by Angela Foxxe
The hunter chuckled at that last statement, but then his expression went dark.
“I almost hit that woman with a bullet, trying to get to the lion. I don’t know what you think is going on, but if she’s not in love with that man, then she’s a damn fine actress.”
Decker took a deep breath, trying to keep his temper under control. This man was getting on his nerves, and he was making angrier by the moment.
“A good agent is hard to find,” Decker finally said. “I’m sure you can understand why we want her back, especially now since she has made it to the other side and she might have information for us that we can use to bring down the shifters.”
The hunter shrugged.
“I don’t see why they bother anyone, but maybe I just don’t see things the way you do.”
“I’m sure you don’t,” Decker said with a smirk. “So, back to the matter at hand. Do you think that you can find the entrance again and take my people there?”
“I can,” the man said slowly. “But I’m not sure why I should.”
“Do it for your country, Charles. The borders are there for a reason, and having shifters go back and forth as they please without the proper vetting and permissions is dangerous for everyone.”
Decker smiled at the hunter, but the hunter didn’t look impressed with his logic. Leaning back in his chair, Decker decided to try another tactic.
“Look,” he said. “I need to find Sabrina and get her out of there. I can make it worth your while, and you obviously didn’t care too much about shifters if you already took a shot at one.”
“I was only after the money. That much money can save my wife, and that’s all that matters.”
“Understandable. These things take time.”
“You gave the fella who brought me here his money in an hour.”
“He works for me. I have his account already linked to the server.To do that with yours, I would have to wait until the bank confirmed and it would just be a mess. I’ll cut you a check and--”
“I want cash,” Charles said.
“Well, that will take some doing,” Decker said. His hands were shaking with rage, but he kept them folded and on his desk so that the hunter didn’t notice. “I can get you ten grand in cash and the rest in a check.”
“Make it one million in cash and the rest in a check.”
Decker gritted his teeth, but the man had him over a barrel.
“Fine, done,” he said, picking up the phone and calling down to Cheri’s office. “The money will be here momentarily, and then I will send you with one of my choppers to point out the entrance to the border.”
“You can’t see it from the air,” he said gruffly. “It’s rough terrain and it’s going to take a few hours to hike there.”
“Fine,” Decker said, trying to keep his cool. “Then I’ll send you as far as I can by chopper and they can follow you from there.”
“That’s fine, but there isn’t enough daylight tonight, and flashlights will give your men away.”
Decker closed his eyes.
This man is insufferable, he thought angrily, his rage growing as the man argued with everything Decker said. He didn’t know why, but the man’s quick comebacks were making his blood boil. The quicker this man could get out of his office and on his way, the better. If the man didn’t have information that Decker needed, he would have killed him already.
Decker smiled, imagining the hunter’s face when he showed the team the hidden entrance and turned to find a gun in his face. The thought of the man dying was enough to make Decker feel a bit better. It would be worth the hassle to have that smug smile wiped off the man’s face. He wouldn’t see it firsthand, but he could already see it in his mind’s eye, and that was enough.
“You know what, that’s fine. I’ll have my pilot take you back to Wyoming and you can rest up and go to the woods in the morning when the sun rises. Once you show them the location, I’ll have one of my men take you home and you and your sweet wife can live happily ever after.”
“Thank you, Mr. Decker. That means a lot.”
The man stuck his hand out to shake and Decker took it, hiding the internal cringe at the rough textures of the man’s hands against Decker’s softer, manicured hand.
“Thank you, for your patriotism and your contribution to protecting our species.”
Cheri walked into the room then, putting the briefcase on the desk in front of Charles with a flourish and opening it to show that it held one million dollars. Charles smiled, closing the briefcase and taking it from Cheri.
“What about my check. I’m not taking you anywhere until I know that the money is in my account. I don’t want to get screwed.”
“Of course,” Decker said. “I want to make sure that the man who led HLF to the shifters’ secret escape route and protected humans and their children will never have to worry about money again.”
Decker took check out of the drawer and fed it into the printer. He typed, then printed, signing the check after making sure that his numbers were correct.
“Here you go, Mr. Davies. Fourteen million dollars. It’s as if you bagged the shifter and brought him back to us yourself.” Decker smiled at the man. “But really, giving up the secret border crossing is actually worth more than the lion’s body now that they have Sabrina over there. With the information you’re providing, maybe we can even recover my sweet Annie’s body.”
“I sure hope you’re able to find her and get some closure,” Charles said sincerely. “I am sorry for your loss at the hands of these savages.”
Decker smiled sadly.
“Well, it’s in the past and all we can do is look to the future with hope. I appreciate everything you’ve done and I wish nothing but the best for you and your wife.”
The hunter nodded, and Cheri led him out of the office and down the hall to where a car was waiting to take the man to the helipad. As soon as they were out of the room, the smile slid off Decker’s face and he pulled out his cellphone. He dialed a number, waiting impatiently until the agent picked up.
“Agent Frost,” the man said.
“Frost, it’s me,” he said, though he didn’t need to identify himself.
“Yes, Sir?”
“I’m sending a man in the chopper. He’s going to show you where to find the tunnel where the shifters are getting out without going through the legal border. Once he shows you the tunnel, kill him, and get my money back.”
“Yes, Sir,” Agent Frost said.
“I know how much cash he has on hand, so make sure you count it, or it will be your head. He’ll also have a check in his wallet.”
“I’ll take care of it, Sir.”
“Thanks,” Decker said, hanging up the phone without saying goodbye and sitting back in his chair.
He felt lighter now. Rested and in control again. Paul didn’t know what he was in for, and Sabrina was about to learn that she had betrayed the wrong man.
*
Sabrina knelt in the meadow, the moon washing over her bare skin. She wore a simple dress with thin straps, her bare feet tucked beneath her in the soft grass. Looking around, the meadow was a familiar one, though only in her dreams. It was the place where most of her dreams started, though they never ended the same way. It wasn’t a place Sabrina had ever been, and she had no idea where the image had come from.
“This is just a dream,” she said out loud, her whisper echoing off the walls of her dream world and floated around her as if they had a life of their own.
She stood and looked around, but there was no exit, and no matter how many times she told herself that she was dreaming, she was unable to wake herself. She was stuck in this dream, and like it or not, she was going to have to see it through to the end.
Sabrina sighed heavily, then began walking the forest edge, even though she knew that it was pointless. The trees surrounding her were impenetrable, trapping her in the meadow.
A soft rustle in the tress caught her attention, her eye drawn to a
place ahead of her where the trees appeared to have parted slightly when she wasn’t looking. She stopped, reaching for her pocket and her knife, only to find that she was still wearing the same delicate, flimsy dress.
She was unarmed.
Taking a deep breath and trying to remain calm, she watched the entrance, waiting for the subject of this dream to appear. She didn’t have to wait long.
Paul stepped out of the woods, his gaze on the center of the meadow, bare chested and wearing only a billowing pair of sand-colored pants, his feet bare.
Sabrina giggled, reaching out to him and startling him as if he hadn’t noticed her standing right there.
“We’re just dreaming,” she said.
“You’re just dreaming,” he corrected, reaching out to her and taking her in his arms.
“What are you wearing?” she teased, looking down and his clothes and back at him, smiling.
He shrugged.
“I like to look nice, even in your dreams.”
He smiled, kissing her passionately and holding her tight. Sabrina leaned into the kiss, closing her eyes and reveling in the feel of his large arms encircling her. She felt safe, a feeling she had come to love.
He pulled away, searching her eyes with a soft, knowing smile.
“What?” she wondered aloud.
“You’re more enthusiastic,” he said.
“It’s a dream,” she said with a shrug. “There’s no harm in giving in to my feelings here.”
“That wasn’t what you said last time.”
“Have we done this before?” she asked, looking around at the meadow but not able to remember when they had shared the space before. “I remember this place, but I don’t remember you being here.”
“I was here, you just didn’t know it was me.”
Sabrina turned away, stepping out of his arms in one smooth motion and walking a few steps away.
“I don’t like these dreams.”
“Why not?”
His hands were on her shoulders, but he made no move to force her to turn back around and look at him.
“Because I feel helpless. And I can’t see the enemy.”
“Sometimes, the only enemy is inside ourselves.”
“Great, your dream self is a poet, and I’m a damsel in distress, wearing a ridiculous dress that’s practically a nightgown out in a meadow with nowhere to run.”
“What’s there to run from? Are you scared?”
“No,” she said quickly.
Too quickly.
He turned her then, placing his hand on her cheek once she was facing him and tilting her chin up so that she was looking at him.
“Are you scared of this? Of us?”
“No,” she said, casting her eyes away so he couldn’t see the truth.
“That’s not true,” he said. “You’re scared and it’s alright to be scared.”
He kissed her again, the touch so tender that it almost tore her apart.
“I don’t know how I got here,” she whispered when he broke the kiss.
“Is this place so bad?”
“It’s not real,” she insisted.
“Of course, it’s not real, but it’s real enough. I’m real enough.”
“Are you having this dream with me? When I wake up, will you be waking up from the same dream?”
“No,” he chuckled softly. “We’re connected in a lot of ways, but I can’t read your mind.”
She smiled then.
“I can’t believe how relieved I am to hear that.”
“It’s a dream, Sabrina. There’s nothing sinister about it; just your soul and mine calling out to each other and Fate intervening on our behalf.”
“Then why can’t I wake up?”
“Because you’re exhausted. You’ve been through hell in the past twenty-four hours. Rest is good for you.”
His hands were on her arms, gliding slowly over her skin and back up again while he watched her.
“I don’t want to be in love,” she said softly. “Love makes people weak and that makes us vulnerable.”
“What you want and what you need may be two very different things. You can’t stop your heart from doing what it is meant to do, and you can’t run away from love.”
“Is that what this meadow is? Is that why I can never leave through the trees but you pass through so easily? If I accept that I’m in love, will I be able to walk out of here?”
“There is no meadow,” he said.
Sabrina looked at him in confusion, then looked over his shoulder and gasped. They were in his room now, the meadow gone as if it was never there to begin with, the soft sheets of his bed cool beneath her bent knees.
“We have been here before,” she said as he laid her down and pulled her into his arms. “We were here before the night at the hotel.”
“We were,” he confirmed, kissing her gently. “We have been here many times before.”
He was on his side, arm beneath her holding her tight, his free hand trailing over her body as they talked.
“At the hotel, it felt so familiar. I didn’t see it then, but I see it now. Will I remember this dream?”
“You will.”
“But you won’t?”
“No,” he said softly, shaking his head. “You’re the only one that’s really here.”
She nodded, feeling inexplicably sad.
“I don’t want you to leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“I’m scared.”
“You’ve faced worse than this and come out on top.”
“Love makes us vulnerable.”
“Love makes us strong. I’ll be there with you.”
He kissed her.
“Don’t be afraid, Sabrina. I’m with you no matter what.”
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She wasn’t even sure what she could say in this moment. He kissed her once, and then again, deeply.
Her arms wrapped around his neck as she moved beneath him, returning his tender passion with kisses of her own. He hovered above her, staring down are her with a sweet smile on his face.
“I could have spent all night with you in that hotel,” he said with a wicked spark in his eye.
She smiled, raising her hips to meet his.
“Then take me back there,” she said.
“We can’t go back; we can only go forward.”
She kissed him, pulling him down and tasting the heat of his mouth. He supported himself on one arm, the other arm going under her to scoop her up and cradle her against him.
“I want you,” she whispered into his ear. “If this is just a dream, I want you like you were in the hotel.”
“It’s your dream,” he chuckled, kissing her again and lowering her down again.
She felt the grass against her skin, but she didn’t give more than a fleeting thought to the change of scenery. They were back in the meadow again, and the cool, fresh air felt delicious against her bare skin.
She was naked now, her flimsy dress fading into the fog as if it was never there. Her hand slid down his back, running over his smooth backside, confirming that he had also been delivered to the meadow without the clothes he’d arrived in.
She could feel his body against her as if he was real, the heat radiating from him and warming her to her very soul. His rigid member pressed against her thigh, inches from the heat of her. She moved, sliding against him and taking him inside her with a satisfied moan.
When he hesitated, she wrapped her leg around his hips, pulling herself against him and taking him even deeper. His manly chuckle at her bold actions vibrated against her ear as he trailed kisses down her neck. He moved slowly, one arm cradled beneath her hips, cupping her round backside.
She was inches from the ground, suspended in the air by his arm and hers wrapped tightly around his neck. She felt weightless, thrusting against him with a quickening pace, her body never touching the cool grass. She closed her eyes, letting the feeling of his body against hers take
over as he held her firmly and thrusts his hip in time with hers.
She could already feel the climax building. Her legs gripped him more tightly, forcing the length of him fully inside of her. When she clenched around him he moaned with the pleasure it gave him. Sabrina bit her lip, squeezing and releasing him over and over again, coaxing him closer to orgasm with each thrust.
She was warm now, her body almost glowing from the heat as they moved together. She moved faster, chasing release with desperation. She was so close.
He lowered her to the ground then, his weight a welcome relief against her. He drove into her, holding himself on his forearms so he could watch her face with each stroke inside her. She moved against him frantically, the pleasure building until she finally crashed over the edge, whimpering and writhing in his arms as the first wave washed over her.
He bore down then, his movements quick and rough until a strangled groan escaped his lips, and he joined her, shuddering and pulling her into his arms. He held her tight as she pulsed around him, saying her name repeatedly, his words mingling with hers in the still, cool air as she called out to him in the same manner.
When the last shudder had rushed through him, his movement slowed until he was lying quietly inside of her, his heart racing in his chest, a wide, satisfied smile on his face.
She reached up to him, cupping his face in her hands and gazing into his eyes.
“You know you have to wake up now,” he said gently.
“I don’t want to.”
“I’ll be there,” he reassured her, kissing her softly. “But you have to wake up now.”
He started fading then, and she realized in that moment that this was how he had always left her dreams; fading away quickly until there was nothing left in her arms but a beautiful memory.
Sabrina’s eyes flew open in the dark room, but she wasn’t stuck in that foggy, confused feeling she had been in so many times after her dreams. She was alert and awake, even though she still felt the pull of exhaustion.
She reached out in the darkness, her hand connecting with Paul’s arm. She moved across the bed, snuggling against him while he slept on his side, wiggling until she was nestled against him, his body cradling hers.
His arm went around her, pulling he closer against him.
“You’re warm,” he said, his voice groggy.
