Ultimate Warriors

by Jaide Fox

  Quinlan instantly stepped forward. She grimaced. On her father’s old couch was Mrs. Nathaniel with the butler unit. She had his uniform lifted off his slightly rounded stomach was trying to reprogram the unresponsive unit to....

  "Excuse me," Quinlan said. "This room is off limits. And I would appreciate it if you didn’t reprogram the help."

  Nikandros hid his chuckle at the wryness of her tone. Mrs. Nathaniel blinked, nearly screaming in surprise at being found out.

  "Get back to the party before I tell your husband you have a robot fetish," Quinlan ordered. The woman nodded her head and scurried off, her face coloring in horror and mortification.

  Quinlan sighed in frustration. She had been so sure she was going to solve the mystery. Disappointment was hard to swallow. She went to the unit and began rerouting the wires to their original settings.

  "How did you know she had a robot fetish?" Nikandros asked, a suspicion forming in the back of his mind.

  "Lucky guess," she murmured in distraction. She righted the uniform. "Only a woman with a robot fetish would know which wires to cross."

  The butler unit blinked and sat up. "Welcome home, Miss."

  "Restart program," ordered Quinlan. The butler nodded and blinked. He stood before her. "Back to your post."

  The butler silently walked out the laboratory door.

  "So, this is your father’s lab?" Nikandros asked, looking around when they were alone. He remembered the place well. He had spent many hours with William in it. William had been a good man with a truly pure heart and had treated him like a son.

  "It was," Quinlan said, a hard edge to her tone.

  Nikandros studied her. Her eyes were no longer soft or dreamy when she looked at him. She moved, glancing around to see if anything was disturbed. His body still burned for her, wanting to draw her back into his arms.

  With that in mind, he went to her and ran the backs of his fingers over her bare back, from her neck to her side. He lightly let his fingers dip beneath the silk to land on her waist in a most intimate caress. She trembled beneath his hand. Nikandros leaned into her, letting her feel the hard length of his desire against her hip.

  Nikandros wanted nothing more than to pull up her gown and passionately take her right there in the laboratory. His mind came up with many splendid options--the desk, the couch, the floor, backed up against a wall. He dipped his head near her neck, intent on kissing her nape and exploring the soft skin of her body further.

  "Can we pick up where we left off?" he hushed, sending a wave of tremors over her spine at the thought.

  Quinlan pulled away and walked to the door. His hard body had burned her through the silk of her gown and she became nervous. "I can’t. I have guests I must attend to and a speech to give."

  Nikandros sighed. As he moved to follow her, his hand darted to a table and pulled a sheet from a dusty file. Deftly, he tucked it into his pocket. When she turned around to glance at him, he smiled angelically at her.

  Quinlan frowned in suspicion, nodding her head to indicate he should leave first. Nikandros walked boldly past, stopping long enough to send her a heated look of tempered desire. Quinlan shivered, watching him walk down the hall. Then, looking back over the laboratory, she whispered, "Sorry, dad. Don’t worry. I’ll get them next time."

  * * * *

  Quinlan’s speech was short and sweet. She sung praises about her father’s earlier works and alluded enigmatically to his later ones. Mrs. Nathaniel was next to her husband, looking properly mortified as she refused to meet Quinlan’s eyes. During her speech, she felt Nikandros’ dark gaze on her from the back of the crowd, stabbing into her with his denied passion. No doubt he was upset by her dismissal of him.

  "Very lovely," said Henry to her as she stepped back down from the podium to rejoin the party. His hand lifted, as if to touch her back, but hesitated and merely hovered as he tried to guide her into the crowd.

  "Thank you," acknowledged Quinlan. She saw Nikandros watching her from the distance, his eye alighting possessively on her. His jaw stiffened and he didn’t make a move to come to her.

  Quinlan shivered.

  "Is something wrong?" Henry asked.

  Quinlan blinked in surprise and turned to him.

  "You look pale," he continued.

  "I’m just tired. It’s been a long night," she answered.

  Henry nodded, seeming to understand.

  * * * *

  Nikandros watched Quinlan’s face stiffen as she talked to Henry. He wondered what they could have been discussing that would make her skin turn pale like that. Her eyes darted to the man as she answered him, before moving around the crowd. Nikandros dipped back into the shadows, slipping out of sight.

  * * * *

  Quinlan heaved a sigh of relief as the guests left. She was glad the party was finally over. Henry had been the last to leave, promising to send over movers first thing in the morning to take the glass cases and oversized photograph to their permanent new home in the museum. His eyes had looked her over as if he wanted to ask her something, but she yawned heavily for show and bid him goodnight before he could speak.

  Leaving the maid units to clean up the mess, she grimaced to discover someone had thrown up in her broken water fountain. It only served as a reminder of why she hated throwing these functions. If she never did it again, she’d be happy.

  After ordering the security droids to search and scan the entire premises, Quinlan slowly made her way to her bedroom. The house was quiet again, just as she liked it. The droids ignored everything but their task at hand.

  Her bedroom was dark and she called for fire, not bothering to ask for more light. With a pull of two hairpins, her hair spilled down over her shoulders. She dropped the clips on her vanity and kicked off her shoes. The maid unit switched on, picking up after her.

  "Shower," Quinlan called, crossing over next to the fireplace to where her bathroom door was.

  "Mind if I join you?"

  For a moment, Quinlan thought it was her fantasy coming to life. Her hands dropped from the back of her neck. She’d been almost ready to unclasp the straps to her dress. Spinning on her heels, she saw Nikandros lounging on her bed, a wide smile on his face as he watched her.

  "Please, don’t stop what you were doing on my account." His words were low and sultry. His eyes glowed with meaning as he looked at her dress. His gaze turned seductive in the orange glow of the firelight.

  "Privacy," Quinlan demanded.

  Nikandros blinked in confusion at the order until she saw the maid unit leaving.

  "What are you doing in here?" she asked when they were alone, a little too weakly for her liking.

  "I thought you might like to see me," he said, bringing his feet around the edge of the bed. His tuxedo jacket was off, lying across one of her chairs. "Since we were interrupted last time."

  Quinlan swallowed. It was more than her erotically charged brain could take in, seeing him next to her bed--a place where the naughtiest thoughts of him had occurred.

  "I didn’t invite you in here," she said, taking an unwitting step back. Her legs shook, as she debated what to do. Did she take him up on his offer and let him shower with her? Or did she call for her droid guards and have him dragged out of her home?

  "I think you should let me stay," he murmured, as if he read her thoughts easily on her face.

  "What do you want?" she whispered, her eyes taking him into their wide green depths.

  At that, he smiled, coming forward until he towered above her. His hand lightly touched her throat, running down over her breast in a tender stroke. Quinlan gasped as her nipple budded to instant attention against a circling thumb. He smiled a devilishly wicked smile.

  "That, my darling," he whispered, his eyes daring her to run. "I would think was most obvious."

  Quinlan gasped as he seized her hand firmly in his and pulled it onto his full arousal. He was rigid and hard beneath her palm, thick and ready for impaling.

  "I want you," he
said with a manly growl.

  Quinlan shivered at the admission. His mouth dipped forward to swallow anything she might say. She trembled at the onslaught of his lips. This searing kiss wasn’t tender like the one in the garden. It was hard and demanding--just like the rest of him. His teeth devoured her, biting. His tongue soothed the wounds, licking and teasing, stealing her breath.

  Before she knew what was happening, his tongue was dipping into her mouth and his hands were on her thigh, lifting her silk covered leg up to his waist. Quinlan’s hands were all over him, pulling at the white linen of his shirt to bare his chest to her. Buttons snapped off at her eager exploration.

  Their panting moans rose up between them. His chest was smooth, molded in hot perfection. Each muscle was toned and rippled when he pressed himself against her. The doorframe dug into her tender back. She didn’t care. The silk of her gown was no match for his branding heat.

  With a groan, Nikandros pulled away. His hot eyes tinged with red as he looked her over. Her leg dropped to the ground.

  "Remove the dress," he ordered fervently.

  Quinlan could not disobey. He was every fantasy she had ever had rolled into one man of flesh and bone. At the moment, she didn’t care who he was or that he might be using her. She couldn’t care, not when her body burned with such passionate ardor.

  Taking her hands to her neck, she pulled her dress free. The material whispered over her skin, pooling on the floor at her feet. She was completely naked under the gown, just as he had expected. His eyes narrowed as he took her in--her round breasts, the pleasant shading of her nether region. His lips parted. He was pleased, very pleased.

  His hands at his waist, he noticed the steam from the water shower was beginning to fog the bathroom. He licked his lips.

  "I want to make love to you," he said boldly. His managed to unbutton his pants and they slipped from his waist. Kicking out of his clothes, he stood naked before her.

  Quinlan’s eyes widened as she looked him over. Not an ounce of fat marred his thick frame. The wide base of his desire stood tall, frightfully persuasive in its large size. Not even in her dreams had he been this delectable. She couldn’t speak.

  "You’re exquisite," he continued to stare. "I want to make love to you in the shower."

  Quinlan’s mouth went dry. She slowly started to back away from him into the shower stall. She opened the door and stepped inside. Before she could even turn around, she felt his hands on her naked back.

  Nikandros shut the door as he stepped in behind her. His hands glided over her flesh, at once finding hold on her chest. Insistently, he pushed her forward until her body was pressed against the unforgiving tile wall. His lips dipped to drink from her wet flesh, kissing and licking her delectable skin.

  "You taste so good," he said between sips. She gasped, her hand reaching behind her to feel for him. Her fingers met with flexing muscular hips.

  Nikandros groaned, pressing his risen manhood into her tender backside. Quinlan whimpered, gasping loudly as he began to rub himself into the sensitive flesh of her cleft. She knew the house was empty, knew that the robot staff wouldn’t care if she screamed in pleasure.

  "You like that, don’t you?" he demanded hotly. His teeth bit into the tender lobe of her ear. "You want me inside you, don’t you?"

  "Yes," she panted, liking the sound of his voice, the feel of him. His hands were doing delightful things to her breasts, tweaking and teasing them to hard points.

  At her admission, Nikandros turned her in the shower to face him. He kissed her softly, passionately. His fingers glided over her hot, wet skin, sending wave after wave of desire through her.

  Quinlan was on fire. She felt cream pooling between her thighs, wet and hot and so very ready for him. When he lifted her legs to wrap around his waist, she didn’t protest. His hands supported her. His weight pressed her back into the wall.

  Nikandros guided himself forward. Her wet heat called to him. He stroked himself lightly along her opening, parting her velvet lips with his hard shaft, testing to see if she was ready to accept him. He’d waited for so long, had been tormented by the sound of her voice. He had been haunted in dreams and in wakefulness.

  To her surprise, he took her slowly, entering her with a gentleness that made her body weak and strong at the same time. Quinlan had never felt anything like him. He tested her, probing as he stretched her to fit around him. The shower made their skin glide easily, just as her wetness made his claiming all the sweeter.

  Nikandros groaned as she fitted around him. She was tight, but her muscles surrendered to his solid heat. Not stopping until he was fully embedded, he growled loudly.

  "Oh," she breathed, wiggling against him. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders. "Yes. Yes."

  Grabbing onto her hips, he began to move, pulling out only to delve back inside. Nikandros grunted. Quinlan screamed. Their bodies slammed together in a primal rhythm.

  "Oh, ye-es, Nick," she gasped, urging him on. Her head fell forward to bite at his neck. He continued to move, picking up the tempo of his possession.

  "Ah, Quinlan, you feel so good, so tight," he growled, trying to control her hips and touch all of her at the same time. The movements of his body quickened, sparking a reaction deep inside her.

  When he pulled back, her eyes were staring into him, wide and trusting. Something inside of him broke in that moment. He saw her loneliness--so deep and raw. He knew she was innocent of everything they thought her capable of. He couldn’t explain it, but he knew it as sure as he knew himself.

  The swiftness with which her body peaked amazed her as she tensed against him, arching violently into the tile. Nikandros almost lost his footing on the slick stone beneath his feet. And, as her body tightened around him with forceful tremors, clenching him hard, it was all he could do to hold on as he jerked his release into her.

  Chapter Five

  Nikandros lowered Quinlan down from the wall. At first, he didn’t move away, keeping her pressed against him, trapped to him. The feel of her soft body beneath him made him want to stand there forever, protecting her.

  She quivered against the solid mass of his flesh, feeling secure in his strong arms. She couldn’t explain it, but she knew she was falling for him. She knew it wasn’t completely due to the sensations she’d just experienced--though they had shattered her world. It was like she knew him, like she’d known him all her life.

  Nikandros slowly pulled back, only to kiss her in an effort to cut off anything she might try to say. Whatever she thought, he didn’t want to hear it. Yet again, she moaned lightly against him, easily melting into his passion. At the soft sound, he was surprised to find his body eager to claim her all over again.

  "Turn off the shower," he murmured to her panting lips.

  "Shower off," she breathed, sucking his tongue into her mouth. The water instantly stopped spraying.

  "Invite me to your bed," he urged.

  Quinlan nodded, her finger wound up into his soft wet hair, as she whispered, "Mm-hum. Come to my bed."

  His hand found its way over her hip. His fingers moved to touch her intimately, bolding circling around her until she felt her hips jerk in response.

  "Invite me to come inside you," he whispered.

  "Yes," she breathed, growing hot under his touch. Her eyes closed in pleasure. She didn’t know how he managed it, but with a few simple words he’d heated her back past the point of reasoning. "Oh! Come inside me."

  Nikandros growled. Quinlan giggled as he swung her up into his arms and rushed her across her bedroom. Her body glided onto the silk sheets of her bed as he laid her down.

  "You feel just like this silk," he confessed, running his hands over her as he came to lay half way on top of her moist body. Her gray-green eyes widened at the admission. His large thigh pressed her legs down, trapping her beneath him, not that she had anywhere else she wanted to go.

  His nose nudged near her ear, pushing her cheek over so he could place hot kisses along her neck. H
er body was still wet from the shower and it aided his lips as they slid to envelop the base of her throat, moving along her collarbone. Quinlan shivered, arching slightly into him.

  "Where did you come from?" she whispered in awe, panting as he kissed her. Surely he had emerged from her dreams. Reality was never like this.

  Nikandros wanted to tell her the truth, but couldn’t. When his lips stilled in their journey, she pulled back to study him.

  "Who are you, really?" she asked, her eyes searching and vulnerable. She swallowed. She had been alone for so long, that she never imagined that anything could take away the ache she felt. But, with him, she didn’t feel the emptiness.

  Nikandros closed his eyes, fighting the truth that tried to spill forth from him. He’d never realized until that moment of ecstasy in her arms how alone his centuries had truly been. He was old enough to know his feelings for what they were. He was old enough to know his own heart. He was old enough to know he couldn’t blow his cover until he had solid proof that she wasn’t guilty. Taking a deep breath, he said the only truth he could. "I am a man you shouldn’t trust just yet."

  Her eyes fell. He felt her sadness as if it was his own.

  "But I am also a man who wants nothing more than to be here right now, making love to you," he whispered.

  Quinlan took the answer for what it was, knowing that was all he would or could say. She was familiar with secrets. Slowly, she nodded, offering her neck up to him so he could resume his pleasurable torture of her skin.

  Nikandros was awed by how easily she accepted his response. She did not scream or try to coax answers from him. She did not demand anything from him at all, except what he would readily give her. He again kissed her throat, licking at her pulse until it began to speed up at his rapt attention.

  His hand found her breast, ripening a nipple with his thumb. His lips found the other peak, nipping at it with his teeth only to soothe it the next instant with a deep kiss. Quinlan moaned, loving the feel of his strong body. His kisses trailed over her stomach, to her hips, only to center on her most intimate need.