Dream Bound (13 page)

He blinked away the sudden rush of tears. He had to quit thinking of all the worst-case scenarios, but if Zianne was already there, why hadn’t she tried to contact him? Their mental link had been so powerful, their ability to connect absolutely unshakable. Why hadn’t he heard from her yet?

The dates had to be right. They’d used the stars in the sky as their calendar, the phases of the moon and what Zianne had remembered about the process of linking to Mac and finding him in the past. Considering the number of days she’d been with him, the many trips back and forth that she’d made over the four months they’d been together, they should have nailed it.

He’d keep sending out his thoughts, continue calling to her. And hope like hell she appeared. His arms had been empty for too many years. His heart hadn’t quit aching. He needed her. Needed her more now than in all the years she’d been gone. Needed to know that the dreams he’d had for the two of them being together forever were more than mere fantasy.

Dreams of life with Zianne had kept him alive for the past twenty years. What if he failed? What would become of him if the dreams proved false?

What the hell did a man do when his dreams died?

Face flushed, heart pounding, Rodie stared at the stars twinkling through the skylight above her head. “Holy. Shit.” She let out a huge breath and clamped her hands down on the arms of her chair. Her vaginal muscles twitched and clenched and she could actually smell the scent of her own arousal.

“How the hell did that happen?” She glanced at the dials and various readouts in front of her. Nothing. No sign of contact, though she hadn’t been watching when it happened. According to the readouts, there was nothing out of the ordinary, but she’d never, not once, climaxed alone without touching herself.

Past tense, because the orgasm she was coming down from right now had been one hell of a rush. She could barely remember the fantasy. Something about Morgan and another man and her, all three of them naked together, which was just weird, because after the trauma of finding her boyfriend in bed with a strange guy and another woman, the last thing Rodie figured she’d ever want to fantasize about was a threesome.

Playing it back in her mind had her growing aroused all over again. Shit. What the hell had happened? She’d almost fallen asleep, she’d been so relaxed, and then her mind had started spinning tales of Morgan. She tried to find that same sense of relaxation again, and as her breathing slowed and her heart rate returned to normal, the memories returned.

He’d been naked in her imagination, and since she’d never seen him without clothes, the fantasy Morgan was hotter than hell. Probably best if she never really saw him naked, because reality was never as good as the real thing, but her fantasy Morgan had been perfect.

Lean and muscular, his eyes flashing with desire, and it was all aimed at Rodie. Then the other guy had appeared. He’d never been all that distinct, though he had Morgan’s dark hair—at least on his head. Unlike Morgan, there didn’t appear to be any body hair on her fantasy third guy—not anywhere, including on his groin. Just dark, hot, sleek, sexy, male skin.

Somehow, she’d ended up on top of Morgan, rubbing her nipples across his chest, teasing his lips with hers, and finally settling herself down over his long, thick cock for a ride. She’d taken him all the way inside until he’d bottomed out, had felt the stretch and burn as he’d slowly worked his way deep, with her muscles tightening around him, gripping his full length.

Then the other guy—where the
hell
had he come from?—had run his big hands over her neck and shoulders, along her bare back, because this was, after all, sexual fantasy, right? He’d left shivering skin wherever he touched.

She felt the shivers now, as if he still touched her. Insane. This was absolutely insane.

Good lord. She remembered the rest. The images were there, slamming into her with the clarity of reality, but it was the weirdest thing, what happened next. She never fantasized about guys touching her back
there.
That was something her ex wanted, but she’d never let him. A girl had her standards, right? But this fantasy guy had not only touched, he’d used his mouth on her and then on Morgan’s balls, and while she couldn’t get the logistics right in her head, it had somehow worked just perfectly in her fantasy.

She’d been so hot, so primed by the time he’d used his fingers to penetrate her that it had felt wonderful, like the only thing that could make her happy. Then he’d used his cock.

Oh, mama!
Rodie let out a huge breath of air, aware of a new clenching, a tightening of muscles between her legs. Hell, she was coming again, just from the memory of sensation!

It had been just that—a real sensation. The stretch and burn of entry had been absolutely real and the details in her head amazing. He’d been so hot. The skin over his hard shaft had been soft and smooth, and the tip was sleek as silk and so soft and pliable. She’d felt him slowly pressing and pushing through her tight anal sphincter. She’d been so relaxed she’d opened for him. She hadn’t felt pain beyond that initial stretch and burn. None at all.

Which was the only reason she figured it had to have been a fantasy. No way any of it had happened. Except it felt real. Her climax had sure been off-the-charts real!

She pulled up the memory and felt him again, pressing, filling her up in back as Morgan slowly stroked in and out of her sex. She felt the two men sliding over one another with nothing but the thin sheath between her vaginal wall and rectum separating them, and she’d arched her back, whimpering with pleasure.

When her climax hit ... she’d never experienced anything like it. Never, but remembering now left her feeling flushed all over again. Rodie wiped the back of her hand across her brow and it came away dripping with sweat. Her sweatshirt was stuck to her body. Her nipples looked like bullets, the way they poked against the soft cotton.

Even her jeans felt wet. Oh, shit. She crawled out of the comfortable leather recliner, careful not to tear the mesh cap covering her hair, patted her crotch, and almost giggled with relief when she realized she hadn’t soaked through, that the leather seat wasn’t wet.

She’d absolutely die of embarrassment if she’d left a wet spot. Sighing, she plopped back down and stared at the displays once again. She hadn’t noticed if they’d altered at all during the fantasy, but she hadn’t really looked, either. Maybe Mac had a readout somewhere that she could look at. Right now they were all normal, showing no sign of contact.

So what had made her fantasize like that? Why would she think of things she was positive she didn’t like? How could those same thoughts turn her on so much?

Must be the setting. It had to be. The setting and all the talk about sex and the fantasizing and sharing their thoughts on the way up. Yeah ... that had to be it.

She settled back into the chair and got comfortable again, but she couldn’t get back into fantasy. It was like all that sexual tension she’d been feeling all day was gone. Hell, maybe she wouldn’t be spending all her time alone in her cabin frigging herself. Not if she could sit out here and come all by herself without even touching!

Thank goodness there weren’t any recorders. Lordy, if someone had caught her on camera she’d feel like such an idiot.

She closed her eyes and examined the way her body felt. She’d never had sex that left her feeling this replete, and she’d had a lot of sex over the years.

She’d never had a fantasy with quite the same result, either. Nope, her fantasies were usually pretty good, but it always took either a set of new batteries in her favorite vibrator—which she’d remembered to pack, thank goodness—or the judicious use of her fingers.

And doing it on her own never left her with the same afterglow she had now, though she wished she could get that feeling back, the way it had been when she’d felt Morgan slipping deep inside the front of her, and her fantasy man filling up the back. That first deep slide had been exquisite.

But how had she known? How could she possibly have pulled a fantasy like that out of nowhere?

A soft tap on the door had her spinning in her chair to see who was coming in. Cam poked his head through the door. “How’d it go? I’m here for my shift.”

“Already?” She hadn’t even glanced at the clock, but Cam was right. It was exactly midnight. “Wow. It went great. I mean, time really flew by.” She released the raised leg rest on the recliner and planted her feet on the floor. “It’s nice and quiet in here; the temperature is perfect.” She pointed at a row of buttons next to the arm of the chair. “You can adjust the chair, the lighting, the temperature—all of it, right there. I checked out the restroom in the back and it’s even got a shower. There’s a small room next to it with a refrigerator with bottled water and drinks, and all kinds of snack stuff.”

Cam glanced around the small room. “Cool,” he said. “This really is sweet. I can’t believe we’re getting paid for this. So, did you send any great fantasies winging off into outer space?”

Rodie forced a soft laugh as she peeled her mesh cap off her hair and put it back in the little drawer where Mac had found it. No way was she going to tell anyone about tonight’s fantasy.

Especially not a guy she didn’t even know—one who was sexy enough to take a starring role in any of her fantasies. Cam shot her a grin as he grabbed the mesh cap with his name on it. He stared at it like he wasn’t quite sure how it fit.

“Here.” Rodie took it out of his hands and showed him the tag with his name. “This goes in the back, right at the base of your skull. That will position all the little sensors where they belong.”

“Thanks.” He leaned forward and she slipped it on for him, checking to make sure everything was in the right place.

“That looks good.” She stood and watched while he settled himself into the chair and adjusted it with his feet raised.

He scrunched his butt around right where she’d been sitting. “You left it nice and warm for me. Thanks.” Then he winked and added, “That’s going to be my first fantasy. What was Rodie really thinking of out here all alone in the night?”

She felt the rush of heat over her chest and throat, knew it rose all the way to her eyebrows. “You just do that,” she said. “Have fun. I’m outta here.”

Then, for whatever reason, she leaned over and planted a kiss on his mouth. The moment her lips touched his, she had a panicked
What the fuck am I doing?
moment.

Then Cam kissed her back, and the panic melted away. His lips were soft and warm, and his left hand slid around her waist and up her back until he cupped the back of her head, holding her closer for his exploration as he took control. She felt the damp sweep of his tongue across the closed seam between her lips, sensed the question in him, but she kept her mouth closed.

Kept her mouth closed and her mind open. Cam’s thoughts spilled into her head, and it was hard not to smile against his lips. He didn’t push it, but he didn’t end the kiss all that fast, either. No, he nibbled at her lower lip and brushed his tongue over her upper one until she could hear nothing but the blood roaring in her ears, feel nothing but the firm pressure of his palm against her skull, his lips on her mouth.

She was the one to end it. Thank goodness she managed to do it without sighing. The boy could kiss. Damn, but he could kiss!

“So,” he said, tilting his head and smiling at her. “What was that for?”

She shrugged. Kept it light. “I just wanted to give you something to think about.”

His grin was definitely cocky as he rubbed his right hand over the erection straining the front of his jeans. “You most certainly have, sweetheart. And I thank you.”

She flipped him a jaunty wave. “Hope your shift goes well,” she said. Then she was closing the door behind her and stepping out into the crystal-clear night, where she stopped long enough to suck in a few huge, deep breaths.

Stars shimmered brilliantly overhead, shining through air so clear and cold she felt as if she could reach out and touch each one. The moon had already disappeared behind the mountain to the west, and the air smelled deliciously clean—like sage and pine and sun-heated stone.

Rodie took another deep breath and listened with her entire body attuned to the world around her, absorbing the night, the last few hours she’d spent in the dream shack ... and Cam’s kiss. She still tasted him on her lips, and while he might look like a sexy teenager, he kissed like a man who knew what he wanted.

Of all the guys, Cameron was the one who’d interested her the least, and yet he was the first one of their group she’d really kissed.

And damned if she didn’t want to do it again. “If this is what the first night is like ...” Shaking her head, she jammed her hands into her back pockets, chuckling softly at how small her voice sounded. The next few months—hell, the next few days—could really prove to be interesting. When she considered their goal, her mind almost refused to believe what her heart so easily accepted, but it had to be this place as much as Mac and his dream. There was something about this country, about the satellite dishes marching across the plateau and the huge sky overhead, that made her feel almost tiny—tiny and totally insignificant, even as it fired her imagination.

She’d never spent a night in the mountains. Not this far from civilization and all the noise and stench of humanity. There was no smog. No sound of traffic. Not a police siren or the crash and bang of garbage trucks. No voices, no screech of brakes or barking dogs.

Surrounded by mountains and a sky that went on forever, she could have felt like the only living creature, but it wasn’t silent by any stretch of the imagination. She cocked her head and listened for the natural sounds of night. An owl hooted. Then something squeaked overhead, and she was almost certain it was a bat. Way off in the distance she heard the howl of a coyote, followed by a series of sharp yips and more howls as others joined in. Wind made a soft shushing sound in the trees. The air was cool, though not uncomfortably cold, and Rodie couldn’t remember ever feeling so isolated and yet so much a part of anything in her life.