Alistair’s Bed (3 page)

“Aye, I am new, my name is Alistair.” She could hear the laughter barely restrained in his voice as he leaned down to kiss her again. “I thought you needed a bit of help back there.”

“I did, thank you.” She reached up to his cheek to cup it gently. “I like this ending much better.” He kissed her a third time, this time holding nothing back as his lips slanted over hers, laying claim to them with a kiss that sent her heart racing.

“I promise this isn’t the end, just the beginning.” He pulled back just enough for them to catch their breath, his hands gliding over her shoulders and down to cup her naked breasts. “I want to savor you, taste you.” He stole another kiss from her lips before letting his mouth wander, blazing fiery trails along her jaw and down towards her captured breasts. “May I Keri, please?”

Her body answered before she could dare speak the words, arching herself up to him in clear invitation even as her fingers tangled in his dark hair, tugging his mouth nearer.

“Say it Keri, say the words.” He urged her, his breath warm as it flowed over her bare skin.

“Please, taste me.”

Heat flared in his eyes at her words. “Taste me Alistair.” He prompted her.

“Alistair please.” She whispered her plea, “Taste me, touch me.”

His head dropped to her breasts, nibbling and nuzzling them with a low groan. “So sweet.” He drew one hardening nipple deep into the heat of his mouth, teasing her with his tongue. “You are making me hungry Keri.” He muttered against her skin. With one last flick of his tongue he released her breast and moved to the other one his movement bringing his rapidly hardening cock up against her hip.

She shifted her body, turning so her soft thigh brushed against his hot, hard length. Her hips moved slowly, their bodies brushing together with a light friction that only made her crave more of him. He groaned, apparently unable to resist her unspoken invitation as his hand left her breast to glide down her body. Flank, hip, thigh, his fingers slowly circling back up to brush against the soft curls at the apex of her thighs. “Yes, please.” Keri heard the decadent words and realized she had spoken them aloud.

Her dream lover tore his lips from her breast as his fingers moved to part her folds, stroking her with bold confidence as he found her mouth with his and branded it with a kiss that stole the breath from her lungs. She opened her mouth to his, her tongue darting past his lips to taste the dark cavern of his mouth.

“Alistair.” Keri whispered his name against his lips, arching her sex into his questing fingers. He nodded in understanding and slipped his fingers deeper into the slick heat of her folds, pressing into her clit with his fingertips. She moaned and bucked against his hand again, increasing the pressure. Desire bloomed deep within her, a firestorm of need for his touch, for his lips. His fingers slid deeper still, burying themselves in her channel and she cried out as an orgasm ripped through her without warning. Nothing had ever felt like this, waking or dreaming.

He kissed her again, his mouth drawing in her low moans of pleasure as if he were savoring each and every one. It was though he were feeding on her sighs, drinking her in like a fine wine. While her inner walls still pulsed around his fingers his thumb sought out the hidden pearl of her clitoris and stroked it firmly, sending another ripple of need through her body.

Keri panted and mewled as he touched her, her fingers skimming across the flat planes of his chest, tracing the hard lines of muscle under his skin. She lowered her lips to his shoulder, drawing in his scent; a subtle mix of spices and musk. His mouth stole downward again, leaving her lips to brand a chain of kisses back to her breasts. He buried his face between them, drawing another soft cry of need from her sweet mouth as his warm breath fanned over her skin.

He moved lower, over the lush curve of her stomach and down until his breath flowed over the fiery red curls that hid her mound. He inhaled her sharply as his fingers moved, withdrawing to expose her every secret to his gaze.

“Beautiful.” He whispered and then his mouth was busy, his thumb replaced by the insistent rasp of his tongue over her clit.

Pleasure shot through her and Keri’s fingers tightened, her nail’s raking along his shoulders as she felt another orgasm build. He drew her clit into his mouth and groaned, the vibrations only adding to her pleasure. His fingers slid into her tight passage and she shuddered, arching into him with a soft cry as his fingers found their target. His tongue swirled around her clitoris again and again and then she was lost, falling into a whirlwind of pleasure that stole her breath and left her dizzy and dazed. Her eyes fluttered opened and she gasped as she stared into his eyes as they flared golden and amber with heat.

“Give yourself to me sweet Keri.” His voice was a low growl full of need as he stared down at her, his body covering hers.

“Given, granted, yes.” She babbled, laughing as her arms wrapped around his neck and she drew him down and kissed him. “My dream lover, you can have me anytime you like.”

Amusement glittered in his eyes as he returned her kiss, his tongue twining with hers as he eased himself into the cradle of her thighs, one hand resting on her knee, coaxing her to wrap her leg around his hips. Thick and heavy he pressed against her, teasing them both as he spread her sex and then withdrew, only to arch his hips into her again. Again and again he teased her, each time pressing deeper before withdrawing.

Soon she was panting, aching for him to take her completely. As he tried to withdraw again she flexed her legs and arched her back, impaling herself on his cock until he was buried to the base. With a wild cry of triumph she grinned up at him, her vaginal walls holding him tightly as she locked her legs tighter around his hips.

“No more teasing, I can’t take it.”

“Aye, no more teasing.” He promised and kissed her smiling lips. “Now we let ourselves go.” Without any further warning he began to move, using his powerful physique to lift them both from the bed and then down again, driving himself deeper.

She loosened her thighs, opening space between them, space he reclaimed with every eager thrust of his hips. Around them the dream world blurred into a background of color and light, collapsing into a bubble where only the two of them existed, entwined and racing towards ecstasy.

Every thrust drove Keri further into bliss, her body completely filled by Alistair’s impressive cock. She moaned, lifting her head to press a kiss his shoulder, craving the taste of him. Deep in her body she could feel him, hard as marble as he sheathed himself. He groaned again, “I could stay here, inside you forever.”

His thrusts grew faster, harder, and Keri watched the expression on his face grow more intense as he reached the limits of control just as she broke and went tumbling into the abyss. She heard herself cry out his name and then her world exploded into sensation and color and she was lost to everything but the pleasure coursing through her. A moment later he thrust into her and shuddered as he came, his roars of satisfaction as he emptied himself into her womb turning to a roar of rage and denial that quickly faded away as the dream came to an end and he was gone.

Keri woke up, stunned. Her heart pounded and she still felt the echoes of the orgasm she’d just had. “That was one hell of a dream.” She muttered dazedly as she sat up and stretched. The sun was still bright outside her window and she realized that she’d not been asleep more than an hour or so.

She rose and tugged on fresh clothing, still in a bit of a daze. She knew she needed groceries, so she dragged her hair back into a ponytail and headed into town.

All through the drive her thoughts kept circling back to a haunting image of dark hair and golden eyes, watching her.

***

CHAPTER 3

Alistair rested in the void, gathering his newly found strength. Keri had left the small area he could sense, leaving him alone once more. He had felt her energy dancing in his awareness like a firefly in the dark, and now that she was gone he missed her presence. He laughed at himself, the captive daemon waiting in the darkness for a mere human to return. How the mighty had fallen.

There had been a time he had travelled throughout this world and others, nearly drunk with the power he had consumed as he seduced mortal woman after mortal woman. There had been so many, their names and faces had blurred. Everywhere he’d gone there had been willing partners, cloistered daughters and young brides married to old men who could not please them. They’d been so ripe, so full of untapped passions; each one had increased his power and added to his abilities.

And now he lay here, alone and waiting for a single woman to come back to him, so weak he could not even exist in her world long enough to seduce her properly.

He stopped his thoughts and quieted his mind, assessing his strength. Not strong enough to stay in her world, no.

Yet—
he willed himself to shift planes, felt the tingle as he passed through the veil and stepped into Keri’s room. He drew in a lungful of air and grinned as his senses adjusted to a world of light and scent and sound.
By Styx I’ve missed this!
He turned and looked at the bed, his eyes glittering with hatred as he ran a hand over a carved column. He’d forgotten what his prison looked like from this side.

He could feel the magic flow beneath his fingers, spells imbued throughout the wood and metal to form a cage he had never been able to escape. Alistair dropped his hand and stepped away from the bed, testing the limits of his prison. Sure enough, five strides from the bed he hit a magical barrier that would not give way. Still, it was better than the void.

He checked his reserves, knowing the small amount of energy he’d gained from his dream encounter with Keri wasn’t going to let him to stay long. The dream world was too insubstantial for that sort of feeding. Still, it was a good beginning, his first true seduction in two centuries or so.

He explored her room, amazed at the contents of her closet and dresser. So many colors and half a dozen fabrics he had never seen before. A grin flickered over his lips as he discovered a drawer full of nothing but lace and satin lingerie. Whatever else had happened while he was lost to the world, woman’s fashions had certainly gotten more interesting.

He lifted his eyes to the mirror over her dresser, seeing himself for the first time. He usually crafted his image to suit the needs of the woman he was targeting, changing his appearance to become what they most desired in a man. It was instinctive, and yet as he gazed into his reflection he realized this time he had appeared as he truly was. He ran a hand over his brow and chuckled
. Well, almost as he truly was.
His instincts still had sense enough to hide the jet black horns that normally rose from his hair line and curved back into dark hair. Some things a woman just wouldn’t understand.

There was very little else in the room, no mementos and only a few feminine touches; a painting of a vibrant meadow on one wall, a portrait of an older woman set in a silver frame on the dresser, and little more. This woman was not someone who needed material things. Alistair took one last look around the room before shifting again, returning to the void. He remembered her nightmare and the pain he’d sensed when he touched her thoughts. No, whatever Keri yearned for in her life, it wasn’t tied to money or objects. Given she was now the only hope he had of breaking free, he’d have to find out what she needed and offer it to her in exchange for his freedom.

*****

It had totally slipped her mind that Saturday was market day in Ganges, and Keri spent several happy hours wandering from stall to stall, sampling bits of this and that and speaking to the artists and farmers who had gathered to sell their wares.

She had forgotten how much fun it was to wander, and several times the artisans had recognized her, welcoming her back to the island. Two of them had helped teach Keri how to carve wood when she was a girl, and they both expressed hopes she’d reopen her grandmother’s workshop and continue the family tradition. Though she had made them no promises, it helped her to know she’d be welcome back to the fold if she did take up the family craft again.

It was late afternoon when she drove home, her car laden down with food, some new crockery and the most beautiful tapestry she’d ever seen. The hand-spun yarn had been knotted and woven to create a stretch of wild and lonely seashore.

The waves seemed almost ready to crash down at any moment on the rocks that rose up out of the surf. Arbutus trees framed the shoreline, their trunks twisted by the wind into strange, stunted shapes. When Keri had bought it the weaver had told her it was inspired by a real beach on the island and had given her directions, assuring her it was worth the trek down through the woods to find.

It had taken several trips to get all her purchases into the house, and Keri laughed at herself as she eyed the heaps of food she’d bought. “Enough to feed an army, what was I thinking?” She busied herself finding room for it all, stuffing both the fridge and the pantry before she was done.

Inspired by her purchases, she cooked one of her grandmother’s favorite recipes, a simple but savory casserole that filled the whole house with its fragrance and reminded her of times long past. Still feeling energized, she baked two raspberry crumbles, leaving them to cool on the counter top as she tucked into her dinner.

“A few weeks of this and you’re going to need to buy a treadmill!” She poked at the soft curve of her stomach and shook her head. “Or a whole new wardrobe, something with elastic waistbands and the dimensions of a pup tent.”

By ten o’clock she was nestled into a hot bubble bath with her second glass of wine, the scent of molten beeswax blending with the night blooming jasmine that grew outside the bathroom window. Keri half dozed in the tub, her mind replaying the amazingly detailed dream she’d had that afternoon.

He’d had black hair that curled down to brush the top of the finest pair of shoulders she had ever seen, falling into his eyes in a way that made her fingers itch to sweep it to one side. A dusting of dark hairs covered his chest, tapering down over a well defined six pack to the largest cock she’d ever seen.
Definitely a dream man
, she laughed to herself as she let the warm water and wine do their magic.