Dawn's Shadow

"Who will watch over her?" Chris asked. She wasn't jealous of Alex. She'd never wish the pain and agony of the first few days in this new life on anyone. But, she didn't want to share Dane with her either.

"John Mark," Dane answered, amused by the hesitancy in which Chris asked the question. He detected just a twinge of jealousy in her voice at the thought that he might be the one to oversee her training.

"He'll take care of her? I thought you might...,"

"Nope, I've got my hands full enough taking care of you." Dane pulled Chris close and dipped his head, nuzzling her earlobe with his lips.

Chris twisted her ear free from Dane's eager lips. The warmth of his breath tickling against her earlobe was distracting and made her lose her train of thought. "I thought you might not want your hands so full. I'm not too much trouble am I?"

"Oh yeah. You've been trouble since the day I met you" Dane grabbed Chris's chin and guided her mouth to his, locking her lips in a deep kiss. "But, it's worth it."

Chapter 34

Dane stroked Chris's hair with his fingertips, savoring the feel of the sleek, lush strands against his skin. Covering her cheeks with kisses, he woke her. She slept every night, still attached to her human habits and not knowing any differently. He never told her any differently. He could go for days with just a catnap here and there.

He liked stretching out beside her. Pretending to be asleep until she drifted off. And then, careful not to jar her awake, he'd lean on his elbow and study the expressions on her face change with her dreams. He knew when she dreamed about him. A smile would hover over her lips, her lashes would flutter like butterfly wings, and she'd sigh his name, so softly and with all the reverence of a lover's first kiss.

. Dane felt great, fabulo-fucking-tastic. for the first time in decades. He had a beautiful woman tucked into his bed, snuggling in the crook of his arm. Her head filled with dreams about him. The ceremony had gone well, without a hitch. All was right with the world. With his world. But, the pragmatist that he was couldn't leave the heady, unfamiliar feeling of utter contentment alone. He couldn't help but speculate, how long would it last? "Ulethi oui'thai-ah," he whispered gently against Chris's lips.

"Hmm?" Chris opened her eyes, smiling up at the man, staring down at her with fire in his eyes. She could wake up with him hovering over her, looking down at her like that everyday for the rest of her life and never get bored with it. "What does that mean?" she asked, stretching and shaking off a yawn.

"Beautiful hair." He buried his nose in the length of her hair. Sighing at the softness against his cheek as he inhaled the rich, sweet, decadent scent of her fragrance deep into his lungs. Brushing his fingers over her collarbone, he gathered the strands that had fallen over her neck while she slept in his fingers and lifted them out of the way. Yeah, he was a hair man, an ass man, a breast man, a thigh man, a crazy man, driven all the more insane by her.

"You're only interested in my hair aren't you?" Chris teased, snuggling in closer against the firmness of Dane's chest. She loved the smell of him, wild and untamed, strong and spicy. Lifting her chin in mock defiance, she asked, "What if I cut it all off? Got a haircut like yours? Would you still love me then?"

"You'd be just as beautiful with no hair at all, Ulethi equi'wa." Dane drawled. He was hard and aching for her. Almost lazily, he rolled on top of her, pinning her with the weight of his body. He planted a trail of kisses against the soft flesh of her neck, traveling up to her chin and to her mouth. "Beautiful woman," he breathed against her lips.

Her kiss was passionate, feeding his desire. Eagerly, he drove his tongue over her lips, parting them and exploring the depths of her mouth. The moan of desire that escaped her throat was all the permission he needed. Gently, his hand stroked her breast, teasing her nipples to ripe fullness.

Chris arched her back in response to the teasing strokes. She could stay here forever lost in the feeling of his fevered hands, traveling paths of desire along her body. Playfully, she nipped at Dane's neck, gasping in pleasure as his hands, suddenly so brave, parted her thighs and sought out her most sensitive of places. Within a few strokes of his talented fingers, she was gasping for more, and bucking her hips against his palm, so ready and eager for more.

She always made the most elaborate plans when it came to sex with Dane. Mapped out the places she wanted to taste, touch, and tease. She had yet to fulfill a single one of her ideas. They never made it that far. The moment was too pleasurable, too intense to delay with pre-orchestrated, often too detailed ideas of how it should go. Sometimes, things just happened. Thing went off on paths of their own and took you along for the ride. That's the way it was with Dane. One kiss, one stroke, and she was too far beyond the point of no return to think about anything beyond the man teasing her to such desperation.

Her body tingled from the tips of her toes to the top of her head with the surge of her oncoming orgasm. He'd just barely gotten started, hard as steel and weeping a single tear of desire. It was no use to try to hold back until he was driven just as frantic and needy as she. Chris wanted him inside of her when she came. She wanted him buried to the hilt, as deep as he could go, lost in her, coming with her. "Now, Dane. Please," she gasped, clutching at his muscular buttocks to guide him into her depths.

Dane slid in, pressing so deeply into her soft, wet, warm core that he almost lost it with the first thrust. She felt so good. Her tight walls milked him with just the right amount of pressure. It was a good thing she was right there with him, bucking and writhing in pleasure. Crying out his name as he pummeled into her depths over and over. Her body tensed around him, moisture slicked around his erection from her orgasm. He couldn't hold back, one final push and the world exploded around him in a brilliant flash of pleasure.

Chris sighed a sigh of happy contentment reluctant to withdraw from Dane's arms. Her happiness was tinged with feelings of guilt when she thought about Anna and what she'd put her through. She needed to see her, to explain. But, would Anna be safe around her? She wanted to stay on this narrow cot and snuggle with her sweetie. Escape from the real world, whatever that was. Reality, she was beginning to discover, was a relative term. "I have to go talk to Anna."

Dane withdrew his arm from his favorite place to rest it, on top of the soft, warm skin of Chris's belly. "We're going to. I just don't want to move right now. This is so comfy." He rolled over onto his back and did his best to coax Chris back into the mood for a second round. Not happening. Her mind was going a thousand miles a minute. Her body tense and unyielding, still as a stature, beneath the well-placed strokes of his fingers, "Ok, ok, get dressed." He groaned and pushed himself up off the cot.

"What am I going to tell her?" Chris agonized. Watching Dane dress was usually a thing of beauty. But, today, she was too tense, her mind too filled with worry to fully appreciate the grace of his movements.

"We're going to have to trust her and tell the truth. All of it. She saw too much. Leave her to her own devices and she'll figure it out anyway. I guess you have to ask yourself how well do you really know Anna. Can she keep a secret?"

Chris sucked in a breath. "How? She'll think I've lost my mind. She'll never believe me. It would be better if I'd never known her at all," Chris moaned and buried her face in her hands. She didn't want to lose her best friend. But, it would be better, safer for Anna if she did. "Can't you use some kind of a vampire mind trick? Make her forget?"

Dane weaponed up. Sheathing blades the general public was better off not knowing existed at all. He wasn't dressed until he was fully dressed and armed to the teeth. "I wish it were that simple. Where you see magic. I see natural law. We can alter chemical signals and electrical impulses in a person's mind, but not their memories. Once a memory is there. It is there. Nothing can change that."

Chris slumped in dismay. "Just thought I'd ask." She shimmied into her jeans and pulled on a sweater. Swallowing against the hunger beginning to well in her throat. "What if a repeat of yesterday happens again? Maybe I shouldn't see her. What about the risk?"

Dane guided her head gently with his hand to rest on his stomach. He ran his fingers through her hair as he spoke. "I'll be there with you. Nothing will happen." He sensed the hunger within her, fueled by doubt, her fear, and her heightened emotions. "We'll stop by and visit a donor before we go, that will help."

Chris was still uncertain about her ability to maintain control. But, she trusted Dane's ability to keep her under control. "Ok," she whispered into the soft fabric of the shirt covering his tight abdomen. "That'll be good."

Chapter 35

Anna opened her eyes and rubbed the tender spot on the back of her scalp. She winced against the weak, lemon yellow light of the winter sun shining through the fragile lace curtains on the window. Her head throbbed. Trying to make sense of what happened and where she was, she pushed herself up onto the pillows. The bedroom was furnished in a homey looking style with gently used pieces, nothing shabby or threadbare, just simple and comfortable. The architect in her had already figured out where she was, a simple 1920's designed bungalow, but not where the bungalow was.

"Where am I?" She frowned, looking at the older man who dozed lightly in a rocker at the end of the bed. "You!" she gasped, remembering the last run in she'd had with him. Or rather, how he'd given her the run around. His job was to serve and to protect. But, whom was he serving and the bigger question, whom was he protecting?

She broke out in a cold sweat and rubbed the bruises on her neck. Chris, her normally meek and mild best friend attacked her. Chris, the woman who teared up at the slightest little thing and had a heart as soft, gentle, and kind as Mother Theresa, had tried to kill her. Her face had been a mask of brutality and raw animalistic hunger without a trace of humanity.

Savagely, Chris had slammed her against the brick wall over and over again. Wrestled her to the ground with a strength Anna wouldn't have thought humanly possible. She'd tried to bite her...bite...her....with...fangs? Fangs? Anna never doubted what her eyes had seen. And she'd seen fangs protruding long and sharp beneath Chris's curled upper lip. "What the hell!" she screeched, scrambling off the bed and pressing her back to the wall. "What have you people done to my best friend?"

Mack snorted awake and blinked up at Anna. He liked her better asleep and quiet than wide awake, glowering and bewildered, burning him with the heat of her accusing stare. Anna was panicked and terrified. She stood in her stocking feet with her legs shoulder width apart and her hands clutched into fists. Her eyes wildly searched the room for a way out and something to use to defend herself with.

Over twenty years of experience in the force had taught him a thing or two about human nature. Calmly and coolly, he got up from the rocker and ambled to the door. Purposefully turning his back to her. He still had his uniform on from yesterday and his cuffs hung on his belt. He hoped his instincts were right about her and he wouldn't need them. Now was not the time for lengthy explanations. Besides, it wasn't his place to do the explaining. And she wouldn't listen to them anyway. She was too shell shocked and afraid. "I made coffee, if you want some. Cop coffee...good and strong. You look like you could use a cup."

Anna blinked back at Mack in confusion. "What?" she asked in bewilderment. She'd almost been killed and bore the bruises to prove it and he offered her a cup of coffee? Timidly, she walked around the bed and followed Mack into the living room. Someone owed her some answers. But, she doubted he would be very forthcoming. Besides, he wasn't the one she wanted answers from. She wanted to talk to Chris.

Mack grinned. Ah coffee, the universal language. He led the way through Robbie's living room into the dining room and stopped at the bathroom door. "Do you need to use the facilities? There should be some aspirin in the medicine chest. Probably wouldn't hurt to take a couple."

Anna's stocking feet shuffled against the hardwood floors. The rest of the house was decorated similarly to the bedroom. Simply. Comfortably. It had that stuffy, closed in feeling to it. This had been somebody's home. But, it wasn't anymore. The place was clean. There were hints of non-use here and there. A cobweb dangled from the ceiling. Dust bunnies floated across the floor. The curtains over the front windows were drawn shut to keep out curious eyes. If she had to guess, she'd estimate that the house hadn't been lived in for a few months. "Yeah," she croaked, answering Mack's casual question, locking the bathroom door behind her.

She did her business and washed her hands in the sink. Her estimation of the house's age was accurate. The woodwork was thick and heavy, utilitarian, without frills. Common to the era the house was built. How long had it been since she'd seen an original cast iron claw footed bathtub still in use? Sure, people had them...remakes... but, the real thing... not so much. This place was in pristine condition, considering it was almost a hundred years old. The owner had kept the original woodwork, the bathtub, and the twelve-foot ceilings intact. Eager for that aspirin, she cracked open the medicine chest, probably original to the house too, and in just as pristine condition.

Anna took her time inspecting the contents of the medicine chest, curious about whose house it was and about the people who had once called it home. There was nothing unusual in the cabinet. A bottle of aspirin, a pack of razor blades, muscle rub, some cough syrup, vitamins, a half-used tube of toothpaste capped and squeezed in the middle, and a box of tampons. She checked the expiration date on the aspirin and popped the cap, dumping three into her palm. Washing them down with water from the sink, she ran her damp hands over her face and shook the droplets from her fingertips.

She closed her eyes and prayed for the aspirin to kick in and do its job. Every bone in her body hurt from being tossed around like a rag doll. Even her skin ached. Coffee, the caffeine would help the aspirin work quicker, but she wasn't exactly eager to sit at the kitchen table with Mack and make mundane conversation until someone with some answers finally showed up. She didn't want to talk to Mack at all. She didn't want to talk to anybody except for Chris.

With trembling fingers she dragged her hands through her hair and tried to separate the strands. Someone had tried to clean her up. But, bits of dried blood and grit still clung to the ends of her hair and matted at the base of the wound. God, she was a wreck. Her clothes were impossibly rumpled. Her hair matted with things she didn't want to think about. Dark circles ringed her eyes. And the bruises around her neck had turned a sickly shade of dark purple, even more pronounced by her pale skin. "Anna, how do you take your coffee?" Mack called from the kitchen, noisily banging his spoon inside a mug as he stirred.

Anna didn't answer. She flicked off the bathroom light and went into the kitchen, taking a seat as far away from him as she could. She sat in silence, staring at Mack in disbelief. With the zeal of a trucker on an all night haul, he drained his first cup and poured a second one. She assumed the coffee wasn't poisoned and timidly took a sip. Wincing at the bitterness, she reached for the cream and sugar he'd set out on the table. Cop coffee beyond a doubt, the stuff was horrible, too strong and too dark to be considered drinkable without adding something to tame it down.

Mack leaned against the counter and grinned at her. Amazingly enough the smile actually reached his pale green eyes. He wasn't a bad looking man. Fit for a man his age, probably mid-fifties to early sixties. He had permanently tanned skin from years of being in the sun. Laugh lines creased the corners of his mouth and eyes. But, there was a weight to his stare that said he'd seen plenty and a lot of it wasn't good.

A fine sprinkling of salt and pepper stubble lined his angular jaw. His brownish hair was streaked with gray at the temples and natural highlights from the sun. His pressed and creased uniform was a bit wrinkled from sleeping in the rocker. He had a casual way about him, very much the Good Old Boy image, with a readiness beneath the surface hinting that he'd do whatever it took to keep people safe. He returned her stare with watchful eyes. Probably estimating her with the same efficiency and wariness as she estimated him. "When am I going to get some answers?" she asked, sipping at her improved, doctored up coffee.

Mack sipped from his mug and leaned against the counter, sizing Anna up. This was a woman used to being in control of everything in her little corner of the world. He'd plugged her name into the state data banks and she was as pristine as they came. Not as much as a speeding ticket on file. She was visibly rattled. Scrabbling to gain control of the situation and deal with it in the usual efficient manner she was used to. It wouldn't work.

He'd looked up her work on the Internet. The buildings she designed were filled with clean lines and sharp angles. She wasted nothing and made good use of every inch of space in her designs. Her buildings were modern nightmares really, without a trace of personality or the person who'd sketched them into being. He refilled his cup and offered Anna the dregs from the bottom of the pot.

She declined. Of course, she would. The woman was cold enough to give him goose bumps with that icy demeanor of hers. He knew when someone was bullshitting him. And Anna for all her hardness and control was hiding. She'd been hiding who she was for years until it became second nature to do so, just a part of her personality. He had a feeling that buried somewhere deep inside was a woman who so desperately wanted to be found.

Patrick bounded up the front porch steps towing Janine behind him. The last time he had been in this house was just before Robbie's parents were killed. The wards around the house flared to life as he passed through the threshold. He wondered what he'd done to deserve the honor of hosting Anna's welcoming party. He already knew. They needed Janine. And where Janine went, he went.

Janine was the perfect woman to break the ice with Anna. Everybody loved His Janine. She was cute as a button and friendly as a puppy. You couldn't help but fall in love with her. Even someone as cold as Anna would be instantly won over by Janine's outgoing and warm personality. If anyone could get through to her, it was Janine.

"Good morning! Good morning! Good morning!" he shouted, just to rattle Anna's cage. God, he was going to have fun with this woman. That little peek he'd had inside her mind hinted at the way she lived her life. In control...always. Neat and tidy. How she'd ever become friends with Chris...with anybody... was a real stumper. This was a woman who dealt in facts, numbers, and hard truths. And it was time to shake her world up a bit.

Janine now understood why Patrick had insisted on dragging her along. She was part of damage control. Sometimes his mouth overrode his common sense and he needed a keeper. She was here to prevent Patrick from terrorizing the woman and keep the situation from getting out of hand. Patrick lived to rattle people. He reveled in causing trouble, even if he didn't mean any harm by it. What Anna and anybody else who didn't really know him failed to understand was that if he picked on you, it was because he liked you. She elbowed him sharply in the ribs and hushed him up.