Tessa Young has finally found the man of her dreams. The only catch? He's literally in her dreams. Every night Tessa dreams of the same perfect man, but she refuses to believe it's anything more than just a dream. She's never been one to believe in...
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I wake up feeling like I just had the most peaceful sleep of my life. I dreamed of Hardin again last night. We shared our first kiss and then somehow, I ended up in his bed, wearing his clothes.
I go to get out of bed, still half asleep with my eyelids feeling heavy, but I'm weighed down by something. I lift the blanket off myself to see a man's arm wrapped around my waist. Oh. Last night really happened. I immediately feel my cheeks warm and start to panic. Did I really grind myself on Hardin last night? Did he really have to be the one to stop something from happening? I'm completely mortified.
I gently pry his arm off of my waist and quietly sneak out of bed. I go over to where he put my clothes to dry. I make sure he's still asleep before I take off his boxer shorts and shirt. I very quickly slip on my underwear and bra before grabbing my dress.
"Wow. What a sight to wake up to," Hardin says from behind me.
I quickly turn around and try to cover my body with my hands. "Hardin!"
"Are you trying to sneak out on me, Theresa?"
"Um... yes?" I wince.
"That would be the first time that's ever happened to me." He chuckles.
"Could you close your eyes while I finish changing?"
"Why? I've already seen you in your bra and panties." He smirks.
"Hardin!"
"Fine." He sighs and covers his eyes with his hands.
I very quickly put on my dress and try to fix my hair, so I can get out of here as quickly as possible.
"Can I look yet?"
"Um, yeah."
"Not as good as the bra and panties, but still very sexy." He smirks.
"Where's my purse?" I groan.
"On my dresser." Hardin nods in the direction of his dresser.
I grab my purse and pull out my phone. "Great..." I groan.
"What's wrong?"
"I forgot to text Emma last night. I have fourteen missed calls and thirty texts." I send a quick text to Emma saying how sorry I am and that I'll explain when I get back to the dorm. Okay... maybe I won't explain everything.
"You know, it's okay if you want to tell her you slept with me last night." He chuckles and wiggles his eyebrows at me.
"Ha-ha. I'm not telling anyone because nothing happened last night."
"But you wanted it to," he says in a more serious tone.
"I was hoping we could just forget about that."
"Why? There's nothing wrong with what we did. That was nothing compared to what I usually do on a Friday night."
As I look at Hardin, I can't help the hurt look that takes over my face.
"Shit! I'm sorry, Tess. I just meant you have nothing to be embarrassed about."
"I don't know what came over me last night. I'm never like that."
"I have that effect on women." He grins.
"There's that ego!" I roll my eyes and Hardin lets out a laugh before climbing out of bed. As I take in the sight of him, I immediately look down at the floor.
"What's wrong?" He looks down at himself. "Sorry." He laughs. "I may have been having a naughty dream about a certain blonde girl with a lot of attitude. That, coupled with how you looked in your underthings... well, I can't help it." He shrugs like it's no big deal.
"I-I turned you on like that?" I ask shyly.
"Fuck, yeah. You have no idea how hard it was to sleep in a bed with you all night without doing anything."
"But you stopped us last night."
"I know. It was the right thing to do, Tess."
"Why? You said you only sleep with women who want to. I told you it was okay."
"I know you did. But I don't think you were thinking straight. After our first kiss, then what Molly did... It didn't feel right."
"Okay," I say flatly.
"Tess..." he says softly and takes my hands in his. "You're worth waiting for. I want to go slow with you."
"Okay," I repeat, this time with a shy smile. "It means a lot that you feel that way."
"I think dating could be good for both of us. You help bring out the real me, and clearly I help bring out your wild side," he says with a gigantic grin.
"Stop! And go put on some pants."
"Okay." He laughs. "I know it's too temping for you."
"Are you going to tease me about last night forever?"
"Probably," he says as he finishes putting on his pants. "Hey, I know you're not going to tell anyone about last night, but is it okay if I tell everyone I slept with the most beautiful girl on the planet?"
"No!" I shout. "Well... maybe just Molly." I giggle. "Oh, by the way, here are your clothes," I say as I pass him his folded boxer shorts and shirt. "Thank you for lending them to me."
He gently pushes my hands back. "Keep them. I like them better on you." He smiles.
"Okay," I whisper and return his smile. "So, what do you usually do with your 'dates' the morning after?"
"Well, I'm usually the one sneaking out," he says with a slightly ashamed look on his face.
"How do you sneak out from your own room?" I ask, confused.
"Oh, I don't sleep with women in my room. At least not until last night."
"Y-You don't?"
"No. I do it anywhere other than my room. I know I sound like an asshole, but I hope you're still going to give me a chance."
"I guess I can't talk. I was trying to sneak out on you this morning."
"About that... It better not ever happen again, Theresa." He brings his hand to cup my cheek and I already feel electricity shooting through my body. "You're the only woman who has ever been allowed in my bed," he says before leaning in and whispering in my ear, "And you better start enjoying it." He pulls away and I feel his emerald eyes burn into mine.
"Hardin..." I breathe.
He reaches to tuck my already messy hair behind my ear and gives me a tender kiss. As he pulls away, I can't help but admit to myself just how quickly I've fallen for this moody, egotistical, womanizing, yet gentle and misunderstood man. I've never felt this much chemistry with anyone before. I'm completely addicted to how Hardin makes me feel. The more time I get to spend with him, the more I need. I'm realizing maybe Emma was right. I was having those dreams for a reason. Maybe I really was meant to find the real him buried deep inside and help set him free. Maybe all those dreams I had about him weren't just meant to help me find happiness, but also help him find it.
"Tess? You okay?" Hardin asks with a concerned look.
"I'm better than okay." I smile.
"What did you want to do today? Should I bring you back to your dorm? Or did you want to take a walk on the wild side with me?" he asks with a sinful smile and eagerly awaits my answer.
