21. Cain

CHAPTER 21

CAIN

I realize my mistake when I detect the shame and panic in Scarlett's bright, mirrorlike eyes. She's even more beautiful in the Dream Realm than she is in the real one. And she's naked, which is new and delightful.

I want to play, but when I slip into her mind now that she opened the door, I see that she's not alone.

And she's confused. Aroused, yes, but something is off.

She'd frightened me when she had almost come to me in the Dream Realm moments earlier. I've never known a human to do that while awake. Walking between worlds can be dangerous if one doesn't know what they're doing. Scarlett's brush with the Dream Realm had sent a shock wave that had hit me square in the chest.

I had decided to anchor myself on a couch, then peer outside the windows at my dark city while I waited for her to call me so I could find her and make sure she was safe. Bernard was already on his way, but I doubted he would make it in time.

Then she said my name.

But she hadn't been really calling me, had she? My name had slipped from her bloodied tongue as a natural expression of pleasure.

Pleasure I hadn't been giving her.

"I believe I've made an error," I say, my voice coming out gravelly and low while in my beast form.

He wants to stay, but he doesn't like the confusion in our mate's eyes.

Not ours, I remind myself.

Because she'd just been with Earl Rinhold. Not me.

She had let him touch her.

Because my blood is inside her, confusing her, I think, arguing with myself.

When Scarlett stares at me, the last few moments play out in her head, displaying them for me to see. Memories are like dreams, and I steel myself when I see her suitor kiss his way down her body.

And taste her.

"Are you him?" she asks, breaking off the growl I had been releasing, making the world around us tremble.

"What?" I ask, startled by the question.

"Cain," she says, taking a brave step forward. Her entire body is shivering. The Dream Realm can be a cold, desolate place, and she wraps her arms around herself. Bumps spread over her wet, naked skin, and I want nothing more than to warm her with my tongue.

I want to override this new memory she has with ones of my own.

"Yes and no," I tell her honestly.

My Dream Eater half has become another entity entirely, and I'm not sure if I'll ever be whole again. Cain, King of the Elite City, is a different beast than the one who lives in nightmares.

She comes close enough to unfurl her arms, and she grazes her fingers over my chest. She seems to be exploring me, and I let her.

Her body relaxes as if she found something she had been looking for. "You feel real… You feel right ."

Had Earl Rinhold not felt right to her? Most likely. I'm starting to suspect that he chose my blood because he knew of the compatibility I shared with her.

He must also have known that my blood would shield him. The blood contract impacts both parties, so whatever attraction Scarlett might feel for the male is likely fabricated from what she is actually feeling for me.

This is all my fault.

Clashing emotions squeeze my chest, and I wrap my arm around her and bring her in close. My other hand goes to her face, and I run my thumb over her lips.

Anger might have been my first choice, but I'm not angry with Scarlett. I'm mostly furious at myself for allowing a human to get the better of me.

It won't happen again.

I'll protect you, Scarlett. I'll fix this, somehow.

And I'll cut that male's tongue from his mouth for daring to taste you.

The thought of maiming Earl Rinhold satisfies the bloodlust in my soul. It's something to look forward to once I find what I'm looking for.

Which will require patience and creativity. I need to keep Earl Rinhold busy so that he can't intrude on Scarlett again.

I also need to reassure her that I'm going to save her from this.

But carefully. Any interference on my part might be misconstrued by the blood contract magically bound by my life force.

So I won't say anything.

I'll show her why this feels right. Sliding my thumb between her lips, I love that she parts them for me.

I can't help that my cock is hard as it presses against her abdomen and comes up nearly to her breasts. It feels natural to have her body conform to my size, and her tongue flicks out as she rolls it over my thumb. My cock flinches at her delicate invitation.

I'm massive compared to her petite, lickable form. But that's okay. If she chooses to stay, if she wants to see what she's capable of, I have the ability to force her body to accept me.

All of me.

"Would you like me to taste you again?" I ask her. I need her verbal agreement for anything I might do.

Earl Rinhold hadn't asked for permission. He'd tempted her and manipulated her.

That's the difference between me and him. I will make sure that Scarlett doesn't question what she enjoys with me.

She sucks on my thumb, and I'm nearly undone by her nonverbal rebuttal.

Perhaps she wants to taste me again instead, and I understand why. My essence would be addicting to her.

I'm a drug to humans. My blood has powerful properties, as does my cum.

But to a compatible mate? I could make her go insane.

She grabs my massive shaft with both hands, making me throb underneath her touch. "Tell me if this is real, Cain, not-Cain."

"It can't be real," I say.

Not yet.

"But it can feel real, little star," I offer. It's all I have for her right now.

She's safe in only this realm until I find what I'm looking for.

Her hands move up and down my shaft, stroking me and forcing silver liquid to drizzle from the top of my throbbing head. She licks her lips as she looks down at it.

But I don't want her drunk on me. I want her to feel what real pleasure is supposed to be, not a manipulated version of it.

"Lie down on the bed," I instruct. "If you want my tongue, I will give it to you."

"I want this," she says as she rolls her fingers over the head of my cock, taking the substance and slowly bringing it to her mouth.

I grab her wrist to stop her as I growl. Then I smear it across her cheek. She pants as I coat her face with the cum she's claimed.

"You'll have that after I fuck you with my tongue, little one," I promise. "I want you to be a good girl for me. Can you do that?"

She whimpers as she backs away and falls onto the bed, the same one that is re-created from the real one in her room.

Earl Rinhold had already tucked her body under the sheets. He hadn't taken the time to dress her, which is just as well. It leaves her naked for me.

My dream version of Scarlett slips into her body, merging them as I slide the sheets off her skin.

It's the closest I've ever come to interacting with the realm world while I'm inside a dream. The sheer power and new capabilities that a potential mate offers me is dizzying.

I grab her by the ankles and spread her open for me. Glancing up at her, I ask her again, "Are you going to be a good girl, Scarlett? Tell me what you want."

Her chest heaves, making the moonlight glisten across her breasts. But my gaze is caught on the silvery spot smeared across her cheek.

Mine, I think, delighted by the sight of her.

"Fuck me with your tongue," she whispers, and I love that she repeated the dirty phrasing I had given her.

Wasting no time in rewarding her, I shove my tongue into her sweet entrance. My tongue is easily the size of a human's cock while I'm in this form.

Her blood dances across my taste buds, and I nearly explode on the spot. Even in the Dream Realm, I'm still able to physically interact with her body. Something changed to allow it.

Perhaps it had to do with her moment in the tub that I can now see in better clarity. She had slipped into the Dream Realm on her own. She has begun to awaken to her true nature. What makes her compatible with me is the fact of what she is.

She's a source of endless power, and she has just started to break the surface of the wall around the darkness she's kept hidden all her life.

I didn't mean to make this real, but I can taste her virginity shattering on my tongue.

Fuck, yes.

The world doesn't end. I don't die and neither does she. Whatever boundary the blood contract has in place when it comes to exclusivity doesn't seem to recognize what line I just crossed. For now, we're both still deep within the Dream Realm, camouflaging what's really happening.

It's a risk I wouldn't have taken had I been more lucid.

But now I'm crazed. I fuck her with my tongue, thrusting as I enjoy her whimpers and her scrambling fingers digging her nails into my forearms as I hold her hips down.

"More!" she cries as I close my mouth around her entire pussy and suck in obedience of her command. My tongue still moves in and out, lapping up every drop of blood her virginity has to offer as I force her to come for me.

Then the sweetness follows as she climaxes and screams.

Shadows swirl around us, and I command them to drag her under. Her body convulses on a final few shocks of pleasure as I ease out of her pussy and lick up the nectar dripping from my face. She blinks at me, struggling to stay awake, before she closes her eyes completely and succumbs to the peace I offer her.

"Sleep, little star," I whisper.

And she does.

I leave her—satisfied and slipping into a deep sleep—because I know if I stay, I'll do more than fuck her with my tongue.

I'll claim her. I'll devour her.

And neither of us is ready for that.

Soon, I promise her as I retreat. Soon, little star.

When the time is right… you will be mine.