Shadows and Dreams (Dream Series Book 2)

by Braxton Hicks

  When we sat down to eat, I told Trey about the Halloween theme for Tristan’s party. “What do you think we should go as?” I asked.

  “Hmmm, let me think. How about I’ll go as a football player and you can be the slutty cheerleader,” he smirked. I gave him a dirty look and continued thinking.

  “Oh, I’ve got it, I’ve got it,” he said excitedly, “we can go as two blue balls.”

  “Blue balls?” I questioned, puzzled. “I don't get it?”

  “Yeah, neither do I,” he snickered, grabbing his crotch.

  “Trey, I’m serious and it's supposed to be either television or movie characters. It’s a theme. I want to do something kind of unique, you know? I’ll call Gina tomorrow and see if she has any ideas."

  Trey rolled his eyes at the mention of Gina’s name. He still hadn’t forgiven her for the “Boo!” ghost she'd bought for Preston.

  Later, after I'd gotten Preston down for the night, I showered and climbed into bed thoroughly exhausted. The session with Karla had taken a lot out of me. I heard Trey in the shower as I drifted off to sleep. I awoke later to find his arms wrapped around me possessively. I turned to face him, kissing his face and his lips. He awoke smiling, returning my kisses. We made love over and over again for the rest of the night.

  Right before dawn, just as I'd drifted back to sleep, I heard Preston fussing. “I’ve got this, babe,” Trey said, rising up and out of our bed. “You stay put. Go back to sleep.”

  He warmed a bottle up for her and fed her in the nursery allowing me to sink into a deep and well-needed sleep.

  Chapter 17

  Tristan picked us up at the airport Friday afternoon. He'd immediately taken Preston from me and carried her through the terminal while Trey got our luggage. He talked to her and made faces; she was giggling in delight at her Uncle Tristan. He needed to be a dad, I thought to myself. I truly hoped he got the opportunity with whomever he ended up settling down with.

  “So,” I said smiling at him, “the big four-oh, huh? How does that feel, Tristan?” He laughed good-naturedly, and then leaned in close as if he wanted to share a secret with me.

  “Do you want to know the truth?” he asked in a very serious tone.

  I nodded waiting for him to share some secret of aging.

  “I actually feel almost the same way today as I did yesterday,” he confided.

  “Oh…you,” I said, smacking his arm.

  “When do I get to meet Libby?”

  “Very soon. She’s back at the house helping Mom bake her traditional pumpkin pies for Halloween. She decorates them with faces,” he laughed.

  “So,” I continued, “what are you and Libby wearing for the big Halloween/Birthday gala?”

  “That's a secret, Tylar. But, I can guarantee you that our costumes will be unusual,” he promised.

  Trey, Preston and I were going as Fred, Wilma and Pebbles Flintstone. Gina had come up with the idea very quickly when I explained what the theme was to be.

  “Girlfriend,” she had giggled, “it'll be freakin’ perfect!”

  She'd seen the costumes at a shop near the Sanctuary and dragged me down there to look. They actually were pretty amazing when I saw them on the mannequins.

  Gina had pitched the idea to Trey bringing Preston and I out to model the costumes that we'd borrowed on approval from the shop. Preston dressed as Pebbles was adorable. I'd pulled her hair up into the little sprouted ponytail and the costume came with a fake clip that looked like a bone just like Pebbles had on the cartoon. My costume included the wig that had a reddish colored tight bun on top just like Wilma’s.

  Both of us wore the ragged hemmed animal print shifts just like the cartoon characters. My only concern was that Trey (Fred) wouldn't agree to wear his animal skin shift as well. Trey would also get to carry his ‘caveman’ faux wooden club. He'd turned out to be a good sport about it. I got his costume rented the following day. Trey’s only concern had been that my animal skin shift was too short and that it showed off more of me than what he wanted anyone to see.

  “Jesus Christ,” he'd moaned later in our bedroom, as I was changing out of my costume. “I'm going to have to beat the shit out of a bunch of horny cavemen, I can see.”

  “Oh, Trey,” I laughed, “there’s only one horny caveman that I'm interested in.”

  “Just make sure it stays that way, baby,” he said in his smooth and silky voice, planting his hands on my ass and pulling me towards him. We'd been setting records with our sexapades these days. I simply couldn’t get enough of my husband and he couldn’t get enough of me.

  When we got to his parents’ house we were met at the door by Susan, who promptly took Preston from Tristan and headed off down the hall with her. “Nice to see you too, Mom,” Trey called after her, helping me off with my coat.

  Thatcher was there in a moment helping with our luggage and putting coats away. Tristan had disappeared upstairs, so Trey and I made our way back to the family room to greet Clive and catch up on everything.

  “Tylar,” Susan whispered after we'd been there for several minutes, handing Preston off to Trey. “Come in the kitchen with me for a moment.”

  I followed her into the kitchen, puzzled by the secrecy.

  “Listen,” she said, her voice still lowered as if she felt someone might overhear her. “This gal of Tristan's, Libby, I’m not real sure about her.”

  “What do you mean, Susan?”

  “I mean she's very hard to read. He seems totally intrigued with her, but I’m not so sure. My motherly instincts are raising hell. Have you and Trey met her yet?”

  “No, we haven’t,” I replied.

  “Well, I certainly won’t say any more then because I don’t want to pass any bias that I might have on to either of you. I’ll let you be your own judges.”

  Just then, Tristan came into the kitchen holding hands with someone I presumed was Libby.

  “There she is,” he said in his warm voice, “Libs this is my favorite sister-in-law, Tylar. Tylar, please meet Libby Michaels. She lives in Atlanta, too.”

  I held my hand out to Libby and she grasped mine with her own. She looked to be in her early thirties; she was tall and slender with long blonde hair. Everything about her was perfectly manicured and in place.

  “Tylar,” she said, “Tristan's constantly talking about you, Trey, and your adorable baby girl. You brought her with you, didn’t you?”

  “Of course they did,” Susan spoke up. “Come and meet my son, Trey and my grandbaby, Preston.”

  We all went back to the family room. I noticed how Tristan settled Libby into a chair and then sat on the arm of it, keeping her hand in his. He seemed totally infatuated with her.

  When she was introduced to Trey, I couldn’t help noticing how her eyes lit up when she smiled and took his hand. It was possible that Susan’s bias had caused me to be more attentive to her actions, but it seemed as if Libby’s hand lingered in Trey’s a bit longer than necessary; even now it was if she continued to watch him as he held Preston in his lap.

  “So, Libby,” I started, “what do you do in Atlanta?”

  “I’m the Director of Marketing at Sexabella Products,” she stated, very matter-of-factly. I glanced over at Trey meeting his amused glance. He knew I was going to ask the question.

  “And what exactly are Sexabella products?” I inquired.

  “We distribute a full line of sexual enhancement products that include clothing, novelties, toys, videos, books, and gadgets.”

  I wasn’t about to ask her to further define “gadgets.” My cheeks were already warm with my blush. Susan cleared her throat, asking if anyone cared for something to drink. I offered to help her as we escaped to the kitchen.

  “You see what I mean? Coming out like that and admitting that she markets perverted products,” Susan hissed, shaking her head.

  “Now, Mom,” I replied, finding it difficult not to laugh, “Just because she markets those types of things does not necessarily mean that she's pe
rverted. I’m sure Tristan can handle it.” I inadvertently snickered and caught her frown.

  “Well, I'm telling you this; she's been here for three days and Tristan's supposed to be getting his staff in place at the winery; she's not letting him out of that bedroom!”

  “Shhh,” I whispered, unable to suppress my giggles. “They're going to hear you. I’m sure it’s just a thing that will eventually peter out.”

  Susan started giggling when I said that, hugging me.

  “I’ve sure missed you, honey,” she said. “I’m so glad my Trey has you; I’m happy for Nigel and Tess. I just still worry about my Tristan."

  We were interrupted when Trey came in holding Preston who was squirming and starting to fuss a bit. “I think she’s hungry, baby,” he said, bringing her to me.

  “I’ll take her up to our suite and feed her.”

  “Want some company?” Trey asked giving me a sheepish grin.

  Once Trey and I were in the seclusion of our suite, he turned on the flat screen and settled next to me on the bed. Preston was cuddled in my arms nursing.

  “So,” I said, “what do you think of Libby?”

  Trey shrugged. “I can tell Mom doesn’t like her,” he replied.

  “Really? I didn't notice."

  He gave me his sidelong glance that said ‘You’re full of shit.’

  I laughed. “Okay, yes, your mom does not care for her, but I can’t believe that it's totally because of the products she markets at Sexabella or whatever it’s called.”

  “She probably doesn’t like the fact that Libby came here for the sole purpose of having a fuckfest with Tristan under their roof.”

  “What?” I asked, startling Preston. “How do you know that they’re having a fuckfest?”

  Trey threw me one of his ‘oh please!’ looks. “Brothers talk,” he replied.

  “Yes, apparently like school girls,” I chided.

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “I just better never find out that you shared details of our sex life with anyone, brother or not.”

  “Come on, baby. You know me better than that,” he replied in his smooth and silky voice. He scooted closer, giving me a kiss.

  When Preston drifted off in my arms, I laid her down for a nap in the crib that had been put in our suite. I'd packed some of her stuffed toys and put her ghost in the crib with her as I pulled her blanket up. She found her thumb and drifted off to sleep.

  “Wanna take a nap, baby?” Trey asked slyly.

  “I didn’t bring my diaphragm.”

  “No worries. I brought condoms,” he smiled.

  We nestled down under the bedcovers and enjoyed some play before we both drifted off into a nap of our own.

  We both came awake hearing some loud banging against the wall of our room. It was coming from the room next to us, the one that Nigel and Caroline had been in last Christmas. There was some sort of commotion going on in there. It was the headboard hitting the wall. I looked over at Trey and saw the slow smile spread across his face. I knew that we'd never been that loud.

  Soon, I could hear a woman’s voice. It was Libby’s. “Harder, Tristan!” she yelled. “I want that crop flailed across my ass harder!”

  My eyes widened as I looked up at Trey with a puzzled expression. We heard the sound of leather hitting skin and then Libby moaned loudly.

  “That’s it baby; that’s how I like it! Again!”

  This continued for a while. We then heard her voice loudly again, commanding Tristan to fuck her from behind. He evidently obliged as the rhythmic banging of the headboard against the wall resumed. Finally, we heard them both cry out as they reached their individual climaxes.

  “Damn,” Trey said, “that sounded…different.”

  “Don’t get any ideas."

  I hadn’t pictured Tristan as being into any of that S & M shit. It was obvious that Libby was very much into it.

  “Oh, come on, Tylar,” Trey admonished. “Since when have you turned all provincial? I seem to recall you enjoying a spanking or two in the past.”

  “That’s an entirely different thing and you know it. Are you saying that we need to spice up our play in the bedroom?”

  “No and why do you always read way more into the things I say?” He pulled me against him, brushing my hair back from my face gently. He tilted my chin upward and kissed my lips softly several times. “I've no complaints at all, Mrs. Sinclair, but if you ever find it boring, you'll speak up, won’t you?”

  “Assuredly, counselor,” I replied, kissing him back.

  Just then, the sound of Preston’s ghost booing came from the crib. Trey and I looked over. She was sitting up in her crib, her chubby arms hugging her ghost to her. She smiled at us. Trey slipped his sweats on and went over to take care of her.

  We ate at Morelli’s that night. Carmelita was thrilled to see us again and she was captivated by Preston. Tristan and Libby had joined us; try as I might, I was just not clicking with that chick. I thought Susan’s instincts were on target, but I'd never let on to Tristan that I didn’t care for her. He seemed to be totally mesmerized by her in every way. I was a bit uncomfortable being around them after what we'd heard that afternoon, but neither one of them seemed fazed by it.

  When we got back to the manor, Susan insisted on bathing Preston and getting her ready to go down for the night. Susan had moved Preston’s crib to her and Clive’s suite. I suspected it was because she'd overheard Tristan and Libby at some point over the past several days. She was probably concerned the baby wouldn't sleep through the noise. I hoped like hell it didn’t keep Trey and I up.

  Trey and I showered in our suite together and got dressed for bed. He put on a pair of PJ pants that hung low on his hips and a white tee shirt. I admired his flat, taut belly; his muscular arms and shoulders were evident under his tee shirt. I climbed under the sheets and settled down, waiting for Trey to join me. He'd gone back downstairs to grab his cell phone. When he got back to the room, he seemed a bit distracted.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “I don’t know. You seem distracted all of a sudden.”

  He didn’t respond. He flipped his cell phone on to check messages and e-mails.

  “Trey,” I said, still watching him. “What is it?”

  “Oh, it’s nothing, I guess. It’s just that when I went downstairs just now, Libby was in the kitchen getting a glass of ice water. My phone was on the counter near the sink. When I retrieved it off the counter and turned to leave, it was like her hand brushed against my crotch accidently.”

  “What do you mean, accidently?” I hissed.

  “I mean it was like she was turning away from the sink as I was leaving the room. Her hand just kind of brushed against me as she went to get ice from the icemaker.”

  “Well, did she say anything?”

  “I thought maybe it was my fault for getting in her path, so I said ‘sorry.’ She said there was nothing at all for me to be sorry about.”

  “That bitch,” I hissed.

  “Tylar, please let it go. I’m certain it was an accident. I don’t want anything ruining Tristan’s party, okay?”

  “She's been overly attentive to you since we got here.”

  “She has not; she’s all about Tristan. Now, let’s forget about it, okay?” I gave him a mumbled "whatever" turning over on my side away from him.

  Trey had it wrong. Tristan was all about her, but she was not all about Tristan. She was about herself and getting anything, and everything, she wanted.

  Trey and I awoke during the night to the sound of Tristan and Libby’s relentless fucking. There was no way it could be deemed ‘lovemaking.’ It was mostly Libby’s high pitched shrieking and moaning; telling Tristan what she wanted and where she wanted it. It appeared that he aimed to please.

  “Jesus Christ,” Trey muttered after wrapping a pillow around his head to cover his ears had failed to drown out the sounds from the next room. He leapt u
p out of our bed and headed towards the door.

  “Where are you going?” I whispered loudly.

  “I’m going to tell them to fucking keep it down,” he snapped.

  “Oh, so you’re going to pull a Caroline on them?”

  “Bullshit, Tylar. You and I were never that loud. This is ridiculous.”

  “Trey, I thought you wanted to make sure that Tristan had a great 40th birthday weekend?" He stood there, hands on his hips, undecided.

  "If this makes him happy, you can certainly endure it for the sake of your brother, right?”

  He relented grudgingly, coming back to bed. We spent the rest of the night trying to cover our ears to drown out the sounds coming from the next room.

  Chapter 18

  Nigel and Tess arrived the following morning. I'd finally gotten to know Tess better and found that I actually liked her. I could see how much she and Nigel had in common. It was funny, but having spent more time with her, I could see that she'd never have been a good match for Trey.

  We helped Susan get the house decorated for the party. Trey, Tristan, and Nigel had gone over to the winery to see the progress being made on the expansion. Libby had tagged along with the men, preferring their company to ours, apparently. Tess and I were working on one of Susan’s candy corn centerpieces as she gave us directions from the kitchen. Clive was in the living room playing with Preston.

  “So, Tylar,” Tess spoke up softly, “what do you think of Tristan’s girlfriend?”

  “What do you think of Libby?” I countered.

  “No fair,” she laughed quietly. “I asked you first.”

  “Well, honestly, I don’t know her all that well yet, but at first blush…I think she rocks Tristan’s world sexually. I also wish you and Nigel’s room was next to theirs instead of ours.”

  Her eyes widened in surprise. “That loud, huh?”

  “Yep and all night long.”

  She giggled softly. “We can’t pick our in-laws, I guess.”

  I smiled at Tess. The truth was, I could do a whole lot worse for a sister-in-law than Tess; Caroline or Libby, for example.