Dark Dreams: HarperImpulse Paranormal Romance

“You are amazingly beautiful,” Nias said, placing his head on his hand and leaning on one arm. He watched her lie against the pillows and accept his kisses, her eyes only half open from the pleasure he had given her.

“I’m not sure what you are, but I or, um, my body, seems to really like it.” She smiled a wide grin at him.

She reached up, taking a piece of his shiny dark hair in her fingers and began to twirl the end, something he had seen her do to her own hair and it made him feel a touch vulnerable. Letting someone give him contentment was something he rarely allowed, especially a human woman. Typically he would cast her aside, but instead, he felt the need to reach for her. Trying to end the overly intimate contact, he took her hand in his and kissed it.

He watched her fade to sleep, listening to her breath. Despite her mild protesting he could see she felt safe with him, and he was delighted. He finally fell asleep with this human curled in his arms, hesitant about how much her safety comforted him. He was so pleased by what she had done, such a tiny act and enormous at the same time.

And that was what scared him to death.

When she woke she was a little hazy and still completely enveloped in him. It took her a few seconds to remember where she was, and then it flooded back to her: met hottest man she’d ever seen; kidnapped; out cold, maybe; fought with hottest man she’d ever seen; kidnapped AGAIN; tortured and nearly gutted; definitely out cold; miraculously healed; got obscene with the hottest man she’d ever seen; drowsy, sleepy, safe, out cold; NO kidnap; and wake up still snuggled tightly to hottest man she’d ever seen, still covered in their blood. Yep, that about covered it.

Leaving her eyes closed, she felt the soft sheets beneath her bare body, and heard only the near silence of the early-morning breeze. But she could also feel his body against her, his powerful presence and masculine smell permeated her very being. She shifted involuntarily against him as her hand went to his hips (still clothed!) and sighed deeply.

She looked up, realizing he was already awake and gazing at her. She had a sudden vision of their encounter and was struck with self-consciousness. The reality of her situation invaded the fantasy, and she blushed beet red, looking away. Deviant sexual behavior is so not like me. But that sure as hell didn’t feel deviant! She shook her head. What the hell had she been thinking? She barely knew this man. And yet she lay there cozied up and secure in his body. He was sex on a stick; it oozed out of him, the way his massive arms unavoidably flexed whenever he shifted. It was only one of the highlights of his impeccable body. The arrogant smile he gave, which always accompanied the soft, dark, sexually charged laugh, raised her ire.

“What is it, Kitten?” She jumped slightly; his deep, seductive voice startled her.

She could have screamed. She could have lashed out at him. She could have gotten up, demanded some clothes and gotten the hell out of there. Maybe she should have done any one of those things. But after everything that had happened … “I was reflecting on the absurdity of the situation. I could be crippled by fear, ashamed at myself, or throw my hands in the air and confess I’m just not in Kansas anymore. I guess that’s what I’ve decided to do.” Again she chuckled at her own humor.

“I don’t understand, what does this day have to do with a Middle American state?”

God, has he never even seen “Wizard of Oz”? Where was he from, anyway? “Never mind, I have a really strange habit of making myself laugh when things are too … overwhelming.”

“I understand you feel undone. But, I believe I have discovered a way to calm you a little. Shall I apply my findings again?” He flashed another wicked grin.

“No!” God no, she thought, even though her protest came a little more sharply than she intended. “Please keep your findings to yourself for a while. I have never done anything like that before. I am a little humiliated with my actions. What I’m trying to say is I should have stopped that from happening and I didn’t and I’m not sure why. Okay, I am going to shut up now.” And her face turned bright red again as she managed to dam up the words tumbling out of her mouth faster than she could think about them. He continued smiling wickedly at her. “What, why are you grinning at me like a cat with a mouse trapped under its paw?”

“You do realize, my Kitten, you said, ‘for a while’ don’t you? You asked that I keep my so-called ‘findings’ to myself ‘for a while’,” he stated with a big sardonic grin.

“Oh, well that’s not what I meant,” she choked out, as if she didn’t even believe it herself. Weak, Jade, truly weak. “Anyway, now that I’m not being ripped apart by monsters, or smeared with blood – which reminds me I would really like a shower – or molested, I have a whole lot of questions for you.”

“First of all, ‘molested’ implies you did not consent and I’m pretty sure I remember every stroke, moan and wiggle, and Kitten, you heartily consented; and second, we can take a shower any time you wish.”

“Okay, molested may have been the wrong word, and I did not mean take a shower together. Smugness isn’t going to get you anywhere.”

“On the contrary, I think it already has.” He arched his brow.

“Stop it.” Now she was grinning and thinking about that co-ed shower. Stop it yourself, Jade!

“How about I show you where you can get cleaned up and then I’ll answer all the questions you have?”

“Alone.”

“If you insist.”

“I insist.” Shut up brain, I do not want to hear it.

“I’ll call down to have someone bring up fresh things for you to wear. I imagine you are hungry as well?”

God, there are others here? She flushed again, wondering if her cries might have been heard. “Yes, I am a little, thank you. I know you said you would answer all my questions later, but, where are we? Why are there people who have things for me? This doesn’t look or seem to be the place we were earlier. I thought that was maybe where you lived.”

“This is my brother’s home; he has several people who work for him here, and they will bring you clothes and food. You were in my home earlier.”

He picked up a phone on a side table next to the bed and told whoever it was on the other end of the phone what he would need, “jeans size 6, tank top medium, jacket black, and something comforting for a human to eat, and breakfast for me as well.” The last part struck her; she realized this meant he must eat something different. Scary. What the hell would that be? Did she even want to know?

He got up to show her to a large, beautiful bathroom. She pulled a sheet off the bed and flipped it toga-style around her bloody, naked body and did the walk of shame to the bathroom. It had dark granite countertops and bronze fixtures. The tub and sinks were black, and the floors a natural deep-brown travertine. She loved fixtures and granite and flooring; she took a lot of time decorating her book store and small flat. But this place obviously had a bigger budget than had been available to her, which was barely enough to scour flea markets and resale shops.

The bathroom fit nicely with the bedroom; they were both, lovely, dark, large and cozy at the same time. Um, that sounds just like Nias – lovely, dark, large and cozy. She cursed herself for thinking crazy. She didn’t know where she was, who was after her, who the hell the man she’d just had sexual relations (for the first time ever!) with was, or what exactly he was. Now she was going to shower and eat dinner with him like they’d known each other for ages. Yep, Jade and the Daemon having a little food together, I feel like I’ve seen this movie. This whole damn day was surreal and it wasn’t going to be getting any closer to any reality she had ever known anytime in her foreseeable future. And, for God’s sake, Jade, she scolded herself, stop touching him, purring at him, staring at him and lusting after him. First of all, it is wildly inappropriate for the danger of the situation, and second the cocky bastard is loving it! But so am I, she snickered to herself.

As she removed the sheet she noticed herself while passing in front of one of the mirrors. Oh my God! Dried blood was smeared all the way down the front of her body. She moved closer. The blood on her body covered what remained of the long cuts that thing had sliced into her. There was a gap in the scars and she remembered it had scratched over the chains that had bound her. She felt a wave of terror run through her as she remembered being there. Nias HAD calmed her down. In fact, he had taken those gruesome memories completely away for a while. It was truly insane how comfortable she felt with him. He had kidnapped her, but it was like it had never happened when she was with him. She enjoyed him that much? That quickly? As Sherlock would say “something is afoot”. She could conjure no explanations for the moment, so she looked back at herself. Blood had seeped into her hair when it spread around her neck from his application, and mortification struck her again as she noticed the remnants of bloody handprints on the backs of her knees and between her legs. Shower, Jade, get in the shower. She was feeling dirty for several reasons now. Another walk of shame commenced as she moved to the shower, waited for the water to warm, and got in.

After soaping every part of her body twice, she washed her long hair, rinsed, and exited the shower. When she got out there were fresh towels and clothing laid out on the countertop. She hadn’t even heard anyone come in, which bothered her a little. Being deep in an escapist dreamland would do that. Her mind had checked out, like it often did in moments of stress. Except this time it wasn’t visions of some random creation. This time her mind hovered on Nias and herself. New possibilities had come to mind. Never in her romantic visions had she imagined dark, gothic scenes, complete with blood and tearing flesh. Her knight errant had always rescued her from some historical complication, Jane Austen-style. Someone wasn’t acting a gentleman or she had been humiliated in front of a room filled with The Ton, so he married her and they lived happily ever after. Not monsters, never Daemons in jeans and boots with long, shiny, dark hair.

She combed through her hair, left it to dry on its own, and got dressed. Clean and fresh-faced, she re-entered the bedroom. While she had been in the bathroom with her endlessly rambling thoughts, it seemed Nias had cleaned up as well and finished eating. Whatever it had been, he’d eaten it extremely rare and used a knife to cut through it. The plate and silverware looked almost as bloody as her skin was before she had cleansed it. What did he eat? God! Hopefully not humans!

But she dismissed that thought and joined him on a cozy sofa to get some far more important answers. The minute she sat down on the end of the couch he moved toward her.

Nias had eaten, but simply being around the girl made him ravenous.

“You look lovely clean and wet.” He did enjoy her covered in his blood and couldn’t wait to dirty her up again. He could think of several ways of accomplishing this goal, and, contemplating it, his arousal started to thicken. There would be plenty of time for that. He wasn’t letting her leave any time soon, if ever. There was a long, nasty road in front of them; he still needed to prepare her if they had any chance of staying alive. But if they did survive, he just might keep her permanently.

He mentally shook his head to center himself again; she had him off-kilter. He needed to focus on the task at hand. Their journey would begin soon enough.

“Okay, I’m listening. I know you have questions.”

“What the fuck were those things that abducted and hurt me? Why did they do it? What happened with your blood? I can tell it made my cuts feel better, but why? And is it my imagination or are they almost healed? Where exactly are we? What are you exactly? Although I’m not sure I want to know because I really don’t want to get any more involved? When you keep saying I have to train, what could that possibly mean? When I leave, will they come after me again? And why the hell do you keep calling me Kitten?”

“Hum, where to begin, let’s start with Kitten. I call you,” he leaned forward without thinking and placed his mouth to her full, pink lips, his tongue slowly licking the seam between them, “… Kitten, because you are soft and beautiful.” He leaned in again to taste her opening slightly during the connection and giving her mouth the brilliant idea to do the same, allowing him to slide through and drink her in a bit. She let out a tiny raspy moan, which caused an immediate pulsing at his groin. He connected to her eyes and continued, “And when I touch you, you purr.” This time when he kissed her his mouth opened fully and his tongue found its way back in. He allowed his hair to fall forward over his shoulder enfold her into him. She closed her eyes, beginning to enjoy the feel of him again, and then he heard the sound that made him lose control, purrrr.

Chapter 6

“Hey,” she protested in more of a whisper rather than the shout she had intended. “Hey.” The same whisper forming only slightly louder this time. Fighting her own seemingly unstoppable need, she unclasped herself from his warm, full lips. His eyes caught hers again and those amazing lips formed a quirk, shooting a flame of desire through her. Push though this Jade, she said to herself, you need to get some answers and find a way to get back home.

“Don’t try to distract me. I want answers and I intend on having them.” As much as it pained her, she finally did move away from him. Being the fiend he was he dropped his fingertips to the skin of her arm and ran his nails down her bicep, over the sensitive, easily aroused softness of her inner elbow, and scraped it off the end of her hand and fingers. Goose bumps exploded across her arms and legs which made her shiver and feel a bit dizzy.

Shaking her head, she pressed forward, trying to get her frustration to the forefront. “Kitten, huh? That is real cute; you gave me a pet name. One of an actual pet. Why is it I feel that is completely appropriate? You stroke me and I unconditionally respond. Do I even have free will here or is this some kind of sexual trance thing?”

“My siblings and I have a strong sexual force about us, this is true. But it is not who I am, it is what you want,” he grinned flashing perfect straight white teeth. “I’m not using any magic on you.”

Magic now? But then how else to explain what I’ve seen, unless I’m completely hallucinating. “I’m not sure what to make of that answer. I’m going to consider it, and get back to you with my opinion.”

“I’m quite sure you will,” he chuckled with amusement, in that infernal sardonic tone.

“For now, I would appreciate it if you took your sexual force to the opposite end of the couch. So I can concentrate. Yes, I said for now; let it go, Smiley.” Jade crossed her arms, letting out an exasperated huff.

He moved his hands to the couch and pushed his gorgeous body away from her, stretching his legs up on the coffee table in front of him.

“Next question?”

The intoxicating human sat up straighter, her breasts heaving forward during the movement, making him stifle a growl. Then she crossed her legs underneath her on the sofa. He was still staring when her hand went up into her mane of red curls and took a lock between her fingers, twirling the strand the same way he had seen her do it at the bookstore.

“Why are we at your brother’s house and not yours?” It was ridiculous, the woman had him staring and losing his concentration. I am a warrior, not an adolescent chasing my first little girl. He looked at her and answered her question.

“Phaeton is the current Sovereign; this place is more of a compound than anything. He is in charge of the Djinn Sentry. Many of them live on this property. Because of their presence, and some other magic surrounding it, we are safe here. We will also conduct your training here.” He was now fully intent on getting down to business, having pushed aside the stirring within him.

“Okay, what is the training and what would I be training for?” Her gaze followed him back and forth, taking in the change in his demeanor.

“Maybe you would like to eat before we continue, your food is cooling and this answer may be extensive. I wouldn’t want to burden you with it on an empty stomach.”

He removed his feet from the coffee table and walked across the room to bring a covered tray and water to her. She found a hearty beef soup and fresh bread.

“I had it made for you while you were in the shower.”

“That was really nice, actually.” He was pleased he had done something right. For some reason he cared what she thought. He placed a glass of water in front of her as well. “You don’t drink water? You don’t eat either, do you? I know you pretend when you’re with me, but you never really eat anything. Do you eat regular food?”

He gave her a droll, blank stare like he had no intention of answering, which made her even more curious.

“No, really, are you like a vampire? Do you drink blood but you don’t want to freak me out?” She needed to have this conversation. It was scary to her that she didn’t even know what the hell the man, whom she had just let cover her in blood, ate. “Do you eat flesh, bloody flesh? Your plate looks a little gooey.” She wanted to close her ears and not get this answer; this might be the perfect time for her “ignorance is bliss” theory. But she had already asked and it looked like he might answer.

“I eat uncooked food. I am a strict carnivore.” He lifted his hand to her before she could react. “No not human flesh, I protect humans. As for the other question you asked the answer is yes. I can get as much strength and far more pleasure from blood as from meats. And as for the next question you are going to ask, yes, I could and would love to drink from you; and I can be quite creative in where I choose to drink from.” He gave her a wicked smile that made her legs cross and squeeze together at the top, and her areolas tighten in response. He was male perfection, even in the middle of this nightmare. He continued in that delicious, melodic tone only he possessed, “You my sweet, dirty girl, would love it. I have an extremely potent sense of smell and your blood smells divine.” He ran his nails up the inside of her tightly squeezed and blessedly covered thigh. Jade inhaled deeply and thought about how demented she had become, because she considered how much she might enjoy it.

She got up in order to sit on the coffee table, keeping herself out of his reach. As she buried herself in her food, not trusting herself to even speak to him at the moment, he watched her in silence.

As she was eating, he tried to explain what he was to her. If he wanted to move forward with Jade’s help he felt she deserved a few answers. He could, at least, give her that. He suddenly thought about risking her life and he realized he no longer felt so eager to do it. This woman he had known for a day seemed a little more important to him than she should.

“I am a Daemon, one of two kinds; my kind is called the Djinn. The monsters that abducted and harmed you earlier are Shaitan. You were extremely lucky, because they enjoy inflicting pain. The fact it only scratched you means they were after something and needed you coherent to get it. I won’t go on. Hopefully you will never learn the full extent of their depravity.”

He could see goose bumps form on her flesh and then watched her shudder.

She changed direction on him with her next question. “Okay, I’ll focus on you for now, you’ve been blinking me around the country; your blood stops my pain. What other powers or abilities, or whatever, do you have?”

“We call ‘blinking’, as you say, transcending; we can move anywhere instantly, we only need to know where it is we want to go and we arrive, anywhere above ground. Also we can control fire and weather and have acute smell and hearing, which we used to find you earlier.” He purposely left out the part on how their emotions could sometimes affect both fire and weather without their conscious thought – there was no need to add that to her apprehension. “However, none of this works in Sheol, which is why we have to move in on foot.”

“Where is this Sheol? I heard you mention it to that woman, if that’s what she was. Your brother is being kept there, right? By the Shaitan? Are you sure he’s still alive? I’m so sorry to ask you, but from what you’re telling me they seem more than a little dangerous.”

He paused, his face darkening. She had asked something he didn’t want to consider at all. “No, I’m not absolutely positive he’s still alive.” He said it that way because he refused to believe anything different.

“But they took him for a reason. He isn’t directly connected with the Sentry. He is a free spirit. Joss lives his life separately from us, like I was trying to do before he was taken. Until they let us know their intentions we are confident they won’t end him. But they are sure to damage him physically and psychologically over time, so we need to train you and move in as quickly as possible. Iblis, the father and Lord of Sheol, is given the souls of the worst of human life. He punishes them in ways I do not wish to speak of. Your murderers, pedophiles, those who torture and cause pain to others during their time above ground, also those who decide to take their own lives; they all end up there.” He could feel the pain of this last answer and the memories it dredged up, and wanted to move away from it quickly.

“Centuries ago, Djinn and Shaitan inhabited Sheol together. But we saw how the Shaitan had begun to trick humans and lead them to slaughter, forcing them to the Unseen. So we left to try to protect them …”

Jade practically flew off the table, obviously stunned, and began to completely come undone.

“You mean Hell don’t you? Because you’re a Daemon and you come from freaking Hell, right? You are telling me you used to live in Hell and then you and some of the others, after hundreds of years, millennia, possibly; you and the other Djinn finally decided it wasn’t okay that the Shaitan, the monsters that abducted me, are minions of an even more evil thing, this Iblis. That they abduct innocent humans and torture them, in ways I can’t even fathom, for eternity. Call it what you will. But you want me to go with you into the pits of HELL and get your brother. Am I getting all this straight? This is your plan? And you really think it will work? With me? I am the one to help YOU get through Hell? I think I’ll just take my chances with the Shaitan above ground if that’s okay with you; well even if it isn’t, I’m fucking out.”

He was a little speechless. Nias could not remember another time in his life when he actually was at a loss for words. But here he sat. He watched her head for the door, which led to the hallway, tracking her as she stalked across the room. She was attempting to leave. He knew there was no way she could get out of the house, much less the compound, without him, so he let her go for now, to give her some time to cool off. Then he would go find her and start again. Eventually she would either begin to accept her circumstances or she wouldn’t. Either way he would get her to cooperate.

As Jade walked swiftly to the door of the bedroom she had expected Nias to grab her and stop her at any moment, but he hadn’t. She walked into the hallway and then broke into more of a run when she realized the possibility of getting free. Her mind was moving even faster than her body. I can’t believe I let myself get taken in by him! He wants to take me to Hell! Why in the world would he think I would ever even consider that? He was just using me! That’s it. Just another asshole who treats women like something they can own, possess, control.

As her mind railed and she searched for a way out, her breathing became heavy. The hallways seemed to go on forever! She passed door after door. Through the open ones she saw bedrooms, bathrooms, rooms that she had no idea what their use was. She tried a few of the closed ones. Some were locked, but those that weren’t simply revealed more of the same. No way out! She tried to regain her composure; she needed to calm down. Eventually she came to a stairway, which led both up and down. She headed down, hoping to find a door, any door, out of this gigantic house.