by Lucian Bane
He looked up at her, confused. “What do you mean?”
“I mean I don’t think I’m God or anything, just because I made you up, I mean…”
“You’re my Scribbler,” he whispered, like he couldn’t believe she were even saying such a thing.
“I know, I think I get what you’re saying. I’m just saying I don’t… feel the same as you do about it.”
He drew back a little. “How do you feel?”
She regarded him carefully, not wanting to shatter his world and psyche. “It’s sort of like how you feel about romance.”
“I don’t feel anything about romance,” he said quickly.
“Exactly. You were not designed to. And I wasn’t designed… to think highly of myself.”
The harsh lines on his handsome face slowly softened. “I think I see.” Thank God. “So… how do you think of yourself?”
She gave a light shrug. “Just a human like any other. Nothing special.”
“You’re wrong,” he said with a passion that made her feel warm inside. “I’m living proof that you’re wrong. There is no other being like me on Octava. I am not arrogant or proud, but rather practical. It is merely the truth.”
“Are you sure you’re the only one? You haven’t been there for very long.”
Again he considered it and shook his head. “I have studied the inhabitants. If there are others like me, they are well hidden from my strict observations.”
“Okay, I can go with that. I can go with me being gifted. I can’t deny that.” The acknowledgment seemed to relax him a little. “But I’m still… human and… a woman.”
“So your sex is a variable in this? Causing this?”
Just hearing the word out of his mouth seemed to speak to said parts of her. “Yes. My body has the same kinds of needs yours are having. The same kinds of reactions.”
“But you said it wasn’t happening before.”
This was the part where she hoped he made connections she didn’t have to spell out. “No, it hasn’t.”
“Why now?”
She shook her head very slowly, pretending to think. “Maybe… because I trust you.”
“How does that effect your… body?”
“Because feelings are a part of a woman’s sexual drive.”
“Sexual drive?” His brows rose.
“That’s the thing that makes your… privates… get… firm.” Firm? Jesus.
“Are your privates getting firm? Are you experiencing this with me?”
She bit her lower lip. “I don’t have male privates and my parts respond differently, but yes,” she tried to not get gaspy, “I am… certainly aroused… by you.” There, she said it!
“You said that word again. Aroused. I wished I understood it in reference to your… private parts.” He regarded her with sudden wonder. “Why do I feel like I shouldn’t be talking about this?”
“Because I didn’t design you to want romance.”
“This is romance?” His upper body went ramrod in alarm.
“No, not entirely.” She held out a hand, calming him. “But it’s a symptom.” At seeing his resumed distress, she hurried to finish bumbling an already complicated matter that really shouldn’t have been so complicated. Not for her at least. “It’s… because you’re… gorgeous and nice and sweet, and smart and… gorgeous.”
He drew back a little more while her cheeks reddened at the bold compliment she’d just given him. “You said gorgeous twice.” Like that was a clue to something; a clue he didn’t like.
She couldn’t help but laugh and nod incessantly at the accidental blunder. “Because you’re… very gorgeous.” And there it went again.
He clearly didn’t get what kind of compliment that was, thank God. The problem with that was he’d dig until he did. “So being gorgeous has more of an impact on you than… the other things?”
“No, no.” Although, she realized actually, it did. “Okay, yes. Yes, your gorgeousness does have more of an impact on my body.”
He shook his head, annoyed with his ignorance. “How? How does it work with you? A woman?”
“Oh dear,” she fanned her face.
“Are you sick?”
“No, Poe, I’m not sick. I’m…” Just say it! “Aroused out of my mind, okay?” Without having to look at him, she knew he was only baffled. “That means I want you to touch me and I want to touch you. I want to take all of your clothes off and… and…” She hurried towards the bathroom. “I can’t do this. I can’t have this conversation with you.” She shut the door and slid down to the floor. She was ready to rape the man. She could so easily take advantage of him.
The door vibrated with his knock! “I need to understand this so that I can stop it. I have to ask you these things and I apologize if it’s… inappropriate.”
“Ha! Inappropriate is not what it is, Poe.”
“Then what is it?”
“Would you like me to show you?” Her heart pounded furiously in her chest through the ensuing silence.
“If you can do it without touching me, yes.”
She gave another ha! She froze with a sudden idea. Could it work? It was worth a try. “Fine, I’ll show you.” She thought a little more about specifics. “But you’ll have to stay in here while I do.” She bit her lower lip, excitement pumping through her now as she stood and opened the door to find a very worried looking Poe. “Or we could forget the entire thing and try to avoid one another as best we can since we both seem prone to…”
“The dreaded effect?”
She bit her lip.
“Is this somehow funny?” he asked, in all sincerity.
“Not at all, no. Not really.”
“And yet you struggle not to laugh.”
“At you.”
“I’m funny?”
“Yes, you are. The way you treat this like it’s some kind of plague.”
“As far as I can tell, it bears plague-like qualities. Qualities I can stand to live without at such a crucial time.”
She nodded. “Which is why I am helping you.”
“Good.” He nodded now. “What are you going to do?”
“You let me worry about that.” She held the door open and shooed him out of her way and he stepped to the right.
“And I need to be in here? Is this going to take long?”
“I don’t think so, no,” she said, turning and shooing him into the bathroom with her fingers.
He went in and shut the door. “Should I stand?” he called.
“Don’t think it matters,” she called back, opening her lap top and getting comfy on the bed. “You can sit so you don’t get tired.”
“I’m not tired,” he said.
“Okay then stand if you like.” Charlotte pulled up J. P. Howe’s profile on her computer and opened Poe’s story. She read the final paragraph she’d written for him. Geeze. He was in the middle of the dessert. How was she supposed to… justify. Oh. He was near delirium. Good. He could have a hallucination. A very real one.
Charlotte proceeded to write up an erotic mirage and soon her mouth hung open, not in the excitement that she was desperate to inflict upon him, but in shock. Each time the woman tried to touch him, he’d swat her hands off or evade her. Charlotte was soon chasing him down in the story. In one leap, the female tackled him to the ground where Poe fought her like the anti-romantic he was.
“Be still!” Charlotte whispered at the screen, biting her lip in pity for him.
Part of her thrilled over his efforts, hoping he won, liking that he repelled this other woman. And then finally, she managed to kiss him. Charlotte felt like she needed to act quickly with him and the scene soon turned into an awkward groping session with him fighting again.
She finally shut the laptop, frustrated. “I’m done,” she called.
He jerked the door open and she took in his comical appearance of a man who’d just gone to battle against a most horrific foe and nearly lost. He marched into the room and stopped at the bed.
“What in Octava just happened?” He pointed at the bathroom.
“I was trying to show you!”
“That is not showing! That is… “
“Rape?” She couldn’t stop her laughter from exploding and she covered her face. “I’m sorry, it was just so funny the way you fought her!”
“You did that?”
“Yes!” She slapped her lap with both hands. “I was hoping to show you.”
“Do not ever do that again,” he nearly thundered at her.
She stared at him, mouth hanging open, fighting to be offended. “I was just trying to help.”
He was pacing now like a wounded hero and she couldn’t stop her laughter.
He raked his hand through his hair and regarded her none too happily. “You need to make it stop. Just tell me what to do.”
“Well understanding it would help.”
“I clearly will not be doing that.”
“Clearly. And yet…”
He paused and looked at her, waiting for some kind of help.
“Well, and yet you are very aroused with me. Do you suppose if it had been me in that scene, you would have fought me?”
“More vehemently,” he assured.
“Really?”
He narrowed his gaze on her. “You seem…”
“Offended?”
“Yes,” he said, perplexed. “Why in the worlds is the question.”
“Easy, Poe. Women don’t usually like rejection.”
“Well maybe they shouldn’t force themselves.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t force yourself on me.”
“I am not,” he said incredulous.
“Yes, you are. Look at you,” she gestured to him. “Everything about you makes my body want you.”
He drew back a little as though she’d threatened him. “You’re the creator.”
Damn. Right. But, “And you came here. You came to me in all your perfection and gorgeousness and now I want you. I want you more than I’ve wanted anybody in my life!” Oh crap, Charlotte, TMI.
She swallowed in sudden fear at what she’d done. She’d just confessed something that should never be. Should never be and should certainly never be confessed.
“Why are you suddenly afraid?” he asked, not seeming bothered in the least by her confession.
“I’m… I’m not supposed to feel this way either.”
“But you’re human.”
“I don’t care!” she gasped, upset now. “I don’t want to want a man.”
“Because you’re no romance Scribbler,” he reminded her.
“That’s right. I’m no romance scribbler. I’m no romance nothing!”
“I get that something is amiss with me. I supposed it was the passage, but why are you malfunctioning?” He suddenly looked worried. “Is it me doing this?”
She smacked her forehead. “Yes, it’s you. It’s you and it’s me, it’s a conglomerate of the both of us.”
“So I’m the contaminant? Quarks and hadrons!” he whispered, pacing again, thinking. “It was that romance couple I helped. I was contaminated! That’s what this is!”
Charlotte threw herself into the bed covers and howled her laughter.
“Why is this catastrophe so funny to you!”
His exasperation only made it worse and she kicked her legs.
“This is superb,” he muttered. “Laughing, laughing, laughing.”
“I’m sorry.” She got up on her elbows and eyed him only to jerk up at seeing his gaze lock onto her chest. “Oops,” she whispered, realizing her top had fallen open. Judging by the look on his face, he’d gotten an eyeful.
He met her gaze with his own confounded one. “Divinities,” he barely whispered.
She swallowed and eyed the heave of his chest. “Sorry.”
“My body hurts with needs when you’re near me,” he continued in dumbfounded awe, making Charlotte’s heart race. Making her want to hear more, all of it.
“Tell me.” She held her breath, hoping he would.
“I… I just…” his gaze lowered as though he couldn’t resist looking at her. “Want things.”
Charlotte was desperate now. Her brain worked overtime to give her what she wanted. No. What he wanted. That’s what she wanted to show him. What it was like, to feel… good. As a man. Was that so bad? Not if… not if it was with somebody he was safe with. He was safe with her, she would never hurt him. “Okay fine,” she sighed loudly then fluttered her fingers at him. “Show me.”
“Show you?”
“Show me what it does to you.”
He stared at her, confused. “How do I do that?”
“Your body is supposedly affected. How badly is it? Maybe it’s not as bad as you think.”
He gasped and pointed to his groin. “I assure you it is quite bad. Right now, the beast is angry and enflamed—“
She fought to appear concerned with a hint of worry. “I think I need to see and make sure you’ve not got a medical condition that needs proper care.”
The horror on his face made her feel evil and excited all at once. He looked down at her then.
“It’s only a penis,” she cried, “I know exactly what it looks like. I made it for crying out loud! Now let me see,” she finished lightly. She could hardly believe her good fortune when he began undoing his pants. He unzipped it and Charlotte huffed, “Are you always this slow?”
Poe pushed his pants down so that he stood before her in those sexy black briefs, while she kicked herself for making him so gorgeous. And she’d lied when she said she knew what his penis looked like. As far as she’d known, the man didn’t actually possess one. Apparently her subconscious had taken care of all that. Good damn care.
Chapter Sixteen
He finally lowered his underwear and Charlotte couldn’t catch the gasp.
“Divinities, it’s serious? Is this normal?”
She covered her mouth. “Sorry, no. This is hard for me.”
“Why?”
She shot her eyes up to him. “I thought I explained that in great detail, Mr. Poe.”
He merely stared at her and the amount of torment and heat in his gaze lit her up. Getting back to business, she asked casually, “Does it hurt when you touch it?”
He actually licked his lips. “Not… in a bad way.”
Charlotte forced herself to stare at it, angling her head, contemplating the jump off the cliff. “Do you mind if I examine it?” She looked up at him with as straight a face as she could manage. “I need to just check a few things.”
She was pretty sure the look on his face mirrored what she was thinking. The burning crossroad of no return. He seemed very, very, worried. And God, he should be. “If you absolutely must.”
He didn’t move and she bit her lower lip, keeping her eyes locked to his. “I must confess, I’m not a doctor.”
“I… realize this.”
“And… I can’t promise you… what this will do to me.”
His gaze narrowed. “I don’t understand.”
“I mean, I don’t know that… if I do examine you that… things won’t happen.”
“What things?” he wondered.
She closed her eyes. “Nothing. You’re fine. Stay right there.” She scooted toward the edge. “Don’t freak out. I’m not going to do anything sudden,” she informed when he stepped back.
Once in place at the edge of the bed, she hardened her will. “Come here now.”
“Closer?”
“If I’m to examine it, yes.”
“Scribbler….”
She raised both hands at hearing his desperate fear. “I won’t make you.”
“How long will it take?”
“To examine it?”
“Yes,” he gasped.
“Two seconds. Or five.”
He stepped forward finally, bringing his gorgeous body in reach and still she didn’t allow herself to stare the way she wanted to. She wanted to examine it, alright. “You may want to look away.”
“Will it hurt?”
“No, but I find it odd for you to watch me.”
“Right,” he strained, looking right.
“Alrighty,” she said lightly, “I’m going to touch it, brace yourself.” She barely kept her voice from cracking while finally staring at it. In all fairness, she’d not seen a real one up close in this manner. With two fingers, she lifted the thick member and Poe let out a stifled groan. “Easy, just two fingers.”
She moved the other hand beneath it and let it rest in her palm. “Now,” she said, her voice nearly shrill. “What do you feel when I do this?” She traced the tip of her finger softly along the length.
He choked on a groan. “Divinities,” he ground out.
“Does it hurt?” she barely whispered, biting her smile.
“No!”
“Is it hot?”
“Yes!” he rasped.
“Okay, okay.” She looked up and found his head back, the muscles in his neck bulging in strain. Just… unspeakably delicious. “I think I know the problem.”
“Please,” he said, hardly able to speak. “Can you… fix it?”
“I can.” Could she ever. “But you have to trust me.”
He gasped and looked down at her. “What… what are you going to do?”
She bit her lip, barely able to hide her lust and need to devour the man where he stood. “Do you trust me?”
He nodded, his brows drawn. “Yes. I do.”
A warm feeling swam through her at his confession. “I want you to close your eyes. I’m going to help you release.”
“Release?” he sounded terrified.
“You need to release, that’s what’s wrong with you.”
“Release, but I don’t need—“
“Not that kind of release. Another kind.”
“Does it…”
“It doesn’t hurt. I promise,” she said softly. “Now close your eyes.”
He quickly did as told. “Do it quickly.”
Quickly. Oh no, my dear Poe. Not quickly. “I want you to try and relax. You’re going to feel a great deal of heat, but it won’t hurt.” She closed her fingers around him and he gasped. “You’re fine, you’re doing fine.” She carefully wrapped the base with her other hand until she had a firm hold.
“I’m sorry,” he gasped.
