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Emery closed her eyes, expecting her sleep to be undisturbed. She was wrong.
She drifted back to the semi-conscious state in which he always appeared as the head of his cock parted the petals of her sex and he stroked into her, pressing her down into the mattress and resting his body on hers. His hips began the oldest rhythm in the world, that of a dominant alpha male plunging in and out of his mate.
Over and over, he thrust into her, his cock moving relentlessly as his kisses stole her breath away, his hands tangling in her hair and angling her head to the exact position he wanted. He kissed her again and again as if he couldn’t get enough and wanted her to know that despite what happened during the waking day nothing between them had changed.
He pounded into her, building tension and pleasure until she felt like a bomb with a lit fuse. As she began to slip over ecstasy’s edge, he thrust in hard, and the orgasm encompassed the both of them in a storm of color and light. She felt her soul fly with his before settling back within her.
Emery felt him slip from her body and tried to grasp at him, but he was ethereal and there was nothing of substance to grasp.
“Cars…”
His hand covered her mouth. “Do not speak that name.”
“I don’t understand.”
“All will be made clear in time.”
She opened her eyes, and nothing remained but confusion and frustration. How could he make her body sing at night and yet not acknowledge her during the day? Did he only recognize her in her dreams? Did he even dream of her at all?
CHAPTER 4
EMERY
Sleep did not come easily the rest of the night, and when it did, it was shallow and not at all restorative. The following morning, Emery grumbled to herself the entire time she was under the shower. Fine. If he only wants to fuck me in my dreams, then fuck him. I deserve better than that. Over and over, she told herself the same thing, steeling herself for seeing him later.
For the next few months, if Carson noticed she was ignoring him, he never gave any indication. For the most part, she was happy in her work but had begun to think of asking for a transfer at her earliest opportunity. Once or twice, he tried to broach the subject of what was bothering her. Each and every time, she turned ice cold and gave him civil answers and nothing more. And each night after she’d done so, he ramped up his lovemaking, often leaving her exhausted come morning.
Carson wasn’t the only one to notice, several of her colleagues tried to interfere—no, that wasn’t right, they were trying to help. She knew that. She also knew she had become a disruptive influence on the team, but her insights were helping them move forward, and as long as Carson wasn’t around her, she was collaborative and helpful. She realized most had written her off as ‘moody.’ Brilliant, but moody.
In meetings, especially larger groups, she couldn’t seem to stop herself from taking little digs at Carson. Never anything anywhere close to insubordinate, but a nasty streak she’d never known she had would rear its head, and out would pop a little toad of a remark.
He was the singularly most frustrating man on Earth. He never reprimanded her. In fact, her probationary review had been glowing, and for the most part he ignored her. Emery might have felt even more slighted save for the fact that most of the team was feeling a separation between them and Carson they’d never felt before. He wasn’t around as much as he’d always been and seemed secretive about where he was going when he left the lab.
Carson announced he was going to work from home for the next few days and reminded them all that he would be on vacation before the end of the month. Lyssa entered Emery’s cubicle to get her coffee. Emery couldn’t complain about her colleagues in the coffee department. She had yet to buy more supplies. Various and sundry people just dropped off coffee pods, distilled water, creamer, and sweetener. One morning, she’d come into her cubicle to find her lateral file shoved to the back and a small, antique cabinet backed up to it, with room for the coffee maker and supplies needed on top and storage for future needs inside.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into him,” said Lyssa.
“Who?”
“Don’t who me. Carson. He’s been… well, not Carson.”
“He seems like the same old Carson to me.”
“No, he’s changed since you joined us.”
“I have done nothing to him.”
Lyssa was taken aback. “I didn’t say you did, and it’s really only been the last several weeks, but it’s like something is bugging him. I hope it’s not anything with his brother.”
“I didn’t know he had family.”
“Not much. His brother is a lumberjack and does some kind of forestry consulting. Carson doesn’t talk about him much, but I know they try to get together a couple of times a year. But whatever he’s working on, he doesn’t seem inclined to share.”
“Agreed,” said another co-worker, Toby. “I go ask him questions or try to bounce ideas off him and get kind of distracted answers. I needed to get some input from him this morning, and he basically brushed me off. He was headed out the door and told me it would have to wait.”
Lyssa nodded. “I also noticed he never leaves his laptop or phone unlocked if he has to leave them—even if it’s just to get a cup of coffee or go to the bathroom.”
Emery realized she hadn’t been paying attention. She’d been so caught up in his not seeming to notice her during the day and visiting her in her dreams and fantasies. He was as elusive in her figments of imagination as he was in the real world. But Lyssa and Toby were right. Carson, who had always been the heart of his team, had withdrawn from them, becoming secretive and aloof. When she’d first joined the team, Emery had thought it was just her. Now, she realized, it had expanded to incorporate the whole team, and the team seemed to be suffering from it.
