Free Dream Bound by Kate Douglas

he’d grinned at Mac, shaking his head. Hell, Mac. For you, failure isn’t even a possibility. Don’t worry about it, don’t consider it. You won’t fail. You’re too damned much of a perfectionist to fail. Then he’d kissed him soundly and added, not to mention, stubborn as a mule and just as hardheaded.
    Thank God for Dink. His impassioned words still resonated with Mac this morning. Last night, Dink had helped settle his nerves in more ways than he’d imagined, but unloading the whole convoluted tale had done even more. Sharing the story of the Nyrians with Dink, seeing his unwavering acceptance, his support for all of Mac’s plans, had made a huge difference.
    Dink was right. He couldn’t allow himself to consider failure. Not with the lure of Zianne’s love, the safety of her people, the proof he’d not been tilting at windmills for all these years with his plans so close now to fruition. So close and so dependent upon this group of brilliant young minds, currently uniting in a goal they truly didn’t understand.
    “Mac?”
    He glanced up from his sandwich. Kiera smiled expectantly at him. “Yeah?”
    “When do we start our shifts? You said we’d be working around the clock. Will we start tonight?”
    He shrugged, but inside he was singing. “If you’re not too tired from the trip. If you think you’re ready. Each of you will want to get settled into your individual cabins when we arrive, but you’re more than welcome to work out a schedule that feels most comfortable. I know some of you are night owls, others better in the morning.” He shrugged. “The length of your shifts, the timing ... it’s all up to you.”
    “Any suggestions?”
    Cameron had been so quiet all through the ride, Mac was glad to see him at least contributing something. “Probably that you not plan on working too long a shift. If you’ve never done anything that’s kept you in one spot for a long time focusing all your concentration on one thing in particular, I can tell you it’s more exhausting than you might think.”
    Cam rolled his eyes. “Mac? I’m a painter, remember?” He laughed. “Concentrating on one thing in particular for a long time is how I make my living.” He shot a quick glance at the others. “If we figure on four-hour shifts, the six of us can cover the entire twenty-four. Is four hours too long?”
    “I’d say we give it a try, see how that works,” Morgan said.
    He glanced at Mac. Checking to be sure he hadn’t overstepped? Yep. The man learned fast. Feeling more satisfied than he should, Mac nodded. “That makes sense. Midnight to four, four to eight, and on through the day. Pick times that work best for you.”
    “I want midnight to four.” Cam grinned almost shyly at Mac. The kid was a hard one to figure out. “That’s when I’m most creative in my painting,” he said. “Probably when my fantasies are most vivid.”
    “I’ll take four in the morning to eight.” Finn was carefully folding up the paper over the crumbs of his sandwich.
    Mac cocked an eyebrow in Finn’s direction. “Why would you purposefully choose that one? That’s a tough time frame for most people to stay awake unless you’re an absolute night owl.”
    Finn leaned back in his chair and tossed his bag of garbage at the trash can by the door. The tightly compacted wad of paper and plastic sailed neatly through the slot. “Because I imagine the women will be sleeping then. I hate the idea of working when I could be doing something more productive.”
    “Give it a break, Finn.” Rodie stood to clear the rest of the bags off the table and carried them to the trash. “We’ve all had advance warning. You haven’t got a prayer of getting laid.”
    “I dunno.” Lizzie winked at Rodie. “I think he’s kinda cute, in a desperate sorta way, and six months is a long time to do without.”
    “Lizzie, he’s all yours.” Kiera stood and brushed crumbs off her sweatshirt. “Back in a minute. Put me down for