Hawking a Future Read online

  “You know, your focus on me is freaking me out a little, Tovin.”

  He sighed. “But you are so beautiful to watch.”

  She paused and looked into his eyes. “I am fairly sure that it is in the eye of the beholder.”

  “My eyes. My opinion, and my opinion is that you are the loveliest, most appealing woman I have ever had the pleasure of kissing, let alone touching.”

  His pupils were dilated, his pulse rapid, but there were no signs of stress. From his point of view, he was telling the truth.

  She gave a throaty chuckle. “I am going to ask you how that works, but this isn’t the time.” She finished freeing the last visible button and tugged his shirt free of his trousers.

  The button on his slacks fought her for a moment before she got it free, and she delicately opened the zipper.

  She licked her lips and glanced up at him. “I have done all the hard work.”

  “So you have. I do believe it is my turn to exert myself.”

  He wrapped his arms around her and stood, sliding one hand up her back to unclasp her bra. Her legs were still around him, and she could feel his trousers slowly begin to slide to the ground.

  He chuckled. “Clothing was much simpler in the old days, or so my parents constantly tell me. Personally, I enjoy the ritual involved in the different layers.”

  “Ritual?”

  He stood her on her feet. “The rustle of a skirt as it falls, the shirt sliding to cover your hips. The slow exposure of the creamy skin of your shoulders. Shall I show you?”

  She bit her lip and nodded. “Please.”

  He kissed her while his hands stroked over her ribs and belly. When his fingers eased down, her skirt willingly followed along. Cold air rushed at her hips and belly as he pushed the fabric free, making the heat between her thighs more apparent.

  She clenched her legs together, and he ran his hands over her exposed skin. The small scrap of fabric that covered what was left didn’t do much to deter her from appreciating the heat of his hands.

  “Silk. You feel like silk with the residual sensation of velvet. So soft, so hot.” He kept one hand on her hip while he peeled her blouse off one shoulder. His lips explored each inch of her as he exposed it.

  She wanted to say a dozen things, a hundred, but she trembled and let the heat of his touch, mouth and hands wash over her.

  He was whispering his admiration for each part of her as he uncovered it, but when he went silent with his lips tugging at her nipple before switching to the other, her knees buckled.

  Tovin lifted her and settled her on the bed. He quickly shucked off everything but the ebony earring in his left ear.

  She was wearing the bright blue panties she had put on earlier and a sincere desire to keep going with this particular experiment.

  When he shifted to press his skin against hers, she groaned. He felt amazing, and she wanted nothing more than to continue to rub herself against him, but he had other ideas.

  His cock left a hot, sticky trail down her inner thigh as she shifted her legs to invite him in. When he hooked his fingers into the elastic and eased her panties down, she sighed with relief. One step closer to her goal.

  Keeping her thinking mind quiet was becoming less difficult. It receded willingly to the back when he fastened his lips on her breast once again and teased her wet heat with his fingers.

  He circled her clit, slid a finger inside and moved it until her hips rocked with him. When she was moving with him, he slid a second finger into her, gently shifting and rocking it inside her until her twisting matched his.

  His thumb brushed her clit with a torturous, random action. She wanted steady pressure, wanted to jump off her cliff and land in release, with him next to her. Doing it herself was faster, but it didn’t have this level of enjoyment, of the uncertainty. It was a feeling she had avoided all her life, and now, she was tying herself to a man who was going to steep her in that same uncertainty. Right now, she didn’t care.

  “If I taste you, this will all be over in seconds. That light contact earlier had me in a situation I have not experienced in decades. Either way, I am not leaving here until you whisper my name.” Tovin pressed his lips to her belly before moving back up her body.

  The third finger was a little snug, but he continued to flex his digits inside her until her inner muscles clasped him and released him in a slow caress.

  It took her two tries to speak. “Why do you want to hear your name?”

  He pressed his lips to her neck and nuzzled her, tonguing her rapid pulse. “Because when I am inside you, I will forget everything, and I want to remember who I am and how lucky I am at that moment.”

  She shivered and tilted her head as he struck a particularly sensitive spot. “Oh.”

  Her breath came in rapid sighs as his fingers moved faster and his thumb circled her clit with a more deliberate precision.

  The moans picked up in pitch, and she clenched her jaw to stifle them until he pressed his lips to hers and she relaxed into his kiss. His mouth caught every moan, and when she squeaked in surprise at the suddenness of her orgasm, he removed his fingers and shifted into position, pressing into her with slow and steady progress.

  He kept kissing her as he eased into her, rocking his hips to push him further and further into her.

  Hayley raised her knees and planted her feet on the sheets, pushing back as he stretched her to fit him. She stroked his ribs, his back, his chest and slid her hands between them to caress his shaft as he moved further and further inside her.

  Tovin paused, and his eyes closed for a moment. “You are killing me.”

  She withdrew her hand and pulled the soft, sticky trail up his abdomen until she had her arms around him once again. “I don’t want you to die.”

  His eyes opened, and he looked down at her, slowly pushing in to the hilt before withdrawing, “Then, you have to say my name.”

  She pressed her hands to his back and arched against him. “Tovin.”

  It was whispered against his neck, and he rocked into her, pressing her back into the sheets as she held him tight. His body moved across hers, the slick sweat between them giving him a frictionless surface.

  Hayley moved against him, taking each slow thrust with a twist of her own hips. She held on as their rocking took her higher, the sounds of flesh on flesh became sharper.

  He shifted to one side and slid his fingers between them, moving her clit with slow, strong circles.

  Her hands on his back turned to claws, and she hung on as a low, keening cry broke from her throat. His motion inside her was driving her into a frenzy, and she twisted against him, seeking more.

  “Tovin, more.”

  He increased his speed, and the heat of their bodies built, stoked the fire that was starting inside her. She screamed, and he groaned a moment later, shuddering into her as he spilled in short spurts.

  Her muscles were locked, and it took several minutes for them to catch their breath and her heartbeat return to normal before she could pull her hands from him and let her arms flop to the sides. Her legs were a little stiffer. She forced them out and down while she took stock.

  He slowly stirred and nuzzled her neck. She could feel the smile on his lips. “That worked out well.”

  She chuckled; her voice was hoarse. “Thanks for taking your time.”

  “It wore out my self-control, but I do believe we managed just fine.” He lifted his head and brushed his lips across hers.

  She threaded her fingers through his hair and kissed him with as much energy as she could manage. “We did. Now, get off so I can take a hot shower. Some of my muscles are trying to freeze in this position, and as I am not an old-west gunfighter, it lacks dignity.”

  “Well, I think that a soak is in order, and I will try to help mitigate the discomfort.” He looked smug.

  She shifted her hips, and his erection started flaring inside her once again. “You recover quickly.”

  “With such inspiration, I am sur
prised I flagged at all.” He withdrew and eased her to her side, lifting her upper thigh and propping it up on his knee with her back to him.

  He slid into her with the utmost care, wrapping a hand around her belly to pull her back against him while the other trapped her breasts, and his hand massaged each mound in turn.

  She was sensitive, and he went slowly, but the results of his slow thrusts were the same. Hayley’s senses went spinning as she took him into her, and he rocked them both to a shaking climax.

  When she was spent, lying on her side and gasping for breath, he withdrew and lifted her from the bed, carrying her to the claw-footed tub in the bathroom.

  His hands rubbed her thighs, a soft sponge cleaned the sweat and semen from her, and by the time he brought her back to bed, she was floating on a cloud of sensation.

  It had been a very good first night together, and they had as long as she lived to repeat it.

  Chapter Eight

  A woman with black hair and brilliant green eyes was in the dining room in the morning. The man at her side appeared made of gold in every shade.

  Hayley sat gingerly in the chair that Tovin held out to her. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning, Hayley, Tovin. I am Dira and this is Mak. I am a coordinator for the Crossroads, and I am here to issue you an offer.”

  Hayley took the cup of coffee that Tovin handed to her, and she stirred it. “What is it?”

  Tovin settled and set about putting some fruit salad, bacon and a muffin on her plate.

  “Well, as Tovin knows, you two are headed for a balance and bonding ceremony. I would like to offer you a few days to gain control of your shifting talents before you have to return home.”

  Tovin put his hand on hers. “We accept your offer with gratitude. She shifted this morning, and I woke to a bat making out with my nostril.”

  She chuckled. “I was not. I was just tasting you, and it was the outside of your nose. It was that or nibble on your ear, and I don’t think you are up for that.”

  Dira smiled and sighed in relief. “Excellent. Teebie has your ceremonial clothing waiting for you, and you can head to the Meditation Centre the moment that you are finished with breakfast. Your clothing will be forwarded and the honeymoon suite will be fully stocked for your arrival.”

  Hayley looked around. “So quickly? What the hell is a balance and bonding ceremony?”

  Dira nodded. “Right. You have an alternate upbringing. Well, the fey were allowed to seek mates from the shifters under one condition. That condition was that they had to split their lifespans with their mate. It is a meeting of equals. The balance ceremony drains you both of your magic and gives half of it to your mate before returning half of it to you, along with half of theirs. The enchantment is binding and permanent. The bonding portion of it syncs your biology to be receptive.”

  Tovin sipped at his coffee. “There were other conditions.”

  Dira waved that away. “The fey offered had to be single, willing and the first dozen or so had to have a different form so that there was a point of commonality with the ladies.”

  “What about female fey?”

  Dira wrinkled her nose. “Pure blooded are not strictly available. A few women with human in their bloodlines have been eased forward as candidates. One stage at a time. First, we manage a few crossbreeds, and then, we will work on including all magical beings. Even some humans have put their names forward for the program. There are some longstanding relationships that have been unable to formalize in the human world, and this might be a chance for them. They are willing to be patient as things seem to be working just fine so far.”

  Hayley nodded. “So, for all intents and purposes, I am getting married...today.”

  Tovin snorted. “Not hardly. My mother is going to throw a huge wedding in the normal realm the moment we get back. In fact, my presence here is probably holding up Drorik’s nuptials. That is going to be a great thing to come home to.”

  Hayley ran her hands through her hair. “How are you going to explain me? I know that the fey are out in the public eye, but shifters aren’t. What if I screw up?”

  Dira smirked. “That is why we insisted on the first matches having an animal form themselves. It will simply seem that he has found a half-breed fey with the same power as him. There will also be small physical changes after the balance ceremony. Your ears will probably point a little and you may get taller.”

  Hayley blinked. “Right. Um. Okay.”

  “And your relationship to your beast may change. That part is less certain.”

  “I am not really on speaking terms with them now, though the bat does like Tovin.”

  Tovin squeezed her hand. “I like her, too.”

  Dira chuckled, and Mak put his arm around her shoulders. “At least Hayley’s beasts can’t eat you in one bite, Tovin.”

  Tovin looked from Dira to Mak, and he chuckled. “I am happy to leave those issues to a man more suited for it.”

  Hayley raised her eyebrows at the other woman. “I am lost.”

  “I am a dragon, and Mak is a unicorn. He had no chance.” Dira smiled and pressed a kiss to her mate’s cheek.

  Mak grinned. “I wasn’t exactly pure of heart myself, and she took some convincing. She was very set in her ways.”

  Dira chuckled. “And very cranky. It comes with being a dragon.”

  Hayley looked at Tovin, and he raised her hand to his lips.

  “I consider myself very lucky.” His pretty eyes twinkled.

  She sighed and shifted restlessly. “Yes, you are.”

  How he managed to eat and laugh through breakfast was a mystery she wasn’t going to solve.

  When Hayley was standing on her part of the balance podium, she felt truly beautiful for the first time in her life. It had nothing to do with the wonderfully wrapped straps of silk that made up her gown; it had everything to do with Tovin sacrificing half of his future for her.

  The silk fluttered in the breeze of the Crossroads as the mage began her work.

  Hayley felt the magic leave her, and she saw it cross to the centre of the balance stage. Tovin’s magic did the same, and soon, the power was swirling together, and with a whispered command, the energy returned to them.

  When Hayley was a teen, she had used a rope swing to drop herself in the centre of an icy mountain river. This moment reminded her of that one.

  The magic poured into her, hot and cold, bright and dark. She gained the knowledge of flight, of simple domestic charms and repairing her own clothing. There was a hint of warding and binding magic, but that was buried deeper.

  Her beasts rushed upward, they had enough power to carry themselves upward now, and she gasped when her hawk fought its way out of her skin. She looked over her shoulder, and the wings were definitely large and in charge.

  She tentatively extended them while she checked her ears. Yup. Pointy.

  Hayley walked to the centre where Tovin met her. They kissed, and when she pulled her lips from his, she buried her face against his chest. “Well, I did get taller, but what am I going to do about those?”

  He stroked his hands around her waist and ran his fingers over her wings. “You will control them. It is a lovely reminder of what you are and how much power you have.”

  Dira came forward and raised her brows. “Lovely wings. Now that you are linked, it is time for you two to contain what rises inside Hayley. Have a lovely time, and I will notify your parents that you have found a mate.”

  Tovin raised his hand. “How will you know when we are ready to leave?”

  Dira grinned. “I will know.”

  A ball of light swallowed them, and Hayley clung to Tovin as they flew through the air.

  They were set down on a deck, set in a mountainside, near a polished wood home that had the air of a health spa.

  Hayley walked to the edge of the deck and looked up, down and around. “I have to try this.”

  She beat her wings, and her body slowly lifted off. With a twist, s
he turned and let herself glide down into the valley before her wings moved her upward.

  Grinning, she landed on the deck next to Tovin, and as she hugged him, the wings receded.

  He chuckled and stroked the naked skin of her back. “Pardon me, but I have to try that.”

  He removed the wrap tunic that he had been wearing, and he focused inward. His wings burst out in a rush, and they were not the same golden brown she had worn. They had huge chunks of red.

  She snickered. “Your beast is making himself known.”

  “It used to be a shape, but now, there are all these instincts going along with it.”

  “Your beast got a soul. That is what makes shifters and fey so different. Our beasts inhabit us. That is why it hurts so much when they don’t talk to us.”

  His wings were huge, and as he flexed them, her heart pounded a little harder. She had to admit, it was sexy to have her own personal angel at her beck and call.

  She folded her hands in front of her and stepped back so he could launch off the edge of the deck. He winked, kissed her quickly and dove into the valley beneath them, his wings sending out strong beats that her hawk wanted to mimic.

  She felt her dress puddle on the floor as her beast took over, and with a lunge upward, she was over the edge of the deck and flying after him.

  He was on a leisurely flight, so she overtook him, spiralling in front of him before she climbed upward and then dove down again.

  When she was tired, she made her way back to the deck and shifted to human, gathering her clothing and his as she entered the building. Nudity was part of shifter life. Clothing tangled smaller limbs, so it was best to strip before changing. She knew that from the tales of the patients at the recovery centre.

  Her clothing and his were in the bedroom, hung in the closet and folded in the drawers.

  She slipped on a loose robe and tied the sash while she waited for her angel to return.

  He came into the bedroom, and his wings were still high and wide. “I think I am going to like this bonding thing.”