“Did Dax help Angelle?” Celeste asked.

“He’s in the process of helping her.” Adeline smiled. “Well, I say that he’s helping her. The truth is, that little girl merely needed to be pointed in the right direction and told how to see her parents, and then she could take care of herself. Not a very tough case for my youngest grandson, but I typically send all of the children his way. He’s so good with kids, like you.”

“I wanted to be an elementary-school teacher,” Celeste said.

“I know, chère. You’d be a good one, too.” She tilted her head as though picturing Celeste in front of a blackboard. “I could see my Dax ending up with a teacher. The two of you would be a good match, but you already know that, don’t you?”

“I want to see him,” Celeste insisted. “I’m strong enough now, aren’t I?”

“Yes, chère, you are, but last time the two of you tested your fate. You stayed too long, or exerted yourself too much-” she held up a hand “-and no, I don’t know exactly how you became so exhausted so quickly, nor do I need to know. I’m just stating that if you want to stay longer on that side, with Dax, you’ll need to practice some form of moderation in your activities.”

Celeste grinned. “I promise-let me through now.” She paused, then added, “Please.” She waited, and when Adeline didn’t move toward Dax’s door, she said more firmly, “I’m not leaving this room until I see him, and I’m not going into the light. Not yet.”

“I’ve never met another living soul so determined,” Adeline said. “Well, I take that back. He’s determined too, isn’t he?”

“Yes, he is.” Celeste stepped past Adeline and watched the doorway to the left, Dax’s path, slowly open. “I can go now?”

“I won’t stop you, chère. And don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled that you care so much about my Dax, and that he cares so much about you, but I don’t want to see you hurt.”

“Dax would never hurt me,” Celeste said, hugging Adeline before starting down the darkened path.

“I’m not worried about him hurting you, dear,” Adeline said, her voice growing faint as Celeste moved farther away. “I’m worried about you hurting yourself.”

DAX ROLLED OVER, slammed a fist into his pillow and stared at the red numbers on the digital clock beside the bed: 3:27.

At least he’d slept for a few hours. That’s more than he could say about last night, when he was so mad at the powers that be that he’d fumed and cussed all night long, not that it had helped.

Celeste hadn’t come.

But exhaustion had prevailed tonight, and he’d slept a whopping four hours. Not bad for a guy this pissed, or this much in need of sex. In spite of the staggering orgasm she’d given him four days ago, Dax’s body still burned for something more. He wanted to touch her, now that he knew he could. To run his mouth over every tantalizing indention, every curve, every nuance composing the woman who’d thoroughly captivated his heart, his soul. He wanted to taste her, the way she’d tasted him, and he wanted to feel her sweet heat surround him, to push himself deep inside and find out if they were even hotter joined together than they were when they touched.

“Damn.” He growled the word with as much ferocity as he could manage and hoped that the powers that be were listening. There was no way Celeste wasn’t strong enough to make it over again. She’d come back the very same day last time. Now she’d been gone four agonizingly long days, and he was tired of waiting.

“Is it that bad?”

He jerked around to face the owner of the voice who was standing near his bed. “Mon dieu, you made it through.”

Celeste was glowing, shimmering, from the top of her blond head to the toes of her bare feet. Dax took her all in, the silvery-gray eyes that seemed to zero in on his chest before glancing down to where the sheet now pooled at his waist, the smile that set his pulse on fire, the curvy hips and legs that were showcased beautifully by fitted short pants…

She stood there and allowed him to examine her thoroughly, and to verify that he wasn’t dreaming, then she smiled a little brighter. “I have new clothes.” She waved a hand down her body. “No idea where they came from, but I like them.”

“I like them too,” he said, even though he couldn’t care less about what she was wearing. She was here; that was what mattered. He wanted to take her and throw her on the bed, kiss her all over, then make love to her until she forgot that this was temporary.

Temporary. Did it have to be? And shouldn’t he finally find out more about that before they moved on to hot and heated? The last two times he’d lost his senses and let lust rule, instead of asking the pertinent questions.

He’d regretted that ever since, not how much they’d wanted each other or how she’d satisfied him, but that he let her go without finding out how, and if, he could get her back on this side for good.

He swallowed and tried to ignore the fact that the sheet was now pitched in a tent from his hard-on. He needed answers, in case she was pulled away again. “Celeste.”

“Yes?” she asked, licking her lips.

He cleared his throat. “I don’t want to lose you again without finding out a few things. So, before we do-anything-I need to know. Where have you been? How did you get through? And how long can you stay?”

“I don’t know where I’ve been,” she said, stepping toward the bed. “I got through because of Adeline.” She moved her hands to the hem of her long blouse, then crossed her arms in front of her as she brought it above her head, and let the green fabric fall to the floor. Like before, when she’d worn the silky white gown, she wasn’t wearing a bra, and her nipples, like before, were tight little points, rosy pink and perfect for kissing, nuzzling, suckling…

“Celeste. Please, I need to know.”

She put her hands to her waist, ran her fingertips inside the flat waistband of her pants, then slid them to the floor and stepped out of them. Last time, she’d worn nothing beneath her gown, but this time, a thin scrap of lacy white panties made Dax even harder.

“How long can you stay this time?” he repeated.

“She said it was up to me. If I can control my tiredness, keep myself from becoming completely exhausted, I should be able to stay longer than before.” She stepped closer to the bed. “I’m going to try to do that this time. I know it’ll be hard, because I’ve honestly thought of nothing else but being with you, in every possible way. But if I feel myself getting tired-”

“Then we’ll stop, and you’ll rest,” he completed. “We have to, Celeste. I need to try to figure out what’s happening to you when you’re gone, and I have a better chance of doing that if we work together and you tell me everything you remember about when you’re gone.”

“But I want you, Dax. I want you so much it hurts.”

“Trust me, I know.”

“So if I start feeling tired, I’ll tell you, but right now, I’m not tired-at all. And since I’m not, we can talk about any questions you may have later, can’t we? I want you, Dax.” She eyed the tent in the bed. “And you want me too.”

“Yeah, but-” He glanced at his hands, then smiled.

“But what?”

Dax climbed from the bed and then motioned for her to get on top of the covers. “This time, I’m in control.”

It was her turn to glance at his hands. “Can you, without touching?”

One corner of his mouth crooked up. For the past four days, he’d thought of nothing but how many ways he could, without touching. “Hell, yeah.”

She crawled up on the bed, her heart-shaped bottom facing him as she moved toward the pillow, then turned around and licked her lips. “How can you?”

“You see, there’s a loophole in that no-touching rule that I never realized until after you left last time.”

“What loophole?” she asked.

Dax moved to the foot of the bed while she stared brazenly at his erection. He’d gone to sleep nude, and he was glad for it. Her skin was flushed and excited, tinged with a hint of pink, visible even in the midst of her shimmering glow.