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“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ve got you. Go back to sleep. I’m just arguing with my sister,” he said, snuggling me more comfortably into his arms.
I fell for it for a half a second before my brain caught up.Sister?I tried to sit up again, but his hand kept me tucked tight against his chest.
“Bring her inside. I can guess at what happened, and I’m not surprised, if she is who you say she is. Ryker has been waiting all day for you to show up. His training won’t progress if I can’t keep his attention on his studies.” A soft hand touched my cheek. “You must really be something, Addalee Ackers.”
I finally managed to speak. “I’m really not. I’m not special at all. I’m just me.”
She laughed. “Okay. If you say so.”
As Nathan moved, I drifted back to dreamland. The girl who haunted my dreams lately waited for me.
“You’re always here, and I’ve never met you,” I told her.
She smiled at me and took my hand. “No, you’ve never met me, but we’re very much the same, you and me. You’re where you should be now, and I’m gone.”
I shook my head, wondering if my mind somehow twisted some image I saw at Cruise’s house or something, causing the dreams. Aloud, I said what I realized. “You’re James.”
“Yeah, most people called me Jamie, but Cruise never did.” A shadow seemed to chase across her expression before she squeezed my hand. “Take care of my brother, Addie. He’s so soft inside, even if he doesn’t know it.”
No one used that nickname for me. “That’s the name of a girl with a future.”
She smiled, shaking her head. “Yes, of course it is.”
I opened my eyes to darkness. My heart raced. The dream seemed so real.What is happening?
“Easy…” Cruise’s voice rumbled close to my ear, his breath stirring my hair. He held me against him in the bed, and I relaxed into his familiar warmth. “What’s wrong?”
I swallowed. How much to tell him? “Honestly, I’m half convinced I’m meeting your dead sister in my dreams.”
He sighed. “Well, James was really nice, so if she’s hanging around for some reason to visit with you, don’t be afraid of her. She wouldn’t be a harbinger of bad things; she would want you to be okay. James would want to help.” He groaned. “Am I actually considering the idea that my dead sister might be visiting your dreams to talk to you? Fuck.”
His logical mind had to hate so much of what made our lives work. “If there are demons, maybe there are ghosts? Although,she’s not floating around in a white sheet chanting woo-woo or something. So, maybe she’s a spirit?”
Cruise tugged me against him, burrowing his nose into my neck. “Whatever James is doing—whether in your head, or in the spirit world, or wherever—she was the kindest person I knew. Mary and I are selfish beings, both slightly narcissistic. James was just altruistic, almost to a fault. She was the best of us.”
“I think you’re way nicer than you give yourself credit for. After all, you’re holding a near-stranger in bed after taking care of her again and again… I think you’re pretty outstanding.”
He was quiet for a second, but when he answered, his voice had gone husky and soft. “I feel like I know you better than you’re giving me credit for, Addalee. Do you really still feel like I’m a stranger?”
“No.” It wasn’t a lie. “But I don’t know much about you, not really. I know you’re a lawyer, and you do this stuff. We know each other, but not any of the small details, which is how I used to qualifyknowingpeople. Are you keeping her asleep?”
“Yes.” I liked that he cut right to the answer. “The whole place is like that because of the number of possessed in the area. Anyway, favorite things.” His heartbeat was slow, a steady rhythm in my ear. “I didn’t have a normal childhood—the whole orphaned, rich boy thing. So, look, you knew that. Um. Okay. I like the color blue, although I mostly wear black because I don’t have to think about whether or not it matches. I love pizza. And hot dogs. Even though I was mostly fed fancy foods by nannies, I’d rather order pizza for dinner. I’ve never been to a baseball game or a football game. Not ever, but I always wanted to, even though I don’t have favorite teams. I wanted something normal like that, something…wholesome, you know?”
I’d lived most of his list of dreams, but I never thought any of it mattered. It never seemed special, yet we lived almost opposite lives. “I don’t think I’ve ever eaten fancy foods, not oncein my whole life. I wouldn’t know what to do with them. Which fork goes where? No way. I’d be an embarrassment.”
“Stop putting yourself down. I don’t know anyone who cares about etiquette, not really. If it ever comes up, start on the outside and work your way inward. The forks are usually placed to match each preassigned course.”
Good to know. “Thank you.”
“Your turn. Favorites. Go.”
Favorites?I thought about it, closing my eyes while I went through the sum total of my life so far. “I like pink? Maybe that doesn’t qualify, because I’m a demon girl right now, but Iwasa girlie, pink-loving mess. I mostly dress to make other people comfortable. What I mean by that is, I figure people will judge no matter what, so why not make it easy for them? Let them see what they expect and move on with your day. I…”
“Hold on.” Cruise sat up a little. “Wait, now I’m very curious. How did that play into what you wore the first time we met? I’ve never heard of anyone else doing this before, so I’m really curious. And your demon just goes along with what you want to wear?”
I shrugged. “Well, she didn’t used to pay attention to what I decided to wear. Now, who knows what she’d do? I think when we met, I wore an outfit I thought you would find quasi-inappropriate. I did it because I figured you’d think I was poor and ignorant, so why not lean into your preconceptions?”
He ran a hand through my hair. “I don’t remember really noticing your clothes. I remember thinking you were hot as hell.”
