“Give me seven days of your time, Lady Taryn. Just seven. Then I swear to you that if you no longer wish for me to be near you, I shall vanish from you forever and return to my book to marry Alinor.”
Taryn bit her lip at the wonderful idea. A hot boyfriend for seven days who wouldn’t break her heart. Esther had been right; it was just what the doctor ordered. “All right, then. Seven days.”
Moving away from him, she went to buy his shoes, then led him out of the store, to her car, and then back to her house.
It was so odd to have him with her after what had just happened with Rob, and yet there was some part of her that really enjoyed his company. Hawk doted on her in a way no man ever had.
He stayed by her side the entire afternoon and he was actually helping her cook dinner even though he didn’t really have a clue about how to do the simplest thing. In fact, the electric can opener had completely mystified him.
At first he had thought it was possessed and had tried to kill it with her serving spoon. Finally she had convinced him that it was a good thing and had showed him how to use it.
She frowned as she tried to get the lid off her jar of spaghetti sauce.
“Here, my lady, allow me.”
She handed it to Hawk, who immediately whisked it open.
“Thanks,” she said, taking it back. So there was something he was really good at.
Hawk inclined his head before he went to the stove to examine the burners. “There’s no fire and yet ‘tis hot.”
“It’s electricity.”
He turned his frown to her. “Electricity?”
Taryn tried to explain the concept, then realized she didn’t really understand it herself. “It’s magic,” she said at last. “Cool magic.”
“Hot magic more like,” he said, replacing the pot. “You have a most remarkable world here in your book, Lady Taryn.”
“This isn’t a book. This is reality.”
He looked puzzled by that. “Nay, milady. I am a character and you are a character. Our world is a book that is being written by another even as we speak. Our every action and every word is being carefully scripted.”
“No,” she said, trying to explain it to him. She went to her bookcase and pulled out a paperback. “These are books and this is reality. We’re not in a book. We’re in my house.”
“Are you sure, Taryn? How do you know this isn’t a book and that we’re not just puppets being led about by someone else’s whims?”
“Because I am a real, flesh-and-blood person. No one controls me. I control myself.”
“And if you asked me that, I would say the same, so how do you know it is true?”
He had a very weird point that made her horribly uncomfortable. “Let’s not do this, okay? I’m starting to feel like those people in The Twilight Zone who were trapped in the giant kid’s toy town for his amusement.” She shivered, then stopped. “If this is a book, then how is it everything here is crisp and clear? All the colors are vivid and the world is never ending.”
“’Tis the same in my book.”
That surprised her. She would have thought everything would be sketchy and vague. “Really?”
“Aye. There is nothing different in terms of tactical or sensory experience. Only the setting has changed.”
Oh, that was just creepy.
He offered her a kind smile. “But I have to say that I much prefer your world to mine.”
“Why is that?”
His green eyes burned her with their intensity. “Because you are in it.”
She melted at those words. Damn, the man could be unreasonably charming at times. What was it about him that made her want him so? Was that magic, too?
She tried to imagine what it would be like to have a real-life modern-day Hawk. Would he be so enamored of her? Would she be so enamored of him? It was hard to know for sure.
Perhaps all of this was because he was a hero and not a real man. But then, what was real? Wasn’t real something that could make her feel emotions? Wasn’t it something she could see, taste, touch, smell, and hear? If that were true, then Hawk was every bit as real as Rob had been.
And that thought actually terrified her.
As soon as dinner was ready, she served him a plate of spaghetti, then took it to the dining room so that they could eat. Something that proved easier said than done. Hawk had no concept of how to eat with a fork.
He stared at it as if it were some alien creature.
“Don’t you have forks?” she asked him.
“Nay, milady. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
“Oh.” She took it from him and showed him how to wrap the angel hair pasta around the tines. He tried to lift it to his mouth, but it slid off the fork, into his lap.
Taryn forced herself not to laugh at him as she reached to pick it up, but the minute she touched him, she knew she’d made a mistake. As her hand brushed up against his body, she realized he was completely hard. His eyes flamed as he sucked his breath in sharply between his teeth.
Clearing his throat, he shot to his feet and moved away from her. The spaghetti landed with a splat on her floor. “Forgive me, milady,” he said as he stooped to clean it up. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“Offend me how?”
“With my, um . . . my untoward condition. I realize that you are a lady of proper virtue, and I apologize if I caused you any discomfort.”
The only thing that caused her discomfort was his embarrassment. “It’s okay, really,” she said, helping him clean the floor. “I’m not offended.”
He paused to look at her. “Nay?”
She shook her head. “I’m actually flattered.”
Those green eyes turned dark, probing. “Are you?”
“Aye,” she said, using his own language. She moved closer to him until they were almost touching. She could see the longing on his face. See the need he had for her. She felt it, too. It was hot and wicked. Demanding. And all it wanted was to taste this man in front of her.
Sparhawk wasn’t prepared for her kiss. He growled at the taste of her as his body hardened even more. All day long his groin had been aching for her. It was all he could do not to force himself upon her, but he would never do such a thing. She was his heroine and as such deserved nothing but his utmost respect and admiration.
His head spun at the sweetness of her mouth and the scent of her hair that invaded his head. She clutched him to her as she ran her hands over his back, making him ache even more.
And then she did the most unexpected thing of all. She dipped her hand down into the waistband of his breeches. Sparhawk hissed as he felt her hot hand against his bare flesh. Chills ran the length of his body as her hand moved slowly over his hip to his waist.
“Taryn.” He breathed her name like a prayer.
She kissed him deeply, sweeping her tongue against his as her fingers brushed against his hard cock. He clenched his hands in her hair and groaned as she touched him for the first time. Every part of his body shivered in bittersweet need.
Taryn’s head swam at the feel of him in her hand. Her knight was a large man, and she melted at the thought of having him inside her. She brushed her fingers lower to the base of his shaft so that she could cup him in her hand. He growled deep in his throat as she gave a light squeeze.
Laughing in excitement of pleasing him, she nipped at his prickly chin. She’d never been the kind of woman who slept with a guy she just met, and yet she felt as if she knew him intimately. And in a weird way, she did. She knew more about his life from what she’d read than she’d ever known about Rob. More to the point, she knew the truth about Hawk, whereas Rob had filled her with lies.
Sparhawk couldn’t think straight with her hand on him. In all his life he’d never had a woman so eager to bed him. Could it be his newfound lady might actually have a tenderness in her heart where he was concerned?
Dare he even hope it?
It was all he’d ever dreamed of. All he’d ever wa
nted. In all the battles he’d fought and in all the women he’d met, it was the thought of finding the one true heart who could love him that kept him going through his life.
She pulled her hand away before she whisked his shirt off over his head. “I know we shouldn’t do this, Hawk,” she whispered. “But I want you too much to just throw myself in a cold shower.”
“I am yours to do with as you please.”
She smiled at that. “Then come, milord champion, and let me please us both.”
She stood up first and started for her bedchambers. Sparhawk took two long strides before he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed.
Taryn laughed at his enthusiasm. It felt so good to be this desired. She couldn’t remember any man ever being this excited to be with her. And definitely not a man who looked as fine as this one.
He placed her carefully on the bed before he joined her there. He gathered her into his arms and kissed her soundly.
She moaned at the taste and feel of all that delectable weight pressing against her. His entire body was on top of hers, and she reveled at the exquisiteness of it. His every muscle rippled under her hands. Desire burned through her, pooling itself into a deep thrumming need at the center of her body.
He pulled back to stare down at her as he slowly, carefully unbuttoned her shirt. He spread the fabric open, then frowned at the sight of her bra.
“What is this?” he asked, tracing the cup of it with his fingers.
“A bra.” She showed him how to unsnap it from the front.
His eyes glowed as soon as she was exposed to him. “You are beautiful,” he moaned, cupping her breast in his hand.
Taryn’s entire body sizzled as he dipped his head to suckle her taut nipple. His mouth was hot and magical. His breath was scorching against her skin. Desire spread through her like liquid fire that wanted more and more of his touch.
She ran her hand down his hard back so that she could feel his muscles flex as he moved.
He was incredible.
Sparhawk took his time tasting the sweet morsel of her flesh. He nipped at her swollen peak before he pulled back to rub it gently with his whiskers. She shivered underneath him. He smiled in satisfaction, delighting in the way she reacted to his touch.
Taryn cradled him with her body. It was so good to have a man hold her again.
She trembled as he pulled her pants from her, then kissed his way up her body, all the way to her lips. She’d been right yesterday when she first saw his picture. He did know his way around a woman’s body. This man had some serious skills.
Wanting to explore more of his talents, she peeled his jeans off his body so that she could feel every inch of that lush, masculine body against hers. His legs were dappled with dark hairs that tickled her skin.
Her heart pounded. She’d been hurt so badly in the past that a part of her couldn’t help but wonder if Hawk would hurt her as well. But how could he?
Maybe all of this really was just some bizarre dream. Maybe a bus had hit her after all and she was lying in a coma and this was her mind’s way of holding on to life.
Or maybe he was real and she could find some way to keep him.
It was that last thought that was most appealing to her.
Sparhawk gently placed his body between her thighs. Closing his eyes, he savored the feel of her body beneath his. Of her crisp hairs teasing at his stomach.
She smiled up at him as she reached down between their bodies to find him. He held his breath as she closed her hand around him, then guided his cock, inch by slow inch, deep inside her.
He moaned at the sleek, wet heat of her body. No woman had ever sheathed him better. Gathering her into his arms, he held her close to his chest as he started moving against her.
Taryn moaned as pleasure tore through her as he started thrusting against her hips. Every stroke echoed through her body, filling and teasing her. It was the most incredible sensation she had ever known.
If she didn’t know better, she’d swear he loved her. He held her like some precious object. His every stroke soothed and thrilled her. It reached that deep-seated ache that wanted only to have him fill her and ease it.
Taryn arched her back as her body exploded into pleasure.
Sparhawk growled as she came beneath him. She cried out, clutching at him. The sound of her pleasure drove him over the edge as he, too, found his own paradise.
He collapsed on top of her, letting the softness of her body soothe his. ‘Twas the most miraculous feeling he’d ever known. He felt connected to her. A part of her.
It didn’t make sense.
She sighed contentedly as she ran her hands over his back. “That was incredible.”
“Aye, it was.”
She laughed and then kissed him. Sparhawk nuzzled her neck so that he could inhale the sweetness of her scent. It was enough to almost make him grow hard again. He licked her tender skin, marveling at the texture of it. “I don’t ever want to leave this bed, my lady Taryn.”
“Me either,” she said before she gave a light laugh. “But if we don’t, it could get ugly after a few days. We’d shrivel up from lack of water.”
“I can think of no better way to go.”
“That makes two of us.”
Sparhawk rolled to his side, then pulled her against him. She lay herself over him like a blanket and traced circles on his chest.
“Thank you, Lady Taryn.”
“For what?”
“For making me feel like this.”
Taryn smiled at that. No man had ever given her thanks for making love to him, and she found that she liked it. A lot. “My pleasure, Hawk. Anytime you need to feel this way again, just give a whistle.”
He grinned at that, then whistled low.
She laughed again. “You are evil.”
“Nay, my lady. I am only in awe of you.”
Taryn crawled even more on top of him so that she could feel the whole length of his body under hers. If she could have one wish, it would be to stay like this forever. But she knew in her heart that they couldn’t.
Sooner or later they would have to leave this bed.
And sooner or later they would have to part company. No doubt forever. She winced at the thought, but in her heart she knew it was true. She didn’t know what “magic” had brought him here; however, this couldn’t last. He was a character from a book. He could never be hers to keep and whatever had brought him here would most likely return him to his world.
Yet even the mere thought of it made her want to scream out in denial and injustice. How weird. She barely knew him and already she wanted to keep him.
If only she could . . .
Three
The next four days were the best of Taryn’s life. Hawk stayed at her house during the day while she worked, and every night when she came home, he was there with something special for her. One night he’d raided her rosebushes out back and had the entire house covered in roses and candles lit for her. It looked like something out of a movie. Or better yet, a dream.
He’d even learned to work the stove, and though his cooking left much to be desired, it was so sweet of him to try that she didn’t even mind eating burned bread. In fact, she was developing a taste for “blackened” chicken and steak.
But more than that, she was developing a taste for whipped-cream-basted Hawk as they spent their nights naked and in her bed. There was nothing she loved more than lying in his arms while she explored every inch of him. He was funny and supportive, which for a man who had been a barbaric knight said something.
“Are all knights so gentle?” she’d asked him the night before.
“I know not, Taryn, since I don’t make it my habit to lie abed with other knights.”
She’d laughed at that while he stroked her hair.
“But to be honest, there is only so much battle a man can take. I think all of us crave a quieter life with a tender touch.”
Taryn closed her eyes as he kissed her until he
r knees were weak from it. There was pure magic in his touch. Magic in his kiss. She pulled back to stare down at him while she straddled his hips. She had a sneaking suspicion that she was starting to fall in love with this man.
How could that be? How could she be in love with a character from a book? And yet all she could think of was him. The sound of his voice, the curve of his jaw, the masculine beauty of his face. He haunted her day and night. Called to her every time she left him. All she could think about at work was getting home to spend time with him alone.
It was spooky just how much of herself she had already given him and they had just met. He cupped her face in his hands. Taryn turned her face into his palm so that she could taste the salty-sweet flesh as she slowly lowered herself onto him.
Hawk groaned as she took him in all the way to his hilt. Smiling up at her, he arched his back as she started to move against him.
“I love being inside you, Lady Taryn.”
She had to admit she liked feeling him so deep inside her. There was something special about this connection to him. He lowered his hands to her breasts, where he gently cupped her as he lifted his hips to drive himself even deeper inside her.
Taryn rode him slow and easy, reveling in the sensation of his thick fullness.
Sparhawk closed his eyes as he let her take complete control of their pleasure. He didn’t know what it was about this woman, but she touched him in ways no one ever had before. In her arms he felt loved. Cared for. He lived only for the sight of her face, the touch of her hand. The thought of living without her . . .
He would rather be dead than even contemplate it. How could such a thing be possible?
He ran his hand over her taut nipples, letting them caress his palm. She hissed in response to his touch. Wanting to please her even more, he trailed his hand slowly from her breast, down the curve of her stomach, down to the moist dark curls at the juncture of her thighs.
His gaze locked with hers, he sank his thumb deep into the folds of her body to find her sensitive nub. She cried out in pleasure as he gently stroked her. Even better, she quickened her strokes against him, pulling him in deeper and deeper.
What Dreams May Come (Berkley Sensation) Page 4