Tempered by Love

Chapter 2 Humiliation

  
 The dream was so real, he'd felt her under him and now she was gone. Daniel clawed his way out of  the sleeping bag in a desperate fight to escape its confinement, his breathing came in ragged gasps. His loins on fire, the memory of his first night in the suite, dreaming of Rose flooded back, filling him with aching humiliation. His body demanded relief, but that was not happening; not here -- with his children and Addie just a few feet away. He stood at the end of the lounger with tears streaming down his face; physically hurting to hold her -- just one more time.  His bulging jeans made the aching loneliness and shame complete. He couldn't even take a cold shower to deal with the discomfort without waking everyone up. He couldn't face them finding out he couldn't control his own body. Miserable, he grabbed a torch and headed for the woods to face his degradation alone.

Fifty yards inside the tree-line, the sound of water rushing over rocks drew him to a stream. Daniel stood on the bank, staring at the way the water churned and frothed around the rocks. The water was so tempting, at least as good a shower, to ease the ache in his groin. Without further thought, he kicked his trainers off and began unzipping the offending material away. Slipping into the cold water, letting it wash over him, was the perfect solution to all his woes. He was so tired of hurting all the time. If it weren't for his sons, and Addie, the ocean would have solved his problems.

"You shouldn't do what you're thinking about. You slip on those rocks and crack your head, that's it."

Daniel whirled toward the unseen voice. "What? Who are you? Where are you?" he asked, shining the torch beam into the trees, trying to spot the spy. If the ground could have opened at the moment, he would gladly have allowed it to swallow him whole.

A short, balding man, dressed not much different from Daniel, stepped from behind the trees into the light.

Daniel kept the torch levelled at the stranger's face. "Who the bloody hell are you and why are you following me?"

The stranger smiled and keeping his hands in sight, stepped a bit closer. "This is the time of night I like to check things. I saw you bolt up and take off running as if a demon were chasing you. I'm guessing it was," the man said, nodding toward the bulge in Daniel's jeans. "I thought, I should make sure you were all right."

"I'm fine. Stay there," Daniel said, trying to fix himself. The man at least had the decency to glance away. Daniel clenched his jaw; there was something off about the man's European accent.  The hair on the back of his neck bristled with uneasiness. He wasn't sure if the unexpected goosebumps and shiver sweeping through his body came from the sudden shift in circumstance or something else. "You're with the new arrivals?" 

The man  smiled and eased another step forward. "Yes. I am." 

Daniel stiffened; his eyes narrowed. Then he felt it. This stranger was testing his shields, trying to suss his feelings. No one on this planet, not even Katie Hettinger, could push past his shields. More than ever, he regretted the lack of a proper sonic screwdriver. Daniel trained his torch on the stranger, wishing he somehow he'd managed to stay awake long enough to tweak his scanner. "Who are you?" he growled.

The shorter man eased closer. "Most people call me Tomašis," he answered, looking at his feet.

Daniel scanned the trees with his torch light looking for anything else that didn't belong, for anyone else who didn't belong. He eased up the bank in the direction of the caravan.

"They are safe, no one will harm them, at least not one of us," Tomašis said.

Daniel stopped again, keeping the torch squarely on the intruder. There was something oddly familiar about the way this man talked, his voice had a calming, almost musical quality.  He was still a threat until Daniel knew otherwise."What are you? You're not human."