Chapter 5 Dream Guy
Juniper
Our trek across town was quiet, even when we stopped and grabbed fried clams, scallops, and French fries to eat as we walked. It was a relief to see the rental condo.
When we climbed the steps, a slim black suitcase waited by the door.
“What the heck?” I said, reaching for the paper tucked under the handle.
Caspian stood back and let me read the note.
“Oh, it’s for you,” I said, holding the paper out to Caspian. “I’m sorry!”
“It’s fine,” he said with one of those charming half-smiles as he took the page and read it. “What’s mine is yours.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” I said, punching the code into the door’s keypad. Caspian reached forward, suddenly way too close against my back, and picked up the suitcase. My breathing stuttered.
The door lock clicked, and I shoved it open, almost leaping inside to get some space between me and the selkie. I was too aware of the heat of him and the feel of my silky blouse on my skin. Every inch of me was sensitive.
“So my gran didn’t know anything about selkie magic,” I admitted. “So unless I go for a walk and accidentally drop your coat, I think we are stuck together tonight. But it looks like you got a suitcase of your stuff!”
My voice was way too high-pitched to sound remotely normal.
“Yeah.” His smirk widened into a genuine smile, brightening his entire face.
My thoughts quieted, and I found myself smiling back. We’d spent the entire day together, and if I was honest, he’d made it way better. Being with Caspian was comfortable, easy.
“Thanks for putting up with my grandma,” I said softly. “I’m not sure she’s had anyone to help her in a while.”
“She’s really fun,” he said. “And I had a great time.”
“Me too. I wish I lived closer to her. I hate that she’s alone,” I confessed, the words tumbling out of me before I thought better of them.
I shied away, looking at the ground. Derek hated visiting my grandmother, which was why I hadn’t been in so long.
The only people in my family he got along with were my sister and mother, which made sense to me, looking back.
They shared some of his opinions about me.
Honestly, it was such a relief to be away from him.
“Did you grow up around here?” Caspian asked, pulling me from my thoughts. Somehow he’d moved closer, or maybe I’d drifted forward. He smelled like salt and sage and cool night air.
“No, but my mom sent me each summer to stay with her.”
Memories of lazy days on the beach while my gran read under an umbrella flashed through my mind. It had been utopia.
“I wonder if we were running around the beach at the same time,” he mused.
I thought about it, and a sense of dread grew in my chest. There was no way we were both kids at the same time. I tilted my head, pursing my lips, and faced the issue head-on.
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-five.”
Cringing, I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes. “I’m a fucking cougar. Not only did I accidentally trap a selkie husband, but he’s a baby.”
Chuckling, Caspian gently gripped my wrists and drew my hands down. I stiffened, the surge of magic undeniable. He opened his hands, and I let my fingers rest over his palms, not ready to let the magic go.
“How old are you?” he asked quietly.
Exhaling my breath in a dry laugh, I met his lovely gray eyes. “Thirty-four.”
There was no recoil, no disappointment. His pupils expanded, gray eaten up by black, and my stomach swooped. The magic buzzing over my skin made me feel all kinds of turned on, and then he looked at me like he wanted to devour me, and it was all too much.
Pulling away, I took a slow, deep breath to calm my nerves. The ghost of his touch drenched my skin like he’d had his hands all over me .
“Well, I’ve got some emails to catch up on, and then I’m going to crash. It’s been a really long day,” I said. “I’ll find some spare pillows and blankets and you can sleep on the couch here. Unless you want to go home?”
There’s no way he’ll be happy sleeping on the sofa.
Derek would have whined and complained until he was given a bed.
“I’m right where I want to be,” Caspian said, unwavering. “The couch is great.”
The tightness in my chest unraveled.
“Okay, then,” I said lamely. “Good night!”
“Good night, my little witch.” His voice wrapped around me, as silky as his selkie coat. The sound of it washed away my anxiety. I hesitated, lingering in the moment, as he kept watching me.
This isn’t something I can indulge in.
Shaking myself mentally, I forced my feet to move, trudging down the hall to find pillows and blankets.
He accepted them graciously, watching me with that quiet admiration that sent my emotions tumbling. I raced back to the bedroom like my ass was on fire.
I continued to think about the feel of his calloused palm and the devotion in his eyes when I climbed into my bed.
The selkie magic meant he was stuck with me, but I wasn’t sure it meant he was emotionally bonded to me.
But I couldn’t take the risk that the selkie magic forced him to be attracted to me.
If I gave into that attraction and it wasn’t genuine on his end, I’d never forgive myself. Maybe if I made some calls, I could find out more.
As I drifted off to sleep, I couldn’t stop picturing the selkie man with silver hair and freckles across his stupidly handsome face, so I wasn’t surprised when I submerged into my dream to find him there.
“Juniper,” he rumbled.
I’d never seen him with his shirt off, but he is barechested in my dream. My imagination is better than I realized, because he is magnificent. Not too bulky, just defined, lanky muscles from years spent swimming.
We stand on the beach, completely empty except for us. Moonlight paints his figure in molten silver. The waves cascade over the sand, rippling and foaming, rushing to pour over our feet. It’s warm, and my magic sings at the contact.
Caspian holds out his hand, and I take it without hesitation. I know I’m in a dream, but I know better than to ignore my dreams.
He draws me forward, lowering his head to speak into my ear. “Will you swim with me, love?”
“Yes,” I breathe.
He guides me forward until the ocean flows around our calves and then our thighs. The point of contact where his hand envelopes mine blazes, filling my body with a humming, languid heat.
His hand slides from mine, and he falls back into the waves, disappearing under the water. The ocean laps over my shoulders as I tread water, trying to peer under the surface to see Caspian.
Hands skim over my waist, hotter than the water around me. I twist, trying to figure out where he’d break the surface of the water.
“You’re so gorgeous,” Caspian hums, coming up behind me.
Instinctively, I reach back and hook my hand around the nape of his neck, resting my upper back against his chest. The water swirls around us as he works to keep us above the surface.
As my head falls back against his shoulder, he turns his head just so his lips brush over the shell of my ear.
“Tell me you feel this draw between us the way I do.”
It’s just a dream. Caspian isn’t really confessing his feelings to me. And regardless—He. Is. A. Stranger.
Instead of answering, I twist in his arms to face him. The moon lights up his gray eyes until they glow. With his silver hair slicked to his skull, his features look sharper, more inhuman. Beautiful.
His hands tighten on my waist, fingers splayed to touch as much of me as possible. I trace over his features with the tips of my fingers. Droplets of water trickle over his cheeks and lips.
My thumb swipes over his pouty bottom lip. I could kiss him. I want to.
Am I seriously considering having a wet dream about the selkie I accidentally forced to be my husband?
Shame flushes my cheeks, and I pull away. Caspian lets me go, and kicking my legs, I dive under the water and come up, swimming away from the beach and into deeper water. Thanks to my dream state, my muscles don’t grow tired. I keep swimming, enjoying the stretch of each stroke as I swim.
Caspian swims alongside me, his gray eyes studying me with a soft curve to his lips and a glint in his luminous eyes. Water flows over my body, awash with magic that soaks into my skin.
Time blurs, the dream becoming softer around the edges. We go from swimming to lying on a beach towel across the sand. Caspian lies on his back beside me with one knee raised.
Rolling onto my side, I reach out and brush my knuckles down his cheek. He turns his head, lavishing all of that exquisite attention on me. The scent of salt and sage overtakes my senses, filling my lungs with him.
“Yeah, I feel it too,” I murmur.
Those full lips pull into a breathtaking smile.
The dream brightens around us, as if he lit up the entire world. An unbridled surge of affection wells up in my chest.
Sunlight poured in through the sheer curtains, dragging me from my lovely dream. Groaning, I rolled over and pressed my face into my pillow.
I’d rather be back on that beach.