Hidden Magic: An Ancient Magic Novel Read online

  And I had no idea why, but I could swear the racer-back bra I chose was trying to kill me. I reached under my tank top and unhooked my bra. I lowered the straps taking my arms out of them and pulled it from under my tank.

  “Ah finally free,” I said massaging my breasts and feeling relief. A sharp gasp came from the corner to my right. My eyes snapped up and I saw the shadow of a man reflected on the wall. I screamed and threw the first thing I could get my hands on towards him.

  My bra. I threw my bra at him. Seriously?

  I ran to the wall and turned on the light. Sitting on the arm of the loveseat was a man. I screamed again, and again. I scrambled to look for something to defend myself. I threw my cell phone at him.

  “Crapola! You could have used that to call 911, you idiot!” I yelled at myself then grabbed something else. My kindle. Nope, that wasn’t happening. I looked around me desperate, only to see cushions. I threw them. I threw them all. Either my aim was really bad or he was successfully evading the stuff I threw because nothing seemed to hit him. I threw the remote. Then I threw all the magazines on the coffee table. I threw my umbrella but I was actually relieved when I missed.

  I mean you just don’t throw your umbrella at people. That’s rude.

  Then I realized something. He wasn’t moving. He wasn’t coming at me, or yelling or apparently even breathing. He actually looked scared. Why would he be scared of me? He was the intruder not me! He also seemed… guilty? And there was this shocked expression on his face. Like he couldn’t believe I had seen him sitting there, in his perfectly visible hiding spot.

  He isn’t a very good burglar if you ask me. Is he a burglar? He isn’t stealing anything, I don’t think. He isn’t attacking me, or even trying to defend himself for that matter. What the hell?

  A thought crossed my mind. If he wanted to hurt me, he would have done it while I slept. It is obvious he got here before I woke up. That would have been his perfect chance, yet he didn’t take it. But if he wasn’t here to steal or to hurt me, what did he want? He was just sitting there staring at me like a deer in headlights. I sighed. I was so confused.

  “Well this is awkward,” I mumbled and immediately realized one very important detail I hadn’t caught before. His clothes were odd. And this had nothing to do with his fashion sense. It was more like he stepped right out of the Iron Age or something. I gasped.

  “Oh sweet mother of all things Looney… I have finally gone bonkers,” I turned my gaze to the TV. The image of a young peasant near Merlin was displayed proudly on the screen. I had fallen asleep watching the show.

  “Could I be hallucinating? Maybe I’m just still asleep,” my eyes returned to him. I shook my head. No, I could feel the sweet relief of not having my bra on anymore. That couldn’t be faked. I sighed, that left only one option. I was hallucinating. I had finally gone off the deep end and my mind had conjured my very own “imaginary friend.”

  “I’m pretty sure this isn’t what Grandpa meant by ‘you should try and meet new people. Make a few friends.’”

  I closed my eyes tight, willing him to disappear then opened them but he was still there. Unmoving. I decided to assess him and immediately concluded. He was hot for a pervert. I mean like, HOT. Like dragon breath hot. Like, Frodo could have thrown the ring at him and that would have done the job. I sat down on the sofa again and tried to figure him out.

  Oh, who the hell am I kidding? I am going to check him out. I mean if I am hallucinating this hunk, I might as well enjoy it. Right?

  I grabbed the only remaining pillow from the sofa and hugged it to my chest. He was still sitting on the armrest. I watched him while my breathing returned to normal. His did too. I could see his chest begin to rise and fall in sync with mine. I noticed his hair first. It was long, but not too long. The strands passed his jaw but barely brushed his neck, falling in layers. It was slightly wavy and it was blond with natural golden highlights in it. The strands curled a little at the ends. For some reason, my eyes followed the natural curve of his neck and shoulders instead of going to his face.

  Ok, I am lying to myself. I totally know the reason. He has beautifully strong shoulders. And those arms…

  He was wearing a thin beige linen shirt that was loose on him. But I could still see the definition of his muscles through it. His upper arms were cut. Whatever he did to exercise in the dream world, was definitely working. The shirt clung to the defined muscles as they flexed under my gaze. It had a low neck that was held together by a leather cord loosely strung. It allowed me to see the “V” that formed on the top of his hard pectoral muscles. I actually sighed. The shirt was tucked into his gray pants, which were apparently made of a thick wool material. They also had front lacing. The pants weren’t snug but the way he was sitting allowed me to see the definition of his thick thighs. He had on calf length, brown leather boots that laced up. They had a thin sole. His whole outfit seemed ancient. He looked just like the guys on the show. My eyes traveled upward and settled on his face. It was angular and unshaven. But he had more of a five o’clock shadow than a full beard. It allowed me to see the perfect edge to his strong jaw. His cheeks weren’t skinny. He had a little meat on those bones if you know what I mean.

  And I could see the hint of a dimple on his right cheek.

  “Sweet mother of everything sinful, I swear that dimple wants to wink at me.”

  I never thought a dimple could be sexy. Cute yes, like when you see them on chubby little kids. Sexy, not so much. His dimple deepened forming a perfect little groove and his plump lips curved in a half smile. Why was he smiling? He looked amused.

  “God, he has nice lips.”

  I looked up at his emerald eyes.

  Wait. Emerald eyes were staring back at me.

  Suddenly, my surroundings changed. I could see his eyes in the copy room three days ago. A chill ran down my spine as my senses finally perked up. The same sensation I had that day and a few times during the past two weeks returned. The energy was strong. I don’t know how I hadn’t noticed it before. There was this tension in the room that just kept growing, pulling me to him. It was palpable. As if our energies were connecting. I swallowed suddenly nervous and decided to speak. This silence was getting creepy.

  “Hi… You scared me. That’s not very nice.”

  He frowned apologetic, but remained silent. I sighed, and looked at the mess around me. My gaze returned to him. “Do you speak? Can you understand what I’m saying? I mean if my mind created you, you should be able to understand me, right?”

  His frown deepened, and I threw my hands in the air, getting up from the sofa. I reached for the closest magazine on the floor.

  “Oh for goodness sake,” I grumbled picking up the remote and putting it back on the coffee table. “Great ‘imaginary friend’ you are. Look at the mess you made me do? I almost had a heart attack, you know. The next time you show up, can you at least warn me in some way?” I continued picking up the room while he watched me. When I was done with the pillows I walked towards him and grabbed my phone. It had fallen a few feet away from him. I straightened and noticed he was standing up. His fully extended body was a thing of beauty. I let my eyes roam his chest. It was moving faster, so was mine. I swallowed and looked up at him appreciating how tall he really was and how close we were standing from one another. We were only a foot apart. The top of my head barely reached his chin. But the way he was looking down at me…

  “Hello,” he finally said.

  His deep, smooth voice awakened another one of my senses. He had the sexiest Irish accent I’ve ever heard. I slowly took a step back, careful not to bump into anything. I could barely concentrate on my breathing.

  “Hi.”

  He smiled, “Please forgive me for the intrusion. I did not mean to frighten you. I was merely watching you sleep when you spotted me. I am still unsure as to how you saw me, but I give you my word. I do not mean you any harm. I should have left when you awoke. Please, accept my apologies.”

  Serio
usly?

  “I saw you because I’m hallucinating you,” I made a face. “I’m kind of old for an ‘imaginary friend’ you know. I could have actually used your help when I was about five years old.” I added picking up my umbrella and going back to the coffee table to place it there. When I turned around he was watching me with a perplexed expression.

  I sighed, “Don’t they explain to you how this works before you first show up? Doesn’t my subconscious tell you what to expect? Give you instructions or something?”

  He shook his head looking at me like I was a step from crazy.

  “Yes,” I said nodding and confirming his suspicion. “Ok, this is how it works. I have no life and I’m usually bored out of my mind, even at work. Don’t ask it’s a long story. Anyway, since you are a figment of my imagination we are automatically best friends. You come to me every chance you get and we spend time together. You distract me, and then you disappear when I finally find real friends and get a social life. Understood?” I asked placing my hands on my hips and looking at him expectantly.

  He bit his lower lip, as if to prevent himself from laughing then raised his right brow. A calculative look entered his emerald eyes as if he was trying to decipher something. He looked so sexy I couldn’t help but look at his lips. I bit mine in response.

  “Very well. I understand now. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Cynwrig, but my friends call me Cyn.” He said offering me his hand.

  I looked at it and made a face.

  “Well nice to meet you, Cyn. My name is Briana but you can call me Bri. You’ll forgive me if I don’t shake your hand, but seeing as though you are not actually real I don’t see the point in even trying.” I said shrugging, then turned around and walked to the sofa letting my body sink into the cushion. I leaned my back on the armrest behind me. Holding the pillow to my chest again, I motioned for him to sit down. He did.

  “So what should we do now?” I asked then looked at the time on my phone. It displayed 12:29am. “Oops, I didn’t realize it was so late. I’m afraid we won’t have much time to do anything tonight. I have to go to the farmers market in the morning and I need to get up early. Sunday’s I like to spend the day with Grandpa, so that’s not going to work, but you can come meet me at work on Monday. If you can of course, I’m not sure how busy the schedule of an ‘imaginary friend’ is these days. Do you have anything else you need to do? Or is visiting me the only thing?”

  A full-blown smile stretched his lips creating the most adorably delicious dimples on his cheeks. His emerald eyes twinkled in amusement.

  He cleared his throat. “No, you are my only reason for being here. I will be all yours for anything you may need. All you must do is ask.”

  I nodded and got up to look for my purse. I returned with it a moment later and pulled my life planner from it.

  “Ok, I think we should meet on Monday between 1:00, and 1:30pm. Is that ok with you?”

  I asked as I wrote it down on my schedule. I looked up waiting for his answer, and jumped startled. He was practically on top of me peeking at my planner.

  “Do you mind?” I said holding my chest. “You almost gave me another heart attack. I have two words for you, personal space. Go on, move back, shoo, shoo.” I motioned with my hand. He leaned back looking into my eyes as he smiled wide.

  “I apologize.”

  Sweet mother of all things sensual, I love that accent!

  “Is that time good for you?” I asked again and saw him nod in agreement.

  “Good, then it’s a date. You can come into the copy room again if you like. I’ll meet you there.”

  He looked at me confused. “Copy room?”

  I sighed, “Yes the one where you were last time, with the big white copy machines. You know where we saw each other before you disappeared? People go in there with important documents and make copies to keep for review.”

  He chuckled. “The copy room,” he repeated nodding as if he had just uncovered a great mystery.

  “Yes, the copy room. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go to bed. Or there won’t be coffee strong enough in this world that can make me get up tomorrow morning.”

  I stood and he immediately followed. He slightly bowed to me and gave me an enchanting smile. Those sexy dimples stared right at me.

  “Have a peaceful night, my Goddess.”

  I chuckled, “You are silly. No need to call me Goddess, Cyn. Bri is just fine. Although I kind of like the sound of that.”

  Maybe I should have Siri call me Goddess.

  A yawn escaped me and I closed my eyes. When I opened them, he was standing a foot away from me again. A shiver ran down my spine as I looked up at him, his intense gaze felt like it could easily reach my soul. Wrapped in his glorious haze, I didn’t realize he was speaking.

  “Hhmm?” was all I could muster, then saw he was trying to hand me something. I dropped my gaze to his hand. My bra. I have never in my life been as red faced, as I am sure I was at that moment. He placed it on the sofa when I failed to move. I looked at his face and I was surprised to find him blushing too. I closed my eyes in embarrassment and took a deep breath. I wished for the floor in my living room to open wide and swallow me whole. Before I could open my eyes, a gleam of light appeared. I snapped them open, and just as he appeared, Cyn was gone.

  *

  I woke up Monday morning with a new sense of purpose. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping and I officially had the go ahead from Grandpa to go out there and meet new people. As long as “out there” wasn’t too far and he could still pick me up and drop me off, of course. On the other hand, I had acquired my very own, grown up, hot as hell “imaginary friend.”

  A very sexy one at that, and with him I require no parental supervision. Score!

  Yeah, I am definitely pathetic. I am totally getting excited about meeting a hallucination. But then again, if your hallucinations were as hot as Cyn, you would be too.

  I walked into the office ignoring the stupid electronic hiss of the motion sensor camera. It followed my every step.

  You’d think by now I should be used to the damn thing.

  I smiled wide when I spotted Amelia. She looked up from her calendar at that moment.

  “Good morning Miss Anwell, how was your weekend?” She asked with a sweet smile.

  Amelia is shorter than I. With long silky light-brown hair and thin blonde highlights that seem almost natural on her. Her amber colored eyes look just like pools of honey. They provide a nice contrast with her tanned skin. She isn’t fat by any standards but she isn’t skinny either. She has the kind of body I dream about. Curvy in all the right places. I wondered if she had Hispanic blood in there somewhere, because she reminded me a little of Jessica Alba. They could be cousins or something. She had the same sweet face and smile with a great figure. She also knew how to dress her body, which was the first indication that we could be friends. I love her style. And she would be my first victim.

  “Good morning Amelia, please call me Bri. I had a great weekend, thanks. And you?”

  She shrugged. “Uneventful but relaxing, so it was nice.”

  “I was wondering…” I added before she could turn away and return to her task. “Would you like to have lunch today?”

  She looked up and smiled but didn’t answer. I could see the hesitation in her eyes.

  “Nothing fancy of course. We could just have a sandwich or something at the deli down the street,” I added quickly and braced myself for a harsh landing. She was probably going to say, thanks but no thanks.

  “I’d loved to, but I’m starting training today with Mrs. Smith since they want me to begin working with Mr. Cornelli Jr. I am to be his assistant beginning next week.”

  Mrs. Smith was Marcus Cornelli’s personal assistant and right hand. The woman was as nice as coarse sandpaper on raw skin. She only tended to Marcus’s needs, the main owner of the company, Felix’s dad. And she always treated me like I was something that was
stuck on her shoe and she needed to get rid of it as fast as she could. I shuddered and made a face.

  Crapola!

  Amelia caught it. I smiled awkwardly, trying to cover my reaction. We weren’t technically friends yet and I didn’t know what she would think of my distaste for Felix and Mrs. Smith.

  She chuckled, “Don’t worry I feel the same way, but it’s a promotion and you know what that means. Better salary, so I can’t say no. We can have lunch tomorrow if the offer still stands though,” She sounded hopeful.

  I smiled. “Of course.”

  “Great! Then I’ll see you tomorrow at lunchtime. Well I’ll see you today, like around during the day. But we will meet for lunch tomorrow at lunchtime… For lunch.”

  She sighed rolling her eyes. “I quit.”

  I chuckled. “I know what you meant,” I turned to and began to walk towards my cubicle.

  “Hey Bri,” she called and I turned back. “You can call me Lia. That’s what my friends call me.”

  I smiled wide. “Ok Lia. See you later,” nice. First lunch date with a friend. This day was getting better and better.

  I sat at my desk looking at the book recommendations on my screen and tried my best to ignore the new camera that just happened to be installed in the hallway to my right. It led to my supervisor’s office but since it didn’t have much traffic, the damn camera was on me all day. I sighed. Time had never past more slowly than it did today. I looked at the clock on my desk for what felt like the millionth time, it was 12:30pm. Thirty more minutes before Cyn showed up. If he was punctual, that is. Otherwise I was going to have to wait an hour to see him. I decided to just wait for him to have lunch since my “new friend plans” hadn’t gone as I hoped. I briefly wondered if I could leave him a mental note to come sooner or something. I mean he lived in my head after all. I sighed, my thoughts returned to him. I hadn’t been able to concentrate on much today. All I had done was relive our first encounter on Saturday night. Not even the new book release that I had been waiting a full year for and had magically appeared in my kindle this morning had managed to entertain me. In all fairness I had to say. No one would blame me for getting distracted by Cyn. If there was an award given for best conception of an “imaginary friend,” I would definitely take that trophy home. I mean Cyn was… something else.