Her nipples were hard and he swore he could already taste them. His body on fire, he took a step toward her and halted only as he felt the pain of his wounds lance up his back. If he undressed, she would see the wounds. See what they had done to him. And he never wanted her to know of it.
"You go," he said. "I want to watch you."
Erin didn't know where she found the courage to undress while he watched. She'd never been so bold in real life. Yet in her dream she didn't mind. In truth she liked the hot, lustful look on his face as she stripped her jeans and panties off and headed for the water.
V'Aidan watched her swim. Watched the water lapping against her bare skin. Her breasts glistened in the light as she floated on her back, and he could see the moist tangle of curls between her legs.
He ached to go to her and spread her legs until he could...
He turned away then.
"V'Aidan?"
The concern in her voice tore through him. He had to leave her.
Unable to stand it, he ran through the forest, ignoring the agony of his body. It was nothing compared to what lay in his heart.
Suddenly he felt himself changing. He saw his hands losing their human form. Felt the burning sensation of his skin as his flesh transformed...
"V'Aidan?"
His heart pounding, he knew he couldn't stay. Not without her finding out the truth.
Closing his eyes, he teleported out of her dream.
Part Two CHAPTER 4
Erin woke up to the sound of her phone ringing. Groaning out loud, she rolled over to answer it.
It was Chrissy. "Hiyas, chick. How are you enjoying your morning off?"
She would be enjoying it a whole lot more if someone hadn't interrupted her dream while she was trying to find V'Aidan so that she could strip him naked and drag him into the water with her.
"It's okay," Erin said, stifling her agitation.
"Did I wake you?"
"Yes, you did."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Were you having another nightmare?"
Erin smiled at the memory. "No, not a nightmare."
"Really?" Chrissy asked in disbelief. "Not a single second of one?"
"Nope. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd really like to go back to sleep."
"Yeah, sure," Chrissy said with an odd note in her voice. "Why don't you do that?"
Erin lay in bed for a solid hour, trying to go back to sleep to find V'Aidan, but it didn't work.
She felt so good from their time together that she had no choice but to get up.
Aggravated at herself for not having more control over her ability to go back to sleep, she piddled around the house.
By late morning, she found herself at her computer, staring at her marketing report.
As she worked, V'Aidan's kind, encouraging words drifted through her mind. And before she knew what she was doing, she closed out her spreadsheet and was opening up her word processor.
Erin sat there for hours, typing furiously. It wasn't until late afternoon that she stopped.
Completely happy for the first time in years, Erin stared at what she'd done. Proud of her accomplishment, she wanted to share it with someone.
No, she corrected herself. She wanted to share it with V'Aidan.
She printed off her pages, then took them to the couch. Lying down, she clutched the papers to her chest and willed herself to sleep in hopes of seeing him again.
She found him standing in a meadow. He was dressed all in black right down to his leather biker boots. His jeans hugged his hard thighs, and his black T-shirt looked yummy as it stretched over a chest so lean and toned that it could only be real in her dreams.
The cool breeze tugged at his loose hair, and his silvery eyes shimmered in the daylight.
"I came looking for you," she said happily.
He appeared puzzled by her words. "Really?"
"Yes."
She sat down in the middle of her summer meadow with beautiful jewel-toned butterflies all around her. After their discussion last night, Erin had been trying to let her inner artist out. She wore a light peasant blouse and a loose skirt that rode up on her thighs when she sat.
Best of all, she conjured up a box of Nutter Butter Bites.
V'Aidan moved closer. "What are you eating?"
"Nutter Butters. Want some?"
He dropped to his knees by her side. "What are they?"
She ran her hand through the red box and scooped out a handful to show him the tan-colored circles. "Peanut butter cookies. They're really good, and the best part of all - in