Nodding, I moved aside to let him use the bathroom, relieved that I didn’t have to try right away. I dug out some clothes and ducked back into the bathroom when he had finished.
How had I let boys know I liked them before the dreams exposed the hot mess that was my life? Long looks, cute clothes, smiling conversation. I didn’t think any of that would work with Luke. Trying to trick him was pointless, and I didn’t want his hand in my face anymore, either. What did that leave me? Being nice and giving it time? Actually letting myself grow feelings for him? I wanted to throw something. Instead, I opened the door and gave him a halfhearted smile.
A few minutes later, we strolled side by side down the sidewalk in the direction the motel manager had pointed. A small gas station offered premade sandwiches and bags of junk food. My stomach rumbled as I eyed the displays, and his echoed it as if they were having a conversation. He grinned and reached for a bag of chips. I grabbed for the sandwiches.
With a bag loaded up with goodies, we headed back. He opened the door for me and stood aside to let me in. After kicking off my shoes, I sat on the bed folding my legs under me. He set the bag next to me, grabbed a sandwich from it, and sat on the chair.
“Thank you for the food,” I said reaching for my own sandwich. “And for helping me sleep. And the walk. It was good to get outside and not feel like I needed to run.”
He stopped chewing and looked at me suspiciously but nodded his welcome. Crap, was I being that obvious? I took a large bite and chewed slowly. Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned the walk. I was just trying to be nice. And thankful. How else should I ease him into the idea that I cared?
I glanced at him and saw he’d already polished off two sandwiches. I forgot to eat and just stared as he consumed another triangle in two bites. Silently, I popped open a bag of chips and offered it to him. He demolished those and looked at my sandwich which I willingly—and perhaps a little fearfully—surrendered.
“How long was I out?”
“Sixteen hours,” he mumbled around a dessert cake.
“Sorry. Maybe we should go back and stockpile some more food in case I crash hard again.” And so I had something to eat, I thought as I opened the last bag of chips.
He looked up at me with mixed emotions on his face. First, he appeared happy about my suggestion, then a little disheartened.
He finished the cake in another bite and took a drink of water from one of the bottles he purchased. “Do you think you’ll sleep that long again?”
“I honestly don’t know. I don’t feel tired yet, but I can feel another dream calling me.”
He leaned back and studied me for a moment. “What do you dream about? And I don’t mean you dying. Sometimes, the dreams don’t seem to disturb you so much.”
“If it’s not of death, it’s about a lady. I think of her as the Taupe Lady because of the color of the gown she always wears.”
“Who is she?”
“I don’t know, but from how the people dress in the dreams, I get the feeling she’s always been here. Even in my really old dreams, she shows up. She seems like she cares but never really does anything to help me. I mean, she says things that sound like cryptic advice; but if she can show up whenever she wants, why doesn’t she show up when I really need her? Why doesn’t she step in and stop some of the bad stuff from happening?”
“Maybe she can’t,” he suggested quietly.
“What do you mean?”
“My kind has rules to follow and laws to obey. Our laws can’t be broken even if we wanted to break them. What if she has rules and laws too?”
I thought about it for a moment. “What do you mean you can’t break them?”
He sighed and shook his head at me. “Sometimes you seem to know so much about what I am. How did you learn about my kind?”
“My dreams,” I answered honestly.
“That’s not possible,” he said.
“Okay, then how do I know?” He looked at me with a suitably shocked expression, and I continued. “This is what I’ve figured out. There are dog-men out there that can shift between their dog form and man form.”
“I prefer to think of myself as more of a wolf. It’s more dignified.”
Rolling my eyes, I continued. “They want me and the few women like me for some reason that I haven’t yet figured out. We are reborn every one thousand years. There seems to be a period of time within each cycle that we can be reborn several times. Almost every time I’m found, they end up killing me after making me Claim and mate with one of their own.” I didn’t mention the dreams where I killed myself.
“Almost every time?” he asked tilting his head as his focus intensified.