Dream of Me: Book 1 The Dream Makers Series (10 page)

“How was your week?” he asked.

“Long,” she blurted out before she had time to censor herself. He chuckled and, by all that was delicious in this world, that chuckle should be outlawed. Any woman who heard that would want to crawl up in his lap and purr.

“As was mine.”

“Really?” Serenity thought she detected a little sadness in his voice.

“It was not my choice to be separated from you, Serenity. Why are you surprised that I would dislike being away?” He wasn’t being mean, just stating the facts.

“I guess I’m a little leery. You claim to have intense emotions for me, but you don’t even know me.”

Again with the chuckle.

“Could you please not do that?” she asked almost breathlessly.

“Do what?” His voice rumbled.

He knew exactly what she was talking about but she answered him anyways. “That little laugh. Could you refrain from it please?”

“I will do my best if you tell me why you don’t want me to laugh.”

Seriously!
she mentally huffed. “It’s disarming.”

“Hmm, good to know,” he muttered and it seemed it was more to himself than an answer for her. “In response to your concerns,” he continued in a less flirty tone, which Serenity’s dignity appreciated. “We have established that I am not human.”

“Definitely established,” she agreed.

“And because I’m not human I don’t think and feel as a human does. My emotions are much, much more intense. They are not fleeting nor are they given freely to just anyone. My life is much too long to squander such precious things like love, trust, respect, and adoration. I am not meant to have a mate. Perhaps, that also is why my feelings are so strong, because being drawn to you cannot be either of our fates. It cannot be because the Creator never intended the Sandman to have a companion. My existence was to solely be about my task. And I had accepted that. But then you were my next assignment and I was intrigued by the selflessness in you. So I watched you, I listened, and I do apologize if that sounds a little like I was stalking you.”

Serenity laughed because he was right, it was pretty freaking creepy. But she could hear in his voice that he wasn’t watching her in a creepy way. He was curious. He wanted to understand her.

“And so because of the things you observed about me, you began to care for me?” she asked.

“I was attracted to you the minute I saw you. But it grew into something more when I got to see beyond your beautiful face.”

If he was trying to get brownie points he was doing a good job. Serenity felt her face heat up at the compliment. She’d never been good at taking compliments.

“Your skin is lovely when you blush.”

His words took her by surprised and she sucked in a sharp breath. “You can see me?” She was looking around as if that was going to somehow help her see him.
Stop being a moron, Sarah, you can’t even see your hand in front of your face,
Serenity chastised herself and then sat still.

“I am the Sandman, the Dream Weaver, the Enticer of Slumber. The night is mine. The darkness is my cloak and obeys my commands. If I do not want to be seen, I can prevent it.”

“The girl in my dream, Emma, has seen you,” she pointed out.

“Yes.” There was a smile in his voice, and Serenity wished so much that she could see that smile. “Children are very perceptive, much more so than adults. Emma saw me when I was on another assignment and she interrogated me. She is quite impressive for an eight-year-old.”

“I thought the same thing.”

They were both silent for a few minutes. Serenity wasn’t sure what to say next. Should she just jump in with,
hey please stay and hang out so we can see where this goes
? Could he stay, even if he wanted to? There were just so many questions, so many
what ifs
. She didn’t know where to start so instead she stayed silent.

“Have you decided whether you want me to leave or not?” he asked, proving that he was indeed braver than she.

“I talked about it with my best friend.” She waited to see if he would freak out over the fact that she’d told someone about him.

“She believed you?” He sounded completely skeptical. Silly immortal.

“Not all adults are closed minded. Glory knows I wouldn’t lie. So yes, she believed me.”

“What did she say?”

Serenity thought back to the many times her best friend had asked if Dair was hot and then about her description of what his voice induced. She decided he didn’t really need to know much of what Glory said. “She thought I should give you a chance.”

His silence indicated to her that he was surprised by her best friend’s reaction.

“And what are your thoughts?”

“I,” she took a deep breath and let it out before she finished, “agree.”

Suddenly the darkness began to grow lighter until she could see though her light was still off. She blinked and let her eyes adjust before looking up. When she finally did, she found herself having to tilt her head up and up and up until she finally saw the face of the very tall, inhumanly handsome immortal before her.

Her throat suddenly felt as if she’d been drinking sand all day and the hinges in her jaw seemed to be broken because her mouth would not close. No matter how much she screamed in her mind for her brain to close her gaping jaws, it just wouldn’t happen. As Serenity stared up into eyes so black and clear that she could nearly see her reflection, a brief thought flew through her mind;
I could stare into those eyes for eternity.

When he cleared his throat it seemed to make something inside her click and her synapses started firing again. She was able to look away from the mesmerizing eyes to the rest of his face. He was beautiful―masculine, no doubt, but beautiful as well. He had black hair, shiny and long on top, sweeping to the side. His skin appeared as smooth as marble and his jaw was strong and defined. His nose was straight and perfectly proportioned for his face and his lips. M
y, my,
Serenity purred to herself. His lips, plump without being feminine, curved up in that moment to one side in a little smirk. Her eyes snapped back up to his and the gleam in them said he completely understood that she was basically just checking him out, like looking over a piece of fruit in a grocery store. And much to her chagrin, her next thought was whether or not he’d taste as sweet as the fruit looked. It was one of those moments when she really wanted to smack herself.

“I had the same reaction the first time I saw you,” Dair said wrapping her in the warmth of his deep voice again.

It took some work but Serenity finally managed to swallow down the sand. “I, uh, I don’t know what you mean.” Playing dumb was a good way to go, right? She couldn’t very well fess up to mentally drooling over him.

“So you don’t find me attractive?” His brow pinched together giving him a boyish cuteness.

“I didn’t say that.”

“But you didn’t say you did either.”

“Do you start all your conversations with how attractive you find the other person?”

There was that laugh again. The heat rushed up her neck until Serenity was sure she must be as red as Santa’s butt.

“Alright, you win,” he conceded. “I will refrain from making any more assumptions because I don’t believe I could keep up with your witty banter.” He held out his hand then and leaned forward just a bit. “I’m Brudair, and it’s an honor to meet you.”

Coming from any other man on planet earth that would have been the cheesiest thing she’d ever seen. But from Dair, it was so natural and sincere that instead of laughing she wanted to sigh. Was she pathetic? Definitely. Did she care at that moment? Not even a tiny bit. Serenity reached out her hand and placed it in his larger one. The contact with his cool skin made her want to sigh. “I’m Serenity, but you already know that. It’s nice to meet you as well.” She expected him to release her hand but instead he simply held it firmly in his own. He straightened and took another step towards her. She felt so small sitting on the bed while Dair stood looming over her. “Would you like to sit?” She nodded to the end of her bed. He nodded in return and stepped to the side, and, in moves that seemed too graceful for such a large person, he sat, barely jarring her at all. He had yet to let go of her hand, not that she minded.

“So what now?” Serenity asked him trying very hard not to squirm under his intense gaze.

“I’m not sure. I’ve never been in this situation before. What have you done in past relationships?”

Serenity didn’t miss the tightening of his lips as he asked her about other boyfriends. He needn’t have worried. Looking away from him, suddenly feeling inadequate she answered, “I’ve never been in this situation either. I’ve never dated anyone.”

“Then once again you are not like the other humans. I will not deny that I am happy to hear that there have been none before me. I would hate to have to compete with memories.”

She looked back at him, thankful that he didn’t think her strange for being eighteen and a virgin in more ways than just the biblical sense. She’d never held a guy’s hand, not romantically. She’d never kissed anyone or been held in strong arms by a guy who cared for her. “Maybe we could start by getting to know each other a little better. Where did you come from? Where do you live? How long will you be here? Just for a start.” She smiled sheepishly as his eyes widened at her sudden rapid fire questions.

“I was hoping I could win you over by my charm, charisma, and good looks before I had to tell you things that might scare you off.” Despite the light sound in his voice, in his eyes Serenity could see real worry.

“If you are worried that I will be shocked by what you are going to tell me, then you’re right, I might be. But I’m not a coward. I don’t run from something just because it’s different from me.”

“Fair enough. I will hold you to your word,” he said as he finally let go of her hand.

She fought the urge to snatch it back. Because ya know, that wouldn’t be weird at all. Serenity rolled her eyes at herself.

“I was made by the Creator,” he began. “I do not have a home. I have no need of sleep or food, and I can find shelter in the homes of my assignments if I need to get out of the weather.” His eyes seemed to grow troubled and she was captivated by the swirling darkness she saw in them. As if black smoke was a part of his iris, it danced in the orbs. “And as for how long I will be here,” his stormy eyes met hers as he finished, “I do not know the answer to that.”

“But you will have to leave, eventually?” Serenity wanted clarification. She did not want to get so attached to Dair that when he left he took more of her with him than was left behind to cope. A thought occurred to her then. Was he the reason she wound up staying in Yellville in her dream? She wouldn’t deny that he would be a major point in favor of staying.

“I wish I could tell you no.” Dair looked down at his hands which were clasped in his lap. His large shoulders slumped forward. “I should have already left. My assignment was done the night that you finished the dream. I don’t know how long I have before I am sent for.”

“Will you be punished?” She didn’t like the idea of him being hurt because of her.

His lips twitched in amusement. “Not in the way you’re thinking. I won’t be flogged or anything. Do you have any other questions?”

Serenity knew he was changing the topic on purpose and she would let him, for now. “Is it hard to adjust as the times change? I mean, how do you keep up with all of it?

“I am merely an observer in this realm, so I get to watch everything, and I pick up on things like the changing lingo and clothing. I’ve become quite adept at it over the years. I’m usually ahead of the times actually. Knowing what is normal for each of my assigned humans is a necessity for the dream I make for them. Each dream must be at least somewhat familiar to them.”

“What’s your favorite decade?” Serenity leaned forward so that her elbows were resting on her legs and her face propped in her hands.

“Until now I’d never had a favorite. I wasn’t a part of the human world, just an interloper. It’s hard to enjoy something that you never partake in.”

She realized then from that statement just how lonely Dair’s life must be. To have to watch others have relationships whether with parents, siblings, or significant others but to never get to experience them would be a very lonely existence.