He sighed. Only someone with her level of inexperience could have missed the effect she had on him. His cock felt painful with the need to go to her and show her immediately.

Another problem was her need for control, for not letting go. She didn’t like to lose control, didn’t like to be open and vulnerable. Well, she was fighting a losing battle. She was wrong in not realizing sex could form a level of intimacy more powerful than a hundred of her Earth “dates.” She was so powerful in her vulnerability and so totally unaware of it.

She was so beautiful and honest in her responses. It reached him on emotional level that he had never experienced with any previous partners. Because she was so reluctant to share herself, it merely made the sharing more poignant, more special.

He felt powerful when he drew a response from her, it was true. But at the same time, he felt helplessly drawn to her. He wanted her more than he had wanted any other woman physically. Mentally, he wanted to know her thoughts, to see the world from her viewpoint. Emotionally, he wanted to bring joy to her life and watched those eyes light from within with happiness. He was well and truly mired in her. There could be no going back at this point.

He turned onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He had to find a way to make her want to stay. With a grimace he faced his next thought. He had been very careful with her thus far. Once they began having sex, the urge to merge telepathically would grow stronger. He would eventually lose control.

If she worried about being lost in him now, he could imagine her reaction to that. She would be horrified and panic. If she rejected him during the merge, he could hurt her terribly. He had to initiate her carefully.

When they did merge, she could leave him at a later time. The loss of immediate mental intimacy would be incredibly painful for him. He was risking a lot more than she seemed to think. He had to find a way to bind her to him heart, mind, and soul. He sighed. Easy for him, she had said. Right.

Sharon spent a restless night tossing and turning in her bed. She could hear Liken’s movements in the other bedroom. The house was so quiet that she could hear the rustle of the sheets as he turned one way and then another. A couple of times, she tensed as she heard him get up from the bed and pace the room.

She knew he could by rights come into her room and begin touching her again. Her body, exhausted and swollen, still ached with the knowledge of what he would do to her. Yet, each time, he returned to bed without entering her room. She was relieved. Mostly.

She thought about why he hadn’t just finished things between them tonight. He wanted her to get used to him sexually. She couldn’t help but wonder why he was being so careful. He could have pushed her into more. She was helpless in her attraction to him. There was more to his caution than he was telling her. She felt sure of it.

He was an alien. Granted, he appeared to have the same equipment as any Earth male. Why the caution? Wasn’t sex the same? She thought about the two times she’d felt his mind brush against hers. She didn’t like the thought that he might enter her mind the way he would enter her body. She had avoided asking him about the mind thing because it was too scary.

There had been too many things happening in too short a time. She felt overwhelmed. She hadn’t wanted to deal with even one more surprise – especially the thought of him inside her head. Would he be able to read all her thoughts? Her secrets? Would he be able to do it anytime or just during sex? What could he do? She felt like running away from him as far and as fast as she could. Her heartbeat in her ears, she struggled to calm down and reason things out.

Liken’s sudden appearance in the doorway at the moment nearly scared her to death. She gave a muffled shriek and stared at him in alarm.

“Sharon, what is frightening you?” he asked gently as he came into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. He was dressed only in a pair of loose black pants, tied at the top with a small white cord. His chest, large and muscular, gleamed in the dim light as the lights suddenly became a little brighter.

“Did you do that?” she asked in surprise.

“What?” he seemed confused by her question.

“The lights. How did you make them brighter? Where are they?” She kept looking around the room for some kind of light source.

He seemed to be choosing his words carefully. “Yes. I did make it brighter in here. I will show you how another time. You are very anxious. What is wrong?” His voice was soothing.

It was strange. Since he had entered the room, she had been feeling calmer. She didn’t know if it was his presence or the interruption from her disturbing thoughts. She needed to get a grip. Whatever the mind thing was, she couldn’t just freak out about it and have a heart attack. She needed to know more about it. Maybe it wasn’t what she thought at all.

She needed to approach this logically and get more information. Liken reached out and gently brushed her hair off her forehead. Looking at his face etched with concern, she decided now was as good a time as any.

“Liken, what is that mind thing you do?” her eyes bravely held his as she braced for the worst.

His face carefully went blank. “This is what has you so fearful?”He had hoped to avoid the explanation until after their merge.

“Well, yes. I mean, I started thinking about tomorrow. About us being together…” her voice grew a little fainter. “What’s going to happen? Will you be inside me? Inside my head?”

Liken could see even in the dim light her cheeks were flushed. She was embarrassed, but still wanting answers. He felt an unexpected wave of tenderness go through him. How to explain without scaring her to death? “Sherree, you don’t have to be fearful. When our bodies join, our minds will join as well. It is a wonderful thing, a beautiful thing.”

She sat up a little, carefully keeping the sheet around her. “Okay, but what does that mean? Is it just for a moment? I mean, am I going to have you in my head all the time after that?”

She looked very unhappy at the thought.“Not exactly. It’s a little hard to explain. I would rather show you than try to describe it.” He was aroused at the mere idea of it.He was trying to hide his growing arousal from her, but it was impossible to hide the hardness pressing outward from his pants.

Pinned by his heavy-lidded gaze, Sharon felt uneasy. He wasn’t really answering her. “What’s the big secret? Why won’t you tell me?”

Liken didn’t want to lie to her, but he couldn’t tell her either. For a fleeting second he wished she had picked Challenge or Capture. He could have merged with her immediately without her consent. It would have been shocking and painful for her, but effective.

The impulse to possess her was strong and the talk of merging was making him hot. Reminding himself that Sharon would not be Sharon if she had picked one of the other options, he decided to give her a small preview without revealing everything. It might lesson her fear. Provided he could stay in control enough to withdraw in time. Time…

Suddenly he realized it was past halfeve. In fact, his time restriction was up. He could take her now. Looking into her face he realized she was growing angry at his evasion. She had no idea that they could now move to the last stage. Perhaps that could work to his advantage.

He moved his body closer to hers on the bed. Something must have shown in his face because Sharon suddenly gave a violent pull on her sheets. It sent him tumbling to the floor.

He ended up sprawled on his butt, eyes wide in shock. It was a contest as to which of them was more surprised. Her hand flew to her mouth and her eyes were huge.

Jumping out of bed, she was careful to wrap the sheet around her body quickly. Backing toward the door, she let out a nervous little giggle before she could stop herself. “I really didn’t mean to do that. It’s just…you had that look you get right before you pounce on me. I was just going to grab the sheet and get out of bed…” Her voice was shaky with suppressed laughter.