He chuckles as if I've said something amusing, and I can't help admiring how much more beautiful he is when he smiles.
“I have no reason to drug you, child.”
I shiver at the way he calls me “child.” Something about the way he says the word makes it clear that he doesn't, in fact, think I'm a child. It sounds more like a term of endearment, though perhaps it shouldn't be.
I look around the room, once again noting how different this space looks from anywhere I've ever seen before. Somehow before I even ask, I already know the answer is going to be something completely bizarre.
“And just where's your home?”
He moves to stand at the end of the bed and cocks his head to the side as if he's considering how to put it.
“In the Nether World,” he finally says. “Probably what you would call Hell.”
He smirks at my gasp. “Oh yes,” he comments as if he's just been reminded of something. “I forgot how humans abhor that term. No, it doesn't mean you've done anything wrong. I'm not Satan or someone sent to punish you for your sins. I am merely the celestial who currently rules over this region, the Nether World.”
“The Nether World?” I ask skeptically.
He cocks an eyebrow at me. “Surely you didn't think that your human world is the only world out there?” He tsks under his breath before he states, “It truly is a shame. Your species is a very self-absorbed one. Mankind has always thought it was the center of the universe and that there's nothing else out there. Just because you don't understand it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.”
“I never said…” I begin, but he interrupts me by walking over to the head of the bed and sitting on the edge of it. He's so close to me, I can smell his scent, and memories of it assaulting me last night as he wrapped me up in his wings have my cheeks burning. It teases at my nostrils now, almost making me dizzy.
I press further against the headboard to put as much distance between us as possible. The corner of his lips quirk up. It’s obvious my movement hasn't gone unnoticed by him, and he finds it humorous.
“None of that matters now, though,” he goes on. “You're under my protection. You don't need to fear anything, my pretty little Amelia.”
He reaches his hand out to stroke a finger down my cheek just like he did before back in my bedroom. My breath hitches both at his touch and his words. He thinks I'm pretty?
“Why have you brought me here?” I ask the question I'm burning to know.
His eyes darken as he looks over my face. “Because you’re mine,” he says as if it's as simple as that.
I gape at him. “What?” I don't understand. What does he mean?
“Come now,” his voice caresses me. “I know you've seen me in your dreams. Why do you think I've been watching over you your entire life?”
My mouth works, but no words come out. When I finally do manage to speak, I don't know who I'm trying to convince—myself or him—when I say weakly, “They're just dreams. They're not real.”
He holds his arms out and raises an eyebrow at me as he comments dryly, “Yet here we are. Tell me, pretty Amelia.” He leans in close to me—so close that his nose is almost touching mine and I can feel his breath fanning across my face as he asks, “Are you still dreaming right now?”
I reach over and pinch my arm, wincing at the sting. No, I'm definitely not dreaming.
Julian is still staring at me with those unwavering golden eyes of his. “Julian,” I speak his name aloud and see the surprise light his eyes before those eyes gleam at me almost predatorially. The name suits him. It’s otherworldly and dignified—just like him—and I like the way it sounds rolling off my tongue.
I swallow and finally manage to get my voice back. “What are you going to do with me?” I whisper. I still don't understand why he took me or why he waited so long to take me if he’s been watching me for so long. A tremor goes through me at the thought that this creature has been stalking me. “I don't understand any of this. What are you?” My head is buzzing with questions.
Julian's lips are full and sensuous. He slides his tongue over them, wetting them. My eyes home in on the motion. I feel a throb in between my legs, something that I've never felt before, and my eyes widen at the sensation.
As if he can sense what just happened, his nostrils flare, and his pupils dilate. He leans over me until his lips are right against my ear, and then he whispers, “Why, my darling, I'm going to make you my queen, of course.”
My breathing ratchets up as a mixture of panic and excitement floods my chest. I'm horrified and pleased all at the same time—horrified because I don't know this being at all and pleased at the thought that he wants me, and then confused because I shouldn’t feel this way, should I? I should be even more terrified than I am and trying to get away. Maybe I’m only as calm as I am because I’ve seen him in my dreams so often, and maybe that’s why he appeared to me like that. Maybe he was conditioning me for this moment all along—a pre-Stockholm Syndrome type of thing. Hell, I don’t know.
I startle at his touch, my eyes snapping to his as Julian trails his hand over my cheek again. He captures my eyes with his hypnotic gaze and stares into them. His eyes are so close I can see every fleck of gold in them.
I forget to breathe as I stare into them. They're hypnotizingly beautiful. They’re all I can focus on, and before I know it, I’ve fainted again.
* * *
Julian