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“I don’t think we should touch at all.
Every
time I touch you feels sexual to me,” Xairn
protested.

“Right,” said Lauren firmly. “And if you
don’t get used to it—desensitized to it—it always will. You need to
be able to hold my hand or kiss my cheek without getting a hard-on.
So look…” She stood up and placed herself in front of him again.
“Here and here are off limits,” she said, pointing to her breasts
and the area between her legs. “Okay?”

Xairn looked unhappy but he nodded. “All
right.”

“I won’t touch your erogenous zones either,”
Lauren promised. “But I
will
touch you everywhere else and I
want you to touch me to. I want us to hold hands and hug and
snuggle. I want to play with your hair and kiss your cheek and be
affectionate without being sexual. And I want you to do the same
thing with me.”

Xairn frowned. “But—”

“No buts.” Lauren tugged him to his feet.
“Now hug me,” she ordered. “Hold me tight and promise me you won’t
give up on us.”

Hesitantly, Xairn held out his arms. “All
right.”

“Good.” Lauren stepped into his embrace.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him down and kissed
his cheek. “I love you, Xairn. We’re going to get through this
together.”

“I love you too,” he whispered. Suddenly his
arms tightened around her and he crushed her to him. “So much,
Lauren.” His voice was tight. “
Too
much, I fear.”

Though his embrace made her ribs creak,
Lauren didn’t struggle. Instead she rubbed her cheek against his
and relaxed into the hug. “You can’t love someone too much,” she
whispered, trying to reassure him. “It’s okay, baby. Everything is
going to be okay.”

Xairn hoped she was right but he was
desperately afraid she wasn’t. Even after his earlier, painful
release, holding her fragile, soft body in his arms still made him
hard all over again. The warm, sweet scent of her skin and hair,
the feeling of her pressed against him, was almost more than he
could stand. And she wanted to do this and more every day. Wanted
to kiss and hold and hug and touch
constantly
—Gods, even
with the human DNA bonded to his own, how was he going to control
himself?

Xairn knew she thought he would get used to
it, to having constant physical contact with him, but that wasn’t
the way the Scourge physiology was set up. Touching—no matter how
minor—meant sex. But of course, nothing about his relationship with
Lauren mirrored the traditional Scourge pairing. She wasn’t tied to
the bed or kept in a cage all day until he wanted to fuck her, for
one thing. And she wasn’t wearing his marks of possession—a fact
which shouldn’t have bothered him but did. He didn’t want to hurt
her but he
did
want her wearing something that proved she
was his.

His eyes dropped involuntarily to the place
where her name was burned into his chest. Lauren’s black hair
covered most of the brand but he could still see a few loops of her
signature through the silky strands.
It doesn’t matter if she
wears my name,
he told himself.
Because I wear hers. I
belong to her—heart, body and soul. If this is what she wishes—for
me to hold her, touch her—then that is what I will do. What I
must
do.

He would learn control for her sake. He would
touch her and kiss her and receive her caresses without allowing
them to push him over the edge. And no matter how many times a day
he had to slip into the bathroom and give himself a painful,
private release, he would do it. Anything was better than hurting
the female he loved.

Anything.

Nadiah’s own screams woke her. “No, no!
Please let her go! Please!
Please!”

“Nadiah?” Sylvan was suddenly in the room
with her, his piercing blue eyes scanning the shadows for threats.
“What happened?”

Sophia was right behind him. “I think she
just had a bad dream.” She sat on the bed beside Nadiah and pulled
her into her arms. “Hush, it’s okay. It’s all right now,” she
murmured, patting her back.

Nadiah clung to her, sobbing breathlessly.
She hadn’t wanted to take the offer of a spare room in their suite
for fear of intruding but now she was glad Sophia had pressed her
to accept. “He’s torturing her,” she gasped, trying to breathe
through her sobs. “He’s hurting her—sucking her dry.”

“Who is torturing who?” Sylvan asked, coming
to stand at the foot of the bed.

“The evil one—he was wearing a hood and he
had glowing red eyes. That was all I could see of him but he was
torturing the girl who looks like Lauren. The one I saw in my last
dream.” Nadiah blotted her eyes on a corner of the sheet and tried
to catch her breath.

“The AllFather.” Sylvan looked grim.

“And you’re sure it
wasn’t
Lauren?”
Sophia asked anxiously.

Nadiah shook her head. “Definitely not. I got
a good look at her face this time.” Just remembering the agonized
expression on the poor girl’s face was enough to make her start
crying again. Grimly, she tried to hold back the tears.

“Did you see the giants again? The ones you
saw in your other dream?” Sophia wanted to know.

“No.” Nadiah blotted her eyes again. “Nothing
like that. She wasn’t on Earth. She was inside a ship and there
were wires running under her skin. She was attached to some kind of
huge viewscreen. Images were flashing across it—terrible images.”
She shivered. “I had the feeling they were her memories but twisted
somehow. Made false and bitter.”

“It sounds like what he did to Baird,” Sylvan
said, frowning. “Projecting the memories and then twisting them
into falsehoods.”

“Is there anything we can do for her?” Sophia
asked. “Would the council allow anyone to try a rescue
attempt?”

Sylvan shook his head. “Even if they would,
the Scourge Fathership is all but impenetrable. You’d have to have
inside knowledge of the codes and tracking devices to get anywhere
near it.”

“But Baird was able to get in when they took
Olivia,” Sophia protested.

Sylvan sighed. “He was let in because he was
offering a life for a life—a
krik-ka-re
. The AllFather
relishes such agonizing deals.” He looked at Nadiah regretfully.
“I’ll speak to the Council but I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do
for the girl in your dream.”

“The person you ought to be talking to is
that stupid detective,” Sophia burst out. “If he had listened to
Nadiah in the first place, this might not have happened. I mean,
maybe the police could have prevented it somehow.”

“That’s true.” Sylvan looked thoughtful. “At
the very least I should follow up with him. “I’ll place a call to
him tomorrow morning—that will be afternoon on his part of Earth.”
He looked at Nadiah. “In the mean time, you should try to get some
more sleep, daughter of my mother’s sister. You may feel better if
you do.”

“I’ll try but…poor girl. Oh Goddess, I can’t
stand to think of it but I can’t get it out of my head.” Nadiah
looked up at him imploringly. “Sylvan, won’t you please sing me the
sleep song? The one you used to sing when I had nightmares as a
child?”

Sophia looked at him in obvious surprise.
“You used to sing Nadiah to sleep?”

Sylvan looked embarrassed. “Only when she was
very young. I used to watch her sometimes when her parents went out
to functions.”

“So you were her babysitter,” Sophia
said.

Sylvan looked shocked. “I never
sat
on
her! No matter how willful she was.”

Nadiah looked at her with interest. “Is that
how you discipline children on Earth when they’re naughty? You sit
on them?”

“No, of course not. I just meant…oh, never
mind.” Sophia shook her head. “The point is, Sylvan, you were
Nadiah’s caretaker.”

“My favorite one. Sylvan always let me get
away with just about anything.” Nadiah smiled at the memory.

Sylvan smiled too. “She was always a restless
sleeper. Some say that vivid nightmares as a child presage one who
will be especially strong in the Sight.”

“I wish I didn’t have the Sight,” Nadiah
said, sighing. “I wish I didn’t have to worry about seeing such
horrible things every time I close my eyes.”

“Do you usually have more than one prophetic
dream in a night?” Sylvan asked.

She shook her head. “No, not usually. But
nothing about this is usual for me. I’ve only had the gift for a
short time.”

“Let’s trust that one dream a night is your
limit.” Sylvan smiled gently and came to sit beside Sophia on the
side of Nadiah’s bed. “Come, close your eyes and I’ll sing to
you.”

“All right.” Reluctantly, Nadiah lay back on
the bed and allowed Sophia to tuck the covers around her again.
Sylvan hummed experimentally and then his warm, soft baritone
filled the quiet room.

“
Sleep my little one,

Close your eyes and rest.

Night has come and the grotto is dark.

Follow your dreams to Hush-a-Bye
Mountain.

Climb to the top

And make your best wish.

The stars overhead will speak if you
listen

And the moonlight will carry you home.

Sleep little one, sleep little one

And the moonlight will carry you home.”

When he was finished, he leaned over and
kissed Nadiah’s forehead exactly as he used to when she was a tiny,
frightened girl. It made her smile and she noticed that Sophie was
smiling too.

“You have a beautiful voice,” she murmured to
Sylvan as he rose to leave. “Why haven’t you ever sung for me
before?”

He shrugged. “You never asked.”

“Well you can bet I’ll be asking from now
on.” She looked at Nadiah. “Are you all right now? Or would you
like me to sit with you until you can get back to sleep?”

“I’m all right.” Nadiah smiled at her.
“Although…if you want to stay a little while I don’t mind.”

“I’ll stay.” Sophia looked up at her mate.
“You go back to bed, hon. I’ll be there in a bit.”

“All right.” He looked at Nadiah. “Sleep
well, my kin. We’re just in the next room if you have another
vision.”

Nadiah shivered. “I hope I won’t. But thank
you, Sylvan. And thanks for the song.”

“Anytime.” He grinned. “As long as you don’t
tell Baird and Deep and Lock about it.”

“I’ll keep it to myself,” Nadiah vowed
solemnly. “After all, if they knew what a sweet voice you have,
they’d all be wanting a lullaby before bedtime.”

Sophia burst out laughing. “Sorry, I just had
this mental image of all three of those huge Kindred warriors
tucked into one bed with Sylvan serenading them.”

Nadiah laughed too. “That
would
be a
sight.”

“And on that note, I am leaving.” Sylvan
smiled. “No pun intended.”

After he left, Nadiah squeezed Sophia’s hand.
“Thank you so much for letting me stay here in your suite. I was
afraid I’d get in your way at first but now I’m really glad I took
your offer.”

“You’re never in the way,” Sophia said. “And
just think, if you hadn’t stayed with us I never would have found
out what a gorgeous voice Sylvan has.”

“Yes you would have,” Nadiah protested. “As
soon as you have children he’ll be singing them to sleep just like
he sang to me when I was young.”

Sophia looked troubled. “I hope you’re right.
I really do.”

“Did I say something wrong?” Nadiah asked
worriedly. “I’m sorry.”

“No, hon, there’s nothing to be sorry for.”
Sophia gave her hand a squeeze. “It’s just that Sylvan and I have
been trying for awhile and I still haven’t gotten pregnant. I mean,
it’s probably not a big deal. I just wish I was going to have a
little boy like Liv is.”

“Of course you do.” Nadiah sat up in bed and
looked at her earnestly. “Then they can play together and be like
brothers.”

“Exactly.” Sophia smiled. “You
understand.”

“I want sons too,” Nadiah said. “Not right
away, of course. And
certainly
not with that horrible Yo-dah
my parents picked out for me.” She shivered. “I want my first sex
to be special and perfect. And if I wind up with him…Ugh, it would
be like making love with a skinny, obnoxious tree.”

Sophia laughed. “Nadiah, you crack me
up.”

Nadiah looked at her anxiously. “Are there
cracks in your skin? Did I put them there?”

Sophia shook her head. “No, silly—I meant
you’re funny. You make me laugh. Sorry—I guess the translation
bacteria doesn’t cover everything, huh?”

Nadiah shook her head. “Not everything but I
usually manage to get what you mean from the context.” She sighed.
“I’m just tired right now.”

“Well go to sleep.” Sophia pushed Nadiah’s
hair away from her forehead. Her hand felt cool and soothing. “And
try to have good dreams this time.”

“I don’t try to have the visions—they just
come to me,” Nadiah said fretfully. “I wish the Goddess had not
chosen me for the Sight.”

“She must have done it for a reason,” Sophia
said reasonably. She looked troubled. “Maybe…maybe you can stop him
before he takes another girl.”

“If I can get anyone to listen to me.” Nadiah
shook her head. “But from Detective Rast’s reaction I get the
feeling that your law enforcement personal aren’t likely to believe
anything I say.”

“Unfortunately not.” Sophia frowned. “But I
promise you, Nadiah, if you have another one of these…these visions
and it shows someone being taken, we’ll do everything we can to
stop it. With or without help from the police or Rast or anybody
else.”

“All right.” The idea put Nadiah’s mind at
ease. “Thank you, Sophie,” she said, smiling up at the mate of her
kin. “You’re going to make a wonderful mother someday. And don’t
worry too much about it not happening yet—sometimes it takes awhile
with Blood Kindred.”

Sophia smiled. “You would know. You’re the
expert on them, right?”