Shock flooded his mind as he realized he needed to get to know Maggie as a woman, a person, and not just a sexual conquest—although that too had its appeal. He never before experienced the desire to get to know a human, other than what he needed to learn about them to manipulate their dreams.
But with Maggie, he wanted to know everything about her. Her favorite book, the places she often went. What was her family like? Did she have many friends? He wanted to know everything.
“Sweetheart, you are killing me,” Zane whispered, struggling for breath.
Her expression broke his heart. He wanted to kiss the look away and it took all his well-honed self-control not to do so. What could he have done to bring that look to her sweet face?
He grabbed her into a tight hug, and wrapped his arms around her back as he rested his chin on the top of her soft hair. “What is wrong?”
She tried to push away from him, but he refused to allow it. He needed to touch her, needed to be near her. Zane felt desperate to soothe her, but had no clue what upset her.
“Let me go,” she commanded.
He refused to move, waiting her out. He remained perfectly still holding her until her body once more leaned into his. When her arms wrapped around his waist, he relaxed for the first time since their kiss. She seemed attracted to him, felt at ease around him, no matter what contrary words might come from her lips. The knowledge gave him the courage to speak.
“Tell me what's wrong, Maggie. What upset you?”
A heavy sigh left her lips, sending a rush of warm air though his shirt to tease his skin. “I’d rather not.”
“Why?”
“You’ll think me crazy.”
He allowed her a small measure of space so he could look down into her beautiful eyes.
“Well then, I’ll be in good company, because, sweetheart, you are driving me crazy.”
“Then why did you pull back from our kiss just as it got interesting?”
“Interesting? It got a helluva lot more than interesting.”
“Then why did you pull back? Did I do something wrong?”
His arms tightened around her as he laid his cheek on her head. So that explained the hurt look. She thought he’d rejected her. She couldn’t be more wrong.
“Maggie, you did nothing wrong. In fact, I pulled back because you did everything right.”
“Mind explaining that, stud.”
He chuckled at her incredulous tone. Feisty and a bit brazen, she intrigued him.
“I want you, Maggie. I want to lay you down in this meadow, rip the clothes from your beautiful body, and have my way with you.” She trembled in his arms. “But I will not disrespect you that way. You deserve better than a quick tryst. You deserve an honorable man who will woo you. And I respect you enough to give you that.”
She pulled her head from his chest and looked up at him with searching eyes. “You want to woo me?”
A smile raised one corner of his mouth. “Woo you. Romance you.”
Love you. The words sounded in his mind before he could stop them.
Love was not an emotion he could be allowed to have with a human. There was no future for the two of them. They were from two different worlds and she could not live in his. Once he assured her safety, he would go back to his dimension never to see her again.
No, they couldn’t have something like love. But it did not stop him from wanting to see her happy.
The smile that softened her features made his heart sing. “Well then, romance away.”
“Your wish is my command.” Zane placed his arm around her shoulders and tucked her against his side. “Come with me, milady.”
Zane slowed his pace to match her small strides. Their bodies pushed through the tall grass and flowers. His eyes tracked her hand as it passed over the vegetation in a gentle caress while they made their way through the meadow.
“Do you like this world?” Zane asked.
“Yes. This is the most beautiful place I've ever seen.”
“Thank you.” He had tried very hard to make it an exact replica of his dimension. Each tree and flower, every blade of grass was an exact copy of his home. He’d been almost desperate to share his world with her and his chest expanded with pride at her pleasure with his home.
She looked up at him, her chartreuse eyes pulling at his soul. He could get lost in those eyes. Their cat-like color intrigued him, as did she. Never had he seen eyes quite that color before.
“Did you say, ‘thank you’?” she asked, repeating his words.
An inquisitive look took her pretty face and Zane knew immediately she’d caught his mistake.
Maggie took in the expanse around them with a sweep of her arm. “So you made all this?”
He found no reason to lie to her. This was a dream. When she awoke, she would assume everything here had been a figment of her imagination. Here he could be completely honest, knowing if she remembered any of this upon waking, she would dismiss it as fantasy.
“I did. It is an exact replica of my world.”
“Your world?” She stopped and looked up at him in curiosity. “Are you an alien?”
“In a way I suppose, in that I am a person from another place and very different people.”
“We definitely aren’t on earth.”
“True,” he replied cryptically, judging her acceptance of what he told her. She seemed open to his explanations, but too much information might push her rational mind to take her from the dream.
He didn’t want her to leave, selfishly wanted a little more time with her. He still didn’t know enough about her. Zane reluctantly admitted he might never know enough about her, at least not to satisfy his curiosity.
“So where are we?”
He saw no harm in telling her. It’s not like he’d reveal anything about his people, just the name of his dimension. “The Dream Weaver dimension.” He studied her while she processed the information. Her reddish brows furrowed over her intriguing eyes.
“What’s that?” Maggie asked and began their forward momentum again.
“A place of great beauty.”
“Obviously.” Her head turned from side-to-side, her gaze taking in the beauty around them. “I’ve never seen a place so beautiful. It’s like a painting.”
Zane nodded. “I especially enjoy the waterfalls.”
He instantly made a waterfall appear to the right of them. Colors in the water swirled, orange and yellow butted up to shades of red. Blues faded into purples. The colors ran in orderly lines over the falls to crash down into a kaleidoscope of hues below. A large smile took Maggie’s face, her joy reaching her eyes, as she watched the colors swirl at the base of the falls.
“This place is remarkable,” she said, before running toward the water with her arms outstretched.
Zane jogged behind her. Quickly catching up, he scooped her off her feet by wrapping an arm around her waist. He easily held her slight weight against his frame. The feel of her backside pressing against his front sent a fresh rush of lust through him.
He forced the desire aside, wanting no distraction from the wonder of sharing this moment with her.
Her arms folded over his as Maggie laid her head back on his shoulder and went still. “I don’t believe my eyes. Zane, did you do this?”
He allowed her feet to touch the ground, relishing the feel of her body as it slid down his, and planted a chaste kiss on her cheek. “I confess I may have had a hand in it.”
“For a figment of my imagination, you are full of surprises.”
“You have no idea, sweetheart.”
Maggie turned in his arms. “Nice work, Blue Eyes.”
Zane arched one questioning brow. “Blue Eyes?”
Her hand reached up to cup his cheek
. “You have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen.”
“Thank you.”
His heart expanded in his chest as he took her hand in his, and led her by the water’s edge. He sat, tugging her down beside him. After rolling his jeans up to his knees, he dipped his feet in the cool water.
The calm water lapped at his legs, while Maggie followed his lead. She hiked up her dress, giving Zane a nice view of her thighs, and dipped her feet in the water. She giggled when the water tickled her legs.
The sound played over him like a tender caress. He wanted to hear that laugh often, knew he would never tire of the joyous sound.
Her happiness fed his corporeal body back in the real world. It produced a warmth that flowed over him, manifesting in a sensation similar to sinking into a hot bath here in the dream.
Suddenly something moved around his legs, circled them. It felt rough, scaly, and just little slimy. He looked down to see several large coy-like fish swimming in the river.
He pulled his legs from the water in shock. There were no animals in his world, so he had not created the fish.
His eyes darted to the woman sitting next to him. She must have made them. Usually humans seemed quite content to allow him to manipulate the dreams, but not her.
She added to the dreamscape he created. Changed it, made it better. Maggie kept surprising him and he must admit he enjoyed discovering each new thing about her.
A laugh from Maggie drew his attention. Zane quirked one brow high on his forehead. “And just what’s so funny?”
“You. Such a big man to be scared of a few little fishes,” Maggie teased.
“I should show you just how big I am, little girl.” Zane leaned in, intending to kiss the smile from her face, when she suddenly disappeared.
Zane looked around, and instantly realized she must have awakened. Fearing what might have drawn her from her sleeping state, he sent his consciousness back to his physical body. He would have only a few seconds at most before Maggie awoke enough to become aware of him in her room . . .
Zane rose from her bed and backed against the nearest wall. He pulled the shadows around him to cloak his presence, then searched the room for any disturbance. His eyes found nothing unusual. No sign of Amnon or anything that might have pulled her from their dream.
Maggie stirred in her bed. A low moan pushed through her lips. She brought her leg up, so her hands circled around her calf.
She seemed injured. Did Amnon attack, then disappear through the mirror before Zane could pull back to his body? The desire to help her pushed hard at Zane. It was risky to move about in her room, while she was awake, but he needed to find out what pained her. Silently, he shifted around her bed to get a better look.
“Dammit.” Maggie rolled onto her back, her fingers massaging her leg. “Damned muscle spasm.”
Relief flooded his being. Amnon had not attacked. In fact, as Zane glanced around the room, he found no sign of the Dream Stalker.
He watched her, remembering the color of her eyes. Color now muted by the shadows covering her face. They looked so beautiful against her reddish hair, especially when she looked up at him with her passion shining in their depths. They really were the most distinctive color and because of their uniqueness, they seemed perfect for her.
Maggie looked in his direction. Zane held his breath, knowing a moment of concern. Could she see him?
He took a breath only when he realized she glanced at the alarm clock near her bed.
“No point in trying to go back to sleep now,” she murmured. Zane’s watchful gaze tracked Maggie as she got out of bed and limped from the room.
He wanted to comfort her, massage the pain from her leg, but he knew he could not be with her here in the human world, not unless she was sleeping. She would never know him in the flesh. The future didn’t exist for them. And no matter how strong the urge to do otherwise might be, he needed to take advantage of this opportunity to port out of her room.
He crossed the room to her vanity and sent a little magick at the reflective glass to turn it into his conduit home. Taking one last look around the room to be satisfied all looked fine, his eyes came to rest on the pattern only his vision could see above her bed. The magick he wove on the wall remained intact. If she experienced a nightmare, he would know and be able to come running. That knowledge alone allowed him to leave.
He nodded once in satisfaction and stepped through the portal.
Chapter 11
Maggie stared at the wall of her office. A nice office, it boasted a window that looked out over the courtyard. A color of her choosing painted the walls in a soft blue. She’d picked the color because of the calming effect it seemed to have on the students when they arrived at her door anxious or agitated.
Inspirational posters decorated the walls in simple silver frames. A kitten dangling from a tree limb by two paws told students to “Hang in there.” An empty basketball court reminded them “You’ll always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” A beautiful picture of a star-lit night over a still river informed the reader “Ideas are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with your hands. Believe in them and follow them and you will achieve your goals.”
Maggie had chosen each picture specifically with the students in mind. The basketball poster aimed to inspire the jocks. She intended the kitten to speak to the girls and thought the night scene, with its dark colors, would draw the attention of even the difficult to reach Goth kids.
Maggie leaned back in her chair and sighed. She could use a little inspiration about now. Sometimes this job got to her, especially the paperwork. It seemed to never end. She always had a stack on her desk.
Her eyes glanced to the pile of papers on her left. Things needed her attention. Grades were coming due, special education paperwork needed to be completed, but she wasn’t in the mood to do any of it.
Maggie blew a long sigh through her lips and reached for the paper at the top of the stack. The sound of a knock on her door stilled her hand.
“Come in,” she called, grateful for the reprieve from the forms.
A young lady, dressed in blue jeans and a red sweater, pushed through the door. After carefully closing it behind her, she approached Maggie’s desk.
“Hi,” Maggie greeted. “What’s your name?”
“Kelly Clark.”
“Hi, Kelly. I’m Miss O’Connell.”
“I know.” Kelly’s eyes darted around Maggie’s office, and paused on the picture of the kitten.
“Hang in there,” Kelly read. “I have a friend who needs that advice.”
“Do you want to sit down and tell me about it?” Maggie gestured to the blue padded chairs in front of her desk. When Kelly sat, Maggie got up and made her way around her desk to sit in the other blue chair, knowing it would help make the girl feel more comfortable.
“What brought you to my office?”
“My friend. She . . .”
When the student did not complete her sentence, Maggie gave her a moment to collect her thoughts then prompted, “Your friend . . .”
Kelly paused, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. “I have a friend who may be in trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“She thinks she's pregnant.”
Maggie’s heart sank to her toes. There were a few girls around campus with baby bumps. In fact, teen pregnancy happened to be so common these days, each high school in the District had a daycare where the teen moms could leave their children while they attended classes. But Maggie knew it meant a lifetime of difficulty for the students who chose to keep their children, no matter how commonplace it became.
“What is your friend’s name? I’d like to talk to her.”
Panic widened the young girl’s violet eyes. “I can’t tell you her name.”
“But she has her friends to help her.”
“What about her parents?”
The girl’s gaze dropped to the floor. “They won’t understand. They think she is still a virgin. They will be furious. She can’t tell them.”
Maggie laid her hand over Kelly’s where it rested on the arm of her chair. “Every teenager thinks their parents won’t understand, but most do. All of us were teenagers once. We remember what it was like, Kelly, even if we are now old.”
“But her parents will kill her if they find out.”
“Sweety, I promise you this kind of secret will come out. Eventually the baby will grow large enough for your friend to start showing. You can’t hide a baby forever.”
Kelly pulled her hand out from Maggie’s, and folded her hands protectively over her stomach making Maggie suspect Kelly’s “friend” might be her. Maggie felt sorry for the girl. She obviously hoped to keep her secret from her parents, but Maggie couldn’t let that happen.
“I tell you what; let me call your mother. We can bring her here and tell her about the baby together. I’ll be here to support you.”
Kelly’s gaze locked with Maggie’s. “Why would you call my mother?”
“Because she needs to know, Kelly. You can’t keep your pregnancy a secret from your parents. You need them. They can help you get through this.”
Tears gathered in the girl’s eyes confirming Maggie’s supposition. “How did you know I was talking about me?”
“The same way your parents will eventually figure it out. You need to go ahead and tell them.”
“No, they wouldn’t understand.”
“They might understand better than you think,” Maggie offered.
“They will kill me.”
“What if we told them together? I could be with you to help you tell them.”
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