Eric saw himself sitting there, naked, with golden skin and hair, and then there was a voice, saying, “This is who you really have been, and will be again,” and the seated man opened his eyes and smiled. He gestured with a hand. “Please sit for a while, and I will teach you what I can, for the moment.”
Eric vaguely remembered that he sat down in the vision. He could never recall what happened next. But he remembered a warm feeling when something soft and moist brushed his lips.
He opened his eyes. There was a faint beat of drums, the high-pitched sounds of an ancient song. Nataly was sitting close to him on the sofa. Her eyes glistened in candlelight as she leaned forward and kissed him softly on the mouth.
“I think you drifted off there for a while. Did you see my aura?”
“Yes. I never could have imagined the colors, and then they faded, and I guess I dozed. That was incredible, Nataly. You were beautiful.”
She kissed him again, longer this time. “We’re all beautiful, Eric, but sometimes we have to look for it. Would you like another brandy?”
“Better not, if one drink could put me to sleep.”
“I’d like to talk a lot more, but I suppose you have to get up early in the morning.”
“Oh, it’s not so late,” he said, and then glanced at his watch.
It was twelve-thirty.
“My watch is off,” he said.
Nataly looked at her watch. “It’s just after twelve-thirty. You were sleeping so soundly I didn’t want to wake you.”
“Two or three hours? I’m so sorry. This is worse than embarrassing.”
Nataly squeezed his arm. “I allowed it because you needed it. I watched you the whole time. Now we have an excuse to get together again.”
Her face was close, and Eric looked straight into her eyes. “I’d like that. I want that.”
“When?”
“I’ll call you tomorrow at your shop. I’ll know my schedule, then.”
Nataly nodded, and Eric leaned close. “I had a wonderful time tonight. Sorry I nodded away.”
“Don’t be. It was wonderful to be with you, Eric. I felt very comfortable.” Without hesitation, Natalie put a hand on the back of his neck, drew him closer, and kissed him firmly and long.
Eric heard his own intake of breath as Nataly made a little sound in her throat.
Their lips parted, breathing quickened. Nataly touched her forehead to his. “You’d better go.”
She waved goodbye at the doorway, and Eric drove home in a kind of daze. He went straight to bed, and slept soundly.
But that night, he had another conversation with the golden man.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
ALIENS AMONG US
Eric awoke and felt a wonderful calmness. He remembered only last remnants of the dream that had awakened him. A golden man was floating in air above a body of water showing white caps, and above him was a single eye in emerald green. He knew there was a significance to the eye, was certain he’d seen it before, and the effort to remember where awoke him.
The house was quiet, and he lay there a moment, coming back to consciousness. The sheets were not their usual tangled mess around his legs, so he knew he’d slept soundly, and that was a rare thing.
He remembered Nataly’s kiss, and the smell of her hair, and the way she’d glowed in the darkness, eyes closed, so serene. His chest ached when he thought of her, and his eyes suddenly stung. My God, what is happening to me? I’ve never felt such power in a woman. I thought I’d had enough of women who try to get inside me. Why is this so different?
Whatever it was, he had to see her again. His watch said seven. To call her now would be far too early. She’s be in her shop soon enough. I’ll call her at eleven. We’ll have lunch. I’ll open the office this morning, get things done early. And I’ve got to tell Gil about Nataly, her suspicions about her father. No, why did I think that? It has nothing to do with why I’m here.
Eric shaved in the shower. Breakfast was coffee and a protein shake, consumed as he e-mailed Gil on closed link. He gathered up the art portfolios he’d been working on the day before, finished dressing and headed for the door.
His computer blinked at him with a red envelope icon. Gil. The message came up with a keystroke.
‘Got your message. Nothing to be concerned about, but we’re doing a background check on Nataly. Be careful about what you say to her. Gil.’
Eric’s face flushed. Oh, oh. He typed ‘Got it’, and sent the reply on its way.
The BMW spit gravel as he accelerated away from the house. A minute down the road he realized he hadn’t set his usual intruder alarm in the house, but he didn’t turn back. It was seven-forty-five when he reached the office. It was quiet in the room, and the scent of Leon’s cologne lingered. Eric called up the list of phantom markets NSA Phoenix had provided him with, matched them with the portfolios in his briefcase, and scanned in samples of each with prices.
Leon arrived promptly at nine. “My, what got into you this morning?” he asked, and raised an eyebrow at Eric. “Was last night an inspiration to do good works?”
“I think I’ll just keep you in suspense,” said Eric.
“Ha! I bet all you did was listen to her talk about UFOs and aliens.”
“Nope. I’ll have to ask her about that some other time.”
“Ah, so what are you doing for the firm this morning?”
Eric told him.
“What would we do without our Phoenix friends?” said Leon, and sat down at his desk.
They worked without talking for over an hour. Leon’s computer pinged twice. Suddenly he turned, and said, “Davis wants to see you first thing in the morning. You’re meeting one of our foreign benefactors. How did you wangle that?”
Eric shrugged. He still didn’t trust Leon enough to tell him details about breaking into Sparrow, and wondered if he was being fair. He hadn’t mentioned that to Gil when he’d filed his report on the bird, but had said the report was for Gil’s eyes only.
When Eric remained silent, Leon said, “I expect to hear all about that meeting, Eric. If I don’t hear about it from you, I’ll be very disappointed. Davis will talk, and I intend to verify what you tell me. We’re working together, remember?”
“How could I forget?” said Eric, and didn’t look up.
“Oh my, we really are in a mood today.”
Leon was quiet after that. Eric finished his scanning, assembled the formal looking proposals for five non-existent galleries, and sent them away. Purchase requisitions would return within a day, all suggested prices realized, and Eric would be a local hero again.
It was nearing eleven, and Eric’s skin was crawling with anticipation. He reached for the telephone, but it rang before he touched it.
It was Nataly.
“Hi. I was about to call you,” he said. “Do you have time for lunch?”
“Pick me up at the shop,” she said. “I called your house, but the line was busy.”
Alarms went off in Eric’s head. “Must have been another call coming in. I came in early this morning. How about going to that veggie place down by the high school? I can leave right now.”
“Fine. I’ll be waiting. Did you sleep well last night?”
“Sure did.”
“No strange dreams?”
“Well, there was one I thought strange, just before it woke me up.”
“You’ll have to tell me all about it. See you soon.”
“Bye.” Eric hung up the phone, feeling lightness in his chest, not excitement, but a kind of apprehension.
Leon grinned at him. “Bet I know who that was. Another date so soon? Oh, my.”