Page 20 of Malice: The Mate Games (Apocalypse #3)

Her gaze lit on something behind me, and she pushed me out of the way, saying, “Bazinga!”

With one bare foot and the other still clad in a soaked shoe, she unevenly stomped through the muck before dropping to her knees in front of the strangest blossoms I’d ever seen.

Merri plucked almost a handful out by their stems, sending dirt and roots flying.

When she shifted her weight to grab another bunch, her knee gave out and she stumbled.

I shot forward, grabbing her around the hips to steady her before she could face-plant into the bush.

“You need to feed,” I grumbled, taking the blossoms from her despite her protests.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not. You missed our dreamwalk last night and just nearly drowned. You need to fuel yourself.”

“Give me back my flowers.”

I grabbed the shoe that was floating nearby and dumped out the water before tucking the flowers inside for safekeeping. “There. Nothing will happen to them now.”

“It’s not much of a vase,” she muttered.

“You need to work on your thank yous.”

She opened her mouth to retort but snapped it closed. “You’re right. Sorry. Thanks.”

“I have a much better way for you to show your gratitude.”

I knew I had her when she smirked. “Oh, really? I’m sure you do.”

I just held her stare with my own.

She rolled her eyes. “Oh my God, you are so stubborn. Fine.” Her words were dismissive, but her eyes were hot with interest. She leaned forward, tilting her chin up so her lips were on offer as she trailed the tips of her nails down my torso.

I was grateful I’d skipped the shirt earlier so there was nothing between me and the heat of her body as she pressed it against me.

I couldn’t deny her a kiss. Not now, not ever. That ship had sailed. “You infuriate me, Red.”

“Ditto.”

My mouth crashed down on hers as I cupped the back of her head and held her to me. I felt giddy with lust, though there was no way to know if it was all mine or influenced by her succubus power. Not that I cared either way.

Merri might have denied her hunger, but I could feel it tugging at me. She wasn’t starved, but my woman needed me. She slid her hand further down my stomach, reaching for my waistband.

I snagged her wrist, stopping her before she could claim her prize. “Not here.”

Breathing heavily, she flicked her eyes open, pupils blown wide, lust heavy between us. “Wh—” she started, but stopped herself before looking down at her wet clothes and dirt-covered legs. “You’re right. I’m a mess.”

I caught her by the chin and dragged her face back up to mine. “Not what I meant. A little dirt will never keep me from wanting you.”

Her eyelashes fluttered as she let out a breathless giggle. “Okay, then.”

“This will be more effective in a dreamwalk. Come, lie down with me. Then you can take exactly what you want.”

“I prefer it when you take what you want.”

Pride swelled in my chest. “Noted.”

I led her over to a nearby copse of trees.

They created a sense of seclusion, even if we were still technically out in the open.

Was it fair of me to steal some time with Merri while the others were still out looking for her?

Probably not. Was I going to do it anyway because it’s what she needed? Hell yes.

Settling us on the soft moss-covered ground under an ancient tree, I tucked her into my side and had to fight the urge to kiss the top of her head. She needed passion, not tenderness, right now. We both did.

“I’m not sure how to do this. I’ve never intentionally dropped into a dream with someone who wasn’t already sleeping.”

I shrugged, hardly an expert myself. “Well, you’re not technically asleep when you enter someone else’s dream, right?”

“No, I guess not.”

“So how do you usually find the person whose dream you’re trying to join?”

“I just sort of think about them.”

“Maybe try that?”

“But you’re not asleep.”

“Is that a prerequisite?”

“Maybe?”

I gave her a little squeeze. “Just try it, Red.”

She took a deep breath and nodded before closing her eyes. In the time it took her to exhale, I was unconscious.

The first thing I noticed was the warm breeze caressing my body. And I mean all of my body.

I opened my eyes with a laugh. “Couldn’t wait to get me naked, could you, Red?”

She hummed softly and nuzzled closer to me. I didn’t know how she could possibly get any closer, though. She was nestled against me, her face resting on my chest, body pressed to mine, leg thrown over me.

“I love the way your skin feels on mine,” I murmured.

“Things you might hear from a lover or a serial killer for two hundred, Alex.”

“I’m not sure about serial killer. More of a mass murderer, if anything.”

Merri let out a shocked laugh as she scrambled to get away from me. “That’s it, I’m out of here.”

“Like hell you are,” I said, grabbing her by the hips and tugging her back. Then I proceeded to tickle her sides until she squealed, her hands attempting to pry mine off her.

“I yield! I yield!” she shrieked.

I stopped with a smile, taking in her flushed cheeks and wild hair.

“What the hell was that for?”

“I didn’t feel like chasing you right now. We can try that another time.”

Her flush deepened as she picked up on my meaning, but instead of taking the bait, she asked, “So you went with tickle fight?”

“Seems to have worked.”

“You know what we don’t do with girlfriends? We don’t tickle them.”

I grabbed her and moved her until she was straddling me, her red hair a tumble of scarlet in the sunlight.

For a moment, she was all mine, her attention only on me, but then she glanced around at the dream world she’d conjured for us. “Apparently we’re exhibitionists. Outside in the middle of a meadow, naked as the day we were born. Anyone could come upon us, Chaos.”

The thought of someone watching me claim what was mine sent arousal careening through me. I’d fuck my woman anywhere and any time. I didn’t care who saw.

Sliding my palm across her lower belly and then up until I cupped one breast, I watched her watch me. She wasn’t looking at my hand; she was focused on my eyes, my expression.

“What?” I asked, curious about what had caught her attention.

“Nothing.”

“Tell me,” I demanded, wiggling my fingers in mock threat.

She tilted her head, sending waves of hair cascading over her shoulder. “Uh oh, someone pulled out the big guns.”

I snickered.

“I was just thinking that for as much as I can feel your arousal, seeing it is almost more powerful.”

“I can show you how much I want you any time you like. In dreams or real life.”

A pinch of her nipple had her gasping and grinding against my pelvis. My cock was hard and ready for her, but this position wouldn’t work without some adjustments. All she had to do was lean forward and give me access.

I shifted my hips to give her a little nudge. “I need you to move so I can put a baby in you.”

Her soft intake of breath and the way her eyes widened had me leaking precum in anticipation of the feel of her cunt wrapped around me. “How do you want me?”

“Lean forward and kiss me, Red. I’ll take care of the rest.”

She made a soft humming sound as she leaned down, her hair a curtain around our faces. It created an immediate sense of privacy. Like even out here in the middle of a field, we were the only two people in existence.

“Hey, Chaos?”

“Hmm?”

“You ever had sex at the circus?”

“What?” I asked, so fucking confused by the topic shift.

“It’s fucking in tents.”

I laughed but pulled her closer. “Stop making jokes and kiss me, woman.”

As our lips met, I lifted my hips, lining up with her already wet opening. I wouldn’t admit it to her, but I needed this as much as she did, just in a different way. Mine was a hunger based on craving, though I’d argue it was every bit as crucial to my survival as hers.

I drank in the sound of her gasp as I slid home in one smooth thrust.

“Fuck, your pussy squeezes me so tight,” I groaned. “Fucking made for me.”

“Look at you, knowing just how to sweet talk a girl.”

“There’s plenty more where that came from, but I wouldn’t call it sweet talk.”

She rolled her hips, and I groaned in response. “What would you call it?”

“Dirty.”

“Show me.”

I grabbed her by the nape and kissed her as she moved over my length again and again, biting her lower lip until she whimpered.

Then, after finally letting her up for air, I looked into her lust-filled eyes and said, “Ride me like you want to milk every drop of cum from me until there’s no way you won’t be pregnant when we’re done. ”

Her reaction was instant. Her pussy walls clamped down hard, as if begging me to do exactly that.

Palming her ass, I took control of her movements. I might be on the bottom, but I was still in charge.

She sat up, tossing her head back and giving me the most perfect view of her full tits as she writhed and rolled. Every time I brushed up against one special spot inside her, she flooded my cock with more wetness.

“Look at you, taking me so well. I’m going to pump you so full of me we’ll have to put a plug in to keep my cum from dripping down your thighs.”

She answered with a soft whimper.

“You like that? You want my baby, don’t you?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“You’re so close for me, aren’t you?”

Her brows were furrowed in concentration as she let me fuck her like this. I loved watching the pleasure on her face, the way she bit her lip and fondled her breasts as though searching for something to do with her hands.

“I can’t,” she moaned raggedly.

“Yes you can.”

Her eyes were so bright they practically glowed as they found mine. “No, not before you.”

“Too bad. Because I want you to come first. I’ll be right there with you, I promise.”

Sweat glistened on both of us, making us glow in the golden light of the sun. My skin buzzed with frenetic energy, the sensation only growing the longer she looked into my eyes.

“Come for me, Merri. Come for me so I can fill you up.”

Once again, her inner walls flexed around me, telling me how much she loved my words.

“The other three never stood a chance. You know that right? This cunt is mine. Just like any child you bear.”

“God, yes.”

“Good answer,” I growled, grabbing her tight before I rolled us so she was under me, at my mercy.

From this position, I could drive in deep, make sure she got every fucking drop I could give her.

I placed her ankles on my shoulders and thrust into her, over and over, the sound of our bodies slapping together only adding to the intensity between us.

I wanted her so badly, but not just her body.

I wanted that look in her eyes, the way she said my name, the gentle touches and shy smiles.

“Tell me you’re mine, Merri.”

“I... I’m yours,” she panted, nails raking down my back as if trying to pull me even closer to her.

It must have been a trick of the light, but I would have sworn the glow from the sun grew stronger, encapsulating the two of us completely. Even the parts of her shaded by my form were glowing.

“I’m so close,” she moaned.

“That’s it, Red. Come for me.”

She did. She came with a broken cry of my name— my fucking name—and pulled me right over the edge with her. My vision went white as pleasure raced along my spine, and I spilled inside her, long pulses that had me shaking and groaning as I rode them out.

“Take it. Fucking take everything I have, Merri. It’s all for you.”

She clung to me, her body still pulsing around me as we came down from our high. As I watched her return to herself, that glow faded, and for the first time, I wondered if we’d just made magic and it wasn’t a trick of the light. We were in a dream, after all. Surely anything was possible.

“Hello? Earth to Chaos. You in there, buddy?” Sin’s voice broke through the warm buzzing afterglow I wanted to exist in.

The unexpected interruption, especially in this moment, was enough to pull me straight out of the dream. I sat up, finding Sin standing over my and Merri’s bodies with a wry grin.

“I see you found her. Thanks so much for letting us know before your... what is this exactly? A victory nap?”

“Merri needed to feed,” I snapped, feeling a little bit of guilt. Not enough to make me regret my actions, though. If given the chance, I’d have done it again without question.

“Wonderful. A sex nap. Even better. I didn’t know those were allowed.” Sin held out a hand to Merri. “Come on, kitten. Everyone is worried. Let’s show them you’re okay, and then maybe we can take a sex nap.”

As Sin began leading her down the trail toward the chateau, she stopped and looked back, her eyes wide. “My flowers.”

I held up her ruined shoe, filled with the delicate blossoms, and winked. “Way ahead of you.”