Dani woke slowly from a rather pleasant dream in which she and Stephanie were walking down a flowered path. She was smiling at the memory of it as she stretched in bed. Then she opened her eyes, and the smile was replaced by a frown as she found herself in a barren, cream-colored room that held nothing but the bed she lay on. While it was a large, comfortable bed with fresh, fluffy pillows and sheets that were obviously new and still creased from being packaged, it also rested on the floor without a frame to support it.
Sitting up, Dani peered around with confusion and then pushed the sheets aside. She paused as she realized she wore only her panties... and didn't recall undressing. The last thing she remembered was-Dani stiffened as the last day's events washed through her mind, a kaleidoscope of bright, sparkling memories of a happy, sunny day with her family, followed by dark terror and anxiety that finished with an almost equally dark and desperate passion.
Dani pushed herself off the mattress and glanced around frantically for her clothes. Relief slid through her when she saw that they lay folded in a neat little stack on the floor. She quickly donned them, and then hesitated, her gaze moving to the windows. Not a single one had any kind of covering on it.
Hoping she might at least get some idea of where she was by looking outside, Dani walked to the closest one and found herself peering out on a balcony. This room was on the second floor, and a long terrace appeared to run the length of the building. Anyone walking along it could have watched her sleeping, but she didn't see anyone about, and Dani turned her attention to what lay beyond it. The backyard, she assumed, if it could even be called a backyard. The house was on a slight hill that ran for about a hundred feet. It was covered with grass and had several shady trees, as well as a little pagoda. Beyond those first hundred feet, however, was also what appeared to be a landing strip for airplanes that ran straight out between two lush green fields of what might have been soy. Dani took in the sight with awe and a little alarm. There must have been a hundred acres of field spread out before her on either side of the airstrip, and all of it was bordered by woods.
"Where the hell am I?" she muttered, and then turned to survey the room, searching for an exit. There were three doors in the room, one in the wall straight across from her and one in each wall on either side of her. Dani suspected the one directly opposite was the exit, but half afraid she'd find it locked, couldn't resist testing the others first. The one on her right led into a walk-in closet as barren as the room itself, the other to a bathroom with a sink, toilet, and huge tub. Suddenly aware that she had to go to the bathroom, Dani stepped inside and pulled the door closed.
It was as she washed her hands that she noticed the dark, ugly mark on her neck. Dani leaned forward to get a better look, her eyes widening as she recognized it for the hickey it was.
Dear God, she hadn't had one of those since high school, Dani thought, straightening as dismay coursed through her at what people would think when they saw it. She was supposed to be a professional, a grownup doctor, not a teenager. Frowning, she slid her fingers over the discoloration, her mind moving past that initial reaction as memories of how she'd gained the bruising slithered into her mind like an apple-bearing snake. Dani suddenly distinctly recalled the smell and taste of Decker as he'd kissed her. She could feel his hands sliding over her body, his fingers plucking at her ni**les, his thigh rubbing between her legs, and then his mouth moving to her neck... The echo of their moans and panting almost seemed to ring in her memory, and she briefly closed her eyes as her body responded, her ni**les beginning to pebble and ache as excitement pooled between her legs.
Giving her head a shake, Dani forced the memories away and leaned closer to the mirror again to examine the rest of her neck for hickeys, and that was when she found the two puncture wounds. She froze, staring at them with a sort of horrified fascination, her fingers instinctively brushing over those as well. They didn't hurt, which made her wonder, and they appeared to be already healing, but the sight of them took her back again to the night before, and she recalled how overwhelming their passion had been, and how she'd broken their kiss and lifted her head to gasp for air, stretching her neck out before Decker like a sacrificial offering.
Jeez, how stupid could she be, Dani thought with dismay. The man had told her he was a vampire, showed her his fangs, and yet not only had she been foolish enough to indulge in what was pretty much a roll in the SUV with him, she'd done so without even first donning a turtleneck or scarf or something to protect herself. And then she'd as good as invited him to bite her by unthinkingly offering him her neck. Dani supposed it was like offering a steak to a dog. What half-bright dog would stick its nose in the air and refuse?
Shaking her head at herself, she let her hand drop away from her throat and turned from the mirror. She had more important things to worry about than her own complete lack of common sense. She needed to find out where she was and what had been done with her sister after they'd rescued her from the airport last night. At least, Dani presumed it had been only last night. But the truth was, for all she knew, several days might have passed since she, Decker, and Justin had been rushing to the airport after her sister and the man who had taken her.
Frowning at the possibility, Dani hurried quickly out of the bathroom and to the only door she hadn't yet opened. Much to her relief, it wasn't locked. She took that to be a good sign. At least she didn't appear to be a prisoner here. Wherever here was, Dani thought as she slid into a long, alien hallway and peered uncertainly one way and then the other. She had no idea which way to go, so simply started out heading right.
As it turned out, this direction led her to a set of wide stairs descending to the first floor of the house. Dani moved slowly down them, her eyes sweeping over the empty entry at the bottom and peering through the open doors on either side to find those rooms completely barren of furnishings. That along with the silence was beginning to creep her out a bit.
Dani paused on the bottom step, listening, but couldn't hear a sound. From where she stood she could see out the long, narrow windows on either side of the front double doors, and once again was confronted with a wide expanse of grass and what could have been a tarmac airstrip, but what she suspected was a driveway. While there were no fields here, the front yard too was bordered by woods on all sides. They looked thick and deep, and the driveway disappeared into them without any sign of a road being visible.
"Alex?"
Dani turned in surprise, but there was no body to go with the voice that had spoken. It wasn't until it spoke again that she realized it was a woman's voice and wasn't coming from nearby, but had carried through the empty house.
"Yes, of course I'm fine. We just wanted to spend another day together. Besides, Mr. Babcock owed me at least an extra day after making me work on my holiday," the voice said.
Dani slowly started up a hall on the right, following the voice.
"No, he wasn't mad about my taking an extra day," the voice assured this Alex, and then added, "At least not until I gave him my notice."
Several doors lined the hall Dani moved along, and she glanced into each, finding yet more empty rooms.
"I have a new job," the woman continued. "And I'm moving in with-"
The voice suddenly died, and Dani at first suspected it was her arrival that brought it to a halt. But then she saw that the speaker stood at the opposite end of the room with her back to her. She was tall and slender, with long, dark hair pulled up in a bun. She wore a dark business suit of jacket and skirt and was talking on the phone, or listening at the moment as the case might be.
Not wishing to interrupt, Dani glanced curiously around the kitchen. As with the rest of the house, this room appeared pretty barren. It did have a refrigerator, stove, and microwave, but the glass-faced white cupboards were empty and the small breakfast nook that overlooked the backyard was bereft of the table that should have been there.
"No, I have not lost my mind," the woman said with exasperation, reclaiming Dani's attention. "Look, I have to get to work. I'll swing by the restaurant tonight and explain, okay?"
The woman grunted at the response of whomever she was talking to and said good-bye. It wasn't until she turned to move to the phone base on the side counter that she spotted Dani. She paused briefly, a startled expression widening her large eyes, and then continued to the counter.
"My sister," she explained, setting the phone back in the cradle. She then turned to peer at Dani as she added wryly, "She thinks I've lost my mind. Now I just have to come up with a way to reassure her I haven't without telling her the truth."
When Dani just stared at her silently, not sure what to say to that, she grimaced and said, "I'm sorry, Dani. Of course you don't have a clue who I am, do you?" Her high heels clicked on the floor as she moved forward, holding out her hand. "I'm Samantha Willan. Call me Sam."
Dani straightened slightly as the name sparked a memory. "Mortimer's Sam?"
"Yes." The woman smiled happily as they shook hands, her face transformed from almost plain to almost pretty. When Dani smiled uncertainly back, Sam tilted her head and said sympathetically, "It must have been unsettling to wake up in a strange bed in a strange house. Especially one that's half empty," she added, glancing around before explaining, "Bastien bought the house, but only purchased minimal furnishings."
"Bastien?" Dani asked, vaguely recalling Justin and Decker mentioning that name as well.
"Yeah. I'm pretty new to all this myself, but apparently he's the go-to guy if you need anything done," Sam explained and then sighed. "I guess Lucian told him to buy a house for the enforcers to use as a headquarters and he found this one. He also bought beds, a fridge and stove, and the other appliances, but said he thought he should leave the furnishings to whoever ended up living here and running it... which is going to be Mortimer and me." She paused to peer at the empty upper cupboards surrounding them and grimaced. "I guess it was nice of him in a way, but I so don't have the time to shop right now."