Pleasures of the Night(74)

“Lemme go!” The tiny virago in his arms fought like a pissed-off kitten, scratching and kicking and hissing.

“Stop it!” he ordered in his most commanding voice.

“I’m the Key!” she cried, shooting him a glare with big dark eyes, not the least bit cowed. “I’ll…I’ll…put a hex on you!”

Connor noted her garments at the exact same moment she said “the Key,” and then he broke out in a grin, which didn’t fade even when she caught him on the jaw with a pretty decent right hook.

He shook her and slowed to a hover. “Hey! Quit that. I’m Connor—Aidan’s best friend.”

She stilled in mid-swing and gaped at him, giving him the chance to really look her over in the simulated starlight. She was beautiful—slender but curvy, with golden tresses that fell haphazardly around her shoulders. Full red lips and huge brown eyes that tilted slightly at the corners gave her classic good looks an exotic cant.

“Oh.” She wrinkled her nose, and he could see why Aidan would find such interest in this woman. “Sorry.”

“A hex, huh?” He laughed.

She scowled, a facial expression that didn’t detract from her beauty at all.

Chortling below them rose in volume and then Philip appeared, nearly doubled over as he hovered in the air nearby. “I think she might have kicked your ass, Bruce, if she wanted to.”



“Only because I wouldn’t hit a girl,” Connor retorted.

“Excuses, excuses.” Philip winked at Aidan’s lady. “You were tearing him up good, Lyssa.”

Despite her recent spate of violence, Connor had to admit he had a hard time picturing her as the destruction of anything. She was so tiny, and a bit too thin. She also had those eyes that were clear and guileless.

She looked down at the ground a good kilometer beneath them and then flung herself into his arms, clinging to him like a vine. “Oh jeez, put me down!”

Brows raised, Connor sank slowly to the valley floor. Her body was a soft, warm weight against his. He blew out his breath, part of him wishing Aidan would return to being a perennial bachelor. The other part of him acknowledged that Lyssa was a hottie with a tough spirit. Some Dreamers came to them in lucid dreams, but never had any of them been able to leave their stream of unconsciousness to walk among them.

As soon as her feet hit the ground, Lyssa stepped back and stared at the blond giant who had scared the shit out of her. Two things struck her at once. One, he was huge—close to seven feet tall, and at least two hundred and thirty pounds. Two, he was just as gorgeous as every other Guardian male she’d seen so far. He also had that same delicious accent.

“Cute outfit.” He grinned.

“That’s it,” she muttered. “I’m changing.”

“No, don’t,” he said quickly. “I bet Cross would love to see you in that.”

Her eyes stung at the reminder, and her wardrobe malfunction faded to insignificance. “I need to see him. We need to get moving.”



“Agreed,” Philip said, all traces of humor leaving his handsome features. “We don’t have a lot of time. The Elders have vids everywhere. They’re going to know Lyssa’s here.”

“They took him,” Connor rumbled grimly. “I have no idea where.”

Lyssa stood stock-still, teary and feeling like a dumb ass. What the hell did she think she could do here? Aidan’s men were more than capable of saving their commanding officer. More than likely, she was just going to get in the way.

“I saw where.” Philip gestured to his men, who fell into a loose formation. “I watched on the control panel.”

“Fuck me,” Connor said suddenly, causing everyone to stare at him in confusion due to his low, wary tone.

Lifting her startled gaze to his, Lyssa then turned her head in the direction he was looking.

Revealed by the light cast off from the surrounding slipstreams, a smoky black stain encroached on them in a perfect circle. It widened rapidly, growing by the second.

“What is that?” she asked, her stomach roiling in dread.

“Nightmares.” Philip withdrew his glaive. “Thousands of them.”





Chapter 16





Lyssa watched the writhing black shadows with wide-eyed horror. They were translucent, their shape no more than a misty fog. A strange noise came from them, a high-pitched squeal that struck her already stretched nerves like nails on a chalkboard. Random words could be heard amid the cacophony, but they were too jumbled to make any sense.

“What are they doing?” she asked, crouching so she could see through the legs of the giants who had formed a protective circle around her.