"Good riddance, you dip weed," Sorley said.

Clarissa's restlessness drove her out of bed when the sun still slumbered. But day would soon be here. She couldn't sleep worrying about Ronan and Sorley. She dug some new jeans out of her suitcase, as well as a pair of panties. Smiling, she couldn't help but admit the animal way he'd ripped her clothes off had made her sex throb and her heart pound.

She headed into the bathroom and took a shower. As water slipped over her body she half expected the flesh between her thighs to be thoroughly sore. To her surprise she didn't feel overused. Pleasantly used, yes, but not as sore as she should be considering how long and hard Ronan had made love to her. His lovemaking had been everything she expected and beyond.

God, but the man could make love.

She'd barely rinsed the soap off her body when a strange sensation echoed in her stomach. A fluttering. She put her hand to her stomach in surprise. The feeling built until nausea rose over her once in a sickening wave. She shut off the water and stood in the shower a moment until the feeling subsided. Sweat broke out on her forehead for a second, then went away. Stunned and concerned, she toweled off quickly and dressed. As she stood in front of the mirror and looked at her long, wet hair, another wave of crazy feeling slipped over her, but this time it came as a hot flash. She shivered in distress, not liking the sick wave of discomfort one bit. Dark circles also rimmed her eyes.

"Damn it, you'd better not be coming down with something," she muttered.

She considered lying down again. To her surprise, though, the sickness left her and she felt wonderful. Energized, as a matter of fact.

"How bizarre," she said.

A cup of tea might settle her stomach and wake her up. As she went downstairs she became aware of the entire house, the subtle noise here and there that spoke of old times and old timber. Her senses felt heightened. Taking a deep breath, she allowed her body to relax for the first time since Ronan had left her in bed. Images of him hovering over her, ready to thrust his big cock inside her, made Clarissa shiver in remembered excitement.

She reached the bottom of the stairs and closed her eyes as another heat wave, this one more to do with arousal, swept her from head to toe.

"Good grief," she said and walked slowly to the kitchen.

Digging around in the kitchen cabinets, she found a mug and made tea in the microwave.

She settled down in the kitchen nook and sipped the drink. Relief settled over her as the tea warmed her and no more odd physical symptoms assaulted her. As she contemplated everything that happened between her and Ronan, she started to wonder when and if there would be any evidence that sleeping with him somehow helped their cause against the ancient one. Or had this whole thing been one big cosmic joke? Perhaps this seer and the man named Yusuf had lied.

Before she could think about it too much, she heard soft footsteps coming her way. Erin entered the kitchen and smiled as she slipped into a chair across from Clarissa.

"Good morning." Erin nodded. "Couldn't sleep?"

Clarissa took another sip of her tea. "No. I hope I didn't wake you up?"

"No, I was awake anyway. I've had trouble sleeping on some nights since I came to Pine Forest."

"I can't thank you enough for taking me in."

"No problem. It's like a big family here now." Erin shrugged.

Silence passed between them for a few moments, and Clarissa took another slow sip of her beverage. "You're handling all this strangeness very well. I'm impressed."

Erin appeared to go into deep thought a moment. "I guess you could say that with Lachlan beside me, I believe this is going to work out."

Clarissa put down her mug and leaned on the table. "So the visions I had don't frighten you?"

"Of course. But if we give up hope, what else is there but defeat?"

Clarissa gathered her still wet hair and pulled it away from her neck, then let the strands fall to her shoulders. "You're right. I shouldn't be thinking of this in terms of the glass being half empty. I'm glad you're all here together."

"And you're glad Ronan is with you."

"Oh, yes. He's... I don't know. Extraordinary. There's some sort of power that comes unleashed inside him. It's so powerful. So..."

"Arousing? I know. I get the same thing with Lachlan. But Ronan's powers are more extreme. Even I can sense that."

Clarissa considered her statement. "Dangerous looking, dangerous acting. Just plain perilous all the way around."

The sparkling amusement in Erin's eyes turned into a laugh. "That's for certain. I've seen him in action fighting the ancient one. He's incredible. Like a fierce warrior in battle. I've never seen or imagined anything like it. Don't get me wrong. I love Lachlan.

But any woman who didn't respond to Ronan's virility would have to be dead."

Clarissa wrapped her fingers around the mug to keep her hands warm. She thought back to the life Ronan had described before he became a vampire. "He went from a blacksmith to a warrior in a heartbeat."

Erin frowned. "He hasn't told us everything about what happened to him. I take it he told you?"

"Yes. All of it."

Erin leaned back in her chair looking well-satisfied. "Good. That's very good. It means he's opened up to you."

"We...uh...talked. More than once."

As if sensing the nuance behind Clarissa's allusion, Erin laughed softly. "I know. We could hear you."

Clarissa's mouth dropped open and she felt the blush reheat her face. "I'm so embarrassed."

Erin laughed again, this time sounding a little like a schoolgirl giggling. She clapped her hand over her mouth for a second. "No, don't be sorry. It-" She cleared her throat. "It gave Lachlan and I some ideas."

Understanding hit Clarissa between the eyes and suddenly she saw the kinky, hysterical side of it. She started to titter and Erin joined in.

"What's so funny?" Lachlan's Scots accent broke through their laughing as he stepped into the kitchen.

"Nothing, nothing," Erin said.

This time Erin blushed and Lachlan's gaze latched on her with an intensity that went straight to the heart. Clarissa could see the love in his eyes for the petite woman and it made Clarissa wonder if Ronan could ever feel that way about her.

Oh, damn. It's true. I want Ronan to fall in love with me. I do.

Before Clarissa could form another thought, a different wave of heat passed over her.

She put her head in her hands and closed her eyes. "OhGod."

"What's wrong?" Erin said quickly.

Clarissa pulled her hands away from her face and managed to speak through a second onslaught of nausea. "I feel like hell. When I was in the shower this morning I felt hot and cold and then nauseated."

Lachlan immediately went to Clarissa. He put his hand on her forehead and frowned.

"You don't have a fever."

Clarissa willed the sick feeling into abatement. "Maybe it's just something I ate. I had tea thinking it would do me some good. Now I'm not so sure." Then a horrifying thought came to Clarissa, one that didn't bear thinking about. "Wait a minute. You don't think that this sickness is the result of..."

She couldn't say it.

Lachlan, apparently, had no qualms. "Sex with Ronan?"