Unknown Touch (13 page)

Chapter 10

Downtime

After an enjoyable evening, relaxing in the lounge, everyone decided to turn in early. It had been a long but informative day. There was so much for me to go over in my mind and to make sure not to forget anything important. The shock of Daniel transforming in front of me kept playing over and over in my head. Yet, it was an amazing experience and completely intrigued me. I was glad he did it. I just wished I had more time alone with him. This was a business trip, you could say, not a trip for pleasure. As I settled down under the soft, warm blankets, I had the urge to contact Daniel mentally. First, I had to put up my mental block against Dominic, so I could freely talk with Daniel without Dom's interference.

I started out,
Daniel, are you listening? Are you busy?

He jumped right in with,
I'm here, Kara. I can hear you loud and clear. I'm in my own room now. Good timing. Are you all tucked in for the night?

Yes, I'm in bed now. I needed to talk with you. During all the big group discussions and tossing around ideas over the last day and a half, it has been overwhelming for me. I'm fine, nothing to worry about. I really wish we could have our own time together with no one else around. I guess I'm sounding greedy wanting to have you all to myself.
I knew that last sentence could be taken a few ways. But it just came out.

Daniel reminded me,
Kara, tomorrow, the whole morning will be free. Remember, we won't be trying out our experiment on Stephen until the middle part of the afternoon. So, you can have me all to yourself. It sounds like everyone is looking forward to doing their own thing for a while tomorrow. This downtime will be a good break for everybody.

I was thrilled with this turn of events. I suppose if I had thought about it, the whole gang had been spouting off what they had planned to do tomorrow morning and into the early afternoon. Eli was going to attempt fishing out of a boat if it didn't freeze his butt off. I believe Dominic was toying with the idea of joining him for a while. Then both wanted to indulge in a nap, if you can imagine. Zac and Tessa wanted to check the area out some more and do tourist type of things.

That just left me, out of our Liaison team, with the freedom of enjoying Daniel's company. The others would be involved in their own forms of relaxation and wouldn't intrude upon the time I wanted to spend with Daniel. I knew he had just given me a tour of the resort and boat dock the night before. I swear that felt like it was days ago, not just the previous night. That wasn't enough time for me. I wanted more.

What time do you want to meet?
I thought I would jump up and down on the bed like a kid in delight.

He answered,
The earlier, the better. It gives us more time together that way. How about 7:00 in the dining room for breakfast. And then we'll go from there.

Perfect!
If you could shout mentally, I think that's what I did in his mind. He was laughing at me. I went on,
Well, I'm going to sleep now so I can get up early. Daniel, I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. Good night.

His last response was,
Night, baby.
Gosh darn, there was that word, baby, again. It just sent little quivers up and down my spine.

One issue I had about the mental bonding that Daniel and I shared was that during an awake state, we were basically hearing each other's voices. During a sleep state, we were in the dream, what appeared to be physically there in our bodies, and having conversations. Even though we had just talked mentally, I started speculating whether I would have a dream tonight with him in it. I wanted to have that dream.

I didn't have to wait long to find out. I probably wasn't asleep more than thirty minutes when, sure enough, that ever familiar dream with Daniel walking around aimlessly drifted into my thoughts. I could always pull back, if I wanted to, and observe Daniel while he's having his dream. But I felt that was rude, like I was spying into his private thoughts. And I didn't want to be hidden in his dreams. I absolutely was addicted to the sensations those dreams gave me. Dreams with Daniel.

Tenderly, so as not to startle him out of his sleep, I made him become aware of my presence in his dream. I concentrated, even though I was sleeping myself, to bring up the clarity of the dream state. To make everything more crisp, to increase the comprehension for both of us.

Daniel, looks like I found you again in our dreams. I'm sorry for intruding. I hope I don't disrupt your sleeping tonight,
I found myself apologizing. After all, we had just spoken psychically about half an hour ago. Obviously, he must have fallen asleep immediately as I did, after we had spoken.

He looked directly at me, focusing his eyes and his attention. Within the dream, he strode over to where I stood.
You can disrupt my sleeping any time. And I wouldn't call it a disruption, either. It is a wonderful experience we can share. Plus, we don't have any nosy people looking at us.

I wrapped my arms around his waist, giving him a long-awaited hug. His unbelievably powerful but gentle arms came quickly around me, returning the hug. I thought of his werewolf form all of a sudden, and said,
So, you really did like me rubbing on you like a dog today, huh?

Daniel had such amusement on his face, as he grinned and said,
Yeah, in animal form, you were giving me positive reinforcement. You were showing a love for animals. And the petting is a good thing. I could get used to being rubbed.

His tone changed as he carried on,
Kara, I have to be honest with you. I'm feeling emotions and having thoughts I haven't had in a very long time. As you know, I've stayed single ever since my wife was killed. I have suffered extreme guilt over the whole incident. I felt such a responsibility to our pack and its safety. I always fear the risk of exposure. I also knew we had to have a source of income to survive so I became very business oriented. I've had quite a bit to deal with over the years and that has kept me busy. I didn't want to get involved with anyone. And unless another female werewolf crossed my path, it wasn't likely I would have a relationship. The only other way was if I bit a woman and converted her to a werewolf. There are two wolves in the packs that have done just that over the past one hundred years - Anthony and Rachel. Before finding their mates, they were depressed and very lonesome. They craved companionship. We worried for them that they would turn evil as they harbored much rage. Both allowed themselves to venture out more and have regular human contacts, and found people they fell in love with. They explained to their future spouses what we are, and after a period of time deliberating, the humans chose to be converted to werewolves. Remember, since we do not age past about thirty, having a lifelong commitment would eventually become awkward and very unnerving, probably more so for the human than us. Although, the grief and guilt of witnessing our spouses grow old while we remained young and vibrant, would be hard to bear. We would not age, yet the humans would. It could be done if that's what their decision was, but Sarah and David were steadfast in their choice to become werewolves. To be able to stay the same, the way they were. They were bitten, to be blunt, by their spouses and went through the conversion. I just wasn't ever sure I wanted to go through the act of converting someone I loved, again, as when I unintentionally converted my wife. To completely change a human's life, which includes physically and mentally, into a werewolf is not something I wished to dwell upon and so stayed living as a bachelor…,
Daniel took a few moments to collect his thoughts.

Then out of the blue, you come along,
He was flabbergasted, like he just couldn't believe what had happened to him.
You have changed me. I feel more alive, excited. I know we have Stephen to contend with, and, ironically, it's because of him that you are even in my life now. I now have to remind myself that I am no longer human, and you are not a werewolf. I do not know where this relationship is going from here. But I cannot deny my deep feelings I have for you.
He ran his fingers through my hair.

I loved listening to him speak, even if at that moment this was all in a dream state. His voice was so mesmerizing. I could easily forget what day it was gazing into those penetrating, black eyes of his. I knew I felt the same for him as he felt for me. I had tried not to think too far ahead with this relationship. I was afraid it would be impossible to make it work out. I still had to confess my feelings for him.

I am falling hard for you, too,
I began my confession,
I, also, am worried about how this is going to turn out. I do know some things: I love when you touch me, when you call me baby, the way you look at me, your need to protect me and your kiss turns my insides into flames. I don't want to lose you. Any past boyfriends, which there weren't many, were nothing compared to you. I have never felt this way before in my life.

I desperately clung to him at that point. He tilted my head up with one finger and kissed my forehead then my lips. This kiss was so sweet and loving and lasted longer than others. And keeping in mind, this was all happening in a dream state. I couldn't imagine, but hoped I would find out by the next morning, what this kiss was truly like in reality.

We decided to let the mental connection drift apart by this time. I wanted to get some much needed sleep so I didn't look like a zombie by morning. Where was this all going to end up? I had no idea and melted away into a deep slumber.

* * * *

I was up before the crack of dawn. I wanted to take extra time so I would look my best for Daniel. I was practically bouncing off the walls with enthusiasm. Dominic finally asked me, "So, what do you have planned for our designated free time today? I'm going with Eli out on the boat. Someone's got to make sure he doesn't drown himself."

I carefully, without trying to ruffle any feathers, announced, "Daniel and I are having breakfast at 7:00 and I'm not sure what we'll do after that."

The look on Dominic's face was prize-winning. I wasn't necessarily trying to make him jealous, but anyone could see he was not pleased with my announcement. I really liked Dom. And I had seen and felt all the signs that he was truly hoping I would become more than just a friend to him. He looked at me with intentions of us dating. And soon. I had flipped the idea around about him and me, but at this time, Daniel stood out in my heart. Dom edged closer to being what I would call my best friend. I'm sure he wouldn't be thrilled to know Daniel, a werewolf, beat him out of the boyfriend category. Not that Daniel was actually my boyfriend. Yet. Or was he? In some secretive sort of way? It just seemed so weird. I imagined no one would approve of this relationship with Daniel, either, especially Dom. And what about my parents? That was another whole issue itself. And would I contemplate converting for Daniel, if it came to that point?

Too much to think about and Dominic had by now folded his arms in front of himself. He leaned against the wall and continued giving me that look. "What are you up to, Kara?"

I got a little defensive with him and said, "Really, Dom, I can do whatever I want with my downtime. Daniel had an open schedule and offered to keep me company since I had nothing to do. I don't have any problems with him and feel very comfortable around him. So quit worrying."

"Just watch yourself, okay? You haven't dealt with so many and such unusual circumstances before you came into contact with us. Keep your head on straight," Dom warned me.

Eli popped his head around the corner and prompted Dominic, "Well, bud, you ready to learn how to fish from a pro?" I had a sneaky suspicion that was meant as a joke.

Off they went with one final mental push from Dom,
I'm going to be mentally checking in on you.

Great. I just love having a babysitter at my age.
I did smile back at him, to let him know I appreciated his concern. I also decided to implant the emotions of relaxation, confidence, and trust in to his over-worked mind.

Zac, Tessa and I left the cabin at the same time. They hoped I would be able to chill out for a while and let everything I had learned settle in my mind. Tessa thought it would be beneficial for me to have some personal time to myself. I, personally, would be tested that afternoon on my abilities to connect with Stephen. She trusted that this free time would give me a chance to gain some clarity and balance. They climbed into the van and left.

Yippee! I was now alone and walked into the dining room to meet with Daniel. There he stood, looking so handsome, so powerful, so pleased to see me. No one was around to watch us. I ran the distance to him, throwing my arms around his neck and gave him a tight hug as he returned the favor.

"Aren't you looking all adorable this morning," Daniel teased. We sat down at the table which already had the food set out ready to eat.

"You're looking extra special today, yourself, Daniel," I teased right back.

We enjoyed a nice, light breakfast of eggs, sausage, toast, and orange juice. I found out he prepared it all by himself with no help from Abigail. That was a nice gesture. It showed his independence and that he was quite capable of doing things on his own. He wasn't making Abigail into his own personal servant, which I appreciated. I wondered if Abigail knew we were spending all this time together, alone. I bet she did. I liked her personality.

Daniel discussed how he wanted to walk down to the boat dock first thing, so we took off. He knew Eli and Dom were taking one of the boats out and wanted to make sure they hadn't had any major problems casting off. Neither one was all that skilled at operating a boat. They led you to believe they could handle it without a problem, but Daniel wanted to ensure they were safe. We made it to the dock and Dom and Eli were nowhere around. That was a good thing since it meant they managed to get the boat in the water, at least.