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PANDORA

R eed and I sat side by side on the shore of the ocean in his dreamscape, listening to the waves crash as we read the book he got for us. I had my book, and he had his, but we read at the same pace.

I gasped, feeling my pulse increase. “That’s… really perfect.”

“Making love at night on top of a Ferris wheel?” he contemplated before dropping his book into the sand beside him, the pages fanning out before closing softly. “We could do that, you know.”

“We could?” My breath hitched as his violet gaze darkened.

“You know we can,” he murmured, his voice husky, sending warmth curling down my spine. “I’ll even craft the scene from the book exactly.”

Before I could respond with my acceptance, he leaned in, capturing my lips in a slow, tender kiss that tasted of pure longing. His hand wove into my hair, and I melted against him, inhaling his cotton candy scent.

Every part of my soul was attuned to the way he held me, like he was afraid I’d disappear if he let go—but I’d never disappear from him.

“Let’s go to the fair like the main characters did in the novel,” he whispered against my lips, his breath warm and laced with arousal. “But let’s make it just the two of us. No crowds.”

“Yes, please.”

A shiver danced along my skin as his dreamscape blurred. When my vision cleared, we were no longer on the beach. Instead, the air was thick with the scent of spun sugar and carnival music. We stood beneath the glow of string lights, surrounded by a fairground dipped in twilight hues just like the one described in the book.

The sky swirled in endless shades of purple and blue, stars twinkling beautifully above.

“How’d I do?” he murmured, lacing his fingers with mine.

“Exactly as I imagined,” I admitted, taking in the carousel frozen mid-spin. The Ferris wheel that wasn’t moving either. Everything was frozen in time so we could have this moment. It felt like it belonged to just us— and unlike the characters in the novel, this moment truly did belong only to us .

Reed led me to a cotton candy stand where clouds of sugary fluff spun endlessly, popping out sticks of cotton candy and floating in the air.

He plucked a purple one and pulled a piece free, offering it to me with a grin. “The best flavor.”

“It is really good.” I opened my mouth, and he popped it in, running his thumb over my bottom lip as the sweetness dissolved on my tongue. “Mmm.”

My eyes fluttered shut in bliss.

When I opened them, Reed was closer. He leaned in and stole a kiss before taking a bite for himself. “I’ve eaten this a thousand times,” he murmured, “but it’s never tasted this good before.”

I swallowed, my throat tight with desire and love. “Reed?—”

He silenced me with another kiss, softer this time.

The fair around us began to blur, colors bleeding together like a water-painted dream before we ended up at the top of the Ferris wheel in a cushioned seat.

“What do you think?” His arms wrapped around me as I settled on top of him, straddling him in the seat, completely naked as he was now.

Fates, I loved his dreamscape.

“It’s perfect,” I rasped as his lips trailed down my jaw, my neck, my shoulder, leaving pure desire in their wake. “ You’re perfect, Reed.”

“No, dream girl. That’s you.” He gripped my waist and moved me above his cock, pushing me down onto him in a fluid stroke. “Perfect.”

“Fates,” I cried out as he stretched me wide, burning in a way that only added to the pleasure streaking through my body.

He stilled, waiting for me to adjust to him. “Breathe.”

I sucked in a sharp breath before letting out slowly. “I am. I’m okay. Please move.”

“Whatever you want. This is your dream, too, you know.” He started to move, rocking up into me hard.

“Yours, too,” I moaned. My head fell back as I looked at the night sky.

“You are my dream.” He fucked me harder as I gripped his shoulders.

His grunts made arousal seep out of me, and the way he continued filling me up with every thrust built the pressure inside of me more and more. I mumbled incoherent things to the stars as he slammed into me, not giving me a chance to ride him.

Instead, he continued thrusting up, fast and hard. We moaned together. He pulled me down onto him, controlling the way I was moving, and I let him. His hips moved up, pushing into me desperately.

My fingernails dug into his shoulders as I started to tremble from the pleasure. “Reed, Fates. You feel so good.”

“You feel even better,” he promised as my clit slapped against his pelvis as he bottomed out over and over again.

Ecstasy rippled through me, and Reed moaned as our matebond lit up with the pleasure until I couldn’t stand it anymore.

I writhed and quaked in his arms before I shattered on top of him, waves of ecstasy flooding me as he followed suit.

The moment his claws dug into my hips, he gave one last thrust, and I felt him spill into me.

Our bodies were slick with sweat as we clung to each other on top of that ferris wheel that was frozen in time.

He didn’t look at me the way the male protagonist looked at the female protagonist from the romance book we shared. Instead, he looked at me with something more. The raw love and devotion in his violet eyes could only be described as desperate and all-consuming. It was a feeling only a fated mate could have for another supernatural.

“I love you,” I rasped, feeling my throat swell with desire.

He leaned in and pressed his lips between my breasts. “I love you, too,” he whispered against my skin. “When this is over, I’ll take you to a real fair. I promise.”

A smile ghosted my lips as I collapsed on top of him, pulling him closer and pushing him deeper, letting the moment stretch infinitely between us.

For now, this dream was enough.