Ruler of the Mind

6 Winter

Winter set his anger aside. Mouse bolted awake. He let her believe that he was in the room with her once more. He asked her to pick up her tale again. Awake, she blocked out some information. That was okay. He knew it all.

Asking her to talk just focused her mind so he could work. Hopefully, he would soon be able to explain what he was doing and she would forgive him for taking away the fear and anguish from her recent past. She would heal faster if she could sleep more easily.

The ones who violated her would pay anyway, but he needed to help her first. He put his talents to use in a good way for her. The guilt from his past eased a little.

Winter eased her stress and gave her new pleasant memories. In her mind, his hands caressed her shoulders, arms, and breasts. His hands slipped into her folds as he sucked her nipples and fondled her breasts.

His life as a dragon had granted him a dragon's skills in the bedroom. He knew how to pleasure a woman. He likely knew things Misty hadn't lived long enough to encounter or dream up. She was the only woman he'd wanted to use those skills for.

It was only in their minds. He didn't know how she smelled or tasted. He wanted it just the same.

His magic was taking the terror and fear out of her previous experience and erasing it like a bad dream. Just a little at a time. Damaging her mind or stealing her memories was wrong. Turning off the pain and anxiety would help her. Wiping away her past would change her and that was wrong.

Touching her mind in such an intimate manner made him crazy. The dragon in him slept still, but it was stronger and closer to the surface than it had been in centuries. Winter wanted his mate.

If he couldn't have a relationship with her in reality, as a Ruler of the mind, Winter had no issue with having a purely mental relationship with Mouse. The problem was that they'd never met.

She wasn't sure if he was real. He wasn't sure if that meant he was crossing a line. He prayed that she'd forgive him and allow him the opportunity to explain when he found her.

His need to help her overrode his intellectual argument against him playing in her mind. She'd reached out to him. He'd not been able to reach out to her. He chose to view that as consent. He needed her as badly if not worse than she needed him.

She was beautiful and sexy. He wanted to play with her. He hadn't wanted a woman or to play in hundreds of years.

Misty felt dirty and couldn't see herself as she was. He set about rebuilding her self-image being careful to remind her that he was intent on claiming her as his. He didn't want her to find someone else.

She was powerful even if she didn't know it. Her gift would mesh easily into the minds of other men. She could have just about anyone she wanted. Weak men might even believe that they had wanted it when she finished with them. That she didn't understand both frightened and excited him.

"Why? Why did you come to me? Why can't I see you? Are you afraid? Are you real?" She asked him questions as her courage rose and her mind reached out to caress him in return.

He didn't stop her. He groaned aloud in the room and could hear the echo. Damn, if he didn't want anything she desired to do to him.

The dragon nature drove him to answer as his hands skimmed her body. She trembled beneath his touch. She was everything and likely as drawn to him as he was to her even if she was human and couldn't recognize the magic the way he could.

Denying her was never going to happen. He felt just as compelled to answer her as he'd felt to ease her brokenness. It was just as intense as his desire to hold her close, touch her intimately, and allow her to do the same with him.

"I need you. You're everything. I must have you. I'm not afraid. I have a mission to fulfill. You will see me when the time is right. Wait for me. I'll come to you soon. Wear a blindfold and no clothes when you sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

Winter had to step away from her. If he didn't it would just be heavy petting. Was it rape if it was only in their minds? She hadn't pushed him away or asked him not to touch her. She'd reached out to touch him as well.

He was helping her even if he was assuaging his own need for her. He needed to find her in a hurry. He needed it to be real sooner rather than later.

Her fear and anxiety had faded. He knew she liked what he'd done. He was sure she'd eventually figure it out if she hadn't yet realized that it was only in her head. He had every intention of ensuring that Misty knew Winter was real.

When she was sleeping peacefully, he withdrew from her mind. He made his way unsteadily into the bathroom and turned on the cold water. In seconds, the steam roiled into the bedroom as he jacked off in the shower so he could sleep.

Stroking himself to the memory of what he'd just shared with Misty eased the pressure, but it didn't make his need for her go away. Misty Todofer was making him crazy and he hadn't seen her.

Sleep eluded him as he thought about everything he learned about his Mouse. He lay in the hotel bed as his damp hair slowly dried, staring at the ceiling in the dark.

He was an immortal centuries-old dragon. Misty was a fragile gifted human. It wasn't lost on him that she could have been destroyed by the recent atrocities perpetrated against her. If he didn't find her, anything could remove her from the dream.

He had to avenge her, but that warred with his need to protect his Mouse. Was she truly safe wherever she was as she believed? He needed to know.

There was no question that he wished to take up the sword in her defense. Once, he'd been a knight. Upon his death, he'd been resurrected with dark magic and a gift he'd never wanted yet been forced to use. For the first time in his life being a knight and being a Master of the Mind no longer seemed to be in opposition to one another.

He could be a dragon knight and a Ruler of the Mind for her. His sword appeared in his hands as he debated what his next move needed to be. He knew he needed help. Maybe he could face the past and find out if Blaze still saw him as a friend.

When he was sure that the dungeon master would be awake, he emailed Blaze, left a phone number, and waited. He knew the man had his residence in the United States. Winter had needed advice from Ember on a legal matter a few decades back and gotten caught up on a lot of dragon gossip.

The dragons' criminal lawyer charged heavy prices but running afoul of the human justice system meant that a dragon chose to willingly pay Halvor Lyting for his help. No dragon could resist a good story and Winter had gotten the skinny on as many dragons as Halvor knew of right after he was bailed out of jail in Fresno County, California.

He'd know where the dungeon master was, but he hadn't contacted him. He wasn't sure he wanted to contact him at that moment either, but Misty needed him. If he was going to help her, he had to put his own past where it belonged.

Winter dressed, stepped out, and grabbed some muffins from the continental breakfast. At eight just as he finished breakfast and began packing up to head out, the phone buzzed. He answered the unknown number. He knew a dark knight would be on the other end of the line.

Thank you for reading Ch 6. Please be kind and leave your comments. -OK