Dream Weaver Ch. 04

That thought just chased itself around his head and came at him at strange times in the next twelve hours. But now Bliss was here, she'd met him at the foot of the stairs and followed him into the dining room. He was gentle as he sat her in the chair next to his. He was conscious of her needs. He'd filled her glass with a sweet wine and made her laugh with his wit.

Chal could see the nervousness in her eyes and he did whatever he could to make her more at ease. He served her the fine, rich food that Giselle prepared. When the servants finally withdrew, leaving them alone in the dining room, Chal was ready.

"There are many names for what you do but never in anything I explored was the name dream-weaver mentioned. What exactly do you do?"

Bliss lifted her glass and took a small sip of the red wine. Then she closed her eyes and sighed. With another sigh, she lifted her napkin to dab at her lips before she replaced it in her lap. "I told you, Chal. What I am is passed from mother to daughter since the beginning of life on this planet. We are the beings that control dreams and use them when we need to. Weavers have worked in the background of almost every big event in history. We've also been called Muses, if that helps."

"No. I would have heard of them before this. I mean, I've heard of Muses but I always believed that was just a term mortals use when they have a burst of inspiration." He cocked his head to the side and his obsidian hair slid over his shoulder. He flipped it back and gave her his full attention again.

Bliss smiled. "Just like a human." She sighed. "Do you remember in 1924? The huge train wreck that tore up rails and dug the engine into the ground. The crash happened just outside of a tiny town in the Midwest. Do you remember how many men and women died that day?"

"I was supposed to be on that train. It was an overnight from San Francisco to...to Washington."

"Why didn't you go, Chal? What kept you from making that trip?"

"I woke that evening from a bad dream. Oh, God...I'd dreamed about the crash."

"Yes, you did." Bliss deftly sliced off a small bite of her delicious roast. "And guess who gave you that dream?"

"It couldn't be you. You don't look old enough to vote." He reached out and took her hand in his. "So are you telling me that your kind has some kind of psychic ability? That you know what will happen before it actually does?"

"Not always, Chal. But if it happens to someone we care about, we are capable to change things just enough to protect that person. You knew a dream weaver then and she loved you very much, enough that she was able to cast that dream and give you that feeling to keep you off that train." She lifted her glass again and took another small sip. "Now do you understand?"

"I'm not sure," he answered and a chuckle escaped his beautiful mouth. "It's all kind of spinning in here right now."

"Well, you're part vampire, part incubus. That's a very strange combination as well."

"And you speak like none of this is out of the realm of possibility. So which one of us should be more amazed?"

"I know what I am, and I've seen a lot. The man you took me from, he was a real monster. If you had any idea of what he put me through day after day since my father sold me to him..." She shivered delicately and closed her eyes to try to block out the memories.

"He hurt you?"

It was a question but it wasn't his words that caught her attention, it was the emotion behind them. If she said yes, she had no doubt that he would find Master Donald again. Maybe this time he wouldn't stop until the man was dead. She couldn't let him do that.

"I healed." She glanced his way and saw his jaw move as he ground his teeth. "Dentures on vampires don't exactly work very well."

"What?" Chal glanced at her, confused.

"Your teeth, you're grinding them. Chal, he didn't do anything to me, nothing that will last. If you hurt him, or kill him, that is on me for the rest of my existence. If he were to get lucky and kill you...That is unthinkable to me. Please." She reached out and took his hand in hers. "Let it go."

Chal looked into her perfect blue eyes and sighed. "You do that pretty well," he said with a smile.

"Do what?" Her brow furled as she stared over at him.

"Get your own way." He chuckled. "I'm surprised Darcy wasn't wearing the collar and have you prancing him around naked behind you."

"I'd never want that ass naked, behind me or ahead of me." She shuddered. "The thought is repulsive."

He rose from his seat and came to crouch down next to her chair. "Do you find me repulsive?"

Bliss wiped her mouth carefully before she dropped her napkin onto her plate. Turning in her chair she faced Chal. "Repulsive, no. I don't think I could find a woman who would consider you repulsive." Her fingers gently touched his jaw and her thumb brushed over his cheekbones. His smile was beautiful and it drew an answering grin from her. He had the face of an angel with the mischievous look in his eyes of a two-year-old looking for trouble. She knew she would have a hard time if she thought to rein him in.

"May I make love to you now, here, on this mortal plane?" His eyes glowed and his teeth grew, the incisors lengthening.

She blinked and then ran her fingers over his mouth, feeling the sharp teeth that had grown until they almost covered his bottom lip. Her blue eyes didn't leave his face. "I want to say yes, Chal. I truly do, but..."

"But..." he encouraged.

She clasped her hands over his and stared over his head at the fire that burned in the fireplace. "I...I want to say yes..."

"But..." he urged.

"Donald Darcy was a malicious beast, Chal."

He lifted his hand cupping her soft cheek against his palm. "Do you remember the dream?"

"The one I gave you just a while ago?"

"Yes. There is one thing that you did in that dream that was exactly the way it would happen. I will never force you, Bliss I will never take anything from you that you wouldn't give unstintingly."

Bliss smiled and she leaned forward, her soft lips touching one sharp cheekbone. "You know, you give vampires a bad name, Chal. You're going to have me believing that all vampires are as tame as puppies."

He threw back his head and laughed, intoxicated by her. "Maybe Pit Bulls, Bliss I can't think that any man could be cruel to you. It would be like pulling the wings off of butterflies." He drew her closer, watching as her eyelashes fluttered and closed over the soft blue of her eyes. His mouth touched hers and he moaned as her taste flooded him. She moaned softly as well, her hand coming up to tangle in his hair, holding him close.

He lifted his mouth once, his lips tracing over her eyelashes. "Shall we take this upstairs, Bliss?"

Her eyes opened and she stared up at him. "Please...."

"Please what, sweetheart?" He waited, anxious to hear what her conditions would be.

"Don't hurt me..."

Chal stared down into her eyes, seeing the plea and the fright in them. "I'd never hurt you, Bliss"

She nodded though there was still fear in her eyes. He stood and held her hand. "Will you come with me?"

She nodded and rose moving closer to him as he tucked her hand under his arm. "It's a beautiful night, Bliss, will you go for a walk with me in the garden?"

"But...I thought..." She glanced toward the door that would lead them to the wide staircase.

"We have all night, Bliss. Right now I just want to see you in the moonlight. You'll be lovely bathed in the pale glow of the moon's rays." He dipped his head and kissed her lips gently. When he went to pull back, her hand was tangled in his hair and held him in place. She groaned and breathed in the fiery passion that he exuded so easily.

It didn't take much coaxing from her and he parted her lips. An almost feral growl came from deep in his chest. When he finally did lift his mouth, his forehead rested against hers and he laughed a bit self-consciously. "You don't play fair, Bliss"

"You didn't want to kiss me?"

"Gods, yes, Bliss" His hands were on her arms and he held her against him. "You know, I am an incubus, kissing is like..."

"Appetizers? She giggled as his eyebrows rose at the comparison.

"I guess that will work. I know making love with you will be mind-blowing, just by the fire you cause in me. But for now, will you walk with me?" He dropped his hands from her and offered her his arm, smiling widely when she threaded hers through it. "The gardens are beautiful in the moonlight."

She nodded and smiled and felt a bit more at ease. She let him lead her to the double french doors and stepped through them when he opened them. When he reached for her hand again, she gave it to him eagerly. A walk in the beauty behind his huge manse, perhaps a kiss and a cuddle under the big moon that was just peeking over the top of the trees, was an exquisite thought.

Chal lifted her hand and kissed it while she looked down at her. "Not afraid of the dark?"

"Not while you're with me."

"Maybe you should be." His voice was husky, a rough growl that had a shiver of goose flesh over her bare arms.

"You won't hurt me, Chal. You're too good, too caring to hurt me."

Chal chuckled. "You know, Bliss, it's not good for a girl to know all of a man's secrets. It takes a bit of the seductive appeal out of a relationship."

"Oh, so when you learn all my secrets, you won't want me anymore?" She sent him a sly smile. He stopped walking but she took two more steps before she stopped to look at him. "What?"

"Let me foreshadow this by saying only one woman has held my heart even after she was dead. But you are sneaking in places that I thought had been dead for a long time."

Bliss smiled wider. "So...I'm like mold, or maybe cockroaches?"

Chal laughed. He appreciated her quick wit. "I'd say more like crab grass. You think you've got it gone and its back."

Bliss chuckled and pressed a little closer to Chal. "Now how would a man who lives like this know anything about crab grass?"

He'd been about to answer her when a sound caught his attention. "Go back to the house, Bliss and lock the doors. Don't open them until you see me. Me and only me." He kissed her quickly and turned her in the direction of the house and gave her a gentle push to start her on her way. He didn't move until he saw the last bit of the color of her gown disappear. "I never knew you to hide in the shadows, Les. What are you doing here?"

Celesta stepped out of the shadows, her red leather pants and halter bright against the green of the garden. "I wouldn't have to skulk around here if you hadn't kicked me out, Chal. I just can't believe that after everything we meant to each other, you were so quick to throw me out over a little snip of a girl like her. She can't satisfy your appetites in bed the way I had."

Chal shook his head. "Les, I really think you should seek some professional help. You think a little too much of yourself."

He saw the small movement of her hand and spun to see the men that came out of the garden to circle him. Les stepped back to stay out of the fray. "I didn't want it to come to this. It would have been nice if you would have offered to give the girl to me."

"Why do you want her?"

Celesta smiled. "She hasn't used her powers on you yet? That's too bad. From what I've been told, they are pretty remarkable. Some men will pay unbelievable amounts to get her to use that talent for their personal gain. You remember Garret Johannesburg."

Chal's eyes widened. That had been the last name he thought she'd ever use. He nodded, unwilling to let her see the rage that was in his eyes. "What does he have to do with anything?"

"When you kicked me out of here, I had nowhere to go. I had Donald drop me off at a coffee shop. I was never so surprised in my life when Garret walked in. He came right up to me like he'd known I would be there."

"He probably did, Les. When will you ever realize that what Garret wants has nothing to do with you? He wants power and he thinks you can help him get what he wants. When he realizes that you have no power, you'll be found in Monroe Lake, nothing more than food for the fishes."

"You're jealous! You don't like Garret to have anything that once belonged to you. Get over yourself Chal. You aren't the big bad around here anymore." She moved closer to him since her anger made her forget her fear.

"Why would I care who gets my sloppy seconds? And who is the new big bad, Les? Garret? You?" He laughed and it infuriated her. "Garret doesn't know anything about ASP but I know you do and you know what they'll do to you."

"They can't touch me. I'm not supernatural."

Chal felt her "nana na nana" tone and wanted to shake her, in hopes that some smarts that had gotten lost somewhere deep in her brain would be stimulated and come back to life. "Celesta, anytime a supernatural being is threatened by a normal human, ASP works with the police to put an end to whatever they are doing."

"No, you're wrong. Garret explained it to me." Her eyebrows furled and he could see a bit of doubt surface. Her eyes flitted from his to off someplace above his left shoulder. "He did, didn't he?"

"Les, in all the time we were together, did I lie to you? Did I ever once try to make you into a patsy? I was good to you. So be a good girl now and take your friends here and leave my property." His eyes burrowed into hers, his mind touching hers. "Leave now, Les."

"We'll leave now." She repeated his command and her eyes looked exceedingly dopy. "Come." She ordered the men that surrounded him.

Chal met the gaze of each of the men and added a touch of mind control to send them on their way. Only one man tried to fight him but an extra harsh glance made him move as well. He stood where he was until they'd left the garden, then he hurried toward his home, anxious to get to Bliss

His first idea that anything was wrong was the french doors. They stood wide open. "Bliss!" He moved inside carefully. He could smell her scent but there was something else as well. A stranger's scent, but one he was slightly familiar with. "Garret." Celesta and the men had been nothing but a smoke screen to keep him away from the house so that Garret could come in and snatch Bliss from under his nose. He hurried further into the house. "Rodney? Giselle?"

Giselle helped a limping Rodney into the hall. "They took her sir. We tried, but..."

"I know. Rodney, are you okay?" He forced himself to not scream at the man. This was his own fault and no one else.

"I shall be fine, sir. It was G..."

"Garret, yes I know. I just don't know why. Which door did he take her from?"

"The front, sir." Giselle helped Rodney to sit and then handed him the ice packs she'd made up for him. "He said that if anyone follows him, he will kill the girl. What do you wish us to do?"

Chal thought quickly. "Stay here, take care of Rodney." He pressed a kiss on Giselle's soft cheek. "And don't worry." He smiled down at the two of them. "I'll get Bliss back. I just need..." He turned without finishing his sentence and blurred up the stairs. Going into Bliss's room, he lifted the pillow she'd used for her head. Breathing deeply of her scent, he shivered at what her aroma did to him.

His cock hardened, his breath grew short, and though oxygen wasn't necessary for him to live, he felt the effects upon his libido. Sinking down with her pillow on his lap, he closed his eyes. "Bring me to you, Bliss"

For a moment all he could feel was his vampire side as he wished to rip out Garret's throat for taking something that was his. Then his incubus side took over and he felt his consciousness waver. Bliss's scent was strong and he let himself follow it, follow her need for him and his for her. When he opened his eyes, they glowed an icy blue. He rose. He dropped the pillow onto the bed. He knew where she was now.

He opened her window and jumped out to quickly disappear from sight.