Nightmares and Daydreams (The Blood Falls Book 4)
Nightmares and Daydreams: Chapter 2

Dray was behind me. One hand on my hip, the other on my shoulder. He’d been pounding me forever.

And I loved every second of it.

I was wild for it, actually. I had no idea I needed this so badly. Dray had a magical way of erasing the whole world. Everything but him and his demanding cock.

“I’m going to run you raw so that when I have you on my desk at lunch tomorrow, you’ll still feel this.”

Oh yes. Fuck yes.

It was another of the samhain world’s very normal things that few humans took advantage of. Lunch wasn’t just a draught of blood or a sandwich. It was also sex. We usually met back at home, but sometimes Dray requested we meet in his office. He always said it was because he was tight on time, but I knew it was because he liked to erase a little of that Head of House stress by marking it with sex.

And then there were the times he met me at school…

Well, let’s just say there are several spots on campus that have now seen some of the dirtiest sex they ever will see.

I came. Again. Hard and yet not enough somehow. So Dray pulled out, resting his very large erection on my cheek. “That’s two. Keep count. I want the total when we finally get some sleep later.”

“Yes, Dray.”

“On your back.” I watched as he moved around the buffet I created for our celebration. He munched on a slice of pizza and brought me one of my own, nibbled on the appetizers some more, then finished off by sharing dessert with me.

“I need to feed.” His eyes sparkled as he came to a stop over me, fangs glinting in the light. “Here.” He brushed the vein on my left breast.

“By all means.” It felt so good when he drank from me there. Especially in my nipples.

“But the trick is, you can’t move. Not at all. No matter what I do to you.”

This was new…and exciting. “All right.”

“Look at you.” He clucked his tongue. “All laid out for me like this. You’re a better dessert by far.” He sank to his knees. “Now remember. You promised not to move.” He didn’t wait for an answer. He licked my skin all the way to my nipple, lapping and sucking until it went numb. Then he did it to the other as well. I was a panting, needy mess, but I didn’t move.

Then he sank his fangs into my vein and took the first draught of blood. The usual tingling pleasure danced through my veins, followed by the lightning streaks of electricity. At first it was just nice. Intoxicating. But that quickly transformed into the all-consuming fire brought on by the drinking of a lover. It became almost impossible to hold still. My body burned, ached to move and be free.

Something Dray knew when he commanded me not to move.

Sneaky samhain.

“No moving.”

“I’m not,” I gasped as he trailed his tongue over the skin of my breast.

“You are. No squirming.” He teased my nipple with his fang. The feeling had almost fully returned to both of them.

“I need you.”

“I know.”

Bastard. He loved this game. It was one of his favorites. If I was being honest, it was my favorite as well. The longer he made me wait, the hotter he got me, the more my need called to him. Which meant by the time he finally gave me what I wanted, he’d be so very large and heavy. The fight to stretch and take him drove me wild. Every. Single. Time.

“You know how much I appreciate all this?” His voice was quieter. More sincere. It made me focus.

“Of course.”

“I mean it. Making me this meal, forcing me to stop working for a night, all of it means a lot to me.”

“I love you, Dray. I want to help.”

His eyes gleamed and a small, devious smile pulled up the corners of his lips. “Which is why I’m so determined to return the favor.” His fingers slid inside my channels and my eyes rolled back in my head from the pleasure. “That’s right. No moving. Only taking what I give you. The reward for both of us will be incredible.”

His fingers filled me, easing a little of the ache, all while creating an even deeper yearning for his cock.

“I love seeing you give up. So much fight in you, Rhysa. You even fight yourself. But when I touch you…”

I became a needy pool of want, desperate to do anything for an orgasm. Yeah…I was such a sucker for Dray and his magic cock.

He worked me over with expert skill, bringing me right up to the brink of orgasm, and then easing me away. He touched me, filled me, sucked and licked, until I became damn near incoherent. Then and only then did he finally heft his massive cock into his hand, press it against my entrance, and push.

“Fucking finally!” I groaned. He was too big, just the way he liked it. For the moment it was impossible for him to do anything but push against my heat, waiting for my body to react to his new size.

The blood rushed from my head as it all flooded south, engorging, stretching, milking at the head of his cock. The muscle spasms were so strong they almost hurt.

“That’s it. Stretch for me,” he groaned. This time it was his eyes rolling back from the pleasure. “I feel how badly you want me inside you, but you’ve got to let me in first.”

His tip sank inside to the crown and stopped. It forced me to stretch. Slowly, almost painfully. But I did. As always, I welcomed Dray inside me, where he belonged. “You played with me too long.” He was so big this was going to take a few minutes.

He chuckled. “I got a little carried away, but you’ll take all of this cock one way or another. You always do.”

I knew it was still early—Dray’s success with the dragon was so new—but it was moments like this that made me wonder if we’d ever get to play with his dragon half like this. I fantasized about it more than once or twice. I wouldn’t push it…but I wanted it.

“What has you all hot and bothered all of a sudden?” he panted and I realized he was nearly halfway inside me now.

“Just thinking of how hot it is when you test just how far we can go.” It wasn’t a lie. Technically.

“Fuck, look at you. So beautiful. Can’t wait to feel you full.” He pressed his hands into the backs of my knees, spreading me and keeping me from moving too much so he could work me the way he wanted.

And it was hot to watch him work. The way he concentrated, the way his muscles tensed and moved, how his jaw slid forward as he moved. All in an effort to give me an orgasm. Every bit of it turned me on.

“So full,” I groaned. With each thrust my belly bulged, showing me exactly how deep he could reach, how much bigger than me he was.

“You are. And you’re going to come while I’m buried deep. You’re going to squeeze me so hard I come right along with you. I can’t wait.”

He slammed home and I instantly came around him. So thick and heavy and deep that I felt every spasm, every surge of pleasure that ripped through me, all fighting to meet at the place where our bodies combined.

“Damn, female,” Dray cursed, bowing under the pressure my body placed around him. “Fuck, I can’t hold back.” His cock kicked as his orgasm barreled down.

My orgasm multiplied with the combination and I arched off the ottoman, taking and giving pleasure until I had nothing left to give, and collapsed.

The intensity of the orgasm was too much. I could barely move. Not even when Dray slowly withdrew. Certainly not when he placed the thin white ropes around my nipples. Not even when he picked me up and took me to bed.

He laid with his back against the headboard and me in his lap. The rope wrapped around his hand, lightly tugging on my nipples. He cupped his massive erection. “You’re going to ride this monstrosity you created. And I’m going to enjoy every minute of you trying to get more inside you.”

While he held my nipples hostage? Yes please.

“How many, Rhysa?”

Oh right! I was supposed to be counting orgasms. “Uh, three?”

“You don’t sound certain.”

“Well it’s technically two, but that last one was like three in one.”

He slammed back inside me, filling me so full I came all over again, riding the wave in search of more, but then he lifted me back off. “Now it’s three. Don’t lose count again.”

“Yes, Dray,” I whispered because I was still reeling from the suddenness of it all.

“Now,” he tugged on the ropes, “let me watch you work for number four.”

By the end of the night I had counted to lucky number thirteen.

The problem with being raised as a human was…well, there were a lot of problems, actually. Not the least of which was my age. I had been on this earth for twenty-one years. I was fairly young for a human. An adult with adult responsibilities, but not quite enough experience to really know much.

But twenty-one to the samhain? That was a child. Any samhain my age looked like a child and acted like a child. They still played games and did their chores and took their classes. They just so happened to be at it for twenty-one years.

And here I was. A conundrum. A weirdo.

I looked like a fully mature samhain. I acted like a fully mature samhain. But I had a third of the years of experience. My body and my mind did not match up in this world.

I tried to joke my way through the discomfort. Tease Dray about being an old man. But that was a hard act to keep up when he only looked a year or two older than me. At most.

My life had gone from lonely to bizarre to strange at lightning speed. For twenty-one years my samhain DNA had been suppressed, allowing me to live and grow as a human, and now that it was unlocked, every day seemed to bring a new surprise.

“I will never get used to cutting my nails every morning.” I thought my nails were healthy before? Whew. I had no idea. Since my Awakening they grew faster and healthier by the day. If I didn’t cut them as part of my morning routine I’d have claws by lunchtime.

“You’ll get used to it,” Dray rumbled, setting his toothbrush aside and examining his beard.

It grew super fast too. It was actually pretty fun. A lot of the males kept beards for the ease of it all, but a few like Dray shaved in the morning. That meant I got a clean-shaven Dray in the morning, scruffy Dray in the afternoon, and bearded Dray at night. Three Drays for the price of one!

“Leave it today.”

He ran his fingers through the short beard and arched an eyebrow in question.

“Just for a change of pace. It’ll be fun.”

Dray frowned and turned to me, taking my hips in his hands as he lowered his head and searched my eyes. “I’m sorry I was late last night.”

“I think you more than made up for it.”

“There’s something bothering you though. I can feel it.” His fingers flexed on my hips.

I gave his beard a little tug. “I don’t know, Dray. Maybe…maybe I’m looking for an outlet.” I sighed, coming to terms with the fact that once again Dray was more in tune with my emotions than I was. “The weight of the world is heavy and the future isn’t looking too bright these days. I don’t know, I guess I’m looking for ways to bring a little fun in wherever I can.”

His gaze softened, one hand coming up to cup my cheek. “And my beard is fun?”

I shrugged. “Only one way to replace out.”

He threw his head back and laughed, the rumble filling the air and vibrating through me like thunder. I loved the sound. Any chance to make the grumpiest, most serious male I’d ever met laugh? I took it. And then basked in the pride of my accomplishments.

“Well then for you, my love,” his big thumb brushed my cheek a moment before he kissed me once, softly, on the lips, “it will be a beard day.”

“Thanks. Training?”

He nodded once. His days—all of our days, actually—had gotten long and intense. Dray had training in the yard first. That was the swords and armor stuff. Then we all met in the library for research updates. After that he did his Head of the House shit before meeting me, Sun, and Rain in the meadow below the main house. My schedule was similar to his, but in a different order. While he was training in the yard, I was with Rain in the library surfing the psychic airwaves. After research updates I did my training in the yard, with the other kids my age. It stung my ego a little. Okay, a lot. But the truth was, I had the skill of a child when it came to the blade and hand-to-hand combat.

“And then the meadow?” He still resisted this other, very important training, even though we were making serious headway and just had a massive breakthrough.

“I’ll be there.” He snagged my hand and threaded his fingers through mine. “I hate it. Don’t expect that to change any time soon, but I do know how important it is. I will be there.”

“You came back on your own.” I still couldn’t believe it. After so many weeks of almost losing him to his dragon half, he finally came back on his own.

It wasn’t easy or pretty, but he did it. It was a major sign that Dray would replace a way to manage his two halves. I saw the potential, but Dray was still stuck in the past, hating every second of dragon training.

“I don’t know if you’ve figured it out yet, but I’ll do anything to make you happy, Rhysa. Even face the one thing I hate most about myself.”

“Dray.” I could not understand how he could hate his dragon half so completely. I knew he did because I felt it when our minds joined. His words weren’t just words. They were very real, deep-seated emotions.

“Don’t.” He cut me off. “Just don’t.”

This wound ran deep. So deep it was part of him. “Then I won’t.” I kissed his chest, just over his heart, and left. By the time he returned to the bedroom I was dressed for the day. Linen pants, tank top, sweater. Spring was upon us and I liked to take advantage of the warmer weather whenever I could. Mountain life was still confusing to me. It stayed colder longer than I was used to and could change in an instant. One moment it would be a lovely, sunny, warm afternoon, and then the sun would drop behind the mountain peak or a cloud would roll in, and boom, it was cold again.

But I kind of loved it.

“No jewelry today?” He pulled on a pair of loose pants for training and nothing else.

I loved training sessions when I got to watch them! Unfortunately I was usually too busy to ogle Dray’s shirtless chest these days. “Feels pointless to put on jewelry when I’m so busy. I just have to take it all off again, you know?”

He grunted, tucking a hair behind my ear. “When this is all over I’m showering you with jewelry and lazy days.”

And that was the thing. The thing we never spoke of. When this is all over. If it was ever over. If we survived to enjoy anything afterward. Would there ever be another lazy day to enjoy?

I wrapped my hand around his wrist and tried to smile. “I look forward to it.”

“Come.” He nodded and I followed. If the weather was bad or we were in a hurry we shifted down to the main house. Every other time we walked the mountain paths.

But Dray didn’t move to the front of the house. Instead he opened the porch door.

“Where are we going?”

“We don’t take advantage of the fun we have right at our fingertips nearly enough.” He grabbed the rope and held out his hand.

My heart skipped a whole beat. I loved taking the rope down the mountain because it was like flying through the forest, but mostly because it meant being held close by Dray the whole time. His arm banded around my waist as I wrapped mine around his waist and pressed my cheek to the bare skin of his chest.

And then we were off, dropping slowly through the budding trees, birds busy returning home, squirrels bounding with excitement. We spun slowly, taking in the morning sky, then trees, then the bare stone of the mountain. We landed with a soft thunk, my heart pounding in my chest from the exhilaration of it all.

“That never gets old.”

“It really doesn’t.”

A little snow and ice clung to the shadowy parts of the mountain despite grass and leaves peeking out everywhere else. We picked our way carefully down the forest path to Blood Falls. The water appeared a bright fiery orange instead of blood red this morning because the sun was still rising. In an hour or so the color would deepen as the light refracted off the stone and water at a different angle.

“I can’t wait to swim,” I sighed.

“It’ll be at least another month.” He rumbled, gripping my hand tighter. “And trust me, I can’t wait either.” When I looked up I found his eyes twinkling with mischief.

“Dray.”

He grinned. Grinned! “Rhysa.”

“Well at least you’re smiling.”

When we got to the house he kissed me goodbye before going to get his gear. I grabbed another coffee before heading to the library to meet Rain.

That’s where I ran into an unusually exhausted looking Gigi. My best friend always seemed to be effortlessly put together. Her blonde hair was always perfect, her makeup impeccable, her clothing as chic and tailored as anyone I’d ever seen in real life.

But today she had bags under her eyes. Bags she didn’t even try to conceal. There wasn’t a trace of makeup on her face. Her hair was stuffed into a messy ponytail with lumps and even a few tangles. Her bright eyes were dull. She wore an enormous sweater that swallowed her whole. In the span of a day she’d gone from tired looking to haggard.

“Whoa there. Maybe slow down on mainlining caffeine?” I took the coffee pot so she couldn’t refill her cup.

“I’m exhausted, Rhysa. I need it.”

“Nope. You’re past exhausted. You need sleep.” I knew she was having trouble, I knew she was working hard, but I didn’t know she had gotten this bad. I felt like a shitty friend.

“Give me the coffee, Rhysa.”

“Nope. Not gonna happen.” It broke my heart, but I dumped the rest of the beautiful, delicious liquid down the drain. “Upstairs young lady.”

Gigi stamped her foot and crossed her arms over her chest. “You are not the boss of me!”

I tried really, really hard not to laugh. “Do you hear yourself? You couldn’t analyze a shred of information right now, let alone hold a coherent conversation.”

She stared at me, the glazed look in her eyes somehow got worse. “I can’t sleep.”

“When was your last night of decent sleep?”

“Decent?” she laughed. “Months.”

“Okay. When was the last night you slept for a few hours?”

Her chin wobbled. “I think it’s been four days. I’m not sure.”

“Oh honey.” I got my arms around her just in time to keep her from collapsing. “What can I do?”

“I don’t know anymore.” She began sobbing. Her hands shook. Gigi was a mess.

“Let’s go to your room. Can you shift?”

She shook her head, whimpering.

“Okay. It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

Her room was a mess. Clothes thrown around, dirty dishes stacked on her dresser and nightstand. A suitcase open on the floor with the contents scattered about.

It was the exact opposite of any other time I’d ever set foot in her room.

“Sorry.” Her cheeks turned pink with embarrassment. “I’ve been distracted.”

I shoved her blankets into place and sat us down on the bed. “Let’s start there. What has you so distracted?”

She dropped her head into her hands. “I want to say it’s the work I’ve been doing on the DNA samples and the metals, but it’s not. It’s…”

“Ryddyck.”

She nodded. I rubbed her back. As far as I could tell Ryddyck was giving her as much space as he could, which was saying a lot since his mission was to replace Gigi and do…something. No one knew what, only that Ryddyck saw Gigi in his dreams, and Gigi saw Ryddyck in hers.

And as someone who’s mind now connected with her mate’s I knew that could be overwhelming. “Are you having nightmares?”

“No.” Her shoulders sagged. “Maybe? They don’t even feel like dreams anymore, Rhysa. That’s part of the problem. If I were dreaming or having nightmares, at least that would be sleep. What I do when I close my eyes? It’s not sleeping.”

“Is Ryddyck in them?”

She nodded again. “He is. I’m not trying to hide from him. I did in the beginning, but I’m not anymore. I can’t.”

“Do the dreams change when you see him?”

She scooted back to the headboard and pulled her knees up under her chin. “You don’t understand,” she whispered. “It’s like…it’s like I’m somewhere else. We’re somewhere else. Ryddyck thinks we’re crossing Planes.”

Maybe that was true. I certainly didn’t understand the one Plane of existence I could connect with, let alone the idea that there were others. But I also had another idea. “When Dray shifts, I’m linked with him. I go with him. He’s a dragon, but I’m flying with him. I’m not just me anymore.” I swallowed hard because I hadn’t talked with anyone about this except Dray. “We’ve been training and the more time we spend together like that, the more it seems to be seeping into our lives, even when he isn’t shifted.”

I felt Gigi’s eyes boring into me, studying my face and trying to read my mind. With the Wren’s psychic blood, who knows, maybe she could. Dray certainly did, no matter what he said.

“Does it feel real but fuzzy?” Gigi asked. “Like you don’t quite belong there?”

“Yeah. I guess you could describe it that way. When was the last time you drank?”

Her gaze darted away. A sure sign she was about to lie or tell me something she knew I wouldn’t like. “Maybe four days? At least as long as I haven’t been able to sleep.”

“Gigi.”

“I know!” She threw her hands in the air. “I just…I can’t think straight. I’ve just been going and going, trying to escape it.”

“Running doesn’t solve anything. Get comfortable.”

She pouted but didn’t fight, sinking into the vein at my wrist while I brushed her hair with my free hand. She was so weak that I barely felt each pull. She’d need more blood. Different blood. But this was a start. Especially with my powers.

What was it about Gigi’s dreams that drained her like this, or, as she thought, if they were dreams at all.

Were they connected to mine?

And if they were, what the hell did that mean?

Gigi drifted off to sleep. I stayed with her to make sure it lasted. After an hour or so she stopped twitching, her breathing grew deeper, and a little drool dropped on to the pillow.

I went in search of Ryddyck.