It’s already past one in the morning… I’ll give it half an hour.
I close my eyes, waiting. It’s barely been a few minutes when I hear my door unlock with a quiet click. I had locked the door.
I send a wisp of my magic towards it, but I can’t sense anyone as the door ever so quietly opens. Instantly, I focus on keeping my breathing level and my heart rate steady. Activating a protection spell without even thinking.
It could be Sienna; in the dark, she can’t be sensed, but she’s not the kind to sneak into my room. So, who is it? I’m alert, even as I pretend to sleep. I’ve practised this for years, and it’s not hard.
Quiet, yet calculated, footsteps reach my ears, and then the door shuts, the door locking behind whoever has entered. Then more footsteps. This time, I realise from the sound of the footsteps that it’s a man. I can make that out by the way they’re walking, and realisation hits me.
It’s Theo.
It takes everything in me not to react, refusing to let my body respond in any way, as I lie here ‘sleeping’ peacefully.
But my mind is racing.
What is he even doing here?
Did he want to talk?
I feel his gaze on me, searing into me as it always does. The way I love. I’m extremely aware of the fact that I don’t have my sheet pulled over me, as it’s quite hot. All I’m wearing is my cotton white shorts with hot pink flowers, with a matching bandeau crop top. And just the thought of his eyes on me makes a wave of heat wash over me.
I resist the urge to move, but it’s not easy. He’s just standing there, and I’m so curious as to why he’s here.
He sighs softly, the sound heavy, as if something is weighing on his mind. Then I feel a coolness wash over me, and realise it’s his mist. Is he trying to make sure I’m asleep?
But the barrier I’ve activated is doing its job, partially anyway, because although it’s seeping through the crack, I’m awake. It’s obvious he isn’t using his full power, but I’m beginning to feel drowsy. Whatever he’s doing is beginning to work, breaching my barrier.
No! I refuse to sleep.
Focus, Heaven, focus!
I feel the bed dip as he sits down and leans over. I feel his fingers comb through my hair, brushing a few stray strands from my face. The touch is soothing, and feels so good that I have to bite back the sigh threatening to escape me.
“I wish things were easier, Sweetcheeks… maybe in an alternate reality…” he chuckles softly, and I feel a dream creeping into my mind. One where I’m walking beside him, in anopen field, under the moonlight… As pleasant as it is, as much as I want to succumb to it, I don’t need a perfect reality. I want him, even if it’s pushing each other into a swamp as we run from some monsters.
I want him. The real him. With all the bad. The stress. The darkness. I just-
I feel him lean over me, close enough that the air shifts, close enough that my heart betrays me outright. He doesn’t notice, not at first anyway; he’s too focused on the steady rhythm of his own heart, pounding against his ribcage. Loud in the silence.
What is he-
The thought never finishes.
His lips brush against mine, and my breath catches sharply, and it feels like I’m falling. Reality slips sideways, the dream bleeding into something far too vivid, far too real. He kisses me like he’s done it a hundred times before, like he’s been thinking about it just as long as I have.
In the dream, it’s the same. He’s kissing me… Why? Is he going to pretend I dreamt this?
He deepens the kiss, his possessive caress, slow and intoxicating, his mouth moving against mine with a confidence and dominance that sends heat spiralling through me. Pleasure curls low in my stomach, sharp and overwhelming, lighting me up from the inside out.
Goddess.
I’ve never felt anything like this, and I could live off thisfeeling alone.
Oh Goddess…
I kiss him back slowly at first.
It’s an instinct I’m unable to stop. His body goes still for half a heartbeat, tension snapping tight beneath his hand that’s fisting the bedding, but I keep my eyes closed, remaining still, sliding my arms around his neck just as I am in the dream. I don’t want him to stop… I want him to continue.
