Chapter 2 - Her

She sat up in bed, her back against the headboard. Her honey blonde hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun. She held a sketchpad and a pencil. On the pad was a drawing of eyes. His eyes. Even in a drawing she was captivated.

She blinked and took a breath, like she was holding it in for a long time.

She looked at the drawing and traced the eyes with her finger. She had been dreaming like this for weeks.. Always him, whoever he was.

She placed the pad and pencil on the nightstand and snuggled into the bed. She was asleep before she knew it.

She lay on her back on the bed. She felt his mouth on her neck. His tongue flicked and licked leaving moist heat on her skin. His hands slid over her hips and down the back of her thighs. He parted her legs and bent her knees. He moved quickly on top of her. She wrapped her legs around his waist. He kissed her mouth. She could taste his kiss. They moved together seamlessly, rhythmically, fluidly.

She ran her fingers through his hair. He moaned and kissed her harder. She opened her eyes. His green eyes were staring back. She was enraptured by his smell, his warmth, his taste. She felt his strong arms wrap around her and held her to him tighter.

He kissed along her jawline and nudged her chin up with his own. He kissed and licked his way down to her collarbone.

"Say my name." she demanded. Her voice was low and gravely. He stopped for a second. He didn't know her name. "Freya. Say my name."

He trailed kisses up to her ear. "Freya" he breathed into her ear. "Freya".

With a force she didn't expect she pushed his shoulders back on the bed and straddled him. Her hair swept over his face and he inhaled deep. She smelled warm and sweet and spicy. She kissed him softly, running her tongue along his bottom lip. He moaned. She let out a throaty chuckle in response. They stopped suddenly and looked into each other's eyes. He breathed heavily as he pulled her mouth to his.

"Derek. My name is Derek." he said as he was consumed by her kiss again.

Freya woke up to her alarm. She pressed stop on her phone and lay on her back staring at the ceiling. How could these dreams feel so real? So very real? She could feel the wet warmth of his mouth on her skin still. She could still feel his tongue tracing circles on her neck. Freya shook the thought from her head. These were just dreams. She got out of bed and into the shower.

She sat at the kitchen table and opened her laptop. She found herself typing DEREK in the google search bar. What was she looking for? Maybe she should try DREAM DEREK. Disgusted with herself she slammed the laptop shut and stood up. She walked to the kitchen counter and took out a coffee cup. She turned on her Keurig and listened as it heated up.

She placed a pod in the machine and brewed a cup of coffee. She poured half and half into the coffee and put the container back in the fridge. She took the warm cup between her hands and took a long sip. She looked at the decorative sign on the window sill above the kitchen sink. HOME SWEET HOME.

She had not felt like anywhere was home since her mother Mallory was killed when she was 8 years old. Her aunt Meredith watched after her after her mother was gone. They were safe for 10 years until she was taken from Freya too. She left her family home in Massachusetts at 19 years old. Too many bad things had happened there. The tears welled up in her eyes as she thought of her mother and her aunt. Freya moved from place to place ever since. Picking up odd jobs along the way to supplement the money from her mothers estate. Freya kept to herself as best as she could wherever she landed. No one to get close to. No one to lose. No magic whatsoever. Well, except for the protection spell she chanted so they wouldn't find her again.

She finished her coffee and got dressed. She grabbed her duffel bag and laptop. She walked down the steps to the parking lot. She passed an older woman along the sidewalk. They nodded at one another. She got into her old SUV and pulled out onto the road. She drove for a few minutes then turned onto the highway. She passed a road sign BEACON HILLS 5 miles