Neptune's Lair

by Dorothy McFalls

  Tears ran down her cheeks as grief once again overwhelmed her. She was drowning in it as surely as if she were being pulled under the water in a raging river. Or perhaps it was more like a waterfall, a luscious, sapphire blue waterfall that dropped from an azure sky that she might find in his world.

  Dammit, she’d promised herself she wouldn’t cry anymore. But how could she possibly keep the tears at bay when she’d lost the only man she’d ever love?

  Because it would kill him to know she was so miserable, she reminded herself. He’d given his life because he’d wanted her to live. Choking on her grief, she heaved a deep breath...and caught a whiff of the sweet aqua aroma she’d only experienced in one place…a place that no longer existed.

  But the sweet scent seemed so real.

  Rubbing the salty tears that had clouded her eyes, she gasped when she saw that she was no longer lying on his bed but was now in a grassy field beside an indigo-tinted reflecting pool. The cool spray from the waterfall tickled her face.

  This was his world. His sanctuary. How had it managed to survive?

  She pushed herself up to her knees. Her gaze tripped over the landscape, searching. Hoping. Praying.

  Then she spotted him. Wearing an old pair of cut-offs and nothing else, he was walking across the sandy beach at the shore of a Caribbean blue sea.

  Dallas sprang to her feet and ran to him. He folded her into his embrace and kissed her forehead. She snuggled into his heat. “It’s you. It’s you.”

  He nibbled her lips, kissing and licking, while his hands explored her body. Her heart turned a flip when he touched her breast. She found herself getting lost in the sensations filling her. It was easier to forget all about her grief and pretend they could be together forever. In his world.

  But this wasn’t her reality. It couldn’t be. Brendan was gone, and she was dreaming.

  “Please don’t let me wake up,” she groaned as his hand caressed higher and higher up her thigh.

  “This isn’t a dream,” his seductive voice whispered in her ear.

  “That’s impossible,” she said with a nervous laugh and sank into his kisses. “I mean, isn’t it...impossible? What are you doing here?”

  He furrowed his brows and considered the question for a long moment. “I...I don’t know,” he said, sounding completely baffled.

  “Are-aren’t you…” She gathered all her courage to finish the question she really didn’t want to know the answer to. “Aren’t you dead?”

  He glanced down at his arms and then wiggled his toes, half-burying them in the sand. “I don’t think so,” he said, carefully. “You didn’t let me go, remember?” He shook his head with amazement. “I knew you were powerful, but your power even scares the angel of death.”

  “But your body…it’s…it’s dead.”

  A playful smile brightened his expression. He placed a quick kiss on her nose. “You keep forgetting something important, love of my life. We’re not human.”

  “And I keep telling you, I could really use a handbook.”

  “Did the humans give you one?”

  “Of course not. But your body. What are we going to do?”

  “Don’t worry, tender one,” he said with such confidence, she couldn’t help but believe him. “I’ve left my body for days at a time before. As long as I have a body to return to, I should be okay.”

  She bit her lip.

  “I do have a body to return to, don’t I?”

  She closed her eyes, trying to remember what Stone had told her. It had something to do with the county coroner’s office.

  He grabbed her shoulders. “This is important, Dallas. What did they do with my body?”

  “The coroner has it. There was some question about cause of death and—” She swallowed down a sob. “They’re going to perform an autopsy today.”

  “Okay,” he said. “This isn’t a problem. I’d be in cold storage. That’s good. The cold will preserve the organs. I simply have to get back into my body before some technician starts pulling the important parts out.”

  He went very still. His smile faded.

  “What? What is it?” Dallas asked.

  “I don’t know how to get back. In fact, I don’t know where I am right now.” Pain tightened his expression. “I’m lost.”

  Dallas kissed him. Heat swirled between them like a living breeze. “No, not lost. You’re with me. Let me be your guide.”

  “Not quite yet. If I’m to follow you, we need to forge a strong connection.” He pushed her down to the sand and followed to cover her with his muscular weight. Oh, how she’d missed this. With his thigh he nudged her legs apart. Time seemed to stand still as they made love on his beach. He worshiped her body with his hands and his mouth until she didn’t think she’d ever be able to move again.

  * * * * *

  But Dallas didn’t have time to rest. She’d never driven more recklessly in her life. After following his directions and used her fledgling powers to send Brendan’s spirit back to his body—condition unknown—she tore off down the road in Brendan’s fast, sporty Audi TT. With her hand on the horn, she ran red lights, cut tight corners, and weaved around slow cars as she sped toward the city morgue. On the way, she’d called Stone to let him know what was happening.

  The guards at the door were no match for her determination. She blasted past the front counter and charged down the halls. A piece of her heart, the piece that was connected to Brendan again, knew exactly where to go.

  There was a small, cold room at the end of the hall where two rows of naked bodies were lying out on metal tables. She ran past the pasty dead bodies until she found Brendan.

  He wasn’t moving. His lips were blue and silent.

  “I dreamed it.” Her heart sank to her toes. “I wanted him so badly that I dreamed it.”

  His skin felt as hard as marble.

  She slipped her hand into his and gave it a squeeze. “Oh, my love,” she choked out, “goodbye.”

  Fresh grief stabbed through her as she turned away. But before she could take a step his marble-hard hand closed over hers.

  “Don’t go.”

  “Brendan?” She spun back around. Her blood pounded through her veins. She held her breath, too afraid to hope. But as impossible as it seemed, his cold, cold hand was still clutching hers. Her mouth dropped open as his stiff eyelids opened one at a time. Ice crystals covered his once beautiful chocolate brown eyes.

  “Get me out of here.” The words were spoken not from his lips, but in her head. This wasn’t good. Stress and grief had made her lose her mind. She was hearing voices while grasping a dead man’s hand. If they found her like this, they’d have no choice but to lock her up.

  Let them lock her up. She wasn’t going to leave Brendan behind. He’d taught her to never run from her impulses. And she had a strong desire to get him off that damned metal table. Her hands trembled as she reached under his shoulders and used all her strength to lift his upper body.

  “It hurts like hell,” he groaned as she helped him sit up.

  She kissed his icy, blue lips. “I’m glad it hurts, baby. It means you’re coming back to me, and I’m not crazy.”

  The door swung open. Frank Stone rushed into the room and tossed a heavy blanket over Brendan’s legs. “We’ll take over from here.” Stone nudged her out of the way so the men in white coats who had followed him into the room could examine and take care of Brendan.

  “She’s not going anywhere.” Brendan looped his frigid arm over her shoulder and pulled her back to his side. “We’re in this together for the long-haul.”

  She stroked his bare chest, unable to keep herself from touching him. She had to assure herself that this was real. He was alive. And hers.

  “Does this mean I get the associate position at Hamlet, Hamlet, and Golf?” she teased.

  “Hmmm…That depends.” The teasing spark in his eyes warmed Dallas’s heart. He loved her. He really loved her. “You won’t have any trouble working for your husba
nd, will you?”

  “My husband?” she breathed.

  She’d expected he might want to date. Or, if she was lucky, she’d thought he might ask her to move in with him.

  “I mean…” His courage seemed to falter. “That is, if you’re willing to put up with a somewhat crusty, overly possessive lover.”

  She was speechless. Utterly speechless. Perhaps she was the one who’d died. And she was now in Heaven.

  “Oh, this is too much. I don’t mean to pressure you,” he was saying. “We can talk about it later.”

  “Oh shut up already, Brendan,” Stone said. He was grinning from ear-to-ear like a proud father. “Dallas? What are you thinking?”

  She gave Brendan one of her best calculating glares, “Fish, you’d better grab onto something. You marry me, and I’ll make sure you get one hell of a ride.”

  Epilogue

  “So by trapping the darkness inside your dying body, you’ve destroyed it forever?” Dallas asked several days later. They were both lounging in bed, putting off getting up to go into the office. After what Brendan had done to her the night before her muscles ached in all the right places. She stretched, which made Brendan’s eyes darken with passion.

  He bent down and kissed her nipple and she was suddenly panting with desire. “You’d asked me something? I’m afraid I didn’t hear you. I was too distracted by your beautiful body. If you ask again, I suggest you don’t stretch and twist so seductively while you do it.”

  Dallas huffed as if she was upset that he hadn’t been listening—not that she minded his attentions in other areas of her body—but she wanted to talk to him about what had happened, so she wrapped a sheet around her and sat up. “I was asking about the darkness. Is it gone? I mean it’s not coming back, is it?”

  “Why?” He sat up, too. “You don’t still feel it moving around in your mind do you?”

  “No.” She closed her eyes and listened to her thoughts. They were free from the sadness, from the icky shadows that had lurked in the corners of her mind for as long as she could remember. “I feel lighter. Ever since you died for me, I’ve felt as if my mind is more focused. My thoughts are mine and all mine.” She smiled. “I like that.”

  “Good. You had me worried for a minute.” He pulled his fingers through his hair. “As you know, the Protectors don’t know everything. We barely know anything.”

  “That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t publish a handbook detailing what you do know.”

  He chuckled. “But from what I do know, the darkness that hunted the both of us is gone. Destroyed. However, just as the darkness can create negative emotions...negative emotions, violence, hatred can create the darkness. So eventually it’ll be back. Stronger than ever, I would imagine. The world is becoming more and more violent every day. The darkness will take its strength from that.” He kissed her deeply. “But when it does return, it won’t be seeking to destroy either you or me. That force, the force that had been tuned into our powers is gone. It can never come back. It can never hurt you.”

  “Hmmm,” was all Dallas was able to say at the moment, because as Brendan spoke he’d used his powers to unwind the sheet from around her. She’d shivered in her nakedness for just a moment. Before she could pull the sheet back up, Brendan’s mouth found that spot that made her feel as if she was on fire. She kissed him back and then nipped at his neck.

  He pulled back, looking suddenly very serious. “We need to talk,” he said.

  Her heart landed in her throat. “You heard what happened with the Schuler file,” she said. Her first day at HH&G had been a disaster! “Of course you did. I truly thought that Herman had wanted me to shred the papers. I mean, the man seriously needs to work on his handwriting. I understand if you have to fire me. I mean—”

  Dallas would have kept babbling, but Brendan pressed his rough finger to her lips. “We all have run into trouble with Herman’s ‘urgent’ memos. And no, I would never fire my future wife. She’s smart. And oh, so sexy. Besides, they were able to pull copies of the destroyed papers from the archives. That’s not what I want to talk about.”

  “Then...then why are you frowning at me so? What did I do wrong?”

  Brendan pulled Dallas into his arms and hugged her so tightly she barely could breathe. “Love, you did nothing wrong. I’m frowning because I realized that I’ve never thanked you for saving me.”

  “Saved you?” She kissed his worried lips. “Brendan, I think you have that backwards. You saved me.”

  “You weren’t dead. I was. I think you should—”

  It was Dallas’s turn to press her finger to his lips. “Okay, counselor. I see no one is going to win this argument. Let’s just say we saved each other. Because isn’t that the truth? I never felt complete before I met you. I love you, Brendan.” Tears filled her eyes as she kissed him. “I love you. I love you. Thank you for coming back to me.”

  “Neither time nor space can keep me away from you. I love you so much, Dallas, that it makes my chest hurt.” He then used his clever mouth to demonstrate just how much love he had in his chest for her. But before things got really interesting, Brendan glanced at the clock and swore. “I have an early morning meeting that I can’t skip. I’ve been neglecting the law office too much lately. They’re going to start to wonder if I still work there. But ohh, I wish I could stay in bed with you all morning.”

  “Me, too,” Dallas purred. “I wish I could snap my fingers and roll back time...”

  Snap! Time spiraled backwards and the two lovers had several more delicious hours before they had to roll out of bed and head to work.

  Thank you for reading

  NEPTUNE’S LAIR

  If you enjoyed this book, I would appreciate it if you’d help other readers enjoy it too. After all, most books are sold by word of mouth. What can you do?

  Recommend it. Please help other readers find this book by recommending it to friends, readers’ groups, and discussion boards.

  Review it. Please tell other readers why you liked this book by reviewing it on Amazon, Goodreads, or your blog.

  If you write a review, please send me an email to dorothymcfalls@att.net I would like to gift you a copy of one of the ebooks listed below. Just let me know which one.

  Thank you!

  Read All the Books in The Protector Series:

  A Wizard For Christmas (Contemporary Short Paranormal Romance) (Holly and Hadrian)

  Holly desperately wants a perfect Christmas, and she’s perfectly willing to make herself miserable getting one. Unfortunately, there are forces at play that threaten more than her holidays...her life is in danger. And the only one who seems to know what’s going on is a darkly handsome, but mysterious, stranger who makes her want to add “romance” to this year’s Christmas wish list.

  Neptune’s Lair (Contemporary Paranormal Romance) (Dallas and Brendan)

  It’s worse than a bad hair day! Dallas’s new lover is taking control in the bedroom, and an unworldly force is threatening her soul.

  Mystical Seduction (Contemporary Paranormal Romance) (Faith and Horace)

  Faith was looking for a one-night stand. What she got was an otherworldly hunk who’s determined to make her his sex slave and a monster determined to kill her.

  Other books in Available on Kindle:

  The Huntress (Contemporary Romantic Suspense)

  Spunky bounty hunter Vega Brookes meets her match when she hunts down a dangerous ex-special forces officer accused of murder.

  Birds in Paradise (Short light-hearted mystery) Writing as: Dorothy St. James

  In this novella-length story, young prostitutes are disappearing from the streets of Honolulu. When street-savvy P.I., Kyra Grainger, is hired to find the latest missing girl, she straps on a pair of high heels, pulls on a skirt no wider than a headband, and delves into the back streets and shadowy world hidden behind the glitz of Hawaii. What she finds is a web of lies and deceptions that threatens to destroy the paradise she’s grown to love.

  Th
e Nude (Regency Romantic Suspense)

  Upon my honor! If not for that shocking painting... It has ruined everything, simply everything. A handsome marquess promises to repair my tattered reputation. But how can I trust him or his clever kisses when he’s clearly hiding a deep, dark secret of his own?

  The Marriage List (originally published by Signet Regency, May 2005)

  Compelled by his family to marry, Viscount Radford Evers makes a list of his requirements for a wife. Humble tenant May Sheffers meets none of these, so why does his heart beat madly at the sight of her?

  Lady Iona’s Rebellion (Regency Romance)

  When obedient Lady Iona is pressured into accepting a husband of her father’s choosing, she seeks out notorious rake, Lord Nathan Wynter, for lessons in rebellion.

  Lady Sophie’s Midnight Seduction (Sensual short Regency Romance)

  In this SHORT STORY, Lady Sophie, a self-avowed spinster, has been happy with her independence for many years...that is until Lord Benton-Black enters her world. Now she finds her nights haunted by this man who is determined to seduce her and make her his wife.

  About the Author

  For Regency and mystery author, Dorothy McFalls happily-ever-after is more than just a fictional ending, having enjoyed every day of marriage to her sexy sculptor husband. Formerly an environmental urban planner, she now writes full time. For information about Dorothy’s upcoming books, visit her website at http://www.dorothymcfalls.com/

  Dorothy also writes cozy mysteries as Dorothy St. James, including the White House Gardener Mystery series, which critics have called “spunky” and “fast-paced.” Learn more about her mystery releases at http://www.dorothystjames.com/