Brooks moved his hands so that his fingers laced themselves through her hair and held her head while his palms still embraced her face.
“Can I– can I touch you?” His voice was raw and, had she been standing, would have made her knees weak.
Her heart leapt. How many times had she dreamt of his touch?
How many godsdamned times had she touched herself and pretended her hands were his?
She tried to keep her tone light and teasing to ease the tension, but her words came out breathy as she spoke, “Isn’t that what you’re doing, genius?”
His answering smile made her pulse stutter.
“You are such a smartass, Siren. I meant more. More than your face. I need…” His words faltered as the struggle for what he needed painted his features. “I’m afraid you may disappear if I don’t keep my hands on you,” he whispered, his voice raw and honest.
“Yes, Brooks. You can touch me.”
His resounding swallow was all she could hear over the pounding drum in her chest.
He pressed his forehead to hers as one hand left her scalp and ran slowly down the length of her hair. He kept a strand between his fingers the entire way down. Xia closed her eyes and reveled in the small touch, silently praising herself for keeping the moonlit locks long enough to graze her lower back.
“It’s so silky,” he whispered.
“You say that like you’ve never touched a woman.”
She opened her eyes to catch him staring at her, but he didn’t shy away when he said, “I haven’t.”
“Never?” She didn’t mean to sound so appalled, but a man who looked like Brooks would easily be the center of any woman’s attention.
“Don’t sound so surprised, Siren. I live in a fucking asylum, remember? We aren’t allowed to touch other residents.”
“What about from before?”
“You know I don’t remember before.”
His fingers were twirling the ends of her hair like he was hesitant to continue his exploration.
“So I get to be your first, huh?”
His body froze as the realization of what she implied caught up to her.
“I didn’t– that’s not what I–” she stammered, but he was quick to relieve the tension.
“You could hardly be my first, Siren. Fucking you would be like fucking myself, and that’s nothing new.” His wink sent a shiver up her spine, her face heating with a mixture of embarrassment and… need.
“Careful, Siren. You’re blushing.”
Xia looked away but his hand gripped her steadfastly. His irises changed from navy to a glowing blue, and his presence in the room dominated that of the man she’d found sleeping in the bed.
“Don’t hide from me, sunshine. I want to see every expression that pretty face makes when I talk about fucking you.”
He used his firm grip to tilt her head back and expose her throat, a breathy whimper escaping her lips.
“Fucking perfect,” he praised.
Shewashere.
She wasreal.
At least, in that moment. Brooks wanted so badly to believe it could be her, that somehow, some way, she wasn’t just a dream. It wasn’t possible. Real people couldn’t just appear in dreams. It had to be a projection. A face that his mind put together when he heard her sing-song voice in his head.
