Dream Bound (33 page)

Laughing, Dink followed them into the bedroom. Mac refused to think of this as their last night. No, it was only the first of many in a lifetime to come. You just had to believe, but it helped, knowing they had Nyria on their side.

16

F
inn sat alone in his room, waiting. He needed to see Tara and Duran. Had to know they were safe, to see what they thought of this plan for their rescue. So many things could go wrong, and it terrified him, to think he’d finally found something that truly mattered, and now he might lose it.

He pictured Tara with her gorgeous red hair and those emerald-green eyes, and he thought of her, not as she’d looked beneath him last night when they’d made love, but the way she’d stood there beside his bed, smiling at him as if he mattered. As if she’d chosen him because she cared.

But how the hell could she, or Duran, either, for that matter? They didn’t know him. They’d only wanted him for the power of his mind, not the kind of man he was.

“You’re wrong, Finn.”

He wasn’t startled this time. He raised his head and she was there, standing hand in hand with Duran. Both of them wore the same simple clothing as the night before, though he noticed that tonight Duran didn’t hang back. He stood beside Tara, as if he’d somehow developed a bit more confidence.

“How so?” Lord, but he wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her until this whole fucking mess was over and he knew for sure they were going to be safe.

“Duran and I searched all the minds here, not just yours, but you are the one we wanted.” She stepped closer until she was standing between his knees, but she kept her hands clasped at her waist. “You are a good and honorable man and there is nothing you can’t do. We know that you and Morgan have agreed to board the ship to help our escape. We will wait and be among the last to leave because we want to be there with you, should you need our help.”

“No. Please.” He took her hands and glanced helplessly at Duran. “Try to be among the first group to come to Earth; save yourselves. Don’t throw away a chance. If we fail, if somehow this doesn’t work, I don’t want to think I’ve thrown my life away for nothing. Tara, you and Duran are the reason I want to be part of the final steps, to make certain the Gar are gone forever, that you and yours are safe. I don’t want to be worried about getting you out of there.”

Duran sat next to Finn on the edge of the bed and put his arm around Finn’s shoulders. “It won’t work, Finn. I’ve tried arguing with her for years. I’ve never won yet. You’ll need us to help you get through the ship. It’s a confusing maze when you’re actually there, and if it comes down to it, Tara can just shift to her human form and argue the Gar to death.”

Finn bowed his head, but he couldn’t stop smiling. Finally, he turned and looked at Duran. “Do you think we have a chance? Does the plan sound like it might work?”

“Whether or not it works, the Gar’s reign of terror will end and the ship will die, and that is a huge success. It’s also a worst-case outcome. I prefer to think positive—that we will retrieve our soulstones, we will find Zianne’s, and all of us will make it home to your world, to our refuge, safely.”

“Finn?” Tara knelt between his knees and rested her hands on his thighs. “We have been inside your mind. We know who you are, we know your memories, and most of all, we know your dreams. They’re all good. You are good. I already love you, and I hope that one day you will love me as well. That you will love Duran.”

She smiled slyly at him and winked. “Though it will probably take longer with him. He can be so difficult at times.”

He didn’t know when he began to cry, but there were tears on his cheeks, dripping off his chin, and Tara was a beautiful blur in front of him. He felt like a fool, sitting here in his knit boxers, weeping while a beautiful woman knelt between his knees. There was something terribly wrong with this picture, but for the life of him, Finn couldn’t figure out what that was.

He only knew that somehow, over the past couple days, he’d changed, and he’d changed because of these two people who weren’t even human. No, they were so much more, and yet they had faith in him. They were entrusting their lives, the lives of their people, to Finnegan O’Toole.

When Tara crawled onto his lap and slowly pushed him back against the mattress, it felt right. When Duran lay down beside him and wrapped his arms around Finn, not for sex, but to hold him close and talk about their hopes for the future, he knew he’d made the right decision.

There were no guarantees that any of them would survive. None at all, but he felt absolutely no fear, no sense of indecision. They were making the right choice for the right reasons. Choosing to risk everything to give people who mattered a chance to survive.

And maybe, this was a choice that was giving Finn a chance as well. It felt like a whole new world was out there waiting for him. All they had to do was free the Nyrians and destroy the evil aliens. Yeah, he could do this.

There was too much at risk not to succeed, and he loved and trusted the people he was doing this for as much as he already loved and trusted the ones he was doing it with.

Mac had spent twenty years in pursuit of a dream, and he’d been generous enough to include Finn and the others in the very best part of it. There were no doubts left. None at all, and a good four hours before his shift began.

Tara caught his wayward thoughts and grinned. Duran was smiling as well, and Finn almost laughed out loud. He hadn’t been thinking about sex, not tonight. He’d been thinking about love and commitment and risking all for something bigger than himself. But as long as they were both here, and there was plenty of time, and they were interested ...

Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined anything like this. Life was good. It might end up being shorter than he’d planned, but for now it was damned good.

“Hey, Cam.” Rodie slipped off her mesh cap and tucked it into the drawer in the console. “I’m glad you’re here. I’m really tired tonight.”

“Me, too. Couldn’t sleep very well.” He moved out of Rodie’s way so she could get out of the chair. “I keep thinking of all the things that could go wrong.”

“It’s a good plan, Cam. It’s simple and straightforward. The fewer details, the less room for screw-ups.” She leaned close and kissed him. “I feel good about it, so quit worrying. Which reminds me—between Morgan’s shift and mine, we’ve covered all but two of the Nyrians who still need to make the trip for their body images. I imagine you’ll get them before your shift is over.”

“I’m ready. I’ve spent my shifts getting visions of Nyria and talking with Nattoch to gather details about the ship. I’ve yet to experience even one good sexual fantasy. The last time I tried, I just got Nattoch back with more details.”

He grumbled, but Rodie knew he was teasing. She patted his arm. “Well, tonight you’re on. There’s two left, and I leave them in your expert care. Try thinking about sex instead of the next painting.”

“Yes, sir.” He saluted and settled back in the chair with the mesh cap in place.

Rodie paused at the door to look at him—like Finn and Morgan, Cam was so good-looking he was beautiful. And, even though he was quieter than the other guys, he was obviously brilliant and a really nice guy.

No wonder all the Nyrian men were gorgeous. They had excellent prototypes. As she left the shack, Rodie saw her favorite prototype waiting for her. Morgan stepped out of the shadows and took her hand.

“I didn’t want to worry about you walking back to your cabin alone.”

She smiled at him. “Is that the only reason you waited? To protect me?”

He shrugged. “No. I waited because I missed you. I wasn’t in your fantasy tonight, and it was lonely without you.”

Rodie stopped and looked at him. Morgan was everything she could ever want in a man, and he’d actually missed her? She stretched up on her toes and kissed him. “It felt wrong having a fantasy without you in it, but I wanted to bring as many in as I could.”

“So, did it work?” He took her hand again and they walked the short distance to Rodie’s cabin. He stopped at the bottom step, but she made him wait for her answer.

“Well?”

“Yes. It worked. Two men and a woman. There are just two left after your three, so I left Cam with orders to get the final ones covered.”

“And he took your orders well?”

She shrugged. “Well, he did salute. Morgan? Are you coming in with me?”

“Am I invited?”

“Oh, yeah. Definitely.” She tugged his hand and he followed her up the stairs, pleased with herself, that she’d been able to ask him in. Something about being involved in an interstellar rescue operation appeared to be giving her confidence.

As soon as the thought entered her mind, she had to bite back a laugh. None of this felt real, except that the people she’d met tonight had been amazing. And they’d thanked her.

“Did the ones who came during your shift say anything about the rescue?” She closed the door behind Morgan and locked it, like that was going to keep a Nyrian out of her room. She wondered if Bolt would make it here tonight.

Morgan leaned against the door and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Yeah, they did. It was almost embarrassing, but I guess they’ve been without hope for so long.”

“What if we fail them? What if it doesn’t work?”

“My two guys acted like that wasn’t what counted. They’re more concerned that someone cares enough to try. It sure puts a huge burden on us to get it right.”

The air seemed to shift and shimmer, and Bolt appeared in the doorway to the bedroom. “There shouldn’t be a burden on any of you for trying to help. The burden is ours, for being foolish enough to allow ourselves to be captured in the first place.”

He walked out of the bedroom and brushed Rodie’s tangled hair back from her face. “I wasn’t invited, but I had to see you tonight. Both of you. Is that all right?”

“Of course it is.” Morgan rested his hand on Bolt’s shoulder. “You’re all ours, Bolt. I’m glad you’re here. It’ll give us a chance to talk about the rescue. I want to know what you think of the plan.”

“Morgan’s right, Bolt. You are ours.” She glanced at Morgan. “But as much as I would love to discuss logistics, I’ve got a few other things on my mind.”

“Oh?” Morgan raised one very expressive eyebrow.

Bolt merely grinned. “We can talk later, if you prefer.”

“I prefer. I’m not really sure what Morgan wants, but it is my cabin.”

Bolt glanced at Morgan and shrugged. “The lady had a point.”

Rodie grabbed Bolt’s hand and Morgan’s and tugged. Both men meekly followed her into her bedroom, and it was all she could do to keep from laughing out loud.

Who would have thought that she, Rodie Bishop, would have two amazing men taking her to bed? Two men who had chosen her, who seemed to think she was pretty special.

It was like a fairy tale, and she was the princess, though she knew that there was an excellent chance this particular fairy tale might not have the guaranteed happy ending.

She wasn’t going to worry about that. Not tonight when things seemed to be going so well. The protestors were still out there, probably thinking of new ways to cause trouble, the Gar’s star cruiser was still hiding behind the moon, planning to rape and pillage the planet, and the Nyrians were still slaves aboard their ship.

But they had a good plan, they had all the money and brains of MacArthur Dugan at their disposal, and a world-famous newscaster ready to tell their story to the world.

And Finn and Morgan, bravely volunteering to go aboard an alien ship to help free the Nyrians. Rodie was proud and heartsick at the same time. This was so dangerous. She could lose the man she’d just begun to love, but she couldn’t imagine Morgan failing at anything. Or Finn, either, for that matter.

And as Morgan worked his way down the buttons on her blouse and Bolt discovered the intricacies of zippers and snaps, Rodie decided they had a pretty darned good chance of actually pulling off this entire thing.

It had to work, therefore it would. If will could make things happen, then there was no reason to doubt their success. And if a life as screwed up as hers had been could suddenly be this spectacular, then Rodie figured anything was possible.

Bolt’s tongue traced a line up her inner thigh, and Morgan had discovered her breasts beneath her clothes. No doubt about it. She lay back on the bed and turned herself over to the men in her life. Tonight and forever she would believe anything and everything were possible.

EPILOGUE

M
ac sat in an Adirondack chair on the deck outside his room and sipped at the glass of Jack in his hand. The waning moon cast a silver glow over the satellite array, glistened off the skylight in the dream shack, and slanted sharply across the two figures lying amid the tumbled covers on his bed just beyond the sliding glass door.

Dink slept soundly, jet-lagged and well loved. Zianne had returned to her squirrel form and was curled up on Mac’s pillow. Her fluffy gray tail curled over the top of Dink’s head.

The two people Mac loved most in the world, here beside him to take on the greatest challenge of their lives. He gazed at Dink and Zianne, blinking back tears as the sense of their love hit him like a punch to the heart.

Damn.

Then Mac gazed toward the array and opened his thoughts.

His telepathic abilities seemed to be growing stronger. He sensed Finn and his Nyrian lovers and the strong well of emotion that felt so new to the Irishman. Then he shifted his search to Morgan and Rodie. Bolt was still with them, but he’d be leaving shortly. As would Finn’s two, all of them going back to their prison aboard the Gar ship.

Mac took another sip of his drink, savoring the strong bite as the whisky rolled down his throat. Nyria willing, that prison would no longer exist a mere two days from now.

He focused on the dream shack. Cameron was there with the last two Nyrians. Both of them had taken on physical bodies.

It was almost time. Tomorrow evening the first refugees would come to Earth with their soulstones. The culmination of a twenty-year plan was almost here.