Tangling With Topper (6 page)

Topper snickered over Stark’s story. “Okay. Now I feel sorry for you. After we catch the dakkari, I’ll make you a giant steak. If an omelet makes you so happy, you’ll be ecstatic eating a whole meal of meat. I eat alone more often than I have company, but I cook for the pleasure it brings me. I could magic it together, but it’s not the same experience.”

“You appear to have created a very nice life for yourself, Topper. Are you contented?”

Topper took another sip of wine as she thought of how to answer. “Am I contented? Yes. I think I am—for the most part.”

“Why do you have no mate?” Stark asked, really wanting to know.

Her head was shaking before she realized that she wanted to tell Stark what she had never told anyone. Only her sisters knew it had even happened. She had been a young witch, barely twenty-five, and not nearly as powerful as she had become in her thirties. Her sisters honored her decision to simply forget her lapse in judgment. She had forced everyone else to do so the way she always did.

“I was madly in love once,” Topper admitted, though it felt strange now to say it aloud. “Lanier wasn’t like me. He was just a regular human. When he found out I was a witch, he got scared. In a short period of time, he became so afraid of my power that he reported me and my whole family to government officials. When they came to Magic, hoping to experiment on us and steal our power, I had to mind wipe all of them. It took all the power I had at the time and my sisters lent me some of theirs to get it done. I made the scientists believe they had failed to find anything but a family of eccentric humans. They left Magic and never returned.”

“What did you do about your betrayer? Did you seek him out and kill him?” Stark demanded. “I would have.”

Topper swallowed hard and then laughed because she suspected he spoke the truth.

“Oh, I thought about killing him, but being a coward doesn’t mean you deserve to die. There are millions of people on Earth who fear the kind of power that exists in Magic. Loving someone like him was my mistake. So, no—I didn’t kill him. Instead, I tracked him down and wiped away all his memories of me. Now only I remember. It’s better that way.”

“But you are still wounded inside from his betrayal.”

Topper snickered at his poetic way of saying the guy had broken her heart. “Not really, Stark. I just never kept a lover for long after that. My power equal never showed up in my life so I settled for temporary relationships. When I broke up with a guy—human or otherwise—I always made him forget me. That small measure has kept me and the rest of Magic safe.”

Stark frowned as he nodded. “Your story tells me we have led similar lives. It does not please me to know you have suffered the same loneliness I have suffered. It seems like a waste for both of us.”

Topper stood and carried their empty plates to the sink. She would leave them until morning. It would be comforting to wake and see their dirty dishes. It would remind her that she didn’t have to be alone unless she chose to be.

She brought a wet cloth back to the table and wiped the surface down while Stark watched her every motion. She was aware of his masculine interest, but at the same time, she found him a good listener and a comfortable companion. Perhaps they were becoming friends—of a sort.

“The real problem for me is that I never found a person—human, witch, shifter, or immortal creature—who understood how important it was to me to protect those who come to live in Magic. All creatures who roam the Earth deserve a safe place to live and raise their families. It is Gaia’s law of creation on this planet—much like the way Icela takes care of Glacier. I’m friends with the three Fates too. They drive me crazy with their stupid prophecies, but at least they keep me from screwing up more.”

She stopped rubbing a perfectly clean table and found Stark’s gaze riveted to her face.

“I think you are perhaps the most admirable female I’ve met outside of the Goddess,” he said.

“You met your Goddess? You met Icela? Like in person?” Topper asked in surprise.

Stark nodded and smiled. “Yes. In the ice fields, she and her warrior found me one day. She gave me a gift of power to make my job easier. She said it was because I had been careful not to kill any Glacier creatures I didn’t have to kill. She said I had a pure heart despite the warrior’s blood that ran in my veins.”

“What power did she give you?” Topper asked.

“Seeing into the soul of every creature I meet,” Stark answered carefully. “And some other useful things. Nothing as spectacular as being able to create an intergalactic space portal, but I appreciate the gifts regardless.”

Topper straightened and walked back to the sink. She suddenly felt exposed. What had Stark seen in her soul?

“I guess it’s my turn to shower. Then I think I’m going to bed early. I want to be fully rested for whatever we have to do tomorrow. I’ll see you in the morning, Stark.”

Still thinking about all he had said, Topper left without saying goodnight.

***

Stark paced in his assigned sleeping space listening to the running water and imagining Topper standing naked under it. When the sound stopped, he couldn’t take the pressure any more. He was afraid of being rejected again. But he was more afraid of not asking and never getting a chance to be with her.

How had the Earth witch reduced him to this level of hesitation? He was never afraid—not of anything. His bravery was legendary. He simply refused to be afraid of Topper now no matter how powerful she was.

Walking out of his space and stopping in front of hers, he opened her bedroom door and walked blindly into the room. All his senses were aware Topper was naked under the scant strip of drying cloth she’d donned before leaving her bathroom. Her natural fragrance was beckoning him, but he made himself resist its call.

“Stark, you can’t just come in here because it suits you. Maybe being nude in front of people is normal for you, but I require privacy while I dress.”

“This won’t take long. I just needed to ask you a question,” Stark said softly, walking a bit closer. He reached out and touched a tendril of damp hair that rested against one of Topper’s soft, pale shoulders. “What kind of pleasuring techniques do you like best?”

“What?” Topper stumbled away, pulling her wet hair from his fingertips.

Techniques? Was he for real?

Her pulse fluttered at his closeness. Stark was large, attractive, and extremely intimidating. Double that when she was naked and clutching a towel.

But they were in her bedroom, not his. She could disappear easily enough, but she wasn’t using her magic up just to run from what he was making her feel. Stark was obviously used to females being more receptive to his arrogant sexual attention, but that was no reason to expect Earth women to be easy.

“It’s none of your business what I like,” Topper said, clearing her throat.

“That’s why I came in here. I wish to make it my business. I wish that very much,” Stark whispered, closing in until he was close enough to touch her. “Do you like a small show of aggression to titillate your senses?”

Topper’s mouth dropped open in shock. Before she could stop him, Stark hooked two long fingers down the front of the material she was wrapped in and tugged her closer.

“I know some females like the male to inspire their lust. I’ve already risen to the challenge you offer. Are you aware of that, Topper?”

His mouth hovered over hers while he growled low and deep. Goddess, he could feel Topper’s erratic heartbeat thundering under his fingers. Her rising excitement made him hard as a Glacier male half his age. When she still didn’t answer, Stark tightened his hold and leaned down to her mouth. Topper melted against him when he used his sharp, deadly teeth to gently nip her bottom lip.

When she sucked in air trying to catch her breath, Stark spun Topper around to face away from him as he stripped the fabric from her body. Normally, he didn’t have to work so hard to seduce a female, but Topper seemed insecure about her appeal. He would like nothing better than to show her just how appealing he found her.

“Maybe you would prefer more physical closeness and perhaps some stroking. I’ve been dying to touch you since the first time I saw you, so I think I would like that too,” he whispered.

Topper’s panicked squeak as breath left her body again made Stark growl in answer. He suddenly had greater empathy for all the beasts he had dragged away from their mates for a time.

He covered Topper’s generous breasts with both hands and pressed proof of his arousal against her back. When she hissed, he slid one hand down until it disappeared between her legs. She instantly made his hand wet with her readiness for taking. His muscles strained and trembled against her, wanting fiercely to do just that.

“Or do you prefer a little jolt to wake up your sleeping libido? I could wake you up, Topper. I could wake your body up from its long sleep.”

He released her, but before she could stumble away from his hands, Stark gently grabbed a handful of hair at the back of her head to restrain her in a different way. Then he used his much larger body to bend her forward until her hands had no choice but fall to the bed as a brace.

Leaning to one side, he gave her already quivering buttock a tiny, sharp slap before stroking his hand over it to soothe the slight pain he’d caused.

“Stark…”

“Yes, Topper?”

Stark slipped his hand around the front of her again and between her legs just before they tightened. Topper’s muttered swearing as she called her deities for help made him smile.

He pulled Topper’s head back by her hair and twisted her face back up to his until he could devour her mouth. It was a brutal first kiss and yet more relieving than he had anticipated. She moaned around his tongue thoroughly exploring her mouth. She quivered and shook, and then pressed her hips back against his until he believed madness would result for them both.

Finally, he tore his mouth away, stunned to find himself breathing as roughly as Topper was. His demonstration of his power over her body had him reeling with both success and failure.

Maybe that was Topper’s problem with him. He wanted to be the aggressor with her.

“Tell me Topper—are you one of those females who needs to have all the control? I can do that also, but it is much harder for me. I am used to pleasuring females who barely move beneath me. After doing all the work for so long, my first inclination is to be in charge.”

Stark let go of her hair then, kissed the back of her neck, and pulled Topper upright with an upward stroke of the hand he eased from between her thighs. Ignoring the taut, taunting nipple he’d grazed on his travels, he stepped away while the female he desired remained frozen where she was.

He walked around to stand beside her where Topper could see the full effect she had on him, even through the clothes he wore. He lifted a tendril of her hair, but didn’t really touch her again. Her bed was too close and her nipples were still hard buds begging to be appreciated.

“I want to be yours, Topper. I want you in a way I can’t recall wanting any female before you, even though I have enjoyed my fair share of them. I do not understand the origin of the fierce urge I have to be with you, but I accept it for the gift it is. I want it even if it is as temporary as all other such connections have been for both of us. What I don’t want is to regret not making my wishes clear.”

Stark bowed his head and then left her to consider his proposal. Leaving Topper was a torture. He wanted to stay, but not if she didn’t want him back as desperately as he wanted her.

He stopped at the door of her room and turned back briefly. He didn’t want to leave Topper thinking that all he saw in her was a bed partner.

“Thank you again for feeding me. It was very pleasant to share a meal with a companion so easy to converse with. I’ll be in my room if you decide you want me. If you don’t, I promise I won’t keep pressuring you. That would not be honorable male behavior where I come from.”

Still in shock, Topper turned just in time to watch Stark’s prime jean-covered ass clearing her bedroom doorway. She looked down at herself, stunned at her own brazen nudity, including her protruding nipples. Her girls hadn’t done that trick in a very long while. She didn’t even know they still could.

Stark’s sexual talent show had woke all of her up, and it had made her wonder just what he could make her feel if she let him have his way.

Topper shook her head and sighed. His power over her was not something to take lightly.

When in Fates name had she developed an affinity for love taps on her ass? Never—that’s when. Now she was thinking about a good many things. All of which were highly possible with the male sleeping in the bedroom on the other side of hers.

And all she had to do was march in there and tell him she wanted him.

But could she really believe all that stuff Stark said about her being different than the other females he’d known? Of course not. She might glamour herself, but in reality she knew how she looked. Her breasts were mature, as was the rest of her. She didn’t really mind her aging because she liked herself. That didn’t mean she expected some guy who looked like Stark to desire her.

Maybe his planet of Glacier had different ideals about body image.

Bloody hell… why was she even thinking about this?

She was not sleeping with someone who would be leaving in a day or two. You couldn’t miss what you never had. Sure, most her relationships had been temporary, but she hadn’t entered into them knowing they were going to be. She’d always retained some hope they might turn out to be… well,
more
.

“Aliens. Can’t sleep with them. Can’t get them out of your freaking head,” Topper groused, as she collected her towel from where Stark had flung it.

Then she headed back to the bathroom for a necessary cold shower.

Three hours later, Topper pulled a pillow over her face and thought about screaming. The second shower hadn’t helped. She was still wide awake and failing to get Stark’s arousing touch out of her mind. She pulled the pillow away. She was too old for this. Women her age shouldn’t cower in the face of their obvious needs. They should act and not worry so much about the costs.