PoisonedPen (3 page)

She slumped. “Damnit. You are a writer.”

His expression showed his surprise. “How did you know?”

“The glazed eyes, the expression you get when I say something you want to write down. A dozen little things that add up to writer. Why didn’t you say something when I mentioned what I do?”

He was sheepish. “I write under a pen name.”

“Who are you?”

“Charlotte Penrose.”

Her eyes widened, and she burst out laughing. He pulled her to him and kissed her, silencing her the only way he could without looking like a kidnapper.

He tasted like citrus and nutmeg with a hint of honey.

She slid her arms around his neck and held him close as he deepened the kiss. He gripped her hips and pulled her astride his lap as they continued making out.

Ivy felt his teeth scrape her lower lip, and her head spun. She pulled away and pressed her fingers to her lip. “Did you mean to nick me?”

He blinked as he struggled to focus. “No. Did I?”

She hung onto his shoulders. “I think so, because the bar is spinning and my heart is going a mile a minute.”

He cursed and the table she had been sitting behind went flying. He lifted her against his chest and snarled at Jim when a question was shouted.

Chuck walked quickly with her clutched against him. The medical centre’s door flew open when he kicked it, and he placed her carefully on the exam bed while the woman behind the desk was just standing up.

“Chuck, what is it?” The woman was trying to get around him, but he was hovering protectively over Ivy.

She sighed. “His teeth grazed me, and now, I am all dizzy with a rapid heartbeat.”

She was a little turned on as well, but she didn’t think that it was related to the bite. The make-out session had gotten her motor running before the debacle occurred.

“My name is Lee, and I am the first aide administrator around here. As such, I have access to some fun things. This won’t hurt a bit.” Lee physically shoved Chuck out of her way, and she held up an amulet.

“This amulet is designed to give a visual representation of your health via a colour palette. It is good for venom issues.” Lee smiled, and her tawny eyes danced with amusement.

The cold metal touched Ivy’s chest, and it warmed rapidly. A purple-red colour burst out and left no doubt as to the shade of infection.

Chuck was near tears. “How bad is it?”

Lee grinned. “What were you doing when she was bitten?”

Ivy sighed. “We were making out. I was on his lap.”

Lee’s curiosity shone through. “Where?”

“In the Crossed Star.”

Lee let out a snort. “Jim must have loved that.” The woman stroked her hair back from her face, and her wrist sported one of those silvery bands.

Ivy took a guess at the spouse, because Chuck was mute with regret. “Jim is your husband.”

“He is. And Chuck injected you with an aphrodisiac. If you want to be technical, it is designed to make you easy prey.”

Chuck was miserable. “I am so sorry.”

Ivy asked, “So, how do we counteract it?”

“You either ignore it, waiting for it to wear off, or you make it wear off.”

“How?”

Lee lifted off the amulet and turned back to her desk. “Sex should burn it out of your system fairly quickly.”

Ivy looked at Chuck with narrowed eyes. “How long will this last?”

He looked like a whipped dog. “Three days at the most. I am so sorry.”

“Go and get my work kit from the bar and meet me back here. I have a decision to make.”

He almost ran out of the door, nodding to Lee on his way.

Lee sauntered over and helped Ivy sit up. “You are going to sleep with him, right?”

Ivy snorted. “Duh. This might be the only chance I have in my life for guilt-free sex. Who wouldn’t want to take advantage?”

Lee grinned. “My thought exactly. Now, about Chuck’s species…”

After a lecture on Chuck’s specific kind of snake shifter, Ivy felt a little better prepared for anything that slithered up to her in the night.

She was on her feet, next to the exam bed, when he came back with her kit.

He immediately lifted her in his arms, cradling her carefully.

She felt tiny next to the wall of muscle that was his chest, and she sighed as her arousal clicked up a notch.

He strode off with her, careful not to jostle her as he moved.

“Where are we going?”

“To my home. You will be more comfortable there than at the hostel, no matter what you decide.” His tone was low and so very caring. He was a bundle of emotion, which was amusing considering the cold reputation of snakes.

“That is thoughtful of you, but Lee said I could stay with her and Jim if necessary.”

His hands tightened on her, squeezing her slightly. “No, this was my error, and I will help you through it.”

Additional buildings flanked the row of bed and breakfasts. Tall Victorian-style buildings that offered space and civility.

Chuck entered a home that had a small snake emblem on the doorknob and carried her over the threshold. “Welcome to my home.”

She smiled when he carried her up the stairs, and he brought her into a very obvious guestroom. He gave her the rundown. “There are spare nightgowns in the drawer, and you should be able to find enough clothing in the wardrobe. If you truly need your things, Teal or Lee can fetch them.”

She shivered in his arms. Being away from him and wearing anything at all was becoming an intolerable idea. She groaned and nipped at his jawline. “I think I have chosen option B.”

He swallowed sharply. “What was B again?”

“Having sex with you to wear the effect of the venom off.”

“Oh. That option. Are you sure?”

She smiled. “There are very few times in a woman’s life when she is able to pursue sex without societal disapproval. Being bitten by a Naga counts as one of those times.”

He wasn’t just one snake. He was all snakes. Naga were lord snakes, gods if you will. They could master all bodies of all serpents as well as do the rare half-transformation.

He blinked at her. “Are you truly sure?”

“I am. I want you. The bite just rushed things. I would have gotten here eventually.” She licked at his neck, gnawing and kissing her way up to his ear where she used more teeth pressure to nip his ear. He flicked her workbag to the floor and dropped her legs. His arm around her waist held her to him, and it was the only thing keeping her from the ground.

She kept working at his neck and stroking the rock-hard bulges of his chest. “I want to see you shift. Or half-shift. Whatever is easier.”

He paused, going motionless for a moment. “Are you sure?”

“I am positive. I want to know what I am getting into. I want to know what will get into me even more.” She giggled and held his shoulders.

He set her on the bed and stripped off his clothing. The tattoos covered almost every inch of skin, and there were several new inches on display.

He took in deep breath and scales erupted all over his form before he got control and concentrated them on his lower limbs. His serpent’s tail extended beyond his normal body length, and it continued to grow and coil behind him. Finally, he reared up to a height of eight feet with his lower body completely that of a serpent. Even his erection was gone.

“Thiss iss me.” His fangs were now out of his mouth, extending over his lower lip.

“You are beautiful. May I touch?”

He lowered himself somewhat, and she put her hand on his ribs, stroking down to where the scales began. He was bright green with a vivid scarlet pattern outlined with gold. In other species, his markings may have made him king. As a Naga, he was already a king.

She caressed his scales, feeling the heat, the smooth muscle beneath each inch and the ease with which he swayed toward her. She felt something against her legs and loops of his tail circled her legs, lifting her up to face him.

He pulled her close to him and kissed her, his teeth cool between them. She shivered and tasted that tiny drop of venom once again. Chuck had the ability to choose the function of what his venom did, and with her, he subconsciously wanted it to turn her on.
How sweet was that?

The dry scales of his coils rubbed against her legs, climbing higher until her waist was gently caressed by him and she had been lifted to face him without either of them stretching.

“Why, Chuck, what a long tail you have.” She smiled and stroked his neck, and she traced one of his tattoos down his chest.

He grinned, and his fangs flexed against his lower lip. “What a narrow waist you have and such an elegant throat.”

He stroked her neck. She tilted her head and moved her skin against his fingers. As a swan, her neck was her largest erogenous zone.

He kissed her again, his hand on her waist lifting her shirt to touch skin. “Oh, so soft.” He hissed on the
s’s,
but since his tongue had shifted to match the rest of him, it was no wonder.

The forked tongue that flicked out moved over her features with the lightest of contacts as if tasting each inch of her as it passed. He was learning her so that he could find her under any circumstances. It was a strange feeling.

She closed her eyes and turned her face toward his. Different shifters had different mating rituals. Her species usually picked their mates as teens and grew up knowing who they would end up with. Like always, Ivy had been the odd man out. No dancing on the water for her. No listening to a mate croon to her, wooing her with a song. Now, she was at the Crossroads in the coils of a snake, and she had the strange feeling that this was where she was supposed to be all along.

His arms held her to him, and she heard the dry slide of his scales as he shifted back into his human form. His fangs were shorter as he said, “You aren’t afraid.”

Ivy grinned and opened her eyes. “Why would I be? You want me, I want you and we are at the one place in the world where meeting and mating another species is expected and encouraged. Plus, I think you get how slipping into another world can be preferable to this one on occasion.”

“With you in this world, I think I want to stay here a little more than I usually do.”

He stood her on the edge of her bed and left her there. He collected his clothing and smiled. “I am at the end of the hall if you need me.”

Her body throbbed in protest as he left her, and she sat heavily on the bed. It seemed that despite the foreplay, he was leaving her no excuse. If she wanted him, really wanted him, she was going to have to make the first move. No damned excuses.

She thumped onto her back and took a mental inventory of her body. She was hot, flushed, the folds between her thighs were slick and throbbed whenever she moved. She could manage the discomfort for a while, but why should she?

Ivy peeled off her clothing, folding them on the edge of her bed. She wasn’t quite up for a naked walk through a hallway, so she dug around in the drawers until she bypassed the white cotton and found a tiny bundle of silk. It unfolded into a black slip with rich lace edging that would conceal and tease at the curves of her breasts.

She pushed away the question of the gown’s original owner and enjoyed the feel of it as it slithered over her skin, clinging to her shoulders and hugging her curves. It was a perfect fit. The sides of the gown were slit to mid-thigh, so she was able to walk easily on bare feet down the hallway.

It was now or never, and she had already had too much never in her life.

The door opened silently, and she saw his muscled back at his desk as he frantically typed away. It was no guess that his new heroine was bearing a startling resemblance to her.

She stood in the doorway and finally knocked on the frame.

He whirled, and his eyes widened in surprise. “I had forgotten about that one.”

Ivy ran her hands down the gown. “Was it someone important?”

He smiled and got to his feet. “No. I have the collection of gowns for the books I write. It is hard to guess the texture of female clothing of another era if you don’t feel it.”

She blinked rapidly. “Oh. So this?”

“Was featured in
Seducing the Harpy
.” He grinned. “I have to admit that you fill it out far better than the character in the book.”

Ivy blushed. “Thank you. I wasn’t up to wearing a muslin gown for this.”

He was still aroused, still naked, and he walked toward her with slow deliberation. “I thank you for your choice.”

She blushed. “You are going to have to come all the way over here. I made it to the doorway, but now, my courage is just about out.”

His room was divided into sections. There was a living space with a couch and a neat bookshelf full of books and videos. His desk and workspace, which was a collection of chaos and inspiration in the form of images and notes stuck to a corkboard. His bed and wardrobe were on the far side of the room, and to Ivy, it looked miles away. Greens and golds were everywhere. The colours of serpents throughout history.

With a slow smile, Chuck reached out and took her hand, coaxing her into his realm one careful footstep at a time.

She swallowed as he drew her forward. “I am not one of the heroines in your books.”

He grinned, “No, you are all mine. In this, reality is going to far eclipse the imagined.”

Ivy lunged forward against him with a thud, and she wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight. She muttered, “Sure, no pressure.”

He laughed as he sat down on the edge of his bed and pulled her into his lap, the silk sliding against their skin. “Don’t worry. From here on, I will take the responsibility for not screwing this up.”

“Are you sure? I am pretty sure that I can screw this up if I really try.”

He grinned and kissed her softly. “I have faith in your ability, but I will try to lead.”

His hand slipped over her waist and curled around her hip. His lips teased hers, waking the heat that had so recently been pushed back by nerves and fear.

She cupped his jaw and held onto his shoulder as she twisted to press her breasts against him. Ivy parted her lips, and he deepened the kiss, flicking his tongue into her mouth with rapid precision.