He flashed a wide smile."Absolutely not. If you prefer to wear your charming sweatensemble, that is perfectly fine with me."

I glanced down at the baggy sweat suit again and then over at the silky creations on the bed, and was torn between wanting to touch them and not wanting Devereux to know thecolorful dresses had captured my interest.

He waited silently while my inner demons fought with each other, and I saw the corner of his mouth twitch slightly as he tried to suppress a smile. I hated that my emotions and thoughts were apparently so transparent to him I mumbled under my breath and inched over to the bed. The gowns were lovely. Almost works of art.

Even someone with my limited fashion sense could see they were amazing. My eyes were immediately drawn to a shimmering blue gar-ment. I ran my fingers along the soft fabric with a sigh. The dress already felt as if it belonged to me.

"I love the dresses. They're beautiful. But I don't un-derstand why you bought them for me. Where would I wear such things? And, it isn't only the dresses." I examined my bare feet. "If you'd told me you were going to zap me out of my living room, I would've put on shoes."

He smiled and strolled over to an ornate wooden armoire, opened the tall doors and pointed to boxes of shoes and draw-ers of exquisite lingerie.All conveniently in my size.He bowed from the waist, a sweep of his arm indicating the collection, as if he was one of those game show models.

"I believe we have everything you require.''

What is this?Vampire Cinderella? Should I be flattered orcreeped out?

"Why did you get all those things for me? And why do you want me to wear them?"

He sat on the corner of the bed near me. "You are a beau-tiful woman. You should adorn yourself with beautiful things. And, it is appropriate for you to dress for the ceremony."

I instinctively stepped back."Ceremony? What ceremony?"

Sacrificing a virgin? Not in this lifetime.Bride of Dracula?Din-ner for the coven? Whatever it is, count me out.

"A ritual of protection.You have been taken by the darkest spirit I have ever encountered. I can feel his pres-ence even now."

"Ritual of protection?Wait a minute. How do you know who kidnapped me? Did you have something to do with it? What do you know about my ending up in a graveyard?"

He held up a graceful hand, palm out. "I had nothing to do with your abduction, but as soon as I awakened this eve-ning, I reconnected with your mind, read your memories and discovered what had happened. You are in great danger and I must protect you."

I don't know if he's Merlin's ghost, a vampire, a nut case, or all three, but I'm done."You know, this is sounding more and more like some-thing from a B horror movie, and I don't think I want to play. I want you to call me a cab so I can go home."

I moved rapidly toward the door and he was suddenly there, standing in front of me, blocking my path.

He placed a finger under my chin and lifted my face up so that we locked eyes, his expression very serious.

:tIshould have been more forthcoming with you from the beginning. I should have anticipated your need to understand and analyze everything. I did not wish to frighten you away by acting too quickly, but I see now that I have blundered. Please allow me the opportunity to make it up to you."

He bent down and pressed his lips against mine in a sweet kiss, and I took the first exit to Euphoria.

Again.

I reached up and held his face in both my hands and pressed my body against his, deepening the kiss.

First I punch him,then I kiss him. I've given new meaning to the words "mood swing."

We stood melded together for not nearly long enough. I let my hands slide down his face,then stepped back. It took me a couple of tries to find my voice.

"What is it you should've told me?"

He reached for my hand. ''This might take some time. It is better to be comfortable."

Hmmm. The vampire version of "Let's get in the back seat?"He led me over to the bed, gathered up all the dresses and draped them across the back of a throne-like chair. He crawled onto the bed-which was a very arousing thing to watch-sat against the headboard and patted the space next to him, inviting me to join him. I did.

I had a brief thought about what it meant that I was in bed with another man after spending the afternoon in a very intimate encounter with Alan. Was I now being unfaithful to Alan even though we'd made no promises to each other? We hadn't pretended our sexual attraction had any future impli-cations. Or had I been unfaithful to Devereux? For some reason that choice felt more troubling.

Wait a minute! Am Ichanneling a soap opera or something? I barely know either one of them and I haven't made any commitments to anyone. I'm a free agent and can do as I please. A curse on all those old Sandra Dee movies my mother used to make me sit through! Any minute now Pm going to get up and go home.

But I was immediately distracted by the fact that the bed felt so soft and welcoming, and I was half tempted to close my eyes and drift away. I forced myself to open my eyes very wide and concentrate on the painting of Devereux's mother that was visible from my vantage point.

She was so beautiful.Almost as beautiful as her son. I think her eyes were slightly more greenish blue and his are bluish green.Or maybe not. They strongly resemble each other, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what made De-vereux so masculine. Perhaps his jaw was slightly stronger than hers, or his cheekbones more defined.Something. But whatever it was, there was no way I could ignore his pure maleness.Dangerous male.Yummy male.

I giggled, of all things.

"Kismet?"

What?" I realized my mouth was hanging open and my eyelids were at half-mast.

''You are clearly more exhausted than I thought. Per-haps you should lie down and rest for a while."

"No, really.I'm fine. Just let me catch my second wind." I blinked my eyes several times and sat up straighter, turning to him. "Or coffee, maybe.Yeah, that'll do it."

He crawled down to my feet, grasped my ankles and tugged on them gently until he'd pulled me into a prone position, with my head on the pillow.

"Hey, I don't want to lie down. I don't want to . . ." Sleep must have ambushed me, because that's the last thing I remember.Until the dream.

I'm walking through an old, run-down, abandoned house. The darkness is relieved only by the full moon shining through the large, bro-ken windows. There's an unpleasant, musty smell masking something metallic-sweet-something familiar I can't identify.

I hear a child crying somewhere in the house, and I run toward the sound, yelling, "Where are you?" The corridor stretches out ahead of me, extending itself as I stumble along, feeling like Pm wading through tar.

Now the child's voice pleads, "Help me, help me," and my feet become heavier with every step. "Help me, help me."A heart-wrenching cry.

I scream, "Please, tell me where you are. I want to help you."

My mouth is dry, my heart pounding and I force myself to keep moving. I open every door along the unending hallway and finally come to a furnished bedroom where a sobbing boy sits on a huge, four-poster bed next to a small table where a candle burns. The child reaches out his little arms, as if to hug me, and I lean in to embrace him. His arms encircle my neck and he rests his cheek against mine. I rock him gently as he quiets, and then he resumes his chant, "Help me, help me, help me . . ."

I ask, "How can I help you?" and he suddenly rears back, expos-ing long, pointy fangs, and sinks the horrible teeth into my neck. I fight against him, trying to push him off of me, to break his vice-like hold on my neck, but he has strength beyond imagining.

Finally, I fall back onto the bed, barely breathing, and anoth-er voice-a terrible, disgusting voice I've heard before-takes up the child's plea. "Help me, help me, helpme . " I close my eyes, expect-ing death, and the familiar voice says, "Ah, we meet again." My dream eyes fly open and I'm no longer lying on the bed in the old house. I'm buried alive in a rotting coffin . . .

"No! Let me out!" I screamed, struggling to sit up. My heart raced and my skin felt hot, as if I'd been near a fire.

Twin points of pain throbbed on my neck and my lungs ached as I gasped for air.

The hideous tones of the voice echoed in my ears and slithered across my skin. The same repulsive voice I'd heard outside The Crypt before my brain shut down.

I pushed and fought against the hands holding me as if my life depended on it.

"Shhh. Kismet, it was only a dream. You are here, safe with me."

I gasped and forced my eyes open.

Devereux sat next to me on his bed, holding me down, a concerned expression on his face. I realized I'd been flailing my arms and kicking my legs. My cheeks were wet and my body trembled."It was only a dream. No one will harm you." Devereux pulled me up into a hug, and rocked me as I'd rocked the child in my nightmare.

"Only a dream.I don't know what that means anymore." I didn't feel normal with my eyes open or closed, and some-where along the way I'd lost hold of the thread of sanity I'd been clinging to.

I closed my eyes again for a moment and sank into the soothing motion, enjoying being close to Devereux. I bur-rowed my face into his silky hair, loving the spicy smell of it. I didn't know what it was about him that felt so right to me.So familiar. But in the midst of the madness my life had be-come, I was almost willing to stop thinking and just trust.

He picked up a bottle of water, cracked the seal, removed the top and handed it to me. I downed half of the water in one long pull and only realized how dry my mouth had been after it wasn't dry anymore. I set the bottle on the table next to the bed and suddenly felt awkward. There I was, in a magnificent bed being held by a blond god, and all I could think about was that my sweat suit was all rumpled and my mouth tasted sour.Which didn't bode well for the state of my breath.

Devereux smiled and stroked my hair.

"Your breath is fine, but after you rest a while longer if you wish to refresh yourself in order to feel confident, I can provide everything you need. But now I think you ought to lie back. You still seem pale."

"'That's something, coming from you," I teased self-con-sciously, in an attempt to change the subject.

He grinned. "Yes, I suppose you could say I have no need of suntan lotion."

He put his hand behind my head, grasped it gently, and guided it down toward the pillow. It did feel wonderful to surrender into the soft mattress again. He stretched out next to me, our bodies touching, his head propped on his hand, facing me.

"Kismet, are you having more dreams lately?More than usual?"I thought about the child's fangs in my neck and my skin went clammy.

"It isn't that I'm having more dreams. I always dream. It's that the dreams, the nightmares, are horrible.

Graphic and bloody and violent.Completely unlike my usual dreams. Why did you ask me that?"

''The same thing is happening to me and many others of my kind.An increase in dark visions and nightmares.' *

I lifted my head, stared at him and raised my eyebrows. "Are you saying that vampires dream?"

He opened his eyes wide and raised a brow. "That is the first time you have referred to me as a vampire.

Do you real-ize that you have just accepted what I am?" He cocked his head. "What has happened to change your belief?"

"'Well, I'm not all the way over on your side of the coffin yet, but it was mostly because of talking to Alan. And what I saw at your club last night."

At the mention of Alan, a heavy feeling settled in my stom-ach. Chinese food with a side of Guilt poured over Shame, followed by a dessert of FeelingLike a Slut. I hoped Alan was still sleeping soundly on my couch. I didn't know if Devereux was aware of my sexual interlude with Alan earlier, but I knew Alan wasn't aware of my relationship with Devereux.

What a tangled web we weave. . .

"Yes. I am aware of your time with Alan, but you are a grown woman and able to make your own decisions. As much as I wish I could have been there for you thismorning, that was not possible. I am glad someone was. Alan is a fine man."

Then he chuckled."A slut? You surprise me. I would not have expected such a thing from a modern woman. Thatwouldimply something that I sense no evidence of. Why would you think that about yourself?"

"Well, Mister Mind reader, I don't really. It's just old pro-gramming. Most women have some of it.The idea that we're bad if we express our sexuality freely.Cultural baggage. I know all the therapeutic reasons why guilt isn't useful, but I still feel it anyway."

I sighed. "Yesterday Tom walked in on me in the bath- tub and if he hadn't behaved extremely badly, I might have had sex with him. Then last night I just about tore your clothesoff at the club, and today I was with Alan. After two years of celibacy, that's a lot to deal with."

His voice wrapped me in aural fur as he stroked my cheek with the side of his finger. "It is not necessary for you to be so hard on yourself. You have had a lot of changes to integrate and understand. Turning to Alan for comfort was a natural thing to do. You had been through a terrible ordeal."

Anger flashed in his eyes, I felt the air crackle and my skin tingled.

"An ordeal that will never happen again, I promise you. You are mine to protect now."

Wow. He's capable of some impressive mood swings himselfThis probably isn't a good time to talk about the "mine to protect" thing.

He took a slow breath and his eyes returned to their calm, magical turquoise.

The corners of his mouth curved into a gentle smile. "But we were talking about dreams. You asked if vampires dream. Yes. We have access to levels of consciousness that are un-available to most mortals, and when we turn inward during the daylight hours, our minds-or souls, if you will-journey to other realms.Dimensions that cannot be explained with words.Worlds that exist beyond the waking and sleeping dreams that humans know. Are you willing to share your nightmare with me?"

"I thought you could read my mind. Why do you need me to tell you the dream?"

"For some reason, I can only sense it as a series of emo-tional impressions-fast-moving pictures. If you tell me what you experienced, perhaps I can help you understand what it is trying to communicate to you.

That is what psychology believes, yes?"

"Yes. That's true. But I still don't understand why you want to know."

"Honestly, I am not sure. I simply feel compelled.Unless it is too unpleasant to recount again so soon?"

"No. I believe that dreams are metaphorical messages, so I might as well figure out what this one really means."

I gave him all the details of the nightmare, along with all the feelings it triggered in me. He listened quietly, his brows contracted, his lips compressed.

"We must make time very soon to discuss the symbols in your dream. It is fascinating that so many are having simi-lar visions. It is also important for us to have a conversation about vampires and what acceptance of us will mean for you. I wish we had time to begin the dialog now because I would have preferred to explain tonight's ceremony to you in greater detail, but we must hurry."

My solar plexus tightened. "Wait a minute. I don't care for the sound of that. What will this ceremony consist of? What would you have explained?"

A knock sounded at the door and a petite, five foot noth-ing, twenty-something woman stepped into the room. She appeared more pixie than vampire. That is, until she spoke and exposed fangs that were distinctive and highly visible. She had bright red hair that curled around her shoulders, large, brown eyes and she wore a sheer black dress under which was, apparently, nothing but skin.

''Master, it is nearly time for the ceremony. The others are arriving."

Master?

Devereux nodded at her and she backed out of the room.

He climbed off the bed, stood next to it and held out his hand to me. "I swear to you that no matter how strange the ceremony may appear to you, no matter how unfamiliar, no harm will come to you. A ritual of protection is one of the oldest, most potent types of magic. In its simplest form, it is a focusing of intention-surrounding the one needing protec-tion with a powerful aura of well-being that repels all energy unlike itself. It will be as if you are floating in an invisible bub-ble of safety.Not very different from current Pagan rituals."

Pagans with fangs?

I sat frozen on the bed, my mind spinning out ever-more-gory, blood-soaked scenarios about the mysterious ceremony. No matter how logical his explanation, I barely knew De-vereux and had no reason to trust him. Whether he really was a vampire-whichwas still mentally incomprehensible to me-or "only" a disturbed man, I was at his mercy. In-human or human, what I'd observed about Devereux and his colleagues didn't fit into any reality I knew about. I had no frame of reference and the lifeboat I'd been riding in up until then had sprung a leak and I had no idea if there were sharks in the water.

My stomach contracted so tightly I could barely breathe.

Devereux bent down and met my eyes. "No harm. I swear."