The green rippled through his eyes like a shark through the ocean. Then he kissed her.
Chapter Thirteen
Benny took her mouth because he didn’t want to let her go. She felt just right in his arms and on his lap, and that pissed him off even more. He’d wanted to kiss her from the first day they’d met, and until the night before, he would’ve gone slow. Gentle. Kind.
Not now.
Now he gave her all of him. He was demanding and rough, taking her mouth the way he wanted. She tasted sweet and wild, and he got lost, forgetting all about his vendetta. About his plan. About anything but the soft female in his arms and the raw need she aroused in him.
She moaned softly into his mouth and curled into him, dragging her hand through his hair to clutch and yank. Slight pricks of pain, shockingly erotic in the moment, cascaded over his scalp.
He tightened his hold and went deeper, pulling her even closer against his body. Even so, he brushed a hand up her side, feeling each rib, settling against the curve of her breast. The heavy weight of it was so close, and he would’ve torn that innocent sweater off her in a second if he thought she’d let him keep going.
He didn’t want to have to stop.
Ever.
The entire world could’ve blown up, and he wouldn’t have given a damn. He lost himself in her, letting the roaring that filled his ears drown out the desperate demands of the beast at his core. The one that wanted him to strip her naked and sink so deeply into her that neither one of them would ever get free. He was tasting the sun, and those deadly flames ripped through his bones, through his blood, and straight to his cock. There was no other feeling like this one.
He couldn’t get enough. Never would there be enough.
She wiggled her little butt against his groin, and the beast howled in triumph. Keeping her mouth, holding her hair, he shifted his weight and pushed her with one shoulder to straddle him. Her hold on his hair tightened, and she swung her other leg over his, grinding her core against him.
Oh, holy fuck.
His hand shot up the back of her sweater on its own, the pads of his fingers brushing her soft skin. Her impossibly soft skin.
She drew up her knees as if trying to sink into his body and grabbed his neck with her free hand, kissing him back with an intensity that detonated parts of him from the inside out, one at a time, each culminating in a fiery explosion that guaranteed he’d never be free.
He caressed her rib cage and then along her leg, sliding that long skirt up her smooth thigh. His cock jumped to attention, trying to get inside her, a roaring monster that also wanted to be free. His thumb scraped her inner thigh, and she gasped, writhing against him.
His tongue swept her mouth and she let him, dueling with him, as caught up in the fire as he.
He brushed the outside of her panties, finding them wet. She trembled, pushing into his hand, her nails raking the back of his neck as she held on.
What had he unleashed? He gave her more, losing himself in the moment. In her. Twisting his wrist, he angled his hand and tapped her clit, still outside her panties.
She stiffened and drew in a sharp breath. Then she lifted herself slightly, her eyes dazed with a glimmer of shock. “Benjamin.” She licked her lips and moved against his hand again as if seeking something. The hand in his hair pulled tight again.
He flicked her clit.
Her entire body shuddered, and her eyes widened.
Gently, he slid two fingers beneath the band of her panties and then his entire hand, pressing his thumb square on her throbbing clit while sliding a finger inside her. “Feel good?” he rumbled.
She held perfectly still except for the tremors taking her body and nodded.
“Say it.”
“It feels good.” Confusion clouded her eyes, competing with need, but she didn’t move away. “I haven’t felt this before.”
He pressed harder, and she arched into his hand, sucking in air. “Lose the innocent act, sweetheart. I don’t need it.” More than that, he didn’t want it. Oh, there was no way she’d been sexually active since losing her mate, but she’d kissed him like she knew what she was doing.
Or maybe she was as caught up as he. It was possible, so he remained gentle. Well, gentle for him. He lightly pinched.
She gasped and dropped both her hands to his shoulders. “Benjamin.” It was a moan. “I don’t, I mean, I—”
He curled up with the finger inside her, and she stopped talking. Keeping his gaze, she let her weight lower onto his hand, forcing his finger deeper.
“Oh,” she breathed.
His cock was about to burst out of his jeans. “What do you want, baby?”
She licked her lips, and he nearly came in his pants. “I don’t know,” she breathed, tension coiled so tight in her that he could feel it.
“I do.” He kissed her again, capturing her lips and taking over. At the same time, he plunged two fingers inside her, deep, and scraped his thumbnail over her clit.
She writhed and then cried out, her body undulating as an orgasm swept through her. He moved his fingers, crisscrossing them, forcing her to ride out the waves until completion. She came down, her body shuddering, her wetness coating his fingers. She blinked several times, her eyes even wider and her mouth set in a small o.
He removed his hand, and keeping her gaze, he licked his fingers clean. Instantly, he was obsessed with her sweet taste, wanting more. Now.
Crimson swept over her high cheekbones, making her eyes even more mysterious than before. They were dazed. It was all he could do not to strip her bare right then and there. But the Kurjans were watching…and listening. For the briefest of moments, he’d forgotten. Completely.
She came back to reality and slowly released his shoulders.
He smiled, right into the camera. “That was a nice start, wasn’t it?”
* * * *
Karma couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think. Even as Benjamin placed her back in her chair, her focus would not return. So that’s what a good climax felt like. She’d had no idea. Was Benjamin magic? Or was it because of the mating mark on his hand? No, that couldn’t be it. Her mate, years ago, had held a mark for her. She didn’t remember the few times they’d engaged in sex feeling like that. It surely had not.
“Eat your eggs before they get cold.” Benjamin dug into his breakfast as if the world hadn’t just shifted.
How could he be so casual? Was this normal behavior these days? She could not believe that. Her hand trembled, but she grabbed her fork. Everything inside her wanted to run fast and hard to a dark corner so she could huddle and think. To mull through what had just happened. Did he think less of her? Shame felt like a heavy balloon in her chest that expanded to her belly. The Kurjans had seen what happened. Wait a minute. Her eyes had been closed. Had she made noise? If not, they did not know. Oh, surely they knew, or suspected, but maybe not. Maybe they thought she’d just kissed Benjamin and closed her eyes.
Even though she was confused, she hated the thought that Terre knew what had just happened. That he’d shared in that.
This was hers. And Benjamin’s. Even though the moment had obviously not meant anything to him. Tears pricked her eyes, and she belatedly wondered if the device in her head would short-circuit from the water.
Probably not. Unfortunately.
“There now. Don’t do that.” Benjamin looked up, his gaze darkening.
She shoved emotion away as she’d learned to do through the years. The tears disappeared.
He watched her like a bird of prey, emotions crossing his rugged face that she could not decipher. Then his face softened. “Are you all right?”
The tears threatened again. But she would not discuss this with the Kurjans listening. “I am fine.” She had to change the subject. “There seems to be a nice path along the river. Do you walk it often?”
&n
bsp; His gaze became shielded. “Sometimes. Do you want to scout the path?”
Scout? What an odd expression. “I like to walk.” If she asked too many questions, she’d raise his suspicions. If she didn’t ask any, the Kurjans would be angry, and Terre had threatened to harm her girls. She did not know how to proceed. She was not a spy, for goodness’ sake. Her orange juice sparkled in the sun, looking delicious, and she lifted the plain jar that served as a glass. How quaint.
“You could mate anybody now, Karma.” Benjamin drank some of his coffee, and his throat moved as he swallowed. Even that looked strong and dangerous. “Thank God you don’t have to mate another one of those pale, wimpy, limp-dicked Kurjans again, right?”
She coughed on the juice, setting it down and wiping her mouth. There was no way to answer that insult to the Kurjan males. “I had not thought about it,” she lied. There was no question Terre planned to mate her when she returned. She’d hoped to grab her girls and run first, but the opportunity had never arisen. It was as if he knew she wanted to go, even though she’d always been polite around him. “I did not think the virus would work.”
Benjamin waved a hand. “But now that it has, you’re lucky. I can’t imagine how awful it was for you with a loser Kurjan. I’ve heard their dicks are like miniature hot dogs. How sad for their females.”
Her mouth dropped open. She reached for her toast, an inappropriate amusement teasing a smile from her. The insult would have Terre furious, but that wasn’t her fault. The statement also wasn’t true, but she was not going to discuss such matters with Benjamin. “What else do the rumors say about the Kurjans?” Surely Terre would want to know that.
Benjamin put more eggs on his plate. “No dicks, sucky lovers, shitty fighters. I’m sure you already knew that. Oh, and the Cyst are really the leaders of the nation. Dayne and his dumbass brother are just figureheads.”
Her stomach rolled over. That was not true. She had to at least look as if she was trying to correct him. “The Cyst are a good fighting force as well as the spiritual leaders of the Kurjan nation. But Dayne and Terre lead everyone.” Dayne did, anyway. Terre was his right-hand male.
Benjamin laughed, the sound arrogant. “That’s funny. Dayne and Terre. I heard that Dayne is obsessed with becoming a Cyst, and that Terre prefers to be told what to do by females. That he’s a sub who likes to be treated like a puppy.” Benjamin held up a hand when she gasped. “I make no judgments. If a guy wants to be led around by a leash and have his ass beaten with a crop, it’s his deal. Right?”
Leash? Crop? “What in the world are you talking about?” she whispered.
Benjamin nudged her plate closer to her. “Eat up. You’re going to need your energy.” Then he resumed eating. “I think it’s called puppy play or something like that. Obviously you’re not caught up on current kink, but that’s okay. I mean, you don’t have any interest in leading a wimpy male around on a leash, do you?”
She could only shake her head.
Benjamin exhaled. “That’s good. I also heard that he likes real dogs to, well, you know. Do him.”
Had Benjamin lost his mind? “I have never heard of such a thing,” she whispered. Though she did not know Terre’s proclivities, he did not seem interested in animals. In fact, he was all too interested in her. “I do not believe your research is accurate, Benjamin.”
He just shrugged. “It doesn’t matter, right? It’s not like you’re going back to them.” He smiled, flashing his teeth.
“Right,” she said, looking back at her breakfast. She’d lost her appetite. Again.
Chapter Fourteen
Terre threw a knife across the room in fury. A young soldier had to duck to avoid being hit, standing back at attention quickly.
Dayne laughed, watching the wide screen on the wall of the communications room. “He’s just trying to impress her, brother.”
Oh, Benjamin Reese was going to die a slow, painful, screaming death. Terre refused to look at the Cyst general chuckling by the doorway. Jaydon leaned against the wall, his wide chest blocking the view of the exit. To Terre’s left, Drake played a computer game, working on his manual dexterity before combat training started outside.
Drake looked up and studied the screen. “You will have to kill that male for speaking such an insult to your intended.”
“Oh, don’t you worry. He’ll take those words back while drowning in his own blood,” Terre gritted out.
“When is she coming back?” Drake asked, looking at Terre but still playing the game with one hand. Impressive.
“Soon,” Terre growled. “Why?”
Drake stared back to the screen as Benjamin Reese ate what looked like eggs. “She’s the best cook we have, and she’s always nice. I don’t like leaving her in the hands of the enemy.”
Neither did Terre. “Stop laughing, brother.” He and Dayne were evenly matched in a fight, and Dayne only led their people because he’d been born first. By one year. If he screwed up, Terre would cut off his head and take the mantle of leadership. However, Dayne had an impressive ability to perceive the entire picture, while Terre knew he became too focused. That made him a better soldier and Dayne a better leader.
For now.
“This is ridiculous,” Terre muttered. The bastard had kissed Karma. At the very least. Fury heated his limbs. “Karma is not smart or strong enough to gain us intel, brother. I’ve been trying to tell you that for three years.” He would’ve fought harder, but he’d needed her to gain access to the Realm Headquarters and the virus so she’d be free for him to take as his mate. He’d waited long enough.
Dayne took notes on a tablet, watching the screen. “We don’t require her to be smart or strong. The hybrid is bending over backward to impress her, not seeing her as any sort of threat, which she is not. So his guard is down, and we’ll gain invaluable information about the Seven. We already have their location, and we’ve been searching for years.”
Terre held on to his temper. “She won’t be able to keep up the pretense for long.”
Dayne shrugged. “I disagree. We have the perfect motivation for her with the children. Might I remind you, brother, that she considers them hers. If you mate her, they’ll be yours.”
Terre snorted. “Hardly. I’m sure we’ll have many sons for her to nurture. We don’t need human girls underfoot.”
Drake looked up. “She cares for those girls. I’d tread carefully. Karma seems sweet, but she has a side to her that looks quite dangerous.”
Terre narrowed his gaze. “Do you have a little crush, nephew?”
Drake returned to his game. “She reminds me of a feline. Maybe a cougar. They purr for you but can rip your throat out if displeased.” He expertly worked the controls. “Besides. My path is set, so I wouldn’t worry about it.”
Dayne looked over his shoulder at his son. “Speaking of your path, have you gained access to the Kyllwood girl’s dreams again?”
“Not yet.” Drake leaned forward as the game intensified. “Hope controls the dreams—for now, anyway. But I do feel a shift in the universe that I can’t explain. Something tells me I’ll be seeing her soon.” He spoke with a casualness far beyond his years.
Terre studied his nephew with new eyes. The kid’s loyalty was definitely to his father. If Terre ever took out his brother, he’d have to make sure to end Drake at the same time. His nephew’s fighting skills were already being noted by the battle-scarred soldiers around them.
The door opened, and Terre sighed. His other nephew strode inside. Terre had taken guardianship of the kid when his twin had died, but the experience had not turned out as he had hoped. Vero was a year younger, an inch shorter, and about a minute slower than Drake when it came to combat. Of course. “What?” Terre asked.
Vero halted and then hurried forward to hand over their newest model pistol. “We’ve tweaked the mechanism to eliminate three seconds from the i
nternal reload sequence.” His black hair lacked red, and his eyes had a tinge of blue through the green. A Kurjan with blue in his eyes. It was unthinkable.
“Good.” Terre took the gun. His brother never should have mated that enhanced female years ago—she’d been a gypsy with blue eyes. Killing her had been a pleasure once Terre’s twin had died in a battle during the last war. “Shouldn’t you be training?”
Vero shuffled his feet. “Yes.”
The kid would rather work with guns than shoot one. Terre couldn’t believe he’d come from Talt’s loins. “I will be displeased if you don’t do better than you did yesterday.” While he had no idea how well the kid had done, it probably wasn’t well enough to discuss.
Drake beat the game and flipped off the console. “I’ll go with you.” He gracefully stood and loped toward his cousin.
Vero puffed out his chest. “I don’t need protection.”
“Didn’t say you did,” Drake said.
Terre grabbed Drake by the arm before he could pass. “Have other kids been picking on your cousin?” He’d beat Vero later for that, but now, family came first.
Instead of answering, Drake slowly looked down at the hand on his arm. The seconds ticked by.
Terre released him when Drake refused to speak. “I asked you a question.”
Drake looked up then, and his eyes were a soft purple. “Of course nobody has been picking on Vero. I made sure the last guy who tried limped home to his mama while bleeding from the eyes. Family is family, right?” Without another word, he turned and walked out the door with his cousin on his heels.
An unwelcome chill scattered down Terre’s spine.
* * * *
Benny led Karma along the river walk after showing her the lodge and the computer room Mercy had hastily set up the night before. It looked impressive and would actually be full of booby traps within a day. “This is probably our only weakness. I mean, the river.”
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