Before I Wake (29 page)

I knew I should just be glad that Noah was safe, but I wasn’t. Karatos wanted him for something and until I found out what it was, I wasn’t going to be content. Since I’d been banned from The Dreaming, I wasn’t certain I would even be allowed entry if I tried to get in that night. No doubt Morpheus had created my own personal detention room. But there was one person I could contact. Antwoine. If anyone on this plane could figure out what Karatos was up to, it was he.

Around ten o’clock I decided that as great as the evening had been, it had to come to an end.

“I’m going to head home,” I told Noah as I rose from the couch. On the TV, the end credits rolled for the show we had been watching in between bouts of making out.

He stood too, hands in his pockets in a posture that struck me as vulnerable. “Stay.”

He hadn’t said please, but it was in his tone. I didn’t have to ask why he wanted me to stay either. It would be easy to assume that he didn’t want to be alone, but that wasn’t his personality. In fact, if I didn’t stay, he’d probably go to bed and walk boldly into The Dreaming, daring Karatos to come get him. His determination not to let fear rule him, not to be a victim, was going to make him just that one of these days—if it hadn’t already.

No, Noah wanted me to stay because he wanted me in his bed. And I wanted to stay for that same reason.

“I don’t have any clothes.” It wasn’t meant to be a protest, just a simple fact.

His mouth took a sexy curve. “You don’t need them.”

Ohh, spoken just like one of those romance heroes I love so much. If I didn’t make light of the situation, I’d be quivering all over the place. “You don’t mind if I wash my underwear in your sink?”

He closed the distance between us, hands still in his pockets, his black gaze locked on mine. “As long as they’re off, I don’t care what you do with them.”

“Oh my God.” Yup, couldn’t help it. I said the words out loud.

Smiling, he pulled one hand out of his pocket and wrapped it around one of mine. He paused long enough to press the OFF

button on the TV remote, then led me through the living room, now lit by nothing more than the lights of the city outside. I followed him up the stairs to his bedroom, my knees trembling ever so slightly.

Why was I so nervous? We’d had sex last night, sure, but this was the first time with Noah in this world.

“Condoms?” I asked when we were standing beside the bed. This world had consequences that didn’t exist in The Dreaming.

His fingers busied themselves with the buttons on my shirt. “Taken care of.”

I raised a brow. “Were you hoping for this, or are you just a whore?”

Laughter brightened his face as he peeled my shirt down my shoulders. “Hopeful.” His hands settled on my rib cage, and I fought the urge to suck my gut in. “Doc, you’re the first woman I’ve been with in a long time.”

“Oh. Wow.” I guess I didn’t need to wonder what he thought of me, did I? I was just going to enjoy that new revelation. Enjoy it for a while.

But if Noah was out of practice, he hid it well. I orgasmed twice before he even slipped inside me, his mouth and fingers having already turned me into Jell-O. I was on my stomach with him on top of me, moving with slow, deep thrusts, one of his hands beneath us as he stroked between my thighs. Number three had me practically drooling into the pillow. By four I was boneless and mindless, which I guess was his intent, because after that he quickened his pace until his fingers bit into my hip, and he stiffened, groaning as he slumped on top of me.

Neither of us moved for a while. We lay together like spoons in a drawer, still joined as the sweat dried and our heart rates slowed. Eventually, Noah got up, but he was back in a few minutes, tucked against me as sleep tugged at the edges of my mind.

I wasn’t going to try to have a conversation with Antwoine tonight. I’d “call” him and arrange to meet him tomorrow. Probably he’d tell me I was just paranoid. There wasn’t anything wrong with Noah. Nothing at all.

He kissed my shoulder. “I’m glad you stayed.” The whisper was warm against my bare skin.

Tears teased the back of my eyes with a rush of unexpected heat. I turned in his arms so I could kiss him, wrap myself around him, and hold him tight. At that moment, I never wanted to let him go. “So am I.”

And then he kissed my forehead and hugged me close. For someone who knew just what a freak I was, Noah had a way of making me feel completely wonderful. That was something worth fighting for. And I was going to fight as hard as I could.

Were I a normal person, I might have thought I was dreaming, waking up next to Noah the next morning. But I wasn’t normal, and my dreams of late had been far too real.

He was propped up on his elbow, watching me. His hair was a mess and his eyelashes were at half-mast, heavy with sleep that refused to let him go just yet. He looked warm and sexy and far too yummy for first thing in the morning.

“Stare much?” I asked groggily, as he popped two white tablets in his mouth.

“I like watching you.” He smiled and held out a little plastic container. “Tic Tac?”

I laughed. “Slayer of Morning Breath. Yes, please.” I took two and gave the mints back. “What time is it?”

He twisted, glancing over his shoulder at the clock on the bedside table. “Eight twenty-five,” he replied as he came back to face me. His fingers found my shoulder and stroked my bare skin. “Do you have to work?”

I shook my head. “I’m calling in sick. I have some things I need to do today.” I wasn’t going to play hooky with Noah, no matter how lovely it was to wake up next to him. Canning wouldn’t like it, and I was playing a prickly game with my job, but if I didn’t do this, more people might die—and that was way more important than Dr. Canning and his disapproval.

All good humor drained from his face. “Nightmare things?”

“Yeah. I’m going to Central Park to meet a man who might be able to help us figure out what Karatos wants with you.”

“Someone from this world?” He was surprised and rightfully so. “Who?”

“Antwoine,” I replied, not bothering with his last name. “He’s been asking questions for me.”

His head tilted, dark eyes narrow. His expression was shrewd, almost angry—and it didn’t look right on his face. “Asking questions of who?”

“I don’t know.” Probably I should ask, but I had enough on my plate right now without opening another can of worms.

Now he looked vaguely amused. What the hell was going through his head? “And you trust him?”

I didn’t have to think about it. “Yeah. I do.” Antwoine might have good reason to hate my father, but he didn’t hate me.

Noah stared at me, a smile tugging at his lips. He looked more like himself, and I relaxed a little. “And I thought I gave abrupt and cryptic answers.”

I chuckled and took his free hand in mind. “You trust me?”

His smile grew. “Yep.”

“I’ll fill you in on everything I find out later, okay?”

He nodded. I knew this was hard for him, given his control issues, but he was doing really well. Hopefully, we’d be rid of Karatos soon. His shadow was too big, looming over my relationship with Noah. I wanted us to have something normal—or as normal as possible.

For a second, I almost wished Karatos would stick around a little longer, so Noah and I could have the time together. Would the attraction between us be enough after the Terror was gone?

Noah was still watching me with soft, dark eyes, that tiny smile flitting around his lips. “I love you,” he said.

My heart lurched—and not because I thought he meant it. My hand twitched, but before I could do anything, it was pinned to the bed, and Noah hovered over me, his fingers wrapped around both my arms with strength far beyond human.

“Don’t you go trying to summon that pigsticker of yours, Little Light,” he murmured, voice dark with amusement as his eyes faded to pale blue. Only dark rims remained. Dark, spidery rims. Those eyes were horrible in Noah’s face.

I should have known it was a dream. I should have known it was Karatos trying to get information out of me, fucking with my head.

But I hadn’t, not right away, because he had felt like Noah, smelled like Noah. Was he that good at fooling me, or had he siphoned some of Noah’s energy as well?

“Get off me,” I said.

“Oh, come on.” The lopsided smile grew into something oily and coy. “It was so good last time. Think of what it could be like—my finesse in Noah’s package.”

“I said, get off me.”

“What are you going to do, call your daddy?”

I could, but Karatos would be gone before I could blink, and cloaked as he was, there was no way my father could find him. I should have taken a pill last night. Then I realized that Noah hadn’t either.

Oh God, what if Karatos had gotten to Noah again?

It was almost as if he read my thoughts. “Don’t fret, Dawnie. Noah’s safe. For now.”

For now. “I said, get off me.” I didn’t struggle. That would be like writhing beneath him, and Karatos would like that far too much. “Now.”

Lips widened, the grin growing until it took up more than half of Noah’s face. Disturbing didn’t begin to describe it, but I didn’t flinch, didn’t look away. “Or what?”

I met his gaze and held it, feeling a little smug despite being naked and vulnerable. “This.”

I did what I had done to Verek when I wanted his necklace gone—only this time I wanted Karatos off me. I reached down inside myself, found that will, and pulled it up—hard. It wouldn’t have worked had the Terror been expecting me to put up such a defense. But Karatos wasn’t expecting it.

The look on his face as his fingers loosened on my arms was magical—the expression that followed as he was yanked off me, downright priceless. The power inside me grew, spreading warmth from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. I had to let it out, or I would explode.

I let it go. I took a moment—and just one—to enjoy the Terror’s shock as he flew up into the air, across the room, and hit the wall with a loud thud. He slid to the floor in a crumpled heap.

I didn’t wait for him to recover. Once he recovered, he’d be angry and attack—and I wasn’t prepared for that. I needed to check on Noah. I needed to meet with Antwoine. I needed to get prepared.

I woke up.

Noah—the real Noah—sat on the side of the bed. He was dressed in nothing but a towel, his skin humid, hair damp from the shower. He was freshly shaved, scrubbed and smelling of cloves and vanilla. If I wasn’t still shaky from Karatos, I’d be on him like butter on warm bread.

“You all right?” he asked, watching me carefully—tenderly.

I nodded. My throat was tight, my stomach rolled, and I wanted to cry, but I nodded. “Bad dream.”

His expression didn’t change, but there was a flicker of something dark in the depths of his eyes. I wasn’t fooling him—not much.

“Want to talk about it?”

“No.” I almost laughed—hysterically—at the suggestion. “Not now.” No way in hell was I going to tell him that Karatos had stolen part of him, or that the Terror had entered my dream pretending to be him.

Shit. I had told Karatos about Antwoine. Even more reason to go looking for the old man.

Some of the gentleness in Noah’s eyes was replaced with wariness. He knew I was keeping stuff from him. “I’m not fragile, Dawn. You don’t have to shut me out.”

“I’m not.” Could I feel any guiltier? “What about you, did you sleep okay?”

He stared at me for a moment, letting the silence stretch between us to the point where it was almost uncomfortable. “Yeah. Was it Karatos?”

I was going to have to tell him something just to get rid of this tension between us, but there was no way I could explain what the Terror had done without freaking him out. I wasn’t prepared to answer what questions he might have, so as far as I was concerned, I wasn’t saying anything I didn’t have to. I nodded. “He was just talking crap. He didn’t visit you?”

“Must’ve thought he’d give me a break this time.” He managed to sound amused and bitter at the same time.

“No doubt,” I replied. But Karatos had merely wanted to freak me out—and show off what he could do. It had nothing to do with Noah and everything to do with gaining power over me. Again, I wasn’t going to share that.

His hand settled over my thigh, his fingers warm through the sheet that covered me. For a second all I could think of was Karatos’s touch, and I had to force myself not to flinch. I was not going to let that sonuvabitch ruin what I might have with Noah. I put my hand over his and squeezed. Take that, Karatos.

I saw the worry in his face—and the fear. “He didn’t hurt me.” Not much anyway. Not compared to what I had done to him—that made me smile.

Noah smiled as well. It was half-assed, but at least it was warm and genuine. “I’m glad. Get up. I’ll make breakfast.”

Noah had put my clothes from yesterday in the washer earlier, so while they dried, I took a shower. Then he started breakfast while I called Bonnie and told her I wouldn’t be in today. I said I had a headache and a fever and that I was worried I had that bug that was going around. I hadn’t been scheduled to see any patients as it was a clinic day, so nothing had to be rearranged because of my absence. I didn’t like lying to Bonnie, but I liked knowing I wouldn’t have to deal with Dr. Canning for the rest of the day.

Bonnie told me she hoped I felt better tomorrow, and I assured her I would. Then she told me to say hi to Noah for her. I muttered something in shamefaced response and hung up. I joined Noah in the kitchen. We worked side by side making bacon and eggs, toast and hash browns in his huge kitchen. He even made fresh orange juice and ground the beans for coffee.

“Tell me you don’t eat like this all the time,” I remarked, as we sat down at the island in the center of the kitchen, our plates loaded with food.

“Only after sex,” he replied, shaking the ketchup bottle. “So a coupla times a week, yeah.”

I stared at him, fork frozen halfway to my mouth. His face was blank, but there was the tiniest sparkle in his eye. “You’re lying.”

He snorted. “Yeah.”

But I couldn’t just let a sleeping bear lie. I speared some hash browns with my fork. “How long has it been since you had sex?”