The Knight of Her Dreams (Dragons and Dreamphasers) (3 page)

“Roger, not tonight,” she broke
in, pushing against his chest this time.  Beneath his impassioned gaze, there
was no mistaking the look of hurt.  “I know you want me, and I’m not saying a
part of me doesn’t want you too, but...”

“But you’ve been saying that for two months,” he
sighed.  “Julie, for the thousandth time, it’s not like we just met.  We’ve
known each other for years.  Since we were teenagers, in fact.  What is it you
want?”

To know you love me
, her heart answered, though she couldn’t tell
him this.  Either he loved her or he didn’t.  And at this point, she wasn’t
sure.  Asking for the words wouldn’t necessarily bring an honest response.

“I need more time before jumping into something
serious,” she replied finally.

“Fine,” he said heavily.  “Whatever you want. 
Maybe we should just call it a night.”

She didn’t want to simply leave it at that and
tried to make him understand how she felt, but the negative tension in the air
only got worse, ending up in a loud argument, ruining what was left of the
evening.  They parted without even saying good night.

They didn’t speak for a week
afterwards.

*****

While apart, Julianna had time to think about the
situation and regretted what had happened.  She decided to try and make it up
to him, although her older sister Crystal tried to convince her otherwise. 
Being more objective, she’d never trusted Roger herself.  But since Julianna
had known him for so many years, that time worked against her cautions, and
Crystal knew she couldn’t stand in her sister’s way.

Julianna went over to Roger’s apartment
unannounced.  Knocking on the door, she was surprised when he didn’t answer
right away, since his car was outside.  She knocked again and finally the door
opened.

Roger was there, bare-chested and in his
sleepwear, emphasizing his muscular figure.  His brown hair was slightly askew,
while his slate blue eyes seemed to light up with surprise.  Out of instinct, her
heart skipped a beat, but she calmed it quickly.

“Julie,” he replied, rubbing his eyes once. 
“What are you doing here?”

“Oh, did I wake you?  I’m sorry.  It’s only nine,
and since you’re always up past midnight, I didn’t think it was that late.”

“No, no, it’s fine.  What’s up?”

“Well, I really hated the way we left things.  I
suppose you’re right that a relationship can’t remain at a standstill forever,
and…”

“I know what I said,” he interrupted, reaching
out to take her hand.  “But I probably shouldn’t have pushed so hard either.  I
didn’t mean to put you down for your beliefs.”

Now he sounded more like the Roger she’d fallen
in love with.  Crystal would certainly be surprised at his words!  Her heart
buoyed, she continued, “In that case, maybe we could just forget the other
evening, and try again?”

“I’d like that very much,” he whispered, leaning
forward to kiss her.

She put her arms around his neck, gazing into his
eyes happily.

“Roger?” an agitated voice called out.  “Are you
going to keep me waiting here all night?  How long does it take to answer a
door?”

Julianna felt her blood turn cold, eyeing Roger
with confusion.  “Who’s that?”

He shook his head, growling against his hand. 
“Nobody,” he murmured, moving towards the hallway while trying to pull the door
shut behind him.

She wouldn’t let him, pushing past him to catch
sight of a pretty brunette emerging from his bedroom, wrapping his robe around
her.

“Who are you?” the woman asked.

Glaring at her briefly, Julianna tried to force a
smile.  “I’m his
girlfriend
, unless there’s something he
neglected to tell me last week.”

“Must be, if you’re the ‘ex’ he mentioned.”

Feeling her cheeks burn, she
turned to Roger with a mixture of hurt and anger, and shook her head.  “It
certainly didn’t take you long to find someone else more compliant.  It would
have been nice if you’d let me know we were through first.”

“Julie...”

Not wanting to hear anymore, she strode back to
the hallway, but he followed her outside, this time successfully shutting the
door.

“Julie, wait a minute,” he insisted, grabbing
hold of her arm.  “Let me explain.”

“Oh, come on, Roger.  I may be naïve, but I’m not
stupid.  She was wearing less than
you
were when I walked in.”

“Okay, so I’m human.  After the last time I saw
you, I assumed we were broken up.  Marilyn’s an old friend, and she just came
over to comfort me.”

“W-e-ll…” she replied, forcing a bitter laugh. 
“How could she fail with that
particular
method?”

His eyes narrowed in anger.  “Hey, it’s not my
fault if you decided to suddenly drop by unexpectedly.  And I’ll thank you to
leave Marilyn out of this.  She’s not to blame for what happened between us.”

“Oh, and I suppose here’s where you blame it all
on me, right?”

“Well, if you hadn’t put up that wall of ice for
the past month, maybe the other night wouldn’t have happened and we’d still be
together.”

“I see, so just because I wouldn’t sleep with
you, that’s reason enough for you to dismiss our relationship like it never
meant anything.”

“You’re the one who brought that about, sweetheart,
not me.”

Before she could reply, he turned his back on
her, heading inside and slamming the door.

Julianna was a wreck when she got home, although
Crystal wasn’t surprised.  A week later, her friend Marybeth found out that
Roger was now living with Marilyn.  So much for her being
just
a
friend!

Her family and friends worried
about her reaction, but Julianna merely shrugged off their concern, busying
herself with work.

It was only when she was alone that she let the
tears surface.  She wrote in a small journal to comfort herself, transferring
her inner pain to it.

She’d initially written of happier times between
them, but now there was only sadness.  After a brief time, she stopping writing
in it completely, locking the journal and hiding it in the bottom of her
jewelry box.  As if she could lock away her pain in the process.

Now almost two months later, she wondered if
she’d ever get used to the emptiness she felt.

So far, the answer remained ‘no’.

*****

No one in the hallway.

A clear path to the water fountain.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Julianna strode
towards a few moments of peace and refreshment.

Until someone suddenly bumped into her from the
nearby conference room.

“Julie!” the person said amiably.  “Well, isn’t
this a coincidence?”

No more than the other three times this month
, Julianna thought with a sigh.

The water would have to wait… again.

“Marybeth,” she acknowledged.

“It’s been a while since we’ve chatted.”

“Yes, all of a week.  Now if
you’ll excuse me, breaks aren’t that long.”  Before she could leave, Marybeth
stepped in front of her.

“Come on, Julie.  We’ve been friends too long for
you not to satisfy my curiosity.  When are you going to kick that seductress
out of Roger’s life for good?”

Julianna fought back a glare.  “Never.  Roger and
I are history.  That’s it.  End of story.”

Her friend’s smile became catlike.  “For now,”
she chimed.

“I’m heading back to my desk.”

“Oh, Julie,” Marybeth crooned after her. 
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you for days.  It concerns
Roger.”  Julianna stopped walking, wondering at the odd tone in her voice.

“What’s happened?”

“At the last few gatherings, he showed up alone. 
It would seem things aren’t going as well with Marilyn as he wanted everyone to
think.  She walked out on him over a week ago.”

Her long-buried emotions stirred at that, but
Julianna wouldn’t let them get control this time.  “That’s his problem.  Now if
you’ll excuse me.”

“Julie, he misses you.  There
isn’t one of us who can’t see it.  Don’t you realize there isn’t a single woman
we know who hasn’t wanted to go out with him?  But all he ever does is ask
about you.”

Wanting to protest, Marybeth
wouldn’t let her interrupt.  “Ever since you had that fallout last July, he
hasn’t been himself at all.  When he did show up with Marilyn, they’d usually
find excuses to be in separate rooms, unlike when he used to spend every moment
with you.”

Momentarily forgetting her anger regarding
Marilyn, Julianna nearly smiled.  “I never could understand what he saw in
her.  I’ve heard them say she acts like an absolute Medusa, like Almira.”

At the mention of their boss, Marybeth’s eyes
narrowed.  “Almira
is
Medusa.  Stone face, stone heart.”

“Was there a point here?”

“You’re underestimating yourself, Julie,”
Marybeth continued, “but take it from me, you’ve got him hooked, even though he
hasn’t said anything yet.”  Folding her arms conspiratorially, she whispered,
“Besides, having a boyfriend helps to keep the other jerks away.”

Her friend certainly spoke from experience,
dauntlessly persisting in her quest for the ideal man.  Julianna knew how
difficult that particular challenge could be, though admittedly, Roger had
always been highly attractive.

Shrugging off the thought, she shook her head. 
“I wouldn’t need Roger for that fortunately.  If I did have a problem with an
unwanted suitor, I’d just chain the door and threaten him with my ferocious
hellhound guard dog.”  Upon Marybeth’s glance of skepticism regarding her
playful dog, she shrugged once.  “Okay, so Shadow’s too cute for that, but she
does
sound
like a hellhound sometimes.”

“You could always borrow the kids next door, and
claim them to be yours and your husband’s,” she suggested.  “Might give a hint
to Roger at the same time.”

Julianna smiled.  She’d wanted that once.

She shook her head immediately against the
thought.

“No, I’d just as soon hire bodyguards, and have
them toss him into the neighbor’s pool.”

“Or better yet, simply record and amplify
Shadow’s barking to scare him into the neighbor’s pool.”

Breaking into laughter, they
never noticed their boss’ approach until hearing the tapping of her heeled
shoe.  Marybeth caught on first, tugging on Julianna’s sleeve to gain her
attention.  The domineering nature of their boss didn’t make it any easier to
face her with completely serious expressions.

“Miss Thompson,” whispered
Julianna, struggling to cover her mirth with a cough.  “We were just about to
return to our desks.”

“Were you now?” drawled the older
woman.

In her early forties, Almira Thompson was the
epitome of business, business, and more business.  From her straight prim
haircut, her overdone makeup, and her assortment of never-ending gray
‘executive’ business suits, the woman was a human business machine in
high-heels.  If she even
suspected
a lax attitude, she’d use a
practiced cold stare to wear down any employee.  One could always tell she was
angry when her eyes squinted and her bright red lipsticked mouth was drawn into
a tight line.

She was all that now with an equally red angry
face.

“Yes, we were just discussing the merits of the
company pool,” added Marybeth, causing Julianna to smile again.

Almira’s eyebrows shot up.  She took a step
towards the culprit with an intimidating smile.  “Something
funny
you’d care to share with us, Miss Sherborne?”

Julianna shook her head quickly, coughing again
to regain her composure.  “Not really, Miss Thompson.”

“Then why don’t you and your
sidekick return to your desks before you’re sent home instead.  Now!”  Glaring
for emphasis, she spun on her heel and strutted down the hallway.  Marybeth made
a face and imitated her movements.  From around the corner, Almira’s stern
voice called out, “I’d take that as a warning if I were you, Miss O’Neill!”

“Great,” sighed Marybeth.  “Now the she-beast can
see through walls.  How does she
do
that?”

Julianna shrugged with a smile, finally escaping
to the water fountain.

*****

Wheeling the shopping cart forward, Julianna
rubbed her eyes tiredly.  Why was it that the workdays seemed to keep getting
longer?  Stopping to lean against the cart, she wondered how long her back
would take to feel normal again, after eight hours of sitting at the computer
all day.

As if complying with her thoughts, a pair of
strong hands began to skillfully massage her shoulders, startling her, even as
she recognized their familiarity.

Roger’s deep masculine voice murmured against her
cheek, “Give me half a minute, and I’ll take care of that pain for you.” 
Nodding tiredly, she allowed him to help.  “You really should get away from
that desk now and then.  The human body isn’t meant to be a machine.”