by Thawer, Tish
* * * * *
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Damarius stepped out of the Shadowlands and into Aryiah’s living room once again. The first thing he heard was Devin yelling, "Well fine! If you want to ignore me I’ll just go find Gage by myself." Good luck with that, he thought.
He waited for Aryiah’s response, as it was obvious the two friends had been fighting from the strength of Devin’s emotions. It only took him a split second to realize there was no response. He wondered if Devin had upset Aryiah enough to cause her to storm off.
Damarius eased his way towards the closed door of her bedroom, hesitated, then lightly knocked. There was no response. Now he was getting worried.
The main problem with traveling from Ovialell and back was the time shift. It meant enough time had passed here while he’d been gone that Aryiah could have gotten herself into some serious trouble.
Now panicked, images of her knocked out from an uncontrollable magickal burst, kidnapped by another assassin, or worse, drained by an assassin and lying dead, were flooding his mind.
As he burst through the door, Aryiah shot up from the bed, eyes wide, arms sprawling, legs apart, and totally naked.
The relief he felt at that moment was immeasurable. But then again, so was the sense of lust pouring off his mate as she stared up at him with smoldering eyes.
"Welcome back," she said in a husky, come-fuck-me voice. She patted the bed making the vibrator that was lying beside her bounce. He quickly did a double-take. As she grabbed it and leaned over to put it away in her nightstand, he reached out and took it from her hand. "I think we can still find a use for that."
With bedroom eyes, Aryiah lowered herself back to the bed as Damarius made a sweeping motion with his arm and stood completely naked with the vibrator in hand.
He walked slowly around the bed, wanting to soak up the exquisite sight of his mate naked, sprawled out, and waiting for him. When he reached the other side of the bed, Aryiah reached up and grabbed both his thighs with her hands, and looking upside down at him with those seductive eyes, she glanced at his strained thickness and licked her lips. Oh my wicked little angel.
"Not yet," he told her, knowing that if she took him in her mouth now, he wouldn’t last a minute.
Instead, he bent down and lowered himself to her side, flicking on the vibrator's switch. He started running the tool over her pert nipples in tiny circles, making her quiver. Replacing the vibrator with his mouth, he began to flick the sensitive peak with his tongue as he slid the toy down Aryiah's stomach, causing her to writhe beneath it.
As he reached her clit with the vibrator, she pulled his head away from her hardened nipple and repeated his words back to him. "Not yet."
* * * * *
Aryiah leaned up on her elbows and took his mouth with hers. She'd never felt so alive in bed before. The taste of him was like chocolate silk topped with cherries. Sweet, decadent, and addictive.
Breaking the kiss, she looked into his eyes. "I want you," she said.
He returned his lips to hers, kissing her deeply again, and in her head she heard, I want you too, as you are my heart, and from this moment, we will never be apart.
A feeling of warmth settled around her, like she was being wrapped in an electric blanket. It surged and pulsed and then shot straight to her heart.
Aryiah's eyes flew open as she gasped. "What did you just do?"
With a smile on his face and a serious look in his eyes, he told her, "I have branded us together. Now wherever you are I can feel it here," he said, gesturing to his heart.
Her initial instinct was to be pissed that he'd done this without her permission, but her thoughts were calmed as he continued to explain.
"Now, not only can you hear my thoughts at all times, but you'll be able to sense where I am by simply concentrating and thinking of me."
Aryiah lifted a brow, and teased in response. "That sounds like something that could come in handy the next time you disappear and leave me naked and alone."
She laughed as Damarius smiled, then claimed his mouth once more.
Moments later, Damarius broke the kiss and moved to position himself between her legs. He bent his head and flicked her clitoris with his tongue while running the vibrator along her wet opening.
Aryiah gasped, fisted the sheets, and held on for the ride as he slipped the toy past her folds, while continuing to work her clit with his highly skilled mouth.
After what seemed like an eternity of tortuous bliss, she couldn’t bare another moment without having him inside her. She reached down and grabbed his hand that was working the vibrator. "I need the real thing," she said.
With a wicked smile on his face, he worked his way up her body, showering her with kisses along the way. As the tip of his length reached her center, he leaned down to kiss her once again. Then, thrusting into her in one smooth motion, he buried himself deep within her needy core while swallowing her moan with his mouth.
* * * * *
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
After a much needed calming bath, laced with lavender and chamomile oil, the Goddess retired to her bedchambers.
Even though she'd assumed the Darklings were behind the murder of Ingrid and her triggered replacements, seeing one through her vision had left her truly shaken. They were the only beings with enough magick to pose a real threat to her and her Witches.
As Diana recalled the hordes of Darklings that surrounded her daughter in the moments before her death, she reached out and caressed the statue of Aradia that stood on her nightstand, just as she'd done for thousands of years. Her heart was fraught with mixed emotions at the idea of her daughter's return. Yes, it would be a true blessing to have her back and her return would mean The Witches would be a complete unit once more. But, it also meant her intuition was right, and Ovialell was on the brink of another Great Rift.
With feelings of joy and sorrow settling in her chest, Diana crawled into bed. She'd have to contact Shay, the now Queen of the Seelie Fae, and Kylie, the leader of the Amazons tomorrow and discuss her findings. Ovialell needed to prepare, because the Goddess knew the future they were facing would mark another dark time in their world's history.
* * * * *
Zakrill had felt the moment the Goddess's gaze fell upon him. He quickly reacted by surrounding himself in mist. There was no way he could let her know that he was actually back on Ovialell.
After her daughter had cast him and his brethren to the lost realm of Abrinthill, a once thriving demon world, they had spent thousands of years recuperating and trying to regain their magick.
After centuries of in-fighting resulting in massive losses to their numbers, the Darklings were given a gift. A portal had opened in the front of the abandoned castle they called home, and out stepped the Unseelie Queen.
Fayln had offered them a once in a lifetime opportunity. The Darkling with the most power, which they'd have to prove by eliminating the rest of their kind, would be able to accompany her back through the portal and return to Ovialell in exchange for helping her gather enough magick to challenge the Goddess Diana.
The dark Fae had always been power hungry so her request for more magick didn't surprise him. Zakrill proved his worth by eliminating the remaining Darklings, then followed the Queen back to her castle in Karistan on the Middle World of Ovialell as the last of his kind.
After bestowing Fayln with a few new powers, he took his leave with a plot of his own forming in his mind. The idea of taking on the Goddess was one he was familiar with. The Great Rift had started because his people wanted to rule Ovialell, much like the Unseelie Fae Queen did now. But this time, ruling was no longer his goal. He sought revenge, first and foremost, for their banishment, but now he had a new goal...a quest to rebuild his race.
He would have to start recruiting and therefore fled to the only place he knew to look...the Lower World. There he found his first willing recruit in the vampire, Gage. A simple promise of becoming more than he was and the vampire jumped at
his offer. After summoning the dark magick needed to create the perfect assassin, Zakrill was maimed but if his loss contributed to the rise of the Darklings, it was a sacrifice he'd make over and over again.
* * * * *
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
With the loss of energy Gage had experienced he would need a little more time to recuperate before his magick was fully restored. He didn't mind the delay, however, since he had to wait for Devin to fall asleep before he could put his plan in to motion anyway. He lay down on the hard cot and let a smile spread across his face as he stared at the sigils that covered the dungeon walls. The idea of the Goddess thinking he had no way out was laughable. Daywalking, and mind control weren't the only powers the Darkling had bestowed upon him.
Gage closed his eyes, knowing it would only be a matter of time before he'd be free once again.
* * * * *
Devin felt as if all she'd done today was drive back and forth. She had initially headed over to Aryiah’s to talk about her date with Gage, but then things had gotten confusing and now she couldn’t find Gage anywhere. He wasn’t answering his cell and she didn’t see him walking near Aryiah’s apartment, even though he apparently left without a car. She vaguely remembered meeting Mr. Hotness but didn’t have a clue as to who he was or why he was at Aryiah’s house. Angry at how her day had turned out, and so sick of worrying about Aryiah and all her bullshit, Devin entered her house a little after 2 p.m., walked straight to the couch, threw herself face down, and closed her eyes.
The moment Devin started to drift to sleep, she began to dream of Gage. She could hear his voice whispering her name.
"Devin, come to me."
"Devin, I need you."
Smiling in her sleep, she opened her eyes and stared into a candlelit tunnel made of cold stone, then again heard Gage whisper her name from somewhere close by. "Devin."
Her excitement grew as she inched forward. She wondered how this dank place was going to play into her sexual fantasy, since she was certain that was exactly what this was. But as always, she was ready for anything, and a hot sex dream was exactly what she needed to ease her frazzled nerves.
As Devin crept forward through the dark tunnel, she noticed symbols placed on the walls every few feet. There were spirals, moons, pentagrams, and odd looking designs that looked like, Oh what was the word?…Sigils. Hah! I remember some stuff from helping Aryiah, she thought proudly.
Sigils were symbols based on magic squares that used numerology to transform words into symbols of power. She had no idea what each sigil here meant, but as she got further along the tunnel, she noticed more and more of them littering the walls. As she came to the end of the tunnel, she heard Gage whispering her name again from somewhere to her left. After a few steps around the corner, she started seeing what looked like jail cells. Mmmm...this I can work with. Sexual energy surged through her veins.
All the cells were empty but one. She found Gage, looking sexy as hell, lying on a hard-looking bunk with his fingers pressed to both temples.
After fluffing her hair and adjusting her bra to make the most of her cleavage, Devin called out to Gage using her sexy voice. "Time to wake up and beg for your freedom."
* * * * *
Gage slowly sat up dropping his fingers from his temples as a satisfied smile spread across his face. He had brought Devin here through her dream. He loved this power. It was basically a form of dream compulsion. All he had to do was establish a mental connection to someone then he could call them to his side through their dreams. It was how he stayed fed when stuck in situations like this; not that I get caught and imprisoned very often, that’s for damn sure.
As he approached Devin, preparing to tell her how to unlock the cell, she held up a hand and told him to stop.
"Stop right there!" she said. Gage paused. He had learned from experience that it was best to play along with whatever dream his victims thought they were having, as his mind control would not work in the dreamscape.
"Take off your clothes first," Devin said. He stared at her with a sense of dread growing in his chest. He remembered all the provocative moves she tried to pull on their date, but if there was any hope of using her to gain his freedom in this dreamscape, he was going to have to play along. He was annoyed because he really didn't have time to fuck around, no pun intended.
Devin watched as he stripped out of his clothes. "Wow, you're as muscled and sexy as I imagined. Too bad you're not already hard for me," she said. "But don't worry, I'll take care of that."
Devin motioned him forward as she sank to her knees outside of the cell.
"Don’t you think this would be more fun if I wasn’t stuck in here?" Gage asked, hoping to prompt her into opening the cell.
"I think it will be fun with you both in and out of this cell," she said as she reached through the bars and took hold of his cock.
Gage gasped and grabbed the bars with both hands as Devin slid his shaft into her mouth through the bars. She licked and sucked him as if her access was totally unimpeded. Damn if she’s this good now, what will she be like when given full-access? She had him hard in seconds as she stroked his length with one hand and nestled his balls with the other. She suddenly stood up and started to undress.
"I can’t wait any longer. I’ve been aching to have you inside me for days, and since this is my dream, we’re gonna skip the foreplay," Devin said roughly. She then stepped out of her pants and turned around, thrusting her naked ass against the bars.
Even though Gage was trying to avoid this at first, freedom being his only goal, he couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with desire for this beautiful woman presenting herself in front of him. He too was hungry, but for very different reasons.
He stepped up to the bars, sliding one hand through to grasp her hip, and with the other, he slowly guided his cock into the heat of her slick core.
* * * * *
Devin let out a moan and started to grind against him. With the exquisite feeling of Gage stretching her to fit him, she knew it wasn't going to take her long to climax. So, in an effort to extent her pleasure, she rose up and prepared to turn around, but apparently he had other ideas.
Gage grabbed her around the throat, linked his other arm around her waist, and pulled her tightly against the bars, while still thrusting deep into her from behind. In the next instant she felt him lick the side of her neck, then felt a sharp pain.
Holy shit, he bit me! Even in her dream, this was a shock. This dream was similar to her usual fantasies; dark and depraved, but somehow this rough, gothic, jail-house scene had her enjoying the release of her dark side, which was something that usually caused her nothing but guilt. But here, with Gage, guilt was the last thing she was experiencing. She felt sexy and dirty, and suddenly realized that she liked it...a lot! Her mind became filled with nasty thoughts and erotic images of S&M scenes playing out in her head. Mmm...being bad is fun.
* * * * *
Gage continued to pound his cock deep into Devin’s tight core as he drank from her neck. God she tasted so amazing. Better than any other human he'd ever drank from. As he continued to feast, he suddenly caught images flashing from her mind to his. This was normal when the connection between vampire and human was so intense, and he would definitely consider this connection with Devin intense. She was beautiful––her body a handful of scintillating curves––and she fucked like a porn star. Maybe he would date her for real when things got back to normal since he was truly enjoying himself for the first time in years. Yes, he fed from humans all the time, but none ever tasted this good or had ever been this sexy. And usually he made it a point not to have sex while feeding as it could be dangerous. One slip and he’d be the Sire of a new vampire.
Sex while feeding is how vampires were made in his world. Draining the human and then sharing your seed at the time of death was the catalyst for siring new vamps. Whether you were male or female, something about the exchange of both fluids at the same time––death from one, and life from
the other was how vampires were created. Gage never thought about it much because siring a vampire was never something he intended to do.
Just as the thought entered his mind, the images pouring from Devin snapped into focus. She was imagining dark, dangerous, nasty sexual things. With these images flowing between them, the pace of their sexual frenzy increased. He was pounding her hard from behind and she matched his pace thrust for thrust, banging her ass against the bars to bury him inside of her as deeply as possible. He continued to suck from her neck as he didn’t want the connection to break and the images to disappear. This was so fucking hot; he didn’t want it to end. He loved how wicked Devin seemed in these imagined scenes. She was sexy, powerful, and something else...almost evil.
At that thought, he exploded, totally turned on and unable to stop himself from sending his seed deep into her. He released her neck and held onto her as she slumped to the ground.
After being distracted by the best sex he'd ever had, he suddenly realized he was still in the Goddess' dungeon. Figuring he needed to continue playing along with Devin’s dream in order to escape, he bent down to whisper in her ear, "If I would have known you fucked like this, our date would have gone much differently. Why don’t you turn around and suck me hard again, and I’ll show you how to open the cell so you can come in and ride me properly."
Devin didn’t respond.
