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"Georgia, I keep forgetting how demure you are," Anna deadpanned. I coughed and focused on a piece of non-existent piece of lint on my dress so I didn't laugh at the obvious sarcasm in her voice.
Anna Wilson was a tiny, vivacious woman in her early thirties. She had a tumble of shoulder length brown curls, clever brown eyes and had zero tolerance for bullshit. She was a successful realtor in Bali, also a fellow American that originally hailed from the east coast. Anna was the one friend here that knew of my ability and had accepted me with a shoulder shrug and never mentioned it again.
"Come here and give me a hug, bitch," Anna laughed, extracting herself from Georgia's embrace to tug me in for a brief hug. "Don't get any ideas about the two of us just because I'm happy to see you. "
Laughing at Anna's snark, we sat down at the table and I grabbed a menu. As I flipped through the pages, I felt like someone was intently watching our table. Quickly glancing around the restaurant, I lowered my shields to focus on the crowd. I was instantly bombarded with emotions that ranged from desire, happiness, and angst. Unable to find anyone that had plans on approaching our table, I raised my shields back into place and blamed my nerves on the busy crowd.
The conversation was light and fun, partially due to numerous glasses of wine I consumed during dinner. I felt myself start to relax when I realized my shields were better than I thought they would be. Was the alcohol making me brave or was I underestimating myself? I had a feeling it was the alcohol.
We'd just finished dinner when a DJ started playing music in the bar area. Georgia and Anna pleaded and tried to drag me onto the dance floor with them. I quickly waved them off and motioned to the patio across the room. I walked slowly to the door and stepped out onto the patio, glancing back over my shoulder to watch Georgia as she swayed in time to the music with a dark haired man, not wasting any time in snagging herself a dance partner. Anna was sitting at the bar, deep in conversation with the bartender. I slipped out the door, happy that I wouldn't be missed for a few minutes since they were both occupied.
Smiling to myself, I stepped carefully down the stairs to the beach below and watched as the waves crashed onto the beach. I was actually glad that I'd let Georgia talk me into coming out tonight. There was really no chance I could have convinced Georgia I didn't want to anyway. She would have stomped in, dressing and physically hauling me out if necessary. I let out a loud laugh at the mental image, the sound echoing through the balmy night air.
"May I ask what is so funny?"
Startled by the deep, smooth accented voice, I whirled around to see a man swaggering towards me. He was well over six feet tall and solidly built with blond, Nordic good looks. His face was finely sculpted, with sparkling eyes blue like the ocean. I had the strangest feeling of deja vu wash over me as I stared at him. He looked exactly like the man from my dreams.
It couldn't be possible.
"N-nothing really," I stuttered, my breath coming out in a shudder. "It's sort of an inside joke about my friends inside. "
"Ah. A joke. " The blond man moved to stand close enough to me so that our arms were touching. I'd obviously had too much wine to drink, since I could have sworn there was some sort of spark that passed between us when our skin brushed against each other. I absently rubbed my fingers over my arm, wondering if I'd finally lost my mind or if this was just another dream that I'd be waking up from soon.
Let's face it, men that looked like he did just didn't just appear on a beach and approach me every day. In fact, the only time I'd ever seen a man that
looked like him was in my dreams. I could feel my heart start to race when I started to notice the similarities between him and my fantasy man. They shared the same blond hair and chiseled face with skin that almost glowed iridescently. He was almost too perfect to be real, a work of impossible masculine beauty.
I was way out of my league with him. Hell, we weren't even in the same ballpark.
Unsure how to proceed, I lowered my shield to try to see his future or feel his emotions and gasped when I couldn't do either. He was a void, his presence a gentle hum in my mind. The hair raised on the back of my neck as my brain worked overtime trying to figure out why I couldn't read him.
His deep voice brought me out of my thoughts as he extended his large hand to me, inclining his head slightly. "I should introduce myself. I am Stefan Lifsten. And you are?"
Hesitantly I placed my much smaller hand in his and immediately noticed the cool, silky hardness of his skin. I was startled at the electricity that jolted between us when his large hand enveloped mine. Shivers of excitement shot through my body and a slow, long forgotten burn ignited between my legs. I wasn't sure if it was a good sign that the simple touch of his hand made my panties want to disappear into the night.
"I'm Josephine Anderson. Everyone calls me Josie but you can call me whatever you want. . . . . " I said nervously, my cheeks burning with embarrassment at my mindless chatter. I could now add verbal diarrhea to my mental checklist of the many reasons why I knew this man was out of my league.
"Josephine. It is my pleasure to meet you. " Stefan lowered his mouth to my hand and brushed it lightly with his lips. My skin throbbed where his mouth had touched my skin, a sensation I'd never experienced before. I drew in a shaky breath and glanced in the direction of the bar. I was trying to focus on the faint sounds of music to calm down before I made a bigger idiot out of myself.
"Would you like go inside and dance with me, Josephine?" Stefan asked. A beautiful smile slowly broke across his face, causing fine lines to crinkle around his eyes.
Stunned into silence by his question, my lips parted in surprise as I stared back at him. Dance?!? He wants to dance with me? Would my poor body be able to handle it if I was wrapped in his arms, or would I just spontaneously combust from the sensation? I didn't know for sure, but it was a chance I was willing to take.
"Sure. " I nodded anxiously. Inwardly groaning at my lack of conversational skills, his compelling presence had reduced me to either nervous babbling or to one answer responses.
"Shall we go?" Stefan asked. He placed his large hand on my lower back and gently nudged me towards the steps that led back into the bar. We slowly climbed them together, the music getting louder as we approached the patio. He opened the door for me and I blinked as we reentered the darkened bar area, my eyes taking a moment to adjust to the light after the darkness of the beach.
"Let me get you a drink before I take you up on the dance you promised me," Stefan said and waggled his eyebrows. He led me towards the bar and pulled out a stool for me. "What would you like?"
A few dirty thoughts of what I'd like to do to him crossed my mind as I sat down, swiveling on the stool to face him. "A glass of red wine sounds great. "
When he stepped away and motioned for the bartender, I was finally able to get a good look at him as he leaned across the bar to order my drink. His hair was golden blond and thick with long layers that swept across his forehead. He had high cheekbones and his brows arched over expressive sea blue eyes. His square jaw was strong with a slight cleft in his chin. The black t-shirt he was wearing strained tightly against his broad chest, hugging the lean muscles of his long arms. His faded jeans rode low on his narrow hips and clung to his long, powerful legs.
I watched as he slowly turned and sauntered back towards me, a wry grin on his face. He placed my glass of wine in front of me and sat down. His large frame made the bar stool look much too small and his long legs stretched to brush against mine. Swallowing the groan that threatened to escape, I gingerly picked up the glass and took a large drink of wine.
"Thanks. You're not drinking anything?"
He chuckled and leaned closer to me. His sparkling eyes flickered over my face and he swallowed tightly. "No, I am fine for now. "
