Luke's Dream (11 page)

Tugging the room’s curtains closed, I saw my
hand shake and continued to question my self-control. She was far
too willing and tempting. I sat in the chair and rubbed the back of
my neck.

When she walked out of the bathroom, she
hesitated between the door and the bed. I kept my head down and
gaze averted. Seeing her ready for bed wouldn’t be helpful at the
moment. My good intention fell aside at the sound of her heart
stuttering. The scent of her interest, fragile like the girl,
wrapped around me. Real interest. She was finally seeing me as a
Mate and not as just a means to end her dreams.

I looked up in surprise, and she blushed.

“Would you mind lying down with me?” she
asked. “I think you’re right. I do seem to sleep better with
you.”

For a moment, I couldn’t decide. I wanted to
lay by her and hold her and keep the dreams away. But if I held her
smelling like she did, I would be too tempted to do much more.
Interest or not, her age and circumstance hadn’t changed. She
needed time. I glanced at the door. Retreating would be better for
us both, wouldn’t it? She might suffer a dream because of it.
Another death. But I would still be leaving her with a choice, not
pouncing on her in a weak moment. And, I wouldn’t let her dream for
long. Just long enough to—

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

“I, uh, think you should try to sleep on your
own for a bit.” I stood.

“I just told you that I—” She rubbed her
face. “Okay, fine.”

I quickly moved to escape. Walking past her
was hell. Her scent and gaze beckoned me to stay. I remained strong
and left, but didn’t go far. Pacing outside the door, I listened to
her get into bed.

Almost immediately, she started to make small
sounds. I hesitated half a heartbeat before moving to the door. I
couldn’t have stayed outside if I’d wanted to. She needed me to
keep her safe so I would. Closing the door behind me, I kicked off
my shoes.

“Shh,” I said, moving to her side. “You’re
safe.”

I gently brushed back her hair, calming her
slightly before pulling the blankets back into place and tucking
her in. The urge to crawl under the cover beside her made me groan.
I moved back to the chair where I was less tempted. Her face pulled
down into a frown. The single hand above the blanket fisted so
tightly the knuckles turned white. Then, she started to pant and
sweat beaded her forehead. The way her heart worked started to
worry me.

Before I could move, she sat straight up and
let out an angry cry, opening her eyes as it died in her throat.
Her limbs shook and fury coated her scent.

I should have crawled in bed with her.

“I’m sorry, Bethi,” I said as I stood. I
pulled off my shirt and slid under the covers.

“Lay down,” I said, touching her arm.

She turned and glared at me. So much anger
pooled in her gaze that I knew it couldn’t just be because I’d let
her dream.

“Let go of the dream,” I said. “I’m here. I
won’t leave you. Ever.”

I wrapped an arm around her and gently tugged
her toward my chest.

“I’m sorry,” I said again as she finally gave
in. I kissed her forehead and ran my hand over her hair and down
her arms. She exhaled shakily.

It took
several minutes for Bethi to fall asleep, and like the night
before, she used me as her personal pillow. I ran my fingers
through her hair and tried to think of something that didn’t
involve the way she pressed against me…like math. Estimating what
we’d need for monthly rent and utilities, I started calculating how
many hours I’d need to work to save enough to get us out of the
Compound. Those thoughts reminded me to update Joshua. We were
supposed to meet his contact in a few hours, and I knew we’d never
make it in time.

I pulled out my phone, but instead of
calling, I texted him.

Needed to stop so she could rest. Won’t make
the meetup today.

Almost immediately, he responded.

I can have him come to you.

Having an Elder on my side was rather nice.
But, given Bethi’s dreams and her need to touch me while she slept,
I preferred to stay where we were.

That’s unnecessary. I’ll contact you when we
are moving again.

I tossed the phone onto the chair and got
comfortable. Even though it was midmorning, I relaxed enough to
doze.

Just after lunch I woke and eased out from
under her to use the toilet. Before I finished washing my hands, I
heard Bethi start to thrash around in bed and hurried back. She
didn’t settle down until her head was on my chest, her hand on my
ribs, and her thigh across my hips.

The contact once again took my mind where it
didn’t belong, but my stomach happily rescued me from the direction
of my thoughts.

Reaching over the side of the bed, I picked
up the bag and set it on the mattress. I immediately saw I wouldn’t
be able to eat the way we were. Tugging over the pillow Bethi
wasn’t using, I stuffed it behind me and scooted up just a bit.
Bethi’s head slowly slid toward my stomach. I stilled, going hot
then cold as I stared at her, not wanting her to go any lower. I’d
never recover from that.

When she remained where she was, I carefully
rearranged the pillows to manage a semi-reclined position with
Bethi’s head still mostly on my chest. Satisfied, I reached for a
bag of jalapeno chips. The packaging crinkled loudly as I opened
it, but she didn’t seem to notice. Crunching on the chips was just
as noisy. Her breathing stayed even and her expression relaxed.

I grinned. When we were Mated, I would be
able to get away with eating in bed all the time. The few human
women I’d known hadn’t understood midnight snacking and usually
said no the first time I brought something to bed. With Bethi, she
would never know.

I crumpled up the empty bag and accurately
tossed it into the bin before reaching for the ham sandwich. She
hadn’t wanted me to buy it, explaining that it would go bad without
a refrigerator. Just another reminder of how little she knew about
my kind. There was no such thing as bad food. Not to our
stomachs.

As I lifted the sandwich to my mouth, the
bread flopped to the side, allowing a piece of cheese to fall out.
The yellow triangle landed on Bethi’s cheek. Time stopped.
Wide-eyed, my gaze bounced between the cheese on her face and her
closed eyes. What should I do? Heart hammering, I carefully peeled
it off and quickly ate it.

For several long moments, I stared at her.
When she didn’t move, I exhaled in relief. That could have gone
horribly.

My stomach growled loudly, and I brought the
sandwich back to my mouth and took a large bite. As I pulled the
sandwich away, a bit of ham fell.

“Are you fu—”

She moved.

Panicking, I shoved the whole sandwich in my
mouth and started chewing frantically as I picked the ham out of
her hair. I jammed that in my mouth too and swallowed everything.
The large glob of sandwich went down grudgingly.

She sighed loudly and nuzzled my chest a bit
before quieting again. Relieved she hadn’t woken, I reached for the
bottle of water still in the bag. I drained the liquid, tossed the
bottle in the bin with the rest of the rubbish, then relaxed back
into the pillows and waited for Bethi to wake up.

* * * *

The baby in the room next to ours started to
fuss, and I listened to the mother speak softly as she fed her
child. The image of my mother rose to mind. Auburn hair with
matching freckles and a wide smile. I could remember her kissing my
cheek each morning when I sat down to breakfast and her stern tone
when I tried to escape afterward to avoid homeschooling. Then I
remembered the day I came home and found them both dead with a
scent of another werewolf lingering in the air.

The human police had called it a mugging,
which had probably not been far off. I suspected that another
family pack had passed through and saw our presence in that small
town as a claim to that territory. The leader had likely challenged
my father, and they’d fought to the death. My mother wouldn’t have
quietly watched my father die.

I lightly ran my hand down Bethi’s back.
Dreams of a Mate and saving money weren’t enough to ensure our
future. While so many others thought joining a bigger pack was the
answer, I believed changing our rules to show we had evolved beyond
the baser instincts of challenges and death fights a better
strategy. Until that day came, I wasn’t sure my world was a fit
place for our future children.

Bethi’s breathing changed slighting, an
indicator that she was starting to wake.

Moving my hand from her back to her hair, I
waited. After a few moments, she sighed contentedly and her fingers
moved over my ribs.

“Had enough?” I asked.

“I guess so,” she said, lifting her head.

She stared at me in the dim light of the
room. The soft look in her eyes and the sweetness of her scent
messed with my head, and for a moment, I considered pulling her
down to claim her lips. She saved me by getting out of bed and
closing herself into the bathroom.

Groaning, I got out of bed, already missing
the feel of her head on my chest.

When I grabbed my shirt, I noticed my phone
blinking and found a message from Joshua.

I would prefer to have him meet you.

I quickly slid the shirt over my head and
responded.

Sorry. Didn’t see your message until now.
We’ll meet him in the same location at the same time tomorrow.

Tucking the phone into my pocket, I
straightened the room and waited for Bethi.

When she emerged dressed, I took the bag from
her.

“Think you can manage to stay awake for a
while?”

She nodded so I held the door for her, and we
walked to the office to check out. Bethi didn’t comment on the dark
skies. However, the woman behind the desk gave us an odd look for
checking out in the middle of the night. I rather liked driving in
the wee hours when everything was quiet.

Bethi and I walked outside to the bike. She
waited for me to sit.

“No car yet?” she asked, settling behind
me.

“I told my contact we stopped along the way.
We’re still set to meet.” I turned to look at her. “Are you trying
to tell me you’re tired already?”

I’d hoped to drive all day to make the
meeting tomorrow. She shook her head and grinned a little. With
relief, I looped the strap around us both and tightened it. Her
arms wrapped around me, making my skin tingle where she
touched.

She remained awake for the next several
hours, and in companionable silence, we watched the sun rise
together. The sleep seemed to have done the job. She remained alert
and in a semi-good mood. Well, good for Bethi.

“Are you hungry?” I asked, turning my
head.

“I could eat,” she called back.

First place I found, we pulled over. She
straightened away from me, stretching out her arms as I parked. I
loosened the strap, freeing her.

“How are you holding up?” I asked as she got
off.

“Fine, but my butt’s getting a little sore,”
she said, drawing my gaze to her seat by rubbing it. She did have a
nice backside. She caught my stare and arched a brow at me.
“What?”

“Nothing. Let’s get some food.” I turned and
led the way inside.

Calculating the amount of money remaining and
weighing it against my hunger, I decided to go with a large
breakfast. Bethi settled for a muffin.

“You should eat more,” I said when the woman
walked away with our order.

“If I do, I’ll be drooling on your back
within five minutes,” she said, nodding toward the bike.

“You said you weren’t tired yet.”

“No, I said I was ‘Fine.’ There’s a
difference. If we take a few breaks like this, I should continue to
be fine.”

“Very well.” It would slow us down a little,
but we should still make our meeting the next day.

She made a that’s-what-I-thought face, then
idly looked around the café. I wanted to talk to her, to try to get
to know her, but didn’t think asking about home or school and
reminding her of everything she’d left behind was a good idea.

“I saw your ID,” I said. “No one’s commented
on your name yet?”

She shook her head. “People don’t want to see
what’s right in front of their faces. It’s easier to believe lies
than the truth.”

“What does the name mean? Why defeat?”

“Because I won’t accept it. Not in this life
or any other.”

All right. Wrong subject. But, I wasn’t ready
to give up with only one failed attempt.

“What color is your hair naturally?”

She met my gaze, a puzzled frown pulling at
her features. “Plain old brown.”

I doubted anything about Bethi was plain.

“Why did you change it?”

She moved a hand to her hair, touching the
strands lightly as she looked away. “It was an easy explanation for
the changes people were starting to notice. Wear dark clothes,
heavy makeup, and hair dye and people think you’re going through a
goth-grunge phase. It’s better than trying to convince someone
you’re dreaming past lives and ending up on meds you don’t need,”
she said with a hint of bitterness. Her hand dropped back to the
table, and I reached to set my hand on hers.

“I believe you.”

“Do you?”

I believed she believed the dreams were real.
Bethi was already special in my eyes. It wasn’t that far of a
stretch to add to her uniqueness. I was just having trouble making
that final jump to true belief.

“If you really believe me, let me Claim
you.”

“Bethi, that’s not—”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

Unwilling to annoy her further, I kept quiet
and let her look around in silence. When the waitress brought our
food, I dug in and ate quickly. It took less than twenty minutes
total to get back on the road. She sat behind me alertly, but we
still used the bag to strap her close.