Dream Warriors 1_Gareth Read online

  “Why can’t I dream about flying?” she cried. “Put me in my underwear in front of a room of laughing people. I don’t want to have sex in my dreams!”

  Gently, his warm fingers stroked her cheek, the underside of her jaw. “Do you have sex when you’re awake?”

  She pushed against him, but his hold remained secure. “I want to wake up now. I’m not amused by this dream anymore.”

  “Amusement isn’t the emotion I was hoping to elicit, so relax. I won’t hurt you.”

  Frustrated by her continued resistance, Gareth sent soothing pulses of warmth through her body until he felt her go lax in his arms. He laid her back across the bed. Her hair fanned out over the pillow, firelight intensifying the red in each dark strand. Uncertainty still clouded her gaze, but she wasn’t resisting.

  “Kiss me, Meagan,” he coaxed. “Kiss me like you love me, like you’d die without me.”

  Cupping the side of his face with one hand, she slanted her mouth against his. She had accepted his kiss before, but this was different. She participated -- no, initiated this kiss. Her mouth moved, slid and rubbed. Her tongue ventured beyond his lips, seeking and finding his. Gareth groaned, deep in his throat. Her hesitant response unleashed a firestorm of desire through his well-honed senses. He hardened and throbbed, demanding the attention of her hand or her mouth or her sheath. He didn’t care which, but the sudden jolt of passion stole his breath and left him aching with need.

  He tore his mouth from hers, panting harshly.

  “Are you all right?”

  “No. By the gods, no. Feel what you do to me.” He guided her hand down along his body. His erection jerked against her palm.

  “Oh boy, do I have a good imagination. There is no way men are like that in real life!” She laughed.

  He liked the sound. It made him want to capture the cadence inside his mouth along with her warm breath. Morpheus hadn’t been taunting him. “You’ve never been with a man, have you? Who are you saving yourself for?”

  “Shouldn’t you know all of this? Doesn’t my subconscious know what’s going on in my conscious world?” She laughed again. He didn’t think she’d answer, but she said, “I’ve never found the right man. I graduated high school at fourteen and college when I was eighteen. Everyone has always treated me like a little sister. Then the foundation recruited me and all the other scientists resented me. I’m `The Wonder Kid.’ Being precocious just isn’t amusing anymore.”

  “Well, we need to find you a lover in reality. It will discourage the incubus from returning. A virgin’s sexual energy is pure and powerful.”

  “So, if I were promiscuous that creature would have left me alone?”

  Gareth propped himself up again, pushing his fingers into her hair. “You don’t need to worry about anything. I’m here to protect you.”

  “Protect me how? What are you going to do?”

  “Help you relax.”

  She squirmed away from him. “Nothing you’ve done so far has been relaxing. I think I’ve frolicked through this fantasy long enough. I’m going to wake up now.”

  Chuckling, Gareth swept her beneath him, easily insinuating his hips between her thighs. “Sure you are.” He was careful not to force her, not to pin her down. She writhed and wiggled. He kept his weight balanced on his forearms and knees, settling his mouth over hers.

  He kissed her slowly, patiently, waiting for her to accept his lips and the gentle penetration of his tongue. She tossed her head, attempting to avoid him, but her hands explored his back, his ribs, his chest. She wasn’t immune to him, just frightened.

  Rocking back onto his knees, he freed his hands and unbuttoned her gown, parting the material before he released her mouth. “Oh, Meagan, you are lovely.” He had already seen her body, but she didn’t need to know that.

  He cupped one breast, caressing the nipple with the pad of his thumb, while he bent to suckle the other. She gasped, trembled, then tangled her fingers in his hair. He nibbled and licked her tender nipples until they pebbled, distended and tight. Catching one between his teeth, he slowly increased the pressure until she cried out, her entire body arching off the bed. Oh, yes, sensitive and responsive.

  “Gareth,” she whispered.

  “Yes, love.”

  “I ache. You’re making me ache.”

  He suckled her for a moment longer before he responded. “I know, sweetheart. But I won’t leave you aching. Never. I promise.”

  Moving his mouth farther down, he feathered kisses across her belly.

  She grabbed his hair, panic clear in her light brown eyes. “No, don’t do that.”

  “Is that how the incubus took you? Did he put his mouth on you?”

  “He…oh, God. Just don’t.”

  “Meagan, look at me. If this is how he hurt you, then this is how I must heal you. Pleasure for pain. I can’t cleanse your mind of his taint unless you trust me.”

  “I don’t want you to! I don’t ever want to…leave me alone! Just leave me alone.”

  Damn it. The illusion wavered all around them. Gareth gathered energy and reinforced the dream, but she was slipping away. She curled up on her side, drawing her knees to her chest.

  “You’re not real.” She sobbed. “You’re not real. Wake up. Wake up!”

  Her hysteria polluted the air, distorting the illusion.

  With a soft curse, Gareth let her go.

  Chapter Three

  Gareth stomped into the Great Hall of Morpheus spoiling for a fight. His sandals slapped against the marble floor, the staccato sound echoing off the walls of the massive room. When the Dream Warriors weren’t on assignment, they were welcome in the hall, encouraged to interact and learn from each other. But the hall appeared empty except for two lean youths lounging near the reflection pool. Their indolent smiles and unlined faces made it obvious they were trainees, yet to venture beyond Olympus.

  “Is anyone about?” Gareth asked briskly.

  “Other than us?” the towheaded boy replied cheerfully.

  “Have you seen Morpheus?”

  Both boys shook their heads.

  Garth approached the reflection pool and swept his hand impatiently above the water’s surface, causing it to ripple. “Show me Kane.”

  “Yes?”

  The water remained a silvery mirror, but the sardonic voice came from directly behind him. Gareth turned to face his friend. “Are you working on the incubus or does Morpheus have you hacking up demons in some king’s subconscious?”

  One corner of Kane’s grim mouth quirked, and his ebony eyes flashed, then narrowed. “Do you need my assistance with the virgin?”

  Gareth laughed as he imagined Meagan’s reaction if Kane appeared in her dreams. Kane’s long black hair had been drawn back, accenting his lean features, features arranged without pity or gentleness. Ruthless mouth, proud nose, brutal cheekbones, and those pitch-black eyes. In a word, dangerous.

  “I need information, nothing more.”

  Kane shrugged one bare shoulder, black leather pants and cross-gartered boots his only garments. “I know what we were told in the briefing, which wasn’t much. Our objective is the incubus and Morpheus will apprise us of the details as they become available.”

  “Who else is working the assignment?”

  Again he shrugged, his lazy stride taking him away from the reflection pool. “Everyone not assigned elsewhere.”

  “That’s not an answer!”

  Kane shot him a warning glare. “Don’t snipe at me like some fishwife.”

  Warm and verdant with the fragrant promise of spring, a brisk wind swept through the hall. Dried leaves danced across the marble floor, driven before the breeze like anxious sheep. Gareth bit back his sharp reply, while his gaze surveyed the room. Though pleasant and soothing, the breeze was unseasonable, unnatural. Warnings thrummed through him, stimulating his senses, heightening his awareness.

  Gareth heard the muted scrape of metal against leather as Kane drew his long sword. They stepped into f
ormation, back to back. Pulling his daggers from the belt at his waist, Gareth clasped one firmly in each hand. He glanced at the reflection pool. The trainees had fled, most likely to search for Morpheus.

  Flowers. The cloying fragrance permeated the hall.

  Leaves circled their feet. Heat caressed Gareth’s thighs, brushing ever higher under his tunic. He slapped at the unseen invader. A tinkling laugh drifted on the flower-scented breeze.

  “Show yourself,” Kane snapped.

  The fragrance intensified and shimmering light erupted, revealing the pattern of the breeze. It swirled and spun, around them, between them, and over them until Gareth felt dizzy from watching it.

  “What is this?” Kane swung his sword. The blade passed harmlessly though the apparition.

  “Be gone, you she-devil! Tell your master we’re on to him!” Morpheus shouted from the arched entrance to the hall.

  The creature twirled madly, hissing and spitting, before it dissipated, leaving behind a sickeningly sweet perfume.

  “Well, now we know it’s true.” Morpheus’ robes swaying as he strode across the hall.

  “We know what is true?” Gareth returned his knives to the loops in his belt.

  “They travel in pairs, incubus and succubus.”

  “That was a succubus?” Kane sounded doubtful. “What was it doing here? I thought such creatures only targeted humans.”

  “She was spying for the incubus, no doubt. Sizing up the enemy.”

  “Are we on to the incubus or did you just say that to make her leave?” Gareth followed Morpheus toward the reflection pool, Kane a step behind.

  “I know more than I did this morning, but not as much as you’re likely to want.” Morpheus swept his pale hand over the water, summoning images to the surface of the pool. “This is the research laboratory where our little virgin works.”

  “Her name is Meagan,” Gareth corrected.

  Morpheus chuckled. “Don’t get too attached to her, Gareth, you know the rules. You must never interact on an emotional level. Challenge her intellect, stimulate her senses, but you must remain distanced. This is an assignment, like any other assignment.”

  “I don’t think he can handle it, Morph. Better let me have her.”

  Morpheus raised his hand, preventing Gareth from launching himself at Kane. “He is teasing you, Gareth. But your reaction makes me wonder if I shouldn’t do exactly that. I have no doubt Kane can seduce this mortal without compromising the mission. Can you assure me of the same?”

  “I will not compromise the mission, Morpheus. You have no need for concern.”

  Gareth glared at Kane, who smirked in return. Their competition had been friendly for centuries. Why had Kane’s simple taunt enraged him? Why couldn’t Gareth banish the human’s haunted eyes from his mind? So tormented, so afraid. He wanted -- no, needed to comfort her, protect her.

  “I spoke with the Fates.” Morpheus interrupted Gareth’s troubled thoughts. “Stingy bitches that they are, they gave me the thinnest slivers of information. Our little vir…Meagan is supposed to discover a benign, transmission virus. This virus can be programmed to seek out and attach itself to a specific sort of tissue.”

  “For what purpose?” Kane shifted restlessly, assessing the images in the pool from various angles.

  “Atropos wouldn’t explain in any detail, but apparently, the virus itself is harmless, but it can be used to transport biological or chemical treatments for a wide range of diseases.”

  “So without this virus, the diseases can’t be treated?” Gareth’s brows knitted together in confusion.

  “Or can’t be treated as effectively.” Morpheus turned from the pool. “You have to get her back to the lab. She can’t make a medically significant scientific discovery locked in her apartment.”

  “It could take some time. She was terrorized by --“

  “Time is the one luxury we don’t have. The Fates are frantic. If she doesn’t make this discovery, it could take the human race onto a timeline so far removed from their present course they will be beyond our control. Diseases they were meant to cure will increase in severity and incidence: leukemia, cancer, AIDS. Do whatever you must to stop this creature. Now get busy!”

  * * * * *

  Gareth watched Meagan inch her front door open and peek out at her unwanted visitor. “I’m really not well, Sheri, if you wouldn’t mind --“

  “I mind, darlin’, I mind.” With firm steady pressure, Sheridan Vellmos pushed her way into Meagan’s apartment. “Saul said you’d called in again, but I know you’ve got the constitution of a quarter horse.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” Meagan closed and locked the door, her face scrunched up with a combination of confusion and insult.

  “We’ve known each other for what, six years? You’ve had maybe one cold in all that time. What is going on, Meagan? You look like hell.” Sheri stood tall and stylish, her light brown hair cut in a silky bob. Compassion lit her hazel green eyes.

  Meagan fidgeted, burying her hands in the pockets of her terrycloth bathrobe. “I…I have…you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

  “Try me. I’ve bought into some pretty bizarre things over the years.”

  An encouraging smile parted Sheri’s lips, but Meagan couldn’t seem to find the words. “Do you want something to drink?”

  “Why don’t you get dressed and we’ll go get something to eat. How long has it been since you left this apartment?”

  Tears filled Megan’s eyes and her little chin began to quiver. It was all Gareth could do not to manifest and wrap his arms around her.

  “I can’t,” she whispered. “They’ll know. How can they not know?”

  The older woman took Meagan into a light embrace, while Gareth ached to take Sheri’s place. Hard, ragged sobs tore through Meagan. Tears fell unchecked from between her tightly clenched eyelids and her whole body shook with the onslaught of her emotions.

  Damn the incubus and damn Gareth’s inability to banish her fear completely.

  “Oh, honey, what is all this? Talk to me, Meagan. Tell me what happened.”

  “I don’t know.” She sniffled. “Maybe nothing. Maybe something so -- evil…I don’t know how to explain.”

  Gareth sat on the floor as Sheri guided Meagan to the sofa. “Just start at the beginning and tell me everything. I don’t care how strange it sounds. You have to share this with someone.”

  “It started three weeks ago.” Sheri patted her hand, but didn’t rush her. Meagan took a deep breath; her expression grew distant and troubled. “I’d been working on Bental-2 and I got home really late. The virus has some fascinating properties, so I couldn’t shut down my brain. I was so tired I could hardly move, but my mind was manic with speculation.”

  Sheri smiled gently. “I’ve been there.”

  “I must have fallen asleep, finally. I remember sensing…something. I knew I was dreaming, which didn’t make sense. Usually my dreams are surreal, but this was focused and specific.”

  She didn’t say anymore and the older woman scooted closer. “I don’t understand. This has to do with a dream?”

  “Have you ever heard of an incubus?”

  Sheri’s dark brows drew together, creating furrows in her forehead. “Aren’t they a techno band?”

  Meagan laughed, a harsh, abrupt burst of sound. Wrapping her arms around herself, she rocked subtly back and forth. “They’re demons that attack women while they sleep.”

  “Attack? You mean sexually?”

  Meagan pulled the edges of her robe apart, revealing the deep purple bruises visible above her nightgown. “Did I do this to myself? I have bite marks on my thighs. I may be flexible, but I’m pretty sure it’s physically impossible to self-inflict these particular wounds.”

  “Oh, Meagan. I’m so sorry.” Sheri paused, her wide hazel eyes brimming with tears. “This happened three weeks ago?”

  “The first attack happened three weeks ago. Now I’m terrified to go to sleep. Terrif
ied it will happen again.”

  Would she tell the other woman about him now? Would she admit that the incubus wasn’t the only spirit to appear in her dreams?

  “Is it possible that someone drugged you? That this isn’t an incubus at all but a real live man?”

  Curving her legs up under her robe, Meagan wrapped her arms around her knees and shook her head. “Maybe if it had only happened once, but…you probably think I’m crazy. I’m half-convinced I’m crazy.”

  “You’re coming home with me,” Sheri said decidedly. “No way you’re staying here one more night alone.”

  Gareth shot to his feet. Damn it, woman, she’s not alone!

  The illusions he created took Meagan beyond the physical realm, but his assignment required privacy. Sounds and motion could meld with the physical world. It would be just his luck to have this daft intruder shake Meagan awake at the worst possible moment.

  Chapter Four

  After take-out Chinese food and a warm bubble bath, Meagan knew she should sleep like a baby. She thanked Sheri for all her kind attention and slipped into the guestroom/office. Sheri had thoughtfully left the hall light on and promised to wake Meagan in plenty of time for her to get ready for work in the morning.

  Work. Her research with the foundation seemed a lifetime before. Had it really been less than a month since this nightmare began? With Sheri’s help, Meagan had been able to push away the night, and feel normal again.

  But the night had found her, the darkness returned.

  She pulled back the covers and sat on the edge of the bed. The window she faced looked out over Sheri’s backyard, tall leafy trees all but obscuring the view.

  What was she going to do?

  Slipping between the cool sheets, she lay on her side, staring out at the sporadic sections of sky visible through the trees. A car drove past. Shadows swelled and undulated across the walls.

  Meagan closed her eyes.

  A face, captivating in its male beauty, formed within her mind. Long dark hair in no way detracted from the masculine strength of his features. Slashing eyebrows drew attention to his brilliant green eyes. Like the finest peridot, the shade was light, but intense.