She cried herself to sleep in his arms. He knew he couldn’t sleep. For one thing, despite the circumstances, his cock remained hard and straining against the front of his jeans. In her sleep her bathrobe had fallen open. He had a perfect view of her left breast and the dark pink areola topped by a deliciously perky nipple he longed to wrap his lips around.
Pers stared at him from the other side of the bed. “Where’s the remote?” he whispered.
The little dog’s ears perked up. He cocked his head at Brad. Then he burrowed into the sheets next to Mandaline. Brad heard the dog’s claws scratch against something plastic. Carefully, Brad reached over Mandaline to where the dog was digging and found the remote.
“Thanks, buddy,” he said, a smile finally breaking through.
The dog wagged his tail and let out a soft chuff before settling down.
Damiago glared at them from where he’d moved to the far corner at the foot of the bed. He lay curled nose to tail, one half-open green eye shooting him a baleful stare.
Julie laughed. “He likes you.”
“Doesn’t look like it.”
“He didn’t try to claw you or growl at you. He likes you. Trust me.”
“If you say so.” He flipped through the channels until he found the DIY Network and settled in for the duration.
Mandaline dreamed about Julie, about turning around in the front of the store to see her friend standing there, healthy and whole and alive.
She let out a happy cry and threw her arms around her, tears streaming down her face. “I knew you weren’t dead!”
Julie smiled but didn’t address that. “You need to give him a second chance.”
“Who?”
“Ellis. You need to believe.”
“Screw Ellis!” She grabbed Julie’s arms. “You’re alive!”
Julie sadly smiled. “They are your future, sister. Promise me you’ll believe.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You don’t have to understand. Just believe.”
The scene faded, Mandaline helpless to stop it from changing. She now ran through a darkened wood, feeling like she was being chased by an unseen pursuer. As she ran she grew more frantic, more scared, until she emerged in a clearing.
She recognized the house. It was Ellis and Brad’s house, but looking like it must have appeared before they began renovations.
The world felt dark and grey, muted tones, except for the bright flash of red hair Mandaline spotted disappearing through the side door of the house.
“Julie!”
She raced after her, desperate to catch up, no longer looking behind her.
Up the stairs, to the second floor, to Brad’s room. Mandaline raced through the door behind her, but Julie wasn’t there.
“Where are you?” She rushed to the closet door and threw it open, wondering if her friend had hid in there, but she found nothing but a blizzard of sketches and wadded-up paper.
Then she heard Julie’s voice from the back of the closet. “Believe.”
“Julie!” She fought her way through the mass of papers, startled to find herself falling out the other side and into the attic.
Brad’s artwork lay along the walls, but all the paintings looked dark, depressing. She realized she’d emerged in the attic through the little door behind the sofa, which had been pushed out of the way.
Mandaline turned and screamed. “Julie!”
“Believe,” Julie’s voice drifted to her.
Mandaline sat up with a start, gasping, tears still damp in her cheeks.
Beside her, Brad propped himself up on one elbow. “Are you okay?” he softly asked.
Wrenched from the dream, she felt disoriented…and more than a little hungover. “What…what?”
He sat up. She noticed he was fully dressed, and she was in her bathrobe…which hung open. She felt her face heat as she quickly pulled it closed and retied the belt around her waist.
“Are you okay?” he softly asked again.
“How’d you get here?”
“I walked. I pounded on the door downstairs and you came and let me in. You were drunk.”
Ohhhh…yeah. She put a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes, hoping the world would stop dangerously spinning. “How did you get in bed with me?” She carefully cracked one eye open to look at him.
He wore a sad smile. “You were bound and determined to fall over and do hand-to-hand combat with the floor. I carried you up here, you cried yourself to sleep, and Pers and I have been watching DIY Network. I didn’t want to leave until I knew you were okay.”
“What time is it?”
“After three.”
She groaned again. “Give me a minute to wake up and I’ll drive you home.”
“No, you won’t. You’re in no condition to drive. I can walk.”
“At this time of night? Call a taxi.”
He shrugged. “I don’t mind walking. It’s cooler. And safer than in the middle of the day with a lot of traffic.” He gently took her hands in his and kissed them. “I’m really sorry about what happened tonight.”
“Don’t you apologize for his sorry ass.”
“I’m apologizing that you were hurt. That’s not who Ellis really is. He’s scared and desperate to find a logical explanation that isn’t there.”
“Yeah?” she grumbled. “Well, he can go screw himself. I don’t care how cute he is.”
He released her hands and got out of bed. “Do you feel steady enough to come lock me out?”
She didn’t want him to leave. She wanted him to stay in bed with her. To get naked, in bed, with her.
She moved over to the edge of the bed. “Do you have to go?” She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face against his abs. His warmth flowed through her, but no sexy visions.
And she felt how hard he was.
He stroked her back. “Unfortunately, yes, I need to go. You’re not in any condition for us to talk tonight. And you have the tree planting tomorrow, rather today, and your full-moon gathering.”
She looked up at him. “How did you know about the gathering?” When he didn’t answer, she sighed. “Julie’s talking to you again.”
“Yep.”
“I dreamed about her,” she whispered, reluctant to let go of him.
“I suspected.” He kissed the top of her head and gently untangled her arms from around him before stepping back. “I’ll see you tomorrow. You need to sleep.”
She carefully got to her feet. “I’ll come lock the door.”
“You sure you’re okay? I don’t want you falling down the stairs.”
She felt a little woozy, but not too unstable. “I’ll be okay.”
She followed him downstairs to the back door. He stopped and turned to her, a serious expression on his face. “I really want to get to know you better. I want to make those visions come true. More than you’ll ever know. I also know it won’t work unless it’s all three of us. He’s going to have to come to his senses and you’re going to have to be able to forgive him for how he acted tonight.”
She stared up at him, stunned into silence.
He leaned in close, but not touching. “I know you’re scared. I’m scared, too, more than you’ll ever know. I love you. I know that, even if it sounds crazy and even though we hardly know each other. And I love him. I know you can love both of us. I believe that with all my heart. I also know if you and I try to make this work without him, it just won’t.”
“Believe,” she whispered.
He nodded. “That’s what she told me.” He reached for the door and opened it.
“She?”
She didn’t need to ask. He looked at her over his shoulder, the answer written on his face. “Good night, Mandaline. Lock the door.”