Page 101 of Ex Somnis

In response, he lets go of my finger and tightens his grip on my hip.

The dream lets me feel everything.

The rough calluses on his hands, how his chest rises and falls too fast, the faint tremor in his thighs, as if he’s holding himself back by a thread.

“You feel so good.” He kisses me harder, deeper, his tongue owning my mouth in a rhythm that makes my toes curl. One of his hands slides up under my skirt, palm hot against my thigh, thumb stroking the soft inner seam, like he’s memorizing me. He nips my bottom lip sharp enough to sting, then soothes it with his tongue, I moan into his mouth and grind down harder.

Nevan groans. “Like that?” He shifts his hips up to meet me.

The pressure is perfect, almost too much, and I whimper, fingers digging into his shoulders. “Again,” I gasp out.

He rolls his hips in a slow grind while his mouth claims mine again. The kiss turns messy, wet sounds and shared breath, and the faint creak of the swing. His hand slips higher under my skirt, fingertips brushing the edge of my panties.

I break the kiss long enough to breathe, my forehead pressed to his. “Nevan, I want…”

“Anything,” he says immediately, pupils blown wide even in the dream light. His thumb strokes over my bottom lip again, then he leans in and sucks it into his mouth. “Tell me what you need, and I promise I’ll give it to you.”

I kiss him again, pouring everything I couldn’t say in waking life into it. How much I missed him. How sorry I am. How badly I want this, him, all of it. He meets me with equal heat, one arm banded around my waist as though he’ll never let me go, the other sliding up to cradle my face. His fingers thread through my hair again, tugging just right, and I feel the low rumble of his groan against my chest.

Every slide of tongue, every nip of teeth, every shared breath winds me tighter. I’m aching, rolling my hips against the hard line of him like I can’t stop. He doesn’t stop me either. He encourages it, his big hands guiding my movements, squeezing my ass, pulling me down harder.

Then all of a sudden, he goes still, completely still.

“Nevan?”

His forehead drops to my shoulder, and I feel him take a slow breath, then another. “Shit.”

My stomach drops. “Are you okay? Did I…”

He laughs once. “I got too excited.”

“What?”

His arms tighten around me. “Pretty sure I’m about two seconds away from waking myself up.”

Oh.

Nevan groans softly and presses his face into my neck. “This is so unfair.”

I laugh, the sound coming out breathless. “You are literally complaining because you’re having a good time.”

“An incredible time.” His voice is muffled against my skin. “The best time.”

I can feel the smile pulling at his mouth.

Then he lifts his head and looks at me, a little overwhelmed. “You’re actually here.”

I brush my fingers through his hair. “I’m here.”

His eyes soften, then he leans forward and presses one gentle kiss to my collarbone, completely different from the ones before.

“Best fucking dream I’ve ever had,” he murmurs against my skin.

“By the way, I talked to your subconscious.”

He leans back to look at me. “You did?”

“Yeah.” I bite my cheek against a smile. “And we’ve both come to the conclusion that we want each other.”