“Then I’m here as long as you need me,” he says, moving his lips to brush my neck, making me shudder in anticipation. “But if you would let me into your world, I promise I could help even more.”
“I don’t want to talk about my world,” I say. “Please, don’t take this moment from me.”
He smiles at me. “I could never. After a thousand years, I’m just grateful every time you’re in my arms.” He releases me and lays me back, moving down my body so that he’s kneeling between my legs again. He raises one of my feet over his shoulder and gently licks along my sensitive calf up to the inside of my knee.
Damn, he always finds the places I’m most sensitive, and I’m addicted to the way his eyes light up in response every time I squirm or moan.
He begins his tortuously pleasurable journey up my leg again, kissing, biting, and nibbling, and as I arch back, I just relax into the moment.
Then he lifts the other leg so I’m completely exposed to his mouth.
Then his mouth is at my sex again, kissing me voraciously, his hands pinning my thighs so I can’t move away from the amazing sensations his mouth is causing.
As he sucks hard on my clit, I arch back again, allowing myself to get lost in the hazy storm of sheer pleasure that sends away all my troubles, all my loneliness and stress.
And this time, I keep my eyes open, watching my powerful, seductive warrior, his teal eyes glowing as he watches me come.
It’s really too bad I have to wake up after this, I think as my dreaded alarm sounds and Reve is pulled from my arms, releasing me with a reluctant but patient smile.
My world comes into focus as I push myself up, shaken and flustered, my hands empty, my arms cold.
I sigh, hoping Reve understands, and set my feet down on the worn carpet, trying to ground myself in this world.
Time to shuffle downstairs and make breakfast and leave all thoughts of dream lovers and magnificent castle rescues behind.
And go back to being a lonely but doing-her-best single mom.
At least I can always see Reve again in my dreams.
2
Reve
“I just don’t understand it. I thought she’d be excited to start the mate pursuit. She’s been happy enough to meet me in dreams,” I say, storming across the pink-clouded floor of the dream realm where I’m currently staying with Jerrek.
Lorien is often with his dream mate, but we don’t begrudge him that. It’s what all of us have been waiting a thousand years for. Of course he would want to be with her.
But why doesn’t my dream mate want to be with me?
And why does Jerrek, who’s doing surveillance on my mate, look away so shiftily as if he’s guilty of something every time I glance his way?
“Do you know something I don’t?” I ask, putting my hands on my hips and turning to face him.
His maroon hair falls over his shoulder where he’s lazing back in a cup-shaped cloud chair. “Maybe, but I do not know if I should tell you. It is not mine to tell.” He brushes his hair back. “Besides, it is you who decided we shouldn’t know anything about our dream mates before our mate pursuits. That’s why we’ve each been doing surveillance.”
I raise my hand and click on my dream link to see where Sandra, Jerrek’s mate, is. If she’s ever in danger, my dream link will light up, as I’ve set a surveillance beacon over her.
Otherwise, I stay out of her life.
I glance at Jerrek’s watch, wondering what he sees there.
Why won’t Jen let me into her life?
She loves when I make scenes from her beloved novels come to life and make love to her within them.
I hadn’t thought she would push me away like this.
“I really can’t say,” Jerrek says. “It is not something for me to address with you.” He rolls his eyes. “I do think she is being silly about it. It is not something to be ashamed of or feel like she has to hide.” His reddish-pink irises meet mine. “It’s more of a bonus.”
I raise my eyebrows, walking closer to him with folded arms. “What do you mean a bonus?”
Jerrek blinks at me innocently. “That’s all I can really say.” He sighs. “But we can’t interfere in their lives if they don’t want us to.”
“I want to start my mate pursuit,” I say, turning away from him. Darkness clouds my mind. “You don’t think she has another lover?” I sigh. “I didn’t think to ask for exclusivity. The human mating world is so odd.”
“No,” Jerrek says. “Not another man in the picture. At least not the way you’re thinking.”
I purse my lips. Then rage moves through me. “Is she in danger? Is there a man threatening her?”
Jerrek snorts. “No. I mean, there is a man in her life that wishes her not to date, but he is not a threat to you.”
I blink at that because it makes less than no sense to me. And I’ve always hated things that make no sense.
I walk closer to Jerrek until I’m standing between his spread knees, glaring down at him. “You would tell me if she was in danger?”
“Of course,” he says, bringing up a hand to rub the back of his neck. “If I ever thought she was in danger, I’d send you to her posthaste. The oracle said we had to respect our dream mates’ wishes and not stalk them. But she did say them being in danger was an exception.”
I nod, stepping back to give Jerrek space again. “She has my name. She knows she can call me if she needs me.”
“She probably won’t,” Jerrek says, resting one elbow on the edge of his cloud chair and his chin on his palm. “She is exceedingly resistant to accepting help.”
“Really? In her dreams…” I trail off as Jerrek cocks his head in interest. I don’t really want any of my friends to know about what I do with Jen in her dreams.
That’s a personal place, just for us.
I already can’t wait to see her there again.
“She will call you,” Jerrek says encouragingly, though he doesn’t look very sure of his own words. “Reve, you’re a perfect candidate for a soul bond even if you weren’t her dream mate. I’m sure she sees that.”
I sigh. “I don’t get the feeling she has any need for a soul bond at all. She is happy with me, but I sense—”
“That she is totally independent in her world?”
I nod.
Jerrek sighs, stretching his arms behind his head and leaning back. I can tell he’s nervous by how often he changes positions. “It’s just a complicated situation, at least in her mind.” He shrugs. “I personally don’t get why she thinks it’s something she has to hide.”
“And you won’t tell me?” I pin Jerrek with a glare, and he tries to look innocent but fails.
“Reve,” Jerrek says. “For the Great Connector’s sake, don’t ask me.”
But I simply keep looking at him, eyes narrowed. “What is it?” I’m getting nervous now, wondering what it is my dream mate is keeping from me.
“Is there another man around, manipulating her?” I ask. “Telling her not to get into a relationship while pretending not to be interested?”
“I told you it’s not like that,” Jerrek says. “Damn, and I thought I was the jealous one. You’ve completely changed since meeting your dream mate.”
I nod. “It’s easy to stay calm until you’re face to face with your true love, realizing how much they can hurt you.” I put a hand up to my chin. “But mostly, I’m worried she’s in danger whether she knows it or not. Human men are conniving.”
“This one isn’t,” Jerrek says. “Or if he is, he truly is trying to protect Jen.”
My eyes narrow. “Who could this man be, then?”
But Jerrek looks away from me, expression stubborn. “One day, you will have to see for yourself. But I’m not betraying the trust of your dream mate. You are my closest friend, along with Lorien, and I do not wish for the woman you love most to be angry with me.”
I let out a sigh, seeing the tension in Jerrek’s body. Then I walk over to him and pull him up int
o a hug.
As we hold each other and bond, I feel things return to normal between us.
“I’m sorry for pressuring you, brother.” Though not related, Jerrek has been a true brother to me.
“It’s all right,” Jerrek says, rubbing a hand over my back as we stay locked in an embrace. “I’m sorry you are struggling with your dream mate.”
We pull apart, and he puts a hand on my shoulder.
“Lorien and I are here to help you, and Jen is a wonderful woman. I promise your mate pursuit will go well.”
I sigh, patting his hand, feeling our bond restore to normal. I truly do love my friends. “I hope you’re right, my friend.” I pull away from him to go look over the edge of the clouds at the human sun still high in the sky.
We’re in a temporary dream realm, but it simulates the time of the human world.
I just want the sun to set and night to fall so I can go see my dream mate again.
I look back at Jerrek. “I truly hope you’re right.”
* * *
Jen
“We’re out of peanut butter again,” Joey says, looking at the jar disappointedly before setting it back in the fridge.
With the slumped posture only a ten-year-old can manage, he stomps his way over to the counter and sits on a stool. “What am I going to take for lunch today?”
I give him a smile, never wanting him to see how hard things are, as I walk to the pantry to search for more peanut butter.
I try to stay up on the shopping—I really do—but I’ve had to take on extra hours at work since Mark was late with child support, and—
“Dad didn’t pay again, did he?” Joey asks, and his brown eyes, so like mine, fill with anger.
I try to keep it from him, how uncaring his father is. How little he contributes or cares.
Joey probably can tell since his dad cancels every one of their visitation sessions.
Does he see the relief in my eyes every time a session is canceled? Every time I get to keep Joey with me?
I don’t see peanut butter in the pantry, so I rummage in my purse for money for a school lunch and hand it over to him, giving him a hug at the same time.
As I pull back, he looks down at the money in his hands. “Are you sure?”
It’s sheer physical pain, knowing he knows the trouble we’re in.
If the car didn’t keep dying, needing repairs and tows…
“I’m sure,” I say, folding his hand over the money. “I’m on a diet anyway.”
He just shakes his head. “You don’t need a diet, Mom. You’re fine.”
I nod just to get out of the conversation and hurry him to the front door. “It’s fine, honey. I’ll watch you until the bus comes, okay?”
Joey nods at me, and it’s haunting seeing the edges of the man this little boy will become.
He’s in fifth grade now, already growing so fast.
He’s my reason for living. Knowing he needs me gives me the strength to get through each day at my demanding job as a CNA.
I laugh, thinking of what Reve would do if he knew about everything.
Probably try to poof me a bunch of money so I never needed to work again. Probably try to protect me from anyone and everything.
Or maybe not… after he meets Joey.
I can only assume a man who has waited a thousand years would be pretty disappointed to see that I have a life without him.
And no matter what, Joey will always come first before any man in my life.
Joey is so scarred from the few years he remembers me being with his father that he said he doesn’t want me to date again.
And even though I know Reve is mostly harmless, I want to keep my promise to my son, so Reve and I only meet in dreams.
Even though it would be nice to have someone to help me sometimes. Someone to show Joey how to be a man in this difficult world.
The thing is I’m not sure an immortal fairy is the right person for that.
My heart aches just thinking about Reve, and I watch Joey run along the front sidewalk, reaching the street just as the school bus pulls up, barely skidding to a halt in the icy snow. Joey gets in, and I watch him wave at me as the bus pulls away, skidding.
I’ll need to go out and shovel the walk later, I think, groaning.
But first, I need to get ready for work.
I lock the front door and walk upstairs to my room. We live in a small house, so everything is pretty close together. But I do wish my room wasn’t on the second floor.
I pull out my uniform and walk into the bathroom to shower and get changed. As water rushes over me, hot and steamy, I groan at the sheer pleasure of it.
As I wash myself, I remember the feel of Reve’s hands, so real even though it was a dream.
“Reve,” I murmur, testing the word. “Wait, don’t come if you heard that,” I say, remembering that he said if I ever called him, he would come.
My heart pounds as I look around for a moment, and then I sigh in relief, glad that I didn’t accidentally summon him.
Even though a part of my heart would have been relieved if I had.
I don’t know much about how dream fae interact with the human world, but I’m pretty sure he could handle the snow.
I focus up and finish my shower and step out into the cold little bathroom to change.
Just as I have my curly red hair pulled up in a bun, my curvy body encased in scrubs, the doorbell rings downstairs.
For a second, my heart jumps, and I think that perhaps Reve did show up after all.
I have to tell him it was an accident, I think, almost skidding in my haste to get down the stairs. I grab my shoes at the base of the stairs and walk into the kitchen, pulling them on.
Then, stupidly, I yank open the door without even checking the keyhole.
And stupid Mark is there.
He’s grinning and looks drunk at 9:00 a.m. for some god-forsaken reason. “Hey, gorgeous,” he says, looking me over with what he must think is a leer.
He smells like hell. He was handsome once, but years of drugs and drinking have wasted his complexion, and his eyes and mouth have a mean tilt.
Then again, he’s a mean man.
His arm is propped on my doorframe, and I put a hand out to stop him as he tries to come in. “Come on, Jen. Just a few minutes.” His hand reaches for the top of my scrubs. “We can have some fun before you go to work.”
I give him a full shove now, not caring that he hits his butt on the snow. “What the hell are you thinking showing up here when you didn’t send child support and you missed visitation again?” My rage has no bounds right now, and I storm out into the snow with him, fists clenched.
He props himself up, staring at me blearily. “I’m unemployed right now. You know that.” He shrugs. “You know I’ve never cared about the boy.” His eyes narrow. “You should have aborted him.”
I walk forward then and slap him hard across the face.
He glares up at me in shock, touching his cheek.
“How dare you say that?” My chest is heaving. “That boy is my everything. He should have been yours too. Get out of here. Off my property!”
Mark’s look at me is dark, full of rage, but as usual, he keeps it under wraps in public, pushing to his feet and brushing snow off of him, sending me a look that promises vengeance.
“Come on my property again, and I’ll get a restraining order,” I say, actually worried right now that he might come back and bother me and Joey.
He has a way of disappearing for months or years and then coming back whenever he needs something.
Like money or sex.
God, I hate this man with everything in me. I hate him as much as I love my son, and that’s a lot.
“I’ll never give you full custody, you bitch.” He snarls at me. “So you should think about being a little nicer to me.” He chuckles. “Or next time, I might just show up for visitation with my son.”
A shiver of pure fear moves down my spine, but I stand
up straight, trying not to show it. “Get out of here. I’m late for work.”
With one look of rage, he does, walking to his beat-up Pinto and starting it. It’s kind of satisfying watching it skid and slide over the road before it finally gains traction and pulls away.
I hope he gets in an accident, I think as I turn and walk back into the house to finish getting ready.
Already, I’m looking forward to seeing Reve in my dreams tonight. To pretend I had a happily ever after with my first love, not the nightmare I’m living in.
But first, I need to go to work as a CNA, so I turn off the lights and head out.
3
Jen
When I get home, my walk is cleared, and I narrow my eyes at it as I go inside.
I know Mark wouldn’t have come over to do it, and I don’t know any neighbor who would either.
I wish I knew who did it, because I feel grateful as I walk up to my porch and don’t slip in the shoes I wear to survive long days of standing.
I’m just locking the door and pulling my scarf off when I get the slightly chilling feeling of someone watching me. I turn and nearly jump half a foot in the air when I see someone is sitting at my dining room table in the dark.
My heart is pounding as I reach for the light, but before I can flick it, it turns on, lighting the dining room and showing me Reve in his human form at the table. He gives me an apologetic smile. “My dream link broke.”
“Your what?”
He rubs the back of his neck. “We wear them to stay in touch with the dream fae realm. It helps us travel as needed.” He leans back in his chair. “I came this morning when I heard my name. But I heard you tell me not to come when I was already through the portal, so I waited until you left for work to come out.”
I blush deeply, remembering that I was in the shower when I called his name. “Dammit.” I was already looking forward to seeing him in my dreams tonight, but it’s a whole different thing to see him in my house.
“What did you see?”
In Her Dreams Page 2