“Really?” Dark stared at the box in his hands. “Good idea!”
“Yeah—Sylvan thought you might need a little help getting away.” Baird nodded. “All you have to do is meet the Trollox at the door with a drink, wait until he’s out cold, replace the Shannom-rah with a fake, and leave with the girl. He’ll be pissed when he wakes up and sees his breeder and his robot cook are gone, but he won’t have any idea about the fake crystal. And he’ll probably put you and the girl being gone down to a rogue Replicant. That way you can’t be tied to the Kindred and the Trollox won’t start a blood feud with us.”
Dark was nodding as the other male spoke.
“It’s perfect!” He looked up at Baird. “Thank you! This is just the answer I needed. Right before you came I was wondering if I should just take Anna and run. But I didn’t want to abandon my mission.”
“You don’t have to,” Baird said firmly. “You can get the crystal and save your little female.”
“I see that now. I’ll do it and hopefully, I’ll be back at the Mother Ship within a solar week.”
“Sounds good to me.” Baird nodded. “Oh, but just be careful the fucking Knower doesn’t get to the Shannom-rah first. Have there been any strange Replicants coming or going since you’ve been here? You know that fucking thing can enter any of them.”
“None but the three that Gorn bought at the same auction where he bought me,” Dark told him. “And so far none of them has shown any sign of being anything but ordinary Replicants.”
“Just keep an eye out,” Baird advised. “We don’t want the Shannom-rah falling into the wrong hands.”
“I’ll fulfill my mission. Thank you, Brother.” Dark held out his arm for a warrior’s clasp and Baird took it and squeezed firmly.
“May the Goddess be with you,” he growled. “We’re all praying for your safe return.”
“Thank you. I’m praying for that myself,” Dark said dryly. “Please tell Commander Sylvan I’ll see him soon.”
“I will.” Baird nodded and left, going back to the small delivery shuttle he was driving. Dark watched the Beast Kindred go, his heart feeling lighter than it had in ages.
Everything is going to be all right, he thought, looking down at the box containing the fake Shannom-rah and the potent sleeping potion. I’ll be able to fulfill my mission and rescue Anna too.
Of course how he would break the news to her that he wasn’t really a Replicant was a whole other problem. One he would deal with in the future, Dark told himself firmly. For now, they had preparations and plans to make. And he had a whole week to make Anna fall in love with him—hopefully so in love that she would forgive him once she found out she had been deceived.
Chapter Twenty-four
“Is everything ready to go?” Anna looked around the kitchen worriedly. “He’s due to be back any time now.”
“Ready as it’s going to be.” Dark nodded as he looked at the meal he had prepared for Gorn. The big Trollox had called ahead with an order of what he wanted for dinner and Dark had thought it was best to prepare it and have it ready, though they hoped the sleeping potion would work on him so quickly he wouldn’t get to eat it.
“At the very least the smell of the food he’s ordered me to cook will put him at ease,” he’d pointed out to Anna. “He’ll feel that everything is well and be more willing to take the drink I offer him.”
“Ugh.” She had wrinkled her nose. “Well, it certainly wouldn’t put anyone else at ease!”
“Yes, well—Trollox cooking isn’t for everyone,” Dark remarked dryly. “In fact, it isn’t for anyone at all except the Trollox.”
Anna couldn’t help thinking, as they waited for Gorn to get home, that it had been nice not having the stinky, foul food odors in the house for the time that her captor had been gone.
In fact, the very first night after Dark had received the delivery of the fake crystal and the sleeping potion they planned to use on Gorn, he had made her a feast fit for a queen—all of humanoid food—and it had been delicious.
“This is amazing!” Anna had told him surveying the delicacies he had prepared. “But I’m afraid if I eat all of it, I’ll get fat again. The only good thing about this whole, horrible ordeal is that I finally lost some weight.”
“Baby, you don’t need to lose weight,” Dark had responded gently. “If anything, you need to put on a little. Some females are naturally slim and that’s all right but you’re meant to be an Elite with beautiful, bountiful curves. You should embrace them and love yourself for who you are.”
Anna had sighed. “Well, that would be easier if I could find a man who felt like you do—or like your programming makes you feel, anyway.”
“My ‘programming’ has nothing to do with it,” Dark had responded. “It’s how I feel. You’re beautiful and you like to eat. I like to cook. It’s perfect.”
Anna had given up at that point and let herself dig in. Dark had joined her, to her surprise, but she supposed it was just another feature of his Replicant physiology—allowing him to eat to seem more humanoid. It was nice, sharing a meal with him and afterwards, he had come to bed with her without asking.
She had wanted him to touch her again, but she hadn’t been certain how to bring it up. Dark, for his part, seemed to be trying to be careful of her. He probably thought that after the trauma she’d been through with Gorn, she might not want any sexual attention from him, though nothing could be farther from the truth.
It seemed somehow that when he had healed her body, it had also healed her mind. That didn’t make sense but it was how she felt. But she didn’t know how to let him know that—let him know that touching her was all right. After all, he’d been mostly healing her the last time he touched and tasted her and she wasn’t hurt now.
That had given Anna an idea. After they got under the covers together and turned out the lights, she had shifted restlessly on her side of the bed.
“Is everything all right, baby?” Dark’s voice was low and intimate in the dim room and she was very aware that they basically had the house to themselves for the first time since he had come to serve as Gorn’s chef.
“Fine, except… is it warm in here to you?” Anna asked. She was wearing the long black robes which were the only clothing her Trollox captor had ever given her but she wanted an excuse to take them off.
Dark seemed to understand. He himself was wearing nothing but his black trousers and she could see the dim outlines of his broad, bare shoulders as he turned to face her.
“It’s a little warm,” he rumbled softly. “If you’re uncomfortable, you can take off your robes. I don’t mind.”
“All right.” Since he had told her how much he liked her full curves, Anna had felt brave enough to slip out of the robes and lay naked on the bed beside him. She thought how good it felt to lie comfortably in bed without an ice-cold spreader filling her and reminding her every moment of her eventual fate. Now, thanks to Dark, that fate had been averted. He was going to take her home and she would be safe and happy and never have to see Gorn or any Trollox ever again.
But soon, she began to feel chilly. She gave a little shiver and Dark stirred beside her again. His bronze eyes were glowing softly in the dimness and Anna wondered if he could see her clearly, despite the darkened room. The idea that he might be looking at her naked body—and liking what he saw—made her feel hot and wet between her thighs.
“You all right?” he murmured, reaching out to stroke a strand of hair out of her eyes.
“Yes. Just…” She shifted a little closer. “Now that I’ve taken off my robes, I’m getting cold.” She gave a rueful little laugh. “I just can’t win.”
“Would you like to come here and let me warm you up?” Dark asked softly. “It doesn’t have to be anything sexual—I can just hold you, baby.”
Anna did want it to be sexual, but she still didn’t know how to say it. Still, pressing naked against him was definitely a step in the right direction.
“All right.”
Scooting over to his side of the bed, she pressed against the muscular wall of his chest and felt his long arms encircle her.
“Mmm, that’s right, baby,” he rumbled, pulling her close so that her bare breasts were pressed against him. “Snuggle in nice and close. Gods, love to feel you against me!”
“Mmm…” She sighed in contentment as Dark gathered her to him and she breathed in his spicy, masculine scent. “This is so nice,” she murmured, rubbing her cheek against his chest. “I feel so safe and warm in your arms—like nobody could every hurt me again.”
“No one will,” he promised, his deep voice low and intense. “I swear it, Anna—no one is ever going to hurt you again as long as I’m with you.”
“Then you’ll have to stay with me,” she said lightly. “Stay close.”
“Mmm, it will be my pleasure, baby.” He dropped a soft kiss on her forehead. “Are you feeling better now? All warmed up?”
“Well…mostly.” Anna bit her lip, feeling naughty. “Except…”
“Except what?” Dark urged.
“Well…except my, um, my nipples,” she confessed. “They got really cold before you started holding me and they’re still kind of…just a little bit achy.”
“Are you saying you’re in pain?” he murmured softly. “Do you want me to heal you again?”
This was exactly what Anna had been angling for, though she hadn’t known how to bring it up except in a round-about way.
“Yes,” she wiggled against him, loving the feel of his bare skin against hers. “Yes, I…I think that would be a really good idea.”
“I think so too. All right then—let me heal those sweet little nipples of yours.” Dark’s voice was low and hot. He bent his head to suck one of her tight buds into his mouth and Anna moaned and arched her back to press her breasts out, offering him more—offering him all of her if he wanted to take her.
Clearly Dark did want her. He growled softly with pleasure and need as he sucked first one tight peak and then the other, lapping gently one minute and then sucking hard the next in a way that sent tingles of pleasure straight from her nipples to her wet, hot pussy.
“Oh…oh, Dark!” Anna moaned, writhing against him. God, how could he make her so hot and bothered that she almost felt she could come just from him sucking her nipples? And yet, that wasn’t the only place she wanted to feel his mouth. Her mind kept returning to the soft, gentle way he’d healed her earlier—the feeling of his warm, wet tongue caressing the inner folds of her pussy as he murmured that she tasted so good…
At last Dark had pulled back and asked, “Better now, baby?”
His deep voice was hoarse with passion and Anna knew that he wanted her as much as she wanted him.
Or his programming makes him think he wants me, anyway—or act like he wants me, she thought, and felt a little sad. If only she could find a real man who was as kind and handsome and thoughtful and sexy as Dark—one who felt for her as deeply as he seemed to do…
Then she pulled herself up short—what was she thinking? Even if she’d found a real man who seemed to be everything Dark was, she couldn’t have trusted him. Look at how her trust in Lazlo had turned out! No, it was better that Dark was a Replicant—safer. He was programmed to protect her so there was no way he could do otherwise. And he didn’t have any male equipment to hurt her with. It was definitely better this way.
She was going to live in the moment, she told herself, and pretend that Dark was real and that they really could be together forever. She was going to take the pleasure he was offering her and enjoy herself. It was the only thing she could do right now and later she would have a beautiful memory of what it felt like to be with a man who cared for her and loved her, even if she never met anyone like him in real life.
“My nipples do feel better,” she told Dark softly. “But, well…” She wiggled and pressed her thighs together. “Now I feel achy someplace else.”
“Mmm-hmm,” he murmured. “I see. And where might that be? Where else do you feel achy, baby?”
“Be…between my legs,” Anna murmured. “Where you healed me earlier.”
“Do you think you’re still a little bit hurt?” Dark murmured. “Maybe I should heal you again, just to be sure you’re okay.”
“Do…do you want to do that? To heal me again?” Anna asked.
He made a hungry-sounding growl in the darkness.
“Are you asking if I want to lick your sweet pussy, Anna? Because the answer to that question is always going to be yes.”
“You…you really like it that much?” she asked breathlessly.
“Like it? I fucking love it.” Dark was already moving into position between her thighs, his broad shoulders splitting her wide as he bent over her in the dimness. “Didn’t I tell you that all Kindred love eating pussy?”
Anna thought about pointing out that he wasn’t really a Kindred, but she didn’t care anymore at that point if he was real or not. She just wanted to feel his tongue on her again—just wanted to feel him tasting and licking her throbbing clit until she came.
“Gods, baby—this sweet pussy,” he groaned and then buried his face between her legs for a long, hot lick.
Anna moaned and bucked up to meet him as he laved her tender inner folds and the aching button of her clit.
“Oh, Dark!” she gasped and her fingers found the silky-rough thatch of his hair as she pressed up to feel more of his hot tongue bathing her pussy.
Dark lapped her eagerly some more, sucking her wet folds into his mouth and releasing them gently before twirling his tongue around and around her clit in a way that seemed meant to drive her mad.
“There! Right there,” Anna moaned, tightening her grip on his hair. Then it occurred to her, hazily, that she was probably hurting him by pulling too hard. Reluctantly, she released her grip on him and put her hands to her sides.
Dark looked up at once.
“Why did you stop touching me?” he asked and she could see that his eyes were glowing more brightly than ever—they were hungry and half-lidded in the dim room.
“I…I thought I might be hurting you,” Anna confessed. “I didn’t want to pull your hair too hard while you were, you know, healing me.”
“Gods, baby—no. Don’t think like that,” he protested hoarsely. “I fucking love it when you pull my hair and put me where you want me! Where you need me. Lets me know you’re enjoying being eaten as much as I enjoy eating you.”
“Really? Then…I’m not hurting you?” Anna asked hesitantly.
“Hurts a little—but it feels good, too,” he assured her. “Hurt me, baby—I fucking love it. Love to feel your soft little hands showing me where to go.”
“All right, then.” Feeling empowered, Anna slid her fingers back into his thick black hair and tugged at his head. “Taste me some more, Dark,” she breathed.
Her reward for her boldness was a growl of pure hunger and then Dark redoubled his licking and sucking, making her pussy feel so hot and wet she knew she was going to come soon.
“Dark!” she moaned. “Dark! Oh God, if you don’t stop you’re going to make me come.”
Of course, this only made him lick faster and then she felt one thick finger entering her gently as he continued to bathe her clit with his tongue. Anna gasped at the intrusion but after a moment she realized it didn’t feel bad at all.
He looked up for a moment, panting.
“Is this okay, baby? I should have asked first,” he murmured, stroking the single finger gently in and out of her entrance.
“It’s all right,” Anna assured him. “It…feels good, actually. What…what are you doing?”
“Trying to find a special spot inside you.” He rubbed experimentally against the top wall of her pussy and she jumped and gasped a little when a deep sensation went through her.
“Oh—what is that?” she asked breathlessly.
“The Kindred call it a female’s pleasure spot—your people might have a different name for it,” Dark said. “Basic
ally, it’s the underside of your clit. It’s not just one little spot you know—it goes all over.” Leaning down, he bathed her aching button again with a long sweep of his tongue. At the same time, he pressed upward inside her with the single finger, as though to illustrate his point.
“Oh!” Anna gasped and bucked her hips involuntarily as pleasure shot through her. “Oh, God!” she exclaimed. “It…it’s like you’re stroking me everywhere at once.”
“That’s the idea, baby,” Dark growled. “Now how about you just lay back and enjoy it? Lay back and let me make you come.”
“All right.” Anna tried to relax but when he went back to licking her clit and rubbing that special spot inside her, she found her fingers tightening in his hair again. “Oh,” she moaned. “Oh, Dark…Dark!”
He seemed to love hearing her call his name because he redoubled his efforts, lapping and sucking and rubbing until Anna felt like she was coming apart at the seams. The orgasm which had been hovering over her head like a thunder cloud suddenly broke and she felt her back arching and her toes curling.
“There!” she moaned, pressing his mouth against her pussy. “There—right there!”
Dark stayed with her, riding out her orgasm as he lapped and sucked her throbbing clit, giving her so much pleasure that Anna almost felt like she was going to black out. Her body felt lit up like a Christmas tree and for the first time since Lazlo had sold her at the Trollox breeding market to Gorn, she felt completely and fully happy and glad to be alive.
So of course she started crying again.
“Anna? Baby—are you all right?” Dark slid up to the head of the bed and gathered her into his arms. “Is everything okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine—these are happy tears,” Anna told him. “I…I never thought I’d feel like this again. Feel happy I mean. Being with you makes me so happy, Dark.”
“You make me happy too, baby,” he murmured, kissing her wet cheeks. “So happy I never want to let you go.”
“You don’t have to,” Anna told him recklessly. “Or…do you?” she added. “I mean, I know you’re working for the Kindred. After this, will they send you on another mission? Will you ever be free to do what you want and follow your dreams? Do Replicants even dream?”
Deceived Page 19