by Anna Hackett
“I may hate the Rahl, but they make beautiful swords.” She stroked a finger along the hilt of a sword with an obsidian-black blade. “The craftsmanship is amazing.”
He was caught for a second watching her face. He wished she’d look at him like that. “There has to be a way out.”
She turned away from the weapons. “Keep looking.”
He headed in one direction and she went the opposite. At least with the lights on, he could see better. He found some other supplies haphazardly piled around. And then he spotted what looked like stairs heading up into the darkness. He took a step forward.
“Axton.” Xenia’s voice echoed through the space.
“What did you find?”
“Artifacts! They look like they might be from private Centaxian collections.” She held up something and he saw the glint of gold.
Taken during the looting. His pulse spiked. “Any sign of the Codex?”
“No. Sorry.” She stepped closer to the boxes, then stopped. “Oh, no.”
Her voice had changed. “What?”
“Axton, stay back. I’ve stepped on a pressure sensor.”
A pressure sensor? A chill skated down his spine. For what? He headed in her direction.
“Stay back, damn it.” She slashed a hand through the air. “You are so stubborn. There could be more.”
He halted a few meters away. “Are you detecting anything?”
“No.”
“No explosives?” He wouldn’t put it past the Rahl to have left some surprises to protect their cache.
She released a breath. “No. Nothing. But that doesn’t mean anything if their explosives don’t show on scans.”
He reached out a hand. “Step off and let’s run.”
“Move back.”
He didn’t budge, just made a “come” motion with his hand.
“Damn you.” She stepped off the sensor.
He grabbed her hand and they sprinted. But after a few steps, he didn’t hear anything—no explosions, no nets coming at them, no trapdoors giving way. He tugged her to a stop.
“Nothing,” he said, with a laugh.
Then a small sound reached them. The sound of something small rolling along the stone floor.
Four silver balls came into view, skimming across the floor, converging on Axton and Xenia.
Shit.
“Explosives!” Xenia yanked his arm. “Run.”
“That way.” He pointed toward the stairs he’d seen earlier.
One of the balls hit a pile of supplies. They exploded in a blinding flash of white light.
Another ball ran into a stack of boxes and exploded.
Thick, black smoke filled the air. Flames leapt from box to box, igniting into an inferno.
Two balls were still rolling toward Axton and Xenia. As the first one neared, he pulled Xenia to the side.
The ball altered course, tracking them.
Damn it. He grabbed his timepiece off his wrist. He’d played VelocityBall in his teens and hoped his arm was up to it. He threw the timepiece.
It hit the ball dead on. The explosion knocked Axton off his feet and a wall of wicked heat washed over him.
“Up.” Xenia was there yanking him upright.
The smoke was worse now and he coughed. He stumbled after her.
The final ball appeared out of the smoke.
Shit. He looked up. Saw the steps. Just meters away.
He wrapped an arm around Xenia’s waist, and at the same time, she grabbed him. Together, they jumped, both of them using their enhanced strength.
They flew upward. Behind them, the final ball exploded.
Flames engulfed them. Axton pushed Xenia’s head against his chest and curled himself around her.
Then the flames were gone and they slammed into a door at the top of the stairs hard enough to dent it.
With a groan, he hit the ground, still cradling her.
She struggled out of his arms. “Your shirt’s on fire.” She slapped at him.
At that moment, he didn’t care. His vision was blurry, his hearing was off, and pain was an all-over throb. He didn’t care about any of it. They were alive, maybe a bit singed, but nothing a medscope couldn’t fix.
Xenia’s face was streaked with black, her eyes were red and watering, and her hair had been ripped free of its tie. It fell around her in a tangled mess.
He’d never seen anything more beautiful.
“Axton, focus.” She shook him a little. “What’s my name?”
“I don’t remember. Do I know you?”
She gave him a light smack on his arm. “I think you’re fine.”
“I know who you are. Xenia Alexander. Most beautiful CenSec I’ve ever seen.”
Now she cupped his face. “You’re covered in soot and charred skin. You need a medscope.”
He plucked at the burned ruins of his shirt. There wasn’t much left to cover his back and chest. And what was there—he touched a raw burn on his chest and winced—was stuck to his skin. “You have to help me heal this. If my private physician sees it—” Axton shuddered. “The man is evil.”
“Come on.” She held out a hand. “I’ll get you home and healed. Right after I call in a CenSec team to put out the fire downstairs and do a sweep of the building for any more traps.”
Xenia pressed a palm to the lock beside the door. Her eyes glowed neon green as she interfaced with it. Seconds later, it gave a beep and opened.
They stepped back into the warehouse.
She slid an arm across his shoulders. “Let’s go.”
He didn’t need any help, but he leaned on her anyway. He liked the feel of her too much. “We smell like smoke.”
“Yeah, we need to get cleaned up and get that medscope on you.”
“I have one at home.” The slim devices were expensive and could heal any small-to-medium-sized wounds.
“Great.” She glanced up at him. Her eyes back to their regular cobalt blue. “And we need to get that Sync charged.”
“Yes.” Creator, he’d almost forgotten about the map.
Xenia cleared her throat. “Then I plan to let you get me naked and show me those fun, dirty things you promised me.” She sent him a smile that was somehow shy and wicked at the same time.
Axton stumbled, his mind going blank. Then all kinds of images flared to brilliant life in his head. “Come on.” He grabbed her hand. “Transport. Now.”
***
Wow. Axton’s house was amazing.
Xenia pulled the transport to a stop and stared up at the three story home, not far from the Capitol Building. It looked like cubes of synth-glass stacked on top of each other. They were coated with something so you couldn’t see in but she bet you got a good view of the city from the inside.
She lived in the Centax Security Compound. And while her apartment wasn’t small, it was nothing like this.
Axton led her up to the door. She eyed the raw, red burn on his back and winced.
“Did the team make it to the warehouse?” he asked.
“Yes.” She’d called Xander and arranged a CenSec team. “He’ll let me know if they find anything. He told me my priority was seeing you get to a medscope.”
Axton pressed his palm to the bio-lock on the polished metal front door. “I have a couple of other priorities.”
“Welcome home, Prime Saros,” the computer chimed. The door opened.
He waved Xenia inside. Lights clicked on automatically, bathing the space in a golden glow. It was all glass, metal and warm woods.
She stared at the floor. “Real wood?”
“Yes. Imported from Rahon III.”
Beautiful and expensive. She’d always wanted a real wood floor. There was something so welcoming and comforting about it.
He gestured to the stairs. “I’ll show you to the guest bathroom and find you something to wear.”
“And you’ll find that medscope.”
“Yes, Dr. Alexander.”
She lifted the Sync the
y’d found. “We need to charge this first.”
“Right.” He led her over to an office off the entry. It was done in more of the warm wood and accented in blue. The window gave a lovely view of the gardens of the neighboring academy.
The office smelled like him. It looked like him. She stroked a finger over the leather chair then set the Sync down on the charging pad on the desk.
Next, he led her upstairs and to a bathroom as big as the bedroom in her apartment. It was done in cream tiles with a huge soaking tub, giant shower stall with about a thousand jets and a full-body-sized air dryer.
He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Get freshened up. I’ll see you soon. Very soon.” Then he was gone.
Butterflies winged through her belly. She was going to do this. Get naked with Axton Saros. Then she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror above the vanity and her eyes widened.
She looked like she’d been rolling around in black dirt. Her hair was a mess and her uniform was ripped and covered in burn marks. At least the ultra-tough, high-tech fabric had protected her skin. She had a few tiny burns on her hands, but nothing as bad as Axton’s. She scowled. He’d played the hero and tried to protect her from the explosions.
She pulled her scorch blade out of her boot and set it beside the sink. Then she wasted no time stripping her clothes off and getting in the luxurious shower. Soon steam billowed in the bathroom and she relished the sensation of the hot water pounding her skin. As she got some soap from the dispenser on the wall and washed her hair, she knew she should be angry about the fact he’d risked himself to protect her, a CenSec.
But some feminine part of her liked it. No one had ever tried to protect her before.
She heard the bathroom door open. Then silence.
Her heartbeat was loud in her ears. “Axton?”
“I brought you something to wear.” His voice sounded the tiniest bit strangled. “I don’t have anything that would fit you, but this’ll keep you covered for the moment.”
“Thank you.” There was a lot of steam in the room and he was just a vague outline. She suspected that was all he could see of her as well. Despite her brazen words earlier, she was a bit nervous now.
She wasn’t technically a virgin, but she was close enough. She didn’t know the first thing about seducing a man, especially one who’d been linked to some of the most beautiful women on the planet, hell, in the star system. Women far less enhanced than she was, women who’d had sex numerous times.
Not knowing what to do, she lifted her arms and washed out the last of the soap from her hair.
She heard a noise she thought might have been a groan. That made her pause. Was just looking at her turning him on?
“How much can you see?” she asked.
“Enough,” he growled.
Some playful, teasing side of her rose up. A side she’d never known existed.
She squirted some more soap into her palm and then stroked it over her arms. She felt the intensity of his gaze like a laser beam. Gathering her courage, moved her hands down and cupped her breasts. She swirled her hands over them, felt her nipples pebble.
“Xenia?” Another growl.
“Yes?”
“Go lower.”
Her pulse jumped. She let her hands drift over her flat belly. It was lightly ridged with muscle and she wondered if he’d find her body attractive when he finally saw her fully naked. She was strong, toned and carried a lot of muscle. She wasn’t delicate or curvy like any of the society women she’d seen him with before.
“By the Creator, you’re a picture.” He took a step closer but was still just a silhouette in the steam. “Go lower, Xenia.”
She’d touched herself before, but never in front of someone. Now she didn’t even hesitate. She let her hand drift through the dark-red curls between her thighs.
He groaned. “Touch your clit.”
She did, rolling the tiny, engorged nub between her fingers. Electric heat spiraled through her, making her legs weak. This felt so…naughty.
“Slide a finger inside.” A hoarse whisper.
She obeyed, touching herself for him.
“I bet you’re so damp and hot. Keep working your clit, baby.” He was close enough now she could just make out his features.
Blood rushed through her, desire coiling between her legs.
“Soon, I’m going to put my mouth there. Suck on your clit and make you come. Then I’ll stroke my throbbing cock through your slick folds—”
Xenia came with a cry. She leaned against the tiles, her chest heaving and her legs like water.
“So fucking beautiful.” He pressed a palm to the shrouded glass. “Come find me when you’re done.” Then he disappeared into the mist.
She stood there, the water pounding over her. Warning bells were ringing somewhere in her head. This was Axton, the Prime. She was a CenSec. This could only end one way.
But damn it, she wanted him. And she had rarely taken anything for herself.
She was going to have him. Now.
Chapter Five
His hands were shaking.
Axton stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel. All he could think of was the image of Xenia coming in the shower and the painful throb of his cock. It rose to full attention, rising up to his belly.
He’d wanted to step into that shower stall with her, but she deserved more than a hard fuck against the wall. And if he’d touched her slick skin then, still warm from her climax, that’s all he would have given her.
He rubbed at his wet skin and caught one of his burns. “Shit.” He was dry enough. He hitched the towel around his hips and picked up the medscope.
After turning on the slim metal wand, he ran it over his arms, legs, face and chest. The blue light bathed his skin and he watched the burns heal over until there was just smooth skin. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t reach the burns on his back.
“Let me help.”
His head shot up and in the mirror, he saw Xenia’s reflection. She leaned against the door frame clad only in one of his button-down, white shirts, her hair spilling over her shoulders.
His shirt hit her mid-thigh, leaving a long expanse of toned legs bare. She hadn’t done the buttons all the way to the top and he could see a triangle of bronze skin and the hint of cleavage.
Behind his towel, his cock jumped. If he didn’t have her soon, he was going to combust.
She sauntered forward and took the medscope from his hand. As she studied his back, her face softened. One finger stroked the skin between his shoulder blades. “You got this protecting me. Idiot.”
There was no fire in her words. “You’re welcome.”
“I’m the CenSec, it’s my job to do the protecting.”
“Well, sometimes even CenSecs need someone to help them.”
She stared at him in the mirror.
“Sometimes we all need someone,” he said.
She swallowed before looking away. She turned on the scope and set to work healing his back. In seconds, the soreness faded away.
Leaving them standing there, staring at each other.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
She licked her lips. “Yes. But not for food.”
Damn. Every muscle in his body was rock solid.
He spun. She leaped at him.
They were all over each other. Axton hitched his hands under that damn shirt, sliding them up to cup the bare cheeks of her tight ass. Her mouth attached his, her tongue sliding in. Then he was urging her up and she wrapped her legs around his hips.
She dragged her mouth off his and pressed her lips to his neck, licking his skin. “I don’t know how to do this. Usually I know exactly what I’m doing.”
There she was. His straight-talking CenSec. There’d never be any pretense with Xenia. He set her on the marble vanity and pressed between her open legs. He cradled her face, forced her gaze to meet his. “Trust me?”
She hesitated…then nodded.
&nb
sp; “Trust me to take care of you,” he murmured. “To make it good for you.”
“I want this to be good for both of us.”
Axton managed a strangled laugh. “Baby, believe me, it’ll be good for both of us. Just follow my lead.”
Her eyes glinted. “I can do that.”
He didn’t have to ask about birth control. Their cyborg systems protected them from pregnancy and disease. He took her mouth again. By the Creator, the taste of her was enough to blow his mind. He tried to keep it slow this time, unhurried, but the fire between them was too hot and soon they were clutching at each other, hands stroking, tongues dueling.
Shit. He had to find some semblance of control. He wanted this to be beyond good for her. She might have had sex before, but this was her true first time. The first time she wanted it, that she’d find pleasure.
He scooped her up and strode into his bedroom.
“Nice,” she murmured.
His large bed was covered in a midnight-blue cover and sat on a small raised platform. The glass windows gave a beautiful view of the glittering lights of the city and directly above the bed was a skylight, showering the room in a shimmer of moonlight.
Axton didn’t turn on any lights. He laid Xenia back on the bed and starting undoing her buttons. “You look good in my shirt.”
“You look good in a towel.”
He saw her gaze stroking over his chest. As he worked the buttons free, his fingers grazed her flesh, making her breath hitch.
Then he flicked the shirt open.
He already knew she was built long and lean. Now he saw her full breasts topped with dusky-pink nipples. Perfect.
She shifted. “I…have a lot of enhancements.”
He blinked and the silver implants he hadn’t noticed came into focus. Two rested on her collarbones, one above each breast. Two more shallow, silver semi-circles rested on her muscled stomach either side of her belly button.
He touched the implant above her left breast. She sucked in a breath, watching him intently.
“You’re gorgeous, Xenia. Just as you are. Your strength, your dedication to your job, that’s just as attractive as the rest of you. And these implants are a symbol of that.” He palmed her breast, flicking a thumb over her nipple. She gasped and arched into his touch. She was so sensitive, starved for touch. What had it cost her to hide her emotions all these years?