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Authors: Allison Pang
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early for a mere mortal to be awake and far too late to go back to sleep. I flopped onto my belly. Eventually the hot and bothered part of my brain ran off to dip its head in an ice bucket and I was able to think. My body appeared to be much more unforgiving and continued to thrum in dismay. I tried to ignore the way my hips ached to grind into the mattress. Mylips pursed as a thought struck me. What if that
hadn’t
been a dream? What if Brystion had actually . . . been here?
“Go away,” I said, rolling my eyes at my own idiocy. “If you’re there, I don’t want any.”
The silence mocked me.
Liar . . .
And yet, I couldn’t quite shake the idea that it had been more than just a dream. After all, he
was
an incubus. The thought that he might actually have taken his stalking into the realm of my dreams was disconcerting enough to have me roll out of bed pretty quickly. I shambled into the bathroom and gazed blearily into the mirror. Was he in there? No flash of gold seared me from my reflection.
I peered closer. Was there a hint of something reflected in my face? Frustration? Amusement? No, I decided. Except for the dark circles beneath my eyes, there wasn’t anything different about me at all. I shrugged and tottered toward the shower. The water turned on with a hiss and bang of creaky pipes.
As I stood there, I shut my eyes and let the water sluice over me, the tiny bathroom filling with steam. Suddenly I realized I hadn’t had any nightmares for the first time since the death of my mother. I reached up, touching my forehead, the ghost of a tingle brushing over the skin where he’d kissed me.
It would almost be worth it. I sighed as I lathered my hair into a soapy sculpture. The concept of having a singularly quiet night was beyond tempting, and if I added a few orgasms into the mix, why then, so much the better. But I had a feeling it could never be that simple. Everything came with a price.
Everything.
I shut the water off with a jerk, squeezing my hair viciously. I snatched a towel from the rack and rubbed it over my skin until I was dry. Stalking back into the bedroom,I tossed on a clean pair of jeans and a Hello Kitty ninja T-shirt.
A soft bleat caught my attention and I looked down to see the unicorn nested deep in my lower dresser drawer.
“Er,” I muttered stupidly at him as he wallowed in a pair of lacy briefs. “That’s quite enough of that . . . you.” He rolled his upper lip at me in disdain. Whatever. Another chunk of my childhood dreams had just run down the reality drain in the form of a horny unicorn, no less. Just my luck.
I padded lightly on the hardwood floor as I made my way into the kitchen, my stomach rumbling. I deftly ignored the large manila envelope sitting on the round table, the same way I’d ignored it every morning for the last two weeks. I’d turned it over so I didn’t have to read it, but I knew what it meant with its crisp, neat writing on the front and the attorney-at-law label at the top left. Undoubtedly there was something in there that I had to sign or process, but that would mean admitting certain things.
Like the fact that my mother wasn’t ever coming back.
If I ignored it long enough, one of these mornings it would just be gone. So far this theory was failing miserably, but I had plenty of time to wait. I wasn’t going anywhere, was I?
Mysterious envelope or no, breakfast was in order. I threw the kettle on for some tea and rummaged around the fridge. It was small as far as appliances went, but it never actually ran out of food. It didn’t have anything too exotic, but the staples were always in there and always fresh. Another perk from Moira. My TouchStone duties seemed to burn a lot of calories. Something about the way the Contract worked, I guess, although whether it was the magic of the bond or just the fact that I rarely got a moment to myself, I didn’t know. A never-empty icebox set that off nicely, but I’d still lost a few pounds over the
hadn’t
been a dream? What if Brystion had actually . . . been here?
“Go away,” I said, rolling my eyes at my own idiocy. “If you’re there, I don’t want any.”
The silence mocked me.
Liar . . .
And yet, I couldn’t quite shake the idea that it had been more than just a dream. After all, he
was
an incubus. The thought that he might actually have taken his stalking into the realm of my dreams was disconcerting enough to have me roll out of bed pretty quickly. I shambled into the bathroom and gazed blearily into the mirror. Was he in there? No flash of gold seared me from my reflection.
I peered closer. Was there a hint of something reflected in my face? Frustration? Amusement? No, I decided. Except for the dark circles beneath my eyes, there wasn’t anything different about me at all. I shrugged and tottered toward the shower. The water turned on with a hiss and bang of creaky pipes.
As I stood there, I shut my eyes and let the water sluice over me, the tiny bathroom filling with steam. Suddenly I realized I hadn’t had any nightmares for the first time since the death of my mother. I reached up, touching my forehead, the ghost of a tingle brushing over the skin where he’d kissed me.
It would almost be worth it. I sighed as I lathered my hair into a soapy sculpture. The concept of having a singularly quiet night was beyond tempting, and if I added a few orgasms into the mix, why then, so much the better. But I had a feeling it could never be that simple. Everything came with a price.
Everything.
I shut the water off with a jerk, squeezing my hair viciously. I snatched a towel from the rack and rubbed it over my skin until I was dry. Stalking back into the bedroom,I tossed on a clean pair of jeans and a Hello Kitty ninja T-shirt.
A soft bleat caught my attention and I looked down to see the unicorn nested deep in my lower dresser drawer.
“Er,” I muttered stupidly at him as he wallowed in a pair of lacy briefs. “That’s quite enough of that . . . you.” He rolled his upper lip at me in disdain. Whatever. Another chunk of my childhood dreams had just run down the reality drain in the form of a horny unicorn, no less. Just my luck.
I padded lightly on the hardwood floor as I made my way into the kitchen, my stomach rumbling. I deftly ignored the large manila envelope sitting on the round table, the same way I’d ignored it every morning for the last two weeks. I’d turned it over so I didn’t have to read it, but I knew what it meant with its crisp, neat writing on the front and the attorney-at-law label at the top left. Undoubtedly there was something in there that I had to sign or process, but that would mean admitting certain things.
Like the fact that my mother wasn’t ever coming back.
If I ignored it long enough, one of these mornings it would just be gone. So far this theory was failing miserably, but I had plenty of time to wait. I wasn’t going anywhere, was I?
Mysterious envelope or no, breakfast was in order. I threw the kettle on for some tea and rummaged around the fridge. It was small as far as appliances went, but it never actually ran out of food. It didn’t have anything too exotic, but the staples were always in there and always fresh. Another perk from Moira. My TouchStone duties seemed to burn a lot of calories. Something about the way the Contract worked, I guess, although whether it was the magic of the bond or just the fact that I rarely got a moment to myself, I didn’t know. A never-empty icebox set that off nicely, but I’d still lost a few pounds over the
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