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  He didn't want to collapse on her. He did the next best thing and fell to one side, his face resting on her quivering thigh. Long moments later he raised his head to look at Carly. She lay there, legs spread wide, one knee slightly bent, a sleepy, satisfied smile on her lips. There was a white smear across her cheek and a look of utter, wanton contentment on her face.

  He'd never seen anything more beautiful, nor wanted anyone or anything as badly. It took all the energy he had left to turn himself around and lie next to her. “Okay,” he said, brushing the sticky semen off her cheek with the pad of his thumb. “We've had breakfast. Now what's for lunch?”

  She raised one eyelid and smiled at him. “Real food, I hope. I'm starving. Damn…Tim, if you're serious about this being a whole new century, all I have to ask is, are all the men like you?”

  The question hung there between them. She had no idea what she'd asked, no idea, Tim realized, what a compliment she'd paid him. He leaned over and kissed her very gently on the lips, tasting Carly, tasting himself.

  “Not so sure about the men, but if the women of your time are anything like you, I can see why Garan is so totally besotted with Jenna.” He kissed her once more, then forced himself to sit up. “C'mon,” he said. “You can have the shower first and I'll start something for breakfast. Towels, soap and shampoo are on the shelf in the bathroom.”

  * * * * *

  By the time Carly got out of the shower, the mingled scents of bacon and coffee filled the small cabin. A one-piece jumpsuit of some sort was lying on the bathroom counter. She looked but couldn't find underpants. There wasn't a bra, either, but the suit fit her so well she didn't need one.

  The stretchy fabric was a creamy yellow that reminded her of the tights she'd worn for workouts. There was a strange little emblem over the left breast, but other than a pocket stitched across the waist in the back, the garment was seamless and fit like a second skin.

  She looked at herself in the mirror, struck a pose and giggled. The outfit reminded her of the costumes worn by busty actresses in old B-movie space operas. Carly had to admit, though, it did wonders for her figure.

  She brushed her wet hair back behind her ears but didn't linger long in front of the mirror. Hopefully the satisfied glow of sexual contentment would help disguise forty-five years' worth of living, but she was not going to agonize about what couldn't be changed. She smoothed the sleek fabric of her suit down over her hips and stepped out of the bathroom.

  Tim stood in front of the stove, stirring eggs in a big iron skillet. He had his jeans on and he'd reclaimed his shirt, but it hung open and untucked. His long hair rippled, shining and black, once more secured in a neat ponytail with the leather thong.

  She thought how wonderful it would be to wake up to something like Tim every morning.

  He glanced up and smiled when he saw her. “Wow, that looks great. Sheyna guessed you were about her size. Not everyone looks that good in a skinsuit. They're not very forgiving.” He continued staring at her with obvious appreciation.

  Carly felt practically naked in the outfit, especially the way Tim was looking at her. She decided she liked the feeling and had to fight the urge to strike a pose just for him. Instead, she brushed her hands along her thighs, absorbing what Tim had just said. This outfit—he'd called it a skinsuit—was Sheyna's. That meant Carly was wearing clothing from another planet. If Tim's story was true, her outfit was from Mirat.

  She wanted so much to believe.

  Tim blinked, as if he suddenly realized he was staring and nodded toward the table. “Toast is ready if you want to put some jam on it. You can slice up the bananas and there's an extra cup by the coffee pot—hope it's okay. I make it pretty strong.”

  It all felt so…normal. Carly poured herself a cup of coffee then tackled the toast. Tim finished cooking the eggs and carried two plates full of bacon and scrambled eggs to the table.

  Carly couldn't remember enjoying a meal more. Tim was funny, his humor often self-deprecating and sweet and he made a killer cup of coffee. He used his kinetic abilities so naturally, Carly realized, that she completely accepted the salt shaker floating across the table, her coffee cup going for a refill and the dropped fork being washed in the sink and returned to her hand, without either of them leaving their seats.

  “Tell me about Talent,” she said. “How do you know you've got any?”

  Tim tilted his head and studied her a moment, as if searching for an answer. “That's hard to answer, actually. Jenna didn't have a clue until Garan forced her to see it. I was so embarrassed by mine, I hid my abilities for over a year. Then I found out my sister was telekinetic, too, so we told Mom. Both of us learned by accident…thinking something and having it happen when we didn't expect it to.”

  He paused and smiled, as if remembering something special. “My sister Mary knew a girl in school who picked on her all the time. Our father was a drunk and we were kind of poor, so that made us easy targets. Anyway, this girl was teasing my sister, and Mary wished she'd fall into a big puddle. Next thing she knew, the girl was face down in a huge puddle of mud, right in front of her boyfriend and all her snotty friends.”

  Carly laughed. “Ah, the sense of power…”

  “Yeah. I had a similar situation. A couple of guys chased after me. I used to be little and scrawny…might as well have had a big bull's-eye on my butt. They caught me alone after school one day and ran me down. I'll never know what they planned to do, because they both ended up in the river. Kids left me alone after that.” He stared blindly past Carly, obviously lost in his memories.

  “Where's Mary now?” Tim's face had brightened with the mention of his sister.

  Now Carly saw the darkness in his eyes. “Dead. She and my mom died when our car wrecked about eight years ago. It happened so fast we didn't have time to use our Talent to avoid it. One minute they were alive, the next they were gone.” He reached out and grabbed both of Carly's hands. “You would have liked Mary. In a way, you remind me of her. You're tough like she was.”

  He squeezed her fingers before letting them go. “Of course,” he added, leering, “I never thought of doing things with Mary like I do with you.”

  “I should hope not!” Carly laughed as she stood up to clear the table. “You cooked, I'll do dishes while you get your shower.”

  Tim leaned over and kissed her, then cleared the table kinetically. The dishes and silverware crossed the room to end up stacked neatly in the sink. He shrugged his shoulders. “For some reason, it seems even easier to move things this morning. Usually it takes a little more effort, especially after I've maxed out on my kinetics like I did with your transferal.” He stared at her a moment, smiled enigmatically, then headed for the bathroom.

  Carly started the dishes, but as he walked away, she sensed the question behind his statement. What did his kinetic ability have to do with her?

  Tim felt the excitement building all through his shower. She can't be, she must be, she has to be, that's got to be the reason… Carly. His own sweet Carly. A Synergist…a power catalyst, a mind without Talent of its own, other than the ability to passively increase the Talent of others…

  He rushed through his shower, growing more convinced with each unavoidable conclusion. He should have known…even during sex. Especially during sex. He shouldn't have been able to get it up, not after using so much kinetic power to bring her to this time. Hell, he'd had so much power, he'd had to control himself. Well, he'd not only gotten it up, big time, he'd needed control not to come and he'd found it. Not on his own…no, he'd tapped into Carly's mind without realizing it, tapped into her power and given it back to himself.

  He didn't even wait to dress, merely wrapped the towel around his hips, shoved his dripping hair over his shoulders and barged out into the main room.

  “I know!” he shouted. She jumped and turned around, eyes wide, lips parted. “I know why you're here.” Tim grabbed her face in his palms and planted a kiss on her lips. “We need to try something, something to
prove what I'm thinking. We…”

  “What?” She laughed. Her eyes sparkled and she stood there, hands planted firmly on her hips…oh damn, she had the most gorgeous hips, flaring out from that tiny little waist and when he looked at her he was certain he'd known her all his life.

  “Good lord, Carly, you're gorgeous.” The whispered words slipped out before he had a chance to think. He stood there, feeling as awkward and vulnerable as a child. She was Woman with a capital W and he was so unworthy of her, but he knew if she ever left him he'd have no reason to live.

  How could this be? Feeling more than a little foolish, he glanced at his wristwatch and realized he'd had her in his time for less then eight hours. She'd think he was nuts. Hell, she already thought he was nuts. He laughed out loud and grabbed her shoulders. “I hardly know you…you don't know me. Carly, I love you. I think I've loved you for all my life.”

  He leaned over and kissed the surprise right off her face, kissed her until she clung to him, breathless and wanting, her heart beating against his chest, her mind open and free. At that moment, that magical moment when her untested shields were down, he found her mind, found the amazing part of her Talent that let him build and increase his own power exponentially.

  Power enveloped him, filled him…limitless power like nothing he'd ever experienced before. Power that was all Carly…all hers to give.

  Tim let the rush ebb, controlled the flow that might have knocked another man to his knees. He kissed Carly, brushed her hair back from her face, kissed her eyes, her nose, her forehead. Stunned, he leaned his own head against hers, forehead to forehead, and gave her the words in her mind. I love you. I truly love you. You complete me. You make me whole.

  She looked up at him with wonder in her eyes. “I hear you,” she whispered. “I hear you in my head.”

  “Only because you've given me the power to 'path the message, my love.” Once more he held her face in his hands and kissed her. It was time to explain. Time to tell her just how special she was to his world.

  How special she was to him.

  Chapter 6

  “We'd suspected the concept of synergy for a long time, but not until Jenna showed up did we actually see it in action. Even then we didn't realize what we had. We'd learned to work in gestalt during the rebellion, to blend our powers in order to increase them, but Jenna was a natural. She could take whatever we were doing and increase the power tenfold. Your ability seems to go beyond even that.”

  Carly stared at him in wonder. He was telling her she had some kind of weird psychic power? Unbelievable. “What good is it, though,” she asked. “I mean, I can't do anything on my own.”

  Tim leered at her and she laughed. “Well, I can do that, I guess.”

  “You can do so much. I need to let Malachi know so he can be ready for you when we come home.” Tim grabbed her hands. “You'll come home with me, won't you? I want you to stay with me. I've got a cottage of my own, and even though I know the rest of the Institute members are going to want you with them I…”

  “Wait a minute!” Carly's laughter spilled out over his rush of words. She looked at him, at the face she'd fantasized over, the lips that had kissed her, given her such unbelievable pleasure, and realized she didn't know what to say.

  How do you tell a man he makes you whole? How do you explain, without sounding pathetic, that he's the best thing that's ever happened to you and you'd be a fool to leave him? How do you…?

  You just tell him, idiot. She cupped one side of his face in the palm of her hand. He nuzzled against her fingers like a puppy and she sighed with the wonder of him. “You're right, Tim. I hardly know you, but I think I've loved you all my life. You have touched something in me that cries out to be loved. You make me whole. You complete me.”

  The same words he said to me.

  Her statement hung in the air between them. Like a benediction…or a marriage ceremony.

  Tim leaned over and kissed her once, hard on the mouth. “I'm contacting Malachi. With your help, I think I can reach him.”

  He pulled two of the narrow, straight-backed kitchen chairs together and sat Carly in one, himself in the other. He leaned over and held her head in both his hands, touched her forehead with his.

  She watched Tim as his eyes appeared to drift shut, then suddenly she felt a pressure in her skull, a sense of fullness she'd not noticed before.

  After a few moments, he raised his head. His lips were curved in a most delicious smile. “I was right,” he said. “I've just linked to both Malachi and Sheyna. Mal wants us to head down the mountain right now…Sheyna says to come in the morning, after we've rested. I'm listening to Sheyna on this one. Malachi said he could read me as if he and I were touching. I'm a crappy telepath, Carly. I can't send or read worth beans, but he heard me as if I were right there with him.” Tim leaned over and kissed her. “You, my love, are amazing.”

  “I still don't understand what I'm doing.” She kissed him back. “I felt a little pressure in my head and then…”

  “That's when I was using your mind as a catalyst for my message to Sheyna and Malachi. It's hard to explain, but you're like a rocket booster for whatever power a Sensitive or Talent runs through you.” He tugged lightly on her hand and drew her on to his lap.

  She went willingly, snuggling up against his chest, bare and still damp from the shower. She felt his erection growing against her bottom and snuggled closer to his lap. Tim's lips brushed the top of her head, and then he rested his chin where he had kissed her.

  “You're going to have to learn some shielding techniques.”

  “Shielding? What's that?” She licked a drop of water off his chest, just below his collarbone, then went in search of another.

  “What?” He chuckled. “Sorry…lost my thought, there. Shielding is when you throw up mental blocks to keep intruders out of your head. I've used your power without your permission because you're not blocked. You need to learn to protect yourself from unwanted visitors.”

  Her tongue found another drop. She lapped it up, smiled at him, then continued her search. Tim sucked in his breath when she trailed the tip of her tongue from his breastbone to the base of his throat, then across his hard pectoral muscle.

  “What if I learned to shield myself, and then blocked you?” She managed to nibble her way closer to his nipple, then ran the tip of her tongue over the tiny little protrusion.

  He gasped aloud. “I would be terribly disappointed if you were to block me.” His breathing grew more ragged with each swipe of her tongue.

  Carly sucked his nipple between her lips and felt him go tense all over. “What would happen if I did?” She licked his hot flesh, then nipped at his chest.

  He groaned aloud, and his voice sounded rough and strained. “When I use my kinetic abilities, it usually saps my strength. All my strength. I can show you right now. I'm going to consciously sever the link I've forged between us.”

  Carly tilted her chin to look up at him. She licked her lips as a warning of what she still had up her sleeve.

  “Okay,” he said. “I've created a shield on my side, to keep our minds apart.” Tim grinned almost sheepishly at her.

  Carly realized his erection had totally disappeared. He was soft and flaccid beneath her. She glanced up sharply and he shrugged his shoulders.

  “Sex would normally be the last thing on my mind,” he said, “but if you'll recall, I was hard as a rock when I was barely conscious and still tied to the bed. You did that, Carly. Not merely your beautiful, sexy body, but your power, as well. I was drawing on you without realizing it. To put it bluntly, there's no way on earth I could have sustained an erection without your power. When we made love, you were giving me strength. When I was afraid of coming and needed control, you gave me that, too. You do complete me, love. You empower me in a way I've never experienced before.”

  As you empower me, she wanted to add. She didn't, though. She thought about it, but there was something in his voice, a sense of male pride tha
t caught and held her. Was that why he found her attractive? Because of the power she gave him? Guys were like that…into power and physical strength. Hell, she was so much older than he appeared to be. What could he possibly find attractive in her?

  He leaned over and kissed her, and her doubts fled like thistledown in the wind. His lips were warm and searching, his tongue almost timidly testing the seam of her lips, then the soft interior of her mouth. She sighed against him, sliding her buttocks close against his cock.

  She was aware of a growing pressure in her head, a subtle awareness of Tim's presence as he once again entered her thoughts. Suddenly he was erect and hard against her crotch, his cock fighting the restraints of the towel. His hands worked the seam of her skinsuit and she felt his need, his desire, filling her mind.

  Desperation drove her, a sense of urgency overwhelming in its intensity. Hers? Tim's? She didn't know, right now didn't care. His hands stroked her sides, his lips found hers, then traveled farther, along her neck, her jaw, then finally worked their way to her breasts.

  He peeled the skinsuit down her arms, lifted her off his lap and stripped it from her body until she stood before him, naked in the shaft of mid-morning light streaming through the cabin windows. She tugged the edge of the towel and he lifted his weight off it just enough that she could pull it free and drop it unceremoniously on the floor.

  Tim's cock stood proudly erect. Carly's first instinct was to fall to her knees and take him in her mouth, but suddenly a small packet appeared to fly across the room and flash between them. Tim snatched it out of the air, laughing, and ripped the envelope with his teeth. “I don't think I could walk right now if I tried,” he said, removing the condom from the paper wrapper and sheathing himself.

  He grabbed Carly by the hips and lifted her easily, settling her over his erection as if she weighed nothing at all. She suddenly realized he was lifting her kinetically so that she practically floated over him. He was hot and hard but she was ready for him, taking him easily inside. She wrapped her legs around his hips, linking her heels to the legs of the chair. Holding herself completely still, she savored the fullness, the sense of completion she found in his arms.