Only In My Dreams: A Time Travel Anthology

by Sahara Kelly

  This was information he already knew, had researched and mostly agreed with. However, he’d learned that once some of these people got the urge to fix things, they could be worse than a plague of locusts. They’d demand his financial contributions, her personal participation and probably his deodorant, even though it was a solid one, not a spray that could adversely affect the ozone layer.

  He didn’t have the inclination or the energy to discuss the issue of his deodorant, nor did he want to argue the merits of removing certain chemical components from aerosol sprays. Been there, done that and most of the sprays these days had converted to pump action dispersal mechanisms anyway.

  Ned was well aware that humans were environmentally unfriendly, overall. He did his part and when given the chance encouraged others to do the same. He just wasn’t a fanatic about it, preferring to think his small involvement on a person-to-person basis would achieve much the same result as any forceful group pressure.

  And piss off a lot fewer of his friends.

  His thoughts wandered, as did his footsteps, darting this way and that without conscious effort. For once he was able to simply relax, both mentally and physically, and it was a wonderful sensation. His job left little down time for his brain and the past few days had been stressed to the max, requiring one hundred and ten percent of his focus for damn near twenty-four hours a day.

  There were several costumed characters amongst the visitors—an improbably fluffy swan, a very nicely done eagle, some sort of owl he couldn’t identify and what looked like a hugely tall guy in a heron suit.

  No, make that a girl. Ned had yet to see a guy with thighs quite that shapely. He grinned to himself then turned away, his eye caught by the glitter of sunshine on an array of wind chimes. Now there was something he might pick up, since his mother had a weakness for them, to the eternal affectionate annoyance of his father.

  And it would seriously irritate their cat. Ned was allergic to the cat, disliked its attitude and the feeling was mutual. He stopped and looked over the selection, seeing several that were quite beautifully made.

  Two children whooped and began to run toward him, obviously expecting him to get out of their way as they tore past.

  He did, stumbling a little and catching his foot on the grass at the edge of the path. He also slammed into somebody behind him—or something? Something very soft and pliable.

  Rocking and staggering in a fruitless effort to catch his balance, Ned fell, a flailing mixture of arms and legs—and feathers?

  He landed, winded, flat on his back and opened his eyes to see…

  His dream.

  His nightmare.

  A large grey-feathered heron was straddling him. Sitting right on top of his crotch.

  Ned blinked and said the first word that came into his head.

  “Gandewitha…”

  His world turned black.

  Chapter Four

  “He hit his head. He must’ve hit his head. He blacked out—”

  Gaia hopped frantically from foot to foot, her heron’s beak tossed to the ground beside the EMT who was helping the tall man to his feet. That would be the tall man she’d just fallen on top of, ending up with her intimate parts pressed—er—intimately against his.

  A tiny part of her brain registered the fact that this guy was packing a nice set of tools beneath his belt.

  The rest of her brain was worried sick he might have done himself an injury and sue her or something. If he was a lawyer she was in deep shit.

  “I did not hit my head.” He growled the words again as he stood, wavering a little.

  “Okay, buddy. So you won’t mind my confirming that, will you?” The EMT led him firmly across the grass to the open doors of the ambulance and encouraged him to sit.

  “I did not hit anything, honestly.” The man once more affirmed the intact state of his skull.

  “You must have.” Gaia interrupted him. “You blacked out. I distinctly saw your eyes roll back in your head.”

  He snorted rudely. “Shock. That’s all it was. I’ve never experienced assault by an avian before.”

  Fuck. He was a lawyer. “I did not assault you.” Gaia shot back her response indignantly.

  “What do you call knocking me down and sitting on me? If that’s how you say hello down here, I’m not surprised nothing ever gets done on Capitol Hill.”

  “Sir. At the risk of being impolite, would you shut up for a minute?” The EMT shone a penlight into the man’s angry eyes and checked his pupils.

  “It was an accident.” Gaia flapped her wings around.

  “Ma’am, that shut up goes for you as well.” The edge of impatience in the EMT’s voice effectively silenced Gaia. For a moment or two.

  She was shaking from the surprise tumble they’d both taken and the really painful whack she’d given one of her knees. Her body was still tingling with the after-effects of having her sensitive parts crushed by other parts—very male parts.

  But what had hammered into her brain and sent every muscle she had into the shudders was one word. That one word he’d spoken before his eyes had rolled and he’d passed out.

  Gandewitha.

  How could he know that name?

  Gaia bit her tongue, trying not to pepper him with questions until the EMT declared him fit to answer them.

  “Is it a concussion? You think he needs an X-ray or an MRI to check for a skull fracture or something?” She couldn’t stand the awful silence.

  With a loud sigh, the EMT stashed the tools of his trade back in his kit. “He’s fine. I can’t even feel anything in the way of a bump.”

  Gaia sagged with relief. “Thank the Lord.”

  “I reckon you should probably keep an eye on him for an hour or so.” The EMT turned to his patient. “If you’re feeling lousy, I can run you over to GW Hospital and have the ER check you out…”

  “God, no. I’m fine. Really.” The man slid from the back of the ambulance and looked relieved. “If I get nauseous or start seeing double, I’ll get help, okay?” He held out his hand to the EMT. “Thanks, pal. I appreciate it and I’m sorry for the bother.” A stern brown gaze darted Gaia’s way. “This’ll teach me to watch where I’m going in future. You never know when you’re gonna get trampled by a six-foot bird.”

  Gaia’s fists clenched as she placed her hands where her hips were usually found. Of course, right now all she did was clamp on to a couple of handfuls of feathers, which probably lessened the impact of the gesture, but what the hell.

  “Now listen, mister—”

  “Ned.”

  “What?”

  “My name. It’s Ned.”

  “Oh.” Gaia blinked, then returned to her original train of thought. “Okay. Listen, Mr. Ned…”

  “Harper. Ned Harper. You might as well get it right. And you are?”

  Gaia swallowed as the ambulance moved away, leaving them staring at each other in the sunshine. She took a breath. “Gaia Jackson. I’m very relieved you sustained no injury. And I certainly apologize for walking behind you when you were about to fall down. Had I known, I certainly would have gotten out of your way. Unfortunately, this is an environmental support rally, not a fair for psychics.”

  She tried hard to keep the sarcastic edge to a minimum. “I would like to go on record as saying that at no time did I intend to cause you personal injury. That this whole thing was an accident—wait a minute…” Her voice trailed off. “Did you say Ned Harper?”

  He grinned. “Yes.”

  “As in Dr. Edward Harper?”

  The grin faded a little. “Uh, yeah. Why?”

  “You’re not a lawyer?”

  “Hell no.” An expression of horror crossed his face.

  Gaia stared intently at him. “Would you be the Dr. Harper who authored a very concise paper on the current state of crop rotation in various African countries and its contribution to the potential for future famine?”

  Ned blinked. “Holy shit.”

  “Aha.” Gaia looked
smug. “It is you.”

  “You read that?” He looked absolutely astounded. “You actually read that?”

  “Yes.” She nodded. “It was very insightful. I think you glossed over the complications of the political situation there though.”

  Ned frowned. “It wasn’t a political piece.”

  “I know, but still…” She absently rubbed her knee.

  “Look, let’s find a place to sit down for a moment. You must have banged up your legs pretty hard when you landed on me.”

  “You mean when you fell on me.”

  “Whatever.” He rolled his eyes and led her to a conveniently vacant bench.

  Gaia allowed him to gently push her down and carefully wiggled her tail feathers so that she wouldn’t crush them too much. Her costume didn’t allow for elegant sitting positions, unfortunately, so she had to make do with a rather ungainly pose, yellow thighs spread a lot wider than she was comfortable with. She shrugged it off. Herons didn’t cross their legs much anyway.

  Questions still seethed through her brain, but now that the adrenaline had subsided a little, she found herself hesitant to ask the big one. She skittered around it. “So what brings you to DC?”

  “Business.” He seemed a little uncomfortable with the question as he sat down next to her, a respectful distance away from the sizeable wingspan she was wielding every time she gestured with a hand. “Here. You forgot this, by the way.” He’d picked up her headpiece.

  “Thanks.” She put it next to her. “It’s a relief to be out of it, actually. This thing itches like crazy.” Tenacious to the core, she returned to the topic at hand. “What kind of business, Ned?”

  His face fell into polite lines, revealing nothing of his inner thoughts. “My business, Gaia.”

  “Ouch. That puts me in my place doesn’t it?” She grinned at him shamelessly, then her eyes widened and the smile faded. “Shit. You’re here for those hearings, aren’t you?”

  He leaned back against the slats of the bench and said nothing, merely looking away from her out over the throng. “You picked a perfect day for this rally. Good crowd here. Lots of interest.”

  Biting back her questions, Gaia nodded. She was being extremely rude, she knew, prying into his business. But there was something about this Ned Harper that had resounded inside her and the fact he’d spoken a particular word—known that particular name—she felt like she knew him. Intimately.

  And it was loosening her tongue a lot more than was usual for her.

  She took a couple of breaths. “Well, we could discuss the weather, I suppose. Or the enthusiasm of the people for the environment. We might even touch on the current state of the theater scene.” She kept her tone light. “Or we could talk about the elephant sharing this bench with us.”

  “Huh?” He raised an eyebrow at her, head swiveling at her odd comment.

  “The elephant. The third party sharing this conversation.”

  “Er…I don’t get it…”

  Gaia leaned forward—cautiously. Falling flat on her face again at this moment would not be a good idea. “I’m talking about the word you spoke before you passed out.”

  “What word?”

  *~~*~~*

  Deny everything. Ned had heard that expression before, but until now hadn’t really had the need to use it.

  “You know.” Gaia got an odd look on her face, a blend of curiosity and something resembling fear. “Gandewitha.”

  “I never said that.”

  “Did too.”

  He snorted. “I think I probably said get off me. You mis-heard.”

  “Did not.” Her posture and her tone were both adamant. “I heard exactly what you said before you fainted.”

  “Hey. Men don’t faint.” He glared at her.

  “You didn’t hit your head, so you said. But you were out of it there for a little bit. I reckon you fainted.”

  “Did not.”

  Gaia sighed. “This is getting us nowhere in a hurry.” She moved a little closer. “What tribe do you have in your heritage?”

  Ned chewed that one over as he stared at her. Long black hair tumbled from an untidy knot and he was willing to bet it probably brushed her ass when loose. Her eyes were darker than chocolate and just as seductive. Her genes were evident in the high cheekbones and slender body, not to mention the mouthwatering legs that went on forever…

  Yep, she could well have filled in for his dream maiden. She wasn’t the same woman, but the attraction was there. The sensuality was there. The sex…

  Ned clenched his teeth against a sharp pang of lust that hardened his cock, dragging his mind away from visions of the two of them naked and sweaty and back to the conversation. “I have no idea. My mother’s family was originally French. My father’s a Yankee through and through. I’m your all-American mutt.”

  Gaia laughed and shook her head. “And you’re lying through your teeth. One look in your mirror and you gotta know there’s a hefty dollop of some Native American tribe in your genetic makeup.” She tipped her head to one side. “Does the name Nohnohsot sound familiar?”

  For a millisecond or two, Ned Harper’s world dimmed, turning cool and hushed, sending shivers up his spine to raise the hairs on the back of his neck. He didn’t know the name, didn’t recognize it on a conscious level, but something in the dark recesses of his brain responded to it.

  He wasn’t sure he liked what was happening here. But he was intrigued by it, all the same. In typical male fashion, he said the first words that came into his mind. “Have dinner with me?”

  Gaia looked at him consideringly, her eyes reflecting a million emotions he couldn’t put a name to, but could see, plain as day. Everything around them, the noise of voices and music, the brilliant sunshine, even the landmarks of Washington, faded away—it was as if there was just the two of them in the whole world for that moment.

  Ned held his breath, scared to break whatever spell this was between them.

  He watched the tiny ripples course over her throat as she swallowed. “Yes.”

  Driven by some internal current he was helpless to withstand, Ned locked gazes with her and spoke once more, surprising both of them. “Spend the night with me?”

  He hadn’t meant to say it, didn’t know what had gotten into him and regretted the question as soon as it was out there. But somehow, in spite of its inappropriateness, it seemed—right.

  Gaia didn’t move, still as a semi-feathered statue, her brown eyes fixed on his face. Ned held his breath again for long seconds until she finally answered.

  “Maybe.”

  A burst of noise brought Ned back to earth and he jumped a little, almost glad that the moment had passed. “Jeez, I’m sorry. That was out of line. Way out of line.” Embarrassed beyond belief, he passed his hand across his face and looked away.

  She said something strange. “Not for us, Nohnohsot. Not for us.”

  Before he could pursue it, however, a shout distracted them both. “Hey, Gaia.” A diminutive blonde was bearing down on them, ample breasts bobbing beneath a snug tank top. She was lusciously curved, all of five foot two or so and had a look on her face that told Ned clearly she was irritated about something.

  She was every man’s dream, pissed off or not.

  And he didn’t feel a thing. Nothing. All he could focus on was the woman in the heron costume. I must have bird flu. Or bird lust. Or something equally sick.

  “Did you try to fix me up with some guy named Charlie?” She glared at Gaia who grinned back.

  Ned stood. “Hi. I’m Ned Harper. Nice to meet you.”

  “Yeah. Likewise.” The blonde bombshell barely glanced at him. “Well, did you? You wretch?”

  Gaia stood and fluffed her feathers. Really. Ned was fascinated, not realizing that feather-fluffing could be a natural talent unrestricted to birds. Wisely, however, he refrained from making that observation.

  “Yes. Charlie’s a nice guy. Give him a break, okay?” She grinned. “Maxie, this is Ned Harper.” She
paused. “He’s taking me to dinner.”

  Maxie paused at that piece of news and took a longer look at Ned.

  Ned looked back steadily.

  “Reeealllly.” There was a wealth of expression in Maxie’s single word that spoke volumes.

  “Yes, really.” Gaia tapped one foot. “Anything else?”

  The blonde’s eyes twinkled as she chuckled. “Nope. Not a damn thing. Except we’re nearly out of the endangered species flyers…”

  Ned took the hint and glanced at Gaia. “So, should I meet you here? You want me to pick you up? Or what? I have a reservation at the Prime Rib on K Street for seven tonight. I’ll make it for two, if that’s okay with you?”

  Gaia thought for a moment, then nodded. “Let me meet you there. I need to go change and de-feather myself.” She chuckled. “No birdseed, please.”

  He chuckled back. “Herons eat fish.”

  “Riiiiiight.”

  “I’ll see you around seven, then.” He turned to the other woman, who was watching them both interestedly. “Nice to meet you, Maxie. Good luck with the endangered species.”

  “Thanks. Likewise, Ned. Enjoy your evening.”

  Ned nodded at them both and turned away, but not before hearing Maxie’s next words. “So give, my friend. What’s with the tall dude?”

  He just managed to catch Gaia’s answer. “I think he may be the man of my dreams.”

  Chapter Five

  Gaia was mildly irritated with herself for doing more than her fair share of clock-watching for the rest of the afternoon.

  The enjoyment she’d felt at being part of the rally had shattered with one look from a pair of deep brown eyes. The savage lightning strike of sexual arousal she’d experienced when she’d landed crotch-to-crotch with a stranger still stunned her. Intense and fiery, she’d wanted nothing more than to grind her pussy into his cock and come. Right there and then. In public, yet.

  His body felt—right—like it belonged between her thighs and always had.

  Once again she surreptitiously lifted a wing and took a quick glance at the watch concealed by the overlying feathers. It was nearly time to start packing things up. It wouldn’t take more than an hour or so to get home, clean up and head out for K Street.