Author's Note: Phew! I seem to have drawn a little bit of vitriol with that last chapter! I guess that means I've either attracted the notice of the good ol' internet trolls, or people just feel quite strongly about what's been going on in the plot.
All snark aside, I want to extend an enormous thank-you to everyone who has taken the time to vote and comment on my work. I read every note you lovely folks leave for or send to me and take great heart in knowing that there is still interest in my stories. To that end, I'm making an effort to get these chapters out with shorter breaks, and am hard at work on the chapter 8.
Thank you again for your interest, and happy reading!
~~~
In the dream, it was very dark. My eyes were closed, I realized, but I didn't open them. I felt hands on my skin, warm, calloused, gentle, and smiled because I knew it was Rafe. His touch slid teasingly up from my sides, along my neck, until his hands cupped my face. His breath puffed warm on my cheeks from his closeness, then his lips pressed against mine with a sweet urgency that sent heat swirling through the rest of my body.
I draped my arms over his wide shoulders, loving the sensation of his firm musculature beneath my forearms, and let my fingers twist softly in his thick hair. His lips parted mine so we could taste each other, and I clung to him even more closely, my naked body flush with his own. In the back of my mind, I had the impression that it had been a long time since I had felt him like this. I held him all the tighter and he reciprocated by wrapping his long arms around me as well.
My eyes were still closed as I felt us reclining, him on top. He was so hard along my stomach, and I wanted him desperately. I wriggled my hips and enjoyed the hair of his chest tickling my nipples until he stilled my gyrations with a firm touch on my hips, spreading my legs with his own. Panting, I let him settle between them, wet and flushed and eager with need.
"Rafe," I whimpered.
"Shh," he murmured and silenced me with a burning kiss that soon had me panting.
My whole attention was centered on where the head of his cock brushed against my slick entrance. I quivered with impatience, but he was running the show. So slowly I thought I would go crazy, he penetrated me until the head and about an inch of his shaft rested inside my heated walls. Then he stopped, and I gasped at how cruel he was being. His firm grasp on my hip and the weight of his body prevented me from wiggling further onto him so that I threw my head back with a groan of deepest frustration.
With a rumbling laugh, he gave in, and pushed a little more of himself inside to begin a shallow thrusting that was better than nothing, but still infinitely aggravating. It wasn't enough. I whined my protest, needing him to just
fuck me
already and reached up to show him with my fervid kisses just how desperate I was.
I think it was the none-too-gentle nip on his lip that did it. He hilted himself in an unexpected rush and I cried out to be fully joined with him at last. God, I'd missed this. I couldn't quite remember why it had been so long, but trivial thoughts like that were quickly wiped away in the headlong rush of pleasure that was his dick pumping in and out of my slippery cunt.
He stopped suddenly, and pulled out. I froze with surprise and loss, but he was only rolling me onto my stomach, his knees outside of mine. Rafe slid a rough palm over the sweaty skin of my back, and I understood his intention, arching my ass higher, inviting him to take me again. His hand moved to line himself up then gripped my ass firmly as he drove back inside me, balls deep.
I cried out as I was stretched, colors flaring brightly behind my eyelids. With my legs pressed together like this, it was an extremely tight fit, every sensation heightened by how closely our intimate flesh rubbed against each other. He drew back for another deep thrust and I yelped again at his return, arching into him for even more.
His pace was steady. Long, deep strokes that made me acutely aware of every millimeter of his cock as it rubbed inside me on his way out, then a concussion of pleasure as he plunged back in, bottoming out with fierce satisfaction each time. His hips slapped sharply against my ass, a staccato rhythm under the wet sounds of my pussy and my increasing moans. One of his hands edged beneath me and his strong fingers dug into my breast with a possessive strength that made me bow my back even further, offering myself to his attentions. When his fingers found my nipple and squeezed, I squeaked and shuddered and my pussy clenched tightly around his rock-hard length, making him groan against my hair.
A pressure wound inside me, my whole body starting to tense with each plunge of his wide cock. My hands fisted at the sensation and I panted through my mouth. I pushed myself back against him as much as I could from my position, reaching for that amazing peak, growing even tighter around him as I started to tremble at its approach.
I was right at the edge, but I had to see him. I needed to look into his golden eyes and watch him lose himself to the bliss of it. I needed him to see how good he made me feel. How much I loved him. So I opened my eyes at last and turned my head. From the corner of my eye I could see that he had his head tucked tightly against my shoulder, his dark hair falling forward to obscure his face.
"Rafe," I whined again, my body taut and quivering as his thrusts quickened.
He growled, but he didn't look up. Our bodies slid against each other frantically now, his cock pressing up against my cervix in that way that made me squeal in ecstasy. My fingernails dug into my palms. I was
so close!
"Please!" I begged him. For release, for something I couldn't even name but craved so much that I vibrated with need. His body curled over mine, driving his cock into me even harder. My head swam with the pleasure of it, but I managed to keep my eyes open, requiring the connection of our gaze while I came.
Then he looked up at last. But it wasn't Rafe's burning golden eyes that I was looking into at all. It was Cassian's face. And he was grinning.
I screamed as the dream unraveled in climax and horror.
It felt like a long time later that I finally returned to true consciousness. I was wrapped in thick, satiny blankets, nestled deep into the bed. I was so cold and shivering violently; perhaps that was what had finally awoken me. My whole body was heavy and limp with weakness and upon opening my eyes, the room rocked very slowly, the colors strangely muted. Even the low lighting made my head hurt so I closed my eyes again and tried to sink back into sleep.
I wasn't disoriented as sometimes happens when I wake up. I knew exactly where I was, how I'd gotten there, and why I felt like death warmed over. I winced mentally. Perhaps not the best choice of words given that I also remembered the
who
I was with. Or maybe "what" was a better word for him.
I knew he was sitting somewhere behind me, though he was too quiet and motionless for me to hear. Still, it came as no surprise when he spoke.
"I am pleased you have finally woken, Selene. You slept for some time." He paused then and chuckled smugly, a wicked, sensual sound that made my skin crawl. "Though I suppose it's understandable given your... exertions last night."
He was mocking me. The sick son of a bitch was mocking me. Curious to the part of my mind that was mere observer to all this, I found myself getting mad. The heart-chilling terror of last night seemed to be gone, or maybe I was just too tired to feel it anymore. Either way, a sullen anger battled with my bone-deep weariness until I muttered irritably at him, "Aren't you bored of tormenting me yet?" My voice came out husky with exhaustion and crying.
"Hardly, my dear. Especially when you continue to supply such refreshing responses. Besides, I've only just begun to sample the many delights of your young body..."
He was trying to scare me, but I wasn't having any of it. I was fresh out of scared for the moment. So I kept my eyes closed and retorted a little more sharply. "Go for it. You already bled me, so I'm sure I'll be super fun in bed now." I pushed aside the lingering remnants of the awful dream, refusing to give it any further thought.
Cassian laughed, a beautiful, unnatural sound. "Gained. As to that, however, I have something for you. Sit up."
I sighed as weariness and apathy took the forefront in my emotions again. "Leave me alone." I just wanted to go back to sleep. Maybe this time I would be too tired for any further dreaming...
"I'm afraid not, Miss Dalton."
His hands scooped carefully under my head and the surrounding pillows to prop me comfortably into a mostly-upright position. Sighing again, I opened my eyes and waited for the room to stop spinning, grimacing through the pain that the soft lighting produced in my head. I was still pretty light-headed, and I felt about as alert as a block of wood, but I was alive. For the moment, anyway.
I stared at Cassian tiredly. He had a steaming mug of something in his hand and the fog wafting up around his bare chest and pale face made him look even more eerie than usual. He extended the mug to me.
"Drink this."
I thought about just closing my eyes, but I was so very cold, and the steaming mug promised at least momentary remedy to my insistent shivering. So I reached out shakily and wrapped my fingers around the wonderfully toasty ceramic. My depleted muscles wouldn't obey me, however, so Cassian had to continue to hold the vessel with me, and help guide it to my lips. Maybe it was a mark of just how far my temperature had dropped, or maybe his fingers had absorbed some of the heat from the beverage as well, but his flesh didn't seem quite as frigid to me anymore.
The drink was hot chocolate, dark and thick and almost overwhelmingly rich. It tasted amazing. As it trickled down my throat, I could feel it heating me from the inside and knew that the calories would help revive me a little further. That of course led to a thought that made my mouth twist.
"Why are you even bothering with this?" I asked between sips. "You make it a point to nurse all your victims after you feed on them?"
His disturbing, oddly attractive features were amused. "I know rarity when I see it. To simply drain and discard you would be an unconscionable waste."
I grunted over the rim of my mug.
More like you're not done playing with your new toy,
