Protecting His Windflower (A Spirit Hunters Series Novel Book 1) by Temperance Dawn (best ereader for epub TXT) 📗

felt like she’d known him her entire life. It wasn’t common that you could sit with a person in silence and not feel awkward. But with Liam, it felt natural. As if they had been together their whole lives and were content just being with each other.

The sound of the waves rushing onshore lulled her into a deep state of relaxation, easing the anxiety that had been building since arriving in San Francisco. Emily glanced at Liam. The man was a living God. His blue eyes sparkled as the sunlight bounced off of the water. His lightly tanned skin, accented by dark stubble framing his face, glowed. And she was still in awe of the idea that Liam wanted her. A thought that caused her insides to flip and tingle all at once.

He stared out at the ocean, and she sensed he was grappling with a thought. She leaned toward him and said in his ear, “Penny for your thoughts.”

Liam looked over at her and smiled. He leaned back on an elbow, stretching his legs out in front of him. Looking back out at the ocean. “I’m thinking about this girl.”

“Aw. A girl, huh?”

“Yeah. I haven’t known her for very long, but she’s starting to work her way into my heart.”

Whoa. She was not expecting that. Liking the little game he was playing, Emily decided she would play along. “Work her way into your heart, huh? Interesting. Well, judging from that blush on your cheeks, I take it that’s a good thing and not a sign that she’s annoying you.”

“She could never annoy me.” Liam shook his head while he drew circles in the sand with his finger before looking up.

“Oh, you would be surprised. Especially since you don’t know her very well. People have a way of nitpicking the little things after a while. You might find that you hate the way she chews. Or the way she lets her clean laundry sit in the basket for days without folding it.”

“That could never happen.” Liam chuckled. “I happen to know for a fact that I love watching her eat. I also happen to know that I couldn’t give a shit about where she puts her clean clothes.”

“Well…” Emily leaned back on her elbow. The wind was calmer closer to the sand, and the sound of the rushing waves surrounded them, blocking out all other noise. It felt as if they were the only two people on the beach at that moment. “What if she has a crazy friend who is super overprotective?”

“Then, I’d be glad she had an amazing friend who cared about her.”

“What if she lived in a haunted house and had been followed by ghosts her entire life who were dead set on keeping her from finding happiness?”

Liam gently tugged on her arm, and she scooted closer to him. They were so close if they’d been any closer their eyes would have lost focus. Liam stared deep into her eyes, his own gaze fierce but protective.

“I don’t care about haunted houses. I would promise to help her find out what was following her and put a stop to it. Ghosts don’t scare me. That’s why I hunt them. There is one thing that scares me. I’m afraid to tell her because I don’t want to scare her.”

“What?” she asked him with concern in her voice.

Liam cupped her cheek with his palm and pulled in a deep breath.

“I’ve had haunting dreams myself for years.”

“You have?”

“Yes.” Liam stared at her. He was still struggling with the thought in his head. Emily watched as his jaw clenched, and his lips pressed together.

“Tell me?” she asked as she placed her hand on his cheek in an attempt to comfort him. She knew the fear of having reoccurring dreams and not understanding them. Understood the anxiety of wanting to confide in another person but being afraid to tell anyone.

Liam closed his eyes and took a breath. When his lids opened, and his gaze met hers, he said, “In it, I’m surrounded by a man. I can’t move because I’ve been hurt. But that’s not what scares me.”

“What scares you?” Emily whispered.

Swallowing hard, Liam continued, “There’s a woman in my dream. Always the same woman. She’s been hurt and held captive. I can’t move and I can’t help her.”

“Oh, Liam.” Emily moved closer. She could see the anguish he felt from thinking about it. “Why would that scare me?” Emily didn’t understand his worry about scaring her. The emotion was clearly visible across his beautiful face. He spoke again.

“Because that woman is you.”

Emily pulled away a fraction and looked into Liam’s eyes. She could see the concern in them. His lips still pressed tightly together, his hand squeezed hers. Deep down, she knew he wasn’t lying. He was confiding in her the way that she did with him. “How can I be in your dream? We only just met.”

Liam shrugged and shook his head. “I’ve been trying to figure it out, and I’ve been terrified to say anything to you because I don’t have an explanation. All I can tell you is that I’ve seen you in my dream since high school. I’ve always hated having it. Now, I almost want to dream it nightly so I can figure it all out. But I can’t, and it’s driving me crazy. The second I saw you that night outside of your flat, I knew who you were. The beauty from my dream. The one I can’t get to.

“That morning, when you saw the shadow in your bathroom, I heard you scream, and I had a flashback to my dream. It’s the same scream. That’s why I ran downstairs so fast. I had to get to you. I know down to the marrow of my bones that somehow you and I are connected. Please tell me, you know of me too.”

Emily closed her eyes and put her forehead to Liam’s. “In my dream, everything is hazy. The images aren’t clear, but I can hear you.