Dream Bound (15 page)

Zianne. Not a fucking fantasy. Not just a memory.

“Zianne? Where are you?” His voice cracked. He gazed about the big room, his eyes lingering on unfamiliar shadows, the dark corners, but she wasn’t here. She wasn’t anywhere.

Wrapping his arms over the back of his head, Mac cried out, a harsh, painful howl of pain. Then he pressed his forehead to his knees and wept.

Frantic, Zianne hovered in the air just above Mac’s sobbing form. Her heart was breaking—or it would, if she could manifest a heart, but she couldn’t afford to use the energy it would take to become the woman he knew. It had weakened her to give him her familiar scent, but this wasn’t what she wanted! Not Mac sitting on the floor, arms wrapped over his head, sobbing as if he’d lost her. She wanted to scream at him, tell him she was here, but she couldn’t. Not without form. Not without burning up what little of her energy she held in reserve.

When it was gone, she would die. How could she reach him?

Before, when they’d been together, she’d shown him what she really was, how she looked on her own world as nothing more than energy, and he’d loved her even then. But they’d discovered that, while Zianne could understand Mac, he couldn’t hear her telepathic voice when she was in her natural state. They were just too different.

To take on human form, she’d have to use energy—energy she couldn’t replace without the soulstone. Even to take on her normal form would quickly burn out what few reserves she had. She was essentially little more than mist, a shadow among shadows, but at least she was close by, and somehow she’d make her presence known to him.

His mind was so different. He was different, and though she’d seen him just this morning, it had been twenty long years for Mac. Unlike Nyrians, who were immortal as long as they had their soulstones, humans aged.

He was more beautiful to her now than he’d been as a young man. His face had character—a strength she’d recognized in him before, but now it was etched into his appearance, a part of him no one could deny. But the changes in his mind—that was going to make it harder to link. She hadn’t thought of that, the fact that with time and experience his brain—his personal mental signature—would actually change.

Somehow, she had to find a way to communicate, or possibly she could get one of her fellow Nyrians to do it for her. The others were coming. She’d sensed Bolt’s visit earlier in the evening. He’d come much as she had first visited Mac, arriving as a fantasy, storing up the life-giving energy as he gave pleasure and then returning to the ship. Others would make the journey, learning the minds of the ones here who had come to help.

Once all of them had found a host, a mind that could call them to this world and give them corporeal bodies, then somehow they’d have to secure their soulstones and escape. She hoped they could find hers. She so wanted to live, if only to thank Mac. She’d only been away from him for a few hours, and yet the pain of missing Mac was a powerful ache deep inside.

How had he managed for twenty long years? She understood time. Knew how long a day was. Mac had waited for her for well beyond seven thousand days.

No wonder he wept. She settled her consciousness over him and held him close. Seeped into his warm flesh and merged within his very cells. He wouldn’t even know she was near, but at least this way, in her own way, she could hold him. Offer him comfort and love, and the hope that somehow, some way, his plan to save all of them would work.

And somehow, she had to find a way to speak with him, to tell him she was here. It was important for him to know, that even if she didn’t survive, her love would last forever.

Mac awoke stiff and sore. His eyes burned and his butt ached from sleeping on the cold floor. Blinking away the fog of dreams, he slowly shoved himself to his feet. Back propped against the wall, he reached around and flipped off the light before stumbling across the room and collapsing on the bed.

It was a little after two. Hell, he couldn’t believe he’d been on the floor for almost two fucking hours. What an ass he was. How could he have possibly thought Zianne was here in his room? Here, yet not making herself known to him.

That didn’t make any sense. None at all, but somehow ... he stared into the darkness, opening himself to the sounds and scents in the room. He did feel her. He was almost certain he sensed her presence.

It was subtle, but he couldn’t deny the sense of warmth, the feeling that Zianne was nearby. Had something happened that kept her from announcing herself? Was there a reason she couldn’t materialize?

Closing his eyes, he tried to relax and let his mind work unencumbered. Sometimes his clearest thoughts came to him when he wasn’t trying to think.

If Zianne were caught in her energy form, they couldn’t communicate. That much they’d proved while she was still with him, but he could see her in that form. He’d not been able to see her at all, no matter how clearly he’d scented her. So what could have happened? And if that was the problem—that somehow she couldn’t take on a corporeal body, how could he help her fix it?

There was always a solution. You couldn’t have a problem without a solution. Answers weren’t always easy to find, but they were out there. Somewhere. Just like Zianne.

Once again he felt sleep claim him. Hopefully, the answers would come to him then. Hopefully, he would awaken to find Zianne.

That was all he really had right now, wasn’t it? Hope.

Rodie heard the soft tapping on her front door and rolled over. Sun blasted her through the open blinds. She blinked, squinting at the brilliant light.

Note to self—remember to close the frickin’ blinds before you fall asleep.

The tapping came again. Grumbling, she crawled out of bed and shuffled across the cold floor, walked through the front room, opened the door, and squinted at the figure just outside on the porch. “Kiera? What are you doing here so early?”

Kiera grinned at her and walked in without an invite. “C’mon, Rodie. It’s almost nine. I’m dying to hear how your shift went.”

Bemused, Rodie stood back from the door and waved her inside. Kiera put a steaming cup of coffee in her hand as she walked past.

“Oh!” Sighing, Rodie held the cup to her nose and inhaled. “Why didn’t you say you had coffee? You’re officially forgiven.” Blinking owlishly, she closed the door, headed straight to the living room couch, and curled up against the big leather pillow at one end.

Kiera ignored the couch and flopped down in the overstuffed recliner closest to Rodie. She took a sip of her own cup. “I figured I’d have to bribe you if I woke you up. How’d it go? Was it fun or boring? What was it like?”

Rodie took a long swallow. It was almost worth burning her tongue for the wonderful taste. “It was ...” Frowning, she took another sip.

“Rodie!”

“I’m thinking! Interesting. Yep. Definitely interesting.”

“Do I have to take your coffee away?”

“Over my dead body.” Carefully, she took another swallow. “Okay. I don’t know how to explain what happened, but I’ll give it a shot. Remember ... this is on only a few swallows of my drug of choice. I was sitting there in my comfy chair, funky little cap on my head, staring at the stars through the skylight. I had turned off all the lights in the dream shack so I could see the stars outside, and it was just gorgeous.”

“So? Was it hard to let yourself loose to fantasize? I mean, that’s got to feel so weird—thinking about really personal sexual stuff and knowing your thoughts are actually going somewhere.”

The caffeine was beginning to hit home. Rodie straightened up and drank a couple more swallows. “I figured, with all the good-looking guys around, there was plenty to think about, so I started in on a fantasy with Morgan.”

“Morgan?” Kiera’s voice went up a notch. “Why him? He’s sort of scary.”

“Yeah, but he’s hot, too. Really hot. So I was just thinking of him naked, and it was working. I mean, I could feel my body getting into what my head was doing, so I sorta went with the flow.” She gave Kiera a meaningful look and grinned.

“And?”

“Next thing I know, there’s another guy in my fantasy.”

“What? Who?” Kiera leaned forward.

“Haven’t the foggiest. He was a complete stranger, but he was just as hot as Morgan and ...” She paused, lost for words. How did you explain something that had never happened before? How could she describe her experience without sounding like an idiot?

“What happened?”

Kiera held her cup in both hands. Rodie took another swallow of her coffee and realized the cup was almost empty. Shrugging, she said, “I climaxed. Didn’t even touch myself, but in my fantasy I had two hot men making love to me, doing things I’ve never done in real life. It felt real.”

And it had. She could still feel the burn of that one guy entering her backside. Felt the pressure and the hot slide of his cock, the way he slid over Morgan’s erection deep inside her. Shaking herself, Rodie realized her heart was pounding and she was getting wet between her legs—again. Raising her eyes, her breathing stuttering in her lungs as if she were back in the dream, as if her body was filled again by two amazingly beautiful men, she gazed blindly at Kiera. “I really can’t explain it, but it was so much more than just a fantasy.”

So much more that she was still a little lost in the memory.

Rodie shook her head, physically shaking herself out of the dream, and shrugged again. “When I came?” She fanned herself with her fingers. “Wow. So hard. It was pretty amazing. I mean, it’s one thing to use a vibrator or even your hand to bring yourself off, but it was just my imagination—my fantasy.” She snorted and slapped a hand over her mouth. “And it wasn’t just any old climax—this sucker was off-the-charts hot.”

She giggled, relaxing more as she woke up, as she actually talked about what had happened. Somehow, talking about it made it seem less intense, more like an adventure. “I came so fucking hard I just about soaked through my jeans. I actually got out of the chair to make sure I didn’t leave a wet spot. I swear, Kiera ... I’ve never had sex that good.”

“Oh, shit.” Laughing, Kiera set her cup on the table between them and wrapped her arms around her knees. “Lizzie’s in there now. I wonder how that little girl’s doing? Believe me, she’s got a wicked imagination. And I saw Finn a little while ago, but he looked sort of shell-shocked. Walked right by me without a word.”

She giggled. “And he did leave a wet spot. At least on his jeans. I sure hope the dude brought some extra pants, or that he doesn’t mind doing laundry.”

“Finn? That reminds me. What did you and Lizzie do to him yesterday?”

Kiera stood. “I’ll tell you while we’re hiking.”

“While we’re what?” Rodie set her cup on the table, crawled off the couch, and stretched.

“Hiking. I don’t have to be in the shack until noon, but I really need to stretch my legs. I’m not all that used to the elevation yet, so I don’t plan to run this morning, but I thought I’d go for a hike. Why don’t you come with me and I’ll tell you all about Lizzie and Kiera’s truly amazing sex attack on Finnegan O’-Toole.” She bent at the waist and touched her toes. Then she straightened and grabbed both empty coffee cups.

“Meet me in the lodge in fifteen minutes. There’s plenty of food over there that you can carry with you. C’mon, girl. This is an adventure. You’re sleeping through it!”

Grumbling, Rodie agreed. “Okay. Fifteen, but I’m gonna want all the details.”

“You got it.” Then Kiera totally surprised her. She leaned close and planted a warm kiss on Rodie’s mouth.

Rodie hadn’t expected it, but she didn’t hesitate. She’d thought Kiera was hot when she’d watched her yesterday, and the kiss proved it. Rodie’d never kissed a woman before—at least not like this—but it felt right. More than just right.

Go figure.
But Kiera’s lips were full and soft, and when her hand found Rodie’s breast, bare beneath her cotton tank, it felt too damned good to ignore. Rodie moved closer and wrapped her hand around the back of Kiera’s neck, cupping her skull beneath the thick ponytail caught up in her ball cap.

She thought of the kiss she’d shared with Cameron just last night, and the way he’d held her. The same way she was holding Kiera.

A moment later, Kiera broke the kiss, but the broad smile she flashed at Rodie was pure invitation for more. Rodie actually recovered first. “Fifteen minutes. Now quit tempting me.” She plucked Kiera’s hand off her breast and kissed her fingers. “Go. Now.” She made shooing motions with all ten fingers.

“Yes, ma’am.” Kiera grinned and saluted. Rodie watched the girl’s slim butt as she closed the door behind her. Then she headed into the bathroom. She’d get her shower later. Right now, she needed to go out and burn off some of the energy that seemed to be thrumming in her veins. And she couldn’t wait to see how the others had fared with their time in the dream shack.