Chapter 30
CHAPTER
THIRTY
Early afternoon sun bathes the snow-coated yard in front of Ada’s cabin, so bright it takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the glare.
It’s chilly outside, a faint dusting of snow falling around me, but the sun still feels nice on my face.
I squint against the light and step down off the porch toward the sound of Henry’s delighted barks and Ada’s giggles.
“Think fast!” I turn in the direction of my beloved’s voice. Something hard and icy smacks me square in the chest.
“What the hell was that?” I ask as Ada comes into focus, her eyes sparkling with impish delight.
“It’s a snowball,” she says, giggling as I pretend to be disgruntled while I brush the snow off my jacket.
Truth is, all I can think about is how beautiful she is out here in the snow, cheeks pink from the cold and exertion.
Gods, is there anything I love more in existence than the sound of her laughter?
After only hearing her cries for mercy for ages, it makes my chest swell with appreciation and adoration.
“Oh!” Right, I read about that. Seems weird to me that people enjoy throwing hard-packed balls of snow at each other, but I’ll gladly let her throw as many at me as she wants if she’s having fun.
“Well, don’t just stand there!” She bends down to scoop more snow into her mittens, forming another snowball.
I follow her lead, stooping to do the same, and while I’m crouched, she uses the opportunity to lob her new snowball at me, smacking me square in the face as I futilely try to dodge out of the way.
The spray of icy shards bursts over my skin, some of it flying up my nose and into my mouth, my skin stinging from the cold.
I clutch my cheek in mock horror, even as a smile forms on my lips.
“Oh shit, sorry!” Ada says, a hint of laughter still in her voice as she rushes over to ensure I’m okay. She places a mittened hand atop the one I’m cradling my cheek with, gazing at me in concern. “I thought you’d have better reflexes. I didn’t mean to hit you in the face.”
“Sure you didn’t, Princess,” I reply, infusing a small rumble into my tone that I know she loves.
Ada bites her lower lip, and I use her moment of distraction to make my move, snagging her around the waist. She squeals as I tug her down to the ground, rolling so that I have her pinned beneath me.
Henry lets out a happy bark and comes bounding up beside us, giving Ada a sloppy kiss on the cheek in her vulnerable state.
She grimaces but laughs, squirming to try to get free. Henry nudges against me, managing to get me on my chin with his cold wet tongue.
“Get him! Protect me from the big bad monster!” Ada beseeches Henry, but he just wags his tail and barks again, loving this game.
I make a quick snowball and toss it across the yard for him to chase after, and as he bounds away, Ada scoffs.
“So much for him being my guard dog,” she grumbles.
“He knows that’s my job now,” I say, grinning down at her.
She reaches up and places a hand behind my neck, drawing me closer. “I love being able to see everything when you smile,” she murmurs.
Something flips in my stomach at her words. Not just the pleasure at her obvious approval of my appearance and her nearness, but a sense I’m missing something.
Then it hits me, and I blink down at the Ada beneath me in stunned silence.
For a creature of dreams, it took me far too long to understand what’s happening.
I’m dreaming.
How the fuck that’s even possible, I don’t know. But there’s no doubting that this is a dream now that I’ve recognized the signs. My dream.
“What’s wrong?” Ada asks, her smile flickering.
My voice is thick when I reply. “Nothing. I’m just so happy to be here with you. Even if it’s not the real you.”
I expect dream Ada to look confused, but she lets out a deep chuckle and a moment later her form shifts into a different one. Ada’s pale white skin takes on a pink hue, her eyes becoming a vibrant fuchsia and her body morphing into a much taller, masculine one.
I scramble backward as soon as I recognize the creature beneath me.
“What the fuck, Rhys?” I glare at the love spirit with a shit-eating grin on his face as he sits up.
He chuckles, brushing some of the snow out of his dark hair. “What? You weren’t enjoying your sweet dream about the woman that you claimed you absolutely weren’t in love with but sacrificed everything to go be with? Without saying a word to your dearest friends, I might add.”
I wince. I’d honestly been too focused on helping Ada to think of anything else. He has every right to be pissed at me. Joining me in a happy, pleasant dream isn’t anywhere near as bad as me leaving without saying goodbye.
Rhys holds up a hand as I open my mouth to apologize. “Nope. Never be sorry for chasing after love at any cost.” He lets out a dreamy sigh. “Gods, you’re obsessed with her. It’s adorable. You have your first dream, and it’s about something mundane you could do in real life.”
I gesture up to my bare, maskless face. “Except this.”
Rhys frowns. “That’s your dream? To not have a mask that your new girlfriend isn’t bothered by in the least?”
“I guess so,” I say weakly, knowing it’s a little silly to care about that when I know Ada wants me even with the mask. “Probably better than dreaming about murdering that creep that tried to kidnap her. I still regret letting him go, but I didn’t want to upset Ada more.”
My friend’s eyes widen at my blithe mention of killing someone. “Someone kidnapped your human? Who was it? Give me a name.”
“Why? What are you going to do about it?”
“It’s that creep you mentioned before, isn’t it? I’ll take care of him.” Rhys’s tone is deadly serious, unlike I’ve ever heard him before.
I blink at him. “Uh, what?”
“I’ll take care of him.” Rhys looks down at his nails with an air of nonchalance, but there’s a violent edge to his words.
We’ve joked about him shooting people with arrows and other things, but that was always a joke.
Or maybe it wasn’t. I gape at this side of him I’ve never witnessed before, impressed and a little scared.
He smiles and pats my arm. “He won’t be a problem for you and your love. Go. Be happy with her. Have all the snowball fights and cute romantic shit of your dreams. You deserve to be happy without worrying.”
“Thank you,” I say, throat tightening with emotion.
Rhys smirks at me. “Don’t get all blubbery on me. You’ll see me again.”
“I will?”
“Well, yeah. I can come visit your dreams whenever you want. From what you told me before, I bet they’ll be pretty wild and spicy.”
“Stay out of my sex dreams,” I growl at him.
He chuckles and shakes his head. “Fine, fine. You two are so connected that most of your dreams will be shared anyway. I had to shove Ada out of this one so we could have a moment to chat.”
“Don’t do that either.” I don’t like the thought of being apart from Ada, even in our dreams.
“Alright. But that means I’ll have to come visit in person, so don’t get mad at me if your girlfriend takes one look at me and ditches your ugly ass.”
I scoff, unconcerned. Rhys is as handsome as a creature can be, but I know in the core of my being that Ada is mine and I’m hers.
The dreams he feeds on are those of mortal hearts yearning for love rather than visions from their slumbering minds, which means Rhys is more capable of going into the mortal realm without risking being unable to return home. Him visiting is a real possibility.
“I’ll take that risk.”
Rhys laughs again, but the sound is muted as something tugs at me, guiding me away from this scene. The dream is ending, and I’m waking up.
How strange.
“Goodbye for now,” Rhys says, pulling me into a hug. “And remember that the key to any good relationship is making your partner come until they see stars,” he adds in a whisper.
I go to shove him away, but he fades before I can, and my consciousness returns to my body as I wake up to the feeling of Ada shifting, her delectable ass rubbing against my rapidly hardening cock.
“Mmm, morning, Princess,” I rumble, sliding the hand that was resting on her belly up to cup one of her breasts.
“Morning,” she replies, voice husky from sleep and arousal. She shifts in my arms, and I lift one to allow her to roll over.
I expect her sleepy smile to greet me, followed by a kiss and her snuggling in closer. Instead, she screams and scrambles back from me, falling off the edge of the bed.
“Ada, what’s wrong?” I sit up with a start, heart racing with alarm. “Are you okay?”
She groans, and her head peeks back up over the edge of the bed, eyes going comically wide as she looks at me.
I flinch, confused at her reaction and hating that I’ve done something to scare her. “Princess, it’s just me. You’re safe.” I keep my tone low and even and hold my hands up to show her there’s nothing in them.
“Sorry,” she grimaces, closing her eyes and scrubbing at them like she’s trying to clear them. But the same shocked expression is there when she looks at me again.
Reaching up to check for something on my face, my fingers connect with the bare skin of my cheek.
My heart skips a beat. Is this still the dream? Or is the mask really not there?
I bring both hands up to my face and rub them across my forehead, cheeks, and nose, and still find nothing.
“My mask is gone,” I whisper in disbelief.
A moment later, Ada’s previous shock registers, and deep concern lances through me that what lies beneath is even more terrifying than what was covering it.
I keep my face covered with my hands, only parting my fingers enough to peek at my frightened girlfriend.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I’ll figure out a way to get it back if it’s too upsetting seeing me like this. ”
She blinks at me a few times and eases back up onto the bed. “No, no, it just surprised me.” She moves beside me and reaches out to wrap her delicate fingers around my wrist. “Can I see?”
I want to say no. To keep hiding. But the tenderness in her expression now that the shock has faded gives me the courage to let her guide my hands from my face.
Ada’s breath hitches as she gazes at me, her eyes flicking over every inch of my newly bare visage. I hold perfectly still in case she panics again, trying not to worry when it takes her a minute to say anything.
When she finally speaks, her lips curve into a smile. “Jesus, were you always this handsome under there?”
I blink back at her. “What?”
“Seth, you’re stunning.” The corners of her eyes crinkle as her gaze meets mine.
“You have such nice eyes. I’m surprised there aren’t more of them given the mask, but there are zero complaints about that.
” She runs her thumb across the rougher skin across my cheekbones that must mirror those scattered on my body.
“I really like these.” Her fingers move to map my nose, like she’s relearning me bit by bit.
“I wasn’t sure if you had a nose under there. ”
“So not a horrifying monster?” I ask, releasing a relieved exhale.
Her smile broadens as she moves her hand to cup my cheek. “You’re definitely a monster, but not horrifying in the least. But I hope you know that no matter what was under the mask, I’d still love you.”
My mouth falls open in surprise.
“What?” Ada’s brow furrows. “Don’t act so surprised. I fell in love with you as my masked nightmare. Is it really so hard to believe what was underneath wouldn’t matter to me?”
“It’s not. It’s just…” Emotion swells inside me, so intense I feel like I’m going to burst. “You said you love me.”
Ada’s eyes flare wider. “Oh.” Her cheeks flush a bright pink. “Well, that’s because I do.”
“You do?” It feels more impossible than being here with her, sharing her bed. Having her give me her body and letting me take care of her was already more than I could’ve dreamed of. But having her love?
“Yes. Sorry, I know that’s too fast to say…”
I shake my head adamantly, pulling her closer and claiming her lips. For the first time, there’s nothing between us, and it feels so incredible I could cry.
“I love you,” I murmur when our lips part. I kiss her again, tangling a hand in her hair as it deepens. I don’t have to worry about mashing into her delicate features with the cold, hard porcelain of the mask.
We’re both panting when our mouths separate, and I pull back to see her eyes gleaming with emotion. I smile at her, swallowing down the overwhelming emotion that’s clogging my throat. “I love you so fucking much, Ada. And I’ll spend the rest of my existence showing you that, if you want me to.”
“I want you to,” she whispers back. “I’ve spent a lifetime dreaming of you, and I can’t imagine a life without you now that you’re here with me.”
Our bodies surge together as the love between us swells.
When I sink inside her and she gasps my name, the overwhelming sense of rightness and belonging makes everything we’ve been through together seem worth it.
All the pain, hurt, and darkness releasing for these blissful moments of peace as our broken selves begin to mend in each other’s arms.
When she comes around me and I follow her into the mind-altering pleasure that she offers like I’m not a nightmare, but something good and worthy of it, I can’t stop the tears from leaking from my eyes.
As we lay there in the afterglow, Ada kisses away my tears. We only have a few moments of silence before her automated alarm goes off, filling the room with a soft carol.
Ada beams at me, her sated smile and sex-mussed hair making her look like a goddess of pleasure. “I think this might be my best Christmas yet.”
I chuckle. “It’s definitely mine. But I wouldn’t make that call so soon, Princess. You haven’t even opened your presents.”
She shakes her head and nestles in against my chest, releasing a contented sigh. “I don’t need to. I already have all I could want for Christmas right here.”