Dawn's Second Chance

Chance grinned smugly. If Janine's reaction were any indication as to Alex would react. He was golden. "Alexandrite."

Janine admired Chance's ingenuity and his attention to details. Alexandrite stones were rare, rarer than diamonds. He'd put a lot of thought into Alex's engagement ring. Took time. He'd done more than point and click on some generic representation of his love for her. "How clever."

"Do you think she'll say yes? We haven't known each other very long and it's way too fast." Chance was rationalizing, preparing himself for if Alex turned him down. "But..."

"Alex loves you." Janine hopped up from the bed and gave him a big hug. "Chance I take back every nasty thing I've ever said or thought about you. You have completely redeemed yourself."

"That makes me feel so much better," Chance said, sarcastically. He twisted out of Janine's grip, wincing at the glitter of tears in the corners of her eyes. Even if they were happy tears, he hated to see a woman cry. She was happy for them. But, there was a tinge of sadness in her expression. Whatever it was she hid. She hid it well. Perhaps, she wasn't as superficial as he thought and there was more to her than Visa cards and blonde hair. He tucked the ring box into his sock drawer, turning his back to her.

"Don't worry about a thing. I'll make all the party arrangements. You just give Alex a couple of hours with the rest of us and then you can have her all to yourself. You work on the proposal. That's all you need to concentrate on."

Chance nodded in agreement. "That's enough."

Janine smiled widely and zealously clapped her hands. How would Chance do it? Down on one knee? With a song? A poem? Garbed in shining armor and riding in on a white horse to sweep Alex off her feet? "Oh, I can't wait!"

"Janine," Chance growled in warning.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch. I made a promise. And I won't tell a soul." This would be one birthday Alex would never forget. With Chance asking her to marry him and Janine's party plans, what could go wrong?

Chapter 45

Alex sat at the table, staring down at the cheery print tablecloth. She had finally kicked the habit. During her last vision her coffee mug had been knocked to the floor and shattered into a million pieces, smashed beyond repair. She'd been forced to throw it away. Unwilling to go to the kitchen and get a new one, she had nothing to do with her hands. Idly, she slid her finger along the print, tracing the pattern.

"Hi," Janine said, sitting down in the chair next to Alex. "What are you thinking about?" She sat patiently waiting for Alex to speak. Her BFF definitely had something on her mind.

"I miss my coffee mug," Alex replied, glancing up at Janine as she realized the stupidity of her statement. She couldn't even drink coffee. And the mug, although she'd had it forever, was an inanimate object, without any real significance. She wasn't mourning the mug. She mourned something deeper. Someone. Lucien.

"You could always buy a new one."

"But it wouldn't be like the old one. It wouldn't be chipped on one side. It wouldn't be the exact same color or size. The handle wouldn't fit my hand just right. It wouldn't be exactly the same."

"Maybe, the new mug would be better," Janine said gently. Alex wasn't talking about any coffee mug. She was talking about Lucien. She was coming to terms with the fact that she had to let him go, for her own sake. For months, Janine had wondered who had died that night, if it had truly been him or Alex. "Change can be good," she encouraged.

"Maybe. But, it's also scary. Maybe, I wasn't ready to get rid of the old mug, not just yet."

Janine smiled and nodded. "Sometimes, things are meant to be. Ka-tet. The old mug is gone Alex. Maybe this is fate's way of telling you it's time to move on. Would you ever try a new mug if the old one hadn't broken?"

Alex returned her best friend's knowing smile. "Probably not. But, now I don't have a mug at all. I'm too afraid to go get one out of the cabinets. What if I choose the wrong one?"

"If you don't get into the cabinet, you'll never have to choose. But, if you never choose, you may end up sitting there empty handed for a very long time." Janine rested her hand on Alex's arm. "Honey, just say it. Get it out. What's really on your mind?"

Alex glanced behind her shoulder, making sure there was nobody around. "I think Chance is going to ask me to marry him."

Janine blinked and did her best to look surprised. "Oh. Isn't that a good thing?"

Alex nodded her head. "It is. And I'm going to say yes. I can't be afraid of opening the cabinet forever. Can I? I have to move on with my life. I need to. And Lucien would have wanted me to. Chance...I couldn't have asked for a better guy. I think he and Lucien would have been good friends."

Janine smiled and nodded in agreement. "They would have been. And Chance is a keeper." This was a huge step for her best friend. Letting Lucien go. Perhaps the biggest decision Alex had ever made. And Janine was so proud of her. "Are you nervous?"

"Yeah. I love him, but it's kind of scary." Alex sighed and resumed tracing the patterns on the tablecloth with her finger. "I still think about Lucien, all the time, Janine. I still love him. How can I love Chance when I still in love him?"

Janine nodded in understanding. "I think Chance gets it. You'll always love Lucien. He's a part of you. And Chance loves you, all of you, even the part that will always belong to Lucien. Don't shut him out. He doesn't expect you to stop loving Lucien. He doesn't expect you to turn off your feelings for him. He only wants his own space. His own special place in your heart."

Alex wrapped her arms around Janine's shoulders, pulling her in for a hug. "Thanks." Someplace, beyond her highlighted blonde curls and layers of makeup and façade of superficiality, beat a heart of pure gold. Janine in her wisdom had said exactly what Alex needed to hear.

Janine gave Alex a gentle squeeze in return. "Just remember, I get to plan the bachelorette party and I expect to be a bridesmaid."

Alex scoffed. "Janine, you're hired. I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have planning my big day."

Janine released Alex. "Now, how about that cup of coffee?"

Alex smiled and nodded. "Sure. Let me pick out a mug."

*******

Chance slid under the covers snuggling in next to Alex. He wanted to be the first person she saw on her birthday. He hoped, he'd be tucking her in later on tonight. The last person she saw before she closed her eyes. He'd taken care of business, hunting and showering before he slipped into her room. As tempting as it was, he simply wrapped an arm around her and pulled her body against his.

"Chance?" Alex mumbled, waking.

"Shh, I didn't mean to wake you." He swooped in dropping a gentle kiss on her lips. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks, babe," Alex sighed contentedly and cuddled against Chance. Her eyelids were heavy and drifted closed as she fell back asleep in his arms.

Chance snuggled in closer, nuzzling Alex's neck with his lips. Holding her in his arms filled him with happiness. She was more than he ever deserved or hoped for. He closed his eyes and breathed in her scent, waiting for sleep to claim him.

*****

Bryce paced nervously in front of Anna's bedroom window. He didn't know what to do. He could hear her crying softly through the panes of glass. He couldn't stand it when a woman cried. He felt compelled to do...something to fix it. "Aw hell," he grumbled. She was awake anyway. He made his way to the porch and knocked on the door.

Anna patted her eyes dry with the edge of her sheet and shuffled through the house to answer the door. It was still relatively early. Maybe one of the trackers was stopping by to check on her. She glanced through the peephole and seeing Bryce staring back at her, she inched the door open. Blocking it with her foot. She wasn't in the mood for company and she looked like shit. Her eyes got all red and poofy when she cried. And she really didn't want anyone to know she was bawling like some lovesick teenager.

Bryce wiggled his way in, squeezing through the crack in the door until she opened it wide enough for him to pass. He paused running his hand along his short, closely cropped. black hair. "Anna, are you all right?"

"Of course," Anna answered. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, resenting Bryce's intrusion of her privacy. But, she did nothing to stop him. If word got back to Toby, and a part of her wanted it to, he'd be here quicker than she could bat an eye. Rescuing her. She was not a pathetic loser. She didn't need saving. She was fine on her own. Had been for years.

"I heard you crying. Is there something I can do?" Bryce asked gently. He guessed the source of her tears was Toby's absence. He could tell, by the way she avoided his eyes and focused on his boots, he was right.

"No. I was feeling a little lonesome, that's all."

Bryce fished in his pocket, retrieving his cell phone. This he could fix. One call to Toby and he'd come. Make her right as rain again. "Do you want me to call Toby?"

Anna gasped, humiliated. If Toby found out what was going on, he'd think she was a weak, helpless, overly emotional female. "Absolutely not." She grabbed Bryce's jacket and towed him into the living room, closing the door behind him. "Promise me you won't tell Toby anything. This is our secret. Please. I don't want him to know."

"Why?" Sometimes, he didn't understand women. She was bawling because Toby wasn't here. But, she didn't want him here? Huh?

"Because I just don't," Anna stammered. She plopped on the couch, another thunderstorm of tears threatening to unleash in a deluge from beneath her lashes. "It's probably just PMS."

Bryce shrank back, scooting to the far edge of the couch. A look of terror spread across his face. He was trapped. Left defenseless against a bawling woman suffering from PMS. It was every man's worse nightmare. "Ah..."

"Oh don't be such a baby. It's not contagious."

"Thank GOD!" Bryce replied. "Can I get you something? A valium? Ten pounds of chocolate? Anything?"

Anna laughed, studying Bryce's reaction to her predicament. PMS was an excuse for anything that knocked her off kilter. And when a woman uttered those three letters in the company of men. It usually got them off her back, retreating, and heading for the hills with their tails tucked between their legs. "You don't have a wife do you?"

"No. Besides, female vampires don't get PMS."

Anna chuckled. Yeah, right. The hell they didn't. "You haven't seen Robbie in action yet have you? They might not have periods. But, I can assure you, they still suffer from PMS."

"Can we talk about something else?" Bryce's voice cracked uncomfortably as he spoke. He had no desire to hear about the intimate details of her menstrual flow. If she started a discussion of pads versus tampons or whatever women talked about when they were having their periods, he was out of here.

Anna snorted. She had no idea how pale a vampire could get. Bryce shifted uncomfortably on the edge of her sofa. "Sorry. I guess I miss Toby and I've just got a case of the blues." She shrugged and settled back on the couch. "I got used to having him around." She sighed and paced, snuffling to dry her tears. "I really need some sleep. I have to go in early tomorrow."

"I can do that," Bryce hesitantly offered. Sleep he could do. Call Toby he could do. Comfort a sobbing woman, not so much.

Anna would never consent to asking for a vampire to enter her mind under normal circumstances. But, this wasn't a normal circumstance. She needed to get some rest. She had to look bright eyed and enthusiastic in the morning, if she was going to make a good impression on her boss and salvage her reputation. "Deal."

"I'm not as good at is as Patrick is. But, here goes. Lay back and close your eyes." Bryce concentrated, focusing his energy on finding her mental signature and isolating the right bundle of electrical impulses and synapses. She fought him. Blocking him out. "Anna, you're going to have to cooperate. Relax."

"Ok. It's just that I'm not used to having some stranger poke around in my head." Anna closed her eyes and fluffed the throw pillows under her head. Determined to make this work, she relaxed her mental shields.

"I'm not a stranger. I've been watching over you for months now."

"True." Anna exhaled, willing her body to relax, and her mind to wander.

Bryce focused and found what he was looking for. Her mind was a bit of a mess. Tangled and filled with dark corners. "That's better. Ok, here we go." He craned his neck. "Anna, sleep for me." He pushed his will out, melding it with hers. Bending her to his desire. "Sleep Anna."

Anna's eyes fell shut. Bryce waited until her breathing evened out and she drifted into a sound and fitful sleep. Carefully, he lifted her off the couch and carried her to the bedroom. Depositing her sleeping form and pulling the covers up under her chin. "Toby sure is a lucky bastard," he whispered, pushing a length of silky hair out of her face. "Goodnight Anna." Quietly, he slipped out into the night after making sure her door was securely locked behind him. Haunted by images of her face, softened with sleep, he climbed up into his perch on a neighboring rooftop and sat vigil throughout the night. She wasn't his and never would be. And Toby was luckier than he knew. Anna was precious and a rare find. And she trusted him, Bryce, a simple tracker, not a warrior, not some great piece of a much bigger puzzle, to keep her safe. And he would.



Chapter 46

Chance lay awake most of the night. The hour of sleep he'd gotten had been from sheer exhaustion. He tossed and turned in the bed, pondering how he was going to ask Alex to marry him. He wanted to be suave and debonair. Make it a moment she'd never forget. He could ask her at the party. Drop to one knee and propose in front of all her friends and family. But, that might put her on the spot. And what if she said no? He'd be humiliated in front of everyone.

Her parents would be at the party. Should he corner her father, Alexander, and ask for his permission to marry her first? Or work on Leigh, her mother? That seemed a little too old fashioned. Should he just wrap the box in fancy bows and ribbons and hand it to her and ask her after she opened it? He groaned shifting his weight in the bed and kicking at the covers.

Alex was jostled awake by Chance's restlessness. She felt the tension in his body, running along every muscle. He was rigid, holding her stiffly in his arms. "Chance, what is it? What's wrong?" She sat up in the bed and leaned against the pillows. Her brow furrowed with concern.

Chance rolled on to his back and stared up at the ceiling. Now he felt worse than ever. She was awake and it was his fault. Great. "Sorry. I can't sleep." He huffed out a breath and tossed back the covers. "I'm keeping you awake. I should go and let you get some rest. It's your birthday and you deserve to sleep in."

"No, you don't have to go. It's time for me to wake up anyway." Alex ran her hand up along his shoulder and under his neck. Curling her fingers around the tightly corded muscles of his neck, she eased his shoulders down and guided them to her thigh laying his head in her lap. Gently, she stroked his hair off his brow. "Now, tell me. What's the problem?"

Chance closed his eyes. Her fingers were magic, working their way through the thick tangled strands of his hair. The blanket beneath his cheek was soft and fuzzy and smelled like her. The warmth of her thigh soothed his frazzled mind. Her floral scent enveloped him, permeating his consciousness and creating a wave of calm. "Shouldn't I be doing this for you?"

Alex smiled and chuckled. "I've got plans for you later on. But, first why don't you tell me what's on your mind?" Gently, she ran the edge of her fingernail along the outer shell of Chance's ear. A little trick she picked up from Candace. Chance sighed in her lap and wrapped an arm around her hips. Sometimes, moms knew best and when Chance had been a little boy, she'd used the same technique, the gentle stroking of his ear, to calm him.

Chance exhaled, wrapping an arm around Alex's hip and buried his face into the blankets. He stretched his neck, extending the curve as she ran her fingertips along his skin. She was working him and he knew it, coaxing him into confessing his secrets. His mom must have told her about it. But, what a way to get the truth out of him. Her fingers felt so good. "There's this guy."

"Anyone I know?" Alex asked softly. Her lips curved up into a sly smile. He was starting to relax a little bit now. She stroked his neck with slow even strokes, gently playing with the ends of his hair. Coaxing him to talk.

"No. This is a hypothetical guy."

"Oh, ok. So this hypothetical guy..." Alex encouraged.

"He's in love with this girl."

"Is the girl anyone I know?" Alex slid down in the bed and rested his head on her stomach. Reluctantly, he was giving it up. Telling her what was on his mind. She owed Candace a measure of thanks for the hint.

"No, she's hypothetical too." Chance rooted in the covers, pushing them out of the way with his chin. Gently, he lifted the edge of her pajama top, resting his cheek against the soft, warm, bare skin of her belly.

"Ok, I'm with you." Alex smoothed a hand across his shoulder, gently trailing her nails down his flesh with a soft scraping motion.

"It's her birthday and he's picked out the perfect present. Or at least he thinks he has. But, he's not sure if she'll like it." She was killing him, milking the truth out of him with her persuasive fingers. Here he was a tough as nails warrior and she had him practically purring like a helpless baby kitten in her lap.

"If he picked it out for her, I bet she'll love it," Alex said gently. All right, so now she was curious. What had he gotten for her that had him so worked up? She had a feeling she already knew. But, it was so fun, too easy, working the answer out of him.

Chance sighed and kissed her round belly button. He was going to kill his mom for telling Alex how to get information out of him. Her fingertips, so soft, stroking so coaxingly down the shell of his ear was the worst form of torture any man could have endured. "Anyway, he's crazy in love with her and he's pretty sure that she's in love with him too." He pressed another kiss into her belly button. Tracing the tiny dip with the tip of his tongue. "He's decided to buy her a ring and seal the deal."

Alex's breath hitched in her throat as his warm wet tongue traced a circle around her belly button. So not fair. She was supposed to be manipulating him, not the other way around. His tongue, circling in a slow seductive rhythm made it hard to concentrate on what she was doing. "A hypothetical ring, of course."

"Yeah," Chance agreed. "But, hypothetically speaking, he's nervous about giving it to her. How should he do it? What if she shoots him down?" He scooted up in the bed, just a few inches and kissed a trail along the tattoo curling around her right rib cage. He grinned as her breath hitched in her throat and the peeked tip of her hardened nipped brushed against his cheek.

"He'll never know unless he asks her." A light moan escaped her lips as Chance crept his way up. Her heart pounded in her chest, threatening to explode. Was he going to ask her to marry him, seduce her, or both at the same time?

Chance wrapped his arms around her waist and guided her body down until they were face to face. His weight settled on top of her, pinning her beneath him. His hazel eyes glittered with arousal and mischief. "I know this is all happening so fast. I'll understand if you say no." He lifted the weight of his body, balancing his torso on the heels of his hands. Gently capturing her lips with his, he kissed her. After the kiss with her lips still trapped with his, he asked, "Alexandria Leigh Gray. Will you marry me?"