The Dream Thief by Kari Kilgore (books for 10th graders txt) 📕

He chewed his lower lip for a second, then pushed his body into motion. The truth was he couldn't get so close and not answer the question he'd been asking himself for so many years. His curiosity was driving on, same as it ever had.

Loretta was waiting just inside the door

"Mr. Otis is ready," Karl said. "He's awake, but he's distracted enough that everything should work just fine."

"Awake?" Loretta crossed her arms and shook her head. "I've never tried that before. If he focuses on what I'm doing, there's no telling what he'll Build."

"I'm telling you his mind is as occupied as if he were sound asleep. Just aim at the outside. If you let me talk to him and let him keep on with what he's doing, it should be fine."

Karl walked out without looking back, waiting beside Mr. Otis's bed until he heard both doors close. The whispery sound of the paper never slowed.

"Mr. Otis," he said. "This is Dr. Schofield. She's going to try something new."

The man barely broke his concentration on the paper long enough to glance at Loretta.

"Dr. Schofield, so good to see you. Over there. Everything is out of place here. I thought it was over there, right over there, just over there. I'll take care of it all, don't you worry."

Loretta stared at Karl, her black eyebrows drawn together. He nodded and handed her the pack. Mr. Otis never looked up as she set up the tripod and attached the Dragon on top of it. They were on the ground floor, so she locked it at almost level, pointing down just a little toward the wall.

When she got out the headgear he'd seen her wearing that first night, Karl's attention was finally pulled away from Mr. Otis and his obsessive movements.

The narrow leather straps wouldn't possibly fit his big skull, but he wondered if Loretta's mystery woman would be willing to make a set that did.

She settled the contraption on her head and plugged a cable into the side of the Dragon. When she knelt on the floor, Karl noticed Mr. Otis moving faster, muttering "Over there" constantly to himself now. If he got much more upset, Karl would call the whole thing off.

Loretta closed her eyes.

Karl didn't hear or feel anything, but the difference in the man in front of him was dramatic. Mr. Otis froze, his hands still held over the piles of paper. He slowly sat back, closing his own eyes and folding his hands in his lap. The anxious lines on his forehead and across his eyes smoothed out, and he smiled.

At a deep, humming sigh, Karl turned back to Loretta. Her breathing was deep but getting faster, and her full lips were parted. Her face held softness he'd never seen, and a warm blush spread from her throat up to her cheeks. Her head fell back a little.

Her breath sounded like she was just on the edge of the best orgasm of her life, and he saw the same thing on her face, twitches of concentration and ecstasy in her lips and around her eyes.

She held her breath, and Karl was sure he did too. Her eyes squeezed tight as her mouth fell open, but she made no sound other than a long, low exhalation.

When she opened her eyes, Karl realized he'd been gripping the footboard of Mr. Otis's bed tightly enough to make his arms ache. And he had a raging hard-on. No way to hide that in his work pants. He turned to the side, but he was sure she saw. He only managed to break away from her gaze when Mr. Otis let out a huge yawn.

"I'm sorry, Karl. Think I need to take a nap for a little while. Can...can you help..."

Mr. Otis lay down and turned on his side. Karl grabbed the box he kept this set of paper in and brushed everything inside right before he kicked his feet under the blanket. Karl put the box on top of several others on the chest of drawers, all holding various collections.

"Is he okay?" Loretta whispered.

Karl felt his pulse.

"He seems to be fine. Just asleep. He was still as a statue while you were doing that. I've never seen him still while he was awake. Did it work?"

"It felt like it did," she said. She took a deep breath. "When the Build is successful, I feel it, like something goes all the way through."

"Like an orgasm." Karl realized how that sounded as soon as it was out of his mouth, but Loretta only nodded.

"Exactly like an orgasm."

"Let me help you gather all of this up." Karl turned away so she wouldn't see how red his face was. "We'll, ah, we'll go outside and see if anything showed up. What did you Build?"

"I saw a string of pearls," she said. "Plain white pearls, the kind that was so in fashion a few years ago."

"Did it feel like he was trying to change anything?" Karl said as he held the pack open for her.

"I started out with black pearls, just because I like them better. It felt like he really wanted blue, so I let him shift that part."

"Was he hard to Build with? Could you tell he had any kind of problem?"

"He felt very strong but kind of blurry at first," Loretta said, her eyes distant and unfocused. "Once I was able to push toward him, he got clearer. Sounds like that's how he acted."

Karl watched her fold the tripod into a cane before he went back to Mr. Otis. He was still sound asleep.

"He calmed down right away," he said. "I don't think I've ever seen him asleep during the day, either, not without sedation. Let's find those pearls and try it with someone else before they bring lunch around."

Karl was rarely outside so early in the day. He usually focused on morning patient duties or trying to catch up on his sleep.