Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
But how could she smell him in her dreams? The question continued to plague her. Even her most vivid dreams had never included scent before, but now, every time she looked through the eyes of the stranger, she could smell him—an exotic, enticing fragrance that had wild notes of leather and fur as well warm notes of sandalwood. And under it all, was a dark, masculine spice that made her whole body tingle when she smelled it.
It was definitely his scent that was attracting her and making her feel so strange and hot and achy between her legs, Abbey thought. She had never had a scent affect her that way before, but she couldn’t deny it. Sometimes when she woke from one of these dreams, she could still smell it, like a cloud of potent pheromones floating around her head.
She hated to give in to her urges, but she was afraid she’d never get back to sleep if she didn’t. Listening to be sure her aunt wasn’t anywhere near, she finally slipped one hand down between her legs. She winced as she realized she was wet—more than wet—drenched down there. And so swollen and hot it was almost painful.
I won’t think of him, she told herself as she began a slow, silent exploration of her inner folds, her sensitive fingertips circling the throbbing button of her clit. I don’t want anything to do with him—he’s awful. A monster—I’ll never go with him!
She knew who the male in her dreams must be—a Monstrum warrior from the Monstrum Mother Ship which orbited Mars. The race of alien warriors had come to Earth several years ago and saved humankind from a deadly invasion by the darklings. In return, the leaders of the Earth had agreed to let them call brides from all the countries of the world along with the other Kindred warriors.
The Kindred, who had already been on Earth for over ten years, had set up a Bride Draft that every unattached woman of marriageable age was required to participate in. Once a girl came of age, she was expected go to the nearest Human/Kindred Relations building and put her name into the system with the understanding that she might be called in the draft as a Kindred or Monstrum bride.
Not that he’ll ever be able to call me, she thought. Not as long as my exemption comes through.
Abbey had been required to put her name in, just like everyone else. But as soon as she started having the dreams, she’d taken steps to protect herself. They were just dreams—just nightmares, she told herself—but still, better safe than sorry. So she had gone to the nearest HKR building and found someone to help her fill out the paperwork to be excused from the Bridal Draft.
She had used her blindness as the reason for the exemption. Neither the Kindred nor the Monstrum excluded anyone based on disabilities—they took the brides they wanted no matter what. But it was possible to be excused if you had a legitimate reason and the nice woman at the HKR building she had explained her problem to seemed to think there would be no difficulty in excluding her. Abbey thought wryly that it was the only time her blindness had actually helped her out instead of hindering her.
At last she felt her pleasure peaking. As the orgasm rushed through her, she did her best not to think of the stranger—not to hear his voice or smell his enticing scent. She didn’t trust him or any man. She didn’t—
“Ahh!” Abbey muffled the cry in her pillow, trying to keep quiet.
She often wished she could live on her own so she wouldn’t have to be so careful, but she couldn’t move out and leave Aunt Rose all alone. Besides, she didn’t have Major anymore and living alone without a guide dog to take her places would be too difficult.
After the pleasure passed, she lay panting in her bed. As the tension left her body, she reassured herself once again.
It’s only a dream and even if it’s not, he can’t get to me. Not as long as the exemption comes through.
With that thought, she drifted off again. This time, no dreams troubled her sleep.
2
ABBEY
In the morning, the shrill beeping of Abbey’s alarm clock woke her just moments before she heard Aunt Rose calling for her to get up.
With a sigh, she opened her eyes and sat up in bed. The morning sun was streaming through her window—she could tell by the way all the colorful blurs and blobs in her room were illuminated by its light.
Many people with Abbey’s form of blindness lost not only their fine vision but their color vision as well, but somehow, though everything had been reduced to a blurry mess, the colors remained for her. Abbey was grateful for that—she was legally blind and her vision was extremely limited, but what she did have was still quite useful to her.