Phantom Lover

chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

It was after midnight before Erin finally found the courage to go to sleep.

She was terrified of what her dreams might bring and yet she wanted to see V'Aidan again.

How stupid was that?

He wasn't real and there was no guarantee she'd ever have another dream with him in it.

Still, she wanted a small miracle.

Surrendering herself to the domain of Morpheus, she let her exhaustion take her.

Instead of the falling sensation she'd learned to expect from her dreams, she felt as if she were flying high above the world.

For the first time in weeks, she had normal, happy dreams.

No one chased her.

no one scared her.

It was heaven, except for the absence of one particular phantom lover.

Sighing in her sleep,Erin saw herself dressed in jeans and a tank top, sitting outside on the porch swing that used to hang on the patio at her Aunt Mae's house.

The day was perfect, bright and pleasantly warm with fragrant air laced with honeysuckle and pine.

She'd spent so many youthful summers here on this farm in the California mountains.

How she had missed it.

"What is this place?"

She started at the deep, accented voice behind her.

Turning around, she saw V'Aidan leaning against the white porch railing, his hands braced on each side of him, watching her.

His long black hair was tied back into a ponytail and those clear silver eyes were guarded.

His black button-down shirt only emphasized the perfect muscles of his body, and his jeans had

holes in the knees.

For some reason she couldn't fathom, he looked a bit pale and tired, his features pinched.

Even so, she was glad he was here.

She smiled at him. "It's one of my favorite places from childhood."

"What did you do here?"

She stood up and approached him, but he quickly moved away. "Is something wrong?"

V'Aidan shook his head.

He shouldn't be here.

He should have stayed far away from her, and yet…

He couldn't.

As soon as she'd fallen asleep, he had felt her soothing presence calling out to him.

Determined, he had fought it as long as he could.

But in the end, it had been futile.

He'd come here against his will.

Against his common sense.

His body, even though it healed a hundred times faster than a human's, was still sore and aching from his punishment.

It reminded him of the high cost he would have to pay again should anyone learn where he was.

She placed her hand on his arm.

V'Aidan closed his eyes as pain swept through him.

His arms were so incredibly sore, but not even the agony of his wounds could conceal the hot, intense shiver he felt at her touch.