Dream Bound Read Online Free Page A

and slapped his palms down on the table. A little shiver raced across her spine. Damn, but the man was hot. Even more so when he was pissed off.
    “You are fucking kidding me.” He glared at all of them, growling in that deep, sexy voice of his. “You’ve pulled all of us together based on our ability to broadcast sexual fantasies? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
    “Actually, Morgan, it’s not. Hear me out.” Mac Dugan shoved back his chair and stood up.
    Rodie sensed the alpha wolf had just raised his hackles and growled. The laughter stopped. Every single one of them sat straighter in their chairs and paid attention. Rodie took a quick glance around as another shiver snapped across her spine. Even Morgan appeared to have backed off.
    The easy smile was gone from MacArthur Dugan’s face. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and his gaze flicked from one to the next. And then, in a few terse words, he changed everything Rodie had ever thought about space and life on other worlds—and the power of the human mind.

2
    T he energy in the break room was positively mind-blowing. Mac stood there for a minute without moving, but when he looked at the six young people in front of him, he felt like pumping his fist in the air and shouting.
    They might not realize it, but he had his dream team.
    An absolutely perfect team.
    He’d never been surrounded by so many brilliant minds. Not in the classes he’d occasionally taught at Stanford, not in the research and development meetings held here in this same building, headquarters of the company he’d first envisioned with Zianne—their company, known around the world as Beyond Global Ventures, or BGV.
    Only when he’d been with Zianne had he experienced this kind of connection. The thought slammed into him, left him shaken—these six reminded him of Zianne. Of her power, her strength, and her amazing mind. Their thoughts were so bright and strong, their questions tumbling one over the other, and yet at this moment, with him standing here before them, they were open. Receptive. Even Morgan was curious and waiting, despite his skepticism.
    Mac wished he could tell them the truth, but they weren’t ready. Soon. Soon he would tell them everything. But for now, he would merely whet their curiosity. Convince them that he wasn’t crazy, that he really was offering them a chance to touch the minds of an alien race.
    “I know you have questions because I hear them.” He nodded at the varying expressions flitting across their faces. “Yes, I can hear and see your thoughts. Not crystal clear, but I do read them well enough to know that you’re seriously wondering whether I’m completely crazy or just mildly nuts.”
    He folded his arms across his chest and perched on the counter beside the espresso machine. “I can assure you, there is no need to call the men in white coats.”
    Damn, but a good, strong drink would go great about now.
    He glanced at Morgan Black and bit back a laugh.
    “Morgan, I see that you and I are of a like mind. Believe me, if I had a bottle of Jack Daniel’s within reach, I’d be pouring a double shot for each of us.” He spoke over Morgan’s soft “Holy shit,” and added, “I should have planned ahead.”
    Leaning forward with his feet resting on the back of his chair, he planted his elbows on his knees and rested his chin in his hands. His memory of Zianne’s beautiful smile, as clear now as on the last morning he’d seen her almost twenty years ago, settled in his mind. He ached for her now with as much pain as he’d felt when he first realized she wasn’t coming back.
    When he’d finally accepted that she wasn’t returning because she couldn’t, he knew it meant just one thing—her nightly escapes to see him had been discovered by her captors. His only hope now was that they hadn’t killed her. That the Gar were still in orbit behind the moon, still within reach.
    That the remaining Nyrians—including