Some of the lands they explored looked like photographs from inspirational posters, while some seemed so old they couldn’t possibly still exist. It was obvious the mahr held these places with deep regard by the way he watched intently for her reactions. They soared over the ocean and she leaned down to run her fingers through the water, laughing at the spray. They passed an active volcano, the heat reaching her face even from a good distance away. They raced against the side of a great cavern filled with crystals larger than her whole body. They walked the cobbled path of an old town decorated with odd architecture and her shoulder passed through a resident with pointed ears.
It was all so surreal, Addison almost forgot it was a dream. These places had to be real—it was the only explanation. He was sharing intimate details of the places he’d witnessed while traveling the world distributing nightmares.
Spongy moss kissed her toes as they touched down in a valley nestled between two great mountains. Waterfalls beaded the mountainside and twilight’s light cast a pink hue to the quaint field, where goats grazed and little sprouts of some unknown plant lined the ground. He approached a short wooden fence that enclosed a little cottage.
“Is this place special to you?”
He couldn’t respond, but the rueful look in his eye as he keenly watched the thatch-roofed home was answer enough.
The door opened with a squeak. A handsome man emerged with shearing tools in hand and greeted the woolly sheep with a series of affectionate murmurs. He wore trousers, boots, and a loose-fitting tunic, his pale hair pulled back with a ribbon, a stylish bun that showed off his point-tipped ears. His chiseled cheekbones and hooked nose were unmistakably that of the mahr’s, but when he smiled at the woman following him out the door,the smile was warm and friendly; nothing like the wolfish, animalistic grin she’d come to crave.
The woman was much older than him. She wore a scarf over her shoulders and patted his cheek affectionately, saying something in a language Addison didn’t understand.
Her heart ached when she turned to see the mahr’s pinched frown. He stared at the scene for a moment longer before waving his hand, transforming the view back to that of the blooming field of lavender he’d ravished her in.
He brushed his fingers against her cheek. Addison held it there and nuzzled his palm, peppering kisses to his wrist.
“Thank you for sharing that with me,” she whispered. “I’m sure it was painful.”
His eyes, bright and keen, locked on hers. The breath left her lungs for a moment, fleeing the severity of his stare, which held more raw emotion than she’d honestly thought a demon capable of. He was nothing like she’d assumed ademonwould be. She wanted to know all of him, from his innermost feelings to the more primal ones that drove him to her chest each night. For a demonic spirit, he was so gentle and caring, so eager to please her. Could their connection be more than just physical? She realized she didn’t even know his name.
Lost in thought, she startled when the mahr leaned his forehead against hers and kissed her slowly, tenderly, his two fanged teeth grazing her bottom lip. She purred and deepened the kiss, flattening her hands against his back and burrowing her fingers into his fur coat.
“Let me pleasure you,” she murmured as she nuzzled his cheek. “Please. You’ve done so much for me.”
It was true. Aside from the earth-shattering orgasm from his mere tongue and fingers, the demon had shown her a dream unlike any other. It was so beautiful, crisp, andrealthat she wondered if she’d ever dream of anything else again. Every night, she would long to be back here, soaring over incredible beauty and laughing at the spray of the ocean. He was so open and vulnerable when he truly didn’t have to be. Hewantedto show her his past and share his little piece of the world. It was obvious he loved to travel, but she also saw a wound in his heart that she found herself deeply longing to fill.
A lascivious grin graced his lips, but still he shook his head. He pulled her onto his lap and held her like a bundle in his arms as the sweet dream unfolded all around her. She drank it all in as her attention span got shorter and shorter until she fell into a sleep so deep she surely wouldn’t remember anything else once she awoke.
By the time her alarm went off, Addison had no idea what they’d been doing for the remaining hours.
“Good morning.” His deep, gravelly voice coaxed her heavy eyelids open. He sat cross-legged on her chest, his shadows faintly whipping and flickering in the approximation of his bite-sized bodily form.
“Good morning,” she greeted. A giddy smile teased her lips and she instinctively moved to lay her hands on his knees, but her palms were met with cool air that held only a trace of solidity, not the real-feeling body that had been in the dream. “Why can’t I touch you?”
“Dreams allow me to be closer to my mortal self, but here I can only become strong enough for this.” He gestured to himself and transitioned from her chest to the bed beside her. “In either form, I cannot feel things, not completely.”
“That sounds lonely.” It also explained why he didn’t want her to even attempt to please him. She assumed it would only make him feel worse to not actually get to experience the pleasure she so longed to give him. “Thank you. For tonight, for everything—and for sharing your memories with me.”
“I’d forgotten their faces. I’m surprised I was able to unearth them after all this time,” he whispered as though to himself. His nebulous eyes took on a faraway glaze that made Addison’s heart ache for him, but he shook his head and it quickly disappeared. “You’re welcome, dreamer. I hope it was satisfactory.”
He suddenly stood and hovered beside her bed, his shadows writhing and gaze drifting as though uncomfortable. The sight of him feeling awkward was odd. She narrowed her eyes and waited for an explanation.
“I will need to feed on some sleepers in order to…” He cleared his throat and glanced at the ceiling before addressing her again. This time, his voice was imbued with his typical timbre, though his veneer of aloofness didn’t fool her anymore. “I would like to return tonight.”
“Yes,” she agreed readily, heart fluttering in her chest. “I would like that.”
Chapter 14
Traeyr
His dreamer knew not what she did to him.
When she’d inquired on his pleasure the first time, right after he selfishly drank his fill of her savory liquids, Traeyr wanted her so badly he could have lost control and accidentally crushed her in the waking realm. It was thoroughly painful to deny himself release, but he wouldn’t dare risk hurting her. In the mortal realm, his body grew so full of power that he was nearly completely material. He’d ridden her chest feverishly, fueled by her desire and the intoxicating scent of her liquid heat, all for him. It was with great reluctance that he was able to force his retreat, watching her face soften in both realms as she was overcome with pleasure. He longed to fill her mouth as she formed the words, voicing her concern for his own satisfaction.
After showing her his most revered places from all his travels, he hadn’t consciously made the decision to share his most wounded moment. The last time he saw his mother. Something compelled him to open what was left of his heart with the human. Addison’s empathy and strength of heart were too much, and he cowardly whisked them away, back to the field of her pleasure to allow sleep to overtake her while he watched her dream peacefully, the soft lines of her face more captivating than any of the memories he had stored away. The weight of her in his arms, the trust she placed in him, it all combined to create the perfect avalanche, crashing down the mountains built around his lost soul.
Tonight he would not have such willpower.
