Only In My Dreams (5 page)

Gabe settled into his hotel room with an angry growl.

Sarah was pulling away from him.

All during the flight from Philadelphia to Orlando, he’d watched her. Not once had she glanced over to see what he was up to.

And that chapped his ass more than he thought it would. Almost as much as the fact that the mate dreams had stopped seemed to bother his Puma. He hadn’t had a taste of his sweet Sarah for weeks. He had no idea what that meant, but his Puma had damn near gone into mourning.

Fuck.

He’d nearly lost it in the limo at the sight of another man’s hands all over
his
mate. The only thing stopping him from changing and killing the son of a bitch had been the presence of his Pride leaders, and the fact that the very human Jim didn’t stand a chance against him.

If Jim were a shifter, however, Gabe wouldn’t have been able to hold back. There’d be one less dickhead in the world sniffing after his Sarah, Chloe’s intended mate or not.

He lay down, intent on taking a short nap before his shower, hoping it would ease the growing headache
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that always seemed to be present these days. He was dreading what was going to happen at dinner. If Jim touched Sarah’s soft skin one more time, he was going head first into the mouth of an animatronic gorilla.

“Sarah.”

She shivered as that deep voice rolled over her. She didn’t dare look up, knowing that would earn
her a spanking. Not normally a bad thing, but that wasn’t what she wanted just then. I wish I’d
taken another one of those damn sleeping pills. She slept like the dead when she did, not dreaming
at all, not even the silly little dreams she’d had before she’d met Gabe. Unfortunately she’d
decided not to, not wanting to be light-headed through dinner. The sleeping pills always made her
groggy when she woke up too soon. Besides, Gabe didn’t seem the type to take an afternoon nap.

Admit it. Part of you thought he’d be in Chloe’s room.

She gritted her teeth at the thought of him with the redhead. It made her even more determined
than ever that he wouldn’t get what he wanted easily. Not this time.

“Look at me, Sarah.”

She peeked up at him through her lashes, allowing her defiance to shine through.

“That’s one, baby. Now look up at me.”

Fuck it. She would not submit. As far as she was concerned he’d betrayed her. He no longer had
her obedience. He’d have to earn it back along with her trust.

“Put your hands behind your back, baby.”

Sarah stubbornly kept them where they were, in her lap.

He studied her, circling her, his stride sleek and commanding. “I said, put your hands behind your
back.”

“No.”

He stopped, one brow rising arrogantly. “No?”

She turned her face from him, the first time she’d dared to do that in their dream.

He crouched down, one hand going to her chin, pulling her face around. She closed her eyes,
refusing to look at him. “Sarah.”

She opened her eyes, hoping he would see the anger and the pain. She wanted him to know what
he’d done to her. “You no longer have me.”

He reared back, his hand dropping from her face. Anguish flitted briefly across his face before
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anger washed over it. “Jim.”

“Chloe.” She glared at him. “Apparently she’s the one who should be here right now.”

“What?”

“Are you sleeping with her?”

For one second he looked stunned, confused, before determination settled in. He grabbed her
upper arms, pulling her into his body. “I am not sleeping with Chloe!”

“Bullshit.”

His expression turned cold. “That’s two.”

“That’s none! How could you?”

She gasped as his eyes turned to gold. “I give you my word I have not slept with Chloe.”

She turned her face away. He’d been home over Christmas, given Chloe that pretty little
bracelet. He’d had the time and probably the inclination. “Liar.”

Out of the corner of her eye she saw his jaw clench. “That’s three.”

Uh-oh. He had a hard and fast rule: three strikes, and she was out.

She fought him as he pulled her over his knee, but he was too strong for her.

“One: I have never, ever lied to you. Not even in dreams.”

SMACK. His palm landed, stinging her backside. She howled, trying to pull away from him, but
he held her down firmly. The sting faded quickly, her arousal growing as she tried to squirm off
his lap.

“Two. I have not slept with Chloe.”

Smack. This one was not as hard as the first. He caressed the mark his hand left behind. She
licked her lips as her belly flipped. Normally, she loved it when he spanked her. The heat of his
hand, the sting of his palm, would give way to an arousal so intense he didn’t need to do anything
else to get her off.

Which was why she needed to get away. She wriggled harder, pinching his thigh, trying to get him
to let her go. If that third smack landed…

SMACK!

She shuddered. Licking her lips, she looked up at him through her bangs and wondered what he
would do if she just sank her fangs into his leg.

“If you so much as let Jim touch your little pinky, you won’t sit down for a week. Do you
understand me?”

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She blew a raspberry at him. He was so stunned she actually got free.

Unfortunately, it didn’t last long. “Oh, no you don’t.” Hard arms wrapped around her, holding
her against him, back to front. “A little something to remind you to be a good girl, other than
your sore ass.” He bit her neck, and she just knew he was sucking up a mark. If he’d let his fangs
drop he’d have been marking her as his. One hand drifted down to her dripping pussy, pushing up
against her clit, stroking her fast and furious until she was writhing in his embrace.

She screeched as she came, but it felt empty somehow.

With one final smack on her ass he set her free. “Now…”

Sarah woke, grateful the alarm clock had kept the dream from going any further. She just knew what he’d had in mind. Another quick, hard fuck followed by yet more rejection. With a sigh she stood and headed into the shower, stripping as she went. She was still tired. The nap had hardly been what she’d call
restful
.
Damn him, anyway.

She washed quickly and toweled off, pulling her underwear out of the drawer. She didn’t have much time, thanks to Gabe’s little game. If she had her way the games would end one way or another before the end of this trip.

She wanted her hair and makeup to be perfect tonight, so she’d need to hurry. She had to do her damndest to outshine the perky female who had her mate’s undivided attention. Dinner was in under an hour and she still needed to catch the shuttle to Animal Kingdom.

She dressed quickly in the strappy little red sundress and matching sandals, plugged in her blow-dryer, and began taking care of her short bob, curling the ends under to frame her face. Just as she lifted her brush she noticed the bite mark on her neck. She turned the dryer off and leaned in closer to get a better look.

“Rat bastard.” It wasn’t the first time he’d marked her in a dream. Light hand prints had shown up more than once on her backside, hickeys on her shoulder blades and breasts, and now this. It was nice and dark too, and right where anyone could see it. The first time it had happened she’d been freaked out.

Now, she was just annoyed.

It took her a while, but she finally got it covered with makeup.
How do I explain to people a dream
hickey, anyway?

Shaking her head she started the dryer up again. If she didn’t hurry she’d be late, and it would all be Gabe’s fault.

It rained of course. What else could you expect in Florida in April? Hell, at least it had helped get rid of the unfulfilled hard-on he’d been sporting since his dream of Sarah had been interrupted. He didn’t even have the heart to be pissed about the aborted dream; seeing her there had been more than worth it. His
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Puma was actually growly again, something he hadn’t thought he’d miss until it was gone. He got to the restaurant before the worst of the rain hit, so he wasn’t too soaked. Still, the damp clothing and the cold air-conditioning was sending shivers down his spine and pulling up goose bumps on his arms.

He thought he was the first one there until he spied Emma shopping. The Rainforest Café was set up so that one entered the restaurant through the gift shop attached to it. He smiled as he caught Max’s wince, but Emma’s laughter pulled her mate to her like a magnet to iron.

He watched them, so happy together, and wondered if he and Sarah would ever be that happy. The dream this afternoon had disturbed him on more than one level. Sarah’s defiance had startled him, turned him on and hurt him, all at the same time. Her pain had struck him deep, made him question his decisions like never before, even more than seeing her with Jim had. The only thing he could come up with was that his Puma was bound and determined to have him finally claim her as his own.

Even in dreams she’d never argued with him like that before. He’d been telling dream-Sarah the truth.

He couldn’t bring himself to lie to her, even there. He
hadn’t
slept with Chloe. He hadn’t been with a real woman in a long time. Hell, even his dreams were faithful to her! How could she think for even a second that he would betray their bond that way? The pain in her eyes had been too much for him to bear, and when she’d told him he didn’t have her any longer, he’d nearly broken down and ended his torment, marking her for all to see as his, if only in his own mind.

He had to stop this. He had to remember that they were
only
dreams, or that pain he’d seen in her would drive him mad.

Why had his dream of her accused him of infidelity? That
really
bothered him. Was he secretly attracted to Chloe? He tried to picture kissing her and shuddered in revulsion.

Nope. That isn’t it.
The thought of touching any female flesh but Sarah’s was revolting.
So why did
Dream Sarah accuse me of that?
What was his subconscious trying to tell him? Could his closeness with Chloe be the root of his problems with Sarah? But why?

He shook his head and wondered what Sarah’s dreams were like. How did he act in them? Did he bring her flowers and candy? Did he make sweet, gentle love to her? Did they argue constantly? One thing was for sure. He very much doubted he spanked her until she came.

He stopped, stunned by a single, horrifying thought.
What if she doesn’t dream of me at all?

He heard Sarah’s tinkling laughter and turned towards the entrance of the restaurant, compelled to catch a glimpse of her. She was shaking water out of her hair, giggling up at the walking dead man beside her.

She was soaked through, her short red sundress clinging to her curves in a way guaranteed to raise the blood pressure of any male who wasn’t gay, showing off legs Gabe had felt wrapped around his waist more than once. Gabe stepped forward, instinctively looking for a way to shield his mate from other men’s eyes.

Before he could reach her Jim led her right over to the towels and began gently drying her off. “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart, I’ll just buy it for you.”

“Thank you, Jim.” She gazed up at the soon-to-be corpse with affection. Affection that rightfully belonged to
him.
When Jim’s towel-covered hands drifted dangerously close to her cleavage Gabe snarled, unable to hold himself back a second longer.

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That’s it. Dickhead’s gonna find out what that towel tastes like.

The towel lifted just enough to reveal the side of Sarah’s neck, halting Gabe in his tracks. His entire being was focused on the mark on her neck.

The mark he’d put there not two hours before.

He stared at it, wondering what the fuck was going on. How the hell was that possible? He hadn’t actually bitten her! It had been a fucking dream, for God’s sake!

She caught him staring at her. Her expression turned wary, and her hand moved up to cover the mark.

He caught her gaze with his own, trapping her, mentally demanding answers she couldn’t possibly give him.

When her eyes lowered submissively, he nearly cursed out loud. His cock twitched, his erection growing to painful proportions behind his jeans despite their cold dampness.

She’d somehow been there in his dreams, in his arms, writhing on his cock, every damn night for
months

. And she’d done
everything he’d asked of her
.

She blushed, pulling back, away from him and closer to the man who was going to become cat chow.

Gabe felt the purr of his Puma, a feral sound, one that he’d become familiar with over the last few months.
Oh, hell no, baby. You can try to run, but I will hunt you down. And when I do I’m going to
have a few things to say about your relationship with Dr. Deadman.

You’re mine.

Gabe was watching her with obvious irritation as she settled in next to Jim, his growl of disapproval so low only the other shifters could hear him. The one time she’d dared glance at him, he’d smiled that sexier-than-hell grin of his, the one she’d seen only in her dreams, and held up one finger. She could almost hear him in her head.