Oleander House: Bay City Paranormal Investigations, Book 1

“No, I haven’t. But I don’t know it’s a dream when I’m in it, and it doesn’t occur to me to try. Do you?”
Cecile nodded. “I’ve been practicing lucid dreaming for years. That’s why I’ve tried to leave the house in my dreams. And it’s very strange, actually, that I can’t get out. I’ve never had that happen before, come to think of it.”
“What about your dreams, Sam?” Bo turned his sharp, curious gaze to Sam. “Tell us about them.”
Sam sighed inwardly. He’d been half-hoping Bo would forget about him in the excitement of Cecile and Andre’s nearly identical dreams.
“The first night,” Sam began, avoiding Bo’s gaze, “I dreamed I was having sex with someone whose face I couldn’t see. It’s started out that same way every night, but each time it’s gone further. First I had scales and claws instead of a hand, and the last couple of nights I’ve dreamed that I killed the person with my claws while I was having sex with them.”
“Fuck, Sam,” David interjected in the stunned silence that followed Sam’s terse speech. “That’s seriously twisted.”
“Tell me about it,” Sam said with a twinge of bitterness.
Amy pursed her lips. “So your dreams have escalated every night.”
“Pretty much, yeah.” Sam darted a glance at Bo. Bo was watching him, as if wondering the same thing Sam had wondered every single time he woke gasping and shaking in the night. I don’t want it to be him, Sam thought with a touch of panic. Not like this.
Bo cleared his throat and looked away. “Well. This is an interesting development.”
“No shit.” David took Cecile’s hand. “But what the hell does it mean?”
No one had an answer for that. “I could do some research,” Cecile offered. “See if I can find out anything about the significance of these kinds of dreams.”
“Good idea,” Bo said. “You can start on that after we finish up with this morning’s investigations.”
“Speaking of which,” Andre added, getting to his feet, “we should get started. Are we still keeping the same teams as yesterday?”
Amy shot a suspicious glance at Bo. “Maybe we should switch.”
“You trying to get rid of me, babe?” Andre grinned and smacked her on the butt. “You’re gonna hurt my feelings.”
Amy laughed in spite of the worry in her eyes. “Come on, you know better than that. I’m just saying, maybe the investigation would benefit from a change in teams.”
“I have to disagree.” Frowning, Bo tugged on the end of his braid. “I think that it’s best to keep our two couples teamed up. I’m thinking that Cecile and Andre would be more relaxed if they’re around the people they feel most comfortable with.”
Bo held Amy’s gaze boldly, eyes bright with challenge. Amy stared back, cheeks pink. She clearly knew what Bo was doing, and why. Sam watched, fascinated, as the two fought silently for dominance of the situation. He couldn’t help feeling a warm glow in his belly at Bo’s transparent desire to spend time with him.
“He’s right, Amy,” Andre said, unknowingly sealing Bo’s victory. “I like Bo and David just fine, but I’m most comfortable with you. If I have to be a pro psychic here, I’d rather you were there with me.”
The corner of Bo’s mouth lifted in a barely there smile. Amy’s eyes flashed a warning at Bo before she turned to smile at Andre. “All right, hon. If you need me, I want to be with you.”
Andre pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “Thank you.”
“All right,” Bo said. “Now that that’s settled, let’s get started. Amy and David, you and I can take the video cameras and EMF detectors. Cecile, Andre and Sam, carry notebooks and pens so you can write down what you sense. Don’t worry about anything else. Let your partner worry about taking readings and getting video. And remember, check in on the radio every ten minutes.”
There followed a few minutes of chaos as equipment was claimed and the teams were assigned areas to investigate. Then Sam trailed Bo out the library door and up the stairs, and the morning’s work began.
In spite of his fight to remain paired with Sam, Bo barely acknowledged Sam’s existence. Sam ignored Bo’s seeming indifference with an ease that surprised him, concentrating instead on finding the strange dark thread of alien presence he’d sensed before. It frustrated him beyond belief that he couldn’t pick it out even though he knew it was there somewhere.
“I’m not getting