Open World (10 page)

Hawk-man
took her hand and led her over to the window. As she looked out upon the land,
he slipped his hand along her bare back. The lightweight silky material of the
halter top and sarong dress she wore was cool compared to the heat of his skin.
She turned her focus from the hand at her back to the view on the grounds
below. She observed hawk-people milling about, some working, some lounging on
benches and blankets and being served by others, an apparent class system in
operation. A deepening shadow blocked the little bit of light outside, and in
the reflection of the window, she watched Hawk-man’s lips move. Fascinated with
their soundless motility, her gaze stayed fixed to the reflection. Out of the corner
of her eye, she noticed the shadow drift away. The landscape and window slowly
lit up. As this change occurred, his silent words sped up.

Without
true conscious thought, she turned and dropped to her knees in front of him and
unbuttoned the fastenings of his tight, leather-like trousers. In moments, she
had the clothing down around his ankles and gazed upon his sex rising between
his legs. Her arm involuntarily lifted. She stared in astonishment at her hand
as her fingers formed an O around his shaft and loosely grasped it. With all
her might she attempted to stop the action of sliding her hand up and down his
length but couldn’t. Struck with alarm, she realized he must have hypnotized
her somehow to make her act against her will.

But,
a tiny voice in her mind chirped
as her lips kissed and her tongue licked the hard cock’s head,
you’re dreaming and he doesn’t have control
of your mind
.

The
voice was right. The man had no influence over her thoughts and feelings.
Relief washed through her, relaxing the panic constricted muscles in her
shoulders. Going with the flow of her dream world, she let his scheme unfold as
it might and let her mind run free with other thoughts. To make the situation
more palatable, she pretended the man she had undressed was Big T, that it was
the sexy pair of hot pink spandex pants she had rolled down those long, toned
legs to his ankles, that it was his engorged cock she currently kissed and
licked, his ass she held.

His
hand reached around to the back of her head and pushed her face closer to him.
Her lips rolled and covered her teeth as the tip of his cock popped in to her
mouth. Sucking on the head, the fingers ringed around the base continued to
glide up and down. She imagined the fingers entwining in her hair weren’t those
of the hawk-man.

Big
T was with her now, her mind recited. Big T, who from what her sister said,
wanted her. Sexy Big T with his rockin’ long hair and soulful brown eyes.

Her
hardened nipples brushed against the silky material of her top, sending ripples
of giddiness down her torso. This time the pure, biological response of
moisture seeping out in her crotch was welcomed.

God,
she wanted Big T, not this man before her. She stopped and sat back on her
heels.

“Did
I tell you to stop?”

Faith
glanced up. “No.”

“Then
continue.” Hawk-man grasped the back of her head again and drew her toward him.

Still
bewitched, she snaked her tongue along the underside of his cock from his balls
to the end. After rimming the ridge with the tip of her tongue, she stroked
down the length back to his balls and took one in her mouth. Gently, she kissed
and licked and sucked on one side of the sack, then the other. His fingers
tightly wrapped in her hair. A low, rolling moan sounded above her. She kissed
her way back up to the moist tip, again letting her fingers loosely capture and
glide along his length.

He
untangled his fingers,
then
smoothed down her errant
locks.

Faith
moaned around the dick in her mouth.

He
pulled out and away from her. “Have you taken a lover elsewhere? Have you been
with someone else here?” A deep voice rumbled above her.

Wanting
to keep the illusion in her mind’s eye that she was with Big T at home, she
didn’t look up. “No,” she answered honestly. “I have been with no one but you.”
At least, not yet
.

“Good.
Now continue.”

With
that command, she relaxed her jaw and throat muscles and allowed herself to
take him fully within.

His
cock filled her mouth and hit a part of her throat only her doctor with his
long cotton swab had ever touched. She breathed through her nose in nice steady
breaths as she worked the penis in her mouth and grabbed his hips for balance.

Above
her another moan sounded, louder this time, and he took over the rhythm of her
fellatio, picking up the cadence of the to and fro movement. Keeping her mouth
and tongue motionless as he bucked, she continued to breathe steadily through
her nose to quell the gag reflex. Both of his hands seized the sides of her
head. He gave one last thrust, yanked out of her mouth, and released a warm,
sticky liquid onto her skin.

****

Faith
stirred, blinked and threw a forearm over her eyes to protect them from the
glaring morning light. After a few moments, ever so slowly, she removed her arm
and opened her eyes. She rolled onto her side, looked at the empty bed, Hope’s bed,
across the room, and prayed her sister was all right.

Turning
onto her stomach and bunching the comforter against her side, her mind recalled
the strange dreams she’d been having, last night’s being the weirdest. She
still couldn’t believe what Hawk-man had made her do. Thank God she had Big T
to think of during that spectacle.

But
what about Tavis?
I’m supposed to be in love with
him. Yet if he isn’t here in the game and I’m to be stuck here for who knows
how long, shouldn’t I be allowed to find someone new?

She
bounded out of bed, smoothing down the escaped hairs of her braid and,
straightening her t-shirt and shorts, ran downstairs to find Big T. As she
rounded the bottom of the stairs, his voice called to her from the kitchen. She
skidded to a stop with a huge smile on her face,
then
headed to him.

In
the kitchen, he sat at the table reading a section of the newspaper that lay
folded in front of him and, when she entered, he flashed
her an
enchanting grin.

“I
see you gave up the rocker dude persona when you did your makeup today,” she
said playfully.

“You
funny girl,” he replied in a short, clipped way. “The rocker dude look was a
bit much for me. I strived for more of a Cary Grant-ish look this morning. What
do you think?”

“I
think you did a good job with the darker foundation.” She pulled a glass from a
cabinet, retrieved the container of orange juice from the refrigerator and
poured, all the while stealing glances at him.

Leaning
against the fridge, she drank her juice and observed him flipping the paper
over and his manly but graceful fingers tracing the words as he read.

 
He glanced at her and smiled again. “I’m going
to the theater for a couple of hours. I really wish you’d reconsider coming
back and being in the next production. We could use your talent.”

“I’d
love to, but I still have a lot to learn. I’m going for my theater degree and,
when I’m done, I’ll be even better.”
College.
What will
become of my courses? Am I being considered absent in the real world while I’m
stuck here?
A heaviness
settled on her chest.

“You
really don’t know how great you are right now, do you? You need to give
yourself more credit.” He rose, went to the sink and washed out his coffee cup.

Big
T reminded her so much of Tavis.
If I’m
going to be trapped in this world, I may as well make the most of it
. She
walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “You’re so good for
my self-confidence and outlook on life. I’m happy you’re here.”

“Ah.”
He patted her hand, which lay upon his stomach. “You like me here because I’m
good for your ego?”

“I
like having you here because you’re a nice person and…I like you. I’ve come to
see you in a different light. If you’re interested in taking our friendship to
a new level…I’m all for it.”

He
slipped around in her arms, lightly held her biceps and gazed down at her, his
brow furrowed. “Are you serious?”

Faith
nodded. The decision to say she wanted something more had been spontaneous, but
with his confused look, she doubted she’d made a wise choice.

“Then,
yeah, I’m up for it as well. I’ve been attracted to you, too.”

Relieved he felt the same, a heated wave
of arousal surged through her.
She searched his warm, brown eyes, wanting to learn more about the
man behind them. As if reading her thoughts, his face came within an inch of
hers
,
allowing a deeper look into the windows of his soul. A curiously interesting,
underlying green tinge accented them. Lost in his gaze, a deep, primeval urge
claimed her, a thirst to acquaint
herself
with him
thoroughly. She yearned for his large strong hands on her, to touch her in
places lovers touched.

Clouds, which had been blocking the miniscule
amount of sun the alternate world received, floated onward and a beam of soft
light filtered through the window and illuminated them. Faith shifted her body
and with a slow, seductive gaze, she trailed downwards from his gaze and took
in his full, burnt umber-painted lips.

Before she could take her next breath
,
his mouth
descended on hers. His hands slid around to her back, clasped her shoulder
blades and brought her chest to his. A brief moment of shock stiffened her
body, then, as if she had always been intimate with him, she relaxed. His mouth
sensuously moved upon hers and
,
when it parted
,
she followed suit.

His tongue searched her mouth. Primitive
hunger swelled and took over. Faith matched his movements with a natural flare
,
which belied
her innocence. She ran her fingers through his hair, enjoying its softness.
Happiness, desire and the tug at her consciousness that what was happening
wasn’t proper created turbulence in her belly.

She
groped his ass, met his tongue with hers thrust for thrust. Faith couldn’t get
enough of him and her searing need overrode everything else, making her
throw
her all into the kiss as if to devour him. Aware of
his hardness brushing against her, she released one of his butt cheeks and
brought her hand around. The taut fabric of his pants molded against his
bulging cock. She cupped the protrusion. His sex pulsated against her palm, and
she kneaded the mound.

He
ended the kiss, but made no move to stay her active hand and rested his
forehead against hers. His breath was hot and moist against her face.

A
throat cleared from the doorway. Faith abruptly pulled away from Big T.
Startled, she turned toward her cousin.

Cassandra
leaned against the doorjamb, shaking her head. “I don’t think that’s what your mom
and dad had in mind when they said he could stay here.” She pushed off her post
and headed back down the hall.

Faith’s
cheeks burned. She shouldn’t have let herself get caught up in the moment.

Big
T leaned down, his warm, moist breath feathering her ear. “You’re pretty when
you blush.” He kissed her earlobe,
then
released her.
“I’ll see you later.”

Alone
and mentally at ease, she looked out the kitchen window above the sink. The desert
behind the house stretched for quite a ways. There were gently rolling crests
and depressions between them and the mountains. The scenery reminded her of the
real world, of the remote location she grew up in on the edge of the valley. She
used to love running up and down the land waves and hiding in the deeper
gullies to take naps or watch the clouds drift by.

A
serene sigh escaped her as the pleasant childhood memory was replaced with what
she sensed as an older, more intense recollection. The desert vista morphed in
to a calm sapphire sea. Small, easy-going waves lapped up onto a beautiful
ivory coast. She couldn’t recall a time she and her family had gone to such a
beach, but when she closed her eyes, she could feel the moist, ocean breeze and
smell the crisp sea air as if she had been there, as if she were still there.
An intense urge to go swimming crept over her, an impulse to go hang out under
the water and play with the fish and meander amongst the plant life. The
searing need to meditate in the calm under the waves embraced her so strongly a
pang strummed her heartstrings. If she didn’t know better, she would have said
she was homesick, a feeling she hadn’t experienced since she went to camp as a
pre-teen.

She
opened her eyes. The sea was gone. A current of air stirred the blades of palm
trees in the back of the yard.

“I
really need to get some sleep,” she said to no one but God.

PART FOUR

Hope’s
Run