Point of No Return

by Tara Fox Hall

  Danial nodded. His gaze traveled to our bedroom window first. It was maybe two feet by two feet, little more than a porthole, almost near the ceiling. There were blinds covering it. “This window should be fine,” Danial said, making a dismissive gesture. “It’s high and small. Let’s do the others.” He grabbed the roll of curtains.

  Around the house, most windows had blinds if not drapes also. They were keeping out the sunlight, but several had sunlight getting in around the edges. Danial stood out of range while I hung the blackout panels over them one window at a time. When I was done, the majority of the house was sunlight-proofed, filled with darkness. The kitchen was a problem, though. There were no blinds, and the curtains were small frilly valances. I took them down, then hung up the full length blackout curtains. The flimsy rods held, but just barely.

  “The curtains are a lot heavier than the valances. The rods might give way. You’d better stay out of the kitchen by day,” I warned, taking them down.

  Danial nodded. “We’ll eat separately anyway for this meal.”

  What? “How? Are you getting teleported home to meet a donor?” I hoped one wasn’t coming here, or he wasn’t going to disappear for a few hours later tonight. If he spent most nights seducing other women to feed from, this wasn’t going to be so romantic.

  “I arranged for some long distance feeding,” Danial said, giving me an offhand smile.

  I nodded, knowing what he was referring to. There was a spell known to vampires that could be used to send a woman dreams that were shared, in some sense like the dream I’d shared with Theo, but with one big difference. Through her dreaming of him, Danial could feed off her life force. A small taste would be enough to sustain him for the week we would be here. “That’s a relief.”

  “Go eat,” Danial said, kissing me. “I’ll do the same. We’ll meet up a little later.”

  “How does this work?” I asked, curious.

  “The woman who’s going to dream of me works the night shift. She’ll be asleep by now, at least, she told me she would be. And she wants to dream of me, so I’m sure she’s waiting for me by now.”

  “Do you have to concentrate or drink something?” I asked, as he was going up the stairs.

  “No, I can feel her, if she’s sleeping, and wearing what I asked her to wear,” Danial said from upstairs. “I only have to sleep and I’ll enter her dreams. I can leave anytime, which will break the connection and wake her. But I need you not to come upstairs until you hear me get out of bed again.”

  “I take it she likes to sleep with you in the dream,” I said, stating it as calmly as I could.

  “Yes,” Danial said from upstairs. “And I’ll most likely make noise, in my sleep. It is not something I thought you should witness.”

  Uncomfortable, I nodded. “Sure. Just come down when you’re done.”

  Danial went upstairs. Uneasy, I opened both baskets, and gorged on fruit, cinnamon toast, and cocoa. The food was excellent, but even a second helping of everything didn’t quell my upset. I finished that off and had some chocolate, but Danial still had not come down.

  I tried to rationalize what he was doing. The woman was giving him her life force. It had only been an hour. He should be making it worth her while. I had two other partners, and he was faithful just to me. This was fair, and it made sense.

  I was still jealous, anyway. Ugh.

  Angry with myself, I decided to look around while I waited. Locating a stereo, I found a soft rock station. I was just singing along to an old Aerosmith song when I realized I had never called Theo like I’d promised.

  I got my cell phone from my purse—which luckily I’d left downstairs over a chair last night. Theo picked up on the first ring.

  “Sar, I’m glad you called. I was getting worried.”

  “We just got up a little while ago. We didn’t get here until after midnight, and then it took us a while to unpack, and make sure the house was as safe as we could make it against sunlight.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Theo said, more mellow now. “I just wanted to tell you things are fine. Elle says to have a good time. She wanted to know why she didn’t get to go with you.” He paused, then his words came out in a rush. “Danial hadn’t told her you were probably pregnant, Sar. I let it slip—”

  Good job, Theo. “It’s okay,” I said, trying to keep irritation out of my response. “She was going to have to know anyway if I was. If I’m not, I will be soon enough.”

  “What do you mean?” he demanded, jealous.

  Irritation rose up in me. “I have to keep trying with Dev. We have to document it, so—”

  “Sar, you’re sounding like Devlin!” Theo exclaimed. “I thought you didn’t want his child—”

  “I don’t have a choice!” I replied, agitated now. “I’d rather have his child than some other vampire’s. You remember what Samuel said at the gathering.”

  Theo went quiet.

  “We’ve been over this,” I added harshly. “This is how it’s going to be. We don’t need to rehash it every other day, Theo.”

  Theo sighed in defeat. “I hope it is his, then. The sooner you have a child for him, the sooner he can stop trying with you to make one, and get out of our lives.”

  Theo was hoping that Devlin would forget me once he had what he wanted from me. But I’d heard Dev say too many times over the past weeks that he intended to be with me for a long time. There wasn’t going to be any reprieve. And I wasn’t sure I wanted one, anyway.

  Theo took my silence for anger. “Sar, I just meant I—”

  “We’ll find out on Friday, Theo. We’ll find out then and go from there.”

  “Be safe, and don’t go out without Danial, unless you’re armed.”

  “Will do,” I said quickly. “Watch your back. I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” Theo said warmly. “Goodbye.”

  I hung up, grumpy. Danial had still not come down.

  Devlin hadn’t asked me to call, but I had time. Why not? I dialed his cell phone.

  He picked up on the third ring. “Sar?” he said, curious. “Is everything all right there?”

  “Yes,” I said, smiling at his innocent tone. “I just wanted to check in.”

  “Danial must be feeding,” Devlin said knowingly, after a moment. “Or you wouldn’t be calling me.”

  “Yes,” I admitted. “But I wanted to ask you something anyway—”

  “Are you still coming to me Wednesday?” he asked quickly. “Serena is looking forward to it.”

  He was worried I’d called to tell him I wasn’t coming. The pressure I was feeling mounted. “I’ll be there about eight. I would like you to send Lash here to guard Danial while I’m with you on Wednesday. Is that possible?”

  Devlin paused. I knew he was thinking that I just wanted Lash to be absent from Hayden when I was there. He was right.

  “Dev, this is a normal wooden house. The lock isn’t great. We sun-proofed the house, but Danial will be here by himself. I’m worried about leaving him alone here during the day with no guards. He could be burned.”

  “I’ll send Titus,” Devlin said, after a moment. “He can get Danial out of there no matter what. Lash has no teleportation powers, which is what is most needed.”

  I thought about protesting, but I knew it wouldn’t do any good. “Thanks.”

  “Wait, didn’t he get the stone house?” Devlin said slowly. “Why are you in a wooden house?”

  “Because of me,” I said dejectedly. “Because we had to move the trip up by two weeks—”

  “Stop,” Devlin said sternly. “Danial jumped at the chance to be with you. Just enjoy yourselves, all right?”

  I didn’t reply, upset.

  “I’ll send a man to watch the house during the day, okay? Don’t worry.”

  “Thank you,” I said softly.

  “Take care, Sweet Sar,” Devlin said seductively. “Don’t wear yourself out. Remember, that’s my job. In fact, do you want me to teleport up for a quick
—”

  I told him good-bye and hung up, still hearing him laughing.

  Danial came down the stairs. He was radiant, his skin shining, his eyes gleaming darkly. “How was breakfast?” he said, hugging me close. “Was the food good?”

  “Wonderful,” I said honestly. “Yours?”

  “Just what I needed,” he said, smiling just a little. “Ready to shower?”

  “Over ready,” I said, as I let him lead me into the bathroom.

  We managed to get clean, though we were spoiled from using Danial’s shower. I froze while waiting for him out of the spray. By the time we were done, I was chilled, despite the warm temperature of the bathroom.

  Danial helped me dry off , then took me upstairs. He laid me on the bed, and rubbed me down with body lotion, kneading my muscles as he caressed my skin. I luxuriated in his deft touch. By the time he was done, I was more than warm; I was relaxed, sated, and logy with happiness.

  Danial wrapped me up in my black velvet robe, then cleared his throat. “I have to talk about this,” he said gently. “Please don’t get upset.”

  I tensed up again instantly, waiting grimly.

  “What you have may cause you pain when I enter you. If it does, just tell me to stop, and I will.”

  “Okay,” I said tonelessly.

  “Sar, by Thursday you’ll probably be cured,” Danial reassured. “We’ll have that night, even if we can’t make love until then.”

  That didn’t make it any better. “Okay.”

  “Just lie here with me,” he said, lying down. “Know I love you, and that I’m here for you. Come here.”

  I snuggled against him. After a while, I fell back asleep.

  I awoke again about three p.m., ravenous. As I disentangled myself from Danial, he woke up.

  “I have to get up and eat,” I explained. “I’m starving.”

  “Don’t eat too much,” he said, slipping his hands over my hips. “I want us to go out for dinner in a few hours.”

  “Should I make reservations?”

  “Already done,” Danial answered. “We have some for around seven for each night we’re here.”

  “You always think of everything,” I said gleefully.

  “I try,” he said immodestly.

  I cracked up laughing. “Do you want to come downstairs with me?”

  He shook his head. “I need to check in with Theo, then check voice mail.”

  Rolling my eyes, I headed downstairs. In the space of a few minutes, I devoured fruit, soup, toast, and an entire small box of chocolate. There were only six pieces in it, but by the time I’d eaten it, I was shocked at my binging. I had to be pregnant. There was no other excuse for how hungry I was.

  I settled down on the couch for just a moment to rest. Danial woke me up when he came down two hours later. “Sar, are you okay?” he asked, concerned.

  “I’ve got to be pregnant,” I said sleepily. “I’m eating everything in sight.”

  “Eat as much as you want,” Danial said lovingly. “I’ll order in more food, if you go through what we have here.”

  “Thanks,” I said ruefully. “But I think we should have enough. It’s Monday night, and we’ll only be here until—”

  Danial looked very guilty.

  “What is it?” I said, folding my arms across my chest.

  “I need to have a conference call on Wednesday,” Danial said delicately. “Just a short one in the morning.”

  As much as Danial’s devotion to his business sometimes aggravated me, this time it just made things easier. “That’s okay. I need to go and see Devlin that day, anyway.”

  “What?” Danial said crossly. “Why? He said nothing—”

  “I said I would help him with paperwork for a few hours. And I want to bake some bread with Serena. Devlin asked me to try to be a friend to her.”

  “Be careful, Sar,” Danial cautioned. “She’s part coyote.”

  “I never would have figured you for a racist,” I said casually. “She also has fox blood.”

  Danial blanched at the “r” word, then he nodded once. “Point taken,” he said, letting out a breath. “Just don’t advertise the fact to Cia, okay?”

  I nodded. Cia was one of Danial’s werefoxes who also happened to be a good friend of mine. Her parents had been killed by a bounty hunter for their pelts. They had been given up to the bounty hunter by a werecoyote. It seemed wrong to blame a whole breed for one individual’s mistake, but if it’d been my parents that had been killed, I might feel differently. At the least, I couldn’t tell her it was wrong for her to be distrustful. It was better not to advertise the fact Serena and I were friends.

  “Will you be back by dusk that day,” Danial asked, “so we can have dinner?”

  “Yes, of course. Titus is coming here to guard you while I’m gone.”

  “You arranged this with Devlin?”

  “We were both worried about you being here alone.”

  “You’re right. I have to remember I’m not at home. Terian is not here or Theo.” Danial’s smile became a grin. “Let’s go out. I could use a walk.”

  We dressed quickly in polar fleece and wool, and put on heavy coats. Outside it was snowing, the kind of wet snow that sticks to everything and makes it white. We were covered in it by the time we had gone a few hundred feet. Everything was beautiful though. The trees were huge and majestic. The night was cloudy, with just a few distant stars sparkling in the sky.

  “See Orion?” Danial said, pointing up.

  I looked for Orion’s belt. Sure enough, there were the three stars in a row. I nodded.

  “There is Lyra.”

  I saw the swayed rectangle and its one leg, straight overhead. “Yes.”

  “Cassiopeia,” Danial said, pointing again.

  I found the “W” over to the side. “There’s the Big Dipper,” I said with a gesture.

  “Ursa Major.” Danial nodded, then pointed out several more constellations. We walked along the road, looking at the bright stars, pointing out more gatherings of stars to each other. Elle loved astronomy, and had often gone stargazing at night with Danial, who in turn had fostered that love in her and in me. Many evenings, Danial and I had lain in his bed and looked up at the night sky painted in glow-in-the-dark-paint on his ceiling. He had whispered the different constellations to me, as they glowed above us. But it was magical to be here with him under the dark sky, experiencing them in a new place alone together.

  We walked for a long time along the road, finally ending at one of the scenic spots along the gorge. Tired, I sat down on one of the stone tables that dotted the landscape. “Who made all these?” I said, running my gloved hand over the smooth surface.

  “The C.C.C.,” Danial said with authority. “Civilian Conservation Corps. During the Great Depression, this was one of Roosevelt’s projects. He employed a lot of people with the C.C.C., especially here, laying stonework for bridges and walls, and building all these tables and shelters.”

  “They’re exquisite,” I said, looking at the workmanship.

  “I’ve always liked stone work, sculpting,” Danial said with emotion, running his hand along the table. “I wish I had Theo’s talent for it. You know he was the one who made that bench in my mud room and the carvings, right?”

  “Yes. He has a lot of talent, as Elle does. But you sell yourself short, Danial. I remember that pumpkin you carved last Halloween. You are talented.”

  Danial said nothing, but I could tell he was pleased I had remembered. “We should head back,” he said, taking my hand. “We’ll be late for dinner.”

  We walked back to the house slowly, enjoying the quiet night. Arriving at the cottage just in time to change clothes, we hopped into the SUV and drove down to dinner. Surprisingly, the restaurant was crowded, and the hostess advised us it would be a few moments to get our table ready. Instead of waiting in the throng, Danial and I slipped back outside to look at the falls lighted under the dark cloudless sky.

  “Danial, have you
ever been here before?” I asked. “You know a lot about it.”

  “I visited Letchworth when I drove up from Colorado to see Devlin, years ago,” Danial said. “I stayed here for a week as a sort of vacation, and walked the trails. It was peaceful. But I never seemed to find the time to come back, until now.” He breathed a sigh of satisfaction. “It hasn’t changed much since then, I’m relieved to say. So much has.”

  “I’m glad to share it with you,” I said, clasping his hand.

  “Come. Our table must be ready by now.”

  * * * *

  Dinner was spectacular. I had a cheese appetizer, then filet mignon with potatoes, and some chocolate cake for dessert. Danial shared my glass of wine with me, but only had a swallow or two. He enjoyed feeding me though, and no one noticed that he ate nothing. By the time we headed back to our house, I was stuffed.

  Danial and I listened to some music for a while on the couch. Part of me wanted to initiate sex, but I was afraid, too worried about possible pain. It wasn’t until we went upstairs many hours later that I found the courage to speak.

  Taking off my clothes, I climbed into bed beside him. “Touch me. I want to try.”

  Danial kissed me softly. Soon he was running his hands over me, stroking my skin, squeezing me gently. He slipped his fingers inside me, then shifted in surprise as I wasn’t pliant or ready. In all our time together, that had never happened before. I’d never been scared the way I was now, that what we wanted to share together might hurt.

  Danial kissed me leisurely, slowly deepening the kiss until I let go of my fear. I slowly gave in under his gentle caresses, moving against him insistently, moaning softly. Sometime later when he slipped his fingers inside me again, I was slippery for him. He made a soft eager sound, then got into position. He gently pushed inside, holding still every few inches, until I prodded him on with my hands. Soon, he was sheathed inside me. With a soft moan, he began to move very carefully, withdrawing and entering slowly. I was afraid at first, sure it was going to hurt or that The Lust was going to rear its head. But nothing bad happened. There was only pleasure at his touch.

  “Are you okay?” Danial whispered. “How’s this feel, Love?”