Lover of My Dreams (23 page)

“Richard hurt me,” she told him, her voice barely above a whisper. She sat up and rested her head against his chest. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held on to him tightly.

“It’s okay, Rachel,” he said as he tried to soothe her. “He can’t hurt you anymore.” He held her tenderly, stroking her hair gently.

“He said that no one would ever want me,” she told him, her eyes distant as she gazed up at him, not really seeing him. “He said I was ugly. He said I wasn’t good enough.”

Sam closed his eyes and held her close against his chest. Her pain became his. It killed him to see the silent resignation that her face mirrored. He didn’t understand how that bastard could say things like that to her. He wanted to beat the shit out of the guy. He had done his best to destroy Rachel both emotionally and physically. It was obvious that the guy enjoyed tormenting her.

“Rachel, he’s wrong,” he told her in a clear, deep voice. “You are a beautiful person. You
are
good enough. Someone will want you.”

“No one will want me,” she told him seriously, believing every word she spoke.

He looked down at her and gently wiped away the single tear that slid down her flushed cheek with his fingertips. Leaning forward, he kissed her forehead tenderly then pulled back to look down at her.

“Sam will want you,” he told her finally, his voice barely above a whisper.

* * * *

The angel Bernadette looked down on the two sleeping forms before her. Her kind brown eyes held tears as she viewed the two people who were truly destined to share their lives with each other.

She floated gently over the young woman she had looked after since she had been an infant, kissing her lightly at the corner of her eye. The young woman stirred slightly, sighing at the warmth of love that she felt. Bernadette smiled as Rachel snuggled in closer to Sam’s gentle embrace. With Sam, Rachel felt protected and safe.

“Do not worry, Rachel,” Bernadette whispered against her ear. “All will be well.”

Pink and white radiated from the gentle being as she retreated from the sleeping couple. She couldn’t help but smile as she saw Sam pull Rachel closer to him and Rachel snuggle lovingly against his side.

“Trust each other,” Bernadette whispered.

The sleeping couple sighed contentedly, comforted by the warmth that emitted from the tiny angel and the sweet smell that was a gentle reminder of her caring and protection.

“What the hell is going on here?”

Sam opened his eyes slowly and looked toward the voice that had invaded his sleep. He could feel Rachel snuggle against him, and he instinctively drew her body closer.

“Sam, you’d better start talking before I drag your ass out of that bed and beat the living daylights out of your sorry hide!” Roy threatened, stepping toward the bed where his best friend was sleeping with his cousin. “I told you I wanted you to realize you were in love with my cousin. I didn’t mean you should make her a conquest.”

Sam came awake fully, seeing the way Roy was looking down at him with barely controlled anger. He must have overslept. He had been up most of the night taking care of Rachel and had not heard Roy call to him from outside of the camper like he usually did every morning. He realized how things must look to his best friend.

“Roy, calm down,” he whispered as loudly as he dared as he climbed over Rachel to stand before his friend as Roy stood there facing him angrily with his hat in his hand. “This isn’t what you’re thinking.” He zipped up his jacket as he spoke, taking a calming breath and looking over his shoulder at Rachel before returning his attention to her very protective cousin.

Roy just looked at him. His face was set and cold, and his eyes held such anger that Sam actually took a step back from him.

“Explain,” Roy said quietly, hoping there was indeed a good explanation.

“I checked on Rachel yesterday afternoon and found her sick in her tent. She had a high fever and was disoriented. I took her back here to take care of her.”

“She’s sick?” Roy asked, concerned. All anger left him as he took a step toward his cousin and placed his hand on her forehead. She felt warm to him, and he knew that his friend had not lied to him.

“I was up most of the night with her,” Sam explained. “She was chilled from the fever and was shaking violently so I got into bed with her to try to keep her warm—nothing more.” He found no reason to enlighten him as to Rachel’s amorous attempts. That was between the two of them. He smiled inwardly as he thought about sharing such intimacies with Rachel for the rest of their lives.

Roy turned away from his cousin and faced his friend. He hesitated a moment then offered his hand. “I believe you.”

Sam took it gratefully. “I would never hurt her, Roy. You know that,” Sam told his friend sincerely.

Roy nodded and squeezed Sam’s hand quickly before releasing it to rub his temple tiredly. “I’m sorry I lost it there for a second. She can’t take much more, Sam. She’s been through a lot.”

“I know,” Sam admitted. “She was delirious last night and said some things I don’t think she would want me to know.”

“Don’t tell her,” Roy advised.

“I won’t,” Sam agreed. “Let me get on my coat and boots and I’ll make the rounds with you.”

“No, that’s okay,” Roy stopped him. “You’ve had a rough night. Stay put and get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

“Thanks,” Sam said gratefully.

Roy picked up the clipboard from the table and left the camper. He turned to close the door behind him but hesitated and looked up at his friend.

“Thanks for taking care of my cousin,” he said sincerely.

Sam nodded and smiled tiredly. Roy closed the door and Sam could hear him walking away. He hesitated a minute then turned to look at the adorable sleeping bundle in his bed. Before he could change his mind he unzipped his jacket and climbed back into bed with Rachel, covering them both with the heavy blankets that had been pushed aside in his haste to exit the bed. He smiled contentedly as Rachel turned to face him and snuggled against his bare chest immediately. He closed his eyes and relaxed, content for the first time in a very long time. He was asleep before Roy came back to replace the clipboard on the table.

Roy looked down at the two of them and smiled. He knew that they would be good for each other. Fate had stepped in and had seen to it that they would be together. He and Paulette were determined to help nudge Fate along.

* * * *

Rachel moved restlessly. She was dreaming that someone was holding her. She could almost feel the strength beneath her head. She raised her hand and rested it beside her, amazed at the realness of her dream. It was as if she could really feel someone’s body beside her. She opened her eyes slowly and froze in fear. She was actually lying against a man’s chest. A very large and muscular chest covered with black hair.

Very slowly, she raised herself up to look at the face that belonged to the chest she had slept on and gasped in shock. Sam McCoy lay beside her, sound asleep. His right arm was wrapped around her body, holding her close to him.

“Oh, hell,” she whispered desperately.

She tried to ease herself out of his arms, but the minute she tried to pull away from him, Sam’s arm tightened around her and he was instantly awake. They stared at each other silently for a moment.

Sam raised his hand to touch her face gently. Rachel was too stunned to move. She held her breath in fear, leaning away from him. After a moment, anger took over at the thought that she had been taken advantage of. Before she could stop herself she fisted her hand and punched him in the shoulder with all the strength that she could muster.

“What the hell was that for?” he demanded angrily, realizing that Rachel was obviously lucid and had intended the punch to be for him and not some man who had haunted her dreams.

He grabbed for her hand and held her still to prevent her from hitting him again. He was surprised by her rush of strength and had to lay his body across hers to stop her from jumping from the bed. She began to struggle violently beneath him and he grew afraid for her.

“Please stop, Rachel,” he asked her calmly. “You’re not strong enough to be doing this.”

Her face was against his shoulder, shielding it from his gaze. He felt her shaking and pulled away from her to look down at her. Deep brown eyes filled with pain and anger stared up at him.

“I suggest you explain immediately,” she told him angrily, pulling her hand free from his.

“I found you in your tent yesterday afternoon,” he told her calmly. “You had a high fever and chills so I took you back here to take care of you until you were better.”

“Then why are you naked?” she asked him accusingly.

His eyebrow shot up in surprise before a slow smile spread across his face. “I’m not naked,” he told her, pulling back the blankets. “Look.”

Rachel’s eyes lifted to the ceiling of the camper. “I’d rather not,” she told him quickly.

“Okay,” he said quietly, trying not to laugh. “Don’t you remember feeling sick before you went to bed the other night?”

He waited patiently while Rachel closed her eyes in an obvious attempt to remember something. He couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she was. Her face was slightly flushed from the fever but it only accented the rosy beauty that was natural for her.

“I don’t remember anything,” Rachel told him slowly. “I only remember being cold.”

“Then I guess you don’t remember how you crossed the campground last night completely naked and knocked on my camper door, do you?” he teased her.

“I did no such thing!” She looked at him indignantly, her eyes immediately searching his face and flashing angrily.

“How do you know you didn’t? You can’t remember,” he continued to bait her.

“Because I wouldn’t do that,” she told him firmly. She looked away, embarrassed by the very thought of betraying her deepest wish to the very man she never wanted to know her secret.

“Rachel,” he said quietly, unable to keep from smiling as he took her chin gently in his hand and turned her face to meet his eyes. “You should know me well enough to know that I wouldn’t take advantage of you. I only shared my body heat with you because you were shaking with chills.”

Her large brown eyes looked up at him warily. “Really?” she asked him, unsure if she should believe him.

“Really,” he told her sincerely.

There was no way he would ever tell her how she wanted him to make love to her. The intimacy he had shared with her gave him hope that he could win her affections. He wouldn’t jeopardize that chance by making her feel bad about her honest desire for him.

She closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief then opened them in fright as she felt his weight above her. He was climbing across her to get out of the bed. She was glad to see that he did indeed have on sweatpants, but turned her head away at the feelings that began to well up in her chest at the sight of his naked chest and stomach. Lord, but he did have a nice body!

“Here, take these,” he told her, pulling her out of her thoughts and causing her to turn back to face him. He offered her two pills and an opened bottle of water.

She sat up carefully, reaching up to hold her head in her hands in an effort to keep the room from spinning. He was beside her immediately, placing his arm around her back to steady her and hold her to him.

“Take it slowly, Rachel,” he told her quietly. “You’ve been pretty sick, honey. Your fever was very high. You’ll probably be weak and shaky for a while. I think it would be best if you just stayed put for a while until you get your strength back.”

She looked at him silently, the endearment he had used making her stomach flutter. Taking she pills, she placed them into her mouth before accepting the bottle that he offered her. She swallowed the water then handed him back the bottle and lay back down on the pillow. She watched him silently as he covered her before turning to set down the pill container and the water bottle.

“Do you feel up to eating anything?” he asked her as he reached for his down vest and pulled it on quickly.

Rachel watched him silently, amazed by how comfortable she felt lying there in his bed and watching him get dressed.

“Just tea if you have it, with a little bit of honey,” she said quietly.

“It’s not much, but it’s a start,” he said as he filled a pan with water, placed it on the small stove, and lit the burner.

He turned and reached for a clean pair of socks from the opposite bed and sat down to put them on. Rachel watched him silently, unsure of how she felt about him taking care of her. She had to admit that it gave her a kind of a warm feeling. She closed her eyes and rested, listening to his movements around the camper.

When he reached over to prop her up, she could smell the natural male scent of him and reveled in the emotions that overwhelmed her at the familiarity of him. She turned into his neck as he settled her against the two pillows he placed behind her, and breathed in deeply, joy exploding within her before she could push it down. Accepting the mug of tea from him, she sipped the tea slowly, looking down to hide the blush that she knew had to be covering her cheeks. After a moment, she held the cup out to him with half the contents still in it.