A Eternal Love

chapter 4

"My love will protect me… or burn me."

Again, the same strange dream.
I was walking down that familiar pathway, but this time, something felt different. I had seen this dream a million times, yet never with this feeling. As I took a step toward the cottage, I noticed there was no mist. And that strange voice that always haunted me? Silent. Did this mean I could go further? Could I finally step inside and find out who it belonged to?

I marched closer, and that’s when I saw him—a figure in the dark. A man, standing at the cottage door, his back to me as if he was waiting. But for whom?

Did I say back? I meant a sexy back—bare, shirtless, muscles catching the faint light. Never in my life had I felt an urge to reach out and touch someone I didn’t even know. And yet… here I was, drawn in.

I walked closer. He suddenly turned. The cottage was forgotten, vanished from my mind. All I wanted was him. His face was hidden in the shadows, the darkness too deep, but when we stood nearly face to face—so close that one step would’ve brought our lips together—my heart thundered.

For the first time in my life, the thought of kissing someone excited me. My lips parted, dry, and I licked them nervously. I could feel his gaze fixed on my mouth, and for a wild moment, I thought he was going to kiss me. Instead, his hand brushed my lips, and he whispered in my ear.

Voice: "I have waited years for you. Someone must be a fool—or want to die—if they think they can take you away from me."

His words confused me.

Mia: "Who?"

Voice: "You will know. For now, all you need to know is that you are mine."

Mia: "Yours?"

He leaned in, inhaling deeply, his nose grazing the curve of my neck.

Voice: "Mine. Soon."

I wanted to question him, but my body betrayed me. I closed my eyes, trying to fight the flood of thoughts, when suddenly—his lips pressed against my neck.

A kiss.

Heat and sparks raced through me like wildfire. My whole body trembled, breath caught in my throat.

And then—

I gasped awake. In my room.

"Fuk."
I was wet. Horny. Double fuk.

What was that? Who was he? Was he even real, or just my imagination? Was I so desperate that I conjured a stranger in my dreams? But then why did it feel so real? My skin still tingled. My core ached.

Shaken, I touched the spot on my neck where his lips had been. That same electric sensation rippled through me.

Something was happening to me.

Frustrated, unable to sleep, I pushed open my window. The moon still hung in the sky. It was 5:00 a.m. I whispered into the silence:

"Are you there?
Are you waiting for me?
Do you love me?
Are you even real?
When will I meet you—see you, touch you, feel you? Please… give me an answer. I’m tired."

If anyone saw me right then, they’d think I was insane. Maybe I was.

Just as I was about to shut the window, I froze.

A figure. In the dark.

Was this real—or another dream?

I tried to focus, but in a blink, the figure vanished. Gone.