Only in Her Dreams (3 page)

His source had finally proved useful.
I may have to spare his life when the time comes.

The sight of it--the house, the neighborhood, the families--all made him sick.
This could’ve been me, should be me
. Instead, he was stuck on this godforsaken Earth, most of his powers stripped, forbidden to return to his rightful place in Erebos. And his only option was the girl. This weak female held his fate in her hands.

And she hadn’t a clue.

He moved across the street and slipped into her backyard with only a glance over his shoulder to make sure no one watched. Her yard surprised and repulsed him just as much as the front of the house. The front was straight from a promotional brochure, while the back yard gave the appearance of a Better Homes and Gardening showpiece. There were flowers, shrubs, and trees covering every square inch. The serenity of it reminded him of all he despised.

This was almost me! Good thing I dodged that bullet. Peace, tranquility and harmony are way overrated. One word: boring.
Thankfully, she
had
rejected him. After that embarrassing episode he’d shelved his heart--there was no room for feelings left.

It was time to shake things up and restore order. His order.

“Master, she has retired to her bed chamber,” Alexander said.

Darius turned to see his man standing beside him. Alexander’s ability to move without alerting others to his presence was what drew Darius to him. After he was banished from Erebos, he convinced Alexander to join him in his crusade to right the wrongs of his father and support
his
new Lord’s cause.

“Enter and report back to me. Find the connection to my brother,” he said.

With a nod, Alexander vanished as silently as he’d appeared.

# # #

Maxim studied his brother from the shadows deep within the girl’s backyard jungle. His twin had aged since he’d seen him last, but their likeness was unmistakable. Darius’ clear blue eyes glowed in the darkness, a side effect of Earth’s oxygen on their demi-god eyes. Maxim pulled his baseball cap lower to hide his own glowing orbs.

Why did I assume he was bluffing with his missive?

Maxim wasn’t sure what drew him to the girl’s house after the disaster earlier at the coffee shop, but he had to know more about her. The call to protect her was overpowering. But was it because of his promise to Guy or because of his own inner feelings?

That he could be attracted to a human was unthinkable. His knowledge of the girl was limited, besides her being Guy’s adopted daughter--his brother’s daughter. Granted there was no blood relation, the girl was unaware of her true heritage. Guy and his wife had continued the charade and misled the girl her entire life.

At that moment, Alexander returned from the house, a small item in his hand. He returned to Darius’s side and they appeared to argue quietly. The pair then slipped out of the yard through the same gate they’d entered.

Alexander hadn’t been inside the house long enough to harm her. Plus, Maxim would bet all he owned, which wasn’t much, that Darius knew the severe consequences he’d face if he harmed the home’s occupant.

With his brother and Alexander gone, Maxim moved toward the house. He navigated through the foliage, careful not to damage the delicate plants, his pants became damp with the dew that adorned the leaves and blossoms.

Chapter 4

She ran in terror. The trees lashed at her face, her arms and her legs as if seeking blood. They ripped at her clothes. They tore her skin. Her bare feet pounded the uneven ground. She fought to get away. The bottom of her feet ached from the jagged rocks and logs she scrambled over. Fear coursed through her veins and leached the warmth from her body. Darkness had fallen long ago and still the man followed her, stalked her.

She hurried through the forest toward an unknown destination. The dark forest didn’t conceal her and it appeared to urge him on. She darted a look behind her. Darkness. Only darkness.

Her foot snagged on the root of an overturned tree. And she crashed face down in the muddied leaves.
Move! Don’t give up! Get up!

She rolled and grasped a vine to pull herself upright, but a body stood over her--blocking any means of escape. He had caught her.

Lucessa writhed out of a deep troubled sleep, her body was covered in a thin sheen of sweat; the memory of the nightmare was fresh in her mind. The dream was the same, but the predator was different somehow. He looked like the quiet watcher, but he no longer appeared harmless. Threat radiated from his being, this was a predator and she was his prey. So she’d run.

A door closed below. She sat up in bed, waking Goosey, who slept next to her. The dog hadn’t made a noise.
Damn dog!

Slipping from bed, she made her way to her bedroom window and drew the shades aside. Two men stood in the shadows next to gate that led out of her backyard. One man held an object in his hand, reflecting the glow from the moon. The object looked vaguely familiar and with a start she realized it was the framed photo of her and her father. The picture was one of the last taken before the car accident. As she watched, the men hurried out the gate taking the treasured picture with them.

A movement deep in her yard attracted her attention. Another man appeared from the shadows, headed toward her back door. Lucessa drew back from the window, panic seizing her insides. Her stare darted around her room.
Where’s my phone?
She’d left it charging downstairs.
What the hell was I thinking? Idiot!

She peeked out the window again, but the man was gone. The sweat from her dream had not yet dried on her scalp when a new one broke out.

Goosey hadn’t made a sound behind her. Lucessa turned; her faithful watch dog was fast asleep, snuggled deep within the covers on the bed. “Damn dog.”

She heard the scuff of the man’s boots as he moved through the kitchen and into her living room. With deep-seated dread, Lucessa started toward the bedroom door, careful not to make a sound.

# # #

Maxim inched through the quiet house. He lightly ran his fingers over obscure items adorning every nook and cranny. While he didn’t know much about the things humans collected, most of the knickknacks appeared from an earlier time. He continued his progress through her living room and started up the stairs. The first step creaked. The staircase was lined with pictures, many featured the girl at a young age, from when her father resided on Earth. The weak street light guiding his steps revealed images of a happy childhood filled with love and laughter.

A pang of jealousy pounded through his heart. He wished he possessed happy memories. He pushed this from his mind and continued up the stairs that wound to the second floor. As he rounded the last curve and stepped onto the final landing, a creak sounded to his left.

A shadowed shape hovered there for a moment and then moved with lightning speed. His head exploded in fireworks of pain. Losing his balance, he fell backwards down the stairs. The shape retreat into one of the rooms, slamming the door shut. He continued his fall down the stairs repeatedly hitting his head and elbows as he rolled, unable to stop his downward trajectory.

# # #

Lucessa’s breath came out in a rush, as she closed the door and flipped the lock. Greg’s baseball bat clutched firmly in her hands, she listened. Over the pounding in her chest, a thumping echoed through the house. Either the man fled down the stairs, or she’d knocked him senseless, and he’d tumbled back down the way he’d come. The thought of him falling down the stairs brought a smile to her face. The man deserved what he got; he’d put her through so many sleepless nights. For years she doubted herself--her memories. Had she seen the man somewhere? Should she know him? Why had he broken into her house?

Lucessa’s heart slowed, along with her breathing.

A moist warmth touched her leg and she turned, ready to swing the bat at another unknown enemy. Only Goosey stood there. Lucessa leaned the bat against the wall and patted the dog’s head. A new confidence filled her. “Where’ve you been, girl?”

With the dog at her side, she cautiously unlocked and opened her bedroom door ready to slam it again. She reached out and flicked the hall light on. The man
had
fallen down the stairs, taking every picture off the wall with him.

She advanced down the stairs, Goosey at her side, wishing she’d grabbed the bat on the way out of her room. The man lay at the bottom, his arm and neck bent at awkward angles. This was the last thing she needed right now, him lying dead in her house. She had to be to work in four hours.
There’s no way I can handle this in four hours!

She wanted to flee back to her room, barricade the door, and hide under her bed. But that wouldn’t solve her problem. Goosey sat next to her in the hallway, her tongue hung out of her mouth. The boxer didn’t seem to recognize the trouble they were in. “Our home’s about to become a crime scene, Goosey.”

Lucessa pressed her back against the wall as she slipped past the man, her bare feet stepped over broken glass. With a push off the last step, she rounded the corner into the kitchen and grabbed for her cell phone.

The phone was heavy in her hand. Her fingers fumbled as they dial 9-1-1.

“I would advise you not to make that call.” A voice whispered in her ear as if it floated on a breeze. A chill crept up Lucessa’s spine.

It wasn’t possible. He’d lain at such an odd angle.
Is someone else in my house?

She spun around and stared into the eyes of the man who’d walked her dreams for years. The only thing she could think to do was hit him again. Unfortunately, she remembered too late that she’d left the bat upstairs.
Shit
! Her knees were weak beneath her, threatening to give out.

Goosey hadn’t made a sound as he’d crept up behind her.
Double damn that dog!

She clenched her fists, ready to protect her home and her dog.

“I would not hit me again if I were you.”

The tone in his voice was just short of menacing and a shiver ran the length of her body as if his hands caressed her.

Again, Lucessa found herself speechless as she thought about running or escaping. Anything but stand there staring at him with a dumb expression on her face. She should be scared shitless, but she wasn't. She'd seen him so many times Lucessa felt deep down she knew him.
Do I know you?
She wanted to ask.

“Then what should I do?” She must’ve lost her mind proposing such a stupid question after he’d just broken into her house. To be fair, he hadn’t broken in, per se. He’d used the kitchen door she always forgot to lock. Also, to be fair, he wasn’t the first to enter her home without permission. Thinking of another question, she asked, “Why’ve you been stalking me? Who are you?”
Smooth, Lucessa!

“Who I am is not important. But your safety is.” He pushed past her and navigated up the stairs around the pictures strewn on the floor.

Safety?
Lucessa decided to play along and followed him, keeping her distance. The only one jeopardizing her safety was
him
. She pushed down the feeling of unease as Goosey paced at her side.
What was the dog’s problem?

“What’re you doing?” She called.

“You are full of inquisitiveness. Please stay quiet; it is for your protection.” The words rolled off his tongue, as smooth as liquid chocolate, as if he hadn’t been rude to her. In her own home, none-the-less.

Her mind was screaming ‘Call 9-1-1!’ at a deafening pitch, while her body was telling her to not be so hasty. She’d reached a whole new level of crazy.

As he walked into her bedroom, he grabbed the bat, probably to make sure she wasn’t tempted to use it again before he surveyed the closet and the bathroom.

“If you’re looking for the guy who broke in before you, he left. He slipped out the back door and through the gate, before you came in,” she blurted, crossing her arms over her chest. She had no idea why she was volunteering information to a man who’d broken into her house, took a bat to the head, fell down the stairs, and then treated
her
like she was bothering
him
.

His eyes swung back to her, his eyebrows lifted in question.

“Just wanted to let you know.”

He searched the rest of the upstairs which gave her time to study him in detail. He’d changed clothes since she’d seen him at the coffee shop. He was outfitted in all black; t-shirt, cargo pants, and boots--topped off with an all-black baseball cap. Perfect for a night of breaking and entering. He’d planned this!

Returning to the hallway, he seemed assured that she and Goosey were the only ones in the house.

They stared at each other for a moment. Lucessa didn’t mind, it gave her another opportunity to look at him, to take in all that was this daunting figure.

He’s very handsome.
Odd, she hadn’t thought of another man as attractive since before she’d married Greg. He’d been her one and only, her solid rock. She felt like she’d betrayed him with the momentary lapse. But it’d been a year since his death, it was time to move on as Dr. Applegate had pushed her to do.
What am I thinking? This is definitely not the guy I’m moving on with. I can hear the question now, ‘How did you two meet?’. ‘Funny story...’. Yeah, this wasn’t happening.

His crystal-blue eyes traveled from her head all the way to her toes and back again. She must look a mess. Slowly she looked down at her attire, the moonlight filtering through the hall window made her night shirt almost transparent. She pushed past him into her room and grabbed her seldom-used robe from the hook in her bathroom. The material slid across her icy skin, providing no warmth from the chill in the air.

Returning to the hall, he was gone. She hurried downstairs.
What the heck is he looking for?