A Beautiful Dream: The Dream Trilogy

  A Beautiful Dream

  "The Dream Trilogy"

  Samantha Barrett

  “Lake William” is dedicated to my cousin.

  May you rest easy, and soar high.

  Wiremu “William” Vincent Kahui

  Chapter 1

  I wake in the woods again, wearing the same white summer dress I always am. I didn’t need to call out—I knew he would be here. He always is. Glancing over my shoulder, I lock eyes with him. I know it’s a dream, but God, it feels so real. The raw sexual attraction between us in the air is almost like a fuse to a bomb. The closer we get to each other, the closer we are to detonating.

  “Hello, love.” His voice is pure sin and virulent masculine sexiness.

  “Hi.” I can hear the lust in my own voice, making it husky and soft.

  He looks at me like I am his last meal. It sends shivers down my spine and liquid pooling between my thighs.

  “Come here, love.” I saunter over to him, admiring his beauty. He towers over me at six foot three. He wears jeans that hang low on his hips, showcasing that beautiful V. He’s sans shirt, as always. My eyes travel to his face, his beautiful full lips turned up at the corners in a smirk. Those eyes are so captivating and the deepest violet in color. Yeah, I know no one has violet-colored eyes, but this is my dream, and I’ll have what I want. His jet black hair is slicked back, like he has just run his hand through it.

  I stand in front of my dream man, so close I can feel the heat radiating off his body. He pulls me flush against his chest, and I gasp at the contact. The heat from body is making burn, in the most delicious way.

  “You’re so beautiful, love. I could never get enough of you.” My dream man always knows the right things to say. Before I can respond, he stops my reply with a kiss of such force that it steals my breath. I wrap my arms around his neck, and he slides his hands down my thighs and lifts me off the ground. Instinctively, I wind my legs around his waist. We never break our kiss. He walks us a few steps forward and lowers me to the grass.

  “I can smell how wet you are for me,” he whispers against my lips.

  I need him inside me now. I need his mouth on mine like I need my next breath. He pulls the thin straps of my dress down each arm, exposing my breasts. I don’t have small boobs, but they aren’t large either. What is it they say? “More than a handful is waste.” He moves his head down to my breast and starts to suck hard, just the way I like it. I sigh in pleasure as he continues to suck and bite my nipples. His right hand slides my dress up to expose my lower half—I never wear panties in my dreams. He slides his hand between my soaking wet folds, and as soon as his fingers graze my enlarged nub, I scream out. I am so close to coming already, and he knows it. He withdraws his hand and mouth from my body and leans back, peering down at me with a smirk. He knows what he is doing to me and he loves every second of it.

  I lean forward and unbutton his jeans, pulling them down so I can expose his cock. When it springs free, I smile. It always takes my breath away. He is so large that his hard length nearly hits his navel. I start to stroke him roughly, and he hisses through clenched teeth.

  He wiggles out of his jeans then pushes me back down so I'm lying flat on my back, his hard body hovering over mine. The heat of his kiss makes more liquid gather between my legs. I am so fucking wet for him. He positions himself between my legs, then slams into me. I swear I can feel him hitting the back of my womb, and the combination of pleasure and the slight sting of pain forces a moan from me.

  “Scream for me, love,” he whispers in my ear, while driving into me. I can feel how I close I am already, a moment later he has me screaming out.

  “I’m coming, Nico! God, don’t fucking stop,” I scream, clawing at his back like a possessed woman.

  “Come on my cock, love. I love feeling your pussy clench my dick.” His words are my undoing, and I come almost violently while screaming his name to the heavens. But he isn’t done with me yet, and he wrings another orgasm from me before he finds his own release. Once he’s spent, he collapses on top of me, both of us panting like we have just run a marathon. It feels like we have. Once my breathing is under control, I open my eyes to look at Nico.

  “I know this is all a dream, but God I wish you were real.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, it all goes dark.

  Chapter 2

  I woke panting and out of breath, my hair sticking to my forehead and cheek. My steamy dreams always left me this way, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. In my dreams I was strong, confident, and sexy—and adored by my men. I was none of those things in real life: I always second-guessed my decisions, and my long hair was plain Jane brown. I had strange eyes that seemed to unnerve people. They were a bright shade of green, and there was a ring of yellow around my pupils. I was not adored by anyone in real life. My mother beat me throughout my childhood, and my father left with my twin sister just after we turned five.

  My mother would tell me that she was preparing me for when “the others” would come. I never knew what that meant, and if I tried to ask, she would simply say I needed to toughen up. That was always her excuse for beating me and locking me in my room for days on end. “A weak bitch can’t lead anyone,” she’d yell when I begged her to let me out. “You will die after a day, if you don’t suck it up.” She told me there come a time when I would be caged, and I needed to learn how to cope.

  Shaking myself from my inner thoughts, I peeled the covers off my sweat-laden body and went to grab some clothes from my bag so I could have a quick shower. I had stopped at a hotel the night before, too tired to drive the full distance to Stevie’s house. I still had a long drive ahead of me to reach my sister, and we still had a lot to get ready in the two days before we left on our big trip to Alaska. My life was finally my own and not ruled by my mother, and I was going to enjoy every moment of it, with my sister by my side.

  ∞∞∞

  I was almost bouncing in my seat with excitement as I arrived at my sister’s house. There were two cars in the driveway; I knew one was Stevie’s beat-up old Mini, but I had no idea who owned the other.

  As I got out of my truck, I heard the front door swing open. My sister came running out to greet me. She looked as beautiful, as always. She was the better-looking twin, with long brown hair and hazel eyes—with no weird yellow ring around her pupils. She had a slim figure with curves in all the right places, and even in a plain white V-neck shirt and a pair of worn-out jeans with tears in the legs, she still looked like a Victoria’s Secret model.

  “Sissy!” she screeched as she pulled me in for a bone-crushing hug.

  “Hey, Stevie,” I murmured, hugging her back.

  “How was your drive? You must be tired. Come on, let’s get your bags and get inside. I’m freezing my balls off.” I couldn’t help but laugh at my sister, who continued her chatter as we pulled my two bags from the trunk. She never had a filter— not that I was any different. My mouth always got me in trouble with my mom, but I just couldn’t help it. I am who I am, I guess.

  “So, do you want to tell me who that car belongs to? Or do I have to guess?” I asked. She always had boys falling all over her, so it wouldn’t surprise me if it belonged to some guy she knew.

  “Oh, you will just have to wait and see when you get inside. It’s a surprise! I’m sure you’ll love it,” she said with a wink.

  Now I was on guard. My sister was always one for the dramatics. You never knew what to expect when she said she had a surprise for you. I just hoped it was nothing like the surprise she sent me for my sixteenth birthday. I have never hated a gift more. She had one of our cousins—Chase—show up at my high school and bring me flowers and chocolates
and act like he was my new boyfriend! She did this because my ex had recently dumped me in front of the whole football team. They all laughed their ugly asses off. Needless to say, don’t ever tell Stevie when a guy dumps you.

  As soon as we passed the threshold of the front door, I was grabbed from behind lifted off my feet.

  “Put me down!” I yelled, trying to wriggle around and see who the hell had grabbed me.

  Once on my feet, I swung around to see my cousin Chase hunched over, laughing his ass off. He looked up with those sky blue eyes, and I couldn’t help the grin that tugged at my lips. Once he stood to his full height, he was over six feet tall.

  “I can’t believe you still scream like a girl,” he said, still chuckling.

  “That’s because I am a girl, you jackass,” I huffed.

  “Now, now, you two—cut it out. You know you love him still, Ry, even if you did fake break up with him in eleventh grade,” Stevie said, grinning like a fool.

  Chase gasped. “Oh my God! Yes! Stevie, you still owe me for that. Ryan nearly punched me in the face that day for telling her friends I was her boyfriend.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “I hate you both.”

  Just as I turned away from their giggling nonsense, I was grabbed again and let out another screech, sending Chase and Stevie into howls of laughter once more.

  “Holy shit, she sounds like a cat that got its tail stepped on,” Chase said between guffaws.

  Once I was put back on my feet for the second time that day, I looked up to see my other cousin—Chase’s older brother, Alex.

  “Alex!” I pulled him in for a hug. I hadn’t seen Alex in years. Chase and Alex were my uncle’s sons, from my dad’s side. I was never allowed to visit them, and Mom had told me that my uncle hated me because I lived with her. I found out after Mom went missing that my uncle didn’t hate me—it was just Mom trying to turn me against Dad’s side of the family.

  “Hey, squirt, how are you? It’s been way too long. I see you finally grew into your big head,” Alex joked.

  I smiled sweetly at him. “Aww, it must run in the family. You finally grew into your ears.” Looking at the beautiful man that now stood in front of me, it was hard to believe he was the same kid who was called Dumbo on the playground. He still had his coal black hair and baby blue eyes, though. He was a bit taller than Chase, but not by much, with a strong jaw line and high, defined cheekbones. He could have been a model—heck, maybe he was. I didn’t know very much about these boys anymore.

  In spite of Chase’s sandy blond hair, the brothers looked very much alike. They also looked like they spent every spare minute they had at the gym.

  “All right, enough of the pleasantries, family. Ryan’s had a long drive, and I am sure she would love to take a shower and rest before dinner.” Bless you, Stevie, for reading my mind.

  “I would really love a shower. I feel icky after the long drive.” Chase and Alex started giggling like schoolgirls. I pinned them both with a glare.

  “And what the hell is so funny now, you two goons?” I snapped.

  “Well, for one, no one outside of first grade says icky,” Chase said with a snort, trying to cover his laughter.

  “Shut up. Lots of people say icky,” I argued.

  “Oh yeah, like who, squirt?” Alex was grinning at me now.

  “Well, I can’t think of anyone right this second, but…” I was cut off as all three of them started laughing their asses off at my expense.

  “Okay, okay. Chase, you start getting the meat on the grill. Alex you can make us all some drinks while I take Ryan up to her room. Once you’re done with the drinks, Alex, can you bring Ryan’s bags up?” Stevie was like an army general barking out orders to everyone.

  Both the boys gave a nod and went about their tasks. On the way up the stairs, I paused to look at the many photos that lined the wall, almost all of them of Stevie, from her first day of school to her graduation, and photos of her on her birthday—well, our birthday. The one that got my attention had Stevie, Dad, and me in it. We must have been about 4 years old, and one of us was perched on each of his knees and smiling. I wished I could have gone with my Dad and Stevie when they left, but my mom wouldn’t let both of us go. Truth be told, she only wanted to keep one of us so Dad had to pay her child support.

  Stevie noticed I had stopped following her up the stairs, and she came back down and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. She knew it was hard for me to see the photos. She had the happy childhood and a loving parent. I had neither.

  “He never stopped loving you, and he talked about you all the time.”

  “Then why did he never fight for me? He never came back once after you left, Stevie, He left me with her! I would have given my firstborn child to have been with you and Dad. I never had a choice.” I knew she wouldn’t have let me go with them, no matter what Dad said, but it still hurt to have been virtually abandoned.

  My sister looked at me with such pity in her eyes, but I didn’t want her pity or anyone else’s. I had no intention of letting my mother’s abuse define me. I am not a victim; I am a survivor.

  “I don’t know, Ryan. For years I asked him if you could come for holidays or if I could go visit you and Mom. He always said no to me visiting you. He rang Mom a few times to ask if you could come here. He told her it wasn’t healthy to keep us apart. She would always tell him he could see you again when he got over himself and came back to her.”

  There wasn’t much to say after that, so I just sighed and started my trek up the stairs. Once at the top, she opened the second door on the right. The room was beautiful, with painted pink walls and a queen-sized bed in the middle of the room. There was a unicorn plushie perched on the bed, even. I used to love unicorns. There was a single dresser on the far wall with little snow globes on top. I made my way over to inspect them further, only to be distracted by a note on the side table by the bed that was addressed to me. I raised a brow at Stevie in question.

  “The letter is from Dad. He wrote it to you the week he passed. It was like he almost knew what was coming. Dad always said one day you would come back here. He never gave up hope, Ry. He wanted his girls back together. This was supposed to be your room.”

  I looked to my sister, my mouth hanging open. Her words set an ache in my heart. I had dreamed of a room like this when I was little, instead of the dirty mattress on the floor with no sheets. Mom never spent money on things that weren’t an absolute necessity. She always told me I should be grateful it wasn’t the floor.

  “If he wanted me to come back here so bad, why didn't he open the front door and let me see you when I came here, Stevie? I don’t understand any of this.” I was trying so hard to hold back the tears. My sister looked at me with utter heartbreak in her eyes, and I forced myself to swallow down the pain. I couldn’t take that look from her.

  “Don’t worry, Stevie. I just want to grab a shower and relax. It’s supposed to be a happy time. We’re finally together again, and no one is here to tear us apart this time. We'll deal with all this other crap later.”

  She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She simply took my hand in hers and squeezed it tight once before leaving me in my pink room with my unicorn and my grief.

  Chapter 3

  After having a long, hot shower, some of the stress from my drive and the memories of my childhood start to ease. I was thankful for that; I didn’t want to spoil this time with my sister and cousins by living in the past. While brushing out my hair and staring at myself in the mirror, I thought about how different mine and Stevie’s personalities are. She has such a carefree spirit, and I always worry and over-think things. She has so much confidence and could hold her own in a room full of beautiful people, where-as I would sit in a corner, hoping no one would notice I was even there.

  I leave the bathroom quickly and change into my favorite pair of jeans, which had tears in the knees. I grab the first shirt I can find: it’s a Harley Quinn and Joker printed T-shirt. What can I say? I loved
their crazy, unorthodox love. It made me want to find someone who would love all my craziness. I loved how they both changed to fit together as one. I wanted someone to love me the way the Joker loves Harley—but with less homicide.

  As I started to descend the stairs, I could hear raised voices. I wasn’t planning on listening to their conversation, but when I heard my name, I couldn’t help it. I crouched on the stairs and listened intently.

  “What do you mean, Ryan doesn’t know?” Alex snapped.

  “Keep your voice down, Alex, I haven’t had a chance to tell her, and Dad never got around to it. He thought he had more time.” I could hear the hurt in Stevie’s voice when she mentioned our dad.

  Our father died suddenly, three months after Stevie and I turned eighteen. I did not attend his funeral, as I thought he wouldn’t want me there. I would learn later that was not the case at all, and I would forever regret not attending and saying goodbye to my dad.

  “She has to be told who she really is and what she is capable of, before she hurts herself or someone else, Stevie.” Chase sounded annoyed at Stevie’s reluctance.

  “I plan on telling her when the time is right. She has been through a lot, and just being here, in this house, is hard for her. She didn’t grow up like us, with a loving parent. She has built all these walls up around herself, and I don’t want to drop this on her and risk her having a breakdown.” Wow, clearly it was something big if she thought I would have a breakdown.

  I couldn’t quite understand what this big secret was that they were keeping from me. I mean, I know we didn’t all grow up together, but we always found ways to talk on the phone. When they came to visit, I would sneak out after Mom fell asleep or passed out. She only caught me sneaking out once, and let me tell you, I couldn’t sit for a week afterwards. She whipped me like a dog, splitting the skin on my rear open. I screamed so loud I thought the neighbors would call the cops. Hell, I wanted them to call them. After getting whipped twelve times, I was locked in my room for the next two days, with no food or water, just my mattress and a bucket in the corner.