Free All Through the Night by Shannon McKenna, Lori Foster, Suzanne Forster, Thea Devine Page A

crazy? Someone had aroused her to the point of delirium last night, but this morning she awoke to burned down candles and her own discarded clothing. He was gone. Parts of her body were still throbbing, and her heart was an aching knot. What had
happened? Was she so desperate that she had to dream a man into existence to make love to her?
It didn’t seem possible to feel things so intensely in a dream. But if he really did exist, the implications were staggering. It meant that a virtual stranger had come into her bedroom last night and rendered her naked and utterly helpless with desire. Despite all the stories her grandfather had told her, Kerry no longer believed in curses and fairy tales. The man was real, and therefore he must have broken into her house.
He wasn’t a stranger either. He looked exactly like Jean, and he knew about the game. He talked about it. Malcolm’s paranoia seemed less scary to her in comparison to this. Maybe her tenant was right. Someone was spying on them through their computers and Palm Pilots. Everyone was under surveillance and it was a government plot.
But why did the government care whether or not she had an orgasm?
She was going crazy. She was.
Icy air gusted through the open doorway. She hadn’t thought to put on her parka or flap hat. Talk about shuddering. Her legs began to shake, but her hands were clammy, despite the frigid weather.
She should have called the police immediately. Why hadn’t she done that?
She rubbed her arms for warmth. No, it was too soon to bring the police in on something like this. And it was too strange a story. She had to find out for herself what was going on before someone had her carted off to an asylum.
Go outside and check the door, Kerry.
It was early, and the world was still hushed under a fresh layer of white, but someone had shoveled her walk, she saw. The concrete steps were wet with a film of melted snow. It was probably her neighbor, the retired grocery store manager who’d pretended not to see while she was being mugged. The gangs had made everyone afraid of reprisals, but Kerry would never understand why someone who’d lived next door long enough to know her grandparents hadn’t tried to help. She would have taken on the thugs herself if he’d been attacked.
She checked the knob on the outside of the door, but there weren’t any visible scratches or marks. That didn’t mean there wasn’t a break-in, however. A real professional wouldn’t have left any evidence. Kerry had no idea what she was dealing with, but this was beginning to feel more bizarre every moment, if that was possible.
“Kerry? What’s wrong?”
The whispered question came from behind her.
Kerry nearly slipped on a patch of ice, trying to get turned around. It was Malcolm, standing alongside the house. He’d scared her half to death, but she didn’t have time to be upset with him.
“Malcolm, did you see anything odd going on around here last night? Anyone strange lurking around?”
He crept toward the porch, peeking out at her from under a baseball hat. He was bundled up in the pea jacket and a heavy turtleneck that was mostly hidden by his beard. His breath was as steamy as a horse’s.
“Why?” he asked, flipping up the collar of his coat. “Has someone been lurking around?”
“I just asked you that question, Malcolm.”
A smile glimmered. “Oh, yeah, you did. No, I haven’t seen anybody. Are you missing something?”
“Not really.” Just my sanity, my dignity, and possibly my faith in mankind . “I thought I heard noises, but you know how that is. Maybe it was a dream. Thanks anyway.”
She gave him a halfhearted wave and started inside. The plan was to beat a hasty retreat, but something stopped her midstride. Her other hand was frozen on the railing, and she couldn’t move. It felt as if she were being zapped with electric current. She could not move. Could not. Move.
Dear God, she thought. She was outside, and she couldn’t get back. This was her