Soul Mates Read online

  She kissed his damp shoulder. “I’m going to miss you so much!”

  “It doesn’t have to end when we leave on Sunday, honey.”

  “I’m not into long distance relationships.”

  “It’s just a two hour drive from my condo to yours, honey. We can still see each other.”

  “It’s time I moved on, Trey. I want kids and a love with a man I can trust.”

  “What the fuck?” He untangled his arms and legs from her, rolled off the bed, and shot to his feet.

  She sat up slowly, holding the covers against her bare breasts as she watched him pacing the floor, his flaccid cock coated with their combined juices. “Trey! Come back to me.”

  He glared at her. “What the hell am I to you? Just a willing cock? Damn it, Carlee, do you give one little damn kitty about my feelings? Where the hell do you get off implying you can’t trust me? What the fuck have I ever done to deserve this shit from you?”

  She moistened her lips. What could she say that he would be willing to believe or understand?

  He stalked over to the bed and stared down at her. “I have never met you before we came here, Carlee. That means I have never hurt you. So stop giving me grief for something I never did!”

  She sighed. His attitude was understandable. For some reason he didn’t remember on a conscious level. She was convinced he did remember on an unconsciousness one, hence the nightmares he’d been having. She suspected each time he had the nightmare, he was reliving the night they’d been torn apart.

  Since he wasn’t willing to explore the possibility of their having lived and loved before, it was past time she got on with her life. She thought of Sam and gave herself a mental nod. If he still wanted her when she returned home…

  She shrugged. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Trey.”

  He sighed and shook his head. “Honey, I didn’t mean to snap, but the thought of not seeing you again after Sunday is making me crazy.”

  “You’ll find someone you can love. So will I and this will just have been a very pleasant interlude we can remember with fondness, but no regrets.”

  “And if you get pregnant?”

  The idea of having his baby held no unpleasant connotations for her. “What about it?”

  “Would you tell me?”

  “I don’t know,” she admitted. She’d decided to seek Sam out when she returned home. He was handsome, sexy, and, unlike Trey, presented no threat to her emotional well-being. If anyone were capable of making her forget Trey, it would be Sam.

  “I’d have a right to know, Carlee. You would have no right to keep my child from me.”

  She nodded. “I know, but I’m on the pill. I don’t expect to get pregnant.”

  He shrugged. “A guy can always hope, can’t he?”

  She slipped her arms around his neck, and urged him back down to the bed. “Shut up and fuck me,” she ordered.

  He obliged and within moments she lay under him, moaning and sobbing with ecstasy as his big, hot cock shot deep into her pussy, driving her to a blistering climax.

  After she came down from her high, she climbed off him, slid down his damp, sweaty body, and drew his pulsing cock between her lips. Oh, lord! He tasted so good. Fondling his balls, she sucked him until he came. Feeling totally uninhibited, she fingered herself while swallowing his seed.

  He pulled her up his body and covered her lips with his. The kiss they shared was long, deep, and deliciously invasive. She knew he got off on tasting her in their kisses as much as she enjoyed tasting him.

  They spent the day walking in the surrounding woods. About mid-day, they stopped to eat the lunch the lodge had packed. Afterwards, they spread out their blankets and settled on them for a nap. After twenty minutes, Carlee knew she was too wound up to sleep. Trey’s caressing hand, moving over her back signaled his inability to sleep as well.

  “Are your parents alive, Trey?”

  “Yes. Why do you ask? Would you like to meet them?”

  “No.” She spoke in a small, shamed voice. Commonsense told her his current parents were not complicit in having separated them and caused her so much heartache. But then commonsense also said she could not have lived before. Yet she had.

  “I understand.”

  The coolness in his voice assured her he really did understand. “You’re not close with them.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “How could you be?”

  “How could I not be?” he challenged. “They have always been excellent parents.”

  “And yet you’ve always resented them.”

  He sighed. “Yes. I have no idea why, but I have.”

  “It’s because your mother told your father she saw us kissing and your father sold me. I knew you would never forgive them.”

  He tensed against her. “Carlee, how many times do I have to tell you—”

  She sat up and pulled away from him.

  He sat up too, staring at her.

  “Trey, I know someone who can help you.”

  “Help me do what? If it’s anything other than keeping you in my life, I’m probably not interested.”

  She shook her head. “She can help you uncover and deal with your past life.”

  His narrowed his gaze. “Carlee—”

  She pressed her fingers against his lips. “Hear me out, Trey. Please. She’s a forensic psychic.”

  “A what?”

  “Her name is Dr. Margolis Cheyenne. She has a PhD in psychology, but her passion or calling is helping those who have lived before remember their former lives. As it happens her office is in Cherry Hill, within an easy drive of your condo. She’s expensive—”

  He leaned back so that her fingers fell away from his lips. “Most charlatans are. I have no need to see this quack of yours. Do I make myself clear?”

  She sighed. “I know this sounds crazy, Trey, but she can help you remember and come to terms with your past.”

  He shook his head. “Did she help you remember? Is she responsible for your thinking you’ve lived before?”

  Heat flashed into her cheeks. She clenched a hand into a fist. “I didn’t need any help remembering! I’ve never forgotten you, Trey. All Dr. Cheyenne did was help me come to terms with the past. I remembered on my own. She could help you too if you’d just open yourself to the possibility.”

  He touched her cheek. “I’m wild about you, and I would do almost anything to keep you in my life, but I am not going to subject myself to some quack to appease you.”

  “Oh, Trey! She’s a sort of medium. Please don’t call her a quack. What she does takes a physical toll on her, but she does it anyway.”

  “Fine. Whatever she is, I’m not interested in meeting her. Now can we drop it?”

  She shrugged. “Fine, but when you can no longer convince yourself that nothing is wrong, remember her name is Margolis Cheyenne and she’s in the book under psychiatry.”

  “I have an excellent memory. Now can we talk about something else?”

  “Okay. What would you like to talk about?”

  “You. Tell me about your business.”

  “What would you like to know?”

  “Everything, but first tell me if you have a portfolio handy.”

  She smiled. “We’re working very hard to establish ourselves. Neither Erinae nor I ever go far without a portfolio. We have one at the lodge. Would you like to see it when we return?”

  “Yes, I would.”

  She showed him her portfolio early that evening as they sat on the loveseat in her room. He studied it in silence for over half an hour before looking up at her. “Impressive.”

  She nodded. “We are both very good at what we do. We just need a couple of breaks to really get established.”

  He closed the portfolio, nodding slowly. “I can see that. I’m sure you’ll both do fine.”

  “So I am. It will take a while, but we’ll get there.”

  He smiled, brushing the back of his hand along her cheek. “I need to s
ee you when we leave here.”

  She sighed and shook her head. “Please, Trey. I am so grateful that we’ve had this time together, but I realize now that we were never meant to be together. Let’s try to enjoy what little time we have left. Please?”

  He nodded. “Fine, Carlee. What about yours?”

  “What about my what?”

  “Your parents.”

  She sighed. “They both died in a train accident three years ago.”

  “I’m sorry, sweet.”

  “I still miss them so much.”

  “Do you have any siblings?”

  She shook her head. “I’m an only child, but Erinae and I are not just friends and business partners. We’re like sisters. No matter what, she’s there for me.”

  “Good friends are priceless.”

  “Yes. I don’t know what I’d have done without her when my parents died. She was all I had to hang onto. When things get tough, it’s the two of us against the world.”

  “Not anymore, Carlee.” He slipped his arm around her, pressing his lips against her forehead. “I’m here for you now as well.”

  * * * * *

  Carlee expected to spend their last night together making love until they were both exhausted. Instead Trey lay on his side of the bed, staring up at the ceiling. So much for the skimpy, but expensive red teddy she’d bought in the gift shop. She moved her body against his, leaning over him. She brushed her cheek against his. “Let’s make love.”

  He slipped an arm around her shoulders and drew her body against his. “Determined to get a last meaningless fuck out of me, huh?”

  She stiffened, jerked away from him, sat up, and turned on the bedside lamps, her cheeks burning. “Meaningless fuck? Is that all you think of me?”

  He sat up. “It’s what I think of what’s been going on between us—from your perspective. All you seem to want to do with me is fuck. I want more but you insist that’s not possible because of something I never did. So if you don’t want anything special between us and yet you’re asking for sex, that leaves meaningless fucks. Doesn’t it?”

  Phrased like that, her need and desire for sexual intimacy with him did tend to cast her in an unflattering light. Cheeks still burning, she slipped out of bed, heading for the bathroom. She would dress and return to her room before she slapped his face.

  He followed her. Putting a hand on her arm, he turned her to face him. “This is our last night together.”

  She pulled away from him. “If you think I’m going to stay here with you after those nasty remarks, you’re wrong.”

  “No, I’m not!” He pulled her body close to his and wrapped his arms around her. “If you think I’m going to allow you to spend the night anywhere but with me, you’re the one who’s wrong.” He bent his head and brushed his lips against hers. “You are spending the night with me.”

  She longed to pull away and sweep from the room with her head up and what was left of her dignity intact. Instead, she responded to the light touch of his mouth, allowing her body to mold himself against his. When he deepened the kiss and lifted her into his arms, she slipped her arms around his neck.

  The lovemaking that followed was bittersweet. Devouring her lips and holding her with a fierceness that promised to leave bruises, he rutted into her. Although he made sure she came before he flooded her with jet after jet of seed, she missed the underlying tenderness he’d always shown.

  Early in the morning, he finally pulled out of her, rolled off her, and turned his back to her.

  She lay still until she was certain he was asleep before she returned to her own room. Taking the phone off the hook, she fell into bed and into an exhausted sleep.

  * * * * *

  Trey woke from a nightmare to find himself alone the next morning. He lay in bed shaking, his body covered with sweat, weighed down with a sadness so intense, breathing was difficult. He reached for the phone on the nightstand.

  Moments later he heard her voice. “Carlee?”

  “Trey! I was just about to call you to say good-bye.”

  He glanced at the clock. Ten-thirty! Damn! “I’ll be right there, Carlee.”

  “No! Let’s say good-bye now, Trey. It will be easier than saying it in person.”

  Like he planned to make it easy for her to leave him! “Fine. Good-bye, Carlee.”

  “Trey, it’s been won—”

  “Good-bye,” he said again and placed the phone on its cradle. He hopped out of bed. After a brief shower, he threw his clothes into his suitcases and checked out. Then he went to Carlee’s room. She didn’t answer. He used his key card she’d given him. Her clothes were gone. Fighting back a wave of panic, he hurried to the front of the building. She and her friend stood by a dark sedan watching their luggage being loaded.

  “Carlee!”

  She turned, wetting her lips as she saw him. “Have you come to say good-bye?”

  “No!” He took the hand she extended and drew her into his arms. “I came to apologize for last night.”

  “It’s all right, Trey.”

  “And to ask you to let me drive you home.”

  She pressed her hands against his chest.

  He reluctantly released her.

  “I can’t.” She nodded at the car. “Erinae and I came together. I drove my car because I have to pick Danny up on the way home.”

  “We can pick him up in my car.”

  “He sheds—a lot. Your car will be covered with dog hair.”

  “I’ll have it cleaned.”

  “He’s very big, Trey, and he doesn’t like strange men.”

  “Did he like your friend?”

  Her eyes narrowed. “As a matter of fact, he did.”

  “Then I see no reason why he shouldn’t like me as well.”

  “He’s over a hundred pounds. If he doesn’t like you, he’s capable of knocking you off your feet and pinning you to the floor.”

  He shrugged. “I’m willing to take that chance.”

  She looked at her friend, who stood silently by the open passenger door. “I don’t think it’s fair to ask Erinae to spend what will probably be a tense ride home in our company, Trey.”

  He raked a hand through his hair and looked around. “She’s met Mick. He and I drove here in my car. Let her or him drive your car home. Come with me.”

  He watched her turn to look at Erinae again. “Nae?”

  Erinae smiled. “If it’s okay with Mick, I’m fine with having him drive me home.”

  “You’re sure?”

  Erinae turned an intense gaze on him. After a long moment, she nodded. “Yes. I’m sure.”

  He inclined his head. “Thank you.”

  Carlee looked at him. “Is this going to be okay with Mick?”

  It would be more than Mick’s life was worth to do anything but agree. “Of course it will be.” He took Carlee’s hand and led her to the trunk of the car. “Which are yours?”

  “The dark blue ones.”

  An hour later, she sat in the contoured leather passenger seat of his car. They made the first hour of the four-hour drive in relative silence before he spoke.

  “Tell me about your life, Carlee. Have you been happy?”

  “Happy? No, but I have been relatively content. I was always waiting for you to come into my life.”

  Keeping his eyes on the road, he extended a hand to touch her knee. “I’m here now, honey.”

  “I know and I’m thankful for the time we had together. It helped me put the present, the future, and the past in prospective.”

  He frowned. “What does that mean?”

  “That the past is just that—past.” She lifted his hand from her knee, squeezed it, and gave it back to him. “It’s time for me to move on.”

  He tightened his lips. He was going to have a hell of a way to go to change her mind. “I wouldn’t want to hold you back, honey.”

  “I know and I am very glad we met again.”

  If he had his way they would go on meeting. “Do you w
ant to stop somewhere for lunch?”

  “Yes. I’ll call Erinae and tell her we’re stopping.”

  “No. I don’t want to share our remaining time together with anyone else.”

  Her fingers closed over his left thigh. “Neither do I.”

  He stopped the car at a rest stop an hour later. They lingered for an hour over a meal that neither of them did more than nibble at.

  Finally, she looked at her watch and sighed. “We’d better get back on the road. I want to be home in time to pick Danny up tonight.”

  “All right.”

  They discussed sports and politics for the remainder of the drive. He pulled into the parking lot of a kennel and waited until she returned twenty minutes later walking behind a huge, white German Shepherd. He hesitated a moment, then got out of the car. The Shepherd tensed, turning a rather startling pair of blue eyes on him.

  Carlee stroked the dog’s big head. “Danny, this is Trey. He’s a friend.” She extended a hand to him. “Come say hello, Trey.”

  He moved forward, pausing briefly when the dog bared its lethal looking teeth.

  “Danny, friend.” She looked at him. “Put your hand on his back.”

  He stopped next to them and placed a hand on the dog’s back. “Hi, Danny.”

  Danny wagged his tail.

  Trey smiled. “We have a lot in common. We’re both nuts about your mistress.” He raised his gaze as he spoke, looking into Carlee’s dark eyes.

  She smiled briefly before touching the hand that rested on Danny’s back. “We’d better go. I want to get home in time to take Danny for a long walk.”

  The car seemed much smaller with the huge dog constantly sticking his big head between the front seats. Trey felt the animal’s breath on his face several times. When traffic allowed, he turned his head once and found himself looking into Danny’s blue eyes. He spoke softly. “I won’t hurt her.”

  Danny licked his face and turned to rest his head on the top of Carlee’s headrest. “It’s all right. I think he’s willing to accept you, Trey.”

  “Glad to hear it. What about you, Carlee?”

  “You know how I feel about you, Trey, but I’ve made up my mind.”

  He tightened his hand on the steering wheel. So had he.

  Half an hour later, he pulled into her driveway. He got out of the car and went around to open the passenger door.