Angela B. Wade

He tasted like summertime - of wicked thunderstorms, fresh clover, and wild honeysuckle - and I had the sensation of falling, my stomach tumbling over and over again until calm finally reached in, rooting deep and stretching out to encompass everything: my mind, my body. And my soul - whatever that was. The same clean, almost scentless breeze whipped over us again, just like it had the first night we__ met, and I could physically feel one chapter of my life closing and another beginning.

That last night,_ she said quietly. __hy did you say you hoped you'd never see me again?__e hadn__ said it; it had been his last thought when he__ turned to leave. But he didn__ seem to notice the discrepancy as he looked at her now.__ecause,_ he began before faltering, his voice leaving on a sigh. His left hand reached to rake a path through his hair, scattering the inky thickness in all directions. __he more I learn of you, the more difficult it is to stay away.

I__ by myself,_ she said finally. __o family to speak of.___ see._ Leaning forward again, he rested his arms against the table. __hat must be rather difficult.___ometimes.___nd lonely, I imagine. Perhaps that is why you came here tonight?__er jaw popped under the strain of maintaining decorum. __irst: I said I was alone, not lonely. There's a big difference. And second: is that really why you think I'm here?___ do not know what to think. I know you must have reasons for being here other than what you have already hinted at. Reasons important enough to make an otherwise intelligent woman not only bring food to a stranger so late at night, but also accept his invitation to sit inside an empty motel room without a second thought.___hy don't you just call me a hooker while you're at it?

When he__ woken that morning to find her gone, he__ used the time alone to clean himself up in every sense of the word. Decisions about his future had been part of it, but there'd been more, too. Because in all the time they__ known one another he__ been completely unconcerned with his appearance. Now, however, he wanted to show her the man he truly was. More than that, the man she__ helped him become: healed, strong, capable. No longer in the shadows, but bathed in light. No longer in need of saving or protecting or anything. Except her.

Daniel rested his hip on the counter, arms crossed, saying and offering nothing. __hat? Are you thinking about sticking me with Luc permanently?_ I laughed, the sound anxious. I waited for Daniel to laugh, too, at the sheer insanity of the idea. To reassure me he would never do something so cruel. But he stayed silent, something he was getting very good at. __ou know something? Trying to have a discussion with you would work a lot better if you__ actually talk._ It was like riding on a merry-go-round, only without the merry. __ou promised to stop keeping secrets from me, remember?

I twisted my body, suddenly unable to stand his hands on me. __o you really think I give a damn what you are? That anything else matters to me more than you, yourself? I don__ want you to stay because you think I need a protector, Daniel. I__e been looking after myself for a very long time now, and I__e done just fine. Dammit, have some faith in me.___f I didn__ have faith in you, Sarah, I wouldn__ feel this way.

Then what__ the problem? You keep telling me she__ just a job. So, fine. The job__ done. You found her. You trained her. Now she has to do her part. She has to kill Dmitri. Whether she can survive the battle or not doesn__ matter, and it isn__ up to you to decide._ Luc got up from the swing and went to Daniel. __isten, man, I__ trying to be a friend here. You__e been down here so long you__e starting to think like one of them. Quit trying to grow a conscience and just finish what you started.

I__ going to ask you a question,_ I said. __nd I want an answer this time, no dodging and no playing cryptic. Is the reason you__e leaving because you need to look for Nicholas, or because you want to get away from me?__aniel looked me square in the eye, unblinking. __he first thing accomplishes the second, now doesn__ it?

Daniel came to sit beside me, ignoring my wariness and settling into the thin, worn cushion. __ho__ you think I was that first night we met?_ __he night you attacked me, you mean? I thought you were a vampire._ __ vampire?_ His look was one of genuine confusion. __ampires aren__ real.