Yep, there’s no doubt in my mind that he was just undressing me with his eyes. A blush spreads over my body as I think about how badly I want him to undress me with more than his eyes. The trust issue aside, I wouldn’t mind letting Essos take me out for a ride.
“Macaroni and cheese, with dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets.”
He laughs, leaning back and crossing an ankle over his knee.“I’m sorry, are you twenty-one or five?”
“You judge, but there’s nothing wrong with those two things except when they’re apart.” I don’t say that these are the foods my grandmother used to make me.
“Nothing wrong when you’re five.”
I stand up then, crossing my arms, and he shoots out of his chair, so close to me. “Another mark on your permanent record,” I say, trying to fight back the pinch of pain in my ankles now that they're bearing my full weight.
He tilts his head at me. “I’m sorry, permanent record?”
“Yes. You admitted that you snore, and now you’ve told me my favorite meal is for children. Before I know it, you’re going to tell me that you don’t pull string cheese—you just bite it, like a heathen. No, I don’t think I can see anything more between us.” I shake my head, shrugging my shoulders and holding up my hands dramatically.
“I think I deserve another shot to show you that it could work.” He leans his head down and presses his forehead against mine, then closes his eyes. I think this might be the moment, that he might kiss me. “Please, please be more careful with your life. I couldn’t bear it if something bad happened to you.”
I lean away from him, a burning question on my mind, the potential kiss forgotten. “What would have happened?” I ask, considering the worst. The look on his face is grim, his mouth set in a hard line, and I know that I’m right.
He seems to contemplate how to answer me, but he paces away before coming back. “I don’t know,” he nearly snaps, frustration seeping into his voice. “It’s not like this has ever happened to me before. Your soul could have been lost forever,” he whispers, as if not wanting to say it too loud.
I snort, the only reaction I can bear to have. “Well, that would have sucked.”
“Indeed. And I do think you should go upstairs and rest. You were out for almost two hours, and I think you need the rest badly. Especially if you want to be a hero for tonight. Dave will go with you.” At the sound of his name, Dave perks up from under the lounge chair where I was sitting. Essos signals to someone, and I’m not surprised when Sybil appears by his side. He relays to them what we just discussed, and that I’m permitted to miss the rest of the activities.
Before walking away, I turn to Essos. “I’m a little tired of being ordered around. I’m not this frail damsel who is going to fall to pieces. If I need rest, I’ll rest. But stop assuming it. I’m stronger than you think.” I pause. “That being said, I’m going to go rest.”
A ghost of a smile crosses his face. “Understood,” he confirms with a bow, and Sybil leads me away. Their arm wraps around my waist, holding me up. I’m putting more weight on them than I would care to admit, so I’m grateful to have them by my side. We take the stairs slowly, one at a time.
Once we’re inside, away from everyone else, they finally speak up. “You gave us quite a fright.” We arrive at my bedroom door, and they pause, taking both of my hands in theirs. “Why don’t I have the cook send you up some lunch, and you can relax up here? Doesn’t that sound nice?” Their tone is a little patronizing, but I let it go, since I made such a spectacle of myself earlier. I nod and open the door to let Dave in. Sybil watches as he jumps up on the bed, and they give a half smile. “You spoil him so.” With a final look, Sybil leaves.
“Thank you, Sybil,” I call as they walk down the hall. I go into my room and lean against the door, looking at Dave. My emotions feel like they’re all over the place. My bravado can only get me so far and, now that I’m mostly alone, I start to shake, thinking about how close I came to actually dying.
“Oh, Dave.” His ears perk up at his name. “What am I going to do?”
CHAPTER14
I’m dreaming in black and white. This time, I’m wearing a heavily-beaded black dress with a risqué hemline ending mid-thigh, and my hair is cropped short with finger waves. Galen looks suave in a black suit and matching fedora. We’re dancing before a live band, our faces close, but never touching. My body and his move so clearly in sync. My feet and lower legs are moving in ways that I never thought I could with a level of coordination I never knew I had. As the song ends, he takes my hand in his, pulling me insistently away from the dance floor. He looks both ways down the hall before pulling me into an empty coat closet. His mouth is on mine in a flash, kissing me hard, as if time is running out. I respond in kind, pressing against him as if he is the air I need to breathe. He lifts me onto the counter, kissing down my neck and breasts. I lean back, a small moan escaping my mouth, but he pulls me closer, putting his hand over my mouth.
“Shhh, my love, we can’t get caught.”
But I don’t care. I fumble with his belt, undoing it, so I can thrust my hand into his pants. I grab hold of the length of him, and he groans, thrusting into my hand. I bite my lip and gently drag my nails over him, watching his reaction. Galen groans back between clenched teeth and thrusts again. I’m admiring the responses I elicit, my thumb rubbing over the head of his cock, a bead of liquid there.
I press my mouth to his ear. “Shh, my love, we can’t get caught.”
I nip at his lobe. He pushes my skirt up to my hips, ripping a seam on the side. One hand finds the slick wetness between my legs while his other hand finishes undressing. He fumbles, righting himself before thrusting inside me. I cry out, causing him to clamp his hand over my mouth again. With each thrust, our care of the outside world hearing us slips away. All that exists is our bodies, fusing together as one. My fingers run through his silky blond strands, causing some to slip into his eyes. I press my forehead against his, riding the rising wave inside me, as we both climb toward climax—
I wake with a start to find Cat sitting on the foot of my bed, petting Dave. My breathing is labored as I sit up to look around.
On my nightstand is a bowl of soup that looks long-since cooled, along with a small vase and single blue cornflower. I can feel the thump of my heart as it beats hard, trying to break out of my chest, and the warmth of pleasure between my legs. As the dream fades, the desire I felt slips away as well. It’s like that flash I had earlier by the water, and this new vision confirms that what I thought was sex with Galen must have been. My stomach heaves, and I go utterly still to try and control the urge to throw up. The desire to close my eyes and push the images away is strong, but I can’t. I tell myself that it was just a dream, but it felt so real.
I can’t open my mouth, so I focus on breathing in and out through my nose.
“Please don’t scare me like that again,” Cat says. When our gazes meet, I see that her eyes are puffy from crying. I open my arms, and she crawls across the bed and hugs me. “This wouldn’t be worth it if you weren’t here.”
I smile at her. “Same, sister, same.” I look at the clock and see that we have only one hour to get ready. Thankfully, I showered before climbing into bed and passing out, but I’m not sure Cat has. I turn to the closet and see a dress bag hanging from the door with a note. I give Cat a questioning look before walking over to it. I read the note aloud.
“‘As a thank you for saving your life, please wear this dress. –Galen’ Well that’s a tad presumptuous,” I say, tossing the card aside. Cat nods in agreement, but once I open the bag, I gasp at the beauty of the dress. It has a tight bodice and a loose skirt with a slit all the way up the thigh to the hip. And it isred—not “I’m trying to show off” scarlet but a deep crimson. I marvel at it and see that Galen also provided gems to go with the dress, including a statement diamond necklace that has three large stones connected by smaller ones, as if three suns were connecting.