“Shapeshift back.” Darien commanded Lelandi.
Right. Just as soon as she had the strength. She yawned, stretched her legs, closed her eyes, and fell back to sleep.
When she managed to open her eyes again, she was in her human form, dressed in the hideous hospital gown, an IV stuck In her arm. Darien was sitting in the chair, his eyes glued to her as if he was waiting for the dawn to break, or maybe to ensure she didn’t shapeshift back.
He’d grill her about the letter again, although she wondered why he hadn’t found it concealed in her jacket yet. Unless she’d lost it. A deep-seated sadness slipped through her.
She shut the sight of Darien out and slept, but the squeaking of the door woke her when Nurse Grey entered the room to check her vital signs. The woman held her finger to her smiling ups and pointed to Darien, dead to the world, sitting upright in the chair. The nurse left her alone again, and Lelandi watched the gray. Proud, angry, his stern face almost saintly. In a heartbeat, she wanted to know what being his mate would be like, to feel his impassioned kiss against her mouth again, and so much more. Her heart sank when she realized how futile that notion was.
In sleep, the woman of Darien ‘s dreams stood naked in a birch grove, watching him, her green eyes reflecting sadness, her hair stirred by the autumn breeze, dangling past her creamy hips.
Lelandi, his redheaded goddess.
He stalked toward her, her face lighting with desire. She twirled a red curl around her finger, tantalizing him all the more, although even without any encouragement. he was ready to take his fill of her.
Lelandi, he wanted to call out. But he had no control over the speaking part of the dream. He couldn‘t hear the birds in the trees or the breeze whistling through the leaves. He couldn‘t smell the pine needles or spruce or whether they were due for a shower, although the thunderous clouds building in the night sky indicated they would get a burst of rain soon. All he could do was feast his eyes on the vision before him, touch her, feel her soft as silk skin beneath his, the texture of her satiny hair, her heart beating beneath his... but he couldn’t hear it, as if more than half his wolf senses had lost touch with reality.
She melted in his arms, her head resting against his chest, her arms clinging to him as if she never wanted to let go. He sensed she needed more, too, as lithe dream was the most fragile connection, the tentative bond they shared never enough. How could he still find her here in his fantasy world, when in the real one she was gone? Forever, gone. He stroked her hair, kissed her head, wished he could smell the sweet fragrance cloaking her, smell her aroused state. Her nipples rubbed against his chest, kissable, tight, rose-colored nubs.
Lelandi, he mouthed against her cheek. Her gaze turned up, focusing on him. Her eyes had grown so big and green—greener than... than Lelandi‘s eyes? He combed his fingers through her hair, the strands shimmering in the moonlight. Redder than Lelandi‘s?
No... no, she was Lelandi. She responded to the name. She was the one he‘d mated, the one he loved. He‘d prove it to her once again, even if she was no more than his fantasy lover. He bent down and kissed her mouth, gently at first—but it wasn’t enough. Touching her like this was never enough. He wanted to bury himself deep inside her, wanted to claim her, wanted to be part of her forever.
His tongue swept across her lips, and she parted them, inviting him in. He took advantage, deepened the kiss, pressed his mouth harder against her soft, velvet lips, tangoed his tongue with hers. His hands held her shoulders as he felt her falling away, so caught up in the kiss. His mouth smiled against hers, loving how she melted under his simple kisses. Thumbs caressing her shoulders, he let himself go, every molecule absorbing the feel of her, the heat coursing through his veins, the sweet softness of her calling to him.
Lelandi. But how could she be this real and no longer part of his life?
She moaned, encouraging him, her body slipping down to the sweet bed of grass beneath their feet. He took control, her eyes and mouth willing him to continue. Cod, she was so beautiful.
Pressing her legs apart, he quickly entered her before his fantasy lover vanished. Her fingers swept over his backside, pressuring him to delve deeper. His mouth tackled hers again, and he weighed her breasts, lifting, caressing the hardened nipples, loving the way she responded so promptly to his touch.
“How could I have lost you...,” he whispered against her lips. “When all I ever wanted was to keep you safe.”
It was him, really him. Lelandi loved the way he made her feel—loved, special, his. She opened her lips to speak, but when she couldn’t say anything, he tongued her mouth again, his erection spearing her deeper and deeper. She arched her pelvis, wanting to reach the moon and back.
Why couldn’t she see his face clearly? As lithe dark side of the moon cloaked it in blackness. Why couldn’t she hear his name when he knew hers so well? As if he controlled the dream—the alpha male in charge. Why couldn’t she have him in the real world when the night faded and the day renewed?
“Ahh,” she moaned, her body shuddering with climax as he filled her with his seed, and she wanted it to be real. She wanted to find him and be with him forever, not just for fleeting moments in her dream world.
Then a horrible pain radiated through her chest, and she tried to ignore it, tried to concentrate on her lover’s lips, the only part of his face she could see. They were parted, grim, as if he recognized the pain she felt.
Lelandi, his lips mouthed.
She tried closing her eyes and pretending the pain wasn‘t shrieking across every nerve ending, her head ready to explode.
Lelandi, he said again, more vehemently, and his hard body began to fade away.
She couldn‘t lose him. Not now when she needed his comforting touch. But he was fading... fading...
“No!” she cried out.
Chapter 8
DARIEN HOVERED OVER LEI.ANDI, REACHING FOR THE NURSE’S call button, his other hand on hers. No, she wouldn’t take any more pain medication and become a zombie again, despite how much the pain filtered through every nerve ending with acute clarity.
Nurse Grey walked into the room and looked from Lelandi to Darien with a questioning gaze.
“She’s hurting pretty badly,” Darien said.
“No.” Lelandi shook her head. “I can manage.”
“No sense in putting up with it.” Nurse Grey reached for the IV line. “Might as well be comfortable.”
“No.” Lelandi narrowed her eyes, giving the nurse and Darien a dagger of a look and tried to pull away from the IV. “I don’t want any more.”
Both Darien and Nurse Grey gave small smiles.
She wanted to jerk her hand out of his, and in fact she thought she’d tried, but he kept her hand hostage.
He looked down at her with such concern, a hint of confusion, even a touch of desire, she wasn’t sure what had come over him. Gone seemed to be the need to make her confess about who she was and everything about her.
She swore his hand tightened on hers even though she felt her body slipping away, the pain medication zipping through her veins. Fine. Damn it. She’d find her fantasy lover. Somewhere. Forget... the... real... worl…