The Rebel - Raleigh Ruebins Page 0,29

my mouth and hands. I was running purely on instinct, and the instinct was strong. We both ended up naked, our lips locked and his tongue hot and wet against mine.

I wanted absolutely all of him.

Around then was when I realized I was dreaming—everything was surreal and too perfect. I wanted to stay in it forever.

So I let myself indulge in the dream. I knew I only had another few minutes before I’d inevitably be woken up, so I was going to let my mind run wild. I was going to take Liam, the only place I could really have him.

Liam was completely there with me. I wasn’t worried that he was going to go off and get drunk, get hurt, or make me promises he wouldn’t keep.

He was mine.

And then the clouds came in. In the dream, the storm came on so much more quickly and abruptly. One moment I was kissing Liam with my eyes closed and the next, I opened my eyes to see a dark, swirling tornado behind him, so close.

I knew I wasn’t going to be able to protect him. And I watched as the tornado came closer and closer behind him, until Liam looked so afraid, reaching out to me. I tried to hold onto his hand but the storm kept tugging him harder and harder away from me.

I couldn’t hold on. I watched him slip away.

Finally, mercifully, I woke up, shooting upwards in bed. I was covered in sweat, my T-shirt clinging to my chest and back. My stomach felt too empty and too full all at once, twisted up inside me like a knot.

“Fuck. Fuck,” I grumbled, my voice hoarse. I tore off my shirt, catching my breath, letting the fear of the dream dissipate. I swallowed hard, my heart slamming against my chest.

It was horrible. The clock on my nightstand told me it was nearly five in the morning, but I was on autopilot as I reached over to the phone and opened Liam’s contact page.

I knew I shouldn’t call him.

I wasn’t supposed to talk to him to begin with, and it was so late at night. But it was the only thing I knew would make me feel something close to normal right now.

I dialed his number and I was startled when he actually answered, right away.

“Red,” he said softly. “You’re up?”

I swallowed. “I am now,” I said. “I’m sorry if I woke you.”

“You didn’t. I was about to go to sleep, because I still feel guilty as hell being a night owl, but… I hadn’t even tried sleeping yet.”

“Were you as wired as I was after that storm?”

“Completely,” he said.

I pulled in a long breath. “Liam,” I said. “Listen. I’ll do your video.”

He paused. “What?”

“I’ll do the damn video. Whatever you want me to do. Jerk off wearing a cowboy hat and boots. Jerk off into a cowboy hat. Hell, I don’t even care if you show my face. Let ‘em see me. I just need the money.”

“Whoa, whoa, Red,” Liam said. “I appreciate that. I really do. But I don’t want anyone doing videos for Hardy Productions who doesn’t really want to do it.”

“I do want to.”

I heard him let out a slow sigh. “Believe me, if you’re only in it for the money, you might regret it later.”

“I won’t regret it, and I’m not afraid of doing it,” I said. “I mean it when I say I have no problem with the idea of… somebody jerking off to videos of me.”

“Red, you didn’t want to do this at all until now—”

“Because I was afraid of being with you,” I blurted out. “I mean, not with you, but… working with you, I mean.”

“And you aren’t anymore?”

I breathed deep. “I think now I’m more afraid of not seeing you again than seeing you again,” I said. “Can’t fuckin’ believe I just said that.”

He was silent for a moment.

“I wish like hell I knew what expression you had on your face right now,” I said.

“Well, you know what I look like when I’m shocked. Just picture that.”

“Are you sitting straight up in bed?”

“I am, actually,” Liam said. “Are you?”

“Yes,” I said. “I had a nightmare. Now are you going to let me do the video?”

He sighed. “I need to know you wouldn’t be doing it for the wrong reasons,” Liam said. “I desperately want you to do it, of course. It would be the best way to launch Hardy Productions. But don’t make a snap judgment just because today was