Suddenly, I was on my back, and a naked Kostya loomed over me, one hand around my throat. The fingers were black, with wickedly curved white claws that pricked into my flesh.

“No!” Kostya barked, and even in the light of just one lamp I could see his eyes. Despite the fact that he was nearly strangling me, I reached up and touched the lines radiating from one of his eyes, trailing my fingers down to his stubbly jawline. For over a year, I’d seen just such an expression every time I glanced in a mirror.

It was pain, betrayal, and hopelessness, not stark and fresh, but long remembered and still very potent.

Once again, a sense of empathy filled me. Someone had damaged Kostya’s psyche; someone had betrayed him to the point where it was haunting his dreams. I knew well the anguish of that sort of torment, and it made me want to wrap my arms around him, comfort him as I would a distressed child.

But he was no child, and I had my own emotional scars to contend with.

“Who hurt you?” I asked, my voice husky with both sleep and the pressure on my throat.

His hand shimmered and returned to that of a human. He loosened his hold, looking slightly appalled. “It is you. I did not… I must have been dreaming… I apologize. I would never have attacked you if you had warned me of your presence. It is dangerous to come upon a dragon in just such a circumstance.”

“That dragon arm thing was pretty cool, Slick,” Jim said, his eyes taking in the fact that Kostya was quite obviously naked. “And, hey, nice ass for a human form. Bet you could bounce a bowling ball on it. Eefables, you should really see this.”

“My name is Aoife,” I snapped, but nonetheless peered around Kostya in order to get a glimpse of his butt.

It was, as Jim said, really nice. Kostya made an annoyed noise at the back of his throat, shifting to the side so he was no longer looming over me. He also twisted the sheets around his waist. “What are you doing here in my bed? You said earlier that you did not desire me. You made that face that women make when I tell them that I have no interest in mating activities with them. And yet, you are here, touching me.”

“I was trying to wake you up. You screamed twice in your sleep, so I figured you must be having a dilly of a nightmare.” I slid around him and got to my feet. “And dammit, after all that ‘do you want to mate with me’ business, why didn’t you tell me you were gay? Not that I was hitting on you, but still.”

“I’m not gay,” he said with as much dignity as a man can have while wrapped in a sheet and newly awoken from a raging nightmare. “I have learned that women are not to be trusted, and I do not wish for any more involvement with them. As for your outrageous claim, I reject it. I do not scream.”

“And yet you did. Right, Jim?”

The demon, in the process of snuffling Kostya’s clothes, nodded. “Made my hackles stand on end. Man, you don’t even have so much as a stick of gum in your pants pocket. Hey, now that everyone’s awake, think we could have some breakfast? I’m so hungry I could eat something large and Swedish, the name of which I can’t think because apparently my memory loss includes food. But I do know I’m starving.”

“Hardly that,” I said, eyeing his large form. “You look a little chubby to me.”

Jim sniffed. “You clearly do not know your superior sort of demon from the run-of-the-mill variety. My form is obviously a deluxe model and will require ample and frequent applications of food. So why don’t we all go out to the kitchen and see what you have to keep me from perishing?”

A glance at the clock showed it to be morning, making any further attempt at sleep senseless. I opened the door for the dog, wanting to ask Kostya a question and preferring to do so without an audience. “Feel free to go out and get some bacon and eggs started.”

Jim sat and gave me a long-suffering look. “Ain’t got no opposable thumbs, babe. Don’t actually have any non-opposable thumbs, either. See?” He held out a big black paw. “Not even a dewclaw.”

“Then go take yourself outside.”

His head tipped to the side. “How’m I supposed to open the door?”

“I’m sure you’ll figure out a way.”

“You want me to put my mouth on a door handle? Do you know the sorts of germs that are on it?”

“Oh, for the love of the good green earth, go!”

He sniffed again but followed my finger that pointed out the door, saying over his shoulder as he left, “Boy, you must really want to jump Kostya’s bones if you can’t even be with him five minutes before demanding alone time together.”

I muttered something quite rude under my breath and turned back to face Kostya, who had been suspiciously silent during the whole exchange. He had, in fact, busied himself with dressing while I was distracted.

“I, too, desire breakfast,” he said, buttoning up his shirt. I had a small moment of regret at that lovely chest being covered up, but hid my feelings well. “Following that, I will have you contact Aisling. I cannot speak to her or Drake due to the curse, but you can.”

“It’s like you’re speaking English, and yet you’re not,” I said pleasantly, moving to block the doorway when he was about to leave the room. “Whoa, there. I think you owe me a few answers, and now that we’ve all had a little sleep, I’d like them. Let’s start with the big one of how you got to my beach in a state that appeared to be near death, although obviously wasn’t as close as I first thought.”

“I am hungry. I will eat breakfast now, and then you must contact Aisling to ask her why Jim is in Sweden without its memory and bound to you.”

I put my hands on my hips, blocking the exit. “First, you answer questions. Then if you ask nicely, I may make some food. But only if you—Hey!”

He put both hands around my waist and heaved upward. I rose a couple of inches, but when I kicked my legs out in protest, he dropped me like a hot potato. I thought at first that I must have connected with him, but since he didn’t double over clutching whatever I had kicked, I decided I was mistaken.

Plus there was the expression of befuddlement on his face. “What did you just do?” he demanded to know, standing so close to me I could feel his breath on my face. Normally, I’m very strict about personal space and don’t like people puffing on me, but Kostya somehow managed to breach the perimeter of my safety zone without setting off any of my mental alarms.