Dawn's Second Chance

"Nah, Dane will be there. He'll take good care of me," she answered with false

bravado. The truth was that she was scared out of her wits. She'd seen enough transformation ceremonies to know what to expect, especially the pain. But, she didn't want to scare Marcus. He was a good man, despite what he thought of himself, and they needed him. "Are you going to sign up? Make it official?"

"I had a visitor the last time I came up here," he answered. Marcus drew circles in the soft dirt with his finger, contemplating what to say to her. "He told me it was time for me to sign my name on the dotted line, so to speak."

"The Great Father," Sam's voice filled with awe. "Meditate with me." She scooted away from Marcus and resumed her cross-legged position, closing her eyes. "We'll pray for Ka-tet, good fate, to smile on the both of us. This place is magical, anything could happen here."

Marcus shifted trying to find a more comfortable position. He didn't really go for all the spiritual stuff so integrated into the Sons. But, he wouldn't leave Sam alone on the bluffs, especially at night. Being here alone and sharing a special moment with her was all the magic he needed.

He stared at Sam, admiring the way the firelight flickered along her delicate features. They were complete opposites. He stumbled across this world by accident and found himself inexorably a part of it. She was magical, a beautiful creature that belonged in this world. He closed his eyes, snaking his hand across the distance between them. He grasped her fingers, holding them tightly in his palm, the heat from his palm warming her chilly hand. He closed his eyes, allowing her hope to fill him and chase away the darkness always hovering on the periphery of his soul.

Chapter 39

Alex sat on the edge of the bed, cradling her dizzy head in her hands while Chance fussed over her, fluttering around like a busy, intrusive, and very annoying bee. Pouring just the right amount of strawberry scented bubbles in the bath water. Making sure her robe and towels were within reach, resting on the warmer for when she got out. He was worse than her mother. After checking the water temperature once more, he announced that her bath was ready. She exhaled an exhausted sigh. Finally, he'd leave her alone and she could get some peace. Sort through her thoughts and make sense of the vision. "Ok, I'll see you later," she said, dropping a hint.

"Oh, I'm not going anywhere. I'll give you time to undress and get in the tub. Then I'll come in and wash your back." He stood with his arms crossed over his bare chest. Alex was in bad shape. He could sense her pain, although she tried to block it from him. Her face was taut, her mouth lined with strain. Her shoulders quaked with fine tremors of terror from what she'd seen in the vision. She was so fiercely independent, bordering on stubborn sometimes. For once, she needed to let someone take care of her. Indulge, for a little while.

"What am I supposed to do? Take a bath in my swimming suit?" Alex asked indignantly, dumbfounded by his persistence.

"Of course not," Chance answered. His voice hinted to the offense he took at her allegations that he could not be trusted. "I won't peek." This bath was for her, not for them. If it were, he'd already be up to his neck in bubbles while she straddled his lap.

"Ok, whatever," Alex muttered. Her head hurt too badly for her to put up much of a fight. Resigning herself to his refusal to leave her alone, she shuffled into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Tossing her clothes on the floor, she stepped into the hot, foamy, strawberry scented water and eased her aching body down. Rearranging the bubbles so that all the important parts were covered, she softly said, "Ok, I'm ready."

Chance opened the door and took a deep breath. Ok, so it was going to be harder than he thought not to peek. Groaning as his groin stiffened and pulsed, much harder. Alex lounged back in the tub. Her head rested on a pink plastic pillow at the edge of the white porcelain. The heat from the water flushed her cheeks to a brilliant healthy glow. Foamy bubbles floated about, leaving tiny gaps of space, showing tiny bits of her nude flesh, just enough to be seductive, but more than enough to drive him to the point of madness. He was glad that her eyes were closed. She wouldn't see his growing predicament.

Chance sat on the wide edge of the tub, behind her. His pants were damp from the water she splashed as he guided her up into a sitting position. "Just relax," he said as he ran his hands along the tense bundle of muscles at the base of her neck. She'd loosely pinned her hair up off her neck. Corkscrew tendrils escaped the bundle and kinked from the moisture in the air, clinging to her wet skin.

Alex opened her mouth in protest. Chance really shouldn't be in the bathroom with her, especially when she was naked in the tub. This was way too intimate. Way too risky. But, his hands were very persuasive, gently massaging the tension away and easing the throb in her temples. She moaned and pressed her neck into his fingers, letting her mind drift under the sure strokes of his fingers. Would it hurt her to simply let go and to be, just to be, indulge herself, for just a few minutes?

"Is that better?" he asked. Shifting as his body, he tried to camouflage his erection. His workout pants were thin, stretchy cotton. If she should open her eyes, she'd see the full extent of his feelings for her. He wanted her to think of him as her knight in shining armor, not as a horny pervert with a flagpole in his pants. He was here for her and only her. She needed his support and friendship, not his raging hard on.

"Thanks Chance, I am feeling better. Although this is a little awkward," Alex confessed. A sigh of contentment escaped her lips as he eased her head to the bath pillow. She floated bonelessly in the water. She was grateful that he was here for her. And that he'd forced her to accept his kindness and his concern. His hands and magic fingers created quite the diversion. Her headache forgotten by the gentle, persuasive strokes of his fingers along her back and neck. But, those same motions meant to ease, created a whole new ache deep within her.

"I'm glad I could help." Chance bit back a breath as the bubbles shifted, giving him a good look at her rosy tipped nipples, tinted darker, erect and straining beneath the water's surface. Damn. His fingers trailed over her collarbone longing to trace the pebbled areola of her breast. Her eyes were closed. Her ginger colored lashes danced across the tops of her cheeks like butterfly wings. Her lips pursed in a little 'O' of feminine contentment as he stroked the hard ridge of her collarbone. Unconsciously, she tipped her chin up and extended her neck, subtly arching her back beneath his touch. The woman had no idea what kind of effect she had on him. "Ah, I'm going to go into the other room and watch a little TV while you finish up," he said, hoarsely. It was either that or he was going to strip and hop in the tub with her.

Alex's brow furrowed in confusion. That was sudden. Between his gentle massage and the warmth and sweet fragrance of the bath water, she'd never been so relaxed. So at ease, and he was going? "You're leaving?"

"The bubbles are fizzling out," Chance whispered. His voice turned husky with need. If he didn't get out of the bathroom and put some distance between them, he was going to do more than take a peek or two. His hands ached to touch her, to feel her skin beneath them. And with the bubble moats retreating to the edges of the tub, leaving her bare and exposed beneath the water, his task of not peeking was painful to fulfill.

"You're peeking?" Alex teased, lazily sliding an eyelid open. She caught the tip of his erection poking up, tenting his workout pants before he shifted his thigh to hide it from her. A blush spread across her cheeks as she moved her arms, attempting to cover her breasts from his view.

The few patches of bubbles that were left floated lazily on the surface of the water congregating over her stomach, showing much more than Chance could bear. The deep auburn triangle of soft curls between her legs was in full view now, beckoning to him, begging to be touched. "That didn't help," he mumbled, rising from the edge of the tub, keeping his back to her. "I'll be in the other room waiting."

Chance slid the bathroom door shut and hobbled to the couch. Frowning, he glared at the bulge in his workout pants. Size wasn't everything. He'd have to strap his boner down with duct tape to get the thing to behave. His erection was huge, heavy, way past the point of agony, seeping fluid from the tip, so hard and ready to burst. Uncomfortably, he eased down on the couch, flipping through the channels to look for a boring program to help him get his wayward and unruly body part back under his control.

Alex grinned as she watched Chance practically hobble out of the bathroom and close the door. He wanted her, a lot, judging by the shape and size of the bulge in his workout pants. "Whew," she whispered, dunking her head under the water to finish bathing. She didn't need a hot bath. What she needed was a cold shower. Her body tingled and pulsed, newly awakened as she thought about his hands and the way they felt running along her skin. Pulling the drain plug with her toe, she dragged her body out of the tub and quickly dried off. Sliding into her soft, toasty, robe, tying the belt tightly with a double knot hoping to prevent her fingers from untying it and dropping it at Chance's feet.

She leaned against the marble vanity, loosening her wet hair from the pins and combing through the tangles with her fingertips. She never expected to be wanted again. To have anyone look at her the way Chance did. The brothers hedged around her, seemed to forget that she was a woman. Out of respect for Lucien, she was strictly off limits. To them, she was still his wife. Maybe, if Chance had known him, he would have treated her the same. As if she were one of the guys, or worse a sexless entity without needs. She had needs. And Chance, his gentle touches and patient kisses, made her keenly aware of them.

Alex wiped the steam off the mirror with the edge of her towel and stared at her reflection. She was still the same. She would always be the same on the outside. Marking the passing of months, years, decades, and centuries with a deceptively youthful exterior. But, on the inside, where her appearance failed to reflect it, she was changing. So much of her wanted to cling to the past. Hold the love Lucien had for her and keep it close to her heart. He promised her forever. And to have nothing left of him but a memory and her love for him, made forever a very long time to wait.

Chance was starting to recover, his flagpole now at half-mast, tolerable. Or at least it was until Alex emerged from the bathroom wrapped up in her fuzzy pepto-pink robe. The woman made worn chenille look sexy as hell. He shifted his weight, hiding his growing problem from her view. "You look much better."

"Thanks to you I am feeling better." Alex smiled at Chance. Shifting her glance from the bulge in his pants and blushing at the glimmer of desire she saw shading the hazel depths of his eyes. She opened her dresser drawer, riffling through the contents until she found a pair of yoga pants and a loose t-shirt. Retreating to the bathroom, painfully aware of her nudity beneath the nubby chenille, she dressed and hung the robe on a hook on the back of the bathroom door.

Her choice of clothing was not feminine. She dressed for comfort. And the soft, shapeless cotton of the yoga pants, a sports bra, panties, and the long sleeved t-shirt hid her curves well. She felt safe beneath the clothes. Separated from the temptation of Chance sitting half dressed in the next room. He really didn't understand how tempting his broadly muscled bare chest and washboard tight abdomen was. Every stroke of his fingertips and brush of his lips weakened her resolve and narrowed her perspective of forever to a heartbeat. She could lose herself to the sensation of his hands on her skin and the promise of pleasure in his touch.

Alex drew a shaky breath and leaned heavily against the closed bathroom door. She had to admit, at least to herself, she had fallen for Chance. She was in love with him. He was everything she needed and wanted. Fun. Playful. Relentlessly devoted to her. Patient. And the physical attraction, brewing like a storm on the horizon, between them was impossible to deny. But, she still loved Lucien. With every fiber of her being, she loved him, missed him every single day.

She could not split her love between two men. She could not give Chance her body and the slivers of her heart left behind. That wasn't fair. Chance was so accepting of her. He understood and he never pushed for more than she had to offer. She had to let one of them go. Release the heart that belonged to Lucien and place it in Chance's hands for safekeeping. Or cling to her love of a ghost. Wither in the ache of each heartbeat until there was nothing left of her but a very long existence, dead but not dead, alive but not living.

The irony of it was simple. Lucien wouldn't want this for her. He'd want her to live, to love, and find her happiness in whatever form it took, even if it were in another man's embrace. She had the burden of decision. The weight of it rested on her shoulders. She ached for touch and physical connection. Her body needed release too long denied. Her heart burst with love. Beat with the longing to give it away, to someone, to Chance. Maybe, the brothers' careful treatment of her had affected her on some level she was just beginning to understand. And, some part of her had begun to believe it. See her innermost self as sexless and without need. It wasn't so. She needed. She wanted. Desperately.

Gathering her composure, Alex ran a hand over her damp curls, smoothing them away from her face. Chance sat in the other room, patiently waiting for her to emerge from the safety of the bathroom. She took a deep breath and forced her bare feet to move, her fingers to lock around the knob, and her wrist to flex.

Chance smiled up at Alex as she came out of the bathroom. Good thing, she finally decided to poke her head out. He was about ready to break down the door and go on a rescue mission. Her damp hair kinked and curled in springy spirals around her face. Her cheeks tinged in a soft, pink blush as she padded across the carpeted floor to flop down on the couch beside him. Despite her choice in clothing, she still looked good. Delectable. "You want to talk about the vision?" he asked gently.

Alex stiffened, remembering the horror in witnessing the Great Father's final moments. "No, not really," she whispered. She moved to curl into a ball, to shelter herself from the remnants of the vision clinging to her mind's eye only to be stopped by Chance's fingers on her wrist and the warmth of his arm, as he pulled her into the safety of his body.

Chance slid an arm around Alex's shoulders and pulled her close. "Ok." He guided her head to his chest, resting it against his bare skin. Grabbing the remote, he clicked off the TV. Holding her running his fingers through the tangle of her damp hair, the only sound in the room was the beating of their hearts.

Chapter 40

Alex ran her hand over Chance's bare chest. Her fingers toyed with the wiry, deep brown smattering of coarse hair circling his nipples. He didn't have much chest hair and the contrast of it, the coarseness of it against his smooth skin fascinated her. She trailed her hand lower, down the rigid planes of his abdomen feeling the hardness of his taut muscles and the line of denser, thicker, softer hair with her fingers. How could a man be such a contradiction, hard and soft at the same time? The closeness of him was killing her. Teasing and tempting, yet it frightened her, the force in which her body responded to him, terrified her.

She shifted slightly, pressing her lips to the deep hollow at the base of his throat. Feeling the click of his Adam's apple bob up and down against her cheek as he hitched a breath, throwing his head back against the overstuffed edge of the couch to grant her better access. Helpless to stop the drives holding her body under siege, Alex climbed onto his lap. His hands circled around her waist and traveled down the curve of her low back, resting to cup her behind in his palms.

Chance cupped Alex's butt in his palms, kneading the flesh with his fingers. Her lips seared a trail along his skin as she kissed a path from the hollow of his throat up to his jaw. The weight of her body against his erection was killing him with its soft heat. He grappled with his urge to consume her and to let her consume him. A soft growl of approval escaped his lips as Alex ran her tongue along the sensitive skin of his neck. He wrapped his free arm around her waist pulling her closer and lifting her up to her knees, easing the ache in his strained groin. Bringing their noses level and their faces eye to eye. He pressed his lips to hers, running his tongue along their borders until she opened for him and let him inside.

He sucked in a breath as Alex ran the tip of her tongue along the sharp points of his fully extended fangs. Chance had no idea of the pleasure or the havoc she was capable of stirring within him with such a simple gesture. Slowing his assault, he probed her mouth questioningly with his tongue. Her fangs were long and sharp points, lengthened due to her arousal. His fingers grappled with her hips, planting her firmly in his lap against his bulging erection. To hell with the ache, with the need that threatened to consume the both of them, he wanted to feel her weight, her heat, her softness yielding to him through the layers of cotton.

Alex lost control as Chance pressed his fingers kneading her flesh and captured her mouth, running his tongue along her sensitive fangs. Not breaking contact with his mouth, she straddled him, pressing her core along the hard ridge of his want. The impact of his desire for her fueled her passion past the brink. His blood rushed through the network of vessels running under the flesh of his neck and she felt his pulse bounding rapidly, kicking up several notches as she ran her tongue along his skin.

Chance followed Alex's lead, allowing her to direct where and how far this was going. If she wanted it all, she'd have it. If she backed off and changed her mind, he'd understand and settle for a cold shower. It was up to her. He wouldn't pressure or make demands of her. He drew in a sharp breath, feeling the heat of her tongue as it traced a path along his bounding carotid. He wanted her to bite. Wanted to fill her with his blood and give himself, as much as she'd take, to her. His fingers ran underneath the hem of her t-shirt, tracing tattoos along her spine, grinned as she shivered in delight from his touch.

Alex ran her fingers through Chance's hair, instinctively trapping his head with her hands. She needed to taste him. Exhausted by being cold and empty, and weary from the effort of fighting him, she longed for the warmth, the peace, only he could give her. She grazed her fangs along his neck ready to strike. But, she paused, stopping herself at the last minute, pulling his head down to look into his eyes. "Chance," she panted out, "Do you want this?"

Chance saw the glow of desire and the heat of love in Alex's eyes. He would never deny her from taking anything she wanted. "Yes." He did, he longed to feel his blood leaving his body and rushing into hers permeating every cell, the very core of her being. Bonding him to her. "Yes." He pressed a kiss to her lips and rested his head back, surrendering, extending his neck to her mercy.