Talson Temptations 4: Talson's Match (2 page)

“Smartass,” Roarke muttered. “So how many abilities are you
up to now, super freak?”

Romy shrugged.

Roarke glared. “Spill. Last I heard, it was six.”

“Yeah, around that.” It was more like eight, but he didn’t
like counting. Every time Romy tried something new, he found to his amazement a
capacity to handle more and more
psychei
—that universal energy inherent
in all things, but especially in Otra. The humans called it extrasensory
perception. Not a bad definition, but it couldn’t encompass that whole mass of
seething energy that tingled in the air.

Roarke stared. “Does Dad know?”

“Some. I had to bribe Z to keep him quiet.” His older
brother gleefully threatened to tell their father about Romy’s abilities.
Apparently his siblings thought he’d gotten away with too much in his younger
years and now needed to be babysat by their father. “And before you ask, Val’s
so caught up in Rowe and his little Iris that he hasn’t had time to bother with
me in a few months.” Romy eyed the hallway through which Jamie had passed. “You
ought to pay more attention to your wife. Another child would give me a nice
break.” He glanced back at his brother and stared hard at the aura dancing
around Roarke’s head. A vision of a sweet baby boy greeted him. “Ah. Yeah,
that’s a stellar idea. Name this one after me, why don’t you?”

Roarke blinked. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Go bug your wife and you’ll find out in another nine
months. She’s fertile and you’re reflecting her need.”

“Not that I understood a lot you just said, but hot damn.”
Roarke’s smile grew and stayed. “Another boy, huh? Guess that means I’ll just
have to keep at the poor woman until I get a girl.”

Romy laughed. “Go play with Jamie and leave me be. I need
some rest before I dig into Port Chase and our self-proclaimed savior, Jonah
Trotter.”

“‘Savior’. Yeah, right. I’m telling you, Trotter stinks. The
Barkins weren’t doing too badly in Port Chase. But Trotter’s numbers are too
high for such a depressed area in Florida, and for only being there six months.
No way he could have that kind of turnaround. Something’s wrong. I don’t
understand why Dad still won’t look into it.”

“Me either, so keep this between us, okay? Just let me do
what I’m meant to and everything will turn out fine.”

“Quit with the predictions and meant-to crap. You’re
freaking me out.”

“Doesn’t take much,” Romy muttered.

“I heard that.” Roarke tried to smother another grin. “Go
lay down. You look like death warmed over. Another three hours and we’ll dock
in Waverly.”

Waverly, a nice town a few hours from Port Chase. “Good
call. But make use of the time you have on board. Jamie’s looking pretty good,
bro.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “You know, it’s not too late to try making a
gifted Otra. I’m game.” His brother had mated a human, and being half human,
Roarke didn’t need another Otra to help impregnate his wife. Still, a guy could
hope.

Roarke growled. “I’m human enough to enjoy my wife by
myself, thanks.”

“You know where I’ll be if you change your mind…” He agilely
avoided a blow to the stomach and laughed his way down the narrow hall to his
berth. It really was too bad Roarke and Jamie adhered to the more mundane human
customs of mating. One man, one woman.

His half brother had inherited more of his human mother’s
genes than their Otra father’s. Though Shea had only given birth to Roarke, all
of the Talson men loved her beyond reason. The fact she’d produced Roarke, a
son with
psychei
, which wasn’t at all common among those with mixed Otra
blood, spoke of her own powerful energy. His father had found a true mate after
the loss of his beloved first wife. Blessed in love and life.

Once in his room, Romy lay down on his narrow bed and closed
his eyes, contemplating his own future. Like his older brothers Val and Z, he’d
always figured to find an Otra female when he entered The Testing—the time in a
male Otra’s life when he readied to mate. Then another male, his
eda
,
would join him. The pair would bond psychically and make love with the woman,
clearing the path for Romy’s
psychei
and his seed so a true joining with
his new mate could occur.

Z had been lucky to have Val as his
eda
. Val had
found Quinn, another capable male to protect and facilitate the growth of his
family. His brothers had been gifted with love and luck with their
edas
and their destined mates—their
irius
. Would that Romy could be so
fortunate.

He’d had no dreams, no prognostications of his future. His
powers often chased themselves inside him, making living normally a real
stretch. He used so much of his energy controlling his odd gifts that at times
just breathing felt like a trial. Pyrokinesis, telepathy, telekinesis, the
power of command, preternatural strength and sensing, not to mention the rest…
Wondrous abilities if taken separately, a nightmare if taken together.

Closing his eyes, he forced his talent to subside and
eventually relaxed into a light slumber.

His hands slid over silky skin, the glide of water both
cooling and welcoming. The extreme heat made him catch his breath, and he
realized the outside temperature meant summer neared. Had he reached Port Chase
already?

“No,” a husky female voice answered. His fingers again
slid over her stomach, the bar of rose-scented soap in his hand trailing
bubbles over a flat belly and lower, toward a smooth triangle of flesh devoid
of hair.

Interested and aroused, he reached for the surprising
treasure and heard the woman sigh when his fingers sought and found her warm
sex. Her clitoris was plump, and as he fingered her, it grew fuller, harder.
The moisture between her thighs mixed with the cool water, making her nipples
bead. He realized he could see everything from her neck down.

The sight of her pebbled nipples and creamy breasts made
them both groan.

“You like this?” he asked, thrusting a finger inside her
while he toyed with her breasts. But as he worked her, he realized his hands
were smaller, cleaner, with short pink nails and two silver rings on his
forefinger.

A woman’s hand?

“More,” she murmured.

He sensed she felt drugged on her lust and as pleasantly
confused as he was. But when a gloriously naked woman requested more, an Otra
didn’t disappoint.

He returned to her nipples and caressed the buds while he
delved inside her warm, welcoming pussy with faster and deeper thrusts. Another
finger added firmer pressure on her clit. He wanted very badly to kiss her, to
taste her exotic seduction and feel the silk of her parted lips.

The scent of need mingled with the tightening of
his—her—body. She cried out and the waves splashed over the side of the tub.
Her sex gripped his fingers—no, her fingers—and flooded him with bone-deep
contentment as he pulsed…
He blinked awake and groaned as he finished
coming inside his trousers, making an absolute mess of himself.

Breathing hard, Romy stared at the sterile ceiling,
wondering what the hell his spontaneous ejaculation meant. He’d come hard after
touching a female, after watching her—or was that him?—touch herself.

Confused and out of breath, he tried to reason out this
particular circumstance and found he had neither the energy nor the desire to
make sense of a thrilling, extremely pleasurable wet dream.

After cleaning himself, he fell back asleep with the name
Tara
echoing through his mind.