by Kelly Goode
Sasha shifted her weight from his hips and pulled back the sheets, revealing Carter’s ready and willing participant. His cock stood up straight, and when her warm lips closed around the head, he almost shot his load into her mouth right there and then.
‘Ahhhh.’
It had been too long since he’d been intimate with a woman. The one-night stand from a month ago felt like a distant memory, so Carter gave into the dream, tangling his fingers in Sasha’s blonde hair as he gently pushed her head down encouraging her to take him deeper into her mouth.
‘That feels so good.’
A small part of him wondered why he’d conjured Sasha into his dream. He closed his eyes and imagined it was Ember bobbing up and down in his lap instead. He opened his eyes, expecting to see red hair but no, it was still Sasha.
Stupid dream!
If he were in control then surely he should be able to change it if he wanted to. Sasha sucked harder, causing Carter to wince in pain.
‘Careful,’ he said, tugging at her hair in response.
She released his cock and met his stare. Her eyes narrowed as if she’d known what he’d been thinking.
‘A girl can tell when the guy she’s pleasuring would rather it was someone else.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Carter started to say but stopped. ‘Wait, why am I apologising to you? This is a dream so I can do and think whatever the hell I want.’
Carter pushed Sasha so she fell backwards towards the foot of the bed. He threw the sheets to the floor and settled between her open thighs.
‘You ready for this?’ he asked.
Sasha’s eyes gleamed. ‘Do your best.’
Carter thrust himself inside her, feeling her muscles clench around his throbbing cock.
‘Yes,’ she groaned, lifting her hips to meet his pace. ‘Yes, Liam. Harder.’
He complied, pushing her legs further apart as he plunged in and out. It felt so good, so warm. The momentum propelled him towards a satisfying release, but Sasha had other ideas.
‘Not yet,’ she said, and using some dream-like strength she could never have possessed in real-life, she reversed their positions. Carter’s back hit the mattress as she mounted him, taking his cock inside her once again.
Sasha was relentless, setting a pace that quickly brought them both to a noisy, wild orgasm. Carter cried out and closed his eyes, but she continued to bounce up and down on his empty cock, slamming her bottom against his pelvis as she built towards another peak.
The girl was insatiable.
Carter opened his eyes and looked up at Sasha; only it wasn’t Sasha. An ugly hag with wrinkled skin and missing teeth was grinding on top of him. Her hair was no longer blonde, but white and balding.
The hag laughed as he screamed. He tried to throw her off, but she was too strong. As her yellowing eyes met his, he felt as if his very life essence was leaving his body. She tried to kiss him, her foul breath warm against his mouth…
NO!
Carter woke with a start. His heart was banging painfully against his ribcage. He was sweating, the sheets tangled around his sticky, naked body. He flicked the bedside lamp and was grateful to find he was alone. He gently examined his cock, which was as hard as rock and excruciatingly desperate to ejaculate.
Carter flopped back down onto the bed, his breathing heavy. What a freaky dream and what a crazy mind he had, to conjure such a scenario.
18
Harvey wasn’t sure which emotion hit him first when he finally saw Ember again. It had been five long days since their stupid argument about loyalty and reliability, so relief was defiantly in the mix closely followed by the strange desire to see her smile again.
The recruits had been kept apart while they completed their physical and psychological evaluations, and every night he’d worried how Red was coping under the pressure.
Harvey had no trouble spinning a load of bullshit about how sorry he was for his crimes and how he would become a model citizen after he was released.
Could she lie as easily?
As Ember walked towards him, she slid her hands into her trouser pockets and smiled shyly, as if not knowing whether she was welcome or not. He understood her hesitancy as the last words they’d spoken to each other had been in anger, but he didn’t hold a grudge. She’d spoken the truth. He would trample on anyone to get out of this place.
Harvey beckoned her closer.
‘Miss me, Red?’ he asked, wondering why part of him was hoping it might actually be true. He knew his fixation with her was because of circumstance. He wouldn’t have looked twice at her in the real world.
Yeah, right, you keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better.
Harvey ignored the voice in his head, but couldn’t disregard the warmth that filled him when Ember stopped next to him and lightly touched his arm.
‘Who are you again?’ she asked, her lips twitching as she teased him. Lips he wanted to taste, to bite, to part with his tongue so he could plunder that smart mouth of hers.
She inclined her head at him, causing her long red hair to fall over her shoulder like a cloak of fire.
‘Was it Harry? Or Harold? I can’t quite remember,’ she continued, and Harvey laughed loudly.
She certainly hadn’t lost her sass.
Ember didn’t give him an opportunity to come up with a witty reply. She just poked her tongue out at him and moved across to where Mari and Sasha sat at a table.
The old woman stood up and gave Ember a hug, and Harvey briefly wished he’d been brave enough to do that. Sasha offered a half-hearted smile before pretending to be more interested in her coffee.
‘How is everyone?’ Ember asked. ‘I see Gerrard is still absent. Does anyone know if he passed the tests? I kept asking when I’d get to see you all again, but Carter wouldn’t tell me.’
Harvey felt himself stiffen at the mention of Liam Carter. The man had probably enjoyed keeping Ember locked away.
‘Has he been treating you ok?’ Harvey asked, knowing he wouldn’t hesitate to beat the man to death if he’d put a finger out of place.
Ember looked surprised, and a little guilty. ‘Yes. Why wouldn’t he have been?’
Harvey shrugged, not knowing how to voice his concerns without sounding petty or worse, jealous.
‘I didn’t get a good feeling from him, is all. I don’t trust him.’
‘I got a great feeling from him last night,’ Sasha said coyly.
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘A girl doesn’t kiss and tell,’ she said, sipping her coffee in an attempt to hide a spiteful smile.
‘If you have something to say,’ Harvey said, ensuring his voice conveyed his boredom at her attention-grabbing games, ‘you should just say it.’
Sasha’s eyes narrowed.
‘If you must know I had sex last night.’
Harvey heard Ember’s sharp intake of breath.
‘What do you mean you had sex?’ she asked. ‘Did one of the men come into your room? Did they force themselves onto you?’
Sasha sighed. ‘Don’t be so dramatic, Ember. It was consensual.’
Harvey was confused.
‘Who did you have sex with?’ he asked, acutely aware that Ember was studying him, probably trying to gauge his reaction.
Harvey kept his face as neutral as possible as he didn’t want it to come across that he was disappointed. Sure, he would have banged Sasha eventually, but it wouldn’t have meant anything, and he certainly wasn’t bothered that someone got there first.
‘It was Carter,’ Sasha said arrogantly. ‘I had sex with Carter last night.’
19
Sasha’s declaration felt like a kick to my stomach and I even pressed my hand to my abdomen, as if that might take away the ache.
‘Carter?’ I repeated. ‘Carter came into your room last night?’
I felt betrayed, although I had no right to. Carter was my handler not my boyfriend, but I was annoyed that he’d fallen for Sasha’s faux b
eauty. I’d thought he was different and that we’d bonded over the last few days.
‘You ok, Red?’
Harvey raised his eyebrow at me, questioning my reaction.
‘They assured us that the doors couldn’t be opened,’ I said as justification for why I was freaking out. ‘I’m not comfortable knowing some random member of the team can get into our rooms.’
Sasha rolled her eyes at me.
‘Stop panicking. No one can get into our rooms,’ she said. ‘We had dream sex.’
I let out a sigh of relief, which ended up turning into a chuckle.
‘Dream sex?’ I repeated. ‘Is that even real?’
Sasha narrowed her eyes, apparently not appreciating me laughing at her.
‘Oh I can assure you it was very real,’ she said, getting to her feet. ‘For both of us.’
Harvey grabbed me by the elbow, trying to pull me away from the mounting tension.
‘It’s true,’ he said softly. ‘I told you before that a succubus has sex with sleeping men to replenish their life force.’
My hand clenched into a fist at the thought of Sasha feeding on Carter’s soul.
‘Did you hurt him?’ I asked her and it was Sasha’s turn to laugh.
‘He’s okay. He enjoyed it too. They always enjoy it.’
‘Why him?’
‘Why not? I couldn’t fuck my own handler, so Carter was the next logical choice. He’s the alpha male around here.’
‘I see. So it’s against the rules to sleep with your own handler, so you dream-fucked mine.’
I knew I sounded jealous, but I couldn’t help it.
‘Do you have a problem, Red?’
I bristled at hearing Sasha refer to me as “Red” even though somewhere along the line I’d accepted Harvey calling me it.
‘Leave her alone, Sasha.’
This came from Mari who up until that point I’d forgotten was still standing beside me.
‘Keep your rat-nose out of this, Mari.’
‘Make me.’
The usually gentle woman seemed ready for a fight, and I wondered what she’d been through over the last few days that caused such a change in her personality. That thought only made my stomach churn over again.
‘It’s ok, Mari,’ I said. ‘She’s not worth getting into trouble for. It’s not as if anything really happened between them. She can imagine having sex with anyone she wants.’
Mari didn’t appear convinced, but she nodded and moved away. At that same moment, the main door opened, and the object of our conflict walked in.
Carter looked rough. The stubble on his jaw was darker and coarser than I’d seen before. There were shadows under his eyes as if he hadn’t slept well.
Carter seemed to sense that he was the focus of everyone’s attention and nodded a greeting to us all. His gaze briefly connected with Sasha and his face paled slightly. He averted his eyes and walked towards the coffee machine.
Sasha turned to me and placed her hands on her hips.
‘Go ask Carter whether anything really happened between us,’ she challenged. ‘Then we’ll see what’s worth it.’
20
Carter hadn’t expected the recruits to be in the briefing room yet or else he wouldn’t have come inside. The chief must have moved the evaluation forward a few hours without telling him. Carter knew he wasn’t supposed to interact with them before their final test, especially not with Ember, and his heart sank when she approached.
Today was make or break for these five, and he was supposed to be making his own preparations, but the lure of coffee had been too hard to resist.
After his nightmare, sleep had evaded him. The expresso gave him the jolt of caffeine he craved, and he quickly downed a second shot.
He felt Ember’s arm brush against his as she selected her own drink from the machine. He inched away, putting some space between them.
‘You ok?’ she asked.
‘Sure,’ he replied casually. ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’
‘You look tired.’
Carter shrugged. ‘I’m fine.’
‘You look as if you’ve been up all night.’
He felt his cheeks flush, and he clenched his jaw so tightly, it ached. She didn’t realise how close to the truth she was. He’d woken with a hard cock, and it stayed that way for hours. The memory of that hideous hag riding him chased away any attempts at self-pleasure until his cock throbbed for a release.
Carter’s gaze fell on Sasha. The beautiful blonde was smiling knowingly at him, just as she had in his dreams. As if she knew what he was thinking.
That wasn’t possible.
‘Carter, I need to ask you something. Sasha said you and her…’
Ember’s voice brought him back to the moment. He didn’t want to talk about his dream.
‘I’ve got to go,’ he said abruptly.
‘Where?’
‘There’s something I need to do.’
‘I’ll come with you.’
‘No,’ he said, sharper than intended but Ember was already backing away. Her eyebrows came together in confusion as her lips downturned.
‘No problem, I’ll just wait here until you get back,’ she said.
Carter shook his head, his frustration welling up inside him. He knew he shouldn’t say another word. His mind was screaming for him to walk out the door and leave Ember to her fate, but a compulsion made him grab her arm.
‘I’m not coming back,’ he hissed.
‘What?’
‘Things aren’t what they seem today. Do whatever you have to and remember what I said.’
Carter released her and walked away, keeping his head turned away from the security monitor so the prying eyes in the control room couldn’t see the despondent expression on his face.
21
I watched Carter exit the room without even a backwards glance. His words played on my mind as I sipped my coffee.
‘So what did he have to say about the “Sasha” situation?’ Harvey asked, coming to stand beside me.
‘He didn’t want to talk about it.’
‘What man would? So do you believe her now?’
I nodded my head. The fact Carter was so evasive about what had happened seemed to add weight to Sasha’s claim.
‘It was still only dream-sex,’ I said. ‘Whatever the hell that is, and it still doesn’t count.’
‘Not to you,’ Harvey replied, ‘but I’d be careful getting between a succubus and what she’s claimed. I wouldn’t want to see you hurt in the fallout.’
‘Your concern is touching,’ I said, ‘but misplaced. I have no hold over Carter. He’s my handler. That’s all.’
Harvey didn’t appear satisfied with my declaration. Maybe it was because I hadn’t sounded very convincing.
‘Why were you so angry about it earlier then?’ he asked.
‘I’ve dealt with women like Sasha before. She chose Carter because she knew it would provoke me. For some reason, she seems to believe that we’re in competition, but for what, I have no idea.’
‘I do.’
‘Really? What?’
‘As far as Sasha is concerned, you’re in competition for every man’s attention in this facility.’
‘That’s insane. The last thing I want is attention.’
Harvey shrugged. ‘Well you have it, and Sasha doesn’t like it. Men are supposed to be enthralled by her, not you.’
I laughed.
‘Yeah right, show me one guy that would pick me over her,’ I said and was surprised when Harvey took my hand in his.
‘Why is it so hard to imagine?’ he asked, his fingers lightly trailing across my palm. His dark gaze flicked between my eyes and my lips, making my stomach flutter in anticipation.
I opened my mouth to ask him what he was playing at, but nothing came out. It had been a long time since a guy had left me speechless and I think Harvey knew that as he winked at me with a smug look on his face.
Thankfully, the door slid open again,
and it broke the tension between us. I snatched my hand away, expecting to see Chief Andrews but Gerrard entered the room instead. I hadn’t seen the gigantic Irishman in nearly a week, but one glance at him and I knew something was wrong.
Gerrard was pale and sweaty, mumbling and twitching more feverishly that I’d seen him inside the van. He lurched around the room, banging into the tables and knocking over the chairs.
What had they done to him?
‘Stay back,’ Harvey said to me, automatically stepping between Gerrard and me. Maybe in another lifetime, I might have respected his act of chivalry but I didn’t appreciate his assumption that I was the damsel in distress type.
‘I’m more than capable of taking care of myself,’ I said.
Sasha jumped to her feet as Gerrard crashed past her table, knocking her coffee cup to the floor and causing hot liquid to splatter up her legs.
‘Watch it, you clumsy oaf,’ she shouted but Gerrard didn’t respond. He just continued to swing his arms and twitch as if he were being electrocuted.
My eyes connected with Mari’s and I beckoned her over. She wrinkled her nose and shook her head, before disappearing before my eyes.
‘What the hell?’ I said, stunned by her vanishing act. ‘Where did Mari go?’
Harvey didn’t answer. His dark eyes were solely fixated on Gerrard, as if he was waiting for the right moment to jump him.
‘Don’t you dare take him on alone,’ I said sternly. ‘Wait for Carter or one of the other men to come back.’
‘How’d you know they’ll even come?’
‘Of course they will. Gerrard is obviously having some sort of breakdown. There’s CCTV all over the place. Someone will notice.’
My gaze fell to the puddle of black clothing where Mari had stood only seconds earlier, and was relieved when from within the folds of the trousers came two bright eyes and a set of whiskers.