One of my hunters was tawny-eyed with a strong nose and sharply hewn features. He much resembled my father. I’d always assumed he was the adult version of Kelsey’s baby, but now I noticed subtle differences. The shape of the nose was wrong. The scent, which was strong even in dreaming, was not the same.
When that scene had played out, I was taken elsewhere. I was in a jungle talking with Kadam. He was sad and he stroked my tiger head while he sat next to me, his back against a tree. The two of us watched the sun set and my heart was heavy and hopeful at the same time.
That one faded and a new dream took its place. I heard a woman’s laughter as I chased her in the dark. There was a veil over my eyes and she didn’t have a scent at all. “Come find me, tiger,” she beckoned with an invitation that promised more than a successful hunt. My claws scraped the log I balanced on as I leapt. Transforming as I neared the ground, I caught the woman around the waist and we rolled together, stopping with her on top of me.
“What do I win?” I asked breathily, smiling as I stroked her hair away from her face. I still couldn’t see her or smell her but the curve of her cheek was familiar to me.
“Shall we start with a kiss and see where it goes from there?” she said with a husky laugh.
“I think I can manage that,” I said as I traced her face, drawing her down. Light bloomed around us as our mouths fit together perfectly, outlining her shape. Our lips brushed, blending as seamless and true as the horizon, the distance between us indiscernible. Cupping the back of her head with one hand and trailing the other slowly down her spine until my hand found the curve of her hip, I squeezed the soft flesh and tugged her against me, then murmured against her lips, “I want to see you.”
She touched a fingertip to my nose. “Not just yet, I think.”
Groaning, I touched my lips to her neck and tugged the sleeve of her dress down her shoulder. She made a soft little mewling sound as she arched her neck, giving me more access. I rained kisses over her jawline, then down to the curve of her shoulder, taking my time as I explored every inch.
Impatient, she turned my head and touched her velvet lips to mine, wriggling her body ever closer. Her lush form was crushed against me and I cradled her close, willingly giving her the slow, drugging kisses she desired as I slid my hands up into her hair. I heard the patter of a spring rain shower tapping on the canopy high above us though I still could see nothing. I no longer cared about my limited vision. If I could feel her, touch her, that was all that mattered.
Pressing her back gently, I rolled us again so I hovered above her and lifted up on my elbows so as not to crush her with my weight. She took hold of my shirt, trying to tug me back down, but I resisted and covered her hand with mine, where it rested over my heart. “I love you,” I said. “Have I told you that recently?”
I didn’t need to see her smile to know it was there. “You tell me often and with such bruising intensity that no one who hears it can deny your claims.”
“Good. No man should ever entertain the thought that you are not claimed.”
She punched my arm but then lifted her head to kiss my ear softly as she murmured, “I love you as well, you rangy beast. However, should you cease kissing me, I might consider a different suitor.”
“Well, I certainly can’t have that, my lady fair,” I said suavely.
Her silky mouth found mine quickly and I was soon lost in her embrace. As her arms twined around my neck, her lips opened and the dream slid into something more powerful, more compelling. The scents of the forest filled my nostrils. Flowers of all kinds surrounded us. Roses, jasmine, lilies. There was also evergreen and crushed grass.
The light had dimmed as well. It was now muted—smoke gray and petal pink. Slowly, I became aware that I was no longer lying on the ground but in a bed as soft as fairy wings. My sight had returned. Raising my head, I saw my fingers interlocked with hers where our hands rested near the headboard. Our palms danced together, fingers tightening and squeezing. I let go of her hand and ran my fingertips down the length of her hair, which spread out in a halo, spilling over the pillow and sheets.
She made a little impatient noise and cupped my jaw, willing me to turn my head back to her. I closed my eyes again and lowered my lips to hers. The woman I kissed held me tightly, her hands kneading my back and then sliding between us to stroke my bare chest where my shirt gaped open. My mind was foggy with sleep and I had no immediate reason to want to wake up. The dream was sweet and passionate and perfect. My mouth moved with hers as she teased and tantalized me with her soft, honeyed kisses.
She tugged at my shirt and I mumbled against her lips, “Just a minute, my lovely jaani.”
Detangling my limbs from hers, I rose with the intention of removing my shirt, when I suddenly realized I was no longer dreaming. My hands froze on the buttons as I looked down on the woman who was now very visible. Anamika lay on the bed as beautiful and soft as a plucked flower, her lips rosy from my kisses. A becoming flush on her heaving chest rose all the way to her cheekbones and even tinged her shoulders pink.
Ana’s hair framed her lovely face, the waves of it radiating away from her like brilliant rays from the face of the sun. I wanted to sink my fingers into it and gather it up by handfuls. To look at her was to understand the meaning of innocence and passion, siren and supplicant, strength and vulnerability. She was woman and goddess and girl all wrapped into one enticing creature.
As I stared down at her, my mouth open in shock, she reached toward me and ran her hand up my arm. I trembled with the fervent need to sink back down against her again and take advantage of the desire I saw in her eyes. The hunger I felt for her was overwhelming, and I couldn’t understand how the Grove of Dreams could have led me down such a shameful, guilt-ridden path.
“Sohan?” she said, her brows furrowed, but her moss-green eyes were still heavy-lidded with sleep. “What’s wrong?”
“I…I…I’m sorry,” I said. My body finally caught up to my brain and I scrambled away from her as quickly as possible. She sat up, her silken nightdress slipping farther down her shoulder. It was dangerously close to exposing her. Spinning around before it did, I fumbled for words. “I, um, I’ll be waiting for you out there.”
Whipping through the hanging vines, I ripped a few of them off the trees and tossed them violently aside as I stomped noisily through the forest. My whole body shook with tension. Leaving her and her intoxicating scent behind proved nearly impossible. Pacing back and forth like a caged beast, I ran a thumb across my mouth and closed my eyes. I could still taste her. My blood pounded in my veins, my body insisting I was an idiot for leaving a very warm, seemingly willing woman in bed alone.
The tiger in me saw nothing wrong with what I’d done. Ana was mine as I was hers. We were already bonded in a way that was incomparable. Nothing in the universe could keep us apart should we wish it. The tiger was driven by want and need and he was very close to the surface. Even now, a part of her called to me or, perhaps, to him. I stumbled a few steps and then heeded her summons, returning to the grove but not entering.
“I’m here,” I said through the vines stiffly. “What do you require?”
The plants lifted of their own accord as she stepped through. She wore a formfitting tunic as blue as a turquoise sea with soft doeskin breeches and knee-high boots. The clothing enhanced her figure enough to make my throat go dry and my pulse pound. Her hair was swept back, and I could see the slight red tinge on her neck that had likely been caused by the stubble on my jaw. I winced and looked away.
“What I require is that you explain your actions,” she said quietly.
“I…I don’t know what to say. I was dreaming and—” My mouth worked but no words came out. Glancing up, I saw her typical stubborn stance, her hands on her hips.
“Go on,” she said. “You were dreaming and…”