Dreaming of You

by Crymsyn R. Hart

  "You mean that?"

  "You can read my mind.” I searched his eyes and ran my hand over the bulge in his pants. “You know I'm telling you the truth."

  He came all the way in and kissed me long and hard. “You're telling the truth. As you wish. Lie back. When you close your eyes, you'll be back in your room. Take a few days. Relax and recover. When you wish me to come, light a single candle.” He backed away from me and moved off the bed. As he did, he faded into the shadows like he had never been there.

  I laid back and closed my eyes. I felt a sharp tug and when I opened my eyes I was back in my room. A sigh of relief moved through me, but deep down the dread of what was to come thumped against my heart.

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  Chapter Six

  Five days passed, and after scouring books, I had came up with something that would trap him. I found the symbol in an old occult book which had fallen into my hands, literally, as I looking for another book. The one I had open on the bed fell into my arms. It opened right to the page that displayed a binding pentagram called the Devil's Trap. The book was all about summoning angels and demons. I figured since the daemons were a little bit of both the trap should work. Not to be too careful, I rearranged my room, drew it under my bed, on the ceiling, and covered it up on both of my walls with furniture. All together it made a cube so there wasn't anywhere the daemon lord could go. It was probably overkill, but I wanted to be sure. As the days passed, I thought more about the encounter and what he had said to me. There was a reprieve. If Tucker truly loved me and I him, Tucker could transcend and become an angel. I didn't really know how that would work, but I hoped it was an option for him. I didn't know if I would ever see him again, but I desired to.

  Finally, I made sure that I was ready. I didn't know what I was going to do with the daemon lord once I had trapped him in my room. I hadn't thought that far yet. There were things in the old book that made me wonder. Rights of Exorcism that even though I wasn't a firm believer in God, made me rethink my position. Hell, if there were daemons, then there had to be something else roaming around. Kasandra had gone away for the weekend. I was dressed in a new black silk nightie I had gotten, with a robe to go over it. It was all flowing and silky and almost made me feel like a princess, until I remembered what I had really bought it for.

  The candle was dark red like the daemon lord's skin had been, and it smelled of spiced cinnamon. My room was completely dark, and to make matters more fun, we were having the storm of the century outside. Lightning sparked the sky. The trees battered against our windows. “Great. Just what I need. A dark and stormy night and I chose this one to invite the devil into my house. Tucker, if you're watching over me, please know that I'm doing this because I don't want you to get hurt. I know you left and changed reality because you wanted to protect me, but I can't stand to be without you.” I wiped freshly formed tears from my eyes.

  I gazed around the room, searching the shadows to see if Tucker was there. But I didn't see any of them change. I had to remember I was doing this for him because I loved him. I couldn't see him get hurt. Taking a deep breath, I struck a match, letting the sulfur burn my nose, before I lit the candlewick. Once I blew out the match, I felt the change in my environment. Time slowed. The shadows pressed together, gathering in one corner of my room. A head formed first, then a body.

  The daemon lord seemed to be made of the darkness. For a second, I saw the daemon behind the human facade. Then he stood before me in the guise of a man. This time he was dressed in nothing more than red silk pajama pants and a robe like mine. It could have been the male companion to my clothes. His dark hair was loose around his shoulders. The crimson of the robe brought out his dark eyes and the olive tone of his skin. His chest was well formed, and his pants low enough I saw the line of muscles that led down to his lower anatomy. I swallowed as I watched him step into the room. He was barefoot with toenails as black and sharp as his fingernails.

  I prayed he wouldn't notice the Devil's Traps. I prayed he wouldn't read my mind and discover my treachery. If he did, I would be dead in an instant. At this moment, he might be a handsome morsel, but he was in fact my enemy until I could figure out how to get to Tucker.

  "You kept your word.” His gaze scanned my room. The power he gave off beat against my skin like a heat wave. He wasn't playing.

  "I said I would. I'm here. Yours for the taking. Why don't you come onto the bed and we can get started?"

  The daemon lord laughed. “So willing to jump in bed with a daemon. I wish every mortal was as eager to dance with the devil. How about we take it slow? Besides I have some news for you."

  "What kind of news?"

  "I spoke to your beloved Tucker."

  "You didn't hurt him?"

  He waved his hand and something materialized on the table. It was a black velvet jewelry box. “I didn't hurt him. I am a daemon of my word. He was easy to find. He was the only one of my minions moping. I don't see that much in my kind. He begged me not to kill you. I asked him why he loved you so much. What was so different about this human woman than the others he had fed from? You know what he said?"

  He had seen and talked to Tucker. My heart nearly dropped. “No."

  "He said that you saw beyond the physical with him. He wasn't just a dream lover. You made him into a real man. It wasn't because you could dreamwalk, but because when you looked at him, no matter what form he took, you saw through the illusion and knew it was him."

  Wetness dotted my lashes. I turned my head and wiped the tears away. I tried to laugh, but hiccupped instead. I felt his hand on my knee, and I looked back to him. “I'll do whatever you want, please don't—"

  He placed a finger against my lips. “I won't. Kiss me, Tabby.” He pulled me closer. His lips were soft. The kiss was brief, but the heat that fired down my spine was enough to make me break out in a sweat. The daemon lord ran the back of his hand over the curve of my neck and under the silk of my bathrobe. I sat perfectly still as he slid the material off my shoulders and let it pool around me. His dark gaze searched mine as if he was waiting for me to break my word and run away from him. But I didn't, I would finish this and then he would be trapped. So far, he hadn't noticed the Devil's Traps. Once he was distracted, I would slip out of my bed, pretending to have to go to the bathroom or something.

  Tentatively, I reached out and placed my hand on the side of his cheek. I shook. My heart double thumped in my chest, and it was hard to breathe. Closing my eyes, I tried to calm myself. His hand rested over mine above my heart.

  "Calm yourself. I won't do anything against your will. Don't you know that by now?"

  I opened eyes. The way he cocked his head and stared at me made me think. Something about what he said made me sit back and study him. He had said that Tucker had told him I had the ability to see through illusions. Was this all an elaborate illusion? Tucker had once told me in the bathroom that dreams were only gossamer. “Can I ask you something?"

  "Anything you wish?"

  I leaned in, kissing him lightly before whispering in his ear. “Tell me your name."

  He breathed in a sharp breath through his teeth and pulled away from me. “I can't do that, Tabby. Then you would have power over me."

  I placed my hand flat against his chest. It felt like he had a fever. Underneath my palm, his heart beat a slow rhythm, slower than mine. “You already have control over me since I saw your true form. Why not tell me your name and then I can have control over you?” I slid my finger under the waistband of his pajama pants and circled the elastic. His erection was already peeking through the slit in his pants. I gave him a sly smile, lowered myself to his cock, wrapped my lips around the head, and took it into my mouth a few inches.

  A garbled moan escaped his lips. I licked his soft skin and enjoyed the salty tang to his flesh. I went down on him farther, drawing more of his length between my lips, devouring him slowly as I ran my tongue up and down his shaft.

  "Using your wiles won't
get my name out of me, Tabitha.” His hips bucked as I let my teeth scrape along his flesh. “I've had encounters with angels and demons who—” A groan of pent-up agony rumbled from his chest. I moved in centimeters, took as much of him as I could, and then painstakingly slow came back up until I had almost let his cock escape the prison of my lips. Then, I repeated everything I had just done. His rhythm increased, again keeping time to my swirling tongue. His sharp nails cut into my shoulders. I could sense he was ready to come, but right at the last moment, I pulled away.

  The lord's eyes were closed, and his breathing was labored. When he opened his eyes they were golden. He smiled and I saw some of his teeth had become pointed. “Maybe you have a little bit of the Devil in you yet.” He ran his thumb over my mouth.

  Playing the part I knew I had to play, I nipped at it. “Will you tell me your name?” This time, I pulled up my nightgown and, straddling him, let him feel the warmth of my pussy since I wasn't wearing anything underneath. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I ground against him.

  His hands slid under my nightgown and lifted it over my head. It landed in corner. Rain still poured outside. The thunder rocked the apartment as his nails scraped the round mounds of my ass. “You may entice me all you wish, Tabitha. But you will not tempt my name from me. Now lie back so I can claim you as I am meant to.” Still holding me, he leaned over and brought me down on the bed, but I rolled out from under him and off the bed. He gave me a devilish smile. “What are you doing? If your intention is to drive me mad, then you are doing it perfectly well."

  I smiled innocently and took a few steps backward. As I did, I glanced at the chalk lines on the wood floor. He hadn't noticed the Devil's Trap yet. I was just about out of them as I moved towards the bathroom. “You may be a daemon, but I'm still human. Nature calls."

  He laughed and waved his hand at me, dismissing me. “Hurry back then."

  "Oh, I will.” I sauntered off giving him a good look at my rear, and had to nearly stop myself from running the last few steps to get into the bathroom. When I closed the door, I let my head fall back against the wall. What am I doing? This is so not me. I stared at myself in the mirror after splashing water on my face. With the dark storm outside, it reminded me of the first time Tucker had touched me. I had been so shocked to think that the man I had been dreaming about, the man that I was in love with in my dreams had stepped out of them into reality. Now look where I was. Another clap of thunder rattled the house. The daemon lord in my bedroom might have been trapped by the Devil's Trap, but I was just as trapped as him. I had seen his true form and like Tucker had said, I was now his. What's going to happen to me? Tucker where are you? Please, if you can hear me, I need you.

  I listened to the shadows, praying to hear him. Lightning illuminated the sky and thunder jangled my heart, but there was only emptiness in the bathroom.

  "Tabitha." The Daemon Lord's voice whispered in my mind, enticing me back to bed.

  I flushed the toilet for good measure. I still had to carry out my end of the bargain. It was that or Tucker might be killed. Staring at my reflection again in the mirror, I wondered how I, an ordinary woman, had gotten so tied up with daemons. Lightning flared outside. The lights died out. Great. Just fucking great! I stared into the mirror, and when there was another flash, I saw a glimpse of a twisted creature behind me. It took me a moment to register what it was. The lightning flickered again, and I saw long teeth and frayed wings. There wasn't just one of them. There were several. Fear froze me to my spot. I felt their presence creep along my backbone like impending doom. I backed away from them slowly and opened the door back into the bedroom. When I looked back, the daemon lord was on the bed reclining, waiting for me to come back to him. When his gaze met mine, he bolted up from the bed.

  "What is it?"

  I pointed at the bedroom door. The creatures’ faces, pressing against the wood, stretched it as if they were trying to claw through it. It wasn't the wood, but the darkness covering the door. They were moving through the shadows. The candle only threw off so much light. Shadows and night surrounded me everywhere and the power was out.

  "What are they?” I asked. I glanced over at the daemon lord and saw he tried to step out of the Devil's Trap, but he was blocked. He placed his hand on the barrier but couldn't breach it. At least I knew the trap had worked. Of course, now was not a good time to test it since there were other monsters in the room.

  "What did you do, Tabby?” he growled. He glared at me and then around the room. He must have felt the other traps on the walls and ceilings, knowing he was boxed in.

  Growls and hisses came from behind me as well. I spun around as more perverted creatures revealed themselves from the shadows. Their mouths were twisted masses of sharp fangs. Their fingers were long black talons. This lot had no eyes, only teeth. Some of them had four arms. Others had tentacles, but no matter what they were, they all had claws and fangs. Everything to shred flesh with. As they came closer, they made a slurping sound and I saw a shiny trail left on the wood like that of a slug.

  "What are they?” I screamed.

  "They're Nightmares. Let me out of this trap! I'm the only one who can make them go away. They sensed I was in danger."

  I hesitated, staring at the things coming toward me. The whole room was shadows except for the candle. I couldn't let the daemon lord out. There was no way. If he was trapped then Tucker was safe. I shook my head. “I can't let you out. If I do, then you'll kill me eventually or take my soul. You're a daemon. You'll go back on your word and kill Tucker or send him to Hell. I can't have you do that.” He might have been sincere and straightforward with me, but at the core, he was a daemon. So was Tucker, but I trusted him more. I loved him. I didn't know anything about the daemon lord. Even with his handsome human appearance I didn't trust him.

  He screamed and beat against the walls of the trap. As he did, a branch came through the window and sent glass flying everywhere. I covered my face with my hands, but there was no where to run as the Nightmares drew ever closer. The daemon lord's appearance wavered back to his daemonic appearance. He used his power and flung my bed across the room into the Nightmares coming from my bathroom. With a flick of his hand, he sent my bureau into the others coming at me from the other side. I backed up against the wall, which had the other Devil's Trap. The wind picked up and chilled me to the bone. The candle flame flickered. My eyes darted back to him as fear sped up my heart. My broken furniture hadn't stopped the Nightmares from hunting me.

  "You would rather die than let me make love to you?"

  I nodded. I didn't want anyone else to touch me except Tucker. I had teased the daemon lord, but I had had to play the part long enough for him to think that I desired him. Long enough for me to know if the Devil's Traps had worked. I didn't want to die, but maybe, just maybe I still had enough in me that I could send my mind somewhere else. Maybe live in a dream. Anything to get away from him.

  "Yes."

  The daemon lord peered at me from inside the trap. The claws of the Nightmares were about to slice my flesh. Their breath smelled like the sewer, full of rank and decay. One of them bit into my leg. Another, coming out of the wall, grabbed me with four arms from. The slime I had seen on the floor now covered my back. Burning pain shot through my body as the creatures were about to pounce. The candle flame still flickered.

  "You love him that much?"

  My gaze flicked to the sputtering flame. The answer surged forward from my heart. “Yes."

  The wind blew out the candle, and I was claimed by the darkness.

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  Chapter Seven

  My eyes snapped open. I bolted up in bed and screamed. I flailed around, trying to fling the Nightmares off me. After a moment, I realized there was nothing there. There was nothing on my back. There were no cuts on my arms. The sun shone outside. The curtains fluttered in the early morning breeze, sending the perfume of apple blossoms into my room. All my furniture was back in the same p
lace before I had moved it. There were no Devil's Traps on the walls. The door burst open. My roommate stuck her head in.

  "You okay, Tabby? I heard you screaming. Did you have one of your nightmares again? Have you talked to Professor Amonde about them? You promised you would after the last one.” The look on her face was one of annoyance. I looked at her clothes and realized she was already dressed for work.

  I stared at her, not sure of what to say. How did she know about the Professor? Tucker had changed my reality and wiped out Professor Amonde. I glanced over at my desk and saw my stack of dream books ready to topple off the edge. The copy of my paper I had been working on was scattered over the keyboard with red pen marks all over it. All of this was way too creepy and a sense of déjà-vu came over me.

  "You okay in there?” She was snapping her fingers in front of my face.

  I shook my head. Was I okay? “Um ... yeah. No, I haven't talked to him yet. What time is it?"

  Kasandra checked her watch. “It's almost nine. And you'll be late if you don't get your ass out of bed. I thought you were done with your nightmares. This is like the third one this week. You want to talk about it?"

  "Do you know anyone named Tucker? I mean, am I dating anyone by that name? Do you work with him? Has anything weird been happening to you lately?"

  My roommate felt my forehead. “You sure you're okay, sweetie? The only Tucker I know is the one you mutter about when you're dreaming. I came in here last night to check on you, and you were mumbling about nightmares trying to eat you alive. That must have been one hell of a dark dream."

  You have no idea! “Yeah. It was very vivid. I was being ripped apart. There was this daemon who—” I glanced at my roommate and knew that she wasn't going to listen to me tell her about my dream. She was late for work and hated to be late. “It doesn't matter. I'll talk to the professor this afternoon. Have a good day at work."