her knee up over my thigh.
Slipping my hands around her waist, I carefully entered her, pulling her
onto me rather than forcing myself into her.
**Josepphhh!** she called out
to me, then gasped.
**Am I hurting you, luv?**
**No. You feel magnificent.**
**Really? ** I hadn’t heard that word
used before.
**Hurry, Joseph. I know you
want to take it slow, but we don’t have much time left. Please?**
Her lips grazed mine, and I felt the
urgency of her need. Moira bucked her hips against mine, sending
my head spinning. I thrust inside her, hard. Mating with her
as if it were my first time all over again. Faster, I stroked
in and out of her. ** Moira…** Her nails dug into my arms as I felt
her muscles tighten around me. **Yes, baby… Oh, luv…**
Moira sank her teeth into my chest
as her body lurched, the waves of passion overcoming her beneath me.
I pumped harder, pouring myself into her as I, too, came.
I rolled back onto my side, trailing
my fingers along her body. She looked into my eyes. **I know,
Joseph.** She smiled at me with loving eyes. **Sleep now.**
I obeyed her, drifting off almost as soon as I heard her words. The
sun was just starting to shine through the windows.
I woke the next afternoon, feeling
like a new man. “Maybe I should start going to sleep early more often.”
I got up from the bed and walked to the loo to take care of the ‘morning
ritual.’ I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.
On my chest was a purple mark,
just over my heart. I shut my eyes and remembered having a dream
about a beautiful woman. Dark hair, dark eyes, and skin that was
a creamy white. I looked more closely at the bruise in my reflection.
I could make out the imprint of teeth and I suddenly smelled the faint
perfume that always seemed to linger in the room. It had been a dream,
hadn’t it? I looked into my own eyes and smiled to myself.
“Night Joe,” Phil said as I finally
announce I’m off to bed.
~ The End ~