by Anna Hackett
She arched, her mouth open. But her eyes, they were glittering and locked on him.
Xander felt sweat on his brow. She was warm and hot and so tight.
He wanted to say her name. Something. But he had no words.
“Move,” she whispered. “Take what you want.”
He pulled out and slammed back inside. That driving need coiled inside him tighter, demanding everything.
He stopped thinking completely and for the first time in his life, his body took over. He drove into her, hard and so fast. He heard grunts, realized they were from him.
She writhed beneath him, her hips slamming up to meet his urgent thrusts. “So…good.”
He thrust harder, something electric building at the base of his spine. He grabbed her legs and pushed them out, trying to get deeper inside her. To embed himself there.
He raised up, looking down to see where he was joined with her, where his thick cock was splitting her, connecting the two of them.
More power flooded into him and he thrust faster, losing his rhythm but it didn’t stop him.
She moaned and came again. He felt the hard clench of her internal muscles and with another wild thrust, his own orgasm tore through him.
Xander took her mouth, kissing her with wild abandon. He felt his release flood inside her.
He thrust into her one last time, holding himself there, planted as deep as he could. He moved some of his weight off her but stayed connected.
Her mouth pressed to the side of his neck, a slow, lazy slide. She let out a relaxed sigh and hugged him with her arms and legs.
He felt a warm glow inside him. Some unnamed emotion he couldn’t place. He held her tighter. It felt good.
“How’s that list you mentioned coming along?” she murmured.
“Very well. It is quite…long.”
Her chest shook with silent laughter. “Not very exact for a cyborg.”
“There are eighty-five items. Well, eighty-four now.”
Shock made her mouth slack. “Eighty-four. We might not survive!”
“I don’t care.” He turned his head and buried his face in her hair. “I’ll be the first CenSec to die of too many orgasms.”
She laughed out loud now, her hands sliding through his hair. “It’ll be a good way to go.”
Chapter Seventeen
Stars, she was coming.
Malin gripped the bed covers, staring blindly at the gunmetal gray wall of her cabin. She was on her hands and knees, with Xander’s large palm pressed to her lower back. His other hand was on her hip, holding her as he hammered inside her from behind.
He felt even larger this way, his cock stroking deeper. He was like a man possessed. And she loved it.
“Xander, don’t stop. I’m close.”
That palm slid up her spine and gripped her short hair, he tugged her head back, his chest covering her back as he took her mouth.
He thrust again and she came, his mouth swallowing her cry. Three more deep thrusts and he gripped her hips and held her still as he poured his orgasm into her.
They collapsed on the bed, wrecked, panting.
After their session on the mats in the gym, Xander had carried her to her cabin. She’d suggested a shower and she’d shown him just what you could do when you were slick and wet in a tight shower stall.
Afterward, she’d flopped face down on the bed, naked, damp and wrung out.
Clearly the sight had inspired him. He’d nudged her up on her knees and fucked her brains out again.
Mal had lost count of the orgasms he’d given her. Five, maybe six?
Slowly she regained control of her body again. A hand smoothed down her spine and she smiled. The man loved touching her.
“I think I could sleep until we get to Technis.” She turned her head and studied him as he lay there, taking up most of her bed. “But I’m hungry.”
“I can get some food from the mini-printer here in the cabin, or would you prefer something from the galley?”
She stretched lazily, enjoying all the pleasurable aches and pains. “Galley. Printer food’s okay, but I don’t care that it’s made of all the same molecules, it doesn’t taste as good as the real thing. Zayn keeps a pretty neat little hydroponics garden on board.”
“Galley it is.” Xander rose and pulled on his clothes.
She watched him dress and her mouth went dry. She could watch him all day long. All those glorious muscles covered in his gorgeous bronze skin and those intriguing implants and mechanical arm. To her, he was a work of art.
She even found the way he dressed in quick, economical movements fascinating.
She wanted to keep him.
Her throat closed and on that thought, she left the bed and went to her small closet. She pulled on underwear, a tank and clean coveralls. “I need to finish work on those parts. I promised Z.” And she needed to get out of the cabin for a bit and clear her head of crazy thoughts of Xander being hers…permanently.
“I can help.”
So much for alone time. “Sure.” Who needed alone time when you had a sexy cyborg lusting after you?
After they grabbed some snacks from the galley, they headed for the bay where she’d been working. There was no sign of her cousins and the ship lighting was dimmed. She figured they were sleeping and BEll was monitoring their transit.
Mal and Xander set to work. Xander finished the dismantling while Mal got to work cleaning and fixing the parts. They worked mainly in silence, but it was an easy silence. She loved that he anticipated what she needed, the tool there beside her before she even asked.
“What do you think we’ll find on Technis?” she asked.
“I think it’s best to be prepared for anything. Certainly Forge will have the Antikythera well-guarded.” Xander stared at the engine parts intently, but she knew he wasn’t seeing steel and grease. “I’ll do what I have to do to get it.”
The strong lines of his face were so beautiful. And his dedication to his planet was too.
“We’ll get it.”
He looked her way. “If things go wrong, get dangerous, I want you off the planet.”
“You think I’m just going to leave you there?”
“Malin—”
“I didn’t leave you to die on Centax and I didn’t even know you. I didn’t leave you on Rhage.” Did he really value his life so little? “What makes you think I’d leave you now that I’m in—” Oh, stars. She broke off, blinking rapidly. “Now that I like you. Especially that body of yours.”
She set her multi-tool down and sauntered slowly his way.
He watched her coming, his eyes darkening.
Mal sank to her knees in front of him.
“What are you doing?” His voice was the tiniest bit wary.
She liked that. The big bad CenSec afraid of her. “I thought we’d try the next thing on your list.”
“You don’t know what’s next.”
“Oh, I know men, this has to be somewhere on there.” She pressed her cheek to the growing bulge at his crotch, breathed against the fabric. “And I saw the way your watched that Rahl on Rhage. You imagined us like that, didn’t you?”
He jerked, his hands clenched around the sonic hammer in his hands.
“Has anyone ever taken your cock in their mouth, Xander?”
He shook his head, a shiver snaking through him. “That…wasn’t part of my training.”
Sensual power filled her. She loved that she could make this strong man tremble. She reached up and undid his zipper. “Would you like me to suck your cock?”
“Malin.” The hammer clattered to the ground and his hands sank into her hair. “I want everything with you.”
Her heart gave a happy little spasm. She knew he didn’t mean it the way she wanted, but it was nice to hear.
She pulled his hard cock out of his trousers. Big, thick but silky smooth.
Pressing one hand to his muscular thigh, she leaned down, stopped with her lips a breath from the wide head of
him. His heavy breathing rasped in the air around them. She licked.
He jumped, his hands clenching in her hair. Automatically he relaxed his grip.
Mal took her time, licking along the length of him. Then she sucked him in. Hard and deep.
He groaned, his entire body strung tight. She worked him, up and down, loving the musky male taste of him. Loving that she was the one showing him a pleasure he’d never had before.
She pulled back, lips tight around him, then slid back down, as far as she could. Back up, rolling her tongue around, teasing the places she was learning he liked best.
“Enough.” The word was a harsh growl. He grabbed her under the armpits and yanked her up. With a fast tug, he got rid of her trousers, lifted her up and set her on top of the workbench. Instantly, she spread her legs and he wedged his hips between them.
“Xander.”
“I’m coming inside you.” He wrenched her hips forward until her butt was balanced on the edge of the bench.
Without any preamble, he lined the head of his cock up with her and slammed inside.
Her head fell back, her lips parted. She was tender from their earlier lovemaking and her body had to work to take him.
Like he sensed it, his wild strokes slowed. His hands moved from the bench and slid either side of her face. He tilted her head until she looked at him.
And they stayed like that, locked together, as he moved inside her. The fire was there, but instead of a supernova, it was a hot simmer.
He looked down at where they were joined. She noticed he loved to do that, watch himself working in and out of her.
Then his gaze was back, so hot and intense that her chest constricted. She felt her release building, creeping up, coiling deep.
She murmured his name, then his mouth was on hers, tongues curling. He powered into her.
“Come, Malin.”
And she did, splintering apart in a wild burst. Two more hard thrusts and he followed her.
***
Xander had spent the last few days drowning in his bright, unfamiliar feelings for Malin. And learning all the great many pleasures of sex.
But as Technis appeared through the cockpit windows, he felt the cool and unwelcome brush of reality.
Technis was a cold, blue rock of a planet.
“It looks wild. And lonely,” Malin said from beside him.
She’d mussed up her hair while they were finishing with the last of the parts, and a smudge of grease marked one cheek. He’d never seen anything more beautiful.
“We’ve just passed Forge’s outer security beacon. He knows we’re here.” Zayn touched the controls. Dathan and Niklas stood nearby, eyeing the rogue planet.
“Transmit invitation codes or you’ll be fired upon.” The cold voice blasted through the cockpit.
“Friendly bunch.” Zayn transmitted the codes.
“Invitation confirmed. Proceed to planetary orbit. At eighteen hundred hours, Technis time, the two people allowed by the invite will be teletransported to the surface.”
Xander stiffened.
“Teletransported? What the fuck!” Dathan straightened so fast he nearly stumbled. “Teletransportation is barely out of testing phase. It isn’t safe.”
“Technis Control, we’d prefer to send a shuttle to the surface,” Zayn said.
“Negative. Invitees will all be teletransported or not attend.” The comm transmission cut off.
Zayn slammed a fist against the console, then smoothed a hand over it in apology. “Paranoid bastard.”
Dathan gestured at his brothers. “Means we can’t get to the surface undetected, so you guys will be solo.” His jaw hardened. “Teletransing is not proven. I’ve heard the stories.”
Xander had heard the stories as well. And seen the results of the early teletransportation tech. One of the academies had experimented with it. They believed it was now mostly stable, but he doubted Forge was using the Centaxian version.
“I’ll go alone,” he said.
“No way.” Malin turned on him. “You need me there. Without a partner, you’ll stand out like an Infiltrator at the freighter docks.”
“I won’t risk you.” He used his best CenSec voice. The one that made his CenSec teams tremble.
Her face softened for an instant before she screwed up her nose. “I’m coming. End of argument.” She stomped off. “I’m going to get ready.”
Xander wanted to kick something.
“Don’t hit anything in my cockpit, CenSec,” Zayn said.
“Welcome to the wonderful world of women.” Dathan dropped into a chair.
“You have to stop her.”
Dathan lifted a shoulder. “Short of tying her up, not much we can do. She’s a big girl.” His dark look said he wished she wasn’t. “Besides, I thought you were willing to do anything to achieve your mission?”
He was. Wasn’t he? But no matter how much he knew Centax needed the Antikythera, he couldn’t risk Malin.
He’d touched her, tasted her. She was his as much as Centax.
Dathan pulled a holo-pen from his pocket and chewed the end thoughtfully. “A cyborg willing to jeopardize his mission for a woman. Never thought I’d see that.”
“I…care for her.”
“You aren’t who I’d pick for her. But I don’t doubt you feel something for her.” Dathan’s blue eyes darkened. “I’m just not sure if it’ll be enough.”
Niklas crossed his arms over his chest and broke the tension. “The Galactic Security Services have been trialing teletransportation tech on their Patrol ships out on the edge.”
Dathan snorted. “Of course they’d test out on the galaxy’s edge. Wouldn’t want to have to explain any nasty messes in the central systems, would we?”
“Apparently they haven’t had any incidences,” Nik added.
“I’ll tie her up.” Xander scowled. He couldn’t put her safety at such risk.
Dathan winced. “CenSec, please, I do not need any images of you tying up my cousin in my head. I’m not dumb, I know what you two have been up to in that cabin.”
Shockingly, Xander wanted to smile, but thinking of Malin’s atoms pulled apart by the teletransportation and not put back together right… “I don’t want her hurt.”
“We don’t either. BEll, can you confirm the origin of the teletrans tech Forge is using?” Dathan asked.
“Sure thing. Hang on, I need to run a few discreet scans.” The computer fell silent for a moment. “It’s made by Lorian Industries. The same manufacturer the GSS uses for its systems.”
Xander relaxed a fraction. His own data indicated that Lorian had achieved stable teletransportation. But he still didn’t want to risk Malin.
“Malin will make her own decisions. She’s been doing that a long time.” Niklas looked out the window, his gaze on the planet. “Besides, I think whatever you find down there will be far more dangerous than teletransportation.” Nik looked over at Xander. “No matter what we want for the women in our lives, we have to support their decisions, even if we don’t agree with them.”
“I don’t like it.” Xander was built to protect.
Dathan snorted. “Believe me, I sympathize. I feel that way at least once a day since Eos landed in my life. But the upsides far outweigh the downsides.” A secret smile crossed his lips.
And Xander could guess what the other man was thinking about. Because the last few days with Malin had shown him the pleasurable upsides.
It wasn’t just pushing himself inside her tight, hot body, or putting his mouth between her legs and watching her come. It was working quietly together over engine parts. Listening to her giggle at him while she ate. It was the sound of her gentle breathing while she slept in his arms.
“Hey, Xander?” Dathan caught his gaze. “Clock’s ticking. You have a party to get to. Better go find your tux.”
Chapter Eighteen
Time was almost up.
Mal swiped at her eyelids with more makeup. She tried to copy what Eos had
done last time. Instead of sexy, smoky eyes, she looked like she’d been crawling around a starship exhaust. With a sigh, she swiped some of the makeup off. Again. She studied her face in the tiny mirror. Hmm, actually now it didn’t look too bad. Her eyes were definitely smoky looking. Next she slicked on some lipstick. The red gloss made her lips look…lush.
She finished doing up her strappy shoes, smoothed a hand over the shiny satin of her dress and then headed for the cockpit.
Her stomach was alive with flutters. Part nerves about the mission, part excitement to see what Xander thought of her outfit.
She headed down the corridor, through the main room and into the cockpit.
And stumbled to a stop.
His back was to her, his legs spread as he stared at Technis outside, but damn, even from this view he was magnificent.
The tailored black pants of his suit clung to his well-formed ass and his muscled legs. His black jacket was tossed over the back of the chair beside him, leaving him in a shirt the color of palest ice.
“We have to stop meeting like this,” Mal said. “I’ve dressed up more for you lately than I have in the last year total.”
Xander turned, sliding his hands into his pockets. “Malin…you…”
A smile teased her lips. “Speechless? Now that’s a reaction to make a girl feel good.”
“You look amazing.”
Her heart warmed. So did he. He’d put some sort of black cover over his implant. It was still obviously an implant, but it no longer screamed “Centaxian.” She fingered the fabric of her gown. “Well, I like this dress a lot more than my Rhage outfit.”
“It suits you.”
Her dress was a stunning metallic-bronze satin that shimmered under the lights. A metal ring sat at her neck and the fabric fell from that in a drape that teased over her body and left her arms bare. It fell in an asymmetric hem. She’d gotten lucky and found the perfect shoes on Galaxy’s Edge. They were bronze as well, a strappy affair with a heel that was high but not too high. She should be able to run in them—if she had to—without killing herself.
She’d slicked her hair back against her head, and in her ears, she wore a small dangle of jagged metallic shards. The final touches were the metallic bands that wrapped around her bare upper arms. She loved the way they looked against her skin.