But even in his dream, he wouldn't treat her that way.
For some strange reason he wanted to be tender with her. He wanted to have sex with her like a man, not a wild animal.
He didn't want to pound himself furiously against her, seeking a passing moment of pleasure. He wanted this night to last. Wanted to spend the whole of it holding her.
For once in his life, he wanted someone to treat him as if he mattered. As if she cared for him.
Not once had he allowed his fantasies or dreams to take him here.
Tonight he did.
She cupped his face in her hands and tilted his head until he could see into her pale eyes that looked at him as if he were human. Eyes that saw something good in him.
"You're so handsome, Zarek."
Her calm, sweet words tore through him. There was nothing about him attractive. There never had been.
He was nothing.
But as he stared into her precious face, there for an instant he felt as if he were something more.
Surely a woman like this wouldn't touch him if he were truly nothing.
Not even in his dreams...
He pulled her shirt open so that he could stare down at her body. Her breasts were of medium size, the rosy nipples hard and swollen, just begging him for a taste. Her belly was rounded ever so slightly, her skin pale and inviting. But what made his breath catch was the sight of her legs slightly parted. The sight of the damp dark blond curls between her legs that held the promise of true paradise. Or at least as close to it as a man like him could ever hope to get.
Astrid held her breath as she watched Zarek's feral gaze search her body. It was so searing that she felt it like a real touch.
He moved from the bed to remove his pants.
She swallowed as she saw him swollen and hard for her. His tawny skin was dusted with black hairs and was the most incredibly masculine sight she'd ever beheld. He was beautiful. Her dark warrior. Unlike him, she knew this night was real. Knew that she shouldn't be doing this when they would both remember it on their waking.
Her job was to remain impartial. But she wasn't impartial to this man, or to his pain.
She wanted to soothe him any way she could.
No one deserved the life he'd had to endure. The degradations and hostility.
He laid his body across hers and gathered her into his arms. His weight was delectable. She closed her eyes and just let the power and strength of him wash over her as she felt his hard, masculine body with every inch of her own.
Zarek struggled to breathe. The feel of her warm body against his was the most incredible sensation he'd ever known.
Her hands roamed his bare back as he stared down into eyes that warmed him.
There was no scorn. No anger.
They were beautiful eyes.
He kissed her gently, taking her upper lip and sucking it tenderly as he tasted the honey of her mouth.
In his human lifetime, women had cringed anytime he drew near them. They had shrieked and thrown things at him.
He'd lain awake many nights trying to imagine what it would be like to touch one. Trying to imagine the feel of their arms wrapped around him.
The reality of it was so much greater than anything his mind had ever conjured.
Before this dream ended, he intended to claim her over and over again until they were both begging for mercy.