Magical Curves

By Virginia Nelson

Emily Flowers dreams of something more. Living a humble, if solitary, life as the local librarian, she looks forward to laying her head on her pillow each night to travel to a magical place where she has adventures with a wizard prince.

Kayden, prince of Zenith, the land of the setting sun, found his soulmate long ago. Her imagination and spirit has long fed his magic, but the time has come for him to collect his voluptuous bride. Can he convince her that some dreams are so powerful, they can become reality so he can finally taste her Magical Curves?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Evernight Publishing
• Release date: Feb 2, 2014
• ISBN: 9781771307123

Virginia Nelson

Virginia Nelson likes knights in rusted and dinged up armor, heroes that snarl instead of croon, and heroines who can't remember to say the right thing even with an author writing their dialogue. Her books are full of snark, sex, and random acts of ineptitude--not always in that order.

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Published by Evernight Publishing at Smashwords

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2014 Virginia Nelson

ISBN: 978-1-77130-712-3

Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

Editor: JC Chute

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

For Michelle. Thanks for everything!

MAGICAL CURVES

Magical Trilogy, 1

Virginia Nelson

Copyright © 2014

Chapter One

The best part of Emily Flowers’ day was the moment she curled around her pillow each night. She tried to stop the rush of adrenaline, the excited tingle of knowing what would come once she closed her eyes. She couldn’t remember a time when dreaming wasn’t a part of her day. Maybe the dreams were a sickness, a symptom of the overactive imagination of an admitted bibliophile—after all, who loves a good story more than a librarian?

It didn’t matter.

Not when he waited.

Slowing her breathing and concentrating on falling asleep, she imagined his face and smile. It eluded her waking life, becoming more a shadow of something half remembered. But with night, the image of him snapped into clarity, the dream surging over her reality, and she smiled. He was always the first thing she saw when she travelled to this place.

You’re late. Something about his grin managed to be toothy and self-deprecating all at once. It always flat-out did it for her, that playful twist of his tempting lips. Then again, as the perfect dream man, there wasn’t a lot about him that didn’t flat-out do it for her.

I have a hard time falling asleep, but it helps knowing you’re waiting for me.

I have so much to show you today. His voice almost shimmered with excitement. She reached out and took his hand, knowing that he would curl his fingers to join hers. Even with the familiarity of a thousand nights of him doing so, pleasure surged when he squeezed her hand.

You always have so much to show me. And he did. That was the wonder of it. In reality, Emily might be invisible, a woman who lived her life in the pages of books. But here, he always waited for her impatiently, wanting to share his world. Kayden always wanted her and no one else. No one in the real world ever met the expectation, the raised bar, because of his unwavering attention.

He tugged her arm and she followed him. His beautiful world enchanted her, so much more magical than the one of her daylight. Full of ruby red grasses, and seas that shifted from purples to blues in the blink of an eye … Emily explored it with constant fascination. As the prince of this realm, Kayden was as magical as his lands, and he protected her from the dark side of life here whenever he could. They’d once fended off the attack of a dragon from the city gates by combining their magic, a dragon she eventually tamed and called her own. They’d travelled together on quests to locate lost items for his kingdom, Zenith. They’d had adventures better than any movie Emily ever experienced in the waking world, and all from the comfort of her bed.

Today, he dragged her to a room done in all silver tones. From the translucent flow of fabric on the canopy to the heavily carved posts of the bed, everything shimmered with an unearthly glow. What is this room? He’d never brought her here before.

My room. The words touched her, sending a shiver of awareness over her flesh. Emily’s gaze tracked from his shoulders, broad and bare in the light shafting from a tall window, lower, to the dark plaid of his kilt encasing his powerful thighs.

The transformation from friend to object of lust had been subtle, but her crush on her dream companion only deepened with age. She longed to have him bend her over his arm, part her lips with his own, and kiss her like the prince in one of those ‘happily ever after’ stories.

But the delicious wonder of the dream tended to shatter whenever those moments offered themselves up. Emily needed to believe—or so he explained. If she suffered from doubt, if her mind rebelled from the dream, it snapped her into waking.

Even knowing that, she couldn’t suspend her belief enough to believe that this man, this chiseled, handsome, and very sensual magician, could ever want her. She was plain. She was chubby. She wasn’t a princess in a fairytale.

She was a librarian.

Emily stiffened with the knowledge that her own reality could shatter this beautiful image. She wished so very hard that she could, just once, feel his kiss.

Kayden touched her forehead, stroking her hair aside. Why do you have such a hard time believing I care about you, my Emily?

She shrugged, glancing down at her unpolished toes, unable to meet his probing gaze. I believe you care.

Liar.

Calling her out didn’t encourage her confidence. Her clothes were beyond the help of her imagination and always had been, sadly. Plucking at the worn flannel fabric, she searched for a way to believe more instead of looking at the bronzed god standing in front of her.

Would you at least look at me? The sharp commanding tone sounded like Kayden the king, full of imperious demand—a tone he rarely used with her. Sighing, she met his eyes. Ever shifting in color, they glittered a brilliant jade. Surrounded by heavy lashes that almost weighed down his eyelids, they were the one thing she wished she could really picture when she wasn’t asleep.

I’m looking at you. She chewed her bottom lip, hoping for a spark of bravery.

Come with me.

He led her past the bed. Relief surged inside her—since nothing that happened on that silver altar should be considered if she wanted to stay asleep. Her relief faded as he paused by a mirror hanging on the wall.

Her frumpy image reflected her internal belief and the source of all her problems. Her hair wasn’t something from a shampoo commercial. It hung in fat and uncontrollable curls around her face. Her glasses—why had she thought thick black plastic frames were a good idea?—hid her gray eyes, and her body... Well, the fat polar bears had plenty of room to romp across a field of her oh-so-far-from-sexy-blue-flannel, at least.

Kayden stood behind her, dwarfing her in both height and shoulder span. His large hands on her shoulders kept her facing the glass, when she would have turned away in disgust. I don’t get why you hate your body so. His simple words weren’t a balm. They were a lie, and Emily shrugged them off.

I don’t hate it. Time to change the subject. So, are we going to practice flying again, today? Usually, she could distract him. Kayden seemed more than willing, most nights, to satisfy her curiosity, allowing her adventure after adventure, like her own personal Peter Pan.

The hardening of his jaw warned her, before he actually spoke. Tonight was not going to be one of those nights. I want you.

The unexpected declaration sucked the air out of the room. Her pulse thudded, hard and loud in her ears. I wish I could believe you, Kayden.

She did wish she could believe it. Maybe if she wished hard enough…

He snapped his fingers. Magic brushed against her senses and her nightgown vanished. Suddenly nude with her dream man, Emily gasped and twisted away from the mirror again.

Kayden wouldn’t be dissuaded, encasing her in the safe cocoon of his arms and holding her in place. I want to try something, Emily.

His breath whispered across her earlobe as he spoke. She shivered, but not from cold. Squinting her eyes shut, she prayed to stay asleep long enough to feel his touch. What do you want to try? Is it magic?

Their powers combined in her dreams could do fantastic things. She hadn’t expected it, but together they united and changed things. Together, they fought off any darkness that challenged the Land of the Setting Sun.

It’s definitely magic. He pressed his lips against her ear, teasing the skin with his breath and tongue. Let me touch you.

Delicious tension like nothing she ever imagined spiraled tight in her belly. He sucked at the delicate flesh of her lobe before trailing down her neck. Emily reveled in the caress. She’d waited so long for the feel of his kiss.

When he bent her head to an angle and closed his mouth over hers, she sighed.

And then, they kissed.

The dance of lips, followed by his tongue, tempted. She longed to turn in his arms, to catch his face in her hands and deepen the kiss, but Kayden kept her trapped.

Frustrated, she opened her eyes and glared at him. If we’re going to kiss, why won’t you let me move? She’d managed to stay asleep. She didn’t want to waste a moment of her bravery, fearing it would run out.

His soft laugh, somehow more dangerous than flying or fighting dragons, wove another layer into his sensual spell. I want you to watch.

She bit back a growl and turned her face away from