Her Imaginary Lover Read online

  Evernight Publishing

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2014 Doris O’Connor

  ISBN: 978-1-77130-881-6

  Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

  Editor: Karyn White

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  To my hubby/Sir, with thanks for your never ending support, and the long dog walks during which inspiration strikes.

  As ever thanks to my awesome editor Karyn, and Evernight Publishing for giving a home to another one of my stories.

  HER IMAGINARY LOVER

  Doris O’Connor

  Copyright © 2014

  Chapter One

  "It wasn't me. It was Johnny. It was. He's being naughty on purpose. He doesn't like it here."

  The little girl's pleading voice made Macie smile in remembrance. The youngster's parents seemed less amused.

  "Stop that nonsense now. If I've told you once I told you a thousand times, he's just a figment of your overactive imagination. Now apologize to the lady for what you did."

  "It's all right, really." Macie was quick to intervene. The girl sounded on the verge of tears as it was, and apart from a few splashes of lukewarm cocoa over Macie's hand no harm had been done. "It was an accident. They happen. Please don't worry about it."

  "That's very kind of you to say, Miss, but Angelina does this all the time. I'm sick and tired of her blaming it on other people. She needs to own up to her responsibilities."

  Angelina started to cry, and Macie's heart broke a little for the girl, especially when she whispered, "I'm sorry. Johnny didn't mean to hurt you, Miss."

  "Angelina Robertson!"

  Macie flinched inside. How often had she heard that exasperated tone from her own mother when she herself had been growing up?

  "I'm sorry, Miss. We're leaving, and taking this unruly daughter of ours with us. Why do you have to ruin everything, Angelina? This needs to stop. That friend of yours is not real. Maybe we need to take her back to that shrink. This isn't normal, is it? It's…"

  The aggravated voice faded away as Angelina and her parents left the coffee shop, and Macie took a deep calming inhale of her latte. Little did Angelina's parents know that Johnny had been there. Macie had sensed the presence of the lanky teenage boy who kept poking little Angelina in the ribs, and had eventually sent her cup of cocoa flying.

  It never failed to amaze her how clueless grown-ups were. Her own parents hadn't believed Macie either. Kaylom had become her little secret. The friend whom she cuddled into at night when she'd had enough of the nasty taunts that had been thrown her way all day. Children were cruel, and they picked on Macie's disability. Kaylom was always there, guiding her, keeping her company and making her laugh.

  Until the day she'd told him to leave.

  "You're not real. Go away, and leave me alone."

  Macie winced, recalling that fateful day. She'd been fourteen, and her parents had become increasingly concerned about her unhealthy attachment. Plus, Macie had thought herself in love. Brian had been the new guy in school, two years older and oh-so-charming, and he'd shown her special attention. Kaylom hadn't liked it, and in a fit of the devil-may-care, she'd told her imaginary friend to stuff it.

  The fact that he had just disappeared had made her doubt her own sanity. Especially as Brian had turned out to be the biggest douchebag ever, when she'd refused to go any further than heavy petting.

  "Damn frigid cow. I was only with you because of a bet. Who'd wanna be with the likes of you anyway?"

  As much as the whole thing had hurt, Brian had done her one favor. She'd sworn off boys and had thrown herself into her studies instead. Having flown through high school and college, she'd graduated from University with honors, and was now a sought after child psychologist in her own right.

  As such she took a very different approach to childhood imaginary friends, especially when she sensed there was a real friend involved. At least real to the child, just like Kaylom had been real to her. Sometimes those friends weren't benevolent. She had dealt with many an evil presence in her consulting room, and just remembering the latest case made the hairs on her arms stand on end. The poor child had witnessed the murder of her parents by her brother's own hand, and she was utterly traumatized. Ava had confided in her that this friend had turned her brother against her parents, and that he wanted her to commit horrible things, too.

  Through hypnosis Ava was slowly gaining the courage to withstand the insistent probing in her head. Unfortunately it wasn't just a case of telling the presence to simply go away, like it had been for Macie. It had made her think more and more about Kaylom lately.

  Macie sighed and took one last swallow of her coffee. It was time to go home. Being maudlin about past times wouldn't help her now. It was getting late, and this wasn't the best neighborhood to be walking along when it got dark.

  Grabbing her stick she carefully negotiated the narrow walkways and pulled the collar of her jacket up higher. A fine drizzle was in the air, the sort of rain that soaked you through to your skin no matter what you wore. At least it meant there weren’t that many people around, and it made getting about easier. Macie picked up her steps when a cold breeze blew under her long skirt. She sensed someone behind her seconds before rough hands grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged her away. Her stick clambered to the floor, and her scream for help died on her tongue, when a beefy hand on her throat cut off her air supply. Her assailant towered over her, and Macie fought the rising bile and panic as his alcohol-laced breath blew along her jaw.

  "You scream, bitch, and you're dead. Fancy piece of ass you are. Has your momma not told you to not walk alone?"

  "She's gonna pass out. Ease up a bit, bro. I rather want her conscious when I fuck her brains out."

  No, God, no.

  Macie renewed her struggles when the pressure on her throat lessened somewhat, and she drew big gulps of air into her lungs. A futile kick and punch hit thin air, and the two men intent in doing her harm laughed.

  "Feisty, I like it. Hold her still while I sample the goods."

  Macie tried to turn her head away, but all she achieved was being slammed into the wall with so much force that she saw stars. Pain radiated from the back of her skull along her spine right down to her toenails, and she gagged when a thick, male tongue pushed past her lips.

  She bit down hard, and despite the disgusting stench of blood filling her mouth, she rejoiced at the grunt of pain her attacker made.

  "Fucking bitch bit me." A fist made contact with her jaw, and Macie's head spun round forcefully. Another set of hands ripped her jacket and blouse off her, and cool air hit her bare stomach. Macie fought for her life, but her punches proved ineffective, until there was an almost inhuman growl, and suddenly she was free.

  Macie fell to the ground hard, and lay there panting for breath, as the world spun and she lost the contents of her stomach. The sickening sounds of fighting seemed too loud in the quiet around her, and eventually she managed to scream.

  "Help. Help. Help us!"

  Someone kicked her, and then a body flew through the air and hit the wall.

  There was more shouting and then the sounds of feet running away and a pain-filled grunt right next to her, as someone fell on her feet. The coppery smell of blood invaded her senses,
and she screamed louder, desperate for help, as she groped blindly and encountered smooth, hard muscle, and naked skin.

  Whoever had rescued her was naked. Naked? Naked and injured. Her hands found the hilt of a knife, and then the sticky evidence of blood that coated her fingers.

  "Oh, God, are you all right? Did they stab you? Talk to me, please."

  She continued to shout for help as her hands mapped out her savior's torso. He was huge, with bulging muscles, and she felt several days' worth of beard growth underneath her questing digits when she traced his jaw. Full lips, pressed together tightly, told her of the pain he was in. A strong nose, wide eyes, and shoulder length hair that half covered his face.

  "Who are you?" she asked, and the man groaned under the silent exploration of her hands. She traced her palms lower over the tightly packed pectorals and the ridges and valleys of his abdomen. Heat rose in her cheeks when she met the neatly trimmed nest of hair that signaled his groin, and she hastily pulled her hands away. Nonetheless velvet covered steel met her briefly, and the man groaned again.

  "Why are you naked?" she whispered. "What's going on?"

  Instead of answering her, her savior struggled to sit up, and drew her shivering form to him. Instantly her body heated. He was so warm, and he smelled divine. Like home, like Kaylom. But it couldn't be? Was he back after all this time?

  "Kaylom? Is that you?"

  He didn't answer her, just pulled her closer to him, until sirens screamed in the distance, and then she was pulled out of his arms.

  "Miss, are you all right? Where have you been hurt? We need the paramedics here now. That one seems dead." They pulled her away, and she screamed and fought them, but it was useless.

  Her eyelids were lifted to check her responses, and a blanket was wrapped around her. Gentle hands ran over her body as if to check for injuries, but no one listened to her.

  "We need to see where the blood is coming from. There's the head injury, but she's covered in blood."

  "No, no, it’s not mine. You need to help him." She tried to sit up, to tell them that she was okay. It was Kaylom that needed their help, but it was useless. An oxygen mask covered her face, and then there was a scratch in her arm and then nothing…

  Nothing but darkness and despair.

  ****

  Kaylom inhaled sharply as he pulled the knife out of his side. It hurt like a fucking bitch, but not as much as seeing his Macie carted off in an ambulance. What would have happened to her had he not shifted into her dimension just then didn't bear thinking about. He couldn't even say what had made him do so. He'd been in the human realm rarely since she'd told him to leave. It was too fucking painful to be there and not to be able to touch her, to talk to her, to make sure she was safe. He'd broken all the rules by engaging with her in the first place. But how could he resist when she not only sensed him, but accepted him as though he was real. Which of course he was, but humans couldn't see his race.

  The Athurons had co-existed with humans since the beginning of time, and after some disastrous consequences in ancient times, contact was strictly forbidden. It never ended well when humans and Athurons mingled, yet, like countless youngsters before him, Kaylom had not been able to resist taking a peek at the human world in person. The first shift always took them by surprise, and in his case, he'd found himself in little Macie's bedroom. The small girl had been crying silently under her duvet, but she'd stopped and sat up, and looked straight at him. It had freaked him out somewhat, but her next words had stunned him.

  "Hello, I'm Macie. Who are you?"

  Not an ounce of fear had shown on her face, just curiosity, and relief at not being on her own anymore. The two of them had become firm friends, and shared many adventures, but Kaylom was two years older than she, and as Macie reached puberty, things changed. He knew he had to distance himself, had been ordered to, in fact, by his father, and when Macie turned on him, he'd left.

  That had been fifteen years ago, and in his absence a teenage Macie had grown into a beautiful woman with curves in all the right places. Humans would no doubt still call her fat. Kaylom never understood the obsession with skinny women in this dimension. In his realm women were celebrated regardless of their size, and his personal preference had always been toward more voluptuous women. Females were meant to be soft and yielding, with flesh to hold onto while…

  Kaylom cursed under his breath at the dangerous direction his thoughts were taking. He had no business thinking of Macie along those lines, no matter how easily she'd fitted against the hard planes of his body.

  Kaylom pressed his hand to the gaping wound and concentrated on healing. Thanks to their different atmospheres wounds sustained in the human realm rarely lasted, and sure enough this one closed slowly until only the blood stains showed where he'd once been hurt.

  The fine drizzle turned into a downpour, and he lifted his face into the rain to welcome its cleansing effect. Around him the humans went about the business of marking out the spot where the body of the man he'd killed had lain. They collected their evidence, completely oblivious to his presence. He should feel some sort of remorse at having killed the human, but only disgust coursed through his veins. That scumbag had his hands all over Macie, and Kaylom had no doubt that they would have raped and killed her had he not intervened.

  Her scent still clung to his skin and filled his nostrils, and he turned away from the crime scene. They'd taken her to the hospital, and he would fetch a ride in one of the remaining ambulances. Unseen he slipped in the back and out again once they were at Accident & Emergency. It took only a matter of moments to find her bed station.

  Still unconscious and hooked up to far too many wires for his liking, Macie looked pale and fragile. Her mass of raven hair fanned out across the starched white hospital cushion, and her slim hand was clasped in an iron grip by her mother. Jenny Johann was an older, silver haired version of Macie, and tears clung to her eyelashes and ran down her wrinkled cheeks. Macie's father, Trevor, looked all set to give himself a heart attack. Face bright red with barely concealed rage, he paced the narrow space and muttered to himself.

  "I told her this office in the beat up part of town was a bad move. Does anyone in this bloody family listen to me? Of course not. She needs help. Wandering around in her condition. It's not right. If I was twenty years younger…"

  Kaylom bit back a smirk and slid around the portly man until he could stand on the other side of Macie. Macie's parents had aged considerably in the years he hadn't seen them, but one thing remained. Their suffocating need to make sure Macie was safe. It had been a constant source of frustration to the younger Macie. Her parents meant well, but they'd kept her on a tight leash of supervision, and not much had changed as far as Kaylom could ascertain.

  Trevor pounced on the approaching nurse who took down Macie's vitals.

  "Why isn't she waking up? This can't be right. What the hell is going on? No one is telling us anything."

  The nurse, Lucy, according to her name tag, smiled and continued taking Macie's pulse.

  "Mr. Johann, I can assure you this is quite normal. Apart from mild concussion and cuts and bruises your daughter seems unharmed. The doctor gave her a sedative when she arrived as she appeared quite agitated. Now, I'm sure this will wear off very soon, and the very best thing you can do for her right now is remain calm and let her sleep. Her body will heal, but she had quite a shock. She'll be taken up to the ward in a minute as we'll be keeping her in overnight for observation, but there is no reason to suspect any lasting physical damage."

  "It's not her body I'm worried about. It's her mind," Trevor said, and Kaylom barely suppressed a growl. Here they went again.

  "Trevor." Jenny's annoyed whisper as she straightened up to her full five foot nothing frame stopped the big bear of her husband instantly. It had always amused Kaylom how Macie's diminutive mother could quell anyone with just one of those looks. Even though she couldn't see him and therefore never directed those looks at him, he still shuffled
on his feet and suddenly didn’t know what to do with his hands. It didn't help that he couldn’t wear clothes in this dimension. With Macie this close to him, her scent pulled him under, and his body was all too aware of her with predictable consequences. It seemed wrong somehow to stand mere feet away from her parents with a hard-on to rival a porn star's.

  Kaylom grinned at his predicament and willed his dick to behave, with mediocre success.

  "Don't start this again, Trevor. She's not a little girl anymore," Jenny said.

  Her husband stopped his pacing and glared at her.

  "Don’t you think I know that? If she were I would still be able to keep her safe, not have her live on her own and put herself at risk like that."

  Jenny swiped away another tear and took a step closer to her husband. He took a deep breath when she put both hands on his chest and smiled up at him.

  "I know, Trev, but she's a grown woman now with a thriving practice. She's blind not incapable, and this could have happened to anybody. Thank goodness there was someone there to save her."

  Trevor tensed anew and shook his wife's hands off.

  "Yes, and that is my point. You heard what she said, what she called him."

  They both glanced across and looked straight at him, and Kaylom held his breath. He knew they couldn't see him, but nonetheless the worry in their eyes was hard to take. This was why he had left the first time after all. He didn't want to be the cause of any trouble between Macie and her parents. He knew he needed to leave again, but first he had to make sure Macie was okay.

  "Yes, the paramedic who brought her in said she seemed to know who saved her. Someone called Kaylom?" Nurse Lucy asked, and wrote something in Macie's notes. "She seemed very worried about him and said he'd been injured." She looked from Trevor to Jenny and back again and pursed her lips.