She continued to stare at the door; shame and panic boiled through her body until her body shook. The scratching increased. The sniffs echoed as if the person outside her door stood beside her. “Let me in…. Let me in….” the raspy growl rang, and sweat slid down her back.
It would not give up. Somehow she sensed it.
The sound of something dragging widened her eyes, and with a bang, the door shook on its hinges. “Let me in, damn you!” It howled in outrage. “I will have you. There will be no denying me.”
“No…. Go. Leave me be!” She yelled into the blackness and stepped back from the door as the wood once again shook and creaked with the weight of the pounding.
This surely was a dream. Nothing like this could be real.
Her body shook, her gaze stuck on the door. Please let the locks hold firm.
A sharp cry of pain came from the other side of the door, and a breath tickled her neck. Her hand shot to that spot as she spun, expecting to see someone there. Nothing. The curtains blew, and the window snapped open with a crack.
Dash it all! She jumped and hurried for the window. The wind howled, blowing her hair back from her face in a gust. She grasped the sodden wood in her hands and tugged; she stared out at the night. Rain came down in sheets, and as the wood frame clicked shut, lightning lit up the gardens below.
A figure clung to the wall at the base of the building. Crimson eyes stared up at her. She gasped, bolted the window, and pushed away from the glass, the curtain falling back as—she swore—the eyes emerged above the edge of the sill.
The cry rang in her head once more. Her heart pounding, she spun and stared at the door.
Nothing. Not a sound except the pounding in her heart. Her body shook uncontrollably as every shadow in the room moved, alive and coming for her.
This is just a dream.
Close your eyes and things will all get better.
She jumped, nerves taut as she stumbled back to the bed and crawled up on the mattress. Her eyes darted back and forth between the window and the door, searching for anything she could make out in the black, but all stayed still.
Just close your eyes and things will be well. In the morning you can leave this place for home.
As she forced her lids shut, quiet met her.
2
The warmth of smooth silk surrounded her, and a pleasant aroma tickled her nose. Mmmm. She inhaled again.
Cinnamon.
Her mother’s baking. She loved her pastries. Jane’s stomach rumbled, and she lazily stretched, scooting her bum to roll on her side.
Firm pressure compressed her into the mattress, not allowing her further motions. What? She strained again as her eyes fluttered open to darkness. She was not home. This was not her bed.
She pulled, and her muscles strained as her gaze shot around the darkness. Her eyes gaped as she sighted the vague outline of the door. The white painted wood stood, unlatched and open into the room. Her heart rapidly sped. Jerking her body, she frantically strained. She couldn’t move. Her muscles shook. Yet nothing restrained her. Another dream; this was just another dream. She squeezed her lids shut.
Sniff, sniff, sniff. Warm air tickled her stomach.
Sweet mother, that was real. Her eyes shot open. Still, she saw nothing. The bedclothes lay flat, but beneath the covers her shift slid up her torso to her breasts. What…“Stop! Don’t touch me!”
She squirmed. Warm silk touched the peak of her nipple, and her lungs locked.
“Please!” Panic gripped her, and her body turned clammy. This is what happens when you willingly participate in the act outside of marriage. You go mad with nightmares and dreams of carnal desire. She squeezed her lids shut, and warm, moist air puffed up her neck to her ear.
“I said there would be no denying me.”
The smell of cinnamon grew stronger, and her whole body trembled.
“What do you want from me?” She strained and pulled to move but couldn’t.
Silence met her.
“Why can’t I see you? Is this a dream?”
Still nothing. Chills raced her skin; she squirmed and strained her muscles. Warm smoothness dragged down her stomach, and her body trembled in the touch’s wake. Heat flooded her core.
“I will not harm you,” the male voice cooed softly, reassuring her. “To whom did you give your gift?” The warm cloth dragged up to her breasts and circled her nipples.
“Oh, God….” Her breasts grew heavy, and she groaned. Why…how…Oh, why did her body respond to this bizarre touch? “That is no concern of yours.” This had to be a dream—a pleasant yet strange dream.
“Ah, but if this is a dream, what does it matter?”
“I—I guess that is true,” she said tentatively. “But if this is a dream, why would you say such?”
A low rumble of a laugh shook her body as smooth wetness pressed to her neck, kissing her racing heartbeat. “You are beautiful. Your eyes…I have never seen such a shade.”
Her body grew warm at the comment. “Thank you. They are my mother’s.”
He grunted as his lip reconnected with the skin at the base of her throat. Shivers of pleasure pulsed across her skin. What did it matter if she told him of her folly? This surely was a dream.
“I gave my innocence to the tavern owner in Sudhamly.”
The pressure holding her tightened, and the air grew thick. A low gruntal growl pressed to her throat, and a tongue licked her neck from base to ear.
A burst of warm air caressed her earlobe. “You are very brave.” His tongue swirled into the curve. “What did he give you in return?”
Her body shook, and she pulled her head away from the invasion. “I—I don’t understand. The only thing he gave me was his seed and an aching heart.”
A deep, angry hiss slid down her spine, and her body quaked.
“You love each other?” His voice sounded strangled.
“I—I thought so…but he did not.” Her chest tightened as she said the words aloud. A true statement, and she needed to face that fact.
“He should have returned your gift. It is required to give something in return, especially when one gives her innocence.”
“I’m sorry, I—I don’t understand. What do you speak of? Who are you?”
The warm cloth circling her nipples vanished, and his mouth sealed upon her breast in a vise. Pain shot through the tissue into her breast, and her body arched off the mattress. He nibbled,
