Solstice Sizzle (Pagan Pleasures Book 2) Read online

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  Johan watched as Nova ran away from him. He couldn’t see her for a little while as the path twisted down to the beach. He held his breath. I should follow. But she’d been very clear. And he’d felt the spirit. He had an idea of what might’ve happened.

  He exhaled with relief as he spied her now walking along the edge of the water, the waves washing over her feet.

  Fuck. Things had been going so well. And it wasn’t even his fuck up that was now between them.

  He took out his cell, did a search for the Crystal Sands number and called Edi.

  Please, please pick up. It was the least he could do was to let her know.

  She knows Nova better than me and can help her. Though, he knew that there was something he could do to help Nova. His gut twisted.

  “Crystal Sands, Edith speaking.”

  “Edi, it’s Nova. She stepped into where I’m staying, and… and had some sort of episode.”

  “Is she all right?”

  “She wants to be alone. Told me not to follow her. I thought I’d better tell you.”

  “I’m glad you did.”

  He paused. Should I tell her?

  “And there’s something else.”

  Johan could hear her breathing as she waited.

  “I had an incident with a spirit last night. I don’t know for sure, but I think it was her mom.”

  “Shit. That makes more sense. I’ll shut up shop and go find her. Oh, and thank you for telling me… finally.”

  Edi hung up as Johan cringed at the dig she’d given him. He knew damn well he should’ve said something more specific at the shop, but he’d been too focussed about the sexy times he wanted with Nova. Right now, all he wanted was to see her and hold her again, and simply spend time with her. He hoped against the odds that would happen.

  He took a deep breath. He felt for Nova having to face her fears, or whatever the hell it was. But right now, he was about to face his.

  Nova stood up to her knees in the ocean, looking out to the horizon. Tears stained her cheeks. She had just remembered the first time when she had used her Magik skill. Somehow, she had sensed a man, Jack, who was someone her neighbor Pam trusted, but wasn’t actually helping her as he was meant to be. He was stealing her money. Nova also knew what to say to Pam so she believed her. Then she’d helped her set it up to catch him in the act. They did. And sent a very angry Jack packing, and after a few phone calls without a job. Pam was incredibly grateful. Nova was just excited that she had helped her. Because she’d saved her so much money, Pam wanted to return the favor. She also knew that her mom was behind in the mortgage repayments, and was about to be forced to sell and find somewhere cheaper to live. Instead of seeing the gift as it was, and being grateful herself, her mom had flown into a rage. Nova felt the raw emotional wound even now at how her mom had behaved.

  I was only helping.

  Nova crossed her arms across her chest, hugging herself tight as if she was really embracing her inner child who was upset and scared.

  It wasn’t bad what I did.

  Her adult self knew that. Now she needed to make sure her inner child also knew.

  Nova took a deep breath and envisaged meeting herself when she was a child, just after this incident had occurred. She braced herself against the storm of hurt she felt when she made the connection to her past self. Fresh tears moved down her cheeks. She kept her focus. She embraced her child-self, telling her that what she’d done was clever, right, and that she’d done nothing wrong. It took a while, but slowly the hurt healed.

  Then she knew what the next step was she needed to do. Her gut twisted painfully in protest.

  Mom didn’t know any better.

  She didn’t want to say this to her child-self, she didn’t want to admit it even now as an adult. It was the only way to heal the wound. And she could sense it was the only way that would allow her to reconnect to her skill now. That’s what she wanted more than anything. Nova had been around Edi, and a few of the other Magiks in the shop for the last month, and they were so confident in their abilities, but also there was a whole other world, and people she’d been prevented from connecting with because of her mom’s fear of what she didn’t understand. And she’d completed enough meditations with Edi to realize she needed to learn how to live with what had happened, in a way that wasn’t going to stop her from using her ability.

  Mom didn’t know any better.

  She repeated herself a few times, each time it was less painful. Each time her child-self felt less hurt. Eventually, she could sense a peace not just in her younger self, but also within her now.

  Nova reached out her heart to her younger self, sending an abundance of love and gratitude. She could feel the difference, how the wound had healed so much. There might be more healing to do later, but for now, this was as much that could be done, and it was going to change things. For the first time in her life, she knew what her skill was.

  She said farewell to her young self, let a much happier inner child be metaphorically absorbed back into her heart space, then returned to the present.

  The waves lapped around her ankles, the cool water helping to bring back her awareness to the present. The sun warm on her body, it was lower in the sky. She wasn’t sure how long she was standing there for. It didn’t matter. She knew her skill. She smiled. It felt good to know. Like she was more a whole person now. That the piece of herself which had always felt lost was now not just found, but firmly in place and she had done it all herself. A sense of satisfaction and joy flooded through her.

  “Nova?”

  She spun around at the sound of her name. “Edi.” She smiled seeing her friend rushing up to her.

  “Are you all right? I just got a phone call from Johan.”

  Johan. Fuck. What the hell would he think of me rushing off like that? She wanted to go back to him, but not now. There would be time to reconnect with him tomorrow. This time was special, and she needed to be alone. Besides, she was now itching to get home and connect with her ability to start the mom and baby range of products.

  “He was really worried.”

  That was very sweet and caring of him to have rung Edi.

  Edi stepped into the water to stand next to Nova, putting a hand on her. “You’re… you’re…”

  “I know my skill.” Nova grinned broadly.

  “Far out, you do!” Edi hugged her tightly. “I’m so excited for you.”

  “Though empath hardly sounds as exciting as a healer or a medium.”

  “Don’t be so sure about that.”

  “I look forward to finding out what it really means to be an empath.”

  “We’ve got so much to talk about, there’s so much you can do with your skill. I just knew you could do it.”

  “Thanks.”

  Empath. That’s what she was.

  That’s why she could help Pam.

  That’s why she could make the candles and other products which actually helped people.

  In a way, she’d been using her skill all along, and a shiver of excitement ran through her. Now, she could use her skill to make even better products, and who knows what else she could do. Nova felt like there were new doors that would be soon opening for her. She couldn’t wait to open them and walk inside to see what laid ahead. Her future was starting to look exciting with so many new things to explore.

  Continuing with Johan for a few days, then who knows what could happen.

  Johan strategically set out the crystals around him. He was grateful for the extra few crystals, and the hand-size crystal double pointed shards which he added to the grid he was creating.

  He burned all three black candles and sage incense, alternating them around the circle grid of crystals. A flutter in his bell reminded him how his skill as a medium hadn’t been working well, and this was dangerous.

  Look at the effect it had on Nova.

  How was he going to protect himself?

  He hoped the crystals,
candles, and incense would be enough, as he settled in the middle of the circle, cross-legged.

  Showered, in loose clean clothing, he began to prepare himself to have a confrontation with the spirit. With Nova’s mom. Come what may. He had an awful lot to say to her about the way she treated her daughter, and how suppressing a Magik skill slowly eats away at a person’s soul. Nova didn’t deserve to be suppressed like that. She should be able to connect to her ability, but it will never reach its full potential, which was a shame.

  Johan pushed those thoughts aside. Right now, he had to focus. He wasn’t sure what Nova’s mom was trying to play at. What was working in his favor, at least, was that she’d tried to contact him last night. It meant that despite the impact she’d just inflicted on Nova, there was a chance she was looking to communicate. A part of him disliked Nova’s mom for what she did. But another part of him also recognized a spirit needed to communicate with the living to make amends. So, as much as he wanted to give her a piece of his mind, his experience as a medium overruled such emotion, and he was ready to converse with her.

  Johan closed his eyes, settling his hands on his knees. Then began the process of opening his psyche up to the spirit world. Nerves fluttered in his belly. It had been so long since he’d done this.

  A thought burst into his mind. Of course.

  He should’ve known better.

  The cases had slowly taken over his life, and he’d wanted more of the drama, the adrenalin rush of being a highly sort after lawyer, the feeling when he won cases. And of course, the lifestyle that had been on offer because of it. He’d just realized the most obvious point. He’d not been much better than Nova’s mom with himself. By shutting down his ability as a medium, and his skill in the Magiks, his psyche had been suffering. Closed down. Eating away at itself in a sense.

  Why didn’t I see this before?

  Johan inhaled slowly. I see it now. And he knew what he needed to do about it.

  The first step was what he was doing right now. Then he was going to extend the lease on this place, and go and ask Edi for a job. His parents weren’t like hers, they wouldn’t care how he used his Magik ability, as long as he was happy. And they had been telling him to slow down so much in the last year, he was pretty sure they would be happy that he was taking time out.

  He exhaled, counting down from three.

  First things first.

  He needed to help Nova’s mom. There was a lot riding on this.

  Johan felt his psyche opening up, it was a bit like a flower bud unfolding for the first time. More so to this time as it had been so long. There was that moment of panic where his ego fought the process, scared it was going to be lost forever. He held his breath, kept his focus, and allowed himself to sit with the feeling before continuing with the process, keeping his mind centered on a sense of peace.

  His ego gave in, the panic subsided. He connected to the spirit world. There was the usual bombardment of energy from spirits, and he braced himself against the dark, heavy energy, just managing to stop it from absorbing through into his own aura, and then his body. If that happened, he could end up possessed or having to spend weeks trying to get this energy to move along. Fortunately, he held strong, open but in control.

  Ever so gently, he put a call out to the spirit that had contacted him last night.

  Where are you?

  Then he waited. Concentrating hard on the feeling anchored in himself, stretched between the physical and spiritual planes, and at peace so as not to scare the spirit away.

  It’s time to speak up.

  He thought he sensed a flutter, in the darkness that he was absorbed in, but nothing came of it.

  I can help you.

  I’m beyond help.

  It was like the spirit had yelled at him, and a bolt of power screamed through his energy. He struggled to keep hold of the delicate balance, so he wasn’t taken over fully. The connection had been made.

  Why did you come to me? There were so many other questions he wanted to ask, but he needed to go carefully, sensing that this spirit was ready to flee. He didn’t want that to happen without making some sort of progress. It was always a fragile situation communicating with the spirits, whether they were angry, happy, in turmoil, or full of fear, they were in need of his help and were always so easily scared.

  She was there.

  Nova?

  Yes. I was bad to her.

  How? he asked knowing the answer.

  It wasn’t about him, but more about getting the spirit to recognize why they were in need of visiting the living.

  I’ve not seen her for so long. I wanted to see her. I needed to tell her.

  The connection between them weakened. Johan resisted the urge to hold onto the spirit to stop her from going. That wouldn’t help the situation at all.

  I needed to tell her… sorry.

  Why don’t you? He couldn’t believe the spirit was still there with him.

  She won’t listen.

  Nova will listen to you.

  How can you be sure?

  Will you hurt her?

  No. I need her to know it was my fault. I just didn’t know any better.

  Johan sensed strongly she was genuine. That this was the reason why she was coming here. That there needed to be a resolution, for them both.

  You need to be gentle, he warned. And you’ll have me to deal with if you do hurt her again.

  I just need to say… sorry.

  Then that’s all you need to do.

  The connection broke.

  The spirit fled, leaving a trail of fear burning through the energy of the spirit world.

  Johan felt himself falling back down into his body. He didn’t have the focus to stay any longer, besides the spirit had gone. He’d done all he could do to try and help Nova’s mom, but he didn’t think it was going to be enough.

  Summer Solstice

  Nova couldn’t wait to show the essence she’d been working on last night to Edi. It should help soothe the morning sickness. She’d planned to make some candles over the next few days along with room sprays. In order to make a version of this into tea, she needed to do a little more research to source dried ginger and lemongrass, and maybe some white tea, and do a few experiments of different ratios to determine what would taste the best, as well as for settling the stomach. That was going to take a little time, and she was excited about this new path. Even just last night working on the essence, it was much easier, and quicker. She could feel her skill coming in quicker.

  Nova stayed up late, working.

  She’d slept in, now feeling refreshed and couldn’t wait to go and see Edi. She got in her car and drove to Crystal Sands, just after lunch, the new mom and baby range samples in a small box on the passenger seat.

  Working last night past midnight had been the perfect distraction from thinking about Johan. And her mom. It wasn’t resolved with her mom, and she didn’t know what to do next. But she really didn’t want to think about that right now, not after connecting with her skill. She wanted to enjoy feeling whole before confronting more issues she had with her mom.

  All in good time.

  What was more difficult now was trying not to think of Johan. At least he was respectful and hadn’t come after her when he did. And he cared enough to ring Edi to make sure she was okay. Her belly fluttered with a little thrill of energy.

  Was there something more here between them?

  She could feel it brewing there. It was an unexpected insight from now connecting to her ability. It excited her, and scared her at the same time. After all, it wasn’t like she knew Johan. She wasn’t looking for a relationship. And she had more than enough to deal with connecting with her ability, learning how to use it, and healing the wounds left behind from her mom.

  But he’s so fucking hot, and sweet.

  And she loved thinking about him, not just in a sexy way. That surprised her. A sign that there was something more there. Because of her skill, she knew he was feeling th
e same way.

  But can I trust my skill?

  I mean I hardly know what I can do?

  She parked the car near Crystal Sands. The warmth in her heart space told her, of course, she could trust herself. Maybe just as well I’m not something like a seer, or medium, which would need more training to harness the skill. Though then again, it wasn’t like she really knew what was required for any skill, but she was looking forward to finding out more about hers.

  Nova, grabbed the box, her handbag, got out the car, locked it, and went to the shop. Edi had made her promise she would drop by around lunchtime, just to check in. Nova thought it was more a waste of time, she felt great, especially after a quick swim before going home. And this morning she felt even better after working on the new range. With the new products to show Edi, she figured that she’d pop to the shop. What she really needed to be doing was deciding on if she was still going to see Johan. They’d agreed on fish and chips tonight, but she wasn’t sure about keeping the date.

  Date. Was this a cheap date? Though, there was nothing cheap about how it felt. She hipped the front door of the shop and entered to a warm welcome from Edi.

  “Nova, how are you?” asked Edi.

  “Great. I’ve got some essences to show you.” She went up to the counter and put down the small box.

  Edi moved around and embraced Nova. “It was a big thing you did last night. I’m so glad you’re doing well.”

  Nova felt the hug more than before. Extra emotion and love spun her head momentarily.

  “Feeling a lot more?” asked Edi as she pulled away.

  Nova nodded.

  “It will take a little while to adjust. I’ll give you a few tips to help you. The last thing you want is to be feeling everyone’s emotions when you’re simply walking down the street.”

  Nova hadn’t even thought of that. “I’ve got a lot to learn, I just want to know it all now.”

  Edi grinned. “That’s a great sign.”

  “And it was a lot easier to make these. Here, try this.” She took out a small vial, screwed off the top and handed it to Edi.