Authors: Kate Douglas
Dream Unchained (14 page)
He shook his head. “Not now. Burned like a son of a bitch when it happened.” He pulled the sheet back from his left leg and touched a round, quarter-sized spot of pink flesh on the back of his calf just below the bend of his knee. “This is where a round went in. Bolt said it shattered the bone.” Sighing, he slipped his leg back under the sheets. “Bolt repaired it. He even managed to decontaminate the blood that was all over the floor and on my clothes and put it back. Totally mind-blowing, ya know? It's not hurting, but I'm still kind of weak.” Chuckling softly, he shook his head and added, “I feel like a wuss.”
Lizzie started to push herself away from the bed. “Do you want me to leave so you can rest?”
An almost frantic look passed across his face. He grabbed her hand. “Will you stay? I'm not putting the make on you, Liz. Really. I promise.”
Laughter bubbled out before Liz even tried to control it. She'd never seen Finn looking quite so desperate. She squeezed his fingers. “This is so not you. At least not the you I first met, but, yes, Finn. I'll stay if you promise to try and sleep. You've still got an hour, and Duran said every little bit will help.”
He put a pillow beside his. “Lie down with me, Liz. Please?”
She leaned over and kissed him. Nothing sexy, but he tasted good and it felt right. Then she stretched out beside him, and turned her head so she could see his face. “I will. I want you healthy and strong, Finn. Not because I want you going to that damned spaceship, but because I know you want to go so badly. I can feel it. You'll never be happy unless you get this chance.”
He lay down beside her and tangled his fingers with hers. “Thanks, Liz. You're right, you know. I really do have to go.”
“Rest,” she said. She snuggled close against his side and he wrapped his arm around her. It felt good here, as if she belonged beside him. She closed her eyes, felt Finn's body relaxing beside hers, and thought how special this moment felt. The two of them were friends. They'd never had sex and probably never would, but she loved him.
And right now, lying beside him, Liz knew Finn loved her every bit as much. It made this whole thing seem even more important, somehow, knowing she mattered to him. That they both mattered to each other.
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Lost in thoughts of all the bad things that could happen when the final bid to rescue the last of the Nyrians began, Cam almost missed Mac's question.
“Cam, do you have any other paintings that might help add color to Dink's story?”
He dropped the front legs of his chair back to the floor and thought of the few small projects he'd had time for. Not much, considering. “I've got a few things you might be able to use. Scenes from inside the Gar ship, stuff that Mir and Niah remembered and shared with me. They're not paintings; pen and pencil sketches more than anything, with a little watercolor added.” He shrugged. “You know, like court drawings of trials where the press isn't allowed access with cameras?”
Dink turned to Mac and a slow smile crossed his face. “Perfect. Do you think you and the girls would be comfortable describing what you've drawn?”
“In front of a camera?”
Nodding, Dink said, “Of course.”
“I'll have to ask Niah and Mir. They're resting, but I was about ready to get them up, anyway. They want to be here when the rescue begins.”
The heavy
whump, whump, whump
of a helicopter coming in close had everyone headed for the front door of the lodge. “That's either the sheriff or the news crew,” Mac said. He flung open the door as a small helicopter painted with a bright blue news station logo touched down for a graceful landing in the open expanse between the lodge and the dream shack.
whump, whump, whump
of a helicopter coming in close had everyone headed for the front door of the lodge. “That's either the sheriff or the news crew,” Mac said. He flung open the door as a small helicopter painted with a bright blue news station logo touched down for a graceful landing in the open expanse between the lodge and the dream shack.
Cam followed Mac and Dink out onto the porch, and the three of them stood and watched as the rotors continued to spin and the two men inside went through the process of grabbing their gear.
“It appears my news crew has beat out the sheriff's department.” Dink stepped past Cam and started down the steps.
“Uh, Dink?”
Dink turned around and looked at Mac. “Yeah? What?”
“That's a Eurocopter AS350, right?”
Dink studied the chopper for a minute. “I think so. Why?”
“It's called a Squirrel.” Mac shrugged. “Just thought it was terribly apropos, ya know?”
Chuckling, Dink slapped Mac on the shoulder. “Only you, Dugan. Only you.” He turned away and walked toward the two men climbing out of the small helicopter.
Terribly apropos was right. Cam turned, prepared to tease Mac, but the tears sparkling in the man's eyes stopped him cold.
Mac cleared his throat. “I need to go check on Zianne,” he said. Before Cam could reply, Mac was through the door and headed up the stairs.
“Cam?” Dink paused, halfway to the helicopter. “Can you get Mir and Niah and be ready by quarter to five? That's about forty minutes from now.”
“No problem.” He started for his cabin and then thought of something else. “Dink? Will you check on Kiera? She's been in the dream shack since noon, and Morgan's not going to relieve her.”
“Right now.” Dink waved, changed course, and headed for the dream shack.
Cam circled around the side of the lodge to go back to his cabin. He'd left Niah and Mir sleeping soundly, but it was time for all of them to get moving. In less than an hour, things were going to start popping. Damn but he was glad he wasn't going on board the Gar ship. From what the girls had told him while he sketched their visions, the inside was dark and cluttered, the air thin, foul smelling, and hard to breathe.
He wondered if Mac had any kind of face masks the guys going aboard could use, but then he had no idea how you'd carry anything when it was time to disassemble, and that whole process left him cold. But, as he stepped into his cabin and glanced through to the bedroom, when he saw his beautiful Nyrian woman waiting for him on the bed, Cam decided he was actually quite warm.
They were naked. Both of them, and so perfect they not only raised his temperature, they made him ache. When Mir smiled, when Niah reached for him, Cam stopped in midstep. He'd been planning to tell them to dress, that they needed to prepare to speak with members of the media, but they had over half an hour before they had to meet with Dink.
Plenty of time. Cam quickly undid the buttons on his flannel shirt and shrugged the thing off. It dropped to the floor as he stopped beside the bed. Mir flicked open the snap on his jeans and quickly lowered the zipper, reminding Cam he could accomplish an awful lot in half an hour.
And this did help raise Nyrian energy levels, right? Niah stroked his chest with just enough pressure from her fingernails to leave shivers in their wake. Mir shoved his pants down below his knees. Cam's cock leapt free, rising hard against his belly. He was so damned ready he ached.
Mir leaned forward and wrapped her lips around the sensitive crown and slowly sucked him deep. Niah's fingers cupped his sac. She gently rolled the two orbs inside, tugging just enough to pull him forward, closer, until he managed to crawl onto the rumpled bed between the women.
Mir swallowed him deep, then deeper still until her lips pressed against his groin and he felt the rippling constriction of her throat tightening around his shaft. Groaning, he fought the urge to drive into her and instead pulled Niah around so that he could reach her with his lips and tongue. Sweet liquid filled his mouth, her amazing ambrosia tasting of honey and vanilla. He wondered if this was unique to all Nyrian women. It certainly was to these two.
His tongue swept deep and Niah arched against him, filling his senses with her sweet aroma, teasing his tongue with her addictive taste. He licked again as Mir's lips tightened around the base of his shaft and Niah's fingers continued to stroke his aching balls.
Half an hour, hell. He'd be lucky to last ten minutes.
Mac stood outside the door to the room where he'd left Zianne with Satza and Corin. He'd had to force himself not to worry about Zianne today. Not to come up here every ten minutes and check on her, but at the same time, he'd been terrified of what he might find.
She was growing so weak, and according to Bolt, she'd gone without her soulstone now far longer than any Nyrian ever hadâand survived. He held his fist up to knock, but the door swung open.
Satza stood in the doorway, her long, curly brown hair tumbling to her waist, and a smile of welcome on her lips. “Zianne sensed your arrival.” Stepping aside, she opened the door and invited him inside.
“Zianne?” She sat on the bed beside Corin, looking healthy and rested. Mac rushed across the room and pulled her into his arms, but the moment he lifted her, his breath caught in his throat. She felt lighter than air, insubstantial, almost as if he lifted a child. Dear lord, but she was so fragile, her fair skin almost translucent, her life force a quiet hum where he'd always felt a surge of energy whenever they touched.
He was losing her. She'd spent hours with Corin and Satza and it hadn't been enough. Nothing would be, until she was reunited with her soulstone. Impossible as it seemed, as frustrating as it was, that tiny bit of carbon held prisoner by the Gar was her only chance at life.
He kissed her gently and then sat on the edge of the bed and settled her comfortably in his lap. Her arm looped around his waist and her head pillowed against his shoulder. He nuzzled her ebony hair, kissed her gently. “Are you all right? Did you rest well?”
She nodded. “Corin and Satza shared energy with me, though I fear it doesn't last me very long.” She ran her fingers over his unshaved chin. “That shouldn't matter, once I have my stone back.” She smiled at him, but there was no sense of joy, none of her usual sparkle. “I will get it back, Mac. I believe in you and your team. Please, don't despair. How are plans for the rescue going?”
He swallowed past the lump in his throat. How the hell could she remain so damned positive? “It's after four.” He turned his head just enough to kiss her fingertips. “Duran, Bolt, Morgan, Rodie, and, if he recovers in time, Finn, will board the Gar ship at five o'clock.”
She slowly lifted her head away from his shoulder and frowned. “Rodie? But why? And what happened to Finn?”
“Finn was injured and Rodie intends to take his place. She's brave and smart and there's no stopping her. Even Morgan approves, though he's not entirely happy about it.”
She smiled, and this time her beautiful amethyst eyes had the sparkle he remembered, no matter how fragile her form. “Tell me, my love. Would you be happy if I were the one going on board an alien star cruiser to save people you hardly knew?”
“I'd be fine, because I would tie you up and lock you in a closet so you couldn't go.” He kissed her nose, her cheeks, and finally her lips. The sweet scent of honey and vanilla, the taste of her on his tongue brought tears to Mac's eyes. They were so close to saving her, and yet so damned far away right now. If she didn't have her soulstone soon, Zianne would die. Even now he sensed her fading, so delicate, so insubstantial that she was little more than a wraith in his arms. Even with Satza and Corin's generous help, Zianne's condition continued to deteriorate.
“Would it be easier for you to stay in the squirrel?” He brushed her hair back from her face, tangling his fingers in the long, black strands. “I don't want to tire you.”
She shook her head. “If the mission fails, if I have only hours left, I don't want to spend them as a little gray rodent.” She reached over and ran her fingers along the squirrel's fluffy tail, but the tiny creature slept soundly. “She's been a sweet and willing hostess, but it's time for her to return to her life as a squirrel.”
“I think that's going to be difficult. She's grown too fond of all the goodies we've been feeding her.” He traced Zianne's lips with his fingertips and watched them curve slightly into a smile. “She's been willing because she's been fed like a little princess.”
“Mac?” Corin had been staring out the window. Now she turned to Mac, frowning. “What is going on below? The noise from that machine woke us, but now there is much activity.”
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