''I Love You and I Am Yours'' (Story)

[DreamHealer]

Jillian watched the decorated limo pull away from the curb, knowing that it was taking part of her heart with it as that limo was carrying a very special passenger, her only child and daughter, Malina. In that limo with Malina was her brand new husband, Jase and they were headed for their Caribbean honeymoon. In contrast to the beaming, ecstatic smile on Malina's lovely face, a frown of such sadness and loss marked her mother's face. One happy and one sad, two women, who were deeply linked with each other, and now, a wall between them that would assure that nothing would ever be the same again.

Jillian suddenly found herself surrounded by dozens of wedding guests, expressing their feelings of what a beautiful wedding it had been and what a lovely bride Malina was. She accepted each congratulations with a mechanical smile and a false tone of thanks while she felt she was inside of some vacuum of insulated misery that no one could see or feel but herself.

She allowed herself to be steered back into the reception hall by her two closest friends, Dana and Carolyn, but she was frantically trying to think of a way to escape without being rude. She needed to escape! She had to escape before the flood of tears just below the surface broke through. She fought the urge to cry down and focused her attention on carrying off her act. It was not easy but she accomplished it. No one was the wiser of how she was truly feeling.

Another eternal hour dragged by and finally, she saw the last of the guests off so she was able to make a dignified exit of her own. After settling what small extra expenses she owed to the caterer and wedding consultant with two checks, she walked stiffly to the parking lot where her car was parked.

"Damn Mark!" she muttered out loud to herself as she unlocked the drivers door on her late model sedan. As she climbed in behind the steering wheel, she glanced at herself in the rear view mirror. "God, I look terrible!" she said to the reflection. Turning her gaze from the mirror to the empty passenger seat, she frowned again and the tears began to slowly roll down her cheeks. She was all alone and in her opinion, she shouldn't be. Mark should have been there with her but how could he when he was dead? Her husband of twenty-five years was gone, killed in a small plane crash while on a business trip. That accident had happened a little over a year ago and now his widow was entirely alone since their daughter had married and was just beginning a new life of her own.

Jillian broke down and wept the tears she had been fighting off all day. Her sobs were muffled by the rolled up windows and deafened sound proof of her car. No one heard her or saw her as her car was the last remaining vehicle in the hall's parking lot. She was truly as alone as she felt.

A half hour had passed before Jillian was able to control her crying and finally calm herself enough to drive home.

"Home." she thought to herself."Home or house?" another thought came as she mentally envisioned the two story brick house where she had lived with Mark and Malina for the last twenty years or nineteen years with both of them and one year with just her and Malina since Mark's death. Yet, it was not an entirely empty house with Patches still there. At the thought of Patches, her spirits began to rise. "Yep, I still have Patches." With the thought of her sweet calico cat, Patches, things did not seem so totally bad at all. He was there for her just as he had been for the last five years and suddenly, eager to see him, she cranked the car and headed for home.

As she drove down the main street in her town, she began to mentally chide herself for being such a crybaby. It was not as if she had not known this day was coming, since Malina and Jase had been engaged for two years, even before Mark's passing.

She was deep in thought when she realized that she approaching a traffic signal which was turning red. She hit the brake pedal quickly and the sedan came to a jerking stop, with the tires screeching in protest. Once the stop was completed, she closed her eyes and mentally reprimanded herself for not paying closer attention to her driving. She could have run the light and never knew it until it was too late. It did not matter that she was the only one at the intersection and that it continued to be that way while she waited for the light to change to green. It was then that she felt the strangest sensation of someone calling her name.

A warm but odd feeling crawled through her as she listened to some unseen bidding in her mind. It requested her to turn her head to the right and as she did, she grew even more confused because all she saw was a used car lot. She sought visually through the parked automobiles for the source of the voice but found nothing. She only saw cars or that is until her eyes riveted onto a car sitting on the front row. It was a Jaguar, an old Jaguar. She felt intensely drawn to it but before she could turn the wheel to pull to the right for a turn, a car horn blared at her from behind and looking up in the rear view mirror, she saw a vehicle behind, the driver motioning her on as the light had turned to green.

Jillian quickly brought her attention back to the business at hand and drove on through the light. The feeling of being summoned did not leave her as she left the car lot behind but she tried to brush it off as just something from her distraught emotional state. It did not leave that easy but she made it home safely and to the welcoming purrs and leg sweeps of Patches. The emptiness of the house depressed her worse but she decided she had to get used to it as she climbed the staircase to her bedroom to change out of the wedding outfit. Life had to go on as normal.

The next morning, Jillian found herself waking up to still a lousy mood. She fussed at herself silently but it did little to alleviate the mood. She fed Patches his breakfast, tidied up the already neat house and drank two cups of decaffeinated coffee. When she was done, she realized she had nothing left to do.

The last few months had been very active with the wedding plans and recovering from the loss of Mark but now, the wedding was over and only time could heal the pain of losing her husband. Staying busy helped because when she had nothing to do, she tended to remember too much.

As she sat mulling over her situation, she remembered the odd occurrence at the light. With the memory of it, she also suddenly felt the strange sensation that she had felt when she saw the old Jaguar. She suddenly felt her spirits pick up as she decided that it needed further investigation. As a general rule, she did not believe in paranormal things but she knew enough about the subject to know that this had all the classic signs of it.

She drove to the car lot, half expecting not to see the Jaguar there but it was. Still sitting in its front row place, still shining in the morning sunlight, and still waiting for someone to want it. The cars on either side of it had changed but the Jaguar remained exactly as she had seen it the evening before. And exactly as before, she felt an incredible attraction to the car. It almost unnerved her again.

Jillian was now determined to put this quandary to rest so she put her sedan in park and shut off the engine. She checked her appearance in the mirror and satisfied that it was not too bad, she grabbed her purse and keys as she stepped out onto the concrete area of the car lot. She glanced to see if anyone was around but saw no one. Undeterred, she headed directly for the Jaguar.

When she reached the car, she walked entirely around, looking inside and out. She knew it was old but whoever had it before had taken great care with it. Its burnished copper color shone as if the car had just been painted yesterday. The plush peanut butter colored leather seats and interior had not a single tear or rip to be seen. The wood grain paneled dash glistened. There was chrome everywhere but the pouncing chrome jaguar on the car's hood shot back sprays of light. The car literally took her breath away and it caused her to wonder as she had never known herself to be highly impressed by cars, especially expensive luxury cars such as this one. She was pondering this when she heard a strange voice speak from behind her.

"It's a beauty, isn't it?"

Jillian turned at the sound of the male voice and came face to face with a young man who was obviously a salesman. His smile was beaming a welcome at her.

"How much?" she found herself asking.

"Well, wouldn't you like to hear it run?" he replied.

"Oh, yes, right!" she fumbled with the words and cursed herself for being so clearly entranced with the Jaguar.

"My pleasure." He stated and reaching in his pocket, he fished out a set of keys and opened the Jag's driver door. He handed her the keys and indicated for her to start it.

Jillian stood frozen for a moment and then with a shaking hand, she took the keys from him and slid into the driver's seat. She found the ignition key and as she turned it, the Jag's engine sprang to life. It was a powerful, low purr and Jillian was startled when she heard a voice in her mind saying "I love you! I love you! Take me! I'm yours!"

Uncaring of what the young man was seeing, Jillian shook her head suddenly, trying to clear it of the sensual male voice that had just spoken to her. Incredibly, she felt the bucket seat beneath her begin to grow warm and vibrate as it were trying to hold her and caress her. She began to shake visibly, enough so that the salesman seemed to become concerned as he leaned over to her and ask.

"Are you all right, ma'am?"

Fighting for composure, she forced her voice to sound steady as she answered him.

"Yes, I am fine. I just like the car very much. So again, how much?"

"Five thousand." he said.

"You take trade ins?" she questioned.

"Yes, but not usually as the complete payment, ma'am." the salesman stated.

"This car's year?" Jillian queried.

"1983."

"H'mm, twenty-three years old. My sedan is a 2004. It should be a fair trade and you will owe me money, I believe." Jillian answered.

"Well, yes, but I am not sure you would really want to do that." the salesman remarked.

"Why not?" she demanded.

"I don't know, ma'am, but somehow it seems unwise. Is your car paid off?" he continued.

"Yes, it is. I am ready to trade right now. Draw up the papers, please." Jillian requested and suddenly, the voice in her mind spoke again.

"I love you!" it said and that was all.

Jillian knew that the salesman was thinking she was insane by trading her much newer paid automobile in for the old Jaguar but she knew things that he didn't. She still had Mark's late model pickup truck sitting in the garage, paid off just as her car had been when Mark died. Her house was paid for and she had enough investment money to live on for the rest of her life but Malina's wedding had cut a huge chunk from her finances. In her opinion, she had little if nothing to lose by trading the car in for the Jag and also would have some cash to boost. It seemed like a win-win situation to her.

That was all practical thought but the intriguing lure of the Jaguar was beyond a monetary value. There was just something about that car! No matter what it was, she just had to have the Jaguar.

An hour later found Jillian driving home with a newly written check for three thousand dollars in her purse and a vintage Jaguar. It also left her wondering if she had lost her mind completely. As her doubts seeped in, that strange new masculine voice spoke once more in her head. It said, "You will not regret your decision, my love. You will see. I love you and I am yours."

Every time she heard it, Jillian jerked with surprise but something also deeply feminine within her responded to the sultry sexy male voice. Once again, she felt the oddity of the drivers seat beginning to grow warm and the feeling that she was being held and caressed. It did not sooth her rational mind but it appealed to her every womanly emotion. Jillian resisted the temptation to shake her head to clear it but continued to drive on, totally shaken in every way.

The closer she drew to home, the more sensible she fought to be. She had almost reached her driveway which she suddenly decided to take the Jag to her late husband's mechanic, Phil Henderson. Mark had always trusted Phil to work on his cars and Jillian could not remember Mark ever being dissatisfied with Phil's work. She had known Mark to take a new car into Phil's garage and have it checked out over something out of sync before he took it to the dealer to have warranty work done. Mark had always been very through and practical and he had taught Jillian to be as well.

Having made her decision, she drove on past her driveway and headed for Phil's garage. She was determined to have the Jag checked out from one end to the other, but she had a thought that Phil might find a mechanical source for the odd voice associated with the car.

"He won't find it" the voice said,"because as you will soon see, it is not mechanical, but, my love, I do thank you for taking me there. It has been awhile since I have had proper care and after all, I am a Jaguar. I am used to being treated right. But don't worry, my love, he won't find much wrong. Believe me, my love, you will see that you have not wasted your time or your money on me. I will be everything and more that you want me to be. I promise. And also know, I picked you because I love you and I am yours."

Jillian made no reply but stepped harder on the gas to reach Phil's faster. She felt something inside of her want to believe the car but she had to know for sure.

Two hours later, Jillian and the Jag were headed back home. There had been a trip to the bank, then to Phil for a tuneup and oil change because Phil could not find anything else wrong with the car or that it needed anything else, and from there, Jillian had taken it be detailed. Gleaming with a much brighter shine that bounced warm amber glints in the sunlight, the Jag seemed to practically purr in delight that created a contented hum around her. She had a feeling that was oddly like an infusion of joy and love being sent at her. She was even more confused.

"Don't be confused, my love. Surely you know that cats love to be clean and well-groomed." the Jag explained or was it the Jag, Jillian questioned herself mentally, or just her overwrought state of mind brought on by loneliness and seeing her daughter get married? Was it empty nest syndrome or really a car that talked to her telepathically?

Jillian had discovered by this time that it was well past noon and she found herself wondering where the time had flown. She drove the strange Jaguar back to her house and decided that it was time that she did some really serious thinking. Instead, she took a nap.

Feeling exhausted and mentally strained, she laid down for what she hoped would be a restful nap. She seemed to drop off quickly and deeply into a deep slumber. As her body slept, the afternoon shadows began to filter through the lacy curtains in her bedroom, casting her room in a soft hazy light. It was in that dim light that she first saw him.

She saw him come through the bedroom door, with his naked tanned body glistening. She felt herself glance up and down his trim physique and a hunger began to draw up deep inside the feminine ethers of herself. It was not until he reached her bedside that she could see his face in the light from the windows. She found herself surprised that he was not as young as he first appeared to be but a more mature man, late thirties or early forties, as she estimated by the crows feet on the side of his warm almost amber colored eyes and the laugh lines along side his mouth as he smiled at her with flawless white teeth. A forelock of milk chocolate brown hair fell over his forehead, dangling enticingly over his smiling eyes. He was tall and powerfully built as he moved toward her with a smooth, cat-like grace. What she had begun to already suspect was clarified when he spoke to her with that sultry, silk voice that had a faint trace of an Italian accent. His voice moved across her like flowing water over stones when he said, "At last, we meet face to face, my love."

He was the Jaguar in human form!

"You are so beautiful, Jillian." he stated.

She felt herself stare at him in shock as the thought that she was forty and certainly no young woman. How could she be beautiful when she was the mother of a nineteen year old now married young woman and a widow? This thought settled in her mind.

"Not so, my love. Age has only enhanced your beauty." He replied and suddenly her mind was filled with his mental image of her.

Five-foot-five, one hundred and twenty five pounds, shoulder length blond hair with rinse hidden sprinkles of gray, and deep blue eyes. She had a oval face with a becoming nose and lips. Her breasts were still firm and solid enough that she could go without a bra if she chose. A slender waist and sloping hips that curved down to strong slim legs from years of jogging. In his projected image, she saw herself as beautiful but in hers, she saw herself as over-the-hill.

Jillian had barely grasped onto what was happening when she felt him begin to undress her. His movements were slow and methodical as if each act were a carefully orchestrated effort. After he unbuttoned her blouse, she felt his fingertips slide seductively across the rise of her breasts as they peaked above the cups of her bra. It felt like a touch of hot ice...cold at first from the air in the room and then suddenly burning in the most magnetic way. She heard herself gasp with pleasure.

Then the phone rang.

Jillian found herself in a state of awareness that she was not sure of whether or not she was asleep or awake. The telephone kept ringing so shaking her head to clear the fuzziness, she picked up the receiver. A slurred "hello" came out of her mouth and she waited for the reply. It came quickly.

"Mom? Is that you, Mom?".

Jillian hit instant clarity as she realized it was Malina calling. She quickly sat up and focused on the conversation.

"Hi, honey!" she answered.

"Did I disturb you, Mom?" Malina questioned.

"No, sweetie, I was just napping. I must have been having an odd dream, but I am awake now and so happy to hear from you." Jillian stated.

"Oh, okay. Well, I told you I would call as soon as I could." her daughter replied.

"How is everything, Malina? Are you and Jase having a good time?" Jillian questioned.

There was a loud sound of happiness as Malina answered.

"The best, Mom, we are having the best time. It is wonderful here and we are so happy!" Malina said, her voice full of joy.

"Oh, I am so glad, sweetie!" her mother remarked honestly.

"Mom, I can't talk long...international rates, you know, but I just wanted to let you know that we are fine and having a wonderful honeymoon." Malina said, and then after a short pause, she ask. "Mom, are you okay? I know it must be lonely for you right now but I promise after we get back that I will be over to see you so much that you will think I never left home."

"I'm fine, darling." Jillian answered quietly but wondered to herself if she was not lying, considering the events of the last two days.

"Okay, then I will call you tomorrow. I love you and Jase sends his love as well." Malina said and then she was gone with a short click in the phone as she hung up the other end.

Jillian stared down at the phone that only had a dial tone and then sighing resignedly, she hung it up. She sat still in the deepening darkness of her room and pondered the depth of what had to have been a dream with the strange man and questioned herself as to whether she was going crazy or not.

She was torn between wanting to go back to sleep and satisfying the now gnawing hunger in her stomach. She had not eaten since earlier that morning and she felt the need of food. She turned the bedside lamp on to disperse the shadowy gloom of fading sunlight and the return of light cheered her immensely but it did not totally get rid of the feeling of being bereft of the touch of her dream lover.

The house was so still and silent, pressing its emptiness in on her. Patches was dozing quietly on the opposite side of her bed, impervious to his mistress' distress. She thought for a moment of reaching out to touch his silky fur but then changed her mind. He was sleeping so soundly and peacefully...something she envied him since she had not known a truly good sleep for over a year now.

Finally unable to ignore the rumble of hunger in her stomach, she rose off the bed and made her way to her kitchen to satisfy it.

A quick survey of her kitchen showed Jillian that she was sadly lacking on food supplies. She had been so busy the week before the wedding that she had paid little or no attention to her own needs. The bread was stale, the milk out of date, the leftovers were non-existant, and she was ravenous. Deciding that she needed to go out and buy groceries, she also decided that she would crap a bite out before she did that.

She changed her mussed clothes, combed her hair, and applied a minute measure of makeup. Despite the nap, there were still dark circles under her eyes. She frowned at herself and then made a mental note to buy a over-the-counter sleep aid to help her get more rest.

Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she grabbed her purse and car keys but the moment she touched the keys, the thought of the Jaguar came back. She began to tremble, frightened of what had been happening to her as of late. Opening her right palm, she examined her car keys, noting the ones to Mark's pickup truck. She had not driven it in a long time but Malina had sometimes used it to keep it running and also to use its versatility to carry her things from her mother's house to the new home she would share with Jase. Jillian had two choices, the Jag or Mark's truck and both created a dilemma. The truck because it reminded her of Mark and his absence and the Jag just because it was the Jag.

"Please, my love, don't avoid me. I know it is strange but it will work itself out. It will be wonderful, Jillian, trust me." the Jag's masculine voice spoke in her mind.

Her mental answer came quickly with an almost hysterical point of laughter to it.

"Trust me, he says. Trust me! I bet that is the first time anyone ever heard a car tell them to 'trust me'."

"No matter, Jillian, do as you want but just remember I love you and I am yours." the Jag replied.

Jillian stood silent for a moment, weighing all that was happening to her. Common sense told her she was delusional but instinct told her it was real. The car possessed a spirit of some kind, a spirit of love and passion. Why fight it? After all, she was the only one who had to know.

"There will be many dreams of love such as this afternoon, my love. Together we will weather the years and we will never be alone again. I promise." the Jag's voice told her and it was filled with hope and happiness.

"After all, my love, haven't you always said how much you loved cats? Look at how much you love Patches and he loves you. Why not love a metal cat? Just as my feline counterparts, I have had many lives in different times, including one as a man. We were meant to be together. Just remember I love you and I am yours!"

With those words heard and understood, she picked the Jag's ignition key from the set and with a contented smile on her face, she walked out the door of her house and into her new life.

[love forever]

Originally Posted by DreamHealer

Jillian watched the decorated limo pull away from the curb, knowing that it was taking part of her heart with it as that limo was carrying a very special passenger, her only child and daughter, Malina. In that limo with Malina was her brand new husband, Jase and they were headed for their Caribbean honeymoon. In contrast to the beaming, ecstatic smile on Malina's lovely face, a frown of such sadness and loss marked her mother's face. One happy and one sad, two women, who were deeply linked with each other, and now, a wall between them that would assure that nothing would ever be the same again.

Jillian suddenly found herself surrounded by dozens of wedding guests, expressing their feelings of what a beautiful wedding it had been and what a lovely bride Malina was. She accepted each congratulations with a mechanical smile and a false tone of thanks while she felt she was inside of some vacuum of insulated misery that no one could see or feel but herself.

She allowed herself to be steered back into the reception hall by her two closest friends, Dana and Carolyn, but she was frantically trying to think of a way to escape without being rude. She needed to escape! She had to escape before the flood of tears just below the surface broke through. She fought the urge to cry down and focused her attention on carrying off her act. It was not easy but she accomplished it. No one was the wiser of how she was truly feeling.

Another eternal hour dragged by and finally, she saw the last of the guests off so she was able to make a dignified exit of her own. After settling what small extra expenses she owed to the caterer and wedding consultant with two checks, she walked stiffly to the parking lot where her car was parked.

"Damn Mark!" she muttered out loud to herself as she unlocked the drivers door on her late model sedan. As she climbed in behind the steering wheel, she glanced at herself in the rear view mirror. "God, I look terrible!" she said to the reflection. Turning her gaze from the mirror to the empty passenger seat, she frowned again and the tears began to slowly roll down her cheeks. She was all alone and in her opinion, she shouldn't be. Mark should have been there with her but how could he when he was dead? Her husband of twenty-five years was gone, killed in a small plane crash while on a business trip. That accident had happened a little over a year ago and now his widow was entirely alone since their daughter had married and was just beginning a new life of her own.

Jillian broke down and wept the tears she had been fighting off all day. Her sobs were muffled by the rolled up windows and deafened sound proof of her car. No one heard her or saw her as her car was the last remaining vehicle in the hall's parking lot. She was truly as alone as she felt.

A half hour had passed before Jillian was able to control her crying and finally calm herself enough to drive home.

"Home." she thought to herself."Home or house?" another thought came as she mentally envisioned the two story brick house where she had lived with Mark and Malina for the last twenty years or nineteen years with both of them and one year with just her and Malina since Mark's death. Yet, it was not an entirely empty house with Patches still there. At the thought of Patches, her spirits began to rise. "Yep, I still have Patches." With the thought of her sweet calico cat, Patches, things did not seem so totally bad at all. He was there for her just as he had been for the last five years and suddenly, eager to see him, she cranked the car and headed for home.

As she drove down the main street in her town, she began to mentally chide herself for being such a crybaby. It was not as if she had not known this day was coming, since Malina and Jase had been engaged for two years, even before Mark's passing.

She was deep in thought when she realized that she approaching a traffic signal which was turning red. She hit the brake pedal quickly and the sedan came to a jerking stop, with the tires screeching in protest. Once the stop was completed, she closed her eyes and mentally reprimanded herself for not paying closer attention to her driving. She could have run the light and never knew it until it was too late. It did not matter that she was the only one at the intersection and that it continued to be that way while she waited for the light to change to green. It was then that she felt the strangest sensation of someone calling her name.

A warm but odd feeling crawled through her as she listened to some unseen bidding in her mind. It requested her to turn her head to the right and as she did, she grew even more confused because all she saw was a used car lot. She sought visually through the parked automobiles for the source of the voice but found nothing. She only saw cars or that is until her eyes riveted onto a car sitting on the front row. It was a Jaguar, an old Jaguar. She felt intensely drawn to it but before she could turn the wheel to pull to the right for a turn, a car horn blared at her from behind and looking up in the rear view mirror, she saw a vehicle behind, the driver motioning her on as the light had turned to green.

Jillian quickly brought her attention back to the business at hand and drove on through the light. The feeling of being summoned did not leave her as she left the car lot behind but she tried to brush it off as just something from her distraught emotional state. It did not leave that easy but she made it home safely and to the welcoming purrs and leg sweeps of Patches. The emptiness of the house depressed her worse but she decided she had to get used to it as she climbed the staircase to her bedroom to change out of the wedding outfit. Life had to go on as normal.

The next morning, Jillian found herself waking up to still a lousy mood. She fussed at herself silently but it did little to alleviate the mood. She fed Patches his breakfast, tidied up the already neat house and drank two cups of decaffeinated coffee. When she was done, she realized she had nothing left to do.

The last few months had been very active with the wedding plans and recovering from the loss of Mark but now, the wedding was over and only time could heal the pain of losing her husband. Staying busy helped because when she had nothing to do, she tended to remember too much.

As she sat mulling over her situation, she remembered the odd occurrence at the light. With the memory of it, she also suddenly felt the strange sensation that she had felt when she saw the old Jaguar. She suddenly felt her spirits pick up as she decided that it needed further investigation. As a general rule, she did not believe in paranormal things but she knew enough about the subject to know that this had all the classic signs of it.

She drove to the car lot, half expecting not to see the Jaguar there but it was. Still sitting in its front row place, still shining in the morning sunlight, and still waiting for someone to want it. The cars on either side of it had changed but the Jaguar remained exactly as she had seen it the evening before. And exactly as before, she felt an incredible attraction to the car. It almost unnerved her again.

Jillian was now determined to put this quandary to rest so she put her sedan in park and shut off the engine. She checked her appearance in the mirror and satisfied that it was not too bad, she grabbed her purse and keys as she stepped out onto the concrete area of the car lot. She glanced to see if anyone was around but saw no one. Undeterred, she headed directly for the Jaguar.

When she reached the car, she walked entirely around, looking inside and out. She knew it was old but whoever had it before had taken great care with it. Its burnished copper color shone as if the car had just been painted yesterday. The plush peanut butter colored leather seats and interior had not a single tear or rip to be seen. The wood grain paneled dash glistened. There was chrome everywhere but the pouncing chrome jaguar on the car's hood shot back sprays of light. The car literally took her breath away and it caused her to wonder as she had never known herself to be highly impressed by cars, especially expensive luxury cars such as this one. She was pondering this when she heard a strange voice speak from behind her.

"It's a beauty, isn't it?"

Jillian turned at the sound of the male voice and came face to face with a young man who was obviously a salesman. His smile was beaming a welcome at her.

"How much?" she found herself asking.

"Well, wouldn't you like to hear it run?" he replied.

"Oh, yes, right!" she fumbled with the words and cursed herself for being so clearly entranced with the Jaguar.

"My pleasure." He stated and reaching in his pocket, he fished out a set of keys and opened the Jag's driver door. He handed her the keys and indicated for her to start it.

Jillian stood frozen for a moment and then with a shaking hand, she took the keys from him and slid into the driver's seat. She found the ignition key and as she turned it, the Jag's engine sprang to life. It was a powerful, low purr and Jillian was startled when she heard a voice in her mind saying "I love you! I love you! Take me! I'm yours!"

Uncaring of what the young man was seeing, Jillian shook her head suddenly, trying to clear it of the sensual male voice that had just spoken to her. Incredibly, she felt the bucket seat beneath her begin to grow warm and vibrate as it were trying to hold her and caress her. She began to shake visibly, enough so that the salesman seemed to become concerned as he leaned over to her and ask.

"Are you all right, ma'am?"

Fighting for composure, she forced her voice to sound steady as she answered him.

"Yes, I am fine. I just like the car very much. So again, how much?"

"Five thousand." he said.

"You take trade ins?" she questioned.

"Yes, but not usually as the complete payment, ma'am." the salesman stated.

"This car's year?" Jillian queried.

"1983."

"H'mm, twenty-three years old. My sedan is a 2004. It should be a fair trade and you will owe me money, I believe." Jillian answered.

"Well, yes, but I am not sure you would really want to do that." the salesman remarked.

"Why not?" she demanded.

"I don't know, ma'am, but somehow it seems unwise. Is your car paid off?" he continued.

"Yes, it is. I am ready to trade right now. Draw up the papers, please." Jillian requested and suddenly, the voice in her mind spoke again.

"I love you!" it said and that was all.

Jillian knew that the salesman was thinking she was insane by trading her much newer paid automobile in for the old Jaguar but she knew things that he didn't. She still had Mark's late model pickup truck sitting in the garage, paid off just as her car had been when Mark died. Her house was paid for and she had enough investment money to live on for the rest of her life but Malina's wedding had cut a huge chunk from her finances. In her opinion, she had little if nothing to lose by trading the car in for the Jag and also would have some cash to boost. It seemed like a win-win situation to her.

That was all practical thought but the intriguing lure of the Jaguar was beyond a monetary value. There was just something about that car! No matter what it was, she just had to have the Jaguar.

An hour later found Jillian driving home with a newly written check for three thousand dollars in her purse and a vintage Jaguar. It also left her wondering if she had lost her mind completely. As her doubts seeped in, that strange new masculine voice spoke once more in her head. It said, "You will not regret your decision, my love. You will see. I love you and I am yours."

Every time she heard it, Jillian jerked with surprise but something also deeply feminine within her responded to the sultry sexy male voice. Once again, she felt the oddity of the drivers seat beginning to grow warm and the feeling that she was being held and caressed. It did not sooth her rational mind but it appealed to her every womanly emotion. Jillian resisted the temptation to shake her head to clear it but continued to drive on, totally shaken in every way.

The closer she drew to home, the more sensible she fought to be. She had almost reached her driveway which she suddenly decided to take the Jag to her late husband's mechanic, Phil Henderson. Mark had always trusted Phil to work on his cars and Jillian could not remember Mark ever being dissatisfied with Phil's work. She had known Mark to take a new car into Phil's garage and have it checked out over something out of sync before he took it to the dealer to have warranty work done. Mark had always been very through and practical and he had taught Jillian to be as well.

Having made her decision, she drove on past her driveway and headed for Phil's garage. She was determined to have the Jag checked out from one end to the other, but she had a thought that Phil might find a mechanical source for the odd voice associated with the car.

"He won't find it" the voice said,"because as you will soon see, it is not mechanical, but, my love, I do thank you for taking me there. It has been awhile since I have had proper care and after all, I am a Jaguar. I am used to being treated right. But don't worry, my love, he won't find much wrong. Believe me, my love, you will see that you have not wasted your time or your money on me. I will be everything and more that you want me to be. I promise. And also know, I picked you because I love you and I am yours."

Jillian made no reply but stepped harder on the gas to reach Phil's faster. She felt something inside of her want to believe the car but she had to know for sure.

Two hours later, Jillian and the Jag were headed back home. There had been a trip to the bank, then to Phil for a tuneup and oil change because Phil could not find anything else wrong with the car or that it needed anything else, and from there, Jillian had taken it be detailed. Gleaming with a much brighter shine that bounced warm amber glints in the sunlight, the Jag seemed to practically purr in delight that created a contented hum around her. She had a feeling that was oddly like an infusion of joy and love being sent at her. She was even more confused.

"Don't be confused, my love. Surely you know that cats love to be clean and well-groomed." the Jag explained or was it the Jag, Jillian questioned herself mentally, or just her overwrought state of mind brought on by loneliness and seeing her daughter get married? Was it empty nest syndrome or really a car that talked to her telepathically?

Jillian had discovered by this time that it was well past noon and she found herself wondering where the time had flown. She drove the strange Jaguar back to her house and decided that it was time that she did some really serious thinking. Instead, she took a nap.

Feeling exhausted and mentally strained, she laid down for what she hoped would be a restful nap. She seemed to drop off quickly and deeply into a deep slumber. As her body slept, the afternoon shadows began to filter through the lacy curtains in her bedroom, casting her room in a soft hazy light. It was in that dim light that she first saw him.

She saw him come through the bedroom door, with his naked tanned body glistening. She felt herself glance up and down his trim physique and a hunger began to draw up deep inside the feminine ethers of herself. It was not until he reached her bedside that she could see his face in the light from the windows. She found herself surprised that he was not as young as he first appeared to be but a more mature man, late thirties or early forties, as she estimated by the crows feet on the side of his warm almost amber colored eyes and the laugh lines along side his mouth as he smiled at her with flawless white teeth. A forelock of milk chocolate brown hair fell over his forehead, dangling enticingly over his smiling eyes. He was tall and powerfully built as he moved toward her with a smooth, cat-like grace. What she had begun to already suspect was clarified when he spoke to her with that sultry, silk voice that had a faint trace of an Italian accent. His voice moved across her like flowing water over stones when he said, "At last, we meet face to face, my love."

He was the Jaguar in human form!

"You are so beautiful, Jillian." he stated.

She felt herself stare at him in shock as the thought that she was forty and certainly no young woman. How could she be beautiful when she was the mother of a nineteen year old now married young woman and a widow? This thought settled in her mind.

"Not so, my love. Age has only enhanced your beauty." He replied and suddenly her mind was filled with his mental image of her.

Five-foot-five, one hundred and twenty five pounds, shoulder length blond hair with rinse hidden sprinkles of gray, and deep blue eyes. She had a oval face with a becoming nose and lips. Her breasts were still firm and solid enough that she could go without a bra if she chose. A slender waist and sloping hips that curved down to strong slim legs from years of jogging. In his projected image, she saw herself as beautiful but in hers, she saw herself as over-the-hill.

Jillian had barely grasped onto what was happening when she felt him begin to undress her. His movements were slow and methodical as if each act were a carefully orchestrated effort. After he unbuttoned her blouse, she felt his fingertips slide seductively across the rise of her breasts as they peaked above the cups of her bra. It felt like a touch of hot ice...cold at first from the air in the room and then suddenly burning in the most magnetic way. She heard herself gasp with pleasure.

Then the phone rang.

Jillian found herself in a state of awareness that she was not sure of whether or not she was asleep or awake. The telephone kept ringing so shaking her head to clear the fuzziness, she picked up the receiver. A slurred "hello" came out of her mouth and she waited for the reply. It came quickly.

"Mom? Is that you, Mom?".

Jillian hit instant clarity as she realized it was Malina calling. She quickly sat up and focused on the conversation.

"Hi, honey!" she answered.

"Did I disturb you, Mom?" Malina questioned.

"No, sweetie, I was just napping. I must have been having an odd dream, but I am awake now and so happy to hear from you." Jillian stated.

"Oh, okay. Well, I told you I would call as soon as I could." her daughter replied.

"How is everything, Malina? Are you and Jase having a good time?" Jillian questioned.

There was a loud sound of happiness as Malina answered.

"The best, Mom, we are having the best time. It is wonderful here and we are so happy!" Malina said, her voice full of joy.

"Oh, I am so glad, sweetie!" her mother remarked honestly.

"Mom, I can't talk long...international rates, you know, but I just wanted to let you know that we are fine and having a wonderful honeymoon." Malina said, and then after a short pause, she ask. "Mom, are you okay? I know it must be lonely for you right now but I promise after we get back that I will be over to see you so much that you will think I never left home."

"I'm fine, darling." Jillian answered quietly but wondered to herself if she was not lying, considering the events of the last two days.

"Okay, then I will call you tomorrow. I love you and Jase sends his love as well." Malina said and then she was gone with a short click in the phone as she hung up the other end.

Jillian stared down at the phone that only had a dial tone and then sighing resignedly, she hung it up. She sat still in the deepening darkness of her room and pondered the depth of what had to have been a dream with the strange man and questioned herself as to whether she was going crazy or not.

She was torn between wanting to go back to sleep and satisfying the now gnawing hunger in her stomach. She had not eaten since earlier that morning and she felt the need of food. She turned the bedside lamp on to disperse the shadowy gloom of fading sunlight and the return of light cheered her immensely but it did not totally get rid of the feeling of being bereft of the touch of her dream lover.

The house was so still and silent, pressing its emptiness in on her. Patches was dozing quietly on the opposite side of her bed, impervious to his mistress' distress. She thought for a moment of reaching out to touch his silky fur but then changed her mind. He was sleeping so soundly and peacefully...something she envied him since she had not known a truly good sleep for over a year now.

Finally unable to ignore the rumble of hunger in her stomach, she rose off the bed and made her way to her kitchen to satisfy it.

A quick survey of her kitchen showed Jillian that she was sadly lacking on food supplies. She had been so busy the week before the wedding that she had paid little or no attention to her own needs. The bread was stale, the milk out of date, the leftovers were non-existant, and she was ravenous. Deciding that she needed to go out and buy groceries, she also decided that she would crap a bite out before she did that.

She changed her mussed clothes, combed her hair, and applied a minute measure of makeup. Despite the nap, there were still dark circles under her eyes. She frowned at herself and then made a mental note to buy a over-the-counter sleep aid to help her get more rest.

Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she grabbed her purse and car keys but the moment she touched the keys, the thought of the Jaguar came back. She began to tremble, frightened of what had been happening to her as of late. Opening her right palm, she examined her car keys, noting the ones to Mark's pickup truck. She had not driven it in a long time but Malina had sometimes used it to keep it running and also to use its versatility to carry her things from her mother's house to the new home she would share with Jase. Jillian had two choices, the Jag or Mark's truck and both created a dilemma. The truck because it reminded her of Mark and his absence and the Jag just because it was the Jag.

"Please, my love, don't avoid me. I know it is strange but it will work itself out. It will be wonderful, Jillian, trust me." the Jag's masculine voice spoke in her mind.

Her mental answer came quickly with an almost hysterical point of laughter to it.

"Trust me, he says. Trust me! I bet that is the first time anyone ever heard a car tell them to 'trust me'."

"No matter, Jillian, do as you want but just remember I love you and I am yours." the Jag replied.

Jillian stood silent for a moment, weighing all that was happening to her. Common sense told her she was delusional but instinct told her it was real. The car possessed a spirit of some kind, a spirit of love and passion. Why fight it? After all, she was the only one who had to know.

"There will be many dreams of love such as this afternoon, my love. Together we will weather the years and we will never be alone again. I promise." the Jag's voice told her and it was filled with hope and happiness.

"After all, my love, haven't you always said how much you loved cats? Look at how much you love Patches and he loves you. Why not love a metal cat? Just as my feline counterparts, I have had many lives in different times, including one as a man. We were meant to be together. Just remember I love you and I am yours!"

With those words heard and understood, she picked the Jag's ignition key from the set and with a contented smile on her face, she walked out the door of her house and into her new life.

aji aap kya likhate ho.aap aisi story sochate kaise he.to be continue.............