Dreaming of Darkness

Chapter Four

Traum

Last time I’d been pulled through the Underworld boundaries I’d been asleep, relaxed, my magic already setting me up to be pulled into the living world.

The second, it was something else. One moment I’d been sitting across from Grandmother, the next I felt like something was burning in my chest. I’d barely had time to press my hands there before I’d felt it.

A pull. Stronger than anything I’d ever known.

Grandmother gasped, staring at me with wide eyes, before a small smile curled her lips. “So, it is true.”

I’d opened my mouth to respond but then found myself stepping out of a shadowy corner in the living world. And while the ugly gray shelving units all around me had been confusing at first, I’d instantly spotted her.

My mate.

Fuck, she had been leaning against one, her slender arched back moving as she panted in breath after breath. Her rushed words were filling the room as I took in the situation. I huffed her in, breathing deep, my heightened demonic senses whirling as the scent of her exploded into my brain.

She smelled like that beverage so many humans loved, the hot ones that made them jittery. But on her it was sweetened with vanilla and cream. And all of those things were doused in a heavy layer of arousal.

No, not just arousal. Need.

My cock swelled instantly. She needed me. That’s why she’d been able to pull me through, the bond, however feeble, had managed to pull us together. The same bond that would eventually cement us together was clearly already in the works for her. And I doubt she was aware that bonding with an incubus or a succubus came with a healthy sexual drive designed to keep a new pairing together for as long as possible, after the initial bond.

I hadn’t thought we’d been around each other long enough to trigger that bond, but clearly the fates had other ideas. I shook myself free of the stupor that seeing her sent over me and moved closer.

A purr was already rumbling in my chest, needing to soothe my harried mate. “Poor, poor little mate. You must be wanting me badly if you pulled me to you while I was awake.”

She didn’t understand our ways, or why her body was responding this way. But I did. And I would help her, ease her into this. With my words and my fingers, on the floor of the storage room I drove her over the edge. I’d contained the words that were desperate to spill out when she fluttered around my fingers. The ones that paired with my venom and magic would bind us together forever.

She wasn’t ready for that.

And I sure as hell wasn’t going to fuck her here for the first time. In what world would she ever forgive me if I knotted her in this dingy space. She was the mate of a dream walker, the finest in my family, the pride of my tribe. No mate of mine would know anything but pleasure and comfort, especially for our bonding.

She needed to be somewhere that I could feast on her for hours, letting my magic bind us until the moment I could sink my teeth into her skin and my knot throbbing deep inside of her. Somewhere I could help her ride the wave of the onslaught of orgasms I would wring from her body.

And that place was not here.

Still, Bailey watched me hungrily as I licked my fingers clean of her, my mouth watering, my fangs descending and filling with venom as the taste of my mate was permanently fixed in my mind. And she was perfect. The next time I would lick it straight from her, let that sweetness coat my lips and throat as she shattered around my tongue.

My cock, still hard as stone, shifted as I tried to rock back on my heels. Bailey’s eyes were wide as she observed me, her body still quivering with aftershocks.

“You’re still here.”

Pleasure sweetened her scent once again, but this time it wasn’t a physical sense. Somehow this was so much more powerful. Because now that the need had waned, at least for now, she was still happy that I was here.

And fuck me that was almost as good as her cunt tasted.

Almost.

I blinked slowly, “I am yours, Bailey. Yours to command. Yours to fuck,”

I said that one with a smirk at me, “Yours to someday, maybe, love.”

A corner of her mouth lifted. I wanted to press a kiss there, where the soft pink of her lips met her fair skin. “Just like that?”

I huffed a short laugh, “Just like that. When the fates set two upon the same path, there’s little anyone can do about it.”

Bailey’s golden brows rose. “The fates? Not Fate the all-encompassing entity.”

I leaned forward, loving the slight chill that shook her shoulders when I got close. My forehead bumped hers, her scent growing ever more delicious. “What if I told you they were the same thing? That the fates who live in my world are what those in your world call predetermined events?”

Her mouth parted, “Fascinating.”

She swallowed, her eyes roaming my face, “And I want to know more, but first…either use those amazing fingers on me again or you need to back up. I can’t focus when you’re so close.”

My cock ached at her words and the groan that slipped out of my mouth was rough. “Bailey...”

She licked her lips, drawing my attention again, “Your choice, fingers or space. I’m up for either.”

My brain attempted to think, but for a long moment all I could think about was I could have her legs over my shoulders in an instant, my tongue in her the next.

Bailey must’ve seen something on my face change, but I heard the soft whimper that escaped her lips. For some reason, it broke the spell on me, and I heaved myself backwards. My dick might fall off waiting, but there was no way I was getting involved here. I reached down, my hand finding hers and towing her up against my body. Her hands landed on my chest with a soft ‘oomph’, and I nearly purred at her touch.

“We need a few things, in this order,”

I said to her, letting my hand cup her cheek, feeling the lingering heat under that beautiful hair, “Are you listening, mate?”

She nodded, but her eyes were a little foggy as they found mine. I laughed, my thumb adjusting to brush over her bottom lip. “Pay attention, and you’ll get a reward.”

Her tongue slipped out, brushing against my thumb for an instant before I hissed at her, “Be good.”

Bailey smiled, but looked more focused as I started speaking again. “We are going to talk first, and I’m going to explain what would happen should you ever beg me to fuck you again. And then, if you are not already running away from me, then we will need a bed, two days and at least one change of clothes.”

I ran my free hand down her body to where her skirt was still hiked high. “You are going to learn to take all of me, beautiful, and it’s going to be messy.”

Bailey’s pupils were blown wide and black, the bond between us growing sharp again. “Talk. Fuck. Bed. Mess,”

she repeated, her blunt little teeth nibbling on her bottom lip as she said the last words.

“Good girl,”

I murmured, leaning in to run my nose across hers. “Now, how do we get out of this place?"

At that, a smile broke over her lovely face, a moment later, a hand clapped over her mouth, “Oh my gosh, do you think anyone heard me? Was I loud?”

I couldn’t help myself; I smiled down at her, “No, those sounds are only for me,”

I watched her cheeks pinked once again, “At least for now.”

With a gentle push, Bailey stepped back from me, and my body immediately clamored to close the gap again. Clamping down on my instincts, I settled for stepping behind her, my hand on her lower back and gesturing to the door.

“While I am here for you, you are the only one who can see me.”

“So, you’re just going to come to my desk for,”

She glanced down at the glowing silver rectangle she’d grabbed from a cabinet, “three and a half more hours.”

I shrugged, “I spend more than that waiting for people in the dream realm. I will be able to watch you, to see what you do in this world. Nothing will make me happier than to spend time with you.”

Her face is slack, “Are you for real?”

“I am. Why?”

“Because no man would ever act like this. I feel like you’re about to prank me or something.”

This woman, she didn’t understand. But she would. I would show her. “No human man,”

I said moving forward, and she followed suit, “Where I am from, women, mates are coveted, loved, protected. Your partner is your purpose.”

Bailey opened the door, letting both of us slip out into a thankfully unoccupied hallway. “Are you sure that no one can see you?”

“Positive.”

I tucked into her close, not because it wasn’t the truth, but because my body was still thrumming with the need to complete the bond. Three and a half hours, I thought to myself, and then I can tell her about what we could be. Our future, it was so close.

So close, in fact, that I didn’t feel the cool heat of magic slip around Bailey and I until we were yanked straight out of the living world and into the Underworld.

***

Bailey

One minute I was staring down the long, drably colored hallway of my office, the next my body was dropping against a stone bench. The cool air was different, it smelled similar to my home. Even the sounds were similar, a soft buzzing of a crowd. But I knew instantly something had changed.

Leaning forward, I gripped my knees and pleaded with my stomach to not empty itself all over the neat path that was just below my heels. A warm hand, strong and gentle, swept over my shoulders.

“Bailey, fuck, are you okay?”

I dragged another breath in, then two more. My stomach finally gave up on the quest to destroy any chance of dignity I might have still had in front of Traum. Oh God, Traum. I jerked up, my eyes finding the tall male sitting beside me. Unlike me, he appeared unphased by whatever had dragged us here.

“What’s happening?”

Traum gave me a half-smile, but it didn’t feel right. “You are one in a million, my love, one in a million.”

I blinked at him, running a shaking hand over my middle. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t want you to panic, because this isn't a bad thing. But”

Traum hesitated, “You are in the Underworld.”

I swallowed, trying to buy myself a moment to calm the racing in my heart, the thickness of my throat. “Am I dead? Is that what this is?”

A snarling growl ripped from Traum’s throat, “No, absolutely not. You are safe, Bailey, and I plan on making sure you stay that way. I’m guessing, based on where we are located, that our relationship has jumped from my tribe to the council. No doubt they have questions about us.”

Traum’s hand on my back stilled, “To be honest, I have some questions about us.”

I flinched away from his hand, or rather his words. “What do you mean?”

“That came out wrong, Bailey, I meant only that I don’t understand how any of this is possible. We are allowed by the Lords of the Underworld to find our mates, but this drive, this pull between us seems far more escalated than anything I could’ve imagined. I had never heard of a mating bond pulling us through the boundaries of the Underworld.”

I gestured around us, “And yet, here we are.”

“The bond didn’t pull you here,”

a deep voice answered for us, “I did.”

I turned slowly, finding my stare directly in line with a heavy set of grey abdominal muscles. They flexed as I drew in a short breath and jerked my chin upwards to the broad, angular face of an unfamiliar male. He was dressed in a robe of all things, the exposed chest and belly a deep grey color that was only highlighted by the sharp lines of muscles ribbing his torso.

“Hello, Traum,”

the male said, stepping back and gripping Traum’s forearm.

“Lord Arafel,”

Traum said, his head dipping in a greeting.

“I’m sorry to have brought you here so abruptly,”

Arafel cast me an apologetic glance, “My mate always gets quite sick traveling through the boundaries. But I saw no other way to speak to you both, and I needed to do it quickly.”

“I’ll be okay,”

I said in a rush, the unnerving blue gaze was back on me, and I barely resisted the urge to squirm. This new male, he wasn’t nearly as attractive as my mate, but there was something about him that made me sit up and take notice.

Arafel gave a short nod, “Come inside, no doubt Chef has some kind of snack laying around for Lucia.”

A small smile curled his lips, “She is a late night snacker.”

“I am too,”

I said before I thought better of it, then bobbed my head when the nerves that speaking with someone that looked like him reared their head, “Lord Arafel.”

He appears unphased by my awkwardness. “She also claims it makes her feel better after we jump boundaries, feel free to help yourself.”

Arafel had led us into a small room, the scones on the wall casting a warm glow up stone walls adorned in tapestries. There was a table there, set with four chairs, the backs of two were set lower than the others.

I eyed them, a little confused. I’d only seen two males so far, but they were both exceedingly tall. Why the strange seating? I didn’t say anything, just folded me into the smaller chair, sitting forward on the edge so that I could be close to both Traum and the table.

I glanced over at the incubus, suddenly wishing I could be closer. Manners aside, Arafel was a big fucking guy. I wasn’t sure what I was doing here, nor did I really understand where here was.

“For the harpies,”

Arafel said suddenly, seating himself across from me in one of the larger chairs. Traum moved quickly to sit by my side. Surprising me by reaching out, snagging a leg of the chairs and yanking me closer.

“The chairs,”

Arafel said, nodding at the smaller chair we’d left unoccupied. “Or one of my winged brothers. We prefer the shorter backed chairs. For clearance reasons.”

My throat was dry. “Did you just read my mind?”

To my surprise, the demon laughed, “Hardly necessary, your nonverbals are quite loud.”

Traum snorted but stopped as I cut him a sharp look. “Are they really?”

“We can talk about this later,”

Traum said softly, his hand settling over mine and pulling it onto his lap. The heavy, strong weight of his thigh was a comfort against my palm. I almost sighed in relief at the ability to touch him again.

“Agreed,”

Arafel said, his eyes growing serious. “We have far more interesting things to discuss. Starting with, I believe, how exactly have you been traveling in between the most powerful and protected border in this world? Outside of the original border I guess.”

His comments caught me off guard for a moment, wondering what in the world the original border was. But that thought evaporated a moment later when the reality of the situation seeped into my skin. Traum’s claws made a tiny scratch on the tabletop. He’d figured it out too.

“I remain loyal to the Underworld and the Council,”

Traum said, heat lacing his words. Something in the air changed, darkened and my heart began to race. A hand, no, not a hand, a shadow of one slipped over my form, coming to rest on my chin.

He–it–moved me until I was staring right into Arafel’s face. This time his eyes were glowing a vibrant, unworldly blue. I gasped but couldn’t look away. The shadow hands on my chin tightened their grip.

“Release her,”

Traum said, his voice a growl.

“I must know if the bond is real.”

I couldn’t even blink, my mind whirling as a strange darkness dimmed my vision.

“It is real, it is true,”

Traum said again.

Arafel’s smile was wide and full of fang. Adrenaline surged in my veins as he spoke again. “Prove it.”