Gabby shrugged. “Then I’ll do it.”
“Are there any risks we should know about?” Marc asked.
“The only risk is if it turns out Allie is disappointed in what she sees. But I hardly think that will be the case.”
“What do we have to do?”
“It’s fairly simple. Just follow my instructions. Turn, face each other, and just relax. Close your eyes and take deep breaths and slowly let them out,” she said, placing a hand on top of each of their heads.
“All right, Allie. I need you to clear your mind of everything. Imagine that you are standing alone in an empty field, and it’s perfectly quiet. Marc, I want you to remember the first moment you set eyes on Allie. Allow yourself to examine every detail. Then slowly unroll all of your memories of her. Let them flow. It’s fine if they get out of order, they will sort themselves out in the end. Are the two of you ready?” she asked.
Marc silently nodded, as did Allie.
For him, this was easy. He could remember every detail of the day he set eyes on her. From the way the sun was shining, the breeze in the air, to every fine detail of her delicious body.
As the memories flooded his mind, he felt a weird tingling sensation emanating from the palm of Gabby’s hand. It wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, but as Gabby began to recite a chant in a strange language, the intensity of the sense increased. Then it became painful.
Despite his own discomfort, all he could think about was Allie. If he could only see her. But he couldn’t open his eyes. Gabby’s spell left him physically paralyzed while his brain buzzed with swirling memories of Allie.
Then, almost like hitting a switch, the pain subsided. His eyes fluttered open.
“Allie?” He groaned.
And then he saw how her head hung limply with her chin on her chest. “Allie!”
Gabby staggered backward, clearly exhausted from working her magic.
Marc grabbed Allie by the shoulders, steadying her and then cradling her in his arms. “She’s unconscious. What did you do to her?”
“I did what you asked. She’s only sleeping. You need to let her sleep while her mind stitches together all of your memories. This is the most important step. Hold her. Keep her comfortable. But do not, under any circumstances, try to wake her. If you do, consequences could be catastrophic for both of you.”
Marc nodded. Sweeping the strands of hair from Allie’s face, he relished her soft features and wished he could once again kiss her as his mate. Even though they had kissed many, many times the night before, along with several other naughty things, it wasn't the same as it was after they had completed the mating ritual.
He held her for over an hour before she began to move, and her eyes fluttered open. “Allie?”
“Wha … what the hell? My head. Ugh, I feel like I got hit by a freight train,” she said, sitting up.
“That will pass soon. Here, drink this. It’s just tea, I promise. I’m going to leave you two alone for now,” Gabby said, handing her a steaming mug.
“Thanks. I feel like I have a brand-new movie, all queued up and ready to watch.”
“Take your time,” Marc said.
Allie pulled her knees up to her chest and sipped the tea. “I don’t think I can stop going over these memories. Even if I tried.”
As desperate as he was to find out what, if any, memories stuck with her, he waited patiently.
“Oh my God!” she shouted.
“What’s wrong?”
“Were you stalking me? Watching me like that? I mean, I knew you were there. I guess I didn’t realize how taken by me you were at first.”
“You think that’s something. Just wait. Things are going to get spicy.”
He watched her close her eyes as she viewed his memories. Before long, she squirmed, and she began to breathe rapidly. Then she gasped in both shock and pleasure.
“Oh, my God. We did that on the first day we met? I did that? What the hell?”