Page 51 of Storm of Summer (Wild Haven 3)

Panic hits me first, and my body jolts like I’ve been shocked. I take a deep breath to calm down. Except I’m not really breathing. It’s like being in the astral plane, but different. Is this where I’m supposed to be when dream walking? Maybe Colton is asleep, but not dreaming? Maybe he dreams about the anatomy of his soul and it’s just a vast dead wasteland?

The sound of grunting has me turning around.

That’s a mistake.

It’s not just my head spinning on my shoulders, but the entire world folding and collapsing in on itself as if in a vortex. My stomach churns, and I wonder if it’s possible to vomit in the dreamworld.

My feet land back on the ground, and I stumble back a few steps before regaining my footing. The ground isn’t solid; it’s as if it’s there and yet not at the same time. There’s a frayed at the edges feeling to this place, as if whatever image appears doesn’t exist beyond Colton’s depth perception. That’s probably the case. Why would an entire dreamworld exist outside of what Colton can see?

That’s when my eyes find the source of the grunting.

I’m definitely going to vomit.

Colton is plowing into a woman from behind. She’s not visible, her head smashed into the washed-out bed that he has her bent over.

He’s having a sex dream. I’m traumatized on several levels.

“I need to leave.” I bite my lip, closing my eyes and willing myself to get out of this place. To be able to scrub that visual from my mind because I never want to think about that again. I open my eyes and I’m still in the gray landscape.

No, no, no.

Colton’s still having sex and I want to die. I slam my eyes shut, forcing myself to focus just like I did to get here, only this time I think about Rhys. His warm, spicy scent. His tousled hair. The way he looks at me like he wants to taste every inch of my skin.

This time when I open my eyes, I’m back on Ezra’s couch, and feeling a little hot from my thoughts about Rhys.

“What happened? Did it work? Is your brain still in dream land or are you all here?” Ruby rattles off the questions before I get my bearings.

“I’m all here, Ruby. And yeah. It worked. Kind of.”

Rhys helps me when I move to sit up, and it’s a good thing because the room swims around me. He sits down on the couch next to me, threading his fingers through mine. I swear I already feel better, like the heat from his skin gives me a boost of energy.

“What do you mean, it kind of worked?” Lena asks, pushing up her dark-rimmed glasses. She looks fascinated by all this. Everyone else is hovering around me in a tight circle. Even Davis. It’s unnerving.

“I was able to get into what I think was Colton’s dream, but I didn’t talk to him or anything. I’m not exactly sure if I’ll be able to ask him questions or get him to answer me. That would be ideal, but I didn't try.”

“Why not?” Ezra asks.

The disgust on my face must be clear, because I get several curious looks. “He was…gross. I don’t want to think about it. Let’s just say it wasn’t a good time to interrupt, and I didn’t want to hang out and watch.”

“Now I’m really intrigued.” Archer grins at Lena and wiggles his eyebrows.

“I think it would be better to practice on anyone else before I go back into his dreams. Any volunteers?”

---