Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 85108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
On the bedside table was an old-fashioned pad of paper and the top sheet was covered with her partner’s small, neat handwriting. Andi couldn’t have said why, but she felt drawn to read it. Without questioning the impulse, she went over and picked the pad up.
“Dream Journal” was written at the top in block letters. Below it, the real writing began.
Andi stepping in front of the pain whip—healing my back, she read. Her eyes went wide and she read some more. Andi wiping away the burning plum oil and then sucking my cock and letting me come in her mouth…Andi coming to me in my room when my Thirst was bad. She let me drink from her vein and then let me suck her nipples and taste her sweet pussy…
“Hey, what are you doing?” Thrax’s deep voice behind her startled her so much that she dropped the pad and jumped away from the bed.
“Nothing! I, uh, thought I saw a bug—that’s all.”
“What—you thought you saw a bug on my dream journal?” he growled, glaring at her. “That’s some pretty private shit, you know. You can’t just fucking read someone else’s journal!”
“I’m sorry—I didn’t see anything. Well, not much of anything, Andi assured him quickly. “I just saw my name on the paper and got curious,” she added.
Thrax raised an eyebrow.
“So first you saw a bug and then you saw your name. What’s going on here, Andi?”
“I could ask you the same thing!” she shot back, getting defensive. “Why are you writing…that kind of thing about me?” She nodded at the pad of paper which had landed face up on the bed.
Thrax sighed and ran a hand over his horns.
“Because I’ve been having these crazy, fucked-up dreams and you seem to be in all of them.”
“Dreams, really? That’s weird.” Andi shrugged weakly. Oh God, she was in trouble now—he was having dreams about the memories she’d altered!
Her guilt must have shown on her face because Thrax narrowed his eyes and stared down at her.
“Hey, you know something about this, don’t you?” he demanded, nodding at the pad. “I can tell you do—what is it?”
“Nothing—I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Andi exclaimed.
Thrax glared at her.
“You’re lying to me! You’ve never lied to me before, Andi.” He leaned down and looked directly into her eyes. “What are you hiding? What’s going on with me and what really happened during our last mission?”
“Nothing happened!” she denied weakly.
“Then why did I have to go through a Cleansing Ceremony after it?” Thrax demanded. “I don’t remember much of anything before waking up naked on my knees in the Sacred Grove with you and that priestess. What happened to my memory?”
“All right!” Andi said desperately. “I’ll tell you as much as I can…but I don’t know how much that will be.”
“What?” Thrax frowned at her and shook his head. “What does that even mean?”
“Just sit here beside me and let’s talk.” Andi sat on the side of his bed, which was covered in a dark blue spread, and patted the spot beside her.
Warily, Thrax sat beside her.
“All right—talk,” he growled. “What happened to me?”
Andi took a deep breath and sent up a silent prayer, please, Goddess, don’t let me re-trigger him or undo any of the good the cleansing did!
Then she began to explain.
39
THRAX
“Okay, so before we start, how about you tell me exactly what you’ve been dreaming?” Andi asked, raising an eyebrow.
Thrax shifted uncomfortably on the bed.
“Pretty much that kind of thing,” he said, nodding at his dream journal—he really should have hidden it and not just left it lying around. “How much did you read?”
“Enough to know that most of your dreams seem to include me.” Andi’s cheeks were turning pink, the way they did when she got embarrassed.
“Yeah, they do.” Thrax cleared his throat. “Sorry if that’s fucking awkward for you. I don’t know why this is happening.”
“I do,” she said in a low voice. “I’m just not sure how much I can tell you without…without causing a problem.”
“What kind of problem?” Thrax demanded. “Andi, please—I feel like I’m going crazy! Just fucking tell me.”
“Okay, but first give me your blaster.” She held out her hand expectantly.
Thoroughly confused now, Thrax gave it to her. Andi checked it and then put it in the nightstand drawer and locked it. She tucked the key into the pocket of her jeans and then turned to face him again.
“All right, listen. Our last mission was to Salacious Delta and there really was swamp gas there they called ‘the Fume’—that part is true. We went there to rescue Commander Kier, who had been kidnapped and taken to a ‘milking farm’ where they were harvesting his seed. But the mission itself triggered some bad memories for you and you were really upset.”
“Like how upset?” Thrax asked skeptically.
“So upset I was afraid you’d hurt yourself,” Andi said and the worry in her big brown eyes made his heart fist in his chest.