LOGAN (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 5) (37 page)

Her hands and mouth explored his broad shoulders, his muscled chest and abdomen, pleased to note that she hadn't needed to caress his manhood to have it standing at attention for her. Not wanting to be unappreciative, her fingers roamed lower, down between his thighs until they were teasing the soft man flesh there. He opened his legs to give her freer access and she repositioned herself between them.

Logan had managed to keep his eyes closed until she wrapped one hand firmly around his erection while simultaneously rolling his sacs in the other. But when she also closed her mouth over the tip and tongued his opening, his eyes squeezed shut again.

Using every skill she'd ever learned to keep a man on the verge of climax as long as possible, Tarla played with Logan until she heard the words she awaited.

"Tarla, please!"

She intended to use her mouth to take him through his orgasm but he grasped her shoulders and pulled her upward. "Not like that. I need to be inside you.
Deep
inside you."

She barely had a chance to straddle his hips before he
was
inside her, thrusting, pumping, rolling them to their sides, lying on top of her, pulling out then frantically entering her again from behind, pulling out, turning her onto her back then pushing into her core once again.

The low, growling sounds he was uttering mirrored her own animal need. She hung on the precipice of her own release, instinctively knowing they would only be able to make it to the other side together. She could tell he needed something desperately, yet it was out of his reach. All she could do was cling to him and share her strength.

Suddenly she understood what was happening, knew she couldn't stop it, knew if they didn't give in, one or both of them could lose their minds.

"Logan,"
she forced out breathlessly. "Hear me. You need to try to calm down. I love you. I have from the moment I saw you." He couldn't stop the motion of his lower body but her words combined with his willpower calmed him considerably. "I'm sorry I doubted your feelings. I need to know if you still love me."

His voice was barely a muffled groan but he managed to say,
"Yes... still... always."

Hoping he was too distracted to stop her, she brought his fingers to her temples and pressed her fingers to both of his.
Then you'll have to forgive me for what I'm about to do,
she thought directly into his mind.

In a heartbeat, the room was filled with a loud humming sound, the temperature rose abruptly and a coil of golden light swirled around and around their joined bodies, until they were completely immersed in the light.

A moment later they experienced a climax more powerful and more satisfying than either could ever have on their own. Tarla knew this climax, feeling her own and Logan's at the same time, was that of a joined couple.

Expecting Logan to be upset enough without being bombarded by the reality of having their two minds joined, Tarla erected a strong mental block between them. She sat up and waited for him to catch his breath.

"What the hell was that?" Logan muttered, rubbing his forehead. It took him a moment to prop himself up next to her.

"First let me assure you, I only did what I did to save you."

"I know that. Wait, how do I know that?"

"I can answer that in a minute," Tarla said, quickly trying to sort through everything she had to tell him. "Remember how I said you couldn't be my soulmate because you weren't Noronian?"

"Vaguely."

"Well, I believe I may have been mistaken. You see, a long, long time ago, when Noronians first went to Earth, some of them took Terran lovers and had children. That made it possible for a little Noronian DNA to show up in their descendants, even thousands of years later. Based on what just happened, I'd say you're one of those descendants."

He smirked then chuckled. "You're saying I'm part alien?"

"Looks that way. But then, to be honest, I've always thought of you and all Terrans as aliens."

He started to retort then changed his mind. "Go on."

"If we were on Earth I could take you to Innerworld now that we're joined and they could test you to be certain." His look of bewilderment wasn't lessening. "What just happened, shouldn't have. Not without you experiencing the fever and not without the full ceremonial rituals. The only thing I can imagine is that none of the usual rules applied because of us being on this mirror planet."

Logan sat up straighter and took a deep breath. "You've used the word
joined
before. I'm ready now. Explain."

"It's how the soulmates reconnect and become as one."

"You mean in the spiritual sense?"

"And emotional." She paused. "And mental. I have a block in place to protect you. But whenever you're ready I can remove it."

Logan rubbed the bridge of his nose. "That thing you did, with the fingers against the temples, that was you opening our minds to each other? If you remove the block, I'll know everything you do and vice versa?"

He seemed to be taking the news much better than she'd expected. "Exactly. And feel what I feel and vice versa. Understand, even with the block in place, you may discover you already know some things you didn't before, like how I had to do what I did to save you. Also, if you'd prefer, I can teach you how to create the block."

"And what about the fever?"

She smiled. "All done. Joining is the permanent cure."

"Good to know," he said in a sarcastic tone then stood and headed for the bathroom. "We better get moving."

Tarla had imagined sharing the shower with him this morning but the force with which he slammed the door was far from a sexy invitation. Obviously he wasn't taking the news so well after all. She might have been worried except for one thing—he had admitted he still loved her. She just had to prove how much better being in love was when it went both ways.

* * *

"Good God!" Robin muttered as soon as she saw Tarla in the workroom. "You're positively glowing."

Tarla smiled and winked at her. "I took your advice."

"Oo-o-o," Robin sounded, wiggling her eyebrows. "Just tell me two things—did you get any sleep at all last night and is he as hard as he looks?"

"Yes and yes. Now hush before he realizes we're talking about him. Let's just say he hasn't quite given in to my charms yet."

Robin smirked. "He's a man! His automatic assumption would be that we're talking about him. The only question he'd have is how you rated him."

Tarla glanced over at him and looked away when his gaze snared hers. He was very angry. "I think he knows the answer to that too."

"Well, that tears it!" Robin said. "The hell with the agreement. I'm just going to have to tie Geoffrey up and force myself on him, that's all there is to it."

Tarla laughed aloud at the impossibility of Robin forcing herself on Geoffrey. "I have another idea. It's obvious to everyone that you're mad about each other, even if he keeps denying it. The two of you have gotten very close in impersonal ways. Why not get him talking about his background, you know, family, childhood, old girlfriends. You could start it by talking about your own experiences. Somewhere along the line you might dig out the real reason he's putting you off."

"You mean, play psychiatrist instead of seductress?" She considered it for an instant then concluded, "I guess I could try, but that doesn't sound like me."

Chapter 20

All her life Tarla had dreamed of the day she would encounter her soul's mate, what his kiss would be like, how different life would be once she was joined with her other half. At no point had she imagined it to be a hellish state of being tolerated.

Two more weeks had passed since she and Logan were joined and yet they were little more than roommates. He had insisted he didn't blame her and that he understood she hadn't had a choice. They were no longer avoiding each other, but they certainly weren't enjoying each other's company either. If she asked him a question, he politely answered, but the only actual conversation focused on the project. She had decided to let him work out their new relationship in his head, without pushing him to talk about it. He had all the facts he needed. He knew she loved him. She was positive he still loved her... underneath several layers of stubbornness and resentment.

She was living with the sexiest man on the planet without getting sex. Enough of being understanding, she decided. Somehow, someway, tonight the stalemate would end!

After dinner that night, she asked him to come into the bedroom to help with a sticking drawer. As soon as he entered, she closed and locked the door.

He gave her a bored look. "What do you think you're doing now?"

"I want sex."

His eyes widened. "I thought you said joining took care of the fever."

"That's right. I didn't say I
needed
sex. I said I
want
it. And since you're my mate, no one else would be able to satisfy me. I gave you two weeks to sulk and get past the terrible, shocking thing that happened to you. Poor Logan, forced to be bonded for eternity with a woman you find so repulsive you can barely look at her let alone touch her."

"You're being ridiculous."

"Poor Logan, his dream of finding the perfect little Terran wife, getting married and living happily ever after in the suburbs, all gone... because of an evil alien who forced herself on him and robbed him of his dream."

He headed for the door but she got in front of him and poked him in the chest. "No! You are not allowed to ignore me any longer. I had dreams too you know. And they didn't include ending up on a mixed-up world, living with a man I love with all my heart and mind, knowing he wishes he'd never met me." Suddenly the truth of her words cut away the patient façade she'd been hiding behind and the tears welled up in her eyes before she could regain control.

"I'm sorry. This was obviously a mistake." She reached for the door lock but Logan covered her hand with his and held it.

"You are so wrong."

She sniffed. "About what?"

"I wasn't sulking. I was... thinking."

"It looked like sulking."

"If I'd been sulking, I would have looked like this." He stuck out his lower lip.

She almost smiled. "So what were you thinking so hard about?"

"Mostly I was trying to figure out who to blame."

"And did you figure it out?"

"Not really. My life's been a string of getting the short end or being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It got so that's all I ever expected. I had fallen in love with a beautiful, sweet woman who made me think of the home in the suburbs and happily ever after—that was you by the way—and I screwed that up. Then I was on my way to life imprisonment. In a way, that was my fault too. But, no matter how much thinking I've been doing, I don't see how my brain being permanently tied to yours could be my fault."

In the middle of all those words, she heard the ones to use against him. "Are you admitting that you had wished for a happily ever after with me specifically?"

He frowned. "Yes, I guess so."

"And you don't find me repulsive?" He smirked at her. "It sounds to me like the negativity that followed you around before we were brought here got reversed. You have your freedom, more or less, you're in a beautiful world, with an important job, people who respect you and you are permanently bonded to the woman you claim to love. It sounds like you should be happy, not sulking."

"I wasn't—Okay, maybe a little. But I would have preferred it to be my idea. I felt like I didn't have a choice."

"If the joining hadn't happened like that, and we'd been able to have a more normal sort of courtship, do you think you might have asked me to marry you, Terran-style?"

He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. "Maybe."

"Then let's pretend the joining hasn't happened yet. I'll keep our minds separated as long as you'd like. Forever, if you wish. And whenever you're ready, you'll do the asking. We could even get married for real when we get back if that would make you more comfortable."

"Hmmm. You're very logical for a female."

She poked his chest again, but this time it was with a smile. "I could report you to Iris for that. So? Are we good now?"