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chapter 36

ADAM PERSAD WAS lying to himself.

He had actually been doing it for a while, and had simply refused to admit it. He hadn't moved on; he hadn't gotten over his family's deaths —but he seemed to almost forget, whenever he looked at her.

Or them; he didn't really mind.

All he knew, was that Purple made him feel things which he had not felt in years. It terrified him.

Why did she have such a hold on him? He could not understand since she had avidly pushed him away from the moment he had asked for a nightmare. More so after he had invited her into his house. Could it be that the Dreamcatcher was fulfilling some promise of which he was not aware?

It wasn't as though he particularly wanted to close that distance between them, anyway. Purple simply spiked his curiosity. He then wondered upon what else could she have that effect.

No, he reminded himself. Focus.

He was finally getting his chance at returning to a semi-normal life. He would sleep —for a week straight, if he could. The setup seemed like heaven...but when he learned that the Dreamcatcher was actually going to share one room with him for the night, he realised that nothing to do with her would be easy.

"I am not any more okay with this than you are," promised Purple, frowning at the door as she leaned against the wall. The timber posts creaked as she fidgeted, and Adam's gaze involuntarily snagged at every small movement of her slender limbs.

The human girl, Georgia, then sidled past them with her backpack clutched tightly. And she smirked, appearing to understand the situation instantly.

Adam grumbled at her soft laughter as she escaped to the safety of her own accommodation for the night.

"You don't...have to stay for the whole time, do you?" the soldier hissed at the Dreamcatcher, folding his arms. "I would like some privacy."

"Unfortunately, I do," Purple sighed.

He wanted to find an excuse; a logical reason to deter her and therefore minimise the distraction that she caused, which could be compared to the effect that he had on her in turn. "But —" he started.

"—This is mostly about monitoring you," Purple admitted, tucking a curl of snowy hair behind her ear. He would never acknowledge it, but he was mesmerised by her hair. The silkiness of it, and how it contrasted against her dark, star-speckled skin. "...Do not think of this as humans usually do," she then said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Adam scoffed.

He noted the grey that then appeared in her cheeks in the way of a blush. "You know precisely what it is that I am talking about," she breathed.

Perhaps he did.

But something within him was rather satisfied to see her uncomfortable and out of her element. To see her squirm, and have him know that he was the cause.

Adam took a step closer to her, his focus shifting to her wide purple gaze as she looked upwards in surprise. He did not do anything, even though he was within apt distance to do so. Purple blinked, then her eyes lidded slightly as she bowed her head.

She did not tell him to move.

Adam was essentially pinning her to the wall and she wasn't resisting. He raised a brow. "Do I know?" he murmured. "Maybe you should spell it out for me."

She knew. She knew that he knew; that he was now simply toying with her.

She drew a breath. "Adam —"

At that precise moment, the damned Faerie came to a standstill at the top of the stairs.

The human and the Dreamcatcher abruptly turned.

"Oh, do not mind me," Edva chuckled, making his way to his room. "Though you may want to do whatever you were about to do behind a closed door."

Adam growled softly as the Faerie disappeared too soon for a scolding. He then turned back, bumping into Purple, who had still not moved.

"Sorry," she blurted, her hands raised slightly as though they had began reaching for his arms to help restore balance, but had stopped halfway.

The human and the Dreamcatcher dithered for a good few seconds, unsure of what to do.

For a moment, Adam was overwhelmed with the desire to hold her delicate hands in his own. Instead, he turned away and opened the door —and sucked in a breath at the sight. Purple stuck her head around the door beside him, and squeaked.

Apart from a disintegrating rocking chair and dry wooden floorboards, there was a bed —probably. It hardly looked big enough to fit two people who wanted nothing but space between them. In fact, if they both wished to lie on it, they would be nose-to-nose.

"Fuck," Adam grumbled, tugging his fingers through his usually dry, and now damp kinky hair. He then rethought his choice of words, in light of what they were hoping not to accomplish.

"Back to back," Purple whispered. "We can lie down without facing each other."

He wondered why he had not thought of that.

"Works for me," the soldier quipped.

It was nightfall.

The sky had darkened but the stars shone as defiantly as they did during daylight. There were three moons in the Beta Plane —and Adam remembered their names from when Purple had pointed them out: Zernius, Ophellius and Luna ( Luna was what the locals called the Earth's moon ). All of the known moons were visible in the plane with the most magic.

The only positive about the room, was the view from the single intact window that was above the bed.

Adam realised that nights in the Beta Plane, though dangerous, were absolutely beautiful.

After throwing his things in one corner, Adam shrugged off his jacket. He then reached for his cotton shirt and pulled it off —before his eyes met the Dreamcatcher's. She was frozen, and gawking.

"You could step outside for a minute," the soldier informed her more than a little rudely.

Neither of them reacted.

Adam's lips almost curled into a smirk. "Suit yourself," he quipped, going for his pants.

She did then glance elsewhere, remaining stiff.

He refrained from making a show of it, and changed into his sleeping clothes as casually as he could —rushing would reveal his discomfort. Even with his back turned, he could feel Purple's eyes staring.

The Dreamcatcher had removed her own coat and placed it over her carryon bag in the opposite corner from his belongings. She did not need to sleep, but she appeared drained and exhausted.

Had it really taken that much out of her to retrieve the palm-sized vile of blood he now held in his hand?

The plan still revolted him to no end, but he had resolved to try everything and anything. It was not as though he had something to lose. He had already lost it all.

He sighed and tossed the vile upwards before catching it again. Maybe it wouldn't taste that bad.

The human and the Dreamcatcher both then reached for the blanket at precisely the same time. And they both tugged at their respective corners as a warning. Both refused to back down; squaring their shoulders.

Silently and slowly; and like a mirrored act, they climbed onto the creaking mattress and settled under the blanket. That piece of fabric, it seemed, was thankfully more than big enough for the both of them.

It was not as much of a tight fit as Adam had thought —if they laid on their sides, their backs would barely brush against each other. But he could feel her warmth; her body's automatic temperature adjustment. He tried very hard not to move.

At times like these, where he had been preparing to sleep, he thought about those most precious to him. But for the first time, Adam thought about nothing.

There were no flashbacks of the war; no screams; no visions of the massacres. There weren't even glimpses of Ketiwe and Grant. His mind was blank.

He noisily turned over.

The sight of Purple's back suddenly made him highly aware of their close proximity. Her hair fell in gentle waves over her shoulder and onto the sheets. Most curiously, his mind then raced with the recollection of all of his interactions with the Dreamcatcher.

He frowned and closed his eyes. It would not entirely surprise him if Purple had some occult ability to manipulate or block out certain thoughts.

"...Be sure to let me know when you are taking the vile," Purple then instructed.

"I...I actually want to talk about something first," Adam admitted. "Before I try to sleep."

She paused. "...About what?"

The words came out on their own. "Do you hate me?"

She didn't answer him for a few seconds. Then he felt the bed shudder and creak as she shifted. And then she was facing him. She looked equally surprised to see his face, though neither said anything about it.

They were not quite nose-to-nose, but Adam was certain that she could feel his breath.

"You have an unprecedented talent for pissing me off," Purple murmured. "But I do not hate you."

Adam almost chuckled. "You don't?" he asked.

"How can I?" she whispered nervously. "Sure, you are impolite and rough —but you are also rugged and I suppose that a lot of your appeal comes from your fearlessness and placidity."

The soldier raised an eyebrow. "My, my —was that a compliment?" he smirked.

Purple rolled her eyes. "Maybe."

"Well," he sighed, "then I guess I owe you one as well."

"What? No you do not."

"Too late," he informed her.

He then paused, studying her face. He could talk about how her hair shimmered in the sparse moonlight just as the snow did outside. He could tell her that in the darkness, she looked like the universe —with her freckles resembling constellations. He could mention that the colour of her eyes paralysed him with awe.

Yet of all of the things he could say, the only thing that came to his mind was, "You're beautiful."

Her dark lips parted to let a gasp escape. Perhaps she saw the sincerity in his eyes. Then her gaze lowered. "...We should stop," she murmured.

"Stop what?" Adam asked.

"Whatever this is," she breathed.

The soldier pressed his lips into a line before making a valid point. "Do we even know what this is?"

The question made Purple hesitate. "What do you want from me?" she asked him again, as she had in the cave. "Maybe if you tell me, we can move past it and focus on the task at hand."

If Adam had to be honest, he wasn't sure about what to call the pull he felt towards the Dreamcatcher. It could be the magic that played a part in her role as his destiny. When he saw Purple, everything in him calmed and settled. Only for a moment —because if he stared for too long, or gave in to the desire to undress her with his eyes...plain lust took over. It bemused him.

Whatever it was, it seemed beyond his control —as though he had been stripped down bare to some sort of instinct. He was starved, and she would satisfy him.

He shifted slightly. Was that all it was? Was it really only desire that he felt? The Dreamcatcher should therefore not be any different from that Wytch.

Though he had refused her offer.

And he realised that if Purple had offered him the same at any point in time, he could not confidently say that he would have turned her down.

He might even have accepted.

It seemed that Purple's reluctance towards him however, drew him closer. She had mentioned already that she thought he was attractive. She hadn't acted on it. If anything, she had tried to do the exact opposite.

Had she too, known how wrong this was?

Yet even in the light of that; there in the dark on a too-small bed, all that everything within Adam screamed, was her. He didn't give a damn about how forbidden it would be, how endangering to his life it would be.

He knew what he wanted.

"I want..." he began, his hand reaching outwards of its own accord. Purple didn't even flinch. She watched him lean in and place his hand at the back of her neck, tangling his fingers in her long wavy hair. He did not finish his statement with words.

There was a ripping, dangerous fulfilment in the moment that their lips met. Like a seal; an irrevocable decree that nothing, absolutely nothing would ever be the same. She had rasped his name just a moment prior, and it had set off something urgent and primal.

After the first contact, giving in became easier.

Purple loosened, let the tension ease from her strained muscles, and returned the gesture. It was obvious that she had never kissed anyone before, but Adam didn't let that stop him. He pulled her right up against him and took it as slowly as he knew she would appreciate.

Or perhaps not —because she drew a breath and smoothed her hands over his jawline as her hesitancy and trepidation turned to eagerness. She learned quickly; not that there was much to it; and Adam soon found that there was a similar yearning to his, in her.

So, she had felt it too. Maybe she had denied it the first time he had asked, refusing to accept that constricting notion of him being the only one.

But nothing like that mattered in the moment. In every kiss, it ironically felt like a defiance to the stars. They were not soulmates. They were not made for each other. This was them, choosing for this to happen.

And when that had sunk in, a tether was snapped.

Adam's hand moved from his side to the Dreamcatcher's waist, before sliding upwards underneath her tank top. She didn't break away —in fact, she pressed closer and arched her back into him.

He could drop dead right then, he decided, and be completely content.

The slow kisses turned into breathy embraces; deep and searching. The soldier wanted to know every part of her —he didn't want to leave her uncharted. His hand shifted downwards past the band of elastic.

This time Purple flinched, and drew back slightly.

"Am I going too fast?" Adam murmured.

"I..." she struggled, not meeting his gaze. "I did mention before that Dreamcatchers are not like other creatures of magic," she whispered.

"Yes."

"Well...Our anatomy is not entirely accurate, even if we appear human," she informed him.

"What do you mean?" asked Adam. Then he chuckled. "...You don't mean to tell me that you've got something other than a vagina between your legs? Because as hard as it might be to believe, I would accept it."

As much as she seemed to be grateful for his open-mindedness, Purple lightly pushed him for the pathetic attempt at a jest. "No —I actually...have nothing," she whispered in a small voice.

It took the soldier a moment to process what that sentence meant. "...As in nothing, ever?" he questioned. "Was it removed or were you born bare?"

"Made. It is smooth skin," Purple breathed. "We do not have need of reproductive organs. That is simply the way that we are made. The way that we are."

She then withdrew further, as though she anticipated Adam to push her away. But his arms enveloped her waist and held her where she was. She dared to look him in the eye then, her expression one of suspicion.

He thought about it really —and he realised that the issue that the Dreamcatcher was raising was not consequential. Not to him, not to any beliefs, and certainly not to his still burning need to have her. He would simply just have to have her another way.

"I don't care," he then told her truthfully. "It doesn't matter to me. I don't want to stop."

Purple stared at him. "Are you absolutely sure?" she rasped. "Because I have read numerous books where males only think with their dicks —"

"This is not a cheap one pound dark romance novel," Adam scoffed, trailing his fingers along her spine. It curved at the touch, and drew a soft gasp from her. Her bottom lip caught between her very white and very straight teeth, and Adam raised a brow in mild amusement. "...We are not obligated to follow any rules," he smirked.

"Then I am guessing that you will not be entirely satisfied if you are the only one experiencing pleasure?" the Dreamcatcher retorted slyly.

"No, I will not," Adam confirmed. "It won't feel the same if you feel nothing. And trust me —I feel like I could be satisfied just by kissing you."

She fully smiled at that.

He then planted a kiss to the side of her neck, and she unexpectedly jolted. "...Oh," chuckled the soldier. "You do feel something."

Purple groaned softly, and appeared to be fighting a restraint of some kind. "Well...there are a few certain places on me that can respond in the same way that they would on a human."

Adam's eyes lit up. "And are you going to tell me what those places might be?"

She gave him a slight smirk. "Would it not be more interesting to discover them on your own?"

He had to agree with her there. He then abruptly found himself bubbling with impatience —but there was an important question he needed to ask before he began. "Do you...find completion?"

He would think she wouldn't know that function, given her lack of such organs.

"I...actually would not know," she admitted somewhat sheepishly. "In all of our history, not one Dreamcatcher has ever been taken that far —permitted to go that far. For as long as time can hold memory, sex has always been an avoided subject for my kind. Those desires...they have always symbolised slavery."

Adam's jaw slackened. If he had known, he wouldn't have initiated anything.

Her truth reminded him of the Wytch's story. He had fit the bits and pieces that she had given him —and was horrified at what was revealed. He knew of his own species' brutality, but not of that among creatures of magic. He could not understand how they treated each other with such hypocrisy and degradation.

"Purple, are you all right with us doing this?" he murmured, running his fingers over her skin again. "Because I don't want you to feel forced."

"I know that it is rather non compos mentis," she quipped, "but I almost trust that you would not use that history against me. I want you to carry on. I want you to touch me. I can see a righteousness in you, Adam." She then added darkly, "...Do not prove me wrong."

Something in him then suddenly wanted to be everything she thought he was.

"Purple," he said her name earnestly, wholeheartedly; and it was like an entire eloquent promise was held within that single word. He then reached for her cheek, before guiding her lips to his own.

Clothes seemed to disappear without notice, because Adam was far too distracted. There was never enough of her lips, or her unsteady breathing, for him to get. As though whatever this was, might never end.

When both the human and the Dreamcatcher were wholly naked, Adam could not resist getting started on discovering all of the places that made her shudder. Her neck; her spine; her breasts —and despite there being no obvious reason, her inner thighs.

He could work with that.

She did not hesitate to voice her approval as the soldier lifted her up and settled her on his lap, with her legs either side of his. Curiously, in this position, her senses were greater heightened —the mere brush of his fingers caused her to shiver. He listened to her moan as quietly as she could manage, between the heated kisses that occupied their attention.

Adam wondered specifically what this night would do to them —about what would happen in the morning, when they had to journey to the next Gate and go back to the Gamma Plane. Would they act as though it never happened? As though it were a one-time occurrence?

He found himself struggling to be fine with that.

Purple's hands then wandered downwards from his chest to his abdomen, feeling out the planes of his body. He inhaled sharply, and realised there were plenty of other things on which to focus.

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