Weaver of Dreams (15 page)

With the adrenaline abating now that the fight was over, he felt as bad as he looked. His energy spent, he needed to replenish his strength or he wouldn’t have enough energy to work his magick on the portal back to his dimension.

Zane needed to feed and if it allowed him to have one last dream with Maggie, then so much the better. He turned toward the bed.

Zane move closer to the bed and noted her body had stilled with the link to Amnon broken. She looked contented, peaceful. The sight made his heart clench in his chest. Maggie’s eyes moved erratically beneath her closed lids. She was still dreaming, and by her look it seemed to be a pleasant dream. The thought pleased Zane more than it should.

A smile began to take his face, but quickly disappeared when the slight movement of his mouth sent pain spearing through his split lip. He shouldn’t have to expend too much energy to shape a positive dream, and given his current physical condition, that was a very good thing.

Feeling the tiredness in his bones, he lay beside her, stretching out the length of the bed. His eyes roamed Maggie’s face. Her bones stood out against the hollows of her cheeks. He ran a finger over the freckles on her tiny nose. It came to rest on her full lips. He traced them with the pad of his thumb, the bottom one opened in response.

Zane’s stomach twisted in his gut from hunger. Hunger for energy? Hunger for her? He wasn’t exactly sure which. Probably both, if he was to be honest with himself.

Her hair, damp with perspiration from her nightmare, stuck to her cheeks and neck at the most interesting angles. Zane pulled it away from her body, laying it out around her head on her pillow, making her look like she floated underwater.

That gave him an idea.

Zane laid his head on the pillow next to hers and rested his hand on her forehead. He closed his eyes in concentration, then pushed into her mind.

Instantly, clouds pillowed his feet. He looked down. The soft cottony haze swirled around his legs, so thick it felt like tiny fingers caressing him. In the sky, violets and pinks mixed with just enough orange to indicate it was sunrise. The colors streaked across the sky swirling around each other in a striking dance. They appeared to melt into the water below. The reflection muted the colors, made them even more dreamlike and soft. As enticing as they were, they could not keep his attention from the form in the water . . .

Maggie floated on her back with her breasts thrusting out of the water. She held her arms straight out from her sides, so she resembled a T. Her thin form, bobbed with each rolling wave. Each time she crested, the ocean blessed Zane with a view of her shapely legs, just visible beneath the water.

Most people would be swallowed by the large expanse of ocean, but not Maggie. She floated larger than life, right in the middle. The rest of the dreamscape fell away, leaving only her.

With a thought, he appeared beside her, dressed only in a pair of swim trunks. The tepid water surrounded his body, its soothing rocking and warmth did nothing to help his lassitude. He needed to kick this dream up a notch so his physical form could feed on Maggie’s emotional energy or his weariness might just pull him under—literally.

Zane created an island behind them with lush tropical palms and thick green foliage. Brightly colored seashells sprinkled the pristine, white sand on the shore. He made the sun crest just over the tops of the palms then added anthuriums, hibiscus, and orchids in an array of colors. As a final touch, he placed a few parrots in the trees to add another layer of color with their flamboyant feathers.

Satisfied, he took Maggie in his arms. She jerked against him in surprise, sending the water splashing over them. It dripped down her face, several drops pooling in the indention of her lips.

Zane bent toward her, licking at the tempting crevasse. Shock broke his intention of giving a kiss, and he pulled back to look down at the woman in his arms.

“The water is sweet,” he announced, earning a giggle. The sound flowed over him, velvet-soft and gentle.

“I wondered how long it would take you to show up, Blue Eyes.” Maggie looked up at him with trust in her eyes as she stilled in his arms. She trusted herself into his keeping, allowed his strength to keep her above the water. Her obvious conviction in his ability to keep her safe from harm humbled him.

“Miss me?” With a powerful kick of his leg, he pushed their bodies through the water toward the island.

“Always. Every time I go to sleep I hope you will come to me.”

“And why’s that?” His stomach knotted with hope while he waited for her reply.

“Because you are handsome.” She ran a hand down his cheek. “And you are strong.” Her hand traveled over his bicep.

“So you like my physical attributes.”

She smiled, showing her perfect, little white teeth. “Afraid I only like you for your body?” she teased.

She wrapped an arm around his neck as they reached the shore and he carried her from the water, not yet ready to let her out of his arms. “I’m glad you find me attractive, Maggie. Spirits know, I have the hots for you.”

“Do you only like me for my body?” She ran her hand down her body in a grand sweep which took in her slight curves. “I’m sure my boyish figure really turns you on.”

She didn’t find her body attractive. The realization surprised him. How could she think he might not be attracted to her? Had he not told her how beautiful he found her?

Well, she’d believe him now, he decided. With the threat to her destroyed, this would be their last time together. If he left her with nothing else it would be with the knowledge of what she meant to him.

“I happen to find your body anything but boyish.”

Lowering her feet to the sand, Zane watched the tiny droplets of water sluicing over her trim physique. His eyes tracked their sensual trail over her delicate form, watching as her skin pebbled with gooseflesh under his perusal. His belly tightened, and his body throbbed in response to the erotic sight of her. Zane’s heartbeat raced like a thoroughbred, galloping in his chest. The sight of her sent
desire sizzling through his blood, and made his knees go weak.

Zane knelt before her in the sand. His hands circled each of her slim ankles. “Your ankles are delicate and petite.”

He raised his hands, expanding over her calves to settle behind her knees. His fingers traced small circles on the tender skin, sending a shiver through her. Zane looked up at her, letting his passion for her burn in his eyes. “Your legs are shapely, your skin so smooth it feels like silk beneath my fingers.”

His hands ran up her outer thighs to capture her hips. “Your small curves entice me, especially when you move. I love the way your hips move when you walk.” He rolled her hips, made them sway seductively between his palms. His thumbs traced her hipbones over her bikini bottom.

He leaned forward, placing a kiss on her belly button. “Your flat tummy begs me to kiss it.”

His hands slid up her ribs, following the lines of her body. The pads of two fingers brushed the sides of her breast through the material of her top. She trembled.

Good. He obviously affected her as much as she affected him. Touching her, perusing her body so slowly, tortured him. His body felt tight, uncomfortably so, but he refused to act in haste, wanting to be sure she understood just how much he worshiped her. This would not be a quickie on the beach. He intended to take his time, build her passion slowly. And if it resulted in him enjoying her body as much as the emotions she fed to him, then all the better.

His hands cupped her breast, her small mounds not quite filling his palms. He lifted them, taking their slight weight into his hands as he gave them a gentle squeeze. Maggie arched into his touch, thrust her bosom into his hands. The movement brought her stomach closer to his face and his tongue darted out to circle her belly button.

A small mewling sound left her throat. Her hand reached down to grab the back of his head, her fingers threading through his short hair. She held him to her as he kissed her stomach. “Now this is what I call a dream,” she murmured.

Zane looked up to find her gazing down at him. Her statement brought a question to his mind, taking from him his lustful intentions for a moment. He pulled his hands from her breasts and stood. “Come here,” he commanded.

He took her hand, molding her fingers into the crook of his arm. His free hand captured her fingers, leading her toward the tropical forest. Maggie followed easily.

He liked the way she allowed him to lead. It pleased him she trusted herself into his care, as though she somehow knew he would never hurt her. After the nightmares she experienced, he found it unbelievable she trusted so willingly.

“Why do you trust me?” Zane asked, as they made their way through the thick foliage.

He fashioned a soft mat of moss for their bare feet. It created a path through the humid forest.

Maggie shrugged. “I just do.”

Not good enough
. He stopped their momentum. Capturing her shoulders between his hands, he turned her toward him.

“Tell me why,” he demanded gently, searching her doey gaze. He didn’t know why, but her answer mattered very much to him.

“I-I know you won’t hurt me.”

“How can you be sure? After all the nightmares you suffered, how do you know this dream won’t morph into hell?”

“Because you are here.” She ran the tips of her fingers over his bare chest. They traveled down to his waist then her arms encircled him in a loose hug. “I’m safe with you. I can see it in your eyes. You care about me.”

And there it was, out in the open, exposed like a flasher at the World Cup. Dammit, she’d nailed it. Great Spirits help him, but he did care. He cared more than he should about this human woman.

And Zane needed to know if it went both ways. “Do you care about me, Maggie?”

“Yes.”

The honesty he heard in her reply made his heart jump for joy. Zane believed her. He saw the emotions in her eyes, felt them surround his soul. The depths of her feelings washed over him. Her powerful combination of love and lust, fed him as they raised his libido.

His lips descended on hers in a passionate kiss. Zane’s hands slid over her shoulder to her back, drew her to him. She melded against him, tightening her arms around his waist. He reveled in the feel of the fit of her body against his. Her soft planes were a welcoming contrast to the hardness of his form.

Maggie deepened their kiss. Their tongues danced between their mouths, each seeking dominance. She tasted him completely, leaving no crevasse untried and pushed herself closer, harder against him, as if she wanted to crawl inside.

She wantonly rubbed her pelvis against his groin in blatant invitation. His hand grabbed her bottom to push her closer. Harder she ground against him, sending a wave of desire through his blood, so hot flames licked along his skin. Her passion devoured him, ignited a burning that consumed him in a conflagration of sensation.

“I want you, Maggie. I need to be inside you.”

Her response came not in words but deed, as a hammock suddenly appeared between two of the palm trees
.

She wanted him as much as he wanted her. He smiled at the hammock she created watching it sway in the breeze. The Cheshire cat grin on her face told him she had purposely created it.

Zane quirked a brow. “Nice touch,” he said, glancing at the hammock . . .

She graced him with a genuine, heart-stopping smile. “I thought so. What say we put it to good use?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

He laced her fingers in his and led her to the hammock. After conjuring a goose down pillow to run the length of the hammock for her comfort, he eased her down.

Rose petals fell around them like a light rain. The smell of the magnolias surrounded them to combine with the heady scent of woman. Zane stood over her, his eyes drinking her in. One of her arms rested above her head, the other lay over her stomach. Her hair flowed out over the down pillow. The sunlight from above created highlights of blonde and red.

Her chartreuse eyes sparkled with passion as they looked at him. Her plump, ruby lips parted slightly, before her tongue darted out to moisten them. He tracked the movement with his eyes. It was the sexiest thing he had ever seen.

She
was the sexiest thing he had ever seen. She looked like a goddess lying before him.

His fingers reached behind her neck. A quick tug released the strings of her bikini, but he left them dangling behind her back. His hands slid over her shoulders. The thick fingers of his hands traced the tops of both breasts as they made their way behind her back to find another set of strings. He gave them a quick tug.

Zane went slowly, wanting, needing to savor this time with her. He grasped the strings about her neck and pulled them away from her, dragging the bikini top down to expose her breasts.

Her nipples pebbled in greeting when the air hit them. Zane dropped the top to the ground and took one of the hard points between his finger and thumb. His mouth found the other tip while he gently twisted the first, making Maggie arch under the ministrations. Zane suckled at her bosom, took the creamy mound as deep as his mouth would allow. He drew in hard, his cheeks going concave, soliciting a moan from Maggie in response. The sound, a sexy, wanton melody, called to him.

His hand left her breast to roam down her curves. The bumps of each rib and the soft contours of her stomach passed below his fingers, before his hand found what he sought. His fingers closed around the material of her swimsuit and pulled it down her legs. She shifted to help him remove the offensive material, causing the hammock to swing slightly from side-to-side.

Zane dropped the bottoms and grabbed the hammock, her breast popping free from his mouth in the process. After steadying the hammock, he let his eyes roam her nakedness. Her cheeks flushed with her excitement. Her breath came in short ragged bursts which shook her breasts in the most delectable way. He could see her heart pounding in her chest. It quickened under his gaze. His hardened sex jumped in appreciation, rubbing his sensitive skin against the material of his bathing suit.

His eyes went lower to discover the thatch of reddish-blonde curls at the juncture of her legs. Pushing through the course curls, his fingers found the soft folds of her inner core. He pushed one digit into her slick heat. Her legs opened for him, giving him an unobstructed view of her wet entrance which blossomed like the petals of a flower.

He inserted a second finger into her silken opening, as the palm of his hand cupped her mound and Maggie pushed against his touch. Her hands went to her breasts, squeezing her nipples into tight peaks. She was the picture of unabashed sexuality. A carnal being, letting the feel of her body rule her and it thrilled him to no end.

He leaned down so his breath would ghost over her ear as he spoke. “Do you like that?” He scissored his fingers.

“God, yes,” she moaned.

“How about this?” His thumb found the sensitive nub hidden within her folds. Upon it he made tiny circles, feeling her ratchet higher.

A mewling cry left her lips, answering his question in a way far, far better than any word ever could. He captured it with his kiss, let the cry vibrate in his mouth as his tongue slid along hers. He rubbed faster, and she arched into him. The inner muscles of her thighs gripped his fingers when she flew over the edge. She shuddered as her climax washed over her.

In the real world, her deep joy and happiness flowed over him, filling him with its powerful energy. He could feel his corporeal body gaining strength; it fed him here in the dream making him feel more virile.

Pulling his fingers from her inner warmth, he stood and hooked his fingers in the waistband of his swimsuit. In a quick movement, it lay down around his feet and he stepped from it. When he rose back to standing, he was surprised to find Maggie sitting in the hammock, her legs dangling over the side.

Before he could ask her what she thought she was doing, her hand wrapped around the base of his shaft. She stroked him from base to tip and back. His body felt heavy with desire for her. Each stroke sent a sizzle of electricity to his toes, making them curl in the sandy ground.

Zane watched Maggie lean forward, and open her lips wide. When her hot little mouth surrounded the head of his penis, he let out a sound something between a groan and a yell. Never in all the centuries of shared dreams where a woman had done this to him, had he felt anything as good as the moist heat of her mouth. Her tongue wrapped around his length, licking at him while her hand continued to stroke.

Her mouth cradled his length, like a warm hug. The tip of her tongue darted in tiny flicks against the underside of his shaft. She worked up his length in a slow sinuous slide until finally reaching the tip. Her tongue curled about the bulbous head, then slid over the top to part the slit.

Great Spirits above, he would embarrass himself like a schoolboy if she kept that up. Maybe going slow had not been such a great idea. Being aroused for such a long time threatened to take his self-control. If she continued much longer, he would spill into her mouth.

But he could not bring himself to make her stop. Not just yet. Especially when her tongue did that little flicking motion around the tip as it did now. His stomach tightened in response. She felt
so
good!

His hand fisted in her hair, holding her to him while his hips moved in time to her strokes, working his shaft in and out of her amazing mouth. Each thrust made his balls draw tighter, made the pressure build in his groin. He allowed her only one more, long draw before he pulled from her mouth, afraid his climax would come before he could sink into the moist heat of her core.

Using her hair to hold her head still while he took her lips, he poured his emotions into the kiss, tried to convey his desire and caring, his appreciation of Maggie.

His body pressed hers down onto the hammock. Zane settled his hips between her legs, and positioned his tip at her entrance. He slipped home with one thrust. Buried to the hilt, her core seemed even hotter, wetter than her mouth had been. She burned, scorching him with her fiery sheath.

Maggie moved first, her hips thrusting against his. The lush feel of sliding from her warm, velvet folds then thrusting back in, made his body taunt. He pumped a leisurely rhythm trying to slow time in an attempt to savor this, engrave each moment in his memory for all time.

Small keening sounds pushed from her throat with each deep thrust, driving him wild. It was a piquant sensation knowing he drove her toward another climax. He watched it build.

Maggie’s breath left her chest in hard, short spurts. Her hands reached around him, her fingers tightening on his ass. She pushed him into her, silently demanding what she needed. Her cheeks blushed a beautiful shade of pink as her eyes closed.

Her orgasm hit with such force her back bowed off the pillow and hammock. His name left her lips in a whispered prayer. Her lovely eyes flew open, pinning him with their intense stare while her fingers dug into his flesh.

“I’ve got you,” Zane assured, as her inner muscles gripped him.

He might have her, but who had him? The feel of her core tightening around him, nearly did him in. Not yet ready to stop, he ruthlessly fought down his building response.

She went boneless, yielding to him, melting under him. A deep, sonorous rumble came from his chest cavity. His hands slid around her sides, and behind her back to the curve of her bottom. He lifted her hips, allowing for a deeper penetration. All the while, his lips worked between each breast, taking his time to thoroughly lave each one.

The sound of her shallow breaths mixed with the sigh of the ocean. The delicious scent of her and the sweet aroma of the flowers around them combined into a sensual perfume. He quickened the pistoning of his hips. Her legs moved higher onto his back and crossed around his ribs. His next thrust went straight to the heart of her core, so deep he could no longer tell where he ended and she began.

His world narrowed to only her, blocking everything else around him out. He was lost in the feel of her slick skin, the taste of her kiss, until his climax pulsed in his groin.

His fingers pushed between the slick flesh of their bodies and found her most sensitive nub. His thumb drew tiny circles on the bit of flesh, making her buck against him. Her eyes went wide, her face flushed a brighter shade of red.

One more circle, applied with a bit of pressure, and she screamed his name as he continued to plunge into her blazing core. Her muscles gripped him like a velvet fist. Squeezed him like a vise.

Zane could feel his own climax build. It burned up his spine like a fuse, ignited a bomb of white heat which spread through his body. He jerked violently, swelled within her depths. A ragged cry of joy left his lips as he exploded within her.

His hips crushed against hers, when he pushed himself as far into her as possible. Zane never wanted this to end.

He stayed inside her, waiting as he slowly came down from the rush, absorbing the feel of her velvety heat. Zane committed it to memory, taking in every detail from the contented look on her stunning face to the feel of her breasts pushing against his chest with each breath.

He balanced his weight on arms, his hands framing her head. She looked up at him with trust shining in her pretty eyes. It tore at his heart, for unlike him, she didn’t know this would be their last time together.

He couldn’t come visit her again, no matter how big the temptation. Each time he came near her, he wanted more. More time with her. More dreams with her. More of
her
. He’d started to want the real Maggie, not just the dream version, and that could never be.

He needed to tell her this would be the last time he would come to her, end this now while he could still force himself back into his dimension, away from her.

Zane dropped his head to rest on her forehead, and allowed the rest of the world to gradually sink in. The steady hum of the waves rolling against the shore mingled with the sound of the palm fronds rustling in the warm breeze. He took several deep breaths, taking the combination of aroused woman and the surrounding blooms into his lungs. His eyes locked with hers. She watched him, perfectly still underneath him as if she knew something was wrong.

His breathing eventually returned to normal and he reluctantly withdrew from her body. The hammock swayed when he dismounted and Zane manipulated the dream, adding clothes on their bodies. He gave her an Indonesian floral print sarong dress which twisted lovingly around both breasts and tied behind her neck. For himself, he chose a white, long sleeved, Ceylon shirt and khaki pants.

He reached out a steadying hand, which Maggie took. After helping her stand, he tucked her against his side, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Her arm settled around his lower back.

She allowed him to lead them in silence. When they arrived at the shore, he released her and leaned against one of the palms.

She looked up at him, and her hand reached up to touch his cheek. “What is it, Zane? You are so quiet.”

He put his hands at her waist and drew her against him, settling her between his thighs. His fingers threaded through the silky wisps of her hair as he pulled her head against his shoulder. His stretched legs narrowed the difference between their heights. She shuddered when he pulled her more firmly against him.

He took several fortifying breaths before he spoke his confession. “I have to go.”

“So soon?” She pulled her head from his shoulder, looking in his eyes. “When will I see you again?”

“You won’t.”

She blew a raspberry. “Yeah, right. These dreams are too good. You’ll be making another appearance.”

Zane pushed her head back down against his shoulder, finding it difficult to look in her eyes as he spoke. “You no longer need my protection, sweetheart.”

“I don’t understand.”

He closed his eyes to the pain that tore at his heart. “I know.”

He tightened his arms, and held her against him when she tried once more to raise her head.

“What are you protecting me from?”

Should he tell her? No, he decided, weighing his options. No humans knew of the existence of Dream Weavers and he could not make an exception—even for her. And though she might awake thinking all this was a dream, he would not plant a seed of truth about their special history. He just couldn’t take the chance she might think of his kind as real.

“Maggie, I must go. You will not see me again.”

“But, why?”

“It is time.”

She pushed her hands against his chest, and he allowed her retreat this time. Unshed tears glistened in her eyes when she looked at him. “I can’t let you go,” she cried.

Her tears broke their dam, flowed down both cheeks. The essence of her sorrow surrounded him, threatening to overwhelm him.

Like any emotion his corporeal body absorbed it. Its tainted residue started to fill him. Why any stalker found this pleasurable, he’d never know. Zane found it disgusting, slimy like a raw oyster oozing over his form. He needed to go before he absorbed anymore of her bilious sorrow.

Spurred by the nauseating feeling creeping down his spine, he pushed away from the tree. He took Maggie’s face between his large hands, and gazed deeply into her eyes. “You can and you will let me go, Maggie. You are a strong woman. Your courage is inspirational.”

“I am not courageous,” she denied.