Charmed

by Catherine Hart

  “You do not have this AIDS, then, and fear getting it,” he concluded.

  She tried, unsuccessfully, to press her legs together, only to have him nudge them farther apart. “Look, Tonto, I’m not a blasted wishbone! Do you think you could leave my joints intact? Better yet, go hump a . . .”

  Again, he interrupted her. “I am not that easily deterred. I require an answer, please.”

  “No, I do not have AIDS!” she warranted, thoroughly exasperated. “No thanks to my husband’s wandering ways,” she added dryly. “I’ve been tested, and I’m squeaky clean. Can you say the same?”

  Somewhat to her surprise, Silver Thorn nodded. “I, too, am free of disease. Are your fears now eased, little one?”

  She shook her head. “Not at all. I’d feel a dam sight more secure if you’d get off me and forget the whole idea of further intimacy between us. Can’t we just shake hands and go back to our corners? Or to our opposite sides of the fire, in this case?”

  He chose to ignore the stated options and changed the subject entirely. “Do you know that your private parts remind me of an ear of corn?” he remarked, his hand stroking over her belly, and then lower.

  “What?” she squeaked, taken totally off guard.

  His fingers crept beneath the elastic into the nest of dark curls between her legs. “It is so,” he told her, his voice deceptively calm while his eyes danced with mischief. “Your hair here is soft and fine, like cornsilk. And like the husk that covers and protects the corn within, you also have a shield guarding your womanly essence and the tender kernel hiding there.” His eyes held hers as his fingers deftly parted the concealing folds and delved unerringly to that tiny button of flesh that governed her desire.

  Nikki lurched beneath his touch, already craving more. In the small portion of her brain that was still functioning logically through the rising tide of need, she could not quite believe what was happening. This man . . . this maniac . . . had but to speak, and she was virtually seduced—his to command, like a puppet ruled by a puppeteer. A look from those crystalline silver eyes, and she was practically mesmerized. And a touch . . . God, a mere touch was like being branded with lightning!

  “Let me taste of you, Neeake,” he murmured, “that I might sip the sweet nectar buried within.”

  Though she said not a word, her body answered for her. The taut muscles in her thighs relaxed, allowing him free access. When he tugged her panties down, she lifted her hips to aid him. And when his head lowered in quest of the prize, she sighed and tilted her pelvis in search of his mouth.

  Then, all thought was beyond her grasp as he sipped and suckled and sent her spiraling. Precisely when he released her wrists, she could not have said, but next she knew she was clutching his head to her, weaving her fingers through the black satin of his hair, pulling him up and over her as she offered herself to him and met him halfway. They rode the wind, soaring higher with each thrust of his body into hers, until they burst through the sun and it splintered into thousands of shimmering shards.

  Nikki had always thought of herself as a sexually educated person. She was well read and, for a while at least, had led a healthy, supposedly normal lovelife. Foreplay was nothing new, though there were some things Scott had wanted to try that she’d considered kinky and declined outright. She’d even achieved climax on a regular basis, something which some women never experienced. But she’d never climaxed like this!

  If anyone had tried to tell her it could be, or should be, like this, she would have called that person a liar. Or at the least, a gullible fool. A climax of such magnitude only occurred in movies and romance novels, not in real life. Bells did not really chime. Alarms did not sound. Celestial bodies did not fall from the heavens. All that was fantastic bunk!

  Oh, but now Nikki knew better, and if she wanted to tell someone else how profound it was, she doubted she could find words to adequately describe what had just happened to her. She had honestly thought she might die from it, that her heart would simply explode in her chest. The pleasure was so intense, it bordered on pain. And at the end, the nearest thing she could compare it to were accounts of near-death encounters, with bright light and a sensation of flying, of spinning through space, her soul apart from her body.

  In the aftermath of the most glorious, overwhelming experience of her life, Nikki lay stunned and breathless, basking in the lingering glow, savoring the ebbing reverberations that vibrated through every love-sated cell. At this moment, she was sure that nothing could destroy her sense of well-being. Nothing could pierce the rosy haze enveloping her.

  Until she heard Silver Thorn’s gravelly voice intone wonderingly, “In all my days, I have never lost myself with any woman as I did with you just now, Neeake. Always before, I have been aware of my body and its every action. This is the first time I have planted my seed within a woman’s womb, but I know without doubt that this is what I have done today and that it was meant to be. Though we come from different worlds, different times, and I am as yet unsure how our joint venture will proceed or end, of this I am certain. Together, you and I have just spawned a son, Neeake.”

  Chapter Five

  Nikki bolted upright, inadvertently ramming her forehead into Silver Thorn’s face. As he moved hastily aside, clutching at his throbbing nose, she gaped at him in dumbfounded outrage. “I’m still trying to decide if you’re insane or simply stupid. At this point, it’s a toss-up or I’d probably kill you for spouting such nonsense and expecting me to believe it!”

  “It is true, little goose,” he assured her seriously, pressing his fingers to his bridge and testing the bone to see if it were still intact. “My seed is taking root in your body as we speak.”

  “I sincerely hope not! The last thing I need is to be impregnated by a half-strung yo-yo! Lord only knows what the poor child would turn out like!”

  Silver Thorn sighed. “The choice is not yours. Nor was it mine. This was fore-ordained by the Spirits. Written in the stars long before you or I were born.”

  “Well, unwrite it!” she shot back, suddenly next to tears.

  “I cannot. What is done, is done.”

  “Prophetic last words. After our little discussion about AIDS and disease, didn’t it even occur to you to use a condom?”

  “What is a condom?”

  Nikki screwed up her face and let loose an irate shriek. “A rubber, you dumb son-of-a-buick! A prophylactic! A device to deter the spread of disease and impede conception.”

  “Ah, a sheath!” Silver Thorn concluded at last.

  “Well! Light dawns on marblehead!” she quipped sarcastically. “Will wonders never cease?”

  “You need not be so scornful, woman,” he informed her. “Among my people, it is often the women who tend to such matters.”

  Nikki glared at him. “Don’t try to pass the buck, Romeo. I’ve been divorced for three years and, for all intents and purposes, out of circulation. Therefore, I had no reason to go on the pill or otherwise take preventative measures. And I certainly didn’t foresee this bizarre escapade.”

  He gave a sage nod. “It is fortunate that you no longer have another husband or I could not take you to wife.”

  Nikki clamped a hand to her head, feeling distinctly disoriented. “I wonder if this is what Alice felt like when she fell down the rabbit hole?” she muttered.

  “Are you not well?” Silver Thorn inquired with concern.

  Nikki groaned. “I’m not actually sure. I can’t seem to make up my mind whether to laugh, cry, or toss my cookies.”

  “Perhaps you should lie down,” he suggested.

  Nikki nodded lethargically and put up no resistance as Silver Thorn led her to his pallet and lay her down on it. “Yes,” she agreed numbly. “I need a nap. A nice, long nap. Like Rip Van Winkle. And when I wake up, this will all have been a dream, and I’ll be back in my own bed, in my own house, in my own time . . . and you won’t exist at all.” She yawned and smiled up him drowsily. “Won’t that be lovely?”

 
As was her habit, Nikki woke slowly and reluctantly. Loathe to leave her snug nest, she tucked her legs up and wriggled her nose deeper into the blanket. She sniffed once. Then again, and frowned. Since when did Downy smell like wet horse? Or had Her Nibs, that ornery Angora-with-an-attitude, buried a dead mouse in the bed?

  Nikki cocked one bleary eye open, sure she would find the blasted cat sitting there smirking at her. Instead, her gaze centered on Silver Thorn, sitting cross-legged before the waning fire, staring into the diminishing flames.

  “Oh, Lord!” Nikki groaned prayerfully. “What did I do to deserve this? Aren’t regular nightmares bad enough? Do they have to come in re-runs and sequels now?”

  Silver Thorn did not look up from his contemplation of the fire, nor did he direct any comment toward her.

  “Say, shouldn’t you add some more wood to the fire?” she suggested. “And while you’re at it, how about a couple of thick, juicy steaks? I missed lunch, and I’m starving.”

  Still Silver Thorn made no response, verbally or otherwise.

  Nikki glowered at him. “What’s this? The silent treatment? Isn’t that the typical male! He gets the goodies, then ignores you.”

  Silver Thorn didn’t twitch as much as a muscle. He just sat there, silent and unmoving, like some frozen mummy, and suddenly his utter stillness struck Nikki as incredibly odd.

  She rose, clutching the blanket around her, and approached him cautiously. “Yo! Tonto! You didn’t go and die on me, did you?” She leaned closer and noted that his eyes were open, but unfocused. At least they hadn’t rolled to the back of his head, as she’d heard a dead person’s did.

  “Hey! Hi, ho, Silver! Wake up and smell the coffee!” she called out, snapping her fingers in front of his nose. He just sat and stared, as if turned to stone. “Geez!” she murmured, rubbing at the goose bumps now peppering her arms. “This is spooky!”

  Nikki squatted next to him, trying to gear herself for what she knew she must do next. “So help me God, Thorn. If you’re just messing around to scare me, I’m going to make you regret it.” Tentatively, she reached out and touched his arm. To her vast relief, it was warm. She heaved a sigh.

  “So far, so good,” she told herself. Her hand moved to his chest, and she felt the heavy, rhythmic beat of his heart. “Okay, you’re alive. So what’s going on here? Did some evil genie sneak in here and put a spell on you?”

  Then, as her own words sank in, the truth dawned on her. “You’re in a trance, aren’t you? I’ll be darned! You did mention a dream-vision earlier. That’s what this is all about! You’re in some type of self-induced hypnotic state . . . and I’m out of here!”

  Realizing that this was her best chance to escape, Nikki wasted little time. She yanked her clothes on, swung into her backpack, and charged the hill of rocks at the cave entrance. She managed to get a third of the way up before the rocks gave way beneath her feet, sending her skidding down again. Catching her breath and reviewing the situation, she attacked the blockade more slowly the second time, but to little avail. For every step forward, the pile shifted, sending her backward two strides. All she gained was a lot of unwanted exercise, a scraped palm, and two broken fingernails. And the rocks were still blocking her exit.

  “Drat! I’ll never get anywhere this way,” she admitted to herself. “I’m just wearing myself out and getting nowhere! There’s got to be another way.”

  There was. Her gaze swung to the back of the cave, toward the rear tunnel. Was that an alternate route out? Was that why Silver Thorn had not been troubled when the rockslide had blocked the forward entrance?

  She eyed the murky hollow with trepidation. Did she dare even think about it, let alone try it? What if she got lost and wandered around in there forever?

  “Coward!” she berated herself. “How bad can it be? You toured the other caves, and nothing happened. You’ve got a flashlight in your pack with a fresh battery. Besides, you have to go to the restroom anyway. Just walk a few steps inside, and take a look.”

  And watch for snakes and sudden drop-offs, her ‘self’ suggested in reply.

  “There weren’t snakes or perilous pits in the other caves,” she contended. “There were even lights and an air ventilation system.”

  So go for it, her alter ego said. And call me when you find the light switch!

  “Good grief! Here I am arguing with myself—and I called Silver Thorn bonkers!”

  Nikki fished out her flashlight and tested it to make sure it was operating properly. Gathering all the courage she could muster, she walked to the tunnel and peered carefully inside. Though gloomy, it was dry, and the floor appeared fairly wide and level. Best of all, it wasn’t crawling with insects and nothing with teeth, claws, or fangs leapt out at her.

  “Why not just scare yourself to death, Nikki?” she grumbled. “You’ve got to stop watching all those late-night horror flicks!” Sucking in a deep breath, she stepped forward. Immediately inside the passageway, she stopped and listened.

  So, what are you waiting for, dummy? her psyche sneered. Or did you expect a trap door to fall shut behind you, like a scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark? If you’re real lucky, maybe you’ll run into Harrison Ford and the two of you can have a mad fling in here.

  “Mad being the operative word. Not only am I talking to myself, I’m answering myself, too.”

  There was no light switch. Nor did the glow from her flashlight reveal any hint of wiring or string of bulbs, as in the caves she’d visited previously. Swallowing her inner fears, Nikki forced herself to start walking. A few yards along, she found a slight indentation in the wall, an adequate if not choice spot to relieve herself. After juggling the flashlight, her britches, and her own shaking anatomy—no mean feat for someone who could rarely walk and chew gum at the same time—she concluded the task and continued onward.

  The passageway took numerous twists and turns before branching off at several points. It was only after she’d traversed what seemed like miles that Nikki realized she should have been more consistent in her choice of paths, either always veering right or only left. That, or she should have found a way to mark her trail in the event her escape route turned out to be a dead end. Of course, the ideal situation would have provided a detailed map and a competent tour guide.

  A short time later, Nikki stopped to check her watch and estimated she’d been walking for approximately forty minutes. The corridor was narrower here and seemed to be slanting steadily downward. She debated whether to retreat and try an alternate path or forge ahead. Deciding to go back a ways, she turned around. When she did so, her backpack snagged an outcropping on the wall, throwing her off balance. Nikki went sprawling. The flashlight flew from her hand. It bounced several times, throwing eerie patterns of light and shadow along the rock, then abruptly went out.

  The sudden darkness was absolute, blacker than anything Nikki had ever encountered. It was like being struck blind. She’d heard the expression about not being able to see your hand before your face. Now she was experiencing it personally, and it was truly terrifying. And totally disorienting. She knew she was kneeling on the floor of the cave. She could feel the grit beneath her palms. When she reached out, her fingers brushed the walls on either side of her. Yet, even knowing this, feeling it, there was a strange sensation of not being able to distinguish up from down or forward from backward.

  Someone whimpered, and only after she’d jumped in fright did Nikki recognize the sound as her own voice. She fought to retain her wits. Intellectually, she knew the flashlight was mere yards away. She could find it, she assured herself. All she had to do was stay calm and in control and crawl along the path and feel for it.

  But the moment she moved, Nikki lost her sense of equilibrium once more. The dizziness hit her with such force that she was nauseous. It was several long minutes before she could try again. And yet again. Creeping forward inch by inch, feeling her way like a sightless snail.

  When at last her seeking fingers touched the cool cylinder, it wa
s only to knock it further down the path from her. A sob of frustration lodged in her throat. She began the search again. Slowly. Carefully. But she could not locate the flashlight. Thinking she might somehow have passed it, she scooted backward. Then forward. Until finally she became so disoriented she wasn’t sure which direction was which—and still the light, her sole salvation, eluded her.

  Trapped in a world of eternal darkness, Nikki lost her grasp of logic and succumbed to the panic gnawing at her. Her screams of horror reverberated through the stony canyons of the cave like multiple ripples in a pond, returning to assault her own ears. Her imagination began to play tricks on her mind and body. Her skin began to tingle as if a thousand spiders were swarming over it. She slapped at them, raking her own flesh with her nails, trying to rid herself of them. At one point, she swore she heard a gruff noise akin to a low growl. Then she felt something large and furry brush her face, something rough and wet swipe across her chin, but when she swatted frantically at it, she touched nothing but her own tear-stained cheek.

  Nearly mindless with terror, deaf to all but the clamor of her own screams and frenzied heartbeats, Nikki did not hear Silver Thorn calling to her until he was almost upon her. So strong was her panic that her brain failed to register the fact that she could actually see, until Silver Thorn stood directly in front of her, his face reflected in the glow of his torch.

  She reached for him, her arms scratched and bleeding as she held them out to him. “Thorn! Thorn! Hold me! Save me!”

  He bent and enfolded her in his embrace, trembling nearly as badly as she. “I have you, Neeake. You are safe.”

  “No! There’s some animal in here! I know it! It . . . it touched me!”

  “Do not fear. It was only Macate, my cat. My animal spirit-guide. He is the one who led me to you just now.”