I smile. “You can’t do that. It’s the pain that makes me who I am.”
His grip on me tightens. “I want you to know nothing but love.”
“Then show me.” Rolling over, I face him. His golden gaze is bright, not rimmed with black as I remember it. Here in my mind, he’s pure. And everything we share is allowed.
No forbidden dreams, stolen touches—no. Here, we can experience everything reality has stolen from us.
Reaching up, he trails a finger down my nose and over my lips before following the line down my chin, my throat. He stops just above the hem of my dress, and my breathing grows ragged with need.
For him.
For what he can show me.
"Ember," he whispers.
"What?"
"I need you.”
“I’m right here,” I remind him.
He shakes his head. “Please don’t leave me.”
“Rafferty, I’m not going anywhere.”
“I know I don’t deserve you,” he whispers, voice cracking on the final word. “But I want to.”
Lightning splits the sky, illuminating the cavern moments before thunder claps. The cavern descends back into darkness, and when I open my eyes, I’m alone.
* * *
Someone touches me.The feel of fingertips caressing my skin gently guides me out of sleep. I open my eyes to a golden gaze that brings forth tears. The weight of grief—of longing—crushes my chest. “Rafferty,” I choke out. I know I’m dreaming, I have to be, but seeing him here is both a blessing and a curse.
“Ember,” he all but breathes my name, his gaze softening. And when he leans down, I can feel the gentle brush of his lips against mine.
“I’m so sorry,” I choke out as he pulls back.
A tear slips down his cheek. “No apologizing right now.”
My vision blurs, and I hate it for blocking out such a real image of him. His golden gaze is rimmed with black now, my mind conjuring my last images of the man. Even his touch, the way he strokes his fingers over my face, feels too good to be true. “I wish we hadn’t run out of time,” I tell him.
His brows draw together. “We’re not out of time.”
“We are. They gave me weeks. And I left you. You won’t come for me, and I don’t blame you. This is how it has to be.” My energy wanes, a strange thing for a dream, and I close my eyes. “I’m just sorry I won’t get to tell you—”