Wonder: A Soul Savers Collection of Holiday Short Stories & Recipes (22 page)

Chapter 3

As soon as Jessie entered the castle in the sky—at least, that’s what the faerie palace felt like—everything changed. Her favorite music (country) played, making her body automatically move to the beat. The scent of her favorite sweets lingered in the air, and when she licked her lips, she tasted cinnamon candy on her tongue. She drifted through a haze of colored lights that made her feel as though she walked on the clouds themselves. Her senses were overcome with everything she loved as the real world slipped away.

“Aren’t you glad you came?” Becca, her face now disguised by luscious purple feathers, asked from her side. The faerie took her hand and pulled her deeper into the party, where masked guests danced, their multi-colored drinks sloshing in their glasses.

Three more faeries skipped up to her and grabbed at her arms and hands. They chatted incessantly about the party, two of them with heavy British accents and the other with a southern drawl.

“We’re so glad you came!” The one with the purple streaking her white hair finally acknowledged Jessie. “I’m Debbie, and this is Stacey and Lisa, and we’ve been waiting for you.”

Jessie lifted a brow.

“Well, actually,
he’s
been waiting for you.” Stacey, whose white hair was feathered with bright pink in it, nodded toward a man standing in the shadows in the corner. “He doesn’t know it yet, but he will.”

Oh, great. They were setting her up. The faeries had brought her on a blind date! What had she done to them? She didn’t owe them anything! These irate thoughts left Jessie’s mind as soon as they entered, and she found herself nodding and smiling. Somewhere deep inside, she knew they were influencing her, but she couldn’t fight it. To be fair, not too many people of the Earthly realm could fight the effects of faeries.

“So you just stay here, and we’ll take care of it all,” Lisa, the one with green hair and the southern accent, said.

“Just remember—leave the mask on or you’ll ruin the magic,” Becca added, and then the four of them disappeared.

A minute later, Jessie couldn’t even remember speaking with them. She couldn’t remember where she was or why she was there. All she knew was the music pulsing through the floor had become a part of her, and all she wanted to do was dance. She twirled in place, and when she stopped, a drink had appeared in her hand. She tossed the whole thing back, then swung around again. Now someone’s hand appeared in hers.

A large one. Warm. Strong. Sending electric currents up her arm.

Another hand landed on the small of her back. More jolts of pleasure danced through her body.

Her whole being rose to a new high as she slowly looked up, noticing the broad chest and shoulders, the biceps bulging against the long-sleeve shirt, and the metal face looking down at her. It wasn’t a real face, of course. His mask—black, red, and silver metal—completely covered his real features, though. A film over the eye-holes even camouflaged his eyes. But Jessie could
feel
them. Feel the pierce of them as he gazed at her, and she never wanted him to let her go.

Keeping his hold on her, he swept her to the side, spun her in place, dipped and lifted, and pushed and pulled until she was woozy with euphoria.

“I love to hear you laugh,” he said as she leaned her back against his arm and giggled while he spun her around.

She didn’t know if his voice was really so perfect and lovely or if it was the faerie magic messing with her senses. She didn’t know if any guy could smell as good as he did. If anyone could feel so right as he held her, their bodies fitting perfectly together. She did know the only guy who’d ever made her feel this way before was ...
What is his name?
Some guy she knew but couldn’t remember him now. She could only think of this man in her arms at this very moment, and she did know being with him was too good to be true. But she didn’t care.

She relished in the moment. She delighted in his touch. She danced the night away with him, never wanting to be anywhere else but here. He hummed to the music, sometimes even sang to her as the band continued to play all of her favorite songs. He asked her questions about herself, wanting to know all of her favorite things in life. He told her how he loved the outdoors, and that he always felt most like himself when he was in the wild. Just like her. But he also told her that he’d rather be nowhere else this very moment but here with her.

“Your mask is terrific,” he said at one point while they danced to a slow ballad.

Jessie laughed. “I don’t even know what it looks like.”

She reached to take it off to inspect what she hadn’t seen yet, but a green-haired faerie flitted over to them and batted at her hand.

“No, no, no,” Lisa said. “You don’t want to ruin the magic now, do ya?”

Jessie smiled after the faerie danced away.

“Well, I’m glad you like it,” she said to her mysterious guy. “That’s saying something.”

“It’s perfect,” he murmured, his voice near her ear, and suddenly, Jessie wanted to dispose of the masks. Of their clothes. Of everything between them. She wanted to feel his breath on her ear, taste it on her lips.

“Is it midnight yet?” she asked, her voice thick and breathy. She was excited for the New Year to start so they could leave this place, shed the masks, and truly get to know each other. Hopefully while naked.

He turned them in place, but neither noticed a clock. Once the song ended, however, the music stopped completely. Voices started rising with excitement. Someone—was that Sundae?—started a countdown. Jessie and her gentleman friend counted with them.

“Happy New Year!” they yelled with the crowd.

The band broke out into the melody for Auld Lang Syne, and everyone sang along—or tried to. Most people didn’t know the exact lyrics, but the faeries made them all sound like professionals. Jessie turned to the man who had made her feel like a princess all night long and looked up at him.

Again, she couldn’t see his eyes, but she could feel his gaze, a piercing all the way into her soul. He tilted his head toward her, and her lips ached for his touch. She couldn’t stand it any longer. It was midnight now. Surely they could remove the masks. How else could anyone share a midnight kiss? Jessie raised her hand and gripped the edge of her mask, feeling soft fur against her fingers. She hesitated, hoping he’d remove his mask at the same time—or better, would do it before her so she could see him first. The man closed his hand over hers, though, and shook his head, but then he released it and caressed the tips of his fingers down her neck. Screw it! She would go first.

She leaned up on her toes, pressing her chest against his. Their hearts beat in unison as they tried to gaze into each other’s eyes. She once again grabbed the bottom of her mask and lifted. It peeled slowly away, from chin to lips to nose to brow, and as it did, the music faded away. The lights dimmed. The sweet fragrance dissipated. The man whose face she didn’t know reached out for her, but his fist closed around nothing. His image wavered and swirled, becoming nothing more than a mist.

Jessie blinked.

Darkness engulfed her. She closed her eyes again, but the darkness remained when she opened them. Her gaze darted around as her mind re-oriented itself to her surroundings.

“Shit!” she groaned.

She was in her own room, wearing the same jeans and t-shirt she’d worn to work that day.

Chapter 4

Had it really been a dream?

“No!” Jessie snapped out loud, although there was no evidence to the contrary. No fancy clothes lay on the floor or hung in the closet. No sexy hair and makeup showed in the mirror when she stopped in the bathroom. No sweet smell lingered on her skin and no taste of cinnamon on her lips or tongue. And definitely no furry mask to be found anywhere in her apartment. She’d already torn it apart, trying to disprove what was so obvious: she’d dreamt the whole thing.

But it had felt so
real
.

She didn’t remember leaving the bar and coming home, but apparently she’d done just that. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table: 12:24. She’d slept right through midnight. How lame!

“Well, at least it had been a good dream,” she muttered, and she threw herself on the bed, hoping that if she fell asleep, the dream would continue.

No such luck. She did fall back to sleep, but her dreams were fleeting. Snatches of the faerie ball showed, as though her mind tried to grasp the beautiful dream but couldn’t bring it back to life. She woke up grumpy the next morning, glad it was a holiday so she could stay home by herself, drink coffee, and lose herself in a good book. She’d just snuggled under the covers with a mug in one hand and her ereader in the other when there was a knock on her door.

“Jessie, someone’s here to see you,” Sundae called to her.

Jessie considered not responding, pretending like she was still asleep, hoping Sundae—and the visitor—would go away. There was no one she’d want to see right now. Who would come to see her anyway?

Sundae knocked again. “Are you okay?”

“Um—” Jessie cleared her throat. “I don’t feel well. I think I’ve come down with something.”

The door burst open then. Jessie mewled with surprise.

“Sorry,” Sundae said, “but she wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. You know how they are.”

Jessie frowned at her boss and landlady, who stood in the doorway wearing her usual low-cut jeans and a tight sweater that showed off all her curves. Her straight brown, almost black, hair swung against her shoulders as she looked behind her. A small body pushed past her. A petite woman, smaller than even Jessie, with black and purple hair that hung far down her back, strode into Jessie’s apartment.

“I’m not the only one looking for you,” Becca, the faerie, said.

Jessie blinked. She looked at Sundae. The pack leader shrugged, but then a small smile lifted one corner of her mouth.

“Actually, I did hear something ...” Sundae said, but she didn’t finish.

“What’s going on?” Jessie demanded as she placed her mug on the nightstand and dropped her ereader to the bed. “Someone needs to explain!”

She couldn’t believe the faerie from her dream was standing in her very room now. She’d never even met Becca before, and here she was! And Sundae wasn’t surprised by it at all.

“I’m what’s going on,” said a familiar male voice that made Jessie’s stomach flip over. Sundae had stepped into the apartment and now Jack walked in, too.

Jessie jumped up from bed and immediately regretted it. She hadn’t bothered changing out of her purple and hot-pink striped pajama bottoms and tank top. She suddenly felt naked and vulnerable and wished she’d remained under the covers.

“I ... uh ... don’t understand.” She couldn’t help the stammer. She may have been in her own home, but she was completely out of her comfort zone. Jack was in her place! In her one-room place! In her
bedroom
, in other words.

“Does this, by chance, belong to you?” Jack asked, and he held up what looked like a dog’s head. No, a wolf’s, and only its face.

Jessie laughed, and it sounded a bit on the hysterical side. “Why would I have a wolf’s face?”

“It’s a mask,” Jack clarified.

Jessie’s brows pushed together. “Okay, a mask. You know what I am, Jack. I’d never—”

Becca, who stood behind Jack still, cleared her throat. “Well, yes, you would.”

Jessie looked at the faerie. “Yes, I would what?”

“You’d wear a mask like that. In fact, you did. Last night. At my party?”

The air seemed to suck out of her lungs again, but not because she’d flashed. Her reality was crumbling all around her.

“I ... didn’t go to a party last night.”

“Of course you did!” Sundae and Becca said at the same time.

“I saw you there,” Sundae said. “At least, now I know it was you. I kind of thought so, but the mask threw me. Never thought I’d see a cat wearing a dog mask.”

“Because I wouldn’t!”

“But you did,” Becca insisted. “I gave it to you, remember? And I told you that taking it off would ruin the magic. So when you removed it, we had to send you back here.”

Jessie plopped down on her bed and dropped her head into her hands. “So let me get this straight. I went to the faerie ball.”

“Yes. I helped you get ready, remember?”

“And I wore a wolf mask? That
you
gave me?”

“Yes.”

“And why on earth would you do that to me?” This last question came through gritted teeth. She was proud to be a cat. The thought of looking like a dog, even a wolf, freaked her out.

“I was told to,” Becca said. “Not my decision.”

Jessie was about to ask whose it was—if all of this was true and everything that had happened last night wasn’t a dream, it must have been Hell after her—but Jack stopped her by taking two steps closer. He stood in front of her now and knelt down to her eye level. He held not only her mask in his hand, but another as well. Red and black and silver metal.

“I think the wolf mask was for me, so I’d know you,” he said quietly. He looked down at the masks in his hand as he continued. “I wasn’t even going to go, but Gray got me to thinking when he said all the Amadis would be there. There was only one person I would want to see, but I’d been denying my feelings for months now. So I thought maybe if I went, I’d find the one I was really supposed to be with. I even said to myself, ‘I’ll know her when I see her.’” He paused and looked up at Jessie, and she felt the same pierce into her soul that she’d felt last night. “The only woman I saw was the one I’d wanted all along, and she was dressed specifically for me.”

Jessie stared at him for a long moment, blinking back the hope that insisted on rising, a tangible feeling growing in her chest.

“And you’re here because ...” The words came out in a whisper, her throat too dry to manage anything more.

Jack glanced at the masks. “Because it’s a New Year. A fresh start. Time for me to stop making excuses and to act on what’s right. And you’re right for me, Jessie.” She began to shake her head, but he pressed his hand against her cheek and stopped her. “I’ve known how right you are since that day I found you in the woods.”

“But I’m ... I’m a
cat
, Jack. This can never work.”

“Do you want it?” Sundae asked from behind Jack. Jessie had forgotten anyone else besides the two of them were still in the room.

“It doesn’t matter,” Jessie said. “Your pack—”

“My pack wants what’s best for each member,” Sundae interrupted. “And you and Jack are best for each other. It’s been clear to the rest of us for months. We’ve been waiting on the two of you to realize it.”

Jessie sucked in her bottom lip and gnawed on it as she looked at Sundae, then Becca, then Jack. His hand still pressed against her face, and his thumb stroked her cheek. She couldn’t believe her dream had come true! That it actually happened. And now the man she’d thought she could never have was on his knees in front of her, practically begging her to take him.

“Can I have that kiss I missed last night now?” he asked as he leaned in closer. He waved a hand behind him, dismissing the onlookers.

“My job here is done,” Becca said happily. “And yes, you do owe me. Both of you.”

She and Sundae disappeared, closing the door behind them, while Jessie flopped backwards on her bed.

“We owe the faeries now,” she groaned.

Jack climbed onto her bed on all fours and placed a hand on each side of her head to hover over her. He lowered himself to only inches above her.

“It will be worth it,” he promised before pressing his mouth to hers.