It was dark and foggy when he found the driveway she had described, but that wasn't as great a hindrance to Lycan senses as it would have been to human ones.? There was a huge manor house ahead, and he paused in surprise.? Could she really live in that place?? She'd only been in RhyDin a few months, and her first movie hadn't even come out yet.

Lelah and Oscar were relaxing on the patio when Daniel arrived at the gates to Mr. Oxley's estate.? She watched him for a moment and was very impressed with his choice of attire - black slacks, a sports jacket, a t shirt...very sexy.? And there were two large bags in his hands, too.? She wondered if that was dinner.? "Daniel!" she called out and stood, moving to the edge of the patio and waving.? "Over here!"? She realized at that second that she'd neglected to tell him that she didn't actually live in the manor house, but the little carriage house in the back.

Her voice carried easily to his super-kitty ears; she wouldn't have even had to yell, in actuality.? He turned, seeing her up on the patio of what looked like a carriage house or something close to that.? That made a bit more sense than the giant manor.? He shifted the bags to one hand, lifting the other in a wave to her, then made for the stairs that led up to the carriage house door.

Oscar immediately launched in his Great Protector mode, barrooing and yodeling and growling up a storm.? He even tried to launch himself off the patio at Daniel.? Lelah caught him in time and hauled him up into her arms.? "Sorry about that.? He must know that you're...you know."? She clamped her hand around the dog's foxy muzzle and shushed him.? "The door's unlocked.? Go on in."?

He raised his brows slightly at the rather small dog trying to be so fierce, and the odd yodeling noise it made.? He went up the stairs with a fluidity and ease impossible for a non-feline to match.? It was as though he was walking on flat ground, not a fairly steep angle.? The door was unlocked, as she'd said, and so he went inside, pausing in the living room to wait for her.

She stepped through the french doors that led into her bedroom and plopped Oscar down on the bed, giving him a stern look and warning that he behave himself.? Then she went to the door and opened it.? The dog shot out as if fired from a cannon and launched in more yodeling and growling, baring his teeth at Daniel and generally trying to impress him with how fierce he was.

He looked down at the dog, carefully leaned down to put his face about two feet from Oscar, and growled back, a primal, hair-raising noise that should not have been possible coming from a human throat.

Oscar yelped and ran out of the room, tail tucked between his legs.? He skittered into Lelah's bedroom and came to a halt behind her.? She blinked, stuffed down a thrill of fear at the inhuman sound coming from her guest, and looked back and forth between them. She just laughed and said, "I think you're the first person to ever have stood up to him."? She reached down and scooped the little dog up, cuddling him against her chest.? "Aw, baby, was the kitty mean to you?"? Oscar was trembling with a silent growl and Lelah kissed the top of his nose.? "Good.? You need to learn some manners."? She leaned over and set him down in her room and closed the door most of the way.

Immediately, he felt bad for scaring the poor animal half to death.? Oscar was only trying to protect his mistress.? He could respect that kind of loyalty.? At least Lelah had laughed at it instead of getting mad, or worse, scared.? "I hope I didn't scare him too badly," he said apologetically.

"Oh, he'll be fine.? You can give him some treats later and then he'll be your best friend."? She stepped out of the door way and went to greet him with a kiss to the cheek.? "That smells amazing.? Come into the kitchen and show me what you've brought."

He leaned his cheek against hers, then stole a quick kiss, planting it right at the edge of her jawline.? She smelled very good.? Orange blossoms again, jasmine, and sandalwood.? Chanel No. 5, he realized.? Expensive perfume, a good sign for this date of theirs.? He followed her into the kitchen and set the two bags down, started pulling stuff out of the hot bag.? "Naan," he said, putting the first package down.? "Three kinds."? Next came the samosas.? "Vegetable samosas."? Finally, a take-out box from the Bodhi Tree.? "Spicy Tandoori lamb."

"Oh, God.? I love samosas.? With potatoes, right?"

He nodded, turning to study her.? "Mm-hm."? She looked like a summer day, all bright orange sunshine and warm brown earth.? Her feet were bare.? She had sexy toes.? Altogether, she was absolutely gorgeous.? There was a definite and simmering heat in his eyes as he looked at her.

She met that bold stare and tilted her head to the side, her hair swinging down over her shoulder like a plush, velvet curtain.? "You look very nice, too," she said softly, knowing that look in his eyes ? the one that deeply appreciated a beautiful woman and the effort she'd gone through to dress nicely for him.

That soft, husky voice swept over him like a warm blanket, and he took a step towards her, drawn like a moth to her orange flame.? "You're beautiful," he said, almost a growl.? For the moment, the food was all but forgotten; a different sort of hunger rising from his stomach...and lower.

She tucked that curtain of hair back behind her ear and looked down at the floor, the very picture of a practiced courtesan - coy, coquettish, and entirely inviting.? It was not a put on, either.? He made her feel...well...entirely unlike either Ori or Gideon ever had ? like she was burning with sensuality, consumed by flames of desire. "Thank you," she whispered and slid her fingers down through the tendrils of hair she'd just tamed, down her chest and over the tip of her breast to reach for his hand.

She took a deep breath and composed herself before turning and giving him a contrite smile.? "I shouldn't have done that.? I'm sorry, Daniel."? She glanced past him at the containers of food that had no doubt cooled by now.? "We should probably eat, huh?"

"It's my fault, too," he replied softly.? "I knew you were with someone.? Would it better if I left?"? The last thing he wanted was a meal full of awkward silences and uncomfortable looks.

She shook her head immediately.? "No.? It's, well, it's pretty much over.? We're just waiting for..."? She trailed off, waved her hand to dismiss the subject entirely.? "It's not important.? But no, I don't want you to leave."

It was definitely important, whatever she was waving off, but it wasn't any of his business, either.? "Good," he said.? "I don't want to leave, either."? He turned to the counter, and scooped up the packages of food.? Luckily, the insulating bags had preserved some of the heat; while it was no longer piping hot, neither was the food lukewarm.? He brought them to the table and waited for her to come over.

She smiled and tried to relax enough to enjoy what he'd made.? She sat down at the table, curling her legs up underneath her in the half-lotus position, and glanced towards her bedroom door.? She could just make out Oscar's nose poking through and she smirked.?

He opened the naan first, handing her a piece of the warm, fresh bread, then took one for himself.? The samosas came next, then the lamb.? "Oh," he said, standing back up and digging into the cold bag to pull out the jar of Nimbupani.? "Do you have a couple of glasses?"

"Yeah," she said as she tore off a piece of naan.? "In the cabinet next to the fridge.? What is that?? Hooch?"? She grinned, forcing good humor now.? If you feel it, you are it.

A soft chuckle trickled out of his throat.? "No, although maybe I should have brought that instead, all things considered.? It's nimbupani, Indian Lemonade."

"That sounds yummy.? How's it different from regular lemonade?"? She finally ate the piece of bread she'd torn off and smiled - it was really, really good.

"Some extra spices in it, mostly, and a splash of lime juice."? His heart rate was finally back to normal, though he remained a bit tense, mostly due to, well, sexual frustration.? He poured her some of the nimbupani, then himself.? "Tell me what you think of the samosas, too."

She nodded and set her naan down on the plate so she could try the samosa.? "Oh," she said softly after taking a bite.? "This is wonderful.? Thank you for this."

Her praise of his cooking sent a different kind of warm feeling through his body, and he gave her a soft smile.? "It was my pleasure, believe me."? Now that she'd tried both of the appetizers, he unwrapped the skewers of tandoori lamb, and laid them over a bed of basmati rice, with raita sauce for dipping on the side.?

She watched him, appreciating another chef's pride and painstaking care in preparation and presentation.? "It looks wonderful, Daniel," she said softly and picked up her fork to slide the chunks of lamb off the skewer so she could dip them in the sauce.

"Do you like to cook?" he asked, noting how intently she watched him lay the food out.? He tugged a chunk of lamb from one of the skewers and popped it into his mouth, nodding in approval of how it had turned out.

"Oh, boy, do I ever.? I learned at the Le Cordon Bleu in New York.? It's very nearly the only practical skill I have."? Everything she'd tasted so far had been so delicious and she was silent for a while, packing it away, chewing and swallowing intermixed with wordless noises of appreciation.

His eyes widened.? "The Cordon Bleu?? Impressive.? I've nothing so impressive.? It's mostly self-taught."? He was glad to have found this shared interest of theirs, though.? A connection between them, other than the purely physical.? He ate some more, too, though his eyes stayed mostly on her, watching her enjoy his cooking.?

When her plate had been cleared - and after seconds of samosas and lamb, and thirds of the naan - she sat back with her glass of nimbupani and sighed softly.? "I cheated on him," she said without preamble.

He nodded, unsurprised by her sudden confession.? There was no judgment in his eyes as he asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

She shrugged and looked down into her drink.? "Do you want to hear about it?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," he said simply, then realized he couldn't leave it like that.? "I'm very attracted to you, Lelah.? More than that, I'm interested in you.? Tell me."

"I'm sorry," he said softly, sincerely, moved by her sadness.? "It must be very hard for you right now."? He felt a touch of embarrassment, then, at how he'd acted towards her before dinner.? This was obviously not the time for that.

"I don't think about it.? I can't think about it.? We're starting filming in a week and everything's just insane.? I don't have time to deal with heartbreak right now."? She'd slipped into ultra-defensive mode, making excuses for not dealing with Ori, for not dealing with the pain of what she'd done to him and to their relationship; and there was definitely no time for not dealing with Gideon and what he'd - probably - done to her.

"You don't have to justify yourself to me, Lelah," he said quietly.? "You don't owe me anything; I have no claim to you."

She ducked her head and said softly, "I think it's more about justifying it to myself than to anyone else."

He nodded in understanding.? "You're conflicted," he said.? "Ashamed of the way you treated Ori, but not feeling the same passion you once felt for him.? Afraid of the effect this Gideon has on you, and still attracted to him."? His mouth tugged up in a wry smile.? "And now me, complicating things further.? I apologize for that."

She laughed without humor and shook her head.? "No, you have nothing to apologize for.? It's all me.? She paused and then a corner of her mouth lifted in a small smirk.? ?Wanna know something ironic?"

He tilted his head at her, then nodded.? "What?"

"I swore off relationships seven years ago.? Decided that men were complications that I didn't need, not when I wanted to direct and write so badly.? And then I moved here and have dated four men in two months and slept with two of them."? She shook her head sadly.

"What changed?"? There had to be something that caused her to break such a self-imposed vow.

"I was lonely," she said simply.? "Oscar's not a great conversationalist and well...there's only so much a vibrator can do, you know?"

He laughed softly, and nodded.? "Oh yes, I understand that.? Physical contact is very important."? Loneliness.? Now there was an emotion he was on intimate terms with.? Or at least had been, over the past three or four years.? Maybe not so much now. Maybe even less in coming days.? Who knew?

She sighed heavily and shifted in her seat, unfolding her legs and putting her bare feet flat against the hardwood floor.? She shoved both hands through her hair and gave him a chagrined little smile.? "God, you must think I'm an absolute flake.? One second I'm all over you and the next I'm feeding you this sob story."? She closed her eyes and shook her head feebly.? "I'm sorry," she offered after opening her eyes and meeting his gaze.? "I'm not normally so...maudlin on a first, or even second, date."

"I don't mind, really.? I've learned to take people for who they are.? And while I very much enjoyed it when you were all over me, learning about the real you is special, too.? I think maybe you need a friend more than a lover, at least at this moment."? Which wasn't to say he didn't want her.? His body was even now giving lie to that, despite everything.?

"I do, you're right."? She exhaled sharply, sadness and desperate wanting in her face now.? "God, I need a friend."

"I'd like to be your friend, Lelah."? He gave her a genuine smile, then, one almost like those he used to be so ready with in the old days, before the fighting and the killing.

"I'd like that, too," she said and gave him a wan version of her usual killer smile. They finished dessert, he helped with the dishes, and then after a soft kiss to her cheek and making a date to meet for coffee after work on Monday, he went back to Twin Oaks to face Riley's cross examination. He wondered if she'd declare him a hostile witness and kick out all the stops in her questioning.