Chevalier pulled up a chair, realizing that she still wouldn't look at him. Her eyes were shut, but her body was not yet relaxed. "Let's continue."

Emily looked up at him suddenly.

He smiled. "The questions... I didn't finish."

She nodded.

"Tell me about Keith," he began.

She frowned and shook her head slightly. "What about him?"

"Start at the beginning... how you met."

She watched as her hand absentmindedly traced the pattern on the bedspread, and she shrugged. "He worked for my dad as a field hand. I was only 14 when he started, but I think I had a crush on him from day one. When I was 17, he finally talked Dad into letting us date." She paused, her eyes becoming thoughtful. "I don't think Dad ever trusted him. I never quite understood why. Then a few months later, we got married."

Chevalier couldn't help but comment. "I can understand why Allen didn't trust him."

Emily looked over at him. "Keith can be a handful, yes, but all in all, he's a good guy, and he's good for me."

"What makes you say that?"

"How else could I handle all of the attacks? He takes care of them for me, and all I have to do in return is put up with his temper. He also helps me run the ranch. I'm not sure I could do that on my own."

"Would you stay with Keith if he no longer protected you from attackers?"

Her eyes showed a hint of fear. "I can't leave him."

"Fair enough." He fully planned on dealing with that later on. "What about your job? What do you do?"

"I'm imagining by now I'm fired."

"Okay, what did you do?"

"I code." His eyebrows rose, but before he could respond, she continued. "I write programs for the government. No one else knows what I do, or shall I say, what I was doing for them."

He noted some skepticism in her voice. "I'm not interested in what you do for the government."

"What are you interested in then?"

"Again, child, we will get into that later."

"Stop calling me child. I'm not a child. I'm 23-years-old." Her jaw set, and Chevalier fought to keep from chuckling.

"I am sorry. Please continue."

"That's it... I write programs for the government. I prefer my time on the ranch, obviously, but it helps pay the bills."

"If you could guess, how many times in your life have you been attacked by heku?"

"Including just now?" she snapped.

"Ouch... no, not counting just now."

"I don't really know. Several times a year, I guess. Sometimes it's worse than others. At times, they come in droves, all begging me to join some stupid coven." She thought for a moment and then turned toward him, wincing slightly at the ache in her side. "Is that what you want? You want me to join your coven?"

"No ch... dear... I don't believe my coven could handle you," he said with a chuckle.

"Hmm, I'm not sure if I find that offensive or not."

"No offense implied," he assured her.

"Chevalier, I need to go back to the ranch." Her eyes were pleading.

He shook his head. "Not yet."

"Keith must be worried sick. He and Sam can't handle the ranch without me. It's my ranch."

"I'm sure Keith and Sam are doing fine."

"You can't be sure of that! For all I know, they abandoned my animals and left them to fend for themselves."

He sighed. "Would you feel better if I made a call and had them checked on?"

"No, I would feel better if you would let me go."

"Not yet." The tone of his voice indicated that that part of the discussion was over. "I will make some calls in the morning. For now, it's time for you to get some rest."

"No pain meds," she told him sternly.

"Emily, I've told you, the doctor said you need all of the doses so you can heal and get some rest."

"I won't let you."

Her stubbornness never ceased to catch him off guard. "You know there's nothing you can do about it. Things would be easier if you would just sit still and take it."

"Please"

Her soft voice made Chevalier hesitate a bit. "Emily, think of it this way. Each day you are getting stronger. Will you take the morphine willingly if I promise that when you wake up, you can take a hot shower and get dressed? I'll even show you around the house."

Her breathing started to pick up, matching her racing heartbeat. "No, please don't."

Panic filled the air.

Chevalier made a split-second decision just to get it over with. Emily barely had time to fight back, and when it was over, she quickly fell into the darkness.

He headed out to the snowcat. He had to find something to quench his thirst, and to help keep the beast at bay. He noted the time, and he only had about eight hours to get into the tiny town of Meeker, find a donor, willing or not, and get back before she started to stir again. He watched the dark house as the snowcat made its way into the night. His heart sank at the thought of leaving Emily alone, but he didn't see as though he had a choice.

Chapter 4.

The voices were all around her in the dark forest. She couldn't make out what the whispers were saying, but they were growing louder as she ran, desperate to get away from them. Chevalier was ahead of her in a clearing, but she couldn't reach him. He beckoned to her with his hand. She could see his mouth moving, but he was too far away to hear what he was saying.

The voices were getting closer, closing in on her from all directions. She could finally make out what they were chanting, and the words brought a new horror to the dark. It wasn't her they wanted. It was Chevalier. She had to get to him, to warn him, but her feet were moving in slow motion.

She screamed for him. If he would just run...

"Emily," he said, sitting on the side of her bed.

She looked up at him, her breathing rapid. The realization that it was a dream wasn't sudden. It came through the fog of her mind.

"Emily, what's wrong?" he asked. His words were hurried and concerned.

She couldn't answer him, couldn't pull her mind clear of the medicated slowness.

Chevalier reached down and pulled her into a cradle on his lap, then held her close as she shivered. "Tell me what's wrong."

She buried her head into his chest, trying to block out the voices from the dream.

He sighed heavily. "Was it a nightmare?"

She nodded, refusing to pull her face away from the comfort of his chest.

He gently ran his fingers through her hair. "It's okay. It's over now."

He held her for longer than he expected she would let him. At one point, he was able to shut his eyes and focus on her, her scent, her breathing, and her heartbeat. The sounds were comforting to him somehow. At long last, she sat up and looked around the room.

She smiled sheepishly. "Are you still going to let me take a shower?"

"Of course, my dear," he assured her. He helped her to her feet. The pain seemed to be markedly improved this morning, and she didn't turn pale or begin to black out.

"I have the bathroom ready for you. Anything you need should be in the cupboard, but if you are missing something, just yell, and I will get it."

She nodded and followed him to the bathroom. The bathroom was larger than her bedroom on the ranch. Its soft peach colors were in contrast to the man beside her, who always wore black. The room was warm and well lit, comfortable. There was a large jetted garden tub in the center of the granite tile floor, and a double shower was in the corner. Emily watched while he walked out and shut the door. When she locked the door behind him, she thought she heard him chuckle.

He was still laughing to himself as he neared his study. He stepped inside and shut the door, glad that he had soundproofed that one room. The small silver cell phone was in his hand in an instant, and moments later, Storm answered.

"Warwick Consolidation," she said.

Chevalier grinned. He always thought it was funny when she used the faade for his business number. "Storm, it's me."

"Oh, sir!" She sounded relieved. "I'm so glad you called. Everyone's trying to get a hold of you. There are news crews just off the island..."

He cut her off. "News crews?"

He could hear her sigh. "Yes, it's all been a big mess. Lord Ulrich tried for a few days to contact you when Emily went missing. When he couldn't get through to you, he had Sam point the finger at you for her disappearance. That led them here."

A low growl escaped him. "You can tell Ulrich that I will call him when I feel like it and not before. What have the news crews said?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. No one here will talk to them, and they haven't found anything bad about the company," she assured him.

"Thank you, Storm. I'm very pleased to see everything was handled perfectly."

Her voice lightened with his compliment. "Are you coming back soon?"

"I'm not sure. Things are progressing slowly here, but I hope to move things along faster, as soon as she's healed."

"Sir, are you falling for her?" The concern in her voice was touching.

"No, Storm, this is all business." He hoped she couldn't hear the tension in his voice.

"I'm worried about you. She's dangerous."

"I do keep that in mind. I assure you."

The long pause was awkward. "I know you do, sir."

"I need a favor."

"Anything, sir."

"I need to get a check on the Russo ranch. See if Sam and Keith are keeping up with things. If they are falling behind, I want their bills anonymously paid, and send over help, someone who knows about animals and offers to work for room and board."

She knew better than to question him again. "Yes, sir. I think Kyle used to work on a farm. I'll send him over."

"Make sure he watches out for Sam. Sam is Ulrich's familiar."

"Yes, sir, I'll make sure he knows."

"I'll call and check in on things later."

"Are you sure we can't send someone else to help you?" It was obvious she was offering.

"No, stay there. I need you on guard, Storm. I can trust you more than the others, and right now, trust is what I need." He shut the phone and listened. The sound of the shower had just turned off.

He left his office and moved silently into the bedroom. When she emerged from the bathroom, he was sitting on the bed waiting for her.

"Feel better?" he asked again, appreciating her beauty.

"Much better, thank you." She was toweling her hair dry and sat gently in the chair by the fire. "Thank you for the clothes too, though I've never been big on dresses."

He smiled. He knew that when he'd purchased the light-blue cotton dress. "I took the liberty of buying you a wardrobe for while you are here."