Part 33 (1/2)
”Hey, Megan, just be glad you got yourself a wire-muscled blackbelt there, huh?” Adam said. ”He can keep down the drunks, the tough guys, and even the things that go b.u.mp in the night.”
She forced a smile. ”Right.”
They exited the hotel together.Once outside, they both stopped. The fog was gone. The moon was huge, flooding the parking lot with light.
”I'll walk you to... your car. Or whoever's car it is,” Finn said. ”Aunt Martha's, I take it. You're staying with her, right?”
”Yes.” She hesitated. His eyes were on her. Green. Framed by the dark lashes and defined, cleanly arched brows. That she might have suspected him of staging a rescue suddenly filled her with shame. This was the man she knew, loved. Was terrified of losing.
How long would he keep patience with her?
And yet that morning...
She had been certain she had been about to die.
”I thought I should go to Aunt Martha's because... well, she's so sensible. I know that you suspect Morwenna and Joseph of trying to put a wedge between us. And you're wrong; Morwenna likes you a lot, and you seem to get along fine with Joseph.” And now, look at you and Sara! she almost added. ”Anyway, I just didn't want to... well, to feed into any of your thoughts on Wiccans, so I went to Aunt Martha's. But... you knew, I guess.”
He shrugged. ”You weren't with Morwenna, so I a.s.sumed you went to Martha's, yes.”
”Finn,” she murmured. ”I didn't walk out. All right, I did walk out, but not like before. I just don't understand what's going on, and I actually left because I do love you, and I'm not angry, or jealous, or anything else... just afraid.”
”It's all right. I understand.”
”You do? Really?”
”Yes.”
She stood awkwardly for a moment, then smiled slowly. ”In a way, that makes it even harder. Don't be too nice-not when I'm feeling a little like a jerk. At least, it's just two days until Halloween. Then we're out of here. And if the dreams continue, for either of us, we're rus.h.i.+ng straight to a psychoa.n.a.lyst!”
”Go on, get into your car. I'll follow you out to Aunt Martha's.”
”You don't have to-”
”Yes, I do.”
She shrugged. ”Okay.”
”And don't worry; I'm not staying. I actually have something of a promise to fulfill this evening.”
”Oh? Anything I should know about?” she asked. A tickle of jealousy found root in her heart. Was she falling for something incredibly stupid right now? Was his appointment with Sara, or even the blatantly head-over-heels Gayle Sawyer?
”A promise-and an investigation,” he said, grimacing ruefully.
”What are you talking about?”
”I saw the kids earlier this evening, and they were alarmed by something they found old Fallon doing.”
”Really? What?”
”Cooking up spells in a pot, or something like that Anyway, I intend to snoop around the house during the wee hours.””Finn... should you be doing that?”
”Definitely. What if the old fellow does think that he can cook up some evil for Halloween? He could be dangerous, and there are those two children in the house.”
”Finn, you've got to be careful,” she warned uneasily. ”Fallon doesn't like you to begin with.”
”Guess what? I'm not so fond of him.”
”But still...”
”Don't worry about it. If I come across him doing anything weird, I'll simply ask him what he's up to. Maybe he has some perfectly rational explanation for whatever it is.”
”Why didn't the kids go to their parents?”
”They did.”
”And?”
”They're kids-they got in trouble for sneaking around at night.”
Megan hesitated. ”Maybe I should go back with you. You're kind of like a big kid sometimes. I may have to keep you out of trouble.”
He shook his head, observing her gravely. ”Megan, you haven't even told me what I did-or supposedly did.”
”Finn, there was no supposed. You nearly strangled me. You woke in the night like a s.e.x-starved ex-con, and then... at the end...
nearly strangled me.”
He stared back at her, spine rigid, jaw hard, eyes almost as shadowy as the strange blue fog that too often came at night.
”There are no bruises on your neck, Megan,” he said coldly.
”Finn, I may be the one who wakes up screaming, but you're having some mean dreams, too. I think. I can't figure out what else could make you behave so bizarrely in your sleep.”
”Megan, perhaps it was your dream.”
”No... Finn, I was really terrified of you!”
”As I said, there are no bruises on your neck.”
”Finn-”
”Megan, it's all right. I'll follow you back to Martha's, see that you get there safely.”
She lowered her head. ”All right. Thanks,” she murmured softly.
He walked with her to Martha's car, where she determined to drive him to his. When they reached it, she told him miserably, ”The oddest thing is, it's sleeping together that's so scary.”
”Well, that's great to hear,” he said dryly.
She laughed. ”I didn't say s.e.x itself. Just sleeping together.””But it's s.e.x when we're sleeping together,” he said.