There was none.
“You believe that?” I leaned in with a low chuckle. “You will live inthisnightmare every night now until I decide otherwise. Enjoy chatting with Headmistress Clearwater, by the way.” I let the words settle, then straightened as I dropped him to the ground. “Remember, Professor—next time, you won’t suffer in a nightmare. You’ll suffer in reality, and who knows who will be the one to do it?”
With that, I vanished out of his dreams, leaving Ironwood alone in his shame, drowning in his own fear.
38
PANDORA
Reed and I sat side by side on the shore of the ocean in his dreamscape, listening to the waves crash as we read the book he got for us. I had my book, and he had his, but we read at the same pace.
I gasped, feeling my pulse increase. “That’s…reallyperfect.”
“Making love at night on top of a Ferris wheel?” he contemplated before dropping his book into the sand beside him, the pages fanning out before closing softly. “We could do that, you know.”
“We could?” My breath hitched as his violet gaze darkened.
“You know we can,” he murmured, his voice husky, sending warmth curling down my spine. “I’ll even craft the scene from the book exactly.”
Before I could respond with my acceptance, he leaned in, capturing my lips in a slow, tender kiss that tasted of pure longing. His hand wove into my hair, and I melted against him, inhaling his cotton candy scent.
Every part of my soul was attuned to the way he held me, like he was afraid I’d disappear if he let go—but I’d never disappear from him.
“Let’s go to the fair like the main characters did in the novel,” he whispered against my lips, his breath warm and laced with arousal. “But let’s make it just the two of us. No crowds.”
“Yes, please.”
A shiver danced along my skin as his dreamscape blurred. When my vision cleared, we were no longer on the beach. Instead, the air was thick with the scent of spun sugar and carnival music. We stood beneath the glow of string lights, surrounded by a fairground dipped in twilight hues just like the one described in the book.
The sky swirled in endless shades of purple and blue, stars twinkling beautifully above.
“How’d I do?” he murmured, lacing his fingers with mine.
“Exactly as I imagined,” I admitted, taking in the carousel frozen mid-spin. The Ferris wheel that wasn’t moving either. Everything was frozen in time so we could have this moment. It felt like it belonged to justus—and unlike the characters in the novel, this moment truly did belong only tous.
Reed led me to a cotton candy stand where clouds of sugary fluff spun endlessly, popping out sticks of cotton candy and floating in the air.
He plucked a purple one and pulled a piece free, offering it to me with a grin. “The best flavor.”
“Itisreally good.” I opened my mouth, and he popped it in, running his thumb over my bottom lip as the sweetness dissolved on my tongue. “Mmm.”
My eyes fluttered shut in bliss.
When I opened them, Reed was closer. He leaned in and stole a kiss before taking a bite for himself. “I’ve eaten this a thousand times,” he murmured, “but it’s never tasted this good before.”
I swallowed, my throat tight with desire and love. “Reed?—”
He silenced me with another kiss, softer this time.
The fair around us began to blur, colors bleeding together like a water-painted dream before we ended up at the top of the Ferris wheel in a cushioned seat.
“What do you think?” His arms wrapped around me as I settled on top of him, straddling him in the seat, completely naked as he was now.
Fates, I loved his dreamscape.
“It’s perfect,” I rasped as his lips trailed down my jaw, my neck, my shoulder, leaving pure desire in their wake. “You’reperfect, Reed.”
“No, dream girl. That’s you.” He gripped my waist and moved me above his cock, pushing me down onto him in a fluid stroke.“Perfect.”
