Chapter 31
The dream had a wispy quality of life half remembered. Dawn made her way through a crowd of strangers, their forms as varied as stars in the night sky. She looked down at herself and realized she was wearing her gold dress.
Suddenly, the crowd parted. As she watched, a striking figure in tight black pants, his broad chest naked, stalked toward her. He was massive, imposing, and impossibly handsome.
And I know him.
The male reached her, pulling her into his arms with a wicked smile that lit up her insides. He put a hand to her cheek and she rested it against his palm, reveling in his touch.
“Hey, little girl,” he said, his voice husky. “Wanna learn to fly?”
With that, he pushed off the ground, and up they went into the spiraling reaches, other couples moving to make way for them. He spun them around, eliciting her laughter. They were dancing, their feet far above the ground.
“Zelup,” she said suddenly. He smiled and nodded. “I love you.”
The words slipped out of her, and with them, the dream fell apart. She felt as if she were falling, tumbling into the void.
But in the end, she landed not on the ground but in her own body.
Dawn’s eyes shot open. They met a pair of dark eyes, and she watched as relief flooded them.
“You’re awake,” he said, cradling her to his chest. “Thank the gods!”
“What happened?” she asked, groggy. “Why are you here?”
Z leaned to press a kiss to her cheek. “You were in danger. I had to come.” His face took on a frightened cast. “Do you remember me?”
Her face screwed up with confusion. “Of course, I remember you. Zelup Vartik, intergalactic man of anonymity.”
Her words didn’t seem to satisfy him. “And what am I to you?”
“What are you? To me?” She thought long and hard about his words. How did she answer that? He had been a lover, a partner in battle, and a source of unending frustration. Finally, she settled on something in between. “You’re my friend. And a pain in my ass.”
He laughed, pulling her tighter into his chest. “You do remember me.”
Dawn shook her head. “That still doesn’t explain what happened. Why did you come back? And where’s Ladee?”
His smile melted and he began to stroke her cheek. “After I’d left you, I returned to the Double V to drown my sorrows, so to speak.” His eyes were alert, searching for her reaction, so she decided not to show one.
“I saw two men, one blond, the other bald, and I felt as if I knew them somehow. They disappeared before I could speak to them, so I called the number Ladee had slipped me before I left. When the call cut off unexpectedly, I knew something was wrong.”
There was a lot to unpack in his words. Dawn pulled away from him and stood, wrapping her arms around herself. “I remember them,” she said, the image of the pair filling her mind suddenly. “They were looking for Sleep. I tried to lie to them but the bald one read it from my mind and he… he made me hate you.” Her eyes filled with tears and her voice broke on the next words she spoke. “And they stole Ladee.”
Now she could recall the moments before she’d lost consciousness. Her cheeks flushed as she remembered holding the laser drill on him, seconds away from using the device to hurt him. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, her back to him.
Z rose and came close, his hands on her shoulders. She could feel the warmth of his body behind her and she wanted so badly to lean back into it, to absorb his warmth, to rely on his strength, to be able to trust in him to keep her safe.
But he left you here and went right back to the Double V. Your estimation of the situation was correct. He doesn’t want you.
“It wasn’t your fault,” he said, pressing a kiss to her neck. “They implanted those memories. It took all of my powers of persuasion, and perhaps even literal divine intervention, to pull you back out again.”
Dawn turned around, rubbing the spot on her neck where his lips had just scalded her. “Why didn’t you just leave me like I was?” she asked, for once unable to fight back against the tears that welled in her eyes. “Why make me remember you? You could have left and never come back. How I felt about you doesn’t matter.”
His face betrayed his pain. “It does matter. It matters more than anything.”
“Why?” She didn’t understand any of this. He held her close, he kissed her neck, but he didn’t want her.
“Because I love you.”
