Dawn’s Awakening (36 page)

The chocolate fiend. She shook her head as he left the room again.

“Lunch.” Hunger was definitely driving Seth this afternoon, and not just a hunger for her body. “Board meetings make me hungry.”

And panic killed her appetite. Still she moved to the small table at the other side of the room with him and took her plates. Only one dessert was present. Chocolate truffle cake, Styx’s favorite of course, and wine.

She ate, but the feeling only grew. She tried to joke, to tease, to allow Seth to soothe that ragged feeling of impending doom, but it didn’t totally abate.

Later, as they dressed for the party, she flirted and she tried to seduce. She almost succeeded before Seth drew back and stared at her soberly. “We have to face whatever’s coming,” he told her then. “Hiding from it won’t save us, Dawn. It only makes the fear worse.”

She stood there in the expensive evening gown he’d bought her, with his jewels gracing her, his touch warming her, and Dawn found she was terrified. She found that, unconsciously, she was praying.

God protect him. Because she knew that losing him would destroy her.

“We stay close together,” she whispered.

“Always,” he promised.

“We don’t leave the house.”

“We stay right inside, away from all opened doors and windows.” He crossed his heart before turning and moving to his dresser.

When he returned, he shocked her by going to his knees, taking her hand and sliding a ring on her finger.

“And you’ll marry me when this is over,” he told her.

The ring was obviously old, obviously horrendously expensive. The diamond wasn’t huge, but it was by far one of the clearest, most perfect specimens she had ever seen. Surrounding it were several dark, swirled tiger’s-eye stones, new insets.

“The ring was my mother’s, my grandmother’s, and my great-grandmother’s. Lawrence wives wear the diamond, always. But tradition stands that a new stone replaces those surrounding it with each successive bride. And I chose tiger’s eyes. Because they remind me of your eyes, your strength and your heritage. This ring has been waiting for you for nearly ten years. You’re my life, Dawn. Will you share it with me, since you own it?”

And she cried again. A tear slipped from her eye and her lips trembled. “Always,” she whispered. “Oh God, Seth, I’ll always love you.”

CHAPTER 23

That party was well under way when Seth and Dawn stepped into the ballroom. He led her across the floor to the small, raised dais, where the band had set up, and stepped up to the microphone as the Breeds assigned to his protection moved closer.

All eyes turned to them. The board members and their families had expected an announcement during the house party, but Dawn knew that this wasn’t the announcement they were expecting.

“Ladies and gentlemen. Friends.” His lips quirked as he looked out on the crowd. “I want to thank you all for being here, for your patience during the board meetings, and for once again filling Lawrence Island with your laughter and your presence.”

It seemed as though the whole room held its collective breath as Seth held Dawn’s hand and stared out at them.

Dawn watched the room as well. She could feel herself looking for something that she couldn’t put her finger on. A reason for the panic that tightened her stomach and her heart.

“I would like you to join me in celebrating the most momentous occasion in my life now,” he continued, his big body moving closer to hers as he stared out at the crowd. “Today, Miss Dawn Daniels has consented to be my wife.” He lifted her hand to display the ring she wore as Dawn felt her heart melt.

His voice was rough, rasping. His eyes as they stared at her were cloudy and dark with emotion, his expression tight with it. She stared back at him, and despite that edge of waiting, of almost fear rising inside her, she smiled and accepted the kiss he placed against her lips.

Who knew tough man Seth Lawrence could be so romantic. That he would have a stone reset in a family ring only months after meeting her. That he would buy soaps around the world so he could share the unique scents that reminded him of her, or that he would pick up silks, satins and lace in panties as delicate as a dream for her to wear.

And now he stood in front of his friends and closest business associates and claimed her as his heart. He didn’t see her as a Breed, he saw her merely as his woman, and that knowledge brought a lump to her throat and the betraying emotional tears to her eyes.

“To Seth and Dawn.” Craig Bartel lifted his glass in a toast as all the others followed.

“To Seth and Dawn,” they all called out while glasses were handed to her and Seth to toast the event as well.

It was magical, a dream come true. Dawn felt like Cinderella after Prince Charming slipped the shoe on her delicate foot and declared her his woman for all time. She felt as though she had finally found a place where she mattered, where she belonged. No, she thought as she stared into his eyes. She knew she had. Right here, she had found the one place in the world where Dawn Daniels was a woman rather than a creature or an animal.

They toasted once more amid laughter and congratulations before the band struck up a tune and Seth led her to the dance floor once again. He pulled her into his arms, smiling down at her as he swept her around the room, the other guests moving back and giving them this first dance to themselves.

Dawn would have felt self-conscious, even days ago, at having so many eyes on her. Tonight, she felt the panic build even as a sense of euphoria and happiness nearly overcame her.

Maybe that was the problem, she thought. She wasn’t used to happiness such as this. She was used to being content, not ecstatic and definitely not floating with the joy that seemed to strike her at the oddest moments now.

Like now, while they danced in front of several dozen of Seth’s closest friends, all eyes turned to them, and happiness was singing through her veins.

His body moved against hers, one arm around her, the other gripping her hand as the dark chocolate silk of her evening gown flowed around her, curled around his legs, and caressed both of them when they turned.

“Caught ya,” he whispered in her ear as a smile of pure joy curved at her lips.

“Oh yeah?”

“Oh yeah.” He nipped at her ear. “And I’m going to keep you.”

She prayed. She realized that in the past two days she had been doing that a lot. Praying fervently that God wouldn’t take this dream from her, now that it was so close, right there in her grasp.

Her hand tightened at his shoulder and she wished she had managed to keep them in that damned room. She needed him now. Needed him near her, moving over her. She needed him loving her, whispering his need in her ear and stroking her into oblivion.

As the dance drew to a close, Seth moved back, his hand still clasping hers, turned to the crowd and slowly bowed before turning to Dawn.

With an impish smile, she curtsied, long and low, the skirt of her gown swirling around her as she held the position for long moments before straightening again amid the applause and Seth’s wicked wink.

Dawn realized she must be smiling like a loon. She couldn’t seem to control the curve of her lips for the happiness that bubbled in her veins like ecstasy. It fought with the panic, determined to win this battle, to hold itself inside her mind, where it was rarely allowed to materialize.

“Miss Daniels. Seth.” Craig Bartel approached, his fingers curled around his wife Lillian’s wrist as they stopped before Seth and Dawn.

Lillian Bartel was not happy to be there. Dawn could scent her hesitancy, her anger at her husband and her embarrassment.

“Seth.” Craig extended his hand. “Let me tell you, I admired you before, but seeing the beauty you’ve found to love, I must say I admire you even more.”

“Thank you, Craig.” He shook the other man’s hand and glanced at Lillian.

“Miss Daniels, your beauty is only overshadowed by your compassion.” He turned to Dawn and tugged his wife forward. “My wife and I would both like to extend our congratulations.”

Lillian Bartel drew in a hard breath. “And my apologies,” Lillian forced past her stiff lips. “What I said last night was uncalled for, and undeserved. I’m sorry, Miss Daniels. Sometimes, as my husband tells me, my mouth forgets there’s a brain driving it.”

Dawn tilted her head to the side and stared at the other woman. Seth was stiff beside her, unaware of what the other woman had said, but aware that it must have been extremely insulting for Craig to force this apology from his wife.

And it was sincere. Whatever Bartel had said to the other woman, it must have been taken to heart, because Lillian meant the apology, and not for the first time, Dawn thanked the Breed senses that allowed her to pick up on that sincerity.

“We’ll consider the words unsaid,” Dawn finally told her softly.

Lillian stared at her in surprise, and Dawn realized that she had prepared herself for the worst. An insult as well, or perhaps more.

“Craig was right,” she said. “Your beauty is only overshadowed by your compassion. Thank you.” She extended her hands, and preparing herself for the contact of another’s touch, Dawn accepted it.

She was surprised, no, she was shocked when the feeling only produced mild discomfort. It was a bit stronger when Craig shook her hand as well, but the pain she should have felt wasn’t present.

That could mean only one of two things. The mating heat was easing or she had conceived. She wasn’t certain which. She didn’t feel pregnant, but then again, how the hell would she know what it felt like?

“You have the most incredible look on your face,” Seth murmured as the Bartels moved away. “You’re making me hard.”

“You stay hard,” she purred. She really did love that about him.

He grunted at the comment, but there was laughter in his eyes, a smile pulling at the corner of his lips. As she smiled back at him, a peculiar feeling swept over her. Not so much panic, or even fear. As though the panic had hardened inside her and turned silently feral.

Her head lifted, her gaze swept over the dance floor, and her senses seemed to come alive in a way they never had before.

She couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, couldn’t smell anything that could explain the sudden feeling, and she felt like growling in fury at the odd warning traveling through her system.

This was why she had been so adept at tricking the Breeds she trained with. This feeling. It warned her when something was coming, warned her when danger approached, whether it be Breed, human or inanimate. This extra sense, this animal knowledge and instinctive self-preservation.

“Dawn?” Seth’s hand settled at her nape and rubbed at the tense muscles there. “Is everything okay?”

“Fine,” she answered absently, continuing to search.

As her gaze swept over the entrance to the ballroom, Dash and Elizabeth stepped inside with their daughter.

Dawn’s gaze stopped abruptly at the sight of Cassie. Her makeup was expertly applied and appeared barely there. But it was there. It was masking her pale face, but nothing could mask the other girl’s wide, haunted eyes. Just as nothing could hide Dash’s and Elizabeth’s tension.

“We should talk to Dash and Elizabeth,” she murmured to him, feeling the instincts inside her latching on to the small family.

Dash was dressed in an evening suit, Elizabeth in a gorgeous gray silk gown that smoothed over her breasts and hips and gave her a seductive appearance.

Cassie wore black once more, a shimmery fabric that gleamed and glowed as she moved. Thin straps extended from the snug bodice, and the material displayed her curved figure without appearing too seductive or alluring. The dress was like Cassie herself, understated and shielding the secrets it covered.

Seth nodded, took her hand and led her to the fairly private table they had taken across the room.

Cassie wasn’t dancing. Her father’s stern, forbidding expression kept the admirers held back for the moment. As Dawn and Seth neared the table, Dash rose, resplendent in black evening clothes, his black hair pulled back at his nape, his brown eyes glittering in anger.

“You look gorgeous, Dawn,” he murmured as he shook Seth’s hand.

“And you look ready to explode,” she pointed out. “Is everything okay?”

She carried her weapon and her link in her bag, and she knew Dash hadn’t tried to contact her before coming down. The link would have vibrated and warned her of his attempt to do so.

“It will be.” Dash nodded. “Elizabeth and Cassie and I will be leaving first thing in the morning. We need to get back to Sanctuary.”

Not just to their home. Dash wouldn’t consider the brief stop at the Breed compound to collect his son as getting back there.

Dawn’s eyes flickered to Elizabeth’s concerned gaze and Cassie’s averted one.

“Is anything wrong?” She turned back to Dash. “What’s happened?”

“I happened,” Cassie drawled then, her soft voice stiff, bordering on angry. “I don’t obey so well anymore. Perhaps there’s been an error in my training program.”

Dash’s eyes flashed with pain as Elizabeth’s lips compressed.

“She won’t stay off that fucking balcony,” Dash muttered. “She was out there this morning when we returned to the suite, shaking like a leaf.”

“She was thinking and attempting to make sense of things.” Cassie shrugged. “And it was a little chilly.”

Her father cast her a fuming look as Dawn glanced at her in surprise. Cassie never disobeyed her father’s orders when it came to her safety. She well knew what awaited her if all protection failed and the Council managed to get their hands on her.

“Cassie?” Dawn questioned her softly, staring back at her quietly.

They had been friends. Cassie was always invading her space when the dreams were rising hard inside her in the past. With her spooky little riddles, her compassion and the knowledge that others’ pain hurt her as well, Cassie had never been one to deliberately make things harder on those around her. Especially her parents.

“I’m fine, Dawn.” She rolled her eyes, but Dawn could feel the tension in the other girl. There was also a certainty that Cassie had no intention of discussing it. It was in her eyes, in her closed expression.