A shiver traveled straight through her and a wave of his scent, his gorgeous, sexy, toffee scent, flowed over her shoulder. A few of her learned expletives once more sped through her mind.

She swallowed hard, pulled her elbow out of his grasp and half scooted, half fell into the booth. She caught herself with hands on the strong red leather of the seat. She turned her near-topple into a quick glide and move to sit at the back of booth. Hopefully, he would keep his distance and sit adjacent to her. The last thing she wanted was his body next to hers.

She slid her Cosmo toward her, then took a drink. She should have sipped, but right now she could use a little added courage.

She took a deep breath.

Now to explain all the lies.

Chapter Two

For a moment, while holding Elise’s arm and keeping her steady, Gideon almost lost the real reason for the meeting. For at least five painful seconds, his left hand started drifting toward her waist and lower. He wanted his arms around her. He wanted to pull her up hard against him, he wanted her to feel the stiffness and length of his arousal, and he wanted his fangs in her neck. By the strawberry wave that hit him, damn, it wouldn’t take much to get her where he wanted her to be.

As he slid into the booth to sit at a right angle to her, his nostrils flared at how thick her scent was, how utterly seductive.

He picked up his tumbler, took a hefty swallow, and let the scotch pound some sense into him.

His shoulders hurt from restraining all his overpowering very male, very vampire instincts. He put the tumbler on the table and stared at it. He breathed. The night promised to give one long lesson in breathing.

“So what do you want to know, Gideon? We might as well have this out.”

He pressed into the back of the booth and closed his eyes. If he could calm down enough, yeah, he might be able to breathe and think, and then maybe he could answer her question.

Finally he said, “So exactly how much do you know about ascension, about ascending dimensions, about all of it? If I recall, you asked a lot of questions over the last two years, but you were clever. Not once did I suspect that at the end of each night Ididn’terase your memories.”

“I worked hard at it.”

“But why? Why not be up front with me?”

She stared at him, her dark brown eyes wide. Even though he hated all this deception, there was so much about her he liked. She took her work seriously and she lived a well-ordered life. Because of his military training, he was the same. But she had a wild side, too, that he appreciated, something he hadn’t expected, a real surprise. She wore her straight black hair parted in the middle, straight to her shoulders with a small upward curve at the ends. She had a kind spirit and treated all the Militia Warriors with great respect. He’d been proud to call herhis woman all the time they’d dated.

She wore a white button-down shirt, open at the throat, jeans, a black belt, and black shoes. She was damn beautiful, with full lips, a straight nose, and prominent cheeks. She wore only a touch of mascara, maybe lipgloss. He wanted to kiss her, but what else was new?

She looked wound up tight, probably because of the lies.

He created mist to cover the front of the booth, which dampened the sound of the music and kept the strobes from flashing into the space.

“All right, Elise, let’s have it. How much do you know? I want to hear as many details as come to mind.”

“All right.” She spoke of the world of ascension, about dimensional planets, same geography, different earths, that to reach the next world you had to demonstrate power at a Borderland, which in turn would initiate the rite of ascension that each human of Mortal Earth had to go through in order to reach the next dimension. After three days had passed, the mortal would take part in a brief ceremony, be given the gift of immortality as well as the gift of fangs for taking blood. In cruder terms, ascension was about becoming a vampire. In more exalted terms, it was about being born into a new world and a new life that involved a whole host of preternatural powers. She knew of the five major Borderlands in this part of the world: downtown Phoenix, New River, the north end of the White Tanks, the Superstitions, and Awatukee.

The Militia Warriors, known among the ranks as Thunder God Warriors, had their HQ in Apache Junction Two, near the Superstition Mountain range. The Apaches used to call the range Thunder God Mountain.

She talked for at least twenty minutes. He listened, huffed a sigh, listened some more, scowled. He couldn’t believe how much she knew about Second Earth. Great. Just great.

Finally, she said, “I know a lot more, but I think you get the gist.”

All he could think to say was, “Shit.” Then after a good long moment, “Oh, God.” He took another swig of scotch. “Why bother now? You didn’t even tell me when I broke up with you.”

She shook her head but she met his gaze straight on. “I’ll tell you flat out I was grateful when you called it quits. I confess you had me done up and done down. I couldn’t leave but I needed to, and not because you’re from another dimension. I … I’ve never seen myself in a long-term relationship with anyone. I’m not good at it. I prefer my solitary life, in part, I suppose because that’s what I’m used to.”

He remembered now. She’d talked about her life once, about the early death of her father and that the stress on her mother of trying to raise Elise alone just hadn’t added up to a lot of stability or a sense of being loved. Add to that the need Elise had to hide her powers, and yeah, she would have gone it alone.

She continued, “I hated that I showed up here every week, had sex with a vampire, gave my blood, but never had the smallest intention of really being with you long term. I felt like such a coward and a user. For that, I’m sorry. I had nothing to give and I still don’t. You need to know that up front, before everything else unfolds.”

Everything else? How much more could there be?

She stroked the stem of her martini glass. The movement distracted him. He nodded a couple of times then shifted his gaze back to her. “I’m no different. I thought I was using you as well.”

“I know.”

“Shit.” He liked her more for being this honest with him. “Okay. So, tell me about the vision and about your power. Tell me all of it.”

“I’d rather show you the vision,” she said, her tone so low that he tilted his head.

“Show me?”

She nodded in quick jerks. He felt her fear like a stab against his mind. “I get it. You want to put the vision in my head.”

She nodded again, but this time slowly.

“How do you even know you can do that?”

“I just do. Will you allow me to put my hands on your face?”

“Yes.”

She slid to the end of her seat, then shifted to join him on his side, sitting beside him.

He frowned. He didn’t like the proximity at all. Too dangerous.

Beyond that, he wasn’t sure she really had the power to share the vision, but he would soon find out. However, the moment she put her hands on either side of his face and closed her eyes, he realized that having visions probably just scratched the surface of her power.

Telling vibrations passed from her skin to his, strong ripples of sensation. He was nearly overwhelmed with her presence right against his mind. His chest tightened. If she had this much power, then the enemy would want her, or want her dead. So, shit.

How much worse could this moment get?

He closed his eyes and felt her press against his mind. He knew enough about mind-engagement to get really relaxed and to let his shields fall, otherwise he would feel nothing but great shards of pain, knives spinning in his head.

As she streamed the vision, he saw it all in a quick flow, like a movie, the images clear and precise.

His sister, Rachel, came into view. She smiled like she was happy, a rarity for her. She sat with several others, all in folding chairs or lounges, clustered around a campfire, at dusk. He felt what Elise felt, that the timing of the vision encompassed the next day, but where was this place? Because of his earlier conversation with Rachel, he could only suppose he was looking at a location in northern California. He hoped to hell Bev would have some luck with the grid search.

The vision shifted to the sky overhead. Three death vamps appeared, flying over a line of trees, then gliding in the direction of the river and the campsite.

When the vision ended, and Elise’s hands fell away, he slid his phone out of the pocket of his jeans and tapped the surface of the screen.

He closed his eyes, hoping like hell that his sister would pick up. At the very least, he needed a mind-link with her for the next twenty-four hours.

After leaving Gideon’s mind, Elise couldn’t believe how she felt. Dizziness swirled through her brain, the aftereffects of having been inside his head. Her body vibrated with power, and something else, something that made her turn to look at Gideon, made herwant him.

He had his elbow on the table, his hand shading his brow. He spoke with his sister, his voice rising and falling. He even shouted, then calmed, then shouted again. He said something about wanting a mind-link with her.

Her gaze became fixed to his lips. She watched them move. She knew his lips so well, how they felt on her lips, on her skin, against her breasts, and lower. How he would pull at her flesh with his lips, tugging, so sensual, determined, until he brought her to screaming.

She tried to direct her thoughts into other channels, but they proved intractable as her gaze slid down his neck and she watched the vein in his throat beating hard. She wanted what he had to give her. She wanted it gliding down her throat, feeding her, strengthening her.

She slid closer so that her leg touched his leg. She settled her hand on his bicep, one of her favorite places. He glanced at her, but the argument he carried on distracted him.

Some kind of madness had her in a tight grip. Being inside his mind had left her so very hungry …for him.

She became a woman with a new mission that had nothing to do with visions and lies.

She rose to her feet, took their drinks, and settled them on a tall ledge on the opposite side of the booth.