He stripped off his pajama bottoms, pulled back the covers, and got in next to her, suddenly a little nervous. But she reached down and stripped off her tee-shirt, then laid down on the bed and smiled up at him. For long minutes, all he could do was drink in the sight of her naked body, her full breasts and hardened nipples making his mouth water.
“You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he said, then unable to resist, leaned over and pulled one stiff nipple into his mouth.
Willow gasped and wound her fingers into his hair, arching her back as he suckled first one breast and then the other. He kissed his way up her chest and found her mouth, thrust his tongue inside, and kissed her like a starving man eats his first meal. She wrapped her arms around him and held on, little purrs of pleasure coming from her throat.
Pleasure formed a hard lump deep inside him and he was suddenly desperate to touch her, desperate to feel the velvety softness of her most sensitive spots. Trailing his hand down her stomach, he let it rest just at the juncture of her thighs until she spread her legs for him.
Stroking the soft skin on the inside of her legs made his groin tighten even further and need rush through him. But he wanted to take his time, memorize every inch of her before plunging into her welcome depths. When he slid his finger between her parted folds, she was slick with moisture, and he groaned, imagining what it would feel like to drive himself inside her.
He found her slippery button and began to rub it in small circles, making her hips come up off the bed and his body throb with anticipation. Desperate to feel her silky wetness surrounding him, he drove his finger inside her, making her cry out with pleasure, and thrust her hips up to meet him.
His body was throbbing so much, it was almost becoming painful, but he wanted to bring Willow the kind of pleasure she’d never forget. Twisting his hand slightly, he found her nib with his thumb and began to rub as his finger continued to drive her closer and closer to the edge. When she finally tumbled over that edge, she cried out his name as her body bucked and trembled.
Chapter Sixteen
***Willow***
Willow tumbled over the edge into oblivion, her body throbbing with pleasure as Taylor worked his special magic. When he slid between her legs, she opened them further to him, and waited breathlessly, her eyes closed, for the moment he filled her.
“Open your eyes and look at me, Willow. I want to see your eyes when we become one,” he said, the words coming out in short spurts.
Willow opened her eyes, then gasped as a fresh wave of pleasure washed over her when she looked into Taylor’s eyes. She knew what she was seeing there, because she felt it as well; she wanted to tell him, but words were all but impossible at that moment.
“Please, Taylor,” was all she could manage to say.
When he grabbed her hips and drove himself into her, the groan of pleasure that escaped his lips only made the moment more wonderful. He filled her fully then stopped, his eyes locked on hers, his body throbbing inside her. Then with another groan of pleasure, he drove himself into her again and again until she was floating on a wave of pleasure so intense, the world dissolved until it was only the two of them.
Deep inside her, she felt the sensation change, felt her body opening to him, felt something click into place, and she cried out his name as it burst over her. Trembling, she held onto him, tears running down her cheeks, the magnitude of what she was feeling almost overwhelming.
Taylor called out her name, a sound so familiar to her she felt it deep in her soul. As his body stiffened inside her, her body responded, another wave of pleasure crashing over her and spiraling through her body until she was again floating in a sea of contentment.
When he collapsed on top of her, spent and panting, she wrapped her arms around him and took a deep breath. His weight was the last welcome pleasure she felt before he rolled off her and drew her into his arms, his chest still heaving with the effort to catch his breath.
There was so much she wanted to say to him, so many things had just become clear to her, but profound exhaustion made it impossible to speak. Soon, she was sound asleep, her head resting on his chest, the reassuring sound of his heartbeat allowing her to drift into a deep and restful sleep for the first time in days.
When she woke the next morning, it was to the same gray skies and rain from the day before, but with Taylor next to her it didn’t seem quite so bad. She had no idea what time it was, but then realized that it didn’t matter: they weren’t going anywhere that day, and maybe even the next.
Slipping out of bed, she put on Taylor’s pajama top and quietly went to the little kitchenette. Putting together a nice breakfast wasn’t all that hard thanks to their trip out the night before, and it wasn’t long before the little room was filled with the smell of fresh coffee.
Pouring them both a steaming cup, she took them over to the bed and sat down on the edge. She watched Taylor sleep for a long time, thinking that she’d done this same thing before many times. Then she kissed his cheek to wake him, that same sense of having done it before washing over her.
He opened his eyes and smiled at her, “Good morning.”
“Good morning yourself,” she said, handing him the coffee.
She waited until he’d taken a couple of sips, and then asked, “Do you want breakfast in bed or should we sit at the table?”
“Hmm, I think in bed,” he said, then grinned at her, “but I was thinking about something besides breakfast.”
Hundreds of miles away, another woman was still lying in her bed that morning, but she was completely unaware of the storm raging outside her window, and there would be no breakfast for her. The old gypsy woman had come to the end of her days, days that had spanned far more time than anyone thought possible.
She wasn’t afraid to die, had been ready for many years, but her family had gathered around her, tearful and sad to lose her. Her youngest daughter held her hand and murmured prayers under her breath, but the old woman paid her no attention. Eyes closed, she listened to the spirits waiting for the signal that her time on Earth was finally finished.
When the spirits finally whispered the words she’d been waiting to hear, she opened her eyes and smiled. “The time has come; the seed has been planted and will grow, and soon the world will be in harmony again,” she said, then had to stop and rest.
No one spoke, the only sound in the room the quiet sobs of her family. “It’s up to you now, Victoria; guard the child well for he’s the only thing that can save us. Don’t let magic die away, don’t let the Earth fall to the evil that threatens it: the child can save us all,” the old woman finished, then took her last breath.
The room erupted into loud sobbing, and outside the window, the storm intensified as if the lightning and thunder were mourning the old woman’s death. Her daughter laid her head on her mother’s chest and let the tears flow; her death was both a blessing and a curse. But the child that would soon be born into the world was her responsibility, a responsibility she’d been trained to assume for most of her life.
As the family gathered closer together, no one noticed the two men who slipped out of the room, each using a different door. Although they were aware of one another, they had been dancing around each other for days, unwilling to draw attention to themselves. But they had the information they’d come for, and it was time to disappear, at least for a little while.
***Taylor***
Morning turned to afternoon, and the rain showed no sign of letting up. Taylor and Willow were snuggled in bed, watching the local television station’s coverage of the storm, feeling smug because they were safe and warm. There was a story on about stranded motorists, their cars submerged halfway in a swollen river, and Taylor knew that it could have just as easily been them.
“It’s a good thing we stopped when we did,” he said, running his hands up and down Willow’s back.
“It’s a good thing you followed me,” she said, looking up at him and smiling.
“You never
did tell me where you were going when we got to the city,” he said, just then remembering that when the storm ended, they had no destination.
Willow didn’t answer at first, then quietly said, “I was going to look for Professor Miller.”
Taylor sat up a bit straighter in bed, making her sit up too. “I thought you said you weren’t the witch in the prophecy, that the notebook had nothing to do with you.”
Willow nodded. “I felt that way at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I began to realize that it might be me. It scared me, Taylor; you can’t understand the way I can.”
Taylor studied her for a second. “Why not?”
Willow sighed. “Do you remember when I met you that first time?” she asked, then when he nodded, went on. “I was so sure that I knew you, that we’d met before.”
Taylor nodded, the memory of finding her standing by the window sending a wave of tenderness through him. “I remember,” he said, smiling at her.
“Taylor, I felt that way because we have met before, many times, in many different lives,” she said, rushing the words to get them out. When he just stared at her, she added, “Our past lives have been filling my dreams.”
“But isn’t that a good thing?” he asked, still not understanding why the dreams were upsetting.
Willow shook her head. “No, every dream was about us being ripped apart, and sometimes the pain is so deep I wake up crying.”
“That’s why you’ve been trying to run away,” he said, finally beginning to understand.
She nodded. “But what I forgot and what the dreams didn’t show me was how wonderful being with you would be. The woman at the diner helped me understand that even the most wonderful thing in the world comes with a little pain; it’s the only way the universe can stay in balance.”
“So, you’re saying that we have to pay for our happiness,” Taylor said, letting the idea float around in his head.
“I know it sounds bad, but if you think about it, it’s kind of true,” Willow said. “It’s not a bad thing, really, just the price we have to pay for the happiness in our lives, a bittersweet kind of thing.”
“Well, for now, I hope we only have the sweet part,” he said, pulling her back into his arms.
They were silent for a long time, the television and the rain the only sound in the room. But then Willow sat up and looked at him, then asked, “Why haven’t you shifted yet? I don’t know anything about shifters.”
Taylor didn’t answer at first, searching for the right words. “Shifters as a group are basically the same; they can shift into different animals at will, but most have one kind of animal they prefer.”
“Any animal?” Willow asked.
Taylor nodded, then said, “But dragon shifters are different; we’re always dragons when we shift, and each of us looks different, has different gifts.”
Willow thought about that for a second. “What do you mean gifts?”
Taylor searched for a way to explain, then said, “I guess you could call it our magic. Lots of dragon shifters can fly, some breathe fire, and a few really strong ones, like Natasha, can spit fireballs.”
Willow’s eyes got big. “Natasha can spit fireballs?”
He grinned and nodded at her, “Seems kind of crazy doesn’t it, but she can only do it when she’s in her dragon form.”
“Well, I should hope so,” she said, still a little in shock. “But you didn’t answer my question.”
Taylor sighed. “We don’t shift until we’re twenty-five so that we’re mature enough to handle what can be very deadly abilities. In the dragon shifter world, I’m still just a baby; my gifts are just starting to develop, but it will be another six months until I fully shift.”
Willow studied him for a second. “You don’t seem very happy about that.”
“I’m just tired of being excluded from everything because I haven’t shifted,” he said. “I can’t be a full member of the society until I shift, but I’ve spent the last two years working for them. Daniel has a tendency to exclude me as well; the only reason I was there to save you was because I was a decoy.”
“That’s why Daniel didn’t want you to go with me; he thought you couldn’t protect me,” she said.
He could see a little smile playing at her lips, and a flash of anger erupted inside him. “You think this is funny?” he asked.
Willow leaned over and kissed him, then said, “I think you’ve been doing a pretty good job of protecting me, and other things.”
Taylor felt the anger drain away. “Maybe we shouldn’t tell Daniel about those other things,” he said, a big grin on his face.
“I think he might already know. I think our romance is public knowledge,” Willow said, grinning at him.
Taylor groaned. “Great, just what I need: the whole world looking over my shoulder. Maybe we should go find Professor Miller, find out if what he wrote in that notebook is really true.”
Chapter Seventeen
***Willow***
Willow was so relieved to be out of the hotel room that it didn’t matter that they were going to have to take back roads into the city. They’d been cooped up for three days with nothing to entertain them except themselves and one television station, and she was more than ready to be on the move again.
They’d spent much of that time talking about Lucas, the prophecy, her magic, and going over the notebook again, but still had more questions than answers. “I don’t know how easy it’s going to be to find him; he went underground years ago after the big blow-up at the university,” Taylor said, echoing her thoughts.
“I was just thinking that same thing, but I know a few people who might be able to help us,” she said. “But it means we’re going to have to go into some scary places.”
“I was afraid of that,” Taylor said, reaching for her hand. “We’ll just have to be careful.”
It was just getting dark when they got into the city; a trip that should have taken only a few hours had turned into a full day’s journey. They’d been turned back countless times because of bridges that were out and twice because the road was washed away.
So, when the lights of the city came into view, they both sighed with relief. “I thought we’d never get here,” Willow said with a satisfied sigh.
“Where to now?” Taylor asked.
“I know a place where we can get a room,” she said. “It’s close to where we’ll need to go tomorrow.”
Taylor let her guide him through the city, through the nice neighborhoods, then through the okay neighborhoods, until they reached the most blighted area of the city. She could see that he was becoming increasingly more uncomfortable the closer they got to where they were going, and she wished she could have prepared him better.
When they pulled up to the hotel, he looked at it then over at her. “You can’t be serious; it looks like this place is about to fall down,” he said.
“Well, it’s not the Ritz, but I know the owner, and I think she’ll let you park the car in the garage in the back. It may not look like much, but it’s clean,” she said, giving him a perky smile. “Come on, Taylor, where’s your sense of adventure?”
“I think my sense of adventure stops at bed bugs and drug addicts,” he said, getting out of the car and looking around warily.
Willow laughed. “Then let’s hope we don’t find any of those. Come on; I want to introduce you to Maxine. She’s been running this place for as long as I can remember.”
When they came through the office door, Maxine was sitting behind the reception desk just as she always was. But when she saw Willow, she squealed and came rushing out and gave her a big hug. Willow returned her hug, surprised to find that she’d missed the woman since she’d been gone.
After she introduced Taylor, she asked, “Do you have any rooms available?”
“You want to stay here?” Maxine asked, looking at Taylor, then through the glass door at the car.
“We’re looking for someone, and I think we’ll find him d
own here somewhere. Maybe you’ve heard of him,” Willow said, knowing that Maxine would jump on the chance to play detective.
“What do you want him for?” she asked, again eyeing Taylor.
“It’s a long story, but we don’t want to hurt him; we just want to talk to him,” Taylor said. “He was my professor in college.”
Maxine’s eyes lit up. “You mean he really was a professor? We call him the nutty professor around here, but I didn’t think he was ever really one. I know right where you can find him, but I should warn you: he’s a little crazy, always talking about the end of the world.”
Willow felt a wave of relief wash over her. “Oh, Maxine, I knew I could count on you,” she said, then hugged the older woman, who at one time had been all the mother she’d had.
Maxine hugged her back, then pulled back and looked at Willow. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on? Are you in some kind of trouble?”
She wanted to tell Maxine everything, but wasn’t sure that the woman could handle the truth and trying to skirt around it would be too difficult. “It really is very complicated, but I promise I’m not in any trouble,” she said, then reached out for Taylor’s hand. “And if I were, Taylor would protect me.”
“I’ll have to be happy with that for now I guess,” she said, giving Taylor one more long look.
When they got to their room, she could see that Taylor was surprised. “This isn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” he said, walking around the little room. “Let’s go find Professor Miller; it sounds like he’s not far from here.”
Willow shook her head. “I think we’d better wait until morning; this isn’t the kind of neighborhood you want to go walking around at night.”
Taylor walked up behind her and put his arms around her middle and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “That leaves us all night with nothing to do.”
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