Chapter 11

That pathetic vessel that served me as a human body once again showed its weaknesses and inconveniences. Between a full bladder, the need to pause at regular intervals to feed, and now the fatigue that demanded I turn in for the night, there was always something. Granted, the release of peeing was quite agreeable, and some of the food served to us was very tasty. Too bad I could only intake a limited amount of it. Those videos proving what a formidable killing machine this deceptively feeble body could become once shielded by ethereal energy had been thrilling. If not for them, I would have grown quite disheartened by my woman’s obsession with protecting a bunch of strangers. Were their roles reversed, those fuckers probably wouldn’t lift a finger to reciprocate.

To my annoyance, Naima escorted me back to my birth room rather than to her personal quarters. I intended to be with her in a far more intimate fashion tonight anyway. She knew something hot and passionate would happen between us the moment we lay in bed. Her avoidance was silly. But I played along and followed.

I hated how much she had closed herself off to me following my reaction to those videos and my request to feed on those to be executed. I sensed no deception in her when she said she understood why I liked the things I did. But similarly, I could sense her inner struggle with coming to terms with it. The way she went from lusting after me to fighting her fear of me was all but giving me a whiplash. Humans were too complicated. Things didn”t have to be so convoluted with vague concepts of morals, compassion, and laws. The only law that really mattered was that of the strongest, of the fittest, and of the fiercest.

Naima waved me into the bathroom. I gave her a teasing nod and entered. She followed in and showed me another obnoxiously annoying hygiene step she had omitted earlier: dental care. I rolled my eyes so hard I could see the back of my head. My woman burst out laughing and didn”t stop the whole time I brushed my teeth. The damn paste kept foaming and dripping all over my jaw, the brush, and even my hand. She then had the audacity of asking me to brush my tongue, which had me gagging to the point I thought I would regurgitate my evening meal.

I couldn”t even be furious, because her mirth was so intoxicating. I wanted it to endlessly cascade over me, even if it was at the cost of this frustrating torture. When she had me do the dental floss part, I nearly lost my shit. But then Naima started doing it on herself to show me. For some inexplicable reason, doing such menial activity with her gave me the strangest sense of intimacy. It was… pleasant.

“Do you remember how to operate the shower?” Naima asked.

I nodded.

“Perfect.” She stepped outside for a second, and I heard the wardrobe door opening. She returned moments later. “Here are your pajamas for the night, and clean undies,” my woman said, extending the small pile to me. “You can dump your dirty clothes in that little basket in the corner,” Naima added pointing at it. “I”ll be outside at the desk wrapping up the lovely little report I need to write about your progress, which was quite impressive I must say,” my mate said in a gentle tone.

“Thank you, my love,” I smugly replied to her compliment.

“I will wait until you’re done to tuck you in bed like the big boy you are,” she added tauntingly before strutting out and closing the door behind her.

I smirked, fighting the urge to catch her and spank her for her insolence. Maybe I should just walk out buck naked once I finished showering. But I discarded that thought as soon as it crossed my mind. While I didn”t mind being naked, I didn”t want any potential female seeing what only belonged to my Naima. And I had no doubt that at least one or more agents were observing us through that wretched camera.

I lifted the handle of the shower, and the water immediately began raining down. Swiftly stripping out of my clothes, I threw them in the wicker basket my mate had indicated then, enticed by the white plumes of vapor swirling around the shower, which reminded me of the Mist, I stepped under the water.

It no sooner came into contact with my skin than a roar of pain rose from my throat. I jumped away from the scalding water, and my wet feet slipped on the tiles covering the floor. My arms milled around in an instinctive attempt to maintain my balance, but I lost both the battle and my footing. The room spun around me as I fell and landed with a loud thud on the cold, hard surface of the floor. A lancing pain at the point of impact—my right butt cheek—quickly spread through my right leg and my back.

“Motherfucking son of a bitch!” I shouted, rolling to my left side to rub the sore spot.

It was in that less than glorious position that Naima found me, as she came bursting into the room.

“Zain! Are you—?”

Her words died in her throat seeing me sprawled on the floor. Her eyes went from my face, to my hand rubbing my butt, to the shower still raining boiling water, and then to my chest, which had reddened from the burning slap it had received. The worry plastered on her face quickly faded, and my woman bit the inside of her cheeks, visibly fighting the urge to burst out laughing. I was embarrassed, humiliated even. While my brain understood the comical aspect of the situation, I didn”t take well to being the butt of a joke—no pun intended. And yet, the emotions emanating from my woman seeing me this way were soothing and delicately pleasant.

It then struck me, with a clarity I couldn”t explain, that this very human mishap made me more approachable and endearing to her. Maybe I shouldn”t fight so hard those weaknesses of my new vessel, and use them to my advantage to seduce my mate.

“I am starting to believe you are attempting to murder me,” I grumbled.

This time, Naima didn”t stop herself from laughing.

“No, silly goose,” she said, helping me up. “I did ask if you remembered how to operate it. You had to go all macho man on me and say of course you did. See what it got you? If you ever get to drive and get lost, don’t start doing the tough guy routine. Stop, and ask someone for directions. There is no shame in asking for help. It won’t emasculate you, I promise.”

I wondered what the fuck driving had to do with anything, and why human males would have an issue with asking for directions.

“This is obviously way too hot,” Naima explained. “Before you step under the water, always make sure you’ve tested the temperature by waving your hand under it. Then adjust the heat until it feels comfortable to the touch. There, this should be good,” she said after turning the knob and touching the water once it had stopped smoking.

“You’re going to shower?” I asked.

“Of course,” she said, matter-of-factly. “Like I said earlier, I like to shower before bed. I’ll do so as soon as I’m done here.”

“You should shower with me,” I said, my voice dipping lower. “You can make sure I do it properly. I mean, I could drown. We wouldn’t want that, right?”

Naima snorted and rolled her eyes.

“You can”t drown in a shower, silly man,” she said crossing her arms over her chest while giving me the ‘nice try’ look.

Despite that, I didn”t miss the subtle once over she gave me, admiring the view of my naked, slightly wet body.

“Oh, my love,” I said in a purring voice, taking a step closer to her, “you have no idea all the things I can achieve when I set my mind to it.”

She burst out laughing and pressed her palm to my chest to keep me from moving any closer.

“Nice try, pretty boy. But for now, the one thing I want you to set your mind to is getting cleaned up properly without turning yourself into a lobster. I have a few more things to do before I can go take care of my own stuff. So, get busy and get your tush to bed.”

I scrunched my face, pretending to be hurt, although I had expected that response from her.

“You could at least stay and direct me while I experiment with this torture device,” I said in a pouty tone. “As an added bonus, you get a free private show.”

“You”re hopeless,” Naima said, throwing her hands up in despair. “Be swift,” she said in a commanding voice before walking out and closing the door behind her.

I grinned as I stepped under the water. I was enjoying this unexpected playfulness in myself and how my woman responded to it. Despite her annoyed display, my mate had also been entertained by our little banter. I was realizing that humor seemed to trigger positive responses from Naima. Even more so than fear—of the good kind. I would need to keep that in mind going forward in my efforts to seduce my woman.

To my surprise, the effect of the water raining on me at this slightly hotter than lukewarm heat turned out quite pleasant. The sensitivity of this body had its perks. In the Mist, all these nuances from taste, to smell, and sensations were significantly dulled in comparison. We didn”t realize it because we didn”t know otherwise. To us, what we felt in response to any type of interaction was based on what we imagined it to be. But the human body gave no wiggle room. It was very binary. Something was either nice or unpleasant, each on a varying scale from very mild too insanely extreme.

In this instance, the water pummeling my skin gave it a gentle massage on impact and a subtle caress as it trickled down my body. The comfortable heat soothed my muscles deep within and gave me an overall sense of well-being. This hygiene ritual wasn”t so bad after all. I could see myself doing this frequently, not so much for maintenance of my vessel but purely out of enjoyment.

Washing my back and my face, however, reminded me that everything in this human world always had to throw you a curveball in one form or another. I nearly scratched my eyes out trying to rinse out the aggravating soap that just wouldn”t stop stabbing at them. Next time, I’d remember to soap my face last. Furthermore, no matter how much I contorted myself, I could never quite reach a certain spot between my shoulder blades. I gave up in annoyance.

Tending to my cock certainly lasted far longer than it should have. But fuck me, its sensitivity was off the charts. And my soapy hand stroking it made the movement even smoother. I had never felt such an intense pleasure simply from touch. The thought of Naima’s hand on me instead of my own had me so hard my stomach cramped painfully with need.

I hadn”t meant to pleasure myself, but I simply couldn’t stop.

Naima’s face floated before my mind’s eye while a pool of lava swirled in the pit of my stomach. A burning fire spread throughout my nether region. My abdominal muscles contracted spasmodically, and my skin became feverish. The water on my skin felt like a million tiny kisses, and the gentle caress of my woman. I came with a sharp shout, followed by a rumbling groan as my mortal seed shot out in blissful spurts. My legs shook, and I had to rest one palm against the textured white tiles of the shower for support. I continued to caress myself until the last of my seed was spent, slowing down the movement, and tightening my grip with each stroke to squeeze out every drop. It slightly hurt but in the most wondrous way.

Yet, even as I had just found release, a part of me wanted another round, but this time with my mate. I”d always known myself to be insatiable. It pleased me to see this body also possessed a healthy appetite. Pushing down those thoughts to the back of my mind, I made quick work of finishing my shower and of drying myself.

I had no idea how much time had gone by since I”d started, but I suspected that my mate knew what I”d been up to. She had probably heard it, too. If so, what thoughts had crossed her mind? Had she been aroused? Had she regretted not staying to bear witness and savor the view of what was hers, and what would soon be inside of her? Had she fantasized about what our first time together would be?

I picked up the pajamas she had brought me. With a slight annoyance, I slipped on the underwear first and then the pajama pants. I eyed the top and decided to rebel. My ‘modesty’—which was frankly quite nonexistent—was sufficiently covered. Pushing the door open, I stepped back into my room and found Naima sitting at the edge of her desk outside the glassed-in section that constituted my quarters.

An unreadable expression lingered on her face as she observed me. I had expected some sort of comment for the absence of a shirt, but she didn”t seem upset or displeased in any way.

“Antiperspirant?” she asked as sole comment.

I rolled my eyes in annoyance, having forgotten about that step. Turning on my heels, I went back inside the bathroom and took care of it. To my surprise, rather than waiting for me outside, Naima walked into the bathroom, slightly pushed me aside, and then opened the bottom drawer of the vanity. She pulled out a device that looks like a strange gun, although I knew it not to be. She plugged it into the wall then sat on top of the counter before gesturing for me to approach.

Intrigued, I complied.

“You should not go to bed with your hair wet. You”ll find it mightily uncomfortable,” my mate said.

She spread her legs so that I could stand between them. I eagerly did just that before resting my hands on her thighs. Naima gave me a warning glance. I smirked, biting back the taunting remark that burned my tongue. This was the first time she was voluntarily initiating such proximity between us and choosing to touch me. I wouldn”t risk alienating her.

The loud noise of the device startled me as it began blowing hot air.

“This is a blow dryer,” Naima explained, holding it up for me to see. “It takes care of that problem in no time at all. Turn around.”

My eyebrows shot up, but she held my gaze, a smug smile on her plump, kissable lips telling me to comply. I grimaced and once more obeyed. The feel of her soft hand on my bare shoulder guiding me back closer to her had my abdominal muscles contracting with pleasure.

Picking up the comb on the counter, Naima proceeded to dry my hair. It meant something that she was doing it herself rather than merely showing me how to do it on my own. I couldn”t say what though. A part of me believed it was my woman’s need to touch me that had finally gotten the best of her. Another thought it was her nurturing nature expressing itself. In the end, I believed it was a mix of both, not that it really mattered.

The feeling of the comb gently scraping my scalp made me purr. Naima chuckled, the lovely sound enhancing that sensation of well-being. Yes, this feeble body indeed had many perks, and that hygiene thing was steadily growing on me.

“Turn around,” Naima said.

Making no effort to hide my keenness, I obeyed, placing my hands on her hips this time and standing so close, I could almost feel the heat of her body. It took all my willpower not to slide her forward on the counter so that our sexes would touch.

Our gazes locked, and an electric current flowed between us. How she managed to continue drying my hair without her gaze ever wavering from mine was beyond me. At one point, it was no longer the gentle scraping of the comb that I felt, but her fingers slipping through my curly locks.

I pushed her hand aside, wrapped mine around her neck, and drew her face to mine. The loud sound of the blow dryer died, and Naima’s fingers still weaved through my hair tightened their grip. Blood rushed to my groin, and my shaft throbbed. The heady scent of my woman’s arousal wafted to me, making me even hungrier for her. Her nipples pebbled, their hard tips pushing against the black tank top she was wearing, begging for my attention. Naima’s lips parted, and her breathing shortened as she stared at me with an almost fearful anticipation. I leaned forward, our lips so close I could feel their heat against mine.

But I didn’t kiss her. Instead, I pressed my lips to the side of her jaw, right at the corner of her mouth, before brushing them along her cheek to her earlobe.

“Thank you for taking such good care of me, my love,” I whispered in her ear.

Pressing a gentle kiss on her shoulder, I straightened, and slowly pulled away from her. I repressed the taunting smile that threatened to blossom on my lips as she stared at me in shock and disbelief. Turning around, I headed back into the bedroom, this time allowing my smug smirk to stretch my lips. I hated that I couldn”t read her mind in this realm as I could in the Mist Plane. But her emotions told me loudly enough that I had her exactly where I wanted. She would surrender to me tonight.

I sat down at the edge of my bed, and watched her make her way to me, her composed and neutral expression belied by the frustrated scent of her arousal still tickling my nose.

“As you can see, pillows and blankets have been added,” Naima said in a ‘friendly hostess’ tone as if nothing had just happened—or rather nearly happened. “If you need more, you can find extra blankets and one extra pillow in the closet. I”ll be here to pick you up at 8:30 sharp tomorrow morning,” she continued. “Please be dressed and ready to go by the time I arrive. If you wake up early, you may buzz the intercom to call me, and I will come sooner. But don”t call me at 5:00 in the morning, or you will not like my response.”

The stern glance she gave me with that last sentence made it obvious she didn”t believe me above such pesky tricks, merely to annoy her—which was quite accurate.

“You can turn off the lamp on your nightstand simply by waving your hand in front of it, or by pressing this button,” Naima further explained. “Please, do not attempt to leave your quarters. There should be no reason for you to roam around the premises. If, for whatever reason, you believe that was actually the case, contact me on the intercom.”

I smiled in a non-committal fashion but didn”t answer otherwise.

“Questions?” she asked, slightly confused by my submissive behavior.

I shook my head, the same obedient smile plastered on my face. She narrowed her eyes at me, knowing I was up to no good, but did not comment further.

“Sweet dreams then, Zain. Welcome to your first night as a human,” Naima said in a strange tone that seemed teasing and yet genuine in its welcome.

“Thank you,” I said at last. “May you have memorable dreams,” I added in a voice full of promise.

Lying down on my bed, a little narrow to my liking, I threw the cover over me and rested my head on the pillows, my eyes staring at the ceiling. Without a word, Naima left the room, locking the double reinforced doors behind her. Seconds later, the room was pitched in darkness aside from the glow of the lamp on my nightstand. I waved my hand in front of it to turn it off and settled comfortably to let sleep claim me.

No sooner did I close my eyes than the portal into the dream world that lay in the human consciousness shone like a glowing star in my mind”s eye. I let myself float towards it, the call of the Mist growing stronger as I allowed myself to fall into its arms. The strange feeling of weightlessness followed by the impression of free falling was both unnerving and exhilarating. Halfway through, I found myself once more in my natural ethereal form. How I had missed the sense of freedom it gave me—no boundaries, no limitations.

I glided around the no man”s land I had landed in situated just outside my domain. In the future, I would have to make sure that I returned into the Mist within the safety of my territory. No potential enemies or Beasts were currently lurking in its vicinity, but it wouldn”t have been ideal to appear right in front of the gaping maw of a hungry behemoth.

My woman would take at least twenty to thirty minutes to fall asleep, between returning to her quarters, completing her hygiene ritual, and doing whatever other things humans—and in particular females—did before bed. That gave me a bit of time to hunt.

That Darryl was no joke. As exciting as the videos had been, they were also a major wake up call. He was powerful, probably way more than I had been before I crossed over, and definitely way more than I was now. Thomson promised I could feed off of the Beasts and Sparks they had gathered so far in their holding facility, but I doubted it would suffice. If humans had managed to lure them, then they were likely on the weaker spectrum. While any energy was welcomed, for the first time, I wasn”t certain to be able to defeat a foe. In truth, I did not think I could. That messed with me in too many ways to count.

Failure was not an option.

If Darryl defeated me, I would have an extremely narrow window to escape back into the Mist before he could syphon my lifeforce. If I failed, it would mean permanent death. However, even if I succeeded to escape, I would be so weak that it would take me months, maybe even years to regain sufficient strength to return to the Mortal Plane. Time was not an issue. As long as we had the drive and will to live, Mist Beings could live for eternity in this realm. But the way the Nightmare had escalated his attacks and the boldness with which he had entered the premises filled with armed policemen only proved the extent of his power. Darryl believed himself nearly unstoppable.

Soon, he would go on a rampage and no longer hide as he gorged on everything and anything in his path. I still didn”t give a damn about humans. In his shoes, I would have done the same—assuming my creator had permitted it. But his relentless pursuit of self-gratification represented a direct threat to my mate and all that she cared about. For that alone, he needed to be stopped. Beyond potential harm to my Naima, fanatic creatures like Darryl would never stop unless someone put an end to their reign of terror. Once there were no more humans or living creatures for him to hunt in the Mortal Plane, he would come back to the Mist and obliterate whatever remained of our people. By then, no amount of joint efforts would suffice to destroy him.

That made Darryl a direct threat to me.

Roaming the no man”s land at my highest speed without starting to burn energy, I fed on everything I could find. Well, on almost everything. It was stupid of me not to feed on the weak Wishes freshly awakened to self-awareness. They weren”t humans, and yet my mate would consider them as such now that they had become sentient. It was all the more stupid that she would never know unless I told her. And yet, the mere attempt to do something I knew would displease her sufficed to give me that nauseous feeling I”d grown to associate with Naima’s disapproval. Still, I relished their fear and gorged on their distressed emotions as I glided past them.

A tingle at the back of my head warned me of my woman’s imminent entrance into the realm of dreams. I raced back to my domain, surprised by the amount of time it had taken her considering how much energy I had been able to harvest during that time. Tonight and tomorrow would be my last chances to do so as the Mist would end, leaving me with no other resources than my woman”s emotions, those of the agents, and whatever Thomson had in store for me.

Beneath his gentle exterior, a hard man coexisted with the paternal father figure that genuinely cared for the welfare of my mate and of his fellow humans. He had no qualms giving me those condemned humans. And yet, his reluctance had not been a show to mollify my mate, clearly in disagreement. He feared I might develop a taste for it. In truth, I probably will. But my woman would keep me in line.

It was her that Thomson needed to worry about. If he were wise, he would limit her exposure to the less palatable means his organization was willing to take to achieve their goals. If Naima hardened and began to embrace these harsher methods, he wouldn”t like how much free reign I would gain.

But this was a discussion for another time. Right now, I intended to claim my mate. The tall walls of my domain loomed on the horizon. My chest swelled with pride at the sight of the thick and impenetrable barrier crisscrossed with lightning, and the rolling volutes of the dark clouds forming it. Anyone foolish enough to approach it without my consent would be obliterated.

Even Darryl?

I frowned at the unpleasant thought. Would he be able to breach it? I couldn”t tell for sure. But if he did, he would be so drained that destroying him would become child”s play—assuming I wasn”t helpless myself.

A slight fissure parted before me as I made my approach. I glided through and was immediately struck by another surge of energy. While merely being in the Mist gave me a certain amount of energy, roaming within my own domain gave me even more. My walls constantly absorbed what they could from the daydreams and wandering thoughts of humans fueling the Mist.

Moving a little farther in, away from the defensive clearing surrounding my protective wall where I had first brought Naima, I invoked a gothic bedroom with cathedral ceilings and arched stained glass windows. A massive bed with black and purple satin bedding occupied the back wall. Chains and shackles dangled from metal studs riveted to the finely chiseled darkwood head and footboard. Across from it, a giant candle chandelier hung from the ceiling above the seating area made of large cushions and pillows surrounding giant fur carpet. It faced an imposing fireplace carved in stone. Candles burned all around the room, giving it an intimate and mysterious atmosphere.

My female had a thing for vampires. Although she would be getting me tonight, if she played nice, I might give her a nip just for kicks.

Pleased with my setting, I took on my human appearance, wearing nothing more than a black robe before summoning my woman to me. I watched with impatience and hunger as the glowing light of her consciousness appeared like a star in the Mist, growing in size and intensity as she fell towards me. She finally took form just as she passed through the ceiling, wearing a barely-there negligee I had wished upon her. She blinked, her eyes adjusting to this new environment as it became visible to her. Simultaneously, Naima’s body tilted to the vertical, and she delicately landed on her feet a couple of meters in front of me.

My mate looked around the room, recognizing the setting of one of her frequent, naughty fantasies, inspired by a vampire movie she’d watched too many times to count. She cast a glance at the black, diaphanous negligee hugging the delicious curves of her slender body—the exact same model the heroine of the movie had worn. Hands on her hips, Naima glared at me.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked in a stern voice.

I slowly prowled towards her, a smug smile on my face. “Finishing what you started, my love.”