Dreamer (31 page)

She debated how to strike, what she should do to make sure
that her heart and mind believed that he was really dead. If she tried to run
it through his heart and missed, she wouldn't be able to try again. It had to be
something permanent, something that couldn't be mistaken for anything but
death.

A sob ripped out of her chest as she moved behind him. He
flinched at the raw sound, but said nothing. The mark on her back gently
flared, but she pushed her goddess away and tried to close herself off to that
gentle touch.

This was her gift to her father.

With every bit of mental strength she possessed, she
knew
the sword was razor sharp and that
nothing could resist its steel kiss. Flesh would part beneath it as easily as melted
butter. She raised the sword with a quick jerk of her hands and sliced it
sideways.

Right before the blade hit his neck, she closed her eyes and
heard him say one final word like a benediction of love. “Liu.”

When reality returned in a painful rush of the smell of the
hospital and the sounds of voices she refused to open her eyes and cried.
People said her name, but she ignored them all, curling around herself and
sobbing. Someone picked her up, and she struggled wildly against their hold.

“Shan,” a familiar man whispered that burned a path of
warmth and love through her body. She was being held against a solid chest, and
the scent of desert spice wrapped around her. Only one man in the world smelled
this good and had a voice like chocolate.

“Devon.” Her voice came out in a strangled croak, and she
cleared her throat. “I did it.”

“I know.” His body rocked beneath hers as he carried her out
the door. The bright lights of the hallway shone on her closed lids. She opened
her eyes long enough to see Malik nodding at Devon and holding the door to a
dark room open for them. His lower lip was swollen, and he had a black eye.

The door shut behind them, and Devon moved in the darkness
with her cradled in his arms. They must have been in some kind of break room
because the couch they sat on smelled like ancient coffee as he shifted her in
his arms. The absolute love of his aura wrapped around her like a blanket, and
she shivered against him.

A thin beam of light shone from the crack around the door,
and after a while, her eyes adjusted to the dim illumination. She could make
out a battered TV, some chairs, and a mini fridge in the corner. Her mind was
strangely empty, and she realized she had been staring at the door for a long
time. Not thinking was so comfortable. She wanted to sit in the dark with Devon
forever. “The children?”

“Beginning to wake up. A few had to fight to regain their
bodies before their demon was banished, but for the most part, they had no idea
what was going on.” He kept his voice casual, but she felt him tense beneath
her cheek. “They all reported that they had the most wonderful dreams.”

Instead of answering, she nodded against his chest. It made
her feel better to know her father had been telling the truth about that.
“Good.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” His hand smoothed slow and
soft circles on her thigh, bringing her a deep sense of comfort.

“No. Maybe someday, but not now.”

She waited for him to press, but he merely said, “Okay.”

A tension she hadn't been aware she was carrying left her as
she realized he meant it. He trusted her to talk to him about it when she was
ready. Maybe someday she could even get up the nerve to tell him, but not
today. Right now, all she wanted to do was cherish the gift of his love.

More time passed, broken only by the occasional knock at the
door and Devon yelling at them to go away. Muffled voices traveled through the
hall, and when she heard the first happy laughter of a child, something in her
heart began to heal. She hoped that wherever Zachary was now her mother was
with him.

Devon shifted beneath her as she sat up and wiped her face
with the edge of her shirt. “While I love cuddling with you in the dark, I
can't hide in here forever.”

He laughed and swung her to her feet, giving her a sound
kiss on the lips that sent a flicker of fire through her. “I was so worried
about you. It killed me not to be able to go with you, to protect you.”

Tracing her fingertips over the solid muscle of his jaw, she
said, “I love you.”

His happy sigh made her giggle. “I love you too. Now let's
get out of here before Nina breaks the door down. While you were sleeping, she
gave me a blistering lecture about all the things she would do to me if I ever
hurt you. You seriously never want to piss off a High Priestess of Aphrodite.
She threatened to beseech her goddess to take the… uh...magic out of my wand.”

She laughed again and entwined her fingers in his. “Did she
threaten to take the wood out of your twig?”

“Twig? When we get home, I'll remind you of what a mighty
redwood I have.”

They stopped before the closed door, and the beam of light
illuminated the side of his face. Gods, he was handsome, and all hers. But that
didn't mean she had to make it too easy on him. After all, she enjoyed his
punishments far too much. And, right now, she needed the comfort, the oblivious
joy of making love with him. “You think you're coming home with me?”

He studied her, and his full lips curved into a wicked
smile. “Kitten, you are my home. I'm afraid you’re stuck with me.”

She rolled her eyes, but the delight poured through her
voice as she said, “Wow, aren't you romantic? Sheesh, we'll have to work on
your—”

He moved so quick that she wasn't even aware of it until his
lips claimed hers. Strong and demanding, he took her mouth in a kiss that made
her clit swell in anticipation. The stroke of his tongue demanded entrance into
her mouth, and she gladly opened for him. Their auras stroked and swirled
against each other until she had him pressed up the door and was sliding her leg
over his hip. She rocked her hips against his hard cock until they were both
gasping.

“Ever done it in a hospital?” she asked and fumbled with his
belt.

“Nope, you?”

“Not yet.”

He tugged at her shirt until he could slip his hand beneath.
Her bra was quickly shoved over to the side, and his fingers found her nipples.
Giving them a hard pinch that left her gasping, he groaned as she pulled his
cock out of his pants and wrapped her fingers around it. Their movements were
rushed and demanding—she loved it.

Her pants got tossed into the darkness behind her, and he
slid down the door until his back pressed against the door. Climbing onto his
lap, she grabbed his cock and pressed it against her entrance. It took a great
deal of willpower not to scream as he slid into her. She rocked against him,
wrapped in his arms as he lifted his hips ever so slightly beneath hers. They
fit perfectly together.

“I love you,” he whispered against her neck.

Arching back, she let out a soft cry as his hand worked in
between them and began to stroke her clit in rhythm to her thrusts. Their auras
flared together, wrapping around each other and cocooning them in brilliant
reds and pinks. The streaks of gold lighting in their energy flared as they
touched and she groaned out her pleasure. Her body clenched around his dick,
and he dug the nails of his other hand into her bottom, hard enough to sting.
So good. He knew just the right amount of pain to give her.

Urging her faster, he began to talk dirty to her in a low
voice that sounded almost like a growl. “Fuck me, Kitten. Use my cock to make
yourself come. Your little pussy is so hot around me, so tight, I want to fill
you up while you scream.”

The knowledge that they could be interrupted at any moment
added a spice to their lovemaking that had her speeding up on top of him. His
nails digging into her bottom urged her on until she was snapping her hips
against him. Every scrape of his cock inside of her notched her pleasure up
until she was making little wordless noises of need. Right now she didn't care
who heard them. She wanted to come.

He slipped his hand over her mouth, muffling her while his
other hand worked her clit. She froze and ground against him, getting him as
deep as she could while she hovered on the edge. One final hard pinch on her
swollen bundle of nerves and she was enveloped in a throbbing pleasure that had
her screaming against his hand.

“Fuck,” he said in a low whisper as his cock jerked inside
of her. She slumped against him and slowly rubbed her face back and forth on his
chest, losing herself in his embrace as he grew soft inside of her.

He tried to speak and had to clear his throat before saying,
“We should probably get dressed. Malik was nice enough to shield the room, but
I'm sure he's got better things to do.”

“What?” She lifted herself off him and scrambled in the dark
for her pants. “He could hear us?”

His dark chuckle confirmed her fears, and she shot him a
dirty look as she tugged on her jeans. “We'll have to explore your
exhibitionist streak. Gods know I would love to spank you until you came in a
screaming orgasm at the Steel Chalice.”

She blushed and pushed past him to the door as he finished
buckling his pants. “As if.”

“Was that a challenge?”

“Uh…” She ducked out the door before he got a hold of her.
When he said something in that tone of voice, she knew she was in trouble in a
very good way.

Malik stood to the side of the door when she came out and
gave her a quick head-to-toe look. When he looked into her eyes, she wanted to
sock him because of the laughter she saw dancing in them.

“Glad you two came out. I was running out of excuses for
keeping the staff out of their lockers.”

Devon wrapped his arms around her and placed a kiss on her
head. “I owe you one.”

Malik snorted. “You owe me more than one. Remember, I saw
her first.”

Shan looked at Devon. “What?”

Devon whispered back, “I'll tell you later. It's a long
story, and I want to check on Daisy and then I want to go home, with you.”

His words warmed her heart, and she smiled up at him while
Malik made a rude noise. “Home,” she repeated with a pleased smile.

“Wherever you are, that's where my heart will be.”

They ignored Malik and shared a long kiss that had the staff
of the hospital clapping and cheering.

A
Thank you from Fated Desires

Thank
you so much for reading
Dreamer
!
We’re so happy that you had a chance to look into the fantasy world of The
Chosen. We do hope if you liked this, that you would please leave a review from
where you purchased this or on another platform. Not only does a review spread
the word to other readers, they let us know if you’d like to see more stories
like this from us. Ann loves to hear from readers and talks to them when she
can. You can reach her through her website and through her Facebook and Twitter
accounts. You guys are the reason we get to do what we do and we thank you.

If you
are looking for more stories like these, you don’t have to wait much longer!
Ann is cooking up new works in this series and a few others. Also, we have a
few new authors coming that will be sure to whet your appetite.

If
you’d like to know more about Fated Desires, check out our website or email us
at [email protected].

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About the
Author

With over thirty published books, Ann is Queen of the Castle
to her wonderful husband and three sons in the mountains of West Virginia. In
her past lives she's been an Import Broker, a Communications Specialist, a US
Navy Civilian Contractor, a Bartender/Waitress, and an actor at the Michigan
Renaissance Festival. She also spent a summer touring with the Grateful
Dead-though she will deny to her children that it ever happened.

From a young age she's been fascinated by myths and
fairytales, and the romance that was often the center of the story. As Ann grew
older and her hormones kicked in, she discovered trashy romance novels. Great
at first, but she soon grew tired of the endless stories with a big wonderful
emotional buildup to really short and crappy sex. Never a big fan of purple
prose, throbbing spears of fleshy pleasure and wet honey pots make her giggle,
she sought out books that gave the sex scenes in the story just as much detail
and plot as everything else-without using cringe worthy euphemisms. This led
her to the wonderful world of Erotic Romance, and she's never looked back.

Now Ann spends her days trying to tune out cartoons playing
in the background to get into her 'sexy space' and has accepted that her Muse
has a severe case of ADD.

Ann loves to talk with her fans, as long as they realize
she's weird and that sarcasm doesn't translate well via text.