The coyote lifted its massive head and opened it jaws, howling as the snakes slid from her and wrapped around his body. Glaring into his yellow coyote eyes, she declared, “I am Shani, noble warrior princess, and I take back my power from you. Be gone!”Shani bolted upright in the bed, her eyes springing open. “I am Shani, noble warrior princess!” she shouted.
Adam, lying beside her, jerked awake. “What?” he cried in alarm. The room was illuminated by the soft light of the moon filtering in through the window. He focused on her, his brows furrowed with concern. “Shani, are you awake? Is it another nightmare?”
She stared at him, completely confused. She looked wildly around the room. “Did I do it? Did the snakes take the coyote away?”
“Did who do what?” Adam asked, clearly confused.
She drew in a deep, shuddering breath and let it out in a rush of relief. She wasn’t in Sir’s punishment closet. She was in a hotel room with Adam Hawk, the man she was falling in love with. She was safe.
She gave a small, embarrassed laugh as she allowed Adam to pull her into the cradle of his warm, solid arms. “It was just a bad dream, Princess,” he soothed. “You’re okay.”
Shani snuggled against him. “It felt so real, Adam. It still feels like it really happened, even though I know that can’t be true. It wasn’t a nightmare, not exactly. I mean, it started out that way. But then the voice—your voice… And the snakes… It was… It was empowering. I took back my name from the coyote and used your snake whips to send him away.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Adam chuckled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Shani laughed again, this time with genuine mirth. “Okay. Let me see if I can explain it…”
~*~
The next afternoon, they headed back to the reservation. Understandably, Shani wanted to see her mom once more before returning to Desire Island. Shani had been quiet over breakfast, and remained quiet as they drove. She stared out the window, clearly agitated and distracted. Maybe that weird dream was still haunting her? Adam didn’t want to intrude, determined to give her the space she seemed to need at the moment.
He kept glancing at her as he drove, agitated and distracted in his own right. Instead of focusing on the uncertain future, he should enjoy every second he had with this wonderful girl. There was the second night of the Fetish Fair to look forward to. They still had an entire day and night together before she was due to fly back to Desire Island and he was scheduled to fly up to Montreal for a leather sourcing conference. He, of course, planned to pay for Shani’s commercial airline ticket back to the island, but he kept putting off making the reservation. He didn’t want her to go. Or, more specifically, he didn’t want to be parted from her.
For the first time in his life, he felt as if he’d found a home. Not a brick and mortar home, but a home for his heart. Shani was someone he could imagine spending the rest of his life with. In fact, he could not imagine anything else. He needed to tell her how he felt.
Yet, his rational self kept him from saying anything aloud. Surely it was too soon to be talking about lifetime commitments? They hadn’t even said they loved each other. But he knew, as sure as he’d ever known anything in his life, that he was in love with this woman. And more than that—that she was made for him, and he for her.
Damn it. He would just tell her. He would blurt it out and she could make of it what she would. He glanced at her once more. As if feeling his eyes on her, she turned at that precise moment to look at him, a determined look on her face.
In unison, they said, “I need to talk to you.”
They were silent a beat as they processed what had just happened, and then they both laughed.
“Okay,” Adam said, still smiling. “You go first.”
“No, you,” she said. “Please.” It wasn’t a polite request. There was yearning in her tone. Perhaps she, too, needed courage for whatever it was she wanted to say.
Pulling up his big-boy britches, Adam girded himself. If she refused him, then so be it. If she wasn’t ready, he would be patient. He would do whatever it took to have her in his life.
“First,” he began, “you need to know something.” He reached for her hand as he drove, clasping it gently in his.
An eighteen-wheeler suddenly swerved into his lane, cutting him off. Startled, he jerked his hand away to grab the steering wheel as he instinctively hit the brakes. Shani yelped as they skidded.
“That fucking jerk,” he swore automatically, his heart thudding as the huge truck roared away. He guided the car to the shoulder of the highway and rolled to a stop. “Sorry about that,” he said, parking the car and turning on the hazard lights.