chair. “Daniel, are you all right?”
Daniel nodded. “I’m fine.”
“Do you remember what you saw?”
Daniel slanted a look toward Tara. “Just a little.”
Gently, Gray took his hand. “Daniel, what happened to you wasn’t
your fault. Someone did something terrible to you, taught you terrible
things. I think you might need someone besides me to help you with
this. If I had known what we were going to find, I might have recommended
another doctor.”
“It’s okay, Dr. DeAngelo. I’m glad I remembered. I’ll be okay.”
“I’m going to talk to some of my colleagues to see if one of them
can take you on for intensive psychotherapy—traditional therapy, that
is. I don’t think I’m qualified to deal with this on my own.”
Tara stood. “I don’t think that would be wise right now.”
Gray’s gaze jerked toward her. “I think it’s necessary.”
For a moment, she drew a blank. What possible argument could
she offer? Then the obvious solution came to her. “I need to talk to my
ex-husband. He needs to know. He’s paying, after all.”
“This is extremely important, Tara. If there’s going to be a problem
with payment, then I need to talk to him. In fact, it might be a good
idea for me to talk to him, anyway.”
Daniel jumped a little, then looked at Tara. A faint smile rose on
his mouth, a gleam of laughter twinkling in his eyes. “Yeah, Mom. I
think it might be a good idea for him to talk to Dad.”
Tara resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I’ll talk to him. I’ll be sure
this all gets taken care of.”
Gray stopped her again on the way out. “This is very important.
You need to be sure your ex-husband understands that. I’ve had some
bad things come out of patients under hypnotherapy, but never anything
like this. It’s absolutely vital that Daniel get treatment—”
Tara grasped his arm. “I understand, Gray. I’ll take care of it.”
As they walked down the steps together, Tara rolled her eyes at
Daniel. “Jeez. Did he overreact, or what?”
“Probably not many ten-year-old kids remember killing rats and
dogs in an alley.” His face lit up in a slow smile. “Rats. Not people.”
The smile faded. “I like dogs, though. That’s bad. I don’t want to eat
dogs. And Reaper said he was going to teach me to eat people. Do you
think he ever did?” His big eyes looked worried again.
Tara put her arm around him. “Remember what I told you. No
reports of unexpected deaths. I think you’re in the clear.”
He nodded. “I hope so.”
He remained thoughtful the rest of their walk home, and when
they reached the door to the apartment building he said, “I’m not hunting
tonight.”
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“I am. I’m going Underground. I want to see Dr. Greene.”
“What about?”
“I want to get something to eat, and I want to talk to him about the
mortality thing.” He shrugged. “No decisions yet. Just information.”
He reached toward her, plucking shyly at her sleeve. “I’ll stay down
there all night. So you don’t have to worry about me. That way you can
get some sleep.”
Tara smiled. “I’ll do that. But first, I’ll walk you to the entrance.”
The entrance to the Underground wasn’t far, making an escort
seem unnecessary, but he tolerated her company. She watched him
disappear through the entryway and wished somebody down there had
a phone, so she could call and check on him later. At least she knew
where he would be, which was better than most nights.
By the time she made her way to her apartment, she had decided
to follow Daniel’s advice and get a good night’s sleep. It would be the
first she’d had since she’d agreed to take him in, and God knows, she
needed it.
By nine o’clock, relieved of the burden of worrying about Daniel,
she could no longer hold her eyes open. She crawled into her pajamas,
then into bed, and dropped off before she could wonder how long it
would take her to fall asleep.
“Felicity, it is not my habit to take advantage of a lady.”
not taking advantage, and I daresay I am not a lady.”
He dipped his head toward her, kissing her, his mouth hard
and hot. She tangled her tongue with his, glorying in the sensation.
The evening’s adventures had driven her to a place she knew
well, where she craved the slide of skin against skin, the catharsis
of relentless climax.
He drew back, looking into her face, the familiar heat smoldering
in his eyes. “You most certainly are a lady, and I would put
a stake through the heart of anyone who said otherwise.” His
hands slid up from her waist to pull at the hooks at the back of her
dress, loosening them.
“Let’s save the stakes for the vampires,” she whispered, and
grabbed him by the hair and kissed him again.
It was furious between them—it always was. Especially on
nights like this, when their passion was fueled by the aftermath of
shared danger. Tonight they had barely escaped death at the teeth
of a gang of vampires, but they’d managed to kill two of them
before they’d been forced to flee. Nearly losing Liam had made
her want him desperately, so desperately she’d barely been able
to wait until they returned to their small tenement house.
Now she pulled eagerly at his clothes, pulled him down onto
the narrow bed. His mouth left her mouth and found her breasts as
he peeled her bodice open. She arched into him, crying out at the
tug of his mouth on her breast, the press of his tongue against her
nipple. He pushed and pulled at her skirts until they fell to the
floor. She tugged at the fastenings of his trousers until her fingers
found his sex, thick and hot and ready. She cupped him, luxuriating
in the velvety skin and the heat that filled her hand.
She had never been shy with him—she had never needed to
be. She trusted him implicitly with her life, with her body. When his
hand slid between her thighs, she shifted to allow him easier access.
His fingers slid inside her, his thumb finding the center of
her pleasure, and she gasped as he rolled and pressed her there,
until she shuddered over him, her body melting into fire and ecstasy.
He pressed his fingers deeper into her as she pulsed against
him; then he shifted her body, bringing her down onto the heat of
his ready erection. He slid deep into her, and she moved on him,
drawing him in as far as she could. She loved the way he felt
inside her, loved possessing him and being possessed by him, the
slide and the heat and the friction as he slaked his thirst for her
body. When he finished she had ridden the wave again, and plummeted
back down with him
Tara sat up in bed, shuddering. Not with fear, but with the aftershocks
of powerful orgasm. Drawing her knees up to her chest, she
hugged herself tight and closed her eyes as the pulsing faded.
That had been too damned real. Not a dream or even a memory,
but something deeper, something stored in her cells. She was hot and
wet and achy, exactly as if she’d actually experienced the events of
the dream.
She should have been able to enjoy it. Under other circumstances,
she probably would have. Knowing what she knew about Gray, though,
she couldn’t help but feel mortified at the thought that he might be
having similar dreams about her.
She slept late the next morning, recovering from the sleep she’d
lost in the middle of the night. The sun was up when she finally woke,
and she jolted out of bed, rushing to Daniel’s room.
He was there, curled up in bed exactly like a little boy, except he
was deathly still and didn’t appear to be breathing. Weak with relief,
she took a moment to lean against the doorframe and collect herself.
Of course he’d made it home safely. He always did.
It was frustrating, though, knowing she couldn’t talk to him about
what he’d done last night. She was curious to know what he’d said to
Dr. Greene and what the doctor had said to him. She wondered if he’d
made his decision about whether to be mortal again. But at the moment,
she couldn’t ask him any of those questions.
Julian might know, though. And she needed to see him, anyway.
So she went to get her morning coffee, intending to head for the Underground
afterward.
Gray was at the coffee shop. Standing in line behind two other
customers, staring at the menu board. Tara froze in the doorway, seeing
him. The polite thing to do would be to go in, say hi, maybe share
her coffee ritual with him, if he had the time. Yesterday morning she
would have done exactly that. Today her brain burned with the memory
of Liam and Felicity, Felicity crazed with wanting, Liam hot and hard
inside her.
She turned around and walked the other way. There were plenty
of coffee shops on her way to the Underground.
Julian didn’t seem particularly surprised at her recounting of
Daniel’s last therapy session. Or, she noted, of Gray’s dream. Again,
she had the feeling he was holding something back.
“We knew it would come to this, or something like it, sooner or
later,” he said. “Daniel’s subconscious is going to determine what he
needs to know, in order to make the adjustment successfully, and if he
needs to remember feeding, that’s what this doctor’s likely to find in his
head.”
“But he’s freaking out and wants to call in a specialist.”
“So make the arrangements. Then don’t go.”
“Gray will find out.”
Julian looked at her, eyes narrowing. “Gray? He’s not Dr.
DeAngelo anymore?”
Tara looked at her hands, sheepish. “It doesn’t mean anything.
Not really.”
“Are you dating him or something?”
“No.” Defensive, she crossed her arms over her chest. “We had
a cup of coffee and discussed Daniel’s case.”
“No more dreams?”
She didn’t want to say anything. Didn’t want to tell him at all.
“Yes. More dreams. I don’t know what to do about it, Julian.”
“Sex dreams?”
“None of your damned business.”
He laughed. “That’s what I thought.” The humor fled from his
face as he lapsed back into thought. “Look, you just deal with the
therapy thing the way you think you need to do it. If you need my help,
let me know. We’ll handle things as they come.”
“And what am I supposed to do about Gray? He knows vampires
are real—he fought them in a previous life. What if he figures out
what’s going on and decides to come after Daniel?”
“I think you’re overreacting.” He paused, studying her face. When
he spoke again, his voice was gentler. “Dom was careless.”
To Tara’s surprise, she felt tears prickle her eyes. “Don’t talk
about Dom.”
She’d spent a long time trying to forget about Dom. She’d cared
a great deal about him, enough to accept him for what he was. When
he had died at the hands of a gang of overzealous vampire hunters, she
had been devastated. His friends—the vampire ones—had sensed her
willingness to accept their world and had brought her to the Senior.
Julian’s expression gentled. “Dom was killed by self-styled vampire
hunters. Gray DeAngelo was a hunter in a previous life. You don’t
think the connection is what’s upsetting you?”
She blinked until the tears had withdrawn. “I’m just afraid for
Daniel. I don’t want anything to happen to him.”
“Daniel will be all right. I’ll see to that.”
Something in his voice made her look up. His gaze was hard and
resolute, but it gentled as she met it with her own.
“It’ll be okay,” he said. “Just do what you have to do.”
She nodded. “I’ll let you know.”
Six
When she got home, there was a message on her answering machine
from Gray. Listening to it, she tipped her head back, stared at the
ceiling with her lips in a thin line and reflected on the stubbornness of
men in general and medical professionals in particular.
“Tara, I got the impression when you left last night that you didn’t
want to involve Daniel’s father in this situation. But I think it’s very
important that he know what’s going on, especially given the seriousness
of Daniel’s experience. He needs to know Daniel was abused,
and I think a strong male presence, someone he can trust, will be important
to Daniel’s recovery, especially since his abuser was male.
Please call me and tell me when the four of us can get together for a
consultation.” The slightly scratchy, recorded voice paused. “I really
can’t stress enough the importance of this, from a therapeutic standpoint.
I’m going to have to turn Daniel’s case over to someone with
more experience in these matters, but I need to know everything’s in
order with your family before I do that. Call me. Please.”
There was another pause before the recording ended, as if he’d
thought about saying something else and had changed his mind. Tara
pushed the button angrily, saving the message. “‘I really can’t stress
enough the importance of this,’” she repeated in a mocking tone. Wonderful.
Now she was going to have to traipse all the way back down to
the Underground to talk to Julian. Again, she slung her purse over her
shoulder and headed for the door.
Her hand was on the knob when the phone rang. Figuring it was
Gray, she almost ignored it and continued out the door, but then decided
to at least check the Caller ID. It was a pay phone. Curious, she picked
it up. “Hello?”
“It’s Julian. Did that doctor of yours call?”
“Thank God,” Tara said. “Yes, he did, and I was about to drag
myself down to your office again. You know, you really should get a
cell phone or something.”
“They don’t work down there. And try telling the phone company
you need a phone line miles under the city and partially in an alternate
dimension.”
“Yeah, I see the problem.” She scrubbed her forehead. She was
getting a headache. “Are you very far away? I think it’d be a good idea
if you came over. We need to talk.”
“I’ll see you in a few minutes. I’m not far.”
True to his word, Julian buzzed for her to let him into the building
within fifteen minutes of hanging up.
“What’s going on?” he said when she opened the door.
Tara peered at him. “Are you okay? You look flushed.”
“It’s the sun. I can’t just traipse around in it willy-nilly like Lucien
can. I’ve been out a little too much this week.” He waved it off. “Don’t
worry about it. I’m not going to burst into flames.”
“Yeah, but how will you get home?”
“I’ll figure something out. Maybe I’ll crash on your couch for a
few hours, until I fade a little or the sun starts going down.”
Tara wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that, but decided to let it
go for now. She went to the answering machine and played back the
message. “This is what we’re dealing with.”
As he listened, Julian sucked his teeth. Fleetingly, Tara wondered
if he could still produce fangs.
“Okay, I think we should do the consultation,” he said when Gray’s
message ended. “I’ll deal with it from there.”
“But what if—”
He waved off her protest. “I’ll play the money card—tell him I
have a particular doctor I feel we should work with, and act like I was
never very keen on using him in the first place. Hey, maybe we could
argue about it.”
Tara rolled her eyes. “You’re enjoying this far too much.”
“We do what we have to. If we manage to enjoy it, so much the
better. Do you think we could see him tonight, after Daniel’s up and
around? I’d just as soon get it over with.”
“Julian, what if he—”
Again, he cut her off. “Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it.”
She shook her head and sighed. “All right.” She picked up the
phone. “I’ll call and find out if we can get an appointment.”
As she’d suspected, Gray was not only willing but eager to meet
with them that evening, in their usual time slot. Julian, deciding not to
return to the Underground, stretched out on her couch and slept away