He knelt behind her. “What makes you think that I want Terry more than I want you?” He twined her hair through his fingers.
“You don’t have to do this,” Lina choked. “I understand.”
“But you do not understand, pas pantoute,” Londo told her. “You don’t understand that you’re the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on. The most exciting woman I’ve ever been with. There’s absolutely no comparison between the two of you.”
She shook her head. “Then I’m sorry I’m so stupid,” she said. “I don’t understand what you expect me to—”
Londo rubbed her soft shoulders. Touch seemed to make the telepathic contact come into focus.
“Ah,” he said. She blamed herself. She could feel he was ready—past ready—to continue and yet they had lain in the sand and he had told her stories. Obviously, it was because he was tired of her.
She was inferior and ugly—how could she believe that?—and he was uninterested in her now that he’d had her virginity and a little more. He was just letting her down nicely.
Lon said, “What I expect from you is nothing. I only ask, and if you say yes then I am ecstatically happy.”
“Then... why don’t you ask?” The question was almost too soft to be heard.
“Look, I have these powers.” He didn’t mean for it to come out harshly, but it did. “I could split you wide open by accident if they were to come back.”
“You don’t have the powers now.”
“And I have no idea when they’re going to return.” He put his arms around her and tasted her body with his fingertips. “You’re the only woman I want,” he murmured into her ear. “In all the universe, there’s only you.”
Her breath was warm and moist against his cheek.
He said, “If I could, I’d make love to you non-stop all day and all night, however long I have. If I never got my powers back I’d stay right here with you, and I’d never let you up from under me. Never.”
“Your powers won’t be back for hours,” she told him. “Talk to your cells; they’ll tell you.”
“Talk to my—I don’t know how to do that, chérie. You talk to them. Find out exactly how much time we have.”
“Hours.”
“Not days?”
“No.”
He ran his finger over her lips. So wondrous, to feel softness like this. “So now you like it,” he murmured to her. “You want it too.”
“Please.”
He combed his fingers through her hair. Take a chance? With Lina at stake? “Do you guarantee a few hours?” he asked. “Absolutely? One hundred percent sure?”
“I see a wave of time,” she said in a distant voice. “It flows, adapting to things as they happen. It could happen sooner, it could happen later, depending on how things go. That bazooka thing didn’t have a clock on it that they could set. There wasn’t a scale for ten hours, twenty hours, thirty hours. And your cells need you to rest to get your powers back. The more you rest, the sooner they return.”
“I don’t want them back, not yet.” Lon clenched his fist. Then his tone softened. “But we do have hours? At least?”
“At least a few, Londo. Until this afternoon or evening; it feels like it.”
He turned to view the distance, miles and miles away. Maybe forty; hard to tell from this angle. Terry’s men still scoured the forest on the south end of the island. No one was remotely near to the two of them.
Lina asked, “How do you think you feel?”
“Like maybe my regular powers will come back any minute. Damn, I wish I knew exactly,” he said as he stroked her drying hair. He tangled his fingers in it and pulled her head to his to kiss her to show her it wasn’t her fault. “It’s not safe for you. What if we’re right in the middle, and suddenly the powers come back? You’ve seen—sometimes I can’t control myself. We can’t take the chance.”
“They’d come back all at once?”
“No idea. This has never happened to me before.”
Lina did not even want to think about it, but she considered the problem. “What if you had an early warning system?”
“Like what?”
“Like maybe that feedback loop that I did on your shoulder. I think you could tune in to me at a very easy level, so that when your powers turn back on you’d know immediately from the echo. That way we’d have right up to the last minute.”
Lon sat up and wrapped his arms around his knees. He gazed out silently to the ocean horizon. Chances and possibilities... All his life he’d had to live with the terror hanging over him of accidentally hurting someone. Sometimes he had. Every incident replayed for him now.
He turned back and studied her. She hadn’t moved, but her green eyes were wide on his. Her lips were a little swollen and parted, and beneath that white chemise her full bosom rose and fell exactly like those of the women he’d always dreamed about.
His throat went dry. “Do you... Would you want to try now?” he rasped.
“Oh yes,” Lina whispered. How had this happened, that she could long for his touch so? She pressed his right hand against her breast and tried not to tremble. Londo breathed very carefully, as if he were about to take a step off the edge of some chasm.
“Now, feel from the skin’s point of view.”
“It would be easier if I did this first.” He pulled her straps off her shoulders, her gown off her breasts, and took his previous position. “From the skin’s point of view, you say?”
“Um hm.” As his fingers moved over her skin, she tried to amplify the sensations and relay them to him. Touch—his fingertips left a trail of arousal wherever they went, and he picked up that emotion immediately. Now he began to realize the tactile sensations, too.
“Oh.” His breath warmed her skin, and he looked up at her. “I get it.” He cupped her breast and massaged it. It made her gasp, and then he realized that he had made a sharp intake of breath at the same moment.
“Oh yeah,” he said in comprehension. He lowered his head to kiss the nipple, and then came down deeper, sucking.
Lina cried out. She couldn’t breathe! His mind dove into hers. Unbidden memories began to bob up to the surface, forgotten emotions, a cold basement floor and blood—
“Stop! Lon—too deep!”
He startled as if she’d caught on fire, their minds tearing apart. “What?! Did I hurt you? Are you all right?”
Lina dropped her hands from where she’d covered her face and reached out to touch him with reassurance. “I’m fine.”
The terror on his face disappeared, to be replaced with a question. “Then what...?”
“Mentally. You went much too deep. For a brand-new telepath, you’re strong. We’re looking for physical here, not mental. I don’t know what we can— You need resistance.”
“Resistance?”
“As in another person doing it, too. A double feedback loop with me on the other end. That way you’ll have a kind of calibration going.”
He grinned at her. He looked like a boy out for serious mischief. His uncombed hair stuck up in places. His eyes were laughing. “Sounds fun. Game to try?” He leaned in toward her.
He was a wild animal about to pounce, and instead of fright, Lina felt only a sudden flush of heat as her heart came alive again.
“Places?” he asked, moving his hand toward her breast.
“Just a second...” She felt inside that hand, felt the lust poised like summer lightning. She didn’t have to tell him when to start—he knew.
They began awkwardly at first, overstepping boundaries and then withdrawing too far. They settled down to a balance that, if tipped, just added more excitement to the act. It made each touch memorable and alert.
**Hold on here,** Lon said as he began to thrust in a hard rhythm. With each movement he drove his mind farther into her, pressing through her emotions.
**Not so deep,** Lina said.
**You can take it,** he told her.
Deeper and deeper. Lina panted with every pu
sh of body and mind. The gasps became cries and Lon groaned with her. For a moment or two, he slowed down but then she took over the rhythm, urging him on until he took control again. Salty sweat dripped from his brow down onto her. Crying out, she arched and he came within her with a roar.
Firecracker cascades rippled through her, through them. It was a minute or more before Lina opened her eyes, drowning in the multi-layered revelations, gasping as if her life depended on it.
Lon watched her like a lion his prey, hair down in his eyes. He gulped air as if he’d just run a marathon. “On a scale of one to ten,” he managed to say, “we just hit a thousand. Whoa.”
She rubbed the edge of her mouth with her knuckles. “Anyone ever tell you you’re one dangerous guy?” she asked him.
“Uh huh. But never in this position.” He laughed suddenly and rolled next to her to take her in his arms. “Never ever in this position.”
The vibration traveled through his chest into her own. She could feel his heartbeat thundering, feel the hot flashes of his breath against her neck, the length of his sweaty body stretched on her own. Laughing, he collapsed onto his back on the sand next to her. And she laughed with him in delight.
The downpour was almost as heavy as it had been yesterday but there was no lightning, so they huddled together under the hastily-hung blanket and plastic.
“Maybe you should talk to the local deva about getting rid of this,” Lon suggested. He held her tightly in his arms, trying to keep her warm. His cheek rested against her soft one, but something was out of kilter. Disengaging them gently, he rubbed his chin. A raspy stubble had appeared that registered sharply on Lina’s double-loop.
“It looks very movie-star,” Lina said, amused at the wonder he displayed when he scratched his chin.
“Eh bien, I don’t know how I’m going to get this off once my powers return,” he replied. “Wish I had a razor.” At Lina’s questioning look, he added, “It doesn’t grow normally.”
“Ah.” Lina cocked her head and wondered what her range was. If time and space truly existed only as human constructs, as she’d been taught, then distance wouldn’t matter, would it?
She crossed her arms over her chest. After a long moment of concentration she gave a mighty blink and a curvy razor appeared in front of Londo, followed by a pink bottle of shaving cream. “Thy wish is my command, master,” she said with more than a bit of surprise.
“My own genie.” Lon grinned as he examined the equipment. It definitely wasn’t mercenary issue. “Where’d this come from?”
“My house,” she replied. “Hope you don’t mind using female shaving cream. It’s probably the same thing men use, but priced twice as much and stuck in that sickly pink bottle—with a lot of perfume thrown in.”
“I don’t mind if I don’t have a choice. Thanks. Do you have a small mirror you can teleport in, too? Don’t break it; seven years bad luck.”
Lina searched with her mind but couldn’t find one, so she examined his barely-bristly jaw. “How hard can it be? Shaving is shaving. I’ll do it for you.”
“How about some soap and maybe some toothpaste, too? Might as well take advantage of this big bathtub here. It’s even got a shower.” He nodded to the swimming pool, choppy with the downpour. “Big enough for two.” He caught her hand and pulled. “C’mon, chérie. I’ll scrub your back and you’ll scrub mine. You’ll like it.”
It took her more than a moment to put aside the rush of excitement his invitation caused. She needed to concentrate completely on this teleportation stuff. Soon enough there appeared a wrapped bar of soap in her hand, along with a toothbrush. “Just a minute,” she said. “I think I put it in the pantry.” Another toothbrush appeared, this one still in unopened packaging. Next came toothpaste and a couple of washcloths.
She beamed under his approval. “All the comforts of home. Towels?” Lon asked.
“Let’s wait and see if the rain stops,” Lina told him.
“Ah, efficient. How about a little champagne? Maybe some music?”
“How about me just teleporting us both out of here?”
He looked sharply at her. “Can you do that? If you took your time?”
Her smile disappeared. “I don’t know. I’d hate to make a mistake. Wrong-colored dresses are one thing, but—”
“But melted guns and flesh are another.” He nodded and looked around. “Then I guess we’re just stranded in Paradise. We’ll have to make do.”
Surprisingly shy once they were in the pool, they soaped each other up, gently rubbing with the washcloths and adding their lips to the process to make sure that every spot was attended to. Lina cornered Londo and very, very carefully shaved him as he gave her strict instructions as to sideburns. He thought at one point that she’d nicked him, and his outcry jogged her hand so she really did. She kissed the injured spot, healing it as her lips touched it, and he settled down.
As the rain lessened she scrubbed shampoo into his hair, letting the suds drip down into his eyes so they burned and he had to duck himself. He needed to learn all about what it meant to be a normal human. Then it was his turn to pour a stream of scented shampoo on her long hair and sensuously massage it clean.
Such a simple act, but she hummed her pleasure at it. She ducked under for a rinse and they played tag underwater. Splashing to the surface, they caught each other in a hug.
“One more little task,” Londo chuckled as he held her so close. He steered the both of them to the edge of the pool. “Where’s that razor?” he asked and spotted it. “Lina, can you get it?”
It was on the other side of the pool from them. She concentrated for a second, and it landed next to Lon’s hand. Where had she missed? His chin looked good and clean to her. And then she realized—
“Oh no, you don’t,” she said, but he gave an evil laugh.
“Yes, I do.” He boosted her onto the edge of the pool, brandishing the razor and cream. “Spread ‘em, baby,” he demanded.
“Lon, really!” She blushed furiously.
“Really, Lina.” He rested his crossed arms on her clamped knees and stood there staring into her eyes, that crazy lopsided grin on his face.
Aroused in spite of herself, Lina growled, “You owe me big time for this,” and Lon eased back so she could spread her legs.
“I’ll make it up to you,” he promised.
Afterward they both splashed in the pool again to get the sand out of their hair and then went for a quiet walk hand-in-hand along the damp beach, clad in Lina’s towels.
Londo’s hand in hers: it felt so different from the way he’d led her around yesterday. But something was bothering him now. She could guess what it was.
“Sweetheart.” Lon finally had the courage to speak. “This isn’t going to last.”
She squinted at the sun peeking out from the clouds. “I knew that before and I know it now.”
He squeezed her hand. “The mind-sharing we did. It’s taken this a little—no, a lot farther than I thought.”
“I’m sorry. It was the only way I—”
“I know. We had to do it that first time. But I goaded you into doing it again.” He licked his lips and looked sideways at her, but her eyes focused straight ahead on the horizon at the black storm clouds streaming away, then down to their path ahead.
“I didn’t have to agree,” she told him as she kicked some shells out of their way.
“Yes you did. You’ve got this mixed up with your priestly vows. You think you have to do everything I ask you.”
“Do not.”
He stopped and turned her to face him. “Look, we’re getting into deep water here. I’m just telling you that whatever happens, I won’t be able to follow through on anything... afterward.” Her face was calmly, maddeningly accepting. “But I want to do the sharing again. I want to do everything again.”
Lina knew the truth: he was Valiant and she was no one. He’d be gone soon. Forever. Cold reality was her world while fantasy was his.
Goal
A was to protect his heart. Her heart, too. She’d forgotten that for a while, but it wasn’t too late. “I understand, Londo,” she said in controlled tones. “But no more mind-sharing. You don’t need to do it. It’s just going to make things worse.”
“I don’t want to hurt—”
“Don’t worry about me; I’ll get by.” He didn’t reply. “Always make sure you’re two steps back from the world, and that way it can’t reach you to slap you down,” she instructed him. “When this is all over, I’ll just take two steps back. You, too.”
He shook his head. “I can’t do that. I don’t want to do that, and I don’t want you to do that either.” He lifted both her hands to his lips and kissed the knuckles. “Lina,” he began.
“No.” Delicately she retrieved her hands as her mouth set in a firm line. “We switch subjects. Now.”
So they strolled the beach without speaking. A long-ago lava flow on the beach set a boundary for them with a spill of high, undulating walls. They turned around to retrace their steps. Lon started to say something several times but stopped, and they continued in silence.
“Love,” he finally said, “is something you don’t cut yourself off from. Every little bit keeps you going through the bad times. Sometimes just the memory of love is enough.”
“Love,” she countered, “is wonderful for most folks. It’s a gift past all understanding. But for those who aren’t in step with everything else, it’s the universe’s way of tapping you on the shoulder so you look around at something that isn’t there while it sucker punches you in the gut. It’s God’s practical joke, a two-edged blade that cuts you coming and going.”
“That’s a helluva way to look at it.”
She wrapped her arms tightly around herself. “Sometimes reality isn’t pretty. Let’s face it, Lon, love hurts. Personally, I have enough wrong with my life that I don’t ask for more trouble. Let’s drop this subject, please.”
Touch of Danger (Three Worlds) Page 19