Demon's Dream (11 page)

Clarissa turned to the smaller woman. Although not plain, Shara paled in comparison to most demons and were-wolves Clarissa had seen. Shara’s long black hair was pulled back into a loose bun, while her dark eyes shone from deep within her face. She almost looked like she had been awake for days or had been worried extensively. Clarissa wondered if the servant woman was aware of them being in the other hell realm or if she assumed they were just sleeping. She took a moment to ruminate how much time passed here for the three days they were actually gone in the alternate dominion. Did Shara realize something was wrong and was worried about them? Well, about Mel at any rate?

She had noticed how the woman watched Azamel’s every move, clung to every word he spoke. It was obvious that Shara cared deeply about the judge. She stayed with him, was loyal to him. Was it because the she fawned over Mel or was she tied to him and those duties in some other way? In that moment, Clarissa questioned even more about Mel’s companion and their relationship.

Clarissa set the book aside and followed Shara towards the reception area. She was curious to know who would come and visit her here, for that matter who even knew she was here, much less have the power to enter such a place. However, Clarissa was also aware that Shara wouldn’t share that information with her, so she saved herself the headache and didn’t bother to ask her who was awaiting her. After all, she would find out soon enough.

Entering the familiar space, it took a moment for Clarissa to find the creature who was waiting for her in the shadows alongside the grotesque gargoyle skeletons positioned on either side of the fireplace. When the woman stepped into the light, she took Clarissa’s breath away. The statuesque woman seemed to glide more than walk towards her as Clarissa entered the room. The woman sported a perfect hourglass figure, with her brown hair woven into intricate
designs piled on top of her head. However, her eyes stopped Clarissa in her tracks. A yellowish amber, they radiated with an inner light that Clarissa was sure would illuminate in the dark. The woman’s light, tanned skin was flawless. She was sheer perfection in beauty and Clarissa felt humbled in her visitor’s presence.

Shara stepped back to let the two women converse but remained close by in case she was needed. At least that’s what Shara would claim should she be asked about her presence there but truth be told, she was nosy and wanted to know why the Spider Goddess wanted to see the wolf. Mel had insisted that the Goddess of dreams visit Clarissa as soon as possible. As far as Shara was concerned, it couldn’t be fast enough if it meant the young wolf would finally leave the realm that much quicker.

The woman floated towards Clarissa, though her eyes were on Shara. “You may leave us now,” she stated in a commanding, brook no arguments tone.

Shara paused, hesitant to leave but realized that she wasn’t about to go up against a Goddess. Nodding quietly, she quickly retreated down the hall. Once Shara had departed, the woman turned towards Clarissa and smiled softly. “My name is Archanidou. I’m also known as Spiderwoman or Grandma Spider. Have you heard of me before?”

“I’m sorry. I have not.”

“It’s okay, child. Azamel asked me to visit you and give you a gift.”

Clarissa tilted her head in confusion. “A gift? What kind of gift? I’m sorry but I’m really mystified as to why Mel would ask you to visit me much less request you present me with anything.”

“Child, he cares for you much more than he himself is willing to admit. As much as he would love to share his life with you for all eternity, he cannot. Your duties, his conflicts and it is not safe for either of you. However, that does not mean that he won’t do everything within his power to see you safe and protected. Even insofar as requesting another’s assistance, which for him is almost unheard of. It’s why I know he cares deeply for you. He is willing to do whatever it takes to protect you and see you safe when he cannot be the one to do it himself. Had he not cared about you as much, he would have left you to your own devices and said fuck it to whatever happened to you.”

Archanidou stepped forward as she conjured one of the most intricate and beautiful dream catchers Clarissa had ever seen. As she handed it over to the young wolf, she explained, “I am the Goddess of dreams. This is a dream catcher that I wove with my own hand. It will protect you as you rest and allow your nightmares to fall through the aperture while your good dreams will be caught and held onto. It will prevent Spirit Demons or any others from transporting your soul while you sleep and keep it safe as you slumber.”

Clarissa gave a soft snort, the left side of her mouth curling up in a smirk. “In other words, protecting me when I cannot protect myself.”

She reached out and took the crafted circle into her gentle hands, bringing it closer to examine. As she studied the beautiful piece, she noticed it had a few alterations from others she had seen in souvenir shops. Strung with a golden gossamer thread, red and blue strands were woven through and knotted in various locations. It was a very unusual design and almost mesmerized her as she tried to follow the filaments which seemed to draw her in. Suddenly, she saw a hand in front of her face.

“It is for others to get trapped, not you. Do not stare at it so long.” Archanidou chuckled softly as she stepped back. “I must take my leave now. When you’re ready to slumber, place this hanging above your head. You will be protected when you’re otherwise most vulnerable.”

She paused and looked up as Azamel entered the room.

“Consider my debt paid,” with those final words, Archanidou dematerialized. Clarissa turned to face Azamel, a slight frown on her face.

With his hands behind his back, he strode into the room, yet was cautious enough to keep distance between them. His back to her, he poured himself a drink. “You have done extremely well in your training. Your losses cannot be used against you any longer. You are however welcome to keep the memory ball to continue to train or for whenever you might need it. Your one major weakness that I saw were your dreams, for one cannot protect themselves when in slumber.”

He turned slowly, the glass in his hand as he looked at her. “You will be as safe as I can possibly assure. You will always have others after you for the stone that you guard. However, you’re better prepared now to handle them.”

Clarissa frowned as she set the dream catcher down and moved towards him. She sensed a finality within him, a recourse he couldn’t retract.

“Is this your way of saying goodbye?”

Her world shattered at the thought it was time for her to leave him, he was pushing her away. It felt to her as if a knife had been driven deep in her heart as she realized the only desire she really wanted for herself was now telling her to leave. Mel wasn’t even giving her a chance to work something out, to try and figure out a way for them to be together as he dismissed her so easily. She knew he wanted her. Archanidou just told her Mel cared about her. He even pulled in an old debt to make sure she would remain safe. Did he just arrange for that so he wouldn’t feel guilty or was Archanidou correct in what she indicated?

Resigning herself, she knew she would have to go but there was one thing she wanted before she stepped through the portal and into the world above. One more memory she had to have to keep her warm on those long cold nights she was about to endure. As she stepped up to him, she took the glass from his hand and set it aside. Clarissa didn’t give him a chance to think or contemplate what she was about to do. Her hands grabbed the sides of his head and brought his lips down to hers.

As their lips touched, he moaned softly. He started to push her away but the taste of her prevented him and he pulled her closer, his hands tight around her upper arms. After a moment of being lost to her touch, he jerked his head away from hers, though his hands gripped her tighter. His voice was low and husky, “Clarissa,” that one word spoke volumes to her. A plea, a wish, a desire and more than anything a regret. She understood everything in that moment, for she herself felt all of it and more.

“I know, Mel, but I need this. I need you. Consider it a going away gift.”

Azamel growled so low it sounded inhuman. With an ease and quickness which belied his stature, he pulled her to him and pivoted, pinning her against the wall as he lifted her while he pressed his mouth so tight against hers, molding his lips to hers as he invaded her mouth with his tongue. Clarissa wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her ankles together behind him as her back was compressed between him and the hard plaster behind her.

Mel felt her softness against him. The little nagging voice in the back of his head told him he should not do this, that it would be even harder to let her go. In truth, he knew that he needed her. His body craved hers as he had never desired anything more in all the eons he had existed. It was then it struck him harder than a punch in his gut. She made him feel alive. She gave him a sense of being whole and he hungered to feel something in a way he had never felt before, something that only she had ever caused him to experience. She was right. He needed this moment, even if it was the last time he could ever hold her in his arms, touch her soft skin, move against her supple body. He would make love to her and hold the memories within him for the eternity he had yet to suffer alone.

Mel pressed against her, pushing her solidly against the wall behind her. His hand released her arm and caressed its way up to her neck. His hand wrapped about her column while his thumb tilted her chin back, exposing the swan curvature of her throat. He knew he should not be doing this. He just arranged for her to be protected so he could set her free and let her get on with her life, her duty, just as he could now concentrate on his own responsibilities without being distracted with her presence.

Her kiss surprised him and as a result set his body aflame. He hardened immediately as she flung herself at him. He wanted to resist, knew he should push her away but his body refused to listen to any common sense he might have had and eons of training flew out the window as her taste permeated his senses. If he had only one more opportunity to be with her, he was going to take it and he was going to make sure that she never forgot their momentary tryst either. For him, this memory would have to sustain him for an endless eternity.

Mel’s mouth found its way to the hollow of her throat as he nipped her skin slightly. His fangs grazed along the vein that throbbed beneath her softness. Balanced between him and the wall, he was able to release her other arm and skim his hand down her torso to her thigh. He feasted on her bare skin while his hand slipped under her ass to hold her up better. Mel needed to touch her, experience every part of her as if it were the first time and knew it would be the last. He dematerialized her clothes from her form, leaving her bare against him. Gods she was beautiful, her skin flawless. Her rosy pink nipples already stood at attention as the cool air caressed her skin from the sudden disappearance of material from her body.

With his hand on her ass, he slipped his fingers along her moistened pink lips from her backside, feeling her desire dampen his digits. She leaned her head back against the wall and moaned as he plunged into her secret depths, spread wide for his exploration with her legs about his waist. His lips moved to partake of her rosebud nipple, tugging it into his mouth as his tongue swirled about its puckered tightness. He played with her core, feeling her muscles tighten around him. His own desire became achingly prominent.

His manhood twitched as if trying to enter her despite the barriers of cloth between them. He rubbed himself against her bare skin, his clothes creating a harsh static against her tenderness. Clarissa clamored to feel him beneath her hands. She used her magic to make his clothes disappear while her hands ran over the hard muscles along his back. She could feel them flex as he moved to pleasure her. His cock now free, teased her core where his fingers didn’t. He knew what she wanted, what she needed from him as his own body responded to hers with an undeniable fire flowing through his veins. He moved his damp digits from her slick sheath and positioned his hardness under her. Lifting her up slightly, he pushed her down onto his waiting shaft, feeling her expand around his thick member as he filled her. He let her rest only a moment so her body could adjust to his size.

Mel held her tightly as he continually thrust himself in her. Slow at first, his organs called out for his own pleasure as much as for hers. He adored the little sounds she made, the gasps of breath she sharply took when he hit a particularly sensitive spot. He was enthralled with the way her fingers gripped and clawed at him. Her warm juices coated his own girth, allowing him to glide smoothly into the deepest recesses of her heated core. He could feel her begin to tighten around him, her muscles clenching his mighty piston. His own balls tightened with the onset of his orgasm. He rocked her faster, pushed into her harder until he heard the one sound from her he had longed for.

Clarissa cried out, calling his name in a lusty, hoarse whisper as her body exploded around him. Every nerve she had was on fire as her form clenched then convulsed around him. It was all he needed to allow himself to let go. His hot seed shot within her warmth, swimming into her channels and continued to set her off again with tingling sensations that abounded through her womb, spreading throughout her to curl her fingers and toes. She buried her head on his shoulder after he pumped himself in her a couple more times before he settled to just holding her pinned against the wall.

As their breathing settled, each lifted their head to look into the others eyes. He studied her face then settled his eyes on her lips moments before capturing them in a heated kiss. He wasn’t through with her, not by a long shot. As he still held himself inside her, he flashed them both to her assigned quarters, appearing on her bed. He lay beneath her, his member already hardening again. The Demon inside of him had awakened and he planned on taking her as many times as he could before he had to set her free. He would make sure she was aware of what demon love making consisted of.