"Tarla, please!"
She intended to use her mouth to take him through his orgasm but he grasped her shoulders and pulled her upward. "Not like that. I need to be inside you. Deep inside you."
She barely had a chance to straddle his hips before he was inside her, thrusting, pumping, rolling them to their sides, lying on top of her, pulling out then frantically entering her again from behind, pulling out, turning her onto her back then pushing into her core once again.
The low, growling sounds he was uttering mirrored her own animal need. She hung on the precipice of her own release, instinctively knowing they would only be able to make it to the other side together. She could tell he needed something desperately, yet it was out of his reach. All she could do was cling to him and share her strength.
Suddenly she understood what was happening, knew she couldn't stop it, knew if they didn't give in, one or both of them could lose their minds.
"Logan," she forced out breathlessly. "Hear me. You need to try to calm down. I love you. I have from the moment I saw you." He couldn't stop the motion of his lower body but her words combined with his willpower calmed him considerably. "I'm sorry I doubted your feelings. I need to know if you still love me."
His voice was barely a muffled groan but he managed to say, "Yes... still... always."
Hoping he was too distracted to stop her, she brought his fingers to her temples and pressed her fingers to both of his. Then you'll have to forgive me for what I'm about to do, she thought directly into his mind.
In a heartbeat, the room was filled with a loud humming sound, the temperature rose abruptly and a coil of golden light swirled around and around their joined bodies, until they were completely immersed in the light.
A moment later they experienced a climax more powerful and more satisfying than either could ever have on their own. Tarla knew this climax, feeling her own and Logan's at the same time, was that of a joined couple.
Expecting Logan to be upset enough without being bombarded by the reality of having their two minds joined, Tarla erected a strong mental block between them. She sat up and waited for him to catch his breath.
"What the hell was that?" Logan muttered, rubbing his forehead. It took him a moment to prop himself up next to her.
"First let me assure you, I only did what I did to save you."
"I know that. Wait, how do I know that?"
"I can answer that in a minute," Tarla said, quickly trying to sort through everything she had to tell him. "Remember how I said you couldn't be my soulmate because you weren't Noronian?"
"Vaguely."
"Well, I believe I may have been mistaken. You see, a long, long time ago, when Noronians first went to Earth, some of them took Terran lovers and had children. That made it possible for a little Noronian DNA to show up in their descendants, even thousands of years later. Based on what just happened, I'd say you're one of those descendants."
He smirked then chuckled. "You're saying I'm part alien?"
"Looks that way. But then, to be honest, I've always thought of you and all Terrans as aliens."
He started to retort then changed his mind. "Go on."
"If we were on Earth I could take you to Innerworld now that we're joined and they could test you to be certain." His look of bewilderment wasn't lessening. "What just happened, shouldn't have. Not without you experiencing the fever and not without the full ceremonial rituals. The only thing I can imagine is that none of the usual rules applied because of us being on this mirror planet."
Logan sat up straighter and took a deep breath. "You've used the word joined before. I'm ready now. Explain."
"It's how the soulmates reconnect and become as one."
"You mean in the spiritual sense?"
"And emotional." She paused. "And mental. I have a block in place to protect you. But whenever you're ready I can remove it."
Logan rubbed the bridge of his nose. "That thing you did, with the fingers against the temples, that was you opening our minds to each other? If you remove the block, I'll know everything you do and vice versa?"
He seemed to be taking the news much better than she'd expected. "Exactly. And feel what I feel and vice versa. Understand, even with the block in place, you may discover you already know some things you didn't before, like how I had to do what I did to save you. Also, if you'd prefer, I can teach you how to create the block."
"And what about the fever?"
She smiled. "All done. Joining is the permanent cure."
"Good to know," he said in a sarcastic tone then stood and headed for the bathroom. "We better get moving."
Tarla had imagined sharing the shower with him this morning but the force with which he slammed the door was far from a sexy invitation. Obviously he wasn't taking the news so well after all. She might have been worried except for one thing—he had admitted he still loved her. She just had to prove how much better being in love was when it went both ways.
* * *
"Good God!" Robin muttered as soon as she saw Tarla in the workroom. "You're positively glowing."
Tarla smiled and winked at her. "I took your advice."
"Oo-o-o," Robin sounded, wiggling her eyebrows. "Just tell me two things—did you get any sleep at all last night and is he as hard as he looks?"
"Yes and yes. Now hush before he realizes we're talking about him. Let's just say he hasn't quite given in to my charms yet."
Robin smirked. "He's a man! His automatic assumption would be that we're talking about him. The only question he'd have is how you rated him."
Tarla glanced over at him and looked away when his gaze snared hers. He was very angry. "I think he knows the answer to that too."
"Well, that tears it!" Robin said. "The hell with the agreement. I'm just going to have to tie Geoffrey up and force myself on him, that's all there is to it."
Tarla laughed aloud at the impossibility of Robin forcing herself on Geoffrey. "I have another idea. It's obvious to everyone that you're mad about each other, even if he keeps denying it. The two of you have gotten very close in impersonal ways. Why not get him talking about his background, you know, family, childhood, old girlfriends. You could start it by talking about your own experiences. Somewhere along the line you might dig out the real reason he's putting you off."
"You mean, play psychiatrist instead of seductress?" She considered it for an instant then concluded, "I guess I could try, but that doesn't sound like me."
Chapter 20
All her life Tarla had dreamed of the day she would encounter her soul's mate, what his kiss would be like, how different life would be once she was joined with her other half. At no point had she imagined it to be a hellish state of being tolerated.
Two more weeks had passed since she and Logan were joined and yet they were little more than roommates. He had insisted he didn't blame her and that he understood she hadn't had a choice. They were no longer avoiding each other, but they certainly weren't enjoying each other's company either. If she asked him a question, he politely answered, but the only actual conversation focused on the project. She had decided to let him work out their new relationship in his head, without pushing him to talk about it. He had all the facts he needed. He knew she loved him. She was positive he still loved her... underneath several layers of stubbornness and resentment.
She was living with the sexiest man on the planet without getting sex. Enough of being understanding, she decided. Somehow, someway, tonight the stalemate would end!
After dinner that night, she asked him to come into the bedroom to help with a sticking drawer. As soon as he entered, she closed and locked the door.
He gave her a bored look. "What do you think you're doing now?"
"I want sex."
His eyes widened. "I thought you said joining took care of the fever."
"That's right. I didn't say I needed sex. I said I want it. And since you're my mate, no one else would be able to satisfy me. I gave you two weeks to sulk and get past the te
rrible, shocking thing that happened to you. Poor Logan, forced to be bonded for eternity with a woman you find so repulsive you can barely look at her let alone touch her."
"You're being ridiculous."
"Poor Logan, his dream of finding the perfect little Terran wife, getting married and living happily ever after in the suburbs, all gone... because of an evil alien who forced herself on him and robbed him of his dream."
He headed for the door but she got in front of him and poked him in the chest. "No! You are not allowed to ignore me any longer. I had dreams too you know. And they didn't include ending up on a mixed-up world, living with a man I love with all my heart and mind, knowing he wishes he'd never met me." Suddenly the truth of her words cut away the patient façade she'd been hiding behind and the tears welled up in her eyes before she could regain control.
"I'm sorry. This was obviously a mistake." She reached for the door lock but Logan covered her hand with his and held it.
"You are so wrong."
She sniffed. "About what?"
"I wasn't sulking. I was... thinking."
"It looked like sulking."
"If I'd been sulking, I would have looked like this." He stuck out his lower lip.
She almost smiled. "So what were you thinking so hard about?"
"Mostly I was trying to figure out who to blame."
"And did you figure it out?"
"Not really. My life's been a string of getting the short end or being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It got so that's all I ever expected. I had fallen in love with a beautiful, sweet woman who made me think of the home in the suburbs and happily ever after—that was you by the way—and I screwed that up. Then I was on my way to life imprisonment. In a way, that was my fault too. But, no matter how much thinking I've been doing, I don't see how my brain being permanently tied to yours could be my fault."
In the middle of all those words, she heard the ones to use against him. "Are you admitting that you had wished for a happily ever after with me specifically?"
He frowned. "Yes, I guess so."
"And you don't find me repulsive?" He smirked at her. "It sounds to me like the negativity that followed you around before we were brought here got reversed. You have your freedom, more or less, you're in a beautiful world, with an important job, people who respect you and you are permanently bonded to the woman you claim to love. It sounds like you should be happy, not sulking."
"I wasn't—Okay, maybe a little. But I would have preferred it to be my idea. I felt like I didn't have a choice."
"If the joining hadn't happened like that, and we'd been able to have a more normal sort of courtship, do you think you might have asked me to marry you, Terran-style?"
He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. "Maybe."
"Then let's pretend the joining hasn't happened yet. I'll keep our minds separated as long as you'd like. Forever, if you wish. And whenever you're ready, you'll do the asking. We could even get married for real when we get back if that would make you more comfortable."
"Hmmm. You're very logical for a female."
She poked his chest again, but this time it was with a smile. "I could report you to Iris for that. So? Are we good now?"
He kissed her hand again. "We're good."
"Then may I please have sex now?"
His jaw dropped and he laughed. "I thought you were kidding."
"Don't worry. Since I did the asking, I'll do all the work." She used her poking finger to back him up to the armless chair then tugged his shirt over his head. Her fingers combed through the hair on his chest as she kissed and nibbled one aroused little peak then the other. While her mouth kept him distracted, she loosened the waistband of his pants and eased them and his shorts down to his ankles.
The strength of his erection was visible proof of how she made him feel, but she wanted much more after what he'd put her through the past two weeks. She wanted him to be really sorry he'd waited so long to give in to the inevitable.
Kissing her way down his abdomen, she knelt to help him out of his shoes and clothing. In that position, her hands learned the shape of the hard muscles of his calves and thighs, then moved up to squeeze his well-formed buttocks and lick his taut stomach. She softly blew her warm breath along his arousal, making him twitch in response before she touched him with her hands.
Wanting to bring him as close to the edge as possible, she teased him with her tongue and teeth until his fingers tangled in her hair to still her head. She knew what he wanted and gave it to him... for a few seconds. But as soon as he began moving rhythmically within her mouth, she backed away and stood up.
He swayed a little after her untimely departure and tried to bring her closer, but she pushed him down onto the chair behind him and stepped back.
With a seductive smile, she slowly opened the closures on her caftan. "Now, Logan, you know I'm not going to make it that easy. Not after how crazy you've made me. Besides, between the drugs and the fever, you've never been with the real Tarla." She let her robe and chemise slide off her shoulders and down to her waist, baring her breasts to his gaze.
"I know you watch me sometimes when you think I'm not looking. The next time you do that, I want you to see this." Her hands cupped her breasts, lifting and kneading them as she watched him curl his hands into fists. "See how thoughtful I am? I'm saving you the trouble of preparing me for your entry."
Her hands pushed the caftan to the floor then shimmied out of her chemise and underpants. Her fingers grazed over her belly to the nest of black curls below. She parted her legs so he could clearly see how she stroked herself and how very damp she was already.
After a few seconds, she stopped and opened her eyes. "It's not the same as when you touch me, Logan." She closed the distance between them, put her arms around his neck and tongue-kissed him for several long seconds before saying, "I would very much like to have sex with you now."
In one swift movement, he cupped her bottom and settled her on his shaft with her legs straddling his lap and the chair, while delivering an eating kiss that left no doubt that he planned to use her at least as much as she intended to use him. She felt the tip of his shaft pressed against her core and moaned her need into his mouth. She rode him slowly and rhythmically then faster and harder as his kisses ravaged her mouth and encouraged her not to hold anything back.
It felt as though his hands were everywhere at once, gliding over her hair, her face, her breasts, back and hips, feeding her desire while tempting her to make the pleasure last, it was impossible to hold off the rampaging flood of sensation that took possession of both her body and her mind. She felt and heard Logan succumb to his climax within a second of her own and realized she had lowered the block between their minds and feelings.
"It's okay," Logan whispered next to her ear. "I'm still not ready for you to be in my head twenty-four/seven, but during sex, well, I definitely get that part. In fact..." He rose, holding her in place, and moved to the bed. "I can't wait to do it again."
Barely giving her a moment to catch her breath, his body was again arousing hers, demanding she stay with him in that other world where nothing mattered but giving and taking pleasure. Without another thought, she turned the next round over to him.
* * *
Despite Robin's best efforts to follow Tarla's advice, Geoffrey thwarted her at every turn. She suspected that he saw right through her attempts to steer their relationship onto more personal ground, but then subtlety never had been one of her strong traits. As the days of their second month together turned into weeks, she accepted the fact that he was going to hold out until the last minute of the postponement he had agreed to.
But the morning of that day had finally dawned. Anticipation had Robin bouncing out of bed with more energy than usual, but she determined not to say a word to Geoffrey until they were alone in their apartment that night. There was no sense warning him in advance and giving him all day to think up another excuse to put her off.
> Seeing how happy Tarla was hadn't improve Robin's frustration level during her waiting time. The glow she had noticed in Tarla's eyes after she and Logan finally solved their problems was now obvious to everyone. The two of them openly shared glances across the room that were so meaningful, it was almost as though they could read each other's thoughts.
Another mysterious thing she didn't understand was what was going on between Logan and Jason. Being a connoisseur of handsome men, Robin couldn't help but be aware of the changes in the young man regardless of how innocuous he was most of the time.
When he had first shown up, Jason was very much like the old men on the farm. Now, two months later, his eyes seemed more focused. He was able to follow conversations even when several people were talking at once. She even thought he appeared more confident, though that could be because Logan kept reminding him to stand up straight and raise his chin and look him in the eye when they spoke to each other.
These things could have been her imagination but the change in his physical appearance was definitely real. He'd put on enough pounds that it was noticeable. Rather than the extra weight making him soft and pudgy like other Heart men though, it seemed to be having the opposite effect on Jason, almost as if he were working out. Overall, he just looked more masculine.
Robin had asked Tarla about all the private conversations she saw Logan and Jason having, but she said that, other than saying that he liked the kid, Logan was being very secretive about it.
Fortunately, their project was keeping everyone too busy to fret over any little things for long. With the backing of Parliament and the extravagant budget, Parisia had been able to assign all the technical staff needed to carry out the details of the plan. A factory was turned over to them and prepared for the new work that would be accomplished there—making weapons and converting passenger craft to patrol ships.
Once the actual labor began, the team of Earthlings were able to concentrate on learning how to fly the aircraft and developing the operating systems for the space traffic control tower. Mastering the lessons needed to pilot the ships turned out to be easier than driving a car. Nevertheless, Tarla, Kara, Mandy and Charlene elected to remain closer to the ground in tower supervision assignments.
LOGAN (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 5) Page 26
