Dark Ice (4 page)

A spectacular rainbow of lights brightened the sky. Lea gasped, the beauty mesmerizing. Her eyes swept across the heavens, taking in the magic of a phenomenon she had only ever heard about, but never imagined would touch her heart so. She wanted to reach up and feel the Northern Lights. A ribbon of green light touched the horizon and illuminated the silhouette of a man in the distance.

Her heart burned for an instant, she was certain it was Dane, the man from her previous dreams. He had an aura that could be felt even from here. It stole her breath from her lungs and pooled ecstasy deep within her belly. She knew he was looking at her, his gaze like a physical caress against her body. He stepped forward and in an instant was on all fours, a huge beast pounding across the ice, decreasing the distance between them.

Logically she wanted to step back, but she held her ground as he bounded up to her and stopped at her feet. The polar bear was huge, its white fur illuminated with the multi-colored light display spreading across the sky.

“Good evening, Dane,” Lea said, feeling slightly foolish until the bear looked up at her and she could see recognition in those ebony eyes. Intelligence and spirit gleamed from his black gaze and she knew, even though she believed it was impossible, that somewhere inside he was human as well as bear.

Tentatively, she reached out and stroked the thickness of his fur. The coarseness of it surprised her, and yet the soft strands of fur sunk between her fingers, tickling the sensitive skin there. She ran her hand back and forth, reveling in the exotic feel of him then pulled back in surprise when her fingers met smooth warm skin.

“You sacred me.” Lea gave him a light playful smack across a well defined shoulder. “This is my dream you know, if you’re going to change, you need to give me some warning.”

“Sorry ma’am.” A seductive smile crossed his face and playfulness glinted in those dark eyes. “Do I need to give you some warning if I want to kiss you, too?”

“Perhaps,” she said breathlessly.

“What kind of warning?” His hand, huge and masculine just like the rest of him, came up and cupped her jaw.

“Do I need to do this?” he asked, as he ran the pad of his thumb across the fullness of her lips.

“Yes.”

“And how about this?” Dane leaned closer, his lips a hairs breadth from hers. “I’m warning you,” he murmured against her lips. “I want to kiss you.”

“I’ve been warned,” Lea said, with every word her lips touched Dane’s. “Now I have to warn you. If you kiss me, I won’t want you to stop.”

Dane growled in his throat and Lea thought he was going to transform back into a bear. She moved back a fraction and grabbed his sides and willed him to stay in human form. She looked up at him and all the merriment was gone from his face. Heat blazed from his eyes and once again he moved in closer to her, this time his lips touched hers.

Lea opened her mouth to him and he slid his tongue deep into her, plundering her in unbridled passion. Pleasure beat through her veins. Her fingers bit into his side as she gripped him tightly, unwilling to let him go.

A wave of power washed over her and Dane pulled back but flexed his muscular arms, holding her tighter in his grip. The Northern Lights flickered overhead, their radiance intensified and she closed her eyes against the brightness. She felt Dane’s body stiffen against hers.

“Where in the hell are we?” Dane asked, his confusion evident.

Lea opened her eyes and smiled. “It’s my dream. This is where I used to come on holidays when I was young.”

Dappled sunshine filtered through the tree tops and warmed the glade they were now standing in. The forest around the field was thick and alive with the sounds of unseen insects and birds. Lea could hear the gentle bubbling of water in a small brook she knew was close by.

Dane’s arms were still locked around her waist. She glanced at him and a haunted expression crossed his face.

“What’s the matter?”

He released her and ran a large hand through his white-blond hair. “Nothing,” he replied, though his eyes were darting around the edges of the glade, into the darkness of the trees as if expecting something to jump out from their shadows.

“You seem nervous,” Lea said.

Dane started to pace across the field, his breath coming in short sharp bursts. Lea could see the hard muscles of his chest contracting with effort. An energy of agitation radiated from him and was starting to affect her as well.

“Dane, what’s wrong?”

He turned and looked at her and he seemed surprised that she was still there. She closed the gap between them and took his hand in hers. His skin was hot to the touch, beads of perspiration sat across his brow. Why would he be so hot? The summer sun was warm here, but not sweltering. Reaching up with her other hand, Lea placed it against his slightly-damp chest. His heart beat pounded through her fingers. Dane took a deep breath and exhaled slowly and little by little she felt his pulse slow and his aura of agitation lessoned.

“Why are you so hot?” Lea asked.

“I’m a polar bear, I live in sub-Arctic conditions. Anything over just above freezing is physically painful.”

“But you’re also a man and this is my dream, I’d never take you anywhere you weren’t comfortable.”

“You can’t help your dreams, Lea.”

Dane cocked his head as if listening to some inaudible sound off in the shadows of the forest. “Can you hear all the animals in the forest?”

Lea shook her head.

“This place is alive with them. I can smell them, hear them. Feel them running through the trees trying to avoid this place. They can feel me, but they aren’t sure what I am. They just know that I’m dangerous.”

“You’re not dangerous,” Lea said on a laugh. But as soon as she said it a sharp warning pain stabbed through her stomach and she wasn’t so sure.
 

“I am dangerous, Lea. And you would do well to remember it.”

Dane released her hand and backed away from her. Lea stepped forward and he put up a hand in warning.

“I’m finding it very difficult not to transform right now. You need to stay back.” A look of regret and self disgust crossed his handsome face. “I don’t want to hurt you again.”

“Again?”

“How deep were the wounds I gave you the other night after we were together on the pelts in the snow?” His voice was low with self recrimination.

Automatically her hand went up to her chest. He gave her those wounds? “They were hardly anything to worry about,” Lea answered. For some reason she couldn’t stand the thought of him hating himself over such a small accident.

“Yeah, right,” he grunted.

“They were nothing,” she reiterated. She undid the buttons of her flannelette pajama top and showed him the faint marks he left across her chest the other night. “See, hardly a scratch. I know you wouldn’t do anything to hurt me.”

“It was just a small scratch this time, but what about next time?”

She couldn’t answer him. Deep inside she knew he would never hurt her intentionally, but what about accidently. She shook her head and tried to lighten the mood.

“Why are we worrying about this?” She twirled on the spot, her arms over her head. “This is all but a dream.”

“I don’t know what this is, but it’s no ordinary dream.”

Lea sobered. He was right. Dreams didn’t leave scars across your chest when you woke up. Dane stood rigid, uncomfortable in the afternoon sun. It was obvious he was fighting something deep within himself. Her heart constricted for him.

“Come on, let’s see if we can cool you down.” Lea took his large hand and led him though a small path through the trees.

A creek wound itself through the forest, its cool clear water trickling over smooth stones. Dane bent down and drunk deeply from the brook before splashing the water across his face, hair and chest. Lea knelt next to him and he automatically cupped his hands and scooped up some fresh water. Casually he offered it to her.

Lea’s mouth suddenly went dry and she needed water more than she ever had in her life. She bent her head, her lips touched the warmth of his hands before she sipped at the cool water. The coolness slid down her throat, pooled in her belly and seeped through her body. She shivered.

His gaze pierced her with intensity. The water splashed back into the creek as he moved his hands, he looked away and stood up. He flung his head back, flicking his long white hair out of his face. Water droplets splashed her face, doing little to cool her.

Dane turned away and sat at the base of a tree. “Come here,” he demanded.

Lea ran her fingers through the cool water and looked at Dane. She usually didn’t like being told what to do. She had a tendency to do the opposite just to prove a point. But there was an underlying plea in his voice. He still looked uncomfortable here in the forest. And something drew her to him as strong as any force field. She got up and moved to his side. Even though he was sitting down she was nearly face to face with him.

“Please,” he said, offering his hand to her.

She took it and he pulled her down to him. She sat nestled in his lap, dwarfed by his size.

“Talk to me,” he said. “Your voice soothes me.”

“What would you like me to talk about?”

“Anything. Tell me about your holidays here in this forest. It obviously meant a lot to you if you brought us here in your dreams.” He looked around, obviously taking in all the nooks and shadows with his hunter instincts.

“Okay.” Lea started to talk and tell him about the happy times her family spent in a cabin in this forest. After a while, she absent-mindedly started caressing his chest as she spoke and he closed his eyes and rested his head against the trunk of the tree.

She kept on talking, knowing that Dane was listening. She told him things she’d never told anyone before. Her innermost thoughts and dreams. Her passions and hopes lay bare before him and she paused only when he shifted his body so she could lay her head against his chest. He caressed her hair, rhythmically, lulling her into a sense of total safety. It was the first time she felt secure since the night of the attack at the youth club. She sighed and settled into him.

“Continue,” he said, his voice sounding low as her head sat against his chest.

And she did. She continued talking as the sun made a crescent across the sky and started to send the sky hazy shades of pink through the tree tops. The air began to cool and she felt Dane relax a little and she was glad for it. Still he stroked her hair and her breathing slowed in unison to his strokes. Her eyes became heavy, closing of their own accord. Sleep filled the edges of her brain. How could she go to sleep when she was already in a dream? But she couldn’t keep her heavy eyes open.

Her last conscious thought before sleep engulfed her was more of a feeling. Familiarity. Being held safe and warm in Dane’s arms as sleep came to greet her brought a feeling of déjà vu. More than anything, she felt loved. And it scared her. She was falling in love with a man in her dreams. No matter how real these dreams were, they were still dreams. No matter how devastatingly sexy and compelling the man, she was falling in love with a figment of her imagination.
           

Chapter Four

The
wendigo
hovered in the edges of the darkness and snarled in frustration. The human bear and its mate had disappeared. He raised his head and scanned the surrounding ice fields with all its senses.

Nothing. How was he supposed to hunt and track his prey if they kept vanishing? Irritation gnawed at his stomach along with an ill disguised hunger. He hungered for blood and flesh. And for the first time, he yearned for something more, for the thrill of the hunt. He wanted the bear with an obsession he usually only reserved for human flesh. He licked the saliva from his mouth with anticipation. He wanted the woman for an entirely different, but just as palpable reason.

He howled into the encroaching night, the sound echoing off the ice plains, magnifying his aggravation. He glanced at where his prey had stood not moments ago and felt his blood pound through his heated body. He needed to sate his appetite. Turning, he trudged through the snow toward the small nearby town he’d noticed earlier in the day.

There should be something there to distract from his failed hunt. Perhaps he would bite one of the townsfolk, infect them with his disease. He growled deep in his throat at the thought of pleasure at watching a human change into what he now was.

He quickened his pace until he neared the boundaries of the town. A couple of humans were out finishing off their business before the darkness of night made them hibernate in the warm shelter of their houses.

He raised his head and sniffed the fresh heat of humans. One of them stilled at the doorway of the towns only hotel. Alert bright blue eyes were just visible under the thick woolen hat he wore. A gloved hand reached into his parka and he stiffened as if waiting for something.

Was the strange man waiting for him? Could he sense his presence? In an instant he realized the stranger wasn’t entirely human, the same and yet different from the human bear, but he too had the feeling of strength and power.