DREAM LOVER (19 page)

As much as she hated the idea of sleeping alone, she felt certain Rochelle’s restless spirit would be doomed to roam the halls of the Covelli mansion forever unless her story was allowed to unfold through Rachel’s dreams.  Maybe once they ran their course and ended as they always did with Rochelle’s death, the dreams would stop for good.  Or maybe this time, Rochelle would reveal where she’d been entombed so she could be given the proper burial she deserved.  The more Rachel thought about it, the more she became convinced it was the reason she’d been lured here.  Now all she had to do was convince Nic.

“Absolutely not,” Nic said adamantly.

She’d waited until they were at breakfast to tell him her theory and suggest they try sleeping in separate rooms tonight.  “But I’ve been priming myself to have a lucid dream for three days and it’s never going to happen if you’re there.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes I do,” she insisted, “and so do you.  I can’t explain why, but I just feel like time is running out, and that I’ll lose the chance to help her unless I let her tell me the whole story.”

“Are you even listening to yourself, Rachel?  She can’t
tell
you anything because she’s dead.”

Rachel flinched at the sharpness of his tone.  “I know she’s dead, and even if by some miracle I do manage to keep her from being murdered, she’ll still be dead.”  She let out an unhappy sigh.  “Don’t you think I know how ridiculous I sound?  I cringe every time I think about Monica and what she’d have to say about the whole thing, but I thought you understood.  I thought you’d…oh, never mind!”

Nic kept his lips pressed tightly together when Rachel grabbed up her sketch book from the table and hurried from the room.  Sleep without her?  No way in hell.  He’d lay awake half the night wanting her and the other half worrying about her.  She was always so distraught after dreaming about Rochelle and he wanted to be there for her. Because that’s what you do when you care for someone; you’re there for them when they need you. 

Nic shoved his chair back from the table, swearing under his breath.  In a way, wasn’t that what Rachel was asking him to do, be there for her?  She needed his emotional support right now, which unfortunately precluded his physical presence in bed… but not necessarily in the bedroom.

He found her in the sunroom that overlooked one of the flower gardens on the west side of the mansion.  She had her back to him and though the sketch pad was poised for drawing, her hand was motionless, as was the rest of her body.  She was angry with him, but he could hardly blame her after the way he’d cut her off.  Nic could have kicked himself in the rear when he went to her and saw that she’d been crying.  He took the sketchpad and pen from her hands and laid them aside, then gathered her in his arms.

“I’m sorry, Rachel.  It was selfish to say no when it obviously means so much to you.  We can try sleeping apart tonight but I still want to be in the room with you.  I can bunk down on the arm chair.  If I pull the leg rest closer to the chair it should be comfortable enough and at least I’ll be near enough to know you’re safe.”

“You think I’ve lost my marbles,” she said miserably.

Nic wisely suppressed his laughter.  “No, sweetheart, I don’t think that at all.  Besides, it was my idea to try the lucid dreaming, remember?”

“At least I know who to blame when I’m declared legally insane and get carted off to the nearest asylum.”

“If you do get carted off, I promise to visit you at least once a week.”

Rachel let out an indignant huff.  “You’re all heart, Covelli, you know that?”

Nic just laughed when she made a feeble attempt to wheedle out of his arms.  Pulling her more snugly against his body, he subdued her with a kiss that left them both a little breathless and by the time he left Rachel to her work, there was a contented smile on her lips.

                        ***

Rochelle twirled in front of the full length mirror, quite pleased with the white satin nightgown she’d purchased when she’d gone into town with Estela that morning.  She was glad she’d confided in Estela and even more delighted that her new friend had insisted on cleaning out the attic so she could have a room all to herself.  Not that it made sneaking out in the middle of the night any easier, but she could take pleasure in moments like this and fantasize about Nicolo without one of those silly girls asking what she was up to. 

During the past two months since she and Nicolo had been having an affair, she’d slept the entire night in his arms three times, but so far they’d done nothing more than kiss and simply enjoy sleeping in the same bed together.  But tonight was going to be different.  Tonight Rochelle was going to give herself to him and truly become Nicolo’s lover.  She did another twirl, giggling out loud when she thought of that wretched mother of his and how horrified she’d be to discover Nicolo was carrying on with a lowly housemaid.

She was brushing out her hair when she heard the light tap on her door.  Rochelle grabbed up the drab robe she always wore when sneaking out to meet Nicolo and quickly pulled it on and extinguished the lamps.  It had been Estela’s idea to look as unappealing as possible; that way if she got caught roaming the halls no one would ever believe she was on her way to meet Nicolo.  She crept down the stairs and eased the door open where Estela greeted her with a silent nod that confirmed all the other young women were sound asleep.

Her heart was pounding as she scurried along the darkened hallway and slipped into Nicolo’s bedroom.  He was sitting in his favorite chair with his long legs stretched out in front of him when she entered the room, a slow smile spreading across his face as she drew nearer.  Rochelle knew he liked this part, knew that he was expecting her to come to him so he could remove the robe and see what pretty dress she’d chosen to wear just for him.  But tonight was special, tonight she didn’t wait for Nicolo to rise to his feet before loosening the tie on her robe and letting it drop to the ground.

A blush of shy pleasure stained her cheeks when his heated gaze raked over her.  “Nicolo, I want…”

Her voice hitched when he stood up and closed the distance between them.  For one horrible moment she thought he was disappointed that she’d worn something so blatantly inviting because she could see the tension in the firm set of his jaw.  But when he lifted one hand to her bare shoulder it was as shaky as her own hands were.  She shivered beneath the warmth of his touch, her pulse racing out of control when Nicolo leaned down and pressed his lips to the exposed flesh of her cleavage. 

A low moan rumbled deep in his chest just before he lifted his eyes to hers.  He wanted her.  Rochelle could see the stark hunger on his face as the sexual tension between them escalated and it was all she could do to keep from throwing herself in his arms and begging him to take her to bed.  She wanted to tell him she loved him, wanted Nicolo to know she was offering herself to him because he was the only man she would ever love.  Maybe the reason she remained silent was because he suddenly seemed hesitant to touch her even though it was so obvious he wanted to. 

Was he waiting for her to make the next move, to continue the seduction she’d started when she took off her robe?  If that was the case, she was in serious trouble because her skills as a seductress stopped there.  It was Rochelle’s desire to please him that finally gave her the courage to reach out and splay her fingers over his broad chest.  She could feel his heart hammering beneath her flattened palms and the shuddering breath he took when she fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, but he didn’t try to stop her until she’d undone the last one and moved lower to unbuckle his belt.

Nicolo’s hands clamped over her slender wrists.  “Rochelle…no.  You are the most breathtakingly beautiful woman I’ve ever known and nothing would give me more pleasure than to carry you to my bed and make love to you right now, but I can’t.”

Tears pooled in her eyes.  “You don’t want me?”

Nicolo dragged her into his arms, hugging her fiercely as he showered her face with kisses.  “My God, how could possibly think that I don’t want you?”

“But you said…”

“That I couldn’t take you to bed right now.”  The tender smile he gave her instantly dried Rochelle’s tears.  “What I’m trying to say is that you’re not like the other women I’ve been with, and to take you to bed before telling you what’s in my heart first just wouldn’t be right.”

“Tell me,” she whispered.  Rochelle looked deep into his eyes and saw her own emotions mirrored there; an eternal love that would burn forever no matter what obstacles threatened to stand in their way.  “Tell me, Nicolo, before I burst.”

“You are my heart, my soul, my everything,” he replied with reverence.  “I adore you, my darling, and love you more than any man has a right to love a woman because losing you would mean losing myself.  I know we come from different worlds and I know the battle I’ll face with my parents but I don’t care.  Marry me, Rochelle.  Love me forever, as I promise to love you.”

He kissed her then, kissed her as he’d never kissed her before and Rochelle vowed to Nicolo and to herself that nothing, nothing would ever tear them apart.

Nic had just nodded off when the sound of Rachel’s soft moans jarred him into a full wakeful state.  Shoving the footstool away, he sat up and tossed the blanket aside, fighting the urge to charge across the room and wake Rachel up.  How absurd was it to be jealous that she was making love to another man in her dreams?  It was even more ludicrous considering it was
him
she was dreaming about… sort of. 

He knew that it was Rachel he’d made love to in his dreams over the past year and he’d also concluded that he was the man in hers… and yet somehow she was also dreaming of Rochelle and Nicolo.  It was almost as if he and Rachel were the actors who were playing out the lives of Rochelle and Nicolo through her dreams.  Still, he couldn’t help the possessive jealousy that prompted him to get up and move to the side of the bed when another soft moan vibrated in Rachel’s throat.

It was too much; watching her writhe beneath the sheet, listening to the soft sighs and throaty moans, but when she arched her back as if she was in the middle of a mind blowing orgasm, Nic couldn’t take it any longer.  Stripping off his boxers, he climbed into bed and was caught off guard when her slender arms snaked around his neck and pulled his mouth down onto hers. 

He couldn’t deny he was aroused but he wasn’t fond of the idea that Rachel didn’t exactly know who she was kissing.  Nic drew his head back, not quite sure if he should wake her without having a plausible explanation as to why he was naked in bed with her when he was supposed to be spending the night in the armchair.  Telling her the truth was out of the question but he didn’t want to lie to her either.  As it turned out, Nic didn’t have to explain a thing.

“I had a feeling that might provoke a reaction,” Rachel said with a mischievous giggle.

“Provoke…you mean you were awake the entire time?”

“I just wanted to see how long it took for those possessive male hormones to kick in.”

Nic shook his head in disbelief.  “So you played me hoping I’d rush in to claim what was mine?”

Rachel sat up and pushed Nic onto his back.  “You
did
rush in to claim what was yours,” she pointed out.  “And now…” she straddled his thighs, “I’m going to claim what’s mine.”

Whatever fleeting thoughts he’d had about making Rachel pay for the little prank she’d pulled dissipated the moment she guided him into the warmth of her feminine core and rode him until every muscle in his body had been reduced to a quivering mass of flesh.  Afterwards, Rachel lay on her back staring up at the ceiling and told him about the dream while he idly stroked the soft skin on her belly.  When she was done he drew her up close to his side.  Maybe tomorrow he’d tell her about
his
dream; the one where she becomes Mrs. Nic Covelli.

                        ***

Over the course of the next several days Rachel thought of nothing else but having a lucid dream.  While she worked, she told herself over and over that tonight was the night, but was bitterly disappointed when she woke after each dream and had to tell Nic she’d failed once again.  They’d fallen into a routine that was patterned after that first night; they’d start out with her in the bed and Nic in the chair until after she’d dreamt and then he’d climb into bed and make love to her.  Most of the time she’d curl up by his side and tell him what she’d dreamed, but occasionally she was too lethargic after making love and waited to tell him over breakfast.

They’d learned a lot about Rochelle and Nicolo’s relationship, as the dreams seemed to be sequential even though there were often gaps in time.  One night she dreamt Nicolo was planning on taking Rochelle to a play and the next night, over a week had passed since he’d taken her.  Rachel also discovered that Nicolo’s two cousins, the ones who eventually killed Rochelle, often came to stay at the Covelli mansion, usually after they’d squandered away the money Nicolo had given them previously.  By nature, he was a giving man, but his irritation with the two lazy and irresponsible cousins was mounting, and on several occasions he threatened to cut them off if they didn’t try to make something of themselves.