"No." Who cared why they were doing it? he thought. They were doing it. That was all that mattered.
"I've heard that the synergistic reaction that sometimes occurs in the human bloodstream after a fight is not very different, chemically speaking, from the reaction caused by sexual attraction."
"I would take it as a great favor," Rafe said, "if you would save the lecture on synergistic blood chemistry until later. I don't think I can follow it at the moment"
Her eyes gleamed with sensual amusement. "Sorry."
With a groan he lowered himself to the bed and gathered her into his arms.
Orchid's soft laughter floated up to the domed ceiling, as weightless and bright as the starlight overhead. Rafe leaned over her, caging her between his hands, and kissed her until she stopped laughing.
Her mouth opened beneath his. With a soft, muffled exclamation, she wrapped her arms around him. He felt her sudden fierce need all the way to the bone.
She wanted him.
His own smoldering hunger leaped into full flame. An exultant sensation stormed through him. Tonight she was his.
In an exuberant frenzy of happy lust he rolled with her across the wide bed, rumpling the quilt and the sheets until all was chaos. When they at last came to a halt, Rafe was once more stretched out on top of her. Her jean-clad legs framed his. She looked up at him, breathless. Her eyes were brilliant, starlit pools in which he would willingly drown, in which he could not wait to drown.
He could feel the heat of her body through the denim. It carried her scent, which was mingled now with the unmistakable fragrance of feminine desire. The night, the time when his senses were sharpest, when he was most keenly aware of that other part of himself, called to him. He was alive as he had never been before in his life.
He lifted himself off Orchid long enough to get a grip on the hem of her T-shirt. He managed to shove it up above her breasts and then over her head. Her soft hair got whipped into a wild tangle in the process. One silken lock fell across her face, giving her a sultry, mysterious look.
He looked down at her elegantly curved breasts. It crossed his mind that he had never seen anything more beautiful than the spill of starlight on her skin.
She fumbled with the buttons of his shirt. Impatient with her slow progress, he reached down and finished the job himself. He closed his eyes and shuddered when he felt her fingers on his bare chest.
"Rafe." Her voice throbbed with emotion.
He opened his eyes and bent his head to kiss her. While he held her mouth captive, he unfastened her jeans. Then he worked his way down her body, freeing her from the denim. When he rose over her again she was clad in nothing but a small triangle of silk.
Deliberately he put his hand between her legs. The crotch of her dainty panties was already wet. A heady sense of pleasure shot through him, leaving him slightly dazed. He pressed gently against the silk that shielded her.
Orchid sucked in her breath at his touch, gave a wordless cry and twisted restlessly beneath his hand. When he stroked her she clenched her thighs together, forcing herself more firmly against his palm. Her breathing quickened in the darkness.
After a moment she hesitantly reached out to touch him as intimately as he had touched her and sighed impatiently when she discovered his trousers in the way.
Her touch was curiously awkward, but it was eager. Her hands tortured him deliriously while she sought and found the fastening at the waistband of his pants, undid it, and finally managed to lower his zipper.
He fell heavily into her waiting hand. When she cupped him gently he thought he might go mad. He squeezed his eyes closed for a few seconds and fought a desperate battle with his self-control.
He won the battle, at least for a few minutes. When he managed to open his eyes again he saw that Orchid was gazing at his rigid erection with an expression of wonder and intense fascination.
"You are incredible," she whispered.
He did not answer. He could not. He was too close to the edge. If he did not take her now, he would surely shatter.
He jerked her sodden panties aside, lowered himself to her once more and fitted himself to her. He caught and held her gaze. He needed to look into her eyes when he claimed her.
She watched him with an odd intensity, as though waiting for something important to happen. He prayed he would not disappoint her.
He thrust heavily into her. Felt small, delicate muscles resist, give way, and then close snugly around him. Something else gave way, too. He heard her quick, sharp breath. For a moment she went rigid. She was hot and wet and very, very tight. Too tight.
He raised his head swiftly.
"Orchid?"
"It's all right." She framed his face with her hands. "I've waited a long time for this."
"But, why?"
"It never felt right before."
A profound sense of wonder and an exultant satisfaction mingled with the potent chemical mix in his veins. He knew exactly what she meant. Nothing had ever felt this right. He lowered his head to kiss her throat.
"Link."
She did not hesitate. Out on the metaphysical plane a brilliant crystal took shape. Rafe slammed talent through the prism as he eased himself deeper into Orchid's body.
He reached down to find her small, firm clitoris. At the first touch she cried out and pressed her face against his chest. He thought he felt her teeth. The sensation was almost unbearably exciting.
He stroked gently as he rocked against her. The elemental rhythms of desire established themselves in the oldest of synergistic harmonies.
Eons later, when the effort to hold himself back had become exquisitely painful, Orchid's fingers suddenly dug into his shoulders.
"Oh, yes," she whispered as if she had just made an incredible discovery. "Yes."
He raised his head so that he could see her face when she climaxed beneath him. The tiny convulsions shimmered through her. He felt them deep inside where he was securely lodged.
Orchid's release triggered his own. A dazzling mix of physical and paranormal energy poured through him. All of his senses were riveted by the sensation. He was swept away by the glorious wildness that seized him.
Nothing had ever felt so whole, so right, so perfect.
Rafe opened his eyes a long time later. He gazed up through the glass dome and contemplated the stars. Orchid stirred and stretched beside him. Then she propped herself on her elbow and leaned over him.
"Mind if I ask you a personal question?"
He studied her gleaming eyes and tangled his fingers in her hair. "At this particular moment, I wouldn't mind if you asked me to fly or go over a waterfall in a barrel."
"In a good mood, are you?"
"Very."
She folded her arms on his chest and rested her chin on her hand. "This is sort of a professional question."
"Go for it."
"Is it true that strat-talents can tell if a person is lying to them?"
He stilled. And then he started to laugh. He laughed so hard he had to sit up and wrap his arms around his midsection. He doubled over with laughter. He howled with laughter. The room rang with the sound of it.
"I didn't think the question was that funny," Orchid said.
Rafe's laughter finally faded into a grin. He sprawled on his back and pulled Orchid down on top of him.
"Let me put it this way." He thrust his fingers through her hair. "I'll know if you ever try to fake an orgasm."
Chapter 9
She did not dream.
Or, to be more specific, Orchid thought, when she awoke alone in the massive round bed, she did not dream of being stalked by a psychic vampire, even though some would say she had gone to bed with one.
She felt remarkably refreshed, given her energetic activities during the night. High overhead morning light blazed through the glass domed ceiling. It poured over the bed like warm honey-syrup and puddled around her in a delicious pool.