Stormy Seas (Part One of the Dream Trilogy)
Starling opened her soft blue eyes and gazed with curiosity into the deep purple and black that surrounded her.
Where am I? the thought came hazily to her.
She could feel a rise and fall, movement beneath her. Starling pushed against what she assumed was a wooden raft and sat, trying to regain an idea of what was up and down.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness she could start to make out the twinkling of the stars in the sky above her.
"Agent Starling." His voice was soft, softer than it had sounded hours ago in Memphis.
Starling stood slowly, wondering if he would hide in the shadows.
When she turned - there only a few feet away stood Hannibal Lecter.
Lecter stood surrounded by a faint light. The light allowed Starling to see more clearly and take in his appearance as well as her own.
He was dressed in charcoal colored slacks and a white satin shirt.
Lecter looked relaxed in the tailored clothes, the top button of his shirt undone, showing a hint of skin.
Starling glanced down and gasped in surprise.
She wasn't in her normal cotton Pajamas but instead in a shimmering blue silk nightie that came to the middle of her thighs and was held in place by thin straps over her shoulders.
Lecter stood still, patiently waiting for her to acknowledge him.
She cleared her throat. 'Doctor ...Doctor Lecter."
"Agent Starling, which do you find more disturbing: the fact that you've just realized you aren't safe at home in your comfortable pajamas or the fact that I am walking on water and you are within my reach."
As he spoke he took a step forward making his point clear.
Starling shook her head as if she were trying to wake up from a nightmare.
"Please don't do that." Lecter stepped onto the raft and reached forward holding her head firmly between his warm palms. Starling stepped back immediately, her face twisting in disgust and confusion.
Lecter stood firm - a hint of a smile hidden beneath his serious expression.
"You did this! Damn you!" She leapt at him, throwing all of her body weight at him.
They landed in a tangled heap on the steady wood. Starling landed her small body hard on his chest. She lay on top of Lecter holding his arms down at his sides.
Starling peered down at Lecter but instead of seeing anger in his pale blue eyes she saw a smile hidden beneath indifference.
"Something amusing, Dr.Lecter?"
"Yes."
He lay still beneath her and she could almost hear him laughing on the inside.
"What's amusing, Doctor?"
"You immediately place the blame on me and yet you don't even know what this is. Do you, Agent Starling?"
"No. Tell me."
"No."
"Why not?"
"If you need to ask then perhaps were not as far along as I had thought." Lecter smiled almost kindly up at her.
Her gaze darkened - he expected to turn this into another one of his games.
"Quid Pro Quo," she stated quietly.
"Now that is an interesting suggestion, Agent Starling."
"Dr.Lecter?"
"Yes?"
"Please…tell me what's going on."
"Since you asked like such a good girl..."
Starling glared down at Lecter, tightening her grip on his wrists.
"You did this," he stated simply.
"What?"
"This - all of this is of your making."
"I don't understand."
"You will. Quid Pro Quo."
"Doctor I-"
"Quid Pro Quid," he whispered again.
"All right. Go on, Doctor."
"If you would release my wrists, I would greatly appreciate it."
Slowly, uncertainly, Starling released his wrists. She shifted her weight to move off of Lecter, but he held her firmly in place.
"What do you want," she questioned suddenly.
"I want to kiss you." He pursed his lips together as he waited for her reaction.
"No."
"Agent Starling, you wouldn't want to stop our game now would you? And you were oh-so close to the answer."
Her face was etched in fear as she thought about the possibilities of his mouth covering hers.
"Okay," she whispered in a defeated tone.
As he moved to sit, she placed her small hands against his chest.
"Please…" She found she couldn't form the words. Even if her life depended on it, she couldn't beg.
He smiled devilishly. "Are you afraid of me, Agent Starling?"
There was nothing but the sound of the waves gently lapping at the sides of the raft as he waited for her to answer.
"Yes," Starling replied, her grimace deepening with the admission.
Slowly Lecter moved his hand to her face and tilted her head down towards him. Her expression remained cold, whether it was because she was paralyzed with fear or dumbfounded by his request she didn't know.
Lecter leaned forward until his lips were a breath away. His nostrils flared as he breathed in the scent of Starling's fear and confusion.
Finally his warm mouth covered hers in a gentle exploratory kiss. His lips were firm against her mouth. Lecter flicked his tongue out to wet her nervous dry lips.
As their lips touched, his arms slipped to surround Starling in a tender embrace. Surprising herself, Starling opened her mouth, welcoming his tongue in to taste hers. Greedily Lecter's tongue slipped past her lips immediately, finding her tongue and caressing it with his own.
"Clarice," he murmured in appreciation.
"Quid Pro Quo," she whispered back.
As if nothing had happened his arms immediately left her body and she felt chilled.
"What did you mean this is of my making." Starling hugged herself to ward off the chill as she questioned him.
"You know already, Clarice. If I told you would it make it easier for you to submit to me? Do you think it might take the chill from your bones?" His eyes trailed her body while he spoke.
"I don't understand."
"None of this is real, Clarice."
"How can this not be real?"
"Think about it, Clarice; you're a smart girl."
"This is all a…nightmare?"
Lecter leaned in close again, intimately close. "A nightmare? Why do you think of it as a nightmare? Why not…a wet dream?"
"I would never…" Starling shook her head in denial.
"You have and you are," he replied nuzzling her cheek with his nose.
"This is sick, even for you," said Starling as she pushed at his chest, trying to distance herself.
"Perhaps, but it's still your dream," Lecter purred seductively, gripping her thighs to keep her from moving.
Starling thought quietly for a long moment, and then her hands found their way up his hard chest and over his shoulders.
"What is this?" he inquired softly.
"It's my dream, right?"
"Mmmhmm." He thrust his body up slightly at her, his eyes dancing playfully.
Starling draped her arms over his firm shoulders and rested her forehead against his.
"Fuck me."
"Mmm."
"Hannibal."
"How do you want it?" asked Lecter, but he already knew, after all this is Starling's dream.
Lecter moved from his hiding spot in the shadows where he had been watching Clarice Starling toss in her sleep.
When she moaned his name he smiled knowing; this night, he haunted her dreams just as she always did his.