by K. G. Reuss
She stuffed the paper into the back of her book, then held up her index finger and drew an X over her heart with a smile on her face.
With that out of the way, I sank back in my seat and tried to force myself to pay attention.
It felt like I’d been sitting in that plastic, blue seat for at least two hours, but a look at the clock revealed I’d only been there for fifteen minutes. It was hard to pay attention when I’d spent the day before reading ahead. At least I knew I could daydream about my favorite new hero and wouldn’t be caught off guard if I was called on to answer a question.
In the blink of an eye, everyone in the classroom was gone—I was alone. I looked around me, confused. Where did everyone go? And how had I blacked out so much that I didn’t even notice them leave?
Then the door opened, and Donovan walked into the room. I couldn’t pull my eyes from his body which was covered in a long-sleeved, black shirt and loose jeans that accented his hips perfectly. A sliver of his gray boxers peeked out over the waistband of his jeans. He slowly strode over to me and took a seat at the empty desk beside mine, leaning back with cockiness and swagger rolling off his strong frame.
“Hi, beautiful,” he said with a smile toying with the corners of his perfect lips.
“What happened?” I questioned, looking around at the classroom that minutes ago was full but now was suddenly empty.
“You fell asleep.” He shrugged. “You must have been missing me.” His dark eyes burned with fire, and I was dying to feel the singe of the flame against my flesh.
It was all very confusing for me though. I’d never had these urges before he showed up in my dreams — awake or asleep.
I shook my head. “I don’t understand. Where did you come from?”
“I told you, I’m your subconscious. I’m nothing more than what your mind created, something you’ve been longing for.”
I thought that over. “So, if this is my dream, we could be anywhere I want? Do anything I want?” I smiled with that thought.
“We can do anything, anywhere, beautiful.”
I closed my eyes and thought really hard. When I opened them, I was no longer in my classroom but lost deep in the forest. Massive trees surrounded us, and the scent of the wet earth making up the forest floor surrounded me. Birds whistled, and small forest animals scurried around us. It was practically magical.
“Where are we?” he asked, glancing around in wonder.
I spun in circles, looking up at the canopy of treetops that hung overhead. “I don’t know. I just wanted to be far away, where nobody could ever find me.” A smile pulled at my lips as I came to a stop and looked up at him.
“You wanted to be lost,” he said, but it wasn’t a question. He held out his hand. “Come on, lost girl. Let’s explore.”
Without another thought, I placed my hand in his, and he pulled me deeper into the woods.
We walked along the path, hand in hand, for miles until he stopped at a massive waterfall spilling into a pool beneath it. He released my hand and moved to pull off his shirt by the pool’s edge. “Let’s go for a swim.”
He dropped his long-sleeved black shirt to the ground, and I got a full view of his strong, tattooed arms and chest.
“I do-don’t have a suit,” I stuttered, suddenly shy. I tried to hide the fact I was checking him out, but I really wanted to get a closer look at those tattoos. He had a thick, black band around each wrist, and his biceps were covered in dark tribal ink. Each design stretched over his firm pecs. I’d never been one to gawk at a guy before, but his body was hard, and the black tattoos only accented his strong frame. I forgot I wasn’t supposed to be looking at him when my eyes landed on a puckered scar in the shape of an X over his heart, distorting his tattoo.
“I’m your subconscious, remember? And this is a dream.” He grinned and stepped out of his jeans, leaving him in only his boxers. “I won’t look, okay?” He rushed into the water, stopping when the water reached his hips, keeping his back to me.
I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart and pulled my shirt over my head, dropping it next to his pile of clothes. Next, I yanked off my shoes and leggings. When I was down to my black bra and panties, I rushed into the cold water. It instantly caused me to inhale loudly and shiver.
Once I was deep enough, I dove under the water, swimming past him until I could no longer hold my breath. I popped up, breathing in the fresh air I so desperately needed.
“You can really hold your breath,” he acknowledged, swimming closer to me and stopping when he was directly in front of me.
“I run a lot. It’s the only way to destress. Plus, it is a dream, right?” I threw myself backward, floating with my arms stretched out at my side. I breathed deeply and closed my eyes, letting myself get lost in the moment.
He reached out and grabbed my ankle, drawing me toward him. I didn’t know what was happening until I was upright with my chest pressed against his. His gaze dropped quickly to look at where my breasts were smashed against his strong chest before he licked his lips.
“You’re so beautiful, Olivia. I wish you could see what I see.” Slowly, he pressed his lips against mine, and despite how cold the water was, suddenly I was burning up. When his tongue slid into my mouth, my legs wrapped around his hips, and my arms snaked around his neck.
He deepened the kiss and placed one hand on the nape of my neck, holding me to him while the other landed on my ass. His skin was still scorching hot, but with the cold water all around us, it created the perfect temperature. The water seemed to warm around us from the heat we were putting off. He hardened against my core, and the urge to take things further egged me on.
One hand fell from his neck, making its way between us, under the water so I could touch him. When my hand wrapped around his girth, he let out a soft moan and broke the kiss.
“It’s time to go, Olivia,” his voice was almost pained, like he never wanted to stop what we’d started.
“What? I don’t want to.” Things were just getting interesting.
“I’m sorry. It’s time to wake up now.” He released me and placed me on my feet in front of him. We weren’t in the water any longer. We were back where we’d started in the forest. “I’ll see you in your dreams, beautiful,” he said with a smile.
When the last word left his lips, my eyes popped open, and my head shot up from the top of my desk.
“About time, Liv. You were dead to the world,” Anita said, looking down at me with concern.
Blinking, I looked at myself and around the room. I was dry, back in my clothes, and the classroom was filled with students gathering their belongings.
I shook the dream from my head and forced myself to stand. “I guess I didn’t get enough sleep last night.” I grabbed my books absentmindedly and walked from the room in a daze with Anita following along behind me.
“I hear you. I didn’t either. I’ve been worried sick about how mad you were at me.” She gave me a sheepish look.
“For what it’s worth, it was stupid of me to go into that room. I wasn’t thinking. My only thought was finding you.” I shook my head angrily, Brent’s touch still haunting me. “And now, I’m going to be screwed even more because Brent’s been telling everyone that we did more than me just kneeing him in the groin.” I hastily wiped at my eyes, not wanting to cry over it. “But whatever, right? Let them believe it happened.”
“But it’s not what happened, Liv.” Her brown eyes were sad and sympathetic as she stared back at me.
“It is as far as he’s concerned,” I mumbled bitterly. “He told me we may as well do it because everyone was going to believe we did anyway. And he wasn’t wrong. Eddie and Caleb cornered me before class to harass me. I’m sure by lunch I’ll be the talk of the school.” I looked at her earnestly, the tears still in my eyes making her appear blurry. “I really didn’t do what he said I did. I only wanted to get out.”
She shook her head in anger. “What a jerk. Ugh, I swear, I’ll make him pay for tha
t, Liv. I can’t believe I ever liked him. I’m so sorry I accused you of trying to steal him. I don’t know how you can ever forgive me. You were attacked!” With each word, she got louder and angrier.
“Shhh. It’d be great if those who hadn’t heard yet, don’t.” I quickly looked around us, making sure nobody was listening.
“Why not? The whole school should know what kind of loser he really is. I mean, he should be rotting away in a prison cell right now. Let his ass get locked up with someone twice his size and see how he likes it.”
I couldn’t hold back my laugh. “It’s okay, Anita. I appreciate it. But really, I’d just like to forget that it ever happened. Okay? Can we just go back to being friends and pretend like Saturday doesn’t even exist?”
She washed the anger from her face and replaced it with kindness. “As you wish.” She locked her arm through mine and led the way to our next class. “I will get back at his ass though.”
Just hearing her threats made me smile, the tears disappearing. I finally felt like my life was coming together. I had my friend back, and in my dreams, a guy that was sweet and nice to look at. Maybe this is a turn for the better, I thought.
Donovan
In time, I learned a few things. And I didn’t think they were just coincidences. I could see her, Olivia in her world. Whenever I stepped into dreamscape, I could make out her form, red hair and all. The sight was blurry and a bit unfocused, but I knew it was her.
Over the coming days, I became obsessed. She’d barely been sleeping. Whenever she started to dream and I stepped into the room with her, she awakened, a wistful look of longing on her beautiful face. After our time together at the waterfall, it was hard not to lose my mind. It was like she never left me two hundred years ago. We fit together, a perfect match. Time hadn’t changed a damn thing in that respect. My heart still went crazy for her. I’d missed her over the long years, but it was nothing compared to how much I missed her now. It was like the old flame had gasoline poured on it and was roaring out of control.
Not being able to catch her in her dreams had me in knots. I knew things weren’t going well for her at school. She was being bullied relentlessly. I’d gathered that much information just from the short time I’d been with her. It boiled the blood in my veins until it was lava. For days, I’d been silently begging her to fall asleep and stay asleep, so I could visit her in her dreams.
Frustrated, I was sitting in my apartment in Hell when there was a knock on my door, pulling me from all my thoughts of her.
“Abe, what do you want?” I asked, pulling the door open to find him staring at me, his dark skin seemingly darker than last time I’d seen him months ago.
“It’s not what I want, Donovan. It’s what he wants. The king.” Abe’s deep tenor greeted me.
“Tell him to fuck off,” I snapped, walking away from the door but leaving it ajar. Abe took it as an invitation and stepped into my sparse living room, closing the door behind him,
“Listen, Donovan,” Abe sighed, his voice gruff. “You did this to yourself. You know that. It’s been two hundred years, man. When are you going to just accept that things are what they are, and this is your life now? Just do what the king says and get it over with. Then maybe you’ll get to come back here and do whatever the hell it is you do. Maybe then he’ll set you free.”
I snorted at my old friend. Abe and I went way back. We’d come screeching into Hell around the same time almost a thousand years prior. We’d become fast friends, both of us rising in rank together. Until I fell from grace while he watched, horrified.
“You have no idea the shit I do here.” I shook my head bitterly as I flopped back down on my couch and opened up a Flamethrower, Hell’s version of a beer, and threw it back, guzzling it down like a dehydrated man in the desert.
“Of course, I don’t.” Abe looked at me earnestly. “We barely talk. We haven’t in a long time. You’ve shut me out, man.”
I didn’t say anything as I sat there, looking down at my clasped hands.
“It’s been two hundred years, Donovan. When you going to talk about it? Huh?” Abe ventured, coming to sit in the chair across from me. “No one even knows what happened or what went down.”
“What do you want, Abe? Story time?” I asked softly.
“I just want to know what the hell happened, man. I want to know why you don’t come around anymore. We lost a good soldier when you left—”
“You know as well as I do that I didn’t leave.” I finally looked at him. He sat silently in front of me, not saying a word. “Aren’t you going to tell me that I need to go see the king and instead of telling you this story?”
“No,” Abe replied with a shrug. “I know you won’t listen anyway. You never did. That’s one of the reasons you’re sitting there the way you are now. In two hundred years, you haven’t spoken about it. There are rumors. Demons saying you slept with the one the king chose to be his queen. Demons saying you’ve been cursed.”
“Why are you really here, Abe?” I sighed, leaning back in my seat. “You’re right. It’s been two hundred years since it happened. And you chose today to come ask about it? Why? What do you know?” I cocked my head and studied him. He’d always been hard to read.
“I hear things,” his voice was low as he glanced around my apartment. “Strange things.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked dryly, not wanting to appear interested, but I was burning up inside to know what he’d heard.
“Word in the pits is that the king’s looking for someone. A red-haired someone.”
The hair rose on the back of my neck. I swallowed hard and cleared my throat.
“And?”
“And I think we both know who that someone is, Donovan.” His dark eyes surveyed me carefully before continuing, “I want to help.”
“What?” I crinkled my brows at him.
“You heard me. You know I hate that son of a bitch. Since the moment I laid eyes on him, I knew he’d make my eternity a nightmare. Whatever you’re up to, I want in.”
“No way.” I didn’t even need to think about it. There was no way I’d make my punishment someone else’s.
“You know me, Donovan. You know when I set my mind to something I finish it. And I won’t stop until you let me in on what you’re doing. I know you’re up to something. If it’s possible, you’re even more secretive than you were before. Tell me everything. I know I can help you.”
I surveyed him closely for a moment. Abe always had been honest and loyal, which was strange since he’d somehow ended up here. Maybe Hell could change a guy. And Abe always did have connections. He’d never let me down in the past, and I knew he hated our king as much as I did.
“I fell in love with her,” I said, my breath hitching in my chest. He nodded, not the least bit surprised. “I was cursed because of it. He turned me into an incubus, so I’d be forced to fuck women and take their souls. He knew it would kill me to touch someone who wasn’t her. Then he took her away. I didn’t know if I’d ever see her again. I mean I hoped. Futile I know. But then I found her in the dreamscape.” I looked at him, waiting for his response.
“And now you want her back.” He sat back in his seat, his fingers steepled as he regarded me. “But all you have are her dreams.”
“Yes.” I nodded solemnly. “This existence—I fucking hate it. It disgusts me. I feel like I’m betraying her every time I’m between some other woman’s legs. I picture her. It’s the only way I can get through it, and sometimes not even that helps. Sometimes it makes it worse because I imagine how heartbroken she’d be if she knew what I’d become.”
“Donovan, I didn’t know Olivia well, but I did know she was strong. She’d understand. She was cursed too. You both bear the burden, not just you. She won’t hate you.” He regarded me carefully before speaking again, “Does she remember you?”
“No,” I whispered, shaking my head and looking down at my heads. “She has no idea who I am. But when I kiss her, I feel the old her stirring b
eneath. I know my Olivia is in there somewhere. I just don’t know how to get her back.” I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants. “She’s young though. Just a high school student. But I can’t let it stop me. I know once I spark her memory, nothing else will matter.”
“We need to break this curse. I’ll do some digging.” He rose to his feet and walked to the door. “And you need to get to his majesty’s court and see what that dick wants. In the meantime, just do your damn job and keep your head down. I’ll see what I can do on my end.”
“Abe?” I looked up at him.
“Yeah?”
“Why are you helping me?”
“I miss my friend.” He shrugged with the answer, no trace of a lie on his face. “And fucking Malachi drives me nuts. I’ve wanted to throat punch him more this week than I have in the last century.” He scowled as he mentioned the demon who’d replaced me. The very same demon who’d set me up. “So, let’s fix this shit, OK?”
“OK.” I smiled, a blossom of hope bubbling in my chest. I hadn’t felt anything like it since the first time I’d set eyes on Olivia all those years ago.
Donovan
Forcing each foot in front of the other, I walked down the black marble hallway. With each step, my body felt heavier, and my throat burned from trying to hold back the anger that was bubbling up my throat like acid. My hands clenched into tight fists, causing my palms to sweat, as I got closer and closer to his royal quarters.
It had been a long time since I’d walked that hallway. After he cursed me, he wanted very little to do with me. As long as I did my job collecting the souls of women, I practically had free reign. And since I’d cease to exist if I didn’t do it, I always did my job. Even if it was only her memory that kept me going.
As I walked down the hallway, with the sound of my boots thudding off the blackened stone, I took in all that was around me. The old framed artwork that had always lined the walls still hung, though the charred frames were practically falling apart.
