Dream Three, Chapter Nine

(Anything in asterisks is meant to be italicized.)

I was dozing on my side in his large bed, not really awake and not really asleep, when I felt him come in and sit down next to me. His fingers ever so gently turned my head and I felt him lean over and lightly kiss me. I never would have felt it had I been fully asleep, and it made me wonder how often he did it. As his lips pulled away from mine, I smiled and pulled him back down for another kiss, running my hand through his wet hair

"You should be asleep," he said as he sat up, his hand coming to rest on my upturned hip as I opened my eyes.

"I was dozing," I informed him. "Why'd you shower without me?"

His sexy lips turn up at the corners and an eyebrow arches slightly as he says, "Because you should be sleeping."

"But you know how much I enjoy showering with you," I tell him sleepily as my hand comes to rest on his powerful forearm.

"Next time, Rainbow Girl," he says before he leans down and kisses me again, cupping my face with his hand. Then he's on the other side of the room, pulling a shirt out of the armoire. I blink and he's at the end of the bed, nearly fully dressed and pulling on his boots. Before he can get up, I crawl over and wrap my arms around his neck from behind. His shirt's still unbuttoned, hanging open and loose.

"What do you think you're doing?" I purred in his ear.

"I have to go, Mac," he says, putting a hand on one of my arms but not trying to move it.

"No, you don't," I tell him as my hand slips beneath his open shirt and I feel the slow beat of his heart. "You ate earlier."

"I didn't say I was going to eat."

"Then what could possibly be so important that it would pull you away from me when I'm in your bed and naked?" My head drops into the hollow of his neck and I inhale the scent of spices before I start kissing it. I want him. I always want him. I just hear his voice and I'm ready to go. I love and hate it.

"Ryodan and I want to go check on Dageus."

"Your queen thinks that can wait until morning. Or afternoon. Or maybe even next week."

He snorts a laugh before he turns his head and kisses me. "I think the king would disagree."

"That's just because Dani's off doing secret Hunter things and he's mad he wasn't allowed to go with this time." He grunts his agreement.

I sighed before I crawled off the bed and made a pink nightgown appear on me with pink lace trim so as not to make him any grumpier at Ryodan for pulling him away from me than he already would be. He stood up and I buttoned his shirt for him as I said, "I wonder if there are such things as immortal pets."

"The lemurs aren't enough for you?" he asked dryly.

"The lemurs aren't immortal."

"Ms. Lane, why do you want an immortal pet?"

"To keep me company when you're not here, especially when I'm waiting for you to come back from being killed. Someone I can cuddle and stroke and pet when I'm reading or watching a movie."

"And what kind of animal did you have in mind?" I glanced up as I straightened his lapel to see mockery glittering in his obsidian eyes.

"A husky or a wolf," I say with a shrug. "Or maybe a lion."

"How many beasts do you need?" he asks softly. There's crimson pooling in his eyes now.

"Relax, Jericho," I assure him as I press myself up against him and wrap my arms around his neck again. "Your beast will always be my favorite."

"He better be," he growls before he deeply kisses me. Then he checks his watch and exhales slowly. "Ryodan will be waiting for me. Get some sleep while I'm gone and I'll be back to fuck your Barbie ass within a few hours."

I kiss him once more before I tell him, "Say hi to Christian for me," and sashay back towards the bed. He's gone by the time I climb back in.

He brought me breakfast in bed about a week later. I ended up eating part of it off of him. He knew that was a possibility, which I'm pretty sure is why he brought me breakfast in bed.

A flatscreen had been installed over the fireplace on the opposite wall a few months ago so I turn it on after we shower and he leaves to take care of the dishes while I invite the earth to restore the sheets to being clean. No one's broadcasting anything but we had put in a DVD the night before and hadn't finished it. I grabbed the silk shirt he had discarded the previous night and put it on before pressing play. It's very much the equivalent of a dress on me but it smells like him so I pull it tightly around me as I crawl under the covers while I wait for him to return.

I feel him coming into the room and open my mouth to say something when I hear a low growl. The kind you hear when a lion's making noise but isn't quite roaring. My eyes go wide when I look up to see a horned, nine-foot-tall beast standing in the doorway.

"Jericho?" I say as I stand. The beast sniffs the air before he sits down on his haunches and looks at me. When he doesn't move, I slowly start to approach him with my hand outstretched, palm up. Another low growl rumbles in his chest and I pause before I start moving again once it stops.

He slowly lowers his head when I'm about a foot away. I take a few more steps and my hand gently strokes his cheek, his crimson eyes with the vertical pupils closing at my touch. Eventually I've got one hand stroking his cheek and another scratching his chin. There's a low rumbling in his chest that isn't a growl. Almost like a purr.

After a bit, he opens his eyes and slowly lifts his massive horned head before he nudges me with it. I take a few steps and he continues to nudge me towards the bed. My thought is that he just wanted to be in beast form for a bit before reverting to the man and possibly fucking me until I collapse. Instead, after he nudges me into the bed and I crawl under the black silk sheets, he goes to the other side and he carefully climbs onto it, gracefully preventing his talons from getting caught on anything. (It still amazes me that something so large can move with such grace and precision.) He tucks his front limbs under him and looks at me expectantly.

My eyes widen as I realize what he's doing.

Without making any sudden movements, I crawl as quickly as I can towards him and prop pillows up behind me as a backrest before he rests his great head in my lap. As a grin splashes across my face, my hands immediately go to work stroking and petting him. They're tender, kind, gentle, and loving. Adoring, even, as I eventually begin cooing over him like I would a pet, and I can't help but laugh when he opens one eye to give me a reproachful look.

He stays like that until the movie finishes and I can't help but wonder if his beast has ever known a kind touch. I cradle his head to my chest and gently shush him when he shifts back, knowing it's a painful ordeal for him. The smile I give him is full of love when he finally opens his eyes again because I hate seeing him in pain. His expression softens and he smiles a little back up at me before reaching up and tucking some hair behind my ear.

"Is that what you had in mind?" he asks, his hand lingering on my cheek.

I laugh as I nod and he sits up, hands going to my waist and pulling me underneath him as he stretches over me. His hands close around mine and he brings them above my head as he kisses me and I can't breathe and I don't need to.

I just need him.