Ears straining for the sound of the far-off river and both hands stretched out in front of her, Iyanna began feeling her way forward.
She had no idea that someone was watching her.
ELEVEN
The little female was here, in his territory!
Dra’vik frowned as he watched her halting forward progress. His study of human anatomy had let him know that they had little to no night vision, but this was ridiculous. It was clear she couldn’t see a micron in front of her face. Yet she went doggedly onward, her hands outstretched as she felt her way forward in the dark, pushing her way through the branches of the Dark Forest.
And she was heading straight for him.
His first instinct was to step aside. Running into him in the dark would probably scare her to death. But then he decided to stand his ground. Let her get a little fright—maybe it would teach her to invade his dreams as she had been doing. He’d send her running back to the Light Side of the ship and she’d leave him alone forever.
So he stood there, hands by his sides, as she blundered forward. Until finally her small, soft, seeking hands found his broad chest and she froze.
“Uh…what in the world?” Her hands moved across his chest, sliding over the smooth scales that covered his body, exploring boldly.
To Dra’vik’s surprise, he found himself moved by her touch—and also her scent. It was sweet and wild and almost unbearably feminine—also, it was obvious she was deep in sexual need. Her scent proclaimed it for anyone who had a nose.
And though she couldn’t see him, he could easily see her. The tight points of her nipples were immediately apparent, pressing against the thin fabric of the cloth she was wearing to cover them.
Then she spoke again.
“What the hell kind of tree is this? And why is it warm?”
“That’s because it’s not a fuckin’ tree, little girl,” Dra’vik growled softly, looking down at her. “It’s me.”
She gave a little gasp and looked up, which she hadn’t been before. Though she couldn’t see anything else in the dark, it was clear she could see his glowing yellow eyes with their vertical slit pupils. Clear because she swallowed hard as her eyes met and held with his.
“You,” she whispered. “It’s you. I thought I hallucinated you, but you’re real.”
“Yeah, I’m fuckin’ real,” Dra’vik growled. “What did you expect, little girl? Did you think you were invading the dreams of a ghost?”
“Invading your dreams?” she frowned and he noticed that she was still frozen in place, her soft little hands on his chest. Against his will, he liked her touch. “What are you talking about?” she demanded.
“Talking about the way I’ve been seeing you in my sleep every damn time I close my eyes for the past week,” Dra’vik told her. “And I know you’ve seen me too. I saw the way your eyes went wide and you started looking all around to see if I was watching you last night.”
Her creamy brown cheeks went dark with a blush and she abruptly pulled her hands away.
“Who are you and how dare you spy on me?” she snapped, crossing her arms protectively over her breasts. Or she would have, anyway, if her arms brushing against her nipples hadn’t obviously hurt her. As it was, she tried to cross her arms and then gave a little cry and jerked them away. Her hands balled into tiny fists at her side instead.
Well, she’s a brave little thing, I’ll give her that, Dra’vik thought with reluctant admiration. The little Earth female was so small the top of her head barely reached past his elbow—to her, he was nothing but a pair of glowing eyes in the dark. And yet, she was staring up at him defiantly as if he had been the one invading her dreams, instead of the other way around.
“Wasn’t spying on you,” he growled down at her. “I couldn’t help what I saw. Like I said, every time I close my eyes, there you are.”
“So…you’ve been watching me? Seeing everything I do?” Her voice was hesitant now—less defiant and more embarrassed.
Dra’vik arched an eyebrow at her, though he knew she couldn’t see it.
“Are you asking if I watched you pleasuring yourself with the pleasure blooms, little girl? Because you know the answer is yes—you know because the moment you came, you saw me too.”
“I saw your eyes,” she whispered. “That’s all I saw—and that’s all I can see now.”
Dra’vik glared at her.
“Be glad that’s all you can see of me, little girl. The rest would scare you to fucking death.”
“Why? What are you?” she demanded, not backing down a bit. “I have a right to know who or what has been watching me all this time,” she added, glaring right back at him.
Once again he was taken aback by her boldness. He could have broken her in half with one hand—not that he would. To Monstrum, as to all Kindred, female life was sacred. Still, he was so much bigger than her and yet she showed no fear, though he could hear her heart pounding and her breathing coming fast.