Page 14 of Brushed By Moonlight

Bene waggled his fingers. “Nighty-night. Don’t let the bedbugs bite.”

Or other things,I thought, spotting Henrik.

“Good night.” His lips curled in a small, dangerous smile, and his voice was as smooth as the fine whisky he’d helped himself to.

Whisky I would definitely add to the running tab Gordon had okayed for incidentals.

Marius didn’t so much as look away from the window.

“Good night,” I grumbled, staring at him.

Something I instantly regretted, because the moment our eyes met, a warm, pulsing force throbbed through my chest, and my lungs squeezed. Time stretched, and warning lights flashed in my mind, blinding me to everything but the bluish-black of his eyes.

Blue like the sky at twilight. Like fresh ink over parchment.

Blue like a day-old bruise,something in the back of my mind whispered.Tread carefully.

And yet, my foolish heart beat wildly, and an inexplicable yearning resonated in my soul — far, far more than Clement had ever inspired.

Far, far more than Clement ever will,my heart whispered.

I blinked, and Marius looked away, grunting, “Goodnight.”

So, there it was. The very first — and only — word he’d ever uttered to me.

I unwrapped my fingers from the doorframe and walked mechanically down the hallway. Fifteen minutes later, I was in bed with a book I didn’t bother opening.

Chapter Four

MINA

That night, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. My mind was too busy blending the events of a hell of a day. When I eventually dozed off, I was plagued by unsettling dreams.

In one, I ran down an endless hallway, chased by beasts. I turned to sleep on my side, but that only set off different dreams. A lion stalked me from behind the maze hedge — or was that a tiger? A dragon swooped overhead, blotting out the moon with his huge, leathery wings. A man with fangs followed me up the front stairs…

I jerked out of that dream, panting in terror. Then I flopped back, heart thumping wildly.

Think of something nice,my mom used to say.

Clement popped into my mind, and I decided to treat myself to a little fantasy of him.

And, ha. A fantasy probably shared by every woman in Auberre.

It worked, and soon, I was dreaming far more satisfying dreams. But the details of the man exploring my body were hazy. Was that Clement or someone else?

All I knew was that he filled me again and again, bringing me right to the highest rung on the ladder of ecstasy, then pushing me off it — and catching me so smoothly, I kept moaning in unbridled pleasure.

A damn good dream, until something in my subconscious yanked me out of it.

I jerked upright, then sank back into my pillow, determined to revisit that dream. But my eyes snapped open again, and I held my breath.

Something was stalking me. For real, not a dream.

Not daring to move, I cast my eyes around. Moonlight streamed through the slot between the curtains, playing charades with the clothes I’d heaped on a chair. The faint sound of nocturnal residents filtered in from the woods. A drop of water fell from the tap in the bathroom sink…and a long minute later, another.

But otherwise, there was silence. Eerie silence.

I closed my eyes, tuning in with my other senses. Highly sensitive, supernatural senses gifted to me by my ancestors. Bit by bit, I homed in on that creepysomethingand stared at the ceiling.