It was magical, a dream come true. Dawn felt like Cinderella after Prince Charming slipped the shoe on her delicate foot and declared her his woman for all time. She felt as though she had finally found a place where she mattered, where she belonged. No, she thought as she stared into his eyes. She knew she had. Right here, she had found the one place in the world where Dawn Daniels was a woman rather than a creature or an animal.
They toasted once more amid laughter and congratulations before the band struck up a tune and Seth led her to the dance floor once again. He pulled her into his arms, smiling down at her as he swept her around the room, the other guests moving back and giving them this first dance to themselves. Dawn would have felt self-conscious, even days ago, at having so many eyes on her. Tonight, she felt the panic build even as a sense of euphoria and happiness nearly overcame her. Maybe that was the problem, she thought. She wasn’t used to happiness such as this. She was used to being content, not ecstatic and definitely not floating with the joy that seemed to strike her at the oddest moments now.
Like now, while they danced in front of several dozen of Seth’s closest friends, all eyes turned to them, and happiness was singing through her veins.
His body moved against hers, one arm around her, the other gripping her hand as the dark chocolate silk of her evening gown flowed around her, curled around his legs, and caressed both of them when they turned.
“Caught ya,” he whispered in her ear as a smile of pure joy curved at her lips.
“Oh yeah?”
“Oh yeah.” He nipped at her ear. “And I’m going to keep you.”
She prayed. She realized that in the past two days she had been doing that a lot. Praying fervently that God wouldn’t take this dream from her, now that it was so close, right there in her grasp. Her hand tightened at his shoulder and she wished she had managed to keep them in that damned room. She needed him now. Needed him near her, moving over her. She needed him loving her, whispering his need in her ear and stroking her into oblivion.
As the dance drew to a close, Seth moved back, his hand still clasping hers, turned to the crowd and slowly bowed before turning to Dawn.
With an impish smile, she curtsied, long and low, the skirt of her gown swirling around her as she held the position for long moments before straightening again amid the applause and Seth’s wicked wink. Dawn realized she must be smiling like a loon. She couldn’t seem to control the curve of her lips for the happiness that bubbled in her veins like ecstasy. It fought with the panic, determined to win this battle, to hold itself inside her mind, where it was rarely allowed to materialize.
“Miss Daniels. Seth.” Craig Bartel approached, his fingers curled around his wife Lillian’s wrist as they stopped before Seth and Dawn.
Lillian Bartel was not happy to be there. Dawn could scent her hesitancy, her anger at her husband and her embarrassment.
“Seth.” Craig extended his hand. “Let me tell you, I admired you before, but seeing the beauty you’ve found to love, I must say I admire you even more.”
“Thank you, Craig.” He shook the other man’s hand and glanced at Lillian.
“Miss Daniels, your beauty is only overshadowed by your compassion.” He turned to Dawn and tugged his wife forward. “My wife and I would both like to extend our congratulations.”
Lillian Bartel drew in a hard breath. “And my apologies,” Lillian forced past her stiff lips. “What I said last night was uncalled for, and undeserved. I’m sorry, Miss Daniels. Sometimes, as my husband tells me, my mouth forgets there’s a brain driving it.”
Dawn tilted her head to the side and stared at the other woman. Seth was stiff beside her, unaware of what the other woman had said, but aware that it must have been extremely insulting for Craig to force this apology from his wife.
And it was sincere. Whatever Bartel had said to the other woman, it must have been taken to heart, because Lillian meant the apology, and not for the first time, Dawn thanked the Breed senses that allowed her to pick up on that sincerity.
“We’ll consider the words unsaid,” Dawn finally told her softly. Lillian stared at her in surprise, and Dawn realized that she had prepared herself for the worst. An insult as well, or perhaps more.
“Craig was right,” she said. “Your beauty is only overshadowed by your compassion. Thank you.” She extended her hands, and preparing herself for the contact of another’s touch, Dawn accepted it. She was surprised, no, she was shocked when the feeling only produced mild discomfort. It was a bit stronger when Craig shook her hand as well, but the pain she should have felt wasn’t present. That could mean only one of two things. The mating heat was easing or she had conceived. She wasn’t certain which. She didn’t feel pregnant, but then again, how the hell would she know what it felt like?
“You have the most incredible look on your face,” Seth murmured as the Bartels moved away. “You’re making me hard.”
“You stay hard,” she purred. She really did love that about him. He grunted at the comment, but there was laughter in his eyes, a smile pulling at the corner of his lips. As she smiled back at him, a peculiar feeling swept over her. Not so much panic, or even fear. As though the panic had hardened inside her and turned silently feral.
Her head lifted, her gaze swept over the dance floor, and her senses seemed to come alive in a way they
never had before.
She couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, couldn’t smell anything that could explain the sudden feeling, and she felt like growling in fury at the odd warning traveling through her system. This was why she had been so adept at tricking the Breeds she trained with. This feeling. It warned her when something was coming, warned her when danger approached, whether it be Breed, human or inanimate. This extra sense, this animal knowledge and instinctive self-preservation.
“Dawn?” Seth’s hand settled at her nape and rubbed at the tense muscles there. “Is everything okay?”
“Fine,” she answered absently, continuing to search.
As her gaze swept over the entrance to the ballroom, Dash and Elizabeth stepped inside with their daughter.
Dawn’s gaze stopped abruptly at the sight of Cassie. Her makeup was expertly applied and appeared barely there. But it was there. It was masking her pale face, but nothing could mask the other girl’s wide, haunted eyes. Just as nothing could hide Dash’s and Elizabeth’s tension.
“We should talk to Dash and Elizabeth,” she murmured to him, feeling the instincts inside her latching on to the small family.