21. Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Zelyah
I t’s late in the day, and my nerves are running rampant. It has nothing to do with my date tonight and everything to do with Arcana’s men living so close by and pursuing me, even if they don’t know that it’s me they’re hunting yet. I would find it funny if maybe they weren’t the scariest guys around. I’ve had my share of men who have almost taken me down, but none like Rhett and Killian. I have never heard of them before, and the supernatural community loves to gossip about the hunters employed by the Arcana Society. These men exude power and confidence in a way I’ve never seen.
I snooze my alarm for fifteen more minutes. I already know what I’m going to wear anyway, and I need the extra sleep. My body is exhausted. All the fighting without feeding has left me drained. I hope tonight’s kill goes easily, but having no warehouse and having to do it out in the open has proved to be dangerous. After a late night and an early morning, it wasn’t difficult to fall back asleep.
What comes to mind as I drift into darkness is the night I met Agent Cooper’s dad. He knew exactly what I was, and his words plague my subconscious.
“I’ll make you a deal, Zelyah.”
His eyes are frozen and unblinking, like a haunted painting of a memory.
“Please, call me Zel.” My words sound far away, mousey, and terrified.
“Why? Zelyah is such a beautiful name.” He leans closer when I don’t respond. “If you seduce my son, we’ll keep that you’re a Succubus a secret.”
His lips move slower than the words echoing between us. My heart gallops painfully as I try to back away, but the garden slowly darkens around us, and a heavy fog wraps me in its misty embrace. The image of Agent Cooper’s father swims in the watercolor haze before me until he’s gone completely. It’s like a horror scene where I’m going to get attacked by a zombie or a ghoul. The only thing missing is the cemetery. I walk further down, but everything looks the same—dark and misty.
My mind is awake and aware that I should be sleeping right now. I try to grasp my bed sheets, hoping to wake back up, but I can’t. Panic rises in my chest, and as I look down, I find myself sitting in a vibrant yellow sundress. My skin glows against the bright sun. I can’t seem to place where I am, but I find a man leaning against a tree , watching me with a smirk. My body relaxes but only slightly.
Killian? What is he doing here? Is this real or a memory? I can’t tell anymore. I pinch myself to see if it’s a dream. Ouch. It fucking hurts. Oh no! Fuck! This can’t be happening to me right now. This is dream manipulation. He can walk into my dreams. My panic slowly rises again. I sit completely still, wondering how much he saw of my conversation with Agent Cooper’s dad, and worse, how much he heard.
I’m toast if he heard the word Succubus. Can he lock me in this dream? Am I going to be able to escape? My claustrophobia rises. Am I going to be confined into this space until he lets me go? Is my mind going to be let free? Or will they bring up my worst nightmares over and over as a way to punish me for being someone I never had control of?
I look around the beautiful landscape for a way out, but there isn’t one. I take deep breaths, reminding myself that I’m smarter than this, and I’ll find a way if I need to. For now, I’ll play the part. Nothing is wrong.
He pushes off the tree and comes closer to me. “Your mind was like a fortress. It took all night to get inside, well, all morning.” Did he hear anything? “For being a shifter without being able to shift, your defenses are strong. I bet if you were able to shift, you’d be a strong one. What shifter are you anyway?”
“A bear,” I respond quickly. It’s the first thing that came to mind. I should have said wolf, they’re a bit more of a ruthless race. Plus, Bear Shifters tend to be taller, and I’m on the shorter side.
He doesn’t mention anything about my last dream. Maybe he wasn’t able to get through it. “Apologies for keeping you in limbo. Once I was able to get in, your mind started pushing back.”
Probably my own natural defenses.
“Where—” I look around the dreamscape in amazement. I’m sitting in a field of daisies. Losing all train of thought, I pluck one of the flowers and twirl the firm stem between my index finger and my thumb. I touch the soft white petals next. This all seems too real. “Where are we?” I finally ask, taking my eyes away from the flower.
“I use this place to think.” There’s a soft humming in the distance. I turn my attention to the sound. I get up, and it’s like a thread pulling me toward the calming waves. I’m so distracted that I don’t notice when my bare feet sink into the sand. Warm water hits my toes; it’s clear and turquoise, reminding me of Agent Cooper’s eyes. My hair flutters in the warm breeze.
“What do you think?” His breath tickles the back of my neck, sending a violent shiver through my body. He’s so close that my heart thumps loudly. Angling my head to take in his sharp jawline and full lips, I want to reach out and touch his face, but I keep my hands firmly at my sides instead.
“It’s beautiful,” I respond. Then the dream he interrupted comes crashing down. Now my heart pounds for other reasons. “Did you umm—” How do I word this without making it too obvious? “Did you see the other dream?”
Killian stops for a moment, startled by the change of conversation, but I need to know if he saw anything. “Oh, you were talking with someone.”
My palms get sweaty, my heart pounds, my muscles tense. The fight-or-flight adrenaline kicks in even though I have no escape. I’m trapped. He knows where I stay, and he controls this dream. All I can do is wait for the outcome.
“I couldn’t see the person’s face.”
I gaze at the ocean again so he won’t recognize the immense relief that washes over me. The tension throughout my body slowly melts away. My secret remains safe for now. I keep my emotions in check, not daring to look into his eyes until I’m calm again. Instead, I let my eyes wander across the rolling waves to alleviate my anxiety.
“It was really murky,” he continues. “It felt like I was underwater, and everything was too blurry for me to really get a read on who and what the conversation was about.” I breathe a sigh of relief. “I just want to hang out with you with no one else involved, so I brought you here.”
Then my stomach turns for other reasons. I’m attracted to this guy. I know how dangerous it is for both of us to get involved because one, he’s tracking me, and two, I might accidentally kill him. It’s just not a great combination, like pineapple on pizza. Plus, it might end both of our lives.
“So, you’re going on a date tonight?” He grabs the daisy I plucked earlier and twirls it around in his strong fingers before bringing it up and tucking it behind my ear.
That small gesture has my whole body vibrating with need. I clench my thighs tighter together. Can he tell if I’m aroused in this dream world?
“I have a date tonight,” I confirm. “We’re going to Eclipse Noir.”
I watch how tightly he clenches his jaw. It bothers him that I’m meeting with someone else. I wonder if he thought Agent Cooper was my boyfriend. Maybe they would have gotten along if it wasn’t for me. They both work for the supernatural community, doing their bidding and getting rid of the bad apples.
He leans his mouth toward the shell of my ear and whispers, “If you want someone to mess around with, I’ll volunteer.”
I’d rather go with him, but I have no other option. I have to hunt to feed, and I don’t really want to kill this guy because that’s what would happen if we have sex or if he finds out what I am. His lips brush over my neck in a whisper of a kiss, and my body responds by leaning back against his chest. I close my eyes, trying to suppress a moan. He grabs my hair and massages my scalp, careful not to touch the flower, and I have to bite my lip hard to keep me grounded. His fingertips trace up and down my sides. He might be a trained killer, but he knows how to use his hands for things other than killing. Two can play this game.
I turn to face him, “If the date doesn’t work out—” I run my finger up and down his shirt, “—then you can take me out.”
No, Zelyah, what are you thinking? I have no idea where this came from. I really need to learn how to keep my mouth shut.
“It’s not going to work out—with Easton,” he whispers against my lips, “You’ll be seeking me out by the end of the night,” he says huskily before he bites my bottom lip.
He flips me around, and his hand trails down my dress. He hikes it up, and I debate whether or not to let him in. But this can’t hurt, it’s just a dream after all, isn’t it? He exposes my pussy, and the breeze runs down my opening. He trails his index and middle finger down my slit. I groan in pleasure as he moves it at a leisurely pace, up and down. My whole body trembles with need. I don’t want this to end. I want more. It’s as if he knows exactly what I’m thinking. He finds my clit and traces it in slow circles. The sensation is so intense, I almost come undone. No toy can compare to this. I almost regret what we’re doing because, after this, I can never go back to doing it myself.
I open my legs wider for him, and his fingers are at my entrance in seconds. I gasp at how exposed I am. I’ve only ever let one person get this close to me, and he paid the price for that mistake with his life. Now I have someone who I barely just met fucking me with his strong fingers.
He pumps them slowly, and hums in my ear, “I’m going to make you beg me for your release.”
I chuckle. “Not going to happen.” I am not begging anyone for shit. Although considering the way my body reacts to his, I’m not sure I’m above begging if he pulls away.
“So, you want me to stop?” His voice is hoarse and full of need. Shit, the man has me wrapped around his finger.
His dick pokes my back. I’m glad I’m not the only one that wants more. I want to turn around and play with him, but I’m paralyzed. I can’t move. I’ve never felt these emotions before. If this is what it feels like outside of the dream world, then I’m missing out, and I have to find a way to fuck without accidentally murdering. Why does this feel different from Nick? Was it because he was human? Or maybe it was because we were both inexperienced. Either way, this is different from what I felt with my boyfriend.
“No, no stopping.” I can’t even form a coherent sentence, and my voice is a little too breathy, showing him how much he’s affecting me.
He bites my earlobe, and all I can feel is the intensity of pleasure coursing through my veins. I never knew a man could have this power, to make me forget reality and everything between.
I’ve never had this experience before. I can kill someone in the real world if I have any sexual interactions because I can’t stop feeding. I don’t know how to control it. Will it work the same in this dreamscape? Will I end up killing Killian? My mind screams at me to stop this from going further, but it’s already too late.
“Make me come,” I gasp, barely able to form words with how much pleasure he’s wringing out of me.
No wait, stop Zelyah! What are you doing? You could kill him.
“You forgot to say please.” I almost roll my eyes at him, but he has what I want.
“Please, make me come . . .” I gasp, trembling against him. “Please, Killian.”
His growl sends chills down my spine, a primal sound that ignites every nerve in my body. His touch is electric, and the connection between us crackles with raw intensity.
I know what he wants just as much as I do. The thought of being together for real instead of in our dreamscape rips right through the air, begging us to finish what we’ve started.
“Hearing you say my name on your way to your release makes me want to go to your room and wake you up.”
I’m starting to forget why that would be a bad idea. I want him here between my legs. I want to feel his cock—not on my back but inside of my pussy. I want to be able to touch the real him and for it to not be a dream. I want him in my bed, and I want to be underneath him as he thrusts inside of me.
He circles his fingertips around my clit in a faster rhythm, sending shocks of pleasure coursing through me with every move. His touch is so addictive that it quickly builds up until I’m consumed and trembling uncontrollably at the brink of orgasm. He’s so close to me, his face buried in my neck, his breath hot on my skin, and his scent surrounding the air around us. My hips buck against him, begging for more. His fingers are the only thing keeping me grounded in this orgasm, holding me back from flying too high. He keeps me on the edge of the cliff, begging me to jump off.
“Come for me, Zelyah,” he whispers in my ear, sending my body over the edge. It’s not just my body trembling from the aftershocks of my orgasm, but my entire body is quivering from the pleasure.
Once it fades, I gasp in fear, but when I look back at Killian, he’s intact. I didn’t kill him. His cocky smile fades when he takes a glimpse of my face.
A ringing sound begins in the background, growing harsher with each passing second until it jolts me awake. The sharp sound of my phone pierces through the remnants of my dream, and I sit bolt upright, gasping for breath. I look around in confusion, the dreamscape replaced with reality. But as I clench my thighs together, the sensation of desire still lingers, and my pussy is drenched from where I’d been moments before.
I grab my phone from the end table and stare down at the text message from Easton.
Easton: Picking you up at 8. Can’t wait!
Zelyah: Me too.
I drop my phone next to me on the bed. What the hell did I just do with Killian? I can’t face him now after what we’ve done, and I certainly can’t get in bed with someone who’s trying to take me prisoner. How am I supposed to sleep when Killian can invade my personal thoughts at any moment? I’ve got to guard them tightly, if not, I may accidentally reveal who and what I am.