This story is a sequel to "Day Dreams," which is archived on my fiction page
at: http://www.nancykam.com/fanfic/cindy/cific.html



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Waking Dreams

By Cindy Ingram
June 2001
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There were times she forgot she was dreaming. Like now, with his moist,
ragged breath on her neck and the burning length of him buried inside her,
sliding, grinding, filling her until she thought she would die from the
sheer ecstasy of it. His mouth, wet and lush, traversed the slope of her
breast, tongue licking, teeth nipping gently, lips tugging and sucking.

Her head arched back as her breath escaped in short, labored pants. Her
arms tightened around him, fingers twisting in his hair, nails scraping
down his back. The muscles in her thighs flexed as she clamped down on his
hips and stilled his relentless movement. For a breathless eternity, she
held him tightly inside her as she spasmed around him, tiny tingles of
electricity shooting through her veins. Then he was moving again, harder
and faster than before, raising them both to dizzying heights that never
failed to astound her.

She writhed beneath him, feeling, without even looking, the hunger of his
gaze and the fierce satisfaction on his face. It was always there, even
before he came. He loved knowing what he did to her, knowing that his
slightest touch could set her on fire, could send a quivering jolt of
molten lava racing to her core. He loved watching her, teasing her, burying
himself inside her.

But most of all, he loved holding her, caressing her in an intimate way
that had never been possible for so many of their years together.

She knew all this because he'd told her, over and over again. Not just with
words, but by action and emotion. When they were alone, he told her with
his touch and his eyes and the tender way he whispered her name. When they
weren't, he told her with smoldering glances and fleeting smiles as their
gazes met and danced away, afraid of revealing too much to those around
them.

But now, they were here together -- no one to hide from and nothing to hold
back.

She gasped as her head arched back hard into the pillow. A familiar wave
was building, layer upon layer, as he moved over her, around her, within
her. Burgeoning, blossoming, spreading outward, taking over every particle
of her being until all she knew -- all she could see, feel, taste, touch,
and hear -- was the wonder of those dazzling sensations cascading through
her.

She longed to cry out, to shout her exultation, but the feelings were too
intense. Mind-numbing pleasure stole her voice away, leaving her with a
drawn-out moan locked deep inside her throat. All she could do was hang on
tight and ride the wave, ride it out until at long last she could finally
manage a breathy murmur, fervently whispering his name.

"Nick..."

Slowly, her muscles relaxed, pooling into a delicious mass of throbbing
bliss. Eyes closed, she sighed as she floated in a sea of euphoria, all the
while anchored by a pair of strong and loving arms. It felt so wonderful,
so perfect. She could almost forget it wasn't real.

Except that, in some strange way they had yet to understand, it was.

She had "awakened," if you could call it that, to find him in her bed,
hands caressing, lips possessing her mouth before seeking out the heated
core that smoldered between her thighs. He had beaten her to it again, her
eager lover, so impatient to have her that he could barely leave the
precinct house fast enough, no longer racing home to beat the rising sun,
but hurrying instead to reach this secret place of theirs.

This perfect world where they could live and love and truly be together,
even if it existed only in their dreams.

Natalie pondered the irony of their situation even as she basked in the
delicious afterglow of their lovemaking. In this shared dream world of
theirs, Nick was mortal. The vampire was gone, banished to ...

Well, they didn't know where. Or how this was even possible. All they had
were the catalyst for this miraculous gift of theirs -- an amulet, an
ancient artifact shrouded in mystery -- and a wealth of unanswered
questions.

In truth, there were things that neither of them wanted to examine too
deeply, fearing that their miracle might vanish beneath harsh scrutiny. It
was too new, too precious for them to risk.

Yet, as Natalie reached up to smooth damp tendrils of hair back from Nick's
sweat-soaked brow, she knew that day was fast approaching. Even now, his
skin wasn't quite as warm to the touch as it had been when she'd first held
him this way. His cheeks were slightly less flushed, and his breathing was
marginally less labored.

And those weren't the only signs that things were changing.

He had surprised her in the morgue one evening, not long after her work
shift began, maneuvering her into a hidden recess tucked safely away from
prying eyes, as long as no one looked too hard.

"Nick!" Her voice was almost a squeak, breathless as she was and taken by
surprise. His lips swiftly silenced her, robbing her of any remaining
ability to speak, and for a brief lifetime or two, there was nothing but
urgent movement and harsh panting, mindless whispers and silent moans.

It was Natalie who finally and reluctantly surfaced, struggling to
recapture some semblance of reason as she pushed ineffectually against his
chest.

"Nick," she whispered fiercely, trying and failing to keep her voice from
shaking. "Are you crazy? What are you doing?"

He raised his head and the look in his smoldering eyes made her knees
buckle, threatening to send her sliding to the floor if not for the arms
that still surrounded her.

"Is it really that hard to figure out?" he asked, his voice low and
throaty, a seductive smile tugging at his lips. Those full, soft, luscious
lips ...

Nick shook his head. "I must be losing my touch," he complained softly.
Even as he said it, his hands proved him wrong, causing Natalie to squirm
in his embrace, half struggling to escape, half urging him on.

Not that he needed much of the latter. But while her sense of
self-preservation was tempted to give in to deeper, more primal urges,
reason finally won out again.

"Nick, someone could come in," she protested halfheartedly. "We can't do
this here."

We can't do this at all, she reminded herself. And even though she didn't
say the words out loud, she knew Nick heard them, too. He'd become very
good at reading her, uncomfortably so, at times. She was still having
trouble getting used to this new, more perceptive Nick.

Strangely enough, he didn't release her, and when she looked into his eyes,
it was clear he had no intention of doing so. Her cautious Nick, the one
who had for years held her at arm's length for fear of hurting her --
killing her -- had vanished into thin air, leaving in his place a seductive
stranger who didn't seem to care that they were playing with fire.

But were they? Though his eyes burned with a fierce hunger for her, it was
obvious to Natalie that it wasn't her blood he desired. She had been the
focus of the vampire's predatory intent -- not very long ago, in fact --
and she could tell the difference.

She could feel Nick's hips pressing into her, leaving little doubt of his
intense arousal, yet there was no sign of the inner struggle usually
triggered by his sexual stirrings. He stared down at her, silently
promising many things, but draining her of her life's blood was definitely
not one of them.

Confused, Natalie frowned. "Nick?" she asked cautiously. "How do you feel?"

He shifted his weight, moving against her, and little shock waves of
pleasure rippled through her. "You tell me," he murmured, smiling wickedly
into her eyes. Then, as if a light had suddenly switched on, his brow
furrowed and he pulled back slightly, obviously realizing what she had
meant. "I wasn't thinking, Nat. I saw you standing there, so beautiful and
... and I had to touch you ... kiss you. I didn't plan for it to go any
further, but ..." His voice trailed off and he shrugged helplessly.

Passion and proximity made it difficult to think clearly, but Natalie knew
she had to try. Taking a deep breath she studied Nick closely, fending off
other, more heated thoughts still whispering to her. His hunger for her was
apparent in his gaze, and elsewhere, but his eyes were blue and striking --
not a hint of amber anywhere.

She was amazed. They'd never managed to get this far, outside of the
dreams, without the vampire emerging. Natalie could tell Nick had no more
idea than she why this time was different.

"What do you think it means?" he asked, as if to confirm her thoughts. His
tone was carefully neutral but his eyes betrayed a sudden flare of
excitement. Before she could answer, they were interrupted by the sound of
someone approaching.

Even as Natalie slipped out of Nick's embrace, hastily righting her
clothing and trying in vain to tuck her unruly hair back into its loose
bun, she mentally kicked herself for stopping him. Being in his arms that
way, outside their dream world -- it had felt so good, so right, so ...

So dangerous. And, if she were to be honest with herself, all the more
arousing for that very element of uncertainty.

Natalie shook her head to clear it of such a treacherous thought and
listened as the footsteps neared, then passed, without stopping. She
exhaled slowly, grateful they had escaped detection, then remembered Nick's
question.

"I don't know," she said, turning back to him. "But you're awake. We're
both awake. Aren't we?" For a moment, she wasn't sure.

He hesitated, as if none too certain himself, then nodded in silent
confirmation.

"So how were we able to go as far as we almost did without ... without the
vampire surfacing?" She looked at him questioningly.

Running a hand through his tousled hair, Nick shrugged, his expression
thoughtful. "Maybe the dreams have helped improve my control," he ventured.
"They helped earlier, remember?" He paused, cocking his head. "Or maybe ...
I'm just getting tired of you." At his sudden saucy grin, Natalie punched
him in the chest. Hard. Of course, it didn't faze him.

She returned his smile for an instant, then sobered. "But really, Nick,"
she insisted, "how *do* you feel?"

Moving closer, he stared intently into her eyes. "Hungry," he whispered
fervently, and she knew, from what she saw there, that he wasn't talking
about a thirst for blood.

All those wicked urges came flowing back as her stomach fluttered and her
breathing quickened. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, his gaze lowering to
follow the movement. He might as well have undressed her out in the hallway
in front of all her co-workers, Natalie thought, her knees turning to mush
again; she couldn't have been more exposed. There was an answering gush of
moisture between her thighs. Nick's nostrils flared in response. He could
scent her arousal, and she could tell it excited him as much as it did her.
His lips parted, his eyes darkening as she swayed towards him ...

... then caught herself just as one of the morgue attendants entered the
room. They moved quickly apart, pretending it was just another innocent
detective-coroner conference, though judging by the faint smile on the
attendant's face, she wasn't certain they had fooled anyone but themselves.

Nick had left soon afterward, but Natalie hadn't been able to get the
incident out of her mind. Not that she wanted to, really, but a constant
state of arousal made it hard to stay focused on her work.

Still, she began to remember things -- things her subconscious had noted
while her immediate attention had been otherwise occupied. Like the fact
that, for a brief time there, Nick's skin had felt almost warm. Granted,
her own flesh had been burning with a feverish passion, making it a little
hard to judge, but she was certain there had been a difference, albeit a
small one. There was also the fact that the vampire hadn't surfaced, even
when things had gotten *very* heated between them. That was a major
surprise.

But if their encounter in the morgue had given Natalie much to think about,
the dream that soon followed it proved even more telling.

It had started like all the others; they had found themselves suddenly
together, this time in a dark and deserted alley. That, in itself, had been
unusual, though not unheard of since the settings of their dreams sometimes
included places other than Nick's loft or her apartment. So, while it
surprised her, it didn't alarm her.

In fact, it wasn't until she heard the growl that she got worried.

Nick was standing a few feet away from her, his face hidden in the shadows.
The sound had emanated from that spot, Natalie was sure, and her heart rate
accelerated as her eyes tried in vain to pierce the darkness.

"Nick?" she asked, her tone uncertain.

He moved forward then, into the light, and part of her half expected to see
the glowing amber gaze of the vampire. But it was Nick's face that emerged,
his beautiful blue eyes boring intently into her own. Relieved, Natalie
smiled a greeting, which quickly faded as a strange tingling sensation
washed over her and the hair on the back of her neck rose.

The way he was looking at her -- it was a possessive, predatory gaze that
branded her with an invisible mark everywhere it roamed.

And it roamed a lot.

She watched as he approached her, moving slowly, deliberately, as if afraid
he might scare her into taking flight. Which was ridiculous, of course.
She'd never run from him before, not even the first time they'd met, when
he'd been in full vampire mode. So why would he expect her to flee now?

But a small voice deep down inside screamed at her to do just that even as
he closed in on her, cutting off any possible retreat.

She swallowed hard. "Nick ..." she ventured again. Granted, talking had
never been a top priority for them while sharing this dream world, but his
continued silence now unnerved her. She wanted to hear him say something
... anything ... to erase this terrible suspicion of hers. To reassure her
that their dreams had not gone terribly wrong.

Taking a step to one side, she thought to put some distance between them,
needing a few more seconds to process what was happening. Just a moment or
two, and she could convince herself there was nothing to fear. This was
Nick, who would never hurt her. Nick, who would rush unprotected into the
noonday sun rather than let any harm befall her.

Natalie hadn't moved more than a fraction of an inch before she felt
herself lifted off the ground by a pair of powerful hands clamped firmly
around her waist. The next thing she knew, her back was against the wall,
her feet dangling free as his body pinned her to the rough brick surface.
Automatically, her hands flew to his shoulders, seeking to steady herself,
to gain some measure of control. But who was she kidding?

She could feel the taut muscles beneath his jacket, the broad expanse of
his back rippling under the fabric as he pushed himself against her,
mirroring his earlier movements in the morgue. She gasped, her head falling
back against the wall, and suddenly, his hands were everywhere -- touching
her,  arousing her, marking her as his. Leaving her breathless with
anticipation and dizzy with need.

His mouth covered hers, slanting sideways as he gathered her in closer, his
tongue demanding entry, which she willingly gave. Any attempt at rational
thought fled as Natalie gave herself up to the kiss, certain she would pass
out at any moment from the sheer ecstasy of it. All the while, Nick's hands
continued to work their magic, leaving no part of her  body unclaimed. Her
hands left his shoulders, finding their way to his head, fingers tangling
in his hair.

Then, abruptly, Nick released her lips and began trailing feverish kisses
across her cheek and ear, ending up with his face buried in the soft crook
of her neck and shoulder. That was when, somewhere amidst a haze of sensual
overload, Natalie again heard a low growl. Only this time, there was no
mistaking it.

She froze, eyes flying open as her heart skipped a beat. Oh, God, no. This
couldn't be happening. Not here ... not this way.

But the growl quickly transformed into a groan, and instead of fangs
tearing into her flesh, Natalie felt only the blunt edges of Nick's teeth
nipping tenderly at her throat and the teasing caress of his tongue as he
traced the curved outline of her ear. His arm snaked around her back, one
large hand cupping her bottom, pulling her tightly to him.

Reacting instinctively, she drew up one leg, hooking it around his hip as
she in turn tried to draw him still closer, to feel him through the many
layers of clothing that separated her burning heat from his cool fire.
Letting her head fall forward, Natalie rested her cheek against Nick's
shoulder while his hand slid lower, cradling her, supporting her, keeping
her melded to him as he ground himself against her in hungry response.

Still, despite the fog of sensuality that enveloped her, Natalie couldn't
forget the sound she'd heard. As passion gave way to nagging fear, she
buried her fingers deep in Nick's hair and tugged his head back, suddenly
desperate to see his face.

Deep blue eyes, clouded with desire, met her own. Their gazes locked and
they remained that way for several moments. Then, their lips just a hair's
breadth apart, Nick whispered her name, and in his voice was every ounce of
pent-up yearning they had struggled with for so many years. Every doubt,
every hope, every unfulfilled dream was there for her to hear. It was
almost as if they were coming together for the first time, and he was
painfully uncertain of his welcome.

Natalie's eyes closed, lids weighted down by the force of that passion, a
muffled sob escaping her as she desperately hugged him to her once more.
His hands were heavy on her breasts, the garments that had covered them
ripped open and pushed aside so that cool skin caressed fevered flesh. Her
skirt was yanked up and her underwear swiftly disposed of, leaving her open
and ready, aching with mindless need.

With one strong, fluid thrust, he entered her, the force of their joining
wrenching a sharp cry from her throat. The feel of him inside her was
incredible, surpassing any of their previous bouts of lovemaking. Perhaps
it was a heightened awareness on her part, sharpened by her earlier fear.
Or it could have been the fierce way he held her, the relentless way he
went about possessing her -- leaving Natalie to wonder if she could have
stopped him, assuming she had been of a mind to try.

During their time together, there had always been a tenderness about Nick,
even when caught up in the throes of primal passion. But now, Natalie
sensed something different about him  -- a barely restrained power that
could snap her in half, a furious melding of controlled chaos and unleashed
ardor.

As Natalie moaned deep in her throat, she felt an answering growl
reverberate through Nick's chest. This time she didn't have to see his
face. This time, she could feel the sharp incisors teasing her flesh, the
twin pinpricks sinking slowly, softly into her, the heady sensation of an
eager tongue lapping steadily as velvet-soft lips pulled and sucked,
drawing in all that was hers and giving it back tenfold.

And somewhere in a distant part of her brain, she realized she'd been a
fool ever to fear this. It was everything she'd wanted, everything she'd
longed for -- to give herself to him completely. It didn't seem to matter
anymore that she probably wouldn't survive the experience -- at least, not
in this dream world of theirs. Any uncertainty she had felt, like
everything else, was drifting away from her. All that mattered now was the
seductive pull at her throat and the sweet friction between her thighs. She
didn't want it to end. She never wanted it to end.

But as Natalie sank down, slipping further and further into oblivion, a
tiny voice told her that it would end all too soon ...

++++++++++

Fighting her way to the surface, she awakened alone in her bed, her body
shuddering endlessly beneath the onslaught of a massive orgasm. She could
still feel the burning sensation of razor-sharp fangs buried to the hilt in
her neck and the intoxicating weight of Nick's body pinning her to the
wall. All the while, he had moved inside her, pumping and grinding -- each
primal thrust screaming "Mine! ... Mine! ... Mine!"

The memory of it was so vivid, in fact, that Natalie climaxed a second time
just thinking about it.

Nick's reaction had been somewhat different. For three days afterward, he
had refused to sleep. Natalie knew he was terrified of returning to that
alley and finishing what he had started. He was convinced that, if given
another opportunity, he would take her in more ways than just body and
spirit, and that was something he wasn't willing to risk. Aside from the
fact that he couldn't stand the thought of killing her, or worse -- even in
a dream -- neither of them knew what affect it might have on her in the
waking world.

He had even talked about disposing of the amulet. Though shaken by the
experience, Natalie had stopped him, arguing that to act too rashly could
jeopardize their best chance at winning back his mortality, for real, and
their only chance of being together.

It was the first time she had voiced that thought out loud, and the first
time he had openly acknowledged it. As impossible as it seemed, for weeks
they had each wondered if somehow, some way, Nick's dream mortality might
seep over into his waking life -- freeing him, at last, from the
immortality he no longer wanted.

Natalie had eventually settled the impasse, reminding him that when she had
awakened there had been no bite marks on her neck, no scratches from the
rough brick wall, no bruises from his iron grip. And, finally, they had
agreed to try again but to take it slowly. This time, talking *would* be a
major part of their forays into that mysterious dream world.

Natalie kept her own doubts from him, avoiding any mention of the fear his
actions had awakened, or just how easily she had succumbed to the thrill of
that dark seduction. That was something Nick was better off not knowing.

As agreed, they had started out cautiously -- some brief hand-holding, a
few chaste kisses. They were prepared to stop at the first hint the vampire
was surfacing. And though it didn't, at least not the way it had in the
alley, the cool skin, the pale cheeks, the dangerous edge that increasingly
colored their lovemaking in that other place were all signs that Nick's
dream-mortality was steadily slipping away. So they pressed further and
harder, pushing their shrinking limits with quiet desperation, seeking to
hold on to whatever they could for whatever time they had left.

But it wasn't all quiet despair and hopeless yearning. In their waking
hours, they quickly realized that Nick had gained an astonishing amount of
control. With increasing success, he reined in his blood lust even as they
gave themselves over  to the heady sensations of caressing, kissing,
fondling -- all done in the waking world. His hunger for blood also was
slightly diminished, allowing him to go longer periods of time between
feeding.

Days flowed into weeks, and boundaries were stretched still further with
each new lovemaking attempt, though the final step had yet to come. But
come, it would. Natalie had little doubt of it now. As she cradled her
dream Nick in her arms, she realized with growing conviction that their
time here was limited. The lines between Nick's waking and dreaming selves
were shifting, merging, transposing.

Just how mortal Nick might become, she had no idea. She was even less
certain what would happen as the vampire slowly took control over Nick's
dream existence. But somewhere, deep inside, hope was beginning to bloom.
It exhilarated her and terrified her at the same time, all the more so as
she contemplated the uncertainty of what lay ahead.  Would the dreams stop,
if Nick actually became mortal again? Or would they continue as long as
they kept the amulet? And if the dreams continued along their present
course, what would happen when the vampire was unleashed? Would the dreams,
as Nick had feared, pose a danger to her safety?

And, in her mind the most pressing question of all, if circumstances forced
them to get rid of the amulet after achieving their goal, would Nick remain
mortal, or would he revert?

Too many questions and no answers, that's what it all boiled down to. And
in the end, Natalie realized she had only her heart to guide her. Right
now, at this moment, it insisted that no risk was too great if it meant she
and Nick could be together. If it meant that she could finally help him
attain his heart's greatest wish -- to be mortal again.

With blinding clarity she acknowledged this newfound truth, the part of her
that would try anything -- risk anything -- to give Nick what he wanted
most.

She smiled ruefully, folding her arms more tightly around her slumbering
lover. She'd do it, all right. She'd do it in a heartbeat.

Even if it meant a lifetime of waking dreams.

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Finis