by Anna Argent
Talan shoved away from the tub. “I saw a little coffee pot. Do you want something hot to drink?”
She blinked a couple of times as if his words took a moment to register. “Something hot?”
She still wasn’t coherent yet. He wasn’t sure if her confusion was due to the onset of hypothermia or something Krotian had done. Either way he didn’t want to leave her for long, so he simply grabbed the coffee pot and brought it into the bathroom.
He started the machine, glancing at her every few seconds to make sure she was still above water. The tub had filled almost to the top, swirling with pinkish-orange streaks of her blood. He tested the temperature and found that it had cooled considerably, so he reached in and opened the drain plug to make room for cleaner, hotter water.
He took the second disposable cup that had been next to the pot and dipped it in the tub. As he poured it over Zoe’s head, her eyelids fluttered, and she made that delicious sound of enjoyment again.
Just like that, Talan’s cock began to swell. He ignored it, and continued pouring hot water over her hair. Most of the blood rinsed out. He used some soap on his fingertips to scrub away what was left. It wasn’t completely gone, but she no longer looked quite so wrecked and wounded.
The smell of coffee filled the room. Talan abandoned his efforts just long enough to dump all the sugar available in her cup and bring it back to her side.
After testing the temperature against his own lips, he cradled the back of her head and held the cup to her mouth. “Drink this.”
She covered his hand with hers, and he could feel the high-frequency tremors shaking through her. Even after soaking in the tub, a chill still clung to her skin.
As she drank, it occurred to him that she wasn’t fighting him. She wasn’t questioning him. She was simply doing as he told her to do, trusting him not to hurt her.
The knowledge was as humbling as it was arousing. He could have stripped her naked. He could have climbed under the blankets with her, offering her the animal heat of his own naked body. She would have warmed, relaxed. From there it would have been easy to part her thighs and work his cock inside of her, warming her from within. She was confused, trusting. She wouldn’t have stopped him once he’d coaxed her body into softening for him. The heat the two of them would generate would have worked wonders toward driving away her chill. And when she was herself again, aware of what he’d done, he could have simply pretended he’d done it all for her.
The fact that he hadn’t done just that made him both proud and angry. She deserved better than to have the one man who could save her life take advantage of her.
And yet, that was what he was going to do now, though in a different way. A less enjoyable way.
He wasn’t going to strip her naked and use her to appease his own physical desires, but he was going to use her all the same. His people, and hers, were counting on him using whatever means were necessary to see to their safety. If he had to betray her now, while she was weak and vulnerable, then he had no choice.
He took the empty cup from her hands, and lowered his voice to a deep, coaxing tone. “What’s the treasure, Zoe?”
She shook her head. Wet strands of dark hair clung to her cheek. Talan slid them behind her ear, revealing smears of blood left behind on her neck.
He tugged a wash cloth from the rack and began washing them away.
“Secret,” was all she said.
“We have to find it before the Raide does. Where is it?”
“Hidden.”
He poured more hot water over her head, working to loosen the few strands still clotted together with blood. “Hidden where?”
“I can’t say. It’s a secret.”
“Yes, but we have to go and get the treasure and hide it somewhere else. The Raide could have seen where it was hidden in your thoughts. He could be going there now to steal it.”
She grabbed his hand, clinging to it hard enough he could feel her shaking with effort. “No. He doesn’t know where it is.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I don’t know either. I wasn’t allowed to know, but—” She cut off her words and bit her lip. A look of shame creased her brow and dulled her eyes.
“But what?” He cupped her face with his hand, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “This is important, Zoe. You can trust me. I need to know what you do so that I can help you protect the treasure.”
“I can’t say. I promised.”
He stared at her, nearly forgetting his goal here. She had such pretty eyes. Dark, but filled with so many warm colors it reminded him of autumn leaves. Her black lashes were wet and spiky, and some of the makeup she’d worn had melted and left dark smudges that made her look broken and vulnerable.
His instinctive response was almost violent in its intensity. He wanted to tuck her away somewhere safe and bare his teeth at the world in a warning to stay away. Having her here, too easy to find, made him edgy and anxious.
She bit her bottom lip again, a sure sign she was trying to stay silent. Talan used his thumb to gently pull her lip free. A string of tiny dents had been left behind by her teeth. He rubbed the pad of his thumb over them to erase the marks of her distress.
The tip of her tongue swept over his skin, surprising him. An electric shock shot along his arm and down to his groin, making his cock jump in protest that it hadn’t been involved. He went completely still, not even daring to breathe, uncertain if she’d done it on purpose, or if it had simply been a mistake.
He stared at her, as if the answer to his question could be seen on her face. Instead, all he saw was a languid kind of softening in her posture. Her shivers had faded, even though he could still feel the chill of her skin against his fingers.
She tasted him again. Just a tiny, wet swipe, so fast he could have convinced himself he’d imagined it if he hadn’t felt the resulting thrill racing through his body.
Whether or not the first stroke of her tongue had been an accident, the second one had been done deliberately. He could see it in her eyes, in the way her pupils swelled as she stared at his mouth.
Talan didn’t plan what happened next. Something simply overtook him, stripping away his control so completely he didn’t even realize it was gone until his mouth was against hers.
It wasn’t a gentle kiss. He pulled her chin down with his thumb to open her for him, and thrust his tongue inside her mouth, giving her no time to reject him. The supple give of her lips went to his head. Her shocked intake of breath pulled the air from his lungs, leaving him dizzy. The heated rush of her sigh, the way her body simply melted against his, drove him onward, past all sanity.
When he regained enough sanity to check his surroundings, she was plastered against his body, soaking his jeans. Her feet dangled off the floor of the tub, her toes splashing as they moved. Water dripped off of her, sounding like rainfall. He didn’t even remember standing or pulling her into his arms, but it didn’t matter. Her mouth was on his, kissing him back like she couldn’t get enough. That was all he needed to know.
Pleasure poured over him, weaving through his veins and wrapping around his cells. He’d endured so much pain and loneliness for so long, he’d forgotten what it was like to feel good.
In fact, until now, he’d forgotten that it was even possible.
Zoe made his body sing, sweeping away all the dark, fearful things that invaded his nightmares. Death, violence, war… none of it existed here. Only her mouth on his, and her body struggling to get fractionally closer.
Heat rippled out of him. She wrapped her arms and legs around him. His cock was hard, and he didn’t have enough sense to even think about hiding that from her. Not now. Not when her sex was lined up so perfectly, he swore he could feel her shape beneath her wet clothes as she wriggled against his erection.
He held her up with one hand splayed under her ass. Firm, womanly curves tempted him with the promise of delight. Right then and there, he promised himself that he would feel her bare skin fill h
is palm. Soon. Maybe hold her while he drove into her, working her body up and down his cock.
Even the idea was almost enough to make him climax.
His other hand was on her head, holding it still so he could drink his fill of her mouth. Her kisses turned hungry and desperate. Her hands began roaming over his shoulders and chest, under his vest.
A sudden feeling of danger splashed over him, making him go still so he could figure out what the warning was trying to tell him.
Weapons. His vest was covered in them. One wrong move and she’d hurt herself. Or worse yet, knock a vial of liquid fire free so that it splintered on the hard tile floor, sending them both up in a wash of flames.
Still, even with danger looming so close, he couldn’t bring himself to stop. The pleasure she offered was too consuming for him to even think about pulling away.
Instead, he turned her and pressed her back against the wall, holding her there while he gathered her questing hands. She tried to fight him, but she wasn’t strong enough to win. Not even close.
“Take off your shirt,” she ordered against his mouth. “I want to feel your skin on mine.”
Her demand went to his head and his cock simultaneously, obliterating any good intentions he might have had. Whatever she wanted, that’s what he was going to give her.
He kept her pinned against the wall with his hips while he stripped off his jacket and vest. The damp leather fell to the floor, forgotten. While he was busy, she grabbed the front of his shirt and ripped it open.
Plastic buttons pinged off the walls and floor. One of them plunked into the tub. Her nimble, delicate hands splayed across his chest. They were chilly, but he didn’t care. He’d get her warm soon enough. From the inside out, if that’s what it took. Maybe then she’d tell him what he needed to know.
“Tell me about the treasure,” he coaxed.
“It’s secret.”
He pulled his mouth away from hers, and held her body still. He wasn’t sure how long he could stand denying himself her touch, but the mission was important. Her cooperation could possibly save her life.
“Tell me.” His voice was rougher than he’d intended, heavy with unyielding demand. He grabbed her wrists again and pinned them to the wall on either side of her head.
She drew in a little gasp, and he couldn’t tell if he’d frightened or excited her.
She stared at him like he was a tasty treat, smiling as she leaned her head against the wall, baring her neck for his mouth. It was such a tempting sight, he nearly bent down and took what she offered. As good as she smelled, she tasted even better. He knew that now, and it was going to haunt him for the rest of his days.
Talan barely resisted, knowing that if he got his mouth on her skin, he’d forget all about getting her to talk. He’d forget everything but getting in her as deep as he could go and staying there until they were both too weak to lift their heads. “Tell me.”
She let out a frustrated sigh. “I don’t know where the treasure is,” she whispered. “But I know how to find it.” She turned her head enough to reach the spot where he held her hand to the wall. Her teeth grazed over the skin of his wrist as she bit down with just enough force to make sure he felt it.
Hot, desperate need ripped through his body until it settled at the base of his spine. Her tongue swiped across his skin, and the rest of the world became a meaningless blur of light and sound. Only Zoe mattered.
He let go of her hands, and a second later, they were on him, roaming over his chest and shoulders, like she was claiming him as her own personal property.
Treasure. The word rolled around in his head like a boulder, crashing against his thoughts of how he could make her climax fastest, so she’d be wet enough to take all of him inside of her, hard and fast.
He knew her words were important, but to him, they lacked any deeper meaning. She was the treasure here. Her supple body writhing against his—the way she made him feel something good and happy—was worth more than a mountain of riches. He didn’t care about anything but making sure this pleasure lasted for as long as it could. He’d keep her safe, protected, so that no one could take her from him. Not even the Raide.
And then it hit him. Treasure. She wasn’t talking about riches. She was talking about the data sphere. And there were forces out there who would hurt her to learn what she knew. They would kill her to take that treasure from her, leaving her mind in tattered shreds.
It was Talan’s job to ensure that didn’t happen, even if it meant she never kissed him again.
Chapter Twelve
Zoe was finally starting to warm up, and she had Talan’s glorious body to thank for that. Everywhere they touched, her skin hummed and heated. Holding him was like hugging the sun, only so much more arousing.
He made her hungry and desperate—something she didn’t know how to handle. Her head was fuzzy and spinning, but when Talan pinned her against the wall with his massive body, everything seemed to make sense again. She was right where she wanted to be, getting just what she wanted. His mouth on hers, his hot, hard erection between her thighs, his scent filling her lungs—it all was exactly the way it was supposed to be. Easy. Simple. Thrilling.
And then he pulled away, staring down at her like she’d said something wrong. Lust darkened his cheeks and made his pupils swell until his normally pale eyes were dark.
He stopped kissing her. He simply stared, his throat working as he swallowed hard. “How can you find the treasure?”
She was feeling too good to even consider whether or not she should answer. “It’s a riddle my father left me,” she said. “One that will lead me to the treasure.”
His gaze fell to her mouth again, and he closed his eyes as if he couldn’t stand to look anymore. “Are you certain?”
Zoe was confused. She wasn’t sure what had shifted his mood so suddenly, or what she could do to get him back to where they were a moment ago, when she was only seconds away from getting what she wanted. “What’s wrong? What did I say?”
His chest expanded with each heavy breath he took. He was panting, and the bare swath of skin she could see now was more than enough to make her mouth water.
Zoe wanted to kiss him there, right over his heart. She wanted to feel those muscles tense under her hands and lips as she figured out what turned him on. Talan was his own kind of riddle, and she’d never been able to resist the lure of a puzzle.
It wasn’t until he spoke that she realized her mind had been darting around, unable to focus on any one thing for too long. Only his body seemed to be able to hold her attention. She’d already forgotten they were having a conversation, and she’d been the one who’d asked the question.
“You didn’t say anything wrong,” he said. “But I need you to tell me everything you know. What is the treasure? Where do you think it is? What’s the riddle your father gave you?”
“No. No way.” She wasn’t thinking clearly, but she knew better than to tell him that. Plus, if he got freaked out and stopped kissing her when she told him about the riddle, telling him more was going to turn him even colder.
That wasn’t something she could stand. Already, the heat of his body had begun to fade. There was too much space between them, and the water soaking her clothes had started going cold, sending her right back into those awful chills she’d had earlier.
She needed his heat again—that fiery blast of passion he’d shown her before. Only that was going to keep her warm.
Zoe leaned forward, intent on taking from him what she needed. Instead of meeting her mouth with his and giving her what she wanted, he turned his head, denying her.
His tone was hard, demanding. “You need to tell me what you know. It’s the only way I can keep you safe.”
As the first chill gripped her again, she realized that she didn’t really know this man. She’d thrown herself at him and told him things she shouldn’t have. She didn’t know what had caused her temporary insanity, but there was no way she was telling him more.
> She used the sternest tone she could muster. “Put me down and get out.”
His jaw clenched in anger. “Not until you tell me what I need to know.”
She stared at him, wishing away that glint of steel in his pale eyes. “Are you going to torture me until I talk? Hold me here until I freeze to death?”
His mouth twisted in disgust at the idea. “Of course not.”
“Then put me down and get out. I need to get out of these wet clothes and into a hot shower. And you’re no longer invited.”
Tendons in his neck stood out. He stared at her for so long, she was starting to wonder if he was ever going to let her go.
His erection jerked toward her, and she felt it easily, right against her labia. A heated throb of lust pulsed out from that contact, and she barely bit her lip in time to stifle her groan of need. Her body didn’t care that she was pissed at him. It trusted him far more than her mind ever would.
Slowly, he eased her down until her feet touched the floor. The water in the tub was nearly overflowing, even with the drain open.
She turned her back on him and shut it off. “Please leave.”
She didn’t hear him leave, but she felt him go. It was like he’d taken all the heat in the room with him.
Zoe shut and locked the door, knowing it was only the illusion of a barrier. A man built like him could bust through a cheap motel door without even trying. And that was the thought that filled her head as she peeled out of her dripping, clammy clothes and climbed back into the tub: whether or not he’d try.
Chapter Thirteen
It took Radek a while to remove the unconscious Dregorgs from the house. None of the Cyturs had survived the poison, which was a blessing. He would have had to kill any survivors. Unlike the Dregorgs, Cyturs couldn’t be convinced to simply walk away. They enjoyed the fight far too much, their lust for violence was well beyond that of any sane species.