GABRIEL (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 4)

by Marilyn Campbell

  His reward for her honesty was a kiss so sweet, it almost made her forget he was the enemy.

  As the kiss became less gentle, however, she realized that he wasn't withdrawing from her body or growing tired. And if he didn't sleep, she couldn't do what she needed to do. "Gabriel?"

  "Hmmm?" he asked though his grin hinted that he knew her question.

  "As I said, I don't have much experience with... intimacy, so I hope you don't mind my asking this. Each time we've coupled there's been evidence that you had a release, even if you don't clearly remember it. But you're still, um..."

  He shifted his hips forward and she inhaled sharply. "Aroused?"

  She nodded. "Is that normal for you?"

  "Drek no," he said with a laugh, "and thank the stars for that. If it was, I may have had the bothersome appendage removed years ago." When he saw the shock on her face, he laughed again. "I'm joking. But it does get rather uncomfortable going around all day in this condition."

  Shara swallowed nervously. "All day?"

  "And night. The swelling subsides somewhat but not completely." He wondered what she'd say if he told her this condition of his began weeks before the first time-hop—when he first saw her in her lab.

  Though Shara couldn't know precisely how he felt, she could certainly empathize. Each time they'd coupled before this, she had been left wanting. Even now she was far from totally sated. She mulled over the problem and came up with a logical solution that could also help her get on with the task she'd planned. "I think we need to run another experiment."

  "Oh?" His hand skimmed down her back and massaged her bottom.

  She closed her eyes to hold on to the tiny tremors of pleasure he was giving her. "I... oh my... we should endeavor to find a way to bring us... you some relief." He partially withdrew and slowly entered her again. "Um... we know that once is not enough to... relax you. Perhaps a... a repetition is..." His movements eloquently finished the sentence for her.

  The experiment was mutually exhausting but they worked at it until they had their conclusion—three couplings were required to bring complete relief... and put Gabriel to sleep.

  Unable to let go of the lovely feeling of contentment too quickly, Shara lay snuggled in his embrace for some time, yet she couldn't allow herself to sleep. She had work to do.

  After a while she whispered his name and when he didn't stir, she eased away from him then paused to make sure he didn't awaken before she left him completely. Once she was free, she wasted no time getting to work.

  Gabriel reached out in his sleep to bring Shara close again and her absence awakened him. With a feeling of dread, he opened his eyes and searched the immediate area. He felt some relief when he saw her a few feet away sitting cross-legged on her tunic, working her microputer. It wasn't as bad as if she'd abandoned him but it wasn't good either.

  Beauty was on her knee and there was a small pile of static papers on each side of her. As he watched, she picked one up from the smaller pile on her left side, peeled a hair off, inserted it in the microputer, pressed keys then put the paper and hair on her right side.

  He could think of two reasons for her not being asleep. One, she wasn't tired or satisfied enough. He knew without a single doubt that wasn't the case. Thus, the second, more troublesome reason remained. She had stayed awake on purpose—and put him to sleep on purpose—in order to work without his knowledge.

  Why would she resort to being devious? He had no objection to her testing the hair samples. Besides, the tests could have waited until she returned to their own time.

  There was only one answer. In spite of all his warnings, she was still planning to stop Khameira's ancestor from going to Terra.

  It seemed to him that after everything that had happened to them, she would have been frightened enough to realize that she lacked the experience to do anything on her own. But going off alone was apparently what she was planning to do. Just in case he was wrong though, he decided to wait until she made a move to leave before pouncing on her.

  He could hardly believe how foolish and stubborn she could be. What if she had taken off and the fever struck again? How could she place more importance on her search than on her own life?

  That question stopped him cold. How many times had he risked his life to obtain one more piece of information? How many times had he been frightened out of his wits and still pushed on toward a goal he'd set for himself? Too many times to count.

  Perhaps they were both stubborn fools.

  Or was it that they simply had very strong convictions and the courage to test them and persist despite enormous obstacles? Not long ago he had thought they had nothing in common but there seemed to be at least one similarity after all.

  Thinking of her secondary goal on this venture, he recalled the conversation they'd had about their childhood and realized that a common element existed there as well. She was hoping to learn something that would erase the painful memories of her past. He could have told her that nothing—no discovery, no acclaim, no amount of running away—could change the past. One just had to get on with one's life and let go of the memories. But he knew that was a conclusion she would have to reach on her own.

  He watched Shara test her last sample then slowly set aside the microputer. Even before her shoulders slumped and she covered her face with her hands, he guessed that she had not found a match for Khameira. But as she raised her head and looked to the stars, her expression of utter desolation told him she also had not found a match for herself.

  He wanted to be furious with her for thinking she could deceive him. He had been ready to lash out at her for using her body to disable him. Instead he lifted a hand to her and gently said, "Come here, sweetling."

  Her dismay turned to surprise then acceptance as she realized she had been expecting him to awaken before she could take off. The relief she felt had her wondering if she'd actually been counting on his interference all along. Since he didn't appear to be angry, she assumed he hadn't guessed her plans.

  "I couldn't sleep," she said as she went to his side and lay back in his embrace. "So I thought I'd try to find my ancestor among the samples. It wasn't there."

  He waited for her to continue, to admit her deceit and beg his forgiveness, but when he saw the dull shade of her eyes, his initial anger returned. In a flash, he pushed her away from him. "You're a lying witch. You were looking for Khameira's ancestor and then you were going to leave me here while you went to talk to the Tribunal. Weren't you?"

  She did her best to look indignant. "I do not intend to argue with you about this again." She moved to get up but he shoved her back down again. "Let me go!"

  As she squirmed to escape him, he grabbed her wrists and pinned them down over her head while he secured the rest of her body with his. Looming over her, he was determined to force his will on her. "Any fool could figure out what you were planning. I was lying here, convincing myself not to be angry with you. But I have every right to be angry.

  "I've explained in an intelligent manner the risks of altering history. You know you lack the experience to handle a trip back to the city on your own and you know how dangerous it is for us to be separated with the fever peaks getting closer all the time. I was even trying to be understanding about the fact that you used my desire for you against me. But I will not put up with your lying to me."

  She opened her mouth to defend herself but no words came. She was guilty as charged, on every count. And it had all been for nothing. She wasn't ready to give up but she did owe him an apology.

  I'm sorry.

  He frowned down at her. He was ready for an argument and she wasn't giving him one. "Now what are you up to?"

  She shook her head. "Nothing. I was wrong to think I could go back into the city without you. I was wrong to consider leaving you while the fever is still with us." She hesitated, to make sure he could read the honesty in her eyes. "But I'm not sorry I seduced you. I only regret waiting so long."

  With those words, he was ba
ck on the storm-tossed boat again. His mind was still poised for combat but his body was shaping itself for a more enjoyable form of action. Rather than follow through with either, he released her hands and shifted to her side. "What am I going to do with you?"

  The obvious answer could wait a few minutes. An idea was forming. "Take me to Poseidon's commune?" she responded.

  "Absolutely not. Besides the fact that they sound even less friendly than Zeus's people, their place will probably be overrun with security in the morning. It's time to go home, Shara. Give it up."

  "I can't," she said, as if it were a perfectly reasonable explanation. "I'm too close to an answer. I've eliminated one hundred eighty-three of the two hundred twenty names on the exile list. Thirty-one of the names left are among those Misha gave us as followers of Poseidon."

  He could admire the way her mind worked but he had no intention of giving in. "And what of the other six?"

  "The odds are with Poseidon's group."

  "The odds were with Zeus's group too. But the odds don't matter. We're not staying. You heard Misha. If he sees us again, he'll assume we fabricated our story and I don't trust him not to hand us up to better himself."

  "We could leave this time and hop back in again, only head for Poseidon's commune instead."

  "That might have been a possibility if the tempometer could be accurately programmed. But as it is, we could hop back in after we'd already arrived the first time. Then there might be two sets of us to escape. It could create a paradox that would disturb the natural flow of time. We don't know enough about this to be sure. Besides, we barely survived this round. We might not be so lucky if we tried again."

  "But we'd know exactly what was coming."

  He shook his head. "That's the problem. Knowing what was about to happen, we might do something differently and thus change the outcome. Forget it."

  She twisted her mouth from side to side. There had to be a way.... "I've got it! We could go to where Poseidon and his followers settled on Terra."

  "I think you need sleep. You're not making sense anymore."

  "Think of it, Gabriel. Atlantis. The lost continent about which so many Terran legends were written. There are even fewer details about what happened there after the exiles arrived than there were about the rebellion on Norona." She could see temptation changing his features. "Imagine the marvelous contribution you could make to the historical files."

  "There's no way we could get on board one of the ships leaving in two days. Not only would we risk getting caught, but the trip took about seventy years. The passengers were put in a state of suspended animation for the journey and not all of them survived the process."

  She noted he hadn't given her a flat refusal. "It would take a little doing but it's not impossible. First, we would go forward in time from here to take a modern ship from Norona to Innerworld. Then we could transmigrate to Outerworld, take a boat into the Atlantic Ocean to the former location of Atlantis then time-hop backward again."

  He was back to looking skeptical, so she waved temptation a little harder. "You would be able to learn the truth of what happened there firsthand. A monograph on the downfall of Atlantis would be sought after by everyone, not just relegated to the files of academic libraries for other historians to use for research." He gave her such an annoyed look, she worried that she had gone too far. "I didn't mean that like it sounded."

  "Yes, you did. And it's true. You told me yourself when we first met, you'd never heard of me."

  "That's right, partly because I had very little interest in history. But Gabriel, your stories made history come alive for me. You could do that for so many others if they only took the time to find out how fascinating you make it. A text on Atlantis would attract people of all ages to your work. Then once they discovered your way of relating history, they'd begin asking for more."

  He captured her chin and turned her face so that the moonlight shone on it. "You really believe that?" he asked, in spite of the fact that her eye color told him she was being sincere.

  She took his hand and kissed the knuckles. "Yes. And I'm a very intelligent person... when a certain man isn't throwing me off balance."

  He turned her hand to return the kiss. "And I suppose if I refuse to go along with this scheme, you've got another one to spring on me."

  "I'm not giving up this opportunity to verify my heritage, Gabriel, and even though we disagree about my mission, I know I'm safer when I'm with you. I'd like you to come with me but if your answer is definitely no, then we can go forward, get treated for the fever and I'll take my chances on getting away again on my own."

  There seemed to be little possibility that she would get that chance and yet he knew if there was a way, she would find it. Knowing of her intention to alter history, he would have no choice but to follow her... again. Logic had brought him right back to where this had all started.

  "What about the fever?" he asked, running a finger down her arm.

  She absently stroked his chest. "I was hoping to leave that detail up to you. You have such a gift for planning."

  He ignored her sarcasm. "I suppose I'll think of something after we hop forward." His hand skimmed down her back and rested on her hip. "Why don't you get some sleep first?"

  She eased her body closer to his. "Does that mean you'll come with me?"

  "Don't pretend that you gave me any choice," he replied, trying to look stern but fighting a grin as she brought her leg over his. "You really should take a nap."

  "I will," she said with a secretive smile. "But I'd rest a lot better if we reduced the possibility of the fever striking again in the next few hours." Her nails scraped down his abdomen and found him terribly in need of treatment.

  He was more than happy to administer the cure anytime she asked but he let her take as long as she wanted to prepare him for the ultimate service.

  Shara felt that there was something very different about this coupling. If she didn't know better, she would have described it as loving. There was no one they needed to fool with a show of false affection. There was no fever driving them. She wasn't doing this because she had an ulterior motive or because she was grateful to him for saving her life.

  She was making love to him because it made her feel so good to give him pleasure... and because she cared in spite of her wish not to.

  Gabriel sensed that something had changed. Her touch, her kiss, her body absorbing his, all felt different somehow. This wasn't a simple coupling between a man and a woman. What they were doing was much more personal, and the way it made him feel was better than any discovery he'd ever made. For the first time he could remember, he wanted to share more of himself than just his body.

  He did his best to show her what he was feeling but it didn't seem to be enough. He wanted to give her something more than a release, something that would let her know he considered her very special. As his body made love to hers, he removed the jammer from his ear and brought her fingers to his temple. I wanted to let you know how you make me feel.

  Shara was startled by the suddenness of hearing his thoughts but quickly relaxed and allowed him to hear hers as well. Knowing how much he resented anyone in his mind made his gift all the more precious. What a beautiful thing to do. Thank you.

  As their passion rose, she maintained her touch so that they were sharing every unbelievable feeling. Her pleasure doubled his and fed back to her.

  Suddenly, as they neared a release, they were struck by a sensation similar to a surge of electricity. The eerie power held them captive as the ground beneath them trembled and a golden glow surrounded their joined bodies. The urge to complete the physical act they'd begun superseded any fear of what was happening.

  The electrical energy continued to flow through them, growing stronger each second until, with a final heart-stopping jolt, they simultaneously reached an explosive climax.

  The glow faded away and stole their consciousness with it.

  * * *

  The sound of birds gree
ting the dawn brought Shara to partial wakefulness. What happened? she thought to herself as she stretched the stiffness out of her back.

  Drekked if I know.

  Instantly they were wide awake. Sitting up, they moved apart and eyed each other with suspicion.

  You said you couldn't send your thoughts, she said accusingly.

  I can't. But you can, he mentally replied with a similar edge then remembered he had removed his jammer some hours ago.

  But I'm reading you without touching you. I'm not able to do that.

  As he located the jammer and attached it to his earlobe, his brows drew together in disbelief. How could she deny the ability even as she used it?

  She heard his doubtful thought as clearly as if he were speaking aloud. I am not lying!

  With a horrified expression, he touched his jammer then backed a little farther away. I heard that! How did you get past the jammer?

  I don't know. I'm not doing anything on purpose. I'm not even trying to direct my thoughts to you. It's... it's like you're inside my head!

  That's exactly what it is. I remember the feeling all too well!

  I don't understand. How can this be? She felt a tightening in her chest and knew instinctively it wasn't her own sensation, but his being transmitted to her.

  That's right. I'm tense and I can tell you're frightened. He then used his voice, mainly to confirm that he still could. "I don't want to believe it but there's only one thing that could have caused this." He felt her bracing herself for his pronouncement.

  "We've been joined."

  Chapter 15

  Romulus felt Aster's tears begin to flow again and had to block her before he fell apart in front of the roomful of department chiefs. He excused himself from the meeting as quickly as possible and headed home.

  In spite of everything he'd tried, he hadn't been able to convince his mate to leave their residence since the hour they'd learned both their children were missing. He'd gone about their business, while she'd sat in the striped chair by the fireplace, hour after hour, waiting for Shara or Roman to reappear.