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."If you knew," he replied, trying desperately to make a joke about it, "you'd slap me into next week.""Oh, I don't know about that," she said, which was exactly what he would have expected her to say if this was a dream, and not at all what he had rationally expected to hear.He looked over at her in startlement to find her smiling wanly at him."After all, I am half-kitsune.We have a certain reputation; one that's been known to attract even dragons."His body reacted in a predictable manner before his mind took over and gathered up all the reins firmly.This isn't the time or the place, he told his galloping libido firmly.We're surrounded by potential enemies, we're exhaustedand on top of that, the front seat of a '69 Mustang is absolutely impossible.These are bucket seats.The backseat is practically nonexistent.You'd have to be a contortionist."Trust me," he said firmly."You'd smack me so hard I'd lose teeth."He closed his eyes for a momentjust for a few secondsIt was long enough; she struck as swiftly as a cobra.Before he could open them again, she'd writhed around in her seat, leaning over the center console, and planted her mouth firmly on his.One hand snuck around behind the back of his head, holding him so he couldn't jerk away.Not that he wanted to!Without the use of anything as confusing as words, she was letting him know that her dreams had probably been along the same lines as his own.And in no uncertain terms, she was telling him that she had enjoyed those dreams.When she'd succeeded in setting every nerve afire and causing a complete meltdown of his brain, she let him go, returning to her seat with a teasing smile on her lips."I don't think I would smack you, if those dreams were like mineunless you asked nicely," was all she said."Iguess not." He blinked and tried to make his frontal lobes function again, after having the blood supply to his brain rush off elsewhere.Should he follow up on this?If I do, I could get into more trouble than I can handle right now.If I don't, it could still be trouble, but not as complicated."This isn't aa good time to get into anythingahdistracting," he ventured."We aren't really safe here, just safer for the moment than a lot of other places." He hoped she understood; the lover who had shared more than just his bed would have."You don't like it dangerous?" she purred."No, and you wouldn't, either."She nodded; reluctantly, he thought, but in agreement."Damn.You're right.I'm not happy about it, though." She smiled weakly."I shouldn't have done that, but I couldn't resist.Let's just call that aa promissory note, a raincheck, until a better time."Jeez, some raincheck! Makes me want to call Fighting Eagle for a thunder-dance! He yawned, exaggerating it a little."Look, Shar, I'm not capable of thinking or much of anything at the moment.I am beat, and I need some rest badly.Can you stay awake long enough for me to catch a couple of hours of sleep? Once I can think straight, we can make some plans, but right now, I wouldn't want to make any kind of decisions.I'm two burritos short of a combination plate when I'm this tired."She nodded, and to his relief, she did not seem put out by the fact that he didn't follow through on her tacit invitation.But the Shar I knowknewthink I know would understand."Get some rest, then," she said with surprising gentleness."I'll keep watch."Could he trust her?Did it matter?Not really.If he couldn't trust her, he was already doomed, and he might as well get some sleep.And if he could trust herhe might as well get some sleep."Thanks, Shar," he said, and smiled.He reached out and squeezed her hand."Thanks a lot.It's nice to have somebody watching at my back in this."Her reactionblinking as if such a thing had never occurred to hermade him wonder about her past.Living with the Unseleighe would only teach you that there could be no such thing as a partner.But someone or something had to teach her that it was possible.Has she ever had someone she could depend on? Her mother, maybe."I can see that it would be," she replied wistfully.Then she shook her head and became her usual, confident self."You get that sleep; I probably need a lot less than you do, anyway.When you wake again, we'll make some plans.""Right." He smiled again, and closed his eyes firmly.Having her so close was such a temptationGo to sleep, Tannim.Andjeez, if you can help it, don't dream about Shar.* * * Joe padded up to the old barn a little more than two hours after he'd left it, sweating, but not even close to being winded.It had felt good to run full-out like that, with the cool night air all around him and the drone of cicadas coming from all directions.When he was doing something like running, he didn't have to think so much about things.Like how all of this was more than a little crazy.He'd let himself into the Drake's house and had left a note propped on the kitchen table, explaining pretty much what he'd suggested to Chinthliss.Kansas City was far enough away that the Drakes would not expect to hear anything for at least a couple of days, especially since this was supposed to be an emergency.And if they weren't back with Tannim in a couple of days, then things really would have gone seriously wrong.To lend credence to the note, Joe had rummaged through Tannim's room and his own, making it look as if some things, but not all, had been taken.Then he had gotten what he'd come for from its hiding place up inside the boxsprings of his bed.A.45 automatic, basically the same handgun as the military surplus he'd trained with.Pity that it wasn't an M-16 or some other fully automatic assault rifle, butwell, it wasn't supposed to have been a bullet-hose for all-out attacks but something to defend himself from one or more of the Chosen Ones until the real law showed up.He had to keep reminding himself that he was supposed to be a civilian now.Most civvies didn't even have this much firepower, when it came right down to it.They saw guys like Dirty Harry in the movies, and that was about the extent of their gun knowledge.Which was why, of course, whenever one of them did get scared over something and get himself a weapon, the people who usually got hurt or killed by it were people in his own family.Frank had once remarked that for a bunch of paranoid nut cases, the Chosen Ones had the best gun-safety classes he'd ever heard of.Joe had not only taken those classes, he'd taught them to the Junior Guard.He had strapped on the shoulder holster, and slung extra pouches of ammo on their web-belts around his waist.They were heavy, but you never knew.Better take all he had; there probably weren't any gun shops where he was going.He was used to running with full pack and kit; this had been nothing, really, no kind of weight at all.He had let himself out of the house, moving so quietly he didn't even make the floor creak, and took off back the way he had come
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