She rolled onto her back and his hands settled on her hips. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“It’s either that or a holding cell. I figured you’d be happier here.”
She shoved his hands off her. “Fine, where are you going to sleep?”
“Right next to you. In this bed.”
“Oh, hell no!” She slid off the end of the bed, and as she moved past him he caught the scent of her wet pussy. She wanted him.
“Yes. Like I said, it’s either this or spending your days in a cell. We’re both adults. We can share a bed without having sex.”
She snorted. “I can’t even lie on the damned thing without you having your damned hands all over me.”
He smirked. “Well, you could have stopped me at any time. I notice you didn’t.”
“A mistake I won’t make again.”
Way to go, dumbass. Point that out so she never lets you near her. “I won’t touch you again.” A lie. “Besides, you don’t get a choice in the matter. Our jail isn’t comfortable. They’re cold, there’s no shower or bed. You’ll be comfortable here.”
“Why can’t I have my own room?”
“Because I don’t trust you not to attempt escape once you figure out how everything works. Don’t bother to deny that you would try. I know you.”
“Ha! You don’t.”
“I know you well enough to determine this. You don’t have a choice, so why don’t you climb back into bed and get some sleep. I’m going to.”
He stood and shucked his clothes with efficiency. The only thing he left on was his boxers. He flopped on the bed. He could feel her eyes on him the whole time and he rolled onto his back. He folded his arms behind his head and watched her stare at him.
“Like what you see?”
She glanced down and shuffled to the other side of the palette. She settled next to him, facing away. He sighed as she curled into a ball and the distinct clatter of teeth banging together reached his ears.
“Are you cold? I can adjust the temperature.”
“I’m fine,” she growled.
He raised the heat in the room by a few degrees using his connection to the ship. She’d likely never admit she was uncomfortable, and he didn’t want her to freeze. Cyborgs kept the ship warm enough so they didn’t catch hypothermia and die in space. Otherwise it was considered a waste of energy and a luxury to keep the ship warm. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his body. She tensed so hard he thought she might strain something.
“Just until the room and mattress heat up. You’re cold. I can hear your teeth chattering. Get some sleep.”
He threw a leg over hers and forced them to straighten slightly. He kept it there so he was pressed more fully against her. Only his computer exerting inhuman control over his body kept his erection from surging to life.
He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Nine
She rocked against the solid object between her thighs as it bumped against her clit. Teeth scraped the back of her neck. Rough palms skimmed her belly before cupping her breasts. She’d dreamed of this. His hands on her, his mouth on her. She’d woken wet. Or maybe she hadn’t dreamed it. Maybe he’d touched her first. She wasn’t sure. She glanced over her shoulder.
“Hmm … what are you up to?”
He pressed his mouth to hers and thrust his tongue into her mouth, mimicking the rhythm of his thigh between her legs.
When he pulled away, she shook her head and tried to gain her focus back. “You don’t fight fair.”
“The last thing I want to do is fight with you. Aren’t you tired of arguing? All that sexual tension must be building, and building.” He skimmed one hand down her body to skim over her mound. He parted the folds of her sex and rubbed his finger against her clit.
She laughed and it came out shaky. “That’s really … oh, Galen.”
She was half asleep, and lacked the willpower to argue with him while he was touching her there. His tongue swept over her shoulder before he bit her lightly. She gasped as more warm wetness flooded her sex.
“I think you like this. You’re all slippery. I want to have my tongue where I have my fingers. I can’t wait to taste you again. You’re like a drug.”
She snorted. “Pretty words, but you don’t mean them.”
He chuckled. “Oh, I mean every word. You’re beautiful here.” He thrust two fingers into her vagina while his thumb continued to play with her clit. “You taste good, and I love the way you respond to me. I can’t wait to have my hard cock sliding into your warm, tight body.” He slowly pumped his fingers in and out of her cunt. “So tight. You need to get laid.”
She was supposed to be protesting this. She should be fighting him. He was getting too close and eventually he’d betray her.
Her inner muscles tightened, little sparks of pleasure shooting up her spine, and he pulled away. She moaned in frustration. “What are you doing? Why did you stop?”
She grabbed the nape of his neck and pulled him into a scorching kiss. She ran her hand over his abs down to his dick and rubbed it through the cloth of his underwear. His sharp intake of breath broke their kiss.
“So demanding. I like that in a woman.”
“Shut up.”
He laughed and pulled her up, whipping her t-shirt over her head. “Gods, you have beautiful breasts. Large, bigger than handfuls.” He shoved her back on the bed and held himself above her. She glanced down before wrapping her hands around his large, swollen cock. He growled low in his throat. “If you keep stroking me, this isn’t going to last as long as you’d like.”
She giggled and released him. “Okay, have it your way.”
“I like your attitude. I intend to have you my way.”
He lowered his hips to hers. He grasped his cock and stroked it up and down her wet folds, concentrating on her clit. She rocked herself against it. “Now, Galen, please. I want you inside me.”
He flashed her a crooked grin and ran his dick around the entrance of her vagina. He slowly pressed himself inside. Her inner muscles stretched deliciously to accommodate him. He was almost too large. If she’d been less aroused, it would have been painful.
He lowered his head and pulled a nipple into his mouth as he worked his thick length farther into her cunt. He bit her breast lightly and she gasped, arching her hips against his. His arousal slid in all the way and he held himself still above her as he toyed with her breast.
She gasped and rocked her hips, but it wasn’t enough to get her off. “Galen, stop teasing.”
He slowly drew himself out, and hammered back into her. She cried out and he froze. “Are you okay?”
She looked at him. Really looked at him. His muscles were bulging with tension, his brow furrowed with concentration as he watched her. He was worried about hurting her.
“I want you to fuck me hard.” She wrapped her legs around his hips and yanked them to hers.
He didn’t need more encouragement. He thrust in and out of her at a punishing pace. Her breath came in gasps as he pounded into her.
“God, I’m not going to last,” he groaned.
He slid his hands down her body and found her clit, wiggling his fingers over the sensitive flesh. Pleasure bloomed in her cunt and she shouted as she shook apart from her orgasm.
Galen thrust into her one last time as he shouted her name. His heated cum shot into her as his elbows sagged. He didn’t let himself collapse on her, which she was grateful for; he’d crush her.
He rolled them over so she was sprawled on top of him and they tried to catch their breath.
“You know … there’s no trophy above this bed.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, that was bullshit.”
“Huh. That’s unfortunate. It might have gotten you
laid sooner.”
He snorted and squeezed her to his chest. They stayed like that in silence for a long while. She started to fade into sleep when he whispered, “I am sorry for bringing you here. I shouldn’t be. I shouldn’t give a damn, but you didn’t deserve the threats of death.”
She traced a circle around his nipple. “You’re far from forgiven, but thanks for that. Don’t hurt me again.”
He sighed, and stroked her back, but he didn’t promise not to betray her. He didn’t say anything.
• • •
The crackle of the intercom brought Jamila out of her half sleep. She blinked and rubbed her eyes.
“Galen, report to meeting room one.”
He groaned. “No. Shut up, Torin.”
A male chuckle came over the com. “Come on, man. Council wants the lowdown on your mission. Don’t make me come get you.”
“Ugh, fuck you.”
“You know I’m not comfortable with your homosexual tendencies. Find a different boyfriend.”
Jamila slid off him and poked his side. “Get up.”
“Oooh, did you get laid?”
“I’m going to kill you, Torin.”
Torin’s snort was so loud that she jumped. “I guess not. Sex is supposed to make you more relaxed.”
She poked him again and kept at it. “Get up. I’ve never known you to be a stubborn riser.”
He opened one eye to regard her. “That’s because I didn’t sleep while I stayed with you. I was hoping to make up for that before I have a mental breakdown.”
She snickered. “Like you’d ever have a mental breakdown.” She brought her knees to her chest and pushed at him with her feet, trying to shove him out of bed. “Get up. You’re gonna get in trouble.”
“Torin, I blame you for this. She’s kicking me.”
She pushed with her feet and slid away from him instead of moving him. “Oh, hush. I can’t move you anyway. You weigh five million pounds.”
A bark of laughter exploded over the com.
He glared at the ceiling. “Computer, shut down communications.” There was a click, and then silence.
He rolled over, grabbed her ankles, and pulled her under him. She squeaked as he pinned her with his hips.
“I was hoping to have sex again before I had to go anywhere.”
She smirked. “I don’t think you have time. Torin sounded like he was going to come get you now if you don’t show, and I’d rather not be in the middle of a mind-blowing orgasm when he gets here. Or worse yet, not getting that orgasm before you have to go.”
He snorted. “Right. He does tend to barge in without signaling. That might be embarrassing for all involved.” He grumbled. “Great. I get to go into this meeting with a very obvious hard on.”
She laughed and shook her head. “Poor thing.”
He flopped onto his back and took a few breaths before standing and dressing. “I’ll send someone to watch you while I’m gone. They’ll go get you food or something.”
“Coffee would be appreciated.”
He grimaced. “Sorry, no coffee. Why do you think I was knocking it back while I was at your house? We have this one drink that is supposed to mimic it. It mimics the caffeine content, but the taste … Saying it leaves much to be desired is an understatement.”
She glared at him. “You know, kidnapping me is one thing, but not giving me coffee? Are you trying to get me to kill you? Because I’ll do it.”
“I’m trembling.”
“You should be. A woman’s coffee should not be taken away.”
“Duly noted. Hopefully when we get to the station I can find you some. We’re a little better supplied there.”
They’d better be, or she was going to lose a lot of weight. The food had been horrible. She didn’t know how anyone ate that stuff. She felt cruel for giving it to the orphans for the past year. A sharp page of sadness hit her heart. She would never get a chance to get them anything better.
“Okay. I’ll be back in like an hour. Torin will be down to sit with you in a few minutes, so don’t freak out when he comes through the door. And uh, put some clothes on, because he’s a horn dog. I have shorts in a drawer that have a drawstring that will probably work for bottoms. I’ll be sure to get your clothes cleaned.”
She nodded and he stepped out of the apartment. She rolled out of bed and pulled on the shirt he’d divested her of last night. The door hissed open and Galen strode back in.
“Did you forget something?”
“Yes.” He tangled his hands in her hair and pressed his lips to hers in a drugging kiss. He pulled away and kissed her forehead before he left. She couldn’t help but grin.
She shook her head. He might be sweet now, but he hadn’t said he wouldn’t betray her again, which told her something important. His plan involved things that could hurt her or her father. She liked him a lot, but she couldn’t let him get to her. It could be devastating if he did. She’d already slipped and ended up in his bed.
She glanced around the room. He was right about one thing. She did plan to try and escape when he wasn’t around. She didn’t know how much time she had before Torin showed up, but she had better get to work before he arrived. She didn’t dare ask the computer where the life pods were. She was probably being monitored. However, she could manually access the ship’s systems if they hadn’t shut down control. She wouldn’t put it past them to shut down manual input. Not with the way she’d seen Galen interact with electronics. He seemed to be able to control most things with his mind.
But she could hope. She grabbed some shorts from the drawer Galen had left open and pulled them on as she scanned the room for an access panel. It wasn’t hard to guess where it would be. There was a visual communications terminal on the desk across from the bed. She slipped into the chair next to it, and found exactly what she was searching for. She ran her finger over the touch screen and nodded in approval when it lit up.
She accessed the ship’s schematics and easily located the life pods. The closest ones were four decks below her. How could one unattended human make it there? That was the question. The ship had been teaming with cyborgs when she’d come aboard. She’d seem out of place, to be sure.
But she had to give it a shot. If she could launch, she could head for the nearest inhabited world, far away from the Edge. Far away from Galen and his scheming.
She walked to the door but it didn’t slide open automatically like it did for Galen. This ship was state of the art. All the doors would open when someone approached unless they were programmed not to, or locked. Maybe he’d had it changed for privacy. She could hope, anyway.
“Computer, open the door.”
She got no response from it and the doors stayed closed. “Computer, respond.”
Silence. She glared at the door and searched for the access panel. He must have reprogrammed the computer to not accept her voice.
“Dammit. What now?” She paced in front of the door and tried to come up with a plan.
“Computer, emergency release. There’s a fire.”
The door slid open, revealing the hulking, grinning blond who had grabbed her at her house before she could escape. She jumped, and took a step back.
“Watcha doin’?”
She backed into the room. “Nothing.”
Torin rolled his eyes. “I believe you.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m sure you do. Don’t I have a trustworthy face?”
His laughter told her no. He stepped in and the door closed behind him, cutting off her escape.
“You know, running off isn’t the best idea. Life outside a core planet isn’t easy. Even people who are normally decent will take advantage of the possession of a senator’s daughter. A life pod wouldn’t be in range of anything but dangerous backwa
ter rocks that the core planets export their criminals to.”
Nice try. Even a “backwater rock” with criminals on it would have military personnel. “I wasn’t planning to — ”
“Don’t bullshit me, Jamila. Five seconds with you and I already know you’re a bad liar.”
She paced away from him. “So I should stay here and let Galen use me to get what he wants? And he’ll kill me if he doesn’t get his way? I can’t say that sounds like a good plan.”
“Trust me. It’s better than going out there. I don’t think you understand the dangers. Pirates. Slavers — both human and alien. And sometime the aliens will blow your ship out of the sky. It really depends on the captain. You don’t want to run into Corabin slavers. I mean, humans are bad, but the Corabin? You’d never see home again. At least Galen will take you back some day.”
“Did you miss the killing me part?”
He smirked. “I find that incredibly unlikely. Especially since the room smells like sex. He can be cold blooded, but I think he likes you a little more than that.”
“And this Council you spoke of?”
Torin grimaced and she could almost see the wheels turning in his head as he debated what exactly he should tell her. “The Council isn’t a big fan of humans. They like your father even less.”
She frowned. “Why? What has he done to them?”
He bit his lip, tilting his head. His eyes narrowed. “That’s a long story, and something I probably shouldn’t tell you.”
“How am I supposed to understand if no one ever tells me what’s going on?”
He smiled. “There’s a reason. They’re not my tales to tell. And you’re so young, Galen probably feels like he can’t tell you anything. You’re a child.”
She rolled her eyes. “He’s not that much older than me.”
“He’s forty. And even if he weren’t his life experience would make him older.”
She gaped at him. “Forty? He doesn’t look it.”
His smile disappeared. “Yeah, well, we don’t seem to be aging. He appears and feels the age they accelerated him to in the labs. Which I guess is nice, since they took about ten years off his life if he’d kept aging.”
My Cyborg Savior (Crimson Romance) Page 10