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WHEN NEXT SHE SLEPT, she screamed for him. Remembering where she left off, but the timeline had changed, as it frequently did when she left. The lines were starting to blur now. It was becoming increasingly difficult to recall which world was real. Because they both felt like it while you were in the middle of them. And she knew which one she preferred.
“I’m here, baby. I’m here,” he soothed, holding her close in their bed as she sobbed.
“It was awful. It was the other side,” she babbled. “You were there, but you’re not my husband there. You’re my sponsor. We fight a lot. And when I left? I was just going to put my bra on and meet you out front to go to Pax and Serena’s. Remember you were gathering the food ingredients?” She was barely aware of his nod. “But the alarm was chirping and when I went to turn it off, it fell onto the ground and broke. But it still chirped. Then the chirping woke me and, it was the other side. The same broken alarm but it chirped on both sides. I hurried and got ready and he was there. Waiting for me. He had the same ingredients in the box, Trance. It freaked me the hell out. And he knew the appointment was at Pax’s. He shouldn’t have known because it wasn’t on the schedule. But he did. He wouldn’t give me a good explanation either. I can tell he’s hiding something and it’s so suspicious and I don’t trust him—”
“What other side?” His voice was wary. “What are you talking about?”
He sounded as cagey here as he did over there. “The side I go to when I wake. Or when I sleep. I’m not sure which is which anymore. I don’t know which one is the real one.”
“We need to get you some help,” he whispered against her hair. And then he teased, “This world or the other.”
“What do you mean by help?”
He shrugged. “One of the doctors needs to know of your sleeping habits. Your dreaming patterns.”
“I don’t want my dreams taken from me!” Her voice was almost shrill. What if they took the wrong life? She couldn’t lose Trance.
“Hey, wife,” he rumbled, rolling over so his body covered hers. His arms supported his weight. “No one is taking anything away from you. I promise.”
She calmed a bit. “You promise, husband?” Her voice was back to its teasing tone.
“I promise.” He nipped her lower lip. “What are we going to do when we’re not newlyweds anymore? Will it be creepy to call each other husband and wife when we’re eighty?”
A small giggle burst out of her. She loved this place; treasured her marriage to Trance, her life in Xenia, the ever-present, bubbling happiness that existed here. “It might be. Let’s get it all out of our systems now?”
“Okay, wife,” he growled. “Now, make love to your husband.”
And that erased any memories of the horrid place where she’d just been. The place where they were strangers tolerating each other.
TRANCE:
Leah got the break she wanted from him today. As much as she protested, she looked disappointed when he didn’t show up to walk her from her morning in the mess hall to her scheduled cooking lesson. Instead, he scheduled a visit with Robyn and Amanda, the doctors in charge of Xenia. Amanda leaned more toward the medicinal side while Robyn dealt with problems in Xenia. She also had a dual role as their residential computer hacker and had access to the court systems.
Neither female had telepathic abilities, being human. So he headed to the main hall as soon as Leah was well into her appointment. Robyn flagged him as soon as she saw him and he followed her into her office to see Amanda already waiting.
“What’s going on?” Amanda asked.
He shook his head. “It’s not looking good. She’s starting to blur the lines. She’s so tired she can’t keep track of which life is normal, reality or her dreams.”
“You’ve tried explaining to her about your ability?”
“Yes. She panics and refuses to discuss it. It’s like she senses that the dream world isn’t real, but doesn’t quite want to know for sure.”
“As her sponsor, you can force her to have a medical exam,” Amanda said.
“She already hates me. She moved out, remember?”
“If it’s affecting her health, I may have to prescribe sedatives to help her sleep. We thought being human would protect her from your reach, but it’s not working out that way. We need to find another option.”
Robyn was on her laptop. “The alternative would be to lose her independence,” she said. “We’ll be hard-ass about it when we say her job is being compromised by lack of sleep. If she can’t get a handle on it, she’ll lose her housing and be forced to move back in with her sponsor.”
Trance smiled grimly. “I imagine she’ll be in soon for those meds.”
“In other news, she’ll be needed for the trial on Iota Nine soon. Are you sure you’re comfortable with going to the outside?”
“I’ll be fine,” he said. “I’ve already been briefed on behavior outside the city limits. I’ve been fitted for contact lenses and sunglasses.”
“Perfect. Get her in and I’ll get the sleeping meds prescribed,” Amanda said.
He waited another hour and then walked the short trek to where her cooking lesson should be ending at Jason and Lily’s cabin. He waited less than five minutes in the tree line outside.
She exited their house and started slightly when she saw him waiting outside.
“What’s up?” she asked warily, joining him on the path that led through the trees.
“It’s time for us to go testify at your ex-husband’s trial.”
She sucked in an audible breath. “Oh, God. I’m not sure if I’m ready.”
“You will be,” he said gently. “You can do this. You’re amazing, Leah.”
She fell into step with him. “But?” she prodded. “I can feel there’s a but in there.”
“There is,” he said. “I’ve scheduled you an appointment with Dr. Becker. You have to get some sleep. You moved out because your nightmares were waking me. But obviously they haven’t gotten better.”
Oh, they were better all right. They were so much better she hated to leave them and come back to real life. He knew that for a fact.
Her cheeks blushed. “I don’t need—”
He cut her off. “No choice. I’m your sponsor.”
She bit her lip and they walked in silence for a bit, but he didn’t want to leave it that way. “Leah, you need sleep. You slept fine in my arms that last day before you moved out. That was the last time.”
He knew what scared her off that last day. He’d been right there with her in the dreams. Lying in his arms changed them from those of her ex to those of the possibility of life together. It scared her so much she moved and tried to avoid him. If it wasn’t for the fact he was her sponsor, she’d have cut off all contact.
“I didn’t sleep fine,” she protested. “You did. You needed that.”
“Yes,” he agreed. “The best ever. But so did you. It’s why you were rested enough to sneak out and talk Robyn into a new apartment.”
“I didn’t sneak out,” she protested. “I’m free to come and go as I please.”
“Yes, you are,” he agreed. “But are you happier in your quarters alone?”
Fact was, he knew she wasn’t. Their relationship might have progressed by now if she’d remained with him in one apartment and explored her dreams. Instead, she’d run.
“I’m just tired from the nightmares, Trance,” she said.
“I know.” His voice was gentle. “So if you need some help sleeping, a visit to medbay might help with that. Get a check-up. Make sure everything is okay. It could take a while to sort your body out, so be patient. In the meantime, we’ll call a truce and visit outside the city.”
“We don’t need a truce, Trance. I don’t have any issues with you. You’re my sponsor—”
“I should be more than that.”
Her voice was strangled. “How so?”
“We should be friends. We got along for a while. When we first met and when we first moved in together.”
“We are friends,” she said. “That didn’t stop. I’m sorry if it hasn’t seemed like it. I’ve been so ungrateful when you’ve done everything for me. I miss talking to you. I miss our cooking sessions. I miss eating dinners with you. I miss movie nights.”
It took a lot for her to admit that. She battled her fear of entrapment to tell him her true feelings and in fact, admitted such to herself.
“I miss you, too,” he said. “I don’t have real friends and you and I had clicked immediately.”
“You have friends,” she said, stopping to put a hand on his forearm. “Tempest speaks highly of you. I know Shawn likes you, though he’s a bit more standoffish because he’s the leader of the team. Envy and Impatience tease you like they would a friend.”
“It’s you that I’m most comfortable with.”
“I know,” she whispered. “And I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I’ll go to medbay. I’ll see if there’s a physical problem keeping me from sleeping. Hopefully when I get rested, I can stop being so prickly and we can get back to normal?”
As if surprised that she’d just become aware of her hand on his arm, she removed it. But it was slowly, not the usual jerky way she’d move. Maybe the sleeping pills would be the way to go. If she calmed down enough, he could tell her before she had a chance to shut him down.
Their friendship would have to withstand the fact that he was her supporter. He was right there in her dreams. And she didn’t dream of being married because she had a secret fantasy or crush on him. She dreamed of what could be—because that was where they were heading. She just couldn’t see it. He needed to proceed carefully because he didn’t want to come across stalkerish like her ex. Naturally she was highly sensitive to it.
“It’s all right to touch me. I won’t take it the wrong way.” There. It was out in the open. “You don’t have to worry about me coming on to you. I can simply love you from afar.” He gripped his heart, bouncing his fist on his chest like it was throbbing.
“Oh, stop!” She laughed. “Trance. You’re such a wonderful, gorgeous, sexy man. It’s not fair to give me your love. I’m too broken. You deserve someone to worship you.” She laid the back of her hand across her forehead like a medieval maiden.
“Tell my heart to turn off.” He grinned at her, showing her he still teased. Because once she sensed they were getting too serious, she’d be off like a shot. “Enough of this girly talk. You got things to confess, call Tempest, not me.”
She made a small choking sound like smothered laughter.
“I just want to be friends again while we visit the outside world. It’s my first time, you know. So many new sights to take in.”
“It is?” Her eyes were huge. “I’m gonna show you the sights.”
“Yes. I’ve been watching videos while I work at the gate. I can navigate around fully. Unfortunately, I’ve been told I have to pretend I’m human while protecting you. That means contacts and sunglasses.”
“We’ll dress you as a bodyguard,” she said. “The uniform will explain your bigger bulk compared to the rest of the population. Lots of times, bodyguard muscles aren’t real. The uniforms are designed to give them that appearance. It differentiates their class, but works in our favor.”
“This will be fun,” he said. “We’ll be like super spies on a mission or something.”
She looped her arm through his. “Yep. A whole weekend of role-playing.”
Trance bit his lip. Gad, she was too tired to even realize what she was saying.
