by Tasha Black
At the last instant she realized she was about to step on her phone.
She slipped and began to fall.
On the way to the ground her heart sank. This was going to be bad. She was going to hit her head hard, she’d be lucky if she didn’t break anything.
But warm arms caught her before she touched down.
“Wh-who?” she stammered.
She looked up to see who her unexpected savior was.
But it was Kitt who looked down at her, his handsome face haloed by the afternoon sun.
It was impossible - he had been at least twenty-five feet away. She had seen him.
“H-how?” She couldn’t seem to get her mouth to spit out the rest of the question.
No one could move that fast.
How had he done it?
Chapter 24
Kitt’s heart beat so fast he wondered if his human metabolism could sustain the pace. He had let his mate see his gift. He was not supposed to do that until she had accepted him.
“Kitt,” she whispered, sounding so frightened.
“Hush, my love,” he crooned. “Close your eyes, I’ll take you home.”
He waited until those beautiful dark eyes were closed and rejoiced when she obeyed him.
Then he cradled her sweet form to his chest and allowed the world to slow to his speed. Now when he ran it would seem to her that no time had passed and that they arrived instantaneously.
He bent to retrieve her phone and slipped it into his pocket. Then he jogged leisurely through the trees, careful not to allow her clothing to become tangled in the branches.
He had explored the woods for hours that first day after arriving. Just as the mown area of Maxwell’s was richly populated with people, so was this un-mown area thickly populated with other mammals, and insects too. Squirrels, birds, rabbits, beetles and bugs of every shape imaginable, and even the occasional deer had shown themselves to him when he slowed the world for a thorough exploration.
He knew he shouldn’t slow time and move normally in case someone should see him. When he had done it at the staff party he had been careful to slow things almost to a stop so that his movements would be too fast to be perceived.
But using the gift was irresistible in this wonderful new place.
At last they came out just where he hoped they would, in the trees just outside Honey’s cabin.
He held her in suspended time for just a moment more, wondering if she would come into his arms again voluntarily, after having seen what she had seen.
Then, reluctantly, he spun time forward on its axis, stretching himself back into her perception of reality.
“Open your eyes, Honey,” he compelled her.
She blinked up at him, then looked around.
“Oh my god,” she gasped.
He placed her gently on the ground, missing her warm weight the moment she stepped away.
She spun in place, then turned to him. “How… how did you do this?”
“It’s my gift,” he told her, hoping she wouldn’t be too frightened.
It was important to tell her the truth, though. His heart told him this, though it was in opposition to what he had been told by his brothers and Dr. Bhimani.
“It’s amazing,” she breathed.
He smiled at her encouragingly.
“So are you super fast? Or were you teleporting or something?”
He tried to understand her question. The first part made sense, but the second did not.
“I appear to be very fast,” he said. “But I’m not. I… I can perceive time differently.”
“What do you mean?”
“The world moves more slowly for me than it does for others,” he told her. “I can live at my own pace, but then the rest of the biological world seems to be frozen. Or I can… skip forward and perceive the world with you.”
“What do you mean skip forward?”
“I… I’m not sure,” he said, trying to find the words for the leap of consciousness. “I can’t describe it. Maybe the words for this are in a scientific text? Surely someone else on your planet has done this?”
Honey shook her head slowly.
“No,” she said. “I don’t think the words for that would be found anywhere. I don’t think anyone can do what you just did, Kitt.”
He observed her, wondering which way her surprise would catapult her - toward excitement or revulsion. The expression on her face told him she was on the precipice of great emotion.
“This is foreign to you, Honey,” he said slowly. “So much about me is different. But at the heart we are the same. Dance with me.”
He paused the world, slipped her phone from his pocket, and fingered the responsive skin of its shining surface until the first note of the music sounded. He thrust it into her pocket, took her in his arms, then returned the moment to her speed.
She gasped with surprise, but her body knew what to do.
Without a second thought, they were dancing.
All her fear and his determination were palpable between them and he felt the music hum inside his body as if his blood were pumping to its throbbing beat.
He danced her down the path, and spun her under the canopy of the big tree in front of the cabin.
He could feel the tension in her body fading as he dipped her and pulled her close again.
Then he danced her to the safety of the cabin, lifting her into his arms again to open the door and then placing her on the floor to dance her around the small living room.
They had been in each other’s arms all afternoon, but somehow it was more intimate in the shade of the little cabin.
When the music stopped, they kept dancing. Their pace turned slower, dreamier.
Kitt kept faithfully to her speed. Now was not the time to frighten her with his gift, no matter how he longed to pause the moment and memorize the flutter of her pulse in her throat, the feel of her supple waist against his hand, and the scent of her hair.
He lifted her above his head and lowered her slowly, grazing her belly with his lips on the way down.
She whimpered and he allowed himself to nuzzle her breasts lightly. Her nipples pebbled against her thin shirt and it was all he could do not to rip the shirt off and suckle and bite.
She pressed herself to him when her feet were on the ground.
He felt her belly against his erection. Surely she could feel it too.
Her hands traveled from his shoulders down to his chest.
“Kitt,” she murmured.
“Yes, my angel,” he replied into her hair.
But she said nothing more. It was as if she had only been reassuring herself of him.
This was not good enough.
Kitt released her hips and sank to his knees before her.
“Honey,” he whispered.
“Kitt, what are you doing?”
“Honey McCarthy, I choose you as my mate,” he told her. “Will you accept me?”
The air was still.
Kitt felt as if he had slowed down time again.
Then she was kneeling down with him, kissing him as the tears slipped down her cheeks.
He had chosen her. There was no going back now.
She was kissing him, holding him, crying over him.
But she had not accepted his suit.
She had not said the words. She might never say them, might never be ready.
Kitt could sense the reedy quality of Honey’s self-confidence, disparate from the strength with which she bore her actual life choices.
Honey wasn’t ready yet to admit that she wanted to choose him, no matter how much she actually did.
But he could be patient. He would wait happily, no matter how long it took, as long as he could do it in her orbit.
Then Honey lifted her shirt over her head and he was incapable of further thought.
Chapter 25
Honey knelt on the floor before the man she knew was her soul mate. He knew it. She knew it.
But she was pow
erless to admit it.
The tiny voice in the back of her head screamed that her relationships always ended in disaster.
But even the little voice couldn’t pretend that this wasn’t the most important relationship of her adult life.
Would he wait for her to be ready?
As her mind folded in on itself with questions her body did what it always did and carried on bravely.
Kitt caught his breath as she lifted her shirt over her head.
She was baring herself to him physically though she could not show him her naked emotions just yet.
If she had expected that his lack of experience with human women would slow him down she would have been wrong.
Kitt leaned forward and caught the t-shirt around her wrists, keeping her hands over her head as he kissed her slowly.
When she felt herself begin to tremble, he released her arms and kissed his way down her jaw line, nuzzling her throat.
She ran her fingers through his hair. She had wanted to do that since they first met. It was soft and smooth.
And then he was tracing the cups of her bra with his thumbs.
Honey held her breath, felt her nipples stiffen against the satiny fabric.
Slowly, so slowly, he pulled down the cups to reveal her breasts.
“Honey,” he breathed.
Then he was kissing her again, and she kissed him back, arching her breasts against his chest, the friction of his t-shirt abrading her sensitive nipples.
He lowered her to her back, covering her body with his own.
He was so huge, so warm, Honey felt a deep sense of safety and satisfaction, even as her body screamed with frustration.
At last he kissed his way down her cheek, her neck and licked one of her nipples into his mouth.
Honey whimpered and he stopped instantly.
“Does that hurt?”
She shook her head. “No, it feels so good.”
He applied himself to her breasts again, kissing them tenderly, licking and sucking her nipples and sending her into a state of desperate lust.
He abandoned her breasts to rise up on his knees so he could peel his own shirt over his head.
Honey admired the ripple of his biceps, the wide planes of his muscular chest, the sexy six-pack that was highlighted in the last of the afternoon sun.
Then he lowered himself on top of her.
The feel of his skin against hers was exhilarating.
She sank her nails into his shoulders as he kissed her again, his tongue caressing hers in a way that insinuated what other parts of her he would like to plunder.
He slid a hand across her belly, pulling up her skirt and resting against her pelvis. Honey imagined the heat of her hunger pooling against his hand through the thin satin that separated them.
“Oh,” he whispered, his voice full of wonder.
He kissed her again, sliding his fingers against her through the fabric.
Honey felt her whole sex swelling and pouting for him. She tried not to grind herself against his hand, but after a few more minutes of his toying she couldn’t help herself.
“Oh, my love,” he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice as he smiled himself, sliding her panties down, off her feet along with her shoes.
Honey waited, breathless. She closed her eyes.
The next thing she knew Kitt was nuzzling her thighs. His jaw felt shockingly rough against the tender skin.
Suddenly she felt shy, and pressed her legs together.
“Do you want me to stop?” His voice sounded strained, as if stopping would be as hard for him as it was for her.
She took a breath and relaxed her legs. “No,” she whispered, feeling brave.
He lowered his face to her heat and inhaled.
“So good,” he murmured as he pressed a kiss against her opening.
“Oh,” Honey moaned helplessly.
The heat of his tongue parted her, sliding up slowly and firmly, darting just inside and then up and up.
Honey clenched her hands into fists at her sides as Kitt’s tongue found her clitoris, then circled it, cruelly without touching.
She whimpered.
But his wicked tongue explored her slit again, thrusting just inside to tease and goad her.
“Mm,” he praised her. “My mate has the proper name to suit her taste.”
She laughed in spite of herself, tangling her hands in his hair.
He must have been pleased with her because he immediately licked his way back up to where she longed for his touch.
“Please,” she whispered.
Instantly he licked her clit.
Honey squealed and angled her hips up.
Kitt eased a warm finger just inside her and licked her slowly again.
Honey wiggled and moaned.
Then suddenly his mouth and hands were moving so fast it seemed it couldn’t be real.
Honey had no opportunity to be afraid because the sensations were so incredible.
Kitt’s warm mouth latched onto her, his tongue dancing on her little nub, his fingers moving like lightning inside her.
The incredible tension spiraled. Her body had no time to adjust, to temper the sensations. The pleasure was so acute she was almost afraid.
For a moment Honey floated and soared in a haze of anticipation.
Then the pleasure crashed down on her, pulling her almost inside out. She felt herself crushing his fingers and throbbing on his tongue as wave after wave of release flooded through her.
When she was spent, he crawled back up to her, rested his head on one of her breasts and swirled his index finger around the other, playing with the nipple.
“Wow, Kitt,” Honey breathed.
“That was incredible, Honey,” he lifted his head and whispered to her. “You are incredible.”
She smiled down at him, cupped his cheek in her hand.
Then he rested his head on her breast again.
“Don’t you want—” she began.
“That was all I wanted,” he told her. “It was what I needed. There will be time for the rest, when you are ready.”
But she could hear the raw need in his voice.
“Kiss me, Kitt,” she whispered to him.
He crawled up to her and she kissed him with everything she had, caressing his tongue with hers, and tasting the musky copper of her own juices on his tongue.
She could feel the rigid length of him throbbing against her hip.
She eased a hand down between them to caress him through his jeans. Dear god, he was so well endowed. She almost couldn’t believe they had made him that way on purpose.
He froze for a moment under her touch, then growled and bit down lightly on the place where her neck met her shoulder.
A crash from outside brought her back to the world around her.
“Fuck,” a deep, slightly slurred voice cursed from the bushes just outside the cabin.
Honey froze.
Kitt sat up, pulling her with him.
“Stay here,” he mouthed to her.
Everything that happened after that was a blur.
There was a resounding crash as something hit the screen of the front wall, then a flash of orange flames, and the thick scent of gasoline.
There was a breeze beside her as Kitt vanished.
The flames disappeared.
“Brother, what happened?” The voice outside was deep and worried. “We wondered why you didn’t come back to work.”
“Hold him down, I have to make sure she’s okay,” Kitt replied.
“What the hell?” The drunken voice, Wade’s voice, was whiney, frightened.
Then suddenly Kitt was inside again holding her, rocking her against him.
“It’s okay,” he said. “It’s going to be okay.”
“He - he tried to set the cabin on fire,” she said.
“Yes, but we’re okay,” Kitt said.
“We were inside,” Honey whispered. She couldn’t help imagining how things migh
t have gone if Kitt weren’t here.
Outside, she heard more voices approaching, some of them female.
“Yes, this is an emergency,” Addy’s voice said calmly. “We’re at Maxwell’s Family Resort on Route 320. Someone attempted arson at one of the staff cabins.”
“You don’t know that,” Wade roared drunkenly.
“Yes, we caught the suspect and he’s been…subdued,” Addy continued.
“She called the police,” Honey said, struggling out of his arms to slide her shirt and panties back on.
“Yes,” Kitt said. “We should have called before. But at least this time we have evidence and something real. They’re going to lock him up, Honey. You won’t have to be afraid anymore.”
Honey looked down at her hands.
“Honey,” Kitt said. “I love you. I know this was frightening. But it only made my choice more certain in my head and my heart. The idea that you were in danger, it was terrifying. I’m only lucky my brother came, or I might have killed that man.”
“That’s it,” Honey said, looking up at him decided. “I can’t do this.”
“You can’t do what?” The pain in his gray eyes was almost too much and she had to look away again.
“Look at him,” she said, gesturing to the scene outside. Police were arriving and Wade was being cuffed. “Look at you.”
“What do you mean?” Kitt asked.
“I’m cursed,” Honey said. “I did this. Wade was kind of a jerk, but basically a regular guy. I went out with him for like a week. And now he’s a peeping tom and an arsonist. You’re an angel, Kitt. And now you’re telling me you nearly became a murderer.”
“Honey,” Kitt pleaded.
“No,” she said firmly. “No. I like you a lot, and I’m obviously attracted to you. But, no. I’m not going to do this to us. I’m cursed as far as relationships, and I’m not going to ruin your life by trying to make you an exception. You are too important.”
They sat in silence until the police arrived.
“Honey,” Nikki called out, bursting in the door just ahead of the first officer.
“I’m okay,” Honey said, extricating herself from Kitt’s arms.
“You must have been so scared,” Nikki said.
“We have some questions for you, miss,” the police officer said.