Page 88 of Love Lives

"I don't need any tiring out." I settled on the bed next to him, then lay down and yawned.

"Does that mean you're kicking me out of your bed?"

"Never said that." Closing my eyes, I patted the narrow space next to me. "If you can fit there, you can stay."

"You know I can."

I made a non-committal sound, as if it didn't matter to me either way. In truth, I wasn't sure why we were still playing that game. I knew that Aldrich cared about me, and he must have realized by now that I cared about him too. As stupid as that was. As difficult as it was to admit.

Even more difficult to admit to myself that I hadn't come back here because I thought the vampire needed the company, but because I did.

Because without his arm across my back and the sound of his breathing in my ear...

As tired as I was, I had no idea how I would have gone to sleep without all that.

* * *

I was in my ancient ancestor’s body again that night. I didn’t want to be there, but by now I’d grown so used to the experience that I didn’t struggle with it. I only wished I knew what these stupid dreams were trying to tell me. What Atlus was trying to tell me.

Atlus was lying in bed, looking up at his lover, who sat by his side, face pale.

“I’m not dying yet, love,” I heard myself say through Atlus’s mouth. “You can sleep.”

“Not yet, but…” Cyril let the sentence hang as if the rest of the words were too painful to utter.

“Not for some time yet,” Atlus reassured his vampire, gripping his wrist tightly. “I’ll stay with you for as long as I can, I promise.”

Cyril cast his gaze aside. “It’ll never be long enough.”

A rueful smile tugged on my lips at the same time that I felt Atlus’s affection for his vampire surge. “Hey, look at me.” He squeezed Cyril’s hand. “Our love is strong enough to survive anything, you know? Something as mundane as death could never take it away.”

The dream faded, but Atlus’s words kept ringing in my ears as if they’d been directed at me rather than the vampire. I opened my eyes, trying to untangle myself from the memories of my ancestor. Why was I having these dreams?

My fingers found the mark on my belly. Had it been seven days yet? Seven dreams?

Aldrich’s breath stirred the hair in the back of my neck. More than anything, it was his presence that anchored me back in reality, in the here and now. I was not an ancient witch, and I was not in love with an ancient vampire. I was in love with—

I cut the thought off before it could reach its conclusion. What I felt for Aldrich wasn’t what Atlus had felt for Cyril.

But it could be. I’d sensed that, earlier this night. When he’d bitten me, before I’d reached into his memories. I’d sensed what we could be. I didn’t know what to do with that knowledge, though, so I buried it.

A bright light that flashed through the darkness of my room, then was gone again. What? I blinked and turned to look at Aldrich, but he didn’t react.

Another flash.

I poked the vampire by my side.

"I'm up," he muttered. "Is something wrong with the wiring of this place?"

"It's the alarm system that Puck set up," I spoke the words at the same time that the realization hit me. The alarms were going off. "Someone's coming."

"It's not just Puck coming back?"

"No, he would have mentioned it if his return would trip the system."

The vampire cursed and jumped from the bed.

I scrambled to get up as well. "We need to make sure everyone's awake. We need to get out of here."