Page 1 of Return to Me Always

Chapter One

Hurry, my mind screamed.Waiting for him was torture.

A fear like I had never known threatened to bury me and close off my throat as the cold mist suffocated me.

I hated being hunted, and I hated being alone at night in the forest.The darkness nearly drowned me. With shaky hands, I gripped my cloak even tighter. Then I heard a whistle, and my heart jumped.

He was coming!

Like a specter, he appeared through the trees with two horses.

"We have to hurry," he whispered.

He handed me the reins and practically threw me on my horse before mounting his.

"Let's go."

I followed him through the darkness while praying for our safety.

As if he could feel my terror, he whispered to me amidst the shadows, "We will make it. I promise."

His calmness and confidence washed over me as we trudged on and the sky overhead started turning gray.

He looked back at me in the dim light. "Almost there."

A loud crack tore through the air behind us in the forest, and I screamed.

Ijolted upright in my bed, my heart racing. The panic and fear from the dream felt so real, I had trouble catching my breath.

It was just a dream.

For another anxious moment, I forgot where I was. Then a flutter of the gauzy curtains nearby reminded me. London. In a hotel room. And severely jetlagged.

I took several deep breaths, telling myself that it was a dream just like I'd had millions of times before, and reached for my dream journal that I always kept on a nightstand. Flipping to a blank page near the end, I wrote quickly, not wanting to dwell on this nightmare that flooded me with nerves.

All the other dreams had been so beautiful, filled with love and happiness, and always with the most stunning man I'd ever seen. My dream man. But this one... dread pierced my stomach, making me wonder if this was some kind of bad omen for the beginning of my trip.

Ugh, what a way to start the day.

Determined not to let it bother me, I tried to shake off the dream's aftertaste and headed for the shower to get ready for my first big day of real freedom.

Soon after, I sat in a coffee shop and enjoyed a steaming hot chocolate. As I scrolled through my phone, I couldn't help but smile at all the voices around me. Mixed in with the British accents, I could hear someone speaking French and another group speaking what I guessed was Italian. I could hardly believe that I was actually here. It was all really starting!

While eating my second bagel, I tried to figure out what I was going to do first. But to be honest, as thrilled as I was, it was also a bit overwhelming... and exhausting. Between the jetlag and the dream, I was feeling kind of wrung out. I also couldn't shake the feeling that somehow the dream had followed me. And now, I had the sensation that someone was watching me.

Glancing around the coffee shop, I noticed everyone glued to their phones or talking to someone else. Nobody even looked at me. But I still had that feeling of eyes on me. Trying to be all casual, I stretched around to look behind me.

And that's when I saw him!Him.From my dream! What the heck was going on? And, of course, he was looking straight at me. Our eyes connected, and a sharp jolt shot right to my core.

I knew him.

For the second time that morning, my heart started sprinting. Oh, my God, who was he? And why wouldn't he look away from me? A million thoughts and images crashed through my brain.

This was insane!

I tore my gaze away and forced myself to turn back around. Taking several deep breaths, I tried to slow my galloping heart. But it didn't work. And I still felt those eyes on me.

My mind raced through visions of him that had been haunting my dreams for as long as I could remember. Those bright blue eyes were unmistakable. His dark hair, his height, the breadth of his wide shoulders.

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