by K.N. Lee
“You’re not a visitor. You’re a dream.”
“A dream? I’m not.”
“How did this happen?” Addy touched his cheek with her finger and then brushed back his bangs.
He smiled when she continued to push his hair back. “Stubborn hair.”
“It can’t be you. You feel so real…” She continued to lightly trace his face with her fingertips.
“Believe me, babe. I am. Right now, I’m feeling as real as I can be.” His thigh was pressed in between her legs and he felt the urge to press even harder. Damn.
Addy shook her head. “What took you so long?”
She threw him off balance with her question. Why was she waiting for him? Did she mean tonight? “Baby, if I knew you’d been waiting, I’d give up everything just to be here. Especially right where I am right now,” he said and then he did what he’d wanted to do since he’d first laid eyes on her.
He kissed her.
The contact had him groaning. Addy’s lips were plump and soft. He ran his tongue over her seam before sucking her lower lip. Addy sighed. He took advantage and plunged his tongue inside. Fuck, she tasted so good. He angled his head and deepened the kiss. Addy responded by dueling her tongue with his. His body roared. Her flavor, her softness, and feminine scent assaulted his senses. Deeper, he probed into the recesses of her mouth.
Addy answered by catching his tongue and sucking him gently, timidly as if unsure if she were doing it right.
Victor let go of his hold on her hand. He flattened his palm on her hipbone and then slowly moved toward her belly button.
The grandfather clock struck ten.
Addy blinked fast. She stopped kissing him.
Victor knew the magic had passed, as reality reminded him that he just broke his clan’s rule. Never touch a human. You can look, but not touch.
“Oh, my god. What am I doing?” She pushed against his chest. “Get off me.”
Victor planted his hands on each side of Addy’s head, then stared into her deep blue sea eyes. Damn those eyes. Before he could change his mind, he gave her another quick kiss. Addy scrunched her nose, which made him laugh. He got on his knees and then helped her sit up. Together, while on their knees, they faced each other.
She quickly picked up the spear. “You have a sword.”
“Yeah. And you have spears, bows and arrows. Not to mention all kinds of guns.”
“They belonged to my dad.”
“Great collections.”
Addy touched his cheek with the pad of her thumb. “You said your name is Victor.”
“Yes. And you are Addy Tuesday.”
“Victor,” Addy repeated as if trying to learn to pronounce his name. “Morgan told you about me.”
Victor nodded.
“How did you meet Morgan?” she asked the question so low and so soft, the words seeped through his skin.
“I’ll answer your questions, but I think we’d better get up.” He didn’t wait for her to move. Victor grabbed her by the hips and helped her up. They stood so close, he could feel her breasts against his chest and see the pale blue chip in her left eye. He didn’t want to let go of her, but he did.
Addy sized him up. She didn’t show any sign that she was impressed with his size, height, and good looks that women never failed to remind him he possessed. She just continued frowning at him.
Now, this was a first.
He righted the chair and let out a deep breath. “Would you like to talk here in your bedroom or somewhere else? I don’t usually hang out in the bedroom unless—”
“In the kitchen. I’m sure you already did a tour around the house by yourself.” She stepped aside and motioned for him to go ahead. “How did you get in?”
Smart. He wouldn’t turn his back on a stranger either. “Your kitchen window is really easy to pry open.”
“You could have just rung the bell.”
He kept on walking and didn’t stop until he was in front of the kitchen counter. Then he faced Addy. She was putting on a blue wrap that barely covered her panties. “And you would’ve let me in?”
Addy tapped her spear on the floor. It turned back to its shorter size. “Maybe. But…”
Victor’s gut told him that Addy held the real Lugh’s Spear. Damn. His brothers would go nuts if they heard about this. “But what?”
“Am I even awake?”
“I think so.” Your flavor is still in my mouth.
“Yeah, I was afraid you’d say that.”
Addy stared at Victor, her heart doing wild flips, her mind in chaos. Good lord. Did she just kiss him back? He was a stranger for crying out loud. And a shape-shifter, too. Oh, yeah. She’d seen him shift. Okay, the shifting happened in her dream. Maybe he couldn’t really do that in real life. Could he? Well, it didn’t matter. One thing for sure, she’d seen him many times. In her dreams. Most of the time—they were doing more than kissing. Addy felt her face burn. Oh, dear. She opened the fridge and took out a water bottle. “Would you like one?”
“Yes, thank you.”
She placed the bottle on the counter. Victor. Now I have a name to go with that drop-dead gorgeous face. So, if you’d seen someone in your dream and then he miraculously appeared in flesh and blood, would you still call him a stranger? She shook her head again in disbelief. Maybe it was time to stop watching Twilight Zone reruns.
“Why do you keep shaking your head?” Victor asked.
“Because I’m thinking.” Victor remained a stranger to her no matter how many times they’d made love in her dreams. Yet, he was nowhere near being a stranger. He’d been a dream that always stayed with her. She’d seen him with other shape-shifters, too. All of them with impressive physiques and beauty. But somehow, she’d been drawn to him. He’d been the only good part of her weird, unbelievable, crazy dreams. The rest didn’t make any sense—men turning into wolves, turning into ashes, dying and then living again. Including Victor. Yeah, she’d seen him die. It was really a nightmare. But then she saw him alive again, in the next dream.
Could he be really a shape-shifter? Should she ask? Wouldn’t that sound rude? For the love of god, how could he be real? Did she conjure him from a dream? Dad mentioned that someday, she would unlock a special power, that her sleeping blood cells would one day wake up—whatever that meant. Could this be it?
Victor mentioned he belonged to the Midnight Howl clan. Morgan had told her about them and the Blood Robbers. Maybe he was one of the guys Morgan had met online, claiming to be the real deal. What if he suddenly shifted the way he’d done in her dreams? Addy stared at Victor. Lord, help her if he did. She placed the spear on the kitchen counter. “How do you know my brother?”
“We’ve met.”
“Online?”
“No. Downtown.” He pulled a plastic bag from his back pocket. “Here. He asked me to give this to you.”
Eyeing him, she opened the bag and took out a T-shirt. “This is the reason why you broke in to my house? To give me this shirt?”
“I didn’t want to wake you up.”
“That’s a poor excuse, you know.” Sighing, she put the shirt back in the bag. “Thank you. You said you’re from the Midnight Howl clan?”
“Yes.”
“Morgan told me about your clan and the Blood Robbers.”
“So you know about the shape-shifters.”
“I’ve seen—well, Morgan learned about the clans from someone he’d met online. What about you? How did you meet my brother?”
“Morgan was in an alley. He was with friends.”
Alley. Addy swallowed. She saw a dark alley in her dream tonight. At the risk of sounding like a lunatic, she decided not to tell him about the alley, about her dream. She stared at Victor. Tall, with a lithe form and beautiful face, she just couldn’t stop staring at him— the very definition of a dream guy.
Dreams do come true. It can happen to you. That’s what Frank Sinatra sang. This is crazy. Impossible. “And you were in an alley, too, patrolling?”
>
Victor grinned. “Me and my friends. Yes.”
“Let me see your I.D.”
“What?”
“Identification. You have it?”
Victor reached into his back pocket and produced a thin, brown leather wallet. He flipped it open and pulled out a Washington driver’s license for her to see. “Satisfied?”
Addy nodded then watched him tuck his wallet back into his pocket. He towered over her, his body oozed with physical strength. Not beefy by any means, but she could tell this man, if he was that at all, could break her in half…easily. He had unusual hair‒blond-gray with dark gold highlights‒Long and shaggy, the tips curled up. It looked windblown, too. His eyes penetrated her as if trying to see into her soul and his lips were obviously used to smiling. She’d seen lots of men in low-rider jeans, but Victor won top honors. He wore his pants as if they were made just for him. If he were to lift his tight shirt, she would bet she’d see his hipbone. My goodness, he was the very definition of eye-candy. He made her aware that she was a woman. And man, he could kiss! However, this sexy specimen watched her while she’d been sleeping. Now, that was just downright disturbing. Did she scratch or make rude sounds while sleeping? Okay, she wouldn’t even think about that.
Victor raised his brows. “Like what you see?”
“Didn’t mean to stare. It’s just…” She’d been dreaming about him walking in a dark alley, feeling the tension in the air. Before she could see faces, everything around her turned into smoke. When images became clear again, a hair-raising fight ensued. It felt so real, just like in her previous dreams. The sound of metal hitting metal and low growling mixed with the sound of rain. This time though, Morgan was there. On the ground, bleeding. She wanted to go to him, but couldn’t. He was close but each time she took a step, he became farther and farther away. She had forced herself to get out of her dream. But before she could will herself to wake up, an angry man came into view. It was Victor. He looked livid, with blood on his face. This had been when she opened her eyes. Their gazes had locked. For a minute, she thought she was still dreaming. She had stared at him while trying to control her emotions and separate the dream from reality.
“Everything I know about your clans is second hand information. Tell me, are you a shape-shifter?”
“I am.”
Addy nodded. Good god. “Is it also true that you and other shape-shifters who exist, protect the humans?”
“We protect you from becoming the Blood Robbers’ dessert.”
“And is that how you met my brother? You were protecting him?”
“Yes.”
“Where is Morgan? Is he okay? Why isn’t he with you?”
“He’s fine.”
“But—”
“He’s fine. Believe me on this. Morgan is safe.”
She wanted to believe him, but everything she just heard didn’t make any sense at all. “I’ll call his cell.” Why didn’t I think about that earlier?
Victor shook his head. His brows pushed together. “He can’t. We took his cellphone away. Just to borrow it. The techs have it now. But you can use mine.” He pulled his cellphone from his front pocket and dialed a number. “Tex, give the phone to the boy. His sister wants to talk to him. It’ll be brief.” He handed the phone to Addy.
“Hello?” She heard noises in the background, of men laughing and metal crashing. “Hello?” she repeated.
“Oh, hey, sis. What’s up?”
“What do you mean…what’s up? Morgan, where are you? What is that noise?”
“The men are sparring, Addy.”
Addy heard someone say something that made her brother laugh. “Morgan, are you okay?”
“I’m good. Got stitches. But I’m not in pain right now. Got meds.”
“Oh, god. Come home. I’ll pick you up. Tell me where you are.”
“I’m in a den. They told me I have to stay here for a while. Is Victor there?”
Addy glanced over at Victor. “Yes, he is.”
“Victor is cool. You’ve got to see this place. It’s a city underground. Oh, sorry, Tex. Okay.”
Underground? She listened for a second. “Morgan, please don’t tell me you are actually inside the den. The den you talked about?”
Morgan laughed. “Yes. I found them. I told you they were real. That Blood Robber I talked to online told me everything. He tried to tell me that the Midnight Howl clan is bad. I didn’t believe him. And I’m glad I didn’t. Don’t give Victor a hard time, okay. He saved me…Addy?”
“Yeah?”
“He’s the good guy.”
“The good guy?”
“Yes. He’s from the clan that protects humans. Cool, huh?”
“Cool? I just kissed…Morgan, you need—”
“I’ll call. Got to go. Endy is calling me.”
“Morgan, wait!” The line went dead. Endy? Who is Endy? Staring at the phone, she handed it back to Victor. “Morgan said there’s sparring going on?”
“Yeah.”
“He mentioned a guy named Endy.”
“Endy is a great kid. One of the few who can still speak fluent Gaelic.”
“And he’s somewhere underground.”
“Turtle Bluff. Perfect place for him right now.”
“A real den full of shape-shifters.”
“No one would hurt him.” Victor looked directly into her eyes.
“And where is this Bluff?”
“Marrowstone Island. A spit actually. In Port Townsend.”
“Let me get this straight. When you were on patrol, you saw my brother in trouble and helped him.”
He just shrugged. “The Midnight Howl vowed to protect you guys.”
“Why would the Blood Robbers take interest in my brother? He’s not a reject.”
Again, Victor grinned. “Morgan learned a lot from talking to a Blood Robber.”
“Morgan is very inquisitive. He doesn’t just listen, he asks.”
“Smart. Unfortunately, he said something to the Blood Robber that raised a red flag.”
“What did he tell them?”
“About you. You’re a Dreamer.”
A Dreamer. Her parents had called her that. She believed them when she dreamed about their death before it happened. Since then, her dreams turned eerie and visited her every night. Most of the time about wolves and shape-shifters. Of them fighting, changing forms and dying. Oh, yeah. In her dreams, they were in trouble all the time. Always vivid, too. If her dreams were about airplanes crashing or volcanoes erupting, she might have considered them a warning about future events. But shape-shifters?
“Tonight, I saw Morgan in my dream. In an alley. I didn’t see him get hurt. But apparently, he did.”
“Yes.”
Her heart began hammering against her chest. She’d made a promise to their parents that she would take good care of Morgan. If something horrible happened to him, she wouldn’t be able to live with it. “And the Blood Robbers are the ones who hurt him.”
“Yes. But they wanted him alive.”
“Why? I mean, I’m glad they didn’t kill him, but what do they want from him? I’m the Dreamer. Not him”
“My guess is they wanted to get to you.”
“To use me. Like a fortuneteller.”
“That and the Lugh’s spear.” Victor pointed at the spear on the counter.
“This? They can have it. As long as they leave me and my brother alone.”
“Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. You and the spear are one. A powerful combination.”
“What do you mean?”
“The spear is useless without you. It listens only to you. Without you, love, the spear is just a tool. Not a powerful weapon.”
“Oh, god. I shouldn’t have told him about my dreams.”
“I know this is too much information. So let me lay it out as simply as I can. Tell me what you saw in your dreams.”
Us. Making love. Many times. “Fighting. Shifting. And you were always there.” Oh, this is
too much!
“I was always there?”
“Yes.”
Victor raised his brows.
“Crazy, I know.” Addy ran her fingers through her hair. “Please don’t think I’m weird, but more than once I saw you in a fight with wolves. Now you’re here.”
“Dreamers are not weird. They are special. Like you.”
“My dad said the same thing. Unbelievable,” she murmured. “You said Morgan is fine.”
“Got nothing to gain by lying.”
Addy closed her eyes. Lord, it was her fault. She let Morgan spend hours online researching about dreams and shape-shifters. “I should check myself into the asylum.”
“I’m sorry. There’s just no way to make any of this easier for you to digest.”
“There are tons of loonies online wishing, hoping, dreaming that there are wolves who can shift. You’re not a loonie, right?”
Victor shook his head.
“You’re a real deal.”
“Last I checked.” He shrugged.
Addy walked around the counter without taking her eyes off him. “I just kissed a shape-shifter.”
He titled his head and grinned.
“You’re telling the truth.”
“Being a Dreamer is a gift, love.”
“Do you think dreaming about people suddenly turning into wolves fighting and dying is a gift? I see men getting beheaded. There’s always blood. I can see when a sword would land on someone’s neck. That’s not a gift.”
“Baby, you have the old blood running in your veins.”
“Old blood. The sleeping cell, you mean,” she said.
“Sleeping cell?”
“That’s what my dad called it. One day, it’ll wake up when I least expect it. Are you talking about that blood?”
“I’m sure we speak of the same thing.”
Addy shook her head. “What you’re telling me is hard to take in. You’re a shape-shifter, I have a royal sleeping blood that probably woke up and is running in my veins. Plus, the Midnight Howl has my brother stashed in an underground den called Turtle Bluff. Did I get it right?”
Victor nodded.
“Lord above. Did you really kiss me?”
“Yes.”
“Damn. This is not the way I imagined that we would have our first kiss. I wanted it to happen in a gazebo, when the stars are out, the carolers singing, and snow falling.” Her voice was a little more than a murmur.