The Knight of Her Dreams (Dragons and Dreamphasers) (14 page)

However, as far as Julianna was concerned,
Dominick knew that he’d annihilate Riff if he so much as appeared to her, let
alone touched her, or…

He glanced up sharply upon accidentally tuning
into his silent companion’s troubled thoughts.  It was a good thing his
dreamphasing powers extended to this.  Her earlier expressions of anger and
bravery were completely gone, and she was now staring wide-eyed at the outer
space, her hands white as they clenched the armrests of her seat.

She’s truly convinced this is real!
he mused in wonder.

Not that she’d dealt with dreams as frequently
and thoroughly in the ways he had, to nearly
always
know the
difference from reality, his mind supplied.  Their earlier argument faded from
his mind instantly, replaced by a need to reassure her.

“Julianna, I meant what I said before,” he said
seriously, prying one of her hands free to clasp it tightly.  “This is a
dream.  There’s no need to be afraid of that swirling pile of interstellar
gases or that distant garbage scow.”

Despite the many negative aspects of the
situation, a slight laugh escaped her.  “Isn’t garbage scow a bit too regal a
title for that thing?”

“You’re right.  A dumpster is more like it.”

He could sense her fear ease slightly as he
pulled her close, and to his surprise, she didn’t back away or protest. 
“Julianna,” he whispered, “Whether or not you believe what I told you about
where we are, I just want you to know that I am sorry I led you to believe we
were strangers again yesterday.  And truthfully, I didn’t return merely out of
wounded pride from our first meeting.  I came back, because as I’ve said, you
haven’t left my thoughts since we met.”

Julianna gave him a skeptical look.  “You didn’t
tell me our ship was running low on oxygen too.  Obviously your mind isn’t getting
enough to think rationally.”

He gave a low chuckle, hugging her tighter.  “You
impossible minx!  I try and compliment you, yet you turn my words into just the
opposite.”

“Maybe because I find them hard to believe.”

“The only thing hard to believe around here is
how a woman as beautiful as you can come to think so little of herself.  A fact
I intend to work on remedying, despite your constant attempts to thwart me.” 
At first she emitted a sound of challenging disbelief, but then simply smiled
faintly.  Even if he hadn’t seen this, Dominick could sense that despite her
silence, she was softening towards him.  “Will you forgive me, my lady?” he
murmured against her ear.

She shrugged once with a smile.  “Well, I suppose
I’ll have to.  If not, you’re liable to pester me about it for countless other
nights.”

“Countless nights, eh?  Hmmm… sounds
interesting.”

“
Now
who’s impossible?” she
laughed, rapping him lightly on the shoulder.  A moment later, Julianna gasped
as the rest of the ship’s cabin lighting unexpectedly went out around them,
except for a dim red glow.  Apparently, their ship’s remaining power was
rapidly draining away.  Clutching her companion against the near-total
darkness, she glanced up at him with fear-rimmed eyes.  “Dominick, you seemed
so certain that this is a dream.  Is it really true?”  He nodded against the
top of her head, and she relaxed slightly.  “I trust you,” she whispered.

In spite of her words, Dominick could sense her
lingering doubts, but was still gladdened.  Just to hear her speak of trust was
a step in the right direction, given her past history with the men she’d known.

“Don’t worry, Julianna,” he murmured soothingly. 
“When this dream ends, you’ll be safe right back where you started.”

“With you?” she asked.

A sad smile crossed his face.  “Unfortunately,
no.  Your waking world isn’t mine to join you in, sweetheart.  I’m afraid
you’ll have to wait until tomorrow night if you want us to meet again.  Would
this be all right with you?”

“Yes.  I’d like that,” she replied, holding him
tightly.  She missed seeing his pleased expression over her quick response, but
she did remember something from earlier, immediately releasing him.  “You were
hurt.  I shouldn’t...”  Her words trailed off as she noticed that the
bloodstain on his arm was gone, as well as any signs of his shirt being torn. 
Glancing up at him in amazement, she fairly gasped, “It
is
a
dream, isn’t it?”

Smiling gently, Dominick nodded, nearly laughing
at his oversight that could certainly have convinced her sooner.  Once he’d had
a moment to do so, he’d taken care of quickly healing his arm, since it wasn’t
difficult to do in dreams.

Gladdened that he wasn’t hurt, Julianna hugged
him again, brightened by Dominick’s honesty but saddened by the truth that
she’d soon be returned home without him.  Even if he’d just read her thoughts
now, she didn’t mind this time.

“Until tomorrow then,” he whispered, kissing her
softly.  “Now… close your eyes and relax.  I won’t let anything hurt you.”

She nodded against him, following his instructions. 
A smile crossed her face as she felt his hand lightly brush against her cheek,
while at the same time, she heard him humming a pleasant and unfamiliar melody,
no doubt to soothe her further.  It worked.

But as the sound of the ship being pulled into
the unknown vortex drowned out the gentle music, Julianna’s eyes shut tighter
and her hold on Dominick strengthened.  She knew she trusted him now,
understood that this was a dream, and felt confident that he wouldn’t lie to
her about their predicament.

Unless…  Was there another explanation regarding
his healed arm after all?  Had he just said those things before to dissuade her
mind from the probability of this being the end?  In spite of her best
intentions, the fear crept back.

There was a thundering sound as the ship was
being crushed, and Julianna screamed.

She kept on screaming as she sat up in bed.

Even when it sank in that she’d been dreaming,
Julianna was still shaking.  She didn’t need to feel her pulse to know her
heartbeat was racing, nor to ask why her curls were now plastered damply
against her forehead.  That dream had been a nightmare in nearly every
perspective.

Except for one thing...  Dominick had reappeared
to join her again.

Glancing down, she saw her book lying on the
floor.  Well, that certainly explained the science fiction scenario of her
nightmare.  And her situation had been similar to what she’d read, where a pair
had fled from a squad of renegade spacemen.  Luckily, they’d been as fortunate
as the characters in escaping, although flying into the Warp Zone itself hadn’t
been pleasant.

As for Dominick’s reappearance, surely it was due
to her constant thoughts of him the day before.  And as this dream was as vivid
as the last, she remembered with dismay some of her last words spoken.

She’d agreed to meet him again the following
night.

Her mind returned to their other meeting at the
ball, and she worried that it was only their unforeseen state of conflict last
night that had kept him from making advances towards her again.  What if
tomorrow presented a quiet scene?  Would she be reduced to having to fend off
the charming rogue instead?

His kisses
did
have a way of
bewitching her, but still…

“Julianna!” a pair of voices called out
discordantly, causing her to gasp.  She looked up with relief as her two older
sisters ran into the room.  She’d nearly forgotten Crystal and Vicki lately
since her own thoughts were so preoccupied.

“We heard you scream,” said Crystal, resting a
hand on her shoulder.  “Are you all right?”

“Yes,” she whispered.  “I-I guess I had a
nightmare.”

Both of her sisters exchanged knowing looks, as
Julianna’s overactive imagination often led to them over the years, and this
was by no means the first time they’d come running to her, though more often it
happened in the middle of the night.

Vicki gave a short laugh, emphasizing the dimples
in her chin.  The middle sister at nearly twenty-eight, she acted much younger
than her years.  Her formerly straight, dark hair
—once reminiscent of
their father—
was now a golden blonde permed
with short curls.  Unlike the others though, she had the same blue eyes as
their father, although like Crystal, both were fairly tall.

Basically, Vicki was the bubbly spirit in the
family who managed to find humor in everything.  Her fiancé Luke certainly
appreciated this aspect, and for the second time, Julianna was soon to be a
bridesmaid.

The eldest sister Crystal was thirty-two, having
been married for nearly ten of those years.  Similar to their mother, she had
long, brown hair that fell past her shoulders and brown eyes, maintaining her
composure with a parental smile.  She was the career-oriented dynamo of the
family, managing a top notch position in a business while managing her
five-year-old son Sam, affectionately called Sammy by all.  Proud pop Jerry—now
thirty-six—who’d come from a large family himself, instantly took to Vicki and
Julianna as a loving older brother.

After the sisters’ parents both passed
away—eleven years ago their mother, and nine years ago their father—Jerry and
Crystal left their apartment to move in with the girls.  Vicki only stayed at
the house over the summers, as she was in college at the time.  But as Julianna
was just sixteen, she’d almost come to regard Crystal as a second mother. 
Fortunately, Jerry had a successful business career of his own, which gave them
a fairly comfortable living.

Having started school very young, Julianna was
seventeen when she’d gone to the local college, but as she was less independent
than her sisters were, she’d decided to commute instead of living in a
dormitory.  Crystal didn’t mind at all, and Julianna certainly proved her
worth.  Not only scholastically, but also in helping Crystal both before and
after Sammy was born.

Since Julianna always loved children, she and her
young nephew took to each other right away.  And to her delight, one of Sammy’s
first words was her name.  She’d always felt a bit funny about having the name
Julianna, since Crystal and Vicki were much more common, but before her mother
died, she told Julianna that she’d always thought the name was pretty from one
of her ancestors, and so had bestowed it on her youngest daughter.  For the
most part; however, the people she knew—including her family and little
Sammy—generally called her Julie.

Only with Dominick had she failed to mention
this.

She rather liked the way he said it in his own
way, when he’d look in her eyes and…

Abruptly rubbing her eyes to brush the last
remnants of sleep from them, while dodging the morning rays of the sun,
Julianna turned to her clock.  “Eleven-thirty?” she murmured, privately angry
with herself for having overslept again.  It was an annoying habit she’d never
been able to kick, even sleeping late as a baby.  Thank heavens it was the
weekend, so responsibility wasn’t about to bust down her door with reprimands. 
As her sleepy thoughts faded, she turned to her sisters with alarm.  “You’re
back from your trip a day early.  Is something wrong?”

Crystal smiled as she sat beside her sister. 
“Ever worrisome, Julie,” she replied, “but no, we just decided we’d had enough
of the shore for the week.”

“That and the weather kept raining most of the
time,” Vicki supplied with a cheerful laugh.  “Not to mention, we couldn’t seem
to convince Sammy that we weren’t leaving his Aunt Julie for good.  He’s still
asleep from the car trip, but he should be awake soon.”

Julianna smiled warmly.  She’d be equally glad to
see her reddish-haired little nephew, not quite remembering when a week took so
long to pass.  True, it had been by her own choosing that she’d wanted some
time alone, instead of going with the others, but now that they were back, she
was more appreciative of having the family with her again.

Especially since she’d now have other things to
replace her thoughts with, leaving no room for thinking of further encounters
with Dominick, either when awake or asleep.

*****

It had turned into one hell of a night!

Or more accurately, a night of... well, never
mind.

While busying himself with work around the island
earlier, nothing he did seemed to distract his thoughts from meeting Julianna
again tonight.  Not even meeting his friends at Lost Limbo managed that.

The sun was finally setting, drawing his
attention to the sky and its everchanging myriad of colors playfully fading.

“Sounds like that girl’s dreams are dangerous,”
commented Inferno, as if sensing where his thoughts were.  “I’m sorry I
suggested you follow up on your association with her.”

Dominick smiled, keeping his voice quiet as if
guarding a secret.  “Despite it all, I’m not.  Twice now, nothing’s happened,
yet I’m twice as interested in her.”

“No doubt simply because she
has
eluded you twice,” Buddy added with a sneer.  “And I’d appreciate it if you’d
tell Jarissa so, because she hasn’t said a word to me since yesterday over your
latest dreamphasing affair.”