With an eye roll, she answered. “Yes, mother.”
Marisol chuckled. “I’ll call you tomorrow, ok,” she said and drove away.
Mikhail came from around the corner. “So we meet again.”
Christina pulled out her keys and dropped them hearing his voice in her ear. She bent to pick them up, but Mikhail beat her to it and handed them to her.
“Thank you. I see you’re still in the stalking business.”
“I just happened to be out walking on this beautiful night and ran into another form of beauty.”
She twisted her lips. “Uh-huh.” She tried to get the keys in the car door again.
“Will you give me a chance to talk to you now, since we had the chance to meet again?”
“I don’t know, Mikhail. I don’t know you.”
“How did you know my name,” he asked pretending ignorance.
She gasped. “Are you serious? Is that really your name?”
“Yes it is, and you said it beautifully. How did you know it?”
“I had this dream…” she started, but changed her mind.
“A dream?” He smiled. “So you’re dreaming about me, huh?”
She turned her back on him and swung open the car door. “Ok, this is all too weird. I have to go.” She jumped in her car and drove away.
Mikhail smiled, waited a few minutes, and then followed her.
Christina went home, turned on her music, changed in to her lounge pajamas then poured herself a glass of wine and tried to make sense of the situation.
“How did I know that guy’s name? You don’t just dream about someone and it comes true.” She drank the first glass quickly and poured another half a glass as she pondered some more. “Are my dreams coming true?” She laughed as soon as she finished the words. “Yeah, right. If that were true, I’d have dreamed this bad leg away a long time ago. It would be back to normal.” She took a few sips and topped off her glass again and thought some more. “Maybe…”
She paused a moment longer then put her glass down, turned her music up, and started dancing around the room. At first, she smiled as the notion tried to enter her head once more that it could be true, but then her dancing ended abruptly when her leg gave out on her. Stumbling, she caught herself with her hands before actually falling. She went back to the sofa, picked up her glass, and sighed.
“Damn,” she said softly and finished her drink.
She sat there for a long while listening to music and drinking wine before she readied herself for bed.
Mikhail watched her from his hiding spot on the balcony and when her calm, rhythmic breathing began, he stood over her again and entered her dreams.
***
Christina found herself back in the beautiful bedroom with the balcony and wearing the flowing white negligee. She took in her surroundings and smiled. She turned her back to the view and waited for Mikhail to come through the doorway, and as if on cue, he did, carrying two glasses of red wine.
“Is this how we’re always going to meet?” she asked as she accepted the glass.
“I must come to you in your dreams because you won’t let me talk to you to plead my case.”
She nodded and sipped her wine. “Plead your case, huh? OK, go ahead. Plead your case.”
“I want you for my wife.”
“Ok. Why me?”
“I always knew I’d know my wife when I saw her and as soon as I saw you I knew you were she.” He pulled her close to him. “I can offer you things no other man can offer you.”
“What’s that,” she asked breathlessly.
He smiled and slid his finger across her cheek. “I can offer you eternal beauty. You will never grow old with me. You will always be as lovely as you are today, forever.”
“Eternal beauty…” she whispered.
“I offer you eternal love. No one will ever love you the way I will love you.”
“Eternal love…” she whispered.
“Give yourself to me, beautiful Christina, and I will be yours and yours alone. I offer you eternal passion. I will make love to no other for eternity and our lovemaking will be like none you’ve ever experienced before. My passion and my lust will never die out and it will only burn for you.”
“Eternal passion…” she whispered.
“With me, beautiful Christina, you will never experience pain again.”
She gasped.
He grasped her chin with his fingers. “You will dance forever in my arms never again to feel the pain that hinders you from doing that which brings you such joy. I offer you an eternity of no more pain.”
“How did you know…”
“I know you better than you think. I want to know all about you.” He brushed his lips against hers. The smell of her building desire for him wrapped itself around his senses.
Christina’s mind was in a fog. All the things he offered her pulled at her heart and her soul. It was everything she’d ever dreamed of…dreamed of…
“This is a dream, that’s why it sounds like a dream,” her mind screamed and she backed out of his embrace. “That’s why it sounds so good,” her mind repeated and she chuckled aloud at her foolishness.
“What? What’s wrong?”
“This is a dream, Mikhail. That’s why it sounds so good. That’s why you can offer me everything I want and need. None of this is real.”
He stepped closer, bringing her back into his arms. “What if it weren’t? What if it were all true? What if I could offer you everything I say?”
“Then there’d be a catch. So tell me what the catch is.”
“For me to give you everything I offer, you must give this life to me, never to return.”
“What does that mean, exactly?”
“I will take your life from you so you can live with me for eternity.”
She gasped and turned away from him. “Whoa,” she whispered.
He wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her neck. “The life I offer you is much better than this mundane existence you call life. Trust me and believe that so much more can be yours if you give yourself to me.”
“But Mikhail, if this isn’t a dream, you’re asking a lot of me.” She leaned into him, giving in to the butterfly kisses he placed on her neck.
“I offer you much in return.” His breath was hot and sultry on her neck.
Her knees weakened as he grinded against her and she succumbed to his kisses. “But this is all a dream, Mikhail,” she whispered.
“What if it weren’t? What if what I offer was as real as you and me?” He turned her to him. “Let me give you a glimpse of what I offer to you.”
He bent her head back and kissed her hungrily. His teeth grew and gave her the tiniest of pricks so he could taste a few drops of her forbidden blood as it seared his tongue. The taste of her set his senses instantly on fire surprising him. He broke the kiss and carried her to an over-stuffed patio chair not wanting to wait. It would have taken them too long to walk across the room to his bed.
Quickly he tore at the button and zipper of his pants and lowered her onto his bulging erection. She gasped at the sudden intrusion of her body, and he felt the quick intake of her breath. It was exquisite, like nothing he’d ever felt. He grabbed her face and kissed her again wanting to taste more of her, kissing away her moans of delight. He filled her completely and it felt glorious to him.
She moved on him slowly at first, savoring the amazing feeling. She moved faster…up, down, back and forth…it was all incredible. The orgasm she sensed coming would be like no other. She knew it. She could feel it. The joy of it would kill her, it was too good, too sweet, but she wanted it anyway. She grabbed his shoulders and reached for it. Moving over him, she rode him faster and faster, caught in a haze of euphoria until her head fell back and she released a cry of utter joy.
Mikhail longed to sink his teeth into her neck and take her at the instant she released her cry of delight. How wonderful her blood would taste right now with such a powerful o
rgasm flowing through it. The sweet, tiny droplets he stole told him so. But he couldn’t, not now. It wasn’t time. He watched her face as she continued to move on top of him. She was even more beautiful in the glow of this pretend moonlight with lust and desire trapped on her lovely features. How he wanted this woman for his own!
She moved over his still hard lance, enjoying the slick friction of the head sliding in and out of her as it pierced her over and over again. That delicious feeling wasn’t one she wanted to lose anytime soon.
“Oh, Mikhail, that was incredible. Is that what you meant? Will it always be like this between us,” she asked breathlessly.
“No, my darling Christina, it will be better, so much better,” he replied, sliding her gown down to kiss her torso.
She moaned her approval, still moving over him. “Better?”
“Oh, yes, so much better. It is said that when we become one, we will feel orgasms and delights from each other beyond anything we’ve ever felt before...ten times what you are feeling now.” He caressed her breasts planting a kiss on each one.
Her nipples hardened at the thrill of his words and the kissing. “Oh, Mikhail, I would die if it were any better than this. The joy would kill me for sure the next time.”
“Some things are worth dying for, my love.”
“Mmm, I feel it building again.”
“Then let me show you how much better it could be.”
He took hold of her hips, lifted her up, and started plunging his hardness into her softness for a second time. Back and forth, he moved her around as if she were as light as a feather. Up, down, back and forth, pressing himself deeper into the sweetness of her core.
She grabbed his shoulders and held on. It was all she could do to keep herself from fainting from the strong, lovely sensations that began to claim her again.
Mikhail was caught in his own haze of emotions. He rode the wild and wonderful waves of sheer ecstasy to completion taking his sweet Christina with him. The pleasure of it all washed over them at the final threshold of his passion.
Looking into his honey brown eyes, Christina saw fire, passion, and strength. “No one could be this, perfect, everything I ever wanted,” she whispered. “This has to be a dream.”
Exhausted, she fell forward onto his shoulder, finally giving in to her body’s extreme elation and weariness. Mikhail carried her to the bed and whispered in her ear, “Give yourself to me and this and so much more can be yours.”
Chapter Six
Mikhail visited Christina in her dreams each night for the next two weeks. Leaving her sexually sated each night, and confused and dazed during the day. As she dressed for a show at Club Noir, she finally mentioned it to her friend.
“I tell you, Marisol, I think I’m going crazy.”
“Why, what’s going on?”
She sighed. “I probably should’ve said something a while ago. I’m still having those dreams about Mikhail.”
“Still? How many have you had?”
“I’ve had one every night since I first laid eyes on him.”
“Hmm, is there sex involved finally?”
“Hell yeah, some serious sex, too.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, and I haven’t even seen the man since I called him a stalker. I mean, when I’m awake.”
“Well, that kind of sucks. He’s been making love to you every night since you’ve met him, but only in your dreams. How come you won’t let him talk to you when you’re not dreaming?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, I do. You’re just gun shy. Let the man talk to you. Did you ever think it was your subconscious telling you he was ok, letting you feel comfortable with him?”
“Well, I definitely feel comfortable with him in my dreams. That man has me doing all kinds of things,” she said with a chuckle. “I could swear I know him already, Marisol, everything about him. He makes all these promises to me that call to my heart and soul, like he knows me and what I need.”
“Hmm, maybe you should stop running from him and see what kind of guy he is. Go out with him.”
“Go out with him? I haven’t even told him my name yet,” she said with a chuckle.
“Well, maybe you should start with that. Tell him tonight.”
“Tonight? What if he’s not here?”
This time Marisol chuckled. “Christina, he’s been here every night that you have danced. Everyone knows when you’re dancing, I’m sure he’ll be here.”
A head popped in the room. “Show time, ladies. Your music is about to start,” it informed, and popped out.
Marisol smiled at her friend. “It’s show time.”
Mikhail and Jonathan sat at their regular table just to the side of the rounded stage. He wanted a perfectly clear view of his Christina when she danced. She was weakening to his charms and succumbing to his efforts, he could feel it. Soon she would be his. He went to her every night promising to give her everything she needed, and every night she moved closer and closer to saying yes. Just last night she said she wanted to be with him forever and asked him to take her…but that was in the heat of passion. Much is said during those heated moments. He needed her to be sure before he took her for his mate.
Christina and Marisol took to the stage. In the darkness he knew everything about her form…the way she moved, the graceful stride of her walk, and the beautiful, fluid lines of her body. He knew all about her body now. The feel of her, the smell of her…he could smell her from where he sat and his member hardened as his body recognized the scent.
She began her dance and caught sight of him. Their eyes locked and for a split second she froze, but picked up the beat and continued. She danced with her heart. She danced with her soul. Her gaze stayed linked to his and she danced only for him, a slow, sensual ballet-like duet.
Mikhail watched her intently. Christina was his. He knew it and could see that she now knew it as well. He would claim her tonight.
***
After the club closed, like déjà vu, Mikhail sat outside on a car and waited for her as Jonathan entertained a pretty brunette across the street. Christina could see them as she and Marisol made their way to the doors.
“Ok, Christina now is your chance to put up or shut up. There he is waiting outside. Talk to him or let it go.”
She nodded and took her friend’s hand for support. “Ok, let’s go.”
They walked out the front doors and down to Marisol’s car with Mikhail meeting them part way then walking behind them.
“I’m going to get in my car and go home,” Marisol announced. “And you’re not,” she added, dropping Christina’s hand and rushing to slam the car door behind her, leaving her stunned friend on the curb with Mikhail.
Christina took a deep breath and spun around to confront the copy of the literal man of her dreams. “Is your name really Mikhail?”
He nodded. “It really is.”
“Why do I know that? For that matter, why do I know you? I feel like I know you, really know you, not just your name.”
“If you are ready for the truth let’s go to my house and I will explain everything to you.”
She hesitated and raised her eyebrow as she looked at him.
He smiled. “I told you, I never will hurt you. You will always be safe with me.”
Something in his words eased her fears. She led the way to her car and followed his directions to his home. When they arrived and she entered his bedroom, she chuckled disbelievingly.
“Why am I not surprised that your bedroom would be the same bedroom from my dreams?”
“Because I brought you here moving quickly, more swiftly than any human can move. Your conscious was in a dream-like state, then I used my gift to awaken you, but you were not dreaming. Everything you felt was real.”
“What?” She sat on the bed stunned at first as she went over all her dreams in her mind’s eye.
“Every time I made love to you was real. Every feeling, every sensation, every orgasm you felt
here was the real thing.”
“And your promises? Everything you said to me.”
He sat next to her. “All real,” he confirmed.
“And the catch? Was that real, too? I have to give up my very life to be with you?”
“Is what I’m asking you to give up worth more than what I have made known to you?” Her expression told him she was going over his question. He slid his hand across her face. “What I offer you is eternal. Eternal beauty, eternal life, passions untold, and an eternity of no pain, that’s what I can grant you, so we can start our new life together as one. Isn’t that life better than the loneliness you have now?” He saw her inner struggle and kissed her. “What do you have now that is better than the love we already share? Give yourself to me and all that is mine will be yours, all that I offer will be yours.”
“How Mikhail? How can you offer what you say to me?”
“I am a creature of the night, one that will live for eternity. It is within my power to do so. Once you relinquish this life to me it is within my power to give that eternal life I offer you.”
She looked in his eyes for a long time. She knew this man, he loved her. She could see it in his eyes. Every fiber in her being told her it was true, could feel it too. She loved him and trusted him, he would not hurt her. She didn’t know how she knew, she just knew.
“I love you, Mikhail, take this life from me. I want the life you offer.”
He leaned her back into the bed passionately kissing her along the way. She tore at his clothes until his beautiful body was bare to her gaze. He tried to remove her clothing just as fast, causing a few limbs to tangle. Christina watched as he caressed her breasts. Mikhail took them into his mouth, seeming to savor the taste of her skin. He touched her all over as if wanting to feel every inch of her.
Mikhail had had his fair share of women before, but his Christina was different. She was softer; the feel of her was so much better than anyone else he had ever touched. She tasted better too. He relished the sweet tang of lust building in her body as he licked and kissed her. Sliding his fingers between her legs, he felt her wetness and brought his fingers to his mouth to sample her essence. He returned his fingers to her moist heat and began stroking her sensitive flesh.
The Dioni Chronicles-Book1-Mikhail's Hunt Page 3
