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“You’re okay?” he asks, stepping further into the light. My mind rushes to make sense of what exactly I’m seeing right now, but to my surprise, fear doesn’t turn my blood to ice. The red glowing orbs that seemed to be floating in the void are actually his eyes. They flicker as if flames are truly trapped within them, lighting them up even without the faint brightness behind him. I take a step forward, instinctively needing to get a closer look at him.
He looks mostly human in form, his jaw and nose beautifully sculpted as if from obsidian stone. His bare chest is on full display, his muscles perfectly formed like an ancient sculpture come to life. Red lines spiderweb over his skin, and a faint light shines from them. Magma beneath his skin. I trail down to his waist, my gaze seeming to get stuck, unable to travel down any further.
My lips pull down into a frown before I remember myself. This isn’t a dream and he definitely can see me checking him out. A chuckle bursts from his lips and my eyes immediately fly up to meet his as heat blooms in my cheeks.
“I can’t believe this,” he whispers almost to himself and takes a step towards me. A mere foot separates us now, and my fingers itch to reach out, to trail over his skin and explore every inch of him.
“Believe what?” I ask, my mind finally catching up with what he said. It seems like he knows me somehow, and despite never seeing this man before, his presence seems familiar, comforting even.
“That you’re here, that you aren’t combusting right now.” Some of the fog clears from my mind at that, and I instantly take a step back, unsure what he means exactly. He’s hot, but there’s no way I want to burst into flames from being too close to him.
“You didn’t say that was a possibility before,” I say incredulously. I eye him suspiciously, unsure what exactly to make of this mysterious man now. “Where are we?”
“Anywhere you want to be,” he purrs, taking a step closer to me, his earlier hesitance apparently gone now.
The light in the distance flickers out and I suck in a sharp breath, a chill running over my heated skin.
“Where do you want to go, little witch?” he asks, his voice wrapping around me like it had before. Pleasure rushes through my veins as if his hands are caressing me with a barely-there touch.
“A beach,” I whisper, unsure where exactly that thought came from, but the moment it leaves my lips, I know it feels right.
Light floods my vision and my eyes snap closed, burning at the sudden onslaught. As the brightness fades a fraction and I peel my eyelids open carefully, phantom light still impairing my sight. It takes a few seconds to focus as waves crash in the background, and my breath catches in my throat as it finally does.
Palm trees sway around me, and the sunlight sparkles off the crystal blue ocean in the distance, a warm breeze carrying the crisp, salty scent to me and filling my nostrils. I take a deep breath, and my chest warms at the heat that wraps around me, lulling me into a calmness I haven’t felt in years. I wiggle my toes, enjoying the feel of the fine white sand between them.
“Is this what you pictured?” the man asks from everywhere and nowhere at the same time, his form invisible now. His disappearance hasn’t affected my desire though—his voice alone makes my core clench in need.
A wisp of black smoke trails across my stomach and I look down to realize he’s changed even my clothes. In the darkness I hadn’t even known what I was wearing, but I felt the thick weight of linen pressing against my skin. But now I’m clad in a barely-there black bikini. The small triangle pieces of fabric held together by thin gold chains, barely cover the most important parts. If the breeze along my back is anything to go by it seems like the bottoms are a thong, leaving my ass exposed for him ... wherever he is.
“How did we get here?” I ask. A crease forms between my brows as I search for him but the wisp of smoke disappears, leaving no trace of him.
“It’s a dream,” he whispers right next to my ear, his breath caressing over the sensitive shell and sending tingles of pleasure over my skin.
I almost believe him, but this is nothing like any dream I’ve ever felt before. I’ve always been able to sense and change the course of my dream, but right now I have no power to change a single grain of sand.
“What is it really?”
“It’s a dream realm,” he admits. Another tendril of smoke glides over my thigh, and I whimper at the teasing touch. It passes right by the edge of my bottoms and my knees shake at the restraint it takes not to move my own hand there for some damn relief.
“Who are you?” I ask, my lips trembling. I search for him again, but as I do the smoke dissipates, leaving no trace of him behind.
“I’m Damon.” His voice comes from in front of me this time as the smoke brushes over the curve of my breast, leaving goosebumps in its wake.
“And what are you, Damon?” I breathe. I suck in a sharp breath as a jolt of pleasure rocks into me the moment his name leaves my lips. How the hell can a name do that to someone?
“I think I’ll keep that to myself a bit longer. I don’t want to scare you away so soon,” he says. The smoke trails along my collarbone and a moan slips from my lips at the caress. Every single touch just works to build the flames of lust higher and higher. “Especially since I don’t even know your name yet.”
“Aria,” I say automatically, my mouth seemingly having no filter right now. “I thought you said you’ve been watching me.”
“Aria,” he purrs my name, a groan following after as if he feels that same rush of pleasure I had when speaking his name aloud. “I have been, but I see you in your dreams.”
That should terrify me, but instead a thrill shoots up my spine and excitement rushes through me. I’d been so close to him, and yet I hadn’t sensed him until tonight. I replay the conversation we had before our eyes locked, remembering the concern that had radiated from him when he saw me there.
“Why didn’t you approach me before?” I ask warily.
“Because most humans can’t stand direct contact with us for very long,” Damon says, his voice sounding from behind me now. “But you’re different, Aria.”
“I’m not going to combust?” I ask shakily, unsure if I’d even have the resolve to step away if he answered yes. I search the confines of my memory through the thick haze of lust clouding it, but despite my studies, my mind comes up blank for a being such as him.
