by Ruby Raine
WILLIAM APPEARED OUT of nowhere, catching Mack and everyone gathered unawares.
He gently put Melinda onto the same raised ambulance bed that he’d been on not long before.
Mack let out a gasp at her appearance. She’d known it was going to be bad, but seeing it shut her down for a minute.
“She’s lost a lot of blood,” advised William evenly. “She was hit in the head a day ago. Bound to a stake all night, in the cold. Doused in freezing water. She’s had no food or water in twenty-four hours. She took a few falls and was hit...” his voice gave out. It was a slap from Riley, but it could have caused injury.
Mack unfroze and she and the ambulance driver set in to saving her. Mack told Alex Melinda’s blood type. He ran to grab it, hooking up an I.V. to hydrate her at the same time.
William leaned over her, willing her to wake up. She did not. Her skin had a bluish hue. He’d taken too much blood from her. She’d already been through so much at that point, her frail human body just couldn’t bear anything more.
William saw the needle drive into her arm, a pinprick of blood forming around the tip. Mack glanced at him, questioningly.
“I’m in control,” William told her calmly. For now, his blood cravings were satiated. His concerns entirely surrounded Melinda.
Her body started to convulse.
“What’s happening?” asked Mack.
“We’re losing her,” shouted Alex. “She needs more care than we can give her here. We need to stabilize before we can move her.”
William backed away, allowing them to work on her.
Her body stopped convulsing a few seconds later.
They were finally able to get the needle into her arm.
“She’s stabilizing,” Alex got out in a gush of relief.
Mack nodded.
“We can’t move her yet though.”
William disappeared into the woods, sitting himself onto the ground. He allowed his mind to calm, reaching into hers. Seeking her out. She was there. Buried deep. He followed her into the depths, unable to let her feel any more pain.
Melinda eyes fluttered opened.
She breathed in and out, without effort. It didn’t hurt. She didn’t struggle to get air.
Sand squished between her fingers.
The moon shone overhead, brightening a starry night sky.
“You’re okay Melinda, you’re safe now,” a familiar voice rang out, seemingly from everywhere and nowhere. She turned her head, looking for him. It was William’s voice, but she did not see him.
“Where am I? Am I dead?”
“You’re still in White Pines. This is an illusion of sorts. And no. You are not dead.” Almost his thoughts lamented. So close to death. Too close.
“What is this place?”
“It’s all in your mind, like a dream. I brought you here. It’s nowhere in particular. Just an empty, quiet beach.”
“Can you stay with me?”
“Yes.”
She sat up, sitting on her knees. “It looks so real.”
Waves washed softly against the shore.
“Why can’t I see you?” Why did she even ask that? She didn’t want to see him burned and suffering. She wanted to forget that sight. Strike it from her memory.
“Close your eyes,” he told her.
She obeyed, with a shaky breath.
Melinda felt his presence. Just in front of her. His knees touching hers.
She opened her eyes, the sight of him catching her breath. It was her William, in all his perfection. Not a burn. Not a scar. His emerald green eyes penetrating hers.
“This isn’t real. This isn’t what you look like right now.”
“No. But I will again.”
“I don’t understand all this. How are you in my mind?”
“It’s not easy.” He shook his head, ever so slightly. “It is easy, now. It requires an intimate connection with someone. I cannot break into anyone’s mind, whenever I like. I can slip into yours now, almost as if it were my own.”
“Oh.” She could not think of anything else to say. His admission sent a flutter through her.
My flutter... William could not help but revel in its meaning.
Mindlessly, Melinda lifted herself upward and ran her warm hands down the sides of his face. She needed to feel him. To confirm he was real. And alive. This cool, hard, skin had been burnt beyond recognition the last time she saw him.
William closed his eyes, the touch of her fingers on his skin sending agonizing pulses through him. He should stop her...
“Sorry,” she quivered, pulling away after he tensed underneath her touch. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
He let out a delighted sigh. “I... liked it.”
The flutter again... he swore he could feel it almost as if it were his own heart, his own blood pumping.
“Are you really okay, William?”
“Yes.”
She shuddered, picturing him on the pyre, tortured near to death. Never begging for the release of death because it would have meant forfeiting her life as well.
He opened his eyes to see tears brimming in hers. He cleared them away, his hands cupping the sides of her face. He didn’t deserve to touch this beautiful creature.
“Melinda,” he sang sweetly. “Are you okay?”
“No,” she spoke truthfully. “I’m not sure I will ever be okay.”
He told himself to let go of her. To let his hands fall. But they would not obey his command.
“I’m sorry,” he heard her whisper. “I’m so sorry, William.”
“Do not apologize. I did not make it easy for you to be honest with me. I pushed you away.”
“I should have told you everything. I should have told you what happened in my dream. But I was... afraid. You suffered so much because of that. And I almost lost you because of that. I don’t want to be afraid anymore.” She lowered her gaze, her cheeks rosy. Even after everything they’d been through, it still frightened her to say what was in her heart. Mainly because she knew it didn’t matter. It didn’t change anything. This world they were sitting in, didn’t exist. It wasn’t real. Just an illusion in her mind.
William lifted her chin, his reaction not what she expected.
“I love you.” The words escaped him more easily than he thought possible, but each one left an agonizing ache ripping into his lifeless heart.
Melinda lost her breath, her heart beating feverishly. Had she heard him right? Was this just part of the illusion? Was any of this actually real?
Powerful arms slid around her, pulling her closer. Her hands came to rest against his chest. It shot a pleasant sting through each finger. His hands splayed against her back felt real. And better than any dream she’d ever had of him.
“Melinda...” her gaze lifted, their eyes locking. “I love you.”
She saw the truth in his eyes. The pain it caused him to tell her, to admit it even to himself.
A stray tear fell down her cheek.
“I would suffer a thousand deaths to keep you alive.” His lips crushed hers. Melinda gasped. William breathed it in, soaking up her shock. He’d said the words, but he needed her to feel it. To understand. To believe him.
He pulled her closer, ensnaring her in a possessive embrace. Her arms slid around his neck, sinking into his kiss. Each press and release shooting electricity into her nerves. Awakening the memory of every dream, every fantasy she’d ever had about him. Heightening into a need William could not permit to go too far.
He gentled the kiss. Pulling away.
He closed his eyes, unable to linger in her gaze. He had to keep some measure of control.
“I love you, William.”
He let out a pained gush of breath.
She’d told him once, under the duress of impending death. But she needed to say the words freely. Of her own volition.
William expected for a moment that his heart might burst into life, beating of its own free will again.
She leaned h
er forehead against his with a long sigh.
“I know it doesn’t matter. How we feel. Once we leave this place...” she gave up trying to speak for a moment. She steeled her heart, and blinked away the tears and lump in her throat. “Can we stay here?” She didn’t want to go back.
“A tempting thought,” he admitted in a whisper.
In this world, they could be together.
In this world, William could be everything she needed and wanted.
In the real world, only ugliness and pain waited. A brutal reality Melinda was not ready to face yet.
“We have to go back though.”
“Why?” she asked.
“The real world isn’t so bad,” he told her softly. “Your father...”
She pulled back, breathless. “Was he real? I thought I was hallucinating.”
“No. It was real. He came back to you. I do not know how.”
Melinda would have to return. She’d have to face the real world again. Her father was alive. And waiting for her there. It lightened the heaviness weighing her down.
“William, I... I don’t know how we go back and... pretend we don’t love each other. I don’t know as I can.”
“You don’t have to pretend. But you must... we must... accept what it is, and what it cannot be.” He shook his head. “I promise to do my best, but I may have moments of weakness.”
“I may have a lifetime of weakness,” she sniffled.
His fingers dug into her sides, an uneven breath sliding out of him.
“Can we just stay, a little longer?” She didn’t want to let go of William. Not yet.
In a smooth sweeping motion he had her lying in the sand, the longing in her eyes drawing his lips to hers again. His frame draped over hers, the flat, smooth planes of his chest pressing into her. His fangs lengthened, pushing against his lips.
A shudder ricocheted through Melinda, so intense that he gasped and in a flash was up on his knees peering down at her. He could not allow this to happen. He could not trust himself. It was a dream world, but it was still real. To them. Admitting he loved her was difficult enough. To take it to any other level might prove too much, even for him.
Melinda’s breath hitched, William suddenly vanishing in front of her. She sat up and looked around, calling for him. There was no answer.
William slipped out of her thoughts, his eyes flying open. A deep exhale sliding out of his throat.
Only a few minutes had passed in the outside world.
Mack and the ambulance driver, Alex, had successfully gotten an I. V. drip going, hydrating her. Alex had just finished giving her a transfusion of blood. Her color was returning. Her labored breathing, easing.
Mack drew a blanket up over her.
They moved to the wound on her head. It did not require stitches, but it needed to be cleaned out. They feared infection, with all the dirt and debris caked to her head.
William heard Melinda calling out for him in his mind. He should not return to her. But he was unable to ignore her pleas.
She gasped when he suddenly materialized in front of her. She was on her feet, arms wrapped around her waist.
“Are you cold?”
“No.” She dropped her hands hesitantly. “Where did you go?”
“I’m sorry. I... I didn’t trust myself. I had to leave for a moment.”
“You thought you’d hurt me? Even in a dream?”
“It is a dream, but it is also real. I fear what my actions here will do to me, after... if I give myself completely I do not think I can keep my promise. And I need to keep my promise,” he stated flatly. “I am a vampire. I will never be a living man. You cannot think of me as such. Ever.”
“And I’m a human. A Howard. With responsibilities...” And I’ll die, someday, she could not utter those words. They carried too much pain. “I have only ever seen you as a man, William. I do forget that you’re not.”
These words chiseled into his icy heart, leaving behind a pang of warmth.
“Will I remember any of this?” she asked him.
“Yes, and no. It will be like a dream. You’ll know, somewhere deep inside that it was real. But it won’t be as vivid as a memory. You won’t remember the actions so much as the feelings you take away with you.”
“Will you remember?”
“Every detail.”
“That’s not fair,” she whispered. “I want to remember. I remember almost all my dreams now.”
“Perhaps then, you will remember.”
“If this is all an illusion in my mind,” said Melinda, “can I make anything happen that I want? Or are you controlling what we see, where we are?”
“I am a conscious visitor in your mind, Melinda. Everything we say, or do, for all intents and purposes, is real. But the illusion, the rest, is all from your mind.”
“Close your eyes,” she told him softly.
He obeyed. A moment later sucking in a startled breath when everything shifted, the very movement under his body changing. He was sitting on something firm, yet soft.
A shock wave charged through him, a sudden warmth enveloping him.
Legs straddled his hips. A hand wrapped over his bare shoulder. Another slid up his chest. Heat. So much heat. An enticing burn.
He didn’t dare open his eyes. “I don’t know if I can,” he whispered.
“I’m not giving you a choice.”
His eyes opened. Hungry.
His fangs pinched against his lips. Aching.
“We already have too many consequences to deal with once we go back,” Melinda lamented. “I don’t want to add more regret to that. One time, William. Just one time.”
He recognized the place she’d taken them. A bed of white floating on a vast sea. With nothing for miles but soft ripples of water. The moon and stars casting silvery shadows down over them.
“I saw this,” he muttered in awe of it.
“You did? How? It was in one of my dreams... of you,” she added shyly.
“I know. I’m sorry. I’m afraid I could not help myself. I slipped into your mind one night, by accident. I saw it. Just like this...” Except he’d had a beating heart. An impossibility. “Are you angry with me?”
She shook her head. Although the thought that he could peer into her thoughts on a whim made her nervous. More nervous than the fact that you’re sitting here on this bed, naked? With William... her inner dialogue ceased, icy lips claiming hers.
He could no longer stop himself. Passing the point of no return.
He’d give her this one moment. Give himself completely. Give himself freely.
She’d dreamt of him in this manner before, but this time he’d participate willingly. Accepting her love. Accepting that he was still capable of love. Believing for this one moment that he deserved her love.
Each caress of his lips carried his devotion. His tongue traced along her jaw, down her throat teasing the succulent flesh that tempted him so enticingly. Her vein throbbed against his tongue.
Melinda gasped, her body on fire. His icy embrace did nothing to cool her. The heat pooled to her core. Every touch, lick, caress, ragged breath, drew the fire deeper.
William leaned her back, his tongue sliding over the curve of her breasts. Her moan drew his fangs into a pinch, pricking at her flesh. He held back.
Not yet. Not yet.
His mouth lowered, nuzzling at the delicious hardened bead with his lips. So gentle. Teasing.
He nipped.
She gasped and moaned.
He took it into his mouth, sucking. Nipping.
“Oh. William.”
He released her with a groan, seeking the other. But he didn’t tease this time. He took. Claimed. His grip tightened around her.
Sparks ignited, rippling through every nerve.
Melting. She was so hot she was melting.
Hard ice branded her, threatening to forge inside her but instead William pulled back. He lay her back on the bed, sitting on his knees gazing down at her.
> “Gods of this age, Melinda.”
She tugged at her lip; she’d never heard him speak in such a manner. Never seen the wild abandon in his eyes.
William needed to slow down, just a little. Stay in control.
The gushing of her blood.
The intense need in her moans.
The alluring smell of her...
Each delicious curve of her body writhing against him.
It made him drunk with need.
“William?” Her voice was soft, uncertain.
“I needed to see you. All of you.”
It was all of her all right. His knees spread her legs open, keeping her from squeezing her thighs together. She’d never felt so vulnerable and safe at the same time.
His cool fingers slid up her thighs, his eyelids closed to half-mast with the look of unbridled need threatening to break free.
Her heart shot out that flutter that belonged purely to William.
Mine. He couldn’t help but think it. Here in this moment she was his. All his. Only his. He sank down between her legs, icy lips trailing up her thigh.
Melinda’s breath hitched. She tensed. She tried not to, but her muscles acted of their own accord.
“Melinda?” He glanced upward, reveling in the view.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. It’s just...” she leaned her head back letting out a timid breath.
“Tell me. Please.”
“It’s just that I’ve never... no one has ever...”
“Tasted you, like this?” He leaned down and kissed her. Gently. Sweetly. With reverence. Her entire body gasped at the pure ecstasy of it.
He ended it too fast and she let out a hungry moan.
“I admit it pleases me. To know I am the first to taste you like this.” It fed his hunger, and yet he’d never been so starving in all his life. “Do you wish for me to taste you again?”
“Yes,” Melinda answered in a rush of breath. He kissed her again. Not so gentle this time. Longer, deeper, his tongue soaking up the length of her. He groaned, stretching her open.
It was so good. So electrifying. She could not get enough.
And then it was too much. More intense than anything she’d ever experienced before. Her inner voice screamed in the joy of the moment, and then she realized her outer voice was too.
William did not relent. He held her writhing body plastered between the bed and his devoted mouth. Melinda’s body seized for a moment, a thrilling spasm taking her.
