by J. Haymore
“Drive to my house. Knock on the door. Trust me.”
“Nooo…” I groaned. “I can’t. I can’t!”
“I’m thinking of you right now, Lacey. I’m desperate, aching to be with you. I need you.”
“Why?” I moaned. “Why are you doing this to me?”
Big, comforting arms wrapped around my body. “I’m giving you what you need. Now come to me.”
Moon rays streamed in through my gauze curtains. I blinked into the dim light.
Realizing I was still naked, I took in great gulps of air, my pulse beating as fast as a frightened rabbit’s. I hadn’t gone to bed naked.
“Come to me, Lacey.”
I could hear him, but I couldn’t see him, and his arms were no longer holding me close. Nobody was in my room. I sat up in the bed. My clit hummed between my legs, still begging for release.
I needed…something. Someone.
I needed Kai.
“Come to me!”
* * * * *
Kai
An incessant pounding drew me from a deep sleep. I groaned, running my fingers lightly over my dick, trying to calm the intense ache.
The memory of my dream slammed into me like a punch in the gut. Lacey on hands and knees, arching against me as I drove her to the brink with my fingers. Shit. No wonder I was so hard.
I’d commanded her to come to me, to trust me. I’d promised to give her what she needed. What we both needed.
The pounding sounded again. I blinked, trying to focus. Was someone at my door? I glanced at the digital clock on the bedside table. It was two a.m. in the morning.
“Kai?”
Lacey! My heart constricted in panic. Something was wrong. Was she okay? I leaped out of bed, shoved a pair of shorts on over my still-raging erection, and ran down the hall, slamming on the lanai light as I passed the switch in the foyer.
I threw open the door. “Lacey?”
She froze in mid-knock and stared at me, her lips parted. Then she stepped back, took a deep, sobbing breath, and, in full view of anyone who might choose to drive up my street at this hour, dropped her robe. It slid down her body as if it were caressing her pale, naked skin, and pooled at her ankles.
Trembling with cold or nerves, I couldn’t be sure which, she stood on my lanai, completely nude. My gaze raked down her body, from the electric blue eyes to the small cleft in her chin to her full breasts to the flare of her hips and the triangle of hair between her lush thighs. Stunning. She was perfect—a goddess. My cock renewed its painful throbbing, tenting my shorts.
“Lacey, what…how…are you drunk?”
She gazed intently at me. “No.”
I knew she was telling the truth. I knew from the look of determination mixed with vulnerability in her clear blue eyes. Steely and soft swirling in her gaze like a whirlpool.
Trying to shake off my confusion, I moved aside and motioned her in. I didn’t understand what she was up to, but I didn’t want anyone else seeing my woman naked.
My woman? Damn, I must be high. She wasn’t my woman. She’d made that patently clear earlier tonight.
And now she was standing naked on my porch. Lacey Marceaux was the queen of mixed signals.
Slowly she stepped over her robe and breezed past me, her bare shoulder brushing my chest as she entered the house. Lust ricocheted through me.
I gritted my teeth and strode onto the lanai. Whatever the hell was going on, I wouldn’t touch her. I knew only too well where that would lead.
I retrieved her discarded robe and went inside, pushing the door shut behind me.
Thrusting the robe at her, I said, “Put this on, damn it.”
That had come out more sharply than I’d intended. She flinched but held her ground. “No.”
I tossed it aside in frustration. “Then why don’t you explain what you’re doing naked on my doorstep at two a.m.”
She bowed her head. Her shoulders heaved once, then she looked up and took a step toward me.
Hell. All I wanted was to thrust her against the wall and plunge into her. Residual frustration coursed through me, mixed with crazy, all-consuming desire. My pulse pounded in my ears. I was fast losing a grip on my thread of control. I stepped back, narrowing my eyes. “Don’t tempt me, Lacey. Don’t make me do something we’ll both regret.”
Her eyes flickered with renewed determination. She took another step forward, but I couldn’t move back this time. My ass was already pressed against the wall.
“I want you, Kai.” Her voice was so low, I almost didn’t hear. “I’ve wanted you for a long time…but I haven’t…I haven’t been brave enough. Until now. Make me yours. Please.”
Heat sizzled through me, but I stared warily at her. “You can’t mean it.”
“I do.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying.” I clenched my fists at my sides, forcing myself to go on. “I don’t—” I drew in a shuddering breath. “If I start this, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop.”
Silence for a long moment. Then, “Good.”
I snapped.
With a growl, I launched myself at her, capturing her in my arms and hauling her up, crashing my lips against hers. She cried out but didn’t push me away. Instead, she wrapped her arms around my neck. Her soft breasts pressed against my chest, and she rubbed against my cock through the fabric of my shorts. They were in the way, goddammit.
I continued forward until her back bumped into the opposite wall. Then I let her go so I could get rid of my shorts.
She slid down my body until she was back on her feet, but she didn’t stop there. She sank lower, grasped the waistband of my shorts, and tugged. Before I had time to blink, my cock was in her hands and her mouth was tickling its head.
I braced my hands against the wall to keep my knees from buckling and looked down at her. Eagerly, as if this was the most exciting thing she’d ever done, she took me deeper. Her fingers curled around my shaft, then slid lower, rolling my balls gently.
“Holy shit.” I angled my hips, thrusting deeper into her mouth. Instead of drawing back, she pushed down farther, humming her pleasure.
I was on fire, burning. I was on the edge already, damn it to hell. Just seeing her so eager, just having her sweet lips on me, was enough to make me explode.
She pumped me, swirling her tongue around my shaft, over the head.
“Stop,” I ground out, withdrawing from her hot mouth even though it nearly killed me to do it. “I’ve got to have you, Lacey. I can’t wait.”
Now, all my senses screamed. My humanity seemed to bleed away, leaving me in a raw, feral state, and all I cared about was mating with this woman. Marking her, making her mine. Primal lust surged through my veins, hot and impatient.
She looked up at me, her eyes blazing blue in the dim light of the hall. “Condom?”
I blinked. “Yeah. In my bedroom.” I paused, looking down at her wild brown hair, her swollen lips, her trusting eyes, and emotion tightened my chest.
“What are you waiting for, Kai?” Uncertainty flickered in her eyes, but I wasn’t about to let it take over yet again.
“Nothing.” I pulled her up. Not willing to wait for her to follow me, I hooked a hand behind her knees and carried her to my bedroom. After slamming the door behind us, I laid her on the bed.
Her eyes sharpened as she stared at me, as if her need was as great as my own. She kicked the blankets away and cupped her breasts in her hands.
“I need you,” she whispered. “Please, Kai. I have to have you inside me.”
Pictures crowded my mind. All the things I wanted to do to her, to that body. I just stared for a moment, nearly bowled over by the intensity of the images.
But then my cock throbbed angrily, returning my focus to the matter at hand. I had to have her right now. Nothing was more important.
Cursing in impatience, I found a condom, tore open the package, and rolled it on. I crawled onto the bed, my body hovering over her. Immediately, her legs and arms entwined around me, tu
gging me close.
Now.
Easily, I found her slick entrance and with one hard thrust, I was inside.
I froze, staring at her in shock. For a long moment we stayed still, shuddering as one with the intensity of it, of our bodies finally locked together.
Nothing, not even a year of lusting after this woman, could have prepared me for this. Nothing had ever been so perfect, felt so right. Her pussy clenched and rippled around me like a tight, pulsating fist.
Color rose high on her cheeks and she began to squirm beneath me. “Move, Kai. Move. I’m going to come. Please!”
I moved. I yanked out and then rammed into her, forcing the breath from her body in a puff. Again and again I thrust.
Every muscle in my body was strung as taut as a rubber band pulled to its fullest stretch. But I sure as hell wasn’t going to let myself come before her.
I didn’t need to wait long. Her fingernails dug into my back. Then she arced beautifully under me, her body undulating. The sight of her mouth open in a silent “o” of a scream and her eyes clenched shut, the feel of her nails clawing me and her body spasming over my cock. All of it shot directly through my body, yanking me over the edge as well.
With a shout, I thrust hard into her one last time, and the world exploded. I saw stars. Otherwise, I couldn’t hear, couldn’t see. I could only feel the pleasure of it.
When the pulses finally subsided, I sank down, supporting my weight on my elbows so I wouldn’t crush her. And I said the very first thing that came to my mind.
“I love you, Lacey.”
Afterward
Lacey
The next day was Sunday, so there was no need for either of us to go into work. Instead, we spent the day in bed, ordering Chinese delivery at two o’clock when the need for sustenance finally became serious.
That afternoon, we watched movies on Kai’s big screen TV, but I got distracted by his bare chest and started pressing my lips all over it, reveling in the strength of him, all the dips and curves of muscle. We had sex on the couch, then back in the bedroom. I’d lost count of the number of times I’d come over the past twenty hours, but it had to be in the double digits.
Finally, at some point before midnight, we both fell into an exhausted, sated, happy sleep, our naked limbs entwined.
Sometime in the middle of the night, I awoke from a deep slumber. Kai slept behind me, his broad chest pressed against my back, his thick arm wrapped possessively around my waist. I sighed in pure contentment and snuggled more closely against him.
A figure came into my vision, but I didn’t move, didn’t even tense. I knew who it was. The Kai from my dreams.
I could see him more clearly tonight than I ever had before. It really was Kai, I realized, but he looked like a watercolor portrait of the man I loved, fuzzy around the edges, and wavering like a mirage.
“Hello,” I whispered.
“Thank you, baby. Thank you for trusting me.”
Kai didn’t budge behind me. His breaths were deep, as if he was in a heavy sleep. Was I speaking out loud? Because he didn’t seem to hear me. Or was I dreaming?
What did it matter?
“Why did you do it?” I murmured. “Why did you come to me three times? Why did you seduce me?”
“It was the only way…the only way to show you how I feel about you—how I could make you feel.” He seemed to hesitate for a moment, then said, “It was the only way I could help you beat your demon.”
“Who are you, really?”
He glanced at the still form behind me. “Him.”
“But how?”
“I’m a dream walker.”
“A…what?”
His fingers stroked down my cheek in a fluttering touch. “I can send my spirit into others’ dreams.”
“But you…you touched me.” My body flushed, remembering what he had done to me—how he had made me feel.
He smiled. “Yes. In times of strong emotion, I can become whole.”
“I don’t think he knows what you’ve done—what he’s done.”
“You’re right—he doesn’t know. The conscious part of him has no idea what he can do. But he has some idea of what he’s done.”
My mind was reeling. What would I do when Kai woke up? How could I possibly explain all this? Or maybe I shouldn’t explain it at all.
“Talk to him about it, Lacey. A part of him will rebel, but a bigger part will understand. Ask about his family, about his Hawaiian heritage. He’s heard the stories all his life. And when he hears the truth, he’ll understand. He won’t be able to deny it.”
Withdrawing his hand from my face, he bent down until his soft lips tickled mine.
“Wait—”
His form shifted, then slowly disintegrated into the dimness, leaving my lips tingling with pleasure.
“Thank you,” I whispered to the empty room.
“Don’t forget I love you, baby.”
I entwined my fingers with Kai’s and drifted into a contented sleep.
* * * * *
Kai
I stood in the doorway of my bedroom watching Lacey sleep. A soft smile curved her lips upward, and her thick, dark eyelashes curved against her cheeks. I had never seen her sleep before, and I could have just stood there and watched her for hours.
“Mmm.” She yawned, opened her eyes, and pointed her toes, stretching languidly.
After a moment of just drinking her in, I walked toward the bed. “Good morning, beautiful.” The mattress shifted as I sat down on its edge.
She turned to me and smiled. “Good morning.”
The sheets rippled, exposing her bare shoulder and the upper curve of her breast. My cock leapt to attention, but I had questions first. Yesterday—all day—had been amazing, but now I had questions.
“Lacey…” My voice trailed off.
“What?”
I took a deep breath. “What happened the night before last? Why did you come here?”
She sat up in the bed, pulling the sheet to cover her chest. Scooting back against the wooden headboard, she gave me a rueful grin. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
Damn, it was impossible to be near this woman without wanting her. Unable to stop myself from touching her, I leaned down, and my lips met hers in a hot, possessive kiss. When I pulled away, I sifted my hands through her hair and tugged gently. “I want to know. You told me it was over. Then you came here… You were a different woman.”
She lowered her gaze to her lap. “I was afraid,” she whispered. “Afraid that I couldn’t please you in bed.” She gave a shaky laugh. “I was petrified that I would fail you.”
My hand moved from her hair to cup her chin, tilting it so she’d look at me. “How could you say that? You must know how much I care for you—how much I want you.”
She sighed. “Sometimes fears aren’t logical.”
“Tell me what happened.”
“I…dreamed.”
“You had a dream?”
“Yes. Well, three, actually.”
“Of me?”
“Yes. He—you—”
“Go on,” I said softly, seeing the fear and confusion in her eyes. “You can tell me anything. You know that, right?”
She took a deep breath. “The first night was the night before our dinner date at Makai’s. In the dream, you told me I should invite you inside my house after the date.”
My breath caught at that, because I remembered having a similar dream the night before our date. I’d been in her bedroom, telling her how bad I wanted her, telling her she needed to invite me in so I could make love to her.
She continued. “Then you kissed me and called me beautiful.”
My mouth felt dry, and I swallowed hard. I remembered saying that to her in my dream too. What the fuck? “What happened in the second dream?” I asked.
She licked her lips and pressed on. She was so nervous she was breathless. “The next time, you… the dream you spoke really dirty and you…well, you touche
d me…everywhere.”
I stared at her, feeling the oddest sensation of mingling arousal and alarm. This was impossible. We were just so in tune with one another, with what we’d been going through together, that we’d had similar erotic dreams. It could happen to anyone.
Still, I had to know. “How?” I demanded. “What, exactly, did I do to you in your dream?”
Lacey’s breaths grew even shallower. “You were…licking between my legs and…well, you were penetrating me with your fingers.”
Shit. I closed my eyes, then opened them. “Then what?”
“Then…well, I came. And you left.”
“Shit,” I said aloud, turning away from her to stare at the bedroom wall, my mind roiling. How was this possible?
She reached out to put her hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Kai.”
Why was she apologizing? I shook my head, fighting the welling panic. How could two people have the exact same dream? And yet something nudged at me—some memory… “Tell me what happened in the third dream.”
“You came back.” She sounded like she was on the verge of tears, but I couldn’t look at her, didn’t want her to see the panic in my eyes. She continued, a note of desperation in her voice. “You said I turned you on. That I was yours, that I belonged to you. You began to make love to me again, but you wouldn’t let me come. Then you ordered me to go to your house. You said the only way I could get satisfaction was to come to you. That you wanted me, that you were aching for me.”
My shoulders shuddered uncontrollably. Behind me, Lacey made a small sound of distress.
“I woke up naked, and I knew I had to come here,” she said. “I knew I needed you. I don’t know what happened, Kai.”
I sat silent for a long moment, my back to her.
She sighed. “I’m sorry—maybe I’m crazy, I don’t know.”
I turned and grasped her shoulders. “No! No. You don’t understand.”
“What do you mean?”
“I had the same dreams.” I shook her slightly. “The same goddamned dreams.”
She stared at me. “Are you…are you sure?”
I was breathing heavily. “I was fucking you with my fingers, right? You…” I sucked in a breath. “You were on your forearms and knees, pressing your face into your blanket. You were tossing your head back and forth. You said, ‘I need you, please, Kai.’”
