Blood Gifts by Kara Lockley Page A

stopped to watch, but were too afraid to stop
him.
    He jumped on top of her and grabbed the back
of her hand-knitted hat. It was tied under her chin. He shoved her
face into the snow and she couldn't breathe. The icy cold bit into
her cheeks and her chest felt tight. She panicked.
    He pulled her face out of the snow and she
gasped. Then he quickly shoved it back into the snow. She thought
she might die. She didn't know what to do!
    Then she felt his weight lifted off of her
and she felt a hand pull her out of the snow. She was gasping and
shocked. It was the playground teacher who'd saved her.
    Then she felt another hand on her shoulder.
It was Luke. He was shaking her gently. She gasped as she woke with
a start. It took her a while to realize where they were. They were
lying on the floor in a bedroom of the farmhouse. The mattress
across the room was broken and full of loose springs, so they'd
laid a blanket down to sleep on. It was night. Luke was looking at
her with concern.
    "What was that?" he asked. "Another
nightmare? You were gasping for breath."
    "I had another memory. About a bully in grade
school." She relaxed back into the pillow. She could feel hot tears
roll down her cheeks. She put her hands over her face. "I don't
know why I keep reliving these horrible things in my dreams," she
said. "I'm already stressed enough. What is this?"
    Luke looked relieved. "I thought you were… I
don't know what I thought," Luke said. "I guess I thought you were
dying somehow. I wasn't fully awake. I'm glad you're okay." He had
been sitting up, but now lay back down beside her.
    "Come here," he said and pulled her into his
arms. It felt nice. Safe. She laid her head on his chest.
     
    ***
     
    Her eyes were closed, but she was still wide
awake. Luke's arms were still tight around her. He had not released
his hold.
    "Are you still awake?" she asked quietly.
    "Yes," he said with a small laugh. "I was
waiting for you to fall back to sleep."
    "I can't sleep," she said. "I don't want to
relive another bad memory in my dreams. Though being awake and
worrying aren't the most pleasant either."
    She lifted her head to look down at him. He
raised his head to kiss her. She climbed on top of him, her body
resting on his as they kissed. She felt the energy build between
them as the passion grew. Her hair fell around her face as she
leaned over him, kissing him deeply. She couldn't see, but she
heard objects in the room beginning to rumble.
    He stopped kissing her. "Wait," he said. He
gently pushed her off of him and stood, holding his hand out to
her. She took it and he pulled her to her feet. He swept her up
into his arms and kissed her as he walked them across the hall into
an empty bedroom. No objects in here to fly around.
    He set her on her feet and leaned down to
kiss her. She stopped kissing to look around as he kissed her neck.
No bed, no blanket on the floor.
    "Where will we…" she said. He didn't answer,
but started undressing both of them. She helped. Once they were
standing skin against skin, he lifted her up, letting her straddle
his body.
    "Oh," she said. She leaned down and kissed
him. He was strong and had excellent balance as their bodies
writhed together in ecstasy. At one point she felt like she was
flying. She didn't know how she managed to hold onto him, but he
never let her go. Pleasure exploded between them and she swore she
heard something hit the wall in the bedroom across the hall as she
calmed down and wrapped her arms and legs around him tightly. She
glanced around the room and saw their clothing scattered farther
away from them than it had been. It must have been a shoe that hit
the wall in the other room. So much for finding an empty room. Her
reach went farther than she thought. She laughed and he squeezed
her tight and kissed her cheek.
    They left their clothes lying where they were
and he carried her back across the hall to their room. It wasn't
too messy. Better than it would have been if they had