Daemon Fire (Darkin World Book 3)

Chapter Five

Fi stared up at her ceiling, unable to sleep. Søren's guest bed was comfortable, and she was tired. However, thoughts of Owen in her bed kept her from rest.

Rolling onto her side, Fi cradled her head in a palm atop the pillow. The curtains weren't drawn affording her a view of the clear night sky. There was little light pollution from the town of Billings nestled miles away in the valley. It was two-thirds the size it'd been before the war. The Heights were a wasteland with no working street lights, so stars glittered clearly in the night sky.

The glory of the heavens on display fell on blind eyes. Fi only saw the licentious daydream playing out before her. It was difficult not to take to the shadows and join Owen in her bed then and there.

A sigh escaped Fi's lips as she rolled onto her back once more. It was all just a fantasy at this point. Owen was nowhere near accepting her into his bed, let alone his heart.

Closing her eyes, Fi tried to clear her mind so she could sleep. Her attempt failed. After so long of searching for him, she'd finally found her anima. Excitement filled her as she thought of how to tempt Owen. She needed him to believe they belonged with one another as she knew they did. Otherwise, she'd turn vamp and be destroyed.

A few more minutes of contemplation passed, then her consciousness changed. Fi was aware of the change between sleep and waking. The darkness behind her closed lids lightened to a pinpoint as she floated toward a dream. It wasn't hers.

The forward momentum stopped. Before Fi, there was a milky bubble of someone's dream. Peering in from the outside, she found Owen facing away from her and bared to the waist. He was in her living room, in front of her soft white couch.

Fi's demon half must have searched out and found Owen's dream once she loosened her grip on consciousness. Being the daughter of an incubus, she'd been able to view another's subliminal imaginings as soon as she reached puberty. When she was young, alone, and untrained, it'd been by accident. But with age came wisdom. Now she could do so whenever she wished, as long as there wasn't a ward in place to bar her from peering within.

"Yes," Owen groaned. In the dream, his hair was long and unbound. When he threw his head back, the waterfall of dark locks covered his jean-clad ass. "Just like that." The words were a benediction moaned to the ceiling and heavens beyond.

But who was the co-star of Owen's fantasy? Fi's stomach soured as she realized the woman before her anima might very well be Ife. Their previous display of familiarity hadn't passed unnoticed. If Ophelia wasn't mistaken, Owen still held a flame for the lioness.

Squinting at the bubble encasing the dream, Fi found Owen's ward. It lent an electric blue sheen to the outer, cloudy shell of the diaphanous orb. Reaching out a hand, she felt the writhing snake-like protection that ringed the dream. Surprisingly, it didn't zap her. Instead, it wrapped itself around her imaginary finger, then pulled her inside. Unwinding itself, it went back to keeping undesirables out. The magical shield didn't raise an alarm, didn't let Owen know he was no longer alone.

Although the ward's behavior was bewildering, Fi didn't give it much thought. Instead, jealousy fueled her next action. With but a thought, she came around her anima's partially clothed body. The flap of his jeans was open, his cock freed. The nude woman on her knees, taking Owen deep into her mouth was not the dark-haired African First's mate. The female whose features were obscured by familiar long, white-blonde hair as she took the shaman deeper still was Fi.

A whispered gasp escaped from Fi's physical body's lips. The seemingly passionless man had a lot of it dammed up in some secret reservoir. And if his erotic dream were any indication, it was spilling over for Fi alone.