Fantasy Lover

Hours later, Grace sighed as she opened the door to her two-story bungalow and stepped into her polished foyer. She tossed her handful of mail onto the antique drop-leaf table by her staircase before she shut and locked the door behind her, then dropped the keys next to the mail.

As she pulled off her black high heels, silence rang in her ears and a lump settled deep in her chest. Every night she followed the same innocuous routine. Come home to an empty house, drop her mail on the table, trudge upstairs to change, eat a small meal, sort the mail, read a book, call Selena, check with her answering service, then go to bed.

Selena was right, Grace's life was a short, boring study in monotony.

And at twenty-nine, Grace was tired of it.

Heck, even Jamie the nose-picker was starting to look good.

Well, maybe not Jamie, and most especially not Jamie's nose, but surely there was someone out there somewhere who wasn't a cretin.

Wasn't there?

As Grace headed up the stairs, she decided living by herself wasn't so terribly awful. At least she had plenty of time to devote to her hobbies.

Or to develop some hobbies, she thought as she walked down the hallway toward her bedroom. One day, she really was going to get herself a hobby.

She crossed her bedroom and dropped her shoes by the bed, then quickly changed.

She'd just finished pulling her hair into a ponytail when the doorbell rang.

Heading back downstairs, she went to let Selena in.

As soon as the door opened, Selena huffed, "You're not wearing that tonight, are you?"

Grace looked down at the holes in her jeans and her oversized T-shirt. "Since when did you start caring about what I look like?"

Then she saw it in the huge wicker bag Selena used to carry her groceries. "Ugh, not that book again."

Looking a bit peeved, Selena said, "You know what your problem is, Gracie?"

Grace looked up at the ceiling, seeking heavenly help. Unfortunately, none was forthcoming. "What? That I don't go moon-crazy and toss my freckled, fat self at every guy I meet?"

"That you don't know just how adorable you really are."

While Grace stood dumbfounded by such an uncharacteristic remark, Selena took the book into her living room, and set it on the coffee table. Next, Selena removed the wine from her bag, and headed for the kitchen.

Grace didn't bother to follow after her. She'd called for pizza before she left work, and she knew Selena was just getting wine glasses.

As if pulled by an unseen hand, Grace felt herself drawn toward the coffee table and the book.

Unbidden, her hand reached out for it, and as she touched the soft leather, she could almost swear she felt something brush her cheek.

That was ridiculous.

You don't believe in this stuff.

Grace ran her hand over the smooth, perfect leather, noting that no lettering or title appeared anywhere on it. She opened the cover.

This was the strangest book she'd ever seen. The pages looked as if they'd once been some kind of scroll or something that had later been bound into book form.

The bleached parchment crinkled under her fingers as she turned to the first page and saw an intricate emblem of painted scrollwork that had three intersecting triangles and a beguiling image of three women united by swords.

Frowning, Grace vaguely recalled it as some sort of ancient Greek symbol.

Even more intrigued than before, she flipped through the book only to find it was completely empty except for the three pages...

How weird.

It must have been some sort of sketchbook for an artist or a sculptor, she decided. That would be the only explanation for why the pages were left blank. Something must have happened before the artist had a chance to add anything more to the book.

But that didn't really explain why the pages looked a whole lot older than the binding...

Flipping back to the drawing of the man, she studied the writing across the page from him but couldn't make any of it out. Unlike Selena, she'd avoided language classes in college like they were poison, and if not for Selena, she would never have passed that part of her core curriculum at all.

"It's definitely Greek to me," she said under her breath, then she returned her attention to the man.

He was amazing. So very perfect and inviting.

So incredibly sexy.

Completely captivated by him, she wondered how long it would take to make a drawing so perfect. Someone must have spent years on it, because the guy literally looked as if he could step right off the page and into her house.

Selena paused in the doorway as she watched Grace staring at Julian. In all the years she'd known Grace, she'd never seen her so enthralled.

Good.

Maybe Julian could help her.

Four years was really too long.

But then Paul had been an inconsiderate, self-centered pig. His callousness for Grace's feelings had even made her cry the night he'd taken her virginity.

And no woman deserved to cry. Especially not while she was with someone who had told her he cared about her.

Julian would definitely be good for Grace. A month with him and Grace would forget all about Paul. And once Grace tasted what real, mutual sex was like, then she would be free of Paul's cruelty forever.

But first Selena had to get her stubborn chum to be a little more compliant.

"Did you order the pizza?" Selena asked, handing her a full glass of wine.

Grace absently took it. For some reason, she couldn't quite take her eyes off the picture.

"Gracie?"

Blinking, she forced herself to look up. "Hmm?"

"Caught you looking," Selena teased.

Grace cleared her throat. "Oh, please, it's just a little black-and-white drawing."

"Hon, there ain't nothing little in that drawing."

"You're bad, Selena."

"True enough. More wine?"

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," Selena said, setting the wine down on the end table, then heading to the foyer.

A few minutes later Selena returned to the room. Grace let the wonderful aroma of a large pepperoni pizza drag her thoughts away from the book. And the man who seemed to have branded his image on her subconscious.

But it wasn't easy.

In fact, it seemed to get harder by the minute.

What the heck was wrong with her? She was the Ice Queen. Not even Brad Pitt or Brendan Fraser made her lustful. And they were in full, living color.

What was it about that drawing?

About him?

Grace took a careful bite of the pizza and defiantly moved to an armchair across the room. There. She'd show that book and Selena that she was in control.

Four pieces of pizza, two Hostess cupcakes, four glasses of wine, and a full movie later, she and Selena were lying on the floor draped over stacked sofa cushions while they laughed at Sixteen Candles.

" 'You say it's your birthday,' " Selena started singing as she pounded the floor like a bongo drum. " 'It's my birthday, too.'"

Grace swiped her head with a cushion, then giggled as her head buzzed from the wine.

"Gracie?" Selena asked, her voice full of mirth. "Are you tipsy?"

She giggled again. "Maybe just comfortably toasty. Pop-Tart toasty."

Selena laughed at Grace, and pulled the band from Grace's hair. "Then are you willing to try a little experiment?'

"No!" Grace said emphatically, brushing her loose hair behind her ears. "I don't want to Ouija, or do the pendulum thing, and I swear if I see one tarot card or rune stone I'll yack cupcake all over you."

Biting her lower lip, Selena pulled the book off the table and flipped it open.

Five minutes to midnight.

She held the picture up for Grace's inspection and pointed to the incredible form. "What about him?"

Grace looked at it and smiled. "He is yummy, isn't he?"

Well, that was definitely progress. Selena couldn't remember the last time Grace had complimented a guy's looks. She waved the book teasingly before Grace's face.

"C'mon, Gracie. Admit it. You want this handsome guy"

"If I said I wouldn't toss him out of my bed for eating crackers, would you leave me alone?"

"Maybe. What else wouldn't you toss him out of bed for?"

She rolled her eyes and laid her head down on the pillow. "Eating greasy grimy gopher guts?"

"Now I think I'm going to yack."

"Watch the movie."

"Only if you'll try this one itty-bitty chant."

Grace raised her head and sighed. She knew better than to argue with Selena-she had that look. And nothing short of a meteorite crashing through the house would make her stop until she got her way.

Besides, what was the harm? She'd learned years ago that nothing ever came of Selena's silly chants and spells. "All right. If it'll ease your pain, I'll do it."

"Yay!" Selena said, grabbing her arm and pulling her to her feet. "We need to go out to the deck."

"Fine, but I'm not ripping the head off a voodoo chicken or drinking anything disgusting."

Feeling like a kid at a sleepover who had lost a truth-or-dare contest, Grace allowed Selena to pull her outside her sliding glass door. The damp air filled her lungs as crickets chirped, and a thousand stars twinkled above them. Grace supposed it was a beautiful night to summon a love-slave.

She snickered at the thought.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked Selena. "Wish on some planet?"

Shaking her head, Selena moved her to stand in the circle of moonlight where it fell over the eaves of her roof. Selena handed her the opened book. "Hold this to your breast."

"Oh, baby," Grace said in mock desire as she cuddled the book to her chest like a lover. "You make me so hot and horny. I just can't wait to sink my teeth into that wonderful body of yours."

Selena laughed. "Stop it. This is serious!"

"Serious? Please. I'm standing out here on my twenty-ninth birthday, barefoot and in jeans my mother would burn, holding a stupid book to my chest in an effort to summon a Greek love-slave from the great beyond." She looked at Selena. "I only know one way to make this even more ridiculous..."

Grace held the book in one hand, opened her arms wide, tipped her head back, and implored the dark sky above, "Oh, take me, great gorgeous love-slave and have your wicked way with me. I command you to rise" she said, wagging her eyebrows.

Selena snorted. "That's not how you do it. You have to say his name three times."

Grace straightened up. "Love-slave, love-slave, love-slave."

Her hands on her hips, Selena glared at her. "Julian of Macedon."

"Oh, sorry." Grace hugged the book to her breast and closed her eyes. "Come and ease my aching loins, O great Julian of Macedon, Julian of Macedon, Julian of Macedon."

She looked back at Selena. "You know, that's hard to say three times fast."

But Selena wasn't paying a bit of attention to her. She was busy looking around for the appearance of a handsome Greek stranger.

Grace rolled her eyes again as a subtle wind swept across the yard and a faint scent of sandalwood wafted around them. Grace took a second to savor the pleasant smell before it evaporated and the breeze settled down to the hot, thick air that was so common on an August night.

All of a sudden, there was a faint sound in her backyard. A small rustle of leaves coming from the shrubs.

Cocking her brow, Grace looked to the bushes that were swaying.

Then, the imp in her took over. "Oh, my God," Grace breathed, pointing toward a bush in the backyard. "Selena, look over there!"

Selena turned around in a hurry at her excited gesture. A tall shrub swayed as if someone were behind it.

"Julian?" Selena called.

Selena took a step closer.

The tree bent over. Suddenly, a hiss and a meow sounded an instant before two cats darted off across the backyard.

"Look, Lanie, it's Mr. Tomcat come to save me from my celibacy." Cradling the book in one arm, Grace lifted the back of her hand to her brow in a feigned swoon. "Oh, help me, Moon Mistress. Whatever am I to do with the attentions of such an unwanted suitor! Help me quick, before he kills me with my allergies."

"Give me that book," Selena snapped, snatching it from her chest. She headed back into the house while she flipped through its pages. "Dammit, what did I do wrong?"

Grace slid open her door to let Selena back into the cool house. "You didn't do anything wrong, hon. It's a farce. How many times do I have to tell you that some little old man sits in a back room somewhere making all this stuff up? I'll bet he's laughing his head off right now that we were dumb enough-"

"Maybe there was something else we needed to do. I'll bet there's something in the first few paragraphs that I can't read. That must be it."

Grace locked the sliding glass door and begged for patience. And Selena calls me stubborn.

The phone rang. Answering it, Grace heard Bill's voice asking for Selena.

"It's for you," she said, handing the phone over to her friend.

Selena took it. "Yeah?" She paused for several minutes and Grace could hear his excited chatter. By the sudden pallor of Selena's features, she could tell something had happened.

"Okay, okay. I'll be right home. Are you sure you're all right? Okay, I love you. I'm on my way-don't try and do anything until I get there."

A horrible stab of fear knotted Grace's stomach tight. Over and over, she saw the policeman at her dorm room door, heard his dispassionate voice: I'm sorry to inform you...

"What is it?" Grace asked.

"Bill fell while they were playing basketball and broke his arm."

She released her breath in relief. Thank God, it wasn't a car wreck. "Is he all right?"

"He said so. His friends took him to a doc-in-the-box and had it X-rayed before they dropped him off. He told me not to worry, but I think I better get on home."

"You want me to drive you?"

Selena shook her head. "No, unlike me you've had one too many glasses of wine. Besides, I'm sure it's nothing serious. You know what a worrywart I am. You stay here and enjoy the rest of your movie. I'll call you tomorrow morning."

"Okay. Let me know how he's doing."

Selena gathered up her bag and dug out her keys. As she started out the door, she paused and handed the book back to Grace. "What the hell. Keep it. It should give you a good laugh for the next few days while you remember what an idiot I am."

"You're not an idiot. Just eccentric."

"That's what they said about Mary Todd Lincoln. Until they locked her up."

Laughing, Grace took the book and watched Selena walk out to her car. "You be careful," she shouted out the door. "And thanks for the gift, and for coming over."

Selena waved before getting into her bright red Jeep Cherokee and driving off.

With a tired sigh, Grace shut and locked the door, then tossed the book on the sofa. "Now don't go anywhere, love-slave."

Grace laughed at their silliness. Would Selena ever outgrow such nonsense?

She turned off the TV and took their dirty dishes to the kitchen sink. As she rinsed out the glasses, she saw a bright flash of light.

For a second, she thought it was lightning.

Until she realized it came from inside the house.

"What the... ?"

She put the wine glasses aside and walked toward the living room. At first she didn't see anything. But as she came flush with the doorway, she felt a strange presence. One that made the hair on the back of her arms and neck rise.

Cautiously, she entered the room and saw a tall figure standing in front of the couch. It was a man.

A handsome man.

A naked man!