CHAPTERNINE
MARCUS
After dinner,Merry disappeared into her room to unpack and set up her computer. She mentioned having to find work since she wouldn't be doing the job Dumont hired her to do.
When Ava and Macgrath left, she grew quiet, thoughtful. I no longer sensed fear from her, but she was stressed. Anxious.
Even Callum's attempts at humor didn't pull her out of herself.
"You should go talk to her," Callum murmured to me as we cleaned up the kitchen. "I know you want to."
"And how do you know that?" I asked, ignoring his suggestion.
"Because you keep looking over your shoulder toward the hallway."
I shrugged and focused on washing the dishes. "She needs time to acclimate to us. She doesn't need me in her face all the time."
"She likes you, you know," he said after few seconds of silence.
"No, she just doesn't fear me anymore. That's not the same thing."
"Well, she likes to look at your...everything when you're not paying attention."
"Looking isn't the same as liking," I grumbled, scrubbing the pan in my hand a little harder.
"It's a start."
"Are you going to speculate about Merry's thoughts and feelings or dry the damn dishes?" I asked.
Callum stopped speaking and picked up the towel and the pan I'd just rinsed.
I couldn't stop thinking about what he said.
Or the dream that I'd shared with Merry after we met.
But as I told Callum, looking and appreciating the view wasn't the same as having a deeper emotion. For some reason, I wanted Merry to regard me with something more than attraction, deeper than enjoying what I looked like.
At nine, I gave up trying to watch television. Callum had closed himself up in his room after he helped me clean the kitchen, stating he was going to play some computer game. I wanted to hang out in the living room in case Merry emerged from her room, but her door remained shut.
I should have realized it wouldn't be that simple.
I should have reinforced my mental shields. But it didn't occur to me before I got in bed.
I knew immediately I was dreaming, even though I was still in my room. But I wasn't alone in my narrow bed.
Slender hands cupped my shoulders as I rolled over onto my back. She rolled with me until her body sprawled over mine.
"Strange," she whispered.
"What's strange?"
"This is my second dream about you and I barely know you."
"You have to know someone well to dream about them?"
Merry smiled down at me. "I guess not." Her hand cupped my face and she swept her thumb over my bottom lip. "It's just strange that I'm having sexy dreams about a vampire, especially when I'm not sure if I can trust him."
My hands tightened on her waist. "You can trust me."
