Lover of My Dreams (7 page)

“Touching your sweet button, honey?” he asked her, smiling up at her, his beautiful blue eyes sparkling with enjoyment.

“Yes,” she hissed, gathering more of her wetness to ease her strokes across her engorged clit.

He watched her touch herself, his cock jerking within her at the erotic sight of it. His hand joined hers, his thumb gathering her cream and pressing against her bud in tandem with her fingers. In a matter of seconds, she opened her mouth on a silent scream as her orgasm burst through her. He groaned as her sweet body clenched down around his cock.

Sitting up quickly, he wrapped his arms around her back and flipped them so that she lay open and panting below him. He pulled out of her and looked down at the slick pinkness of her.

“Who do you belong to?” he asked, his voice deep and demanding.

“You, Sam,” she said softly.

“Who does this sweet pussy belong to?” he demanded, slipping his first two fingers deep inside of her and pressing in at just the right angle to graze her G-spot repeatedly.

Rachel gasped, her hips lifting up as a second orgasm shot through her. “Sam,” she moaned.

“Who does this sweet pussy belong to, Rachel?” he repeated, removing his hand and taking hold of his shaft to hold it at her entrance.

“You, Sam,” Rachel said gently as she fought for breath. “I love you.”

Sam slid deep inside of her in one smooth thrust, holding himself still as her vaginal walls pulsed around him. Leaning forward, he covered her body with his and began a gentle rhythm of thrust and retreat as he kissed her shoulders and her neck.

“I love you, Rachel,” he whispered against her ear before he kissed her temple lightly. “You belong to me.”

“We belong to each other,” Rachel corrected him, smiling when she heard him chuckle.

“Yeah, baby. We do.”

Rachel moaned as her orgasm raced through her body. She opened her eyes and fought to make sense of her dream. After all these years, she still dreamed about Sam. She dreamed about him constantly. It was really starting to make her crazy. What frustrated her the most was that she knew that nothing she ever dreamed was even remotely possible.

Even though every dream was gentle, loving, and fun, she wished she wouldn’t dream them anymore. No matter who she dated, no matter how she tried to begin serious relationships with men, nothing ever came close to how she felt about Sam McCoy.

“I don’t want to dream about him,” she said out loud.

Climbing out of bed, she walked toward the bathroom on shaky legs. Geez! If Sam could make her come that hard in her dreams, he would be lethal if he did it for real. She laughed at the absurdity of her thoughts. She looked at her watch and saw that she had better get ready for her date.

When she left the hotel one hour later, she had transformed herself from the casual country girl to the sophisticated woman that turned heads as she walked through the front doors of the hotel and waited for a cab to be hailed for her. She thanked the doorman and stepped forward to enter the cab and settled back with her purse on her lap as the door was shut behind her.

She leaned forward to tell the driver the address of Richard Damian, her date for the night, then sat back to enjoy the ride to his apartment. She was looking forward to spending time with Richard and having dinner with him at the exclusive restaurant
River Cafe
.

She had met Richard at a corner bagel shop during one of her trips into New York City to meet with her agent Nancy who had become a good friend over the years. The smell of the freshly baked bagels must have relaxed her and lowered her guard because she had found herself being swept away by his charm and enthusiasm. Before she knew it, she was meeting him for dinners and taking rides through Central Park in handsome cabs. During the past few months they had met often, and she had found that she had become quite fond of him. His promises to give her the earth, the moon, and the stars had certainly set her head spinning and her heart fluttering.

Despite the ten years that had passed since she had left Colorado, the memory of a certain man still haunted her. Her time away at college and her determination to create a new life for herself had done little to erase her memories of the choices she had been forced to make. Every man she met was measured against Sam’s kindness, his humor, his strength, and his caring. And each man fell miles short in comparison.

Being alone so much to write her novels had distanced her from the single social scene. Richard Damian’s presence reminded her that she really did long for the enjoyment of a man paying attention to her and giving her warmth and affection. Hiding away in her home in Connecticut didn’t disguise the fact that she really did long to be a part of a supportive relationship that would confirm that she was a woman that a man could like and enjoy.

Richard’s handsome face lit up with a smile when he spotted her as the cab pulled up to his apartment building. He opened the door and climbed in to sit beside her with an ease of motion and strength of body that spoke of years of physical training. He leaned forward to kiss her lips quickly.

“Right on time as always,” he told her, reaching for her hand and grasping it tightly.

Rachel only smiled at his comment. “You look nice,” she told him finally.

“Thanks,” he answered, looking out the window at the tangle of traffic. “Let’s hope we can get there in time. You probably should have come earlier so we wouldn’t be cutting it so close.”

His words were mumbled to himself, but Rachel was able to hear them. She knew a moment of annoyance at his chastisement and had to take a calming breath. She was determined not to allow her tiredness to spark her anger and ruin their night. Richard was probably right. She should have left earlier to go to his apartment.

The night was warm and a cool breeze was blowing across the river. The lights of the Brooklyn Bridge twinkled against the soft blues and pinks of the summer night sky. It was a beautiful evening. The weather and the location made the evening perfect for the romantic night she hoped was in store for her. She looked across the seat of the taxi and smiled as she faced the silent man beside her.

Richard Damian was handsome and smart. He had a casualness about him that had helped to draw her to him. She felt special to be a part of his small circle of friends. He was so self-assured and so motivated that she couldn’t help but admire him.

She had been somewhat surprised that he had shown any interest in her when they had met. She was not exactly the city type that he usually went for. She was quiet, intelligent, usually a homebody, and extremely strong-willed. She was not at all the sophisticated, blasé type that he seemed to like to date. They were total opposites. Where he was glib and had street savvy, she was sensitive and family oriented. They were the last two people in the world that would make an obvious couple, but he made her feel as if she were the most important woman in the world and that he wanted only her. The very things that were so different about them were the precise reasons he told her that he enjoyed being with her so much.

Her years away at college and the time she had spent honing her writing skills had made her independent and very much a loner. Her days of carefree exploring had disappeared the day she had left the McCoy estate so many years before. She had made choices for the good of her family and friends, and she had stuck by them over the years. She would do anything to protect her Aunt Kay and her cousin Roy.

They had been her family from the time she had been five years old. After her father had died there was no one but his sister Kay to raise Rachel since her mother had died shortly after her birth. She knew no other mother, and no other brother, even though they were aunt and cousin. They were her lifeline. They were her heart. They deserved the best, and she could never, would never, jeopardize their lives, their safety, or their happiness in any way.

She had gone home to visit her cousin and aunt at their ranch during summer breaks from college but was always careful that her weeks there did not coincide with Sam’s breaks from medical school. Her letters and phone calls to her cousin and aunt were as frequent as her schedule allowed, but she always made sure to keep them brief, with only a casual mention that she hoped that all was well with Sam. She was sure never to ask them to mention her to him, and had kept her distance from him. Sam had written to her at college a few times over the years and Rachel had answered only sporadically, always telling him how her life was busy and that she was glad for the time away from her aunt’s ranch.

Eventually, the letters from Sam grew fewer and with longer gaps between them. Now only Roy was the common ground that kept each of them up to date with the other’s lives. It was through Roy that she knew how well he did in medical school and how exhausted he was through his residency. She also knew that Sam often spent a few weeks each summer at the Monroe Ranch. Now that he had completed his residency and was working at Denver Memorial Hospital, she was relieved that at least one of the threats that Edwin McCoy had made could not be wielded. She willingly gave up her dreams to be with Sam in order to protect his future, but the time she had lost in having a deep friendship with him over the years was what she regretted the most.

Roy had told her that Sam had become engaged to a woman who belonged to the elite society of Denver. Rachel was glad for him. She wished him only happiness, but she was honest enough to admit to herself that she also felt an overwhelming sense of sadness and loss. As much as she wished things could have turned out differently, they hadn’t. Agonizing over what could have been was useless and would only cause her more unnecessary pain. If only the damned dreams would stop. They served no purpose except to make her constantly aware of the man she would never have, and the love she would never realize. Even though Roy had told her that Sam had recently broken up with his fiancée, Rachel still had to keep her distance. Her Aunt Kay was still in jeopardy of being hurt by Edwin McCoy’s threat.

“We’re almost there,” Richard’s sensuous voice interrupted her thoughts. “I hope you like the restaurant. I want you to have a nice time.”

Rachel smiled as she looked into his hazel eyes. “I’m sure everything will be great,” she told him quietly, unable to keep the warmth from her eyes as she looked at him. Despite her lapse into the past and the sad memories it provoked, she was happy to be with Richard right now.

“I want it to be better than great,” he insisted, reaching out to cover her hand with his own and squeezing it tightly. “I have a special night planned for you.”

“It’s already special,” Rachel told him quietly, pushing away the sadness that had clouded her mood.

Richard smiled at her and leaned toward her to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. When she looked up at him, he kissed her lips slowly, moving his mouth across hers seductively as his hand reached up to cover her left breast and fondle it boldly. Rachel reached up quickly and pulled his hand away with some effort then looked up to see if the cab driver had seen Richard’s indiscretion. She couldn’t help but get flustered at his boldness and was a little uncomfortable with how much he took for granted when he touched her.

“Please, Richard,” she whispered as quietly as she could as she held on to his hand to keep it from roaming further.

Richard looked down at her and smiled. “Always the shy one,” he teased. “All right, I promise. No more touching until we get back to my apartment.”

He leaned forward to kiss her lips quickly then sat back in the seat, his left hand resting on her knee and stroking the length of her thigh. As the taxi made its way to the cobblestone road leading to the barge that housed the
River Cafe
, Rachel found herself unable to truly enjoy the breathtaking sight before her. The taxi entered the semi-circled driveway and stopped before the gangplank that led to the popular restaurant.

Richard paid the cabby and opened the cab door. Stepping out and turning to reach for Rachel’s hand, he pulled her from the taxi. She stepped out carefully and removed her hand from his to straighten her dress and adjust her purse. The feeling of claustrophobia left her as she exited the cab, and she was glad to feel the cool night breeze against her face as she looked around to take in the romantic surroundings. She smiled as she looked up at the lit archways in front of her. She felt as if she were entering a magical place—a place that promised its patrons a night of enchantment.

Richard took her hand in his and led the way up the gangplank. Rachel followed, tucking her purse under her arm and looking out across the East River to the Manhattan skyline as she walked. It was beautiful. It was a view that she could never forget or take for granted because it meant so much to her. New York City had changed her from an aspiring writer to a successful novelist with endless potential.

Tonight she felt special and pretty. She looked both seductive and elegant in the peach chiffon dress that bared one shoulder. She loved the softness of the dress as it swirled around her knees. She especially loved how feminine it made her feel. The gold chain that she wore sparkled under the twinkling lights, and she touched it absentmindedly as she often did to ensure that the treasure was safely tucked away inside the angled neckline of her dress. She never removed the gift that Joanna McCoy had given her.

Delicate, gold high-heeled sandals and a petite gold purse completed her outfit, making her feel beautiful and special. She took a deep breath and sighed with happiness at the excitement of their night out and couldn’t help but smile as Richard tugged at her hand with impatience to lead the way up the gangplank.