by Zoey Marcel
“Magic. Do you feel how sensitive it is now?”
She shivered as he traced imaginary patterns on her mons. “Yes, it’s almost too much.”
“You look beautiful with hair, but I love that I can see more of your cunt this way. I love the pleasure it brings you, knowing that you can feel every touch of mine that much better.”
“I like it too.” Her eyes closed and her lips parted when he pulled her against him so his erection was nestled against her warm tummy.
He cupped the globes of her ass in his hands and pulled her into him, lowering his voice to a whisper. “I want you, Claire.”
“Oh god, I want you too, so bad, but we can’t.”
“We can and we will. Forget Rochelle. This is a dream, and I’m in control now.” Dakarai hoisted her up into his arms for a kiss and she wrapped her legs around his hips as their mouths indulged in a gentle, steady seduction.
He sat in the chair and pulled her onto his lap, straddling him. She raised her hips so he could push his cock into her. Their joined breathless gasps heated his core. They lavished one another with slow, sensual kisses as she rode him and he played with her smooth, sensitive pussy. Their cries filled the silence as their bodies moved as one and their fluids fused together at the onset of release.
“Thank you for that,” Claire whispered into his ear when it was over. “I’m going to miss you so badly.”
Before Dakarai could ask why, everything disappeared and she quit dreaming, instead slipping into a deep, restful slumber.
Now he sat alone in the bedroom watching her sleep, finally looking at peace. He tried to steady his breathing as his satisfied cock pulsed in his hand. In reality he had come just now as he had in the dream, spilling his semen into his lap rather than her body. She hadn’t even touched him physically, yet she moved him completely.
Joaquin crept in quietly with a mischievous smile. “I see you’re feeding too.”
Dakarai felt the big grin spread across his face. “Did you have a good hunt?”
“I did. How about you? Does she dream anything interesting?”
“I’ve only entered her dreams twice, but on both occasions she has dreamed of some hideous bitch named Rochelle. This woman torments her in her dreams.”
Joaquin shrugged. “It could be someone she used to know or a figment of her imagination.”
Dakarai shook his head. “No, the woman is real.”
“Like I said, she’s merely a projection of a past reality in Claire’s life.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because imaginary projections don’t have souls or control a person’s dream.”
Joaquin studied him skeptically. “Do you mean to tell me you think Claire is being haunted…by a human?”
“I believe so. Exactly why, I’m still unsure.”
“I’m going to take a shower before bed. You should come with me and tell me all about it.”
Dakarai eyed him suspiciously, barely withholding the playful smile. “Is that all you want me in there with you for?”
Joaquin winked at him. “No, I thought you could get those hard-to-reach places for me.”
“You are quite flexible, Joaquin. I doubt there is a single place on your body that you can’t reach in the shower.”
“I might have trouble reaching my genitals and ass.”
Dakarai snickered. “Short arms?”
Joaquin winked at him with a naughty grin. “Something like that.”
Dakarai stood and followed him into the bathroom. “I suppose I could help you through your personal issues. Is your prostate still working?”
Joaquin smirked. “Last time I checked it was, but you may as well check on that too, just to be on the safe side.”
“I would be happy to.”
* * * *
Nex took Claire shopping the following afternoon, since she wanted to go do girly things and the other two men couldn’t go out in daylight unless they had a death wish or a cloak and hood on. He was grateful for the time alone with her. They went to some stores to buy him some clothes, since he only had the garment on his back.
It proved difficult being around the civilians without shifting and chasing them for sport or perhaps a nice snack. He knew if he did, Claire would never have him. She seemed to have some kind of ethical code where people were concerned. How terribly inconvenient. Still, perhaps he could win her over with good behavior.
Mating with her had been rapturous, but the urge to put his mark on her was maddening. He knew the cost of claiming her would be the soul he’d inherit once he made her his. Certainly he didn’t want to turn into a sappy ball of mush, but the thought of another man owning her pissed him off. If getting a soul was the only way he could have his mate permanently then he would do it. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad. Just because Eversor turned into a romantic softy didn’t mean Nex would. He would find a way to remain feared even while having a soul.
At first Claire seemed withdrawn and troubled while they shopped, but when he asked her what was wrong she said she was fine. He opted instead to distract her from whatever was bothering her and maybe get her to laugh if he could. He wanted to know what that sounded like.
When he picked up a woman’s plaid miniskirt thinking it was a very short kilt, he got to hear her laugh. The dulcet, feminine sound was the sweetest heaven he’d ever known. She had a gorgeous smile and her baby-blue eyes sparkled like polished aquamarine gemstones when she was happy.
“What?”
He smiled. “Nothing.”
“No, not nothing. What was that look for?”
“I’ve never heard an angel laugh before.”
Her expression seemed appreciative but doubtful. “I’m hardly an angel.”
“You are to me,” he murmured gently as he cupped her cheek and brushed the skin softly with his thumb. Her face felt baby soft and her strawberry scent reminded him of summer even though it was October and rather chilly out.
“That’s really sweet, Nex, but I’m afraid I would disappoint you,” she said sadly.
“That’s not possible, my bonnie lass.” It disappointed him that she pulled away when he tried to kiss her.
“Where will you go?”
“I’m not sure I understand your meaning.”
“Joaquin said you were free to go. I assume you have plans to leave at some point.”
“Not without you.”
This seemed to put her on guard. “Well, don’t let me stand in the way of your plans.”
“You are my plans, Claire. Without you nothing else matters.”
Her snicker sounded cynical. “You don’t even know me, Nex. I’m not who you think I am.”
He stopped her casual steps away from him and took her hand in both of his. “Then show me who you really are. I want to know everything about you.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Aye, I do.”
She lifted her head and raised an eyebrow in challenge. “I sucked Dakarai’s cock last night and I let Joaquin get me off.”
Nex stiffened in jealousy but refused to let her indiscretion put a damper on their budding romance. It wasn’t like he’d actually claimed her yet. True, they had mated, but he had yet to put his mark on her. “What do you mean when you say he got you off?”
“He brought me to orgasm.”
Damn him. “You are a succubus. Wantonness comes with the territory.”
“What we did together down in the cellar, it was just a one-time thing.”
“That’s what you think.”
“It’s the way it has to be. We can’t ever do anything like that again.”
“You prefer the cold ones to me?”
“What? No. I won’t be messing around with them either. I’m going to keep my hands to myself.”
Nex smirked at this.
“Don’t you smirk at me. I can control myself.”
“Perhaps, but I know you won’t.”
“O
h, you know that, do you? Well, that just shows how much you know.” Claire lost her breath when he backed her up against the side of a building, boring into her with his sultry stare. Her eyes closed and her lips parted when he dipped his hand into her pocket and fondled her private flesh with only the thin strip of material separating their skin from touching.
“You can’t resist what you weren’t meant to,” he whispered. “I love your pubic hair. Never change it. It would be the biggest deterrent for me.”
Nex tried not to smile when he saw the calculating look in her eyes. He could almost see the wheels in her head turning at his words. He had only ever seen women with their natural bushes and adored them, so he couldn’t really say what he would think of a woman with a naked cunt, but Dakarai had offered to pay him extra if he could get Claire to get a Brazilian. At first Nex had been confused and wondered what a man from Brazil had to do with his mate’s cunnie, so Dakarai cleared up the misunderstanding.
Nex would need money if he was to support Claire once she finished this four-week deal she’d made with Joaquin.
“Where would you like to go next, my sweet?” He removed his hand from her pocket and started walking again, acting as though the brazen touching hadn’t affected him as much as it had her, but he lied.
“I think I’ll go to Sultry Salon & Spa and get something done,” she said slyly.
He took her there and sat out in the waiting area, fascinated by some of the things women did to themselves. They painted their toenails and fingernails, did interesting things with their hair, and let people brush what looked like warm honey under their eyebrows and then use strips of cloth to rip away superfluous hair. Hell, if these women wanted pain and were willing to pay for it, they should have asked him to deliver it to them. He knew how to torture people quite nicely. Of course, he had to admit that the women looked even better than before once these procedures were done. He couldn’t say that for his victims. No one would pay to be altered in such an unpleasant way.
“What are they doing?” Nex asked a woman.
“They’re getting pedicures.”
“I want that.” He wasn’t sure why, but the foot soak and massage aspect of it looked inviting, though he didn’t think he’d want any polish.
“All right. Callie is actually free right now. I’ll have her give you one. Callie, this gentleman would like a pedicure.”
“Okay.” The young, thin blonde girl with bangs came over and her brown eyes bugged out when she saw him, jaw dropping.
Nex recognized her as one of Hilary’s lovers. When he tried to lure the witch into a trap back in early September he’d kidnapped Callie and held her hostage until Hilary rendezvoused with him. His plans had been foiled and he’d been placed under the Sleeping Beauty coma spell. It had been named that because the victim wouldn’t awaken until they caught the scent of their true mate. Not a very masculine name for a spell, but then again, this treatment he was getting done now must not be as common with the men, since everyone else getting one right now was female.
Callie must have recognized him too, given her obvious shock over seeing him there. “Follow me.”
Nex followed her over to the area where a few others were getting this pedicure thing done. He sat in the chair and removed his shoes and socks. This might be slightly awkward considering he’d kidnapped her last month. Still, she needn’t act so nervous. It wasn’t like he would gobble her up right now with everyone watching.
Callie sprayed something she called sanitizer onto his feet and dried them off before sticking them in a bowl of warm water. The rushing jets felt soothing on his feet.
“You seem surprised to see me here.”
She jerked her head up. “I admit I wasn’t expecting you here. Last I heard you were—”
“In a coma?”
She nodded. “It wasn’t that long ago. How did you get out of that coma?”
“I caught Claire’s scent while I was in the coffin. It brought me out of it, though I think I scared her a bit at our first meeting.”
“Why is that?”
“I attacked her.”
“Yeah, people generally frown upon being eaten.”
“No, I mean I tried to ravish her.”
Callie turned bright red. “Oh, well…huh.”
The silence became awkward, so Nex took to looking at flimsy books with only paper for covers. “What have you done with the covers to these books?”
She looked up to see what he spoke of. “Those are magazines.”
He flipped through them. “Who are these people and why am I being informed of their affairs?”
“They’re just celebrities. You know, famous people.” She turned the jets off and removed one of his feet from the water and clipped the nails. She then took some sort of file and went over the nails, seeming to make them more even.
“I did not realize it was customary in this country to publish the news of a new lover. I copulated madly all over the cellar floor with my Claire, but only two other people know this. Perhaps I should find a newspaper to print the news for me.”
Callie looked like she wanted to laugh. “Yeah, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. I mean, announcing to your family and friends that you’re seeing someone is one thing, but most people don’t go to the papers to publicize their sex lives.”
“Then why are these people doing so?”
“Because they’re celebrities. Some people like to follow them around.” Callie took some sort of stick thing she called a nail pusher and cleaned the nail bed before pushing back on it gently.
Oh, so she sought to pop his nails off as payback for him trying to kill Hilary, did she? Nex prepared to pounce on Callie if she got too rough with the potential weapon, but she appeared genuinely intent on bringing out the best in his feet and nothing more.
“So, have you claimed Claire yet?”
“Not yet, but I intend to.”
“Then you don’t have a soul yet, do you?” She tended to his cuticles and then gently buffed his nails.
“No. Is that what you were hoping for?”
“I just don’t want Hilary to get hurt.”
He watched as she cleaned under the nail and then applied something called cuticle oil to his cuticles. “You mean killed.”
“That too.” She rubbed something into his foot.
“What is that?”
“Callus softener.”
“She did meddle in my business. The witch should be punished.”
Callie looked horrified. She lowered her tone as she wrapped his foot in a towel. “I understand you’re bitter, but Hilary’s sorry for sending you to hell. She only did it to stop you from harming all those innocent people in Scotland, but she regrets sending you to such an awful place.”
“Apologies weigh very little with me.”
Her face twisted in pain. “Please, I’m begging you not to hurt her. I need her like I’m sure you need your mate.”
“Relax, Callie. I can hardly bring myself to give a damn about revenge when I have finally met my mate.”
She appeared relieved by this. “I hope it works out for you.”
The door to the waxing room opened and Claire came out. Nex became alarmed when he saw the now pinked, puffy skin around her eyebrows. He stood swiftly and glared at the woman walking out with his lady.
“Did you hit my mate?” He clenched his fists, ready to take a swing at the bitch if she had in fact punched Claire in the face.
Claire blushed, appearing embarrassed by his sudden, loud outburst. “No. She just waxed my eyebrows for me. I thought I might as well get a couple of things done while I’m at it. And what are you doing?”
“I wanted to know why so many people in here are getting this done. My feet seem to look nicer already. If you like, you may kiss them in worship later and admire their improved splendor.”
Her cheeks became stained with color. “I…am going to go outside after I pay. We can meet back at the club.”
“I’
m coming.”
“But you’re not even done,” Callie pointed out. “I still have to do all of this stuff to the other foot, and then there’s also the exfoliating, the massage and the rinse. And then—”
“I have no intention of letting Claire out of my sight,” Nex objected.
Claire rolled her eyes. “It’s a small town, Nex. I’ll be fine. Just meet me back at the club.”
“No. We should walk in together. Let’s meet somewhere for an early supper.”
“All right, I can meet you at Luigi’s Revenge and we’ll pick up some pizzas.”
He stared at her blankly, wondering what a pizza was, but most of all he wanted to know who the devil Luigi was and which poor bastard had pissed him off enough to incur his wrathful vengeance.
“You know, the pizza place in town.”
He deduced she spoke of an eating establishment “I will find you, Claire.”
She averted her gaze as the rosy hue graced her cheeks. He knew she liked the sound of her name in his mouth. He also loved the pheromones he detected coming from her. She wanted him.
After paying, she left and he had a sneaking suspicion she would be headed for the church. Dakarai told him about the nightmares she’d had and wanted Nex to let him know if she stopped by the church at all.
He saw Cory Taylor walk in and check in at the desk. He recognized the young, blond man as the part-time bartender who sometimes helped out at The Gothic Angel.
“Whoa, Nex. Hi. What are you doing here?”
“An experiment in human nature.”
Cory grinned. “Oh, is that what you call it? Very manly.”
The woman behind the desk spoke to him. “Mr. Taylor, it will just be a few minutes until we get to your mani.”
His face brightened. “Good god, don’t call it a mani. It’s not like I’m getting any polish.” He turned back to Nex. “I’m just keeping them in top condition. Chanel’s real finicky about men having clean fingernails.”
“Who is Chanel?” Nex asked.
Cory got a dreamy look in his eyes. “The town sweetheart.”
