"Is this a dream?"

Cassie's golden hair tumbled in a riotous mass about her bared, creamy shoulders as she stood across from him in the clearing. The white dress she wore billowed gently about her bare feet. She was astonishing, breathtaking, and he knew if his heart could still beat it would have stopped at the sight of her. The breeze pushed strands of hair around her delicate features. She reached up and pulled it back as it drifted across one of her eyes.

Her eyes drifted away, a small smile played over her mouth as she stared at the pristine lake in the middle of the field. Her toes curled into the thick grass beneath her bare feet as her smile became wistful. "Beautiful," she breathed.

He completely agreed, but his gaze didn't stray from her. She turned back to him, her head tilted to the side as she studied him questioningly. "You're everywhere," she whispered.

"Am I?" He started as his hands fisted at his sides. His entire body ached to touch her, to hold her, to pull her close to him. His own bare feet curled into the springy grass he stood upon. The blades tickled a little, but he ignored them as he took a step toward her.

"Yes." Though she looked like she was going to bolt, she didn't move. "You're in my school and my thoughts, and you haunt my dreams. But this one is so very real." The words were a bare whisper as she turned back to the lake. "So real. It must be the pill I took."

He stopped moving for a moment. "Pill?" he inquired.

She turned back to him, her eyes somber and distant. "Yes. I had to sleep before I dropped." The fierce shake of her head caused her hair to cascade around her. "But you make it so very difficult for me to function at all, never mind sleep. I hate taking medication though, and apparently these pills cause some intense dreams. I can feel the grass, actually feel it beneath my feet. It’s so odd!"

"Yes," he agreed, because he could find no other words for her. He made it difficult for her to function! If she only knew what she did to him on a daily, hourly, second by second basis. Yet he couldn't stop the elation filling him, this may only be a dream, but there was also something different about it, something very real and solid. Something that made him believe she actually stood there with him and had expressed her true emotions.

"Cassie," he breathed. He suddenly had to touch her with a desperation that bordered on insanity.

Though he half expected her to flee, she didn't move as he stepped closer to her. Instead, resignation seemed to settle over her as desire blazed to life. "I don't want to fight my dreams anymore," she murmured.

A tear trickled down her cheek as he stopped before her. He could almost feel the beat of his pulse pounding through his veins as he wiped the single, shimmering tear from her face. Her eyes were filled with awe as she watched him. Her cheek was silken beneath his thumb as he caressed her.

This was the strangest dream he'd ever had, but he didn't give a damn. It was also the best one he'd ever had. "Cassie," he whispered again as he leaned closer to her. All he wanted to know was what her mouth would feel like, what her luscious lips would be like against his and how she would taste.

"Devon." Her hand, delicate and small, came up to his. Her fingers wrapped around his, her breath caught in her throat as her eyelids drifted down to shadow her eyes. "I've wanted this for so long," she breathed. "I think I wanted this before I even met you. I think I knew you were out there somehow. It makes no sense." She shook her head in confusion. "I'm so glad this is only a dream. I sound like an idiot."

"Never," he whispered fervently, relishing in every one of her baffled thoughts. He was extremely glad to hear she felt as confused and desperate as he did. "I understand exactly what you mean." Though the feelings made no sense, and he didn't understand how they could be so strong when he barely knew her, they were real.

Her eyes sparkled with amusement; the amethyst flecks in them sparkled in the midmorning sun. She was the most achingly innocent, beautiful woman he had ever met, and she was far too good for him. He should stay away from her; he should flee while he still could. It would be far safer for her if he walked out of her life, he would only bring her heartache and unhappiness.

However, he couldn't bring himself to move. This was only a dream, but he suspected that whatever happened within this world would change their waking world also. He longed for their waking world to change. He craved to be able to touch her, and feel her, and speak with her for real. His hand trembled on her cheek for a moment.

"Tell me no," he whispered.

"I don't want to."

His deadened heart seemed to kick start again at her words. He smoothly pulled her toward him and tilted her head up. Her eyes drifted closed, her lips parted on a sigh. Her sweet breath washed over him as he brought his mouth to hers.

Electricity surged through him, for the first time in so many centuries he felt alive again, and so completely whole. She eased the aching loneliness inside of him, made him forget his entire, awful existence. She was everything good and right in the world, everything he’d been searching for, and she was completely his.

His other hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her firmly against him. He could feel the riotous beat of her heart as her chest pressed against his. Her pulse pounded through her veins, but thirst for her blood didn't seize hold of him. With her, he had complete control of himself and the bloodlust didn't take over. Maybe, because this was a dream he could keep control of himself, but he believed even awake he would be able to do anything for her. Including control the monster lurking just beneath the surface of his existence.

A gasp of pleasure escaped her as her hands encircled his shoulders, and her fingers dug into him. A groan escaped him as her mouth parted beneath his demanding quest. His hands drifted over her bare shoulders; the feel of her silken skin left him shaken as he moved closer to the collar of the dress she wore. He caught hold of her as her knees went limp and she slumped against him.

His composure rapidly unraveling, he seized hold of her dress with the intent of ripping it free of her. This was his dream after all, and he could do whatever he desired in it, and he desired her.

The scent of her tears stopped his rushing, heedless movements. He pulled back from her, horrified he’d frightened her in his urgency. It was only a dream but he couldn't bring himself to upset her in anyway. He didn't know the extent of her experience with men, but he sensed there hadn't been much. There was no way she’d ever been pawed and molested by a nearly crazed vampire before.

It made no sense though, if this was his dream she shouldn't be crying, she should be throwing herself at him with reckless abandon. If this was his dream, he shouldn't be feeling like he was actually experiencing her emotions. Something niggled at the back of his mind, but he wasn't in the mood to deal with his doubts and questions right now.

"Cassie what's wrong? Did I hurt you? Please," he whispered. "Please tell me I didn't hurt you."

She shook her head forcefully. He smoothly pushed back the strands of hair falling across her damp cheeks. Cupping her chin, he lifted her face to his. Tears slid down her cheeks, her eyes were bright and alive with sparkling moisture. He'd been frightened he'd hurt her but happiness and joy radiated from her.

"Cassie?"

"I'm fine," she breathed as she cupped his hand in hers and leaned into his touch. "I'm just so happy here. This is the most fantastic thing I've ever experienced. I can say that here because it isn't real." Her eyes flitted away from his. "But out there…"

She shook her head, closing her eyes as she nestled closer. "Out there what?" he prodded, knowing she was speaking about the world that existed outside of this dream.

"Out there everything is difficult. Out there, this cannot be."

Confusion filled him as he studied her. She kept her gaze focused on the lake as more tears filled her eyes. He sensed these were tears of grief and loss, not of joy. He didn't understand what she was talking about, but it was apparent she was greatly upset about something.

"Cassie, look at me." She slowly turned her eyes to his, her forehead furrowed. "Why is it difficult? Why can't this be?"

Though she smiled wanly, the depth of her sorrow was nearly palpable. "Even if I could tell you, you wouldn't believe me anyway."

"I would believe anything you told me."

Her eyes warmed and melted. "I've never felt like this with anyone before, never knew it could be possible to feel like this. It may be a dream but I feel like you would be like this in the real world, that you would make me feel this good."

"I would," he promised, surprised by the strange turn of events this dream was taking. It was his dream after all, she should still be happy and in his arms. She should not look lost and wounded or talking in riddles he couldn't unravel. She should tell him what was bothering her, not keep it hidden from him.

What kind of crazy dream was this?

Though she kept her face pressed into the palm of his hand she turned her attention back to the lake. "I used to love coming here," she whispered.

Devon started in surprise as he turned toward the pristine lake. The field surrounding it was covered with blue, yellow, and white wild flowers that flowed toward the edge of a thick forest. The blades of grass and wild flowers swayed beneath the flowing breeze trickling over them. A dock stretched toward the middle of the lake and a single tree was off to the side with a rope swing tied to a branch over the water. He could almost hear children laughing as they swung out over the water and released the rope.

Though it could have been one of a hundred lakes in the world, it wasn’t one he'd seen before. "You know this place?" he inquired.

She turned back to him, the unhappiness momentarily slipping from her as she grinned. "Very well, it's Lake Waldorph. Chris and I used to spend three weeks here every summer at the camp just beyond those woods. They were fun, carefree summers."

Devon focused on the lake again; horror filled him as he turned from its smooth surface back to her. This was not only his dream, he realized with a start, but also hers. He was the one who had brought her into the dream, but her mind had created the setting. It was why she wasn't telling him the things he wanted to hear from her, and why her distress and reluctance were real. It was why things weren't going the way he wanted them to.

His body began to go numb with shock and disbelief. He knew how their minds had connected, knew he had been the one to do it, but he'd never planned to let such a thing happen. While asleep, his subconscious must have sought out hers. It had taken hold of her mind, and drawn it in.

Devon bit back a curse, unwilling to frighten or upset her more. There was no reason for her to know what had happened, how this had occurred, or the reason it felt so real was because both their minds were creating it. It was better for her to continue to consider this just a strange, oddly real, dream. She could never know what he was, what he was capable of, what he could do to her. She would run screaming if she knew the truth, and he wouldn't blame her in the least.

The only problem was that no matter what she said, or what she wanted, he was afraid this dream might mean she wouldn't have an option, and neither did he. They barely knew each other, but his ability had somehow taken them both over, and brought them both here. He'd never had such a thing happen before, had never lost control in such a way. Even when he’d been a novice, floundering and uncertain of his powers, he'd never lost control of them.

He had a bad feeling he finally knew what all of this meant. He just wasn't willing to recognize the truth of it. He still didn't have a place to stay in town, and hadn't intended to stay. Now he was fearful he may not have a choice about staying, or going.

Wrapping his fingers through hers, he shut his thoughts off. He didn't intend to deal with them right now. He knew it would only result in a tangled mess of confusion that he wasn't in the mood to sort through. For now, all he wanted was to hold her, talk to her, and make both of their dreams come true.

"Would you like to sit by the lake?"

Her face lit with pleasure, her eyes sparked merrily. Right then, he knew he would do everything he could to make her smile like that as often as possible. "I would love to."

He leisurely led her down to the water and stopped at the edge of the lake. The water lapped gently against his feet. "Just as warm as I remember," Cassie whispered.

"Why did you stop coming here?"

She shrugged as a tremor of tension raced through her. "There wasn't any time for camp once Luther and Melissa arrived."

His eyebrows knitted together as he thought over her strange words. "Who is Luther?"

"Melissa's father, adoptive father," she amended.

Devon shook his head in confusion. "I don't understand. What does he have to do with the reason why you no longer went to camp?"

She held her hair back as the breeze briefly picked up again. Grief briefly enveloped her and that lost look filled her eyes again. Then her gaze cleared, and she smiled cheerfully at him. She squeezed his hand before standing on tiptoe to kiss him briefly. Devon started in surprise, but he enjoyed her sudden, playful demeanor. He was certain it wasn't an attitude she had very often.

"This is a dreary topic for such an amazing dream, and one I don't want to think about right now. I think about it too often during the day."

Devon was once again confused as to what she was talking about. What did Melissa's adopted father have to do with anything major in her life, other than taking care of her friend, and maybe driving them to the movies or dances once in a while? Those things certainly weren’t something that would occupy her thoughts often during the day, at least not as often as she had just suggested.

Before he could question her further, she tilted her head to the side and gave him an impish grin. "I would much rather go swimming."

With that she released his hand and plunged into the water. Her beautiful laughter trailed off as she dove beneath the surface. Devon stood for an astonished moment before shrugging negligently. It had been a long time since he'd gone swimming, and he couldn't think of anyone he would rather do it with.

Cassie burst back to the surface and inhaled deeply. Her skin glimmered in the sun, her dress pressed against her and drops of water clung to her as she smiled beckoningly at him. Excitement spurted through him. She was tantalizing, irresistible, and completely delicious looking. He couldn't refuse her as he began to wade into the warm water.

He was only feet from her when her head tilted to the side and annoyance flitted over her delicate features. "What is that noise?" she mumbled.

"What noise?"

He could hear nothing except for the subtle lapping of the waves against their skin. "Alarm," she whispered.

Then she was gone. Dismay filled Devon as he frantically looked around for her. It took him a few seconds to realize she’d simply awakened. She hadn't disappeared for good, but he couldn't stifle the suffocating disappointment he felt.

Retreating from the lake, he returned to the shore; he ignored the feel of the grass now. It didn't matter as much without her here to enjoy it with him. He slid to the ground and draped his arms over his knees as he stared at the serene lake Cassie had placed here. He wanted to know more about her days at camp, her childhood and life experiences both happy and sad. He would like to know everything there was to know about her, and he was tired of being dodged all the time.

He didn't care about his own feelings of confusion and doubt, didn't care about their strange conversation, or that he’d lost control of his ability. There was only one thing he cared about now. It didn't matter if Cassie fought him every step of the way, he was going to get closer to her in real life. He was going to make their dream come true.