work on lucid dreaming.”
“What do we do in the meantime?”
It was an innocent question, though it was easy enough to construe it as something more suggestive and Nic couldn’t help using it to his advantage. Rachel apparently knew she’d blundered the moment the question left her mouth, but he was already drawing her into his arms before she had a chance to retract it. He took his time, savoring the honeyed taste of her lips as she opened up to him and surrendered herself just as she’d done at the park. Oh yes, the real Rachel was much better than the fantasy one.
Lost as he was in the heat of the moment, there was still enough left of his mind to comprehend what the sharp stiletto tapping advancing down the hallway meant. Someone else had just entered Rachel’s apartment, and if he was interpreting the clipped sound of high heels against hardwood floors correctly, that someone was undoubtedly female. Disappointment registered on Rachel’s face when he hastily separated himself from her, followed by a guilty-as-sin expression which the woman entering the room obviously didn’t miss.
The young woman arched an amused brow directly at Nic. “No need to ask where the canary is since my sister has a few of the feathers sticking out of her mouth. I’m Monica, Rachel’s little sister.”
Nic rose to his feet and shook her hand. “Nic Covelli.”
“Covelli?” Monica grinned at Rachel and the vivid scarlet staining her cheeks. “Guess I don’t need to ask how the sleep study went.”
“Do you always have to be so blunt?” Rachel snapped. “Nic…Dr. Covelli and I were just going over some notes about the nightmare and trying to make some sense of it.”
“Ah…well that explains why you two were huddled so close together on the sofa. By the way, Dr. Covelli, you have a little bit of my sister’s Pink Rosé lipstick on the corner of your mouth.”
Nic’s laughter brought a smile to both women’s faces. “We’ve been caught, Rachel, so I guess there’s no use denying anything now. And since Monica is responsible for bringing us together, maybe we should explain how things are…progressing.”
“I can see how they’re progressing,” Monica quipped as her eyes swept over Nic appreciatively.
“Now you can see how I was goaded into going to the research center,” Rachel said tersely. “My sister doesn’t believe in holding her tongue or being polite, so you’ll have to accept my apologies because you’ll never get one from her.”
Nic lowered himself back down beside Rachel. “I’m glad she
did
goad you into coming, otherwise I might never have found the woman of my dreams.”
“The woman of your dreams? My, this
has
progressed nicely hasn’t it?” Monica glanced from one to the other. “I don’t suppose any of that progress had to do with the actual reason for going there, did it?”
Nic felt Rachel stiffen beside him and jumped in before she could reply. “We’ve discovered some very strange things about the nightmare and the dream. If Rachel doesn’t mind, I’d like to run it past you and see what you think.”
Rachel didn’t mind. In fact she was glad Nic took over because she was too irritated with Monica at the moment to say anything that wouldn’t reflect how annoyed she felt. She was used to her sister coming into the apartment unannounced. After all, she was the one who’d given Monica the key, and until now Rachel hadn’t been worried about getting caught doing anything more adventurous than working on her latest design. She’d never even invited a man inside her apartment before, but if Nic was going to become a part of her life, it seemed some new ground rules were going to have to be established where Monica was concerned.
As Nic explained what happened the night before and the discovery that their dreams seemed to be taking place in the
“What do we do in the meantime?”
It was an innocent question, though it was easy enough to construe it as something more suggestive and Nic couldn’t help using it to his advantage. Rachel apparently knew she’d blundered the moment the question left her mouth, but he was already drawing her into his arms before she had a chance to retract it. He took his time, savoring the honeyed taste of her lips as she opened up to him and surrendered herself just as she’d done at the park. Oh yes, the real Rachel was much better than the fantasy one.
Lost as he was in the heat of the moment, there was still enough left of his mind to comprehend what the sharp stiletto tapping advancing down the hallway meant. Someone else had just entered Rachel’s apartment, and if he was interpreting the clipped sound of high heels against hardwood floors correctly, that someone was undoubtedly female. Disappointment registered on Rachel’s face when he hastily separated himself from her, followed by a guilty-as-sin expression which the woman entering the room obviously didn’t miss.
The young woman arched an amused brow directly at Nic. “No need to ask where the canary is since my sister has a few of the feathers sticking out of her mouth. I’m Monica, Rachel’s little sister.”
Nic rose to his feet and shook her hand. “Nic Covelli.”
“Covelli?” Monica grinned at Rachel and the vivid scarlet staining her cheeks. “Guess I don’t need to ask how the sleep study went.”
“Do you always have to be so blunt?” Rachel snapped. “Nic…Dr. Covelli and I were just going over some notes about the nightmare and trying to make some sense of it.”
“Ah…well that explains why you two were huddled so close together on the sofa. By the way, Dr. Covelli, you have a little bit of my sister’s Pink Rosé lipstick on the corner of your mouth.”
Nic’s laughter brought a smile to both women’s faces. “We’ve been caught, Rachel, so I guess there’s no use denying anything now. And since Monica is responsible for bringing us together, maybe we should explain how things are…progressing.”
“I can see how they’re progressing,” Monica quipped as her eyes swept over Nic appreciatively.
“Now you can see how I was goaded into going to the research center,” Rachel said tersely. “My sister doesn’t believe in holding her tongue or being polite, so you’ll have to accept my apologies because you’ll never get one from her.”
Nic lowered himself back down beside Rachel. “I’m glad she
did
goad you into coming, otherwise I might never have found the woman of my dreams.”
“The woman of your dreams? My, this
has
progressed nicely hasn’t it?” Monica glanced from one to the other. “I don’t suppose any of that progress had to do with the actual reason for going there, did it?”
Nic felt Rachel stiffen beside him and jumped in before she could reply. “We’ve discovered some very strange things about the nightmare and the dream. If Rachel doesn’t mind, I’d like to run it past you and see what you think.”
Rachel didn’t mind. In fact she was glad Nic took over because she was too irritated with Monica at the moment to say anything that wouldn’t reflect how annoyed she felt. She was used to her sister coming into the apartment unannounced. After all, she was the one who’d given Monica the key, and until now Rachel hadn’t been worried about getting caught doing anything more adventurous than working on her latest design. She’d never even invited a man inside her apartment before, but if Nic was going to become a part of her life, it seemed some new ground rules were going to have to be established where Monica was concerned.
As Nic explained what happened the night before and the discovery that their dreams seemed to be taking place in the
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