Dream Bound (16 page)

They’d decided to follow the fence line, and it turned out to be a harder hike than Rodie’d expected. It was all fairly flat on the plateau, but the ground was rough and brush that had been cleared away to build the fence had begun to grow back in some areas, making it almost impassable.

They still got back in plenty of time for Kiera’s shift. Sweaty and feeling great, Rodie paused in front of Kiera’s cabin and gave her a quick hug. “That was fun. Is your ankle okay?”

Kiera had twisted it going over a fallen tree. “It’s fine. I’m going to take a quick shower and grab something to eat on my way to the dream shack.”

“I’m hungry, too.” Rodie glanced toward the lodge and wondered if that was where everyone had gone. It had been empty when she’d grabbed a couple of muffins and some bottled water to take along on their hike. “You’ve got plenty of time.” She checked her wristwatch. “Almost half an hour before your shift.”

Kiera unlocked her door. “Thanks for going with me. That really was fun. Mac said the loop is a little over four miles, so it’s good exercise. Gotta tone this baby up.” She slapped her butt for emphasis, waved, and slipped through the door.

Rodie’s cabin was on the opposite side of the lodge. She headed around the back of the building, taking the shortest way to her cabin. Shower first, then food.

“Hey, Rodie.”

“Morgan!” There was no controlling the flush that must have her cheeks turning deep red, but that fantasy last night had been so real, so
intimate.

She took a deep breath and smiled. Moved closer and grinned. “Whatcha got?”

It was a squirrel, an adorable little squirrel perched on Morgan’s knee, all fluffy and gray with a white tummy and sparkling eyes, sitting on its haunches with its little paws folded over its chest. Like it was waiting for something, or maybe just begging.

Rodie walked closer. “Oh god. That is so cute. And it’s so tame.” Moving slowly, she took the seat next to Morgan. The squirrel didn’t even flinch. Rodie reached into her pocket, searching for any of the leftovers from her breakfast. She found the muffin wrapper, pulled it out, and picked some tiny bits of leftover whole-grain muffin off the paper.

The squirrel immediately hopped off Morgan’s knee and perched on the flat arm of her wooden deck chair. Rodie held a tiny bit of muffin out on the end of her finger. The squirrel sniffed, gave Rodie a very appraising eye, and then daintily nibbled the tiny offering.

Morgan chuckled. “Well, she’s certainly fickle.”

Rodie couldn’t take her eyes off the squirrel. She gave her another bit of muffin. “Why do you say that?”

“She was my best buddy as long as I had sunflower seeds left.” He held up the empty bag. “Just like a woman. She can be bought.”

Rodie laughed as the squirrel pried her fingers open with tiny little paws, looking for more. She scraped the last of the muffin off the wrapper and glanced at Morgan as she held out the final morsel to the little beast. “Be grateful she’s not asking for diamonds.”

The squirrel cocked her head and stared at Rodie. Her little muzzle was covered in crumbs, and Rodie had the oddest feeling it understood her. One day at the array and she was already getting weird. She turned as Morgan stood. “You leaving?” Laughing, she waved him off. “Talk about fickle. Your new girlfriend spends a minute with someone else and you’re gone.”

He smiled at her, and for a moment the tough guy with all the attitude was gone. Rodie’s breath caught in her throat, but Morgan merely nodded toward the door. “Going after more squirrel food,” he said. “Now that I know her affections are for sale.”

The squirrel chattered and sat on Rodie’s knee, but Rodie was watching the door. Watching as Morgan disappeared inside the lodge and took a little chunk of her heart with him.

How? She hardly knew him. Didn’t totally like what she did know and wasn’t at all ready to fall for anyone. Not when she was up here with more available man—and woman—flesh, than she’d ever had a chance to connect with in one place before.

This was nuts. Purely nuts, but she was still staring at the door a moment later when Morgan walked through. He had another whole grain muffin and a handful of peanuts. And he was still smiling, but this time it was all for Rodie.

Morgan didn’t know what it was about the little black—or almost black—chick, but he couldn’t stay away from her, and whenever he was around her, he was either hard as stone or wanting to laugh at something. Anything, because he knew she liked to see him smile.

Had she totally forgotten that they had to block their minds so they wouldn’t broadcast every thought? Hers were wide open to him, but since she wasn’t reacting to any of the prurient ideas currently filtering through his head, he had to assume he was blocking his own just fine.

“Hold out your hand.”

She did. He dumped some peanuts into her palm. The squirrel hopped up on the arm of the chair, reached out with a little paw, and dragged Rodie’s hand down so she could get to the nuts.

Rodie’s face lit up and she looked about twelve, though after the dream he’d had last night, Morgan could never see her as a kid. Not ever.

He’d gone to bed early—no point in staying awake since he didn’t have his first shift until late afternoon—but he’d barely fallen asleep when the dream started. Only he wasn’t sure if he’d been dreaming or maybe picking up on Rodie’s fantasies.

She was in the dream shack and his cabin was really close to it, so he could have been catching her thoughts, couldn’t he? If so, that made the whole thing even hotter, if he’d actually been sharing something she was fantasizing, but he’d fallen into a fantasy that still teased him today.

He’d been with Rodie, but there’d been another guy there as well. He was big and dark, his chest smooth and well muscled, and the two of them had taken Rodie at the same time.

Sitting here now, watching her laugh and hand peanuts to a cute little squirrel—hell, who’d ever think of her taking on two guys, even if it was only in her fantasies? She looked so sweet and innocent, but that dream had been pure passion.

He’d imagined a threesome before, though he’d never done it. One man or one woman at a time had been the extent of his sexual experience, but he’d been inside Rodie at the same time the other guy had entered her from behind, and he could still feel the smooth, hot slide of another man’s dick against his own. The tight, rhythmic clenching of Rodie’s muscles, holding both of them inside her.

His fantasy? Or hers? He didn’t think it had been his. For one thing, he’d always gone for guys who were slighter of build or smaller than him, for some reason—guys like O’Toole, who were just out for a good fuck, or even Cam, with his little-boy look and a body that was all tight, sculpted muscles just made for screwing—but the guy last night had been tall and muscular—lean, hard angles—and dark all over. Bronzed skin, dark hair, dark eyes. Mysterious, but still very hot.

Had to be Rodie’s fantasy guy, but Morgan figured he’d hang on to the image himself for a while. He glanced at Rodie. She’d put a small pile of peanuts on the arm of the chair and the squirrel was happily munching away.

“I don’t want to give her too many. Wonder why she’s so tame?” Rodie ran a finger over the squirrel’s head. She flicked an ear as if Rodie’s gentle touch tickled, but she stayed put.

“There’ve been a lot of workmen up here. I imagine they’ve been feeding the wildlife.” Morgan ran a finger along the squirrel’s tail. “Fluffy little thing, isn’t she?”

Rodie nodded. “Wonder if it means we’ll have a really cold winter. Isn’t that some kind of sign?” Then she sort of shook herself. “I’m losing track of time.” She stood and brushed the crumbs off her lap. “I need to get a shower and then some lunch. Kiera and I walked around the entire plateau this morning. Mac told her it’s about four miles, but it was fun.”

“Will you have lunch with me?” He wasn’t sure where that came from, but as soon as he made the invitation, Morgan thought it felt right.

Rodie blinked, like she was really surprised by his request, but before he could backpedal his way out of it she smiled at him and nodded. “Twenty minutes?”

“I’ll meet you inside. Lizzie should be in by then. I want to find out all I can about your time in the dream shack.”

Laughing, Rodie spun away. “And maybe I’ll fill you in on some of what Kiera told me she and Lizzie pulled on Finn on the way up. I want to get Lizzie’s side of the story.”

Then she really surprised him. Rodie leaned close and planted a kiss on him. Her soft lips slid easily over his with just enough pressure to leave a promise lingering. Before he had time to respond, she spun away, ran down the steps, and across the open area to her cabin.

He rubbed a fingertip over his lips, and his mind went back to the fantasy, back to a different side of Rodie Bishop. Was she the kind of woman who would welcome something that earthy, that raw? Sex with two men—men who enjoyed each other as much as they enjoyed her?

Well, there was bound to be a chance to find out. Morgan cracked another peanut and fed it to the squirrel, but his thoughts were all tied up in Rodie.

8

M
ac shut off the computer and glanced at the clock. It was already 12:30, and he hadn’t been out of his room since a quick run downstairs to snag a cinnamon bagel and a cup of coffee sometime before six this morning. But he’d promised to stay in touch with his CEO at Beyond Global Ventures while he was at the site, and that meant logging on early and putting in a good five or six hours before everyone got too busy to respond.

None of the BGV employees, including the guys at the top, had any idea at all what this project of his entailed. All they really knew was that it was Mac’s baby, and now that it was up and running, it was his number-one priority. He paid his top people a lot of money to run his company and make more money, something they did quite well. He’d pulled in the finest research and development team in the world, had excellent people in management, and he’d quickly discovered that R and D worked best when left on their own to do their thing—and management managed quite well without him.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t involved in just about every aspect of the company. That single-minded concentration and involvement—and the need to maintain total control—was why he’d been so successful, and why he’d never gone public. He’d been good enough early enough that he’d made a shitload of money before competition got so stiff, but it gave him the control he demanded.

No one, not even the closest members of his management team, realized the ultimate focus of all BGV’s technical advances had gone toward the creation of this array, that MacArthur Dugan had spent the last twenty years specifically developing the software and hardware he’d need to rescue Zianne and her people.

The fact that he’d changed the direction of the modern world—including modern warfare—with his innovative inventions along the way hadn’t mattered to him as much as the fact that he’d been able to make more than enough money to pay for the project.

And he’d built it purely to find Zianne. To save her, and hopefully rescue her people. Oh, yeah. And save Earth from the evil aliens while he was at it. Crap. When he actually thought about his goals, he sounded like an absolute nutcase.

No wonder the generals at the Pentagon had walked away from his warnings. Mac pushed his chair back from the desk and stood. Glancing around the quiet room, at the sunlight slanting through the blinds and the sparkling dust motes in the air, it was hard to remember how discouraged he’d felt last night.

This morning for some reason he felt more hopeful. Like things were going to be okay if he’d just have patience.

Hell, he’d been patient for twenty fucking years. What was another day or two?

Closing the door behind him, Mac stepped out on to the landing in front of his room. The sound of laughter caught his attention, and he headed down the stairs in search of the source.

Rodie, Morgan, and Lizzie sat at one of the smaller tables talking and laughing like they’d been friends for years. He couldn’t get over the way everyone seemed to have bonded so quickly. He’d had so few friends throughout his life. Dink was the closest, but their lives had taken them in such different directions that they rarely got together anymore. He had a feeling the kids from his team were going to be friends forever.

There was a tray loaded with sandwiches in front of them. It appeared Meg had been busy in the kitchen. Mac walked over to the table and stood to one side. “Mind if I join you?”

“Hey, Mac. Have a seat.” Rodie cleared a spot on the table next to her plate.

Mac grabbed the empty chair and sat between her and Lizzie. “Thanks. I got busy and didn’t realize it was already lunchtime.” He glanced at the three of them and then focused on Lizzie, since she was the one he knew best. “How’d it go? You just finished your slot, didn’t you?”

“I did. Kiera’s in there now.” Lizzie grinned, but her thoughts were locked down tight. So were Morgan’s, for that matter, but he could read Rodie like an open book.

An X-rated open book. He shifted his focus to Rodie. “You need to work on your mental blocks. Your shields.” He grinned at her as he said it and grabbed half a sandwich off the plate.

“Me?”

Her voice squeaked and she shot a quick glance at Morgan. It looked like he struggled for a moment not to laugh, but then he apparently lost the battle. Laughing, he nodded vigorously. “Yep. You.”

Rodie glared at him. Then she spun around and sent the same glare at Mac. He raised his hands in mock surrender. “Hey, I’m just trying to help, but, sweetheart, I can read you like an open book. You need a visual to shut off the flow of information when you don’t want any of us seeing what you’re thinking.”

Rodie groaned and dropped her head to the table. “I think I’ll just die now.”

“Don’t you dare,” Morgan said, patting her on the shoulder. “I wouldn’t want to miss any of your fantasies.”

Her head popped up. “You didn’t. Did you?”

Morgan shrugged and grinned. A blush spread over Rodie’s cheeks. Mac tuned in and started laughing when he realized Morgan was sharing Rodie’s fantasy from the night before, recalling it and giving it back to her.