He was right on multiple accounts. The main one being she was desperate for him to fuck her. Damn it, she hoped he did something more with his dick than just brush it against her every so often, and she hoped he did it soon.

  Still, he kept up his commentary even as he settled behind her. “They all want to be in my place. They all want to be the lucky bastard preparing to screw you hard against the window.”

  Her head pounded with the sound of the blood rushing through her body. He lined himself up with her and slowly pushed forward. Even as wet as she was, her eyes still grew wide as he filled her.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, stopping momentarily.

  It wasn’t until she opened her mouth to answer that she realized she’d been holding her breath. She took in a lungful of air. “Yes, Sir. You’re just so… thick.”

  “Yes, but I’m nothing this slutty fuck hole can’t handle.” Then, as if to prove his words, he plunged forward, filling her completely. She squeaked as equal sensations of pain and pleasure washed over her. “There we go. Look at how my fat cock stretches you.”

  She couldn’t see it, but she could sure as hell feel it. “Please,” she said. “Please, Sir.”

  He hadn’t moved again yet. “Please, Sir, what?”

  “Please, Sir. Fuck me.”

  He pulled out and thrust back in. “Good thing you weren’t asking for mercy, because I’m not in a mood to give you any. You better brace yourself to take my cock hard and rough.”

  There was no fingerhold for her on the window, so she pressed her palms flat against the glass and let him do with her body as he wished.

  In short, she realized, she submitted.

  And he took what she willingly gave. Over and over his dick moved in and out of her. At times, she worried the glass wouldn’t hold and he’d fuck her right through it, breaking the glass as he thrust himself harder and deeper.

  “You like a fat cock in your pussy?” One hand held her chin steady while his lower body pounded into her. “This is what your pussy wants, isn’t it?”

  She made a noise that sounded to her like something between a moan and a strangled yes.

  He chuckled even as he continued his relentless, punishing torment. “Finally rendered you speechless.”

  Smug bastard. She wanted to respond with a biting and sarcastic remark, but couldn’t do it since he was 100 percent correct. He dragged a finger across her clit and she sucked in a breath. No, there was no trace of sarcasm to be found anywhere in her body, and at the moment, it didn’t bother her a bit. Not as long as he continued what he was doing. And she didn’t mind if he never stopped.

  “Since I instructed you to be silent, you can’t ask for permission to come,” he said, his fingers circling her clit before brushing over it so softly, it seemed almost like a whispered invitation to give in to the orgasm building much too quickly. “But you feel so good, and I know you’re going to feel even better when you come with me buried deep inside. Come whenever you like.”

  With his permission granted, she felt a tension she didn’t realize she had leave her body in a whoosh. She relaxed against the window, giving herself over to him and allowing him to take complete charge of her entire being.

  “Good slut,” he murmured.

  She realized he’d been holding back, and just how much, at that moment. Somehow he was going faster and deeper, a feat she wouldn’t have thought possible mere seconds before.

  It didn’t take long for it to become clear she wasn’t going to last much longer. Especially not with his increased movements. She didn’t fight it but let her release sweep over her in a massive wave of pleasure.

  “Fuck,” he swore behind her or over her or somewhere around her. She couldn’t tell and didn’t care.

  Surprisingly enough, a second one soon followed the first. Not as strong, but undeniably awesome. She’d never experienced multiple orgasms before. But before she could process the fact that it’d happened, Terrence was thrusting into her with renewed purpose, and within seconds, his own release followed.

  Still breathing heavily, he pulled her away from the window and down onto a blanket he must have brought with him when he came up the stairs. He was unexpectedly gentle after disposing of the condom, gathering her into his arms and speaking soft, tender words of praise while caressing her with soothing hands.

  She wasn’t even aware of falling asleep, only the feeling of contentment and the shocking sensation of being home.

  Chapter 19

  Veronica

  Some part of Veronica became aware of being carried, but because she was in that odd state of not quite awake and not quite asleep, it wasn’t clear if she dreamed it or not. Something or someone nearby smelled good, and she snuggled closer. A man’s warm laugh surrounded her, and she smiled as the world once more faded.

  * * *

  The next time, she was more alert.

  * * *

  She was standing.

  Where the hell was she? How did she get here? And why was she standing?

  Dense forest surrounded her on all sides, but she assumed the ocean was nearby because she heard the faint roar of crashing waves. She stood on a path of sorts, or at least she assumed it was a path; the grass under her feet appeared to have been walked on slightly more than the grass off to her side.

  But a path to where? The ocean? That seemed most likely. But why was she here, and more importantly, where was here?

  If she could get to the shoreline, maybe it’d shed some light on things. She looked around, trying to determine which way would lead her there quicker, go forward the way she faced or turn around and go that way? It was impossible to know, seeing as how they both looked the same.

  A tree branch snapped behind her, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin. With her hand on her chest, she spun around to see who, or what, it was.

  “Sorry,” a beautiful woman said who looked to be only a few years older than Veronica. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to see me or not. You didn’t arrive like the other two.”

  The other two what? And why wouldn’t she be able to see her? Veronica wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer to those questions yet, so instead, she went with her third question. “How was I supposed to arrive?”

  It wasn’t until the words left her mouth that Veronica realized how ridiculous the question was since she had no clue how she arrived in the first place.

  But if the strange woman thought anything at all about their current situation was odd, it didn’t show. In fact, the woman waved her hand as if shooing the question away altogether. “Eh, it’s no big deal. It’s only that instead of a hospital, you’re in my house.” She tilted her head. “Well, that and you haven’t had a near-death experience. At least, I don’t think you did?”

  Veronica felt the need to reply since she’d stated it like a question. “Not that I’m aware of.” Her face heated at her unspoken thought: Not unless you count the best sex ever as a near-death experience. Hadn’t she read once that orgasms were little deaths?

  The woman nodded. “Interesting. And yet you can still see me. That’s good to know.”

  Whether Veronica wanted to know the answer or not, this time she had to ask. “Why wouldn’t I be able to see you?”

  “Because I’m dead.”

  Those three words were spoken so matter-of-factly it took Veronica a second to realize their meaning. “You’re dead? As in dead, dead?”

  “Yup.” The woman nodded. “I’m as dead as they come—but don’t worry, you aren’t. At least, I don’t think you are.”

  Veronica didn’t like the way the woman frowned after she spoke, like it was a possibility they were both dead. She couldn’t be dead. Wouldn’t she have remembered dying? She didn’t feel dead, and surely she’d feel something if she was dead. Not wanting to dwell on the subject anymore, she recalled something the woman said earlier. “I’m in your house? Are you Winnie?”

  “Yes,” the other woman replied, and in that instant Veronica realized she was in a dream. There was no other conceivable option.

  Besides, she had a strange feeling of déjà vu. She was certain she’d been in this particular forest before. As a whole, the surroundings felt comfortable and familiar, or at least her dream self found them to be that way. It was only when she looked at the details that everything became more questionable and strange.

  “Is this heaven?” Veronica asked. It certainly didn’t look anything at all the way she thought heaven would look, but dreams could be funny like that.

  “How can this be heaven if we’ve already established that you aren’t dead?” Winnie asked.

  “I don’t remember us deciding with certainty that I wasn’t dead.” Veronica couldn’t believe she was arguing in her dream with a dead woman. “We just said we didn’t think it was likely I was dead.”

  “Okay, then.” Winnie crossed her arms in front of her. “If you want to get all technical, does this look like heaven?”

  Veronica took another look around. “It’s not the way I pictured heaven looking, but I suppose it might look how some people imagine it to look.”

  “If you thought it was heaven, why would your first thought be to figure out the quickest way to the beach?”

  It wasn’t odd Winnie knew what she’d been thinking, Veronica told herself. This was her dream; of course the people in it would know what was in her head. “How —”

  “Stop.” Winnie held her hand up. “Seriously, you alive people are all the same. Where am I? How do I get back?” She put her hands on her hips. “For once I’d like to be asked a question that made sense like, why am I here?”

  “I actually did have that as a question,” Veronica said. “It was actually one of my first ones, but then I came up with so many additional questions, I forgot to ask that one.”

  Nothing from Winnie.

  Veronica tried again. “Why am I here?”

  “It doesn’t count if I have to give you the question.”

  “I don’t remember people in my dreams being so difficult before.”

  “What is it with the dream thing?” Winnie asked. “Just because you’re sleeping, it has to be a dream?”

  “That’s typically the way it works.”

  “But that doesn’t mean it has to work that way.”

  Winnie had a point, but Veronica wasn’t going to tell her as much. She wondered idly if she could make herself wake up? If so, she’d vow to never again spend the night in Winnie’s house.

  “Anyway,” Winnie said. “Enough of the small talk. I have a few things I need to tell you before you leave and your time here becomes nothing but a vague memory with uncertain validity. I need you to cooperate by listening and not talking.”

  Veronica opened her mouth to say something, but Winnie shook her head. “Nope. I meant it. No more talking from you. It’s your time to listen. Now you’ve made some major changes in your life over the past five years. For the most part, they were good changes that needed to happen. You’ve become stronger and more independent. But the truth is you need to learn to allow others to help you and to look for answers in places you typically wouldn’t. Because before too long, you’re going to be confronted with new information, and how you handle it will determine your future.”

  “Are you trying to be a fortune-teller with that speech?” Veronica lifted an eyebrow at Winnie. “Because that’s vague enough to fit into just about anyone’s life. I mean, made major changes, became stronger and more independent, how I handle new information will determine my future? Please.”

  “Are you implying that I’m making this up?”

  “I’m saying it doesn’t mean anything because I could repeat the same phrases to random people on the street and it’d make sense in the lives of 95 percent of them.”

  Winnie tilted her head. “I’ve never had anyone not believe me before.”

  “I find that highly unlikely.”

  “I love it!” Winnie laughed. “You’re testing me. You want specifics? Here it goes. It’s a good thing you left home and turned your back on your father’s money and power. If you hadn’t, you’d be miserable. It’s taking longer than expected for you to make your mark on your own terms and without the Lewis name, but you’re doing it, and that’s how you’re becoming stronger and more independent.” She finished with a self-satisfied nod. “Is that specific enough for you?”

  “Not really,” Veronica said. “I mean, you’re inside my head. This is my dream. So of course you know all those things.”

  For several long seconds, Winnie held her gaze. It was horribly disconcerting.

  Veronica shifted her weight from foot to foot.

  “I didn’t want to have to do this,” Winnie said, her voice low. Her expression lost all the playfulness it’d been holding. “But you’ve left me no other choice. Just remember what I told you earlier.” She took a deep breath. “The paparazzi were outside earlier and are still there, waiting for you to leave the cottage.”

  Chapter 20

  Terrence

  In his dream, Terrence was fucking Ronnie again.

  He knew it was a dream because they’d been at it for hours, they never stopped to rest, and they always came at the same time. After which, he would still be hard and she’d be wet and ready for him, even though they’d been fucking forever. And even though having sex with Dream Ronnie was nowhere near as awesome as having sex with Real Ronnie, it was still pretty damn amazing.

  Which meant for the time being he had no choice but to be content with acting out his desires in his dreams. Maybe in the morning…

  “Terrence.”

  In his dream, was thrusting inside her, and she turned her head to look over her shoulder to him. “Terrence. Wake up.”

  Something pushed against him, and just like that, dream time was over.

  “About time,” a very real and very pale-looking Ronnie said to him from beside his bed. “I had no idea you were such a heavy sleeper. It took forever to wake you up.”

  It wasn’t yet dawn. That much was obvious. Based on the level of light compared to dark in the room, he estimated they were still a few hours away from dawn. And that was irritating. Unless she wanted sex?

  “Can’t get enough of me?” he asked with a lazy grin. “Needed me so much that you couldn’t stay away and wait until morning? That’s perfectly understandable, and just in case you’re wondering, I’ll never turn down sex from you. Even if it is two in the morning.”

  She cursed under her breath. “Oh my God. Get over yourself already. It’s just after four, and I didn’t wake you up for sex.”

  He yawned, ready to go back to sleep and to Dream Ronnie if Real Ronnie wasn’t interested. “In the future, please refrain from waking me up at either two or four in the morning if you’re not looking for my cock.”

  “There are photographers outside.”

  His eyes flew open, and there was a faint humming noise inside his head. “What?”

  “I assume it’s the paparazzi, but that’s just a guess. It’s not like I went outside to ask them what their intentions were.”

  He doubted half a dozen espresso shots could create the buzz coursing through his body the way her handful of words had. While mere seconds ago he felt tired, now a new and alarming energy filled him.

  “Paparazzi? Here?” He sat up, his brain firing random thoughts. It couldn’t be the paparazzi. Not unless they were after someone else. Just because there was no one he could think of it being didn’t make it an impossibility. The only thing he kept coming back to was it couldn’t be him. No one knew where he was.

  He pushed back the sheets and stood, only remembering he was naked and half hard when Ronnie’s eyes grew wide. He gave half a thought to wrapping the discarded sheet around him, but saw no real need to do so. He’d been inside her hours before. She knew he had a cock. Hell, she knew a lot more than that.

  “Nice to see some part of you is awake first thing in the morning,” Ronnie said, obviously over her initial shock at his nudity.

  “I was having a good dream about fucking you.” Normally, he would have loved to have taken the time to tease her, but at the moment, he was more concerned about the cameras outside. “Morning has nothing to do with it.”

  She stepped aside so he could reach his folded clothes on the dresser where he’d piled them. “I went up to the studio and saw a group of four men with camera equipment camping on the beach. I haven’t looked out any of the other windows.”

  Terrence hurriedly pulled on his pants and T-shirt, his mind still racing. Was there any chance he’d look outside and discover four wildlife photographers? That made a hell of a lot more sense to him, but somehow he knew that wouldn’t be the case. “What made you go look out the window in the middle of the night?”

  She hesitated. “I had a dream about it.”

  He couldn’t call her out about a dream, could he? Not considering the dream he’d been having when she woke him up.

  They made their way up the stairs to the top of the landing, and without walking any farther into the studio, he was able to see the men. He cursed under his breath. No way in hell were they wilderness photographers. Not that he recognized them from LA, but he’d bet his last dollar that people taking pictures of sea life wouldn’t leave cigarette butts in the sand like the four assholes on the beach appeared to have done. “How the fuck did they know anyone was here? Much less anyone they’d have an interest in?”

  “That’s the real question, isn’t it?” Ronnie asked.

  “I don’t want to assume they’re looking for me in particular.” Terrence turned from the window, and they walked back downstairs to the bedroom. “You aren’t exactly an unknown to the gossip rags.”

  “True,” Ronnie said and began to make up the bed. “But it’s been quite some time since any of them have printed my picture.”