Sleeping Dragons Omnibus (14 page)

Shadows: Chapter Four

T
he whisper of her lover’s breath had always been enough to send Hallie into fits of desire. She responded especially well, when still fuzzy and languid from sleep, to the light touch of him caressing her skin, tracing the curve of her body from shoulder to hip and down over her thigh, while his hot breath tickled the back of her neck.

A soft sigh escaped her lips as those very sensations roused her just enough for her body to respond, yet not quite awakening her fully. A large, warm hand slipped beneath the fabric of her tank top and fingertips teased at the underside of one breast, barely grazing the edge of her nipple.

“Yes,” she whispered, pressing back against his hot arousal by reflex.

A deep, appreciative rumble vibrated against her back. His lips grazed the nape of her neck, sending a vivid tingle down her spine and between her legs.

His light caresses continued, slipping down her stomach, past her navel and beneath the waistband of her panties. Her hips twitched at the slide of gentle, probing fingertips exploring between the eager folds of her pussy. She moaned and quivered, pressing harder back against his rigid, naked length.

He gripped the crotch of her panties and tugged them hard to the side. She cried out with harsh joy when he pressed two fingers into her, then slid them out again. He teased her with a few soft strokes against her throbbing clit before he plunged his fingers deep into her wet cunt.

The dreamlike state Hallie had been in during the whole experience began to fall away with each deep plunge of his fingers into her needy pussy, her ecstasy so pure and present it could only be real and not a figment of her unconscious mind.

Confusion gripped her, wrenching her stomach into a quick, tight knot. Her eyes flew open. But what she thought was a dream didn’t dissipate, nor did the pleasure of it, in spite of her mild panic.

In the span of a second her mind and body warred with each other, the urge to fling herself away from the unexpected attention at odds with the incredible, mind-blowing pleasure of it. Her desire won out and she surrendered, closing her eyes and pushing back against him with more fervent thrusts of her own, clenching her muscles tighter around the heavy weight of the fingers plunging into her.

It could be any of the four men, she thought. And would she care if it were? But Jesus Fucking Christ, whoever it was, he was giving her the best finger fuck of her life.

His lips pressed against her shoulder, grazing up along the curve of her neck until they brushed against her ear. Hot breath gusted out, carrying with it a word she didn’t understand.

Is it Kris? It must be Kris.

She had heard Kris speak in Thai a few times, and remembered the look he’d given her when he picked up her empty bowl after dinner. The thought made her smile in delight. She was sure he’d followed Erika to have a quick tryst in one of the dragon temple’s dark corridors, but clearly he’d come back frustrated enough to crawl into her sleeping bag and have his way with her. It was even better than the fantasy she’d had of him during dinner. It made her even more eager to fuck him back as enthusiastically as she could.

Not even caring if she might wake the others, she cried out, “Oh, yes! Fuck me. Make me come!”

The fingertips between her thighs rubbed in even more delicious tormenting circles against her clit. God, she was close.

He murmured something else in her ear she didn’t understand, but if she didn’t know better the tone of his voice seemed to hold regret. Then without another sound or breath, the sensations dissipated entirely, leaving her abruptly untouched and frustrated as hell with a sopping wet and aching pussy.

She rolled over and yelled out. “Hey! Where the fuck did you go? Come back! You asshole, I wasn’t even… I was so
close!
”

The sound of a thump and a curse carried across from the other side of the campsite and she twisted back around to see where it had come from.

“Corey?”

“Yeah, sorry. I… uh… didn’t mean to bother you.” He glanced at her and quickly averted his eyes, resuming whatever work he was doing.

She blinked at him in surprise, completely and utterly confused by his presence now. He was fully clothed. Maybe a little flushed but mostly he looked irritated. There was no way it could’ve been him.

“Did you see Kris just now?” she asked.

Without looking at her he nodded. “A little bit ago, back in the corridor behind the throne. He’s still there as far as I know. Why?”

“No, right here… ah…
with me
I mean. Like not more than a minute ago.”

He finally looked up and stared point blank at her as if she had gone completely mad. His jaw clenched and his lips pursed into a harsh line.

“Not you, too. Shit, Hallie. But I guess from that little performance you just put on I shouldn’t be surprised, should I?”

“Me too, what? Corey, someone was just about to fuck my brains out. Not two minutes ago. If it wasn’t
you,
I’d really like to know who it was.”

“Well, aside from the obvious, um…
evidence
that you nearly had your brains fucked out, considering you’ve lost your goddamn mind, there was nobody here. Everyone’s off on the other side of the temple being crazy over there. And would you mind putting yourself back together just a little bit? Your… ah…” He gestured vaguely at her torso. “Your stuff’s all kind of on display. Makes it a little tough to get any work done.”

She glanced down at herself and realized for the first time that her top was still pushed up above her breasts and her panties weren’t on quite straight, still shoved aside to offer a plain view of her glistening labia. Yet Corey seemed so utterly
nonchalant
about it. He just turned back to banging on whatever it was he was holding in his hand, intent on his project. His thick forearm flexed and his knuckles whitened in a hard grip around the heavy hammer he held in his hand, banging it on the oblong shape with an unexpected level of ferocity coming from him.

She found her clothes draped over her gear where she’d left them and dressed.

“What the hell are you beating on?” she asked, padding barefoot over to him.

“This fucking… light bulb. Or whatever it is. I need to know how it works.”

“It looks like a rock now,” she said. “Let me see.”

She reached for it. After another ineffectual bang that made his hammer bounce off he cursed and handed it to her.

“This is the weird rock Erika saved from the entrance. You think she wants you to beat on it like that?”

“It’s not
just
a rock. Look at this.” He took it from her and leaned over to jab it down into the glowing fire pit beside him. The pale embers inside the pit had surprised them all when they’d found it. They behaved like coal, but never disintegrated into ash, retaining their integrity after being lit multiple times with no apparent change. Erika had just brushed it off. The rest of them seemed to shrug and go on with business. If Erika was fine with it, they should be, too, right?

Hallie watched the small oblong shape as it began to glow after being plunged into the gravel of the fire pit. No ash lay inside it, only a level layer of small stones that constantly glowed and emitted heat. They’d discovered the night before that the temperature grew hotter closer to the center, and Kris had gauged his cooking by proximity to the middle of the fire pit.

The thought of Kris made her doubt her sanity after the weirdly vivid dream, if what Corey said was true. It had been so real. Jesus, her pussy was still pulsing and wet from it now. She should have changed her panties, but with Corey right there it might have been a little too conspicuous. Why she felt the need to hide from him she didn’t know. He was just so willfully oblivious of everything that went on around him, but she was pretty sure it all sunk in.

No, maybe he wasn’t oblivious. He was just very good at hiding his reactions.

But tonight he seemed agitated, leaning against the edge of the fire pit Kris had cooked their dinner over. Corey braced one hand on the edge and reached with the other to the stone he’d shoved tapered end first into the coals.

“See this?” he said, yanking the small stone bulb out of the fire pit. “It’s glowing now. After what, thirty seconds in there? It only took a second for it to light up when we opened the door at the surface. I want to know how the fuck these things work. What powers them? What the hell are they made out of?”

“So take it with us back to a lab and look at it under a microscope. We’re coming back here, you know. We just need artifacts. We don’t need to prove anything while we’re here. Corey…” She rested a tentative hand on his shoulder and was gratified that he didn’t flinch away. “This is the find of a lifetime. Just go with it. Don’t over think it yet.”

Shadows: Chapter Five

H
allie’s palm tingled when it came into contact with the warmth of Corey’s body through the threadbare fabric. Corey tensed and the cotton of his t-shirt tightened over the bunched muscles of his shoulder. It was crazy that Hallie noticed that single movement, but her entire body responded to it. The push of him against her hand was like a kinetic jolt that jarred straight through her palm to her clit. As much as her principles had steered her clear before, she was definitely attracted to him. What harm would it do, really? She just needed a good fuck, after all. Especially after that… dream she’d just had. They could move on afterward.

“Like all the other men you’ve moved on from?”
the bitchy little voice inside her head said. It only gave her a moment’s pause, rationalizing that maybe she wouldn’t have to move on from him if she just gave him a chance. Except that she’d thrown caution to the wind with the last guy and look where it had gotten her—on the run and loaded with so much regret she could fill a swimming pool. Did Corey even want to be saddled with her mistakes? She doubted it. But right now she was desperate enough to test the waters.

She slid her hand over his shoulder and down his arm. His thick forearm clenched tighter and she stared, mesmerized at the play of his tight muscles beneath her palm and the heat of his skin under hers. His head turned slowly to watch the movement of her hand from the corner of his eye, like he was just waiting patiently for it to happen.

Focused on the shadows his muscles cast she was acutely aware of the change in light just behind her. The shadows darkened and a foreign yet very familiar presence pressed against her back. Hands gripped her hips and she jerked her head to look over her shoulder but saw only darkened air, the breath of a shadow. She released Corey abruptly when a hand gripped her jaw and pulled her head back. She couldn’t see who held her, and Corey only stood mutely as if nothing had happened beyond her having second thoughts.

The shadow’s voice reverberated in a deep whisper in her ear.
“You are mine,”
it rumbled.

She tried to stifle the whimper when he released her and disappeared again.

“You having second thoughts about molesting me?” Corey asked, turning around and staring at her.

“I’m sorry about that. I’ve been kinda not really myself tonight.”

He raised one dark eyebrow. “You mean you don’t normally beg out loud to an empty room to fuck you?”

She opened her mouth to answer, then closed it again, not quite sure what she’d say. She was still aroused and confused from the strange, ethereal intruder.

And as frank and uncensored as Corey had been in the month that they’d known each other, he’d never once come across as a lecherous asshole. It was a refreshing change from the men she was used to. Honesty deserved honesty, didn’t it?

“No, Corey. I don’t do that. I only do that when I’m actually being teased into oblivion. It felt so real but I can’t explain it, and even if I could you probably wouldn’t believe me anyway.”

He settled back on the edge of the fire pit and crossed his arms, the glowing stone apparently forgotten.

“Try me. I doubt you could one-up the crazy shit I’ve seen tonight.”

“Oh?” She glanced around, remembering what he’d said about the rest of the team. “What happened to them?”

“It’s a long story. Tell me yours first.”

A brush of air against her back made her shiver. The breath on her neck felt like a promise and her nipples pricked beneath her flimsy cotton tank top.
“Tell him the truth,”
the whisper said.

She released the air she’d been holding in her lungs in a soft gasp when a shadowy touch grazed across her nipple. She glanced down and only saw a darkening of air, but it definitely felt like a real hand.

“You can’t see?” she asked Corey.

“See what?”

“He’s here now,” she said. “He… drove me mad before. And he’s
still
teasing me now.”

Corey’s eyes followed hers down to her breasts. The voice in her ear whispered,
“You like the way he looks at you.”

All she could see was the faint shadow of a hand as it slid down, long, translucent fingers sweeping over her breast. Every little graze of finger across her nipple made her quiver. His breath was dry and hot against her neck. She couldn’t resist his urgent embrace, but she didn’t really want to. Having Corey’s eyes on her just made it all more intense. She hesitated and sensed the touch on her body pause.

“You want him to see you undone, don’t you?”
The voice sounded a little incredulous. An entertained chuckle sounded in her ear.
“Well, then let’s give him a show.”

“Yes!” she gasped.

“Hallie?” Corey’s voice was rough and uncertain. “It’s all in your head, girl. Just let it go.”

She whimpered when the fingertips lingering over her breasts decided to tease and pinch at her nipples.

“N-no. Oh God, this isn’t in my head.”

“You have that right, lover. I’m not in your head, though I would like to be.”

“Why are you doing this to me?” she asked out loud. Corey’s eyes widened in confusion, but it was the shadow who responded.

“Because you want me to. Because I was meant to. Because you are mine.”

The shadow behind her felt as warm and substantial as a real man, yet apparently she was the only one who could sense his presence. He was strong and insistent, his lips hot on her neck and jaw. She tilted her head to give him better access.

Corey stayed glued to his spot, watching. A sheen of sweat gleamed on his brow and upper lip and the front of his cargo shorts looked like it might rip open under the pressure of his erection. It wasn’t nice of her to enjoy that part, but she did. He was the man she’d been most attracted to during their expedition, but she was smart enough to figure out that she’d never measure up to what he wanted. Watching him struggle with the urge to fuck her now, while a hollow enjoyment, still gave her some validation.

She vaguely realized how uncharitable she was being to Corey, though. He was the polar opposite of the man she’d left behind. Her ex had been polite and respectful, and a liar to the core.

Corey was brash and rude most days, but honest to a fault.

So she’d gravitated to him only to realize that he was even better behaved up close. The polite dismissals. Oh so polite. And respectful. Fuck the man for not wanting to dominate and violate her.

It had been over a year, but David’s confession of love still twisted like a knife in her gut. Worse than that, his pursuit when he’d learned of her pregnancy had driven her to the ends of the earth to escape him. The child wasn’t meant to be. She’d begun this Hail Mary of a trip broken hearted and desperate, denying her misdirected love for the man she’d left behind and the baby she’d lost

“You are mine,”
the shadow had said, but something wasn’t right about the way he’d said it. She was too familiar with the tone of voice of a man who meant words just like that. The shadow’s words lacked conviction. Was this just some supernatural prank? Lies were her forte and this—man or creature or whatever he was—was a very bad liar.

But he’d struck a chord. The small lie he told was twisted up with the truth. She wanted him to touch her, that was the truth. And he believed he was meant to. She could twist the belief around to her advantage.

“Yes. I want you, but you can’t own me. No man can own me, you bastard. If you want me it’s on my terms, you got that? Now if you’re going to fuck me in front of my friend, which I would
dearly
love for you to do, stop being a little pussy and show yourself.”

Corey stared at her, incredulous. She grinned back in response. He seemed transfixed by the unfastening of Hallie’s shorts through no power of her own. It felt like hot, urgent fingers trying to get her naked. This…
shadow
…wanted her, whoever he was. All she knew was that he’d teased her nearly to orgasm before and was back. Maybe this time he’d finish the job.

“I’m not going to fuck you. I just want to watch you torture him a little bit,”
the voice said.

“Why?” Hallie asked.

“Because you want it. I can feel how much you want it. What did he do to you?”

It probably was terrible of her to resent Corey’s lack of interest, but she certainly had his attention now. Corey watched her with avid concentration. Her shadow’s fingers gripped her breast with one hand and the other teased again with expert care between her exposed pussy lips, rubbing her slick clit enough to make her eyes roll back in her head.

Oh, Christ. She opened her eyes to see Corey watching, his hand pressing hard against his crotch like he could keep the monster in check with enough effort. And as much as she would love to have him involved, having the hot hands of this stranger on her felt so good.

“Nothing. That’s the problem. Is that so bad?”

“Kiss him.”

She didn’t have an obsession, did she? Maybe so, considering her blatant lie to Erika about why she’d never made a move on Corey. She had a bad habit of falling in love with men who were emotionally inaccessible. It wasn’t casual sex if you were in love, right? Corey was the first man she’d been infatuated with in that way who hadn’t gravitated to her like a moth to a flame. It just made her want him more, but professional courtesy dictated she maintain a boundary between them.

Now she had to breach that boundary to prove that it didn’t matter anymore.

Corey still sat on the raised edge of the fire pit, his gaze fevered as he watched her. She adjusted her clothes, feeling just a little too exposed for a simple kiss, then moved to kneel between his spread legs. His arms stayed braced on the stone ledge he sat on, and he just stared at her. God, she wanted to reach out and stroke the bulge in his shorts, but didn’t dare.

He stared back at her with a mixture of hunger and conflict. In that split second he reminded her of one of her older brothers. Even before kissing him she knew how it would go, but she needed to do it anyway.

His eyes were wide and curious, his brows raised in expectation. He must have known what she was doing, but he hadn’t objected yet.

“Corey,” she said in a voice rough with need. “I’ve wanted you since we met, but you’ve been… reserved.”

“Sorry, I… have some issues I guess,” he said.

She splayed her fingers wide on his thighs and moved closer. He smelled nice, even after their sweaty day and haphazard bathing ritual. She was still dirty from the trek, too, she realized. But the aroma of the jungle on him just aroused her further. She didn’t like his passivity, though. He just sat there, watching, while she moved in. She pressed her lips against his throat and flicked out her tongue across the lightly stubbled skin, drawing away the salty taste of sweat.

“He wants me to kiss you,” she confessed.

“Ah, right. So I get tortured to fulfill the fantasy of an invisible man, is that it?” He let out a defeated laugh.

“I guess we both do. So kiss me.”

“Kiss you, huh?” he asked in a quavering voice. “That’s what
he
wants?”

“It’s what I want.”

“Fuck,” Corey muttered and gripped the sides of her head in his hands. He pressed his lips hard against hers. Hard enough to hurt, but the second his tongue plunged into her mouth she didn’t care anymore. Holy fucking Christ was he a good kisser.

When she finally pulled away, breathless and elated, the look in his eyes destroyed her mood entirely.

Hallie sighed. “You want something different, don’t you?”

He looked so dejected she couldn’t help but reach out to him. He leaned his head into her palm when she stroked his hair.

“Yeah. I love you, Hallie… more like… like…”

“Like a sister?”

His shoulders sagged. “Yeah. I admit I’m spun up enough to nail you right now, but I would feel incredibly dirty if I did. I’d never forgive myself.”

Another hand roamed down her side from behind and she shivered from the touch. Corey seemed to notice the change and his brow furrowed.

“Is he still here? Tell me if you’re okay, Hallie. I’ll figure out some way to make him go away.”

“I will never harm you as he seems to think I might, but if you want me to show myself you have to come to me.”

“No. I like what he does. I want to go to him, Corey. I know it sounds crazy. I don’t even know how to find him, but he’s somewhere in here.”

“I get it,” Corey said. “I’ve been out of my mind with the need for sex since dinner with no suitable prospects in sight. No offense. Are you sure you want to do this?”

“No offense taken. And yes. Yes, I’m sure.”

Corey nodded and turned back to the table where he’d left the odd stone among his other gear. He picked up one of his cameras and flicked on the power.

“What’re you going to do with that?” Hallie asked, pointing at the stone.

“Giving up. I’m a tech. I’m not a scientist like you guys. I just don’t buy into this dragon thing, though. Erika’s like the crazy cult leader and I feel like I need to be the voice of reason since nobody else is doing it. But I’m outnumbered. Starting to think if all the
scientists
believe this BS then maybe there’s something to it. Hell, if you believe it… maybe ‘voice of reason’ is not my true calling after all.”

“You’ve always been that haven’t you?” she asked, suddenly seeing a piece of him she’d never seen before, and liking it.

“I guess. Not that anyone ever listens to me. I’m the successful member of my family, but everyone around me still acts like morons in spite of all the advice I give them. And it’s not like I just volunteer it. They fucking
ask for it
and then brush it off. Why the fuck should I bother?”

She didn’t have the heart to tell him she wasn’t even technically a scientist—not even a fraud of one. The resumé that had gotten her onto the expedition showed her credentials as a Ph.D. in ancient Eastern religious cults. But she figured she may as well play the part if it made Corey more comfortable.