by Tasha Black
The floor pressed up and the ceiling sank. Braitryn’s loud pen chewing sounded closer and closer, as if she were about to chew up Bea herself.
Sweat beaded on Bea’s forehead.
“I’ve got some more paper,” Buck’s soothing voice said from behind her. “Want to start them with something easier?”
“I-I can’t,” Bea whispered.
She was frozen in place.
She was going to ruin everything, lose her only chance.
But being in front of people like this… It was too much.
She didn’t notice when Buck took center stage. When he cleared his throat loudly she looked up to see him standing there, resplendent in front of the kids, with a ream of printer paper in one arm, a handful of pens lifted high in the other, as if he were some sort of re-imagined Statue of Liberty.
“I’m Buck,” he said loudly. “Beatrix’s assistant. And she’s just let me know that I’m allowed to do an exercise with you today.”
She exhaled slowly, looking around at the expectant faces.
“Since I am not as skilled as Ms. Li, I’m going to do something much simpler than what she had in mind,” he said. “But I hope you will enjoy it anyway.”
He walked over to the front table.
“Here, why don’t you hand these out,” he said to Braitryn.
The girl promptly dropped her mangled pen and began marching around the space depositing fresh paper on other kids’ tables as needed.
“One of my favorite things about Door to Everywhere is that the door is in the eye of the beholder,” Buck said. “Do you guys know what that means?”
One boy raised his hand.
“Yes?” Buck said.
“It means it depends on who’s looking at it,” the boy said proudly.
“That is exactly correct,” Buck said delightedly. “You are very skilled at idioms for such a small nestling.”
The boy blinked at him, then grinned.
“As I was saying,” Buck went on. “The magic of the portal is that it takes the viewer to the place he or she most needs to have an adventure. In the case of Shayla, she opens a door covered in lights and buttons, like the switchboard of a spaceship, and she winds up on another planet.”
The kids’ heads were nodding.
Beatrix was wondering at the idea that Buck had obviously read her book.
And he got it.
“But where would you go, if you had a door to everywhere?” Buck was asking the children. “What do you love? What kind of adventure would you have?”
Beatrix recognized what the immediate drumming of fingers and eyes lifting to the ceiling meant.
Those were the sights and sounds of imaginations whirring. She had made those sounds herself - she knew them well.
“Close your eyes,” Buck said in the soft voice of a hypnotist. “Close your eyes and picture your very own door. What does it look like?”
Beatrix found herself closing her eyes.
The door was simple with white paneled wood.
“What do you see?” Buck asked. “Can you see the shape of the door? I’ve watched Beatrix draw, so I know she begins with shapes, outlines. Let’s draw it, let’s draw the shape you see in your mind. Don’t worry about the details now, just worry about the shape.”
Bea’s eyes were still closed. She heard the scratch of pens on paper.
“Once you have your shape, think about what comes next,” Buck suggested. “Does your door have any decorations? Are there any windows or a doorknocker? If you have a hard time seeing the details, try to imagine what might be on the other side of your door.”
But Beatrix already knew what would be on the other side of hers.
That simple paneled door was the one to her room.
And on the other side of it would be Buck.
10
Buck
Buck walked at Beatrix’s side in companionable silence. The setting sun glimmered on the water beside them. They had nearly reached their flat on the Inner Harbor.
Buck’s body ached pleasantly from the afternoon of learning to fight gladiator-style with his new friends. Buck was large and strong enough that he hadn’t imagined that besting any foe in a feat of strength could be a challenge.
But the Intergalactic Gladiators were a tough bunch, and they possessed skills with weapons Buck had not anticipated.
Adam had said more than once that Buck was a quick study, though. Buck hoped his new friend was correct. He had only a short time in which to improve his skills if he wished to win Beatrix’s hand.
He tried not to read anything into her silence tonight. It had been a long day, and she seemed ponderous rather than tense.
Buck was feeling rather ponderous himself after their time together. In some ways, Beatrix was becoming as familiar to him as Aerie’s night sky. And in many others, she was a total mystery.
She was a confident woman in private, and yet she was so shy among her fans. She had been unable to talk with the children today.
“Thank you,” she said suddenly.
“You are most welcome,” he replied politely. “But what for?”
‘“I was having such a hard time out there,” she said. “I just… I couldn’t do it. You were amazing with those kids.”
Beatrix’s thoughts had not been far from his own.
“No, not really,” Buck said modestly, though he felt the kernel of truth in what she said. He had enjoyed talking with the children.
“You really were,” she told him. “They felt comfortable with you. And you did such a great job teaching them. I’m really glad you were there.”
Buck flushed with pleasure.
They had reached the building. He opened the door and held it for her.
“Thanks,” she said, looking up at him.
He wished he could tell her everything he wanted to do for her. Helping with public appearances and opening doors was nothing. He wanted to hold her safe in his arms in her times of sorrow. He wanted to help her accomplish all of her dreams.
He understood the frenzy that drove humanity now, a whole world of desire, distilled down to his own feverish need to fill this one woman with a child of their own.
But he knew his mate enough to know that a display of excessive emotion on his part would only disrupt her own quiet journey toward sharing his feelings.
The whispers of her emotions were there in the soft expression of her beautiful dark eyes, the pout of her lips, as if they longed to be kissed.
“Let’s get upstairs,” he whispered roughly, tearing his eyes from hers as they crossed the lobby and stepped into the elevator.
Don’t kiss her. Don’t scare her off. Let her come to you, he told himself.
But the air between them sizzled with tension.
Beatrix pushed the button to go to the penthouse level.
The machinery whirred and they were lifted up, up in the tiny metal chariot.
Bea bit her lip.
Buck gripped the rail to prevent himself from touching her.
At last the bell dinged to tell them they had reached the top floor.
The others had gone out for dinner, so Buck and Beatrix had the place to themselves for a few hours.
As much as he wanted time alone with her to get to know her better, Buck found himself almost wishing the others were there to distract him from the relentless demands of his heart and body.
Beatrix threw her bag down on the sofa.
“I’m going to take a shower,” Buck told her. “I had a good workout with the gladiators. Do you need anything first?”
“I’m fine,” she said, shaking her head. “I think I’ll send out a couple of funding emails while it’s quiet here.”
“Good idea,” he told her.
He went into the bathroom, closed the door and leaned against it for a moment, willing his body to be calm.
A few minutes later he stood beneath the warm spray of the shower, hoping the water would wash his thoughts away.
; He lathered up and couldn’t help imagining the hands on his body were Beatrix’s instead of his own.
His muscles tensed and his penis was instantly rigid.
Back in Stargazer, he had eased the tension in this organ many times each day in the lab, draining it of its essence as if he were scratching an itch.
But the surges of need he felt now seemed almost unconnected to the pleasant stimulation and relief he’d experienced in the lab.
He slid a hand down to stroke himself, picturing Beatrix in his mind.
The sensation nearly made him moan.
There was a knock on the door.
“Buck?” Bea called to him from the other side.
“Yes,” he said, removing his hand from his cock as if he’d been caught trying to steal it.
“Sorry to interrupt,” she said. “I was going to order some food. Do you want to look at some menus with me?”
“Yes,” he managed to answer. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Cool,” she said through the door.
Buck rinsed off in a hurry, cursing himself for his momentary indulgence. Now he was more desperate than ever.
He put on a bathrobe and headed out through the living room to his room to get clothes.
Bea wasn’t in the living room. Odd. The menus were spread out on the table, but she was nowhere to be found.
“Bea?” he called.
There was no answer.
Maybe she had gone to her own room to get her phone for ordering.
He went back through the living room to the bedroom hall and knocked gently on her door.
It opened slowly.
Beatrix stood on the other side. She had removed most of her clothing and was wearing only the tiniest scraps of lace over her breasts and her sex.
Buck was unable to rip his eyes from her. He stared in open wonder at the beauty of her small form - tan skin, curving hips and downy thighs.
“Beatrix,” he breathed, knowing he should apologize for interrupting her, but unable to find the words.
She grabbed him by the collar of the bathrobe and pulled him into the room.
He instinctively kicked back to push the door shut behind him.
Then she was on her toes, flowing into his arms.
Buck’s senses were filled with her, the softness of her skin, the scent of her perfume.
She pressed her sweet lips to his and he swore he heard stars falling from the heavens.
He spread his hands wide and smoothed them down her back, trying to touch as much of her at once as he could.
Bea whimpered and pressed herself against him.
His body roared with need, but Buck willed himself to let Bea take the lead. He had no idea how far she wanted to go, or what was traditional in such a moment. He had no wish to frighten her with his towering desire.
She pulled back slightly and tugged at his collar again.
Buck allowed himself to be dragged over to her bed, let her push him backward.
He lay in the softness of her sheets, looking up at his fierce little mate. The hunger in her eyes was nearly his undoing but he managed to lie still and wait for her, his pulse pounding in his ears.
She crawled on top of him, straddling his hips, and brushed her lips against his again. He could feel her clever hands tugging at the belt to his robe.
He put a hand in her hair, holding her still so that he could kiss her slowly, thoroughly.
She submitted to his kiss, but she managed to open his robe as he kissed her.
He felt her cool hand against his abs and his whole body screamed for more.
He let go of her hair and she slid downward immediately, trailing gentle kisses down his neck and chest, rubbing her cheek against his belly.
“Bea,” he whispered to her.
But she was already wrapping her fingers delicately around his bursting cock. And then he felt the warm, wet heat of her mouth envelope the sensitive tip.
“Bea,” he groaned.
Her inquisitive tongue was sliding all over him now, teasing and coaxing him too quickly to the edge.
“You have to stop,” he whispered.
She moaned lightly around him and the vibration pushed him even closer.
With the last of his will he slid his hand back into her hair and pulled as gently as he could.
She let go with a disappointed hum, leaving his poor stiff cock pulsing frantically in the air.
“Beatrix, why are you doing this?” he asked, pulling her close.
She lay beside him, covering her face with her hands.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I thought… I thought you liked me,” she muttered. “I’m sorry I attacked you.”
His addled mind took a moment to register what she had said.
Then he began to laugh.
“You don’t have to laugh at me,” she said angrily.
“I’m not laughing at you,” he said, dead serious again at once. “Of course I like you, Beatrix. I don’t want to scare you, but my feelings for you are way beyond liking.”
“Really?” She sounded less upset but her face was still behind her hands.
“I love you, Bea,” he told her helplessly, unable to see her suffer. “I chose you for my mate the night we met.”
That was enough to make her move her hands and let him see her face again.
“It doesn’t mean you have to love me back or accept me as your mate,” he told her. “But it means I have to be very careful about making love with you.”
“Why?”
“I have chosen you, and if you accept me we can make love and I will click permanently into this human form,” he explained. “When that happens, I will be bonded to you forever. But if I click with you and you are not ready to accept me… I am not sure what will happen. I might not be able to leave you even if you decided you wanted me to.”
“That’s intense,” Bea said.
“It is,” he agreed.
“I like you,” she told him. “I like you… a lot. But I’m not ready to get married.”
He smiled, his heart filled to bursting.
She liked him. She just wasn’t ready yet.
“There’s all the time in the world,” he told her. “I would never rush you.”
“But does this mean we can’t even make out unless we’re ready to be… mated?” Bea asked.
“You want to make out with me?” he teased.
She reached out her hand to trace his lips with one slender finger.
Buck closed his eyes against the wave of desire that followed in the trail of that tiny touch.
“We can continue,” he told her carefully. “But you have to trust me.”
“I trust you,” she told him.
“Roll onto your back,” he told her.
Some ancient instinct in his body gloried at the sight of her rolling onto her back in perfect submission.
11
Beatrix
Bea rolled onto her back obediently.
Anticipation intensified the desire she already felt, crinkling her nipples against the lace of her bra.
“Good,” Buck purred, leaning down to give her another of his maddeningly slow sexy kisses.
He stroked her tongue with his and she felt it all the way down to her sex.
She wondered how much more she could take.
As if he had read her mind, he released her mouth and brushed his lips against her neck, kissing his way down to her aching breasts.
He cupped one in his hand, rolling his thumb against the top where the lace met her skin.
Bea moaned lightly.
He smiled down at her, and peeled back the cup to reveal her breast.
They both looked down at her stiff brown nipple.
“Oh, gods,” Buck sighed and lowered his head to kiss her breast.
The sensation was heavenly.
He curled his tongue around her nipple, sucking lightly.
Bea cried out and felt her back arch up.
Too soon, his warm mouth was abandoning her breasts.
She whimpered as she felt his lips caress her belly, and nuzzle her thighs apart.
She opened her eyes and watched as Buck tugged her panties down. She lifted her bottom, and he slid them down her legs and tossed them aside.
Suddenly she felt shy.
Wanton as her behavior had been tonight, it was only the product of her determination to show Buck that she liked him.
Bea had never been great with words alone. It was why she wrote comics instead of novels. For her, communication was about showing, not telling. And she had hoped tonight that her body would tell him what her words could not - that she liked him, she cared about him, she wanted him in her life.
But her real world sexual experience certainly didn’t match up with the assertiveness she had shown him.
The reality was that no man had ever put his mouth on her there, and she wasn’t sure how it would feel, or whether Buck would like the taste and the scent of her.
She squeezed her eyes shut and waited, hoping that if things went wrong they would go wrong quickly.
But he didn’t touch her.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Um, yeah,” she said, opening her eyes.
“I won’t touch you if you don’t want me to,” he told her solemnly.
She gazed at his unbelievably handsome face. His eyes were hungry.
“No one… no one has ever done that to me before,” she admitted.
“I’m glad,” he told her, his eyes sparkling. “If you will let me, I will be so happy to be the first man to pleasure you with my mouth. You are the only woman I will ever touch in this way.”
“Y-yes, please,” she heard herself say.
“Thank you,” he breathed, pressing kisses to the inside of her thigh. “Thank you.”
Bea let her head fall back on the pillow.
She held her breath as she felt him kiss her center.
“Oh,” he moaned against her.
Bea shivered with need.
Buck slid his tongue across her opening.
Desire exploded throughout her body, and seemed to set her on fire.