I experienced the first shiver of unease and tried to get a response from Caliel. When he didn’t answer, it scared me. Almost enough to entice me to try to seize control, but not quite.
But this bird thing was freaking me out. We were part of a giant flock flapping across the marshland, and through the driving rain I saw more, as far as my eyes could see. They seemed to be converging on a single point, and Caliel’s keen Gryphon eyes focused on it.
What I saw, was a man.
He was standing on a rock ridge that rose above the marsh. Facing out over a stretch of water, his hands were held out to his sides, and his eyes were closed.
But I recognized him. Because I had seen him before. It was the young man I’d seen in Drosfi, when Nettie and I had been escaping the city. There was no mistaking those exotic features, coppery skin, and dark, thick hair.
Caliel took us straight to him. He folded his wings, and landed us along the edge of the water. The birds we’d arrived with joined others, thousands of them, perching in the trees or wading in the water.
And now, I pushed. I wanted to face this young man as me. Not as Caliel.
At first, the Gryphon resisted. Not in a focused manner, but almost as though he were preoccupied, his attention elsewhere. But then, he gave way, and took us to human.
He wasn’t totally distracted. The fur and feathers clothed me to chin and fingertips.
I sighed, and looked up.
The man was watching me now. His eyes gleamed turquoise through the damp gloom, and this close, I noticed how the thick, dark lashes outlined them. He was clad only in a tight-fitting pair of pants, and the fine raindrops beaded on his skin.
His fingers gestured to me, curling in invitation. “Come to me,” he said.
It wasn’t a request. I felt it hook hold of Caliel, deep inside me. It towed us up the rock ridge, until I stood before him.
His eyes glittered. He was a very handsome young man. And standing this close, I realized he was also a very aroused young man.
He reached out, his hand cupping my jaw. “Why do you haunt my dreams?” he asked.
What an odd question. “I’m not sure who is haunting whom,” I answered. I laid a hand flat against his chest. He wasn’t heavily muscled like Riggs, but lean, like a runner.
His eyes sparked turquoise fire. “Who are you?”
Dammit. This was my dream. “Stop asking so many questions.” I stepped close to him, until I felt the heat and hardness of his body against mine.
His brow rose. “Inquiring minds want to know.”
I slid my hand along his abs, to the waistband of his pants. They were made from unusual fabric, and had a weird metal fastener rather than laces. When I reversed my hand and palmed him, his breathing hitched. “If you’re going to do that, you’d better be serious about following through.
There was an air of command to his voice that had me pulling my hand away. He grabbed me by the wrist and held on.
Suddenly, I was engulfed in a powerful energy that urged me to fall to my knees. To unsheathe him, and take him between my lips?—
I pushed back. Be damned if I was going to be ordered to do so. While Caliel quivered within me, I resisted.
“No,” I said.
“Yes,” he insisted. And the compulsion to kneel became, in that instant, nearly overwhelming. I wanted to do that. And so much more. Heat flushed straight through me, and my knees trembled.
But I gritted my teeth and pushed it away. Raised my chin, and said, “Do you treat all women like dirt?”
His dark brows dropped, and the compulsion vanished as if it had never existed. I saw the flicker of confusion in his gaze. “Why does this not seem like a dream?” he breathed.
The question caught me off guard. This was a dream—wasn’t it?
“I control the birds,” he said. “These came because I called them.” He waved to the birds around us. “I thought you came because I’d called you.” I met his gaze and saw a muscle jump in his jaw. He was uncertain now.
“There is more to life than control,” I stated.
