Page 3 of Shadows of Eternity

“What about me?” she asked tremulously.

“Would you give me anything I asked for?”

“No.” Pushing away from the table, she stood up. “Sorry.”

His fingers curled around her wrist. “Don’t go.”

“Let go of me,” she whispered, not wanting to make a scene. “This was a mistake. If you’re looking for a one-night stand, you’ll have better luck with the waitress.”

“Hey, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I did. Stay, please.”

Leia hesitated. He sounded sincere, and she’d been having such a good time up until now, did she really want to leave? “I’ll stay, on one condition.”

“What’s that?” he asked.

“I want to know how a Lakota Indian got a Romanian name.”

“I’ll tell you, when I know you better.”

Leia hesitated a moment. Then, wondering if she was making a huge mistake, she sat down again, her hands tightly folded in her lap.

“I’m sorry,” he said again. “I guess I’m just used to women throwing themselves at me. It comes with the territory.”

Leia flushed, suddenly embarrassed because she had acted like such a fool. “I really should go. I have to work tomorrow.”

“Can I see you again?”

“I don’t think so. Good night.”

He stood as she left the table, stared after her as she hurried out the door. “Leia,” he murmured, suddenly determined to see his shy princess again.

He grinned as the waitress arrived with their drinks. He would have preferred to share a glass of Cabernet with the lovely Leia, but he had other thirsts and the waitress would serve those very well.

Chapter Two

Leia woke after a restless night. Usually, she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow and she didn’t wake up until her alarm went off. Any dreams she had while she slept were usually forgotten by morning.

But last night … last night, she had tossed and turned. Her dreams had been fragmented with scenes of Indians attacking homesteads, murdering men, women and children. Surprisingly, one of the warriors had looked like Shadow Dancer. Or perhaps not so surprising, she mused, since he had stayed in her thoughts long after she returned home. Interspersed with those nightmare images set in the Old West had been visions straight out of an old Dracula movie, with a dark, handsome vampire bending over the slender throat of some helpless woman clad in a flowing white nightgown.

Slipping out of bed, Leia headed for the shower, hoping it would clear her head and chase away the last remnants of her odd dreams.

After showering, she dressed, ate a quick breakfast, made sure she had everything she needed for the day, stopped at a nearby Starbucks for a latte and then walked to school, which was only two blocks from her apartment.

It was Friday, always an easy day in her class. A short lesson first and then they had storytime until their parents came to pick them up.

All thoughts of Indians and vampires fled her mind as her students began to arrive.

Leia kicked off her shoes, dumped her handbag on the coffee table and collapsed on the sofa. Fridays might be easy days in the classroom, but her work day didn’t end there. She had to plan next week’s activities, plus she had to arrange for several parent-teacher conferences.

She had no sooner sat back and closed her eyes than her cell phone rang. One ring. Two. Three. Shoot. She delved into her purse, pulled out her phone, and said, not very nicely, “Hey, Janae.”

“Wow, rough day?”

“It’s Friday.”

“Right. Listen, I’ve got an extra ticket to that Native dance thing. Trent was supposed to go with me, but he has to work tonight.”

Leia grunted softly. Janae Frumusanu was her best friend. Leia wasn’t exactly sure what Janae’s husband did for a living, but whatever it was, it was very hush-hush. Sometimes Leia wasn’t sure Janae knew, either. The only thing Leia knew for certain was that he worked nights, was often gone for days at a time, and never discussed his job with Janae. “I don’t think so.”

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