“You’re alive.”
She froze. The low, gravelly voice of her ghost man caressed her as tangibly as it had all those years ago. She dropped her hands. Hovering inches away were the eyes she’d seen in her dreams every night since.
“Oh God.” She scrambled back and tripped over her bag, landing on her ass.
“Be calm. You’re safe.”
Peace settled over her as if he’d taken her anxiety away with those words. Still, she inched away from his disembodied eyes. Caution had kept her alive in the face of a lifetime of evil. It didn’t matter if she’d felt as if she’d known him for ages. She’d learned years ago, nothing was as it seemed. Those with the ability to use glamour could create illusions out of thin air.
She settled on bent legs and studied the apparition for a clue as to whether he was a figment of her imagination or not. The oval surrounding the spectral display showed tan skin, ridiculously long lashes and dark eyebrows. Her pulse kicked up. Excitement, desire, fear—she wasn’t sure what caused it. She only knew she couldn’t look away.
“You.” She swallowed hard. She still couldn’t believe her eyes. Couldn’t deny the sight either. “It’s you.”
“Yes. It is.”
A long moment passed where they held each other’s gazes. So many times, she’d fantasized about what she would say or do if she ever reconnected with him. None of the scenarios fit the pregnant silence stretching between them. She let them slip through her fingers and asked the first question that came to her mind.
“What’s your name?” It had always bothered her not having one.
“I am Calan. Yours?”
Calan. She let his name settle over her heart. “Mine is Harley.”
“Harley.” Her name spoken in his deep voice sounded sexy, something she never thought her unusual name could be.
Finally, he released a shaky breath she felt skim over her cheek. She pressed her palm to the sensitive skin to hold the warmth close.
“You never returned to me, Harley.”
Raul’s words that night had confused and scared her. She hadn’t known what to believe. Or who.
“I ran just like you told me to.”
“I also told you to come back.”
She’d tried. Raul had followed her. Attacked her. She glanced at her hands that had once been covered in blood. Raul’s blood. She lowered her gaze and prayed Calan didn’t see the elation in her eyes the memory brought. It had felt good to hurt Raul. That had scared her most of all, and it was the reason she’d stayed away.
“Yes.” She turned her head, unable to look into his eyes. “You did.”