Shadows of Eternity

Chapter Five

L eia slept until almost eleven a.m. Saturday morning, something she never did. For a moment, she lay there staring up at the ceiling. She remembered going to the movies with Rohan but her memories of the rest of the night were hazy. She recalled feeling a little light-headed when they left the theater. He had suggested they go out for a drink and then he had taken her home, though she had no recollection of the drive …

She pressed a hand to her brow. Maybe she was coming down with the flu, but she didn’t feel sick. Just terribly thirsty.

Throwing back the covers, she shuffled into the kitchen for a glass of orange juice, followed by a cup of coffee. She scrambled some eggs for breakfast and by the time she finished eating, she felt like her old self. Maybe it had just been a twenty-four hour bug.

After breakfast, she busied herself with her usual Saturday tasks—changing the sheets on her bed, doing the laundry, dusting and mopping and all the other fun stuff she tried to do on a weekly basis.

She thought about Rohan while dusting the furniture. True, he was tall, dark and handsome, but there was something a little off about him, though she couldn’t put her finger on what it was. As much as she enjoyed being in the company of such a gorgeous guy, she wasn’t sure she wanted to see him again.

She convinced herself that, should he call for a date, she would plead a headache or say she was busy, or that she wasn’t interested in seeing him again.

The thought had no sooner crossed her mind when her cell phone rang. Probably Janae, she mused, as she picked up the phone. But it wasn’t Janae.

“Leia?”

That deep, whiskey-smooth voice that tied her insides in knots poured over her. “Rohan. Hi.”

“Are you busy tonight?”

All thought of refusing fled her mind. “No.”

“How about a late date?”

“How late?” she asked, a teasing note in her voice.

“After the show. Say, nine-thirty?”

“I don’t know,” she said, even though her heart was screaming, Say , y es! “It’s kinda late.” Why was she playing hard to get, she wondered, when she had the feeling they both knew she would say yes.

“But not too late?” he coaxed. “I’d really love to see you again.”

Who could resist that sexy voice? Certainly not her. And just like that, she had a date to go dancing with the best dancer of all.

He picked her up at nine-thirty sharp. She practically swooned when she saw him looking absolutely breath-taking in a pair of black pants and a black leather jacket over a white shirt. His smile was devastating.

“You look beautiful,” he said, as his gaze devoured her.

“Thank you,” she murmured. “So do you. How did you get here so fast? I mean, if your last dance is at nine … ”

“I was so anxious to see you again that I might have exceeded the speed limit a little.”

“Yeah, right.”

He shrugged. “Are you ready?”

With a nod, she grabbed her handbag and followed him out to his car. Ever the gentleman, he opened her door and waited for her to get settled before rounding the car and sliding behind the wheel.

He took her to The Velvet Rose, a nightclub she’d passed by a couple of times. It was a rather elegant place, the lighting muted, the music unintrusive. The décor was understated but obviously expensive. Fresh roses in crystal vases decorated every table, as well as the reception desk and each end of the bar. Small, black lacquer tables were scattered around a large dance floor. A number of high-backed booths lined the back wall.

Rohan held her chair for her before taking his own seat. “What would you like to drink?”

Leia bit down on her lower lip. “A Grasshopper,” she decided at length. She usually ordered a Sea Breeze but maybe it was time to try something new.

Rohan gave the waitress Leia’s order and asked for a glass of red wine for himself.

Leia grinned. “I guess you’re not much of a drinker, either,” she mused. “I figured you for a whiskey man.”

“Once upon a time,” he said.

“Oh?”

“I overdid it in my younger days,” he explained with a shrug. “Now I stick to wine. Tell me about yourself.”

“I told you, I’m a schoolteacher.”

“There must be more to you than that.”

“I’m pretty much a home-body. Teaching takes up all my weekdays. I don’t go out much.”

“Why not?”

“I broke up with a guy not long ago. I haven’t been ready to plunge into the dating scene again.”

One brow arched. “Oh? You’re out with me.”

She felt a flush stain her cheeks. “Well … ”

“Go on.”

“It’s kind of a thrill, being seen with someone famous,” she admitted, and felt her cheeks grow hotter. “I guess I’m a little star-struck.”

His laugh made her stomach curl with pleasure. “I’m hardly a star.”

“But you are famous.”

“I suppose. So, if I was just some guy on a dating app, you would have said no?”

“Definitely. That’s how I met Ben.”

“Ah, the ex-lover.”

“We weren’t lovers,” she said quickly. “How about you? What do you like to do when you’re not dancing? Or hunting?”

“I enjoy being with a beautiful woman, like you,” he said, his voice low and seductive. “Let’s dance.”

Rising, he took her hand in his and led her onto the dance floor. Since he danced for a living, it was no surprise that he was light on his feet. As before, she had no trouble at all following his lead. She felt small and feminine in his arms. She had never been so aware of a man before. Or so aware that she was a woman.

They danced and talked for hours. Leia found herself telling him how she had always envied her friends who had lots of brothers and sisters and how she had always wished she had a sister to share secrets with.

“I’m lucky to have Janae,” Leia confided while sitting at their table. “She’s like the sister I never had. I can tell her anything.” She smothered a yawn as she glanced at her phone. “Merciful heavens, look at the time. It’s almost one.”

“The shank of the evening,” Rohan murmured.

“What?”

“You’re right, it’s late. Come on, I’ll take you home.”

Leia nodded, although she hated to see the evening end. He was so easy to talk to.

At home, he walked her to the door. “Okay if I kiss you good night?”

She smiled up at him. Emboldened by the drinks she’d had, she whispered, “I was hoping you would.”

Leia swayed against him when Rohan took her gently into his arms, her eyelids fluttering down as his mouth covered hers.

Lost in his thrall, she was oblivious to his tongue laving the tender skin beneath her ear, and the prick of his fangs against her throat.

Smothering his guilt, he took only a little, wiped the memory from her mind, and kissed her again. “Can I see you Monday night? Same time as this evening?”

“Yes,” she murmured.

“Until then.” He kissed her one more time and bid her good night.

Still caught up in the magic of his kisses, she opened the door, floated inside, and went up to bed.

Leia groaned as the ringing of her cell phone roused her from a wonderful dream. She answered on the second ring with a grumpy, “Hello.”

“Are you still asleep?” Janae asked. “Good grief, girl, it’s almost noon.”

“Noon!” Leia bolted upright. “I missed church.”

“I know. I was there. I thought I’d better call and see if you were still alive.”

“Very funny.” Yawning, she tucked the covers under her arms. “How was the service?”

“I don’t know. I kept worrying about you. I haven’t heard from you lately. Something tells me you’re still seeing that gorgeous Indian.”

Just thinking of him made Leia smile. “Guilty as charged.”

“So, I guess he’s not a serial killer or anything.”

“Janae! What a thing to say!”

“Sorry, but I’m worried about you. I’ve never known you to fall so hard, so fast.”

“I know,” Leia said dreamily. “Isn’t it wonderful?”

Janae snorted in a most unladylike way. “I don’t know, is it?”

“I’ve never known anyone like him. And yet … ”

“Go on.”

“Like you said, there’s something about him. I don’t know what it is. He hasn’t said or done anything the least bit suspicious. He’s polite, he treats me like a lady … I don’t know.”

“My advice is to follow your instincts. My mother always said any man who seems too good to be true usually is.”

“I’ll be careful. All we’ve done is kiss.” Leia grinned inwardly, thinking his kisses were dynamite.

“Well, all right, I’ve got to go. The twins are clamoring for lunch. Keep in touch, hear?”

“I will. Hug Mark and Mike for me.”

Leia was still smiling when she said goodbye, but Janae’s words kept echoing in her mind: Any man who seems too good to be true probably is.

Time would tell, she thought. Padding to the kitchen to fix a late breakfast, she thought it odd that she was always so hungry and thirsty the mornings after a date with Rohan.

After breakfast, Leia turned on her computer and typed in Shadow Dancer’s name.

There wasn’t much to find, other than he was a well-known Native American dancer who had won many awards and prizes. He had never been married. His age was listed as thirty, birthplace, South Dakota. Several photographs accompanied the info. The photos went back ten years. She couldn’t help noticing he looked exactly the same at thirty as he had at twenty. Good genes, she mused.

She played a couple of games of Free Cell, read her email, and shut down her computer.

She spent an hour on the phone with her parents. Her mother was excited about being hired by Marvel Studios for their next superhero movie since it featured two of her favorite actors. Leia laughed when she heard her father in the background muttering that his wife was too old to be so star-struck over a couple of guys young enough to be her sons.

“You’ll be sorry you said that, Brian,” her mother warned.

Leia grinned. She loved the way her parents kidded each other. She said goodbye a few minutes later.

The evening stretched before her. She wished it was Monday so she could see Rohan, then chided herself for being so smitten with a man she hardly knew. Sitting at her desk, she planned her activities for the next week, then leaned back in her chair and fell asleep …

She was in an Indian village. Conical hide lodges stood along a fast-moving river. The sky above was a bright, clear blue. Men clad in breechclouts and moccasins wandered through the camp, talking and laughing. Teenage boys stood near the river, shooting arrows at a distant target. Children ran and played near the lodges, while their mothers looked on. She saw other women stirring large pots, or skinning game. The smell of smoke and roasting meat hung heavy in the air.

And then she saw Rohan. He, too, wore only a breechclout and moccasins. His hair, adorned with an eagle feather, shone blue-black in the bright light of the sun. He rode into the village on a paint horse, a deer carcass slung over the animal’s withers. A quiver filled with arrows was slung over one shoulder. There was a knife in a sheath at his side. He looked wild and magnificent as he slid from the horse’s back.

And then he looked at her.

Leia woke with a gasp. “Only a dream,” she murmured. And yet she would have sworn he had really looked at her.

Seen her.