Protecting the Dream (10 page)

Sexiest. Image. Ever
.

Very possibly the moment she’d take to her grave as the most erotic of her life.

“I’m dead.” Ty sat naked, boneless, looking like a scoop of melted ice cream on a hot, summer sidewalk. “You killed me. It was a hell of a way to go, so can’t say I regret it, still . . .”

She laughed. “You’re not dead, you big baby. You’re still talking.” She stretched out with her head in his lap.

“Duh.” He looked down at her. “How would you know? You could hear me either way.”

She giggled again. Then reached up and twisted his nipple hard.

“Owww-wee.” He yelped and grabbed his chest.

“Just proving you’re alive,” she said mildly. “I can’t physically touch a spirit. If you felt that, you’re still kicking.”

“Huh? That kind of sucks. If you do kill me during sex, I’ll be enjoying the hell out of myself, my heart will stop, and then”—he swiped his hand through the air—“
pffft
. Nothing. I won’t be able to feel you anymore. I’ll be like
what the hell?
”

She sat up, straddled his lap, and trapped his face between her hands. “I always thought I was the mental defect in this relationship, yet you’re worried about croaking during sex. And actually not the croaking part, just that you won’t get to finish.”

He shrugged. “Maybe we’re both twisted.” He wiggled his brows. “But I think I like it.” He pulled her close and kissed her. Soft and tender this time. “Thank you for tonight.”

“My pleasure.” She wiggled her brows at him. “And by the way, you treat me with more love and respect than anyone ever has. I love that about you, but please don’t treat me like I’m made of glass in the bedroom. It’s just gonna piss me off.”

“Okay.” He tangled his fingers in her hair and smiled. “But I was thanking you for the other thing tonight. For opening up about stuff. For telling me things about Tara. I know we’ve got a long way to go, but it helps, you know?”

She put a finger over his lips. “I can feel Tara’s love for you. It’s important that you know that. You should be really proud of how she saved you in Titus.”

“I think Tara had some help,” he whispered, twirling her hair around his finger.

“I just followed her lead.”

“But she couldn’t have done any of it without you.”

“Well, I’m impressive that way. Defender of justice and all that crap. Just treat me as you would any other god-like superhero.”

He shook his head and grinned. “Maybe we need to get you tights like Superman. You’d look really hot in a body-hugging hero costume. You might even need a super name. Supermedium or Medium Woman.”

Wanting to keep his mood light, she narrowed her eyes and played along. “I think something that highlights my other superpower would be better. You know, something like Super Sex-Bomb or Wonder Blow.”

Ty threw his head back and roared. “No, I got it.” He held up his hands like he was framing a title on a marquee. “Orgasmic.”

Jordan was the one who threw her head back and laughed, then. God, she loved him. Everything about him. The sex, the security, all that. But this, the fun, the completely in sync humor that was much too warped for the rest of the world to appreciate. She loved that, too.

He clamped his hands to her hips, tugged her closer until the heat between her thighs nestled comfortably on top of him. His gaze flared with that look of humor and mischief she’d come to realize meant trouble.

“I’m going to take you upstairs now and make you earn your super name, Ms. Orgasmic. Many, many,
many
times before this night is over. We’re talking Guinness Book of World Records, here. And if you can still walk tomorrow, then, and only then, will you get to boast about your new name.”

Chapter 9

“How did I end up here, Joe?” Ellie murmured to her reflection. Staring into the mirror on her dresser, she gingerly touched the dark shadows under her eyes. “I look like I’ve aged fifteen years in the last six months. I’ve let you down, and I’ve sure let me down.” Tears streaked her hollowed cheeks. “I need you so badly. Why did you leave me?”

“Talking to someone, Ellie?”

She jumped as a towering man with a malicious scowl sauntered into her bedroom.

“Do you think your dead husband is going to save you now? I’m the only one who can save your precious horse ranch. And I’m damn tired of the games.”

He moved behind her, and his reflection loomed over her much shorter one. He clutched a handful of her hair and twisted her head until she was forced to look up at him. “Joe had a huge insurance policy, Ellie. I know because I helped him pick it out.”

She pushed away. “You know nothing about our lives.”

“I know his policy was for three million, not one million. I knew it the second you lied to me. And I know you’ve got the rest of that money stashed somewhere. I want access to it by tomorrow night, or your precious horses are going to start falling mysteriously ill. Starting with Joe’s prized stud.”

Her face flushed with anger, she lunged at him and slapped him across the cheek. “Get out. Get out now,” she screamed. “You’ll never touch any of my horses again or I’ll call the police.”

He backhanded her. Watched as she recoiled. “And tell them what? That you want me out? Go right ahead, sweetheart. And I’ll tell them how you got Joe to take out a three-million-dollar insurance policy and a month later he was dead.”

***

Ty felt the bed shift, heard a sound that pulled him out of a deep sleep. He rolled over, rubbing his eyes. “Jordan.”

She muttered something and rolled from one side to the other, but didn’t answer.

He reached for the lamp next to the bed. When he turned back, he recognized the sweat-dampened hair and strangled moans.

She was caught in a dream.

“It’s okay, you’re okay.” Her hands were white-knuckled and clenched in the sheet. He pried open her fingers and picked up her hand. “It’s Ty. You’re with me, baby.”

Her sweat-slicked hand jerked out of his grip and she bolted from the bed.

Definitely caught in a dream. A bad one.

He eased from the bed, moved toward her, keeping his movements slow.

Her back was pressed against the bedroom wall.

“It was just a dream,” he said softly. “Come on, come back to bed with me.”

She pointed a finger at him. “Stay back. Don’t touch me.”

He stopped. There was no indication she was still asleep. Usually her eyes stayed closed and she was mostly incoherent. But right now she appeared wide awake and her words were clear. 

He eased about two feet to his left and waved a hand in front of her. When her gaze didn’t follow, he decided she
was
still trapped in a vision. He just didn’t know what to do about it.

Her hands splayed against the wall. “Oh my God,” she cried. “You killed him, didn’t you?”

She was looking in his direction now, but he had no idea if she could see or hear him. And her words weren’t making sense. Everything had been fine when they went to bed. More than fine. They’d fallen asleep tangled around one another, so he knew whatever she was saying wasn’t aimed at him.

Still, what was he supposed to do to bring her out of it? Reason with her? Was it worse to wake her or let her finish out the dream? They really needed a plan for this shit, because he wanted her awake. He wanted that horrified look off her face and her back in bed before she hurt herself.

Something had to give. He moved closer and cupped her shoulders. “Come back to bed, baby. It’s Ty. Come with me. We’re going to lie down; it’ll be okay.”

She slapped against his chest. “Let go, or I swear I’ll kill you. I hate you.”

The shock of her words and the venom in her voice strangled his breath, but he managed to keep hold of her. “Jordan.” He shook her arms lightly. “Time to wake up now. Time to come back to me. It’s Ty, baby. You’ve got to—”

She twisted out of his grip, backed into the hallway, and stopped just at the top of the stairs.

“Jordan, god
damn
it. Stop!” He lunged toward her, barely caught the material of the tee she was wearing as she fell back. He yanked her against him. But they tumbled down the first few stairs before he was able to stop their momentum.

***

No air, like being underwater.

Tight, tight lungs.

Can’t catch a breath
.

Jordan blinked. As her eyes fluttered open, her airway opened up, too. A rush of oxygen made her cough. She felt Ty all around her, heard his panicked voice before her vision cleared.

“Jordan, are you okay? Talk to me, baby. Say something, please. Anything.”

It was barely dawn, still dark in the house, but she heard his breath rush in and out. She blinked, tried to look around. Where were they? On the stairs?

Yep, they were on the stairs, all right, and God, the dream started to roll through her mind.

Ty stood, picked her up, and carried her downstairs to the sofa. “You could have died falling down those fucking stairs. Are you hurt? I tried to catch you and not crush you at the same time.”

“I’m cold, but I’m okay,” she whispered. “Just give me a second.”

He flipped on the light.

She moved her arms and stretched out her legs. Nothing felt broken.

“I’ll be right back.” A minute later he returned with the quilt from their bed and draped it around her shoulders. He started a fire and then sat on the edge of the couch. “How can you be sure you’re okay—”

She pulled him in for a kiss and felt the knotted tension in his neck. “Are
you
all right?” she whispered against his lips.

“Physically, I’m okay. Mentally, I’m not so sure. Those crazy dreams scare the hell out of me.”

She glanced away, ashamed that she’d allowed him to be so affected.

Ty caressed her cheek. “Hey, look at me. I’m not afraid of the dreams. I’m afraid you’re going to hurt yourself. We just need a better game plan, that’s all. What if I wasn’t here? What if you’d fallen all the way down those stairs? We need a way . . .”

He raked his fingers halfway through his hair and froze. “
This
is why you had a lock on the bedroom door of your condo, isn’t it? Because of the dreams.” He dropped his arms, but his hair stood on end. “It wasn’t to keep anyone out, it was to keep you in. I asked you about that lock, thought it was weird. Why wouldn’t you mention a two-dollar lock that would take me five minutes to install?”

Heat flamed in her cheeks. She hadn’t mentioned it because it was embarrassing. “Do you know how it makes me feel to admit that I need to toddler-proof our bedroom just so I can sleep in it?”

“Do you know how it makes me feel to watch you fall down a flight a stairs? Like an idiot who didn’t think to do the simplest thing to keep you safe. I can’t believe I didn’t put it together.”

“I’ll buy a stupid lock,” she snapped at him. “And I can put it on myself. It’s not your job to take care of me. I’ve dealt with these dreams for a long time, long before you came into my li—”

“You’re wrong.” His clipped tone kept her quiet. “It’s our job to take care of each other now. That was a dumb thing not to tell me about. If there’s something I need to know to keep you safe, you
have
to tell me.”

He slid behind her on the couch and wrapped his arms around her.

She snuggled into his chest and soaked up his warmth. Her body temperature felt like it had plunged into Arctic territory.

“You told me I could ask anything I want, any time I want,” he said. “So what was that dream about?”

Closing her eyes, she tried to recount all the details. She couldn’t remember if Ellie had said the man’s name, but he had to be the same man Liz talked about—a business partner of Joe Henderson’s. “Are you sure you want me to tell you every detail about my dreams?”

“Of course I’m sure. Why?”

“Okay, then.” Jordan pushed herself up to meet his gaze. “Ellie Henderson was murdered in this house. A man pushed her down the stairs. She died at the base of them. I don’t know what he did with her body, but I think her spirit is still living right here. With us.”

***

Ty got up off the couch, paced a couple laps back and forth across the floor. It was barely dawn and already it had been the day from hell. He turned to Jordan. “How long have you known?”

“How long have I’ve known she was killed in the house? About ten minutes. But I suspected something before that.”

“Like the first night we were here and you had a dream,” he accused. “See, this is what drives me nuts. Why didn’t you just say you had a bad feeling about this house?”

She pulled the blanket tighter around her body. “Because I didn’t have a bad feeling then. I had a dream, but it wasn’t a bad one. I saw a man and a woman. At first I thought it was you and me. Then it got confusing, like it shifted and all of a sudden it wasn’t us. But there wasn’t anything creepy about it. No murder, just images of a couple’s life.”

“And you think that couple was the Hendersons?”

“I know it was the Hendersons. At first I wasn’t sure until I talked to Liz and Bill Tucker at their coffee shop and things started to click.” Jordan got up, padded across the room to the fire and huddled on the hearth. “I also sort of questioned Liz when I ran into her by the lake.”

“So the whole time we’ve been here, you’ve been conducting an investigation? One you didn’t bother to tell me about?”

“No, not really. That’s not how it happened. You told me to check out the property, see if I liked it here, and that’s all I was doing. One thing led to another and it just kind of snowballed. Didn’t you ask any questions about the Hendersons before deciding to buy this place?”

He stopped pacing and turned to her. “Why would I? The realty company I worked with said Joe Henderson died in a car accident and that Mrs. Henderson got financially overwhelmed and just skipped out. They said the bank went through the whole legal foreclosure thing. I didn’t know there was any mystery here.”

“She didn’t skip out, Ty. She was murdered.”

“Are you sure? No body was ever found.”

“You and I both know that doesn’t mean a damned thing. According to Liz, Joe Henderson had a business partner who moved into the stables right after Joe died under the pretense of helping Ellie with the horses. But I’m pretty sure his end goal was to take control of the horses, the ranch, and the big fat pile of insurance money Joe left for Ellie.”

Ty’s stomach lurched. Based on what the realtor had said, he’d assumed Mrs. Henderson was heartbroken after her husband died and had given up and moved on. “You think this business partner killed Ellie Henderson?”

“I know he did. The dream confirmed it. I’m sorry, Ty. I know you liked the Hendersons.” She sat quietly for a minute, giving him time to absorb her claim before she went on. “But there’s more.”

He dropped down on the couch. “You’ve got to be kidding me. How much
more
could there be?”

“Well, I think a lot of people suspected foul play when Ellie disappeared, but there was simply no proof. What I don’t think anyone suspects is that this man also killed Joe Henderson.”

Ty’s breath escaped on a rush. “But Joe died in a car accident.”

Jordan shrugged. “Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Ellie was wrong. But in my dream she accused this guy of tampering with Joe’s car.”

That was more information than his brain was able to compute. What a disaster. “So what do we do with this knowledge?”

“No idea. But from the dream I got the feeling that Ellie Henderson stashed some money away and it still may be missing. She lied to this business-partner guy, told him Joe’s insurance policy was for one million dollars. He called her on it. Said he helped Joe pick out the policy and knew it was for three million. They were fighting about the missing two million when he got pissed and pushed her down the stairs. That much I know for sure.”

“So did he get his hands on the other two million?”

“No idea about that, either. But I’ll tell you one thing. Ellie Henderson would have set the money on fire before letting that guy get his hands on it. Wherever she hid it, she hid it good.”

Ty sank back into the couch cushion.

“Say something, would you?”

He opened his mouth, scratched his head, but words escaped him.

“Seriously? You yank my chain for the truth.
‘I want the truth, Jordan. I need the truth from you.’
Then when I give it to you, you don’t speak. That’s crap. Pull up your tighty-whities and help me figure out what we’re supposed to do.”

He held up his hands. “I have no idea what to do. I guess we find out who this guy is and track him down.”

“He’s dead. Liz said he got loaded and they found him frozen to death in his car. There’s probably a good story there, too. I hope Ellie and Joe haunted the hell out of him until he lost it.”