A Witch's Curse Read Free Page A

real home.”
    “ I’m impressed.”
    Carolyn opened the door to the master bedroom and stood back to allow Maggie a good view.
    “ Wow, a four-poster bed, complete with canopy! Are those velvet curtains? What fun you can have in here, and would you take a gander at the carvings on the armoire. Looks like all this furniture has been here since they built the house. The antiques in this museum must be worth a fortune.”
    “ I imagine they are, but I won’t sell a single one of them.”
    “ Why not? They don’t hold any memories for you.”
    “ True. Just doesn’t seem right though to discard them like yesterday’s news. They’ve more right to be here than I do.”
    “ You’re such a romantic.”

    * * * *

    Their day’s efforts proved very productive as well as extremely tiring. The first floor gleamed from top to bottom. To Carolyn’s great relief, they even managed to banish the harsh, lingering, hospital odor from the library. Lastly, they tackled the master bedroom so Carolyn could rest in a real bed and not on the sofa. Carolyn planned to clean the remaining rooms on the second and third floors in the evenings after work and on the weekends. She’d left Maggie alone to run the store by herself for too long already.
    Carolyn stood on the front porch, waving at her friend until the fog swallowed Maggie’s car. With one more deep breath of the brisk night air, she went back inside to lock all the doors and windows before going upstairs to lie down for a few hours. Understandably dismissing last night as a fluke, she didn’t necessarily assume she would fall asleep again tonight. Still, she needed rest, and should she sleep, and should her mystery man appear…
    In her bedroom, she found Chester curled in a tight ball on the rocking chair next to the bed, sleeping serenely. Undressed, Carolyn went into the bathroom to take a long, hot, soapy shower and tried unsuccessfully to release the sexual frustrations she had since waking. After toweling off, she put on a pair of fresh panties, an oversized t-shirt, and crawled into bed. Surrendering to her exhaustion, Carolyn fell into a deep slumber.
    Fi nding herself back on the garden path lined with the neatly trimmed hedges, she gazed into the dense fog, wondering if her anonymous lover would come to her again when powerful hands rested her on her shoulders. She shivered with an unrepressed desire as he pressed his hard erection into her backside. His rich, deep voice filled her with an overpowering craving to take him inside her.
    “ You’ve come back to me, my dearest Caroline. I have waited so long for you to return to me,” he breathed in her ear.
    She wanted to protest that she wasn’t Caroline, except, the words wouldn't come out. For reasons she didn't understand, this man completely captivated her. Her body blossomed to life at his briefest touch, and she didn’t dare break the spell. Least of all now, when his powerful hands roamed down her sides and raised her t-shirt over her head. Carolyn lifted her arms and struggled for breath as the soft material of her tee slid enticingly over her stiffening nipples.
    She sagged against him as he reached around to cup her breasts, toying with her sensitive nubs, making them harder and more erect. A fierce yearning grew in her belly, a longing that wouldn’t quench easily. Her core heated to the melting point then spread between her legs. His kisses burned on her ears, neck, and shoulders. Carolyn trembled as his hand moved down to cover her lace panties and rub her mound; light, long strokes at first, then harder and faster, stoking the heat inside her.
    Pearls of moisture seeped through her soft inner lips from the intense emotions he ignited inside her. A decadent thrill coursed through her when he forcefully grabbed her panties and ripped them from her body. His fingers splayed her wet fold and ran his fingertips up and down, driving her to new heights of bliss.
    Carolyn’s eyes widened as he removed his