Prologue

“Fuck.” Miznari Anderson whipped a thick blue penis out of her backpack. “I forgot to buy batteries for my vibrator.”

Natalie Capella choked on the gulp of wine she’d just swallowed. Merlot shot up her nose. Her throat burned and her eyes watered as she tried to hold back her laughter.

“Put that thing away!” Kerry Perry’s face turned as red as the checkered tablecloth. After a quick glance around the crowded Italian restaurant, she added, “Hurry, before someone sees it.”

Natalie could only shake her head, her deep wine-red hair spilling over her shoulders as she dabbed her nose with a cloth napkin. Every time the three friends managed to get-together, Miz would find some way to embarrass the hell out of Kerry. Earlier that morning, when Nat had flown to Virginia from her home in New York City, she’d wondered what Miz was going to come up with this time.

“Don’t you like it?” Miz’s brown eyes went wide, her face the picture of innocence as she extended the vibrator across the table toward Kerry. “See how realistic the rubber is? Feels like a cock. A good ten inches, and it even glows in the dark.”

Kerry shrank away from the dildo, her hazel gaze narrowing behind the prim wire frames of her glasses. In her decidedly schoolteacher voice, she commanded, “Put that in your backpack, now.”

“I’ve read your erotic romances, Ker.” Miz drew back, encircled the blue cock with her fingers and moved her hand up and down the penis from base to head. “You may dress like Miss Marple. Hell, you may even act like Miss Manners. But on the inside, sweetie, you’re Debbie Does Dallas.” She put the cock to her lips and swirled her tongue over the head. Miz never wore a bra and her nipples were obviously hard, poking through the thin material of her blouse.

“Miz Anderson,” Kerry hissed the ‘s’ like a snake on steroids. “Put that damn thing away before I shove it up your—your—”

“Ass?” With a grin, Miz tucked the vibrator into her pack. “Now there’s a thought.”

Pursing her lips, Kerry straightened the jacket of her brown herringbone suit. “You’re such a shit.”

“Did our Miss Perry just say shit?” Miz turned her mischievous brown gaze on Natalie. “Who’d’ve thunk it?”

“You are a shit.” Natalie laughed and pushed away her half-eaten plate of manicotti. “But that’s why we love you,” she added as the waiter left the dinner bill and cleared the plates.

Kerry dug in her purse and pulled out her wallet. “Humph.”

Smells of garlic bread and lasagna permeated the restaurant, along with the hum of voices, clinking of plates and Italian music in the background. Natalie absently rubbed the star tattoo that surrounded her bellybutton and the gold piercing. The tattoo she’d gotten after losing a dare to Miz in college, the piercing just because she’d felt like it. The tattoo was a unique star pattern that matched the birthmark behind her left earlobe.

Natalie shifted in her seat, her jean skirt feeling a bit snug and her thong underwear riding up her butt. It was Halloween night, and the three former college roommates had managed to squeeze in time for dinner before the “Out of this World” fantasy and sci-fi convention they were all attending that evening—the stupid convention Miz had coerced Natalie into patronizing. Miz was a cover artist and costume designer, actively involved with the convention. She insisted, on threat of public dildo use, that Nat participate in one of the exhibits Miz’s friend was running.

“So, Nat.” Miz flipped her short dark hair out of her eyes. “Looking forward to tonight’s little experiment?”

It was all Natalie could do to hold back a groan. “I don’t know how I let you talk me into these things.”

“It’ll be a kick-ass night.” Miz grabbed the bottle of merlot and drained what little was left into her own glass. “From what Rod told me, this virtual reality machine is so realistic you’ll feel like you’re actually in a fantasy world. Like being in a fairytale.”

“Fantasy. Riiiiight.” Natalie took a sip of her merlot, enjoying the warmth flowing down her throat. She’d need several bottles of wine before she started believing in fairytales. She returned the glass to the table and trailed her fingers up and down the stem. “The only fantasies I believe in are the ones I have when I’m riding the purple bunny.”

“Bunny?” Kerry paused, a twenty dollar bill in hand for the waiter, and glanced from Natalie to Miz. “What purple bunny and what does it have to do with fantasy?”

“For writing romantic erotica, you sure are naïve.” Miz leaned forward, her small breasts pressed against the table. In a loud voice she said, “Nat’s talking about a vibrator that has little bunny ears. The ears stimulate the clit.”

Kerry’s face went redder than her auburn hair as she tossed the twenty on the table and pushed out her chair. “It’s time to go.” She grabbed her leather briefcase, stood, and raised her chin in the air. “I need to check in at the convention center and have time to go over my presentation.”

“You know what you need to loosen up, Kerry?” Miz rifled through her backpack, dug out some cash and tossed it on top of the twenty. “You need a good fuck.”

Sucking in her breath, Kerry clutched her briefcase to her chest. Her eyes darted to Natalie in an apparent plea for support.

“She’s right.” Natalie plunked down her share of the bill and grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair. “You need to get laid.”

With a resigned sigh, Kerry patted her severe bun and adjusted her glasses. “You may be right.”

Miz cracked up with laughter and Natalie grinned.

The women headed out of the restaurant to the nearby Williamsburg convention center that housed the “Out of this World” convention. It was a short walk, and Natalie enjoyed the feel of the crisp fall Virginia air against her cheeks and the cool breeze stirring her wine-red hair around her shoulders. A harvest moon, perfect for Halloween night, was just rising over the Atlantic.

“What the hell is that?” Miz gestured toward a light in the distance.

Natalie squinted, watching the white glowing object float through the night sky and then vanish behind a grove of trees. “No clue.”

“Probably something to do with Halloween.” Kerry picked up her pace. “Let’s hurry, ladies. I don’t want to be late.”

An eerie sensation trailed down Natalie’s spine. She shivered and slid her hands into the pockets of her jacket. If she had been the slightest bit superstitious, she would have turned around and headed straight back to her apartment in New York City and to that purple bunny waiting in her lingerie drawer.

Chapter One

Williamsburg Virginia, Halloween night

Natalie Capella’s gaze traveled the crowded convention center—big as a football field and packed with attendees dressed as fantasy characters. Lights pulsated, music throbbed, signs glittered and flashed, and there was lots of chatter, shouts, catcalls, and everything in between. The noise level was one thing, but all the people dressed up like gnomes, pixies, giants, and trolls were just plain ridiculous.

Cripes. These people need to get a life.

Miznari had just vanished into the throng on a mission to track down one of her design partners and Kerry had headed off to prepare for her speech, leaving Natalie to search out the damn virtual reality exhibit she had agreed to patronize.

With a resigned sigh, Natalie dropped off her purse and jacket at the convention center’s coat check booth and slipped the receipt into her skirt pocket. In the far corner of the room, she could just make out the Virtual Fantasy World sign. Nat worked her way past half a dozen dwarves, an assortment of wizards, a few net-winged fairies, and several elves with decidedly un-elvin pimples and leers.

Disgusted by an ogre with a boob-shaped club, Nat slipped to the left and almost smashed into one of the fairies. The gorgeous brunette caught Natalie at her waist and smiled. White teeth flashed against skin so dark and beautiful it seemed to be made out of night sky and priceless ink. The fairy let Nat loose with a, “Be careful, sweetheart.”

Nat’s heart pounded just a little faster. Damn. That dress is so sheer her nipples show, she thought as the woman turned back to her friends, revealing a stunning profile. Yep. Nipples. Dark burgundy, full, and erect.

Maybe even a little tempting.

For a second, Nat just stood where she was, staring. What would it be like to have sex with a woman?

Where had that thought come from? God, I’m the one who needs a good fuck. And soon.

Forcing her attention back to her purpose, Nat brushed through the crowd without looking back at the brunette. The material of her short denim skirt felt good against her bare ass while her thong rode up her crack and rubbed her clit. Her nipples hardened beneath the thin material of her blouse.

She did need a good fuck, desperately. It had been far too long if she was feeling horny while walking through a room filled with people dressed up like they belonged on another world.

Or in St. Jude’s mental ward.

Natalie moved past a tall blonde elf who bore a striking resemblance to Legolas from Lord of the Rings. She could have sworn the man palmed her ass, but the elf was the picture of innocence when she tossed him a look over her shoulder.

A smile curved her lips and her pussy flooded with moisture as she thought about grabbing the elf by his obviously fake pointed ears and riding him for all he was worth.

Hell, Kerry might need to get laid to loosen up. Natalie just needed to get laid, period.

Conversation flowed around her while she edged and elbowed the rest of the way through the crowd. An assortment of languages met her ears—French, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Navajo, Puerto Rican—all of which she mentally translated with unconscious ease. She’d had a gift for language as long as she could remember, and within hours of being introduced to a new dialect, she easily mastered it and spoke with the fluency of a native. She’d served as an interpreter for the United Nations since graduating from college in the top one percent of her class, and she loved her job.

Although lately she’d been wondering if there was more to life than work.

As usual, like she had a sixth sense, Natalie was acutely aware of the men and women who watched her move through the room. Throughout Nat’s life, she had become accustomed to attracting attention without even trying. She’d been told that her slender figure, flawless porcelain complexion, forest green eyes, and her unusual shade of wine-red hair made her an uncommon beauty. Natalie disagreed. She simply looked different from everyone else.

When she worked she kept her hair back, wore thick-framed reading glasses to dim the brilliant color of her eyes, and dressed in business suits to camouflage her curvaceous figure. Otherwise no one took her seriously.

But when she went out, she opted for mini-skirts and low cut blouses that showed off her cleavage. Truth be told, she loved the appreciative glances and loved the thought that men and women found her attractive—as long as it was on her terms, and when she wanted the attention.

Natalie broke through the crowd and walked up to the guy Miz had told her to look out for—a dark-haired dork in a Robin Hood costume. Okay, so Miz hadn’t called him a dork, but anyone who dressed up to look like a character from a fantasy story was a dweeb in Nat’s book.

“Miznari sent me,” she said when she reached the man. “I’m Natalie Capella.”

“‘Bout time.” The guy picked up a clipboard and nodded. “You’re up next.” His gaze traveled over her figure as he absently gestured toward an arched opening in the wall. It looked like the mouth of a cave made from carved stone. “Head on into the cave. Once you’ve been through the virtual tour, you’ll come out on the other side. There’ll be a questionnaire for you to complete.”

“That’s it?” Nat smoothed her hands over her jean skirt as she glanced from the cave mouth to the dweeb. “No headgear or special glasses needed?”

“Nope.” Robin Hood grinned. “It’s a totally awesome exhibit. You’ll feel like you’re in a real fantasy.”

“All righty then.” It was all Nat could do not to groan and roll her eyes. Instead she gave the guy a quick smile and strode toward the opening.

Might as well get this over with so that she could get back to the hotel, take a nice relaxing bath, and enjoy the new vibrator she’d packed in her suitcase. The one with the pearl beads and the rabbit ears—it was to die for. Too bad she’d been too busy to date lately. She could use a real man with a nice long, thick cock. But she didn’t fuck just anyone, and lately no man had appealed to her, or met her standards.

At the entrance Nat paused. Odd, but the birthmark behind her earlobe was tingling, and it felt incredibly weird. She shrugged the feeling off and stepped forward.

The instant Natalie walked into the “cave,” everything dimmed. A wave of dizziness slammed into her and she stumbled. For a moment she held her hand to her head, waiting for the nausea to pass.

What the hell?

When she felt better, she realized the noise of the convention center had faded to nothing…absolute silence reigned. Even the very air changed. Dry and cool—and it smelled of ancient dust and the stench of rotten meat. “That’s just a little too realistic,” she muttered, blinking until her eyes became adjusted to the dim interior.

It was more of a large room or cavern than a cave. The walls were stained and eroded, and apparently designed to look like they were thousands, maybe millions of years old. What little light there was came from a lone tunnel on the other side of the room—a passageway that looked large enough for an elephant to walk through.

Debris littered the rough rock strewn floor—leaves, dirt, and dried crap of some sort. And to her left, bones had been stacked in pile after pile after pile. Nat blinked. Did some of those bones in the closest pile have chunks of pink flesh hanging from them?

Nat scrunched up her nose. “Oh that is gross. Just plain gross.”

In the distance she heard the steady drip of water…plop…plop…plop, an eerie sound that caused goose bumps to break out upon her skin.

A sudden urgent and overwhelming desire to turn and run flooded through Natalie. She spun back toward the entrance—

It was gone. All she saw was a rock wall.

Panic built up within her and she had to fight to calm her racing heart. “Get a grip, Nat.” She took a deep, cleansing breath, like she always did before an important meeting. “It’s supposed to make you feel like you’re in another world.”

But it was all she could do to maintain her cool. It was almost like she knew there was something waiting for her…something dangerous…

Pushing back the urge to scream, Nat took another deep breath and walked back to the wall where she had supposedly come from, and ran her palm over the rough surface. Amazing. So real and so…dirty. Natalie rubbed her dusty hand on her skirt and turned away from the wall and back to the bone room.

Okay, so it was too late to chicken out. Heck, she’d never backed out on anything before, and she certainly wouldn’t now—even if she could find the exit to the convention center.

She’d just kill Miznari when she got this damn thing over with. That chick was toast.

With renewed determination, Nat started forward and flinched when something crunched underfoot. Pausing in mid-step, she glanced down and her stomach flipped. It was the skeleton of an animal about the same size as a dog.

This is not real, those bones are not real, none of this is real! she practically shouted in her mind as she raised her chin and marched across the room and then into the passageway. The confidence in her stride increased the farther she traveled through the tunnel and the brighter the light became.

Natalie rounded a sharp corner and came to an abrupt stop at the mouth of the cave. She’d found an exit—only this one led into a large clearing and then a gloomy and foreboding forest. A forest that appeared so murky that sunlight could barely penetrate its thick canopy.

The need to flee spiked through Nat once more. No way. She couldn’t go into those woods. It was too dangerous…

She clenched her fists at her sides and raised her chin. “It’s a stupid alternate reality machine,” she muttered. “It’s not even real.”

But it sure as hell felt real.

A sharp wind gusted inside the cave, swirling beneath her skirt and brushing her thong-covered pussy and her bare ass cheeks. The chill caused her nipples to tighten against her blouse.

Outside, branches swayed in the wind and leaves stirred across the clearing. Smells of pine and wet earth were strong, and Natalie couldn’t help but feel that she was truly in a forest. Yet that was impossible. Completely impossible. She shook her head. She’d been all the way around the convention center, and there was nothing like this forest behind it. Not to mention it was actually evening and dark outside the convention center, not daytime like in this pretend forest.

“Get on with it, girl.” Natalie strode out of the cave and walked across the clearing toward the dense forest. “Just get on with it.” The sooner she got through this exhibit, the sooner she could go home.

Which brought up another question that she turned over in her mind as she headed into the woods. What did she have to do to get out of this game? Damn it, she should have made the dweeb be more specific. Would she have to find some kind of token? Win something? Or maybe she just had to make it from one end of the machine to the other. Hopefully that was it, ‘cause she really wasn’t in the mood for games.

Pine needles and leaves crunched beneath Natalie’s sandals as she made it into the forest and headed into its murky depths. Wind tugged at her blouse, pressing the fabric tight against her breasts and tossing her red hair about her shoulders and across her face.

Just as she reached up to pull a chunk of hair out of her mouth, fine hairs prickled at her nape and the star birthmark on her earlobe tingled. A stench like rotten meat washed over her in a hot rush—like the smell in the cave, only stronger…and like someone or something with really, really bad breath had just breathed all over her.

Slowly Nat turned and squinted into the forest. At first she saw nothing as her gaze scanned from left to right, but then an odd glitter caught her eye. It was a kind of hazy shimmer that rose from the ground all the way up into the trees—like a towering pile of…of broken black glass.

The dirty pile moved and the ground reverberated beneath Natalie’s feet.

Orange lizard-like eyes blinked at her from the black shape, and she almost screamed.

A dragon. And a damned lifelike dragon at that. Different from any she’d ever seen pictures of, yet similar. Countless glimmering black scales covered its head and body, and she knew the wings the beast held close to its sides would be enormous when it spread them wide.

But of course it’s not real.

Her heart pounded against her ribcage and she again fought the urge to run as fast as she could into the forest. “It’s just make-believe. It’s not real,” she repeated, this time out loud. She swallowed as she watched the immense shape step closer, and the ground shuddered beneath her feet. She had the sudden image of the T-Rex in Jurassic Park, only this seemed far more real that that one did on the big screen.

The virtual reality nerds are probably watching you on camera, Nat. They’re waiting to see if you’re going to freak out and they’re going to be laughing their asses off if you do. Don’t let them see that you’re scared shitless over a big fake dragon.

The beast opened its jaws, and the hot malodor of rotten meat blasted out and gagged Natalie. Dry heaves caused her stomach to clench and clench and clench.

The big fake dragon cocked its head, and if she didn’t know better, she would have sworn that it smiled…the evil and vindictive smile of a being that has hated and sought revenge for countless centuries.

Something within told Nat that she needed to run. That she needed to get out of there as fast as she could.

But none of this is real. Why give those dweebs the satisfaction of seeing how unsettled this exhibit made her feel?

Assholes.

A thundering started in her ears, but she couldn’t tell if it was a storm sweeping in behind her, or if it was the blood rushing through her head. The sound grew louder yet as the dragon reared back, like a snake preparing to strike. A big, nasty, glittering, snake-dragon.

I’m just going to walk away. Natalie swallowed, hard. It’s not real. This is not real.

Cursing herself for being unnerved by something so stupid as a fake dragon, Natalie turned, only to see a horse and rider bearing down on her.

This time she couldn’t help it. A scream tore from her throat as a dark figure reached down, grabbed her around the waist and flung her across his lap.

At the same moment the dragon shrieked and a blast of heat scorched her legs and backside. Natalie screamed again as pain seared her body and her skirt caught fire.

Chapter Two

Dair, Merth Darkling

Evvan, the Devline Elvin Enforcer, scented the wind as he followed the trail of the Fae killer. The bastard’s stench lingered, along with the Faerie blood that stained his vicious hands.

With the golden Elvin steed L’th’amir following close behind, Evvan threaded his way through the depths of Merth Darkling. Bow and quiver resting across his naked back and sword slapping against his thigh, Evvan scowled, his mood as dark as the dense forest. Much larger and more powerfully built than the Seraphine Elves, the Devline were a fierce and proud warrior tribe. Their beliefs rested on their might, their strength as a people. Whereas the Seraphine allowed Seers and prophecies to dictate their futures, Devline Enforcers relied on their swords, their bows, their fists…and when needed, shrouding. When used with an enemy, shrouding allowed the Enforcer to cancel out all of his opponent’s senses, rendering the enemy incapable of fighting.

Except that ability, unique to the Devline, had been useless against the Fae killer. That alone had convinced Evvan that he was dealing with a power far more sinister than anyone had imagined.

Evvan’s muscles bunched and flexed with every movement he made, yet he traveled as silently as the Devline’s fair skinned Seraphine cousins. Evvan’s skilled and refined senses noted every bent twig, every indentation in the rich loam, and every nuance or change in forest smells.

L’th’amir’s hooves and Evvan’s boot-clad feet made not a sound as the pair worked their way through the treacherous forest, alert for any sign of the Fae killer or dangerous magical beasts. The golden-eyed Lycidian dragons made Merth Darkling their home and did not take kindly to travelers of any race or being invading their realm. The recent death of one of their kind at a Nordain’s hands had made them restless, edgy, and more dangerous than ever.

The Enforcer had been tracking the Fae killer for nigh on three days now, and for the first time Evvan sensed the evil being was close. Very close. Rage flamed in Evvan’s gut for the Fae lives the murderer had taken, and he moved his hand to the hilt of his sword as though to strike out at the bastard in his thoughts. To use the point of the Elvin-forged blade to gouge out those orange eyes. Eyes that Evvan had glimpsed beneath the Fae killer’s dark hood when the vile beast had attempted to murder Anistana, Queen of Faerie.

Aye, Evvan had prevented Anistana’s death, but it was his fault she had been there to begin with…and it was his fault Simoone had died.

He gritted his teeth as he dodged the low-hanging branch of a bluewood tree. He could not forgive himself for the Faerie’s death at the killer’s hands, just three days past. This, despite the fact that the Overseers’ Council had determined the Fae killer was Voral, one of the most powerful dark Sorcerers in all of Dair’s recorded history.

Which very well explained why the shrouding had not worked.

But it mattered not what being had murdered Simoone. It had been Evvan’s responsibility to guard the Faeries of Astral and he had failed. Gods and goddesses of all peoples be damned, Evvan would not rest until he had avenged Simoone’s life.

A sharp and bitter wind from the north lifted his thick black hair, stirring it about his massive shoulders. With the shift in the wind came an unfamiliar fragrance and he inhaled deeply. Sweet as the perfume of jensai blooms, yet more exotic. And feminine heat, a rich scent that caused his blood to boil and his cock to buck beneath his leather breeches. Instinctively, by scent and sense, he knew this was a woman accustomed to fine things, a warm bath, and silken sheets.

What in the goddesses’ names could such a fair woman be doing in Merth Darkling? Traveling unescorted, no less, in one of the most perilous places in all of Dair?

A warning chill rolled over Evvan’s dark skin. Following the woman’s perfume was a sinister stench…the deadly malodor of a lycidian dragon.

Goddess damn! Nothing could sway Evvan from his tracking. Nothing…but an innocent about to meet a horrid death.

L’th’amir! the Enforcer shouted in mind-speak as he spun toward the golden steed and in a flash he mounted the horse and was seated in his leather saddle. Fly, my friend, Evvan instructed in thought, urging the magical beast toward the woman’s scent.

On hooves as swift as the current in the Everlasting River, L’th’amir bolted through the forest toward the woman who faced certain peril. Evvan urged the Elvin stallion to go faster and faster yet, through pine, oak, and bluewood. Over fallen logs, around boulders, and across a stream. No longer were L’th’amir’s hooves silent. Nay, they thundered across the ground like the rush of an oncoming summer storm. A magical sound that would fool the dragon until it was too late.

Evvan and L’th’amir broke through the cover of trees and into a clearing.

There she was. The woman.

A redheaded maid, staring defiantly at the dragon—a full-grown monster at that—as though the beast was naught more than a pet. As the lycidian reared back to strike, the daft woman turned her back on it, a haughty look upon her features—’til she saw L’th’amir.

The stallion bore down on the maid and she screamed.

Evvan splayed the fingers of one hand, palm facing the dragon. With a muttered oath, he invoked the power of the goddess, calling upon the shrouding, to snuff every one of the beast’s senses, including his fire and his sight.

The lycidian’s eyes remained focused on the maiden…he widened his jaws and flames boiled at its throat.

The shrouding had failed, again.

With his free arm, he scooped up the maid as though she was a weightless child and flung her over his legs so that her belly lay across his lap. A blast of fire from the dragon seared the woman’s backside. Her scant clothing burst into flame and she screamed again.

“Be calm, little one,” Evvan murmured as he leaned close, pressing himself to the woman’s back. Her screams became near hysterical as he snuffed the flames with his bare chest and hands, cooling her blistered skin by shrouding the nerves wherever the fire had singed her. ‘Twas a most useful skill, that. Shrouding could be used by an Enforcer to ensure his foe was quite defenseless, or to keep an innocent from feeling pain…or ‘twas most interesting to apply shrouding in the sexual arts.

Evvan did not bother to shroud the pain in his own arm. The Devline tolerated pain far better than any other beings on Dair.

The golden stallion never slowed his furious gallop, his hooves pounding the forest floor. From behind them came the beast’s enraged roar and the throbbing whoosh of wings, along with sharp cracks and snaps of breaking branches and loud crashes of felled trees. L’th’amir dodged through the woods, choosing the densest paths in an attempt to make it more difficult for the dragon to follow ‘til they found a safe place to hide.

If there was such a place in Merth Darkling.

The woman’s words were unintelligible as she continued shouting. She clenched her fists in his breeches, her nails digging into the flesh of his calf.

“I will protect you,” Evvan said to the maid in the common tongue, rather than in Elvish as he continued to focus his powers on her blistered legs, trying to erase the pain she must feel from her wounds. He gently stroked his hands over her skin and her charred clothing.

No matter the direness of their situation, Evvan could not help but notice the softness of her curves against his palm. His embrace tightened as he absorbed her warm, feminine musk, her scent of jasmine and spring, and all that was this beautiful creature… The jensai-red tresses that spilled over her face as she hung upside down across his lap, the soft curve of her ear, the unusual birthmark on the backside of her earlobe…a silver star?

Why would the maid have the mishnui tree’s star pattern on her lobe?

Surely not.

Evvan clenched L’th’amir’s reins and behind them the dragon roared again. It sounded closer rather than farther away. Impossible. The beast should not have been able to follow them so quickly and easily through such thick woods.

But then the beast should not have been unaffected by Evvan’s magic.

And he had no doubt now—he knew exactly what that dragon truly was. Evvan had every intention of confronting and slaying the beast, but first he had to get the maid to safety.

The stallion bolted along a path to the right, and Evvan gripped the woman tighter. Brief and sudden, a vision came to him…he was trailing his tongue over the mark on the woman’s earlobe, down her neck, along her spine, over her luscious buttocks and further yet. A rush of need consumed him and he yearned to lap at her quim and taste what his senses told him would be the honey of the goddess.

A fierce protectiveness slammed into him, unlike anything he had ever felt before.

He had to possess this creature in every way a man could have a woman.

She belonged to him.

His cock hardened against her belly as she rocked on his lap, and he had the mad image of turning her so that she straddled him. Aye, he would slide her down the length of his cock, thrusting deep within her quim. He would fuck her in time with the motion of the horse, driving in and out of her slick core.

The dragon’s bellow reverberated through the forest, unbelievably louder, snapping Evvan from his fantasy. He cursed himself for his mental lapse, mating desires or no, and used his senses to assist L’th’amir in searching for some means of cover or protection.

The Netherworld will serve us best, he told the stallion who whinnied in agreement. Let us find the closest entrance.

Preferably not an entrance leading to D’euan Deep, home of the Dwarves. The burly blue-skinned bastards harbored no great love for the Devline Elves. Or any other Fae, for that matter. But Evvan would battle any man—any army of beings—who dared to touch this woman.

Evvan felt twice as alert, twice as predatory with the maid in his arms. All of his life he had been a guardian, but now, to guard this woman—his teeth clenched, and he bit back a snarl.

The Fae killer, the dragon, the Dwarves—all could pose danger to his little one, his l’tiani. If they came near, he would rend them, limb from limb.

As if sensing his feral rage, the woman, his beautiful l’tiani, stiffened in his embrace.

He calmed his muscles through force of will, and spoke to her once more in the common tongue. He sensed that it served its purpose and soothed her as she listened, yet he knew she did not understand him. From whence could she have come, to be unfamiliar with the common speech?

How could his heartmate have existed on Dair all of this time, with him having no knowledge of her?

The rough cadence of the stranger’s voice eased Natalie, calming the furious pounding of her heart. And yet his words also stirred something in her. An almost primal feeling.

Lust. Yes, definitely lust. But also something like…recognition.

Her nipples grew to diamond-hardness as she rocked against his body and her pussy was so wet she had soaked her scrap of panties.

She shook her head.

What the hell kind of virtual reality machine is this? Fantasy kingdoms and fantasy lovers, too? And let’s not forget the fantasy fire-breathing monster from hell. Oh, Miz. You are so dead when I find you.

The searing pain from the blast of fire had brought tears to Nat’s eyes, and she had been on the verge of becoming hysterical until the man began talking to her and touching her.

As though his voice and his touch were somehow magical.

Riiiight.

“Let me off this damn ride, now!” Natalie demanded, trying to brush her hair out of her face as she hung upside down, but it only flopped back into her eyes. “This is total bullshit. I’ve had enough!”

She almost expected everything to stop, like the holodeck shutdowns on Star Trek.

No such luck.

While countless trees and brush flashed by, the man continued speaking, his voice so deep and hot that it lit a fire in her chest. Her nipples positively ached against his muscled thigh and her pussy throbbed.

Jeez, was she in trouble. She was getting turned on by a guy in a fantasy game playing Robin Hood to her Maid Marian. Some computer geek was probably taping every second of this. Miz would never let her live it down.

While her body rocked against the man’s lap, Natalie focused on his speech, frustrated that she couldn’t place the language he was using. It was unlike anything she had ever heard, but she’d been able tell instantly that it was indeed a formal language, and the man wasn’t just babbling incoherently. His accent sounded almost Spanish, yet a hint of something else was there. Surely it was a dialect created especially for this exhibit.

Nonetheless, she would decipher it eventually. Of that she had no doubt—there had never been a language she hadn’t been able to learn perfectly.

The dragon’s roar resounded through the forest, and Nat shivered. Smells of burnt cloth and singed hair filled her senses, blocking out the stench of the dragon and the more pleasant forest smells.

Ground and vegetation passed in a kaleidoscopic blur beneath the hooves of the golden-haired horse. A part of her was amazed at the realness of what she had just gone through. She had actually been terrified for her life! Of course she was still pissed about the pain she’d felt from that blast furnace they used for dragon’s breath, but the burning had simply vanished with the man’s touch.

Nat became aware of something hard pressed to her belly and she tensed. That wasn’t the man’s cock, was it?

Okay, this reality machine’s getting way too real. She shifted against the man’s rock hard thighs, and her heartbeat picked up again. Oh, he was real all right. No way in hell could he be make-believe like that dragon had been. He was obviously an actor playing his part to the hilt.

Although she didn’t think the hardness of his cock had anything to do with the part he was playing.

Jeez, he smelled good. An earthy, musky scent that really turned her on. Despite the fact that she knew nothing about him, Nat sensed his strength, his will of iron, his protectiveness…and that there was definitely something dark and very dangerous about this man.

The crash and roar of the dragon came closer. Nat could almost feel the heat of its breath again, and her heart rate tripled. But none of this is real!

Damn, but it was hard to keep reminding herself of that fact.

The horse dodged off the path. Natalie raised her gaze—to see that they were headed straight toward a rock wall—and the horse wasn’t even slowing down.

We’re going to smash right into it!

“What the hell are you doing?” she shouted, but the horse and rider kept barreling toward the rocks.

An orange flare erupted in front of the wall and Natalie screamed. The man shouted and the stallion wheeled so abruptly that Nat was sure the both of them would be throw from the stallion. The horse spun, like a car doing a 360 at the end of a racetrack. Natalie was still screaming when the horse came to a tooth and soul-jarring stop.

And they were facing the orange-eyed dragon…and it was staring straight at her.

Chapter Three

The beast bellowed so loud that Nat’s ears rang and her heart almost stopped beating.

In the next moment, the man had dismounted with her in his arms, and none-too-gently he plopped her ass on the ground. With a shout of, “Yan!” he ripped a bow from his back as he whirled to face the dragon, so quickly she didn’t even have a chance to glimpse the man’s face.

Everything was happening so fast, Nat could hardly think. This was all too real. Far too real. The man’s massive back was to her, his wild black hair stirring around his dark-skinned shoulders as he nocked an arrow to his bow in a blur.

The dragon ignored the man, instead focusing that eerie orange gaze on Natalie. Like cat eyes, only the pupils were purple and in the shape of a sort of four-pointed star.

“Voral!” the man shouted as he released the arrow. “Eyet ydai!”

A flare of orange erupted in front of the dragon and the arrow bounced off of it, as though the orange shimmer was some kind of force field.

Rearing its head, the dragon’s black scales glittered like millions of pieces of volcanic glass. The beast opened its massive jaws. Like a television on the fritz, the orange force field sputtered, and Natalie knew the stupid thing was going to send one of those frying blasts of fire at her again.

“Don’t you dare!” she shouted, scrambling to her feet and glaring at the virtual dragon. She pointed one finger at it. “I’ll sue this whole damn outfit if you do that again.”

Plumes of fire rolled out of the dragon’s mouth, straight toward Natalie. The man forced himself in front of her, as though to take the brunt of the blast and to protect her from injury. Her eyes widened as she braced her palms against his hot flesh and over his shoulder watched in horror as the fire shot toward them.

But instead of feeling heat and pain again, she watched as the fire spread out and hovered in the air, like a gigantic wave of flame, suspended in time. As if it had struck an invisible wall.

A piercing whinny came from the horse. Like a warning, or a message.

The man spun and grabbed Natalie by the waist and flung her over his shoulder and started to run. But he was heading in the direction of the wall.

She braced her hands against his back and rose up to look over her shoulder—to see that he was running straight at it again. Only this time there was no orange flare, and this time he didn’t stop.

Natalie clenched her eyes shut and dug her fingernails into the man’s back.

She felt a strange pulling sensation, as if she was being sucked into the hose of a vacuum cleaner and then stretched until she was as thin as a salesclerk’s patience during a storewide sale at Macy’s.

A loud thump met Natalie’s ears and then a gurgle and a pop, and the pulling sensation vanished. Her head spun, and her ears felt like they were stuffed with at least a yard of satin lingerie.

She opened her eyes to see the wall behind them, growing farther away as the man strode through a darkened tunnel with her hanging over his shoulder, her nails still digging into the bare flesh of his back. The horse had followed them through the wall and was walking next to them. He held his proud head high, his golden coat shimmering, almost glowing. She could still hear the dragon’s roar, but it was faint now, as if they were underground, and the beast was far above.

How did we get through that rock wall? She relaxed her grip on his back. Oh, yeah. This isn’t real.

“What the hell is going on?” she asked as the man carried her through the tunnel. “Don’t you think you all are carrying this game a little too far?”

He said something in his deep, vibrant voice that sounded like, “T’ne Evvan, Devline archpa,” but he never stopped walking. He continued carrying her down, down and down, deeper into the earth.

“I can walk by myself.” Natalie tried to struggle, tried to get him to put her down, but his grip on her only tightened. He was so large, and she was so petite, that she felt like a doll in his massive embrace.

With a resigned sigh, she listened as he muttered a few other sentences. She allowed his language to seep into her and she felt the beginnings of recognition take hold. Just a little more and she’d have it.

Her body rocked against his as he strode forward, stirring up even more lustful feelings within her body. Her pussy tingled, and the feel of his powerful arm across the backs her thighs was enough to make her so wet she could hardly stand it. Almost absentmindedly he began stroking the flesh with his fingers, and Natalie swore she was going to come. It was so easy to get lost in the sensation of his touch…to imagine this man sliding between her thighs and fucking her.

And she hadn’t even seen his face yet.

“Where are you taking me?” she demanded once they’d gone at least a mile, but he only responded in that unusual language.

Everything dimmed as they entered a darker passageway. The horse’s hooves made barely a sound as he followed close behind.

The man rumbled a few words, the reverberations in his chest making Nat suddenly even more aware of him…the feel of his bare skin against her, his muscled arms, his huge back. Somehow the darkness made everything more intense.

Okay, enough was enough.

“What the hell is going on?” Nat pounded one fist against his shoulder and struggled in earnest. “I can’t see a damn thing.”

A sort of goldish glow filled the passageway, illuminating the golden horse. The glow seemed to come from the man, but that couldn’t be right. But hell, nothing was right with any of this.

“I want down and I want some answers, now,” she insisted in her strongest I’ve-had-it voice.

Abruptly he stopped walking, and then he very slowly lowered her to her feet. Her breasts slid against his powerful shoulder and chest until she was standing in the circle of his arms.

In the back of her mind, Natalie realized that she had lost a sandal and felt dirt and rock beneath her one bare foot. But when she tipped her head back to look up at the man, all thought failed her…she was standing in the embrace of the most dangerous looking man she’d ever seen.

She froze, unable to move as she stared up into his frighteningly intense black eyes. He had unusual black tattoos along each cheekbone and he looked to be Native American, perhaps Cherokee…only he had very pointed ears that somehow suited him. His cheekbones where high, his jaw strong, his expression intense and fierce. Long black hair fell to powerful shoulders, and his chest—cripes, but his bare chest was massive.

His biceps bulged as he held her in the circle of his arms, and she sensed the fine rein of control he exercised over himself. Power and strength radiated throughout his being and she had no doubt he could crush her in one arm with just a simple squeeze.

When he spoke, she felt the vibrations from his powerful voice. “L’tiani, meshetinai lorana alnei bashme knei anin.”

This time she almost deciphered the meaning of his words as his deep tone sent a thrill straight to her core. It was right there. She almost had it.

The golden glow surrounded them, growing brighter, and then Natalie realized it was coming from him. Hs entire body was glowing. The radiance filtered through the passageway, chasing away the darkness, allowing her to clearly see the man who held her in his powerful embrace.

Talk about fabulous special effects.

“L’tiani,” he repeated, a solemn look in his dark eyes as he held her. “T’ne Evvan, Devline archpa.”

Little one, her mind deciphered as her gift for languages unlocked his speech. I am Evvan, Enforcer of the Devline.

Evvan. His name was Evvan.

He gave her a look so savage that it curled her toes. “Meshetinai lorana alnei bashme knei anin.”

Evvan’s words unraveled as her gift allowed her to further interpret what he had said: The goddesses have granted me a most perfect mate.

As the realization came to her of exactly what he meant, the man slid his hand into her hair, cupping the back of her head, and he forced her mouth to meet his.

Shocked at his dominant move, Natalie stiffened in Evvan’s strong arms, so stunned that for a moment she froze. But as his lips moved over hers, warm, hard, possessive, she melted into the kiss. Her thoughts spun and whirled and she could remember nothing, think of nothing, but this man’s incredible mouth.

“Open for me, l’tiani,” he murmured in his unusual language. He nipped at her lower lip and a moan shuddered through her as they parted for him.

Evvan growled and thrust into her mouth with his tongue. Natalie dug her fingers into his biceps, giving herself to the kiss without question. The way he took control, the way he claimed her with his mouth and tongue, gave her such a deep thrill, unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. She’d never had any man make her feel as though she was his. She would never have allowed any other man to kiss her in this way.

The realization of what she was doing hit her with such force that she cried out, “T’non!” and pulled away.

Or tried to pull away. Evvan was so muscled and strong that she’d only succeeded in breaking the kiss. She had no doubt this man could overpower her with no trouble at all. Yet inside she felt certain he would never hurt her, or force her to do anything she didn’t choose to do.

Would he? Was she being hopelessly naïve? Hell, she was a New Yorker. She knew better than to trust a stranger.

“Stop,” she repeated in his language, harder this time and using her don’t-mess-with-me tone. “I didn’t give you permission to kiss me.”

“You do speak the common tongue.” Evvan’s expression was dark and sensuous as he stroked his thumb along her jaw to her still tingling lips. “I do not need permission to take what is mine.”

A flare of anger heated Nat from head to toe. “Excuse me, jerk,” she started in English and then switched to the man’s language, “I am not yours to take.”

“You are mine.” He scowled, his fierce expression sending a quick rush of fear through Natalie.

And that bit of fear pissed her off.

With everything she had, she kicked Evvan’s shin with her sandaled foot and then tried to yank away from him. But he held her fast.

Not even a muscle twitched on his face to indicate she’d done any damage, but his scowl deepened.

“Let. Me. Go!” She slammed her hands against his chest and pushed away from him.

“As you wish.” Evvan released her.

Natalie stumbled back, her anger changing to shock as she fell and landed on her ass. Pain shot up her backside and she headed straight on back to furious.

“Bastard.” Bracing her hands on the cool rock floor, she glared up at the man who now had his hands folded across his chest. He stared at her with an unreadable expression that pissed her off even more.

“I have no time for such distractions.” He took a step forward, and her heart thumped harder at his menacing look. “I have a life to avenge and I cannot allow you to interrupt what must be done. I must get you to safety, finish my task, and then I shall deal with you.”

Despite the fact that she was on her ass, staring up at a man who towered a good six feet above her, she did her best to let him know she wasn’t going to put up with his crap. “Get real, cowboy.”

He cocked an eyebrow.

Nat put one hand to her forehead and tried to calm down. What was the matter with her? This was a virtual reality exhibit for cripes sake.

“All right.” Her eyes met his black gaze as she spoke. “Okay. I get it. It’s part of the game—you rescue the damsel in distress—moi—and pretend you’re going to cart me off to a castle in the sky once you kill off the bad guy.”

She pushed herself to her feet and stood so that she was nose to, er, chest with him. “But I’m not in the mood to play this stupid game,” she said in English. “I want out. Now.”

Evvan studied her with his intense gaze. “You speak in a tongue I am not familiar with, l’tiani,” he replied in his own language. “From whence did you come?”

Oh, get real. Nat rolled her eyes to the passageway’s ceiling that still glowed an eerie gold color. Okay, so she’d have to play along or she’d get nowhere. “This is just a game,” she said, trying to find the words for virtual reality machine in Evvan’s language, and coming up dry. “I just want to get it over with and go home.”

“Game?” The corner of his mouth quirked in a predatory expression. “If this is a game to you, l’tiani, I have already won.” His voice deepened and he pulled her close to him again.

Her temper snapped and she pounded her fist against his rock-hard chest. “My name is not little one. It’s Natalie.”

“Not-a-lee.” The throaty way he repeated her name sent shivers down her spine, diffusing her anger, damn him. “‘Tis a beautiful name.” He lowered his head, nuzzling the curve of her neck and lightly biting her flesh. “Where is it you hail from, l’tiani?”

What the heck. Natalie sighed, part from resignation at trying to get Evvan to stop playing this game, and partly from sheer lust at the feel of his lips and teeth against her neck. Damn but she wanted him. Yet how could she want to fuck such an arrogant bastard?

“New York City,” she murmured, leaning into him. “The Big Apple.”

Evvan’s body and soul vibrated with need as he moved his lips along Natalie’s elegant neck, gently nipping and biting at her skin, down to the hollow at the base of her throat. A small, hungry moan escaped her, and he growled in satisfaction.

Moving his hands and mouth over her appetizing form, Evvan breathed in the luscious perfume of his l’tiani. At the same time he searched the area outside the Netherworld with his senses for the dragon…for Voral.

The moment the beast had resisted the shroud, Evvan had suspected it to be the Fae killer, the Sorcerer Voral, shape-shifted into a form befitting his foul, dark soul. And when he’d seen those sinister orange eyes, he had been positive.

D’euan Deep’s protective spells would keep them safe from the Sorcerer, for now. It was bound and sealed with a combination of powerful Fae, Elvin, and Dwarven magic. That enchantment would allow none through the magical gates, except for the few who had been granted permission to travel from Dair to D’euan Deep. If not for other dangers, he would leave Natalie here as he sought out the Fae killer. But nay, he must take her to the one place he felt certain she would be safe, the one place in this world where she must have come from.

Natalie gasped as Evvan cupped her breasts and held the firm flesh in his palms. He gnashed his teeth, frustrated at having to hold himself back. He wanted to bite her nipples as he fucked her again and again.

Once they resurfaced and left the Netherworld, Evvan would re-locate the Fae killer and revenge all the Fae lives the bastard had taken.

And his l’tiani… If he had questioned Natalie’s origins before, he was now certain. After she had blocked the dragon’s fire, there could be no doubt that she was Fae.

As he continued tasting her skin, Natalie slid her hands into his hair, tipped her head back and moaned again. She moved her hands to his ears and stilled as she stroked them from tip to base and even tugged on them. “Your ears. They feel so real.”

He raised his head to look into her green gaze. “You had doubts?”

Nat rolled her eyes. “There’s no such thing as Elves. And you certainly don’t look like a—a Vulcan.” Her nose scrunched as she gave him a critical look. “Well, perhaps a cross between a Vulcan and a Klingon.”

Natalie gasped as Evvan caught her face in his palms and studied her. Something was amiss, and he intended to determine what it might be.

With the powers of the Devline, he slid into her memories. The familiar tingling sensation bled through his fingertips and into her mind. In moments he absorbed the sights, smells, and sounds of her strange and bizarre world. Her speech was still unknown to him, as were the many other languages she apparently commanded. But the pictures from her mind’s eye of her life were easy enough for him to read.

All the way back to her birth…and her heritage.

Slowly he withdrew from her memories ‘til he saw only Natalie before him.

“What the hell did you just do?” Her throat worked as she swallowed. “It felt like you were in my head.”

“You are not from this world.” Thoughtfully he brushed strands of jensai-red hair from her eyes as he contemplated what he had seen. “Yet you are of this world.”

Chapter Four

“What’s the deal?” Natalie frowned. “First you act like you’re hot for me, and in the next moment you’re studying me like a museum exhibit.”

Instead of answering, Evvan released her and motioned to a rock near L’th’amir. His time was limited and he had much to explain to his heartmate. ‘Twas certain she would not easily believe what he had to say to her. “Sit,” he commanded.

Natalie propped her hands on her hips. “Just where do you get off ordering me around?”

He clenched his hands at his sides and gave her the same scowl that had intimidated countless men and beings far more fierce than this petite creature before him. “Sit.”

With a scowl of her own, Natalie crossed her arms over her breasts and plopped onto the boulder beside the golden horse. “You are one strange guy,” she muttered. “Hot. Cold…”

“We have much to discuss.” Evvan raked one hand through his wild mane of black hair as he paced the cave floor.

Natalie raised her hands, palms up. “Well?”

He gave her a sharp look. “The Devline are gifted with the ability to experience another person’s life by mind-touching.”

“Oh, sure.” Natalie rolled her eyes to the cave ceiling before looking at him again. “You just did a Vulcan mind-meld, right? So the pointed ears don’t make you an elf after all. You’re just a reject from a Star Trek conven—”

“Listen!” Evvan growled his frustration as he continued pacing. “You were adopted as a youngling—a toddler—and have no recollection of anything from your childhood before your third birthday, by Human years. You were reared by wealthy individuals who raised you as their own daughter.”

“How do you know all of that?” She dropped her hands to her lap, her eyes wide. “Did Miz tell you?”

“You have a gift for languages,” he continued, scowling at the imp who dared to interrupt him, “which is how you learned the common tongue so easily.”

Her spine straightened. “Now hold on—”

He gave her a look so fierce she snapped her lips shut and glared at him as he went on. “Aye, those are all things that anyone could have learned about you in your world.”

Evvan paused directly in front of Natalie, speaking slowly so that every word he said carried enough weight to impress upon her the truth in his message. “But you have never told a soul how you have always felt apart from the rest of your world. As though you did not truly belong there.”

Chills rolled through Natalie as she stared at Evvan. Surely he had guessed that. Wouldn’t be too hard—lots of people probably felt that way.

“You need more proof,” he said in a manner that seemed to be more of a statement to himself. “When you were a youngling, you accidentally broke the chain to your mother’s silver star pendant—it matched the birthmark behind your ear—and you hid her star in the knothole of a tree in your backyard.”

“How…” Warmth flushed through Nat and she closed her eyes, blocking out Evvan’s fiercely handsome face. No one had ever known that, and definitely not Miz. When Natalie was young she had been afraid she would get in trouble when she broke the pendant. Years later, when she had searched for the star to have the chain repaired and return it to her mother, it was gone. Nat had never forgiven herself for that.

Evvan’s warm breath brushed over her lips, sending shivers along her spine. She opened her eyes to find him crouching before her, his face a fraction from hers. “Now do you believe?” The predator of a man almost seemed almost gentle.

Unable to control herself, Natalie moved her hands to his ears and stroked him with her fingertips. She concentrated on exploring every ridge, every curve, every seam…searching for some indication that they weren’t real.

But they felt every bit as real as her own.

“I don’t understand.” She swallowed and brought her fingers to the black tattoos along his cheekbones, feeling as though she was in a strange fog as she traced the unusual patterns. “This is like being in an episode of The Twilight Zone.”

As Evvan spoke it was like he was using magic in his voice to attempt to relax her mind into accepting the truth in his words. “Your ability to master languages—that is no fluke. ‘Tis magic you were born with.”

“Magic? You’re nuts.” Natalie shook her head and let her fingers slide away from his face and braced her hands upon the boulder she was sitting on. “I entered a machine to play a game. That’s all.”

“This is no game, l’tiani.” Evvan captured her hands in his and brought them to his chest, his dark eyes still focused on hers. “You were brought to this world, to Dair, by a skypath. A sort of…ripple in the universe.”

“You’re saying that all of this is real?” Natalie pulled one hand away from his grasp and pointed toward the tunnel that they had just come through. “That dragon…the forest…” She gestured toward his ears. “And that you are really an Elf?”

“Aye.” Evvan took her by the shoulders and gripped her tight in a possessive manner. “And you, my l’tiani, have merely come home.”

Almost every fiber of Nat’s being wanted to cry out in agreement with what Evvan revealed. Something buried deep inside her said he spoke the truth. And somehow it made all the weird things that had happened in her life suddenly make sense.

Well, there were her unusual looks. And she’d been considered a wunderkind for her ability to master languages so quickly. Could it be that her talent had something to do with her being from a totally different world, a magical world?

Ha. You’re losing it now for sure, Nat.

The logical part of her battled in full force. The part of her that didn’t believe in magic and fairytales couldn’t quite accept what the man—elf—whatever the hell he was—had told her.

Natalie shrugged away from Evvan and jumped up from her perch on the boulder. “This is absurd.” Turning her back on him, she kicked off her one remaining sandal. It thunked against the cave wall as she walked barefoot through the passageway, hugging her arms tight to her chest.

Rocks poked into her bare soles, and she only hoped she didn’t cut herself. She wasn’t sure how long it had been since she’d had a tetanus shot, and who knew if there were antibiotics in this place.

That is if she wasn’t currently dreaming or hallucinating, or locked up in a padded cell in a mental ward. Perhaps she was the one who belonged in St. Jude’s.

She sensed Evvan and his horse following her as she continued on through the passageway. His glow continued to light the way, and through the dimness ahead it looked as though the tunnel went on forever. An eerie silence prevailed, and she wondered how the man and horse could follow her so quietly. Yet without looking, she knew they were there.

Natalie shivered and rubbed her hands along her arms to chase away the chill. One part of her believed that she was really in a tunnel with an Elf and his horse, far below the ground, and on another world no less.

But that other part of her wanted to know what would happen when the dweebs shut off the damn game.

A second before he spoke, Nat felt Evvan’s presence directly behind her. “Come,” he said in his deep, commanding voice that made her pussy wetter than ever. “You require a salve.”

No. A good fuck, that’s what I need, she thought as she turned to face him. Dang, but he turned her on—she’d never felt such a fierce and primitive attraction for any man before. He was gorgeous in a dangerous, dark, and powerful way. Kind of like that Klingon guy from Star Trek: the Next Generation.

Evvan’s black gaze met hers as he took her hand. “As long as we haven’t drawn notice of the Dwarves of D’euan Deep, we shall be safe here for the moment.”

“Excuse me?” Nat tugged as his grip, but he held her fast and pulled her back toward his golden horse. “Dwarves? And if we manage to get their attention, then what?”

He brought them to a stop before the horse and his look darkened as his gaze met hers. “One never knows with Dwarves.”

Prickling erupted at her nape. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“We have tarried far too long.” Evvan turned toward his horse and started digging through a saddlebag. “We must treat the wounds on your legs at once. When we have finished with that task, we will search for the passage to Astral.”

“What wounds?” Nat twisted around and strained to see her backside. A chill rippled over her as she discovered that the back of her legs were completely covered with blisters, the flesh scorched. “Oh my god.” Her gaze shot back to Evvan. “What kind of game is this?”

A muscle in his cheek twitched and she wondered if it was a sign that he was irritated with her, or perhaps amused.

“We shall discuss it once I have started the renewal process,” he said in a rumble.

Natalie’s mind reeled as she glanced back at her legs. A sense of the surreal gripped her as she ran the pads of her fingers over the blisters and burnt skin along the back of one thigh, feeling the horrid texture of the injuries. No doubt she would be scarred for life from that dragon.

It was real. The fucking dragon was real.

“It doesn’t even hurt,” she mumbled, not quite able to comprehend what had happened to her.

“I used powers of the Devline to numb the pain.” Evvan took her by the upper arm, drawing her attention back to him, and then practically dragged her toward the horse. “Brace your hands against L’th’amir,” he commanded. “Now.”

“Bossy S.O.B.,” Nat muttered, placed her palms on the horse’s saddle. She wouldn’t argue with him. She’d just get even with the bastard later for his high-handed attitude.

L’th’amir turned his head and focused his golden eyes on Nat. A strange current jolted her from her thoughts of getting revenge on Evvan. It was like the horse was looking inside her, reading her mind.

Absurd.

L’th’amir tossed his head and whickered.

The smell of leather and spices filed her senses as she studied those peculiar gold eyes. Odd, but the horse didn’t have a horsey odor at all—not like the ones that she’d been around when horse-cops patrolled Central Park. No, this one smelled like ginger and nutmeg.

Natalie’s right leg tingled and she turned her attention from the horse’s unsettling golden gaze to Evvan. He was applying a red powder to her calf that turned into a clear salve as he smoothed it over the blisters and burnt skin.

The salve bubbled and hissed, and more tingling raced along her flesh. Gradually the bubbling settled, and her skin absorbed all of the salve…and left her completely unblemished. Blood throbbed in her ears as she realized the wounds had vanished. Simple as that, they were gone. No scabs, no scars—wherever he spread the salve, her skin became as smooth and whole as it had been before the dragon scorched her.

Her gaze cut to the man whose gruff exterior belied the gentleness he now showed as he carefully attended her other calf. Evvan raised his head and his eyes met Natalie’s—and the connection was instant. Electric. Desire and need burned in the vast depths of his gaze, trapping her, drawing her in and making her his.

Possessing her.

His hands continued to rub salve to the back of each of her knees, but his gaze remained locked with hers. While he moved his palms up both of her thighs, his touch was firm, his caress igniting a small blaze in her belly. Flames that licked at every nerve ending in her body and spread throughout her.

Natalie’s nipples tightened and her pussy ached. A sort of trembling feeling worked its way through her and she dug her fingers into the leather of L’th’amir’s saddle. All she knew was that she wanted this man, and she wanted him now.

Evvan’s cock grew unbearably tight in his breeches as he worked the salve into Natalie’s flesh. He had sensed the intensity of her desire for him the moment their eyes had locked.

The scent of her juices near drove him mad, and when she flicked her tongue out to wet her lower lip he almost howled with the force of his desires. The need to claim his woman was so strong, so savage, that it took all his iron control to continue his task rather than tearing away her scant clothing and burying himself deep within her quim.

He moved his palms further up her thighs, closer to her small ass and the heaven between her thighs.

“You are beautiful, l’tiani,” the words spilling from his lips before he had the opportunity to stop them.

Her eyes had deepened to an even darker green. “You’re kinda hot yourself.”

Evvan cocked one eyebrow as his hands met the underside of her buttocks. “Hot?”

“Uh-huh.” Natalie nodded. “It means you’re one gorgeous man.”

He frowned. “Gorgeous?” That was not something he had ever been called before.

“As in handsome—” She gasped as his palms cupped her buttocks beneath the charred skirt and he soothed away the last of her wounds.

“What is this?” His fingers met a strip of cloth around her waist. “To preserve your chastity, mayhap?”

Natalie giggled, a sound that surprised and intrigued him all at once. But her laugh turned into a moan as his hand followed a strap down the crevice of her ass. “It’s a—a thong.” Her voice caught as his fingers neared the lips of her quim. “My—my underwear.”

“I think you would be far more comfortable without it.” He rubbed the silken cloth covering her mound that was soaked with her juices. With his free hand he slid his dagger from the sheath at his side.

“What are you doing?” Her eyes widened at the sight of his weapon.

“Do not move.” In two quick movements he sliced the straps of her garment, first one side and then the other, pulled it away from the lips of her quim and then flung the scrap away.

“Hey—” Natalie tensed and started to tell him off for ruining her thong, but in a quick and powerful move he eased her thighs apart.

In the next moment he was laving his tongue over her ass cheeks, and she could no longer think, much less complain about anything he was doing to her.

Natalie moaned as Evvan’s tongue flicked along the crack of her ass, closer to her wet folds. Clenching her hands tighter onto the horse’s saddle, she arched her back, her nipples rubbing against the side of the massive beast as she widened her stance to give Evvan better access.

Waves of power rippled from him—she felt it. And then all her senses seemed to dim until she was aware of only that one area, where he was teasing her pussy with his mouth and tongue. Were her eyes closed, or could she no longer see? Was every other part of her body numb, or were the sensations of him licking and sucking her clit so intense that she could feel nothing else?

Omigod, it was definitely Evvan. Whatever he was doing was unreal…it was magic. “Wh-what…” She swallowed, her body quivering so hard that she could barely speak. “Oh, god, Evvan, this is unbelievable.”

“Enjoy,” he murmured in between strokes of his tongue. “‘Tis the shrouding. It can be used as a most enjoyable sexual art of Devline Enforcers.”

“It’s too intense.” She gripped the leather saddle even tighter. “Make me come, Evvan. I can’t stand it.”

“In time, l’tiani.” He teased the soft curls of her mound. “In time.”

“Bastard,” she muttered.

He stroked her with his fingers, mouth, and tongue, like he was taking in every detail of her sex…tasting her, biting her, sucking her. Natalie only knew that the man was going to drive her out of her mind if he didn’t make her come soon. Over and over again he brought her to the edge, then backed off and touched her in different ways that made her crazy.

When he once again left her unfulfilled, she was almost in tears in her frustration. “What are you doing to me?”

His warm breath brushed over her buttocks. “Learning you by taste, by touch. By each delicious smell.”

“If you don’t make me come, I’m going to scream.” She trembled, so close to the brink that she knew with one more flick of his tongue, she’d explode. But instead the bastard ran his mouth along the inside of her thigh, slowly moving until he reached the crease between her leg and her folds.

“Evvan!”

He growled and spread her pussy lips apart, then buried his mouth against her folds. As his tongue found the perfect spot, fiery warmth and then icy cold filled her body, enveloping her with such exquisite force that she shouted his name again.

God, she’d never felt anything like it before. Searing and freezing, pleasure and pain—it was everything and nothing and all that lay in between.

Her legs vibrated and her mind spun as she rushed so quickly toward climax that she couldn’t even breathe. The orgasm erupted within her and she cried out, the sound echoing through the passageway.

Natalie clung to L’th’amir’s saddle as her body trembled with every aftershock. Her other senses slowly returned to normal, yet she was barely conscious of Evvan, who rose to his feet and stood behind her, his muscular form pressed tight to her backside.

“I need to be inside you.” His voice rumbled, sending more tremors through her clit. Her breathing was still harsh as he turned her around so that she was facing him. Her skirt was up around her waist as he pressed her against the horse and cupped her chin, raising it so that her gaze met his. “I need to fuck you.”

Chapter Five

Even in Evvan’s unusual language, the word for fuck sounded just as hard and erotic. His words sent shafts of desire through Natalie, so intense that she almost jumped him and climbed him like a fire pole. She was acutely aware of her naked pussy pressed to his leather pants and her shoulders against the horse. She had never felt so completely sated, so comfortable, so fulfilled in all her life—and yet so ready to be fucked. And by a man she’d barely met. Who knew that sex with strangers could be so much fun?

Although there was no way just any stranger could do what Evvan had done to her. If she’d needed any further convincing that she wasn’t on Earth, and wasn’t in a virtual reality game, that mind-and-body-blowing oral sex had been just the ticket.

“Okay, you big Elf stud, where am I, truly?” Natalie tilted her head back so that she could look into his dark, sexy eyes. “It’s obvious I’m not in the real world any longer.”

His expression remained intense, his black gaze focused on her as he reached up and grabbed a handful of her hair. “Dair is most assuredly real,” he said as he pulled her to him by gentle force. “And you, my l’tiani, belong here.”

“You keep saying that.” Natalie could barely breathe, she wanted him so badly. But she had to know why she was here. How she came to be here instead of in that machine. “I’ve lived in New York all my life. How could I be from here?”

“That is not for me to explain.” He released her hair to slide his hand through her wild mane and then cupped the back of her head. “You will learn soon enough.”

She started to demand that he tell her more, but Evvan brought her roughly to him. He crushed his mouth to hers in a kiss so deep and possessive that all she could think about was her bare pussy rubbing along his muscled thigh, his erection pressed tight to her belly, and how much she wanted to free that monster cock from his breeches. Wanted to touch it and taste it. Wanted to feel it thrusting inside her.

He withdrew from the kiss, his chest rising and falling with the heaviness of his own breathing, telling her she affected him as much as he affected her. “Now, Natalie.”

At that point, the way he said her name, the way he looked at her, and the way her pussy positively quivered from his touch, Natalie wanted to just say “screw it,” and do exactly that. Screw the man’s brains out—no matter that he was a total stranger.

A stranger that had just given her the wildest orgasm of her life—up against a horse no less.

“I—I hardly know you.” Nat placed her hands against his chest and tried to push out of his embrace. Mr. biceps—and buns—of steel wasn’t budging. “I’m not an easy lay.”

“Our hearts know one another well.” Evvan moved his hand from the back of her head, slowly trailing it down her neck to her chest, and then placed his large palm above her heart. “Feel how it beats for me.” His dark eyes focused on hers, he clasped one of her wrists with his other hand, and placed her palm over his heart. “And feel how my heart calls to you.”

It was the most romantic thing a guy had ever said to her. She would never have pegged this dark and dangerous stranger for being a romantic.

Natalie closed her eyes as she felt his strong heartbeat against her hand. Her own heart thumped against Evvan’s fingers, and it seemed as though the two grew stronger and stronger, their rhythms matching and becoming one.

It was almost like she was deciphering the language of their hearts.

Okay, now I’m really losing my mind. Just wait until I get a hold of Miz—

But her friend seemed another lifetime ago. And right now she had this incredibly gorgeous man in her arms, who wanted her. So, she’d get in a good fuck or two, and then get back home.

Home to New York, where she belonged.

A thrill coursed through Natalie as Evvan pressed his hips tighter against hers and she felt the awesome size of his cock through his skintight pants. His wild musk of male and forest breezes overwhelmed her senses, mingling with the spicy scent of the horse behind her.

She opened her eyes and moved her hands over the smooth skin of his muscled chest. “I—I want you, Evvan.”

“‘Twas meant to be.” He lowered his head to the V of her blouse and lapped at her skin, down as far as the opening would allow. “Your flavor,” he murmured, “so sweet. I must savor your quim again. I must devour all of you. But first I will fuck you.”

Natalie sighed, melting against Evvan, enjoying the feel of his hands and mouth caressing her body. “Yes,” she murmured. “Yes.”

Evvan made a primitive noise, a growl of satisfaction. “You are mine, l’tiani. Forever mine.”

Forever his?

“Excuse me?” Natalie dropped down, ducking out of Evvan’s caress. “I’m not yours.”

The move apparently caught him off guard, judging by the surprised look in his black eyes. “Enough, l’tiani.” His expression turned into a scowl. “You are my heartmate, and you will listen to me.”

“Get lost, dickhead.” She backed away from him, tugging her charred skirt over her naked hips. “I’m not some kind of possession. I don’t belong to you or anyone else.”

Evvan’s look darkened, but his erection beneath his pants didn’t wane. If anything, it grew bigger, though Natalie was doing her best not to notice.

“Come here at once,” The arrogant prick ordered.

“Like hell.” Natalie put both hands up, as if to ward him off when he started toward her. “I don’t take orders.”

He stopped abruptly. “What—”

“Just stay right there and don’t take another step.” Natalie glared at him. “I don’t know where you get off, but you can cut the crap right now. I’ve had enough.”

Evvan’s muscles bunched like he was struggling to keep from leaping for her throat. “Goddess bless,” he hissed through clenched teeth.

A shiver of worry coursed Nat’s spine as she spun on her bare heel and marched down the passageway. “Don’t bother following me,” she called over her shoulder. “I’ll just find my own way out, thank you very much.”

Evvan’s furious voice chased her along the dim passageway, “You must return at once! The…” but his words became muffled as she rounded a corner and entered a different passageway, lit by the weirdest blue lights she’d ever seen.

Yeah, right. Like I’d listen to him. Natalie didn’t bother looking back. The big, arrogant, gorgeous jerk. As if she’d go running back to him just because he ordered her to.

Yet while she walked deeper along the glowing blue passageway, she wondered why he hadn’t followed her. It didn’t quite seem in character for him to just let her walk away like this.

“Ouch!” she muttered as sharp rocks bit into her bare feet. The odd blue lights—that kinda looked like little gargoyles—only gave off enough of a glow to keep from smacking into the dirt walls, and not enough to really see the tunnel floor.

“Stupid,” she muttered, suddenly feeling like she’d just made a huge error in judgment. What had she been thinking, to stalk off in a huff when she didn’t know where the hell she was?

Strangely enough, a sense of disappointment eased through her as she realized Evvan really wasn’t giving chase. Jeez, what’s the matter with me, anyway? Was that what she had really wanted? Was that why she’d taken off like she did? So that he would chase her?

Weird, Nat. That’s just plain weird.

Hair at her nape prickled and her steps slowed. Out of habit she rubbed at the star tattoo around her belly button and the gold ring at her navel. Okay, she was an idiot. Like one of those tourists who came to the City and jogged alone in Central Park, as if nothing bad could ever happen to them.

Mentally Nat ticked off every fact currently weighing against her. She was alone, and if everything Evvan had told her was true, she was in another world. Maybe on another planet. A planet with dragons that wanted to eat her. She was barefoot in a tunnel wearing a burned skirt and no freaking underwear, and she had just let a total stranger do everything but ride her like a pony. She was deep underground, didn’t know where she was going, and Evvan had said something about being wary of Dwarves…

The urge to run swept over her fast and furious like it had back before she’d come face-to-face with a fire-breathing dragon, and before that when she’d first entered the cave at the convention. All at once she felt as though the tunnel walls were closing in on her. She had to get out of there. Now.

Nat made a quick about-face—

And slammed into a heavily-muscled body.

“Goddess, damn!” Evvan let out a roar of frustration as he tried to move, but remained frozen where he stood, his feet firmly fastened to the tunnel floor.

He should have known.

The longer Natalie remained in Dair, the more her inborn powers would emerge. Even more dangerous, his l’tiani had no idea of her own magical strength.

Come to think of it, neither did he, really.

That thought sat poorly with Evvan.

He smashed his fist against the invisible barrier separating him from his heartmate. The barrier that surrounded him like a transparent box.

In her fit of displeasure, the redheaded Sorceress had unleashed one of those unknown strong magical powers she didn’t recognize—the same powers he had stupidly underestimated. Aye, he had seen an example of her magic when the Sorcerer-dragon had nearly roasted them, but thanks to his own arrogance, Evvan never thought she would use it against him.

And the wench had put herself in certain danger by leaving him unable to protect her.

He sensed that Dwarves were near…and if they came upon an unescorted female…

Damnation!

Go after her, he told L’th’amir in thought. On silent hooves so that you do not startle the wench.

The Elvin stallion, fortunate to be on the other side of Natalie’s lingering barrier, whickered and tossed his head. The brave steed then bolted down the tunnel, further into D’euan Deep, and after Evvan’s heartmate.

Sweat beaded his brow as he focused on breaking through the shield spell Natalie had cast. ‘Twould be most difficult to vanquish the Fae magic, but Evvan’s own powers ran strong and deep. He refused to bow to any force, and that included another’s hold upon him, magical or otherwise.

He focused his mind, concentrating on finding a weakness in the magic that held him. With his own power, he searched the length and breadth of the spell ‘til he found a fracture. Minute, to be sure, but enough to allow him to expand the flaw. Slowly, very slowly he was able to increase the width of the fracture, until the magic shattered.

With a roar, Evvan broke free. In a lightning fast movement, he ripped his sword from the sheath at his side and darted through the passageway, reaching out with his senses as he ran.

His heart thundered and blood rushed in his head.

The Dwarves were closing in on his l’tiani.

Natalie gasped as she pushed herself away from the fearsome-looking man she’d just smacked into. Was it the crazy light in the tunnel, or was he blue?

In the next second another massive hand covered her mouth from behind. A huge arm pinned her tight to a solidly muscled, naked torso. Sheer panic tore through her and she fought against the man’s hold with everything she had. Her captors smelled worse than a men’s locker room, the testosterone so strong that she thought she’d puke.

The man in front of her grumbled in a strange guttural language and her captor muttered something in assent.

Wild thoughts spun through Natalie’s head as she attempted to come up with some way to escape these men. Yet at the same time, her mind automatically began to process their bizarre language, and she knew it would be only a matter of time before she understood what they were saying.

Her captors turned and walked straight into the tunnel wall.

Natalie screamed behind the hand and her heart pounded inside her skull as she was carried through the wall. Again that sucking feeling and popping noises in her ears. Everything seemed to swirl and blur, blue light sweeping buy in a kaleidoscope of sensation. And then a snap and gurgle as they stepped into another passageway.

Immediately the men began jogging, with Natalie bouncing against her captor’s chest like a shapeless rag doll. The same blue glow illuminated the tunnel, but the light was so dim she could see only a few feet in front of them. Her blouse bunched up under her breasts as they moved along, exposing her belly, the air chilling her bare flesh.

Natalie struggled against her captor’s hold, but he had her pinned, and good. The two men continued speaking to each other in their odd tongue as they fell into a rhythmic gate, treating her like she wasn’t even there. She could see the other man more clearly as they went, and he really was blue—a bright royal blue. And so was her other captor, except he was almost navy blue—well, at least what she could see of him was.

What the hell have I gotten myself into now? she wondered as the coarse movements of her kidnapers jarred her teeth. She should have just stayed with Evvan and fucked him, and then she could have had him help her find her way back to New York.

But nooooooo. She’d had to go and throw a fit and stomp off, rather than staying and putting his big barbarian ass in its place. After she fucked him, of course.

Suuuuure she belonged to him. Ha! As if.

Although, if she was honest with herself, the thought of being possessed by such a sexy alpha bad boy had actually intrigued her. Not the idea of being possessed in a demeaning way, like a slave. But giving up control and letting him dominate her sexually…well, that thought more than captivated her libido.

Natalie groaned behind the grubby hand that still covered her mouth. She was really losing it. Here she was, being kidnapped by a couple of blue-skinned weirdoes, and all she could think about was sex with an Elf.

A freaking Elf!

After all that had happened, right up to the point of being carted through a tunnel by blue men, Natalie finally realized this truly was no game. She didn’t know how it had happened, but she no longer had any doubt…she wasn’t in New York, anymore.

How did she know? Could have been any number of things, including a dragon trying to make a meal out of her and actually burning her skin, or maybe it was Evvan’s healing of her, or maybe the unusual languages, or good lord, the magic in that orgasm he’d given her. That was definitely not part of any game.

But more than all of that, was a part of her deep inside that knew. Something in her soul had truly known all along that she was on another world, but she’d chosen to ignore it.

The problem now…escape from the giant Smurfs and figure out how the hell to get back home.

The men jogged around a bend and came to an abrupt stop in a large room. She was positioned so that her back was to her captor’s chest, and her feet didn’t reach the floor.

Natalie blinked away the brightness of the chamber as she absorbed its beauty. Ornate designs in gold and silver appeared to be carved into the chamber walls, as if fashioned directly from ore within the earth. So much gold, that the room literally glowed with it.

A rough voice barked a command.

Nat’s gaze shot to the man who had spoken and her face flushed. Damn, he was good looking, no matter that his skin was New York Mets blue.

Cripes, he really was blue.

The devastatingly handsome man strode toward her from across the chamber. Well, he wasn’t as sexy as Evvan, but the blue man was pretty dang hot. He had a cocky umm…smile, and blue-black hair that hung to the center of his back.

The man wasn’t quite as tall as Evvan, but he was just as bare-chested and just as ripped—a guy back home would have to work out several hours a day to have pecs like that. His biceps flexed, and she could see the cut of his athletic thighs beneath his tight black pants. Yet no matter how mouthwatering this piece of blue male ass was, she couldn’t help but compare him to Evvan.

And Evvan won, no doubt about it.

“Echnog udibae,” the man commanded, and Nat felt the pieces of his language about to click.

Like magic.

Her captor continued to hold her tight as the man approached them. When he stood directly in front of her, the good-looking blue guy reached out and caressed the skin around her belly button with his calloused finger. Natalie shivered and squirmed, sucking in her abdomen as she tried to withdraw from his touch.

He smiled, as though amused, his white teeth flashing against his blue skin. “Grondih achonate Astral.”

One of Astral’s brightest, Nat’s mind translated as her gift for languages took over.

“Richnod Jarik ena Wachonia.” The man moved his fingertip to the gold ring at her belly button. “Hishna Goan D’euan.”

I am King Jarik of the Dwarves, she interpreted. Welcome to D’euan Deep.”

This impressively beautiful blue man was a flipping Dwarf? Damn, they’d never made Dwarves like this in any of the books she’d read.

“Ibudande,” Jarik barked to the man holding her.

Release her, she heard a second before she was dropped.

Natalie’s knees buckled as her feet hit the floor and she pitched forward. Jarik caught her in his arms, pinning her tight to his powerful chest. Her palms were trapped between them, her face tilted up…and the bastard was smiling.

A purely male smile that told her in no uncertain terms that he wanted her. And if she’d had any doubts, there was always that hell of a boner he had as he pressed her hips tight to his.

“Leave us,” Jarik said to the two men who had captured her. “The maid and I have much to discuss.”

Retreating footsteps echoed in the room and then silence. Nat pushed against Jarik’s chest with all her might, but she was hopelessly trapped in his arms. At least he didn’t stink like the other two had. This one actually smelled kind of good, like apple wine.

Although maybe if she puked on him, he’d free her.

“Ibundanti!” Release me, she demanded in his language.

Jarik’s smile broadened and he gave a soft and sexy laugh. “Ah, you do speak Dwarven.”

“I speak many languages,” Natalie replied in his tongue as she struggled harder. “And you’d better be guarding your balls because I’m going to ram them up your throat if you don’t let me go.”

“Fae blood burns hot, indeed.” Jarik’s eyelids lowered and his expression became unreadable. “But you know the rules, wench. Once you land in my realm, wingless child of Fae, here you remain forever.”

Chapter Six

Natalie thrust her knee up, aiming for Jarik’s blue balls, but he blocked her with a simple movement of his powerful leg. Okay, so it hadn’t been such a bright idea to tell him she was going to go for his nuts.

“You arrogant, pompous, son-of-a-bitch,” she said through gritted teeth. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, but you damn well better let me go. I haven’t survived New York City all my life to bow down to some blue underground freak.”

The asshole actually grinned.

Nat’s next rant died in her throat as Jarik roughly cupped the back of her head. He brought her face to his, stopping so that his lips hovered just over hers. “Fucking you, lovely, shall be a treat indeed.”

“You will be dead before your breath fouls her lips, Jarik,” Evvan’s voice bellowed from behind them.

Evvan! Relief flooded Natalie and she again struggled to free herself, but the Dwarf kept an iron grip on her.

Jarik slowly raised his head and gave Evvan a smile that was both feral and amused. “Did you lose something, Devline scum?”

“My woman.” Evvan’s words rumbled out in a fierce growl. “And if you wish to survive this meeting, you shall release her at once.”

With a smirk, Jarik eased his fingers through Nat’s hair, but didn’t let her go. “You allow all of your females to have the run of D’euan Deep without accompaniment?”

The way Evvan said my woman had sent a strange, yet wild thrill through Natalie. But Jarik’s insinuation that Evvan had multiple females burned in her chest. Did the arrogant shit really have several girlfriends?

Or wives?

That thought really pissed her off. Something deep and intense stirred her being. Electricity snapped and crackled through every cell in her body.

“Back off, you blue bastard,” Natalie said in a voice so resonant that she didn’t even recognize it as her own. Wishing that she was strong enough to send the dwarf flying, she shoved at him again.

Surprise flashed across Jarik’s handsome face as his grip on her failed.

He stumbled back, the momentum so powerful he might have been shoved across the room by twenty men. Only when his head struck the chamber wall with a loud thunk did he stop.

Natalie’s jaw dropped. What the hell?

Evvan appeared at her side in a protective stance, wielding his sword.

Across the room, Jarik raised his hand to the back of his head. When he brought it back down, his palm was coated with thick blue fluid.

His blood. Chills skittered over Nat’s skin. “He’s bleeding.”

“Your powers are certainly stronger than I expected.” Jarik gave a wry grin and pushed himself away from the wall. “I shouldn’t have underestimated you.”

“I made the same mistake,” Evvan muttered, and sheathed his sword. “Else you would never have gotten your hands on the wench.”

“Huh?” Nat’s confused gaze cut from the Elf to the Dwarf and back to the Elf. “I couldn’t have done that.”

Natalie tensed as Jarik strode up to them, but Evvan appeared relaxed. Friendly even—well for him, anyway.

“She does not know her powers?” Jarik frowned as he studied Natalie. “Most dangerous.”

“Quite.” Evvan sighed. “She is unaware of her heritage as well.”

“Excuse me.” Nat glared from one to the other. “Stop talking like a couple of rejects from Lord of the Rings. Tell me what’s going on.”

“Rejects?” Jarik gave Evvan a puzzled look. “Lord of the Rings?”

Evvan shrugged. “The maid is a bit odd.”

“What?” Bracing her hands on her hips, Nat scowled at Evvan. “Who’s a bit odd?”

“Why don’t we share this one?” Jarik moved closer to Nat. “We can fuck her together,” he added as he slid his palm over her ass.

“Hey!” Natalie yelped and stumbled back.

Evvan growled and narrowed his gaze at Jarik. “This woman I will never share with another man.”

“I’ve had it with this macho bullshit.” Nat clenched her fists at her sides and turned on her heel. “I’m outta here.”

A muscle in Evvan cheek quirked as he watched his l’tiani march past him and out into the tunnel to where L’th’amir waited. He knew the Elvin horse would protect her, and did not fear for her safety.

“A beautiful but odd creature.” Jarik laughed and shook his head. “I wish you luck, brother.”

“I fear I shall need more than luck.” Evvan gave a quick nod to the Dwarven King. “And do well to remember this creature belongs to me.”

“I would have enjoyed such a treat.” Jarik’s features were almost wistful as his gaze lingered on the exit through which Natalie had retreated. He returned to his usual authoritative demeanor as his attention returned to Evvan. “What brings you to my realm, brother?”

“Voral has taken on dragon form and is stalking this Fae creature.” Evvan’s muscles tensed. “We were forced to seek refuge in D’euan Deep where he cannot penetrate the spellwork at the gates, and the magics are too powerful for him to follow.”

“My scouts informed me of a lycidian in Merth Darkling. A beast quite unusual.” Jarik rubbed his chin in concentration and then gave Evvan a sly look. “The maid would be safe here.”

The scowl that crossed Evvan’s features was immediate. “I trust no one save the Fae to ensure her safety, including you. Especially you.”

Jarik grinned. “To be sure. Too many dangers exist in the Deep.”

“Once she is safely in Astral,” Evvan said, “I will hunt down the bastard Sorcerer and dispose of him.”

“I will ensure that you have safe passage to Fae from D’euan Deep.” With a smile Jarik clapped Evvan on the shoulder. “Best make sure the wench does not wander into my realm again.”

“Most assuredly she will not.” Evvan turned and strode out the chamber door.

When he had first sensed the Dwarves, he had feared for Natalie stumbling into a pack of Dwarven miscreants who would have defiled her if given opportunity. Once he realized Jarik’s men had taken her, he had been somewhat relieved—until he saw his woman in the King’s arms.

And then he had wanted to kill the man, no matter that Jarik was Evvan’s brother-at-arms as well as the Dwarven King. Jarik’s death would have meant certain war between the Devline and the Dwarves of D’euan Deep, whose treaty was tenuous at best.

As Evvan strode back to his mate, he rounded the corner and reached his l’tiani. She was glaring as she waited beside L’th’amir who blocked the tunnel. Natalie folded her arms across her chest and raised her chin. “Stupid horse,” she muttered, her green eyes flashing at Evvan. “Won’t let me by.”

“Never put yourself in such danger again.” He kept his expression stern as L’th’amir now moved toward a tunnel exit. “There are far greater risks to you than you realize. Greater, even, than you’ve faced thus far.”

Natalie looked as though she wanted to yell at him, but instead she said, “If Dwarves are so bad, tell me why you were so chummy with that blue Conan the Barbarian.”

Evvan raised a brow at the unusual words, but chose instead to answer her question. “Good and evil exists within all peoples, no matter their heritage or race. If you had been taken by a pack of Dwarven criminals, who frequently roam the Deep, likely you would not have survived. After they raped and maimed you, they would have thrown you from some precipice and had done with their games.”

“Oh.” She visibly swallowed as she avoided his eyes and instead looked into the passageway ahead. “Kind of like walking alone in the Bronx at two a.m. Not a real hot idea.”

After leaving the blue Dwarven hottie, it seemed that they traveled for hours, and maybe they did, but Natalie soon lost track of time. The passageways grew bigger and high enough that she and Evvan were able to ride double on L’th’amir. Whenever it would get too dark to see, Evvan would do that body glowing thing that was kind of freaky, but definitely cool.

Natalie became entranced by the underground world they traveled—the ancient stone and glittering rock formations. It smelled old, like the back corners of the New York Public Library—of dust from eons ago, and a smell kind of like the ink used to print newspapers.

Evvan held her protectively against him as they rode, the heat of his arm burning through her thin blouse. Her body flamed for him, needed him, like no man she’d ever touched. What difference did it make that she’d known him for only hours? It felt like she’d met him ages ago.

They talked as they rode—well, Natalie did. She tended to chatter lots when she was in strange situations, which had basically been non-stop since walking into that dang virtual cave. Evvan did ask her questions about her life in New York, her adoptive parents, and other things that were more odd—like had she ever talked to someone who suddenly seemed to lose focus in the conversation and walk away?

Well, didn’t everyone have that happen to them?

Natalie in turn asked him about his life, and learned what it meant that he was an Enforcer for the Devline Elves. His answers were short, and she really had to dig to get the scoop on his life, but the more they talked, the more he opened up to her.

Although he did ask if she ever stopped talking.

From what she managed to get out of him, she found herself curious about Evvan’s home. His love for his family, his people, and his home was apparent, although he never said it in so many words. It was more the pride in his tone and the way he spoke of them.

Natalie couldn’t help but wonder how these people managed without microwaves, television, and the internet. How did people communicate without e-mail? Smoke signals or the Pony Express?

As if she could ever handle living in such a primitive world. Yeah, right.

Every step the Elvin horse took as they traveled was torture to Nat’s libido. Despite the fact the ride was smooth, with each movement L’th’amir made, Evvan’s cock rubbed against Natalie’s backside, its rock hardness almost bruising her soft flesh. She yearned for him to move his hands to her breasts, to cup them, to caress them, to suckle them. But he remained virtually immobile, as if he was restraining himself.

She had the impression that he was alert, on guard at all times. Like he expected someone or something to come after them.

Nat’s eyelids drooped as the endless ride progressed, but she came fully awake the moment L’th’amir entered a fabulous cavern. It very nearly stole her breath. She leaned forward in the saddle, her eyes wide and trying to absorb the intense beauty around her.

The cavern was relatively small, but astounding. Crystals glittered like millions of emeralds, as though lit from within by the same freaky glow that had come from Evvan when he used his body to light the tunnels, only this light was green instead of gold. The air felt damp and humid, and held the tang of sulfur.

“Get out of here,” Natalie murmured. “This place is gorgeous.”

“Why do you want to leave if you find it attractive?” Evvan asked as he brought L’th’amir to a stop at the center of the chamber.

Nat looked over her shoulder and almost melted at the way he was looking at her. “It’s just an expression—slang.”

“Ah.” Evvan dismounted, the sound of his boots echoing throughout the chamber. He held his hands up to her.

After a second’s hesitation, she leaned toward him, allowing him to lift her off L’th’amir’s back and settle her on her feet. His palms felt hot around her waist, and for a moment she could only look up at him.

“Come,” he said, his tone telling her that he expected no argument. And somehow, she wasn’t inclined to give him one. His expression remained dark and intense as he took her hand and led her to the corner of the chamber. Natalie couldn’t help but wonder at this fierce man who could be so dangerous one moment, yet gentle in another.

She’d chattered a lot on the ride, here, but for some reason she now had no inclination to talk. But then again, Evvan was rubbing his calloused thumb over the back of her hand in such slow, sensual strokes that made it hard for her to even think, much less form a coherent sentence.

He drew her away from L’th’amir, leaving the horse behind as they walked around an enormous green column of faceted crystals and started down a path that led deeper underground, into an even more beautiful world of emerald crystals. It was like being in the center of a geode.

“Oh, my god.” She glanced up at him from under her lashes. “This is so intense. What is this place? Where are you taking me?”

Evvan’s dark gaze met hers. “You require a bath, sustenance, and rest.”

Natalie opened her mouth to reply, but at that moment he brought her to a stop before a tranquil pool of water. It appeared so serene, that it might have been a mirror. The surface glittered, reflecting emerald sparkles from the surrounding and overhead crystals. Steam rose in wispy trails above the pool and the air felt warm and moist. In dark corners of the pool, small swirls broke out and Natalie realized it was not so calm as it appeared on the surface.

Kind of like the predator beside her.

“Remove your clothing,” he said in a rumble.

“Beg your pardon?” She cut her gaze to Evvan. “I don’t take orders from anyone.”

“Now.” He folded his arms across his bare chest and scowled. “Or I shall throw you in.”

Natalie bit at the inside of her lip. The pool did look awfully tempting. After that ride, she really needed to cool her lust. Her body might want to climb this man, er, Elf, but she didn’t have sex with just anyone.

Although she couldn’t call Evvan just anyone.

Evvan’s muscles flexed as he watched his l’tiani remove her tunic. Her eyes, green as the D’euan Forest, taunted him as she slowly unbuttoned the tunic down toward her navel, as though daring him to help her take it off. He clenched his fists at his sides, forcing himself to keep from indulging in that most distinct pleasure. By the goddess, he should just rip her clothes from her body and be done with it.

“Turn your back.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I don’t want you to watch.”

He shook his head. “I have the right to see what is mine, l’tiani.”

“No.” A spark lit her gaze and the pain in his erection magnified. Never had his breeches felt so tight, his cock near strangled in its desire to mate with his woman. “I am not yours, or anyone else’s, understand?” she said.

“Remove your clothing, Natalie.” Evvan took a step toward her. “Or I will rip it from you.”

“Jerk,” she mumbled. With a defiant tilt to her chin, she let the tunic drop to the floor. Evvan frowned that her breasts were not yet bared. What was that cloth that bound her plump breasts, showing him only hints of her ripe nipples through the black lace?

In the next moment her short skirt slid down her legs to her ankles, and she stepped out of it. Her tantalizing mound with jensai-red curls caused his mouth to water in anticipation of tasting her again. Evvan started to walk toward her, but she turned around, treating him to a view of her most delectable ass.

The bizarre clothing both perplexed him yet inflamed his desire for her. When he had mind-touched her, he had only sought answers to her life and had not delved into the odd clothing habits of the world from whence she came.

Slowly she brought her hands up and unfastened her breast bindings, letting it drop to the floor before moving to the water’s edge.

Natalie’s hips swayed and Evvan’s cock grew unbearably hard as he watched her bend over to dip her finger into the pool and test its waters. He could clearly see the sweet folds of her quim, the flesh swollen with her need, the curls glistening with her juices.

The Sorceress. She was most definitely aware of what she was doing to him.

As she stepped down into the water and moved toward its center, Evvan quickly dispatched himself of his boots and his breeches. Her back was still to him as he strode toward the pool and entered its welcoming waters.

Natalie sighed as she closed her eyes and relaxed. The water flowed around her, warm and soothing. Oh, but Evvan had been right. She needed this. Underwater jet streams massaged her legs, her thighs. And when she moved just right, one of them even caressed her pussy.

She wondered how long he intended to watch her. Hell, maybe she should give him a show. It was what he deserved for ordering her to strip in front of him. Maybe a little flash of her breast—

A small splash interrupted her thoughts and her eyes flew open as she whirled to find Evvan directly behind her.

He was completely naked—and oh, my god.

“Wow. Jeez. I, ah, didn’t know they made them that big…and ribbed,” she said as she stared at his impressive erection. Starting just under the thick head of his cock, ridges formed—kind of like those on a Klingon’s forehead in Star Trek. Only these were more of concentric circles—ripples—down the length of Evvan’s cock all the way to its base

Surprisingly she felt no intimidation at the size or ridges. Rather, she could almost imagine what it would feel like inside her, stretching her, filling her, stimulating her…

Completing her.

Reluctantly her attention moved away from that fascinating and enticing cock, but she was more than pleased to take in his powerful thighs and narrow hips, and to continue on up to the well defined muscles of his hard abs. Damn, but the man had an eight pack. Her gaze continued moving on up to his broad chest and shoulders, and then her eyes met his.

She studied his face, taking in the strong features, the tense line of his jaw. A flare sparked in his black eyes, and his wild mane of black hair fell carelessly about his shoulders.

Even his pointed ears now seemed normal to her, and she couldn’t for one moment imagine him without them, or sans the tattoos along his cheekbones. The marks reminded her of the black smudges football players put under each eye to help fight the sun’s glare during games, or of a Native American in the Wild West with war paint streaked across his face.

“L’tiani.” His voice rumbled from his chest, his eyes intent and focused on her. Natalie shivered despite the warmth of the pool when he said, “Does your heart not recognize me?”

She allowed all that was Evvan to flow over her. His gruff exterior, fierce possessiveness, and equally intense protectiveness. His powerful, commanding presence. Yet at the same time she remembered how he spoke of his people and home, how gently he’d attended to her wounds, his sensual touch, his kisses… and omigod, the way he’d licked her pussy.

And yes, inside she knew this man on a soul-deep level. So strong, so extraordinary that her heart nearly exploded with the knowledge.

Could she possibly be falling in love with this man, this Elf, from another world?

No. That was stupid. Something like this could never work. She had to find a way back to New York City where she belonged. She had friends, a home—a life—waiting for her there.

And this…all of it was just a dream.

Chapter Seven

Even as Natalie realized a relationship with Evvan would never work, she found herself moving toward him, almost as though she was possessed. The bottom of the pool felt smooth beneath her feet, the water a warm and sensual caress to her skin. Around them the cavern’s emerald crystals sparkled, and it seemed as though a sort of green dust glittered in the air—like hundreds of fireflies twinkling everywhere she looked.

As she reached her fearsome Elvin warrior, Natalie smiled. Tinkerbell, eat your heart out.

He watched her, his dark features as unreadable as always while she moved her palms to his chest. Her fingertips began exploring the marble hardness of his pecs, shoulders and biceps, and the iron corded muscles beneath. Mixed with the mineral smell of the pool, Evvan’s scent surrounded her, his wild musk of male and forest breezes drugging her, making her crazy with need.

Nat worked her way back down to his rippled abs, feeling their rock hardness beneath her palms. “You’re incredible,” she murmured. “You must work out for hours every day.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Work out?”

At the perplexed tone of his voice, Natalie said, “Well, I suppose as an Elf, maybe you were just born perfect.”

A muscle along his jaw twitched but his features remained serious. “Nay, l’tiani. ‘Tis you who are perfection.”

“Mmmm.” She dropped her gaze to his thick erection. “Now this is what I call absolutely stunning.” His long cock thrust out toward her, and she licked her lips. What would it feel like in her mouth? How deep could she take him?

“So big,” she murmured, allowing her fingers to caress the length of him and to skim through the cloud of wiry black hair. He was so tall that the water level reached just below his balls. She dipped her fingers into the warm fluid to cup him and feel the weight of the sac in her palm, and then moved her hand up along his ridged length. Wow. His cock felt just like her new vibrator with the pearl beads, only better. She could already picture herself riding him, could already imagine what it would feel like having that fabulous cock plunging in and out of her pussy.

Evvan bit back the urge to take his woman now. Natalie’s every touch was torture, driving him mad with lust and need. He was not accustomed to struggling with his desires, and the realization that she endangered his normally fierce control disturbed him, greatly.

Perhaps if he took her now, hard and fast, it would curb the lust that threatened to turn him into a daft fool instead of the proud warrior he was.

Natalie’s jensai-red tresses fell in waves about her shoulders, her lids lowered as she fondled his cock. “If this is all real, and I’m not dreaming,” she said, “explain to me why I’m here.”

He dipped his fingers into the water and trailed them over the star design around her navel, and over the gold ring that pierced her fair skin. “The will of the goddess brought you to me,” he said as he raised his gaze to meet hers.

Her brows furrowed. “I don’t know any goddesses.”

“You are my heartmate.” Evvan reached up with both hands and cupped her breasts in his palms, and she trembled at his touch. “There can be no doubt.”

“Heartmate.” Natalie repeated the word as she continued to fondle his mouth-and-pussy-watering cock, and gave a small shake of her head. “I belong in New York.” With her free hand she gestured to the cavern around them. “Not here, and not as anyone’s heartmate.”

“My heartmate.” The look on Evvan’s features grew impossibly darker and more dangerous than ever before. He roughly pinched her nipples with the thumb and forefinger of each hand. “You have only to open your mind and your heart to see that I speak truth.”

With a gasp, Natalie arched toward him. Damn that felt good. Somehow the danger and primal strength she sensed in him only made her want more.

“Hours ago I was having dinner with my friends,” she said, her words fractured as she fought to speak. “And now…look at me. I’m standing in a hot springs with a gorgeous naked Elf stud.”

Evvan’s expression remained hard while he tweaked her nipples. “What was that sling you used to bind your breasts? A trap for unwary hands, perhaps?”

“It’s a bra.” Natalie’s laugh turned into a gasp as Evvan pinched her nipples, just hard enough to send a burst of pleasure through her. “What was that—whatever it was that you did to me before?

Evvan never stopped touching her as he spoke. “Devline Enforcers are born with the talent to mask or shroud another’s every sense, or select senses. ‘Tis quite a rare ability.”

She closed her eyes, giving into the sensations of his touch while she continued to stroke his cock. “That must come in handy.”

“It makes us feared opponents…and much sought after lovers.”

Natalie’s eyelids shot open and her hand paused in mid-stroke as her gaze met Evvan’s. The hot waves of jealousy rushing through her body were so fierce and so sudden that it shocked her. “You have a lot of lovers, do you?” Nat said, wondering if it were possible to squeeze off his cock.

The corner of his mouth twitched and she thought perhaps he might smile, which would be a first. But it only made her want to bury her fist in his abdomen—though likely she’d just break a nail on those iron hard abs.

“The thought of me being with other women upsets you,” he said, clearly as a statement. “Very good.”

Okay, she was not going to put up with that. Nat scowled and braced her palms against his chest and tried to push away, but he still held on to her nipples. Pain shot through her as her body jerked back to his. A cry tore from her throat, but it swiftly turned into a moan as the pain transformed into an intense burst of pleasure.

Her senses dimmed again, just as they had in the passageway, only this time the sensation was entirely focused on her chest. The emerald sparkles of the cavern faded to nothing and Natalie could no longer see anything, not even Evvan. She could feel only hands and his breath upon her breasts and her nipples. All sound vanished with the exception of Evvan’s powerful voice. Perhaps she should have been afraid, knowing that this powerful man had such complete control over her, but she felt safe and protected, and entirely pleasured.

“‘Tis true I have fucked many women,” he murmured as the intensity of feeling in her breasts and nipples reached orgasmic levels. “But now that I have found you, l’tiani, my heartmate, there will never be another. You will be the first and only woman I will make love with.”

Wow. The way he told her that she was now the only one for him, left no doubt in her mind that he was dead serious. And damn but it turned her on even more.

With her senses shrouded, it was almost as though he had been speaking in her mind. It was only the two of them in the entire galaxy. No one else existed, nothing else existed…just the two of them.

The sensation of his touch, of all her senses concentrated in that one area, was so exquisite that tears formed in her eyes. Heat pulsated from him in waves, and in the next moment flame licked through her, filling her with absolute ecstasy. More incredible than she had ever experienced in her life—even more than when he’d made her come in the tunnel.

“Do you feel it, l’tiani?” he asked as she climbed higher to the peak. “‘Tis a sign of the goddess that our mating is meant to be.”

“Oh, god—uh, make that goddess.” Almost dizzy from the intensity of the sensations Natalie grasped his biceps with her hands, afraid her knees just might give out. Her body trembled as the waves of erotic energy continued flowing through her.

“I must have you.” With a groan, Evvan lowered his head to capture her nipple in his warm mouth. He flicked his tongue against the nub and Natalie screamed as she came, hard and sudden.

Her body rocked against his and she clenched her fingernails into his biceps harder than ever. Evvan moved his tongue to her other breast and laved the nipple and another orgasm slammed into her.

Natalie’s head was spinning, her body throbbing, and she was vaguely conscious of him picking her up in his arms and cradling her to his chest. The cavern’s glittering crystals pulsed in and out of focus as she clung to Evvan and he moved to the edge of the pool. He disentangled her arms from around his neck and eased her down so that she was sitting on the floor of the cavern, her feet still dangling in the warm pool. The stone floor felt surprisingly warm beneath her ass.

“I shall never get enough of you.” Evvan kissed a path down her neck, his long black hair sliding over her skin in a sensual caress. His lips moved between her breasts and to the gold ring at her belly button. She shivered as he flicked his tongue against the ring and licked the star tattoo. Tingling sensations skittered through her belly and she moaned as his mouth moved away, down to the fine hair of her mound.

Placing his hands on the inside of her knees, he pressed her legs apart and then knelt between her thighs. Even kneeling, the water level only reached Evvan’s biceps, and his face was level with her pussy. Natalie trembled as he closed his eyes and inhaled—a long, deep and slow breath. Like he was drawing in her scent and savoring it.

Dang, but that turned her on.

Evvan opened his eyes, his expression serious while he studied her naked flesh. Bringing one finger to her pussy, he stroked the folds, his skin dark brown against her paleness. “You are such a beautiful creature.”

Natalie’s body vibrated at his touch. She leaned back, bracing her hands behind her, the rock damp beneath her palms. “I need you now. I want to feel that incredible cock inside me.”

He growled and slid his large hands under her butt cheeks and brought her closer to the edge of the stone. His expression turned dark and fierce, and a frightened thrill shot through her. She almost expected him to sprout fangs and sink his teeth into her, like a vampire.

“You test my control.” He brought his mouth closer to her pussy and she trembled with anticipation. “I fear with you I have little.”

Nat’s breathing was so heavy she could barely speak. “Fuck me, Evvan.”

He ignored her, and moved his mouth to the inside of each knee and slicked his tongue back toward her core. She quivered as his lips reached her pussy and he just kissed it lightly and flicked his tongue into her folds, as though he was kissing her mouth in a delicate and sensuous kiss. Nat thrust her hips closer to his face and a growl rumbled within his chest.

In the next moment, he pushed her thighs apart as wide as they could go and pressed his hot mouth against her folds. This time he didn’t shroud her senses and she couldn’t stop watching him devouring her pussy. His skin and hair so dark against her pale thighs, his tongue reaching out and laving her from that sensitive skin between her ass and her pussy, on up past her clit to the fine red hairs of her mound. She squirmed, so dang close to orgasm again that she almost screamed with frustration.

“Yeah.” She rocked her hips and moaned as he laved her clit. “Oh, yeah. Right there.”

But the bastard began licking her folds instead, changing his technique and driving her nuts with the need to come. He felt big and solid between her thighs as he stuck his tongue into her core, thrusting in and out. As her body quivered with another oncoming climax, he moved back to her clit again.

Emerald crystals pulsed throughout the cavern, in time with the throbbing in her pussy. It was like the entire room channeled her sexual energy, magnifying everything she was feeling. “Evvan. Please.” She couldn’t believe she was reduced to begging—but she was going to explode.

He rumbled against her pussy and thrust two fingers inside her channel. That magical warmth burst from him at the same time he sucked on her clit.

Oh. My. God.

So intense was the force of her orgasm that Natalie screamed, loud and long. Her arms barely held her up as she thrashed against his face. Evvan continued, fucking her with his fingers and sucking her clit, bringing her to another climax, and yet another.

After the third orgasm—well, it was actually her fifth—she shouted, “S-s-stop!” She could hardly speak as her body shook and trembled from wave after wave of sensation that continued to pulse throughout her like the emerald crystals in the cavern.

She no longer had the strength to hold herself up and her arms began to give out on her. Just as she started to collapse back onto the stone floor, Evvan moved his face from her pussy and caught her to him, bringing her into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck and clung to him, melting into him so completely that she felt they were one. Her body continued to tremble and she was sure it would never stop. She closed her eyes and pressed her cheek against his shoulder as he drew her into the pool with him.

But even as the thought entered her mind that she couldn’t take anymore, something shifted. “Now, Evvan,” she demanded as she nipped at his shoulder. “Fuck me now.”

Evvan growled his desire as he nuzzled Natalie’s silken hair and breathed in her exotic perfume jasmine and woman’s musk. He savored the taste of her juices on his tongue and found that he could not wait to taste her yet again. But first he needed to fuck her, to make her his in every way.

He trembled with the force it required to keep himself from impaling her on his cock with no further delay. She reached up and kissed him, her mouth insistent. Sliding her tongue between his lips, she made small mewling sounds that reminded him of the pet wildcat he’d had as an Elfling centuries ago.

Pressing his cock tight to her belly he returned her kiss, wanting to be inside her more than anything in this world.

“Fuck me, Evvan,” she ordered him again as their lips separated. “I need you inside me so bad I can hardly stand it.”

“You are mine, l’tiani,” he growled as his grip tightened around his woman.

“No.” She gave him a wicked smile. “You’re mine.”

He could find no words to argue the point with Natalie, and chose instead to show her that he possessed her soul and would one day possess her heart as well.

With one hand he held her tight, her legs still wrapped around his waist. She braced her hands on his shoulders and raised herself up as he used his other hand to grab his cock and place its head to her channel. Keeping a strict rein on his control, he rubbed his erection against her drenched folds. “Are you ready for me?”

“I’ve been ready since I met you.” She wiggled, drawing him deeper into her opening. “Now fuck me already.”

His gaze locked with hers, he gripped her hips with both hands and brought her down hard, burying himself deep within her hot core.

“What an incredible cock.” Natalie gasped and her eyes rolled up to the cavern’s glittering ceiling. “Damn, but those ridges feel good. And you’re so thick, so big.”

“The goddess created you for me, and only me.” Evvan held her hips tight and slowly began moving her up and down the length of his staff. “Your quim fits me like a well-made sheath.”

She moved her hands to his shoulders and dug her fingers into his muscles. “Fuck me harder, damn it!”

Evvan raised her up and down his staff, driving into her with all of his own need and desire. Natalie used her leverage on his arms to meet him with every thrust.

“That’s it,” she cried as she tilted her head back, her expression one of sheer ecstasy. “Faster. Harder.”

He almost lost himself to the sensation of his cock sliding in and out of her silken quim. Gritting his teeth, he barely managed to keep from spilling his fluid into her womb too soon.

Power flowed through him, from limb to limb, from his cock into Natalie’s quim and throughout her being as he released the r’tan, the power the goddess granted the Devline Elvin men to pleasure their heartmates. The warmth surrounded them, suffused their bodies, binding them together for eternity.

Natalie climaxed so hard that a choked cry tumbled through her lips and her body bucked against his. “Evvan,” she shouted. “Omigod, Evvan!”

He bellowed as he came. His cock throbbed and pulsed inside his heartmate’s quim, filling her with his fluid.

She collapsed against him, her sweat mingling with his, the smells of their sex, an aphrodisiac that made him want her again. Right now.

Evvan hardened inside Natalie and she raised her gaze to meet his. “Again,” she whispered. “Fuck me again, Evvan.”

Chapter Eight

Natalie stretched her aching limbs beneath the covers of their makeshift bed, feeling sore and well-fucked. How many times had they gone at it? Five? Ten? The man was insatiable—for that matter, so was she—and she’d relished every minute of it.

She looked up at the glittering emerald ceiling of the cave and smiled at the thought of how it felt to have that ridged cock thrusting in and out of her pussy. It was absolutely unbelievable. She’d felt every ripple, and it had driven her wild.

The first couple of times they’d fucked, it had been hard and fast. Then they’d scavenged some breads and odd tasting dried fruits out of Evvan’s saddlebags and had fed one another. It had been so sensual eating from his fingers that now it made her shiver just thinking about it.

After their light meal, they went at it slow and easy, fucking again and again. She fell asleep with his arms tight around her, but then in the middle of the night he woke her and they’d gone at it yet another time. His cock certainly was better than a ribbed Trojan, and damned if she wasn’t ready for him again this morning…

They hadn’t used condoms.

She came fully awake in an instant and bolted upright, heat flushing through her at the realization. Oh. My. God.

Her gaze shot from the blanket bed to one part of the glittering chamber to another, only to see that Evvan wasn’t there.

Omigod. Omigod. Omigod!

How could she have so totally lost it over a man, that it had never even occurred to her? There was come all over her pussy, on the insides of her thighs. The air smelled of him and her pussy juices combined. So how could she have forgotten such an important thing? What was wrong with her?

Natalie groaned and flopped back on the blankets and stared up at the crystals projecting from the ceiling. She had never, ever, ever, ever had sex without a condom. No matter what a guy might have said in protest: I’ll pull out in time, I swear; it feels so much better for both of us without it; honestly, I don’t have anything you could catch. She had refused to even consider intercourse without protection. Too many STD’s out there, and the chance of pregnancy…

Shit. Natalie pushed the covers down and held her hand over the star tattoo on her abdomen. She rubbed her hand over her flat belly, as if it had expanded over night. What if she was pregnant?

Groaning, she covered her eyes with her arm. Instantly she pictured herself waddling up Fifth Avenue with a huge belly, needing to find a bathroom to pee every five minutes. Or better yet, trundling into FAO Schwartz to shop for hoards of toys to pacify the screaming child in her arms. She didn’t know how to be a mom. She’d never been around kids—hadn’t even thought about starting a family, wasn’t even sure she wanted to.

Oh, jeez. Oh, cripes. Oh, shit!

Even as she worried about being pregnant, the memory returned…of him stretching her, filling her more completely than she could have imagined. It had felt so good, so incredibly good having him inside her.

How could she ever have another man after experiencing Evvan?

Don’t even go there, Natalie Capella. This was not her world, and it didn’t matter how much she enjoyed this man, she couldn’t, wouldn’t stay. No way. Well, at least if she had a choice in the matter. For all she knew, she’d never be able to go back home.

A warm mouth fastened on her nipple and Natalie opened her eyes and flung her arm aside to see her lover licking and suckling the taut nub, his black gaze focused on her. He was still entirely naked, his massive arms braced to either side of her waist, his ridged cock thrusting out toward her.

How had he managed to sneak up on her like that?

“I see you are awake now, l’tiani.” His deep, vibrant voice caused her pussy to grow wet.

God, how she wanted him again.

Natalie reached up and slipped her fingers into the thick black hair spilling over his shoulders. “I don’t suppose you have any, er, condoms in your saddlebags, do you?” she asked, using the word in her own language because he couldn’t come up with one in his.

Evvan cocked a brow. “Con-doms?”

“You know.” Natalie searched for a word that meant contraceptive in his language. “Something to prevent diseases and to keep the woman from getting pregnant?”

Frowning, Evvan replied, “It has been countless centuries since disease of any kind has been on Dair.”

“Really?” She let her fingers slide to the ends of his black hair. “What about pregnancy?”

Evvan eased himself onto the blanket so that he was lying beside her. He stroked his knuckles across her cheek. “Only two ways exist for an Elvin man to impregnate a woman.”

She all but held her breath as she asked, “And those are…”

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, brushing against the star mark on the back of her earlobe. “An Elvin man impregnates his mate by intentionally releasing his seed into his sexual fluid when he reaches climax.”

Her eyes widened. “You can do that?”

“Aye.” Evvan’s gaze was entirely serious as he lightly tugged on her earlobe.

Natalie burned with the desire to have him inside her again, but she forced herself to concentrate on what she needed to learn from him. “So, um. When we…”

His expression remained solemn. “Nay, I did not impregnate you.”

Relief flushed through Nat and she let out a long sigh. “What’s the other way?”

“By a dust used by Faeries, called aradne.” Evvan said the word for fairy as Faerie, a distinct people of this world like Elves, Dwarves and Humans. He rubbed his thumb over her lobe, the simple movement stimulating her even more as he continued, “Aradne is an aphrodisiac to most males, and between heartmates it always results in a child. If the dust were used with you and I, you would most definitely conceive.”

She bit her lip and then asked, “There’s not any of that stuff lying around, is there?”

Slowly he shook his head. “Rarely is it used outside of Astral. Unless Anistana is in one of her—should I say, mischievous—moods, ‘tis usually used with both parties consent.”

“Oh.” Natalie reached for Evvan, slipping her arms around his neck and drawing his face closer to hers. “Well, cool. Let’s fuck, then.”

“I’ve always thought it best to steer clear of the Fae.” Evvan cupped her cheek with one hand. “‘Til now.”

* * * * *

The journey from D’euan Deep through the underworld was a twisted maze of passageways and caverns that took much longer to travel than it would have upon Dair’s surface. During the five days journey since leaving the emerald pool, Evvan’s senses remained on high alert at all times, as did L’th’amir’s. The Elvin stallion made sure to steer clear of any beings he sensed, long before the trio might run the risk of crossing the paths of strangers.

Evvan’s frustration at not being able to track the Fae Killer was tempered only by his heartmate bonding more tightly to him—although the maid talked more than all of his Elvin sisters combined. During the long days of travel, he had learned much about Natalie’s childhood and her life among the Earthly humans. When she refused to accept his silence to her questions about his childhood, he had grudgingly shared stories from his own past.

The goddess knew he’d had no choice but to take Natalie to safety through the Deep to Fae. It had been entirely too clear to Evvan that the Sorcerer was determined to murder Natalie.

At the thought, Evvan bit back a snarl of rage. When he reached Astral, he would leave Natalie in the Fae’s safekeeping, and then track down the Fae killer and slice the bastard into so many pieces, and then feed him to the qinok in the toxic Xardu Moors.

As they neared the exit that would lead them to Wilding Wood and Astral, Evvan’s cock rubbed against Natalie’s backside while they rode L’th’amir. By the goddess, he could never get enough of the delicious nectar of his heartmate’s quim, or of the feel of his cock thrusting in and out of her pussy. Oft he wished to allow his seed to join his fluid when he came, so that his babe might grow in her belly. But nay, that would have to wait for when she was ready.

Natalie continued to prattle on, almost incessantly. To Evvan’s surprise, he enjoyed listening to her. The more he learned about his heartmate, the more he realized that indeed, he had loved this woman for time on end, long before he had discovered her existence in this lifetime.

For he was certain he had loved her in many lifetimes before.

She asked him question after question about his world and people, and insisted he speak to her in the language of the Devline so that she could learn it as well. It pleased him that she mastered his tongue and that she spoke to him fluently within a short period of time.

Each day when they stopped for sustenance, or for rest, Natalie also demanded that Evvan teach her how to master her powers—those that she was now aware of. She learned her powers amazingly fast for one who did not know she had magic ‘til now. Soon she was able to freeze a boulder in midair when he tossed it for her, and with just a thought she could rip a stalagmite from a cavern floor and fling it across its expanse.

An uneasy feeling haunted Evvan as they progressed along their journey. Would the Fae Killer be waiting in Wilding Wood, knowing that Evvan would take her there?

The Sorcerer had failed to murder Natalie in Merth Darkling—no doubt she would never be safe ‘til the bastard was dead. Could she possibly be free from danger in Astral if Evvan left her there in Anistana’s safekeeping?

Aye, she would be.

Anistana was many things, but negligent with her charges, she was not. With a pang, Evvan remembered the Fae queen’s face as she held her dead friend. The Faerie Simoone, who Evvan failed to protect. Both he and Anistana felt incredible responsibility for each life entrusted to their care.

Evvan intended to find the Fae killer and slay him before the murdering bastard had opportunity to come near any Fae, much less Evvan’s l’tiani, ever again.

* * * * *

Natalie had begun to think they would never see daylight again when they neared a rock wall and Evvan announced, “That land of Fae is beyond that barrier.”

L’th’amir continued his pace as they neared the wall, and Nat squeezed her eyes shut. No matter how many times they had done this—gone through what looked to be solid walls—she couldn’t get used to it. She’d learned that they couldn’t just go through any walls, but that they were special spelled entrances and exits. Not that having that information made it any easier on her stomach.

Her eyes still closed, her body tingled with the familiar sensation, telling her they were passing through the barrier. A cool breeze then brushed her cheeks and a plethora of smells almost overwhelmed her senses.

Evvan made a soft murmur in her ear that was almost a chuckle. He never laughed and she had only seen the beginnings of a smile upon occasion. But when she was sure he was close to smiling, funny things happened in the vicinity of her heart. A sort of twisty, melty, squishy feeling that made her want to swoon like a heroine in one of those ridiculous romance novels. The ones with the big, gorgeous, muscle-bound guys, and the women who fell in love with the studs after knowing them for what, days, hours, minutes even?

Natalie gulped.

Not her. Uh-uh. No way.

“We are through the barrier, l’tiani,” Evvan murmured, amusement in his voice. “You no longer need keep your eyes closed.”

She shivered from the feel of his warm breath on her neck as she opened her eyes. They were in a dense forest that had a strange blue mist hovering above the ground and curling around L’th’amir’s hooves. Gold sap spilled from nearby trees, giving off a soft, golden glow.

Natalie turned to look at Evvan over her shoulder and her heart flip-flopped at the way his dark eyes were looking at her. Damn. Definitely squishy feelings inside.

He cupped her face and brushed his lips across hers. “Be prepared,” he said as he pulled away.

Natalie blinked at him. “For what?”

For me, a feminine voice said in Nat’s mind.

She yelped, turning from Evvan to see where the voice had come from. “Who said that?”

Evvan sighed and said, “‘Tis Anistana,” as he dismounted.

“Ani-who?” Nat frowned at Evvan as he helped her down from the horse. “Who the hell is she?”

Anistana giggled in Nat’s head, the sound kind of like a small win in Vegas on the dime slots. Would you truly like to know, lost one? the woman’s voice inquired. Are you ready to understand?

Natalie propped her hands on her hips and glared into the forest. She was exhausted, in desperate need of a bath and a clean change of clothing, not to mention in dire need of her toothpaste and deodorant. And God knew she would kill for a cup of Starbucks French Roast right about now.

“Cut the crap,” Nat all but growled. “Stop talking in my head and don’t mess with me. I’m not in the mood for it.”

L’th’amir pawed at the ground, and Evvan groaned.

“What?” Nat turned her scowl on him. “She was rude first.”

Rude, am I? Anistana’s laugh had a wicked ring to it, as though she delighted in the description. You truly have no idea…but soon, you most certainly will, little sister.

“Do not worry.” Evvan raked his hand through his black hair. “The Queen will not harm you. Submit you to pleasures of the flesh, mayhap, but you shall be fine.”

Natalie’s jaw dropped and she looked at him as though he’d grown another cock. “What in the hell are you…” she started, but her words died as everything around her turned blue. As though someone had taken one of those blue Dwarf bastards and swirled them up in a blender, and she was dead center.

Even as she opened her mouth to scream for Evvan, her senses filled with the scents of roses and lilies. Her voice failed her, her arms were pinned to her sides, and her eyelids grew heavy. So heavy she could hardly hold them up.

“You shall be fine,” Evvan’s voice came to her—kind of tinny, like a bad phone connection. “Just try not to raise her ire further.”

Fuck off, she thought the second before she dropped into a deep sleep.

Chapter Nine

“Miz.” Natalie’s head throbbed like she’d been trampled on by at least half of New York’s pedestrians during rush hour. She rolled onto her side and snuggled under the blanket.

“No more club-hopping with you,” she murmured, her voice coming out slurred. Every time she and Miz got together for a night on the town, she’d wake up on her apartment floor, or Miz’s—depending on what city they’d been in at the time.

Nat never could hold her alcohol. One Cosmopolitan martini, and the next thing she knew she’d be making out with some muscle-bound guy on the dance floor—never mind that he could have been a former convict or a reject from the local thrift store. Of course Nat did have Miz with her—a one woman security force, Miz could intimidate the biggest man. With one look, and a twist of her four-inch heels into the man’s foot, she’d send ‘em packing.

What a freakin’ bizarre dream. Natalie groaned as memories of the dream returned to her, one after another. The dragon…a golden horse…the incredible blue Hulk…a bitchy woman…a bunch of mist that looked like blue cotton candy…

And the sexiest man she’d ever had the pleasure of fantasizing about. Odd that she’d fantasize about a man with pointed ears and a ridged cock.

Mmmmmm.

She sighed as she burrowed further under her covers, the throb of her head gradually easing. A part of her, a very large part of her, wished it had all been real—well, that he had been real.

Evvan. Her dream man’s name had been Evvan.

Damn. Why did it feel so intense, as though it had really happened?

And in her dream, she’d—wow. She’d actually fallen in love with—with an Elf?

But what a sexy Elf he’d been. Her heart clenched and she squeezed her eyes tighter, wanting to bring him back. Wanting him to be real.

If she tried hard enough, she could almost smell his musk of pine and forest breezes. Could almost feel his hand caressing her hip beneath the blanket, could almost hear him as he murmured, “Wake l’tiani.”

Natalie’s eyes popped open. First thing she noticed—judging by the gold furniture, crystal walls, and the silver trees growing in the room, whose leaves made a soft tinkling sound by the way—she wasn’t in her own bedroom. Second—she was naked. Third—there was a man lying behind her, stroking her hip beneath the covers with his calloused palm while nuzzling her neck. Oh my, here was the biggie, literally… Fourth—he’d just pressed his very large, very hard, very ridged cock tight against her ass.

And how about a Fifth (of Vodka, please)—he smelled of forest breezes.

“Evvan?” Nat rolled over in his arms and found herself face-to-face with her dream man. For a moment she could only stare at him, taking in his strong features, the tattoos along his cheekbones, the careless fall of his mane of long black hair—and those incredibly sexy pointed ears.

He propped himself up on one arm and studied her as he stroked her nipple with his thumb.

“You’re real,” she whispered. “All of this is real.”

A puzzled expression crossed his dangerously handsome face. He brought his hand up and stroked her cheek with his knuckles. “I do not understand you when you speak in your own tongue, l’tiani.”

“Oh.” She smiled, her heart swelling with so many feelings—happiness, uncertainty, and definitely lust—that she thought she might just erupt. A regular Mt. Vesuvius of emotions. “Never mind,” she replied in the Devline language.

“You are so beautiful.” Gently he brushed hair from her eyes. “If the goddess had a face, surely she would look like you.”

Warmth spread throughout Natalie, her nipples coming to hard points and her pussy aching as though she hadn’t had sex in a year. To hear this powerful man say something so sweet, it just about made her melt.

An icky, gooey, I’m-in-love-with-you kind of melt.

Evvan flung aside the blanket, moved over her, and eased between her naked thighs. His body fit perfectly against hers. She wriggled beneath him, arching her hips up. “I want you, Evvan.”

“Forever.” Gently he brought his lips to hers and she sighed into his mouth as their tongues met and mated.

Forever.

She didn’t want to think about that now. Didn’t want to contemplate anything beyond this moment, in the arms of the man she loved.

I love him.

The thought made the moment, the time with him so much more precious. He explored her mouth with his tongue, kissing her so thoroughly that she felt tipsy—like she’d just had a Cosmo, and the alcohol and gone straight to her head.

“I cannot get enough of your scent,” Evvan murmured as he moved down between her thighs. “And your taste—’tis the most powerful of elixirs.”

He lapped at Natalie’s folds, his tongue sending spirals of sensation throughout her. She slid her hands into his hair and grabbed him by the ears as he devoured her pussy.

Just as she reached the pinnacle of her climax, the now familiar burst of warm energy flowed from Evvan’s body, straight to her core and throughout her body. She cried out, her hips like a bucking bronc and his mouth the rider.

Her pussy still vibrated as he rose up above her and placed the head of his cock to the opening of her channel. His dark gaze fixed on hers, he slid inside, filling her up, heart and soul.

“I love you, l’tiani,” he murmured as he thrust within her, the ridges driving her quickly toward another climax. “You are more than my heartmate—our souls have been mated through time. We join once again, for all that is eternity.”

“Yes.” Her voice rose as the intensity of his momentum increased. “I—I love you, Evvan.”

His expression turned triumphant, his black eyes flashing. “Come with me,” he demanded as the warm glow began to pulsate within him and through him, straight into her. “Now.”

Natalie shouted as her orgasm exploded throughout her body, and as Evvan yelled her name. Fireworks exploded within her mind—like around the Statue of Liberty on the Fourth of July—brilliant colors and flashing lights filling her sight, taking over all that she knew.

* * * * *

This time when Natalie woke, she knew exactly where she was—well, that she was in Evvan’s arms, on another world called Dair, and she was in a gold and crystal room with silver leaves tinkling overhead.

What she didn’t know, was who the hell the naked redhead was who was sitting at the foot of the bed, watching her and Evvan sleep.

Nat pushed herself up in a hurry, using Evvan for leverage, and he grunted as he woke.

“Who—” Nat started to demand, when she noticed gossamer wings flapping in a slow, lazy motion behind the woman, pushing the scent of roses and lilies over them, just like she’d smelled in the forest earlier.

Wings.

“Are those real?” was the only question that came to Nat’s mind. Forget that the woman was naked, her nipples large and rosy, and her pussy shaved of all hair.

The woman raised an eyebrow. “Do not tell me you are as daft as my twin Tierra.”

That voice—Nat recognized it in a heartbeat. “You’re Anistana…and you’re a Faerie.”

“Brilliant.” Anistana rolled her emerald eyes towards Evvan. “I do not suppose you could have found one with a little more intelligence?”

Nat’s face flushed. “Listen, you bi—”

Evvan’s hand clamped firmly over her mouth and he held her tight against him. She struggled but couldn’t break his hold. Asshole, she thought, wishing she could project the sentiment right into his Neanderthal brain.

Anistana gave a wicked smile and Evvan cut a sharp glance at Nat before turning back to the Faerie and asking, “What may we do for you, Queen Anistana?”

Queen, huh? Well, I don’t give a flying fu—”

“Natalie,” Evvan barked. “Silence your thoughts.”

She went completely still. He heard me?

“Aye.” Anistana giggled and flipped her flame-red hair over her shoulder. “But do continue. I am quite entertained.”

Nat narrowed her eyes at the Queen who turned her gaze on Evvan. Slowly Anistana looked over him, from his sleep-tousled black hair, down his broad chest to his narrow hips and his large and pleasingly ridged cock. “A pity I did not fuck you at least once before I found my heartmate,” Anistana said with a sly look at Natalie. “I am sure you would have been an enjoyable ride.”

Anger rushed through Nat like a hoard of frustrated women shoppers at a Bloomingdale’s shoe sale. As in touch those Pradas and die, missy. She barely heard Evvan’s, “No, l’tiani,” through the blood rushing in her ears. With all the force she’d practiced over the past few days, she shoved her magical power at the redheaded bitch.

Nothing.

Not a damn thing happened.

Anistana’s smile turned cold. “You project your thoughts too loudly. If you are to survive the Fae killer, you must not give him a chance to block your powers.” The Queen turned her attention to Evvan. “Release my sister.”

“Rein your temper, l’tiani,” Evvan murmured as he removed his hand from her mouth. “All of Fae is in danger, including you.”

“The Sorcerer Voral murdered our mother when we were but sprites,” Anistana said. “After Mother’s death, Voral was not seen for over a decade—apparently he had been betrayed by Zanden, his apprentice. It has been learned that Zanden trapped Voral in an alternate existence—in a receptacle created by sorcery. Only recently, shortly before Zanden’s death, did Voral return to plague us.”

Natalie frowned, her eyebrows pinching together. “Like a genie trapped in a bottle?” she asked while the image of a large blue genie popped into her mind.

Anistana narrowed her emerald gaze. “Do not take this threat lightly, sister.”

Thoughts of Fae killers and danger were too overwhelming at the moment, and Nat thought her head might explode.

“What do you mean, our mother?” Nat said as it suddenly dawned on her. She raised her chin and glared at Anistana. “Why do you keep calling me sister?”

The Queen sighed. “This conversation is eerily familiar. Could it possibly be due to the fact that I recently had a similar discussion with another long lost sister?”

Whoa. Sister. Fae. What the—

Pinching her eyebrows together, Nat glanced from Evvan and back to Anistana. “You’re trying to tell me I’m a Faerie. But you have wings. Obviously I don’t.”

Anistana shrugged her slender shoulders in a dismissive gesture. “Apparently you are a second born of twins, and second born Fae never have wings.”

“Well of course,” Natalie snapped. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Nat’s new sis continued, ignoring the sarcasm. “Which leads to the conclusion that there is yet another sister hidden somewhere…” Anistana’s wing beats slowed and her emerald eyes looked thoughtful. “…although that sister would be a bit harder to hide as she would have wings.”

“You knew, didn’t you?” Natalie sliced her gaze toward Evvan. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It was not for me to tell.” He reached up to caress her ear. “The starmark behind your left earlobe. It matches the one on Anistana’s right. I noticed hers the day Simoone died.”

The Queen pointed with a delicate finger to the silver leaved tree growing in the middle of the room, whose branches swayed far above the bed. “The star we were born with matches the pattern on mishnui leaves. The mishnui is a most sacred tree to Astral.”

Anistana turned her gaze to the tattoo around Nat’s belly button. “‘Twas most unwise to flaunt the symbol of Astral royalty.” Her lips tightened. “You put yourself and our family in extreme danger.”

“Astral royalty?” Natalie caressed the tattoo and the gold ring. “Could that be why I was brought here?”

Evvan nodded. “That has been my thought.”

Wow. The conversation all but overwhelmed Nat. It was almost too much info to process all at once.

“Unbelievable.” Natalie shook her head, her wine-red hair brushing across her nipples as she moved. Odd, but she was totally naked in front of a complete stranger—so what if that stranger was supposedly a long lost sister—and Nat didn’t feel in the least bit self-conscious about being naked.

What’s with that?

“So why have I been on Earth all this time?” Nat asked. “If I’m from this world, then why didn’t I grow up here?”

Anistana frowned, but even then the Queen was still beautiful. “I did not know of your existence ‘til I sensed the starmark when you entered my realm. Apparently you were sent away to keep you safe from the Fae killer. To ensure the continuation of our kind should anything happen to me, or Tierra…”

The Queen’s voice trailed off as her eyes widened. “I am such a fool! Right beneath my nose—hidden in plain sight!”

Anistana’s wings beat faster as she rose above the bed. She no longer seemed to notice Natalie and Evvan.

“Améa,” the Faerie said softly as her gaze turned to the crystal walls. Through them Natalie could see blue mist swirling through the gardens outside, as though seeking something, or someone. “Ahh…there ‘tis. A powerful spell masked Améa’s starmark—leaving it to be revealed only by a direct inquiry from a sister. No doubt our mother cast the spell before her death.”

“What?” Nat glanced up at Evvan. “Is she seeing something we’re not?”

“Aye.” He gestured toward the blue mist. “With her mist, Anistana can see everything within her realm. She knows immediately if a creature or being enters Wilding Wood.”

“Or Astral.” Anistana’s gaze returned to Evvan and Natalie, and there was a hint of a girlish smile on her lips that made her look less devious. “I must leave you as my husband has returned from Vianale.” Silver sparkled around her as she said, “You will attend a feast in the garden alcove this eve.”

Chapter Ten

“Hold on,” Natalie said as the glitter grew brighter and Anistana began to fade. “We’re not going anywhere without some clothes…and a bath!”

“How rude.” Nat scowled as Anistana vanished. She started to turn to Evvan only to see more silver sparkles to either side of the bed. Her jaw dropped as pair of gorgeous Faeries appeared, both as naked as Anistana had been. Heck, as naked as they all were.

The Faerie on Evvan’s side of the bed was wingless, but the one on Nat’s side had beautiful iridescent ebony wings. They both had night dark skin, exotic amber eyes, and their lips were full and a deep garnet shade. Long shimmering hair tumbled over their breasts and large burgundy nipples, and their pussies were shaved.

For a second Nat’s gaze lingered on the winged Faerie’s nipples. A flash of memory returned to her as she recalled the woman from the convention center who’d been wearing that sheer costume and had been dressed like a fairy—er, Faerie.

Nipples. Dark burgundy, full, and erect.

Maybe even a little tempting.

A sly smile cured the corner of the winged Faerie’s mouth, and heat rushed to Natalie’s cheeks. Had she projected her thoughts again?

Before she could say anything, Evvan inclined his head to the winged Faerie. “Elinni,” he said, and then nodded to the other one as well. “Ibella.”

“Welcome, Devline Enforcer,” Ibella said, her amber eyes taking in Evvan’s naked form. “‘Tis good to see you again.” Her gaze lingered on his cock. “Very good.”

“Hey!” Nat scowled as jealousy burned in her chest. “What in the—”

“Come, newfound child of Fae,” the Faerie called Elinni interrupted. The perfume of lilies eased over Natalie as the Faerie took her hand. “‘Tis time for your bath.”

“Enjoy Astral’s customs.” Evvan’s features remained stoic as he spoke to Nat. “You will learn much of the world to which you were born.”

Nat’s glare only deepened when she saw that the wingless Faerie was drawing Evvan from the bed. His cock wasn’t erect, but it was certainly just as impressive.

With her chin raised, Natalie avoided Evvan’s eyes and followed Elinni across the crystal and gold room and through a doorway that had been invisible to Nat before. Her jealous anger turned into wonder as Elinni and Ibella escorted them through gardens that were like nothing Natalie had ever seen.

Perfume of countless flowers filled the air…similar to the scent of orchids, star jasmine, lilies, roses and the clean flower-shop smell of hundreds of carnations. Silver leaves tinkled above them, a light magical sound, and that powder blue mist whirled and swirled throughout the garden. It set Natalie a little on edge to know that Anistana could see and sense everything that went on with that mist.

The grass was soft and cool beneath Natalie’s bare feet as they slipped through the gardens, and a breeze tickled her nipples and stroked the fine hair along her slit. Several Faeries laughed and chatted as they flitted like naked butterflies among the unusual crimson, blue, orange, yellow, and purple blossoms. The women were all stunning with perfect breasts and firm asses. It should have freaked her out to see women with wings flying through a garden on another world, but now somehow it seemed right and natural.

Natalie even felt a bit jealous that she hadn’t been born with wings, that her unknown twin had them. Améa wasn’t it? Yet if Nat had wings, she wouldn’t have grown up in New York with all the things she loved—the people, the culture, the modern conveniences, the shopping. Her adoptive parents had been wonderful to her, and so far she’d lived a fabulous life.

But what now? Was this where she belonged, in Faerie-land? Or her home in New York City, which was all she had known until this bizarre past week. Jeez, it was enough to drive a person nuts.

While she strolled through the garden with Evvan, Elinni and Ibella, Nat couldn’t help but wonder where the male Faeries were.

Ibella gave quite the un-Faerie-like snort and Elinni reached up and squeezed Natalie’s arm just above her elbow. “Faerie males are quite useless,” Elinni said in response to Nat’s unspoken thought. With a shake of her head, her midnight hair slid over her dark breasts and burgundy nipples. “They are naught more than drones, with no desires beyond pleasuring and gratifying themselves.”

“Are they around here?” Nat asked, trying to picture what a useless male Faerie looked like.

“The bastards fled Astral for the Dryad Realm when our Queen was a sprite, because they feared the Fae killer,” Ibella added and turned an appreciate gaze toward Evvan. “We need real males in the land of Fae, not simpering fools.”

Jealousy rose up again in Nat, but Evvan apparently sensed her fury. He took her hand in his and gave her that dark, sensual look that let her know he belonged to her.

Good lord, this powerful, dangerous stranger had claimed her in a way that she never would have allowed any man to back on Earth. And it certainly seemed that he considered himself just as claimed by her, which definitely was a pleasing thought.

When they reached a secluded pool, the Faeries drew Natalie and Evvan into it. The Faerie twins ignored Evvan as they began to bathe Natalie, despite her protests. “Really, I can bathe myself,” she insisted.

“‘Tis our way,” Elinni replied as she positioned herself in front of Natalie, with Ibella to Nat’s back.

From out of nowhere Elinni produced a small rounded soap and began lathering it over Natalie’s breasts. Nat gasped and reflexively took a step back, only to feel Ibella’s breasts pressed against her shoulder blades, and the Faerie’s mound against her ass.

“Relax,” Ibella murmured as she, too, began to soap Nat’s skin. “Enjoy the heritage that is yours.”

Natalie couldn’t help but be turned on by the feel of their hands soaping her body. When they finished washing her skin and then her hair, the Faeries magically rinsed away the bubbles by causing the water to rise up and then flow back down. Every now and then she would look to Evvan to see him bathing himself, cleaning his long black hair and then the wiry curls around his cock. He was always watching her, his expression fierce as always.

In the next moment Elinni lowered her head and flicked her tongue against Nat’s nipple while Ibella reached around from behind and slid her fingers slowly down Nat’s abdomen and into her pussy.

Natalie went rigid with surprise, too freaked to react. Her gaze shot to Evvan to see his dark eyes flash with hunger and desire, his cock now very erect. He was focused entirely on her, and she knew without a doubt that it was not the Faeries who filled him with such lust. It was the sight of them pleasuring her.

“‘Tis the way of Astral, your people,” Evvan said, his voice a hoarse rumble, “as ‘tis the way of mine.”

Body trembling with the need to climax, Natalie gave in to the feeling of having the two Faeries stroke her with their hands and mouths. From behind, Ibella pushed aside Nat’s wet hair and laved a path down her neck to her shoulder while continuing to finger Nat’s pussy. As she suckled each of Natalie’s nipples, Elinni’s fingers joined Ibella’s, only she slid them into Nat’s core, mimicking Evvan’s cock and thrusting in and out. As Nat’s eyes remained locked with Evvan’s, she felt as though he were fucking her at that very moment.

A combination of lust and rage stirred in Evvan’s gut at the sight of Elinni’s and Ibella’s dark skin pressed against his woman. He loved seeing Natalie pleasured, and hated it all at once. He wanted his mouth and hands on her body, and his cock plunging inside her quim. True it was the way of his people, and hers—sexual pleasuring was a gift of the goddess and intended to be shared. With satisfaction he reminded himself that no other man would ever enter Natalie’s quim now that he had claimed her as his heartmate, and he would enter no one but her. She belonged to him.

A rumble rose up in Evvan’s chest, and when Natalie cried out with her orgasm, he let loose with a roar. He sloshed through the water and scooped up his woman, tearing her from the Faerie twins who giggled with delight. Natalie’s body trembled in his arms, her eyes still glazed from her orgasm as she stared up at him and licked her lips.

Evvan roared again as he turned away from the Faeries and took Natalie to the grassy shore. She gasped as he roughly turned her around and set her on her hands and knees. With no thought beyond fucking his woman, Evvan knelt behind Natalie, grasped her ass cheeks and widened her thighs, then drove his cock inside her quim.

Natalie shrieked and climaxed immediately. But he did not stop. Nay, he thrust in and out of her hot core, which pulsed and squeezed the length of his cock with every throb of her orgasm. Evvan only fucked her harder, and shouted, “You are my woman. Do you understand?”

She whimpered, her body rocking in time with his thrusts. “God. Oh, my god.”

“Answer me,” he demanded, insisting she acknowledge that he possessed her, body and soul. “You are mine.”

“Yes.” Natalie’s admission came out in a choked gasp through her continuous orgasm. “Yours, Evvan. Oh, god…I’m yours.”

Evvan bellowed and slammed his hips against her ass as he watched his cock slide in and out of her quim. His climax roared through him, pumping his fluid into her womb. He clasped her hips and stilled their movements, his cock still pulsing inside her.

Aye, he possessed this woman and would never allow her to leave him.

* * * * *

When Nat arrived in the garden alcove with Evvan, butterflies stirred in her belly as they paused to take in their surroundings. Like every other place she’d seen in Astral, the room was breathtaking. The walls here were crystal clear, too, so that the fabulous gardens, sparkling fountains, and glittering pools could be viewed while dining. There was even a waterfall tumbling down a series of ancient rocks in a far corner of one of the gardens.

“It’s absolutely beautiful,” Natalie said as she looked up and smiled at Evvan.

He squeezed her hand, his dark gaze as predatory and intent as ever. “All the beauty I see is here beside me, l’tiani.”

Warmth flushed through Nat and her nipples beaded beneath the sheer blouse she now wore. She was clad in a transparent top and a skirt, the only clothing the Queen said she had to give Nat since no one usually wore clothes of any kind in Astral. The way the sheer material sparkled across Nat’s breasts, drawing attention to her nipples, her star tattoo, and the golden ring in her navel, she might as well have been wearing nothing. But she still felt a little better, perhaps more secure, with something on.

Anistana had returned Evvan’s pants and boots, along with his weapons, and Natalie was pleased that no one could ogle his amazing cock. He looked rather rakish with that dagger strapped to his hip and the sword hilt glinting above its sheath on his other side. He’d left his bow in the bedroom they’d woken up in. Natalie had asked about L’th’amir earlier, and had been told the horse was being cared for. He was in the Faerie stables on the northern side of the realm, close enough for Evvan to call if the stallion was needed.

Laughter and chatter punctuated the alcove as Evvan drew her toward one end of the room, and since all she saw were females, Nat figured Evvan must be the only male present. Lustful Faerie gazes followed them and Natalie struggled with her jealousy again…until she realized that the Faeries looked at her with just as much desire as they did Evvan.

Oh, dear. This place is certainly quite interesting.

Natalie’s gaze slowly traveled over the Faeries. Her twin sister was probably around here somewhere. How odd it felt, thinking about her twin. She’d been raised as an only child, a human child. Yet she’d learned this morning that not only was she not human, but she was Faerie, and she had three sisters. For a gal who hadn’t believed in fairytales—or make that Faerie-tales—this was all just plain freaky.

“Come,” Evvan murmured as they stepped through the maze of Faeries scattered throughout the room like brilliant blooms. The naked women lounged on colorful cushions of pinks, purples, blues and silver. Wings glimmered and sparkled and overhead the mishnui tree’s leaves sounded like hundreds of perfectly tuned wind chimes.

When they reached the far side of the alcove, Evvan stopped before Anistana and an incredibly handsome man. Natalie felt a small measure of relief to know that Evvan wasn’t the only male in the place. She figured the man was probably in his mid to late thirties. He had a strong jaw, high cheekbones and amazingly vivid blue eyes with silver flecks in them. His long white hair reached his massive shoulders, and the widow’s peak at his forehead was striking on him—he looked almost like a tow-headed vampire. And good lord—he was just as naked as the women in the room, and even though he didn’t appear to be aroused, he sported one hell of a long cock.

Evvan inclined his head to each of them. “Queen Anistana,” he said to the Faerie, and “Overseer To’en,” to the man. Evvan draped a possessive arm around Nat’s shoulders as he addressed To’en. “This is my heartmate, Natalie.”

The way Evvan said my heartmate made Nat’s knees weak.

“Welcome to my wife’s realm,” To’en said, his long white hair spilling over his shoulders as he gave her a deep nod.

“Our realm, husband.” Anistana gave him a haughty expression that brooked no argument.

To’en smiled, amusement glittering in his vivid blue eyes. “Forgive me. We have been married not more than a week and joined our two realms. I fear I have yet to become accustomed to being Astral’s King.” He glanced at Anistana. “As you are Vianale’s new Queen.”

He slid one hand to Anistana’s belly, and his smile would have lit a room, like Evvan’s glow could brighten a dark cave. “And in months we shall be parents to our twin daughters.”

Natalie’s star birthmark tingled, drawing her attention from the naked royalty and the light banter they were engaging in. Slowly she turned and saw a Faerie flutter into the room, a somewhat absentminded expression upon her pretty face.

An instant connection—something intangible—gripped Natalie and drew her toward the Faerie with the wine-red hair and forest green eyes. Though their hair and eye color were identical, their features were different, even their coloring.

Behind her Nat vaguely heard Anistana’s sigh. “Always late, that one. If any Faerie in this realm could be more different than I, ‘tis most certainly Améa.”

Améa. Anistana had said Natalie’s twin’s name was Améa.

The Faerie’s wings stopped for a moment as her gaze riveted on Nat—like she felt the connection, too. A brilliant smile flashed across her lovely features. She pumped her wings and literally flew across the chamber and straight into Nat’s arms.

“A sister!” The Faerie giggled as she hugged Nat. She smelled of orchids, a fresh outdoorsy scent. “I still cannot believe ‘tis true.”

“Améa?” Nat pulled back and with stunned amazement she studied her twin. “Unbelievable…this is all just so dang weird.”

Evvan, Natalie, and Améa sat cross-legged on cushions not far from the Queen and King. Unlike the other Faeries, Améa hardly spared Evvan a glance. She seemed far more interested in learning more about her twin and chattering about anything and everything.

The two were definitely alike in the chatter department.

While they got to know one another, sparkling crystal plates appeared in their laps, each filled with amazing delicacies like nothing Nat had ever seen before. The smells were rich and the tastes divine—a dish that was like baked butternut squash, but with a nuttier flavor; a vegetable similar to corn on the cob, only turquoise and with distinctly square kernels; and a seedcake that tasted like cornbread, honey, and a hint of lemon.

At the end of the meal a dessert was served made from chocolatyl—which had a sinfully delicious flavor like chocolate liqueur and brownies—and it was positively orgasmic. A honeyed wine accompanied their food, sweet and smooth, and felt pleasantly warm as it rolled over Natalie’s tongue.

To’en and Anistana took their leave not long after finishing their dinner. The Overseer had just received word that he was urgently needed in Vianale, and Anistana decided to accompany him when Evvan promised to stand guard over Astral ‘til her return later that evening.

Throughout the dinner, Evvan had sat quietly at Nat’s side, watching her with those dark brooding eyes as the two sisters chatted. Nat and Améa discussed their lives and how odd it was to learn—quite out of the blue—that each was Faerie royalty, and a twin.

Améa was bright and bubbly, with a sparkling personality that drew Nat in at once, although there was a fire in Améa that told Nat the Faerie was no doormat. Améa was extremely intelligent, and had a gift for speaking the language of all Dair’s animal creatures.

“At least the ones I have encountered,” Améa said with a grin. Then she glanced at Evvan before leaning in and whispering in Nat’s ear, “Except the male animal. I fear I shall never understand them.”

Giving her twin a conspiratorial smile, Natalie said, “Another similarity between us.”

Améa cocked her head as though listening to something, and she frowned. “A perna calls. Its foot is caught in bluewood moss. I must go help the poor creature.”

Before Nat had a chance to ask what in the heck a perna was, the Faerie darted off with a flap of her wings and headed out through the open doors and into the colorful garden. Through the clear crystal walls, Natalie watched as the Faerie sped above that strange blue mist, over the exotic flowers, straight past a silver-leaved mishnui to a distinctly blue tree.

Natalie’s star birthmark tingled on the back of her ear, and she rubbed at it. Weird. It had never done that before Halloween night when she’d approached that virtual reality machine. And it had prickled, or tingled several times since she’d been in this strange world.

With a sigh, Nat dismissed it and turned her gaze to Evvan. Damn but she was ready for him again. He was watching her with those smoldering dark eyes that immediately made her want to jump him. Their time at the bath had been incredible, and her pussy grew wet remembering how he had taken her. He’d loved watching the Faerie’s pleasure her, yet at the same time she knew it had tortured him, too. She rather liked how it had made him want to dominate her, to show her that she was his.

Evvan’s cock hardened as he took in Natalie’s prominent nipples raising the light fabric of her short tunic. The jensai-red curls of her quim showed through the sheer material of her skirt, and he swore they glistened with her juices. “Let us find a place where we can be alone, before I must leave you upon Anistana’s return,” he murmured.

“Leave?” Natalie’s spine straightened, a flare of red coloring her cheeks. “Where in the hell do you think you’re going without me?”

“The Fae killer.” His jaw hardened as his thoughts turned to the murdering bastard. “I have brought you to Astral where you shall be safe. I must seek the bastard and rid Fae of this threat forever.”

“Bullshit.” Natalie scrambled to her feet, a furious glint in her emerald eyes as she glared down at him. “I’m not staying put like some prissy little girl. I have magic, I can help!”

Evvan stood and towered over his l’tiani, clenching his hands at his sides in frustration. How could the maid be so daft? A warning prickled in his consciousness, just as he said, “You will remain—”

A Faerie’s scream cut through his words.

Natalie’s gaze shot in the direction her twin had gone. “Améa!”

Chapter Eleven

“Stay,” Evvan commanded Natalie even as he yanked his sword from its sheath. In a flash of steel and fury, he bolted toward the garden. Behind him he heard the shouts and terrified cries of the other Faeries.

Before him, through the crystal walls, he located a dark-cloaked man with glowing orange eyes. With his arm around Améa’s neck, the bastard was dragging the Faerie backwards, toward the black entrance of a skypath.

Voral.

Impossible! But there it was, before his very eyes. The thrice-damned Fae killer had managed to open a skypath directly within Astral.

The Sorcerer moved slowly, as though injured. Or perhaps it was merely a trick.

Rage flamed in Evvan’s gut as he shot through the doorway into the garden, waving his sword. “You will not have her,” Evvan bellowed as the killer vanished with Améa, into the darkness of the skypath.

Evvan roared as he neared the opening, knowing he had but seconds before the Faerie Améa, princess of the realm, sister to his heartmate, and precious life within her own right, would be forever lost.

Natalie chased Evvan out the door, running as fast as she could, but he’d had a good head start on her. The star birthmark on her lobe tingled greater than it ever had before. Her heart pounded, blood rushing through her skull as she saw a man taking Améa.

“No!” she screamed.

Faster. Faster! She had to help them!

The man bore Améa through some kind of void, and disappeared into the black opening. Evvan shouted “You will not have her!” as he charged through the same blackness, and then he vanished, too.

Adrenaline flushed through her system, giving her legs amazing speed. Anger at the kidnapper, and fear for her lover and her newfound sister, propelled Nat through the garden and into the dark hole.

Into nothingness.

Instantly her stomach cramped and it felt as though her brain was in a blender—the same dizzying sensations she’d experienced in the virtual cave—only this time total darkness surrounded her.

“Damn, damn, damn!” she cried out as she stumbled, unable to see anything, unable to hear. The darkness closed in on her, and she had to focus her senses as she moved. Heart pounding so hard it was surely going to explode out of her chest, she rushed forward.

A faint light glimmered pierced the darkness up ahead. Was that Evvan’s glow? Nat forced herself to ignore the urge to puke and hurried toward the dim light, and then she saw that she was nearing an exit. It was nighttime wherever this path ended, yet there were lights—were those streetlights?

Be prepared, she warned herself. Be ready for anything.

Evvan followed the killer through the skypath, able to see clearly with his keen Elvin vision, his sensitive hearing catching every breath the bastard took. Thank the goddess the Sorcerer was unable to use any magic on the fragile skypath, or ‘twould have been a rougher journey, to be sure.

Unfortunately Evvan was also unable to use shrouding on the skypath, or any other magic.

Light glimmered ahead and Evvan narrowed his eyes as the Sorcerer slipped through the skypath’s exit, the Faerie bouncing against his back. Hand clenched around his sword, Evvan bellowed, “Bastard!” and charged into a strange and bizarre night.

The moment Evvan entered the world on the other side of the path, a putrid smell clogged his senses and burned his eyes, and loud noises filled his ears. As though huge storms blew through trees outside this forest he was now in. And noises like the honking of geese, bellowing of cattle, the calls of the qinok and also a perna. Only these sounds were not made by any living creature. It was dark in this world, yet light, as though the goddesses had chosen to illuminate the night without the sun.

All this Evvan assimilated in but a fraction of time, the moment he entered this foul-smelling, foul-sounding, foul-looking world. If he had not been so highly skilled a warrior, he would have been too distracted to dodge the Sorcerer-dragon’s first flame-blast.

Evvan, dropped and rolled away, fire scorching the grass where he’d been standing a moment before. The Sorcerer, now in dragon form, stood over the still form of Améa, her wings limp, her body lifeless.

Fury blazed through Evvan. “Damn you, Voral!” Fire filled his head as he charged the dragon, sword raised. He called on the goddess and the powers granted him at birth. The magic burned through him and his bellow of rage echoed through the strange night.

The dragon’s wings pumped up and down, the blade-sharp tips slicing nearby pines. Widening its cavernous jaws, the beast let loose with another flame-blast. Evvan easily deflected the flare with his sword. Using centuries worth of skill, the Devline Enforcer reflected the flames back and directly into the beast’s orange eyes before the Sorcerer had an opportunity to shield himself.

A scream of pain and fury ripped through the night. The dragon’s head reared back as though trying to shake away the pain. Without pause, Evvan aimed his sword at the dragon’s chest, prepared to drive it through the Sorcerer’s black heart—only to hear Améa’s moan and to see her raise her head up.

And the dragon’s massive clawed foot near to stomping on her.

Evvan could go for the Sorcerer’s heart, but Améa could lose her life.

As the dragon continued to fling its head to and fro while screeching its pain, Evvan sheathed his sword and dodged between the beast’s front legs. He scooped Améa into his arms just as the clawed foot slammed down, where the Faerie had been lying.

Evvan darted out from beneath the dragon. Holding Améa close to his chest, he ran as fast as the goddess could propel his feet. Prickles erupted at his nape, just as the dragon reared back to release another fire-blast.

The dragon’s roar vibrated through Natalie’s soul as she rushed toward the exit, horrible odors filling her senses. That smell, so familiar and so awful, mixed with the dragon’s rotten meat stench. Nat tore from the dark tunnel into the night beyond—and found herself in the last place she’d been prepared to end up in.

New York City’s Central Park. Right beside the bust of Ludwig van Beethoven.

It was damn cold, with her only in that skimpy transparent outfit and her feet were already turning into blocks of ice. Far in the sky the moon was three-quarters—it had been a harvest moon the last time she’d seen it. In the background she heard the roar of traffic, the honking of cars, the shouts of pedestrians, and so many noises that now seemed harsh rather than familiar.

But she ignored it all as her attention snapped to the dragon whose black scales glittered beneath the city lights. Even here the beast was almost invisible, like a chameleon blending in with the night and streetlights.

The dragon was opening its jaws, horrid teeth glinting, as it tracked a powerfully built man running from beneath its legs.

Evvan! And he had Améa in his arms.

At the thought of what the dragon could do to Evvan and Améa, such intense fear filled Natalie that she could barely breathe. But her fury was even greater. It raged through her like a mighty inferno that threatened to burn all that lay in its path.

The beast roared and then plumes of fire rolled out, directly at Evvan and the Faerie. Evvan glanced over his shoulder, as if he’d sensed the attack, and dropped to his hands and knees, Améa beneath him, as though to shield her from the flames.

“Leave them alone, fucker!” Nat shouted. With total focus from day after day after day of training with Evvan through the Netherworld, Natalie flung up a protective veil around her lover and her sister. The massive wall of flame boiled over them, but stopped several feet away, and spread in a domed shape.

Nat’s protection held.

Her birthmark tingled even more than ever, and somehow it seemed to lend strength to her magic. Using all that she had, Natalie garnered her powers. Without touching it with her hands, she magically tore Beethoven’s bust from its pedestal. Magic burned and boiled within Nat’s soul, like lava bubbling within a volcano about to spew its wrath across the lands.

“Take that you bastard!” she shouted, and flung the bust at the dragon’s head.

It sailed through the air like a missile and slammed into the beast’s skull. The crack of bone was like a gunshot in the night. The dragon screeched and its flame abruptly stopped.

The beast turned its furious glittering orange eyes on Natalie. Those hideous purple four-pointed stars it had for pupils contracted and its glare was absolutely murderous. The dragon took a step toward her. The ground vibrated and Nat barely kept to her feet.

Oh, shit.

There was another bust and a smaller statue, but would either be enough to do any serious damage to the dragon?

Wings beating hard enough to cause a strong wind to blow through the park, the dragon advanced on Nat. Leaves whipped around her and trees bowed from the force.

Blood thundered in her head as her gaze rested on one of the park’s lampposts.

The dragon roared and reared back.

Concentrating and trying not to totally freak, Nat called on her powers. The lamppost trembled, and then with a loud crack it tore loose from the concrete. Head aching from the effort of controlling the heavy post, Nat flung the lamp toward the dragon’s head.

The missile sailed through the air as though shot from Evvan’s bow.

With a sickening sound, the lamp pierced one of the dragon’s eyes, and buried itself deep within the beast’s skull.

For a moment the dragon swayed, a kind of shocked expression on its horrid face.

It let loose a screech that tore through Natalie’s head like nails down a chalkboard, and then its tremendous body slammed to the ground.

This time the reverberation was so great that Nat lost her footing and landed on her ass. Pain spiked through her tailbone and her eyes watered as she stared up at the dragon. Even on its belly, the beast towered over her.

The dragon raised its head and looked at Nat out of its one remaining orange eye, the lamppost still buried in the other. All the hatred in its soul was projected from its thoughts as Natalie heard a screeching voice in her head. She clamped her hands to her ears, as if that would block it out.

When your mother rejected me, Fae bitch, a man’s voice said in Nat’s mind, I swore I would kill her, all of her offspring, and any other Fae I could slay.

“You’re Voral.” Nat dropped her hands from her ears as she remembered what Anistana had told her earlier that morning. “You killed Anistana’s—our—mother,” Nat added as she tried to push off from the ground. Horror balled in Nat’s chest as she realized she couldn’t move the lower half of her body—as though she was pinned.

Something wasn’t right. He should be dying, but his thoughts were so clear and he was using magic against her.

The bastard chuckled in her head. ‘Tis why I brought you to Dair. If not for that Devline scum, you would have been dead a week now. The Sorcerer-dragon raised its wings and started to push itself to its feet I must add that I most enjoyed slicing your mother’s throat, almost as much as I will enjoy taking you with me to the afterworld.

Evvan fought against the barrier Natalie had used to shield him and Améa from the flames. That daft wench had neglected to remove it and Evvan roared with frustration as he fought to break through. Her magic was even stronger than it had been the last time she had thrown a shield around him. He tried to mind-speak with her, to tell her to remove the barrier, but his thoughts could not even penetrate the shield.

His frustration grew as he watched Natalie battle the dragon while he continued to fight against her spell shield. Fear for his l’tiani, his heartmate, heightened and his rage magnified. He gave a mighty bellow at the same moment he focused every bit of his magic on the shield.

The barrier vanished. Evvan roared and unsheathed his sword as he ran, leaving a dazed but very much alive Améa behind him.

As he rushed forward, he could hear the Sorcerer’s voice in his head as the bastard spoke to Natalie. He could sense Voral’s sorcery and saw that Nat was somehow pinned to the ground. Evvan raced toward the dragon’s chest as it lumbered to its clawed feet. The beast swayed then stepped forward, its hideous maw closing in on Natalie just as Evvan reached them.

With all the rage and fury in his heart and soul, Evvan buried his sword deep into the dragon’s chest.

The beast screamed and blood spouted from its chest in a black fountain.

Evvan yanked out his sword and thrust it into the dragon’s heart again. And yet again.

Natalie stared at her lover, wide-eyed with fear and amazement as he fought the dragon. It screamed one more time and then its head dropped to the cold ground, the sound like a burst of thunder. The orange glow in its eyes faded and they went totally black.

The Sorcerer’s magical hold on Nat vanished. With relief and triumph roaring through her veins, she scrambled to her feet and started to run toward Evvan when she saw something glittering near the dragon.

She reached down to pick it up, unable to believe her eyes. But as it glittered in her palm, she knew it was real. Her mother’s star pendant. The one she’d lost all those years ago.

All this time it had been in the Sorcerer’s possession. Likely it had been trapped with Voral in the alternate reality—or sorcery-made receptacle thingamajig—that he’d been banished to these many years until his recent release.

A wailing noise filled her ears, and then Natalie realized it was the sound of sirens piercing the night. She started toward Evvan and then came to a dead stop a couple of feet from him. Sirens. She was in New York. Home.

“You must come, now!” Anistana’s voice rang from the opening of the black tunnel. Natalie’s gaze swung from her lover to the gorgeous and naked Queen of Faerie whose blue mist swirled about her feet inside the tunnel as she added, “I cannot hold the skypath open much longer.”

Gasps and shouts rang out and Natalie realized for the first time that a large group of people had gathered around them. A shimmer caught her eye and she saw Améa rise from the ground, somewhat dazed, but alive and able to move with her own power. A rumble of fear and amazement rose from the crowd as the nude Faerie darted back to the tunnel, her wings glinting in the light.

“Come.” Evvan held out his hand to Natalie, but she hesitated and looked around her.

At the skyscrapers beyond the park, the place she’d lived, loved and shopped all of her life. “This is my home.” Natalie said quietly as she gestured at the city above the treetops.

Evvan’s jaw tightened and he stepped so close she caught his spicy scent and the heavy odor of testosterone. “Your home is with me.”

Sirens cut out as the police arrived. She heard shouts, and the metallic click of weapons.

“This skypath will never be opened again.” Anistana’s voice rose above the crowd, resonant and powerful. “The choice you make tonight seals your future, child of Fae. Return to Dair with us, or remain in this world. Forever.”

Chapter Twelve

When his mate hesitated, Evvan almost howled his frustration. Just as he was going to grab the wench and throw her over his shoulder, a grin broke across her face. She flung herself into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist and arms around his neck and said, “Take me home, big guy.”

Such relief and joy, unlike anything he had ever known, filled him. A strange sensation overcame the fierce Devline Enforcer, and he smiled down at his l’tiani.

“Oh, my god.” Natalie looked so stunned that he feared she might faint. “You smiled!”

“You give me reason to, my little one,” he murmured and claimed her lips in a fierce and passionate kiss.

In the background he heard strange shouts, all words he did not understand.

Natalie ripped her mouth from his. “We’d better get out of here,” she said, her voice urgent. These people think this is a movie set or something, but those cops—er, non-Devline Enforcers—don’t. They’re going to want to arrest us.”

Evvan turned his fierce expression on the crowd and growled before bolting the few feet toward the skypath, holding his l’tiani tight to his chest.

“Make haste!” Anistana ordered even as they rushed toward her. “These barbarians have a ruthless look about them,” she said when they reached the skypath and Evvan stopped beside her, several feet inside the entrance and in the middle of her blue mist.

“Although several of them look rather tasty.” A devious smile curled Anistana’s sensuous lips. “Perhaps we should bring one or two back as playthings for my Fae?”

“Oooh. I think that one,” Améa whispered as she peeked over Anistana’s shoulder. “I am quite sure he would be very…dominant.”

Evvan had set Natalie upon her feet and she was looking directly at the entrance when Améa spoke. One of New York’s Finest—and Nat meant finest—had just swung around into the opening, his weapon drawn, his stance wide. “Don’t move,” he said in a commanding voice, his weapon pointed straight at Evvan.

Améa sighed. “He is so very handsome and powerful looking. I can tell from his thoughts and recklessness that he has no binding attachments to this foul place.”

Blue mist swirled around the police officer’s legs and Anistana giggled. “Yes,” she said as the gun dropped from the man’s hand and his eyelids drifted shut, hiding the smoky gray of his eyes. “He will do quite nicely.”

As the officer dropped to his knees and then collapsed to the floor of the skypath, Anistana sealed the entrance with a wave of her hand.

Everything went silent as the noise of New York City was cut off. At the same time, the passageway went completely dark, but a welcome light chased away the darkness as Evvan’s warm glow surrounded them.

Natalie swallowed as she looked back to where the entrance and her very last view of New York City had been.

Her gaze turned to the man passed out cold in the middle of Anistana’s blue mist and she grinned. At least they were bringing back a souvenir for Améa.

Once they arrived back in Astral, Evvan flung Natalie over his shoulder and strode toward a far corner of the Faerie gardens where Améa promised they would have privacy. Anistana had used her mist to send NYPD’s sexiest back to her realm, where she could keep him bound ‘til he was tamed enough to give him to Améa.

Somehow Natalie didn’t think that man was one who could ever be tamed.

With the exception of Anistana, all the Faeries in the realm surrounded Améa, begging her to tell the story of the Sorcerer’s demise. And about the cop—they definitely wanted to know more about him.

Even though Nat had no doubt that she’d made the right choice in coming back to Dair with Evvan, she was going to miss her adoptive parents, as well as Miznari and Kerry. She’d have to think of some way to get messages to each of them, so let them know she was safe, happy, and that she missed them.

Evvan slapped Nat’s ass, bringing her attention back to him. She laughed and clung to her fierce warrior as he bore her away from the Faeries. Funny—when she’d first met Evvan, he’d carried her away inside of a cave, and into another world.

Anistana’s voice tickled Nat’s ear. My gift to my sister and her heartmate, the Queen said in Natalie’s mind and she noticed a winged crystal egg floating in the air behind Evvan’s back. It followed them like a potbellied butterfly, and Natalie giggled at the image.

She reached out for it, and clasped it in her palm. The iridescent wings vanished, leaving only the egg. It felt smooth and warm, and when she studied it she saw a sparkling red and gold powder swirling within it and she smiled.

Faerie dust.

Evvan came to an abrupt stop and Natalie almost dropped the egg, but managed to keep her hold on it. Her dark and powerful warrior slid her down his chest, and when he had set her on her feet, she stilled at the intense look in his eyes.

He brought his hand to her face and she leaned into it, pressing her cheek into his palm. “I love you, l’tiani. My soul has known you from times too ancient to recall.”

Such sentiment from her dark and dangerous man brought all those squishy feelings to the surface and almost made her want to cry, damn it. “I love you, too, you big oaf.”

Gently he eased her back into grass so soft it brushed her body like her lover’s caress. They were in the corner of the realm near the waterfall, hidden from view of the garden alcove. The falls crashed and roared behind her, the smell of fresh water mingling with the perfume of countless flowers. The grass felt damp through the sheer material of her blouse and skirt, and the feeling somehow added to the intensity of her desire for her man.

Evvan stood above her, never taking his eyes from hers as he tossed his weapons aside, and stripped out of his boots and breeches.

Natalie clenched the crystal egg tight in her fingers as she sucked in her breath at the sight of her beautiful man. That finely sculpted body and his long dark hair spilling over his powerful shoulders and that fine, fine prize of a cock. The tattoos beneath his eyes made him look even darker and fiercer, yet now there was a hint of softness in his gruff expression—just a hint—for her.

“You are so lovely, l’tiani,” he murmured as he lowered himself over her. He shoved up her transparent blouse and gently bit one of her nipples. Warmth moved through Nat and she recognized the shrouding the moment her sight and senses began to dim. All she could feel was him teasing her breasts, his hot breath and wet tongue upon her nipples.

“Oh, god, Evvan,” she said, squirming beneath his solid, muscular body.

He captured both her wrists in one of his big hands and pinned them above her head. She let the egg roll out of her fingers and into the grass, unable to think or feel beyond the exquisite feelings Evvan was causing within her.

The shrouding shifted, and Natalie became intensely aware of her pussy. How wet it was, hot she was, and how badly she wanted Evvan inside her. With a rough jerk of his hand, he shoved up her flimsy skirt and rubbed the head of his erection against her clit.

She fought against his hold on her wrists, wanting to touch his ridged cock since she couldn’t see him, but he wouldn’t let her go. Her senses dimmed even further, all except for her breasts and her pussy. All of her nerve endings in those areas were so alive, so sensitive, that she whimpered with need. “Please, Evvan,” she begged. “Please, now.”

He gave a primal roar and thrust his cock inside her core. Nat cried out as her body bucked with an immediate orgasm. She wrapped her legs around his waist, holding him to her and feeling the throb of her channel around him. Slowly he began to thrust in and out, making love to her in the most intense, passionate way.

Evvan had never felt such pleasure, such satisfaction, as he did with his l’tiani. She filled his soul, completing him in a way he never dreamed possible.

Mind and body focused on Natalie, he made love to her, driving his cock in and out, bringing her from one orgasm to another until tears sparkled on her eyelashes. When he finally allowed himself to come, his climax rocked his body, shaking the powerful warrior to his very core.

He lay spent between her thighs, careful not to put all of his weight on her much smaller form. He loved the feel of her heart beating against his, the sound of her breathing next to his ear, the smells of their sex and her womanly musk.

Raising himself up, Evvan studied his woman as she smiled at him and said, “How did I ever get so lucky to end up with you?”

“‘Tis I who am most fortunate,” he returned. His gaze moved up to where he pinned her wrists above her head and caught a crystal glimmer in the grass. Evvan released Natalie and carefully picked up the fragile looking object. Easing himself off of her, he propped himself on his side as he placed the egg between her breasts.

“Anistana said it was a gift.” Natalie brought her arms down and ran one finger over the smooth surface. The brilliant crimson and gold dust swirled even faster when she touched it. “Isn’t it pretty?”

“Aye.” His heart gave a strange twist as he thought of how to explain this to his woman, and wondered how she might respond. “Do you remember what I told you about aradne?” he asked.

Natalie frowned as though concentrating, then raised her brows. “It’s the dust that makes a guy really super horny…and causes a woman to get pregnant—if it’s used between soul mates.”

“Heartmates.” He rubbed his thumb over the crystal and the dust swirled even faster. “Apparently Anistana has gifted us with aradne, but has also given us the gift of choice. This is a rare fa’na egg that will not break unless those who have received it should both choose to accept its contents.”

It took a moment for Nat to absorb what Evvan was telling her. If they both chose to accept this gift, she would get pregnant. She’d have a baby!

“Likely you would also have twins,” Evvan said as he rolled the egg down between her breasts to the gold ring in her navel.

The warmth of the magical egg seeped into Nat’s body as he rolled it over the star tattoo and her mound, and then back up again, toward her breasts. He was waiting for her answer, allowing her to choose.

Damn, but she loved this man. Was she ready for a child, or two even? She didn’t know, but she did know that her life had changed so much in just a week. Her future had changed, her direction had changed. Somehow it seemed right.

“Soooo…” Natalie couldn’t help a smile when she actually saw a hopeful expression in Evvan’s eyes. Who would have thought he’d want to be a daddy? But she could actually visualize him as a father. And she could even picture him smiling with his kids—lots.

Her smile broadened as she continued, “Does this mean that we get a really wild fuck?”

“You are ready?” His dark eyes were very intent, very bright.

“Yes.” Natalie’s answer rang with all the conviction in her heart. “I want to have a child with you, Evvan. Or two.”

The moment she spoke the words, the egg dissolved. Red and gold sparkles surrounded them and lust tore through Natalie so fast that she was wild with desire for her man.

He growled, his expression positively savage, but before he could move, Natalie pushed him onto his back and straddled him. “I’m going to fuck you,” she said with her own growl.

Evvan would have shouted his triumph if he wasn’t in such need to be inside his heartmate. She wrapped her small fingers around his cock and slammed herself down upon his length.

“Yes!” she cried, her eyes closed, riding him as hard and fast as she could.

It wasn’t fast enough to suit Evvan. He grabbed her hips and pounded into her, harder and harder and harder yet. Natalie shouted, urging him on until her body jerked and convulsed with her climax.

With a roar, he pulled her off his cock and placed her on her knees in the grass and knelt behind her. He thrust into her pussy, driving into her and fucking her with everything he had. He could feel her core contracting around his cock as she experienced orgasm after orgasm.

When his own orgasm slammed into him, he let out a bellow as his seed filled his mate’s womb.

And then he fucked her again, and again.

When the effects of the aradne began to lessen, Evvan collapsed onto the grass, holding his heartmate tight to his chest.

Natalie gave him the look of a very satisfied and well fucked woman. He felt highly-skilled to have pleased her, sated her. The appetites of Faerie were legend.

Just as he released a smug sigh, Natalie gave him an impish grin.

“You aren’t tired are you?” Her voice sounded rich with excitement. “Come on. Get up. Let’s do it again.”

Chapter One

“Fucking, disrespectful…assholes!” Miznari’s tirade was cut short by the rim of the wine glass filling her mouth.

She chugged deeply of the red wine, grimacing at the vinegar taste of the thin watery crap.

“Fucking assholes,” she hissed as she slammed the glass back on the table and promptly refilled it with a hand trembling with anger and frustration. “Dickless wonders!”

But as the headboard began to slam against the wall rhythmically and the grunts and moans of pleasure began to bleed through to the living room, the bottle bypassed the cup altogether and found a new home, right up against her lips.

Within three gulps, the low moans changed to impassioned screams and the bed began to make a raw grating sound as it was slid across the floor.

“Fuck this shit!”

With a scream, the bottle was hurled across the room, almost poetically it spun top over bottom, raining down a sanguine waterfall on the carpet, only to shatter against the bright white wall across from her.

“I don’t believe this shit!” she screamed as she lurched to her feet and tugged on the shirt she pulled from the haphazard pile of clothing before she fled the room and the scene of the crime.

“I don’t have to stand for this shit!” She snatched a half-filled glass from the table and eyed the liquid remaining inside.

Her anger carrying her forward, she marched determinedly toward the front door, the glass held triumphantly in her hands…and tripped on the throw rug, spilling more red wine across the white carpet.

She froze for a moment, thinking of Mike’s wrath, then an evil grin spread across her face.

“Weeeee!” she shouted as she took a big gulp, filling her mouth with the repugnant stuff, puffed out her cheeks, and sprayed his pristine white living room with the bitter crap.

Only thing it’s good for, she thought as she watched polka dots and spatters cover the sea of recently white carpet. They landed and spread, like millions of tiny little Rorschach ink blot tests. It was fascinating, really.

“Too good for him, for them,” she snorted as she watched the wine sink in and stain, almost like little drops of blood. The only evidence of the murder that had taken place here. She looked back on the dead body of her relationship with both her lover and her best friend, and scowled again.

“It was to be my fantasy! Mine! You selfish bastards,” she growled.

But who knew that Mike, her extremely open and experimental boyfriend of almost a year, would possess latent gay tendencies? Once they were all naked and rolling around on Mike’s huge bed, suddenly she realized that she had become a third wheel, an unwanted third wheel.

What tipped her off? It may have been the way they almost literally shoved her to the side so that they could grope each other. It may have been the sexual lingo going on around her, Mike’s excited, “Dude, I’ve never seen one that big!” before he practically knocked her out of the bed to get his lips around it.

It may have even been Aaron’s guilty look at her as Mike pulled him away from her rapidly drying cunt to suck face with him.

But her biggest clue was Mike’s startled, “Fresh fish on the line,” comment as he first got a good look at Aaron in the nude. Sure Aaron was hung, but damn! His girlfriend—repeat, girlfriend—was standing right next to him.

Finally, she got to her feet and turned to look at the sweaty duo rolling around in the bed. Aaron had turned and reached for her, trying to either get away from Mike or to get her back into the bed, but then Mike did something guaranteed to block all conscious thought from Aaron’s brain. He deep-throated him and began to hum.

Aaron’s eyes slammed shut and Miz slammed the door on her way out.

“It was supposed to be a thing of beauty,” she muttered as she sidestepped pieces of broken glass, snatched her purse from the side table, and casually knocked a few of Mike’s precious crystal pieces on the ground. When they didn’t shatter, she hefted the backpack she used as a pocketbook, and dropped the weighty thing on top of them.

That got ‘em, she thought as a muffled crash signified the passing of a family of crystal dogs.

She looked back once more as masculine screams began to fill the air. She recognized Mike’s preorgasmic scream and knew that he would last only minutes. You recognized things like that when you have been lovers for so long, she decided. But this is not the way the story was supposed to have ended.

In her reasoning, all three of them would have been screaming and roaring, and laughing their way to the best full-body orgasms they had ever felt. Instead she was on her way out the door and out of a relationship, too. Snorting, she turned and slammed the door, making sure that it struck hard enough to vibrate the wall and knock down a few specially framed pictures of those damn dogs Mike was so fond of.

She listened for a second then started to grin as she heard three tell-tale crashes. Bingo! Calm planning and thoughtful action did pay off! So did her physics classes on the effect of motion.

“Bum, um, bum, and another one bites the dust-a!” she sang as she stalked barefoot, bare bottomed, clad only in Mike’s favorite shirt, to the elevator of the penthouse suite. “And another one gone, and another one gone, another one bites the dust!”

When the elevator doors opened, she peered in and saw a distinguished older man standing there in his three-piece suit, one foot poised to exit as he caught sight of her.

“Here,” she said sweetly as she reached her hand into the backpack and emerged with the purple dildo. “Compliments of Mike Cosner,” she added as she slapped the thick fake schlong into his hand.

The man eased past her and made for his door, shooting furtive glances behind him as he went, but she noticed he eyed Mike’s door speculatively and that he didn’t drop the dildo.

Damn, I may have just done the bastard a favor, she thought as she pressed the button for the garage level.

When she got there, she ignored the curious looks as she made her way toward her truck, her ‘91 fire-engine red Jeep Cherokee Laredo. It was a little old and worn, like her, but it was reliable. Also like her, she decided, as she pressed the remote entry, tugged on the stubborn door, and slid behind the driver’s seat.

She turned to find something to throw on. It was getting rather cold, and she pumped the heat up to the max. She knew it would take a few moments to warm up, so she needed a blanket or a towel or something. But as she stared at the collection of stuff in her back seat, the sketchpads, the makeup kits, the in-line skates, the skateboard and the coiled bungee rope that rested under the Navajo blanket she finally spied, she felt a wave of depression come over her.

Was this how she lived her life, from one thrill to the next? She huffed as she wrapped the blanket around her body and stared at the lighted garage, thinking about her existence. Was there anything sexual that she hadn’t tried?

Probably not, but that last attempt at a three-way didn’t count. Frankly, she’d kind of lost her taste for the whole thing. And then there were her sports, her jumping, and kamikaze biking. The white water canoeing and trick boarding. Not to mention her stint as a BMX trick-rider that had ended with a leg broken in three places and an appreciation for wheelchair sports. She had learned to race her souped-up wheelchair after that one, and actually had done some neat two-wheel tricks with it.

But was that all she had in life? That and the comic book, the makeup, the book covers, and her correspondence with her two friends. They may have seemed straight-laced and boring, but she envied them. They knew where their life was going, they had purpose.

She only skated through life looking for the next thrill, the next adrenalin rush, and the next near-death experience she got high off of. And that depressed her even more.

And driving barefoot was no big thing to her. After all, she was a nature nut, an outcast, an extrovert, and an extremist. It was par for the course in a day for her. But as she started her car and slowly drove back to her hotel, a hotel room she shared with Aaron, she decided that the emperor had plenty of clothes.

Clothes for sports, clothes for partying, clothes for everyday life. Clothes for seduction. But the damn emperor was barefoot! Fuck clothes, she had no shoes, no grounding, no roots! And from her point of view, that was much sadder.

Chapter Two

His head slammed back against the tangled blankets on the sleep pad as he twisted his wrists inside of the padded cuffs. Sweat rolled from his body in rivers as his eyes, dazed and dilated, stared sightlessly into space. His breathing, already ragged, increased in rhythm as he felt his muscles began to tense, his back arched, and a burning tingling began at the base of his spine. Rolling his head from side to side, he bit his lip, his small fangs drawing blood that blended with the sweat running down his face as his body bounced on the padding.

“Yes!” the excited woman above shouted as she felt his balls draw up in their sac, and felt his substantial cock grow even more within the tight clasp of her body. “Yes! Soon it will all be mine!”

But nothing else was said as his body tensed, his mouth opened in a silent roar, as his release tore through his bound body, as his cock exploded deep within her, depositing his fluid into her hungry body. With a silent scream on his lips, Kell jerked upright and was struck by waves of nausea.

“That should do it, my prince,” the woman sneered as she stared down with cold silver eyes at the prone man. “After this, it will all surely belong to me.”

Her last words echoed in his mind as his eyes popped open and he struggled to regain his bearings, to find out where he was. Earth, he remembered, as he rolled to his knees and attempted to gain his feet. As he rose, he began to shiver as his body, not dressed for the chilly climate, reacted.

The small loin-skirt, all he could steal as he made his escape, was not a fit garment for a prince, let alone a lost traveler on the run for his life. But he had little choice in the matter. Stinza had seen to that.

Stinza was a pirate, and a good one, too! He almost admired her tenacity. The League had been trying to stop her for some time, but with little success. She always seemed to be a step ahead of the authorities and remained a menace to the twelve League planets and the people they served.

But he had learned something about Stinza after she attacked his ship and decided to keep him in sexual bondage. She wanted to go legitimate. She wanted to be a ruler. And she didn’t want to rule just any world.

She wanted his world. The whys and what-fors were easy enough to figure out. Female succession.

Lorndale was a matriarchal society, with the males happily being warriors and philosophers and peacefully co-existing with the female of the species, who were known to be the best mediators and peacekeepers. On his homeworld, the arts flourished. The warriors, male and female, trained not only mind and body, but spirit, and were formidable strategists.

Anyone gaining control of his people would have a formidable army at their disposal, the technology to create weapons of mass destruction, and would gain the upper hand when negotiating with other planets, League and non-League alike. And Stinza wanted that control.

Whore of nations, he silently spat as he replayed the destruction of his ship one last time. Three shots and it was over, his scout hunter overtaken by her heavier dreadnought, his communications shot, his body taken captive. He doubted that his quick alert to his guard had gotten through the jammer they used before they blasted him out of space, but he did manage to send off a distress call.

Twenty-three rotations, he thought as he looked around his barren surroundings. Twenty-three rotations around this backward planet that Stinza knew his people would avoid. No one wanted to be detected by this unenlightened colony of carbon sacks; no one wanted to disturb their growth and development. And no one wanted to fall victim to their brutality that survivors of crash landings reported.

So Stinza circled this barbarous world and tried to get issue from his seed, something that was doomed to failure. But he remembered when Stinza discovered why her prodigious drug-induced couplings with her captive prince yielded no pregnancy.

“How dare you!”

Uh, oh, he thought as Stinza barreled into the room, her usually pale face a mass of red fury.

“You have an implant!”

He would have shrugged if he wasn’t tied so tight, but the smug expression on his face said it all.

“Damn you, Kell!” she snarled before she snapped her fingers and two burly women entered the room.

“I know what you are, my prince,” she hissed as she bent over his prone body. “And I know what your seed is worth. You will deliver unto me what I most desire and then I will find a way to make an example out of you.”

“Find it, remove it, and drug him with our most powerful aphrodisiacs,” she snapped at the two zombie-like women. Then a wicked grin spread across her face. “Use the ones that mimic a mate-bond. I want a baby by this glowbug, I want him to lust after me more than his own life. I want him broken. Then you and the rest of the crew can have him.”

Not good, Kell thought as he fought down panic. If they could successfully mimic a mate-bond… And if she managed to break him, to turn him into a starving creature willing to do her every whim… If he remembered correctly, there were both male and female members in this particular crew. Not that he had anything against same-sex couplings, it was just that he didn’t think the men would take care in deflowering his royal ass. And the women…well, looking at the two who now eagerly bounced over to his pad, declined frequent bathing.

If he willingly let them abuse his body…

It was time to leave.

As he mentally worked over the plans he had been formulating, one of the women ran a glowing medical scanner over his body. Within seconds, she found the implant. While she was neutralizing its effectiveness with a powerful burst of radiation—thank the Creator that she didn’t opt for surgery—the other female was shooting him with an aphro far more powerful and far more dangerous than the ones Stinza had been using before.

Almost instantly, he felt a wave of heat pass through his body, felt his cock engorge with blood until it was throbbing most painfully, dripping pre-cum like a faucet. His skin began to take on a very agitated glow, becoming so sensitive that even the recycled air circulating in the room caused him to writhe and tug against the bindings that held him.

“And we’ll leave him for an hour or so,” Stinza smirked as she stared at his prone body. “Just to make sure he really wants to sow his seeds with me. His body will believe that it’s bonded with the first female who puts out enough sexual scent trails. That woman will be me.”

Giggling, she and her crew left the room, leaving Kell to his new torment, and to begin his desperate flight for freedom. But he knew that in this condition, he would not make it past the first guards before collapsing into a hungry lust-filled heap. There was only one thing for him to do.

Closing his eyes, he tried to ignore the flush of heat that seemed to surround his body, and tried to concentrate on his inner mind, to reach the part of him that would allow him to enter into his secular form, the energy form that would negate the effectiveness of the drugs while allowing him an added advantage most people never knew about.

The second form was a big secret among his people and hopefully would stay that way after he was gone from this captivity. He closed his eyes…and pictured himself flying. Within seconds, a glow floated from within his body, a glow that managed to lock away the effect of the powerful drug, while his new form subsumed the old.

There was a brilliant flash of light, and then Kell, first and only son of Landu and Kellista, was no more. And in his place was a small blue-winged creature. A creature with knowledge to operate a matter transference chamber that was easy to locate and enter when everyone was searching for a seven-foot man.

It was nothing for him to slip through a vent, fly low to evade a few dazed pirates, slip into the berth, and launch a transfer sequence before Stinza knew he was missing. The only problem, there was only one place to go. He knew he had to find safe haven and fast. Stinza would be able to track this transfer, and the only place he could lose her was the small blue planet with a large yellow sun.

Like a flash of lightning, he was zipped from the berth to land on what seemed to be a cold stretch of barren land. But in the distance, he saw lights. It was the logical place to go, he decided, if he wanted to evade Stinza and seek some type of help. He started walking, his body shivering with cold, but his eyes glowing with the fire of determination.

Chapter Three

“Oh God, yes!” Miz groaned as she tossed her head from side to side. Sweat beaded up on her forehead as her back arched off the bed, lifting her breasts as if in supplication to some unknown god. “Mmm,” she groaned again as shards of white heat shot though her body, radiating from around her swollen clit to strike different parts of her body.

Her nipples felt so engorged she was sure they were going to pop. Her arms and legs trembled with the strain of holding her body as it writhed on the tangled sheets. Her mouth opened, her breaths panting as one hand fisted in the rumpled bedclothes. Heat, waves of red heat, washed over her body, making her toes curl, her butt tremble, her wetness form a pool beneath her.

Then she felt it, that moment when her body took over, that all conscious thought was taken away. Her clit began to burn, her thighs began to shake as a small scream escaped her dry lips.

“Yes, yes, yes!” she whimpered over and over as her body tightened, drew in on itself, then suddenly imploded, sending clenching waves of release spinning throughout her body. Her inner walls clenched, jerked around the hard tube that drilled her cunt, trembling against the ungiving hardness that still drove into her, striking her sensitive areas, quivering against her spot, making tears run from her eyes. And in the very next second, a wave of hypersensitivity filled her, making the hard touch seem almost painful.

“Not real,” Miz groaned as she pulled the buzzing vibrator from her body with a wet sucking sound, its humming growing louder now that it was out of her body. Suddenly, it was all just too much! Her desires, her new awareness of her situation, her self-pity! It grew into a large knot inside her stomach, a knot of bitterness and regret.

Her orgasm was not real. It was as fake as the lifelike latex toy that had given it to her. There were no tender kisses to help ease her into the afterglow. There were no warm arms to hold her in comfort, to share the experience and to bask in the heat as it slowly faded from her body. There was nothing there for her, because it wasn’t real!

“Not fucking real!” she screamed as she lobbed the fake dick across the room and watched dispassionately as it exploded into three big pieces, its batteries dropping to the carpet as it gave its last buzz of life. “It is not real!” Tears filled her eyes as she stared at her long-time companion as it gave up the ghost.

“It was not real, you are not real, and I am fucking alone.” Her previously sated body curled around itself, huddling for protection from what her mind would not let go. Her life was empty, as empty as her cunt now that her toy was broken. What was the point of her even existing?

The sports? The people who hung around while she was making waves, but never visited her in the hospital when one of those waves wiped her out? She was as fake as the people she made up for cover shoots. She was as unreal as the models she posed, as two-dimensional as the characters she drew on the covers of books.

There was no Miznari! It was all a lie! She was some scared little girl who was still afraid of the dark and slept with stuffed animals.

“I’ve got to get out of here,” she croaked, her voice ready to give way to the screaming sobs building up inside of her. “I’m going for a walk.” She didn’t know why she was speaking out loud. It somehow made her feel all the more pitiful. She hushed and quickly threw on some clothes, snatched her key from a bedside table, and her backpack from a chair.

Sniffing and fighting to hold back the tears that threatened any minute, she made her way out of her room and into the deserted hall. She knew her eyes were red. She saw them reflected back at her in the metallic doors of the elevator. But it was the black look on her face that scared her the most. If she had no purpose, why was she still here?

Was she thinking of suicide? Her brain screamed denials as her heart said…maybe. What was the use of being here if it benefited no one, least of all, herself?

The elevator doors opened and Miz was greeted by a group of people, all in strange otherworldly costumes, giggling and having the time of their lives. She pushed her way in and stood in front of the doors, slamming her finger on the lobby button, trying her best to ignore the sounds of the shining happy people.

Why the hell were they so happy? There was a bug of some kind, with three beer bellies and a beard that was longer than the hair on her head! There was the shortest Amazon she had ever seen, wielding a plastic sword and seeming to possess the world in her hands. Then there was this horse-looking thing that she couldn’t tell—was it a man or a woman?

But they were all happy, their radiance contrasting starkly with the emptiness that was eating its way into her soul.

The doors could not have opened up faster. As soon as they began to slide to the sides, she exploded like a bullet from a gun. She made it three feet before she stopped again. All around her, the lobby had been transformed into something that looked like Mars! There were space creatures everywhere, alien and warriors, models and writers, reporters and curious readers.

The old Miznari would have jumped at the chance to join the fun, to be a part of the shining glittering throng. But with her awakened eyes, all she saw was the plastic façade and the nothingness it offered her. Her face dead, she turned and made her way to the exit, pushing past a group of fairies and vampires on their way inside.

She needed air! She couldn’t breathe. But there were more of them in the parking lots! People everywhere, sucking up the air, mocking her with their happiness, their smiling faces and their lives filled with purpose, even if that purpose was just to enjoy themselves for the night.

It was too much! She couldn’t take it! Turning, she made her way to the read of the building, to the Spectacular Mountain Range, and cold empty fields that backed the new hotel. Breaking into a run, she felt the tears flow freely as she scrambled over scrub grass and rocks, as she sought to escape, to make the pain go away.

She would run! She would run until nothing could find her, nothing could hurt her, until her mind went cold. She would run until her legs fell off!

She ran, her feet pounding on the hard-packed earth, her legs jarring with each punishing stride, her breath rasping in her body, her tears flowing freely. She ran. She ran until she was suddenly airborne.

A frightened shriek sprang past her lips as her arms wind-milled to keep her balance. But she was flying. Up, up, up! Then down, down, down. And the hard earth was waiting there to catch her fall. She landed with an audible oomph that tore the air from her lungs and sent her skidding across the rocky ground.

“Damn,” Miz grunted as she slid across the earth on her chest feeling every hard rock and soft lump of flesh…

Soft lump?

“Oh God!” she grasped as she struggled to her feet, looking around for what she fell on. Were there skunks in Virginia? Was it a cat? It was too little for a cat! A rat? EWW! Rabies? Was it a snake or a…?

It glowed. Miz rubbed her eyes in disbelief as she stared down at the crumpled bit of glowing flesh that lay in the indentation her body made as it skid across the fresh black mountain soil.

It was no more than a foot long, and it glowed faintly blue. There was a set of wings with strange black…tattoos, but one wing lay at an odd angle. It was covered in long bluish-white hair that shifted as its breaths moved its chest frantically in and out.

“Miz,” she gasped to herself as she stared in disbelief. “You landed on Tinkerbelle!” Bending over, she tentatively reached out her hands to touch it, jerking back with a moan as it gave a lurch and tried to sit up.

“Don’t move…” she trailed off, not knowing what to call it. “Don’t move. I have to check you for…damage?”

The thing shuddered then turned its head in her direction, and Miz was caught by a pair of almost milky-white blue eyes. It shook its head, and as she watched, it sat fully up, wincing, as its movements pulled at the injured wing on its back. It cradled one arm as if it hurt, as it seemed to gather its bearings. It glared at her, she knew, but as it used one hand to toss its hair behind its back, she noticed that it was a he. It was wearing a loincloth of some rough-looking material and he was not happy.

“Oh geez,” Miz moaned as she practically danced from foot to foot, wanting to get close to help it, but not sure if she should. Finally, reaching a decision, she reached down to touch it, and watched as it began to more than glow! The thing lit up like a drunken Southern belle at a Rough Riders convention.

Was it going to hurt her, seek its revenge, cast some spell? Whatever it was doing, it glared up at her as it began to glow brighter and brighter! Then in a flash, it seemed to explode, blinding Miz as she desperately tried to see what was going on. As her sight cleared, she noticed that he now lay prone on the ground not moving, not glowing.

“I killed Tinkerbelle!” Miz groaned as she stood looking down at the small fairy. “No, I killed Tinkerbelle’s brother!”

Chapter Four

Stealth was never a game plan with Miz, so the skulking through the lobby filled with partying people, rather than making a grand entrance, was hard! But she had to do what she had to do! And what she had to do was sneak the little glowbug back into her room without letting anyone in on what she had. She stuck her head around the corner, Tink bundled up in her jacket, and began, as unobtrusively as possible, make her way to the bank of elevators across the room.

“I hope I don’t have to explain this,” she muttered to herself as she tried to remember if there was ever a penalty placed on those who killed a fairy. She needed to bone up on her fairy lore, she decided as she made it another few feet without being noticed.

Hunched over a bit, she cut her gaze to the right and the left before darting around an aging Joan of Arc, and sidestepping around a six-foot Yoda. “Almost here,” she muttered, wondering when she had picked up this habit of talking to herself, when she collided with a large form and found herself falling back on her ass, where she bounced twice, clutching her bundle to her chest.

“Watch where you’re going!” she growled as she looked up and groaned. “Aaron,” she sighed as her shoulders drooped. “What did I do to deserve this day?” she asked herself again, rolling her eyes as she realized she spoke out loud and Aaron’s face was now filled with guilt.

“Miz, let me explain,” he stuttered quickly, reaching down to offer her a hand.

Now Miz was in a quandary. Should she accept his hand and his unspoken agreement to listen to him while exposing a glowing blue fairy that she couldn’t explain and quite possibly murdered, or should she be a total bitch and get up on her own, giving him the unspoken clue to fuck off?

Decisions, decisions, decisions! Bitch won out. Snorting, Miz carefully moved one hand from her bundle and braced herself on the floor. Then with a million-dollar smile on her face, levered herself to her knees, then rolled to her feet, not jostling Tink at all. Once at her full height, she smiled at Aaron…then turned away, cutting him off before he could speak a word.

But Aaron was a persistent little bugger, well, after seeing him in the buff, big bugger. “Miznari, wait! I have to talk to you! Give me a chance to…”

“Make a scene?” Miz hissed as she realized that they were becoming the focus of a small group of partygoers. Anything that would spread gossip seemed to attract this group, and she wanted none of this to reach her friends. They didn’t need to know what a complete fuck-up she had become.

“I only want to talk,” Aaron sighed, running his hands through his short dark hair in frustration. “I never meant for this to happen, honey! You have to believe me!”

That was true, she thought as she watched him stare at her, eyes filled with emotion. She remembered how he reached for her, trying to make her a part of the scene or to get him out of it, before Mike dropped low and made the Vacu-suc people ashamed of their suction and the Floor Devil people jealous.

“I know, Aaron,” she sighed. “But I just need…”

“Need?” Aaron asked, puzzled by her sudden quiet.

“Time,” she gasped, backing up suddenly, clutching at her stomach. Tink had begun to move, so at least he wasn’t dead! But he didn’t seem all that happy either. And the last thing she could explain was a twelve-inch anatomically correct—she had to look—fairy bursting out of her stomach like some creature in a horror movie. And to make it worse, he was beginning to glow! She knew without looking down! She could feel that tension tightening his tight little body and hear that familiar huffing.

“Miz?” Aaron asked, stepping forward, concerned. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing!” she all but shouted as she backed up a bit more, hunching over to hide the glow that would surely be breaking out soon. “I just need to go to my room and…think.”

“You are acting weird, honey! Are you ill?” At his words, several concerned people began to murmur and approach offering assistance.

“No!” she shouted making them all gasp and back up a bit. “I’m fine! I just need to get to my room!” Then the huffing became louder and a glow began to peek out from around the edges of her jacket.

“What the…?”

People began to gather, curious about what was going on. If this was some convention stunt, it looked to be getting a big draw.

“It’s…It’s nothing, Aaron! I have to go!” But Tink took that moment to start glowing like a June bug. Shafts of white and blue light exploded from her jacket, blinding her and a few others as they leaned in close to see what was what.

“Miz!” Aaron called out, shock in his voice, and he stared wide-eyed at her abdomen. Suddenly, the jacket jumped, and almost jerked right out of her arms. In fact, it pulled away about a foot before she was able to jerk it back into the safety of her stomach.

“What the hell?”

“Damn!” Miz gasped as she struggled to hold on to the suddenly gyrating pouch. She had to take a step back and brace herself as Tink nearly jerked her off her feet in a bid for freedom.

“Miznari!” Aaron gasped, wide-eyed as he watched Miz do a weird form of a tango as she tried to keep control of whatever was bundled in her jacket.

“Uh, gotta go?” she gasped at a particularly hard jerk, then yelped as the jacket ripped out of her arms. She watched, as if in slow motion, as the jacket flew a foot into the air, flopped open, and a bedraggled blue fairy spilled out.

There were gasps of amazement and wonder as the tiny man with the crumpled wings tried to flutter them, but one listed to the side while the other rapidly beat, the result of which was he was going nowhere! Before anyone could speak, Miz reached down and snatched him up, bundling him in the jacket again and smiling sickly at the crowd.

“What the hell is that?” Aaron asked, his eyebrows rising up to almost get lost in his hairline as he gaped at her and the buzzing jacket.

“Um, what?” she asked, her voice breathy in shock. “You never saw a blue fairy vibrator before?”

Chapter Five

“It’s in the wings,” she whispered as she leered at a woman who looked suddenly interested in owning a blue fairy of her own.

“Uh,” Aaron began, but Miz grabbed his hand and pulled him to the bank of elevators.

“Time to test it out, lover!” she choked out as she pulled Aaron toward the elevators.

“Way to go, dude!” some yahoo called out as the elevator doors opened and Miz almost knocked the exiting people aside to get to its safety. “What a wild woman!”

Smiling sickly, she hit the button for her floor and let out a huge sigh. “Thank you, God!” she muttered as she sank against the far corner, but groaned when she looked up and realized that Aaron wasn’t buying it.

“Blue fairy?” he asked, arching one eyebrow as he took in the panic on her face.

“Newest in feminine pleasure,” she chuckled, then sobered. “And I need all the feminine pleasure I can get after tonight.”

Aaron winced and ran his hands over his face. “I’m trying to tell you what happened,” he began. “But I think what you are hiding is more important.”

“It’s a…”

“Don’t lie to me Miz! You never could do it well to begin with, and I can always tell when you are. And I have never heard of a Blue Fairy Vibrator, and I should know! I damn near own a sex toy shop, Miz! Spill it!” He never got any further because the doors slid open and Miz rushed out into the empty hallway, holding the buzzing package close to her body, Aaron hot on her heels.

“It’s nothing! Really!” she called out, not sure why she was reluctant to tell her best friend in the whole world what she had done. Like murdering creatures of legend was something to be ashamed of! Well, not murdered. He was obviously alive!

Holding tightly to her package, she swiped her key card and dashed inside just as the jacket again exploded from her arms. This time it landed on her bed before the jacket opened, spilling a very irritated looking fairy onto the rumpled covers.

“Oh, shit!” Aaron whispered, awe in his voice. “It’s alive!”

But Miz’s eyes were on the tiny creature. He narrowed his eyes at her before struggling to stand up, looking a bit dazed and alarmingly cute as he moved. He tried to wiggle his wings again, but winced and gasped silently as the movement obviously caused him some pain.

“Oh, oh, oh!” Miz wailed, wringing her hands and dancing from foot to foot like the mourners in a Greek chorus. “I am so sorry!”

The fairy glared at her as he attempted to straighten his good wing, but winced again as if moving his arm caused him more pain. He paused to glare at her one more time, cradling his arm to his chest, before he began to really buzz and glow. Miznari recognized him doing this from out in the field and shielded her eyes.

“Shit!” Aaron gasped as light exploded and caught him unprepared.

But Miz, who had her hands covering her eyes, looked down and saw a frustrated fairy spitting fire with his eyes.

“What is that?” Aaron gasped as his eyes recovered.

“It’s a fairy, Aaron! A blue fairy!”

“And what is it doing here?” he asked stepping to her side and staring in awe at the small, well-formed man.

“I kind of went for a run…”

“In the middle of the night? Are you daft?”

“And I kind of…fell on him.”

“You fell on him,” his voice was devoid of emotion.

“It was an accident!” Miz wailed as she stared at the fairy and he stared back.

“You fell on the greatest find of the twenty-first century?”

“It was an accident!” Miz wailed again. “And he’s not a find! He’s hurt and I have to fix this!”

“How are you going to fix…this?” Aaron shouted, pointing at the fairy who transferred his glare from Miz to him, making him jerk back as if punched.

“It’s a ‘him’, Aaron. And I don’t know how, but I have to fix this!”

* * * * *

I must have landed on a colony for the mentally deranged, Kell thought as he stared at the dark woman who had fallen on him and the tall man who argued with her. He couldn’t understand a thing they said, not until he came into contact with one of them, but the female appeared remorseful, and the man frightened. As he watched the two spouted their gibberish, he tried to take stock of his injuries.

He knew that there was some wing damage in addition to his arm, because when he tried to take his corporeal form, the pain caused him to black out. But he knew that he had to take his normal size soon and get away from these two insane ones. He had a mission! He had to get back and warn the Royals that that creature knew their secrets and was conspiring to rule!

Closing his eyes, he began the trance that would lead his mind to calm during the physical transformation. He felt his energy begin to glow around his body, like an aura, then the pain struck him in waves! Not again! he thought before a wave of darkness overtook him.

* * * * *

“He’s dead again!” Miz screamed out suddenly as the fairy tilted over and passed out. “What do you do for fairies to bring them back?” she cried out, turning to Aaron and gripping the lapel of his jacket.

“Buy them a drink and do the oral kiss of death!” he replied, just as frantically as he watched the little blue man pass out.

“Aaron!” Miz turned and glared at him.

“I’m a vet! How would I know? I don’t do fairies! Um, unless you count Richard, but that was a one night-stand and I swore I’d never do another drag queen as long as I lived!” Aaron replied, running his fingers through his hair and shaking as he tried to think.

“Think of something!”

“Clap!” he shouted as he snapped his fingers. “You had to clap for Tinkerbelle, remember?”

“Clap? This ain’t no children’s book!”

“You got a better idea? And they had to know something! They were the ones who told us about Tinkerbelle!”

“Clap?”

“Clap!”

So they clapped! They leaned over the small body and they clapped as if their lives were depending on it.

“Not working!”

“Tell him you believe in him!”

“What?”

“That was the second half! You had to scream you believe!” By this time, Aaron was almost as frantic as Miz.

“Okay! I believe!” she screamed. “I believe in you! I believe!”

“Way to go!” a muffled voice screamed from behind their closed door. “You da man! Got a standing ovation and all!”

But Miz and Aaron ignored the colorful commentary as the fairy blinked once, then jerked to a sitting position, hands over his ears.

“Yes!” Miz screamed. “Yes!”

“Work it! Work it!” screamed the jokers, but again they were ignored as Miz dropped to her knees beside the bed and gazed at the blue fairy.

“We did it, Aaron!” she sighed, calming down. “We saved him!”

Chapter Six

What was wrong with these beings? Kell thought as he tried to protect his delicate ears from the raucous noise that now filled the room. What had happened? Oh, he thought. I tried to take my true form again.

He winced as he brought his injured arm down again, glaring at the two. Well, at least they brought him out of the dark.

* * * * *

“He’s hurt! His arm!” Miz breathed, eyeing the fairy carefully. “Fix it, Aaron.”

“I don’t know nothing ‘bout fixing no fairies! Besides, shouldn’t we call the government or something? He may be dangerous!”

“Didn’t you see Alien Autopsy?” Miz glared at him. “The next thing you know, they will be dissecting him for parts or something. We have to fix him and let him go.”

“Go where?”

“Well, he was behind the hotel, out in the field. Maybe they live out there somewhere?”

“In the wilds of Virginia?”

“Stranger things have happened,” she muttered as she turned to glare at him. “Like your boyfriend making a play for your best friend and getting the goods.”

Aaron blushed. “Well, he didn’t actually get the goods,” Aaron sighed.

“Well, from the level of the ‘Oh Gods’ that were being bandied about, I figured someone was seeing angels. Or is your name God now?”

“That’s what I’m trying to explain!” Aaron let his frustrations show as he began to pace the room. “Nothing happened.”

“Nothing happened? He was sucking on you like you were the last oxygen hose in a dust storm! That was nothing?”

“It was nothing.”

“That’s an impressive nothing.”

“Thank you,” Aaron said, blushing.

“His technique, not your pizzle!”

“Pizzle?” Aaron actually looked insulted before continuing. “That’s not the point. The point is that when you left, the bugger turned into Octopussy, and I am not talking about the doctor from the Bond flick!”

“Huh?” Now she was curious, though she kept her eyes on the fairy.

“Huh? Huh, nothing! I tried to get Romeo off of me, to get to you, and the bastard decided to get rough! Started talking about Greco-Roman wrestling holds and shit.”

“But the bed! It was hopping!”

“That was me, trying to get away. And then he decided to take what he wanted.”

“My God! Aaron!” Miz gasped as she rose to her feet, looking over her best friend. “Did he hurt you? Did that son-of-a-bitch rape you?” Before he could answer, Miz was going for her bookbag…and the brass knuckles it contained.

“No, hon! I managed to get away. It was him squealing when I tried to knock his nuts through his nostrils. Almost succeeded, too.”

“Oh, Aaron!”

“It’s okay, hon! I got out of there only to find the place in shambles! Mike is seriously pissed, and that made me laugh. But I started crying when I realized my ride had abandoned me.” He looked at her, as if expecting her to show some remorse, but was sorely disappointed. She just shrugged.

“Have a nice walk?” she asked, her expression gamine.

“That’s my girl,” Aaron laughed, then turned his attention to the fairy again. “Maybe I can fix his wing.”

“What?”

“His wing, Miz. It’s listing to the side. Maybe I can fix it and his arm. Can’t be much different that fixing a bird.”

“Oh, Aaron! Can you?” Miz dropped her bag and turned a big smile onto her best friend.

“Sure. Anything for a…friend? A best friend?”

“Best friends,” Miz sighed as she turned to watch the fairy, who was watching them in return. “Can you do it now?”

“I can try,” Aaron decided as he stepped closer to the bed. “But if he curses me and my pizzle falls off, I’m gunning for your brass balls, babe!”

“My balls are made of steel!” Miz winked as she moved closer to the bed, desperately trying to explain to the fairy what was going to happen.

Chapter Seven

Kell watched the female walk over, a concerned expression on her face. He had no idea what they were discussing, but at first the female was tense and the male worried. They seemed to have settled their difference, though, for they presented a united front when they faced him. The female was gesturing to her back, pulling on imaginary wings and pointing to the man. She had no wings, so what…?

Oh! His wings? She was concerned about his wings? She wasn’t concerned when she flopped on him, he thought, but then realized maybe she really was feeling remorseful. Wings, he decided. And he nodded cautiously, waiting for her to continue. But in the meantime, he began to consciously expand his energy, his aura, trying to expel the drugs from his corporeal form.

There was more than one use for the size shift, especially for a breed warrior. He could effectively repair his corporeal form if he concentrated, though the pain in his wing and arm would stop him from changing shapes until the bones were realigned. The reason for this was that any injury incurred in his secular form would carry over into the corporeal one. Which was a maddening thing considering he could take the secondary form to repair damage done to the primary one. But this was something his people had learned to live with.

So concentrating, he began to expunge the drugs from his system, sending them from his corporeal body in a hazy energy field, hoping to dispel them harmlessly into the atmosphere where they would dissipate without any fuss. And with it, he would send out a physic probe, anything to be able to determine what these beings were speaking of! Well, as long as the probe and the aphro didn’t come into another energy source…

* * * * *

“He understands!” Miz grinned as she finished gesturing to her back in some wild charades kind of way. “You can fix him, Aaron! He understands.” Smiling, Miz walked over to him and reached out to cup him in her hands, to show him that they meant him no harm.

But as she reached for him, a sudden glow flowed around him. Before she could pull back, her finger grazed his leg and… The resounding explosion of light blasted her across the room.

Chapter Eight

“Ahhh,” Miz gasped as her back slammed into the far wall.

“Miz!” Aaron bellowed her name, but her ability to answer was ripped from her as her muscles began to spasm.

What…? she was able to think, before the first wave hit her! It felt as if there were a million mouths suckling at her nipples, mouths on her clit, moist tongues lapping at the suddenly sensitive skin of her inner thighs, the small of her back, the curve of her neck.

Then there were the fingers, the harsh-rough-tender fingers caressing every inch of her flesh, pressing into places that sent desire spiking through her, that stole her breath with their demanding movements.

Behind her eyes, the whole of the universe opened before her, flashing stars, and bright colors filled her mind as the pleasure began to take over. Her body arched and her fingers grabbed at thin air as her nipples tightened beneath the suddenly uncomfortable barrier of her favorite shirt. Her bra was an irritant that had to go!

Her hands struggled to reach behind, to free the clasp that held her breasts confined, but another wave hit her, pole-axed her, and she groaned as her hands fell uselessly to her sides. There was a pulsing within her body, a gnawing hunger that began to rapidly spread, going from her abdomen to her breasts, then spreading in ever widening circles until every part of her being became one immense erogenous zone.

She whimpered, then curled into a fetal position, trying to hold the pieces of her soul together, hold on to the pieces that the explosion she felt gathering deep within her loins would send flying across the galaxy! Her hands shook as her skin, inflamed by the phantom caresses, became ultra sensitive. Her whole body shook, demanding completion that seemed just out of reach, furtive, and teasing.

Never had she felt such emotions before! She felt erotic, loved, beautiful. She was being made love to from the inside out! Every thought, every breath, every movement incurred more pleasure to flood her overtaxed system, leaving her panting and breathing for something more.

“Please…” she gasped, but to whom? There was no one there! In her mind, she knew there was no one there, no one caressing her, dragging her into the heights of ecstasy she had never experienced before. This was better than the most dangerous stunt she had every done, better than completing the perfect illustration, better than making someone who was breathtaking into someone who was stunning and watching them bask in her newfound glory.

This was worth all that she had done in her life, and more, was more fulfilling and tangible than anything she had ever laid her puny mortal hands to. And she had yet to feel the orgasms the phantom hands promised. Soon the pleasure wound up so tightly within her that she had to move, she could no longer sit still and accept it! There had to be some kind of release or she would go mad!

Her head flew backward, her arms out, her upper body arched off the floor, as she welcomed the flooding rush of ecstasy that began to take over her, that sent her writhing on the floor, that sent the lips of her pussy quivering, her own essence running down her thighs.

“Yes! Please yes!” she screamed as her hips arched into the air, winding and gyrating, creating an erotic display that would be enough to take out any normal man. But all her motions did was increase the pleasure flowing and pulsing through her.

As she moved, the cotton of her thong rubbed and pressed against a clit that was so aroused that it seemed to glow red-hot! Again and again she arched into that caress, the material offering some measure of release as it tightened the coil within her. Then just as suddenly as it began, the sexual tension seemed to snap!

Her mind froze, her body stiffened, and her soul sang as her inner walls clenched and tightened, driving spikes of pure pleasure straight into her brain. Too intense for a scream, a whimper escaped her as her body turned from a tight knot into jelly as the fist of lust that held her loosened its grasp and she slid down completely to the carpet with a groan. The sound of her rough breathing filled the room as small quivers, aftershocks really, filled her body. Was she dead? Had she seen the angels at play? How could she have survived this? And more importantly…when could she do it again?

Chapter Nine

“Damn!” Aaron watched as Miz screamed in obvious delight, her back arching as wave after wave of release tore through her. He looked down at his crotch and felt it becoming uncomfortably tight as he responded to the sexual tension filling the room.

“I want what she had,” he breathed as he turned to look at the small blue man, no way was he calling him a little blue fairy, and watched as he seemed to shake his head a few times and blink owlishly at Miz.

“Oh, my God,” Miz managed as her body dropped limply back to the floor. “What the hell was that?” Panting, she rolled to her side, breath rasping, and curled up into a fetal ball. Damn, wet underwear was so uncomfortable!

These people are insane, Kell thought as he tried to recover from the blast of the energy absorption. He felt dazed and weak and confused. Had she been able to absorb his energy? And if she could, did her body take on the aphros he was expelling? He peered closer at her, noted the dazed look in her eyes, the heavy breathing, the languid muscles, and decided that it was a safe assumption.

Dritch! he thought the mild curse, as his mind recalled what it felt like to be under the influence of those particular drugs. He wouldn’t wish it on his worst enemy, and yet this human seemed to have been able to draw them into her body.

What reaction did aphros have on humans? He had no idea, no one ever bothered to snatch a sample human to test the stuff on. This could be bad.

“Dritch?” Miz panted as she finally managed to pull herself up in a somewhat seated position. “And I am not insane!”

“Uh, Miz?” Aaron asked as he blinked at her, concern evident in his gaze. “What are you talking about?”

“Him!” Miz responded weakly, struggling to lift her arm, but giving up when her muscles laughed at her. “Him,” she said as she gestured with a shake of her head. “Tinkerbelle.”

“Um, Miz?” Aaron said as he took a step closer to his friend. “He didn’t say a word.”

“Of course he did!” she argued as she rapidly blinked her eyes. She had never been the victim of an orgasmic daze before, but it had to be this! She still felt like she was floating. “He’s cursing, I think.”

Kell stared at the human in wonder. He could actually understand what she was saying, what the male was saying. Joy.

“Now he’s being sarcastic,” Miz added. “At least that’s what it feels like.”

“Miz? Do you need to see a doctor?” Aaron asked as he finally got the nerve to go and assist her to a standing position, well, leaning position. And he was the leaning post.

Doctor? Kell asked, shooting his thoughts to Miz. What is doctor? And why have you brought me here? You can’t be agents of Stinza. You are too…interesting-looking.

“Interesting-looking?” Miz snorted as she managed to turn her head to glare at the fairy. “I’m not the one decked out in International Male’s latest thong collection. And I’m not blue! For goodness sakes, Smurfs and Snorks are blue! Whoever heard of the Blue Fairy? And what’s a Stinza?”

“Um, Miz?” This came from a very concerned-looking Aaron.

What is a fairy? Kell asked.

Miz groaned. Two harping men in her head and in her room! She was paying for that damn mind-blowing orgasm. It was mind-blowing, though.

“I can hear him, Aaron. Can’t you?”

“Um, not as such, no,” Aaron replied as he eased her into a chair. “And I’m not sure that you can either. Did you bump your head when he blasted you? I should swat his ass like the mosquito he is!”

Mosquito? came from Kell. Mosquito and fairy? What are these creatures and will they aid me?

“I didn’t bump my head, Aaron. And a fairy is what you are, blue one!” Miz sighed as she lay her head back and tried to get her gross motor skills functioning. Why did men have to be so damn lippy?

I am no fairy! Kell insisted, crossing his arms over his chest and shooting the human a telling glare. I am the prince of…

“If you didn’t bump your head, why are you talking to yourself?”

“I’m not talking to myself!” Miz grumbled as she glared back and forth between the two. “And I don’t care if you are the prince of Bum Fuck Egypt! You don’t give orgasms to women you’ve just met! And why is the feeling building again?”

“What?”

What?

This from two different sides of the room, from two different voices, and was understood by two very different parts of her brain.

“Aaron, I can understand the blue prince over there, at least he says he’s a prince. You? Blue prince or whatever you are! What the hell did you do to me?” This was met by silence.

“Answer me!” she all but bellowed before an almost crippling wave of desire flowed over her. It seemed to swarm, starting at her stomach and climbing to her chest. She suddenly found it quite difficult to breathe as tingling shock waves swarmed over her skin, making it extremely sensitive. She felt her inner muscles begin to clench involuntarily, begging for the hollowness they created to be filled, demanding to be slammed, pulsing with want.

“Damn, it’s building again!” She managed to struggle to her feet and made her way slowly to the bathroom, ignoring the shocked looks from both men. A cold bath sounded good, damn good, right about now! And the boys were starting to get on her nerves!

Once she had these wanton desires…did she just think wanton? Yes! Wanton was the perfect word to describe them! Once she had these wanton desires under control, she could deal with the blue man, her best friend, and maybe deal with the freak show her life seemed to be becoming!

Her life had taken a very strange turn. First a blue glow in the dark, then meeting well-built fairies, and then phantom spontaneous orgasms! She needed relief!

“Hormones,” Aaron wisely responded.

Hormones, Kell echoed in her mind.

From two different voices, from two different directions, understood by two different parts of her mind. “I heard that!” she screamed as she slammed the door and began to pull off her clothes, tossing them around the room as she tried to make sure the water was cold. Extra cold!

Chapter Ten

Aaron and Kell glared at each other. The sudden departure of Miz from the room seemed to cast an uncomfortable pallor over the room. It seemed that she was the bridge that kept the two from doing that masculine test of dominance. But now that she was gone, presumably in the shower, the two glared at each other.

“I don’t think that she can understand you,” Aaron began as he scowled at the blue man on the bed. “But she brought you here and I promised to help you.”

Kell, understanding the man perfectly, rolled his eyes and tried to look defiant.

Looking defiant was really hard when you were the size of some man’s foot, but he glared and wished for his corporeal form. Let’s see the man harass a full fledged…

What was he doing now? Sighing, Aaron walked over to rummage through his bags that he left in the room when they began this disastrous trip. There had to be something in there to set a bird’s wing! Glancing back at the small man, Aaron shook his head and sighed. Okay, so it wasn’t a bird, but it was close enough.

Shaking his head at this foolishness, he turned his attention to Miz’s luggage. She had to have something in there! Women waxed with those popsicle sticks, right? Maybe a tampon or two. Their applicators were cardboard, if he remembered his feminine product commercials correctly. And they were biodegradable too! Good for the environment. A fairy, if that’s what it truly was, would appreciate that.

Kell watched as the strange male muttered to himself and he dug through some type of…baggage? The first set was discarded quickly, and he went for the second, the one that held the scent of the female.

He could smell her scent. Because she wrapped him up in her garment when she brought him through the huge room with all the even stranger creatures, though a few looked familiar to him. It was also her scent on the bedding he rested upon. It was getting so that he could pick her scent out of a room!

Her scent really got intense when she absorbed the aphros, and he knew her arousal only made the scent stronger. And what a wondrous scent it was, too! Musky and fresh, but distinctly feminine. As he thought about it, he felt the urge to adjust his loincloth, as the blood began to flow down his body and into his hardening cock, making his covering tent out and the flush of embarrassment fill his face.

He had to get his mind off of the woman. He cast one look at the man rifling through the baggage and felt the blush deepen. To show arousal in the face of another male…

He wondered what the male was now doing. He seemed agitated as he tossed items around and muttered under his breath. This could be the preparation for an attack! Kell readied his defenses and readied his body for the upcoming battle.

“Damn, Miz!” Aaron gasped as he stopped tossing and stared inside the bag with something akin to amazement. There had to be at least three boxes of condoms, a pair of metal handcuffs, two butt plugs, at least three dildos that he refused to even touch, a set of nipple clamps with fuzzy prongs, a vibrator that looked to have a remote control, three types of lube (one flavored), a blue plastic egg that vibrated on contact, and a box of Tim Tams.

“What was she planning on doing to us?” he asked himself, quite aware that if the threesome had happened, she would have educated him in ways that were as frightening as they were intriguing. “And why is she hording Tim Tams?” That had to be the gravest offense of all! He wondered if she had any more stashed around. The sound of shifting material made him turn to stare at the blue man, who in turn stared at him, a question in his eyes.

“Damn,” Aaron breathed as he dropped the bag and sank onto the bed, next to Tink, but far enough away so that physical contact, even by accident, was impossible.

“What am I supposed to be doing here? I don’t believe this! My best friend has gone insane and there is a blue thing sitting here…with an erection! Just great!”

Aaron leapt off of the bed and glared at Kell.

“I don’t do fairies!” he snorted to Tink and watched as a blush filled his face.

Like I would lower myself to touch a whining, loud-mouthed, talkative Dritch like you, Kell thought as he tried to hide his embarrassment by shooting his best warrior face.

But it lacked oomph when the face that glared at you was only an inch or so big. “What’s with Miz?” Aaron spoke out loud just so that he could hear himself speak. He suddenly had the strange premonition that Tink could understand him. Besides, he was uncomfortable under the stare of the blue man, and he hated feeling uncomfortable. “What the hell can she be doing in there?”

Then with a heartfelt sigh, he turned to the blue man again.

“I’m going to fix your wing. No funny business!”

Oh, joy. Kell rolled his eyes as he too waited for the strange female to return. Like I am so eager for the merging of flesh that I would take on a lesser, talkative, annoying, male!

“I saw a few razors in her bag,” Aaron said. “We can take off the heads and use them to hold your wing in place. Too bad I couldn’t find tampons.”

Razors? Tampons? That didn’t sound quite right or satisfactory.

“Or maybe her makeup kit has something. Those razors are expensive, and I don’t want her to take a chunk out of my ass.”

Kell’s eyes widened in confusion. Now that couldn’t be right! She would eat off a part of him if he disappointed her? But she didn’t have the teeth for that! Kell watched as the strange man lumbered across the room to open and poke into a small box in the corner. When he opened it up, much to Kell’s surprise, a drawer came shooting out. Oh! The wonder of it all! Secret storage compartments! And the colorful tubes they hid inside!

His curiosity began to get the better of him. No one knew much about Earthlings, and this could be of great importance to his people! He dropped his scowl and managed to make his way to the edge of the platform he was sitting on. Eagerly he leaned over to get a closer look and…

“Eureka!” Aaron shouted, and Kell tumbled neatly from the bed with an audible thump.

“Blue man?” Aaron turned at the sound of the thump, confused when his little fairy-like friend was not in attendance. “Now where the hell did he go? Blue man? Tink?” Then he caught sight of a crumpled figure, wings akimbo, right in the middle of Miz’s goodie bag.

“Oh boy,” he sighed as the figure didn’t react to the sound of his voice. “Miz is going to kill me.”

Chapter Eleven

Silence! That damn voice was finally silent! Miznari leaned back in the tub, exhaling a deep cleansing breath as peace descended into her mind. It wasn’t that she was picking up his thoughts exactly. But his emotions were overwhelming!

There was surprise and curiosity underlined by a huge ounce of fear and depression. There was also a lot of anger, and some of it was self-directed. Add a strong arousal, for Miz knew what arousal felt like, and aggression, and you had the primordial soup of emotions that were swimming around in her head.

Whoever he was, the little blue man had some major issues. He was almost as bad as she was! And that was saying something. His emotions came in waves, threatening to pull her under, and when they combined with her own misery, that was enough to make her want to sleep her life away.

But abruptly, they cut off, and now she was taking a well-deserved break. In freezing cold water. What had that little…bastard done to her? She was still feeling the nagging waves of desire climbing across her skin. When she closed her eyes, all she would envision was being tangled up in a nest of white-blue hair!

She could almost picture how soft his skin would be, despite the heavy play of muscles. She would feel engulfed, treasured, protected in his embrace. His smell would serve to inflame her already passion-drenched senses! The love play would be a bit rough because of his size, but very worth it. His cock would pulse in her hand, fill her mouth with the wonderful flavor of…

Wait!

He was only a foot tall! What the hell was she thinking? Miz scowled down at the body that was betraying her. But what if it was her mind? What if he had reprogrammed her to…

“Stop thinking stupid!” she growled to herself as she ran her hands over her arms and shivered as her veins seem to tingle as the fire of lust flowed through her body. Her nipples were straining upright and hard, so engorged that the cool air seemed to stimulate them more. Almost without thinking, her fingers dropped to her nipples, softly stroking the small buttons before giving one a firm pinch.

“Mmm,” she breathed as she felt the moist flesh between her legs swell further, felt the warm spurt of her wet heat drip from her opening to cool in the cold water of the tub. Slippery. She felt slippery. Her hand dropped low, pushed through the cold water to hone in on her hungry pussy.

“Yeah,” she breathed, but it was still not enough. Groaning, she added another finger, stretching herself and searching for the right spot.

“Mmm,” she moaned as her fingers grazed over it, her body shivering in reaction. It wasn’t so hard to find, she thought, as gentle waves of pleasure began to course up her body. Her free hand lifted to caress her right breast, her fingers tightening on the nipple and rolling it tenderly between her fingers.

All it took was a little concentration and a little time…

“Yes,” she breathed. Her eyes slowly closed as her head fell back to rest on the lip of the tub, rolling gently from side to side. But soon her thrusting fingers weren’t enough. Dropping her hand from her breast, she used her free thumb to search out her hooded clitoris, her body shivering in anticipation, as she found and gently circled the hard nub.

“Ah!” she called out, unable to stop the small sound of pleasure as the shock of energy from her clitoris spread to the button deep inside she was lovingly stroking. The water splashed around her, leaving crystal droplets on her face as her body jerked at the delicious stimulation.

Her thrusting fingers eased as she applied additional pressure to her clit, rubbing and plucking it, sending waves of rapture flowing through her body. Her hand reached out and gripped the edge of the cold porcelain tub, her knuckles paling as fingers tightened in an almost painful grip. Her breaths became panting whimpers as small slivers of sound escaped her parted lips.

Faster and faster her fingers moved, the spiraling pleasure building and building. Finally, with a shout, the tension broke and her body began clenching and spasming as her climax tore through her.

“Yes,” she sighed as her body began to wind down, as her passions began to spiral down. “Ah.” Then she realized how cold the water actually was. And the fact that she had just had an orgasm induced by fantasies of a twelve-inch blue fairy.

“Damn,” she gasped as she jerked the plug out of the tub with her toe and then used the other foot to kick on the hot water. “Men!” she groused. “I refuse to let another one of them ruin my good mood! Even a twelve-inch Ken doll with wings!”

Chapter Twelve

Slowly regaining her breath, Miz pulled herself out of the tub and absently reached for a nearby towel. Carefully patting the water spots from her body, she stifled a groan as she felt the returning heat reclaim her senses. She just had multiples! What was wrong with her?

Sighing, she wrapped the towel around her body and pushed open the bathroom door. Maybe Aaron had fixed the little blue man and he could fix what he had done to her before she tossed his flower flitting blue ass back into the wild! But when she entered the room, she discovered that Aaron was not there.

Looking around, she saw that not only had he gone, but her stash of goodies had been thoroughly invaded! And he went through her makeup kit as well! He had better not have run off with her fairy…or her Tim Tams!

But then she noticed a lump on her bed and walked over to take a closer look. There, nestled under one of her silk scarves, was the little blue culprit himself! She glowered down at the prone form, forgetting that she was the one who fell on him, and wishing she could wrap her hands around his tiny blue neck and…

Inhale his masculine scent! She wanted to taste his skin, to suck and chew on the softness of it until she discovered if his passion marks would be purple!

She blinked rapidly, trying to dispel the image of a naked fairy chained to her bed at her total mercy. What did he do to her? Pulling the scarf back, she realized that she was missing a few wax applicator sticks and that Tink had a set of new splints, one on his wrist and the other on the wing that jutted out proudly, the black markings standing out against the almost glowing blue of his wings.

Maybe she could lift that little piece of cloth and see if he was in proportion! She was examining him so hard that she nearly didn’t see the folded up piece of paper that lay beside him. Shaking her head at her foolishness, she snatched up the paper and read the hastily scratched out note, groaning when she realized that Aaron wrote like a doctor, too!

“Damn chicken scratches,” she muttered as she tried to decipher his handwriting.

Tink is fine, but had a bump on the head. I set the wing and the arm as best as I could! Damn if his bones don’t feel hollow, Miz! And why were you hiding Tim Tams? I am so mad at you, woman! Leaving me alone with a blue man with a hard-on! I don’t do fairy, Miz! I draw the line there! Off to get my brain pickled!

“Bump on the head? Hard-on? Aaron, what did you do to Tink?” Miz mumbled as she made her way to the bags to look for her Tim Tams. She did have priorities! Seeing her package untouched, she began to search for some blessedly loose and thin clothing. Underwear was definitely out of the question!

Desire was still hot in her veins and the pressure was building, but she didn’t want to deal with Tink in the nude or her favorite pair of slit-stimulating thongs. It was bad enough she was fantasizing about him, and how sick was that? But she drew the line at self-torture! There were only so many times in a day a woman could get herself off, and she was reaching her quota! She was one sick, sad puppy!

* * * * *

“Damn him!” Stinza growled as she read the readout on her computer screen. “The little glowbug has fled to Earth!” Stinza was not a happy woman! Her plans were being complicated, her stupid guards let Kell escape…and she was ovulating!

“I want him back and I want him back now!”

“Without delay, Captain!” one of the women, her second-in-command no less, well, leered as thoughts of rape and torture visibly filled her somewhat…slow face.

Where did she get these people? Rolling her eyes, Stinza shook her head and gave new orders. “On second thought, get the landing party together. I get to hunt the prince. You get to stay here and guard my ship.”

The disappointment, and the sudden lack of drooling, told Stinza she had made a good decision. “But when I am done with him,” she added, just to keep her most loyal…loyal to her, “you may have him first.”

The grin that spread across the large greedy woman’s face was enough to even make Stinza shudder.

“Where do I get these people?” she sighed as she walked away, preparing to get her destiny and grab him by the proverbial balls! Kell would not keep her from her conquest! And there was nothing but death awaiting the one who stood in her way!

Chapter Thirteen

“Um, wakie, wakie, Tink!” Miz whispered as she tried to wake the fairy without startling him. She remembered what had happened the last time she touched him suddenly, and she didn’t want a repeat performance unless she was the one who initiated it! But she wanted his tight little blue tail to wake up and fix her!

She had exhausted all of her sex toys in the hour that Aaron had been gone! Her room looked like a war zone and smelled heavily of sex! She had been plummeted, plunged, and pleasured by all of her plastic toys and her body still craved the touch of real live flesh. Now she was getting desperate! She had to wake the little guy up now! She wanted relief and the storms within her were building again!

“Wakie!” she tried again her voice growing more impatient as the nagging tingling began to burn deep within her stomach and places farther south. “Wake up, you crazy blue fairy!” she finally bellowed, startling Kell into a sitting position while his eyes frantically looked about the room, searching for the enemy attack.

But when his silver eyes lit upon her big brown eyes, the first thing that popped into his head was… It was not a dream! I am in the seventh level of Purgohell!

“What are you talking about?” Miz answered, stunned by the clarity of his thoughts and the resigned emotions that came through with his comment. “It’s purgatory or hell! And I thought fairies had different religious beliefs!”

Fairy? What is this fairy you and the loud man often speak of?

“You!” Miz answered, exasperated. “You are a fairy. Did I fall on your head or something?”

I am no fairy, female! Kell groused. I am a warrior! As he spoke, he raised his hand to emphasize the point, then blinked at the contraption that held his bones in alignment. Growing excited, he wiggled his wings and discovered that the contraption was on his wings as well, and it supported the bones and veins, aligning his energy points! That meant that he could…

“Yeah, you are a great warrior, wee one,” Miz snorted, rolling her eyes at the small blue man. Who did he think he was? He was some small alien thing that had hit her with some type of curse and she wanted it lifted! A woman could not go through life masturbating every ten minutes. This had to stop!

Wee one? Closing his eyes Kell centered his energies, imagined his life force glowing around him. He pictured his form shimmering, glowing, changing. And then…

“Holy shit!” Miz squealed as a bright flash of light impaired her vision. So bright was it she fell back, landing on her butt amidst a pile of sex toys and artificial lubrication. Stunned, she sat on her bottom, something vibrating under her left cheek, as her eyes settled on the creature who stood before her.

He was blue. He had wings. From where she was sitting, and from the looks of the knot in the loincloth, he was hung like a whale! He was definitely not a fairy.

Scrambling to her feet, she grimaced as her heel stepped down on a tube of gel and shot a cold stream of the slick stuff across the other foot, and sent her back flat on her ass. But that, and the crunch of something soft and plastic under her butt did nothing to take her attention away from the creature who scowled down at her, wings partially spread, hands on his hips, a smug look on his face.

Wee?

But Miznari sat there, eyes wide and a shocked expression on her face.

As I was saying, female, I am a warrior of Lorndale and you will treat me with respect!

But Miz’s mind was too busy to actually formulate an answer, let alone take in the fact that he was speaking in her mind again. It was too busy taking in all of the warrior who stood arrogantly before her. Okay! So Tink was about seven feet tall. And he had a body straight out of her fantasies!

His chest was a broad slab of muscle with two darker blue nipples that just hung at the bottom of his pecs. That led to the tightest eight-pack she had ever seen. Cobblestone did not do it justice. It was just this rigid wall of strength!

His loincloth thing hung just below his navel and stretched from trim hip to trim hip and did absolutely nothing to hide the huge swinging bulge it strained to contain. But she tore her eyes away from that mouth-watering sight to trail down toward those massive pillars that made up his thighs. They were thick and corded, and so very sexy. That led to his calves that were not too high, not too low, diamond cut, and looked hard enough to bounce quarters off of!

His feet were large, but that was expected of a creature who looked like he had to duck to get into and out of rooms. But they matched the rest of his body and weren’t too bony or fat. Even his toenails were perfect! She would consider it a disgusting display of masculine perfection…if she didn’t have to bite her knuckles to keep herself from throwing that large body to the ground and riding him like a trick pony until her head exploded and walking was not an option.

But just the thought of having that delicious stud riding between her thighs started her juices flowing, so to speak. Did she have condoms big enough to fit him? But then she had to shake her head to try and clear the sexual haze from her eyes.

“What…did…you…do…to… me?” she gasped between deep breaths.

Kell stood there as the woman examined him and he found himself staring in return. The female was wearing some sort of tunic that stopped just below her plump bottom cheeks. And sitting sprawled as she was, he could see that she wore nothing else. There was nothing there to separate her swollen wet flesh from his penetrating gaze. And she was the most perfection he’d seen in a long time. Her eyes were a deep chocolate brown, heavily lashed and large in her heart-shaped face. Her nose was turned up a bit at the end, cute really.

And her full lips were parted and glistening. He watched as her so very pink tongue lashed out to lap at the bottom, her eyes wholly fixed on… Was she looking up his loincloth? She was! How dare she? He was a warrior! He was a creation of several generations of battle-hardly soldiers, protectors, dominators!

He was…

Growing strangely aroused as the alien female licked at those lips and all but drooled at the sight beneath his cloth. He felt the blood rush low, hot and thick as his shaft began to pulse and fill with heat. The smell of her was tantalizing. It made him want to lift that shirt and see what secrets hid beneath, to inhale more of her special scent! Maybe the drug was…

The drug! It had to be the aphro! She had touched him when he was trying to expel it from his corporeal form, so it was easy to believe she possessed an energy source that could absorb it. He had to touch her and find out.

Almost afraid of what he would find, Kell leaned over the female and slowly reached out one hand to touch the most innocuous place he could find, her arm. Gods, the smell of her! But as his fingers touched her bare skin, she gasped and the strangest words spewed from her mouth.

“Yes, big daddy!” she hissed, her eyes turning feral as they narrowed in raging lust. “Get over here and do me right!”

Before he could even begin to grasp her meaning, his hand was grabbed with an almost super-Lorndale strength, and he felt his body collapse on top of hers. It was a reversal of what happened earlier as his muscular body pressed her softer one into the mess of devices on the floor, but the softness of her body and her aggressive actions spoke to the dominating warrior within him.

“Come to momma,” she growled as her legs slid under his wings and locked around his waist.

Kell hissed at the first touch of her flesh and that was quickly given to amazement as he felt the hot wet heat pressed against his lower stomach. She was more than ready. But this was not right.

Listen to me, he whispered mentally as she raised her head and latched onto the side of his neck, licking and biting at the vulnerable point. Female! he hissed as her teeth snapped down, adding a delightful pain soothed with the languid laps of her tongue.

“Miz,” she gasped as her hands traveled up the smooth skin of his chest, pressing in against his ribs, her thumb rolling around his pecs to his hardened nipple.

Miz…

“Miznari. My name is Miznari.”

Miznari, he mentally gasped as her fingers moved on to his back, her nails scraping below the base of his wings.

Miz was lost in a dream that couldn’t possibly be real. Yet there it was, his weight pushing her into the broken toys and gadgets of false intimacy which lay scattered around her. Their pressing discomfort was lost in the heated touch to the body gyrating above her.

Is this real? she asked herself as she felt the surging heat of his erection growing against her stomach. Did she even deserve such a tempting fantasy? Her eyes half-mast, she stared at the man poised above her, his weight resting on his elbows as his hands ran slowly through her hair, stimulating yet another erotic point on her body.

He was perfection in blue. She felt his wings slowly flex and shudder as she caressed his back. By all rights, she should have gone running and screaming out of the room, the sight of a man so alien and speaking in her head was just so unnatural, so wrong.

But she lay willing beneath him, urging him to sexual depravity that she could have only imagined, and she had one hell of an imagination. In the back of her mind, a tiny voice whispered caution, but the overwhelming heat coursing through her body washed that voice away with nary a whimper.

Her body wanted. Her body needed. She would fulfill its desires and then maybe she could sort out the rest later. Arching up sharply, she felt him take in a deep breath, before his control seemed to splinter.

His lips pulled back, a slow snarl vibrating up from his chest emerged a low deep sound, as he exposed a set of very sharp fangs in his mouth.

Some part of Miz screamed caution and wanted to fight to get away from the foreign thing, but the greater part of her mind trembled, almost in submission. The low throaty sound seemed to reach right through her, plucking at the strings that held her sensuality in check, releasing some animalistic desire to roll over and demand that he master her.

Miznari! his voice sounded breathy and deep inside her mind. This is not you, this is not me. This is a drug that I think you absorbed. His voice expressed his struggle for control as he closed his eyes so tight, tears formed in their corners. We cannot do this. I must get away before they come to find me.

“So,” Miz whispered as her hips arched uncontrollably against the hardness of his body. “You dope me up with some fairy ecstasy and now you are going to leave me like this?” Her voice was dreamy, lost in a haze of passion as her hands dropped to pull at his loincloth, all that separated him from her wet throbbing flesh.

What is fairy?

“You are fairy. And I don’t care about a drug, you overgrown puffed-up Smurf! I want you to fix this! And even better, I just plain want you!”

No! Kell insisted, struggling through the desire that fogged his brain. What you have is a synthetic aphro, Miz. It is designed to mimic a mate-bond! It is not real! When the drug wears off, this desire you feel will too pass.

“I don’t care!” Miz whimpered. “And you don’t care either! I can feel it!” She arched against his hardness, proof of his desire for her.

I must still carry some of the drugs, Kell insisted, trying to ignore the feel of her lush body writhing beneath him. I did not expel them all.

“But you are ready to expel something,” she giggled as her hands reached down and felt the heat of his cock. Her fingers explored his hardness, felt the raised veins, and ran her fingers over the wetness that appeared at the tip. Curiosity moved her to lift her finger and inhaled his masculine scent. Masculine and rich and…fruity?

He groaned in her mind as he watched puzzlement bloom in her eyes and her hand lifted toward her face.

What she expected, she didn’t know. Maybe blue pre-come? But his fluids were clear as any healthy man and there was the most intriguing scent. Was that strawberries?

Miz? He had so much to tell her! But she was reacting like a female in the throes of a mate-bond.

But Miz’s mind was not on what he was trying to tell her or what she was doing. Her senses were filled with the scent of his body! It was strawberries! Quivering, she brought her finger to her mouth, her pink tongue lashing out to sample a taste of his essence. It was! It was strawberries and…and something richer, creamier!

Strawberry cheesecake! He tasted like strawberry cheesecake!

Miz?

But she was not listening! Two of her most favorite things in one large well-formed body! Sex and cheesecake! With a roar, she reared up and rolled Kell until he was on his back, his wings retracted tightly to his body. She wanted dessert!

Miz! he tried again. You have to know! Oh, you do that so well! he mentally growled as her tongue left designs on his chest. She even paused to nibble at his nipples the way he loved! But he had to tell her!

Miz, I am not a fairy, whatever that is! I am a warrior from Lorndale. And you have been drugged by an aphro. It was given to me by… Yes!

She had totally disregarded everything he said! Her lips made their magical way down, and were now lapping at his cock-head.

Miznari! he breathed.

“Mmm,” she answered as her tongue rapidly lashed at his head, now streaming the delicious pre-come. He was so hot, so hard, so strong! And he filled her mouth with the flavors of passion, of fire, and dessert! Never had she ever had so much fun going down on a man! He was tasty! Not bitter or salty! She could crave this, she decided as she tried to see how far back she could get his thick cock!

The thing had to be about twelve inches if not more than a foot! And she could barely get that…sausage into her mouth! But she was willing to try! And from the groans and gasps she was hearing in her head, she was doing a pretty damn good job of it!

She managed to get it to the back of her throat a few times before her gag reflexes kicked in, but decided that making it give up more of that precious pre-cum was more important. With renewed vigor, she went down on Kell, her hands massaging his balls, trying to make them give up their tasty load. With one hand she held him steady as she ran her tongue over his length, like a favorite lollipop, then began to apply massive suction to the head.

Miz, he warned her, I am about to explode!

And that was fine with her! As she worked him, the hand cupping his balls released him and was sent seeking between her own legs, finding her excited clit, and rubbing it in a circular motion with four fingers, pressing in to get that full feeling, then rubbing rapidly. If he was going to explode, he was not going alone!

Uh…Miznari…Miz…Miz!

In her mind, she felt heat, blazing heat! She felt it rising higher and higher, engulfing her reason, her ability to move or to think! She felt herself become this craving monster, bent on finding its own release! She felt her muscles tensing, felt them tightening into one big stiff ache, felt her body arch up and freeze, felt the tension explode!

She realized distantly that the feelings were not her own, that the groans of completion were only in her mind! But it was enough to push her own body over the edge.

“Mmm,” she gasped as the first volley of his release hit her tongue, flooding her with the rich creamy sweet taste of strawberries and cheesecake. She struggled to swallow the next shot, as her own climax tore through her body. It took everything in her not to bite down, but to continue to ride out his release as her own climax twisted her body into contortions she never though humanly possible!

Finally, the heat flooding her body and her mind was replaced by the cool wash of contentment leaking from both of them. The fire inside her banked itself, glowing warm enough to still make itself felt, but for the moment dormant, replete in the release it had obtained.

She felt Kell’s cock pulse once more, spurt one last tiny drop of his seed, then go still. Not flaccid, not softening, just still. She lapped at the head once more, swallowed deeply of the remaining cream, then opened her eyes.

“Oh, yeah,” she breathed softly after letting him plop from her mouth. “You really are blue! It wasn’t a case of blue balls gone awry and horribly wrong! You are really blue.”

I am a prince of… Forget it!

She heard the valiant attempt, then as lethargy took over him, the total giving over of control. It wasn’t like he had it to begin with, Miz thought.

“Are you really a prince?” she asked, blinking up at his massive form, flat on his back and looking like a well-fed…fairy! No matter what he said, he looked like a flipping fairy!

Yes. His mental voice sounded…exasperated. I am a prince. I am a kidnapped prince who hopes he managed to get a message to his fleet.

“So, you got that ‘Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope!’ kind of thing going?”

What?

“You know, Star Wars? They get a message to the fleet because the bad guys are coming to kill them.”

Not kill me. Take my seed. The murder comes later.

“What?” That was enough to shake her out of her lassitude. Miz pulled herself from between his legs to stare, her brown eyes wide in shock.

Stinza, a well-known pirate, has been keeping me for the past cycles, rutting on my body, trying to impregnate herself with the royal seed.

“Royal seed? Is that like Semen Light? Tastes great, less filling, and all that jazz?”

What? Kell stared at the human who had turned into a raving sex beast a few moments ago, and was now speaking nonsense! Or maybe there was something in the human tongue that he missed. Or was it idiom?

“Some broad is raping you for your seed.”

Not exactly rape, for I enjoyed her attentions, but yes, she did forcibly take me from my ship.

“And you enjoyed it?”

Well, she used rare aphros that are not readily available on Lorndale.

“So you liked the sex?”

But not the company.

“So she was a dog?”

A four-legged animal indigenous to most places on this planet?

“Ugly!”

Stinza has the ability to be quite beautiful. But her heart is cold and her desire for power ruled her.

“Sounds like a politician to me!”

I was enjoying my forced time with her. It had been a few revolutions since I had an opportunity to achieve peace and semi-oneness through sexual release, and she was eager.

“So why’d you run away?”

She discovered my implant.

“Um, it’s not real?” Miz asked, disappointment in her voice as she looked down at the still-hard cock waving at her. Well, it was still hard. Implants could be the reason why.

It? He followed her eyes down and blushed a really neat shade of purple. I assure you that I am all real yet average for a Lorndale warrior. She discovered my implant that withholds the production of true seed.

“Male birth control?”

He tilted his head to the side, then nodded. You would call it such, yes.

“So you don’t want to be a daddy. Yet you were hot and heavy to do the wanna-be baby’s momma.”

Your words are confusing to me, Miznari. But I will tell you that if the aphro had simulated a true mate-bond, she would be pregnant with my child and the royal heir, and have a way to usurp the rights of succession.

“But your father, I assume, is the king!”

Yet succession is passed through the queen and her female children.

“This Stinza person wants to rule Lorndale, your principality, whatever it is?”

Yes. And so I must find out if my communication went through and I must hide, Miznari. I must hide or fight, and until I can find weapons that are of some use to me here, you and your strange male companion are in danger.

As he spoke, the passion in the voice ringing through her head had another effect…besides a flash of fear and wonderment. The arousal was back. And it was growling for a true release!

“Kell, I have a slight problem.” As the breathy words left her mouth, her desire roared over her once more, stealing her vision and making her body arch up in search of stimulation only the one lying beneath her could give. She forced her eyes to focus in on him and whimpered as she saw the hungry flame filling his eyes once more.

The aphro, he mentally sighed as he sat up and reached for her. I’ll take care of you.

* * * * *

“Kell!” Miz groaned, her body tightening as hunger filled her senses. His name was a prayer on her lips as her fingers tightened around his arms, her nails digging into his skin.

Yes, Kell’s husky voice rasped in her mind, filling her head with the sounds of his erotic tones. Burn for me Miz. I want you hotter for me. I want you on fire.

Miznari lifted her head, burying her face in his damp neck, inhaling the scent of him as her body thrust up against the rigid heat that pressed against her stomach. Hot and hard, God, he was so hard, she thought. She wanted that heat driving into her, that hardness slamming her into a dimension of pure sensation.

“Now!” she gasped, her head dropping back onto the pillows that littered the floor. “Now, Kell! Take me hard!”

If you so desire.

The words filled her mind as Kell pulled away from her. A momentary panic filled her as she threw out her arms and reached for her lover, refusing to let him abandon her to this need he had created within. But Kell retreated only far enough away to grasp one of the pillows and tuck it under her bottom.

“Mmm,” Miz moaned as she let her thighs fall open to expose her pulsating flesh to his hungry gaze. “Now, Kell!” she repeated, her hips gyrating against the pillow, tantalizing him with the rich scent of her essence which coated her swollen skin. “Please!”

Kell’s fingers trailed up the soft skin of Miz’s thighs, his touch making her shiver and moan. You are… He shook his head at the intensity of his emotions, …so beautiful. Then he moved closer to her, sliding between her spread legs, dropping his head to run his tongue lightly along the swollen lips of her sex.

“Yes!” Miz screamed as her fingers tangled in his hair, burying themselves in its sleek softness, tears filling her eyes at the feel of that soft mass stimulating the nerves in her fingers, adding to the sexual feeling that swamped her body. There was no shame here; the pure want for this man washed any shyness or modesty away in a rush of liquid heat. She desired him! She wanted him to know! She wanted him to feel this heat that inflamed her senses.

Kell used his thumbs to part her, exposing the pulsing pearl of her sex to his hungry eyes. The seat of your woman’s pleasure, he whispered, his mental voice sounding softer than a soft spring breeze. So beautiful. His tongue eased out of his mouth, slowly circling the heated bud that made screams erupt from her mouth. So beautiful!

“Kell, please now!” Miz moaned, her head tossing back and forth on the pillows. Then she sucked in a deep breath as one of his thick fingers penetrated her silky softness, twisting and seeking the pleasure spot that made sparks jump before her eyes. “Kell!”

Again and again he applied his finger, adding another one, stretching her to prepare her for his intimate invasion. Again and again his fingers twisted inside the clasping heat of her, determined to bring her as much passion as possible. Finally when her cries turned into keening wails, his fingers, wet with her juices, gripped her thighs and brought them around his waist. As he did this, his wings, which had been resting neatly folded against his back, suddenly spread out, surrounding her with the touch, the heat, the very essence of the male she was eagerly taking within her body.

Tell me if I cause you harm, his mental voice urged as he kissed his way up her body, making time to suckle each hardened nipple, before his mouth hovered a hairsbreadth above hers.

“Kell, please! Now!” she babbled, her eyes wide and dilated as her fingers dug into his shoulders. “Please!”

Then she cried “Yes!” as he began to work his way inside of her.

She was wet, yet he still had trouble working the length and girth of himself inside her. He closed his eyes, sweat beading on his forehead as he struggled for control.

But Miz was whimpering and gasping beneath him. Each sound she made traveling through his mind and setting his whole body vibrating. Her hands were clutching at him, her inner muscles convulsing around him, sucking him in deeper, her legs rising to wrap around his waist, opening herself more for his possession.

Miz! Kell managed to groan as the driving heat in his nuts became almost painful. Growling low, he finally gave in, and with one thrust buried himself to the hilt.

“Ah, Kell! Yes!” Miz screamed, lost somewhere between the pain from his stretching and the agonizing pleasure of his possession. Then the slight sting eased and all she felt was the joy! He filled her, damn, how he filled her! Every breath, every heartbeat, every shiver that struck his body was transferred to the sensitive nerves in her body that clutched so hungrily at him.

“Mmm, mmm, mmm,” she moaned as her hands slid down his arms, then stroked her way up to wrap around his neck. Something in her, something primitive, seemed to give way, to want to be dominated, to want to please the man who was able to possess her. Her mind shut down and suddenly she was being driven by pure animal instinct.

She wanted to mate, to procreate, to feel him explode, scalding hot and wet, deep within her walls. Her hips began to rise to meet his thrusts, then to match them, then to surpass them as pleasure built within her.

Kell struggled to control his baser instinct, to slam himself home repeatedly within her. But she felt so good! She was so hot and wet, so tight around his cock! It was like having a hundred suckling mouths pleasuring him the way he had only dreamed of. His back tingled and he felt his heavy testicles slapping against the smooth skin of her ass. He growled and lowered his body more, tightened his wings around her, and thrust deeper and deeper within her wet heat.

I’ll make it good for you Miz, he mentally whispered as he felt his control slip. I’ll make it good for us both. Then he was pounding her, slamming her with all his strength, and she was right with him slamming back harder, demanding more!

“Yes!” she roared as swirling growing pleasure seemed to drown her, to blot out all that she had been and leave in its place this wild grasping, hungry thing!

“Yes!” she screamed as tears filled her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, as she desperately threw her body into his rhythm, into his wildness, maximizing the intense pleasure from each thrust!

“God, yes!” Then her whole body stiffened into an impossible arch, her arms flew back over her head, her legs convulsively locked around his waist, and the whole world exploded! Spasms of pleasure moved her inner walls around the ungiving hardness of his cock, sending shards of pleasure shooting through her mind. Then the tension broke. Bucking and screaming, she violently came, and came, and came again, screaming his name, drowning in pure ecstasy!

Hearing his name on her lips, feeling her body writhing beneath his, knowing that he had given her this pleasure was enough to send Kell over the edge. With a mental roar, his hips slammed into her, spinning her thrusting body into the bed pad as he felt his balls slam against the base of his cock. The vibrations started at his spine, but quickly gained force as they traveled down his back and through his abdomen, and finally gripped his cock in its electrifying grip. He felt his cock spasm, then spew shot after shot of his white-hot seed, flooding her with his wetness, gasping as the pain-pleasure left him blinded to everything but the feel of her beneath him.

Miznari! he sent on a wave of erotic bliss, his whole body shuddering as his hips, of their own volition, slammed against her again and again, drawing out the pleasure, increasing the sensitivity.

Finally the sensual madness that held him within its grasp eased and he felt his muscles turn to so much gel as he slowly collapsed, a whimpering, sweating thing on to the object of his desires. He retained enough of himself to roll to the side, so as not to crush her, but his wings remained wrapped tightly around her body, comforting both her and himself. Just as his eyes drifted closed, he was blasted with one thought.

How will I ever leave this behind?

Chapter Fourteen

“Fae creatures do not exist,” Aaron growled to the half-cat, half-dog woman who perched next to him on the barstool as he took down another shot of tequila. And not the cheap stuff either. He was tipping Monte Albon, diving for the worm.

“It’s impossible,” he went on, trying his best not to rest his head on the bar. That was an instant ‘You ain’t got to go home, but you got to get the hell out of here’, pass. “Magic doesn’t exist! Little blue men just don’t pop out of nowhere.”

“I thought that was pink elephants?” the confused woman whimpered as she squirmed in her seat. “And besides, I only wanted to know where the bathroom was. I don’t know anything about blue men.”

“Second door past the beaded curtain,” a deep voice interrupted, much to the delight of the cat-dog woman. She was gone in a flash, and a darkly familiar personage took up residence on the abandoned barstool.

“Hello Aaron,” the masculine voice hissed as he glared at the slightly inebriated man.

“Speaking of blue balls…” Aaron trailed off as he tossed back his last shot. “What do you want, Mike?”

“Oh, you know what I want,” Mike insisted as sharp brown eyes bored into Aaron’s.

“A bigger dick, some class, and new carpeting?” Aaron sneered as he stared at the older man and shook his head. He could never understand why the man had done what he did. He had Miznari, the most sexually free and independent woman he had ever known. Miz was such a free spirit, but had a deep-rooted sense of responsibility and such a loving heart.

It was Mike’s idea to have a non-threatening threesome with a consenting friend adding a little extra stimulation to them both. It was Mike’s idea to have this great sexual gathering among friends at this convention where Miz was to be recognized for her work in makeup as well as costume design. Hell, it was his idea to have Aaron as that consenting friend.

It was almost like Mike was trying to humiliate Miz and get inside his drawers at the same time. Raising one eyebrow, Aaron shot Mike a piercing Cyclops-like stare from one dilated eye. “Me?”

“You are so cute when you are drunk,” Mike laughed as he stared out into the crown of gaily-dressed partygoers. “So cuddly and adorable.”

“You are so sick,” Aaron snorted. “And I am so out of here.”

“You know you want me,” Mike said as he leaned toward Aaron, lust in his eyes, bulge in his pants, and sweet seduction on his lips. “You don’t have to be coy with me, baby.”

“This is so not happening,” Aaron snickered, then began to chuckle.

“What?” Mike insisted, as he tried to level a seductive and longing look at the slightly shorter man.

Mike was a good-looking man in anyone’s book. He stood at least six-feet-one and had the smooth caramel-colored skin women sighed over. His coffee-colored eyes were perfect gems to highlight his classically handsome face, his full lips, and his strong chin. His hair was corn-rowed in a series of swirls and twists that almost looked like tiger stripes to Aaron’s tipsy eyes, a predator in body and in action.

But someone forgot to tell the tiger that elephant wasn’t on the menu, that he should not hunt outside of his own food chain, and that tigers may be an endangered species, but they made great fur rugs.

“What?” Aaron snorted, rolling his eyes at the shark-like grin this tiger seemed to possess. “What? I’ll tell you what.” Slamming his glass on the bar, he motioned for the suddenly interested bartender to fill up his glass, and to place the lime on a dish next to the potent shot and an often used crystal salt shaker.

“You, me, this us thing?” Aaron sneered as he rose slightly unsteady to his feet. “This whole strange thing isn’t happening. I never signed up for a magical mystery tour, and here I stand being propositioned by the dickless wonder!”

The bartender snickered.

“You hurt my best girl,” Aaron continued as he raised his hand and gave the back of it one long sensual lick, leaving a glistening surface behind, making Mike’s eyes follow the motions of his very facile tongue.

“You tried to take what you wanted from me, with Miz lying right beside you.”

The salt was sprinkled carefully, evenly, and again, Aaron’s tongue did a magic trick that left the bartender, several interested ladies, and Mike drooling where they stood.

“And now you have the gall to come over here and try this limp-dick play to get me into your bed? Was it me you were after all along, Mikey-boy? Or do you get your rocks off from hurting the people who claim to care for your sorry ass?”

The glass was lifted and tossed back, his eyes going soft and hazy as the peppery liquor flowed down his throat and settled in his stomach, spreading almost visible warmth through his body. His enjoyment was such that he looked to be preparing for the most intense orgasm of his life.

The lime was then plucked and with a smirk, he ran his tongue all over the tangy slice of fruit, before slowly sucking it between his pursed lips, his eyes dropping to half-mast as he challenged Mike openly. Then his cheeks began to move as he sucked down in ever increasing suction on the fruit. Then with a snarl, he bit down sharply into the fruit, sending a tiny stream, of juice sliding down his chin and twitters of awareness through the small group who watched the exchange.

“You have to come harder than that, Mike,” Aaron concluded as he pulled the perfectly denuded zest of its pulpy flesh, which caused a few more titters from the watchers. “Much harder than that. And from what I saw, the little blue man had more going for him than you do, not to mention a better chance.”

A few remembered the blue fairy vibrator and started to giggle as Aaron turned away, but paused to give him another jibe over his shoulder.

“And he was only twelve inches.”

That left a few stunned gasps, then the room exploded into laughter as the smooth player found himself out-played.

“Cry me a river, baby,” was his parting shot.

“Excuse me,” the bartender interrupted as Mike was about to storm away. “The bill, sir. I assume you will want to pay this, as it was your friend who just left.”

The room exploded into laughter as Mike reached into his pocket and threw down a fifty. “Keep the change,” he snarled as he turned away from the giggling crowd and disappeared into the ranks of the other creatures, cretins, and monsters who littered the hotel.

“Follow that man,” a discrete feminine voice, filled with authority, ordered as a pair of stunning silver eyes followed the man’s exit. The large muscular woman at her side nodded and disappeared after the dark one with the interesting hair.

“I’ll follow that one,” Stinza purred to herself as her eyes followed Aaron though the hotel. “Blue man indeed, and twelve inches as well. Naughty boy, Kell! I wonder what other secrets you were hiding from me?”

Chapter Fifteen

“Mmm, strawberry cheesecake,” Miz mumbled as she began licking her way down Kell’s chest.

Again? Kell sent as he felt his skin prickle at the soft caress of those oh-so-talented lips.

“Again, Kell,” Miz whispered as she began to slide under the sheets, kissing down his tight abs as she lazily trailed her way down. “You are a warrior. Conquer me!”

“I love strawberries,” Miz giggled as she felt his legs spread in anticipation for her touch.

Kell groaned at the enthusiastic urging, and decided that maybe aphros weren’t all that bad! His hands gently caressed her face as she inhaled his scent through the thin covering of hair which surrounded his base and lashed out at that sturdy foundation with her tongue.

Miznari! he breathed as one hand drifted between his parted legs, her fingers trailing down the crease where thigh met hip, bypassing his testicles and going for the small crease that throbbed just behind them.

While he threw his head back, his white-blue hair an enticing tangle on the pillows, her other hand went straight for his nipples, plucking and rolling the tender fruits until his back arched up, forcing his body into a closer stronger contact.

“You move so well for me, baby,” she whispered, licking at his cock like it was a lollipop, taking in the sweet taste of his clear ejaculate that began to run as his passions increased. “You let me do anything to bring us both pleasure.”

He said nothing, but his slow grin gave away all the meanings in his mind. He reached down and suddenly Miz found herself flipped around. How he did it, she would never guess! But suddenly she was looking at his slightly up-curved erection with new eyes and there was a tingling low in her stomach as she realized that she was straddling his head.

“God, tell me your tongue vibrates too!” she gasped, just before his hands latched onto her hips and she was brought down directly over his mouth. “Uh, Kell!” she all but squealed as his tongue began to lash at her swollen lips, first the right and then the more sensitive left.

He applied just the right amount of pressure to stimulate this often-overlooked area, but held back enough to make her clit throb with want.

“Unh…Kell…please!” she managed as she dropped her body, pushing more of her cunt into his face.

Thinking that this was becoming one-sided, Miz pushed aside the mind-blowing pleasure long enough to wrap her hands around the hot steel of his cock, for her shaking hands to bring him to her trembling lips. At the first lash of her tongue on his purple cock-head, he began the growling that sent vibrations low and through her body, pleasuring her from the inside as the tip of his tongue delicately parted her swollen lips to caress her clit.

“Mmm,” she purred as the first sweet beads of pre-cum bubbled up from his slit and coated his deep purple cock so that it gleamed in the lights of the room. “Tantalizing,” she whispered as she lowered her head enough to lash out at his cock.

He responded with a hiss as she began to lick around his head, like it was an ice cream, a melting ice cream that was the best thing she had ever tasted. Her free hand dropped low to cup his twitching balls, feeling them churn under her touch as his desire increased and the erotic tension rose between them.

His hands tightened on her hips, lifting her a bit so that his tongue slid past her clit and circled her opening slowly, savoring her unique flavor as he felt the glowing heat and warm suction on his cock. Then suddenly, he latched onto her clit, holding that little hard button between his lips, while he tongued at its delicate flesh. And then his tongue began to vibrate.

“God, yes!” Miz screamed, losing her hold on his prize cock as waves of powerful sensation began to swamp her back, her thighs, her arms, and her pussy, sending erotic flames shooting through her being.

Her hips began to rock, to thrust back into the pleasure, riding his face to build to her release as her hand tightened on the steel of his cock. But a not so subtle thrust of his hips slid the slick head of his cock against her cheek, and she remembered that this was a mutual pleasuring. Sucking him in, despite the whimpers that still vibrated through her throat, Miz was once again treated to the flavor of strawberry cheesecake and man.

Kell was leaking copious amounts of pre-cum, coating her mouth in its sticky-sweet essence as he worked to bring her to climax. Only feeling her release would ease the fire within his soul. He slowly rotated his hips gently while his hands held her tightly over his face, his nose stimulating her feminine opening.

Yes! he breathed in her mind. So good!

Then they began a slow easy rhythm, each seeking to please the other while sharing the ecstasy they found in giving and receiving. Slowly, they built each other up, backing off when they felt the other nearing the breaking point, then starting up again after a pause for control. This was more than about sex! This was a sharing, an emotional connection, and an intimate encounter that filled a dark void in each of them.

Soon, tongues and lips were not enough, soon he added fingers into the equation, running and teasing her, before thrusting deeply inside, searching for that small hot button that would make her howl in release.

“Kell!” she gasped around his cock, then gripped him tightly and took him to the back of her throat.

With her other hand cupping his balls, tugging at them gently, and the erotic display she made lying over him, Kell knew his release would soon be upon him. Suddenly she stiffened above him, her body going still, as if waiting for something grand. Then she screamed, the sound rocketing around his cock, vibrating the sensitive flesh.

Kell felt his balls seize, rise against his base, then the sensation of thickening as his seed filled his cock, ready to explode.

Miz! Then his seed was exploding from his body! Spurt after spurt flew from his body, his gasps echoing each one, as he felt her inner muscles, her sex muscles, clench around his fingers.

Knowing that she was peaking with him made his release all the more sweet. He struggled to control his hips, to resist the urge to thrust deep into the warm haven of her mouth, to ride her to the ultimate one-peace, but his concern for her and her being held him in check. Instead, his fingers stroked her deeply as his free hand left her hips to run along her back, drawing out her climax and easing her into post-coital bliss.

She collapsed against him and he expended the last of his energy to turn her body, to cuddle her safely against his chest and into his arms. Then she spoke, her words muffled against his chest. “I’ll keep you safe, Kell,” she breathed. “I’m good at taking care of others.”

He held her tighter, but in the back of his mind, he was thinking, But what about yourself?

He closed his eyes, drifting off for a moment of rest. It was then the images began to hit him. Stinza standing over his human’s body. Stinza sneering as she fired a laser into his human’s prone body, of her brown skin leaching of its rich color, before she slowly began to disintegrate before his eyes. Of Stinza holding a child aloft, a pale blue child whose eyes were just like hers.

No! he roared, jerking into a sitting position and tumbling Miz onto the bed next to him.

Miz jumped up, his emotions washing over her. She felt fear and anger and shock, and a heart-wrenching grief that all but consumed him.

“Kell?” she breathed, reaching out, caressing his arm, its muscles knotting, the tension was so high.

Miznari! he breathed, then he was reaching for her, pulling her under him, his tongue demanding entrance into her mouth. His emotions had collected into one hot ball of sexual energy…and Miz was all too happy to aid in his relaxation. More than happy to ease his pain, a pain that still filled the darkest corners of her mind.

But what had caused this? she thought as she felt herself rolled over by the sexual dynamo that was Kell. And why did the aching loneliness that filled him seem so familiar? It almost felt like loss, and she wasn’t sure she could handle another loss. And thinking of loss made her remember that her time with Kell was temporary, that she would soon be losing his sardonic wit, his sense of humor, his great body…his simple understanding of her.

As these new thoughts crossed her mind, she never even noticed that she was clinging just as desperately to Kell as he was to her.

Chapter Sixteen

Aaron was slowly making his way toward his shared room when he felt a hand press against his back. Stumbling on his unsteady feet, he turned and grinned at one of the most stunning women he had ever seen. Her hair was a brilliant black, cut into a sharp pageboy that framed her delicate face. Her eyes were a glittery silver that sparkled like diamonds.

Diamonds? He was getting rather poetic in his drunken stupor, he decided as he patiently waited for the woman to tell him what she wanted. And the stand-off commenced.

Aaron stared into the silver eyes, she into his black ones. Neither said a word, just stared at the other. Finally, Aaron sighed and ran his hands through his tangled hair.

“Lady, I am not in the mood if you are a hooker. I am not in the mood if you are really a man. And I am not in the mood if you sprout wings and try to pass yourself off as a vibrator!”

This made her blink and tilt her head to one side as she examined the man before her.

This would really make an impression, she thought, if I could understand more of what he was saying. But this place was where the high concentration of Lorndale energy emanated, and even more so from this man.

After his tirade, when the woman didn’t speak, Aaron shrugged and continued on to his room, wanting nothing more than to shove the bed-stealing, erection-growing fairy into a dresser drawer and collapse onto the bed. Besides, the room was spinning, and spinning rooms lent themselves to nausea and other unfortunate happenings that would land him in the driver’s seat of the porcelain school bus.

Not his idea of fun. But the woman stared at him for a minute, before following him step for step. Curious to see what she would do, he paused, and noted that she instantly stopped. When he took another halting step, she followed.

“Most serial killers are white males between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five,” he growled at her. “You meet the age requirement, but not the gender thing. So if you want to kill me or something, good luck ‘cause I’ll fight back. But if you are looking to get laid, I may consider if I have enough condoms, a place to lock up my wallet, and the fairy is gone!”

Stinza stared at the man for a moment, then did what she always did to get a reluctant male to comply with her wishes. She reached up, and with both hands parted the front of her tunic, exposing her high firm quivering breasts to his startled gaze.

“Agh,” Aaron choked as the woman, this perfect and perfectly horny stranger, exposed her boobs! She even gave them a little shimmy, sending the tempting melons shaking. Like a trained seal or an observer at a tennis match, his head swung slowly from left to right, his eyes following every wiggle and jiggle.

“Mercy!” he breathed as he looked down at the sudden heat in his pants and discovered that a waistband and a belt were no match for the power of a raging memory-induced erection. This was better than Viagra, he decided as he felt the head of his cock try to rip his belt into two.

“Youlat Kell?” she whispered as she took a step closer to him, watching him all but drool as she asked her question. Where is Kell?

“You name them?” Aaron whispered, licking his lips and struggling to do the gentlemanly thing and raise his eyes above the quivering masses of feminine majesty that held him entrapped. “You named them Kell? Oh, I like! I like Kell!”

Sighing, Stinza struggled to keep her face neutral as she watched the human male. Didn’t they know how to speak proper Traders, the language all the planets in the League spoke? But at least he got Kell’s name right. Now if only he would lead her to her quarry.

“You are very persuasive,” Aaron purred as he fumbled for his key card and grabbed the strange woman by the hand. He had never had a one-night stand in his life! Looked like a good time to give it a shot. He hoped Miz understood, but his hormones were overruling any and all etiquette he learned about rooming with a friend.

Stinza pulled back as the man grasped her arm, but started when his touch sent shivers through her body. What was this…feeling? Was it her fertile time again? Was it the strange atmosphere of this place?

But at her small gasp, Aaron grinned and gave her a small tug, collapsing her within her arms. Before she could utter a protest—after all, she did bare her breasts in an effort to get him to take her to his quarters where Kell may be hiding—his head dropped and his mouth neatly covered hers!

She gasped again, and he took advantage of her open mouth to shove his tongue within. Stinza blinked as his rough tongue began to explore the roof of her mouth, her tender gums, prodding her tongue into a counter-action, leaving a taste behind that was sharp like the finest ales, but surrounded by a masculine musk she had never experienced before. Maybe there was something to these human males after all!

She felt a wet heat center low in her stomach, her nipples clench into almost painful peaks as they pressed against the material of his tunic, and found herself returning a low animal growl as he purred into her mouth. Oh yeah! She should have sex with this human first! Then she would find Kell. She wanted to bear the next ruler of Lorndale, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t have her fun too!

Feeling the woman gather herself, Aaron let a grin spread across his face…a moment before she let out a roar like a lion and slammed him against the nearest wall. When he opened his mouth to protest such harsh treatment, he found his mouth invaded, his body pressed deeper against the wall, and discovered that the woman had more arms than an octopus.

One was tearing at his shirt, while one was caressing the bulge in his pants. Still another one was cupping his ass, kneading the hard flesh like she had never felt anything as good in her whole life! Then there was the hand that was tangling in his hair, the one that was pulling at his belt, and the one that was pinching his left and most sensitive nipple!

“Yes!” he whimpered, discovering a new appreciation for sea life, the octopus especially, as he pressed his hips into her body, making her aware of the bulge that was now throbbing with his heartbeat. Then he gasped again as he found himself lifted into the air, his legs wrapped around her waist as she began to look around, searching for a flat surface to ravish his body, he supposed. Sounded like a plan to him!

“Over there!” he gasped, pointing to the door and his empty bed. If Miz was in there, she would just have to close her eyes and endure. He was about to be ravished by an Amazon. And he couldn’t be happier!

Holding him tightly, Stinza turned toward the door he pointed to, and decided that he was showing her to his quarters. Good! Her plan was working. Well, it would work right after this quick lay, she decided as she jiggled him in her arms and shuddered as she felt the size of his cock. Maybe a not so quick lay!

As she approached the door, he fumbled with a square flat…thing that he slid into the locking mechanism, and the door swung open. Throwing back her head and crowing with delight, Stinza erupted into the room…and immediately began to trip on the spilled…stuff on the floor! A strangled shriek escaped her throat as her booted foot bounced off something round and vibrating.

She spun around in an effort to keep her treasure in her arms and find a soft space to land when she slipped on something rather, well, slippery. With a shriek, she flew backward, fortunately landing on what had to be a raised bed pad. Unfortunately, the bed was occupied.

Kell’s eyes widened in shock as his rhythm was broken on the downstroke by someone invading the room, and then by a heavy weight landing on his back!

Miz, nearly standing on her shoulders, her legs clamped around his waist, would have been squashed if he had not been able to absorb the weight and prevent it from pressing down on her. Instead, she screamed, “Yeah, daddy! Do me like a big boy should!” as the jostling knocked the head of his cock against that hidden erotic spot buried deep within her.

But as he turned his head to see what had invaded their sanctuary, his eyes widened in shock, and he thought one word…

Stinza!

“Kell!” Stinza shrieked. She recognized those wing-slits! She recognized that blue skin! Dritch! She recognized that ass!

“Kell!”

“Tink!” Aaron gasped, taking in the size of the once-small blue man. Then “Tink!” he all but screamed in horror as he realized what the man was doing. And to his best friend!

“I’m coming!” Miz shrieked as her body began to convulse.

“Shit!” Aaron eloquently summed up as Stinza dropped him to the bed beside the other human.

“Kell!”

“You know him?” he managed, eyes still wide in shock as he watched his best friend have a major screaming, hair-pulling orgasm…again! Damn her lucky hide! But this was not good, he thought as he watched hostility spread across his Amazon’s face. Not good at all!

Chapter Seventeen

“Oh, damn! That just about killed me!” Miz moaned as she felt her body being slowly lowered to the bed. “Kell, you are the greatest! You are the best… Hey? That overly large woman has a gun.” In fact, the overly large woman snarled something guttural at Kell, before pointing the gun at his head.

“Aaron?” she whispered, a shaft of fear beginning to penetrate her orgasmic fog as she noticed her best friend on the bed beside her. “What kind of hooch did you bring back to our room?”

That comment tore his eyes away from the silent scene playing out before them to his naked and obviously well-done, ex-best friend! He couldn’t be friends with someone who orgasmed as much as she did and not want to tear her hair out by the roots! Women had all the luck! Multiple orgasms, the ability to pop off without a recovery period, and had obviously cornered the market on growing blue men!

“She is not a hooch!” he hissed, blinking as his alcohol-sloshed brain began to sober up a bit. “She’s an Amazon. Hey! She has a gun!”

“Duh!” Miz snorted, for once grateful she had a short recovery period. It was time for some clear thinking. “Did he say Stinza?”

“He didn’t say a blessed thing!” Aaron hissed as she stared at the two overly large people who continued to glare at each other. “Maybe he’s mute?”

“He spoke to me, Aaron! I keep telling you that! And if he said Stinza, we are in big trouble!”

At the mentioning of her name, the large woman turned to glare at the human. It appeared that Kell had made some kind of connection if the woman knew about her.

“Pretty Kell,” she hissed as she narrowed her eyes at the small brown woman. These humans come in such unusual colors! “Would be a shame to hurt it. I assume it is a woman by the way you were rutting between its legs.”

“What?” Aaron whispered as he stared at the woman. “She sounds like she has cotton in her mouth!”

“I’ll make this long story short!” Miz hissed, not liking the way the woman was staring at her. Was she interested in a tryst? If she was, this woman was not playing that game, Miz thought.

“Short and sweet!” Aaron urged, not liking the way his evening plan had been disturbed.

“She wants him to be her baby’s daddy!” Miz hissed.

Aaron blinked. Then blinked again. The same woman who was practically taking him out in the hall? “Miz? Too fast! You missed a few things.”

“Well, the blue fairy isn’t a fairy!”

“I could have told you that!”

“Hush! He is an alien and a prince to boot! His baby will rule their planet!”

“They’ll tell you anything to get you into their beds!” Aaron hissed back, not liking the way Kell’s eyes shifted toward him at his words.

“Anyway, she is a pirate! She wants to be the mother of the kid that rules that place! Capeche? And now we have to get him away from her so that his people can come and get him!”

“He phoned home?”

“Before he teleported here.”

“He engaged? Like that Starship Captain? Miz, you’re getting your science fiction mixed up!”

“He’s an alien, damn you!” Miz growled, forgetting the two wide-eyed aliens gaping at them as they sat—one naked, one obviously drunk—on the bed and argued.

“You are naked,” Aaron felt inclined to point out.

Miz blinked a few times, then calmly reached for the sheet underneath them and gave one sharp tug.

Aaron went flying toward the floor. The alien woman half-turned towards them in shock as Kell struck out with his right arm and sent the gun flying. Miz dove for the gun, the sheet and her modesty long forgotten.

She landed almost painfully on her stomach, amidst her broken sex toys, and stretched long athletic arms out for the gun. Just then, the heavy body of her ex-best friend—who could be friends with anyone who brought seven-foot alien women home for a little horizontal hoochie-coochie—rolled on top of her, effectively pinning her to the floor. “Aaron! Off!” she screamed as Kell launched himself at the woman, his mind emitting pain, desperation, confusion and fear as he struggled with her.

Blinking and fighting for his breath, Aaron managed to roll off of Miz into a pile of broken battery-operated devices just in time to see a whirl of blue and black go tumbling onto the floor. The battle had engaged.

“That’s my Amazon, you big blue freak!” Aaron growled, trying to gain his feet, but the hard soles of his very expressive Stacey Adams kept slipping on…stuff!

But neither Titan was paying any attention to the fallen man. Stinza was trying her best to grip Kell’s wings in a painful hold and a naked Kell was trying to protect his spent wiggly bits from Stinza’s frantic movements.

“Shit!” Miz gasped, taking in the scene as she tried her hardest to get a bead on the crazed woman.

“You can’t shoot her!” Aaron screamed as he saw Miznari taking aim.

“The hell I can’t!” she returned. “That bitch wants Kell dead! After she rapes him!”

Rape? Aaron blinked and again cast his eyes at the towering woman, now on her back with Kell above her.

“Damn you, Kell!” Stinza growled as Kell easily bore her weight to the floor, overpowering her easily enough, now that his privates were protected.

No, Miz! Kell called out mentally to Miz as she turned her attentions to the fallen woman. She is too dangerous! You must take the strange male and leave now!

“No, Kell!” Miz whispered as she pointed the gun at the strange woman. “We will get out of this together! I will get you to a place where your people can contact you.”

Kell turned his big silver eyes to her, his expression softening as he read the determination on her face. But as he began to react, Stinza gave a lurch with her hips, knocking him aside as she extended her arm in Miz’s direction.

“You care for this human, Kell?” she sneered as he reacted, trying to move her arm or move himself in front of his Miz. “No!” she sassed as her sleeve rolled back to reveal a small ionic laser strapped to her wrist, barrel pointing towards Miz.

“What?” Miz gasped as she watched the strange exchange.

An ionic laser, Kell responded to her spoken question. Capable of pulling your molecules apart.

“Now that we understand each other,” Stinza continued as she grinned up in Kell’s face, “I want you to move back. Get off of me and keep those arms above your head.”

“What is she saying?” Miz hissed at Aaron who was staring at the proceedings with a look of horror on his face.

“What is she holding?” he responded.

“A laser of some kind. She means to kill me, Aaron! What the hell is she saying?”

“How the hell would I know?” Aaron gasped, taking in her words.

“You brought her here!”

“I brought her here to fuck, not to have polite conversation!”

“Well, do something!”

As they bickered, Kell slowly rose to his feet and took two steps away from Stinza.

“Very good,” she purred as she rose to her feet, her arm still pointed in Miznari’s direction. “It would be a shame to have to scatter this human’s molecules around this room, even if she is such a strange hue. Brown, Kell? Really!”

Kell glowered at Stinza, his eyes glittering with impotent rage as he was forced to listen to the woman’s taunt. If only he could speak, he would turn her pale skin blue with his epithets. But to Miznari, he sent, Be calm. I will figure a way out of this.

“Kell,” Miz sighed as she looked between the two aliens. She hated feeling hopeless, helpless, and above all, useless.

“This is not the way to get laid,” Aaron suddenly shouted, making the woman’s attention shift for just a moment.

A moment that was all Miz needed. Silently she jumped, throwing her body into the tall woman, sliding in under her extended arm, getting a good grip, and knocking her backward! Stinza stumbled, but it wasn’t enough. So Miz hooked one of her legs behind the woman and shoved again. Stinza went down like the Jolly Green Giant after a night of binge drinking.

“Dritch!” the woman bellowed as she fell backward, being helped along by a small bundle of brown fury. The resulting crash sent the battery and non-battery-operated devices scattered along the floor outward in a colorful wave. Stinza’s head hit with a sharp crack and suddenly the Pirate Queen was seeing double.

But that was not enough for Miz! She was naked, she was angry, and she was not getting laid, though the urge to merge with the blue one seemed to be easing. Growling low in her throat, she straddled the momentarily prone body of the alien, placing her knee at one judicious point on her weapon-draped arm, and pressed.

The scream that emerged from Stinza was high and sharp, proving that humanoid design was very similar across the galaxy! But still it was not enough to appease the sudden anger blossoming within Miz! She wanted to see alien blood! Cocking back her arm, she chambered her elbow and let her fist fly.

“Bitch!” she screamed as the first blow fell. “How dare you try to kill me?”

Another blow landed, seeming to snap Stinza out of her daze, as the woman began to commence bucking and screaming in some intelligible language.

Kell stared at his little human in something akin to awe. He had never seen such a vicious attack executed with such glee! One moment he was wracking his mind to discover a way to get them all out of this disaster, the next his Miznari, his little Miznari, was trying to see if she could flatten Stinza’s head into the floor covering!

But he knew that surprise held Stinza immobile…and that it wouldn’t last. Jumping forward, he grabbed the arm with the laser and quickly jerked it away. The next thing was going to be a bit tricky. He had to get Miz off of Stinza and then get them away from the crazy woman alive.

Miz? he sent as he reached down to pull his woman away from Stinza. Let her up!

But Stinza quickly recovered and with a sharp arch of her hips, she sent Miz flying into Kell, knocking him off-balance as he reached out to steady Miz. In an instant, Stinza was on her feet, delivering a kick to the back of Miz’s head, sending her careening into Kell and in turn sending them both onto the floor.

“You think this weak, pathetic human will defeat me?” Stinza growled as she rose to her full height. “Now, I will take you back where you belong, Kell, so that you can do your duty. And just maybe I will let this…”

Whap! Her words were cut off by the loud sound of metal meeting bone.

As Stinza turned her attention to Kell and Miz, Aaron managed to creep up behind Stinza and with one blow of an abandoned spreader bar, managed to render Stinza silent. Slowly, she turned toward Aaron, a question in her dazed eyes just in time to face the man who gave her one final whack. Silently Stinza dropped to her knees, then toppled over onto her face.

“Well, hell!” Miz sighed as she watched her best friend. Because any man who can lay the Jolly Pale Giant out with two whacks of a spreader bar, she wanted on her side.

“Damn you, Miz!” Aaron wailed, much of his drunk leaving him. “I’m never gonna get laid!”

Chapter Eighteen

If there is Stinza, Kell began as they finished binding Stinza to the bed with a few of Miz’s leather restraints, there will be more.

“Damn,” Miz groaned as she tugged on the last of her clothes. “There has to be an end to this madness.”

Aaron sighed in regret as he cast one last look at this knocked-out Amazon, and then turned toward his friend and her companion. “We can get him out.”

“What?”

“Miz, by the look on your face, I can tell he is trying to find a way to get out of this hotel and back to his flying saucer.”

“He doesn’t have a flying saucer. He is waiting for someone to come and give him a lift.”

“Whatever,” Aaron breathed as he began to straighten his clothing. “But the point is you have to get him out without anyone panicking and no more sex-crazed Amazon woman attacking helpless vets.”

“And without drawing the attention of the rest of her people.”

“There are really more of them?”

And the rest are not as nice, Kell sent to Miz.

“And Kell says the rest are real scans.”

Scans?

“Then what I have in mind is perfect,” Aaron said, a small grin lightening his face.

“What?”

“Where are we, Miz? Think, woman! I know that you have a brain in that oversexed head of yours.”

“I am not oversexed!”

“Well, you aren’t using your brain either! Where are we?”

“Williamsburg, Virginia!”

“Why are we here?”

“To screw Mike as a threesome and fulfill my most wildest fantasies.”

Threesome?

“Never mind,” she said to Kell as she ran her fingers through her hair.

“Why is the real reason you are here, Miz? And I don’t mean your recreational plans.”

“For this damn conference… Aaron! You’re a genius!”

Genius?

* * * * *

Twenty minutes later, Kell was still puzzling over the true meaning of that word as he watched his human smear the weirdest colors onto her face and dress in the garments. Even the male was stripped down and garbed in something that looked like the bed pad coverings.

“We are going incognito!” Miz assured him as they cracked open the door and made their way into the hall, Aaron first peeking out to see if the coast was clear.

“We’ll blend right in!”

Sure, Kell sent, shaking his head. But at least her explanation hit on why the place was crawling with strange creatures.

They made their way toward the elevator, and Miz couldn’t help a self-satisfied grin from spreading across her lips as she gazed at them in the reflective surface of the elevator doors. Kell was in his loincloth. He didn’t need any extras added to make him look like a creature from an erotic paranormal novel. But the laser snatched from Stinza added a science fiction touch. Hardware was cool! Especially when it kind of resembled jewelry.

Aaron, on the other hand, took a little fixing. Her first challenge was to get the clothes horse out of his designer suit and then to get him into the makeshift toga she had draped creatively over his naked body. And yes, he did pitch a fit when he heard what she was planning on dressing him in.

In addition, she added black airbrushed tribal tattoos on just about every exposed surface of his body. Then with the help of some creative eye makeup, Aaron’s eyes looked twice as large on his handsome face. It gave him a vulnerable expression that belied what his heavily muscled body was capable of. And the fact that he was drop-dead gorgeous didn’t hurt either.

As for Miz, she went the traditional route. Traditional in the sense that she had picked her short hair out into the biggest Afro she could manage. On top of that, she wore a scandalously short and tight skirt of deep brown animal skins trimmed in faux lion fur. For a shirt, she wore a tightly tied piece of hide and several well-placed wooden beads. Around her left ankle, she wore an anklet of fake lion’s teeth and a matching bracelet around her right wrist. She was barefoot and in her hand she held a brown leather-padded spreader bar. Aaron showed her how versatile the little buggers could be.

“Who are we again?” Aaron asked as they waited for the doors to open.

“Bush Girl, Tribal Boy, and the Blue Fairy! If anyone asked from what, tell them it’s a new comic book.”

“And why do I have to be naked?”

“Because all of your underwear is brightly colored and silk! Not only were the colors bleeding through the sheets, the damn things were too slippery to hold the sheet drapes right.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Aaron muttered as he tugged at his sheet. “My nipples are showing.”

“Get over it!”

Kell sighed as he once again wondered what kind of crazy planet this was.

“What if the Amazon wakes up?” Aaron asked, suddenly remembering that he was the one who knocked her out in the first place. “I mean, if she starts tearing up the place…”

“Hell, Aaron! We tore the room up before you got there! And if she starts screaming, I guess the people will give you another standing ovation.”

“Oh yeah,” his answering grin more of a leer.

Miz was saved a rebuttal by the sound of a ping and the elevator doors sliding open. The trio entered, standing next to another couple as the elevator doors slid shut. But the woman opened her mouth and giggled.

“The Blue Fairy! The Blue Fairy vibrator!”

Kell glared at the woman, remembering those words from when Miz had him bundled up into that strange garment of hers. His negative emotions instantly filled her mind, and she felt his embarrassment.

“Um, he is the strong, silent type,” Miz whispered with a grin. “That is why the vibrator was designed after him.”

“Oh, wonderful!” the woman gushed as she elbowed her husband in the ribs. “Can we have an autograph?”

“Um, he is…” Miz tried to stall.

Whenever she contemplated a quickie, the damn elevators seemed to travel at the speed of light!

“Well, he is…”

“He doesn’t speak English,” Aaron added smoothly. “But I would be glad to sign one for you.”

“And who are you?” the lady asked, still looking excited. “Imagine the people you meet at these conventions!”

“I am the model for the Mandingo 3000!”

The elevator pinged. The door opened and Miz took a deep breath as she moved toward the open doors.

“Mandingo 3000?” the woman asked.

As Miz moved, she heard a gasp and a thump as the lady passed out. Within seconds, Aaron was walking beside her, Kell bringing up the rear, all walking like gangsters with a purpose. After a second, Miz looked over at Aaron and grinned.

“You flashed her, didn’t you?”

“Hey, you are the one who insisted that I don’t wear underwear!”

Her giggle was stifled and even Kell had to hold in a laugh.

Maybe these humans weren’t all that bad. And some of them were quite amusing.

They wound their way around the milling people, passed the bar, and around a crowd of similarly dressed people. Some nodded and some commented on their outfits, but Miz, Aaron, and Kell steadily moved toward the exit. There was some type of presentation taking place off in the distance where a raised platform was placed. Several masked and costumed people were sitting or standing. A woman dressed in some type of elaborate gown with a crown was speaking into a machine that seemed to amplify her voice.

Kell paused for a minute to stare at the spectacle and even thought he saw a few Contorts and a Helis or two, but realized they were too small to be the people from those planets. Had to be humans in costume again. Miz and the man Aaron started whispering, and he turned his attention to escaping this place once more.

“Do you see any extremely tall people?” Miz asked, as she took another unobtrusive look around the room.

“None at all,” Aaron answered with a smile.

“Home-free!” she giggled, as a group of ladies took the stage and began to play some kind wild techno-music.

“We made it!” she crowed as she grinned back at Kell. “Now to get you back where you belong and away from the sperm snatcher.”

Impulsively, she tugged at Kell’s hand and did an impromptu jig, just before she heard her name called. In stereo! “Miznari Anderson! We see you! Please come up here!”

“I, uh,” Miz looked around at the crowd of people who suddenly surrounded her, clapping and urging her toward the stage. “Me?” she asked as she was pulled from a shocked Kell and an equally shocked Aaron who looked like he was about to burst into tears.

“Miznari Anderson!” the woman squealed. “I see you! Get on up here, lady!” Then Miz realized what was happening. It was the nine o’clock awards presentations! She was a presenter! How could she have forgotten! She was up to present the award for the best cover and costume design.

She looked back at Kell and Aaron, urging them to follow her as she was practically pushed up on the stage by the people congratulating her. She looked around, hoping to spot her two friends, to find anyone who could help her get out of this mess, but they were glaringly absent.

Damn. Before she knew what was happening, she was propelled onto the stage and a microphone thrust into her hands. The room grew silent as she stood there, eyes wide, and for once in her life, Miznari was at a loss for words and actions.

“Uh,” she tried. “Hi.” The resounding ‘hi’ that was returned almost blasted her from the stage. “Well, what can I say? I enjoy my work.” There was a mass giggle as she felt the first waves of warning from Kell.

Stinza’s people, he sent and Miz’s eyes went wide.

She looked around the room and saw a few things that made her want to turn tail and run! So much for being an Alpha female! She wanted to find a convenient rock to climb under and hide. On her right and coming in fast was that bastard Mike and some strangely dressed tall woman who seemed to be his second shadow. On her left and moving toward the front, an irate Stinza shoved people out of the way! Looked like she managed to figure out the trick closures on the restraints.

As she got a closer look at the woman’s wrists, she realized that Stinza had just torn through the leather. She would have to take that up with Sire Don later, she absently thought as the walking Amazon of death closed in. And to the front, Aaron and Kell looked around, Aaron like he wanted to be anywhere else and Kell like he was getting ready for a fight.

What would Wonder Woman do? she asked herself as she felt the anger from Kell building. No, not Wonder Woman. I hated her satin outfit. What would Storm from the X-Men do?

“I don’t really know what to say,” she said into the mike as she realized that she was going to have to do something to prevent the spread of blood and violence in the hotel. “But I have never been one for words, at least not the words I can repeat in polite company as my models will contest too.” That got another laugh from the crowd and a glower from Stinza as she moved in, apparently getting ready for the kill.

“So, without further ado, here are two of my most prized creations. Kell and Aaron, please come up here.”

“What?” Aaron gasped as she pointed in his direction.

“Ladies and gentlemen, here are my two hottest models doing what they do best. Aaron? Kell? Come up here please!” Then to the crowd, she added, “I want to thank you for this time to show you a little bit about what I do! Come on, guys,” she motioned to Kell and Aaron as they seemed frozen to the spot.

I don’t like this, Miz, Kell sent as he glanced around the room towards the invaders. People can get hurt.

“Don’t be shy, guys,” she laughed as she motioned them forward with a frantic wave of her hand. “Come on down! Show the people what you look like and then we can escape out the back door.” That brought another round of laugher and then Aaron smiled. He reached around, gripped Kell’s hand and urged the man toward the stage steps.

“Don’t be scared,” Miz pandered to the crowd. “I won’t hurt you until after the presentation is done.” That bought another round of laughter and Mike toward the front of the stage. And he didn’t look happy.

“First, let me introduce Kell, Prince of Lorndale, a mighty warrior on the run from the evil pirate Stinza who wants to pilfer his private stock.” With a wink and a nudge, she had the crowd roaring in laughter as she pulled Kell up in front of her. “And…Arnos, um, god of sex and the wild beasts, and not in that order, ladies.”

Miz took a deep breath and smiled. This was working! Stinza had stopped in shock, Mike was frozen to the spot, unwilling to approach while there was an audience watching, and his maxi-me was still following. Now if she could make this work!

“Arnos was a difficult project. In the book sample that I got, he was arrogant, loud- mouthed, opinionated, and a playboy.”

Aaron snorted at her and muttered, “And friends with a sex fiend psychotic Chiquita nutcase.”

“But by the end of the story, he showed his worth and what the meaning of friendship was by sacrificing just about everything he had in order to see the heroine safe. So we had to go with a design that would show his attributes as well as fit in with the paranormal theme.”

“What attributes?” someone called out, and Miz grinned.

“Excessively over-endowed,” she smirked as she ticked his points off on her fingers.

Hearing that, Aaron puffed his chest up, gave the audience a haughty look, and adjusted his sheet so that the solid bulge swinging there was apparent. This got a hoot of laugher from the women and a few shouts of encouragement from the men.

“He also,” Miz added, “is available for parties and bridal showers, graduations, Mother’s Day, take your pick.”

Rolling his eyes at her, Aaron turned, presented his backside with equal aplomb, and then began to blow kisses at the women. The room exploded in catcalls and hisses as Aaron took his bow and retreated behind Miz, looking bored, but actually searching for the back door.

Stinza stood, glaring at Miz, arms crossed, and a look that promised retribution pasted on her face. She looked at Kell standing there and grinned. She had time and he was going nowhere fast.

Thinking fast, Miz added, “In the story, Kell is on the run from a pirate who has designs on his body, not that we can blame her, but still, no means no!” Another wink, another leer, another positive reaction from the crowd, though Kell glared at her.

“Kell’s design was easy, as the author was real adamant about what she wanted. She said she wanted a tall blue fairy, and that is what I managed to create. His color is a special blend that won’t rub off. See?” she demonstrated by stepping close and teasingly running a finger over his chest, around his nipple, and onto his muscled abs.

She turned toward the crowd, staring at Stinza, and growled, which sent them into peals of laughter. Stinza didn’t move, but the point of the gesture was not lost on the pirate. Miz was staking her claim, daring Stinza to come and take him away.

“His color was airbrushed on, a process that took many hours of exhaustive work.” The audience again roared as Miz felt that familiar tingle start low in her stomach. “But the real challenge was the wings. Kell, please show us your wings.”

I hope you know what you are doing, Kell mentally hissed at her before he relaxed his muscles and let his wings flutter open.

There was an awed hush from the crowd as the beautiful light-colored wings were exposed, the dark tribal-like tattoo markings striking a contrast to the apparent delicate beauty of the wings.

“They are powered by a simple air compressor that Kell can operate through this wrist control, here.” She pointed to the laser at his wrist, letting Stinza know that they were armed and dangerous. “A series of pumps and hoses are attached to the back piece and silently lift the wings from their moorings until Kell releases the lever. Think of a blood pressure cuff and you get the idea. Let them down now, Kell.”

As the wings deflated, Aaron spotted the exit, hidden by a curtain, and motioned for Miz to hurry it along.

“But we can’t have a hero without a super-villain. Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you Stinza, evil sperm-stealing pirate and the evil monster after my Kell!”

Stinza only recognized her name and Kell’s before the crafty human pointed a finger in her direction. Stunned, Stinza uncrossed her arms as suddenly all eyes in the room were on her.

“Stinza’s costume is just the strange uniform she is wearing, for easy access no doubt. She is extremely tall, but that is to be expected of a stuntwoman. Not much extra is needed to make her look big and tough. Check out the glowering features and the anger that seems to be building up within her. That is good acting, folks. But that is not why I brought along the super villain. We are going to play a game now, Arnos , Kell, you and I.”

The audience waited in anticipation. There was always something new going on at these conventions. That was why they were so highly attended. They all wondered what this new game was going to be.

“Costumes aren’t enough to make a great book cover! Personalities come into play as well as acting ability. So it’s time to play Save the Hero. Your assignment is easy. Kell, Arnos, and I are going to escape from the evil pirate!” She giggled and pandered to the crowd, making this scene seem all the more like an elaborate game.

“Your mission is to stop the pirate! This will give you a chance to see our actors in action and learn how we add a sense of high drama to every book cover we produce.”

The audience clapped and hooted as Miz took a step back from the podium and motioned Kell to follow her back to where Aaron was standing.

“On your mark, get set…” She sent one last triumphant grin toward Stinza and blew her a kiss. The crowd went wild. “Go!” And with that, the trio took off running.

Stinza, seeing her quarry leave at a running pace, prepared to follow, but suddenly she was surrounded by many screaming laughing humans! “Argh!” she screamed as she tried to push her way through the humans. But they were pulling her, wrapping her up in some type of string, and preventing her from moving forward.

Stinza knew that she couldn’t hurt them, that would draw too much attention to her purpose, not that Kell’s human pet didn’t do that already. But too much of a disturbance could bring these people’s authorities into play, and she didn’t want to run into local authorities when she didn’t speak any of this planet’s languages. This place was so primitive!

Snarling at a few people, she paused when a human male hopped in front of her, screaming, “Baby, you can rape and pillage my village any day!”

“Dritch!” she snarled, frustration building within her.

These cowering stupid humans were keeping her from joining the chase! She didn’t even know which way Kell had gone. Ripping off a few of the weak bindings the humans wrapped her in, she tried to turn and push her way to the exit. There was only one logical place for Kell to go, now that she was aware of his hiding place. Back to the landing site.

If she knew Kell, and she had studied him extensively before she decided to use him, he would try to get home. And the communicator on the wrist laser he stole would give him the perfect opportunity to contact his people.

“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen,” the presenter came back laughter on her lips. “Let’s hear it for Miznari! She said her presentation would be short and sweet, but I didn’t expect it to go quite so fast!” There was general laughter as the crowd turned its attention back onto the presenter. “Now, let us all get in line for the costume contest, best paranormal design first!”

As the attention drifted away from her, Stinza turned and made her way to the exit. She would search the whole of this area and she would catch Kell. It was time for this foolishness to come to an end. She gave a nod to her crewwomen and signaled toward the exit. As the two women exited the room, Stinza smiled and nodded for her crewmember to depress her communicator.

Within seconds, the two women disappeared into nothingness, transported back to the ship and ready to have a surprise for her little glowbug!

Chapter Nineteen

Aaron could hardly run for the laughter gushing out of him in bursts. “Damn, that was classic, Miz!” he crowed as the trio made their way towards the rear of the hotel.

“I wonder how long that will hold her?” Miz mused as she tried to ignore the pricking of the stones against her bare feet.

Not long, Kell sent as he ran ahead of them. He hardly seemed winded.

“But long enough for you to call your people?”

“What’s the problem now?” Aaron panted.

“Time,” she gasped. “We don’t know how much time we have.”

“How far?” Aaron responded, looking around the field. It all seemed the same to him.

“I don’t know. Kell?”

Soon.

“He said soon,” Miz responded and on they ran.

And after a few minutes, all the rocks and dirt began to look the same. And Miz’s legs were beginning to cramp. Packed dirt just didn’t give you good shock absorption. Just as she was about to give up and declare herself fit for road kill, Kell skidded to a halt, looking up in the sky, his expression questioning.

I believe this is it, he sent to Miz and began fiddling with the laser thing strapped onto his wrist.

“Thank God!” Miz breathed. “I don’t know how much longer I would have been able to run. And I thought I was in good shape!”

Aaron paused when Miz did, sighing in relief as he slowed to a walk. Then bending over, palms to his knees, he huffed and tried to regain his breath. Kell, on the other hand, was fiddling with his wrist laser-communicator combo.

“What’s he doing?” Aaron breathed, praying for a Gatorade. His head was starting to hurt as the effects of the alcohol completely left his system and his stomach was ready to start a palace revolt. All he wanted was a cold drink, preferably nothing fermented, and a bed to lay his tired bones on. He was exhausted.

I am trying to adjust the sequence on this com, Kell sent to Miz. I am hoping to hear from my people or to at least send out a distress signal.

There were several signals that he could send out, signals that would sound like nothing more than passing static, but were actually distress calls from a royal. The system had been worked out years ago, but this was the first time he would actually have to use them.

“He’s phoning home,” Miz panted as she looked around for a big enough rock to sit on, but seeing only what appeared to be acres of barren land and dark earth. And to top it off, now that she wasn’t moving, she was starting to feel a distinct chill in the air. “He needs to hurry it up! They do accept collect calls?” she asked, trying to add humor to a situation she was trying to keep as far away from reality as she could manage.

Collect call? Kell sent as he depressed a button to send out the required signals and tones.

“I hope he knows what he’s doing,” Aaron sighed. “If that thing is a weapon, it may be capable of making a crater out of the state.”

“You do know what you are doing, don’t you?” Miz asked Kell, who snorted at her, then pointed the laser at a nearby rock.

A low pulse was heard, then a steady red beam shot from the laser and hit the rock. Within seconds, it was glowing and emanating a heat that was sure to last for hours.

“Okay, so I guess you saw all the Star Trek survival-while-on-an-away-mission- shows,” Miz giggled as she stepped closer to the heat radiating from the stone.

“Well, he is good for one thing,” Aaron sighed as he tried to make his sheet cover more of his body. “Well, two from what I saw earlier.”

Miz flipped him the bird as he, too, stepped closer to the heat offered by the rock.

“The things I do for friendship,” he sighed as he took in his situation and found himself feeling strangely abused. First, against his better judgment, he let himself be talked into this threesome with his best friend. Second, he found himself attacked and abandoned. And third, to top it off, when he finally got back to his room, his and Miz’s shared room, he got to meet E.T. and the gang from Space Balls, cause they were too…weird to be Star Wars.

Then he got to play vet to a fairy, not a fairy, get hit on by his abuser, meets the woman of his dreams only to find out that she was the sperm-stealing Darth Vader of the alien set! Now he was running through the barren backwoods and wilds of Virginia in a toga and no crotch support, on the run from the sperm-stealing Amazon whom he almost offered up a healthy dose of man-milk, but instead found himself knocking out with one of Miz’s kinky sex toys.

This was the vacation from hell! And Miz was turning out to be Satan’s bitch! Thinking about it just made him angrier, so he turned to Miz, who was making moon-eyes at big boy blue and growled, “Have you any idea how much it hurts to be free-balling and running at the same time? My nuts are stuck to my thighs, you fricking alien sex toy.”

At this unexpected attack, Miz blushed. Well, she was thinking erotic thoughts about Kell, but her mind was also on their situation! They were running from Stinza, woefully unprepared for this latest trek, and were in danger from what Kell had said about the pirate. Damn it, she was trying her best! But then a wave of guilt over-took her sudden heat of anger.

This had not been a good trip for Aaron! She was the one who talked him into doing this sex thing. She was the one who got him embroiled in Space Gate, the title she gave for this little excursion. She was the one who dressed him in a sheet and made him run around a country landscape of rock and dirt at midnight. Not only that, the poor guy didn’t even get laid by the woman he appeared to be enthralled with.

“I’m…I’m sorry Aaron,” she sighed.

“Nice words, Miz,” he sighed as he unobtrusively rubbed his balls and looked around the area.

“They are all that I can offer, Aaron.” Miz abandoned the heat of the rock to stand next to her best friend in the whole world.

“I am so sorry I got you involved in all of this. All I wanted was a weekend renewing ties with old friends, and wild crazy monkey sex.” She nudged Aaron and a weak grin spread across his face.

“I never meant to get you stuck in the middle of all of this,” she added as she gently touched his arm. “I never meant to put you in any danger, either. But you have gone through so much for my sake! Is there anything I can do to make it up to you, Aaron? I feel so bad about what has happened.”

“How about a blow job?”

Miz paused, then looked up at Aaron, a wicked grin spread across his face. “I’m not that sorry,” she glowered, before she exploded into laughter with him.

“Damn, Miz, I never meant to make you feel bad. I am just fighting a hangover and sperm build-up, and I’m uncomfortable as hell running around like this. And I was the one who made you tell me about the alien. I was the one who brought the pirate back to our room. I was the one who agreed to this plan of yours. I am just not at my best and I’m taking it out on you. As the song goes, you always hurt the ones you love.”

“I always thought that was a stupid song!”

“Cruel to be kind?”

“Even worse!”

“Yaw gonna make me lose my mind, up in here, up in here?”

“As a rapper, you make a great vet!”

“You make an adventure everywhere you go, in everything you do, Miz,” he said with a laugh as he wrapped his arms around his friend. He might feel a bit of resentment toward her for this episode, but it was mainly due to his discomfort. Besides, Miz had harder times ahead. He saw how she stared at the big blue guy, believed that he could speak into her mind, and knew that he was going away. What would that do to Miz? he thought as he hugged her a bit tighter. She had some very rough times ahead.

If you are through with your bonding ritual, Kell’s voice intruded on her own chaotic thoughts, I am getting some feedback that could mean my people have found us.

Instantly, Miz and Aaron broke apart, her eyes widening as all of these thoughts she fought to put on hold came to the forefront of her mind. She was going to lose her Kell. She was going to lose the one thing that seemed to make her life have meaning. With him, she didn’t have to worry about whether or not she fit in or if she was wasting her life. Because he needed her. Maybe all she needed was to feel needed.

Needed beyond the next photo shoot where she was doing backward flips on her bike or the next screaming diva who wanted her hair and makeup just right, or even the next demanding author who wanted her book cover perfect.

Maybe that was all she needed…to feel complete was to feel needed. But the one who needed her most was leaving!

“Kell,” she whispered as she took a step closer to him. Before she could speak again, a bright blinding light filled the field.

“Kell!” she called, reaching out for him, wanting to touch him one last time before she would have to let him go, wanting to feel his heat, his life, his…

Miznari, he sighed in her mind, bringing warmth and heat and longing. I will miss you.

“Miss? Is that all you have to say?” Miz gasped, not really believing what he was saying.

Is that not the proper word?

“Miss? You miss ice cream when you are on a diet! You miss your pet goldfish when it croaks! You miss family who annoy you after they have passed away, but you do not miss me!”

I don’t? he asked, his face screwing up in confusion.

“Oh, sweet Jesus!” Aaron gasped, but Miznari ignored him, intent on railing at her big blue lover.

“You miss sunshine when it rains! Hell, you can do like the song and miss friggin’ desert missing the rain! But you do not miss me! You should be torn apart that we will no longer be together!”

But it is so soon!

“So soon!” Miz shrieked, not even realizing that the annoying glowing light was encompassing her whole body.

You feel this way? Now Kell was amazed! He had almost passed up his opportunity to go home, just to stay with his human female warrior! Could she throw a punch! And she was so exciting and giving, and she had nearly mated his life-force from his body. True, it was part of the effects of the drugs, but being lost within the heat of her body, there was no greater feeling! The only thing that even came close was piloting his own ship.

He wasn’t sure that it was love, he wasn’t sure that it was the drugs, but he knew that somewhere, between the sex and the fighting, and the sex and the sneaking around, and the sex and the chase, that he was feeling something for her he had never felt before. He didn’t want to let go of that feeling. He didn’t want it to end.

“No!” Miz argued hotly, one fist resting on her hips as she thrust the other into his face, finger shaking all the while. “I just spread my legs for every blue fairy that comes along. I fall on them daily, you know? And that was sarcasm, just in case you didn’t understand it!”

“Miz?” Aaron tried again.

“Not now, A!” she called out, raising her voice as sarcasm hit an all-time high. “Kell is not done missing me yet! Stupid blue fairy! I wish I landed on his head!”

Stupid? Now Kell was starting to get annoyed. How dare you call me stupid, woman? I’ll have you know that as a prince of Lorndale, I have passed rigorous testing that proves that I am one of the most intelligent beings in the universe!

“And what color is the sky in your world, baby? ‘Cause it looks like it’s raining shades of stupid to me!”

“Guys?” Aaron tried again.

“What? Just what do you want? What is so damn important that you have to interrupt Kell missing me?”

“We’re floating.”

Miz, eyes still narrowed in anger, turned to stare at the man as if he was one donut shy of a dozen, then looked down at the ground. “Holy shit!” she shrieked, leaping at Kell, who wrapped his arms around her protectively, as if daring the world to harm one curly hair on her head.

“This is not good,” Aaron whispered raising both hands as if to balance himself as the ground seemed to get farther and farther away.

Dritch! Kell agreed.

Miz was too busy shaking to respond.

Chapter Twenty

I will find a way out of this, Kell assured Miz as he again tested the bindings that held him strapped fast to the table.

“Won’t want to get in the way of you missing me?” Miz sneered from her cage.

“Oh, will you two give it a rest!” Aaron growled from his low cage. “I can only hear one side of this conversation and frankly, it’s giving me a headache!” Pissed was a mild word to describe what Aaron was. He was trapped in a cage that was large enough for a small German Shepherd, he was chained like some criminal in a B-movie, he was dressed like Caligula on crack, and he still hadn’t gotten laid yet! But worst of all, the woman that he would dearly love to strap to a table in doggy fashion and have a go at, was the one who locked him in this cell!

“But he…”

“Doesn’t have a full grasp of the English language, Miz! Did you ever think about that?”

“I…” Miz blinked as her mouth rounded in an ‘O’ of surprise. Turning towards Kell, she stared at his muscular body strapped once again to that strange table, and blinked again.

“Define, ‘miss’,” she asked.

What do you believe I meant? Kell retorted, still giving her a baleful look.

“Well, you don’t say you’ll miss someone special to you, Kell! Miss is much too weak a word. After all we shared, I thought I meant more than that to you. And I don’t mean the sex or the adventure. I thought you were developing feelings for me. You almost gave up your freedom to protect me from Stinza’s laser. I mean, that meant something to me, Kell.”

Her words trailed off as she decided whether or not to tell him what she was struggling so hard to say. Then beating back her fear, she looked him straight in the eyes. “I care about you, Kell. I know that it’s sudden and I know that it’s unexpected, but I would more than miss you if you were gone. I would…crave your touch, Kell. I would have trouble sleeping for thinking of you. I would grieve for you, Kell. My heart would shatter if you went away before I got to explore these feelings I have for you. And I know I probably would never feel this way about anyone else, ever.”

Miz, he whispered in her mind. But before he could continue, a whooshing sound announced the arrival of someone new. And of course, it was Stinza.

“Well, it seems that all of my little captives are alive and well, more’s the pity.”

“What did she say?” Miz asked Aaron, a puzzled look on her face.

“Beats me,” Aaron replied, playing it cool because the moment he saw his Amazon again, his libido jumped and he felt a tingling tightness in his cock. The woman may be a sperm-stealing pirate, but damn, she looked good doing it.

She says…

“I don’t want to know,” Miz cut him off. “I like her sounding like a kid with a mouth full of peanut butter.”

Aaron snickered, then groaned as he thought of one of the many reasons why she would actually have a mouth full of peanut butter.

“It is time, Kell,” Stinza went on, her voice slightly tight as she heard the humans babbling on about something. It did appear that the human could understand Kell, that they had formed some kind of bond. But that was impossible! The human mind was too weak, the society so un-advanced, the woman so, so… annoying!

She shot the human one more glare, which made her eyes cross over to the male. Now, there was something exciting. Maybe not all the humans were the backwash of the universe she had been led to believe. Her eyes took in his auburn hair and his dark eyes and she felt the pull of lust deep within her loins. Yes, this man was something special, his color not as extreme as Kell’s and his voice and mannerisms so sarcastic.

She couldn’t understand his words in the human drinking establishment, but the tone said more than anything that this was a man of action. His sarcasm and wit were apparent even if the language was not understood. But then her original motives again came to the forefront of her mind. She was not here to indulge in sexual exploits. She was here to do something much grander in the scheme of life. She was here to elevate herself to royalty.

She turned her sights to Kell once more. This time the Lorndale prince was restrained to the bed pad properly and there were guards stationed outside. He would not escape her again.

“I wonder what your human is thinking, Kell?” she sneered as she spared one glance for Miznari. “I wonder what she will do when she sees me mount you like the useless male you are. I wonder if she sees any use for you beyond your hard cock.”

“She’s up to no good,” Miz said to Aaron, unafraid to speak her mind knowing that Stinza could not understand.

“What she is doing is wrong,” Aaron agreed with a saddened sigh. “We have to think of something to put an end to this.”

But Kell was not listening. He was staring at Stinza with something akin to trepidation in his eyes. In her hand, Stinza held another hypodermic needle. He had no idea what it contained, but he was sure that the experience would not be pleasant.

“This?” she purred, holding up the needle so that they all could see. “I have plans for you, Kell. And your stubbornness will not stop me from succeeding.”

“What the hell…?”

It’s another aphro! Kell sent to Miz. She is planning on succeeding this time.

“This is Arongot, Kell,” Stinza purred as she took a step closer to the bound man. “This is guaranteed to keep you in a divine state of lust for days. No matter how many times you release, you will remain erect. It has driven some men to madness, my blue glowbug. But I have no idea what effect it will have on you. Other than being the perfect seed-bearer. When I send the body scans to your people, they will have no choice but to bow down before me. I will carry within me the royal heir and with that, the right of succession will pass to my child. Who will be guided by her loving mother.”

No! Kell gasped, his mental shock obvious to Aaron even though he could not hear a word.

“What?” Miz practically screamed as she began to struggle against the bars that held her. “What is going on?”

An aphro! His shock and fear were evident, as well as an all-consuming rage that seemed to wash over her in waves.

No! she thought as the impressions of his memories of the drug, as she recalled the reactions from the little she had absorbed, filled her head. Then even before she could blink, a white-blue glow suffused his body, almost blinding in its intensity. Miz struggled to keep her eyes on him, even as Stinza shrieked in pain and threw her arms over her face, and Aaron gasped, quickly turning his face away.

Centering his mind and knowing that this was his only chance of freeing Miz and Aaron, Kell closed his eyes and began the transformation that would reveal his secrets to Stinza but hopefully get them out of danger. The light grew and seemed to throb as it almost solidified over Kell’s body. Then with an explosive pulse, streams of light exploded from his body and his form seemed to shrink where it lay, to melt into a shape that was familiar and strangely beloved by Miz.

As Stinza blinked her watering eyes, she gasped as her vision cleared. Sitting on the table where the formidable warrior once lay, was a tiny blue-winged creature.

“Dritch!” she gasped as she took a step back, her mind refusing to believe what her eyes were showing her. “Dritch!” she gasped again and took another step back, right into a pair of grasping hands that got a major lock on her hair. “Drailkon!” she shrieked as her head was jerked back to bang painfully into the bars of the cage.

Her hands flew back automatically to try and force away the sudden snarling ball of human fury who was trying to pull her through the bars the hard way, forgetting that she held the hypo in her hand.

“Dritch!” she shouted again as she felt a sharp prick in her shoulder and her world began to waver.

“Stupid, insane, Amazon nutcase!” Miz screamed as she repeatedly banged the back of Stinza’s skull into the metal bars. “Trying to lay my man! Oh, no. You don’t mess with my food, my money, or my man!”

“Miz! You’re hurting her!” Aaron bellowed as he watched in horror as Miz began to extract her revenge by trying to rip Stinza’s hair from her head in clumps and reshape her head to a more vertical striped look.

“That ain’t all I’m gonna do!” she bellowed, giving an extra hard jerk and grinning gleefully as a few clumps of hair came out in her hand. It wasn’t like Stinza didn’t have enough to share, she soothed a sudden spike of conscience, and reached for a more stable handhold.

While this was going on, Kell twisted and tested his wings, flapping them tentatively, before he launched himself into the air. Zooming with purpose, he flew straight to the control panel and slammed his body down on a button. Instantly, both cage doors slid rapidly open.

“You stupi-oh!” Miz screamed as the bars practically flew up into the ceiling and her pull sent Stinza careening into her, knocking them both to the floor. In an instant, Aaron was off of the ground and racing to aid Miz. But there was really no need. Stinza seemed quite dazed and confused and unable to move. She even turned toward Aaron and shot him a dopey grin.

“Get her off!” Miz gurgled from beneath the fallen Amazon whose back was painfully pressed into her breasts, and her back dug painfully into the hard floor. “Get her off!”

There was a flash of light, which they both ignored, and then as Aaron was hoisting away a dazed and confused Stinza, a set of blue legs filled Miz’s line of sight.

Shall we depart? he sent to Miz, a sly grin on his face as he observed her handiwork.

“Yes,” Miz panted, getting her breath back as a hand reached down and grasped hers, pulling her to her feet. “Let’s. Come on, Aaron! We are going home,” she called as she turned to see the sighing man ease a giggling Stinza into a more comfortable position.

“Yes,” he said softly, his eyes on Stinza’s face. “I guess.” With an almost palatable reluctance, Aaron rose to his full height and turned to face Kell and Miz. “Yeah, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

After exchanging some esoteric male bonding glance with him, Kell placed one huge blue hand on Aaron’s shoulder, almost in commiseration.

“Okay,” Miz groused, not really understanding what was going on and not liking what her instincts were telling her. “How are we going to get out of here?”

That door!

“Then what are we waiting for? If you two are finished with your male bonding kind of thing…”

Kell sighed as he pulled away from Aaron and pressed the button to open the door. And stood there open mouthed as four of Stinza’s fellow pirates filed in, all looking too pissed for words.

Chapter Twenty-one

The evil grins made Miz’s hackles rise. “God,” she whispered under her breath. “Haven’t these people ever heard of a dentist?” There were three men and one woman who blocked their exit. All four were extremely large in stature, at least six feet leaning more toward more muscle than fat.

As the first of these new menaces pushed their way inside, Miz felt a wave of determination and irritation from Kell. Before she could blink, her warrior sprung into action. He raced toward the first of the men, a snarl of anger on his face as he lashed out with his palm, his fingers stiffened, the heel of his palm striking the man dead center of his chest.

The man’s forward rush added momentum to the strike, making his arms swing uselessly in front of him as his diaphragm collapsed. He flew backward several feet, clogging the doorway and giving Aaron enough time to reach out and pull Miz behind him.

“Hey!” she squeaked, but her attention was again taken by the three remaining crewmen trying to leap over their fallen comrade.

As the second man kicked his friend away, making space for the third man to enter, the woman ran out, screaming in that strange, guttural language, obviously seeking more help. This time, Kell took a step back, dropped himself into a horse stance, his knees slightly bent and his balance centered, and seemed to beckon the men forward. They attacked as one, rushing forward in an attempt to overwhelm the freed prince and get to their fallen leader.

Miz stared, her eyes wide as she caught a glimpse into a new side of Kell, the fierce warrior. He gave a mental roar that rattled her brain cells and seemed to brace for impact.

But at the last minute, he sprang into action, stepping forward and around the first man’s weak defense sideways and slammed his fist into the man’s face, breaking his nose with a crunching sound. He spun just as quickly, pivoting on his right leg, his left rising parallel to the ground and lashing out, striking the second man in the stomach, doubling him over in pain and sudden loss of oxygen.

As the man fell forward, Kell slammed his elbow back into the stomach of the first man, who was screaming and clutching his nose with both hands, and caught him in the solar plexus, silencing his piercing screams and dropping him to his knees. A kick to the side of his head silenced the man permanently, toppling him over onto his side.

Turning to the man still fighting to breathe bent over his knees, Kell slammed his knee up, striking him in the chin and ending his consciousness.

Miz was so mesmerized by his speed and grace of movement, she almost missed the gasping cry for help that sounded behind her.

“Miz!” the voice called out again and she turned to see Aaron sprawled on the floor, his sheet in serious danger of being un-tucked, struggling in the arms of a not so dazed, not so confused, and extremely horny Stinza.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” Miz’s exasperation was showing. “What is it with this chick?” Moving over to Stinza, she raised her foot in preparation to deliver a very Kell-like kick with her right foot.

But it never connected. In fact, she was thrown off of her feet to land on her posterior. Actually, everyone was falling and collapsing like dominoes to join the defeated crewmen on the floor. This couldn’t be good!

The sound of racing feet, booted feet falling with a unity of sound that could only mean military, filled the air.

“Oh God!” Miz whimpered, her voice sounding louder than Aaron’s cries for help as Stinza’s hands disappeared under the tattered sheet. “What now? Are we being invaded?”

Even worse! Kell moaned as a loud strident voice was heard spouting out orders like a battle-seasoned general.

“Worse than an invasion?” Miz moaned as she rose to her feet, rubbing her posterior.

Worse. Much worse, Kell moaned. It’s my Mother!

Chapter Twenty-two

“You cannot keep her, Kell. This sort of thing is simply just not done!”

Kell glared at the pale blue woman as she paced the floor in front of him.

“And don’t look at me like that! You know what could happen if the humans discovered we exist! They are a very war-like male-dominated people, Kell. They would do us more harm than good, thinking we would want to take over their diseased and dying planet. That would cause a galactic incident that I do not want.”

But I need her, Mother.

“Like you needed that craft that almost cost you your life?”

Stinza would not have killed me.

“Not until she was pregnant with your child and quite possibly the next ruler of Lorndale. And would she have disposed of a son, Kell? And would she have kept you until she conceived a female ripe for succession?”

Kell sighed at her words, but understood the truth in them. But he couldn’t let his Miznari go. I have never asked much of you, he began and his mother nodded.

“You have ever been the good and dutiful son, Kell. You bring us honor with your actions. But you must understand that it is too dangerous to keep that human. She has to go back, Kell. And we will have to purge her mind.”

Kell lurched to his feet at hearing this. Purge her mind?

“Yes, Kell,” his mother soothed. “She need not remember this incident. She will want to move on with her life.”

You don’t understand, Mother! We have been through so much together! The feelings I hold of her are…

“Nothing more than a reaction to the human who helped you.”

Kell thought for a moment, then grinned. He had a plan. Nothing more than a true mate-bond, Mother.

Kellista, queen and ruler of Lorndale, blanched, her skin turning a pale lavender as she stared at her son. “It’s…it’s…impossible!”

No, Mother, Kell chortled with glee. Read my thoughts, Mother. Read them and know that what I speak of is true.

True inasmuch as the aphro caused such a feeling, but he didn’t have to tell his mother that. He just needed enough time to figure out a way to keep his Miznari with him. Until then, he would use a little subterfuge to…

“My Creator, Kell!” Kellista gasped, her pale silver eyes wide as she ran her hands through her long silver hair. “I never thought to see you… And she put her mouth… Is that really possible?” Then another thought occurred to her.

“You are my son! I didn’t need to see that!” Then an even bigger thought pole-axed her.

“She could be pregnant! Kell, if she experienced a mate-bond, then that means she is compatible with our kind! She could be carrying the future ruler right now!”

Opps! Kell realized that he didn’t care about that little all-important side-effect of sex. But the illusion of the mate-bond was created by the aphro. There was no reason to believe that Miznari was pregnant with his child.

Was there?

* * * * *

Miz glared at the wall in front of her and resisted the urge to cry. When the craft containing Kell’s mother had taken over Stinza’s relatively small ship, she had thought her prayers had been answered. But as soon as she was aboard this new vessel, she had been separated from both Kell and Aaron and herded into this small room.

The women all spoke what sounded like the gibberish that Stinza had been spouting, while the men remained silent and glowering. She had no idea what was going on, answering all inquiries with a shrug and a confused look.

Finally, they just shoved her into this room, tossed a large robe at her and fastened the door tight. She had not seen hide nor hair of anyone since then, and she had no idea how long that was because she left her watch back at the hotel. The robe was warm though.

“What have I gotten myself into?” she sighed as she perched on the only bit of furniture in this room—the large bed that sat facing the door. “I know they always told me going outside of your race would cause me problems, but they never said anything about going outside of your species. This is what I get for not listening.”

She was depressed. Okay. She was depressed and hungry. Strawberry cheesecake would be good right now! Then she had to groan at her own sorry self. Here she was in the hands of possibly hostile alien invaders…

Well, maybe not invaders, but they were definitely up to something! They had to be keeping Aaron and Kell from her for a reason!

“Nobody knows,” she began to sing in a deep bass, “the trouble I’ve seen. Nobody knows my sorrow.”

So there she sat, elbow on knee, chin on hand, and she waited. For what, she had no idea, but this waiting was getting…tiring. Sighing, she was about to start the second verse when there was a hissing sound, like the vacuum seal on a jar of peanuts, and the door slid open.

But what filled the doorway was a surprise to her. The woman had to be damn near six feet tall and she was wearing flats! If her pale blue skin and her silver eyes didn’t give her position away, the black tribal markings, almost like tattoos on her wings, did.

“You’ve got to be the mother,” she muttered, coming to her feet in as graceful a move she could manage being at a disadvantage and all. For goodness sake, how were you supposed to address a queen, especially when all you had to wear was a robe four sizes too big?

The woman stared at her strangely for a moment, then turned and garbled something to someone behind her.

Must be more of the guards, she thought as she waited for the women and men to enter the room. When she was being escorted to her lovely and yet, oh-so-sterile quarters, she realized that the guards worked in tandem. There was a man, the muscle, she assumed, and then the woman giving orders and barking at people.

For a moment she had to smile! What a utopia! The women spoke and the men were blessedly silent. But then she recalled having Kell’s mind inside of hers for the first time, and decided that maybe the Earthlings were one up on the people of Lorndale!

Can you imagine having someone in your head at all times, feeling what he felt when he chose not to speak, swimming in his emotions… Then she remembered that she could. That is what she had with Kell. And now that he was not around, her mind was so silent, so quiet. She decided she missed it, the mind noise, and that she would almost do anything to get it back.

“So, where is your boy toy?” Miz asked, as the pale blue woman remained silent and watchful.

Kell’s father must be a really deep shade of dark blue, she decide as she stared at this woman who almost appeared silver to her eyes, because Kell’s shade of blue was damn near perfect.

“So, are we going to have a staring contest?” Miz asked, growing annoyed at the continued silence and the force of her emotions. “Is this like some feminine version of a pissing contest?”

Silence.

“Well, you know what I think? I think you had better put me back on the planet you people snatched me from. And I want to know where Aaron is. And I want a bath! A hot one! And a good meal. And…and…I want my Kell!”

Good to know that you still desire my presence, Miz.

“Kell!” Miz nearly pushed the older woman out of the way as she tried to get through the door. Her Kell was out there waiting for her! Her Kell had come. And then she didn’t have to push anymore because he was easing the woman aside and stepping into the room.

“Kell!” she breathed again and launched herself at him, feeling the strength of his arms surrounding her.

Kell. He even smelled the same, she decided as she buried her face in his neck, her hands tangling in his hair as she tightened her hold around his neck.

Miz. His voice was a breath of contentment and a mental caress, delivering both comfort and assurance. Miznari. How I have missed you, my heart.

Then the woman was doing the fairy speak thing and her Kell was easing her away, but still retaining his hold on her.

Miz, there are some things that are about to happen. Please, let the doctors do the tests that they want.

“Tests? What…?”

Please, Miz. I will be with you and nothing bad will happen. But I am trying to find a way for us to be together. Do you trust me?

“Well, let’s see. I let you screw my brains out. I get into catfights with galactic alien pirates for you. I dress up like some warrior from the Zulu nation and run barefoot across the cold wilds of backwoods Pennsylvania, I get taken aboard an alien ship, get drugged, and now get stuffed into a tiny room like I’m public enemy number one, and you have the nerve to ask if I trust you?”

Kell winced a bit at the end of her tirade, but maybe she was right. All he had managed to do since meeting her was to mate with her and put her in danger. No matter that she volunteered for the job, he still accepted her help. Maybe she had good reasons not to trust him. And he never expressed how he felt properly.

But her small giggle had him lifting his gaze to her face. “Of course I trust you, you idiot! I’m the one who almost killed you and I paraded you half-naked in front of a bunch of drooling women. Besides, I don’t sleep with people I don’t trust. My trust is not always placed in the best of people, but I trust deeply before I commit myself, Kell. And believe me, I have committed myself to you.”

Her words brought a smile to his lips and a faint blush to his cheeks. And a growl from the woman watching them with not entirely peaceful eyes.

“And what’s with the Moonlit Fairy over there? She has to be your mother, Kell, because of the family resemblance, but she really needs to do something about her hair and her clothing. When you are confident in how you look, you feel better. And when you feel better, you don’t act like such a bitc…”

Mother, Kell interrupted Miz, looking a bit panicked. Have you picked up enough of the human language to translate what is being said? He looked meaningfully at Miz.

“So, her Highness can understand me now?” she asked, wondering if she went too far with her cracks. But the woman had it coming! How dare she stand there and stare and not even have the decency to try and introduce herself. And Miz thought that the theory of the ugly American was ugly! Whoever came up with the term had never met a Lorndale Queen. Or maybe it was a royalty thing.

“I understand…some,” the haughty voice answered. Silver eyes glared at Miznari. “And if…human is done with insults, we go test.” With one last glare, the queen brushed past Miz and Kell, shaking her head as if she didn’t understand the attraction.

“About these tests, Kell…?”

Standard…infection, contamination, pregnancy…

“Pregnancy?”

Well, we did mate.

“But you said that it wasn’t a mate-bond…? That the drugs simulated…”

If there is some slim chance that you are carrying my child, our future ruler, that puts you in danger from others like Stinza. And it takes away any resistance to us being together.

“So you want me for a baby,” Miz growled, staring up at the blue man.

No, Miz. But this keeps them away from us until I find a way. And I will find a way, Miz. We will be together.

* * * * *

“I’m naked!”

It’ll be all right.

“I’m naked and lying on a slab!”

It’s a medical scanner.

“I’m naked!”

I made them turn their backs!

Indeed he had! All four members of the medical bay had their backs turned away from the window that showed the medical bay, and one naked, ticked-off human. “They were staring at me, Kell!”

They had never seen such a lovely shade of skin color.

“Save the flattery, bub!” she all but growled. “I wanna know when this thing will be over! I want to get dressed! I’m cold!”

Kell sighed as he watched his human squirm on the hard scanner. He knew that being scanned was never comfortable, but her complaints were excessive, and that was not like her. Then in a sudden flash of insight, he realized that her complaints were a way for her to cover her nervousness and fear. She had no idea what was going to happen when they discovered that she was not pregnant. Kell had managed to buy them some time, but he was at a loss as to what to do now!

He so desperately wanted to keep his Miz by his side. He realized that he had never felt so fulfilled before in his life. He knew that his life would always be empty if he couldn’t keep her at his side. But what to do now? Before he could answer, there was a blast that shook the ship and bells began to shriek!

Miz! he screamed as he pulled open the door to the medical bay and raced inside.

Miznari had been knocked from the table, but she had rolled into a corner where she sat sputtering and shivering as the whole ship rocked from side to side.

“Oh God!” Miz breathed as she slid across the floor on her naked butt, to be stopped by slamming into a heroic Kell, who came to the rescue, but wound up flat on his back. “This is like a Star Trek episode gone awry!”

Miz! Kell screamed in her mind as the ship bounced, sending them both hurtling through the air with the greatest of ease, to land in a tangled clump of arms, legs, wings, and hair. Getting a good grip on her, he asked again, Miz? Are you fine?

“Star Trekking across the universe! On the Starship Enterprise, under Captain Kirk!”

Miz?

“I’m fine!” she sighed as she managed to get control of her fear. Singing old song parodies was a good way to alleviate stress, she thought as the ship jolted again. But the best way to avoid fear is to avoid those situations, which added to the fear factor. “I wanna get off, please.”

This is no time to think of mating! Kell replied as he carefully rose to his feet, easing his Miz up beside him. Well, seeing her naked and vulnerable was arousing, he admitted to himself.

Miz glared at him as his emotions—eroticism, dominance, horniness—filled her mind. “Knock it off, Kell! I’m not laying you when the ship is under attack!” she hissed, a faint blush coloring her cheeks as the picture of him naked and on his back filled her mind. But she quickly banished the thoughts, even those about strawberry cheesecake. They had to find out what was going on. “What is happening?”

I will find out! his mental reply was tender as lights flashed around them and the ship finally stopped bumping around.

He pulled off the loose robe he wore over a pair of long silky pants, and tenderly wrapped his human inside its warmth, covering her and marking her as his to other eyes. Together, they walked out of the emptied medical bay and stepped into chaos.

Chapter Twenty-three

“What do you mean, they escaped?” Kellista bellowed as she stared down at one humongous woman who had to be head of security, Miz decided.

“What’s going on?” Miz asked Kell as they stared at the scene that greeted them when they walked into what appeared to be a conference room beside the cockpit of this flying monstrosity.

“Your human companion is gone,” Kellista answered in halting English to Miz.

“What do you mean gone?”

“The pirate Stinza is gone. She had sort of a defense mechanism on her ship; we knew nothing about it. She managed to break free from the cell and took hostage, the other human, the male who accompanied you. She used some disrupter to thin the shield surrounding this ship in a small…spot, and then used new weapon to blow a hole in the docking bay hull. Both she and the human are gone.”

“What!” Miz shrieked as she took three steps across the room and gripped the Royal Queen by her robe, giving her a hard shake. “What do you mean, gone?”

The security reacted instantly, racing to protect the queen, but she waved them aside as she stared down at the human. “Strange creature,” she breathed, almost to herself, then called to Kell. “Does she not realize that I can crush her like an insect?”

She would fight you, Mother, Kell sent to both of them. She would fight you as she fought Stinza. And she could possibly win.

“And all of my training?” she asked, for Kellista was not your average sit-on-your- butt-and-dictate queen. She trained alongside her troops, in everything from warfare to strategy. She was an active monarch, ruling but not sending her people out to do what she would not consider doing herself. That was one of the reasons she was so well respected.

“Where is my friend?” Miz asked again, ignoring the voice in her head and the queen’s shift in topic. “I want him back now!”

“She risks much for this male,” Kellista said, turning her eyes back to Kell.

He is her second, her first companion, like a sibling, Kell explained and Kellista nodded in understanding.

“She has honor and loyalty.”

Even to me, Kell said as he smiled. His mother was beginning to understand Miznari. Even to me when all I have done is bring her complications.

“You are not a complication, Kell,” Miz replied, taking her eyes off of the queen she was shaking, and smiled at her mate. “You are an addition, a welcome addition.”

Miz, he breathed his eyes going soft and liquid. How I love you.

“You said it!” Miz shrieked as she abruptly shoved the queen to the side, ignoring the fact that she sent Kell’s mother flying into the arms of a man who had silently entered and was watching the show with curious eyes. “You really said it! And you mean it!” She took the few steps that brought her closer to her Kell and slowly raised her hands to her trembling lips.

Of course I do. His matter-of-fact words spoken in that matter-of-fact tone was all she needed to hear to get the waterworks flowing.

“Kell!” she sniffled, then gave in to the desire to throw herself in his arms and sob uncontrollably in his neck. “I love you, too!”

His arms wrapped around her, and she never recalled feeling so safe, so content…so nauseous! Jerking away from him, she raced towards a huge vase that decorated one corner of this plain room in an attempt to give it a little warmth. Miz managed to add a little something extra to the vase, though no one in the area, especially the soldier whose duty it was to keep the room clean, appreciated.

Miz! Kell mentally shouted as he raced to his mate’s side, trying to support her as her shoulders heaved and her body shook.

Mother! What did you do?

“Me? Why is it that when something goes wrong, you all blame me?”

The strong arms holding her caressed her back gently, calming her. Miz sighed as she leaned into that ready strength, relaxed into the feelings now permeating through her system. “First Aaron, now this…” Miz moaned as she finally stopped trying to upchuck a lung and leaned back into Kell. “Did you give me SPAIDS?”

Spaids? Kell asked, concerned that what should have been a tender loving moment was ruined by a spastic…purging of her stomach.

“Space AIDS or some other deadly disease?” she groused, and then groaned as her stomach threatened to rebel again.

I may have the answer to that.

“Eeek!” The unusual deep male voice all but purred in her head, causing her to jump about a foot in Kell’s arms, but effectively took her mind off of her griping stomach.

Father! Kell’s sending showed his surprise and his pleasure at seeing the other man.

Miz turned to stare at the darker, older version of her Kell. But this version had his hair tied neatly back into a long thick braid, while Kell’s hair flowed freely around his body. This version also seemed somehow calmer, more settled than the blue fairy, blue prince, that she owned. So this was the original.

Father? Kell asked.

Miz puzzled why suddenly she could understand what the man was saying in her mind.

Holding up a sheaf of what appeared to be clear plastic paper, the man’s grin spread across his face, showing a set of fangs that were identical to Kell’s. Creepy!

It appears that you were correct, Kell, the man added. You indeed experienced a mate- bond with this human, though only The Creator knows how.

“But…” Miz sputtered, then dove for the vase again.

Kellista winced and the two security officers cringed.

She has conceived? Kell asked, his eyes widening in shock and fear.

These were the very same emotions Miz was trying to deal with, if you added a great helping of disbelief as well. But coping with both sets of emotions had an expected result. She again dove for the vase.

“She is carrying our next-child?” Kellista finally grasped as she stared at the human doubled over the very expensive unity vase, presented to her as a gift from a council member. She still didn’t know how to take the human. She seemed rather brash and independent, nothing like herself or the women she knew who cultivated calmness and serenity.

“It looks like she can stay,” she finally said, still shocked at this turn of events. She was sure that Kell had been hiding something and that the scan would prove that there were too many differences for the two young ones to stay together. She hated being proven wrong. Turning to her mate, she sighed and tugged him toward the door.

“Come, Landu. We had better see about repairs and tracking the pirate. I have a feeling that the human female will not give us peace until we find her brother-in-arms.”

Nodding, her mate hid a grin as he escorted his queen out of the room, the guards following.

“I can’t believe she conceived!” Kellista added, her voice trailing off as the door closed behind them. “I suppose I am going to have to learn to get along with her. Or kill her. Would it be unethical to try and reprogram her mind to our more advanced thinking and…”

Still in the room, still bent over the vase, Miz turned and smiled up at Kell. “I think I’m happy,” she said before she dropped her head in the vase again. “Oh God, kill me now!”

It’s your emotions, Kell added as he rubbed her back and waited for the spasms to pass. Soon your stomach will settle and then we can go back to my quarters. I know you will like it here, Miz. But wherever you want to go, I’ll follow. My home is with you.

Miz was silent, except for the heaving. But damned if she wasn’t happy. It was enough to make her cry. Which she did. In between gagging.

Chapter Twenty-four

“God, yes!” Miz screamed as she felt his thickness, his hardness pressing against her. Kell had carried her directly from the conference room to his quarters where he divested her of what clothing she had been wearing. His next stop was the largest shower she had ever seen! And she wasn’t kidding. She could have laid a recliner in there and stayed under the hot water for hours. But the man had different ideas.

She shuddered as she remembered his hot soapy fingers caressing her breasts. The soap was an excellent lubrication and made his hands glide over her wet body like silk. She sucked in a deep breath at the memory of those slick fingers dipping low and parting the lower lips of her sex, of those teasing fingers pulling at her clit while his teeth nipped at her neck from behind.

And his wings, the feel of those silken wings wrapping around her made her shiver at the memory. They held in the heat, enveloping her as he ran his swollen cock through the crease of her ass, tingling the nerves hidden there. She begged, she cried, she screamed for more of his pleasure, but Kell was relentless in his teasing. He brought her body to a higher level of erotic need, and left her dangling, hungry, wet, and pleading for more.

Once out of the shower, he carried her trembling body to his bed. There he began to play a symphony with her body, tuning her to his idea of perfection, strumming her to bliss.

You are perfection.

“Oh God, Kell! Please, lover!”

This would please you?

“Kell! Please, make me beautiful! Make me yours!”

You are mine! he moaned. You are beauty, you are exquisite, you are love.

“Fill me!” she begged. Then she felt him, the large plum-shaped head of his cock parting her, felt the slight sting as his thick width struggled to spread her tight opening. She sighed as he began the slow glide that would turn into sharp thrusts and lead her to blind ecstasy.

He shined like a piece of the moon above her, a glowing blue piece of the moon. But instead of the cold hardness one could expect, he was all firm, hot flesh. His wings wrapped around her, cradling her as did his strong arms, holding her in place for his possession. His eyes, those silver orbs, blazed down at her, and narrowed as he began to experience the orgasmic delight of penetrating her body. His lips were parted, his small fangs glinting dangerously, but she knew that they held no danger for her.

Her legs were spread wide enough to allow his slim hips room to move, but were wrapped tightly enough around his waist. He could feel her urgency in the tightening muscles that demanded he move faster. She wanted him. She needed him. She loved him, and he could read it all as her thoughts flowed through her mind.

“Kell,” she whimpered as he finally thrust into her, his cock-sac resting on the warm skin of her ass, the soft hair of his groin meshing with hers. She was complete. “Dance within me,” she whispered, her eyes closing as her body demanded movement of any kind. She needed to feel him move his cock, to repeatedly thrust that thick hardness into her body, picking up friction until they both exploded into untold delights. And she needed it now!

Sensing her near-painful hunger, Kell set up a slow and steady rhythm, pulling from her mind where his thrusts would have the most impact. He used their bond to allow her to feel how passionate he felt, how her tight honeyed walls embraced his every movement. He was fighting the urge to plow into her, to drive himself as deeply as he could, and then to let go!

“Kell!” she gasped. He increased his speed, her mind drowning in sensations as she felt both his delight of filling her and her own passion at being pushed to the limit.

Say my name again! he demanded as he increased his pace, his wings tightening around her as his hips began to pound. Say my name and show me how you love me!

“Oh Kell, Kell, Kell…Kell!” Something inside her began to glow, to burn hotly with their combined movements as she thrust her hips upward, desperate to keep him locked within her. This glowing thing grew hotter and hotter until it began to consume her body in its fires, her screams echoing around the room, as her climax began to take flight.

And through it all, his eyes glowed down at her, with the knowledge of what she was feeling, of what he was doing to her, and what she was wringing from him.

My beautiful, precious, Miz, his mind purred as he felt his control snap.

“Kell!” Miz shrieked as she felt the orgasm tear through her body, tingling her muscles, snapping her head back, breaking her eye contact as she felt wave after wave of intense heat rush through her body. She struggled to breathe, to blink, to do anything as the muscle spasms consumed her.

Kell gave a silent mental roar as he felt her contract around his cock. It was too much, it would never be enough, and it was the beginning of his climax. His back arched deeply, his muscles tightening as his balls began to churn. He felt his lower back spasm as his seed was forced through the long shaft of his cock, then gasped once more as it began to explode from him in deep spurts.

Again and again he flooded her, his seed pumping deeply inside her, his mind going white as the world around him began to spin. Feeling drained, he collapsed onto his mate. He felt her trembling body beneath him, the remains of her pleasure flowing through his mind. It combined with his erotic experience, creating one long pleasure- soaked void where they both drifted, safe and complete within each other’s arms.

With one last effort on his part, Kell rolled over onto his back, bringing his Miznari with him, never letting her go, holding her safe, cherished, protected, within his arms.

Miz lay comfortable and content in Kell’s arms. She was freshly scrubbed, with a freshened mouth, and sexually sated. And more importantly, the vomiting had stopped. Snuggling closer to Kell, she sighed as he tenderly wrapped his wings around her, holding her in the comfort of his embrace as she ran lazy fingers through the hair on his chest.

“And now we have to find Aaron,” she sighed, tightening her hold on her man.

If he wants to be found.

“Of course he wants to be found.” She dismissed his arguments with a snort as she wondered how dense some men could be. “And why is it that I can hear your father in my head?”

We are truly bonded, Miznari. You are now a part of my family. As our two souls merged, you became a part of me. Therefore, you are a part of my family. You will be able to hear and understand the males in my family, though, it will take the women some time to learn your language and you ours. He paused as a dark thought crossed his mind. Are you going to regret leaving them behind, your people on Earth?

“Kell, I had nothing holding me to Earth. I was beginning to question the meaning of my own existence,” she sighed as she absently let her tongue lash out and caress a muscular peak, loving his salty musky taste. “I want to be with you. I think I love you, Kell. I’m not sure when it happened or how, but I don’t think I would be happy without you in my life. And now I find out we are going to have a baby… I am happy, Kell. I truly am. My happiness would be complete if Aaron were here, but we will find him and then my world will be whole.”

Miznari, Kell mentally breathed her name, whispering it across her mind like a soft perfumed breeze. You are everything to me.

“I know,” Miz countered. “And I won’t ever let you forget it.”

And he knew she wouldn’t. It wasn’t the ending to his attack and capture that he had expected. But it was an ending, a good ending. And that was enough for him. He closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep. He knew that Miz would be wanting strawberry cheesecake soon and he wanted to be well rested for the delivery.

Meanwhile…

“Oh my God! How did you do that with your leg?” Aaron gasped, as he seemed to be trapped within a velvet vise as Stinza worked her body like a pro. One leg rested across his shoulders while the other coiled around his waist, holding him steady as she pounded her pussy over and over again on his swollen cock. Stinza grinned as she slammed on him to the hilt, then began to gyrate her body like a snake.

With his hands wrapped around her waist, Aaron fought for control. This was one wild fucking, the best thing that had ever happened to him, and he was determined to ride it out to the last!

When Stinza had pulled him from the small room he had been given, he thought he would be in for more of the pirate’s games and tricks. Instead she had ended his every protest with a tongue-tangling kiss and led him from the room by his hard cock, literally.

He never even gave the huge ship another notice as he felt a prick in his neck. The next thing he knew, he was lying in this huge mountain of pillows, bathed and groomed to within an inch of his life, and his Amazon Beauty was lying beside him. Before he could even formulate a question, she was on his body, chewing at his nipples, swallowing his cock to the root, and then climbing on top of him for a joy ride.

Now he supported her weight and stared into her eyes, as they grew dazed and dilated. Her breathing was labored and sweat poured from both of their bodies, hers from her exertions and his from trying to hold back. Feeling himself reaching his breaking point, Aaron gripped her hips tightly and spun them around, until he was the one on top, pinning her bent body to the pillows, his cock driving deeper than before as he took over this fuck.

“Stinza!” he growled, causing her eyes to snap to his, to focus in on who was above her, controlling her passion.

“Airrrrrronnnn,” she purred, his name sounding wild and exotic on her tongue. Her nails dug into his back as she pulled him down over her, her mouth taking his as her hips determinedly kept up with his rhythm.

Faster and faster they moved, grunting, screaming and panting like animals. Faster and faster they reached for the golden glow of climax, of fulfillment. Together they breached the barrier of flesh and mind and tumbled into a mind-blowing release.

Aaron jerked up, raising above her as his hips automatically slammed into her again and again. Uncontrollably, his mind went blank as his seed tore from his body.

As for Stinza, her eyes rolled to the back of her head as her inner walls grabbed at his exploding cock, milking him more, taking all that he had to give and delivering intense pleasure to her body. This was so much better than fucking for a purpose! This was fucking for pure pleasure. Having this man, this sometimes quiet, sometimes dominant man, riding high between her thighs was a real treat and pure pleasure.

“Stinza,” he gasped again as he carefully pulled her leg from his shoulder and collapsed on the pillows next to her.

“So the glowbug got away,” Stinza snickered as she rose up on one elbow and lay down on the sated man who had seemed to have passed out from the pleasure of his climax. “But I’ve got something to corrupt until I come up with another plan.” After a few moments, she rolled off of the prone body with a few final caresses and rested just to the side of the human male with the large cock and the incredible stamina.

Then she smiled. They had not seen the last of Stinza, and that she vowed.

Chapter 1

“No room at the inn.”

Of course the manager at this quaint Williamsburg Inn, the official home for the tenth annual “Out of this World” convention, had stated it more politely than that. But that is what she heard.

“I am very sorry, Ms. Perry. It appears that your reservation has been lost in our computer. If I had any spare rooms at all, I would give one to you. Unfortunately, we are completely booked due to the convention. And we haven’t had a single cancellation or no show.”

Kerry Perry nodded her head, but she pulled from her pocket the brochure for the conference. Opening it up, she pointed to the middle of the page where her name was listed as a speaker. “The organizers promised me it was all arranged, otherwise I would have seen to it myself.”

“If you’ll just give me a moment, Ms. Perry, I’ll see what I can do about correcting this mistake.” John Abbott turned quickly from the main desk and walked through the door marking the private office.

Kerry took another deep breath. “Stay calm,” she muttered quietly. “This isn’t being done deliberately to me. It could just as easily have happened to anyone else.” Forcing another deep breath through her lungs, Kerry fought the urge to call her friends. In fact, this same thing was probably occurring to some other poor schmuck right this very moment in another hotel. Unfortunately, while calming herself with rationalizations might help with a few of her phobias, it wasn’t helping solve the problem. Being completely honest with herself, she reluctantly acknowledged she was really upset about something else entirely.

It had all started two years ago when she decided, just for fun, to add some quirky little ghosts to a story she had written. Since then, her publishers had wanted her to write more and more paranormal, fantasy and science fiction genres for her erotic novels. In the beginning, she had no intention of attending any conventions—not on romance, sci-fi or any other kind of gathering of readers, writers or just fans in general. The publicity might help her writing career, but it could submarine her teaching one. Still, she had a persuasive editor and publisher.

Thus, with her publisher paving and paying her way, and her editor encouraging her through the bumps in the road and detours, Kerry found herself in Williamsburg, Virginia and “roomless.” Thanks to her generous publisher and influential editor, Kerry was now stuck here for seven days. After the convention, she was lucky enough to have four extra days to rest, relax and return completely refreshed and ready to write.

“Ms. Perry?”

Kerry turned to see the manager had returned, and he was smiling. Perhaps things were about to improve. Forcing a smile to her lips, Kerry asked the expected, “Yes?”

“Good news! Unfortunately, the rest of the hotels are booked because of the convention as well. But a friend of mine is planning on opening a lovely bed and breakfast soon, and he is happy to have you as his first guest.”

“Are you sure about that, Mr. Abbott? It sounds like he wasn’t planning on any guests for some time.”

“Not to worry, Ms. Perry. Quite a few of the rooms are finished, but my friend divides his time between fixing the place up himself and work. He’ll be here in a few minutes to give you a ride to the Rose.”

Kerry lifted one eyebrow, which had always nicely and quickly intimidated her students in the past, and usually brought forth amazing confessions and the truth. “The Rose?”

“The name of the bed and breakfast is Fair Rose. It goes back to an old story…” John stopped as he was interrupted by one of his desk clerks. He turned back a moment later. “If you’ll have a seat in the lounge, I’ll come for you as soon as he gets here.”

Kerry nodded, picked up her bags, then walked the short distance to where several chairs were grouped together. She was still in the lobby and could easily see people coming and going through the main entrance. The thought of sitting in a smoke-filled, loud bar didn’t sound like fun to her. Crossing her legs, she set her expensive, plain leather bag on her lap. Rubbing one hand across the leather, her finger traced over the brass turn lock. Kerry acknowledged the purse was like her life.

She wore her dark auburn hair carefully twisted into a neat and tidy bun most of the time, or pulled into a ponytail. She had two pairs of glasses: one with heavy dark frames, and the second with wire rims and smaller lenses. A friend had talked her into the second pair, but Kerry thought they looked like Ben Franklin rejects. This afternoon, she had arrived at the inn dressed in an off-white blouse with a skirt and jacket made of a quiet, earth-toned herringbone pattern. With her brown purse and one inch brown pumps, she was the perfectly groomed schoolteacher. Or rather, she was dressed perfectly if this was still the fifties or sixties, or she was in her fifties!

Kerry took a deep breath, looking at the entrance and wishing she were somewhere else once again. What a great place to spend her fortieth birthday! Unmarried, unattached and forty! Everything a modern woman yearned for…NOT! The doors opened again and Kerry watched and wondered if this would be her ride—

* * * * *

Broderick Douglass walked through the front doors of the Williamsburg Inn, scanning for his so-called best friend, John Abbott. The last thing he needed was a woman staying at the house. Sure, the house was technically ready, as were the gardens. But he’d been so busy trying to get his law practice started that he hadn’t had the time to put the finishing touches on the bed and breakfast yet.

When John called him at his office, which was located off the rear entrance of the bed and breakfast, he’d been in the middle of some research for a local farmer disputing land rights. Working two jobs was becoming a major hassle. He paused about ten feet from the desk, seeing the long lines. At least he knew John hadn’t been pulling his leg about “no room at the inn.” Removing his aviator style sunglasses, he let his eyes roam around the lobby, wondering if he could pick out the spinster who’d be his first official guest.

Abruptly his gaze stopped on a woman seated a short distance away. She looked like every schoolteacher he’d ever suffered through, and the sinking feeling in his gut told him instinctively she would be his guest for the next few days. Slipping his sunglasses in the pocket of his leather jacket, he started toward the woman.

* * * * *

Kerry couldn’t take her eyes off the man dressed in the black leather jacket, white T-shirt and jeans. When her eyes moved down, after a long pause halfway, she saw that he was wearing the required leather boots, also black. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear she was looking at the guy who starred in that Highlander television show: piercing blue eyes, sensual mouth, short black ponytail and the “to die for” body. Suddenly, feeling all twitchy and quivering inside, Kerry found herself revising her previous opinion about modern men and ponytails.

This man could have walked out of any of her erotic stories. Without warning, a phrase shot through her consciousness—the stuff that dreams are made of! Yup! That described this man exactly. Maybe by observing him carefully, she could turn him into one of her heroic studs. Then she realized he was walking towards her…Oh my God! He was stopping right in front of her! Kerry felt the breath rush out of her body in shock. Perhaps he was lost or just asking for directions?

“Are you Ms. Perry?”

Kerry felt her bones melting as she listened to his deep, slightly raspy voice. She couldn’t believe how blue his eyes were as she stared up at him. Yes, indeed, she mused in her head. This man was worth dreaming about.

“Ms. Perry?”

Kerry flushed brightly as she realized she had been staring at the man while he was politely inquiring about her identity. Jumping up from her chair, her purse slid from her lap and knocked over her briefcase. In that moment, as she started to answer the man, her briefcase opened and disclosed its contents. Kerry watched in disbelief as a phallic device, almost identical to the one Miz had shown them earlier, rolled out of her briefcase and over to the man’s right foot. At some point, Kerry acknowledged in horror and embarrassment, her dear friends must have stuck this thing in her briefcase.

Leave it to her friends to make this a hum-dinger of a surprise as well. It was a ten-inch latex cock, looking like a misshapen flag. Now it was lying on the tasteful, sedate carpet of this historic inn. The insane thought raced through her brain that technically, being red, white and blue, it sort of fit in. Feeling like she was frozen in place, Kerry watched the handsome man squat down and pick the vibrator up.

Kerry prayed nothing else would happen to increase her embarrassment when she realized that the buzzing sound in her head was really coming from the vibrator. Somehow, in the fall, it had turned itself on. Great! It was preloaded with batteries. She’d have to make sure she thanked her thoughtful friends next time she saw them! Grateful beyond belief, Kerry watched as the man turned it off while he slipped it back into the briefcase, picking both bags up as he rose.

“I wonder if murder due to embarrassment is allowable?” she muttered quietly.

“I wouldn’t do it, if I were you. You’d just end up being embarrassed all over again during the court trial.” He smiled, adding softly, “Don’t forget the presentation and demonstration of evidence…if the glove fits—”

Kerry was stunned by the whiteness of his teeth. This man could be a model or a movie star. Up close, she could see his face wasn’t perfect. A slight crook in the bridge of his nose, a small nick of a scar on his chin, and a longer scar went down the side of his face, from temple to jaw.

“Are these the only two bags you have?” Broderick asked, nodding at the small overnight bag and briefcase.

Kerry shook her head. “No, but the manager said he’d have them driven over shortly. “

“Then,” he smiled at her again, “follow me and we’ll head back to the bed and breakfast and get you settled in for the night.”

Kerry followed the man outside but stopped abruptly when she saw their mode of transportation—it was an honest to God Harley-Davidson motorcycle, complete with silver hardware and pretty tags. There was no way she could get up on that thing. She must have been shaking her head because a moment later the man grinned at her.

“Don’t worry, ma’am. I’ll get you there in one piece.”

Kerry couldn’t return his grin as her nerves gripped her consciousness. She was a little insulted at being called “ma’am” but even more distressed at the thought of hiking her skirt sky high to ride this monstrous beast. Taking a deep breath, she started to speak. “I—”

“It’s easy, ma’am. I’ll use the long straps and hold the overnight bag on the back here, and then if you’ll drape your purse and the other bag across your uhm…yeah, like that. Oh, I forgot. I’m Broderick Douglass, owner of the Fair Rose bed and breakfast.”

Before Kerry could reply, he had his helmet on and was astride the mighty beast. “Put your foot on mine and then swing the other leg over. Uhh, you will have to hike that skirt up some.”

Kerry followed his direction, ignoring her doubts. With her skirt pulled up to mid-thigh, she started to follow the man’s directions. Broderick must have assisted her because a moment later Kerry was astride the big, black Harley. She didn’t wait to be told, but quickly slipped her arms around his body.

“Hold on!” Broderick told her unnecessarily above the roar of the powerful machine. Kerry felt him kicking the brake back, heard the erotic revving of the motor and then they were off.

“Oh my Gawd!” Kerry screamed as the motorcycle careened away from the inn’s entrance.

Chapter 2

Prayers of gratitude were still echoing in Kerry’s head as she followed Broderick up the beautiful oak staircase. The Fair Rose bed and breakfast was beautiful, from what she could see as the sun set. According to Broderick, the original structure dated back to 1756, and over the years it had been rebuilt, restored and generally refurbished, until the depression era.

They had entered through the kitchen, after what Kerry was sure had been an entertaining dismount from the motorcycle. Broderick flicked on light switches as they moved through the house, while Kerry was taking in the details of the large bed and breakfast inn. The rich, warm wood seemed to echo back to another age. They passed a room where the furniture was covered with sheets. Broderick described it as the future “common” room.

Broderick opened a bedroom door just past the top of the staircase. Walking into the room first, he turned on the overhead light, and set her briefcase and overnight bag on a bench at the foot of the queen-size, four-poster bed.

“This is the Lady Rose room. Nearly all of the rooms are complete, but this is the only one with everything in place.”

Kerry looked from Broderick to the bed. It was grand enough to take her breath away. Made of heavy dark wood, it had drawn, thick cream curtains suspended from the top beams of the bed. She couldn’t resist lightly stroking the fabric.

“Wow! This is incredible.” Floral bed covers, complete with lace pillows and burgundy velvet bed skirt, made this the kind of bed women dreamed of. She went to sit on the bed and found that it was too tall to scoot onto. It was tempting to face the bed and scramble up, but she also knew it would look ridiculous for a grown woman to do so. A moment later, Broderick pulled out a wooden stepping stool for the bed.

Everything Kerry had seen was just perfect for a bed and breakfast. It screamed Victorian elegance while remaining cozy and charming. “This is all really fantastic, Mr. Douglass. Did you hire a designer who specialized in the period?”

Broderick turned and smiled. “Thanks, but I’ve done it all myself. Well, I need to get back to work. I’ll leave the kitchen door unlocked if you want to go out. Once your other bag arrives, I’ll bring it up.” Walking to the door, he looked back at Kerry. “Feel free to look around if you want. If you need something during the night, just pick the phone up and press 1. It rings in the kitchen, my office and bedroom. Oh, and even though I’m not officially open, I’ll be happy to serve you some breakfast. Is eight too early?”

Kerry shook her head slowly. “No, uhm, that will be fine. I’m not due at the convention until ten.” She watched as the attractive man closed the door. “What a waste,” she murmured softly. “I guess it’s true—all the good ones are either married or gay. Damn!” Kicking her shoes off, she used the step stool to get up onto the bed. Lying back against the soft pillows, it was impossible to keep her eyes open. In a few deep breaths she was sound asleep.

* * * * *

Kerry awoke abruptly, looking frantically around the room. It took a few seconds before she remembered she was at the bed and breakfast, Fair Rose. Sitting up, she rubbed her hands over her eyes. Her glasses must have fallen off. She looked around for them, but couldn’t see them. Scooting off the bed, she pulled her jacket off and untied the bow at the neck of her shirt. Unbuttoning the first few buttons, Kerry glanced around, wondering what time it was. Glancing at her wrist, she was surprised to find her watch missing as well. Shrugging, she went into the bathroom.

Kerry stripped her clothes off, standing in front of the mirror. For some foolish reason, she had worn a very sexy, loose fitting, silky lace teddy in the softest of pinks. She pulled the last few pins from her hair, and soon it was streaming over her shoulders. Looking at her reflection, Kerry acknowledged that even if Broderick weren’t gay, he probably wouldn’t have been attracted to her. Her face was just average and her body was more than average size. Most men preferred thin women, or women with large breasts.

She didn’t hate the way she looked, but rather accepted it. After all, it wasn’t as if she never dated. There had been that accountant her Aunt Cecelia had fixed her up with a few months back. And before that was the guy who had decided to leave his career in management at the golden arches, and go into ministry school. Once he discovered what her career was, which she had put off telling him until their third date, it had been clear their career choices were irreconcilable.

Kerry leaned over and rinsed her face with water, and then turned off the taps. Letting the water drip down and wet the teddy, she wondered what her readers would think if they knew she was really the complete opposite of what she wrote in her books. Excitement, exotica and passionate lovemaking were not a part of her life. Instead she had become very adept at research, in lots of interesting areas.

Clack!

Whoosh!

Kerry froze as she heard the strange noises. It sounded like they were outside her bedroom door. Moving to the door, she opened it slowly. Light from behind her began chasing away the darkness down the long hallway. Looking at first down the hall, into pitch-blackness, Kerry took a deep breath before turning to glance at the head of the staircase. Moonlight streamed through the windows on the first floor, partway up the stairs. Just enough of the pale blue light allowed Kerry to see the area was empty.

Clack!

Whomphhf!

Kerry felt her heart leap in her chest as the sounds came again, but this time she could tell they were coming from the dark end of the hallway. For a few seconds she paused, considering closing her door and turning the lock, with her inside. That would be the smart thing to do. She didn’t know her way around this large house, nor did she really know her host. Perhaps he was a lunatic hiding out here, just waiting to pounce on his next victim. Taking a step into the hallway, she ignored the irritating voice that reminded her that her host’s most likely choice would be male.

Staring into the darkness, Kerry took a step forward and tripped over her suitcase. “Damn it all” she muttered and balanced on one foot while she rubbed the stubbed toes on her other foot. When she looked back up, a faint wisp of smoke seemed to fill the air. Trying to breathe, Kerry took a few more steps and a few more puffs and swirls of mist crossed the floor. She realized that the smoke was coming from beneath the door at the end of the hallway. Instinctively, Kerry reacted.

“Fire!” she screamed, trying to catch her breath. Then, knowing it was stupid and the wrong thing to do, Kerry ran towards the door. At least she did remember to touch the door before she opened it. Immediately, Kerry felt the coldness of the door and something told her there was no fire. Breathing deeply to steady her nerves, she opened the door and looked around. Her instinct was confirmed, which meant there was absolutely no reason at all to walk across the thick carpet toward the bed.

The bed was king-sized, and like hers, featured the heavy drapery. Moonlight came flooding through the two large oval windows, highlighting the naked male figure asleep on the bed. He had obviously kicked the covers off, and Kerry ignored the good sense God must have given her and went to stand next to the bed. In sleep, Broderick Douglass was even more attractive. The fact he was naked merely added to his appeal.

A smile curved her full lips upward as she considered that this man didn’t need anything to add to his sexiness. There should be a law, she reasoned, against a man this gorgeous being gay. It just wasn’t fair to the women of the world. Not fair at all!

“Stop smiling at me wench and get in this bed!”

Kerry gasped as the man’s hand shot out and grabbed her forearm. A second later, she was pulled forward and across his body. Twisting and turning, a breathless Kerry stared up at her captor. Looking up into his blue eyes, she was struck by the strangeness of this whole situation. Logic was the only answer.

“You’re gay!”

Laughter filled the room. “I’ve been accused of being dour, short-tempered and too generous with a servant who works upstairs, but never of being gay and light-hearted!”

Kerry could feel his hard cock pressed against her belly as he rested atop her nearly naked body. Taking a deep breath, she reminded herself that she did not do things like this. Possibly Miz would, and Natalie could be tempted, but her best friends would agree that she, the original Miss Prim, would never sleep with a man she’d just met. Especially if sleep wasn’t really on the agenda!

“I’ve never seen a garment such as this, my lovely.” A moment later, Kerry felt the man’s hand caressing her side and moving upward, stopping just below her heaving breast. His hand covered her breast, rubbing his palm across her taut nipple. When Kerry gasped, he smiled. “Not that I’m complaining, lass, for I know there is no one else. Always you have been the only one for me as well.”

“Mr. Douglass!” she whispered, telling her body to ignore the wonderful sensations she was experiencing with his body pressed against her. She forgot to breathe as his mouth lowered to kiss the side of her neck. It took a second before she realized that he was not moving upward. “Broderick!”

“What, my love?” his husky voice inquired gently while his hands began pulling the bodice of her teddy down.

Kerry took a deep breath to tell Broderick to stop…but her breath sighed away as her bare nipple was enveloped by his mouth. The hot, sweet suction soon had her almost hyperventilating and her resistance rapidly fading. Why not enjoy a hot passionate fling? She had no ties. There was nothing to stop her—

The hand between her thighs paused. “What odd fastenings, my sweet.” Yet he still dealt with them quite capably and the silk was pushed up to her hips. His hand covered her mound. This time he gasped. “What’s this? Where is your sweet, thick bush, darling Jen?”

Kerry felt Broderick’s fingers on her shaven pussy. She paused to be grateful that she’d taken the time to shave this morning. Opening her mouth to reply, the words died as his fingers slid back across her wet lips. Two fingers slipped into her body while his thumb probed the hairless lips of her pussy, probing for her clit.

“I am surprised, love.” His lips covered hers for a deep, drugging kiss. “But I certainly approve.”

Kerry’s hips jerked sharply in response to his clever flicks against her clit. Her body’s wetness made his fingers slippery and slick, and they wiggled against her, and inside of her. As her first orgasm in a very long while swept through her body, Kerry told the protective and shielding voice inside her head to shut up. Her arms came up and circled Broderick’s muscular, tanned shoulders. To hell with conventions and manners! She was doing what felt good and damn the consequences!

Broderick slipped from her grasp and moved down her body. His intentions were obvious as his strong hands gently spread her thighs. She tangled her fingers among the long black strands of his silky hair. But there was no stopping him as he began his earnest mission. His hands caressed and stroked her warm, fleshy thighs a moment before she felt his breath upon her slick, wet pussy lips.

“Oh, God! Yes!”

Kerry was shocked to hear her own voice crying out, especially since there was still not a single thought in her head about stopping him. Indeed, she was now encouraging him by moving her thighs farther apart. Her one hand lowered to cradle the back of Broderick’s head while his lips and tongue showed her the true depth of her passionate nature.

Kerry felt his tongue dancing, flickering against her clit. Each move set off tiny explosive surges in her body. And it was only after several moments that she was aware that he had once again slid two fingers into her body. Soon her hips were jerking rhythmically to his timed seductions. His tongue held command, licking, stroking lightly, and finally controlling her completely with tiny flickering movements.

She’d lost track of how many small explosive spasms she’d experienced before he started a truly erotic dance with his fingers inside her hot cunt. Massaging, pressing, and finally discovering the special place inside Kerry’s body, Broderick released a torrent of liquid essence as she suddenly lost all control. Her body jerked against him several times, smearing the liquid around his face and onto her thighs.

“Sweet heaven!”

Kerry heard him whisper the words moments before she literally passed out from satiation and exhaustion. The last thing she remembered was the amazingly warm and comfortable feeling of lying beside him, his heat and strength touching her more intimately than any man had before.

Chapter 3

Kerry groaned and turned over in bed. It felt so wonderful in the warm and protective cocoon of sheets and blankets. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw the heavy cream-colored bed hangings around her soft, comforting nest. She couldn’t tell for sure, but the sun looked like it was too far up in the sky for it to be seven-thirty, which was the time she’d set the alarm on her watch. Lifting her left hand languorously, she squinted to see the watch face. Then she remembered her watch was missing…or she thought it was. Turning over she looked at the antique styled, but modern functioning clock on the bedside table.

“Nine-thirty! Oh shit! I’m late for the convention.”

Kerry jumped from the bed and ran to the bathroom. Stripping her teddy up over her head, she climbed into the tiled shower. Washing thoroughly, she ignored the tenderness between her upper thighs. Erotic dreams such as she had experienced last night were rare, especially if she had an orgasm during her bliss-filled sleep. It was way too easy to close her eyes and imagine the way Broderick’s hands had caressed her rounded flesh during the dream.

Back in the bedroom, she glanced around for her suitcase but didn’t see it anywhere. Holding the towel tightly around her dripping body, she gingerly opened her door and peaked out into the hall. There was her bag, close to the wall, but still sticking out enough for someone to trip over. Abruptly Kerry shook the nonsensical erotic thoughts from her head. That had been one hell of a dream she’d had last time. Just thinking about making such passionate and uninhibited love with a near stranger was enough to make her flush hotly.

Glad that there was not a dress code, Kerry dressed in jeans, white oxford-style shirt and sneakers. Tying a pink sweater around her shoulders, Kerry grabbed her purse off the nightstand, and rushed down to the kitchen, shoving her glasses on as she hurried. There was a plate with a large note beside it, which directed her to the refrigerator for some bottled juice and water. On the plate were two big delicious looking muffins.

The note said, “I apologize for not being able to fix you a scrumptious breakfast, Ms. Perry, but I’ve been called to Richmond for a last minute court appearance. In lieu of wake up food, I hope you will allow me to fix you dinner this evening, if you are free. Have a fun day at the convention! See you later!”

After reading the note out loud, Kerry grabbed one muffin, wrapped the other in the cloth napkin and stuffed it into her purse. With the juice in her other hand, she took off for the walk to the college. The streets were already filling with happy tourists for Colonial Williamsburg and obviously dressed convention-goers. Many were dressed as their favorite sci-fi characters, obviously throwing themselves into the spirit of the convention.

Walking briskly, Kerry ate her muffin, occasionally sipping the juice. Her thoughts returned to her passionate dreams. In her pre-waking state, it had all felt so incredibly real. The warmth inside the soft cocoon of sheets and blankets had been almost too sweet and enticing to leave. If she’d not been alone—

Kerry stopped walking abruptly. How ridiculous, she told herself. She had been alone all night and obviously just enjoyed an erotic dream starring her host. No big deal! Other people had dreams like this all the time, she reminded herself nervously. It was just that hers had felt so incredibly real. Closing her eyes, her skin tingled almost as if it were being touched once more. She shivered in reaction. It was almost too easy to recall the sensations her body had experienced, and technically, nothing at all had happened.

As she walked along the quaint street toward the Christopher Wren building, where she was scheduled to present her talk, it was hard to focus on the convention. Instead, the only thing on her mind was the dream she’d had last night. She’d have sworn on a stack of Bibles that it had been real. It certainly had seemed real. But if it had been, then she would not have awakened alone and in her bed.

After she attended her part of the lecture and discussion this afternoon, she was considering returning to the Fair Rose and going down the hallway when it was light enough to see things clearly. She reasoned that when she looked into the door at the end of the hall and nothing was like it had been in her dream, that would be proof it wasn’t real. Right?

* * * * *

“I believe that in the near future a more open, honest approach to the true place of sex in our daily lives will create ‘sex-positive ripples’ throughout the world. Every day there are more authors that were once considered strictly erotica and are now being recognized. They are being acknowledged as true to their chosen genre, whether it is science fiction, mystery, horror or fantasy, and not just as an erotic story.”

Kerry paused to remind herself to speak slowly and breathe. “In the United States, we need to leave puritanical ways behind us, and face the fact that sex is good, and it shouldn’t only be seen in terms of violence and abuse, which is currently the case for most mainstream genres. For too long, people have considered any sex in a book, regardless of the topic, wrong, and rush to classify the whole book as pornographic.”

Kerry paused, surprised at the applause the amazingly large audience gave her statements. Smiling and nodding, she continued as it died down. “Everywhere you look, sex is becoming more prominent. We do ourselves a great disservice when we rush to label even sex between husband and wife as pornography. I agree with rating books in which sexual acts are more graphically described. Readers want to read more than sex for just sex’s sake. You write a good story, sci-fi, vampire or mystery, and as long as the sex fits the story and setting, readers will enjoy it, and demand more of it.

“It is strongly believed that the human soul has a driving need to work out its need for pain, rage and fury, as well as love and sex. For many people, reading and writing about the darker side of life, and sex, allows them to safely work out these needs on paper and in the bedroom. To quote Bob Dylan in closing, ‘If my thought dreams could be seen, they’d probably put my head in a guillotine. But it’s alright, Ma, its life and life only.’ “

Kerry gathered her notes and sat down. Taking a deep breath, and several sips of water, she was glad this part was over. All she had to do now was pay attention, answer a question when asked and not knock over her water. Turning her head toward the podium, she put her best “I’m paying attention” face on, hoping she was smiling and nodding her head in the right places.

Kerry felt like she was running out of the large room when it was announced that the next presentation would be starting in less than five minutes. Skipping down the stairs, she practically race-walked back to the Fair Rose. Entering through the kitchen, she called out to her host.

“Mr. Douglass? Hello!”

Upstairs, she called out one more time. Pausing only to toss her purse into her room, she hurried down the long hallway. Stopping at the door, she pressed her ear flat to the door first. There was nothing to be heard and she stood upright again. Looking down as her hand touched the doorknob, she was surprised to see her hand was shaking. It didn’t help to lecture herself that there was no reason to be scared. Quietly she opened the door, and stepped into the room.

Kerry stopped immediately. She was overwhelmed by the sense of déjà vu. Instead of moonlight, the sunlight streamed through the three arched windows. She could see that the bed had burgundy drapes. Looking around the room, she didn’t recognize anything. But it was also true that she hadn’t really stopped to carefully peruse the room before she walked to the bed.

“Good Lord,” Kerry spoke softly. It had just been a dream last night and nothing more. The fact that the room resembled the one in her dream was a fluke. After all, the bed was basically the same style as hers. Also, if this was Broderick’s room, it only made sense that he would have darker, more masculine bed clothing, regardless of his choice in bed partners. The fact that the three windows resembled the ones in her dreams was natural, Kerry rationalized silently. She had windows in her room just like these.

Now that she had proven it was just a crazy dream, there was no reason to stay. Certainly there was no need to be walking across the room toward the bed, but that is exactly what she did next. Stopping beside the bed, she leaned over and pressed her hand flat to the surface. Breathing quickly and more shallow with each passing second, Kerry pushed her hand downward, into the soft mattress. Coldness seemed to swirl around her the next second and Kerry straightened quickly. Looking down, she saw it was the same fog-like substance she’d seen in her dream. But this time it was circling around her feet, rising slowly up past her knees.

“Move your stupid feet, damn it!” she told herself fiercely.

“Nay, lass. I think you have the prettiest feet I’ve ever seen in a long time. The shoes are a bit strange, as are your clothes.”

Kerry couldn’t swallow suddenly, and for a few moments, breathing was questionable. Turning her head, she glanced over her shoulder toward the voice. Standing just inside the room was Broderick Douglass and this time he was dressed as if he had just stepped from a portrait in the mid 1700’s. His black hair gleamed and his tan appeared even darker against the white cravat. The blue jacket deepened his blue eyes. Most impressive was the way his breeches fit his muscular thighs and flat stomach. Black boots gleamed with such a high glossy finish that Kerry imagined they would be reflective.

“Hello, Mr. Douglass. You surprised me. I was just looking around like you suggested yesterday.”

“I must say, my sweet, that I don’t care for these new clothes you have. Come along and we’ll see if we can’t find something a bit more…” Broderick crossed the few feet that separated them and took her arm. “I don’t think anyone has been through those old trunks for years.”

Kerry followed as Broderick led her through the house. They took another hallway, which she had not seen last night or today. At the end of that hall was a door, which creaked as he opened it. He then led the way up a narrow staircase, which opened up into the attic. It was dimly lit by windows at either end, but Kerry could easily see that while the front part of the room had been thoroughly probed and investigated, and things sorted into newer boxes, the back half was just as obviously untouched.

“Back this way, lass.”

Kerry sneezed once as she followed Broderick almost to the farthest end of the room. Their zigzag path wound deeper into the farthest corner from the door. Kerry pushed and shoved a few boxes, suitcases and trunks back to widen the path somewhat. The light was getting dimmer as the afternoon sun began to descend. She stopped and watched as Broderick began rummaging through piles of boxes and bundles. Suddenly he spoke, although Kerry still couldn’t see what he’d found.

“Ah ha! I knew it still had to be up here.” He tugged and pulled and soon an old-fashioned trunk appeared. “It appears that everyone’s been putting something or other up here in the attic. The years pass, and no one ever returns for the lost treasure that at one time was so precious it had demanded immediate salvation.”

Kerry felt tears clog her throat at his words. How true they were. She had often done the same thing, but she also knew that nothing she had squirreled away could ever be anything like this stuff. She stepped forward as Broderick opened the trunk. The scent of cedar and mothballs rose in the air. A moment later, Broderick was pulling out some carefully preserved items enclosed within the thinnest of papers.

The first thing he revealed was a suit jacket similar to the one he was wearing, only this one was pale blue and made of the finest silk. Shaking it slightly so it opened completely, Kerry gasped at the sight of it.

“Uhm, do you always dress up like this in the evening?”

“This was made in London. I went there with my parents for several months when I came of age. That was quite a season and I’m sure my parents were glad to return to the quiet life we had here in town, as well as on the plantation.”

Kerry paused in lightly running her hands across the jacket’s fabric. “What season were you in London? I’ve been there just once, in the early summer, and it was quite lovely.”

“What season? You jest, my sweet. I always did enjoy your unusual sense of humor. Now, let’s see what else I have in here.”

Ignoring the comment about her humor, Kerry squatted down and watched while Broderick rummaged through the trunk. The comment about seasons seemed strange. If he had really been living back in the 1700’s then he probably meant the London Season. But this was thetwenty-first century, not the eighteenth. Yet he certainly looked smart in that costume. She felt like she still needed to ask about last night. Had it really been a dream? Did she spend the night making love to this devastatingly attractive man? He must have carried her back to her room, but why? Unless he wanted to pretend it had never happened.

Kerry cringed immediately at the pain she felt at the thought that he wanted to act like he was the innkeeper and she was only his guest. Sure she wrote about this kind of stuff, but she wasn’t at all comfortable with the fact that it was happening to her. Of course the worst part of all was that she wasn’t going to be able to write the ending she wanted.

Broderick stood a moment later, gently shaking a bundle until it fully opened to reveal a beautiful pale green dress, with lace at the bodice and sleeves. It was full-skirted and most surely would have been worn with several fancy slips, or crinolines, beneath its silken beauty.

“It’s beautiful!” Kerry stood and lightly ran her hand over the silky material. “Something this well-preserved should be in one of the museums around here.”

Broderick shook his head. “This belonged to my mother. Would you like to try it on?”

“I don’t think it would fit me, but thank you.” Kerry squatted down directly in front of the trunk. “What other kinds of secrets are hidden in here?”

“I can’t remember the last time I looked through that trunk. For now though, let’s go down so you can try the dress on. I’ll put my jacket on as well.” Broderick picked up both pieces of clothing and then extended his hand to Kerry. She accepted his helping hand, pausing for just a moment to note the definite coolness of his flesh and then they made their way back down the stairs.

Chapter 4

Kerry showered quickly, blow-drying her hair. Fearing the worst, she stepped into the dress. Stunned that it covered her body much better than she had anticipated, Kerry glanced in the mirror. Her heart soared because it appeared as if the dress could be closed as well. Excited, she picked up the skirt and ran down the hall to Broderick’s room. For a moment, she stopped as her eyes adjusted to the lack of light. More time than she had thought must have passed while they were in the attic. The sun had completely set, leaving the passageway in total darkness.

As she ran, she pressed one hand flat to her breastbone to hold the bodice in place. Her shoeless feet were soundless as she came to a halt outside Broderick’s bedroom. Breathing rapidly, she tapped once and then opened the door. The bedroom was lit only by the small bedside lamp. Kerry stopped abruptly upon entering. Breathless before she entered, she was now hyperventilating. Her eyes lingered over Broderick’s half naked body. Clad only in worn jeans, he turned towards the door and Kerry could see the surprise on his face.

Suddenly, Kerry felt foolish. Broderick had told her to come and show him as soon as she was ready. But now, by the look on his face, the surprise was caused by her being there at all. “I’m so sorry for just barging in…I just wanted you to see how the dress fit.”

* * * * *

Broderick was indeed looking at her, from her beautiful long hair, down over the long green dress, and coming back up to where her full breasts were half exposed. He’d wondered what the prim miss would look like with her hair down. By all means, this surpassed anything he could have imagined!

“Other than needing some closure, it looks beautiful, Ms. Perry. Mind if I ask where you got the dress?” Broderick watched the confusion that suddenly filled Kerry’s eyes.

“You—”

Broderick could see tears brimming in her eyes. He shook his head. Today had been a long day, following a very restless night filled with strange dreams. But he was positive that he had not given this woman that dress. Before he could think of a reply or a suitable question, Kerry spoke up.

“You did too! We were upstairs in the attic, going through an old trunk. You found this dress and a jacket for yourself. The dress belonged to your mother and you were dressed in a period costume.”

Broderick shook his head. “Not my mother! She detests all this colonial crap, as she calls it. And there is no nice way to put this, but she wears a size four.”

In less than thirty seconds, Broderick was assured he’d made a colossal mistake. Despite the near darkness of the room, he could still see that a shimmery wetness was now overflowing her eyes and running down her cheeks. Cursing his lack of smoothness with women, he took a step towards Kerry.

“No!” Kerry held her hand up towards him. “I’ll take the dress off and return it to you in the morning.” Without another word, she was gone, running back down the hall. A few seconds later, Broderick heard her door close with a click.

Sitting on the edge of his bed, he considered her words as he sipped from the second glass of fine brandy he had poured himself in his study. She had not been lying about the dress, or his being with her. Ms. Kerry Perry was the kind of person who couldn’t lie without it being obvious on her face. He was sure of that. Dropping back to lie across the bed, Broderick considered the fact that Kerry seemed to be more familiar with him than what he’d expected, considering this was the second time they had met.

Closing his eyes, he thought about Kerry. It didn’t make any sense, but it was as if the intimacy of last night’s dream with her was true. After spending all day fighting remembrance of the dream, Broderick took a deep breath and let the memory wash through him. He had awakened abruptly and she was standing beside his bed. Pulling Kerry onto the bed had released quite a few pent up desires, and once again he told himself he was lucky it had only been a dream, or he’d have found himself awakening to face a lawsuit or worse.

It would be a close call, but Broderick was leaning toward thinking it would have been worth it. Even though it had been a dream, it was the most erotic dream he’d had in years. And if the bed had not been empty when he awoke, he’d have sworn on a stack of Bibles that it had not been a dream at all. It was both disheartening and embarrassing to his manhood to admit that such dreams were so few and far between since he’d inherited this white elephant a few years ago that he couldn’t even remember the last one. Between restoration of this place and reestablishing a law practice here, he’d had no time for building a social life.

That had to be the only reason he’d dreamed about his prim and proper guest. Although in his dream last night, she had looked like a luscious, full-figured lingerie model. Smiling, Broderick remembered how real it all seemed, right down to the silky feel of her clothing. Added to his previous arousing dreams, the reality of seeing her a few minutes ago was going to guarantee another restless night. He had no doubt the sight of her long hair, naked shoulders and brief glimpse of a heaving bosom were going to star in tonight’s dream.

Broderick shifted around in the bed, pulling the bed linens sideways to cover himself. The room seemed much cooler all of a sudden. Turning over, Broderick opened one eye. As he looked toward the moonlight filling the room, it almost looked as if the moon beams were turning into a puff of fog. Perhaps he’d not latched the balcony door earlier—

* * * * *

Kerry opened her eyes, noticing they still felt swollen from her tears. Coming fully awake, she rubbed her eyes. It was still dark out except for the small amount of moonlight streaming in the gap between the curtains. Hearing the door creak, she turned toward the sound. A moment later, Broderick was walking into her room. Suddenly, the embarrassment she’d felt earlier came rushing back.

“I thought you were going to show me how you looked in the dress.”

Kerry shook her head, shoving her hair back with one hand. “One of us must be going crazy!”

“You look too beautiful to be a lunatic.” Broderick picked the dress up off the floor. “And while I am sure you would look lovely in the dress, you are entrancing in nothing.”

Kerry blushed and realized she was naked. Before she could make another move, Broderick had crossed to place one knee on her bed. His mouth covered hers as he pressed her back onto the bed. She felt the same coolness of his hands that she had earlier in the attic. Kerry lifted her hands to his shoulders, pushing against him half-heartedly. When Broderick moved his mouth down to the side of her neck, Kerry stopped pushing and slid her hands into his hair.

“If I’m not crazy, then I must be dreaming. I don’t think there can be any other logical explanation.” She stopped speaking as Broderick’s hand shifted to cover one breast. Her breath soughed out as he started to squeeze the soft, round orb. “Oh, God! Yes!”

Kerry lifted her hands to his shoulders, expecting to feel the silken fabric of his jacket beneath her hands. Instead, her palms were caressing smooth, muscular and very warm masculine skin. Trying to think amidst her sensual haze, Kerry thought Broderick’s hands seemed so much warmer than they had earlier. Now his hand, caressing and molding her breast, felt hot to her naked flesh.

“I love hearing you cry out as I caress your body. I missed hearing it over the years, my maiden girl.”

Kerry shook her head as his words didn’t make any sense. But then, like most dreams this probably wasn’t going to be logical. Feeling his mouth moving to enclose her nipple, Kerry reminded herself that this dream was too good to waste her time trying to reason it out. If all she had was this erotic dream world, then by God she was going to enjoy it!

Broderick released her nipple and smiled down into Kerry’s eyes. When her hands pressed against his shoulders, he moved to lie back on the bed beside her. A moment later, Kerry was straddling his upper thighs. Lowering her mouth to his, she kissed him hotly, drawing his tongue out to meet hers. After several moments of stroking against one another, Kerry withdrew her tongue and moved her mouth down the side of his face. Soft kisses dotted his jaw until she came to his earlobe. Sucking on it lightly, Kerry then slid her lips down the side of his neck. Reacting on an elemental level, Kerry sucked on the skin of his neck, knowingly choosing to mark his flesh.

Reaching down, Kerry rested her hands over Broderick’s masculine nipples, her fingers curving to fit his muscles. Touching him was electric and she eased backwards, down his body. Her hands moved to his hard cock, and caressed and stroked until his essence oozed forth. Feeling totally unlike her usual demur self, Kerry leaned forward again. But this time her mouth began the truly erotic and seductive assault upon his flesh. As she continued to arouse him, Kerry could feel the tension in his body building. If this was a dream, she didn’t want to wake up, ever!

The world tilted, and then spun wildly a moment later as Kerry found herself beneath her dream man. Hell, she thought suddenly. Maybe he was a ghost! Shivering in reaction to her idea, she still spoke hurriedly. “Protection?”

She felt the immediate reaction in his body, and a moment later she heard a tearing sound. A few seconds later, Kerry gasped as he entered her body, slowly at first. His slowness allowed her to feel the wetness on her pussy as it parted to welcome his presence. For just a few seconds, she felt Broderick pause as he felt or sensed the tight fit. Kerry realized that he now knew, or at least guessed, that her experience was extremely limited. Lifting her eyes to his, she felt him so intimately joined with her, but a moment later she became less thoughtful as he thrust deeply and completely, so he was now fully inside her body.

“Oh, yes!” Kerry cried as his body filled her emptiness. Looking up, she saw his face, partially highlighted by the moonlight. Her hand lifted to caress his cheek, trailing her fingers lightly across his lips. His skin was so warm, and his lips soft. How could this be a dream?

Broderick’s mouth parted and covered her index finger. Pausing, embedded deeply within her body, he lightly sucked on her finger. “Feel my mouth around your finger,” he paused his sucking to explain. “Imagine something that is a thousand times hotter, tighter and sweeter—that is how it feels being inside you.”

A gasp escaped Kerry’s throat as she heard his words. This was better than the dialogue she wrote in her stories! How could her dream be more creative than she was?

“Look at me, Kerry.”

As their eyes met, Broderick began thrusting in and out of her body, slowly. Kerry lifted her thighs and wrapped them around his hips, deepening his entry. Her clit was super sensitized and the slightest rubbing seemed to send her through the roof. She quickly realized by rocking her hips back and forth, side to side and even some erratic wiggles brought her clit pressure and manipulation as her pelvic bone moved against his. Combined with his thrusts, just a few additional movements and an orgasm rocked her foundation. She couldn’t stop or hide her instantaneous reaction. Her body quivered and then her hips jerked spasmodically upward.

“Let go, my sweet. Just be free—”

Kerry stopped thinking and let the waves of pleasure sweep through her. She met each thrust eagerly, and when his pace quickened, she knotted her hands into the sheets. Closing her eyes, Kerry let her body savor the sensations. When it started, she couldn’t say. The orgasm hit her like a tidal wave, crashing down and carrying her with it. As her hips jerked, she could feel her muscles squeezing around his hardness. His body started to pull out of her, and unconsciously her muscles clamped down, slowing his withdrawal.

Soon, Kerry felt his heat coming deeply into her body. Her feelings seemed as old as time. Suddenly, she wasn’t a modern woman making her way independently through life. She was basic, primal instinct. The sensation of his hard manhood so deep inside her was intoxicating. In that moment, Kerry wished for his seed, hot and life making. It was a crazy, risky thought. But she felt a little crazy, and not at all her usually prim, proper and totally logical self. Her last thought, right before she dropped into a deep, unconscious sleep was modern. It’s a good thing this was just a dream. Safe sex and birth control had no place in a fantasy about such deeply sensual acts such as she had just dreamed.

* * * * *

Broderick awoke suddenly. Sunlight was streaming through the windows and he quickly glanced at the clock beside his bed. “Shit,” he muttered as he saw it was nearly nine o’clock in the morning. Flopping back down onto his pillow, he closed his eyes. He couldn’t believe he had slept so late. The last time he’d slept past six was in college following a particularly wild party involving a keg of beer. Broderick had learned a valuable lesson that night, especially since he had a final the day he overslept. He knew his limit was two drinks a night, period.

So why he was feeling like he had a hangover wasn’t making any sense at all. After the unusual interlude with his houseguest, involving an old dress, he’d downed two snifters of brandy. Something about moonlight and fog in his room was the last thing he remembered—

Therefore, Broderick rationalized despite the throbbing in his temples, the other part of what he thought was a memory was really just a dream. He didn’t feel better though. Having erotic dreams about a woman who was a stranger was just strange! Granted, maybe one dream would be reasonable. Of course, remembering how prim and proper she had looked when he first met Kerry only made him question his sanity. The plainly dressed “school marm” type was not his usual choice in females.

Once he’d passed the bar, and despite the long hours he was required to put in at the law firm, he had developed his interest in motorcycles. It had been something of a secret life for him, especially after he made partner. Soon the motorcycle persona began to seep into his staid and proper lawyer appearance. He’d grown his hair longer, in stages, boots began to creep into daily apparel, and the women he met were quite attracted to each change.

In high school and throughout his pre-law years, he had been something of a geek. Being the smartest kid in his class, he’d tended towards the academic classes and practically no time was given over to sports. His last year in college a friend convinced him to start working out as a way to relieve the stress from studying and classes. He must have had a lot of stress, because soon his body was showing the benefits. After school, he’d continued his regimen, eventually buying his own equipment.

The first day he’d shown up at his law firm, wearing his boots, T-shirt, jeans and leather jacket, he didn’t notice the second and third looks many of the women in the office gave him. As he became the highest earner in the firm, the older partners didn’t care what he dressed like as long as he kept winning and bringing in high profile and big money producing clients.

Successful professionally and financially, he soon became what his younger sister termed a “babe magnet.” Long, leggy blondes were his usual choice for companionship. Sex and idle friendship was all he had been interested in while living in the city, working long hours. Now that he was trying to renovate this white elephant he’d inherited and get his law practice onto financially stable ground, even casual relationships had become too hard to fit in. Not many women liked having to be squeezed into a busy schedule. Nodding to himself, Broderick spoke softly.

“Yup, all I need is some occasional, casual, but safe sex.”

Silence followed his words. His mind answered that erotic dreams were certainly casual and definitely safe.

“In fact, I don’t think you could get much safer,” he rationalized. It certainly wasn’t as fulfilling…and the dreams he had last night had obviously left him satisfied. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d enjoyed making love to a woman—

Abruptly Broderick stopped. It was a dream, he reminded himself. Surely it wasn’t fair to compare an imaginary woman to any partner he’d had in the past? A real woman couldn’t match an erotic dream. Still, it sure felt real as he recalled it now. Her mouth on his—

“Hell! Stop wasting time on dreams and get up, damn it!”

Broderick threw the covers off and became aware of two facts immediately. First was that his cock and lower abdomen felt sticky and dried…as if some bodily fluids had gotten on his skin. Frowning, he sat on the edge of the bed. The second fact was the distinct scent lingering in the air. As a grown man, with a certain amount of experience, he knew the difference between wet dreams and what a man would smell like after a hot night of unrestrained passion. He could also smell the perfume that Kerry had been wearing yesterday. And the strength of the scent couldn’t be attributed to the brief appearance in his room.

Logic, and Broderick definitely considered that he was the epitome of a logical man, dictated that he must rule that option out. Which left him doubting his dreams. Or rather, he was suspicious that his dreams were really memories. Then that would mean he’d had sex with his first bed and breakfast guest. And naturally, he could assume that such actions would be frowned on. Hell! Such an action was downright sue-able!

Jumping up, Broderick quickly pulled the sheets and pillowcases from his bed. After dumping the sheets into the wicker hamper, he took a quick, cold shower. Returning to his room, he felt more in control. If his dream, or memory, were correct, there was no sign that Kerry had resisted his advances. Dressing quickly, he wondered if perhaps he had suddenly become a sleepwalker. That might explain things…right?

Chapter 5

Kerry walked into the kitchen, not completely sure what she would say if she saw Broderick. Purposely she’d stayed in her room until after nine, hoping to avoid her handsome host. Since she’d awakened, she’d been thinking about the first night. There had been that eerie mist, followed by the hair-raising feeling she had, as it seemed to move across the hall carpet before finally disappearing beneath the closed door.

Her feet stopped abruptly as she saw Broderick seated at the table. It was impossible to stop the flush that heated her cheeks as their eyes met. Forcing a deep breath into her lungs, Kerry smiled.

“Good morning!”

Broderick swallowed the hot coffee suddenly, coughing immediately. Kerry saw a definite light red staining his cheeks a second later, and she hoped it was a little embarrassment on his part as well. She was definitely feeling unsure of herself, and it was due to the dress incident last evening. She was somewhat reassured that this turmoil wasn’t all attributable to her erotic thoughts and dreams.

“Hello! I haven’t started anything for breakfast yet. I wasn’t sure if you’d left for the convention already. Sorry I overslept.”

“Oh, that’s okay. I’m not really hungry. I was wondering if you could tell me where I might find a library within walking distance.” Kerry pulled a kitchen chair away from the table and sat down. When she looked back up, she saw Broderick’s eyes dart away from her quickly. For a moment, she pondered why he had turned away. It was doubtful that he was embarrassed by the encounter in his room yesterday. She was working desperately to keep herself from blushing, doubting her success as each second passed.

Broderick pushed away from the table. “Would you like some coffee, or juice?”

Kerry shook her head quickly. “No thanks.”

Broderick nodded, stood and walked over to the sink, rinsing out his own cup, even though he’d only drank about half of it. “Well,” he cleared his throat before continuing. “There is the John D. Rockefeller Library on First Street. Also there is the Regional Library, over on Croaker road.”

* * * * *

Kerry thanked Broderick and walked out the back door. Through the kitchen window, Broderick watched as she walked toward the front of the bed and breakfast. He doubted she’d have any trouble. Realizing his fist was still clenched, he slowly relaxed his fingers and hand. That had been his only salvation keeping him from offering to take her to the museum that was several miles away on Croaker road.

The first thought in his head when Kerry questioned him about libraries had been feeling Kerry pressed close to his back while they road his motorcycle over the city streets. Ever since he had glimpsed her breasts, nearly falling from the ball gown, he was having a hard time getting them out of his daydreams. And when he had looked up this morning, he had wondered if she was wearing a bra beneath the pink T-shirt. Imagining her unbound breasts, jiggling and bouncing against his back while they rode was making him hard once again.

“Damn!” Broderick turned away abruptly and made his way into the office he’d made at the back of the house. It had three entrances: from the kitchen, behind the commons room on the first floor of the house and lastly, from the outside. The room had probably been many things over the years. He guessed that it had originally been a library, or a man’s study from the large built-in bookcases. Now there was a nicely painted sign above the exterior door, along with one at the street, proclaiming it his law office.

* * * * *

The sun had set just a short time before Kerry returned to the bed and breakfast. She had spent the entire day searching for information, and now she was ready. Looking around—including looking at his bedroom door to see if a light was on—she couldn’t find Broderick. Her bag was getting heavier by the minute, but she had a gut feeling that she needed his permission before she continued. She knocked on his bedroom door and called his name, but after several moments Kerry returned to her room.

Peering in the bag, she pulled out the flashlights she had purchased and made sure the batteries in both were in working order. Now what she needed to do was put on the dress…

* * * * *

Broderick stumbled up the front stairs, pausing in front of Kerry’s closed bedroom door. After an extremely unproductive day, he had decided that what he needed was to get out among other people and have a few beers. A couple of his friends had decided he needed help getting home, which had been a good idea as he tripped over his feet. Instead of politely knocking on Kerry’s door, he fell against it.

Unfortunately, Kerry hadn’t completely closed the door. Broderick continued to stumble forward and landed on the floor. The faint light coming from the bathroom was enough for him to see that Kerry wasn’t in the room. Perhaps she was waiting for him down the hall! His lips curved into a grin before he remembered she was still unaware his erotic dreams centered on her.

Putting one hand on the floor and the other on the bed, he started to rise. Stopping abruptly, he closed his fingers around something that had an all too familiar feel about it. Even in the dim light there was no mistaking the torn package in his hand. Standing slowly, he acknowledged that it was the kind he used. Following that truth, he remembered noticing one in his jeans pocket yesterday. It had fallen from his wallet, and he’d hastily shoved it into a pocket.

Abruptly he turned and started walking down the hall toward his room. He was consciously ignoring the niggling thoughts on why it was on the floor of his first guest’s bedroom. Opening the door, he ignored the wishful thought that Kerry was in his bed now. Instead, he quickly saw the room was dark and empty. The moon had not risen for the night.

Broderick tossed his leather jacket toward a chair, weighing his options. He could go to bed, or he could stumble back downstairs and wait for Kerry. Turning to glance back down the hall, he wondered what the prim and proper Ms. Perry would say if she found him naked and waiting in her bed?

Pulling the torn condom package from his pocket, he looked at it instead of tossing it in the trash. From somewhere deep inside, he couldn’t stop the most basic of instincts. How much sweeter his dream would have been if he had been able to fill Kerry’s body with his seed. Right along with the desire to make love to the prim Ms. Kerry, he felt for the first time in his life the desire to procreate. It struck him hard that he was experiencing this basic desire. Luckily his mind still had a few lucid cells and ruled that idea out.

Yawning widely, he guessed his only option was sleep. Crossing to the bed, he tossed the torn package into the small trashcan. Not really thinking about it, Broderick pulled open the drawer of his bedside table. Grabbing two sealed packages, he once again turned toward his bedroom door. Perhaps he should go back downstairs to wait for Ms. Perry. Standing in the doorway, pushing logical thoughts aside, his mind again considered waiting for Kerry in her bed. Grinning, but shaking his head negatively, he once again thought sleep would be his wisest option.

Whooosh!

Broderick stopped abruptly. After listening for a few seconds, he decided it was just the wind outside. He walked back into the hallway, with its dark twists and turns.

“This is ridiculous! Now you’re jumping at weird noises.” Convinced the sound was from some natural element outside, or perhaps even the house settling, Broderick shrugged his shoulders. He refused to listen to the tiny, niggling voice telling him he’d never heard weird, unidentifiable noises, or had erotic dreams, since moving in here. They had started with the arrival of Kerry.

Something caused him to turn toward the corner. Just a few feet down the hall were the stairs that led to the third floor, which over time had become storage and attic. He’d only been up there once, not having the patience to deal with generations of cast-off belongings.

He realized a moment later that he had walked down the hall, turned the corner and was now looking down the hallway to the foot of the stairs. But as he stared at the uppermost step that was clearly visible, there appeared to be some kind of mist, or fog appearing. Taking a few paces closer to the darkened staircase, the mist seemed to move up a few more steps. Repeating this, the mist responded the same. He sniffed the air, but this sure didn’t seem like smoke from a fire.

Standing at the bottom step, Broderick could see the mist at the top, pausing and appearing to swell, and then dissipate a moment later. Deciding he’d had too much to drink, Broderick opted for bed. He’d only gone a few steps when someone yelling stopped him cold. Cursing as he turned back to the steps, he realized it was Kerry’s voice.

“Oh my God!”

* * * * *

Kerry had entered the attic with what she felt was more than her fair share of butterflies dive-bombing her stomach. Breathing deeply to calm herself, she scouted a good spot and then spread out her blanket. Before she forgot, she dragged her hair back into a ponytail. Having her hair go up in acrid flames didn’t sound like a good way to entice a ghost. Not to mention she’d be burning up the attic and causing a real nasty, smelly mess.

Finally she settled her butt on the blanket. Pulling her bag over, she fumbled inside to locate the candles she had brought. Looking around for a moment, she placed the candles in a triangular shape in front of herself and not on the blanket. Hopefully by avoiding an accident, Broderick wouldn’t want to kill her for burning candles. Using a cheap lighter, she lit each fat, squat, scented candle. Unfortunately they had not had three large candles in the same scent, so she now had an interesting combination of cinnamon with apple, vanilla musk and wild berry. Surely he—the ghost—would not object to the smell. Then she wondered if a ghost could smell?

The air was quickly filled with the different smells. She lost track of the time since she’d left her watch in the room, not wanting to catch it on the dress. Since she had been unable to fasten the dress’s closures, it kept falling off her shoulders, and sliding down precariously. Silently she rationalized that even if it slid completely down, she doubted a ghost would care. Still, if this was a ghost she’d been encountering, and not just her wildly erotic dreams, then based on their previous encounters, this ghost most definitely would care!

One of the books she’d found on ghost hunting had suggested talking softly, or even chanting, to bring forth the spirit. She’d held off from starting until her bottom started to get sore from the hard floor. Kerry was beginning to sense, or rather feel, that she wouldn’t be able to stay up here much longer. On the floor, anyway.

“Come forth, spirit! Reveal yourself to me.” Kerry stopped, feeling embarrassed at talking to a ghost. Granted, that is what she’d been doing already the last two nights. So why should it bother her? Then she slowly realized that the scent in the air was now sweet lavender.

“Oh my God!” Kerry screamed instinctively.

She froze as wisps of smoke, or fog, began creeping under the door and moving toward her slowly, weaving its purposeful way along the path she’d made earlier. Suddenly the reality of facing a ghost was overwhelming, and scaring the shit out of her. Telling her body to get up, she realized her legs and feet had gone numb from sitting too long. Her eyes moved back to the mist, moving slowly toward her. Wisps of smoke danced upwards and sideways, but kept coming her way, without slowing down. Breathing in scared quick puffs, she could tell the scent of lavender was getting stronger.

Trying to straighten her legs beneath the dress, she considered pushing her body backwards, away from the oncoming fog. She didn’t think it was only mist rising from the damp earth. First, there was no damp dirt up here that she’d seen. And second there seemed to be purposeful movement within the mist, and it was coming after her!

“Oh, shit!” Kerry was scooting backwards, ignorant of the effect this was having on the dress, when the door began to open. This was not going as she had planned. That much was for sure!

Chapter 6

Broderick stepped into the attic. Sobriety hit him on the side of his head abruptly. He didn’t consider for a moment that he was asleep and this might be a dream. He had watched the weird, almost purposeful movements of the mist. His thoughts might not have been the clearest when he first came up the main staircase, but logically he couldn’t imagine how the mist was moving up the steps. What he expected to see and what he saw were too divergent to make any sense at the moment. Maybe it was a dream—no, there had been Kerry’s scream.

Then he saw the mist was centered within the boundaries of the candles. Beyond the soft light he saw his boarder sitting on the floor. Something had obviously upset her by the way she was trying to scoot backwards. She hadn’t gotten too far, and Broderick’s eyes were glued to the entrancing display of exposed bosom.

“Kerry?”

A second later, the mist dissipated into the nearby darkness. Broderick already doubted what he’d seen as he crossed the creaky floor. Picking up the three candles, he extinguished each one. Looking down, he was treated to the disheveled appearance of the staid and proper Ms. Kerry Perry. Her breasts were in serious danger of complete nudity if Kerry scooted another millimeter in any direction.

He watched as Kerry’s eyes moved up over his body. There was no denying that Ms. Perry’s eyes lingered at his crotch. His body responded as expected, and with the enticing display of Kerry’s delectably firm, white breasts, his hardening manhood was quite prominently pressed against the front of his faded jeans.

“Kerry?” He spoke her name again, watching her eyes move upward and meet his. Slowly, awareness came back into her eyes, followed a second later by a deep flush that tinted her cheeks and moved down across the soft, pale flesh of her breasts. He started to offer his hand to help her up, but pulled back suddenly. “What are you doing?” he asked her quietly.

“Uhm, I was…uhm.” Kerry cleared her throat. “Well, remember that I asked about libraries this morning?”

Broderick folded his arms across his naked chest. “Okay.”

“I was doing some research.”

“And this research involves candles, an old dress and possibly starting fires in my attic?”

“Sort of, uh, could you help me up?” Kerry felt her skin flushing again in embarrassment, but lifted her hands up, wiggling her fingers.

Broderick took a step forward and leaned down to take Kerry’s hand. Unfortunately, he didn’t see his foot was resting on the silk of the dress. As he put pressure on that foot, while reaching out to Kerry, Broderick lost his footing. He heard Kerry’s scream, which rapidly turned into a muffled “humpff” as he landed solidly and squarely on top of her.

* * * * *

Kerry couldn’t breathe for a moment. Broderick was sprawled atop her body. Her brain was giving her orders to push him off, but her hands obviously were not listening as they blatantly disobeyed and curved into the strong muscles of his upper arms and shoulders. She was intently aware of his body pressing into hers. As she felt his hard cock pressing against her lower belly, her mind pondered the fact that if she wiggled a little, and shifted even just one thigh—Kerry soon became aware that Broderick’s gaze was focused below her face.

Suddenly she remembered the precarious hold she’d had on the top of her dress and quickly glanced down. Yes, indeed—her two firm, full breasts were naked, and less than an inch away from Broderick’s chest. And from somewhere deep inside her head or maybe it was her heart, the message came: one deep breath and—

She heard Broderick’s groan reverberate through his chest as it touched her breasts. Without the thin fabric of his shirt there was no barrier at all between their heated skins. No way was this a dream… Kerry shifted her eyes upward and ran into his gaze moving back down. For one second, she considered bringing up the previous nights, or dreams. Maybe now was the time to mention seeing a ghost…

The feel of Broderick’s hand curving around her breast less than a second later chased all constructive thoughts away. Her back arched, pushing her breast more fully into his hand. As his palm rubbed over the taut nipple, Kerry shifted and pressed against his hardness. Aware of his movements, Kerry told her brain to take control. It was becoming blatantly obvious that her body had already raised the white flag.

Broderick lowered his head until his mouth hovered over her recently deserted nipple. His palm and fingers had left her nipple taut and distended. His mouth closed over the puckered bud. Gently his tongue swirled over the super-sensitive flesh. Slowly, Broderick’s hand cupped her plump breast, pushing it different ways to allow his mouth to continue its erotic possession.

Kerry sighed and shifted into his embrace. This felt better than a ghost did! She spread her thighs wantonly, inviting Broderick’s roaming hand to sample the hot, wet flesh of her womanhood. When his hand slipped beneath the silky skirt, Kerry groaned loudly. His fingers trailed lightly over the inner flesh of one thigh, moving upward without pause. As his large hand covered her mound, Kerry gasped and spoke out loud.

“A thousand times better than some ghost!”

* * * * *

Broderick froze in place, his hand cupping the hot, damp womanly flesh. Why the hell he was stopping didn’t make any sense. Yet his hand stopped moving and he lifted his mouth most reluctantly from her nipple. Kerry had said something about a ghost…or that’s what he thought he heard. Gazing down at her, he found it hard to believe she had said anything at all. Her face appeared to be dazzled by her emotions, just as he had been, and pretty much still was.

“What did you say?” he questioned her softly.

Kerry slowly opened her eyes and it seemed as if it took her several long seconds before she focused on him. He could see awareness creeping across her face, especially when he shifted his hand covering her mound. A flush crept over her cheeks.

Broderick couldn’t resist moving his hand deliberately down until his fingers rested upon the wet lips of her pussy. Very slowly and deliberately, he moved his fingers over the soft womanly flesh. One finger eased between and slid without pause directly to her clit. The moment he touched that firebrand piece of flesh Kerry cried out.

“Ohmigawd!” Her words slurred and her body bucked upwards and against his hand.

Broderick smiled, and began to move the one finger over the bud of tender flesh. Each small move elicited the same reaction from Kerry’s body. His pace quickened and soon Kerry’s body was reacting consistently and instantly. When he slid two fingers inside her dark, wet passage, Broderick lowered his mouth to her breast again. Sucking her nipple deeply into his mouth, his tongue began to match the movements of his fingers.

He watched her face closely, lifting his mouth from her succulent nipple every few moments. Guessing that her moment of release was nearing, Broderick wanted to be inside her sweet, hot body when she came. Waiting a few more moments only, he released the tab and lowered the zipper on his jeans. The wetness of her body, as he rubbed his cock back and forth across her soft, eager flesh was overpowering. Shoving his jeans down, one tiny part of his brain heard the soft crinkling noise from the packets he’d shoved into a pocket. Pausing, he grabbed one and ripped it open. Kerry’s eager hands moved to his.

“Hang on, Kerry. I’d better do it this time.” He felt Kerry shiver as he spoke and looked up to meet her eyes. She was smiling, a sensual curve to her mouth.

“Next time will be my turn?”

Broderick grinned as he sheathed his cock in protection. He pressed forward, entering Kerry’s body slowly, savoring the feeling of her body enclosing him. Wanting this to be good for Kerry, he strained to stay focused on maintaining control. Abruptly he stopped, surprised at his thoughts. A moment later though, instead of feeling Kerry’s hands caressing his back and neck, she had suddenly reached down and grabbed his ass. Squeezing his cheeks with her fingers, her nails dug a little into his flesh. Broderick’s control shattered and he thrust into her body completely.

“Sweet Lord!” he whispered as her flesh closed entirely around his hard cock. He didn’t move for a few long moments. Or at least until he felt Kerry’s hands cupping his ass and squeezing hard, again. “God!”

* * * * *

Kerry grinned and kissed his cheek. Flexing her hips, she tightened and clamped her muscles tightly around his manhood. When Broderick pulled back instinctively, his groan filled the attic. Her tight ring of muscles stroked along his cock, tugging and pulling against his withdrawal. Stopping her flexion, Kerry felt his body move back down, filling her body once again.

She paused, her senses swamped, as Broderick slid in and out of her body. She whispered his name as her legs lifted to circle his hips. Her voice whispered two words that shocked her on one level, and aroused her even more.

“Fuck me!”

Shocked at her words, she could feel Broderick tense above her. Her eyes locked with his a moment later and she wondered if she had shocked him, or maybe even repelled him.

“God, Kerry!” Broderick lowered his head until their lips met.

Kerry kissed his lips, her tongue meeting his for teasing licks. She raised her hands to caress his neck and face as his body began once again to thrust slowly in and out of her body. Each move stimulated her clit and drove her higher. Thoughts of slowing down, or controlling things, dissipated a second later. Her body reacted and her climax shook her inside and out. She closed her eyes as the physical tremors, sweet and exhausting, swamped her.

* * * * *

Above her, Broderick groaned. The feeling of her flesh squeezing his cock was intensely erotic. Her words had shocked him, and aroused him beyond belief. His needs demanded release and he quickly sped up his thrusts. It was sweet torture. Broderick couldn’t last any longer. Shoving forward, his climax erupted from deep within. Pushing deeply into her heat, Broderick released his passion.

Several moments later, Broderick went to move away from her. Kerry’s arms and legs locked around him, holding him tight. Then she tightened her inner muscles and clamped down around his softening cock. He grinned down at her.

“I’m crushing you, Kerry.”

Kerry nodded and her legs slid from around his body. She wasn’t really ready to end this unbelievable interlude.

Broderick finally couldn’t support himself above Kerry any longer. He slid from her body reluctantly, lying on the floor beside her. Gazing up at the rafters of the attic overhead, he was pretty amazed at the way passion had overwhelmed him. Surely he wasn’t dreaming! He turned his head sideways to gaze at Kerry. His eyes moved over her slowly.

Red hair swirled wildly across the floor, making a fiery halo of sorts. Her eyes were closed and her lips parted as she breathed in and out quickly. Her lips were full and bruised-looking; making it obvious she had been thoroughly kissed in the recent past. Moving his eyes down, he could see the evidence of not only a fresh love bite on her neck but also proof that recently she’d been with another man. Lower than the mark he had left, was another just above the curve of her breast.

Broderick was surprised at the surge of jealousy that swept through him at the thought of Kerry in another man’s arms, her thighs lifting to hold that man tight. He groaned at the errant thoughts. His eyes lowered to her naked breasts. It was impossible to keep away the jealous thought of another man’s hands covering such luscious—

“Are you real, or am I dreaming again?”

Broderick looked up into Kerry’s eyes. Her words had surprised him because he had been wondering if this whole thing was once again a dream. He lifted his hand and lightly caressed the side of her face.

“Can two people be in the same dream?”

Kerry shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. Broderick couldn’t resist the lure. His hand moved down and cupped the nearest firm breast. Her nipple poked against his palm and he lightly rotated his hand back and forth.

“Aah!” Kerry’s voice broke the silence.

Broderick moved to the other breast, fingering the nipple, circling and flicking it into tighter arousal. Already he was getting hard again, but he was no teenaged stud and this floor was getting cold and uncomfortable.

“Could we adjourn to a bed?”

A bright blush moved up her chest and across her cheeks. Nodding her head, Kerry sat up. Broderick’s hand fell away reluctantly and he quickly adjusted his own clothing. Getting to his feet, he offered a hand to help Kerry.

“You start down,” he told her, handing her one of the flashlights. “I’ll get the rest of this stuff together.”

Chapter 7

Kerry had quickly discarded the antique silk dress and pulled on the thin knit cotton shirt and shorts she usually wore to bed. The dress was lying across a chair when a knock sounded on her bedroom door. She called out for him to enter.

“Come in!”

The door swung open slowly and Broderick stood just outside the room. Behind him was darkness and the room light only partially highlighted his features. Kerry caught her breath at how good-looking he was. For a moment she wondered what had attracted him to her…and then she shook her head firmly. There could be no denying his level of passion and arousal in the attic. She didn’t think it was lack of women that had brought them together, either.

“I’m really drawn to discussing this in your bed or mine. But logic tells me talking isn’t what we’d end up doing.” His lips curved upward at Kerry’s soft gasp. “Let’s go down to the kitchen and get something to drink.”

“I’m not dressed—”

Broderick reached out and grabbed her hand. “You look fine to me.”

* * * * *

Kerry sat opposite Broderick at the kitchen table, sipping tea while he opted for strong coffee instead. It was silly, she knew, but she felt a little embarrassed here, in his kitchen, with just her lightweight short pajamas as covering. Even though they had been intimate a short time earlier, they were still more like strangers than lovers, or friends. She glanced up through her eyelashes while sipping the tea. Watching the handsome man, Kerry found it hard to believe this was really happening.

“What were you doing up in the attic, Kerry?”

Kerry jerked her eyes completely open, surprised to hear him ask that, after what had just happened on his attic floor. Perhaps this was putting it all into perspective for him. She cleared her throat while putting her cup back down. One deep indrawn breath, then another, seemed to be necessary before she told him.

“I was trying to call up the ghost.”

Kerry had no chance to move before the coffee spewed from Broderick’s mouth. She looked down and saw that he had managed to pretty well douse her cotton top. It now pressed against her skin where it was wet. Looking back up, she saw that Broderick was still coughing and looked more than a little embarrassed.

“God! Kerry, I’m so sorry!” His hand reached across the small table with his napkin, anxious to help. Before he touched her, Kerry took the napkin from his hand. Dabbing at the wet spots, she avoided his gaze.

“It’s all right. I guess I really shocked you, huh?” Kerry stopped the useless mopping up and looked into Broderick’s eyes. “I assumed you knew about him.” When he shook his head, Kerry went on. “I think I saw him the first night I was here. And I know for sure he was the one who gave me the dress in the attic yesterday.”

“You think you saw this ghost the first night? How? I mean where?”

“I thought I heard something not long after I’d gotten settled in my room. I remember coming out and walking toward the far end of the hall. I saw this wispy fog beginning to well up in front of the door, and then disappear under it.”

“Did you come into my room?” he asked softly, reaching across the table to cover her hand with his.

Kerry stared at their hands, resting on the table. “Yes, but the next morning you didn’t seem to remember anything.”

“I thought it was a dream.” Broderick paused for a few seconds. “Uhm…and the next night?”

“I wasn’t sure of anything. You didn’t remember being in the attic with me, or that you gave me the dress.” Kerry shrugged, not sure what to say or do next.

Broderick looked up from where his hand was lightly caressing Kerry’s on the table. “I am not sure of anything right now, Kerry. I can’t remember how long I was asleep when something drew my attention toward the windows. I saw this fog or something moving across the floor. That night I had the most erotic dream, starring you, than I could have possibly imagined. In the dream, I opened my eyes and you were there. But now, it appears that it wasn’t a dream after all.”

“I’ve never, ever in my life done that…or like last night…tonight…” She stopped abruptly. It did sound as if she did this all the time. Hell! Three times in a row definitely sounds like a pattern of behavior.

“Good Lord, Kerry! You don’t have to tell me that.”

Kerry couldn’t say why, but she suddenly felt a little insulted. Nothing in his voice implied a snub, and it was probably just her old lack of self-confidence raising its ugly head. But it sounded as if he…

Angrily, she lashed out, “Are you saying that you doubt I’ve encountered a similar situation?

“You know,” she said more quietly, feeling her hurt rising now instead of anger. “I am perfectly aware that I wouldn’t be your first choice in a roomful of tall, thin, beautiful women. But I accept who I am! It was your hand that pulled me into your bed—and it was you who came to my room the next night. Or maybe it was the ghost.” Kerry wasn’t sure of anything anymore. “Of course, I don’t believe in ghosts. I never have…until now.”

Broderick chuckled softly and lifted his hand to curve around her cheek. “I don’t remember walking to your room, Kerry. But in the morning, my head was reeling with remembered hot dreams, and your perfume lingered on my skin. Could a ghost have done that?”

Kerry shrugged. “I read that sometimes a ghost leaves behind a scent, but that is usually like flowers.”

“So, you did some research today. What else did you learn about this ghost?”

Kerry smiled. “He looks a lot like you, except maybe a little less gray.” She reached across and lightly stroked her fingers backwards along the hair at his temples.

“I protest, madam! I don’t have a single gray hair.”

Kerry’s smile turned to a grin and she lowered her hand. But Broderick caught it in his, raising it up for a soft kiss to press to the back of it. Kerry’s breath caught in her throat at the old-fashioned and gentlemanly action. For the first time since this whole crazy thing began, Kerry realized that she could very easily end up with a much-damaged heart, if not a completely broken one.

“I pull the gray ones out!”

Kerry’s laugh came out over the lump in her throat. Smiling, she told him, “Best be careful or you will be pulling out the last hair on your head before long.”

Broderick thrust his chair back, stood up and walked around to kneel beside her chair. Lowering his head toward her, he spoke commandingly. “Madam, I dare you to find a thinning spot on my head!”

Kerry couldn’t resist the chance to run her fingers through his thick black hair. It was no longer tied back and it fell loosely onto his neck. As she threaded her fingers within the soft, dark hair, she could feel the warmth emanating from his head. And since she had turned to face him, she now felt the heat of his body between her widespread thighs. With her hands atop his head, she realized that his face was quite near her thinly covered breasts. In fact, holding her body very still, she was sure she felt his heated breath rush over her skin.

* * * * *

What had begun as a light-hearted jest was now turning into a very erotic experience. Broderick gazed at her lush breasts, amazingly close. Her shirt was still somewhat wet and draped revealingly over the full curves. The sexy feeling of her hands in his hair and the way she had turned to him so openly, only added to his rising desire. Slowly he moved his hands until they rested on her upper thighs. When she didn’t say anything, he assumed she either had not noticed their presence or was guessing he did it for balance.

Shifting his hands very slightly so they rubbed against her warm fleshy thighs, Broderick paused to consider that she might not even have noticed his touch. Then he saw the definite quiver of her breasts as he heard her take a deep breath, which was very uneven. He smiled, confident that the luscious Ms. Perry was not immune to his touch. Inching forward a little, he spoke quietly.

“Finding any bald spots, Ms. Perry?”

Broderick watched Kerry’s breasts. She took a few quick breaths. He couldn’t resist blowing across the thin fabric covering her nipples. The response was immediate and hard. His need to taste those taut buds again intensified.

“Let me bend a little bit lower so you can see better,” Broderick offered. He didn’t wait for Kerry to agree. He pressed his face directly between her firm full bosoms barely concealed by the lightweight cotton. His hands shifted quickly to her waist, sliding upward. He turned his head to one side, moving closer to her left nipple. He spoke again, deliberately blowing air across his target. “All the men in my family have had full heads of hair, right up to their last breath.”

His mouth was so close to her nipple. His warm breath was dampening the thin fabric, bringing her nipple into sharp prominence. When Kerry didn’t answer, but her hands seemed to be cupping the back of his head instead, Broderick spoke and acted at the same time.

“Take all the time you need, honey, and I’ll just check something out—”

His mouth closed over Kerry’s left nipple. At first, he just held it in his mouth. But then his tongue began lightly stroking across the flat tip. When he heard Kerry’s groan and her fingers tightened their grip in his hair, his tongue rubbed over the tip more vigorously. Then, after several long moments, he noticed the movement of her hips, restless and seeking, on the chair. Using one hand, he pulled her top sideways until her nipple popped free between the button openings.

Kerry gasped and arched her back toward his hot mouth. The wet nipple was exposed to the night air for only a moment before it was once again his acquired target. Sucking more strongly, his hands moved forward and cupped beneath the large breasts. His head lifted finally so he could gaze at her bountiful display.

Kerry’s hands slid away and she looked down as well. She watched Broderick as he watched her. His hands pushed her large breasts upward, against the paper-thin fabric. The left nipple was long and pointed, wet. It poked between the gap of fabric. Broderick’s face lifted and their gazes met. He saw the blush staining Kerry’s cheeks.

“You are the sexiest and most desirable woman. And yes, Kerry, I would choose you out of a roomful of other women. I’m thinking I got amazingly lucky when you walked into my room instead.” He lifted his hands and quickly unfastened the buttons. Looking back down, her breasts were now curtained between the soft cloth. “I’m fighting the strongest urge to pull you down onto this kitchen floor right now.”

Kerry smiled. “And that would be wrong because?”

Broderick laughed out loud. “My knees are getting too old for this. How about the kitchen table?”

* * * * *

Kerry giggled as Broderick lifted one eyebrow. He took her breath away, literally, and a moment later she was lying back across the table. Broderick had pulled her cotton pajama bottoms down and off. His own clothes were shifted out of the way and before she could take a deep breath, Broderick thrust inside her body once again.

“Oh!” she gasped softly, feeling her flesh gobbling up his hardness eagerly. Soon he was buried to the hilt within her hot, wet flesh. Kerry felt him pulling out, and then he shoved up into her again. As he started a regular rhythm, she was aware that her breasts were jiggling and bouncing with their movements. When she saw his eyes lower to the enticing display, Kerry lifted her hands and covered her bouncing boobs.

Broderick shook his head quickly and removed her hands, pressing them flat to the table, on either side of her head. “I’ll show you a better use of hands at a time like this.”

Kerry watched, expecting Broderick’s large hands to replace hers. Instead one hand settled onto her slightly rounded belly. It caressed in small circles and then began moving down. His fingers caressed the smooth, soft flesh and finally shifted between the folds of wet flesh. A second later his finger found his second target.

“Oh, God!” Kerry cried out as Broderick’s finger began a light, but insistent massage of her clit. Slowing his thrusts, he sped up his teasing strokes and flicks against the extremely sensitive nubbin of flesh. Over and over, his finger enticed and seduced until Kerry’s hips were jerking and responding to even the smallest touches of his flesh against hers.

Her climax shocked her. It came from deep inside her. Her hips were jerking, thrusting toward his body. Broderick’s finger stayed put, pulling every bit of response from her flesh that she was capable of. Finally his hands moved to her hips, holding her steady, and he resumed his thrusting until his hips jerked forward, grinding pelvis to pelvis as he climaxed. Kerry wrapped her legs even tighter around Broderick’s hips, holding him close to her body, long after his thrusts ended.

Broderick’s head lowered to rest atop her soft, lush breasts. Kerry soon felt his mouth kissing its way over the mountains until they claimed a taut peak again. His mouth sucked on the right nipple, pausing to rub his tongue all around it. She had no idea how long they stayed like that, but it was with regret that she felt him release her nipple and raise his head.

“I hate to admit this, sweetheart. But I’m not as young as I used to be. My back is not happy in this position. And while I’m not promising anything, I only had the two condoms in my pocket.”

Kerry blushed and eased up onto her elbows. A second later, Broderick’s body left hers with a loud, wet plop. She was intently aware of his eyes moving back over her, taking in her sprawled, completely naked position. Sliding off the table quickly, Kerry pulled the edges of her top together. Her eyes down, she started looking for her pajama bottoms.

* * * * *

Broderick watched as Kerry bent down, looking for her pajamas. He held them in his hand, but enjoyed the view of Kerry’s naked bottom. He cleared his throat and Kerry spun back around. Seated in his chair, he dangled the bottoms from one finger. As she reached for the bottoms, he held them just out of reach. With his other hand, he pulled her close. Since her top was still unbuttoned, it was easy to part the edges with his nose. He slowly took her right nipple into his mouth, and suckled it softly for a few moments. Releasing it with a loud, wet sucking noise, he lowered his mouth to her left nipple. This time he sucked lightly, playfully. He tugged, pulled and finally released the elongated bud.

He allowed a small space between their bodies as he spoke. “Come upstairs to my bed. I have several more places to kiss, I believe.”

Kerry smiled slowly, and then nodded her head. “All right, but do I get my pajamas back?”

Broderick turned her and they started walking back toward the stairs. “Nope,” he told her with a grin. “Waste of effort because I’ll just be taking them off again.”

Kerry’s blush and accompanying giggle aroused Broderick. He followed her up the stairs, unable to resist reaching out to caress her right ass cheek. Her slight yelp caused him to move his hand to her hip instead.

“Before I get distracted again by your sumptuous and desirable body, what were the candles for?”

* * * * *

“I was calling the ghost who lives here.”

Kerry instantly felt the tensing of Broderick’s hand upon her hip. She took another step and his hand fell away. Immediately, her skin felt cold—all over. Shivering, she took a few more steps upward, even though she was now sure that Broderick was not directly behind her anymore.

At the top of the stairs, she paused for a second, wanting to turn and see if he had followed her or was still stuck on the same stair when she’d thrown the ghost thing into his face. She took a deep breath and continued down the hallway to her room. Her bedroom door was open, but no lights were on. Stepping into the room, and walking over to the bed, she heard the door creak behind her. Kerry spun around expecting to see Broderick, but the door had swung almost completely shut, leaving her in near darkness.

Lifting her hands out in front of her, palms forward, Kerry took a few steps into the room, wary of knocking her shins on the bench that sat at the foot of the bed.

“Damn,” Kerry muttered quietly under her breath. Leaning over, she rubbed the area below her right knee. “Now I know where the bench is anyway.” Tonight, when she needed the moonlight, it was too cloudy to allow enough light to seep through so she could avoid any other hazards. Straightening up once again, Kerry felt a puff of cool air pass her left cheek.

Kerry turned quickly to look over her left shoulder, but she couldn’t see Broderick, and the door remained nearly closed. Shrugging, she decided to head for the bathroom. She lifted her hands in front of her again and took a few more steps. If she remembered correctly, she was now at the end of the bench. About four feet to the left was the bathroom and to the right was a small sitting area.

Before she could turn to the left, a rush of cold air seemed to surround her. Suddenly Kerry felt as if a shroud covered her, except it was cold. And it was definitely coming from the right side. Her curiosity got the better of her, despite her state of undress. Slowly she inched forward in between the chairs until she reached the wall the head of the bed rested against.

Pressing her hands flat upon the wall, Kerry slid her left hand away from her body. She wasn’t at all sure what she was doing, but it seemed like the right thing to do. Her fingers felt a tiny depression in the wallpaper. Quickly she traced the line down and then back up as high as she could reach. Meanwhile, her right hand was searching for a matching depression.

“Ahh,” she sighed as her right index finger located it. Sliding her finger downward, she became aware that the cold seemed to be moving forward. Kerry decided that it was moving through the wall and she was feeling warm once again. Quickly, Kerry leaned forward and pressed her left cheek against the wall, listening carefully. Her whole body and face felt warm, except her hands and her left cheek, which were pressed tightly to the wall.

* * * * *

Broderick pushed the door open and was scanning the room for Kerry as he moved his fingers across the wallpaper, feeling for the overhead light switch. For a moment he thought he saw a white mist, or fog, surrounding Kerry. As he strained his eyes, squinting to see, his finger finally found the switch and the light came on. Instantaneously, the mist disappeared. The sight of Kerry half-leaning forward against the wall, with her nicely rounded ass sticking out the other direction, reminded him of some rather lustful ideas he’d had involving Kerry in just that position—

Kerry jumped back from the wall, startled by the light flooding the room. Blinking her eyes quickly, she tried to focus on Broderick. He smiled and held her pajama bottoms out to her on the end of his finger. As she walked back around to the bottom of the bed, he grinned.

“I thought you might be missing these.”

Kerry yanked the cotton shorts from his finger and quickly pulled them on. Broderick watched as she turned back toward the bed. Deciding that his bed would be much more comfortable, he reached out and grabbed her hand.

“Let’s go to my room, okay?”

Without waiting for her to agree, he turned and started for his room at the far end of the hall. Kerry followed closely, since he still held her hand. Inside the room, dim light came from the bathroom and it was easy to avoid any hazards. Pulling the covers back, he gestured for Kerry to climb in first. Stripping his remaining clothes off, Broderick eased under the covers next to her. He looked over at her where she was lying with the comforter pulled up to her chin.

“Shared warmth is a good idea,” Broderick murmured softly. When her lips curved upward, he grinned in response. Gently, he tugged his pillow over to hers and plopped onto his back. A few moments later, he heard her ask him softly, “Would you hold me, please?”

Without pause, Broderick lifted his arm and pulled Kerry closer until her head rested on his chest. Stroking her soft hair with his hand, he fell asleep a few minutes after he heard her snore just once, quietly.

Chapter 8

Broderick awoke to an empty bed and sunlight was streaming through the arched windows of his room. Groaning loudly, he sat up and swung his legs around to the side of the bed. So much for the pleasant ending to the dream he’d been having moments earlier. Cursing his luck for oversleeping, Broderick made his way into the bathroom. He sped through a shower and left the day’s growth of whiskers on his face. Dressing in jeans, sneakers and cotton T-shirt, he was threading his belt through the loops as he started downstairs.

In the hall, he paused. Turning to the right would take him down the back stairs to the kitchen. By turning instead to the left and basically going straight down the hallway, it would undoubtedly take him in front of Kerry’s closed bedroom door. Shaking his head, he ran his hands through the damp strands of black hair, hopeful that would make him appear a bit more respectable, or some passable semblance of acceptable. He was still a little miffed to awaken to an empty bed.

Lifting his hand, he prepared to knock on Kerry’s closed bedroom door. Before he could rap on the wood, he heard soft noises from within the room.

Rap…rap….rap…

Tap…tap-tap…tap…

Broderick chose to skip the knock and walk in. It was appearing obvious to him that something was going on inside the room. As he turned the knob, he remembered the sight of Kerry leaning against the wall. Pressed flat to the wallpaper, his eyes had been mostly glued to the delicious jutting of her nice, firm, full ass cheeks.

Light on her rounded bottom had distracted him from what was really going on. Her hands and fingers had been exploring the section of wall in front of her. And now, with better light from the sun filling the room, Broderick could see that Kerry was outlining what might have been a door at one time.

“Property values tend to drop with holes in the walls.”

Kerry turned and laughed at Broderick’s observation. She had arisen quite early and had sat in the kitchen reviewing her research once again. With what she knew, she could guess why this was all going on here at this lovely bed and breakfast. Finally, she decided she couldn’t wait any longer and had started up to her room to check out the cold spot she’d felt for the first time last evening.

Today, the room was warm until she was right next to the wall. Turning at Broderick’s words, she grinned back at him.

“I agree, but with a ghost, this place could become very popular, and quite quickly.”

Broderick crossed the room toward Kerry. She smiled and turned to face him, her back against the wall. “I do believe we have a real secret here. I’ve been able to feel plywood on this wall, and it’s not on the other walls. I think it is hiding something.”

“Are you suggesting tearing down this perfectly matched paper to look for something when we are not even sure what it is we are hoping to find?” Broderick crossed his arms across his waist, watching Kerry. Her hair was pulled up into two ponytails today, and she was dressed in shorts and T-shirt. He was fully appreciative of the fact that she was obviously braless, and made a mental note to show her his appreciation quite soon.

Kerry pushed him back onto the bed and then seated herself. “Last night I could feel a coldness that was overwhelming. And I followed it, right up to the wall and through it.” Pointing with her hand, she continued, “Today I can still feel the coldness, but mostly only where I rest my face against it.”

“Coldness? You mean when you came in here last night you felt a chill in the room?”

Kerry nodded eagerly, turning sideways on the bed. “Exactly! I felt this cold come over me near the bed.” She stopped and pointed at the bench at the foot of the big bed. “Right there, and it sort of came up from the floor and enveloped me—”

Broderick interrupted her. “Honey, of course you felt cold moving up. I still had your pajama bottoms.”

Kerry jumped up from the bed, glowering back at Broderick’s grinning face. “That is not what it was at all. It was something weird and I followed it to the wall.” Walking over to the wall again, she began lightly running her finger along the slight indentation beneath the paper. “I bet there is a door behind this wall and it has been boarded over.”

Broderick sighed heavily. “More ghost stuff?”

“Scoff if you want, but I did find some interesting facts while I was looking around through the library yesterday.”

“But we’ve never had a ghost here, Kerry.”

“Maybe you did, but your family didn’t tell you about it.”

“That is highly possible. I inherited this from a great-aunt on my father’s side of the family, but my mother was never one for the whole Colonial thing. She preferred New York and I remember traveling down here just once or twice to visit my aunt. Most of the house was boarded up until I began fixing it up again.”

“Well…I can’t remember it all without my notes, but you had an ancestor with the same name as yours and he fought in the American Revolution.”

“And that is who you think our ghost is? A revolutionary war hero? Hmm, I can’t say I like the idea of a ghost, but a revolutionary one would certainly help business here.” He stood and reached out toward Kerry. She didn’t resist as he pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her. And when he kissed her a moment later, she joined in quite eagerly.

He moved one hand to her breast. “Hmm, now that feels nice,” he murmured softly while pressing kisses down the side of her neck. “I needed to confirm my opinion regarding your apparent braless state.”

Kerry shifted on his lap, pressing her breast more fully into his cupped hand. She’d been busily kissing her way toward his ear. Catching the lobe with her teeth, she began a sensual nibbling, licking program that was definitely having the desired effect. She could feel his hardness pressing against her one leg.

“So you like the no-bra look, huh?” she asked him a few moments later.

Broderick smiled at her while his hand began massaging her sensitive flesh. Kerry couldn’t control the wiggle of her bottom in response to his touch. “Let me clarify, sweet Kerry. I like seeing your boobies bouncing, but I’m not sure about taking you to a bar for drinks with you dressed like this.”

Kerry nodded her head. “It was hard letting you sleep this morning.”

“Sweetheart, it was quite hard when I awoke and found you missing.”

Kerry felt the heat staining her cheeks. His easy banter and words warmed her inside, to her soul. Feeling definitely perky, she scooted off his lap and then gave a shake of her shoulders and shimmy of her hips. Broderick’s heartfelt groan let her know she wasn’t just being funny.

“I’m hungry for two things, but unfortunately I’m not as young as I once was. My body demands food first, in order to fuel my demands upon your flesh. How about you tell me about my ghostly family while I make us breakfast?”

“Deal!” Kerry laughed as she replied. Her Mama sure didn’t raise an idiot. How many women could be sexually satiated by an amazingly attractive man at night, only to have him willing to cook for you the following morning?

* * * * *

“Your ancestor lived in this house for several years before the war. His parents stayed primarily in England, but I guess he was eager for exploration and all. And as tempers flared with the revolution, I imagine he split with them because of the war and he died quite soon after it started.”

Kerry paused to drink more juice and take a hurried bite of pancake. Before she could add more, Broderick asked her a question.

“His family continued to live here?”

“He never married, from what I could discover. Yet your family obviously retained the property. Perhaps his parents or another brother came over after the war.”

“Unfortunately, Kerry, my parents never stayed in close contact with my father’s family. Beyond the great-aunt who lived here I don’t know anything.” He stopped to pour himself more coffee. “What makes you think this ghost is that guy? I’m sure lots of people have died here.”

Kerry sputtered at his words and hurriedly grabbed the water he had gotten her when she refused the coffee. “That’s a cheery thought.”

Unable to contain his grin, Broderick shrugged. “Sorry, but it must be the truth. Now, explain your thought patterns, Ms. Sherlock.”

Wrinkling her nose at him, Kerry nodded. “The dress, remember? You say it wasn’t you up in the attic with me and he looked like you. Except for the clothing…it looked revolutionary, colonial-like.” She held up her hand quickly and added, “I don’t make it a habit to prowl through other people’s houses. He invited me up there and showed me the trunk.”

“So, I have a male ghost haunting my attic. Could you see right through him, like they show in the movies?”

“He was quite solid, although I don’t think ghosts are able to hold that solid form for very long. And the cold spot I felt in my room last night. Do not remark on my lack of bottoms again.”

Broderick had to smile again at Kerry’s words. “Kerry, honey, as far as I’m concerned your bottom lacks for nothing.” As she blushed in embarrassment at his jest, he could no longer contain his laughter. “I’m sorry, Kerry, but I just couldn’t resist. Now, go on about what you felt in your room last night.” He quickly lifted his hands in surrender. “One more, and then you can tell me the rest, please. Personally, I think you felt quite fine in your bedroom, and will happily volunteer to continue feeling you up on a regular basis.”

Setting her fork down, Kerry rested her forearms on the table after pushing her plate back. “Geesh! What a generous guy you are!”

Broderick offered her a bite of pancake on his fork, dripping syrup. Resisting him was her first inclination. Instead she leaned forward and let him guide the food over her lips and between her teeth.

The eagerness he saw on her face was unmistakable, but it was hard to not stare at the entrancing cleavage her simple act of leaning forward had revealed. Already he was contemplating canceling the only appointment he had for the day and spending the remaining hours in bed, with Kerry.

“Well, the room was in darkness and so I started for the bathroom to turn on the light.”

“Why didn’t you turn the overhead light on as you entered the room?”

Kerry’s pause and glower warned him about interrupting. Broderick also assumed she would only answer what she considered important and intelligent questions from here on out. He smiled, shrugged and gestured for her to go on.

“So,” Kerry continued with an accepting nod of her head. Broderick listened as he thought how cute those silly ponytails looked. “I seemed to step into this cold spot all of a sudden and I felt as if I couldn’t move while it seemed to be moving up my body.”

“Sounds like I owe my esteemed relative a sock on the jaw for fondling my girl!”

* * * * *

Shivers chased one another through Kerry’s body at Broderick’s jesting words. She doubted that he really meant it, yet she couldn’t deny the warm, fuzzy feeling she had upon hearing him refer to her as “his girl.” Feminism demanded a protest, but the glow in his eyes and the smile on his face told her his thoughts were still straying to last night, which wasn’t devoted entirely to sleep as planned.

“This was different than the wisps of fog I saw before he appeared. No, this was cool and yet seemed soft somehow. It was not a cold blast, leaving me chilled. When it moved away, I felt compelled to follow it even though it disappeared through the wall.” Kerry reached out and covered one of Broderick’s hands with her own, meeting his intense gaze. Taking a deep breath to steady her voice, she forced herself to go on.

“I think this is a different ghost, Broderick. It didn’t feel like…Broderick, uhm…the other Broderick. It felt feminine—”

“Shit, Kerry! One ghost is tourist gold, two are a headache.” He pushed his chair back and picked their plates up from the table. Placing them in the sink, he turned and leaned back against the edge of the countertop. “I have an appointment this afternoon in Richmond.”

Kerry nodded and brought their glasses to the sink as well. “That’s okay. I could organize my notes from yesterday so you can look over what I have. Would you mind if I went up in the attic and looked around?”

Broderick pulled her close to his body, lowering his mouth to meet hers. “Feel free to wander wherever you want. The drawer next to the refrigerator has several flashlights and extra batteries. Take two, just in case. Do you have a cell phone with you?”

Kerry nodded. “I brought it, but left it on the charger.”

“Do me a favor and carry it with you. Let’s go into my office and we’ll exchange numbers so you can call me.”

In the office, Kerry wandered around a little, looking at the law books. She walked over to the oldest looking bookcase because it appeared to be built into the wall. This case contained lots of antique volumes and the former teacher inside her was unable to resist running her fingers across gold-embossed, leather bound books. Looking at this bookcase, and then across the room to where there were several windows and Broderick’s desk, with chairs for clients, she guessed that this had been part of the new additions to the bed and breakfast.

Broderick made two phone calls and then joined her. “Here is my number and John’s. You met him when you tried to check in the first night. He’s a good friend, if you need anything.”

Kerry took the paper and pushed it into her pocket. “I’ll be fine. I really think your ghosts are not malevolent at all.”

Broderick shrugged. “I’m not worried about ghosts in this house. I’ve explored about eighty percent of it, but that leaves most of the attic and parts of the cellar. Unlike others, I don’t really believe in them. Just be careful.”

Kerry reminded herself reluctantly that she should protest this protective tendency, but for a single woman it felt nice to be a little worried over. She accepted his hug and kisses eagerly. They parted reluctantly.

“It’s a two-hour round trip drive, plus meeting time. I’ll bring home dinner so you can devote all your time to ghost hunting.”

“Wise choice, sir. My talents don’t shine in the kitchen.”

Chapter 9

It took her several hours, but Kerry finally had all of the information neatly arranged. She was surprised she had collected as many facts as she had, but what frustrated her most was that she still couldn’t form a decent family tree. Kerry decided the time had come to stop research, and get on with some “hands on” work. She left Broderick’s office and stopped for the required flashlight. She still had to get her phone and it was upstairs in her room.

The moment she walked into her bedroom her eyes immediately went to the suspicious wall. It was so tempting to check the wall out now, but logic was telling her to look in the attic before the sun started to set for the day. Grabbing her purse, she upended it over the bed, emptying the contents across the comforter. Kerry shoved her phone into her pocket and then put the strap over her head to drape the purse across her body. Her big flashlight was in the drawer, so she grabbed it too, and took off.

At the foot of the attic steps Kerry paused for a moment. Her stomach was a jumble of butterflies whose wings kept beating crazily with no rhyme or reason. In the attic, Kerry looked around quickly, not pausing until she came to the extra candles she had left from the other night. A smile curved her lips, remembering the passion they had shared up here, on the attic floor. With only the light cast upward by the flashlights, Kerry had made love with modern-day Broderick.

Rereading her research had only confirmed her convictions about her two earlier encounters of passion. Ghosts existed and one of them could appear in physical form, besides overtaking a human, and direct their actions to some degree. She truly hoped that a ghost could not make a person act against their true will. Even though she had received several very positive indicators that he was attracted to her, there were still some niggling doubts. Mentally, Kerry made a note that she was going to have to do some work with her therapist on her self-esteem issues.

Kneeling down beside the large trunk where the dress had been carefully packed away, Kerry opened it once again. Setting the large flashlight on the floor to cast its light upward, she used the smaller one to look into the trunk. What she had thought would be in there faded away as she saw several books, folded pieces of lace and a small wooden box. Kerry scooted back a little and sat on the wood floor. It took her a moment to decide whether to look at the books first or the box. Turning the box over in her hands, she couldn’t see how to open it. Frustrated, she set it aside and went back to the books.

The first book she chose was the largest. Immediately she could see that it had been the family’s Bible. Unable to curtail her curiosity, Kerry had to see if there was anything of personal note in it. Maybe it would have a list of children born or even of deaths in the family, either of which would be really helpful.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, she rested the heavy, leather bound book on her legs. Slowly she opened it. In the front there were several pages with handwriting, most of it in the same style. Scanning through the names and dates, she soon found the first Broderick, born 1742. Above his name she read the names of his mother, AnnaBelle, and his father, Anthony. Another brother and two sisters were listed as well.

Kerry put the smaller flashlight down and lightly touched her index finger to where the original Broderick’s name was written. Closing her eyes, she pondered the past. These people had all lived such a long time past and it was sad to think their lives had been reduced to names written on a page. Lightly her finger caressed the paper beneath, feeling the texture, back and forth across Broderick’s name. She spoke softly, almost as if she were afraid of disturbing someone.

“Are you real, old Broderick, or just a figment of my imagination?”

“Well, lass, I object to being referred to as ‘old.’ What are you doing in here, stirring up the dust?”

“Arrgghhhh!”

Kerry screamed, knocked the flashlight over and almost dropped the Bible. The room was now filled with shadows, the only light coming from the smaller light, which had rolled across the floor. Blinking her eyes quickly, she tried to calm her breathing.

“You’re a ghost!”

“Aye, lass, I believe that I am.” The revolutionary war figure moved closer, sitting on top of another closed trunk. “I was baffled at first. Now, what are you doing going through my family’s Bible?”

“I was looking for proof of you, or your existence. I don’t appreciate that you chose me to make your presence known. I have had to look through scads of old books about Williamsburg, trying to find out about you.”

“Ask me your questions, lass. No promises, but I’ll answer what I know.”

Kerry leaned forward and tentatively poked one finger at his shiny black boot. When her finger didn’t disappear, or dissipate the ghost, she frowned. “I thought ghosts were ephemeral things. You know…all fog, mist and stuff.”

Broderick, the ghost, smiled and crossed his arms across his chest. “I am not that familiar with other ghosts, I only know that I can assume solid form for only short periods of time.”

“Why are you haunting this house? Don’t you want it to be used as a bed and breakfast?” Kerry felt compelled to determine this truth for Broderick’s sake.

“You mean they are going to use my home like some kind of roadside inn?” He frowned deeply, raising one eyebrow slowly.

“Ha! Ha! Ha!” Kerry laughed out loud, pointing towards the ghost’s face. “Your great- great- whatever…your namesake and current legal owner does the same thing with his eyebrow. If you and he didn’t already look like mirror images…” Her smug and “pleased with herself” feelings faded away as she started to think. “Stop distracting me! I want to know why you’re here.”

“You look like my Jenny, dear girl. I think it is your presence in the house that brought me home. Do you live here now as well as my relative? The house does appear to be in excellent shape.”

“That’s because Broderick has been working his butt off trying to convert what was a broken down old house into a viable business. And he’s trying to establish his law practice here at the same time.” She paused, remembering the other thing he’d asked her. “And no, I am here as a guest.” Frowning, she went on. “Perhaps that is why young Broderick never saw you before.”

Kerry watched while the ghost shifted on the trunk, leaning back leisurely. Still frowning, Kerry crossed her arms as well. For a ghost, this man was awfully calm. “I thought you…ghosts I mean, stayed somewhere and haunted it until they were sent away, or resolved their earthly issues. Shouldn’t you be raising havoc, rattling chains and so on?”

“Hmm, resolving my earthly issues, you say. I was resting peacefully, I believe, with all the men in my colonial regiment. Have you not enjoyed my ghostly actions so far?”

She couldn’t help it—a heated flush moved across her cheeks. “Hmm.” Kerry leaned forward, her chin propped on her fists, elbows resting on her thighs. “I found documentation that your whole regiment was killed, just shortly after the war began.” She paused to push some stray hairs back off her forehead. “It appeared that there was bad ‘intel’ and your men walked into an ambush. None of you really had a chance.”

The ghostly Broderick nodded slightly. “It became a nightmare. In fact, I don’t even recall being hit and knowing that I was going to die. Strange, you know. What is ‘intel’?”

“That’s like information about the enemy. So something has drawn you from your resting place back to your home. It is probably something—oh, I don’t know—something huge and powerful! Unfinished business you had?” Kerry stopped as she saw the sad look pass over his face. She also noticed that he seemed to be getting paler, and more see-through.

“I am not sure, young miss. I can see I am fading away already. The time is shortening, so perhaps this will end soon.”

Kerry came to her feet suddenly. “Then we have to hurry and find out what we must do to resolve the restlessness of your soul.”

“That is most kind of you, dear girl, but I am sure my descendent will be most grateful for me to disappear permanently, and leave the two of you alone.” As he stood slowly, Kerry could see that he was becoming fainter by the second.

“I’ll keep working until you can return. I don’t know if you can think while you’re gone, but I would appreciate if you would search your memories, or whatever, to see what needs to be finished.”

Kerry watched as the ghost faded away in front of her eyes. Slowly he disappeared, and it was rather like the Cheshire cat. Soon, what was left was the small area of swirling wisps of smoke. Stepping forward, she plopped down onto the trunk her ghost had just used. Slowly she looked around the attic, which was mostly in darkness. The fact that she had just been talking with a real ghost was still a little mind-boggling. Granted that it technically wasn’t the first, but it was the first time that she knew it was a ghost. Truthfully, everything since she had arrived here was outside the realm of what her usually staid, and rather dull life included.

The wild, unexpected lovemaking with Broderick—the real one, her conscience added quickly—was more than unusual. Closing her eyes, Kerry easily recalled the heated joining here yesterday, followed by the time in the kitchen. And the first time in Broderick’s huge bed—

Abruptly Kerry stopped her distracting and rambling thoughts. Hurrying back over to the other trunk, she grabbed her purse. She quickly began stuffing into it the Bible, two smaller books and the puzzle box. The small flashlight fit into her pocket and she lit her way downstairs with the lantern-style light. Walking back down the narrow stairs, Kerry knew that she was going to have to see what was behind the wallpaper in her room. The main question she now needed to answer was just who this “Jenny” was that the ghostly Broderick spoke of so tenderly.

Entering her guest bedroom, Kerry set her items on the bench at the foot of the bed. She stopped and stood quietly there as she tilted her purse to take out the items she’d brought from the attic. She couldn’t resist trying to open the puzzle box once again. Frustrated after several minutes, she closed her eyes, focusing on letting her senses detect anything unusual that might be going on in this room. She had never been one to believe in her own powers of perception to go beyond the realms of current reality. Still, she couldn’t shake the sense that she could perceive something now, if she only opened herself up to the possibility.

Breathing slowly and deeply, Kerry kept her eyes closed and focused on her breathing the same way she did when she meditated with her weight loss tape. The technique helped her relax and focus on the meditations and she was hopeful it would let her open herself up to…everything. Soon her breathing was steady and deep—hypnotic in its effect on her brain. Feeling unsteady on her feet, Kerry reached her hand out until the hard wood from one of the bed’s posters was beneath her fingers. Curling her fingers around the cool wood, Kerry moved over and sat down on the side of the bed.

She sat quietly and waited for the slight dizziness she had felt a few moments earlier to dissipate. As the lightheadedness faded, Kerry became aware of coolness in the air. She shivered, as the cool feeling seemed to pass through her body, instead of just surrounding her. Without planning it, her lips parted and the next moment she was softly speaking a name.

“Jenny.”

“Yes, I am Jenny.”

Kerry’s eyes flew open as she heard another voice in the room. Her head twisted around toward the bedroom door, but no one was standing there. Quickly swinging back around, she looked from the bathroom over to where she sat on the bed. That left just one more place to look, which was the wall. Slowly Kerry’s head turned to see the wall where she had felt the coldness last night. A scant second later Kerry jumped off the bed. Directly in front of the wall was a white mist, hovering, circling in wisps and spiraling up and down.

“Damn it all!” Kerry said loudly.

“Cursing is against the Lord’s laws.”

Kerry stared at the white foggy mist. There was no denying that the voice was coming from the mist, or behind the wall. She was ninety percent sure it wasn’t coming from inside her head. “I’m sorry. You are Jenny?”

“Yes.”

Kerry shook her head for a moment. First she was talking to a man who fades away and now she was talking to a wall! She was beginning to question her own sanity. Stepping closer to the wall, she reached out with her hand and lightly moved it through the mist. She disturbed it slightly, but not enough to make it disappear or fade away. Clearing her throat, Kerry reached out and placed her hand flat against the wall. The coolness quickly moved up her arm and Kerry shivered in response.

“Where are you, Jenny?”

Kerry could feel the coldness moving back down her arm, through her hand, into the wall. Looking down, she saw all the mist moving through the wall. Moving quickly, Kerry pressed against it with both hands, her cheek resting against the wallpaper. “Jenny? Are you still here?”

“You must follow me.”

Kerry heard the reply but each word became harder to hear, as if the speaker were moving farther away. The wall was warm now and Kerry knew Jenny had gone. She was going to have to find out what was behind this wall! Stepping back, she turned towards the bench where her purse rested. There was nothing on the bench she could use. Checking her bag again, all she could find to use was her nail clippers in a zippered pocket, which she tossed back down into her purse. She bit her lower lip while she scanned the room for a tool—

“Ah ha!” Kerry spotted the letter opener a moment later. Grabbing it from the perfectly matched desk set, she ran back to the wall. Her fingers quickly found the slight depression beneath the paper. Without much forethought, or concern about consequences, Kerry stabbed the letter opener into the wallpaper. With all of her strength, she began dragging the opener through the paper, moving it down the wall.

It didn’t take long at all before Kerry had two ragged, parallel lines running down the wall. They extended up as high as Kerry could reach, but not across the top. She hesitated to stand on one of the antique chairs so she could find the line across the top. She had peeled back the edges on the right side and found a hole in what she was now positive was a door. Kerry guessed that at one time there would have been a doorknob to enable a person to open this small door.

Kerry had considered putting her fingers into the hole and just pulling. She wasn’t sure how much this was going to damage the paper. Of course, stepping back now, and looking at the outline and what she had torn away already, Kerry admitted she was going to have to pay a small fortune to replace this paper. “Damn,” she muttered as she slapped the flat edge of the opener against her thigh.

“I was going to choose something a little stronger, Kerry.”

Kerry spun around and saw Broderick standing in the doorway. He was grinning. She rushed into an explanation and hoped he would sense that she was sincere. “I’m sorry. Before I really thought it through, I was looking for a door. I should have waited and talked to you first.”

Broderick crossed the room to stand beside her, his arms folded across his T-shirt clad chest. Kerry felt a little shiver of desire chase through her body as she looked at the way his shirt outlined his muscular chest and arms. This man really was the stuff that dreams are made of, she thought, fully capable of taking her breath away!

Broderick reached out and took the letter opener from Kerry’s hand. He stepped forward and without another word found the indentation that followed across the top of the two parallel lines. He quickly sliced through the paper across the top, and then down to meet Kerry’s two lines. Tucking the opener into his back pocket, he slipped his fingers into the small hole Kerry had discovered. With a firm pull on the outlined panel, Broderick jerked the door open. Immediately beyond the door, they saw a short hallway, which appeared to descend into a staircase.

Kerry shivered suddenly as she stood in front of Broderick while they leaned through the doorway and peered down the small hallway. A moment later she felt Broderick’s warm hands gently close on her upper arms. As his hands rubbed up and down her arms, Kerry felt the goose bumps relax and fade away. She turned her head slowly, looking over her shoulder at the handsome man.

“I am going to pay for the wallpaper.”

Kerry didn’t resist as the strong hands turned her around until they faced one another. The smile that curved Broderick’s lips upward sent butterflies fluttering madly against the walls of her stomach. His deep voice sent the shivers up her spine again, but for a totally different reason this time.

“I can’t say that I wouldn’t have done the same damned thing. Something about ghosts, or maybe it is just this particular ghost hunter that has my adrenaline surging.” His head lowered toward her parted lips. “Just one question remains,” Broderick whispered less than an inch away from what was promising to be a very heated kiss.

Kerry’s hands were already inching around his waist as she forced herself to respond to his comment. “What is that?”

“Do I ravish you like my ghostly relative might do upon finding such a lusty wench destroying his property before we go down those stairs or after?”

Kerry sighed softly as his mouth covered hers finally. Any thought of really answering was lost as his tongue delved into the warm, moist seduction of her mouth. Leaning into his chest, Kerry finished encircling his waist and pulled him closer to her body. Perched on her toes, returning his kiss and following his tongue eagerly, she leaned into his strong chest. When his hands slid down and cupped her ass cheeks, Kerry yelped in surprise.

“Hmm, we’ve gone this far, but I’ll leave it up to you, my sweet.” Broderick stepped back a foot or so.

Kerry met Broderick’s blue-eyed gaze, not completely sure whether he meant their mutual seduction or the ghost hunt. Inhaling deeply, Kerry decided she was going to do what she wanted to do, and if he had a different opinion…well, he had a voice, right?

Kerry reached her right hand across the short distance between their bodies and curled her hand over his hard cock, covered by his jeans zipper. Watching Broderick’s face she saw the surprise in his eyes, which deepened into desire as she added softly, “I say the master of the house has his wicked way with the naughty lass…now!”

Kerry had already taken a few steps toward the bed, but the final steps were covered in a rush as Broderick moved them both onto the bed. Kerry was dimly aware of hearing the wall panel shut and some things landing on the floor, and she had a moment’s trepidation that they wouldn’t survive the fall. But then she remembered the thick carpeting and stopped caring, or thinking about anything but the man in her bed.

She felt Broderick’s large hands easing her shirt upward and then gently pulling her shorts down, past her thighs. She kicked one leg free as her hands moved to his shirt. Her fingers tried to work the three buttons at the top of his shirt, but it seemed as if her fingers had suddenly become all thumbs. Cursing softly, she paused as Broderick’s mouth enclosed her right nipple, lavishing it with wet licks and light suckling. It was such a sweet and intoxicating feeling that she started to let her hands fall away from their task.

In the quiet of the room, the sound of Broderick’s zipper seemed loud. To Kerry it reminded her that she wanted to caress his naked chest and press her breasts to his warm flesh. A moment later, she curled her fingers into the fabric of his shirt and pulled, hard. One button flew off, but the rest held tight. Broderick looked up into her face and he seemed very intent all of a sudden, but not on sex. Kerry stopped pulling as he started to speak.

“Kerry, darling, at this rate I am going to have to buy a lot of new shirts or you will have to learn how to sew on buttons.” He reached down and pulled his shirt up over his head and off. Coming back to rest against her nearly naked body, he smiled gently.

Kerry licked her lips, silently thanking God for letting her meet this man. “That will work. Or I’ll make sure they are pullover shirts like this, snip the top two buttons off and make it easier on us both!”

Kerry smiled as he chuckled softly. A second later she felt his hot cock pressing against her wet flesh. Without a word she lifted her thighs and encircled his hips eagerly. As he entered her smooth flesh, Kerry whispered. “Yes! Please! I want you in me…now!”

* * * * *

Broderick pulled back, reaching down to find a foil packet from his pocket. Kerry’s forwardness and her playful attitude had aroused him hard and fast. His fingers didn’t fumble at all and a moment later he was thrusting upward into Kerry’s tight, hot flesh.

He stopped to let their bodies adjust. For a long moment he watched Kerry’s face—her eyes were closed and lips slightly parted. Lowering his head, he kissed her lips, lightly. Before she could deepen the kiss, his mouth was sliding down the side of her neck. For just a moment, he carefully sucked and licked a spot that should be hidden by her clothes. Her skin was sensitive and easily marked, as he’d learned, so he didn’t want to stay too long in one spot.

Soon though, his body began demanding more. Reluctantly rising up, he began slowly thrusting into her body, sliding back from her flesh, which seemed to tighten around him, slowing his movement. Each thrust into the hot, tight sheath of her body was sexy and erotic. But each movement of easing away was even more arousing. If anyone had ever suggested he would be so unprofessional to fall for a guest at his bed and breakfast, or a woman who wasn’t really his “type” at all, he would have scoffed at him or her.

Yet, right now, looking down at Kerry, Broderick admitted he was more than…his brain shuddered for a moment. Thrusting back into her body again, delaying his withdrawal, Broderick acknowledged that this was a lot more than just fooling around. Several times he found himself thinking about next month and next year, and each time Kerry was there.

“Oh God!” he cried out suddenly. He felt Kerry’s body tightening and trying to hold him inside her heat. He moved one hand between their bodies, and using her wetness he began a soft exploration and arousal of her pleasure point.

* * * * *

Kerry wiggled eagerly in response to Broderick’s questing finger. She began deliberately squeezing and clenching her muscles more tightly around his manhood. Sensing she had only a moment or two—too late…Kerry’s body exploded in reaction. Conscious control was gone and she was at the mercy of her body’s climactic contractions.

* * * * *

Broderick didn’t pause because he had run out of endurance as well. The feeling of Kerry’s contractions was pushing him over the edge. His mind wanted to preserve the moment, the hot and powerful intensity of being inside Kerry’s body. It was different on so many levels than anything he’d experienced before. Quickly he thrust forward again, once more and the next moment he was climaxing as deeply as Kerry. He groaned loudly, and then cried out her name.

Over and over, one male and one female body contracted and reacted physically to the other. The same act since time began. Bringing two people as close as possible. Still, neither was completely ready to admit that this was anything more than mind-blowing physical lust—or at least, not yet.

Chapter 10

Kerry didn’t want to leave the warm cocoon of sleep she was in. She pushed away the intruder and huddled closer into the warmth. Frowning, she realized the warmth was flesh, but not hers, and felt very masculine. Opening one eye, she looked up from her burrowed position. They had gotten under the covers, most likely thanks to him, not her.

“I want to stay here! It’s warm, cozy…”

“I know, Kerry. My stomach is demanding food, though.”

Kerry moved away slightly, looking up at Broderick’s handsome face on the pillow. He had the shadow of a beard starting and she couldn’t resist lifting her hand to caress the side of his face. Without really thinking, she started speaking.

“I like this…” she told him quietly, continuing to rub, or rather pet the beard growing on his cheek. “It’s a little soft if you rub one way, and a little rough when you go the other way.”

“Sounds like life, honey.”

Kerry smiled, nodding her head and continuing to rub. “And it is very, very sexy—the unshaven, tousled hair thing.”

“Possibly, but the ‘needs a tooth brushing’ mouth is not.”

Kerry sat up suddenly, covering her mouth. “Oh my God! I’m sorry.”

“I was referring to myself, Kerry, not you. I hadn’t gotten close enough to check you out. But I’ve got that feeling in my mouth—”

Kerry smiled, lowering her hand. “I know and I’ve got it also. How about one quick, closed-mouth kiss and then we each adjourn to our bathrooms and meet downstairs for food?”

Broderick nodded and leaned forward. He kissed her mouth with his closed, but even with that he had a sexy way of little kisses that would drive a woman crazy. When he finally released her mouth, Kerry eased out of her side of the bed. She looked back over her shoulder and saw that Broderick was grinning at her. Quickly, she realized that she was definitely sans trousers. Tugging at her shirt, she turned towards the covers, wondering where her shorts had ended up.

“I think the last place I saw them was flying over my shoulder,” Broderick offered helpfully. Kerry’s glare told him he wasn’t being that helpful. Rounding the bottom of the bed, she caught sight of her shorts, but no panties. Picking them up, she sat on the bench and pulled them on. Without another word, she walked into the bathroom. Turning the water on, she pushed the door until it was nearly closed.

Sitting on the toilet, Kerry started to pee. With her eyes closed, she began to comb through her tangled hair with her fingers. After a huge yawn, something made her look towards the door. Broderick was watching her, grinning. He quickly put his hands up protectively.

“I’m going…I promise. Meet me in the kitchen.”

Kerry dropped her face into her hands. Nothing about this whole encounter with Broderick could be classified as romantic. Bad breath, being watched when you aren’t exactly at your best, and of course, a ghost—she was beginning to wonder what else could possibly happen to make this trip anymore unusual! Good thing she didn’t use real life for a story because no one would believe this, let alone consider it erotic. A moment later, Kerry stripped her clothes off and climbed into the old-fashioned bathtub. Closing the shower curtain, she turned the water on and showered rapidly. The least she could do was to at least smell nice, besides improving her breath.

* * * * *

They had finished eating a short time earlier and moved to the Commons room to continue relaxing and enjoy their wine. Dinner had been put on the table and was waiting for her by the time she had come to the kitchen. True to his word, Broderick had brought home Chinese, putting it in the refrigerator, when Kerry hadn’t responded to his calling her name the third time. While they ate, they had agreed to delay any “ghost talk” until they finished dinner.

Broderick leaned forward and leisurely poured them each some more wine. After he passed Kerry her glass, he settled back into the comfortable sofa beside her. “I’m going to guess that you had a much more exciting day than I did, Kerry.”

Kerry coughed and sputtered at his comment. “I hadn’t thought of it like that, but I guess you’re right.” She quickly bent the leg closest to Broderick, and turned sideways so she could face him. “You probably aren’t going to like this, but you’ve got two ghosts, not one.”

“Oh, hell!” Broderick quickly took a gulp of wine.

“I’m sorry.” Kerry reached out and covered the hand resting on his nearest thigh. “I asked him if he was haunting you because of the bed and breakfast, but he didn’t know what I was talking about. In fact, old Broderick seems to be as surprised as we are.”

Broderick smiled, ruefully shaking his head. “What does he want? As much as I might wish it weren’t so, I am assuming that you talked to him.”

Kerry nodded her head, unable to stop the smile, which curved her mouth upward. Poor Broderick, she thought. Somehow she felt it was easier for her to accept the whole “ghost concept” since she’d been writing about paranormal occurrences and the like in her books. “Now, don’t go getting an attitude. He’s confused also, but he mentioned Jenny. I think that is the spirit I felt in my room yesterday and today. She is the answer to all of this, I think.”

Broderick set his wine glass down, and then took Kerry’s from her hand. “Let’s go get new batteries for the flashlights and check this out. I think I should face this with as clear a head as possible.”

Kerry anxiously started for the kitchen with Broderick close behind, when the phone rang suddenly, coming from his office at the rear of the house.

“Damn!” Broderick cursed under his breath. “I need to take this call, Kerry, if it’s who I think it is. Go on up, since I know you are dying to get started, but wait for me. That hallway and staircase could be treacherous. Who knows when the last time it was opened.”

Kerry hid her disappointment, reaching out to curl her fingers just inside his jeans and belt. “Okay.” Instead of leaving immediately, she jerked her arms backward and pulled Broderick toward her by catching him off guard. Tilting her head back, she demanded sternly. “Kiss me once, before I go into withdrawal.”

Starting as a short, quick and playful kiss on her mouth, it spiraled into an erotic foray of lips and tongues. Soon one of Broderick’s hands slid under her shirt and upward to cup her right breast. Kerry couldn’t find the strength to end the kiss, but he did as the phone kept ringing.

“Wait for me, Kerry.”

Kerry nodded again and waited until he was around the corner before she turned to run up the stairs. In her room, she quickly checked the batteries on the four flashlights she now had. Sitting on the bed once again, Kerry grabbed her purse from the bench, along with the Bible. She pulled the two smaller books and the puzzle box from her bag. Unable to resist its lure, she fiddled with the box for a few minutes.

Frustrated, Kerry picked up one of the small books and saw that it was love poems. Inside the cover was an inscription, which appeared to be written by a masculine hand. Kerry lightly traced over the words with her index finger while she read the two hundred-year-old words.

“To my sweet Jenny…these phrases express my love for you much better than I can say the words.”

It was signed with only a capital “B.” Kerry was tempted to read some of the poems, but she didn’t want to start crying. Setting that book down, she picked up the last of the books she’d brought from the attic. Immediately Kerry noted that this was different from the others.

Kerry ran her fingers lightly over the plain leather. There were no etched letters on the cover, or on the binding. Opening the book slowly, she saw the first page contained handwriting, instead of the printing press style she had half expected. Reading the first line softly, she knew without a doubt that the owner of this book was Jenny.

“My dearest Broderick, I miss you so very much. Even though it is only one day since you left, my heart is so heavy for not telling you the truth sooner.” Kerry had to swallow hard before she could read more. She carefully thumbed through the pages, moving forward more than six months.

“General Washington was here today. I didn’t need to hear his words to know you were gone, my love. I have felt your loss for some time, yet I tried so desperately to pretend it wasn’t true.” She stopped abruptly as she noted the words were blurring from the tears in her eyes. Rubbing at her cheeks, she barely caught a tear before it joined Jenny’s long dried tears already smearing some of the words.

Hurriedly, Kerry set the leather journal on the bed beside her to avoid damaging it. Twisting on the bed, she grabbed a handful of tissues. After she blotted her cheeks and eyes, she blew her nose loudly. Still sniffing, unsure about reading more, she saw the lace handkerchief that was lying on the bed. It had obviously been folded and pressed into the book by the creases she could still see on the delicate woman’s hankie. There was a large, monogrammed blue letter “J” in the corner.

Quickly, Kerry blew her nose again. Then she carefully picked the intricate lace up with two fingers. It opened completely, revealing its precious treasure. Resting on her bed was a simple, narrow gold band. She couldn’t resist its lure and held it in the palm of her free hand. Tilting her hand, there appeared to be writing on the inside of the band. It was too small to read by the light in her room. She paused, considering whether to continue reading the journal or rush downstairs to show Broderick what she had discovered.

Deciding to share her exciting find with him, Kerry slipped off the bed. That’s when she first heard the noise. It was faint, but she was sure it was coming from behind the wall, in the newly discovered hallway. For a moment she remembered her promise to wait…she shrugged and pushed the ring into her pants pocket. Grabbing two flashlights, the small one that fit in her pocket, and the other that had fresh batteries, she walked over and reopened the door. Pausing, she noticed that there was no coldness this time, so she stepped inside the narrow hallway.

Using her flashlight, Kerry skimmed it quickly over the floor to make sure there were no waiting boards to trip them up. Taking a deep breath, she took one step down the hallway. Broderick’s words again flashed in her head for a moment, but she wasn’t going down the stairs, just checking the hall out for safety. Nodding her head in agreement with her rationale, she took two more steps.

Kerry paused to let the flashlight roam over the walls and ceiling. She didn’t want to find any mice or walk into any grandiose spider webs that were centuries old. She moved forward a couple more steps and found herself at the first stair leading down. Speaking softly, Kerry voiced her thoughts.

“It’s probably better for me to check the stairs out. I do weigh less than he does—all right! It’s slightly less, but he wouldn’t sit down on the top step like this.”

Kerry gently tucked the handkerchief into her waistband before she sat down, and then cautiously swung her feet around to rest on the second step down. She pushed hard with her feet, and then stomped them a few times before she eased her butt onto that stair and checked out the third. Her feet hit the fifth step before her butt had checked out the fourth, but logically she justified her actions.

“It only makes sense to do it this way. And besides, in the movies it is always the last step or so that gives way.” She worked her way down until her butt was on the fourth step from the bottom. From here, Kerry could see the far wall only. Resolving that it was safe after stomping her feet on the next stair, Kerry walked down the last two. She flashed the light around. Quickly recounting the stairs, Kerry knew that she’d only gone down one flight. But she couldn’t visualize in her head where she might be. Turning to the right, there was another hallway; only this one appeared to be a series of twists and turns instead of straight.

“Please, God, don’t let me get lost in here,” Kerry prayed for a moment, and then started down the hallway. She lost track after the third turn in the hall. On the History Channel, she remembered a special about old houses and secret passageways. There had been a mansion on there where suddenly a door would open to the outside, but it was on the second or third story. To the unwary, or if you just didn’t pay attention, that first step could break your neck, or just a leg at best.

The noise had become less distinct as she made her way along the dark halls. Kerry stopped, having come to a door for the first time along the hallway. Reaching out, she curled her fingers around the old-fashioned tarnished handle. Immediately she noticed the coldness in the metal, followed by the sound inside the room.

“Go on, damn it! Ghosts can’t hurt you, and you’ve already been chatting to one!” Kerry paused as she considered once again the possibility that it really hadn’t been her modern-day Broderick that first time in his bed. Why that thought suddenly popped into her head she couldn’t say for sure. Unless she didn’t want to come across an irate ghostly Jenny, now bent on revenge against her for sleeping with Colonial Broderick! She had not wanted to think about it, to be honest. Reluctantly she acknowledged something she had come across during her research. “I guess it is probable that you could have sex with a ghost…if the spirit inhabited your body.”

Stiffening her spine, Kerry twisted the handle and stepped into the room. She stopped abruptly, dropping her flashlight. In the rolling light she saw a misty figure of a woman seated at a small writing desk. The woman was dressed similarly to Kerry with the gown she had tried on the other day, but her hair streamed down to her waist. While her hand moved across an old piece of paper, Kerry realized the sounds she had heard were of this woman, or spirit, crying.

Kerry couldn’t help it. The woman’s soft sobs wrenched her heart. This was Jenny, most likely. From what she had read upstairs, it was obvious she and Broderick had loved one another. She could only guess at their connection, or actual relationship, because she had not seen any “Jenny’s” documented in that old Bible she’d found. Almost unaware of it, she spoke her name out loud.

“Jenny?”

The woman didn’t stop writing, or crying. Kerry frowned, moving closer towards the ephemeral figure. Less than two feet from the desk, she tried again.

“Jenny? Are you Broderick’s Jenny?”

The ghostly figure continued to write, and cry. Frustrated, Kerry spoke again. “I’ve met your Broderick, and I think the two of you have some unfinished business between you. After all, isn’t that why any ghost appears?”

“I must agree with you, wholeheartedly.”

Kerry swung around at hearing a voice behind her—Broderick’s voice that is. But there was a mist there, not a man. Slowly though, the mist began to circle and swirl, coming together more solidly until once again, colonial Broderick was standing there.

“Is that your Jenny?” Kerry asked him quickly, and a little impatiently. This ghost business was beginning to wear on her nerves. “Maybe she will talk to you so we could sort this out and everyone can go rest in peace. Some people may like ghosts flitting about, but my Broderick doesn’t see it in real positive turns since this is going to be a bed and breakfast.”

The ghostly Broderick was now fully materialized, only this time he was dressed in the uniform many Revolutionary War officers had worn. There was also a large bloodstain, at what appeared to be directly over his heart. Kerry realized that it was quite possible he had died so instantaneously that he had almost been unaware of it. As she watched him staring at the woman, tears appeared in his eyes.

“Yes, this is my Jenny. The woman I loved, but never married. Dear God, Jenny! I am so sorry for not marrying you before the fighting started. I was a fool to think there would always be time for us.”

Kerry stepped back as Broderick walked toward the misty figure. She wished silently that she had read even more about ghosts and the forms they took, and especially information dealing with ghosts who still had issues to deal with! A moment later, she couldn’t stop the tears that were now rolling down her cheeks. Broderick had gone down on one knee beside the woman. Kerry had to lean forward and strain to hear his words. She did pause for half a second, considering this could be considered eavesdropping, since he had obviously lowered his voice. Scoffing at herself, she shook her head. If a ghost started appearing, the privacy issue, in her opinion, became moot.

“Jenny, my love, if only I had known that I would never return. What became of you, my sweet wife? You were already my wife in my heart and my mind. I should have just damned all the gossips and married you the day I met you because that is the day I first loved you. I would give anything to just hold you in my arms once more, to share one more sweet kiss.”

Hastily Kerry rubbed her tears away, noticing that Broderick’s spectral image was once again becoming less clear, and mistier. Suddenly she had an idea.

“I hate to interrupt, but you are starting to fade.”

Broderick stood slowly, looking down at his hands. He turned to look at Kerry. “At least you found the way to my Jenny.”

Kerry shook her head at the sadness in his voice. “I think you played a trick on me that first night. I am guessing that you sort of took over my Broderick’s body, in the bed. You enticed me into his bedroom with your smoky spirit, and I think he wasn’t completely himself.”

She watched as the ghost straightened his spine, holding himself stiffly erect. Kerry narrowed her eyelids, not accepting his affronted image. She spoke quickly though, as she saw he was fading more quickly. “It doesn’t matter now. I am going to walk over to Jenny and see if she will do the same with me, or at least partly. Meanwhile, you need to go and find my Broderick.” Kerry paused as she realized how easily she kept calling the modern Broderick “hers.”

She stopped beside Jenny. “Is there a quicker way back out of here?”

Broderick nodded. “In the hall, ten paces more to your right. Push hard on the right side of the wall.” The last word was so faint Kerry barely heard it. Once again, she was alone with Jenny.

Kerry decided to jump in, feet first, so she pulled the chair a little bit farther out, away from the desk. Right before she sat down on the seat, right on top of the misty ghost, she pulled the gold ring from her pocket, clutching it in her closed fist. She didn’t feel any different as she spoke softly. “This is your chance, Jenny. If you want to tell the man you loved how pissed off you were at him dying and leaving you alone, now is the time!”

Coldness seemed to begin seeping into her body, the same as it had the evening she’d found the indentations in the wall. Looking down at her hands, Kerry thought she could see mist begin to swirl around them. The sense of chill continued until she was nearly shivering from it. Lifting her hands, she began rubbing them up and down her arms, over the sleeves of her shirt. That’s when Kerry realized she wasn’t rubbing cotton any longer. It was silk, the same color as Jenny’s dress, but it was becoming a much brighter, stronger color. The chill was fading as she stood.

As she walked toward the open doorway, Kerry realized her feet were now in silken shoes, her sneakers having faded away. It was strange as she walked the ten paces toward the wall…her hands reaching out, knowing exactly where on the wall to push—

* * * * *

Broderick was still listening on the phone, staring at the far wall of books. Less than ten seconds after hanging up from the business call, the phone had rang again. Picking it up impatiently, he heard his friend’s voice on the line.

“Hello, John.”

Fifteen minutes later he was still listening as John prattled on about something. Broderick had surprised himself as he thought that perhaps he wouldn’t open the bed and breakfast after all. His law practice here was doing much better than he had expected, and he could easily expand it to full time. It would be nice to have the house all to themselves for a while. And one or two kids would be pretty cool as well, if Kerry liked the idea too.

Still, he had reasoned, perhaps he could have John run the place for a split of profits, and eventually partial ownership. That way Kerry and he could look into purchasing a house beyond the tourist area and, he couldn’t help but add, away from the ghosts.

His feet were propped on his desk, not really listening to John at all, when he saw the bookcase start to move. There was no mistaking the appearance of a hand coming around the end of it. Broderick shot to his feet. He hurriedly considered two plausible reasons: first, someone was breaking into the house; or second, and more likely, Kerry had not waited upstairs for him.

“I’ll call you back, John!” he shouted into the phone, and hung up.

He was partway across the room when he stepped into a swirling mist. The next step he felt chilled all over, and by the third, he was dressed in colonial finery. His hand was reaching out, but it didn’t seem like it was his—

A woman had just stepped out from behind the bookcase. She looked somewhat like Kerry except she was dressed in a pink dress. The style was more than two centuries old, but the dress looked new. The stunned look on her face as she saw him for the first time was unmistakable.

Chapter 11

Broderick couldn’t believe that he was alive once again. The best part was that the oddly dressed woman’s plan must have worked, because before him stood his Jenny.

“Jenny, my love! Can you ever forgive me?”

Jenny was still reeling under what was happening. She was part of someone else, not her body, but her thoughts and feelings. She spoke quickly. “What is going on here?”

Broderick reached toward Jenny’s hand, but she jerked it back after just a second of warmth. He paused, seeing her confusion. That’s how he had felt just…a few days he guessed must have passed. Or at least that is what he had gathered from the woman who looked quite a bit like Jenny. He did admit that seeing all that leg exposed beneath those odd clothes could have quite an effect on a man, ghost or not.

“It’s all right, my love. I wanted to hold you once again, and tell you how much I loved you. I need you to know that I should have married you before I left. I was a fool to ask you to wait.”

Jenny nodded slowly. “You never came back. It was half a year before we learned that you had.” Her voice choked on the words, the pain as new as it had been more than two centuries ago. “That you had been struck down, with all your men. General Washington came to the house though, commending you and your men’s bravery. H-he was most kind in his condolences.”

“I am so very sorry, my love. I didn’t really know I’d been struck, it was so fast.”

Jenny smiled a little, rubbing her tears away. “It’s just so sad that you never knew—” Her voice broke as she told the man she loved with all of her heart the truth. “You had a son, Broderick. He was born six months after you had left. Hearing that you were gone…” tears overflowed her eyes, “I gave birth the day after the General visited. I hesitated telling you because I didn’t want you to worry about me…us.”

Broderick reached out and pulled Jenny into his arms, hugging her so tightly she had to gasp to breathe. Relaxing his hold, he held her close to his body. As they both realized what they had lost, tears slipped slowly down both of their faces. Jenny sobbed softly, remembering how lonely she had been in the beginning.

“You never got to hold your son in your arms, and for that I beg your forgiveness, my husband.”

Broderick threaded his fingers through her hair, tilting her face upward. “It is I who begs for your forgiveness. Let us forget all that, and forgive each other. I want you to rest peacefully, with me.”

Jenny nodded her head, beginning to feel weak. “I forgive you, and I love you with all my being. Your son would have made you proud, my love.” She slowly leaned back and showed him the ring in her hand. “I found this among your things, in that silly little puzzle box of yours.”

Broderick picked the ring up and slid it onto her finger. He could see the change starting, her skin seeming paler. “I have so much to say, my love.” He kissed her quickly, and deeply, wanting to share again, even if for a moment only, the passion and fire they had once known together. As their lips slowly parted, he could feel himself weakening.

“We are fading, my love. Hold me tightly, and we will leave this world together, as we were meant to do.”

“Oh, Broderick,” Jenny whispered softly. The weakness was growing and she felt colder with each passing moment. “I love you, now and forever!”

Broderick’s voice was equally faint as he replied. “I will always, and eternally, be yours.”

* * * * *

Kerry realized she was standing in Broderick’s arms. Opening her eyes, she saw him staring down at her. Then she saw the faint swirling of misty fog beginning to drift away from the clasped bodies. She saw the stain of tears on Broderick’s face and she knew instantly it had worked. Together, she and Broderick had given two other lovers a last chance to be with one another. The feeling of sadness and joy swept over her, and she started to cry once again. She pressed her face close to Broderick’s heart, covered thinly by his shirt.

“I love you,” she whispered without thinking.

Broderick tugged on her hair until she lifted her face to his. “I love you too, but you are going to have to explain a few things to me. One of them will have to be about waiting—”

Kerry grinned and nodded. “Gladly. I should have told you what was happening, but I was afraid we didn’t have time. I just felt such overwhelming urgency, but even now I can’t explain it. I just knew it was now, or never.”

Broderick nodded, accepting her words. “Very well. For tonight, I think we should close things up. We can decide later on what we want to do about this secret passage.”

“We?”

“Yeah. I want you to hang around after the conference ends.”

Kerry frowned at him. “Hmm. Hang around? For how long?”

Broderick lowered his head toward her, whispering as his mouth covered her parted lips. “Fifty years, but considering I’m forty, we’ll shoot for forty years to start.”

Kerry’s heart soared at his words, even though she didn’t get the chance until much later that night to tell him he had a deal.

Epilogue

The sun was hot today, Kerry realized as she knelt on the ground, pulling up the stray weeds that had crept into the small area, sectioned off by stones. Broderick was still inside going over unnecessary last minute items with John before they made the last trip to their new home a few miles away. As planned, John was working at the bed and breakfast full time now.

Kerry had grown to love so many of the antique pieces about the house that it was going to be hard to leave them. Well, it would be difficult, as she had explained to her husband for the hundredth time, not seeing them every day. But they had agreed it would be best to be completely settled in the new house before the baby arrived.

Kerry shifted from her knees to her bottom with some difficulty. She didn’t care about the grass that was clinging to her jeans. Sitting cross-legged, she was grateful for the stretch waist. She paused in her weed picking to rub her hand over her swollen belly. They had about seven weeks to go and she was getting impatient. Reaching over, she pulled the last stubborn bit of wild grass that had grown up around the stone marker she had placed here more than a year ago.

Her golden wedding band glinted from the sunlight that dabbled through the nearby trees. Broderick had suggested that they use the ring purchased more than two hundred years ago, but Kerry had been too fearful of losing it. After it was duplicated, including the inscription, they had returned the ring to the puzzle box. Luckily Broderick had figured it out without too much difficulty.

Kerry had had a special case constructed after their wedding, and inside the glass display were the box, the Bible and lace hankie. The old wooden container had been carefully cleaned and restored. On top of it rested Jenny’s journal, which was closed, and the book of love poems, open to one she had found that Jenny had marked carefully as her favorite.

While she weeded the garden, Kerry couldn’t help but recall all that happened over the months following the end of the convention. In almost no time at all she had written a story about colonial Broderick and his Jenny. While she waited for the story’s acceptance, the contract, and then subsequent rewrites, she had called Miznari and Natalie and left messages for them, hoping they had returned. Both had vanished soon after the start of the convention and their disappearances had stumped the local authorities. Kerry couldn’t help but worry about them…until the message from Miz and the dream about Natalie.

Kerry paused as she tugged on a particularly troublesome ragweed, and thought about the message and the dream. The e-mail from Miz had seemed quite strange, but Kerry had no doubt it was from her friend. In trying to understand what had happened to Miz, she’d memorized the note:

Hey girl,

Sorry for the vanishing act, Ker. You’d never believe what has happened since Halloween night if I told you, so I’m not even gonna try. Don’t worry your pretty ass about me. I’m having a hell of a time, and damn but I wish you could see me now! Tell Nat to stay loose.

Who knows, maybe one of these days the three of us will have a chance to grab some Italian food again and gab. I’ll miss you both like hell.

Miz

P.S. Did you finally get laid? You sure needed it, girlfriend.

It puzzled Kerry, yet reassured her at the same time. Only Miz could have sent that e-mail, no doubt about it. She’d tried to respond, but the reply came back that there was no such address.

A rivulet of sweat trickled down the small of Kerry’s back as she recalled the most amazing dream she’d had about Natalie, just days after she’d received the e-mail from Miz. The dream had been so real, and so vivid, Kerry was positive it had been a message from Nat.

In the dream, a world of unbelievable beauty surrounded Natalie. The air was so clean and so fresh that everything was brighter and more vivid than anything Kerry could have imagined on Earth. A powerful man with black hair and tattoos beneath each eye approached Natalie. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her so tenderly that Kerry had felt the incredible love between the two of them. In fact, the love had seemed to surround them like a beautiful aura. While sensing Nat’s sadness at being unable to visit her earthbound adoptive family, she had the overwhelming awareness that Nat was completely happy and content.

Natalie had gone home…to the world in which she’d been born.

As the dream faded, Kerry had thought she’d seen a faerie flitting by in the background. And the man Natalie was in love with, his ears…had they been pointed?

Despite the bizarreness of the dream, Kerry somehow knew that she could rest assured that Natalie was fine, and happier than she’d ever been.

Kerry surveyed her garden as her thoughts moved away from her friends and to her own incredible life and the past few months.

Once the royalty check for the story about colonial Broderick and his Jenny arrived, Kerry immediately purchased a grave marker with colonial Broderick’s and Jenny’s engraved names upon it. She had his birth and death dates, but she could only find a reference to Jenny’s passing, so under her name was the year only. It had seemed the right thing to do—a remembrance of their love and devotion, cut short by war. Below the names and dates, she had added “Together forever.”

As usual, she started to cry. Combined with her thoughts about her friends, whom she missed, despite knowing they were happy, and the feelings that always bubbled up when she remembered her “colonial ghost” and his lost love. She was happy she could help them, yet sad that they had never been a family. To her it was natural that she would cry—usually a bucket or two according to Broderick.

“Hey! Beautiful weed picker! Are you ready to hit the road?”

Kerry turned, rubbing at her cheeks. “All done, but I need help getting up this time.”

Broderick walked over to where she was seated and saw her tears. Pulling her to her feet, he leaned down and kissed the tears from each cheek. “You did a good thing, sweetheart. I have no doubt that they are together, and happy.”

Kerry laughed, nodding her head. “I know. And we did it together. I couldn’t have done it alone, remember? It’s just the regret that they never got the chance for all we have.”

Broderick wrapped his arm around her shoulders, steering her towards the drive where one car was parked, filled with “stuff,” and his motorcycle. “I understand, honey. Look at it this way, my love. You have told their story and set this marker for generations to come.” He paused and made a sweeping gesture with his hand towards the roses, which grew behind the stone. “Thanks to you and your research, we now have the correct version of how the name ‘Fair Rose’ came about.”

Kerry laughed and nodded her head. “Yes, poor John. The truth about one of your ancestors cultivating a hybrid rose wasn’t nearly as exciting as his tale about a dashing rogue, romancing all the fair maidens in the county, and leaving them roses.”

Broderick laughed, adding with a grin. “I imagine John will still tell the guests his story. Now, the big decision is at hand!”

Kerry looked up at her husband, frowning at his tone. The sweeping gesture of his hand told its own tale. “I can’t ride on that! I won’t fit!”

“Sure you will, Kerry. The doctor said it was still safe for you to ride, and John will drive the car over for us.” He curled his mouth down, and Kerry saw a distinct pout before he added, “Probably the last chance we’ll get to ride for sometime.”

Kerry looked from the cycle to the car, where John was now standing, his arms folded as he waited patiently. Finally, she nodded her head, but added quite seriously. “You’ll have to help me get on this black beast first.”

Broderick grinned and helped his wife get comfortable before seating himself. After making sure Kerry had her helmet secured, he felt her hands come around his stomach as far as they could and then clutch at his shirt. Powering the cycle up, he rode the short distance to the car, ignoring Kerry’s shout of surprise. Grinning at his friend, he shouted.

“Take your time, John. We’ll be taking the long way home.”

Kerry squealed his name as the tires spun a little before they roared towards their new home together.