The Telepathic Clans Omnibus

by B R Kingsolver

  Steady, keep the same level of invitation, be very constant, very calm. Don’t be in a hurry. Caution is what keeps him alive.

  He began to make his way toward them, not a straight path, moving slowly at times, then darting from one low hummock of grass to another, but eventually he came within a foot of her, sat up on his haunches, and looked at her expectantly. Seamus put his hand in hers, and she felt a small, round object. Looking down, she saw a small piece of carrot. Slowly, she bent down and extended her hand, the carrot sitting on her palm.

  The rabbit’s nose twitched, his attention riveted on the carrot. Slowly he extended his neck, then his body toward her. He took a hesitant step, another, and soon he was smelling the carrot, his neck resting on her hand. He reached up and snatched it, backed away, looked at her and smelled the carrot again, then began to nibble it.

  He sat in the same place eating the carrot when they carefully walked away.

  Seamus introduced her to a chipmunk at the edge of the trees, and showed her how to enter the minds of the birds, a very disorienting experience until she got used to looking at herself standing on the ground below. A red fox came from the woods and after rubbing against Seamus like a cat, rolled on its back and let Brenna scratch its stomach. A family of coyotes was coaxed into the open, and while the male stood apart and watched, the female came close and the half-grown pups rolled and played about their feet. Brenna felt as though she’d stepped into a Disney fantasy.

  On their way back toward the house, she took Seamus’ arm and walked leaning against him. “Grandfather, this has been the most amazing day of my life. Thank you. I can’t even put into words how I feel.”

  “Of all my Gifts, I think this is the one I enjoy the most. I’ve never really used it for anything, just my own enjoyment. But isn’t it wonderful?” The look on his face was one of quiet contentment. “I do have a few more friends I’d like you to meet this afternoon.”

  She realized they were headed for the stables. A burst of excitement ran through her. “The horses?”

  “Yes, and my oldest friend. I don’t think you’ve met Rory. He doesn’t come up to the house very often. He was my father’s man, and he stood at my right hand and covered my back for over a hundred years. He came with me when we left Ireland and he used to be our head of security before he retired. Now he runs the stables.”

  They wandered into the stables and down the long center corridor toward the end nearest the main house. Past the tack room was an office and a tall, thin man, older than Seamus, sat at a desk doing some paper work. He looked up and his craggy face cracked into a smile. “The lord of the manor deigns to come down to where people do honest work,” he said in a deep Irish brogue. “And what do we have here? Ye brought me a pretty young colleen as a present? Ah, Seamus, ye should know that Helen would never let me keep her, but I do appreciate the thought.”

  Brenna couldn’t help but smile.

  “Brenna, this rogue is Rory O’Reilly, and this, you old reprobate, is my granddaughter.”

  “It’s been quite a while since ye visited me, missy.” He cocked his head and studied her closely. “Seems ye’ve grown a might, filled out a bit, too. I don’t think ye’ll fit on one of the ponies anymore.”

  “I haven’t ridden in a long time. I’m not sure I remember how,” she said.

  “Well, we’ll have to remedy that.”

  “Rory, we didn’t come to ride this afternoon,” Seamus said. “I just wanted to introduce you, and perhaps talk to some of your charges if they’re not busy.”

  Rory’s bushy eyebrows shot up. “Ah, missy, ye have the Gift, then?”

  “Aye,” Seamus replied, “and she’s a Healer to boot. I was hoping you might find a bit of time to work with her occasionally.”

  “I’d be honored. Have ye started working with Elsie, then?”

  “Yes, with her and Dorothy, but I’ve just started.”

  “And what does she say about ye?”

  Brenna took a deep breath. “She says she doesn’t think I can do too much harm. I assume by that she means I’m so weak and inept I’ll probably never be able to do much.”

  Rory laughed. “That’s high praise, comin’ from Elsie. She told one of my granddaughters that she was totally hopeless and should become a farmer’s wife. Traumatized the poor girl so much that after finishing Harvard med school, she became a psychiatrist.” He shook his head in mock sorrow.

  “Truth to tell,” Rory said with a soft smile, “she’s probably forgotten more about healing than the rest of us together will ever know, delivered both Seamus and me, and your father, also.”

  “God, how old is she? She looks about two hundred.”

  “Hmmm, what would it be Seamus? Two hundred four, five?”

  “I think she’ll be two hundred six in the spring.”

  Brenna’s mouth fell open in astonishment and the men laughed.

  “She’s buried five husbands,” Rory said with a twinkle in his eye. “Some say she just wore them out.”

  Seamus chuckled. “May be. Seventeen children and half of them became doctors.”

  “But that’s not what ye came to talk about, now is it? Come along, missy, and let me introduce you around.”

  Rory took them out to the stalls and introduced her to the horses and to the men and women working there. She discovered that all of them had the animal communication Gift, and they welcomed her warmly.

  When they got back to the house, she went searching for Rebecca. She sent out a thought spear to locate her, but discovered the other woman was a bit distracted at the moment. Instead of the answer she expected, a wave of passion and pleasure poured back through the link. Obviously not a good time to interrupt, she realized.

  She’d been uncomfortable all day, had awakened that way, and almost interrupting Rebecca making love focused her attention on why. Collin had never been far from her thoughts all day. She didn’t know what to do with him. She kept thinking that if she waited, got to know him better, maybe she’d figure it out. But she still couldn’t decide whether he was the love of her life or someone she should avoid.

  She wandered down to her mother’s old room, and browsed through her closet, not really knowing whether she was looking for something or just killing time. She opened a wardrobe and pulled open a drawer filled with lingerie. She picked up a bra, picked up another, and realized they weren’t something you wore under clothes. These had a special purpose. The other three drawers in that wardrobe were also filled with fancy, sexy lingerie. Corsets, bustiers, garter belts, panties with slits in them, bras that would lend support but didn’t cover anything. On impulse, she pulled out several items and carried them back to her room.

  Collin was lying on his bed reading after supper when a knock came at the door. He opened it and found Brenna standing there in a bathrobe. She walked past him into the room and turned.

  “Close the door, Collin.” He was wearing only a pair of jeans, shirtless and barefoot, and she appraised him appreciatively. Tall, with tousled brown hair and blue eyes, well-muscled and solid, he was handsome enough to be modeling in a men’s magazine. His broad shoulders and hard stomach could have been the model for a Greek statue.

  Opening the robe, she let it slide from her shoulders, puddling on the floor at her feet. There could be no doubt about her intentions. Wearing a black cupless bra with silver trim, matching garter belt, sheer black lace-top stockings and four inch heels, she was freshly washed and shaved, leaving only a small black triangle pointing toward where she wanted him. Collin openly gaped.

  “I’m tired of waiting. I’m not sure what I want, but it’s not us dancing around each other. I’ve been trying to figure it out, pulling you to me, pushing you away, and all it’s doing is getting us both frustrated. So I thought, maybe I should go at it from a different direction. Maybe I need to just let go and see where it leads. Make love to me, Collin. Help me figure out how I feel about you.”

  Closing the distance between them and placing his ha
nds on her upper arms, he looked down at her upturned face framed by a wild mane of raven hair. Although his hands were warm, his touch caused her to shiver. He had imagined this moment many times, seeing her nude in front of him. The reality made him realize how poor his imagination was. She was magnificent. Her large breasts were round and firm with small puffy nipples that hardened into points in the cool air of his room. The curve of her hips below a flat stomach flowed into fit, perfectly shaped legs. He bent down and kissed her and she flowed into his arms. Her sweet smell and the silky curtain of her hair inflamed him.

  He straightened and studied her face. “It has to be all or nothing. If you really want to know, you can’t hold back. Give me all of you, and take all of me, otherwise we’ll both still be wondering and this won’t solve anything.”

  She nodded and dropped her shields. “But use a condom, okay? I don’t want to drain you completely.”

  “No. I want all of you. Everything, the Glam, the pheromones, the passion, everything you have to give. And you have to take all of me, everything I have to give.”

  She kicked her Glam up to high, just one step below the goddess-like intensity Cindy had once shown her. A burst of pheromones brought a low moan from his lips. Taking her in his arms, he kissed her, deeply, passionately, not plundering her mouth as David had, but savoring her, feeling her, giving himself to her, and in the midst of the kiss he merged his mind into hers.

  It was unlike anything she’d ever imagined. Running her hands down his chest, feeling his silky skin and the hard muscle underneath, she could also feel his sensations of her fingers on his skin. Her feelings, his feelings, merged together. The pressure of her body against his erection excited him and that excitement flowed from his mind to hers. His strong hands stroked down her back, cupping her buttocks. Fumbling with the button on his jeans, she finally managed to undo it, pulled down his zipper, then put her hands on his hips and skimmed them down below his hard butt, freeing his erection.

  He pushed her away, pulled his jeans off and stepped out of them. Squatting down in front of her, his hands curved around her bottom. He kissed her deeply, and stood, lifting her off the floor. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her legs around his waist. His gentle strength surprised her, the easy way he held her. Her mouth found his as they moved toward the bed.

  The hot shaft of his erection pressed against her stomach. Moving her hips, pulling herself higher, squirming until she felt the tip of him against her opening, with a cry of triumph she pushed down, sheathing him within her. He filled her completely. Amazed, he stopped, and stood holding her, their minds, mouths, and bodies merged together.

  He had never imagined a woman could feel so incredibly good having a man inside her. Laying her on the bed, her legs pulled him farther into her, her succubus muscles rippling over him, clenching him, driving him. As he plunged deep within her, they shared their immense pleasure through the link, each feeling the enjoyment of the other. He took her over the top and she cried out as her orgasm tore through her, filling her mind with waves of pleasure and washing into him, carrying him close to his climax.

  Closing her eyes, she rejoiced in their shared satisfaction, how complete and full it felt merging with him. She felt him cresting, exploding inside her, spilling his seed. His energy roared into her, surging through her, lighting her nerves with electric warmth and starting the Glow. Mindless, aware only of their extreme ecstasy, she rode higher and higher. Then his movements began to slow as his eyes grew heavy. “Kiss me Brenna. I know you won’t be here when I wake up. I love you.”

  She leaned forward and kissed him deeply, then he was gone. Her hair curtained them from the world, and her tears fell quietly on his chest.

  ~~~

  Chapter 1-15

  No matter how one may think himself accomplished, when he sets out to learn a new language, science, or the bicycle, he has entered a new realm as truly as if he were a child newly born into the world. - Frances Willard

  Collin awoke to soft afternoon sunlight filtering through the window. He felt languid and relaxed and didn’t really want to wake up. He had been dreaming about Brenna. Turning his head, he found a pair of deep blue eyes staring at him. She lay on her side, a wave of black hair spread across her pillow and her back.

  “How long have you been here?”

  “About an hour.” She leaned forward and kissed him. “I called Cindy, and she gave me an estimate for when she thought you’d wake up. I wanted to be here.”

  She pulled herself up to a sitting position, leaning over him. “Are you all right? Do you feel okay?”

  “I feel wonderful, a little tired, but seeing you here … I didn’t expect …” She cut him off with another kiss.

  He realized she was naked, and lay watching her in wonder as she kissed his eyes, his cheeks, trailed kisses down his throat and chest, stopping to suckle briefly on his nipples, giving him a teasing smile. She pulled the covers back, and continued her journey lower. Taking him in her mouth, she gave him a blast of pheromones. He never would have believed he could get hard, but she coaxed him into it, and pleasured him with her mouth and hands until he came, back arching and crying out her name.

  She crawled up toward him on her hands and knees and kissed him deeply. “Are you hungry?”

  He tried to speak, but the effort was too great, and finally he nodded.

  She got up and dressed. “I’ll be back in a little bit.”

  The kitchen was bustling with activity, the ladies there starting to prepare dinner. She found Karen, a woman not too much older than she, and asked her if it was possible to get some breakfast for Collin. Karen smiled and quickly threw some sausage in a pan and whipped up a large omelet.

  It had been impossible in a household full of telepaths to hide that she had drained the Director of Security, leaving him unable to make it to meals let alone to work. So rather than act embarrassed or pretend nothing had happened, she had treated it matter of factly, telling Callie that Collin wouldn’t be in to work for a couple of days and why.

  It puzzled her that people suddenly seemed to be friendlier and more relaxed around her. Rebecca laughingly informed her that one of the woman in the kitchen had won three hundred dollars in the pool the staff had going. She had accurately identified both whom Brenna would go to bed with first, and within a day of when.

  “You’ve been driving people crazy,” Rebecca smilingly teased her. “No one can conceive of a chaste succubus. There’ve been all kinds of gossip going around. Some thought you were just a snooty bitch who was too good for country people. Or maybe the Lord’s granddaughter only screwed men of her social class. Others were sure you have a lover in Baltimore that you’re pining over. I think you’ve put all that to bed, so to speak.”

  Karen put the food on a tray with a pot of coffee and a couple of glasses of orange juice. As she started to pick it up, Mrs. Doyle walked into the kitchen and looked at her, then at the tray. She stood staring at Brenna long enough to make her uncomfortable then shook her head. “I’m not sure he’s good enough for you.”

  With a smile, Brenna picked up the tray, and stopping to give Collin’s mother a kiss on the cheek said, “I don’t know if he is either, but I plan on making him want to try to be.”

  She danced out of the kitchen to the sound of Betty Doyle’s laughter.

  Collin might have dozed, but he heard a bump at the door, saw the knob turn and the door open. Brenna walked in holding a tray. The door closed without her touching it and she walked to the bed. She stripped off her clothes, clambered onto the bed, and handing him a glass of orange juice, poured him coffee and urged him to eat.

  When he was finished, she took the tray and set it on the table, then crawled under the covers and snuggled up to him. He took her in his arms and she laid her head on his shoulder.

  “I’ve never done this before. It’s nice.”

  “Done what? Had sex?”

  She laughed. “No, silly, cuddled up after sex.” She sighed, running
her hand over his chest. “Men just roll over and go to sleep, leaving me alone. I used to think it was because I was so bad in bed they lost interest. Now I know that’s not why they went to sleep. Collin, I know I’m not very good at this sex stuff, but I’ll get better if you’ll be patient.”

  He couldn’t help it, he started laughing so hard he had to sit up to catch his breath. She sat watching him, and he finally calmed, pulled her to him and lay back down. “Making love to you was the most incredible sex of my life. You don’t have anything to apologize for.”

  She was silent for some time. “But you’ll help me practice?”

  He pulled her face up to his and kissed her, “I’ll be very happy to help you practice.”

  She smiled. About an hour later, she left him to go to supper. “I’ll let you rest, get some more sleep. Do you think you’ll be up in the morning, able to go to work and stuff?”

  He nodded. “Yes, I’m surprised, I feel pretty good. Are you coming back tonight?”

  Her face showed surprise. “You mean, come back and sleep with you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Huh. I’ve never done that before either, I mean actually slept with a man, I’ve been in bed with sleeping men, but they didn’t wake up in the morning. Sure, and then we can wake up together and kiss and hug and stuff?” She smiled broadly. “Kind of like real lovers?” Her smile slipped a bit. “Are we lovers, Collin? I mean, do you still want me? I’d understand if, you know, you just want to go slow and think about it, the reality, what it means to be with a succubus, to lose part of your life every time we make love.”

  He pulled her down, kissed her and merged his mind with hers. He showed her his love, leaving her with no doubts.

  ~~~

  She continued lessons with her various tutors, spending two hours a day with Elsie Cavanaugh, the healer, and her assistant Dorothy, who was a medical doctor in addition to having the Healing Gift. She also spent two hours every other day down at the stables with Rory, learning the healing he practiced with the horses and other animals and learning to ride. Seamus tutored her and Rebecca in some Gifts, Callie in some, and the Protectors Kallen and Jeremy in others. Cindy came in on the weekends, and after Brenna made love to Collin on Friday nights, she and Rebecca and Cindy spent Saturdays together until Cindy went off with Seamus.