DREAM LOVER by Kimberley Reeves

and a family of your own?”
     
    Rachel suddenly had a vivid image of holding a dark haired baby in her arms.  “Someday,” she replied wistfully.  “But right now I need to concern myself with packing and getting on the road.”
     
    “Not so fast,” Nic protested when she tried to extract herself from his arms.  “I’ve decided that since I have a vested interest in the Covelli mansion it might be a good idea if I came with you.  After all, if I’m going to live there one day, I may have a few ideas I’d like you to incorporate into the restructuring.”
     
    Rachel’s eyes narrowed.  “Tell me you’re not going to be offering
helpful
suggestions at every turn.”
     
    “I wouldn’t dream of telling you how to do your job.  I was thinking more along the lines of taking a walk through the place so I could let you know what I like and don’t like.  You know, just to give you a better idea how my tastes run.  You don’t have any objections to my tagging along do you?”
     
    “Depends on how much of a distraction you intend on being,” she said with a smile.
     
    “During the day, none at all.”
     
    Rachel’s heart fluttered.  “Does that mean you plan on spending the night with me?”
     
    “Oh no, Miss Delacourte, I think I can safely say one night with you wouldn’t be nearly enough time to do all the things I want to do to you.”
     
    “I…I thought you worked nights at the lab,” she said in a wobbly voice.
     
    “Only on occasion, but as luck would have it, I’ve decided to take a few weeks of vacation time and spend it with a certain fascinating young woman I’ve just met.”
     
    Two weeks alone with Nic sounded like heaven, though she wondered how he was going to fill his time while she was working.  “I spend a lot of time just sketching at first, won’t you get bored?”
     
    “Not if you allow me to just sit and watch you work.”
     
    “Not on your life.  I wouldn’t be able to draw a straight line if I knew you were watching me, though I wouldn’t mind if you talked to me while I worked.”
     
    “Sounds like a plan,” he said, then sealed the agreement with a kiss.
     
                           ***
     
    Once they were on the road, Rachel told Nic about the nightmare.  “I hadn’t realized what the burning pain in my shoulder was before.  Now I know it was from the gunshot, but what I don’t understand is why the nightmare has suddenly changed.”
     
    “Maybe it hasn’t changed.  Obviously what happened in the nightmare you had today was a prelude to what happens in the original one.  It’s possible you’ve actually dreamt of it before and just didn’t remember any of it because the last part is so much more traumatic.”
     
    “I suppose, but I can’t help wondering if it had something to do with you being there.”
     
    A wide grin spread across Nic’s face.  “I guess we’ll know after tonight, won’t we?”
     
    “You’re completely shameless, Nic Covelli,” she feigned an indignant huff.  “Do you suggest sleeping with all your patients to prove or disprove a theory?”
     
    “I’ll have you know I’m very particular about which patients I sleep with.”
     
    “Do tell,” she replied dryly.
     
    “First and foremost, they have to be female.  I’m also partial to green eyes and hair the color of a raven’s wings.  Her lips and skin have to be soft as silk, and of course she has to possess the ability to slip into my dreams every night to make wild, passionate love to me.”
     
    Rachel couldn’t contain her smile.  “How fortunate for me then; I just happen to meet your stringent criteria for a prospective lover.”
     
    Nic reached across the seat and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.  “No, honey, I’m the fortunate one.  We’re almost there but we’ve got a little time to kill before we meet Grandfather for dinner.  Would you like to take a quick tour of the town?”
     
    “That’s a