The instruction confused me.
There was nowhere else to go. Unless he meant into his arms, which —
“Ember.” His arms opened in a low, wide circle. “You know what I mean.” He dipped his chin to his chest. “Right here.”
I approached him tentatively, and he enfolded me in his arms, enveloping me with the kind of touch I never knew I needed.
“You hated it,” I said, stiff and afraid to look up at him. “I’ll rewrite it. I’ll follow the instructions.”
“Please don’t.”
“Then I’ll take the zero, but let me redo it,” I begged.
“Stop.” His arms wrapped around me tighter, his breath warm against my ear, his unshaved face rough against my cheek. “Yourpaper was incredible.Youare incredible.”
I looked down to check he meant me. That it was really me standing there.Mehe thought incredible. And it was, but —
My shirt was gone.
I was standing in front of him in one of the questionable bras Skye had picked out, my boobs swelling over the edge of the delicate cups, my nipples tight and pushing against the almost completely sheer jade mesh.
Ember. Leland’s voice, but it had lowered roughly and didn’t appear to be coming from him.
“I told you not to wear this to class,” he said, dissatisfied-sounding as his hand glided up my back to stroke the closure of my bra clasp.
A thrill coursed through me, my heart rate increasing as I moved my hand down to his belt, drawing him in closer.
Ember.
Ember.
“What?” I asked impatiently. There were too many Lelands.
“Take the bra off, Em.”
Ember, do not take the bra off.
I reached around to my back, but his hands caught mine firmly.
“Off, Ember,” he said, urging me to do it, even as his fingers gripped my hands too forcefully to let me.
Ember, it’s Leland. You’re dreaming, as we discussed. I’m in your dream. I’m seeing all of this. You need to wake up. I can’t end the spell without hurting you.
“I don’t know how,” I said to the Leland I was in the arms of — the one who blinked and breathed and was warm and gazing down at me. The one whose eyes were so,so. . . if I looked close enough, I could find every single color in them.
“It’s your dream,” he said, “You can do anything you want. You want my shirt off? You can take it.”
No, Ember,Leland said, like I should know better, but I wasn’t sure I did.
“Why does Leland keep yelling at us?” I asked.
“He’s conflicted,” he said.
“He is?”
Fuck the Goddess. I’m coming to your room and we’re never doing this again.
“Very. You should do it before he gets here,” dream Leland suggested, his hand trailing from my neck to the top curve of my breast. My skin prickled in response. “Let me see you,” he said softly.
