The Dream Catcher Read online

  “I’d rather wake up,” she said.

  He stroked her hair, the warmth of his body covering the length of her own. “Please, stay with me.”

  His voice wavered slightly, as though he feared something and tried to hide it.

  “Why?”

  “Because I am in pain. They beat me until I fell into unconsciousness.”

  Natalia sat up again. “What?”

  “Here, in your dream, I feel no pain. Let me stay.”

  Anger and worry swirled together. “How dare she? I knew Delia was ill-natured, but this—”

  He laid his cheek on her hair, his strong fingers finding the lacings of her gown. “I am proud that you have no fear of her.”

  “I will certainly say a few things to Delia when I wake up.”

  He nuzzled her. “That’s my girl. So brave.”

  Natalia closed her eyes at the feeling of his warm breath, of his fingers slowly unlacing the front of her gown. “No one has ever called me that before.”

  “Brave and beautiful.” He kissed her hair. “You are all that.” He spread his hand, parting the placket and finding her bare skin.

  “What are my fantasies?” she murmured.

  “You know,” he said, his breath hot. “You tell me.”

  “Do you have a name?”

  “You may call me Ochen, if you wish.”

  “Ochen.” She closed her eyes, loving his fingers on her hair. “I like that. It sounds exotic.”

  “Where I come from it sounds ordinary. Not like you, Natalia Sorvenska. Tell me your fantasies.”

  “But you already know them.”

  “I want to hear you speak them. Out loud. No one can hear but me.”

  Natalia remained silent, not sure she could voice what she wanted, even to him. But if I can’t talk to a fantasy man inside my own dreams, who can I talk to?

  “I want to be loved.”

  She clamped her lips shut, amazed she’d said that out loud. Bor Nargan women were above such emotions as love, need, passion. They filled their mind with higher things. And the moons spin backwards, and the sand seas are full of water.

  “That is not a bad thing to want. You are a loving woman.”

  “That’s not the kind of fantasy you meant.”

  “Yes it is.” He kissed her forehead. “I need to know everything you need, and everything you want. Do you love, Natalia?”

  She thought of her mother, her grandmother, women who had accepted her love. A warmth began to fill her body, chasing away her irritation at Delia and the negative energy that filled Delia’s house.

  “Think on that,” Ochen said. “Think of love.”

  Natalia smiled, warmth filling her, relaxing her limbs.

  Ochen ran his fingers up the inside of her arm. “Now. What do you want?”

  “Pleasure.”

  “Of course.”

  She blushed hard. Ochen was grinning. The man was as handsome as sin, but when he smiled she didn’t want to look at anything but him. Ivan was a pale shadow compared to this man.

  He leaned down and licked her mouth from corner to corner. “You have the sweetest smile,” he whispered.

  She wanted to melt into the bed. “You must say that to all the women you pleasure.”

  “I do not pleasure them.” He dipped his finger behind her lips. “I make their fantasies real. I am not in them as myself.” He trailed his wet finger down her throat to the hollow. “But with you I am.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s what’s in your dreams.”

  Natalia laced one hand behind his neck. His hair was warm and silken, feeling so real. She daringly drew his mouth down to hers, and he kissed her.

  A soft kiss, no demands. Natalia explored the pads of his lips, hesitant, shy.

  “This is a fantasy,” Ochen whispered. “You can do whatever you want. There is no one to judge.”

  “Except you. Obviously.”

  “But I’m only a Dream Catcher. An animal. A reminder of what civilized people have lost.”

  Natalia slid fingers through his hair. “You don’t look like any animal I’ve ever seen. I once had a pet sand lizard, but he was scaly and slithered everywhere.”

  His smile widened. “I’m not human. I can be held in place simply with a piece of bewitched rope. I am a creature of base emotion. What does it matter what I think of you?”

  Natalia held his face between her hands. “It matters a great deal.”

  “Does it?” His hot breath scalded where he kissed the line of her hair. “But you’re a great lady of Bor Narga.”

  “A Sorvenska. Rich, eccentric, despised.”

  “Shh.” He stilled her lips with light kisses. “Beautiful, passionate, envied.”

  “Shunned.”

  “They all want to feel what you do. But only you are brave enough to seek it out.”

  Natalia pulled him close, suddenly impatient. “Make love to me. Please. Let me know what it feels like. I’m burning up for you.”

  He laughed again, low and throaty. “I burn for you. Can you not feel?”

  He positioned his body on top of hers, his hardness pressing through the thin fabric of her gown. It was positively wicked how good that felt. She wriggled against him.

  Ochen parted her gown with firm hands, lowered his head and traced her bare nipple with his tongue. Natalia arched against him, the heat of his mouth was incredible. Fire licked her body, making it tight and wonderfully loose at the same time.

  “Is this orgasm?” she moaned.

  “Not yet, my love. Not even close.”

  “I’m coming apart.”

  “No, you’re not. You’re beautifully whole.”

  “Do more.”

  “Mmm, so demanding.”

  “Please.”

  Ochen nuzzled her neck, lowering his bare chest to hers. The weight of him, the heat of his body, the tickle of his hair made her wild. She lifted her hips, loving the feel of his hardness behind his loincloth. She wanted no fabric between them.

  She slid her hands down his back, exploring his hard muscles. She lingered at the small of his back, then shivered as she moved to the bare mound of his backside. His eyes softened.

  Natalia had never touched a man’s backside before. She’d never seen one. Ochen’s was tight and compact, his skin smooth. She traced circles on it while he smiled at her.

  “Natalia, I want you so much.”

  She sighed happily. “This is a good dream.”

  His smile faded. A sharp sadness flickered through his eyes, then he kissed her. His tongue moved through her mouth in slow swipes, a man tasting her. His mouth was warm and velvety, wet and hot. Natalia moved her tongue to imitate his, loving the taste of him. She never knew kissing was like this, but it seemed so natural, so normal. Why shouldn’t men and women drink of each other?

  He pressed his body against hers, rocking into her to fit himself between her legs. The sensation burned, and she wound her arms around him.

  “Please,” she whispered. “Please.”

  He rose on his elbows, looking down into her face. His black hair hung like a curtain around them. “I want ...”

  “What? What do you want?” She was desperate for him.

  He lightly traced her cheek. “I want this to be real.”

  “Isn’t it real? It feels so real.”

  “I’m lying, broken, in an underground place. You are sleeping in a room far above me. The darkness, it presses me.” His gaze was remote, like he saw two things at once.

  “But you’re here with me.”

  “It’s illusion, all illusion. I’m very good at illusion.”

  “Show me what’s real then.”

  His mouth twisted. “You don’t want to see that.”

  “I do.” Natalia touched his face. “All my life I’ve only had dreams. When I thought I’d found real love, real life, I was deceived.”

  Ochen seized her hand in his strong one. “Then come to me. Help me. I’m at the bottom o
f the house. They locked me in a room behind . . .” His brow puckered. “Long stems that make noise.”

  Pipes, Natalia thought. Delia had put him behind her boiler room, the cow. “I’ll come to you,” she said. “Now.”

  His dazzling, sinful smile returned. “I will be waiting.”

  “I’d be more flattered if I didn’t know you had no choice.”

  “I would wait for you if I were free in my forest or across the wildest deserts. I’d wait.”

  “Oh,” she said. “I like that.”

  He gave her a slow kiss, his mouth playful and at the same time masterful. “Please come to me,” he said.

  He kissed her again, then his body faded, the press of his lips the last thing to go. Natalia found herself holding empty air, and then she woke with a gasp.

  She sat up on the bed, her dress whole and laced. The room was darker, most of the lights burned out, and she was alone. She swung her legs out of bed, slid her feet into her shoes and quietly left the room.

  Ochen lay cramped in the dark, his hands twisted behind him, the rope burning his throat. If not for the witch rope, he could transport himself instantly back home. He couldn’t even wriggle free because the bewitched rope drained him of strength. He could only think and wait. Would she come?

  It had been tempting to stay in her fantasy, to make love to her. But he hadn’t lied when he’d said he wanted it to be real. All his life he’d searched for a female he could love, one he could take as his own. He never thought it would be a human woman, a high-born lady of the hated Bor Nargans.

  The people who ruled this land took and took and took. They used Dream Catchers - when they could find them - like beasts of burden. They were used until drained of magic, and then discarded, left for dead. Dream Catchers thrived on emotion and passion, something these people had banished from their lives.

  Lady Delia fitted that pattern. She’d kill Ochen in the end. Natalia, on the other hand, had compassion in her. Her fantasy contained nothing brutal or selfish. She was starved for love, craving the physical satisfaction that the women of her land shunned. They thought her horrible for giving in to her true nature. Ochen found her beautiful.

  He heard footsteps outside the door, light ones, not the heavy tread of Delia’s tame hunters. The hunters had not even bothered to stand guard, knowing Ochen couldn’t possibly escape.

  Something scraped at the lock on the door, then it gave a satisfactory click. Cool air flooded him as the door opened. Natalia dropped to her knees beside him.

  “Ochen,” she whispered. She lifted his head into her lap, ran light fingers over his hurt body. “They broke your leg. The bastards.”

  “Because I’m so dangerous.” Ochen tried to smile then clenched his teeth over the pain.

  “I’ll take you to my house. My servants will help me get you out. They’re loyal to me. I have healers.”

  “No,” he croaked. “I must be freed.”

  He peered up at her with the eye that wasn’t swollen shut. She glowed with beauty. Her red hair flowed like flame over her shoulders to be swallowed by the red of the dress. “I don’t know how.”

  “Cut the witch ropes, take them from my skin. Then I can return to my people who will heal me.”

  Natalia bit her lip. “I’ll never see you again.”

  “I will come to you. When I’m healed I’ll come back for you.”

  She didn’t believe him. Indecision warred in her brown eyes. “You’re using me. You came to me and said those things so I would help you get free.”

  “No, my love.”

  “Why should you come back to me? I’m just a human who would trap you and make you fulfil her fantasies.”

  “I promise, Natalia.”

  Tears streaked down her cheeks. “Why can’t my own healers help you?”

  Ochen touched the rope around his neck, jerked his fingers away when it singed him. “This won’t let me heal all the way. I’ll weaken and die.”

  “You might be lying to me, so I’ll set you free.”

  “I might be.” He closed his eyes. She didn’t trust him, and he was a fool to think she would. “But I’m not.” His death would be proof he had told her the truth, but he wouldn’t be in a position to care then.

  He felt her hands on his skin again, soothing, cool. He loved her touch.

  And then, unbelievably, he felt a press of cold blade and a jerk of the ropes. He opened his eyes to see Natalia busily sawing at the ropes around his throat with a tiny knife. Her face screwed up with the effort, she was a lady not used to cutting anything more difficult than an apple.

  Ochen watched her, unable to help, as the knots loosened and the horrible pain lessened. At last she pulled the ropes from around his neck. She touched the burned flesh where the rope had been, tears tumbling down her cheeks.

  Ochen licked away a tear, loving the salty taste of it. She moved around him so she could reach the witch rope that bound his wrists. Her dress brushed his skin, her perfume sweet.

  “I can’t let you die,” Natalia whispered. “It doesn’t matter whether I see you again. You’ll be alive and safe.”

  Pain robbed him of too much breath to argue. His leg throbbed in agony, and it was tempting to slip back inside her fantasies to ease the pain. But too dangerous.

  “What are you doing?” someone shrieked.

  Lady Delia stood in the doorway, still in her overly ruffled ball gown, flanked by the two hunters who’d beaten Ochen senseless.

  Natalia didn’t look up or stop cutting the ropes. “I’m letting him go.”

  Delia strode in and seized Natalia’s shoulder. “You have no right to. He’s mine.”

  Natalia shook her off. “He’s a living creature, not a slave.”

  “He’s a Dream Catcher. Do you know how hard they are to find, you stupid woman?”

  “He’ll die if I leave him here,” Natalia snapped. “Then you won’t have him any more. What’s the difference?”

  “The difference is that he hasn’t done my fantasy yet. You had your turn. Now it’s mine.”

  “I can’t help it if he connected with me first.” Natalia sounded the slightest bit smug as she continued to work on the ropes.

  “You really are stupid, Natalia. He ‘connected’ with you because I told him to. I promised I’d free him if he did. I wanted him to make a fool of you, because everyone knows what your fantasies are.”

  Natalia stiffened. She glanced at Ochen for confirmation and he nodded once. Delia had told him to choose Natalia, to let her live her sexual fantasies while she stood in the middle of the ballroom. If he did that, she’d have her hunters untie the ropes and let him go.

  Things hadn’t gone according to plan. Ochen had chosen Natalia all right, but the connection had been real, deep and strong. When Natalia would not let Delia humiliate her in front of the others, Delia had refused to let him go. Going to Natalia in her dreams had been his choice.

  The pain that flooded Natalia’s face flooded him, too. He expected her to stand up and walk away, to leave Ochen to Delia’s mercy.

  Instead she put the knife to the rope again. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “You really are pathetic, Natalia. He is my property.”

  “Slavery is illegal on Bor Narga.”

  “Human slavery. He’s not human. He’s animal.”

  One more cut, and the ropes fell from his wrists. The burning ceased.

  “He is free,” Natalia said quietly.

  Ochen touched her cheek. “Thank you.”

  Delia shouted at her hunters and lunged for him, but Ochen had already formed the clear thought of his own lands in his mind. He aimed there, and Natalia, Delia, her hunters and the tiny room dissolved into light. The last things he saw were Natalia’s beautiful brown eyes, then he was home.

  “So how was it?” Natalia’s mother peered at her over breakfast the next morning in the elegant dining room. Carefully placed screens kept the desert sun from being too harsh, and the result was a room of c
ool shadows and splashes of light.

  “Terrible.” Natalia picked at her cold grouse eggs. “Delia did have a Dream Catcher, but he got away.”

  “Good for him.” Arene Sorvenska sniffed. “I’d hate to be bound to that woman.”

  “Yes, Delia’s men beat him. But he’s gone now.”

  “Evil little witch. Best you don’t have anything more to do with her, dear.”

  “No fear, Mama.”

  “Good.” Arene sniffed and went back to reading her beloved newspaper.

  Natalia had half-expected Ochen to come to her in the night. He hadn’t, of course. He was likely back in his mountain realm, wherever it was, healing and doing his best to forget about his captivity.

  It wasn’t his fault he had to use me to free himself. He was desperate. It’s nothing personal.

  She should be used to men using her by now. But the hurt when he’d confirmed that Delia had bribed him to choose her twisted like a hot knife. Of course he’d obeyed. His first concern had been to get away. If she were ever a captive, she’d be more worried about freeing herself than the feelings of her captors.

  At least he’d given her a glimpse of what passion was like. She should be satisfied with that and go on.

  Natalia threw down her napkin and sprang to her feet. No. She was tired of being unsatisfied, tired of making do, tired of resigning herself to disappointment. Was this what her life was to be, quietly living down her humiliation with no chance at real happiness?

  Her mother looked up in surprise. “Is something wrong, dear?”

  “I’m going out. A long way out. A trip into the desert. It may be a while.”

  “To a meditation centre? Good idea, dear. You’ve been restless lately.”

  “I’ll pack and go today.”

  Arene smiled. “Have a good time.” Natalia bent so her mother could kiss her cheek. She left the room, hearing her mother’s “Dear, dear,” before she turned back to her newspaper.

  The Sorvenskas’ hunter and gamekeeper wasn’t optimistic about Natalia’s chances of finding a Dream Catcher, let alone a specific one, but he agreed to take her to the mountains. After all, the Sorvenskas paid well.

  He led Natalia past the Eastern Rim to an area so remote and treacherous that they had to tackle the last miles on foot. Natalia had never been in mountains, had never left the great desert around the oasis city where most of humanity dwelled.