He shook his head. “Nothing in the Preserve is, as far as we can tell, other than the pavilion where the women are doing their interviews, which is a recent addition. When we’re in here the Khagrish regard us as being in full animal status and they don’t care what we do. As long as we’re co-operative once we cross the barrier and re-enter the lab or training areas.”
She shivered. “Like being in a damn zoo.”
“Would you like to walk to the beach?” He hadn’t planned to offer the idea of a stroll, given how shaken she seemed but now he was concerned the hut was bothering her. Too intimate and closed in maybe.
Flo smiled and his entire body warmed at the idea he’d pleased her. “You’re sweet and so considerate. I’ll be fine. We should probably get back to discussing the pending battle. You must have more questions for me.”
Looking at her he couldn’t think of a single thing. His desire for her was a hunger he couldn’t satisfy, not without her explicit permission to touch her. To cover his discomfort, he went to the kitchenette and got two glasses of water, one for himself and one for her. Walking to the bed, he handed her one and pulled a chair from the table for himself. “All right, if you want to talk tactics, I’ve been wondering how this other pack is organized, militarily. What weapons do they have? How was their training done? Have they performed missions on other worlds? We’re taken offplanet quite often, in cryo sleep, and deployed against human and humanoid installations, not in the Sectors, not yet, but in the fringes.”
She considered his rapid-fire questions while she drank the water, then rose to her feet and launched into a crisp report. As she explained how the other Alpha ran things, Daegan listened intently, although his focus was divided between the information she was sharing and his admiration of her. She’d obviously given briefings to senior officers before and kept extraneous details to a minimum. Of course he had follow-on questions but at the end of her discussion, he was much more prepared to have his men play a proper role in the coming invasion.
“What are we supposed to eat for dinner?” Flo asked. “I notice our cupboards are pretty bare other than a few nutrient drinks and survival bars. Surely there’s better fare available.”
“Actually, I wanted to ask if you’d like to go to a cookout,” he said. “Ivokk’s pod is cooking their share of the marhaddak from the other night, which is good eating, and there’ll be other food besides.”
“Sounds good. Is that what you’d have been doing if you hadn’t had to sweep in all dramatic and carry me off?”
He nodded, although he’d much rather stay denned here with her and explore the attraction between them but tonight wasn’t the night, not after the experience she’d had.
“Will I be welcome?”
Surprised, because the almost shy question struck him as out of character for her, he said, “Of course. Neither Wint nor any of his particular followers will be there. And you said you can play cards with the best of us.”
“He’s got aspects of being an alpha-born, you know.” Head tilted she studied him. “He’s not, he doesn’t project the sheer power you have or Aydarr has at his fingertips and I realize most of the Badari here would probably never follow him, but I can see some traits.”
Daegan considered the matter. He’d always taken Wint’s presence for granted, an annoyance to be dealt with and perhaps even useful cover for himself since the Khagrish liked dealing with Wint. “I wonder if that’s what the Khagrish actually hope for? Men who can lead, at least to some extent, but who aren’t true Alphas and so will always be malleable and easy to manipulate. How is it you know so much about Alphas?”
“We have what, four of them in the valley? Oh, and Keshara, who says she’s not but she’s the leader of the Badari women.” Flo laughed. “Although she holds her own pretty well.”
“How does it work?” he asked, unable to imagine dealing with multiple Alphas and conflicting loyalties.
“Aydarr’s unquestionably the top dog. I mean cat. He just is.” Flo shrugged and appeared to be done with the topic of Alpha rule. ”I wish we could invite the other women to this dinner. I know the circumstances that brought them here are terrible but you Badari are mostly great guys and allies. I can’t wait until the ladies get rescued and taken to the valley and can meet Badari on an equal footing.”
“Mostly great guys?” He grinned at her.
“Well you’re one obviously.” She gave him a teasing smile. “Dinner? My stomach is rumbling and being rude.”
As she walked next to him toward the beach where the gathering was to occur, Flo asked, “Have you told any of the others yet what’s up?”
Daegan shook his head. “I wanted to know more first but then tomorrow I do plan to alert my enforcers—I do like that term, by the way—and begin some planning.”
“Enforcers of the Alpha’s justice is how it was explained to me. If I hear from MARL again tonight we may have more to tell them.”
Flo enjoyed the evening. The Badari gathered beside the driftwood fire were in good spirits and although the only drink was the bland nutrient stuff, the sea food was excellent. Everyone teased Flo about eating the creature which had wanted to eat her and later, when the group played cards, she managed to surprise them all with her ‘quick grasp’ of the game’s fundamentals. She won her share of hands, although as she’d predicted, they were only playing for shells and pretty pebbles. It was one of the strangest evenings she’d ever spent on an undercover assignment but there was nothing else to be done right now. The hurricane was coming on its own timetable and until she had more intel from MARL about Aydarr’s plans she might as well enjoy herself and further cement friendly relations, right?
She pondered how these men, so used to life on a tropical island with the ocean at their door were going to adapt to the cold, the dense forest and the lake in Sanctuary Valley. The move would be quite a change for them, with a lot of other new conditions as well. But they were soldiers, tough men living in a deadly environment for all the laidback joking and good spirits tonight. They’d adapt. That’s what the Badari did.
She watched Daegan in the firelight as he sat talking quietly with Ivokk. He was an immensely attractive man, with all the Alpha charm and power, which he was obviously intent on turning on her. She’d sensed he’d had problems at first with her being on his island as a secret agent, and major issues with her allegiance to Aydarr, but hopefully she’d made it abundantly clear her relationship with the northern Alpha was purely professional. All business. Nothing personal.
Although she’d like to get personal with this Alpha. He fascinated her on various levels, not least of which was physical attraction. Daegan was as handsome as any other Badari and his body was a marvel of cut muscles and chiseled abs like the warriors she knew, but something about him as a person drew her. She wanted to touch him in all kinds of intimate ways. Flo broke off her train of thought and stretched luxuriously, enjoying the way Daegan watched her.
“Tired?” he said solicitously. “You had a rough day thanks to the Khagrish.”
“Yeah and this damn bracelet.” She rotated her wrist in the firelight, watching the dark red flickers deep within the black material.
Daegan rose and came to her, offering his hand to help her up from the sand. “Tomorrow will be better.”
She said her farewell to the other Badari and walked along the trail inland with Daegan, acutely conscious he’d kept her hand in his. She was amused and pleased, her heart beating a little faster. “Nice group you have there.”
“Good men. We lost so many others over the years, taken by the Khagrish for their fucking experiments or killed in combat on our deployments. I’m glad Kierce made it through all right.”
“He had it rough for a while but of course he has a mate now,” she said. “I’m sure Elianna had a lot to do with how he recovered from his time with the Khagrish.”
“About this mate business,” he said, before stopping.
She had to clear her throat before answer
ing as tension took over her body. She both wanted and feared what might develop between them. Either way, life could become even more complicated. “Yes?”
“I know we’re pretending to be a pair but I have to tell you how attracted I am to you, Flo of the Sectors.” He turned his head to her and his eyes were glowing amber. “In case you hadn’t noticed.”
She took a deep breath, allowing her eyes to drop briefly to the impressive arousal pushing at the crotch of his utilities. “I noticed. The feeling is mutual.”
They stood close to each other on the path, in the moonlight. Daegan studied her face. “Would it be wrong of me to suggest we act on the desire? Not to become mates, obviously. I know your emotions aren’t engaged as deeply as mine, not yet at least, but—”
I think I could fall in love, given half a chance. “Shut up and kiss me,” she said out loud, framing his face with her hands and pulling him to her. The kiss was instantly scorching, Daegan not holding back for a moment. She parted her lips in response to his obvious wish to be granted entry and he took possession of her mouth with no hesitation. Alpha to the core.
Flo was lost in the sensation of Daegan’s taste, spicy, with a hint of citrus she couldn’t identify, a touch of what she would have sworn was rum, flavored with molasses or caramel but incredibly sweet in her mouth, and the clean bracing note of cedar. Complex like the man, sensory notes her brain identified in the presence of undoubtedly alien flavors, drugging and intoxicating her. She thought a bit giddily she was going to get drunk on Daegan’s kisses and the sensual inebriation was fine with her. Flo got as close to him as she could, fitting herself to his rock hard chest and grinding her hips against the massive bulge pushing against his utility pants, clear evidence of how much he wanted her.
Daegan held her with one arm and used his free hand to fondle her breast, teasing the nipple with his thumb as they kissed until she was squirming in pleasure.
They broke apart, breathless and stared at each other.
“I wish we were at the damn hut right now,” Flo said shakily.
“I can get us there in a flash,” he said, holding out his arms to her.
“Oh yes, because I am burning up here and you need to put out the flames.” She laughed at her own cheesy lines, like something from a badly acted trideo but she couldn’t deny the fact her entire body was aroused and ready to take this man to bed. Delay was exquisite torture.
He picked her up with ease and sprinted to the residence area, arriving at their hut in no time. Once he was inside, he set Flo carefully on her feet and she appreciated that he didn’t just place her on the bed. He did catch her to him, and demand another kiss, which she was only too happy to surrender. Daegan started working on the fastening of her jumpsuit and they had to break apart, laughing, as the closure resisted his efforts. He was able to strip her out of the garment successfully and Flo immediately unhooked the utilitarian bra and threw it aside.
“I promise you, once we’re out of this place, I do have more exciting lingerie at the valley,” she said with a laugh.
Slowly he knelt to draw the panties down her legs, and she braced herself with one hand on his shoulder to step out of them. Daegan nuzzled her, his huge hands holding her still.
“You smell so good,” he said. “Like nothing I’ve ever scented before, like all the wonderful things in nature maybe but uniquely you.” Rising to his feet, he stripped off his black tee shirt.
“Let me do the rest.” Flo pushed his hands aside and unfastened the opening of his utility pants. Today there was no loincloth, no underwear—Daegan had gone commando and his engorged cock immediately sprang free as the confining fabric fell away. Now it was Flo’s turn to go to her knees, holding him firmly and stroking his shaft, enjoying the way the ridges felt against her skin. She lapped at the plum-shaped head and murmured appreciatively. The taste was intoxicating, all Daegan. As he threaded his fingers through her hair, she took him into her mouth and swirled her tongue over the sensitive head and ridges while her free hand was busy caressing his sac.
Aware of the effort he was expending to hold himself from coming as she sucked and fondled Flo derived great satisfaction from her effect on this massive, sexy man. Pleased, she gave him a final stroke and rose to her feet. “The bed sounds good to me.” She crawled onto the mattress while he was riveted by the sight of her naked body, and rolled onto her back, beckoning to him. “I might get cold.”
“Not while I’m alive.” Daegan lowered himself to lie on top of her, his massive frame completely pinning her to the bed, although he kept the majority of his weight on his elbows. He kissed her neck and she held her breath for a second, afraid he was going to forget himself and claim her as a mate, which she had not agreed to. It was too soon for her, the situation was too fluid and she had too many misgivings about making a lifelong commitment yet, but he merely shifted his attention to her breast, cupping the weight and murmuring, “Perfect.”
Once he took the nipple into his mouth and began slowly applying sensual torture with his tongue and teeth, she couldn’t concentrate on anything but the sensations Daegan was causing in her entire body. She held him as tightly as she could, trailing her fingertips over his side and hips, savoring the musculature of his tight butt.
His impressive arousal pushed against her soft folds and she was already so hot and aroused she felt him slide inside with no problem. Sighing with pleasure, Flo shifted her hips to accommodate him and pull him deeper but Daegan stilled.
“Is there any possibility we could make a child tonight?” he asked, staring into her eyes.
Hypnotized by the amber glow, Flo shook her head. “No. I’ve had the inject. And I’m healthy, just had a physical before I came here.”
“We Badari can’t catch any disease,” he said before focusing his attention to her other breast although it wasn’t long before he slid one hand down her body to where the two of them were joined and sought for the sensitive bundle of nerves hidden beneath the folds. Skillfully he stroked the spot and Flo moaned, transported by his attentions and the extra stimulation the ridges on his Badari manhood provided to her internal nerve endings.
For her own pleasure and his she clenched her muscles and nearly climaxed then and there, but he continued to pump in and out with great deliberation, making them both wait for the climactic moment but building the tension expertly. Flo was so close that it was delicious agony not to finish but he was so in tune with her he seemed to sense when to pause and when to advance until she wanted to scream at his control.
Suddenly he thrust hard and deep, his rhythm changing to a faster movement and Flo knew Daegan had lost his battle with delaying their gratification. She went right along with him and together they toppled over the edge into a mind-bending orgasm the likes of which she’d never had before, blossoming deep in her core where he was sheathed and spreading in a tidal wave through her entire body. She might even have blacked out for a heartbeat or two from sheer sensory overload.
When she opened her eyes, Daegan was watching her, a smile curving his lips. “We’re good together, yes?”
“Absolutely. And I think we should have a repeat performance as soon as possible.”
He stroked his hand along the curves of her body. “You’ll get no argument from me.”
They cuddled together for a long time, Flo surprised to find she liked being held in a man’s arms and experiencing the after lovemaking connection. In her previous life in the Sectors she’d definitely not been one to linger. But then, she’d never been with a man who affected her mind and heart the way Daegan did.
Like a giant cat he stretched and rose eventually, leaving the bed to wash and bring her a wash cloth and towel so she could do the same. “You deserve flowers,” he said, sitting on the edge of the bed and watching her with open pleasure. “And all the good things a woman should have from the man who cares for her. Alas, all I can muster is a towel. And none too fine at that.”
Flo scooted over to him and embraced him.
“All I need is you, truly. And we won’t be stuck in this place for much longer either. There are flowers in the valley, you’ll see.”
He lay against the pillows and pulled her to him for a long, leisurely kiss. “Luckily we have all night. I’m on storm preparation duty again tomorrow, all day but then we’ll have tomorrow night as well. The Khagrish don’t intend to round up the prisoners and put us into the cell blocks until the day after, depending what the storm does.”
“We might hear more from my people tonight,” Flo said, toying with one of his flat nipples briefly before sliding her hand across his flat stomach and following the faint line of hair to his crotch, where his cock was lengthening again at her touch. “If I get any sleep, that is.”
“Should we stop now and turn in?” he asked, voice teasing, but rough with his desire.
“No, we should not.” Grasping him firmly in her hand, she stroked root to tip, exerting pressure on the ridges, which she was now aware created a highly erotic sensation for him. “I have other things to do than converse with an alien AI.”
Adjusting her position, she teased his shaft with her tongue, paying extra attention to the thick vein on the underside, where he was sensitive and then swirling her tongue across the head as if licking at a special dessert.
Daegan parted her legs with his huge hands and settled in to reciprocate, his agile tongue penetrating her to devastating effect. She was hard put to concentrate on her own attentions to him with the way he was arousing her, playing on her nerve endings like a master musician on a delicate instrument.
Oh yes, I have much better things to do than talk to MARL right now. Eyes closed, she took a deep breath of Daegan’s warm musky scent and gave herself up to the pleasure.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Of course she did eventually drift off to sleep after the lovemaking session. MARL must have been waiting because no sooner had she pillowed her head on Daegan’s shoulder and shut her eyes than the cloud of pink and orange took over her brain.
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