Watching Over Me: A Dreams Novel

by Kamery Solomon

  Bursting with pleasure, I cried out, doing my best to keep riding him through the wave, my eyes screwed shut, hands fisted on his chest. He followed not long after, shuddering as he pumped into me, his hand still working wonders.

  “I don’t know how much more I can take,” I whimpered, still falling over the edge that he was pushing me to.

  “Do you want me to stop?” he asked breathlessly, slowing some.

  “No!” My legs were shaking from exertion, my entire body trembling against him as he claimed me yet again, touching me in ways that I’d never been touched before.

  Suddenly, he removed his hand and rolled me to the side, somehow managing to stay inside me as he pushed me on my back and claimed the top position. Despite having finished, he was still hard and thrusting, panting.

  There was another climax building inside me, stronger than the first, and I whimpered as it released, gripping his arms tightly.

  “Let it all out,” he crooned, a very satisfied smile on his face. “Don’t hold back.”

  “I’m not,” I gasped, wondering how I could already be having another orgasm again. My body was reacting to him greedily, sucking up all the pleasure he offered and letting it rocket throughout me.

  Still thrusting, he bent down, taking my breast in his mouth again and sucking hard. The pain made me moan, my fingers moving to bury themselves in his hair. “Don’t stop,” I ordered him, despite feeling like I would die if I felt any better.

  Sitting up, he grabbed my hips and lifted them with him, like he had the first time we’d had sex, ramming into me in a way that made me see spots, it felt so good. Another release spilled from me and I silently screamed, thrashing alongside him as I rode it.

  Finally, he slowed to a stop, panting as he rocked my hips against him gently. “How was that?” he asked humorously. “Did I follow your orders well enough?”

  “Well, you stopped. So I guess not,” I teased breathlessly, smiling as he slowly pulled out.

  “You sounded like you enjoyed me breaking the rules.” Standing up, he held a hand to me, helping me out of the bed. “I think you’d like it if I did that more often.”

  “I would like it if we definitely did that more often,” I agreed. “That was amazing.”

  “For me, too.” Guiding me across the room, we went through the bathroom door by the kitchen. “Will you shower with me?”

  “Do we get to have sex in the shower?” I asked, still feeling hungry for him.

  “Sounds like a plan to me.” Turning the water on, he stepped into the tub, pulling me in after him and closing the curtain. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, tugging me close and pressing his lips to mine as the water rained on us. “Would it be bad if I said I couldn’t believe you were actually here, doing this with me?”

  The confession struck me slightly and I smiled softly. “You’ve been alone for so long,” I said gently. “It’s not surprising that you would feel that way. But I am here. We are doing this. And I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” Kissing me again, he leaned me against the wall, guiding my leg up around his hip. “I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Eyes moving over me hungrily, Eric folded his arms. “You look hot in my clothes.”

  “Whatever.” Smiling, I adjusted the too large, long sleeve shirt, wondering if the belt would hold the massively baggy pants on my hips. “It’s all way too big for me. No one will even be able to tell that I have breasts under all this.”

  “They’ll be able to,” he replied seriously.

  After our shower, we’d come to the realization that I was going to have to go back to UD and get some stuff for the break. All I had to wear was an incredibly formal gown—a dead ringer when looking for those doing the walk of shame—and I’d made plans to stay with Meg that now had to be undone. The presents that Dad had mailed needed to be picked up for our Christmas phone call. As much as I would have liked to stay in Brooklyn for the next two weeks, the rest of the world wasn’t going to wait for our little affair.

  It felt strange, how quickly things had changed. At the same time, it felt perfectly right, like my entire life was supposed to have been this way—here, with Eric.

  “Do you want to leave your dress here?” Slipping his hoodie over his head, he began the process of hiding his scars from the world. Gloves were placed on his hands, a beanie on the top of his head that covered his forehead, another heavier jacket, a scarf that wrapped around the lower half of his face, and a pair of sunglasses.

  “No, it’ll just take up space. Might as well put it away. Do you always wear that much when you go out?” I asked uncomfortably. He seemed to be doing a lot for everyone around him and not anything for himself.

  “It’s easier in the winter,” he answered, shrugging. “It’s cold and everyone bundles up like this. I have to get creative in the summer, though. I usually don’t go out at all then unless the sun’s down. Shadows are easier to work with.”

  “Eric.” I was hesitant to continue, but I didn’t really see any other way of expressing my feelings other than to say them. “Have you ever considered that the incident with the girl was a one-time thing? A fluke? You shouldn’t have to hide who you are because you’re worried it will make other people uncomfortable.”

  Sighing, he adjusted the scarf before he answered, his expression hidden behind all the layers. “You don’t understand, Scar. And that’s okay. I’m not hiding who I am—I’m not my scars. But I will become them to everyone else when they see them. It’s not that I don’t want them to be uncomfortable . . . Well, maybe that’s part of it. But I just want to be normal. When I look like this, I’m any other person. No one looks at me and wonders what happened, what I did to deserve this.”

  “I didn’t think you were your scars when I saw them,” I replied softly, pulling my own jacket on. “Or that you did anything to deserve them.”

  “You had the chance to know me beforehand. It’s different.” He shrugged, moving toward the door and holding a hand out to me. “Trust me. I’ve had lots of years to test it out and see how people react.”

  I still didn’t agree, but was getting the distinct impression that the conversation was over again. Silently, I crossed to him, taking his hand, and we left the loft.

  It was one of the coldest afternoons I’d experienced since moving to the city, snow falling slowly from the heavens above. It had already dusted the ground overnight and wasn’t showing any signs of stopping for a while. All around us, people were bundled up, going in the various directions their lives took them. We made our way to the train station with a mass of them, blending in just as Eric wanted.

  On the train, I pulled my phone out of my purse, picking a name out of the contact list and dialing it.

  “Who are you calling?” Eric asked from beside me.

  “Meg. I was supposed to spend Christmas with her and she’s leaving today. I haven’t heard anything from her yet, though.” The phone continued to ring without picking up and I sighed, wondering what she was up to. “Hey,” I started when the machine answered. “It’s me. I was just calling to let you know that I have somewhere to go for Christmas, so you can spend it with your family. I hope that’s okay. I’ll see you when classes start again.”

  Hanging up, I grinned at Eric, wrapping my fingers around his again. “What do you want to do for the holidays?”

  “I don’t typically do anything.” He chuckled, leaning over and kissing my forehead through his scarf. “My parents get a phone call in the morning.”

  “I suspected as much, seeing as how you don’t have even one decoration put up.” I laughed, laying my head on his shoulder as we rolled in to one station, the car emptying and then filling with different people.

  “I’m not the decorating type,” he admitted as we started moving again.

  “I noticed that as well.”

  Our stop was up next and I stood, getting ready to leave with the group moving toward the do
ors.

  “You seem to like my place, if I recall.” His voice was low, quiet, and right in my ear. The sound sent shivers through me, immediately bringing thoughts of his place and what we did there to mind.

  “I never said I didn’t.”

  The doors opened and we exited the train, stepping leisurely across the platform and up the stairs to the street above. The snow had picked up some since we were last in it, seeming to muffle the hustle and bustle of the city. UD sat in front of us, her windows unusually dark.

  “It’s strange to see it so empty,” I commented to him as we crossed the street to the dorms. “I mean, I knew that most of the students would leave to be with their families. It just looks . . . lonely.” Blushing at the statement, I reached the door before him, using my key to unlock it before I held it open.

  “I know what you mean.” He chuckled, passing through the entryway and taking my hand again. “It feels very full of life when everyone is here. Even when I’m working and you’re all asleep, there’s something about it.”

  The room was empty when we reached it, though Meg’s stuff was still there on her bed. It didn’t look like a single thing had been touched since we left for the party.

  “I wonder where she is,” I mused, remembering how Colt had scooped her up as soon as he saw her. Perhaps I wasn’t the only one that’d had a good night.

  Sitting down on my bed, Eric didn’t remove any of the covers as he looked at everything, focusing on the picture of my father and I on the nightstand. “You look a lot like him,” he said.

  “Thank you.” Rifling through my drawers, I pulled out a few outfits and shoved them into my dance bag, not having any other luggage close by. “I’ve been told that a lot.” Once I was satisfied that I had everything I would need, I began undressing, happy to have my own clothes to wear back to his house.

  “What are you doing?” Stretching out across my bed, he watched me, his hands behind his head.

  “I’m changing,” I said, laughing. “I thought it would be nice to have pants that might not fall to the ground at any second.”

  “On the contrary, I think you should most definitely wear things that could come off at any time.” He chuckled, motioning for me to come to him.

  Laughing, I tossed his clothes at him, pulling my bottoms on and a tank top quickly after. “Meg could come back any time,” I reminded him. “I’m pretty sure she would flip out if she walked in on that.”

  As if on cue, the handle on the door rattled, causing Eric to jump off the bed. He was the first person Meg saw when she entered the room, her face tear stained, hair wet, and her dress from last night hugging her form. Eyes wide, she stared at him, as if she couldn’t decide whether to scream or run.

  “Hi,” I said, drawing her attention to me.

  “Oh. Hi.” Blinking, she came the rest of the way in, closing the door behind her and leaning against it.

  “Hi,” Eric said awkwardly.

  She continued to stare at him, another tear falling. “Sorry,” she muttered, wiping it away hastily.

  “Are you okay?” Concern for her filled me and I moved toward her, frowning. “What happened?”

  “It’s stupid,” she sighed. “Who is this?”

  “Oh, right!” Grinning sheepishly, I turned back to Eric. “This is Eric—I mean, Sir. This is Sir, whose real name is Eric.”

  Her eyes widened at that and I laughed as I watched her, her gaze washing over him.

  “Eric,” she said, nodding. “I take it you’re not a creepy murderer.” She watched him for a second longer before there was a knock at the door.

  “Meg,” Colt’s voice said from the other side. “Please let me in.”

  Yelping slightly, she grabbed my hand and towed me into the bathroom, shutting the door and locking it behind us.

  “What is going on?” I asked, just as much confused as I was concerned.

  “Nothing,” she snapped, waving her hand at the door. “He’s just . . . I don’t know. We’re having a bit of a fight, that’s all.”

  “What happened?”

  “No,” she said, holding a finger up. “You tell me what is going on with you first. He’s here! You met him! You know his real name!”

  “I know a lot more than that,” I said, blushing slightly.

  “You didn’t,” she gasped. “Scarlet Redford, you little slut!” She was positively brimming with excitement, a stark contrast to the way she’d been acting when she first arrived.

  “Hey,” I hissed, shushing her. “It wasn’t like that. I know everything, not just his name.”

  “Why is he all bundled up like that?” She turned, motioning for me to help with her zipper. “If you know who he is, why does he need to cover his face?”

  “It’s a long story.” Helping her out of her dress, I tried to listen to what was going on in the main room. It sounded like Eric had let Colt in and told him where we were. “What’s going on with Colt?”

  Her face fell and she remained silent, dressing in the clothes she’d left by the sink the night before. “He’s decided not to come back after his movies are done. He’s moving to California permanently.”

  “Oh.” I knew that couldn’t have been what upset her so much, unless I’d severely underestimated her feelings for him.

  “He asked me to come with him.” She laughed slightly, her eyes tearing up as she looked at me in the mirror. “Can you believe that?”

  “What did you say?” I asked, stunned. Apparently, I had indeed underestimated the amount of affection between them.

  “No!” Her lip quivered as she started crying again. “How could I? I’ve spent all this time here, training to be in the company. This is what my parents want me to do. I’ve literally spent my whole life getting to this point and he asked me to throw it all away and go with him? I just met him!”

  “I don’t think he meant to hurt your feelings,” I said, trying to comfort her.

  “It’s not that.” She sounded bitter, her face clouding with an unknown, dark emotion. “I would go. But I can’t. Not when my parents have done all of this for me. I’m a born and bred dancer, Scar. If I left with Colt, they’d probably disown me. I have to stay here.”

  “And he doesn’t agree,” I added, catching on. “That’s what you’re fighting about. You both want to be together, but you feel like you can’t.”

  Nodding, she remained silent, rubbing the tears from her skin again. “I can’t go out there and see him,” she said, the soft murmur of the men’s voices coming through the door. “Will you tell him to go? Please?”

  “Sure.” Placing a hand on her back, I smiled sadly at her reflection in the mirror, wishing there was more I could do to help her. “What do you want me to say? Are you going to talk to your parents at all?”

  “No. Just ask him to go.” Closing her eyes, she sighed, her shoulders shuddering.

  “Do you want me to stay?”

  “No. I got your message earlier. Keep your new plans. I’d rather be alone, to be honest.” She was getting quieter by the second, alarming me, but I knew better than to try and give her something she didn’t want.

  “You’ll call me if you need anything?” I hated feeling like I was abandoning her, but it was what she wanted.

  Nodding, she waved me away, her head dropped low.

  Reluctantly, I left the bathroom, shutting the door behind me.

  “Is she okay?” Colt immediately asked, rising from the bed he’d been sitting on.

  “She asked me to have you leave, please,” I answered quietly. “She wants to be alone right now.”

  “Meg,” he said somewhat louder, the word an aggravated sigh.

  “Please,” I said again, holding a hand up to him. Speaking much quieter, I continued. “She is very upset and asked that we all go, so she has time to sort things out. She’s really upset, Colt.”

  Nodding, his own face contorted sadly, he turned toward the door. Pausing, his hand on the knob, he looked at me again. “You’ll let me kno
w she’s okay?”

  “I will.” Turning toward Eric, I motioned for him to grab the three presents I’d set on the dresser earlier. “Let’s go, Eric.”

  “Eric?” Colt turned to look at us fully, surprise on his face. “Eric Parish? I thought I recognized your voice, man.” Breaking into a grin, he came over, hugging a very surprised Eric. “It’s been, what, six years? The last time I saw you, you and Adam were getting ready to head for home.” Releasing him, Colt turned to me, grinning. “We were all in the program together that year,” he explained.

  His face fell suddenly as he turned back to Eric. “I’m really sorry about what happened. Adam was a good guy. I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you.”

  “Thanks,” Eric said stiffly.

  Colt watched him for a second, frowning, and then clapped a hand on his shoulder. “It was good to see you.” His voice grew quiet as he stared at both of us, his eyes filling with sadness. “Take care of my girl.” He turned then, crossing the space and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Did your family ever have any Christmas traditions?” Smiling widely, I watched as he strung lights around an artificial tree. I’d begged him to go out and buy one with me, for our own holiday celebration, but he hadn’t wanted to leave the loft. Instead, we ordered one online, proving again that you could have anything delivered in the city, and quickly at that.

  Sorting through a few of the boxes of ornaments we’d bought as well, I carefully laid each piece out on the counter, humming slightly to the music playing on my phone.

  “You mean like parties and stuff like that? Not really.” He moved around the tree with ease, covering each branch with the twinkling bulbs like he’d done it every day of his life.

  “Parties can be a tradition,” I agreed. “But I meant more along the lines of family things. For example, my family gets to open a present on Christmas Eve, but it’s always the same thing; we get new pajamas, a packet of hot cocoa mix, and a homemade ticket to a movie we would watch before bed.”