Slow Dreaming by Anne Barwell Read Free Book Online Page B

skin still warm against Sean.
    Sean pulled the blankets up over them. He didn’t want to move just yet either. “I know that, silly.” He could feel Jason relaxing against him, already drifting off into a half doze. “Nap now, and I promised you movies later, then you can spend the night.”
    “Hmm, okay,” Jason murmured against Sean’s neck, wrapping his arms around him. A gentle snore filled the room moments later. He was apparently one of those guys who cuddled then slept after sex. Sean could deal with that.
    He lay there for a while, watching Jason sleep, caressing his face, running fingers through his hair. “I could love you, Jason Adams,” he whispered, the sleepy thought crossing his mind as he drifted off that perhaps he already did.
     
     
    T HE music called to him just as it always did, promising him everything he wanted, glimpses of a future that could not be.
    Jason woke with a start, groggy and confused. He blinked against the sunlight streaming into the room through a gap in the curtains. What the…? This wasn’t his room at the Tempus Institute.
    He’d heard the music again, he was sure of it. He sat up, wrapping the blankets around him. The other half of the mattress was still warm, as though someone had vacated it recently.
    Sean.
    Memories came flooding back. Jason smiled, remembering the night before, the evening they’d spent cuddling on the sofa watching movies. After that, they’d retreated to bed, making love more than once, taking the time to explore each other’s bodies thoroughly. Sean was a passionate lover, gentle and caring.
    A note sat on the bedside table, Sean’s glasses case on the edge of the top of it, acting as a paperweight. Jason reached over and picked it up, curious. It was manuscript paper with a roughly written tune and lyrics. Beneath it was scribbled, “I’ve finished it! Meet me at the cafe later. Had to leave early to fill in for Ruth and didn’t want to wake you. Sean.”
    Jason knew enough about music to read the notation and hum a translation of the tune. His smile grew. He could imagine Sean being struck by inspiration, getting up early and working on his creation. Holding the manuscript carefully, Jason sang it to himself softly, his smile creasing into a frown the further the song progressed.
    No, this couldn’t be right.
    He sang a bit more, the words and music combining into something very familiar. No. Jason stared at the manuscript; it dropped from his fingers to the bed. He searched his memories frantically, humming the tune, imagining Sean singing the words. This wasn’t his imagination. This was real. His dream last night; he’d heard Sean. It had always been Sean.
    Shit.
    Jason pushed the blankets aside, nearly tripping over them in his haste to get dressed. He had to find Sean, to tell him everything. To hell with waiting until tonight.
    Together they’d find a way to change history, to stay together, to keep Sean safe. This couldn’t be a coincidence. A lifetime of searching for a piece of music that couldn’t be found, and here it was. Sean had written the snippet that had haunted Jason’s dreams that morning while he’d slept. It had come together after they’d made love.
    He wasn’t giving Sean up. Not after this. He couldn’t.
    They still had until tomorrow. Sean wasn’t…. Jason shook his head. No, he wasn’t going to think of it. It wasn’t going to happen.
    He wouldn’t allow it.
     
     
    I T SEEMED to take a lifetime to reach the cafe. Jason burst in through the doors, heads turning in his direction as he looked around frantically for Sean.
    “Jason?” Sean looked up in surprise. He was wiping his hands on a tea towel. “Is everything okay?”
    “Yes. No.” Now that he was here, Jason didn’t know what the fuck he was going to do. He had to tell the truth, but it sounded crazy. “I need to talk to you. Please.”
    “Sure.” Sean glanced at Lisa, who nodded. “We have a while before we open. Grab a seat, and