Page 46 of Sweet Dreams

Zaldi wouldn’t do anything to put me in danger. I knew that; trusted that with my entire mind and body.

But, what if he didn’t know how to move a boring little human through the space between worlds to a world filled with incorporeal souls. I mean, it’s not like he’d done this before. Right?

“You know what you’re doing right?”

Zaldi’s laugh rumbled from within his chest, making me look up into that beautiful, inhuman face. “What?”

“You think I just lied to your grandfather?” Zaldi leaned in, “That man is terrifying, and therefore, I will be strictly abiding by everything I’ve promised him.” He lowered his head, forehead bumping mine and making me smile. “Is that clear?”

“Crystal.” I sighed into his chest, feeling my nerves slowly settle the longer he held me. “Do I need to, you know, do something while we go?”

His soft laugh warmed every part of me. “Just be here, Lu.”

And then the ground was falling away, or maybe we were falling through it, it was as if he’d simply squeezed me hard enough that I’d ceased to exist already. I could feel him move, his legs shifting against mine as it felt like he was walking us one direction. My eyes clamped shut against the swirl of darkness and shadow and I was almost ready to open my mouth and complain when suddenly, it all stopped. The ground under me, the male against me, all snapping into perfect focus once more.

My eyes popped open, staring first into Zaldi’s face before jerking so that I could step back and stare around us. Grass tickled my ankle as I moved. My jaw dropped as I stared around at what would only be explained as a country hillside, the lush grasses moving slightly as if we’d created a breeze by landing here.

Against the background, there was a vivid, dark line of trees, their leaves still so dark that from here, they appeared like a void below the sharp line of frosted grey mountains. I was immediately struck by the harsh beauty. And by complete stillness that settled over us as the grass at my feet steadied.

“It’s…so beautiful.” I hadn’t wanted to confess the truth, that I’d picture some kind of barren wasteland, maybe that we’d be greeted by ghostlike shapes just milling around. But, this looked like something from a hiking magazine, or maybe a photoshoot for that backpack company all my college friends had loved.

Zaldi ran a hand over my shoulder, his touch instantly leaving a trail of comfort…and heat. I blinked, looking down at the bare skin of my arm he’d touched. It was such a powerful pull just now, I half-expected there to be a visible mark there. But only goosebumps marked the place he’d touched.

Still, I ran my own fingers there, “Are you alright? Did I hurt you?” He asked, his brows lowering.

“No, I just…it felt different,” I raised my eyes, the fizzling pleasure of his touch continuing as I met his stare. “Good different.”

Zaldi hummed softly, slowly raising his hand to brush his fingers across my jaw so he could tilt my head back. His eyes glowed bright then, no traces of the warmth and humor that his human eyes had. These are his, truly his and they are just as beautiful.

“Are you scared?”

I considered him, the tingling effect his touch was having on me, the knowledge of what his kiss might do to me and then realized I didn’t care. Zaldi must’ve read my face, because the next moment, I was dangling mid-air, his mouth on mine, the heat rushing through me from every place we touched making my heart stutter in my chest. We kissed until I couldn’t breathe, until I broke away, gasping. Zaldi’s tongue traced a line up my neck, moaning into my skin as his hands roughly held me against his hips.

His body was so solid, so hard. And I couldn’t stop the squirm against him, the delicious friction between us making me whisper pleas into the Underworld air. And while somewhere in the back of my mind I recognized that this reaction to being in the Underworld with him was so drastic, the entire rest of me didn’t care.

I was here, with Zaldi and I wanted him.

“Zaldi,” I whispered, my fingers finding his thick knot of hair and releasing it around his horns. “Zaldi, please.”

His growl was so deep that I could actually feel it vibrate through my form. “Lulu, you are making it hard to be…a gentleman.”

I whimpered, “You know why I always liked you so much, why I want you so bad now.” He froze where he was nuzzling into my throat.

“Why?”

“Because,” I said, turning my head to capture the lobe of his ear in my teeth, “because you’re not a fucking gentleman.”

I thought my words would’ve snapped him out of whatever was holding him back. I’d expected him to react somehow. But, nothing could’ve prepared me for that change that came over him now. The demon against me straightened, burning eyes meeting mine, the fingers on my waist, sharpened, nails lengthening as his mouth parted in a snarl.

“No,” his voice rattled, “I’m not. I’m a demon, Lulu. A sex demon.” His head cocked, making my thighs clench as he lazily ran a dark tongue over his lower lip. “Everything about me is designed to seduce, to mesmerize and to pleasure. But, you?” His eyes rolled back in his head for a minute, “Everything, and I do mean everything, will be even sweeter. The way you smell, the way you taste. Everything about you is meant to drive me fucking wild. To drive me to the point where there’s no way we can’t turn into complete animals.”

I whined again, my lower belly quaking at his words. He leaned in, huffing in a breath against my hair. “Because once I’m inside you, Lulu, I won’t stop. I won’t be able to. I won’t want to, not until you’re screaming my name, drenched in my cum. Mine in every sense, as I will be yours.”

“Zaldi…”

“Unless you’re ready to take every inch of me, I suggest you stop looking at me like you can.”

For a moment, I wondered if I had a kink for being scolded. Because this big male, who was usually so kind and giving, turning into this dominant, demanding form of himself was making my body actually bow towards him. And while in the back of my mind, I knew it was a warning, I couldn’t stop now.