Threshold

by Treva Harte

  Wonder. Wonder that she could be here, so far outside her body, so close to Tim in essence if not substance. He followed her, his senses attuned to hers, his body thrumming with need and life.

  She didn't know, actually, where her body was held captive. Merely sensed her anchor, her self, lying trapped in a filthy hovel somewhere here in the compound.

  She'd found Tim, traveling through solid walls, through buildings, through people when needed. Now she must navigate a way back that would let him follow.

  Carly drifted, not really certain of anything but the necessity of reuniting with her body, with that solid core of herself somewhere here in the Institute. Reuniting with her physical self, and more importantly, with Tim.

  * * * * *

  The air shimmered, as if a fine glaze of quicksilver coated the very molecules of night. The sense of Carly was strong, so dear and close that Tim felt as if he could hold her in his arms. No, here was merely an essence of her beauty.

  How much was in his mind? Gods, he missed her, needed her. Wanted her enough to project her image in the very air around him? Like a ghost she hovered, materializing in and out of being. He reached for her, realized there was nothing there, nothing of substance.

  Despair gave his voice a rough edge of anger. “Take me there. Take me where they've got you.”

  The image disappeared, the air shimmered and he felt her frustration—or was it his own? Then the illusion moved, slowly as a sigh upon the breeze, drifting, fading then reappearing like a gossamer wraith, beckoning, begging him to follow.

  He crossed the compound, eyes focused on the almost invisible essence that must be Carly.

  Had to be Carly.

  Suddenly a thought crept unwanted into his mind. Could she be dead? Was this spirit, this astral being merely the remnant of her life? Was it leading him to the remains of her physical self? To her body?

  No! Don't go there. Don't even think…

  They'd moved beyond the lights, now. Into an older area of the compound, a section of temporary housing set up during the early years of the Rebellion, pre-fab structures now used by the transient population that drifted in and out of the Institute.

  Most came, hoping to be tested for powers that didn't exist. Occasionally, a true Sensitive with Talent was discovered, but not always. Those who lacked abilities often floundered, some stayed on, taking work at service level positions.

  Like waiters? Kitchen help? Blinking against the darkness, concentrating on the almost invisible shimmer in the air, Tim moved further into the run-down neighborhood. They crossed low fences, ducked under overhanging shrubbery, and with each step, Carly's essence grew stronger in his mind and in his sight.

  Her physical self was close, so close, but where? Tim stopped, concentrated on the wraith hovering just ahead, concentrated on Carly. He felt the quickening in his own mind, the blossoming of power that meant she boosted his kinetics.

  Boosted his ability to telepath. He called out to her, a mental cry of pain and anguish.

  Cried out, and felt her answer, strong and clear in his mind. Praise the Mother. He drew on Carly's synergetic power to flash a quick message to Malachi and Thom, received their instant confirmation, then raced past the silent image of Carly, grown brighter now in the night.

  The bungalow was little more than a renovated Quonset hut, the metal rusted and stained, but the front door was solid wood and locked. There had not been a lock made that could keep Tim Riley out. He burst through the door and practically stumbled over Carly's prostrate form. Within seconds he'd released her from her bindings, ripped the filthy flour sack off her body and held her in his arms.

  “Carly? Carly, wake up!”

  The air shimmered, expanded, stilled. Carly opened her eyes, blinked owlishly at Tim, then let out a small cry. She clung to him, trembling, sobbing, her mind a jumble of words and thoughts too confused to understand.

  After a moment he sorted them out, and kissed her hard on the mouth. Don't you ever, ever scare me like this again, Carly Harris. I can't take it. You might not think I'm old enough, but dammit, woman, you're making an old man out of me before my time.

  I'm so sorry, Tim. I feel so stupid. I love you.

  I love you, too, baby. I love you so much it's killing me to be away from you. I've thought about nothing but you for the past two weeks. I figure the only way to make sure you don't pull another stupid stunt like this is to marry you.

  Carly's trembling ceased and she pulled back from his embrace to look at him. “Marry me? You want to marry me?”

  “Of course I do, silly. What do you think people in love do? Not that much has changed in the past hundred years.” He leaned back against the wall, cupped her face in his hands and kissed her gently on the lips. Her tears were salty, her mouth so sweet he wanted to stay there, tasting, touching.

  He heard voices outside, the sound of footsteps.

  Thom and Malachi raced through the front door. “We got 'em, Tim. Shing's locking the bastards up right now. They're still looking for the Reverend, but at least the two jerks that took her are behind bars. How is she?” Malachi knelt down beside Tim and Carly and immediately pressed his palm against her face.

  Tim held his breath while Mal did a cursory telepathic exam. He finally exhaled when Malachi sighed with relief.

  “You're okay, right?” Mal brushed Carly's hair out of her eyes and smiled reassuringly at her, then turned to Tim. “How'd you find her?”

  “She found me.” Tim shook his head, smiling. “Carly does have a Talent. She just didn't know it.”

  “You mean I wasn't imagining all that?” Her voice still sounded shaky, but there was definite excitement behind her question.

  “All what?” Thom sat down on the filthy sofa. “What did you imagine?”

  “I wanted to find Tim,” Carly said, scooting onto Tim's lap and laying her head on his shoulder. “I was sure he'd be looking for me. I was terrified, but I forced myself to be calm and just pretended I was leaving my body, flying over the compound, searching for him. Suddenly I could see him. I saw all of you, but I couldn't talk or communicate.” She touched Tim's jaw with her fingers. He turned and kissed her palm.

  “Astral projection?” Thom threw a speculative glance at Malachi.

  “Exactly,” Tim said. “Astral projection. I've heard of it, but don't know anyone who can do it. You, my love, have a very rare Talent.”

  “Amazing,” Thom said. “We've been searching for someone with the ability to project. I never would have guessed.”

  “The thing is, once we find someone with a particular Talent, they can often teach it to others.” Malachi stood up as Jan and Sheyna entered the room. “Everything okay?”

  “Those two are locked up and Shing's picking their brains,” Jan said. “You okay, Carly?”

  “Now I am. I was so scared!”

  Tim wrapped his arms even tighter around her and she snuggled down against his chest. He felt her heart beating close to his and almost wept with the pleasure. This felt right, so perfectly right.

  “You don't need to be frightened anymore,” Sheyna said. “Once Shing Tamura gets involved, problems tend to be resolved. These two are just a couple of two-bit crooks without a full brain between them. The Reverend's long gone. I doubt he'll be back, now that he knows we'll be watching him.” She held her hands out to Carly and Malachi. “C'mon. I would suggest we find a cleaner place to converse. This is disgusting.”

  “I've got a bottle of good cognac back at the clinic.” Mal took Sheyna's hand and she tugged him to his feet. “For medicinal purposes only, of course.”

  Carly reached for Sheyna's other hand. “Cognac? That's what I was drinking the night I got into all this trouble.” She gave Tim a knowing look, more invitation than reproach. “Are you absolutely certain it's safe?” She grinned at Tim and held out her hand.

  He took it, felt the connection, felt the love and pure acceptance in her touch. “Cognac sounds good to me. Then I'm taking you home.”
>
  Chapter 10

  Off-center and self-conscious, Carly followed Tim through the doorway into his bungalow. In the two weeks since she'd known him, she'd never been inside his home. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, to ease the tension between them.

  Tim pressed his fingertip to her lips. “It's okay. Whatever has happened, it's over. We're starting today and everything is new. Gods, Carly, I've dreamed of bringing you home with me since the first day we met.” He hauled her into his arms, his body tense as a bowstring. His thoughts filled her mind, a confusing jumble of words and phrases and feelings that stunned her with their passion.

  “I'm so sorry, Tim. So sorry. I feel like such an idiot, to put you through this, to cause so much needless trouble…”

  I love you, Carly. Love you more than you can possibly know. I need you. Right now I need you so much I feel like I'm going to die if I can't make love to you.

  Then what are you waiting for? Carly added a mental shout of laughter as Tim swept her up into his arms and carried her down the dark hallway. A single bedside lamp glowed softly in the bedroom. He lay her almost reverently on the downy spread, then leaned over and kissed her very gently on the mouth.

  Her body blossomed beneath his touch. Tim tugged Carly's sweater over her head, then carefully slipped her sandals off her feet. She lay quietly, allowing him to undress her as if she were a child. He unzipped her pants and pulled them down. Her bra was next. He leaned over and kissed each breast as he uncovered them. Finally, slowly, he removed her silk panties, peeling them over her hips, revealing each inch of flesh as if he uncovered priceless treasure. His eyes gleamed—lit by blue fire.

  When she was totally nude, he sat back on his heels and stared at her. The hunger in his eyes made her squirm in anticipation. His smile was slow and seductive as he carefully removed his shirt, one button at a time. His chest rippled, all lean muscles and smooth, dark skin. His hair hung long and sleek to his waist, parted over his shoulders and black as night.

  Carly pictured the ebony strands draped over her breasts, flowing across her thighs as she imagined him kissing her, licking the hot fluid already gathering between her legs. She shared the image with Tim, testing her growing ability for telepathy. He groaned in passionate response, then kicked his shoes off. Kneeling between her parted thighs, he slowly unzipped his jeans.

  His cock bulged against his plain white cotton briefs. Carly licked her lips and reached for him. He backed away, smiling. “Not yet,” he said. “I've waited too long to rush this.”

  Still wearing his briefs, he leaned over and pulled one taut nipple between his lips. Thick strands of his hair cascaded over her breasts, tickled her lips. Carly groaned and once again she reached for him. He backed out of reach, laughing. “I was afraid you wouldn't behave.”

  Chuckling to himself, Tim turned and glanced at the open closet door. Suddenly, a hanger of brightly colored neckties floated across the room. “I always knew these would come in handy some day. Don't move a muscle.”

  “Why is it I have the idea you've been planning this?” He flashed her a look of such boyish innocence, Carly laughed out loud. Then she dutifully held her hands up over her head and spread her legs wide.

  He grabbed a handful of the ties and bound Carly's hands to the headboard, then turned and, spreading her legs even wider, tied her feet just as securely to the foot posts. “I've been imagining this since even before I brought you forward,” he said, kneeling once more between her legs. “I imagined you bound and naked in the middle of the bed up there at the cabin, but I knew I wouldn't be able to do a damned thing about it. I still wanted you badly enough, I was willing to give up my libido, any chance at loving you physically, just to be able to bring you to this time so I could have you, love you. Period. You. Not your Talent, not what you can do for me. That wasn't part of the deal because I didn't know about it.”

  He stroked her thighs, running his fingertips along the sensitive skin until it quivered. He looked away, as if struggling for words, but when he faced her once again, he was smiling. “Carly, when I said I love you, that you complete me, I meant every word. I mean them even more, now.” He leaned over and kissed her belly, just below her navel, then sat back on his heels, laughing. “That doesn't mean I'm not going to fuck you crazy tonight…and, I'm going to make you pay for what you've put me through.”

  Carly squirmed against the ties, the anticipation of Tim's form of vengeance driving her temperature through the roof. He'd bound her so securely, though, she could barely move at all. He leaned over once more and kissed her belly, swirling his tongue around inside her navel, but this time he didn't stop there. He trailed kisses along her groin, nipped at the tender flesh of her inner thighs. Swept his tongue just once, oh so briefly, through the damp center between her legs, then suckled the swollen lips. He nuzzled her clit, barely touching it with the tip of his tongue.

  Each infinitesimal stroke of his tongue blasted through her like a shot of electric current. His hair, just as she'd dreamed, swept across her breasts, trailed along her thighs, pooled in a silken mass over her belly. Still his tongue continued to flick ever so lightly over her clit. She forced herself to lie perfectly still, so afraid he'd stop. He reduced the pressure, merely hinting at the pleasure he could give. Carly's chest tightened, the muscles in her legs quivered, her entire body begged for release

  Oh God, Tim. Don't stop, please…more, please? I'm so close! She felt his laughter in her mind, experienced his growing arousal as if it were her own, waited for him to take her over the edge. Instead, he reached up and plucked at her taut nipples with both hands, fondling and rolling them into tight, painfully sensitive little buds. She arched her back, silently begging for more, pleading for release, for the intimate invasion of tongue and teeth and lips.

  The minute the thought entered her mind, he stopped. Carly flattened her body against the mattress, gasping for air. She watched him through half-lidded eyes, wondering how long he intended to continue his long, slow seduction.

  Tim leaned back and slipped out of his briefs. His cock surged free, hard and erect like she'd never seen it before. He wrapped his fist around the thick base, stroked himself a couple times just to irritate her, then guided himself carefully between her legs. Carly's breath caught on a sigh of expectation, only to whoosh out of her lungs in total frustration when he merely swept the solid tip lightly over her throbbing pussy.

  Once more he teased her with his cock, gently probing but not entering, tantalizing without fulfilling. Bucking in frustration, sobbing and laughing at the same time, Carly flailed at the bonds holding her. “Tim,” she wailed. “What are you doing?”

  “Reminding you how good we are together. Showing you how much more we can be.” His voice had grown deadly serious now. He knelt over her, his knees between her spread legs, his forearms resting on either side of her face. She felt the heavy weight of his cock against her belly. Her vaginal muscles clenched in frustrated anticipation.

  “Open your mind to me, my love.” His voice was a harsh whisper, a sensual invitation to even more passion. “Open completely and let me in. I want to be part of you. You've linked with Sheyna. You know how it's done. Link with me. Love me. You'll never doubt my love again.”

  Carly blinked back sudden tears. She understood the depth of trust a link required, knew what Sheyna had risked, what Tim now offered. “Untie me first,” she said, knowing nothing would ever be the same again. Not wanting anything to be the same. “I want you to know I choose to link of my own free will, not because you've tied me to the bed. Not because my need for release is all that drives me.”

  She felt the surge in her mind as Tim drew power from her for his Talent. The ties fell away, leaving her hands and feet free. My body may be free, but my heart will always be tied to you. Tim. You are my love. Carly opened her mind and her body, felt the heat as his cock slowly filled her, felt the love and overwhelming sense of rightness as, just as carefully, he entered her mind.


  The moment they linked, sensation increased tenfold. She felt the clenching force of her vaginal walls, the muscles pulsing around his cock, experienced Tim's passion and coiling need, the tightness in his balls, the hunger. She knew the control he wielded to keep himself from thrusting hard and fast and deep, the concentration it took for him to link them both, body and mind. Most of all, she knew Tim. Knew the parts of him he would never speak of, the loneliness, the misery, the pain he'd experienced throughout his unusual life. Felt his loss, knew his triumphs.

  Even more, she knew love. The forever and ever, till death do us part kind of love, love like she'd sought but never expected. She clutched at his shoulders, clinging to him, her anchor, her lifeline. Body trembling, shivering uncontrollably, Carly gave in to sensation, so immersed in passion she'd lost all control. Tim's love filled her mind, his raging cock filled her center and turned her core molten.

  She wrapped her legs around his waist, clinging to him, sobbing each breath as she rode higher with each driving thrust, caught in the fusion of Tim and Carly, Carly and Tim, a maelstrom of heat and light, all shared, all one single surge of love.

  It blossomed and grew, bursting within like a fireworks display of monumental proportion. His cock was a driving force, thrusting harder, faster, taking her into a lush and thrilling plane beyond anything she'd ever known…a climax of the soul, an orgasm of the spirit, mirrored by each tremor and pulse, her pussy, his cock, all one and the same. It seemed a long time later before conscious thoughts made sense. Tim's mental touch was almost tentative at first, his approach shy but filled with love.

  I had no idea…no idea you loved as strongly as I do, needed as much as I need.

  Nor I, my love. Carly gazed into the crystalline blue eyes, so close to hers, smiled at the mouth she'd grown addicted to as he lowered his head to kiss her once again. If they hadn't linked, she never would have believed. Not in a million years. Now she felt his cock growing hard once more, sensed the passion in Tim just as he would be feeling hers.