Connections of the Mind (6 page)

Rebecca stood in the doorway, watching him disappear down the stairs, her finger to her lips, wanting to recapture the feeling of his kiss. She went into her room, pulled down the covers, and thought about Jeremy. Something beside their minds drew her to him. What would become of their relationship when she went home?

She shrugged, readied herself for bed, and climbed onto the high, old Eastlake style bed. Closing her eyes, she hoped for another peaceful night’s sleep.

Chapter Eight

Rebecca tossed and turned, her dreams jumbled. She saw herself sleeping and then awake. She woke with a jerk. Terror overcame her. She froze. Her body shook. Danger lurked nearby. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, sending shivers throughout her body. Her spine tingled. In the dream, Jeremy’s long body lay in his high Victorian bed. He faced away from her, toward a long window covered with blinds. He appeared to be in a restful sleep, but the feeling wouldn’t leave her.

Someone in dark clothing stood outside a window.

“Jeremy!” the scream escaped her mouth before she had a chance to think. Her body shook violently.

Jeremy jerked awake. “Rebecca!” He jumped from his bed and ran down the long hallway. He paused outside her doorway for just a split second. No, that wasn’t it. He ran down the steps. Someone was outside. He rushed to the dining room window, why there, he had no idea. He looked out. Nothing. No one. He checked the lock and went from window to window, checking the rest of the rooms. Someone had been out there; he knew it. Whoever it was wasn’t there now. He went back upstairs and stopped outside Rebecca’s door that stood partly open. Rebecca stood on the other side. Jeremy looked inside; oblivious to the fact he wore nothing but his briefs.

Pushing his way inside, he looked at her, rubbed his neck, and walked around the room. “What just happened here?”

Rebecca backed up and stopped near the window. “You don’t understand. Someone was outside. Trying to get in.” She came to stand before him. Her eyes begged him to understand. “Your life is still in danger.”

He looked at her. She was serious. Were her visions real?

“I saw it in my dream. I saw you lying in bed, and then I saw him. I couldn’t see his face. He tried to open the dining room window, but it wouldn’t budge. That’s when I screamed your name. I didn’t know I screamed aloud. It was a dream.” She sat on the bed. “A dream just like all the others.” She rubbed her head, trying to still the dull ache.

“You don’t believe me. You don’t understand.” She stood and took her suitcase from beside the bed, opened the drawer, and threw clothes into it. “Staying here is pointless. I’ll leave as soon as it gets light. If you’ll excuse me now, I’d like to get dressed.” She walked to the door and held it open for him to leave.

Jeremy looked down at her. He had felt her fear. He heard the scream but only in his dream. It woke him up. Woke him and made him go downstairs to look. How did he know to run downstairs? He went right to the side window in the dining room. It hadn’t occurred to him to look anyplace else. How did she know that? “I sensed it. I heard your scream in my dream. Somehow I knew someone was at the window. I don’t understand this. Any of it.”

Maybe there was something to what she said. How often had he felt like he shared things with someone? He always thought it was his father. Wishful thinking was what he put it down to. All his accomplishments, his goals. How he used to wish his father was there to share them with him. But it wasn’t his father. He ran his hands through his hair, rubbed his neck. It was her. She was the one he’d shared his secrets with. The one who shared his contentment, sitting in front of the fire reading. Damn. How could this be?

Walking around the room his thoughts were jumbled. All this time, all those shared memories, her, not his father. She saved his life and now, tonight. He shook his head. There had to be more to this. He’d never heard anything so farfetched in his life. “This is mind-boggling to say the least. I don’t mind telling you if I hadn’t experienced it, I wouldn’t have believed you.”

Jeremy stopped in front of her, took her hand. Heat sizzled between them. What the hell was going on here? “Look, you can’t leave. I need to learn more about this.” He stood in the doorway. “Please, go back to bed. We’ll talk more about this tomorrow.”

Rebecca stood there, looking at him.

“Not an easy pill to swallow. It wasn’t for me either.” She raised her hand and touched his cheek. “I know it’s hard to understand.”

“I don’t get it.”

“I didn’t either. Honestly, I still don’t understand it completely. I just know it’s true.”

He took her hand and brought it to his lips. She looked so damn sexy standing there in her oversized T-shirt. Sexy and very desirable. He pulled her to him and kissed her. She smelled delicious. She tasted delicious. A small moan escaped her throat. He closed the door with his foot.

Rebecca’s heart pounded in her chest. Her knees went weak, and if Jeremy hadn’t been holding her up, she knew she’d collapse right there on the floor. And she didn’t really care.

Jeremy walked her backward, and the edge of the bed hit her knees. His hands slid over her breast and her T-shirt came up around her legs as he eased her down. Hot, sizzling heat tore through her body. She wanted him like she’d never wanted another man. She skimmed her hands over his bare chest and gently scraped her nails across him.

His hand slipped under her shirt and caressed her. Suddenly, she stopped and pushed him up. Something didn’t feel right. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but they had to stop. She couldn’t do this. Not now. Oh, she wanted him. Wanted him desperately.

Someone coughed. Oh God, Mrs. Marlin. What were they doing here? In her house. Part of her didn’t want to pull away, but her logical mind took over.

Jeremy sat up and looked at her. His eyes narrowed. She knew he was thinking she was a tease.

“What?” he finally asked.

“I’m sorry I can’t. Not here.” Rebecca slid off the bed. “God, Jeremy, this is your mother’s house. She’s right down the hall.” She crossed her arms over her chest and walked to the door. What if Mrs. Marlin had come in and caught them? She’d never be able to face her again. As it was, she wasn’t sure if she could face her at breakfast. “You better leave.”

Jeremy got off the bed. Damn, he completely forgot about his mother. Hell, he’d completely forgot where he was. All he thought about was how much he wanted Rebecca. He rubbed his chin.

“I’m sorry. You’re right. I don’t know what came over me.” Like hell he didn’t. He knew exactly what came over him. Rebecca and that sexy T-shirt. He walked toward her. “Well, I sort of know.” He smiled and ran his finger along her cheek.

“I can’t stay here, Jeremy. Not after this. Is there another motel in town? I don’t want to leave Morrisville yet…you’re still in danger, but I have to put some distance between us. A lot of distance. If this is going to happen again, I certainly don’t want it to happen under your mother’s roof.”

Hell, neither did he. He couldn’t believe it almost happened now.

She put her hand on his shoulder. “Next time, we might not stop.”

He held his breath and looked at her. Next time, he
knew
he wouldn’t stop. He traced the line of her lips with his finger then leaned down and kissed her, a tender, sweet kiss. Rebecca trembled. It excited him almost as much as their more passionate one.

She pulled away and looked at him.

“The College Inn Hotel is the only other hotel. I think you’ll like it there. Only problem is, it’s so isolated I’m afraid to leave you there. Someone already broke into your room.”

“I’ll be fine.” She walked away, and his mother coughed again. “What if your mother came in here and found us like this, with you half dressed…or undressed?”

He grinned at the thought. Oh, he was sure his mother knew he wasn’t a saint, but he respected her too much to do this in her house. Rebecca was right.

“You’d better go. We’ll talk about the hotel in the morning.” She pushed him toward the door and opened it. “Goodnight.” She kissed her fingertips and touched them to his lips.

Jeremy grabbed her hand and kissed her palm and then her wrist. Just as he was about to go further up her arm, she pulled it away. She was right, of course. But one of these days, sooner rather than later. He left and closed the door.

He didn’t know what came over him. Hell, he’d just met her, and already he wanted her like he never wanted another woman. Like it was meant to be. Like he’d known her forever. Was there something to this mind connection thing? He couldn’t suppress a grin; it wasn’t her mind he wanted to connect to. He crawled into bed, laid against the pillow with his hands under his head. Nope, it definitely wasn’t her mind he wanted.

Rebecca closed the door softly behind him and leaned against it. Phew, if he hadn’t left soon, she wasn’t going to be responsible for what happened next.

Later that morning, Jeremy gave her directions to the hotel. “I’d take you myself, but I have to go to Columbus. I won’t be back until late. Are you sure you’ll be okay.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“I wish you’d stay with my mom one more day.”

“Are you coming back tonight?”

“Yes, but it’ll be late. Midnight at least.”

“Then I’ll leave. Besides, I’d like to do a little sightseeing on my own.”

Rebecca had no trouble finding the hotel. But she might have if Jeremy hadn’t been explicit in his directions. Sure she saw the sign, but nothing about the place looked like a hotel. She pulled into the long drive that led to the front. After she registered and settled into her room, she went in search of the restaurant.

The restaurant was just down the hall from her room. If she understood correctly, students from Morrisville College ran the whole place.

“Students in different phases of hotel management and culinary courses work in the hotel as part of the curriculum.” The waitress filled her in.

“So what quarter are you in?” Rebecca asked the young waitress.

“I’m in my third quarter.”

“Do you take summer courses, too?”

“I don’t, but after we study here for a while, sometimes they hire us full time. I was one of the lucky ones.”

“How does it work during the school year?”

“Once a month, the hotel is totally run by students. Other times, there’s regular staff to help us. It’s all hands on learning.”

“Sounds fantastic. What other courses do they offer?” She’d never heard of Morrisville College until now.

“Besides the hospitality course, there’s Nursing, Business, Arts and Science, Computer and Info Tech, Industrial Tech, Natural Resources, and Public Safety. It has one of the best Police Science Technology programs around. It’s pretty much a two and four year college, but they do offer Short Term Certificate courses, too.”

“Really like what?” That peaked Rebecca’s interest. Who knew, maybe she’d decide to take a course. Being a secretary was getting boring.

“All kinds of stuff, Real Estate, Accounting, Web Design. They offer Certificates of Completion, Certificate of Concentration, Occupational Certificates, and Technical Certificates. My cousin even took a course in phlebotomy.”

“What’s that?” This was beginning to sound better all the time.

“Learning how to draw blood. She has a good job at the hospital now.”

“No kidding. I always thought they were nurses. So there’s a specific course for that?”

“Yep. Are you interested in taking a course?”

“I might be.” The idea sounded better all the time. “Thanks, I’ll have to check it out.”

Rebecca finished her lunch, anxious to get started. First stop the college. She wanted to learn more about these courses. Web Designing sounded particularly interesting.

She followed the waitress’s directions to Morrisville College, touring the campus, and even talked to a few of the students. A counselor gave her some information on the web design course. She’d pretty much made up her mind to do it.

The day seemed to fly by, but she missed Jeremy. After a late dinner, she went back to her room, curled up on the bed, and read a book she brought along. Her eyes started burning, and she kept nodding off. She looked at the clock. Only nine-thirty. What the heck, early to bed, early to rise.

Chapter Nine

Rebecca woke the next morning and stretched, feeling completely rested. She couldn’t remember getting such a good night’s sleep. No dreams, no nightmares. She threw the covers aside and slid out of bed. Thank goodness she didn’t have to worry about disturbing Jeremy or his mother. She opened her suitcase and took out fresh clothes. Before she reached the shower, someone knocked on her door.

She looked through the peephole and smiled. Jeremy. She opened the door and his arm shot out, pulled her to him, and he backed her into the room. He kicked the door shut.

“Jeremy,” she whispered. “What are you doing here?” Her face burned at the desire running through her.

He slipped his arms around her. “Visiting you. Looks like I caught you at a good time. A very good time. Why that oversized T-shirt turns me on, I’m not sure. But I love seeing you in it.”