Page 4 of Marked for Redemption

I kissed her smooth neck. Her skin smelled like rose water and adrenaline. I dragged my tongue along her neck, stirring a shiver that rocked her closer to me, her skin pebbling beneath my tongue. Scathing my fangs along her skin, I drew out the moment until her scent blended with my thirst. When I pierced her flesh, blood flowed into my mouth, setting my palate ablaze with awe. Her taste was sweet, like the ripest fruit hanging from a tree of forbidden fruit. As the vein pulsed, it pumped the delicate nectar into my mouth offering me a type of satisfaction I’d never felt though it seemed familiar. She wrapped her arm around my neck, pulling me near.

When I had my fill, I let her go. Instead of shying away, she straddled my lap. Rotating her hips in a figure eight, she stirred a different hunger. Captured under her spell, I focused on her eyes as she stared at me. Growing lost in the depths of bliss as she lavished me with her attention. I was so lost in a trance that I grew stiff with need. Ready to slip into something wet, I reached for the buckle of my pants. She smirked before she moved to my neck. No warning. She fed from me, taking me on a high that I’d never felt before. I’d never had anyone feed from me before and as she nursed, I knew why. I felt vulnerable in an unnatural way. Something I should reserve for a mate or someone of importance. She had the power to drain and kill me since it put me in an unguarded position. Yet, she made me feel safe. She imposed while making me feel safe in her hands, which had to be because subconsciously I knew this scene only existed in my head. My body seized as an orgasm crashed into me and I groaned in relief as pleasure surged through my body. Her soft lips continued to kiss my skin as she nursed, pulling me further into her. Her scent wrapped around me and I wrapped my arms around her waist to ground me so I wouldn’t drift away.

When she finished, I tried to kiss her, but she avoided putting her mouth on mine. Instead, she backed away from me until she faded into the background. Everything went pitch black and my dreams evaded me. If this experience was a fluke, I’d be disappointed. I needed more of her.

This.

A reprieve.

Safe space.

Her… Just her.

Hopefully, I’d dream of her again. Next time, I’ll get her name.

ZENDAYA

I closed myself into the administration room and found a place to crash. The events from today have made me exhausted. Too much exertion would do that. Shifting through his thoughts drained me mentally. Working his body over depleted me physically. It took me tapping into the dark recesses of my mind to complete both tasks wearing on my emotional state. Rest was required to keep me going. Well, that and a steady supply of blood. Both of those things I had at my disposal. I felt accomplished with today’s agenda and closed my eyes easily giving in to exertion.

The woman who tried to get my attention in my last dream was now standing face-to-face with a man I’d never seen before. Glancing into one another’s eyes, I could feel the love they shared. They stood in front of an arch made of vines, daisies, and golden leaves. A man stood in front of them, with a book in his hands, waiting for something.

The kiss that they shared was gentle, loving, and full of exploration. It didn’t matter who was watching or whatever else was happening. All that mattered was them. Her hand cradled his face on both sides. His arms pulled her into him, holding her as if she were his most prized treasure.

I felt guilty watching the two together. It seemed to be a private moment that I was intruding upon. I envied what they had. There was no way they could hold one another the way they did without trusting, caring, believing in, adoring, or even valuing the words of one another. This kind of love seemed rare and impossible to find, but one that you knew both parties would work for.

Though battling in wars came easy to me, I still craved affection and attention from a man. Even if the world feared me, he needed to be my safe place where I could lay down my weapons and be at peace.

He parted from her lips, adorned her nose, forehead, chin, and then each of her hands with small pecks before they turned back to the man. He spoke of honor and tradition, to love and to hold, and they did a round of ‘I do’s’. They kissed again and an unseen audience cheered for them.

Then the image cleared, and another woman was standing with gold and blue light radiating from her. Her words were intelligible as she walked toward me. She removed her hood as she spoke, and her voice became louder as she came closer.

“Twins. Forever bound. I curse your futures, erase them from this time, sending them into another. A realm filled with death, despair, and a game of the underworld. Your love for one another will be their undoing. Your love for others, blinding and cruel. The misdeed of your father has sealed your fate. To make things right, your husband must suffer at your hands to honor the marriage taken away from another. I shatter the bond of your family so that another’s family can heal. If you sacrifice yourself, you will remove the veil and all will be seen.”

A flash of light transported me back to the time when the woman and man were staring into each other's eyes.

“Do you, Renee, take Alistair to be your husband?”

“I do. Forevermore.” The words came from her mouth with so much conviction that my heart broke. This was true love. But what happened to them? Had they been cursed?

The voice of the woman casting the spell rang loud and clear. “Your love for others, blinding and cruel.”

Renee kissed Alistair, and I could feel his lips on hers as if I were there. My heart swelled, feeling how much he cared. She was his woman, someone he’d protect with all his might. He stared into her eyes and I felt full of the joy she had. The knowledge that his love would heal her soothed my fear of him being taken away from her.

Forevermore…

Another kiss while wrapped in his arms. I melted against him. No… she melted against him. I couldn’t tell where she ended or myself. He loved me… No… her.

Time blended. Her wedding dress was on the floor and he was deep inside her, confessing his love as he moved.

“Renee, you are my everything. Always have been. Our future didn’t start today. It began the day I met you.”

I felt his lips again, then his thrusts inside me. He stared into my eyes… hers. My heart pounded in my chest as we raced to the finish line of completion. Not a fast sprint, but more like a steady gallop. One of ease, speed, and the experience of a trained horse.

The release coming wasn’t one as I’d felt before. This wasn’t the relief that I’d felt while having sex. Something that marked a moment and made the stress dissipate. This was all-consuming. It gathered in my mind, heart, and soul, then matched it with the rhythm of my body until they aligned so perfectly that the ecstasy exploding was full-bodied. Perfection. And his combined with mine in the same melodious manner, making us a marvelous match.

“I love you, Renee.” He grunted out before his thrusts slowed and became focused like he knew the inside and outside of my body. His arms slipped under mine, pulling us together, chest to hips, and he found the right angle to move in and out of. His eyes smiled at the same time that his fangs lengthened and he fought to drink from me. Instead, he waited until we were both so far gone, so deep into each other that the orgasm rolling through us removed us from ourselves. Then he bit me at the same time that pleasure maximized fully into our bodies. Falling heavily into the other until the waves rocked us onto our asses. That’s when I knew we were not only complete but inseparable.

I woke up gasping for air. My entire body was still spasming from the orgasm as if I’d been there instead of it being a dream. I stood pacing, trying to regain my composure. Those thoughts and dreams didn’t belong to me. They belonged to the woman that I dreamed of. It belonged to my subconscious. It wasn’t real. No matter what I felt. It was from something else. Not my reality, no matter how much I wanted to believe it to be true. No matter how much I wanted to feel something like that.

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