Alistair’s Bed (9 page)

Damn it, he’d hurt her already.
Regret flared in his heart, but it didn’t deter him. Alistair looked into her eyes and tried to make the warning clear. “Horns or no, we both know I’m not a mortal man.” He turned and flipped on her laptop. “I’ll be doing some research while you’re in the kitchen. Maybe somewhere in this Internet thing is the way to get me free.”

She stopped in the door way and looked back to where he was seated. “If there’s a way, we’ll find it. I know how much you want to be free.” Then she was gone, leaving Alistair alone with his research and his regrets. The last thing in the world he wanted to do was hurt Keri, but she was mortal, he was a daemon, and he knew that if he wasn’t careful, things between them were going to get very complicated, fast.

***

CHAPTER 7

That night the dream came again. She was back on the same beach, running through the storm. This time the sense of loss was even more painful than before, though she still didn't know what it was she had lost. The wind threw up sea spray that lashed at her skin like icy whips and she cried out in fear, but the wind stole her voice away and her cries went unheard. A distant roar filled her ears and Keri cringed, knowing what would come next. She stopped running and turned around to face the massive wave that was hurtling towards her, a wall of dark water she had no way to escape. As the chill water slammed down on her she screamed and woke up bolt upright with a choking wail of terror on her lips.

She felt strong arms wrap around her, tugging her against the warm and comforting bulk of Alistair’s body. She could hear his heart pounding against her cheek and realized it raced nearly as fast as hers. She clung to him, her terror fading slowly as his soft words soothed her fears. He may have pulled away from her earlier, but he was here now and she needed him.

“It’s alright Keri, I’m here, it was only a dream.”

Damn, do I hate these nightmares.
The thought rose up out of her shattered wits as Keri came back to her senses. “Did I wake you up? I’m sorry.”

“I couldn’t sleep; I was reading out on the deck.” He lifted her into his lap and cradled her next to his chest. “I should have been here.”

“It wouldn’t have made any difference; the dreams come no matter who’s with me.” Keri sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck, needing to feel his solid strength around her. “I once lashed out in a dream and gave my husband a black eye. He hated sleeping with me when I was having these weird dream spells.” She struggled to keep the shame and embarrassment from her voice and failed. “He started sleeping in another bedroom; he said it was so he could get good night’s sleep. I suppose that’s when everything really started to fall apart. I drove him out of our bed.”

“He sounds like a very weak, selfish sort of man. A true mate would have stayed with you and tried to determine why you keep having these dreams.” Alistair threaded his hands through her hair, letting it fall through his fingers. “Was the dream the same one you were having when I first came to you?”

“That’s the one. Beach, storm, screaming, big wave, crunch, and then I’m awake again.” She drew a ragged breath. “I hate it.”

“How long have you had it? Since you were a child?” He asked, his voice still low and soothing.

“This dream? This one started a few months ago. At first it wasn’t often, but lately I’ve had it nearly every night.”

“You didn’t have it last night,” He pointed out.

“No, you’re right, I didn’t. I had it that afternoon, but you came and changed the dream, and I didn’t have it again until tonight.”

Alistair was quiet for a long moment. “When you have these dreams, do they ever come to pass?”

“What?” Keri felt a wave of dread wash over her.
How did he know?

“These dreams, the ones that repeat themselves, do they ever come true?” His hand cupped her cheek, stroking it gently with his thumb.

Tears welled up in Keri’s eyes and she jerked away from his touch. “I don’t want to talk about it.” She was suddenly lost in a flood of memories; her begging her Dad not to go away for the weekend, being too young to make him understand she’d seen him die in her nightmares. It was easier to not remember at all than to have to live with the memory of her failure to save him. Every dark, painful moment of her life she’d seen in her dreams before they happened, and she’d never been able to change a single outcome.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” His hand dropped to her shoulder and he drew her close, his hands soothing her as she trembled against him. “It’s alright Keri, we won’t talk about it anymore if you don’t want to.”

“I don’t want to.” Her words came out sharper than she’d intended and Keri winced inwardly. She was always messing things up between them. She cast about for something to fill the growing silence.

“Would you mind if I left the house for a while tomorrow? I need to run into town and buy groceries, and I thought I’d pay my neighbor a visit. She was kind enough to give me some fresh eggs the other day and I baked her desert in thanks. I’d like to give it to her, but I don’t want to leave you alone if you aren’t okay with it.”

“You can’t stay with me every minute of the day, that would make you as much a prisoner as I am.” His tone was joking, but she thought she heard a trace of wistfulness beneath the surface.

Keri smiled and fought to tamp down the hope that flared at his faint show of disappointment. “Then I’ll do that tomorrow and leave you to your research. I meant to ask, have you found anything helpful?”

“Maybe.” He drew her down and snuggled her close before drawing the covers over them, spooning his body around hers. “It’s likely nothing, but I’ve found two mentions of the same item, and it’s more than I had to go on before.”

“An item? What item? Do we need to find one to free you?”

“It’s a small medallion, it would be forged in the same metal that’s inlaid into this bed.” In all the years I have been prisoner I have never seen it, but if I understand the references, there may be one hidden somewhere in the bed itself. If it exists, it’s what holds me here.” His voice was a low rumble near her ear. “When you restored the bed and assembled it, did you see something like that?”

“A medallion about the size of a toonie, made of silvery metal?” Keri’s heart slammed in her chest and then shattered into pieces as she recalled the metal disc set into the top of one column. When she told him about it, he’d leave her and she wasn’t ready for him to walk out of her life. She’d be alone again, and deep in her broken heart she knew she’d never find another man who would ever compare to the one she was about to lose. Her mouth formed the lie before she even knew what she would say. “No, I don’t remember anything like that. I’m sorry Alistair.”

“I will keep researching. It was unlikely the key to my freedom would be so easy to find. So tell me, what is a toonie?”

“A two dollar coin, about an inch wide.” She explained, trying to stay calm as screams of panic at what she had just done threatened to drown out every other thought in her head. “The one dollar coin ended up with the nickname of a “loonie” for the loon stamped on one side, so when they came up with a two dollar coin, it got called the toonie.”

“A strange name for a coin. But you humans are a strange race.”

“Don’t insult the human who is going to feed you all your favorite things tomorrow.” She scolded him lightly. “At least, I will if you tell me what they are. We’ll both work in the morning and spend the rest of the day enjoying ourselves. How does that sound?” She mentally added,
and then the next morning I’ll tell you about the medallion and you’ll leave me.

“That sounds perfect.” He murmured and brushed a kiss to her shoulder before slipping out of their bed. “Ill just bring the laptop inside and be right back.”

She watched him walk away, the moonlight bright enough she could see every breathtaking detail of his body. She had to bite her lip sharply to stop the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. Losing him was going to hurt, but to keep him she had to keep him prisoner, and she couldn’t do that to him.

He returned to their bed and curled up beside her once more, his arm curving around her waist to hold her close. “Now go to sleep. I’ll be right here, guarding your dreams.”

Even though she was tired, it took Keri a long time to fall asleep. Her thoughts were full of recriminations at the lie she had told, and everything was tinged with sadness at knowing it was all coming to an end. Her lie had bought her one more day, and she’d make it as perfect as she could. One shining memory to hold onto when she faced the emptiness she knew was coming.

Long after her breathing had deepened and she had drifted back into sleep, Alistair lay awake. Keri affected him in ways no woman ever had, and much as he would like to pretend otherwise, it was more than simply because he had been alone for so long. He watched her sleeping beside him, fascinated by the freckles that dusted the pale skin of her shoulders. His promises to her, to himself, everything that had seemed to clear just a few hours ago, he knew now it wasn’t going to be that simple. He wanted her, yes, but it was more than that.

His fingers brushed through her long red curls, pausing to touch the love bite on her neck. He had marked her once, and by Styx he wanted to mark her again, in a way that would tell everyone she was his and only his.

Alistair shook his head, amazed at the thoughts he was having. He needed to free himself soon and go home. If anyone knew a way for him to keep his beautiful Keri, it was the Elders. But until he freed himself from this cursed spell and returned home, he could not offer her anything permanent, it wouldn’t be fair. He’d have to keep his hopes to himself.

***

CHAPTER 8

Keri woke with a shuddering moan as Alistair’s mouth sampled her breast, his golden brown eyes gleaming with mischief as he watched her wake up. His fingers were already resting on her mound, brushing against her labia with feather light touches. Within seconds she was awake, desire tightening her nipples to hard nubs and a pool of molten need gathering between her legs.

“Good morning.” She mewled and arched beneath him, stretching her body out in invitation to continue.

He flicked his tongue over her nipple again and then lifted his head to smile at her. “Good morning Beautiful. I tried to let you sleep in, but I couldn’t wait any longer to have you.”

He leaned over to lave her other breast as his fingers pressed a fraction of an inch deeper into her folds, teasing her. She bucked her hips against his fingers and gasped as his fingers slid deep and then deeper as he entered her with two fingers, his thumb unerringly finding her clitoris and pressing down firmly.

He worked her clit mercilessly, his fingers curling inside, finding the sensitive spot on her vaginal wall and caressing her there.

He seemed determined to make her come hard, his touch seeking out every hotspot she had. “Come for me Beautiful.” He murmured.

Keri moaned and writhed on the bed, her breath coming in short pants as she squirmed against the relentless pleasure of his fingers. She saw him watching her intently as her hands burrowed into the sheets, kneading them with frantic strength as her orgasm began to build.

“Come for me, show me how good it feels,” he commanded her, increasing the speed of his fingers as they thrust in and out of her. “I want to taste your pleasure Keri.”

“So good!” Keri cried out. Her inner muscles clamped around him and she arched her hips up hard, her movements wild as her body reacted with raw instinct to the pleasure he was lavishing on her. She gasped brokenly and shuddered, trying to catch her breath. He never gave her that chance, instead he moved quickly to pull her legs over the edge of the bed and flipped her over so she was face down, the sheets she had clung to now tangled around her hands.

“That was good, but I want more.” He half growled as his hands found her thighs, parted and lifted them until she was angled perfectly. He moved closer and pulled her to him, thrusting into her without warning and she could feel her body stretch to take him. “You feel like you were made for me!” He groaned as their bodies met with no space left between them.

She was so full of him it was almost painful, and she bit back a full throated moan as she wriggled against him, asking him for even more. She gripped him with her innermost muscles and released, then did it again; she teased and begged with each flex of her body, needing him to take her, needing him to move.

“Say it Keri.” His voice was a rough growl. “Tell me what you want.”

“You, I want you. Please Alistair, I need you.”

He took her then, hard and fast. His hips driving hard, the delicious friction between them building to a blazing fire of need.

Keri cried out his name again and again, encouraging him, begging him as she clung to the bed. The pleasure mounted until at last her world shattered into bliss, her hips thrusting wildly and her body shuddering hard. She came and he kept going, her cries muffled by the mattress as he deliberately pushed her past her limits.

He felt her come, her energy punching through him, nearly bringing him to his knees. The clench of her around his cock, the flood of wetness had brought him to the edge of his control, but he wanted more. He wanted to lay claim to her, body and soul.

She moaned again, turning her head towards the mirror. “Alistair, look.” She inclined her head towards the mirror, clearly enthralled by image of the two of them together. He glanced up, following her gaze and groaned as he took in the vision of her beneath him, his body driving into hers over and over. It was his undoing, knowing she saw what he did; the image of the two of them entwined and caught in the thrall of passion. He came in a torrent, feeling as though he were turned inside out and drained dry. Her release was nearly as wild as his, their voices both filling the room as they cried out together.

Alistair withdrew and lowered her legs carefully back to the bed, feeling her muscles tremble beneath his hands. He lifted her, moving her closer to the middle so he could crawl in beside her, still trying to catch his breath. She snuggled into him, laying her head on his chest, one arm draped over his stomach as she tried to speak.