Her eyes fluttered open slowly. White surrounded her, enclosed her vision. Oh, so I've died in the battle, after all. It took Grace a moment to realize she'd basically face-planted into the woman's hospital blanket.
Grace took a deep breath, fighting nausea, as she levered herself back into a sitting position. Saints alive, what just happened? She'd never experienced a healing like that before. She couldn't quite comprehend it. It was as though she'd had to battle an alien power in the woman's mind. If only Nanna Mac was still alive, she could ask her dream weaving guru of a grandmother for guidance.
She sighed. Well, Nanna Mac wasn't here to help her. She'd have to figure this one out for herself.
Grace collected her handbag and left the room, stumbling a little as she walked down the corridor. She glanced carefully about, belatedly remembering she was in a restricted area of the hospital. As she came up to a corner, she heard the squeak of trolley wheels and the chatter of nurses approaching.
Acting on autopilot because her brain felt like it was on holiday, Grace opened the nearest door and stepped inside. She closed the door quietly behind her and stopped, breathing slightly. She glanced about her.
Great. She was in another patient's room. She checked the bed, and what little breath still left in her lungs whooshed out. Her own dream lover lay there, unconscious and looking just as luscious in a coma as he had when he'd fondled her breasts and kissed her stupid in her dreams.
Just the sight of him had her nipples standing to attention. She slowly drew up alongside the bed. Is it really him? She eyed his jet black hair that lay like a dark thundercloud over his pillow, his broad shoulders and delectable chest muscles that tapered to slim hips. She'd never realized how sexy a hospital sheet could look, until it was draped low over a hunk's groin.
Her cheeks flamed and her body's temperature rose. What is wrong with me? She felt all hot and well, horny, damn it. And he did this to her from a coma! She dreaded her reaction if and when he regained consciousness.
He had eyelashes a drag queen would kill for. A slight frown marked his brow, as though he was fighting his unconscious state. Tenderness stirred to ebb at the edges of her lust. Even though he looked strong and fit, there seemed to be an air of vulnerability about him, belying the stubborn jut of his chin and harsh handsomeness.
She tentatively reached out and trailed her hand across his brow, wanting to touch him, needing to soothe him.
Darkness whipped up at her, swallowing her with a speed that left her breathless. A flying sensation, and she saw the melding of sunset hues as she sped towards the sleep state. What the hell? She felt as though she was being sucked under, pulled from her awareness before she could make any effort to resist.
She was flying, turning, sailing through sensation, stripped naked of conscious thought and connection to reality. Changing colors surrounded her, the myriad shades blending with a darker blue and green tinge. She was floating. A hand trailed up her arm, and she shivered at the familiar touch. She could sense his presence by her side. She slowly spun around in the cloud of color, and the hand traced from her back, over her shoulder, to wander down and slide over her breast, his chest resting against her back.
Oh, damn that felt good. Her breasts swelling, she arched her back to press her nipple into his hand, to wriggle her hips against his hot penis pressing against her buttocks. She moaned at the sensations bombarding her.
Just like that, she was ready for him, eager to take his cock into her body. She rubbed herself against him, and heard his breath quicken as he slowly started to rock against her butt.
"You've been naughty,” he whispered, before licking her ear lightly.
"Oh, what?” she muttered distractedly.
"You went before Elcar without my aid. You shouldn't have done that."
Grace's eyes rolled back in her head as his questing hand passed over her pubic mound, playing with her nether lips.
"What?” Grace swallowed, trying to moisten her suddenly dry mouth.
"You tried to take on Elcar. Now he knows you."
His thick finger entered her hot sex, as his hand tightened on her breast. Grace shuddered from the sheer pleasure of being held, ensnared in his powerful arms. He withdrew his finger, only to have it slide back in, slowly. His thumb rested against her clit, drawing sensation down to that little nubbin. Grace bit her lip. The effect this man had on her was stunning, breathtaking, forcing her to concentrate only on her body, forgetting everything else.
Which is why she still didn't know anything about him. Grace's eyes popped open as she tried to stop his hand from wreaking more havoc on her body.
"No, wait,” Grace gasped. His hand stilled. “Who are you?"
Hot breath bathed her ear. “I am Dorian. And you?"
"Grace. Who, or what, is Elcar?” Grace twisted in his arms to face him, missing the heat of his touch as his finger left her, his palm resting on her hip. She met his green eyes, and watched regretfully as the fires of passion were banked in his gaze to be replaced by solemn intention.
"Elcar is a Demon. He resides in the sleep state, and feeds off his victims’ fear and pain. He chooses women, as they seem to feel the depths of the emotions more. He survives on their pain, feasting on it for days before he needs to kill again."
"How does he do it?” she whispered. Dorian stared at her for a moment, as though trying to gauge how much he should divulge. He seemed to come to a decision.
"The greater their pain and fear, the stronger he becomes. He builds their agony to an extent that he can then manifest the powers physically, if only for a brief time. He wounds them from inside their mind."
Even though the words were stated coldly, without inflection, Grace could see the sadness and sorrow in Dorian's eyes he tried to hide.
"And you, Dorian? How do you fit into this picture?"
Dorian's gaze grew shuttered, and Grace missed the connection of emotion between them.
He straightened his shoulders, lifting his chin. “I am a Demon Stalker. My task is to kill Elcar."
The colors surrounding them darkened slightly, almost unnoticeably. If Grace wasn't so tuned in to her subconscious, she would have missed it. The darkening was a sign of Dorian's determination, his commitment to see his mission through. Grace realized that although Dorian tried to hide his thoughts from her, he couldn't hide his emotions in their shared subconscious. He felt pain at the loss of the victims, anger and hate for Elcar, and responsibility to resolve the situation.
"How is it that you visit me?” Grace whispered.
Dorian lifted a hand to her face, cupping her cheek. “That is a mystery to me,” he admitted. “Elcar is a Sleep Demon, so I had to enter the Realm of the Dark to fight him. Ever since I went under, I've been drawn to your dreams."
Grace's eyes narrowed. “Went under? What do you mean?"
Dorian's broad shoulders rose in a shrug. “I had to be unconscious to find him."
Grace frowned. “You intentionally put yourself in a coma? You could have been seriously hurt!” Grace felt a flash of anger and concern at his actions. This man had knowingly put his life in danger to battle this Elcar dude on the subconscious plane. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hold him tight and thank him for his heroic sacrifice, or smack him hard for this act of idiocy.
"Why?” she asked in confusion. Why would a man risk his life, his mind and his spirit, to do what Dorian was doing? It showed a courage that was awe-inspiring, and not just a little attractive, but it also revealed a disregard for his own life, as though Dorian didn't care if he survived or not.
"He killed my sister,” Dorian whispered. “This is the only way to get to him.” He smoothed a tendril of hair behind her ear. His gaze narrowed.
"Which is why I'm upset with you. What were you thinking, taking him on without knowing what you were up against?"
"I didn't know I was going to wage war against a demon when I tried to help that woman!” she protested.
"It was a foolhardy move!”
Dorian argued.
Grace cocked an eyebrow at him. “You're lecturing me about risky decisions? At least I didn't put myself in a coma!"
Dorian opened his mouth, but she held her finger up.
"Besides, it looks like I beat him. I won. He's gone."
Dorian folded his arms and cocked his head to the side. “Is he?"
Grace nodded triumphantly, and then hesitated. “He is gone, right? I mean, I don't know what exactly made him go poof, but he did disappear, didn't he?"
Dorian nodded. “Oh, yeah, he disappeared. He tested you, discovered the extent of your powers, discovered your weaknesses, and then winked out on you to wait for a time of his choosing to strike again. At you."
Grace shifted uneasily. “Oh."
Dorian pulled her close, wrapping her in his arms and holding her tight. “I don't want to lose my woman to this monster."
His possessive words sent a secret thrill through her body.
"Your woman, huh?” she whispered. His hold tightened, and Grace felt her breasts rub against his smooth chest.
"Damn straight. You have driven me insane. Every moment I should be tracking down Elcar, I spend dreaming of you, wanting you, craving you. Needing you."
"Hey, you've turned me into a horny, needy little mess, too,” Grace murmured as she felt his hands wander down her back. He pulled her to him and she could feel his rock-hard erection against her belly.
She raised her head to meet his hot, lustful green gaze. Her knees trembled and her nipples tightened as she recognized his need, his passion. For her. He lowered his head to hers, touching her lips tenderly, before deepening the kiss with his hunger.
A slight twinge of red around their subconscious fields was the only warning they got.
"Oh, now isn't this nice?” a scratchy voice whispered.
Dorian broke the embrace and pulled her behind him. Grace peered over his shoulder. Elcar, in the flesh, huh? Well, the metaphysical flesh. Her lips pulled in a grimace of distaste as the demon approached them on the subconscious plane. Ugh, he really was one ugly dude.
His eyes were blood-red and sunken in his pasty, grey-veined face. Dark grey hair that resembled the well-used steel wool on her kitchen sink grew from his head at varying angles and lengths. His body looked rangy and thin, yet moved with a muscular ease that didn't hide his strength. His fingers were long and talon-like. His lips pulled back in a smile. At least, Grace thought it was a smile. It was hard to tell with the twisted muscles of his face.
She felt a shard of unease whisper down between her shoulder blades. Elcar didn't look like a beaten demon. Actually, he looked kind of nasty and ready for a fight. Her unease grew into dread, and he threw back his ugly head and laughed in triumph, as though he sensed her apprehension.
Red fingers of evil grew in their multihued dimension, surrounding both Grace and Dorian. Dorian's hand grasped hers and held tight. He moved his head.
"Careful, don't let him—arrgh!” Dorian clutched his shoulder where a cut had just opened up. Grace cried out at the sight of the blood seeping from the wound. Dorian was hurt! Her wide eyes met Elcar's red gaze, fear spiking through her heart. She flinched as she felt a cut along her arm. Dark red bled into the subconscious plane, dimming her own colors. She realized immediately what the demon was doing.
Elcar was using the concern and fear they felt for each other's safety and turning it into pain, using it to hurt the other. She understood that if they didn't kill the demon soon, they would be instrumental in each other's death. Dorian pulled her further behind him, grunting as another cut opened on his back. How can we vanquish this monster?
What had Dorian said? Elcar fed on pain and fear. It was hard to not feel the fear, especially in the face of his evil. Grace wracked her brain, trying to figure out how she'd beaten him back in Patsy's mind. Their combined positive energy had seemed to weaken his powers.
She may not be able to dispel her fear, but maybe she could replace it with something. But what? Grace stared at Dorian's back, the man willing to risk his life to save hers, and others. The man who visited her in her dreams and made hot, sweet love to her, night after night. The man who wanted to protect her from this evil.
Elcar had already visited her in her dreams, but hadn't done anything to her while Dorian had made love to her. Her heart bloomed with love, her body heated with longing and immediately she noticed a thread of gold snake through the surrounding red cloud.
Elcar also seemed to notice, and doubled his efforts to hurt them. Grace felt the rake of a nail along her foot, but it didn't have the sting that his previous cut had. That was it! She knew what she had to do.
She stepped around in front of Dorian and faced him. His eyes widened when he realized she'd turned her back on Elcar. Grace smiled lovingly at him, grasped his head and pulled his lips to meet hers in a hot, searching kiss. Dorian dragged his mouth from hers.
"What the hell do you think—"
"Shhh.” Grace kissed him again, feeling his hot lips against hers part in protest and she took the opportunity to taste inside his mouth. He was all moist heat, passion and pleasure on the tip of her tongue. She dueled with his tongue, enjoying the rasp as it slid over hers. She moaned as his hands slid from her hips to her waist before he gently set her back.
"What are you doing?” he rasped.
"Look. Can't you see?” Grace gestured around them. The dark red curtain had lightened to a rusty pink, and Elcar stood spitting and slashing at the air a few feet away from them. Dorian's gaze slowly sharpened as understanding hit.
"We replace the fear with something stronger,” Grace whispered as she stood on tiptoe to kiss him again, entwining her arms around his neck and arching her breasts against his chest.
Dorian growled low in his throat, and the rumbling sound reverberated through Grace's body, sending shards of hot need down to her core. Dorian's hands slid up from her waist to cup her breasts as he took control of their kiss, deepening it as he slipped his tongue inside her mouth.
Grace shivered as his hands held the full weight of her breasts, fondling their shape. He raked his fingertips over her nipples before encircling them with a thumb and forefinger, pulling. Grace felt an answering tug in the muscles of her core, and she could feel herself growing damp.
Elcar roared behind them. Grace shuddered. Who would have thought being naked and making love in front of a demon could be such a turn-on?
Dorian lifted his head from hers, his cheeks flushed and his eyes glazed with lust. He seemed to read her mind, know what was fueling her desire. He whipped her around to face Elcar, clutching her shoulders to his chest and rubbing his erect penis on the swell of her buttocks. The position he held her in thrust Grace's breasts up and out. Grace groaned, enjoying the feel of the demon's blazing hot eyes on her.
Dorian's hands swept across her abdomen and up to her breasts, fondling them in front of the demon. Grace's pussy clenched as moist heat threatened to set her inner core on fire. Dorian pulled on her nipples, as though offering them to the demon before tweaking them himself. Grace's legs trembled as scorching heat arrowed from her nipples to her sex. She'd never felt like this before, on fire and animalistic in her urges, driven to feel the full extent of the pleasure Dorian alone could give her. It was as though two weeks of foreplay was coalescing into this one mega moment of fulfillment.
One of Dorian's hands trailed down her belly, over her mound, and a thick finger speared her flesh, parting her lips and letting the dewy moisture escape. Dorian placed his feet inside of hers and widened her stance, showing her sex off to the now furious demon. Dorian's finger slid out, then back in, and Grace rocked her hips against his invading hand.
Dorian groaned, moving his hand faster as he tightened his grip on her nipple. He slid two fingers inside her now, and Grace could feel the ease with which they speared home. She knew her juices coated his fingers, hell, she'd never felt so hot and wet before! She also knew Elcar could see the glistening evidence of her desire each ti
me Dorian withdrew his fingers.
She could see the demon's nostrils flare, as though he caught the scent of their arousal. The curtain of colors around them was now a dirty light pink.
Dorian placed his thumb over her clit, and tapped it each time he slid his fingers inside her. Grace moaned as she flew higher towards her peak, heat blooming across her breasts and in her pussy as her orgasm crashed upon her.
Elcar reacted as though he'd received a mortal wound, shrieking and clutching his shoulder as he fell back.
Dorian didn't let up in his assault on her senses. He kept strumming her clit, and prolonging her orgasm, using a third finger to open her channel even further. Grace could hear his ragged breaths, knew he was incredibly aroused. He tugged harder on her nipple, and she leaned forward, obeying his unspoken command.
With her legs wide apart, her body leaning forward, she presented a position Dorian couldn't resist. He withdrew his fingers, placed the head of his cock at her entrance and slid his massive length home. A low moan emitted from Grace's throat. He was so large, so hot, and he felt so good inside her. The colors around them started to shift as Dorian slid out and slammed back into her, his balls touching the top of her thighs as he rammed home, again and again.
Grace's eyes were fixed on Elcar. She couldn't look away. She was being shafted relentlessly by her lover, his large cock impaling her with a force that bobbed her breasts and took her breath away. Her vision started to cloud as she felt the building of another intense orgasm. She was liquid heat, and Dorian the fiery arrow plunging into her depths.
She could hear Dorian's harsh breaths behind her, feel the hot air wash over her with each exhalation. He was close to coming, and so was she. Her stare burned at Elcar. One of Dorian's hands slid to his cock, then further until his middle finger could touch her clit.
Stars exploded in and around Grace as she flew apart at the seams, her core muscles clenching around Dorian's cock. Dorian shouted exultantly as he spilled his seed inside her, his hips still moving as his cock drained itself. Grace instinctively squeezed his length, her internal muscles milking him. The warm glow of love flowed over her, and her vision finally cleared.
Summer Solstice Scorchers Page 14
