Hayden groaned. She glanced up at him and smiled. “This has to go too,” she whispered, then began to push his shirt off his shoulders.
Staring at his huge chest, she feathered her fingers over his pecs and nipples before sliding lower over his carved abs. Leaning forward, she licked his nipple. She bit down on the hard nub, and he hissed.
He buried his fingers at the back of her neck and growled, “Cara.”
She pushed his hands away and placed them at his side. “It’s my turn now,” she said, giving him a stern stare just like he’d given her.
Hayden’s lips twitched slightly, but other than that, he didn’t move. Cara jumped off the table and began to circle him, smoothing her hands over his hot flesh and rock-hard muscles. She glanced down at his ass and smiled as she feathered her hand over his firm hip.
She moved to his front and wrapped her fingers around his shaft. It jerked in her hand, and she tightened her grip. Hayden put his hand over hers, gently guiding it down toward the base. When he brought her hand back up to the tip, she realized he was showing her how he liked to be stroked.
She slid her hand down and cupped his balls before stroking up again. Hayden groaned, and Cara couldn’t remember ever feeling more powerful.
She dropped to her knees and placed a soft kiss against the base of his cock. Hayden drew in a sharp breath. Feeling brazen, she licked up his length. When she reached the tip, she wrapped her lips around it and swiped her tongue over the top. His warm salty taste filled her mouth, and she moaned. She liked his taste.
Hayden’s growl rumbled through his chest like the sound the Nora wolves made on her home world, and it sent a shiver of delight down her back. Burying his hand in her hair at the base of her neck, he lifted her up, forcing her to meet his gaze, which was now almost black.
He slanted his mouth over hers in an aggressive kiss that stole the very breath from her lungs. Cara melted against him, holding on to his shoulders for dear life as he continued to dominate her mouth with his kiss. It was almost too much and left her feeling weak and shaky.
Hayden put his hands under her ass and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, holding tight as he carried her across the floor toward the fireplace. He dropped to his knees, not once breaking his mouth away from hers. Cara didn’t care. She could continue kissing him all night.
She loved the way his lips felt against hers, his taste as it ignited her senses. She was just as aroused now as she had been moments earlier. He slowly lowered them to the floor, and Cara moaned as his body weight settled over her.
His hips moved between her splayed thighs, his cock pressed enticingly against her mound. She wiggled, then shivered at the feel of his hard shaft rubbing her. Hayden broke away from the kiss and moved his lips to her neck.
His teeth scraped along her flesh, and she whimpered at the wicked and unusual sensation. He bit her skin, making her yelp, then giggle. She loved how he played her body, how he would use pain and pleasure in a dance that sent her senses reeling.
He lifted to his elbows and stared down at her. Hunger blazed in his eyes, making Cara’s heart race. She would never get tired of him looking at her like that. She loved the way his eyes darkened, the way his look made her whole body tingle.
His lips thinned, and for a brief moment, she thought he might stop, that he might climb off her and leave her desperate for his touch.
“Hayden—” she whispered.
“Shh,” he said before dipping his head and capturing her lips in a sweet kiss that made her toes curl.
He shifted his hips slightly, putting the head of his cock at her needy entrance. Cara lifted her hips, trying to force him to move, but Hayden would have none of it. He gripped her hip with his right hand, holding her down as he pressed the head of his cock inside her.
Her walls stretched tight, and she gasped as his thickness slid farther into her channel. She felt a slight bite of pain, but that was nothing compared to the fullness that was almost overwhelming.
He pulled back, then pressed in again, this time going deeper. So much deeper. Cara groaned as his shaft filled her full. Once seated, he held himself still, raining soft kisses along her jaw and chin.
Cara panted as a need unlike any of the others before began to work its way through her. She lifted her hips, wanting something but not sure what. He felt good inside her, but she needed something more.
Hayden moaned and pressed a little deeper, grinding his groin against that sensitive nub he’d sucked earlier. Sharp tingles of pleasure made the inner muscles of her thighs shake.
He’d said her first time would be painful, but other than the slight prick she’d felt, nothing even resembled pain. This felt incredible.
“Hayden, please,” she sighed, working her hips beneath his.
He mumbled something incoherent, then began to slowly move, pulling out and pushing back in. Her walls tightened around the unusual invasion, trying to tug him back into her as he pulled out. At first he was slow, gentle, the moisture of her walls easing his entry. With every stroke of his cock inside her, need rose another notch. She dug her nails into his back, scratching at his flesh as he drove her ever closer to that blissful release from before.
“Harder,” she whispered.
Hayden obliged, thrusting into her hard and deep. Cara whimpered, lifting her hips off the floor to meet every pounding movement of his hips. He put his hand under her ass, tilting her just a bit more. The head of his shaft bumped her cervix, and she cried out.
Her screams became louder as her body arched toward that sweet pinnacle. Hayden covered her mouth with his, but that didn’t silence her moans as his tongue invaded her mouth just as his cock had invaded the rest of her.
She buried both hands in his hair, holding tight to the soft locks as her body erupted into shards of bliss. Breaking the kiss, she screamed toward the ceiling, shocked she could feel anything any better than the first, but this one…it was earth-shattering.
Just as the last of her throbs subsided, Hayden snarled and thrust deep, finding his own release deep between her thighs.
Sighing, he dropped his forehead to hers. “What the hell have you done to me?” he moaned.
Cara smiled softly. “I keep asking myself the same thing about you.”
* * * *
Shorn paced the Mundi Order chambers in growing agitation. His fingers flexed, then curled back into fists. Where the hell was she hiding? Lenak had died before they could get it out of him. Apparently of a heart attack.
He curled his lips and snarled softly. Damn weakling.
This wasn’t going like it was supposed to. First Cara gets away. Then Lenak dies. Then Alexander kills two of their best Mundi and now resides under the protection of Lord Marcone.
Again, Shorn curled his lip in disgust. He may not have met Marcone personally, but he certainly knew of his reputation. Getting to Dorn, despite the fact Marcone protected him, wasn’t impossible; it would just take some thought. Unfortunately he didn’t have time for thought.
He wanted action, and he wanted it now!
He drew in a slow, even breath. It was getting harder to control his emotions, harder to hide the anger that coursed through him.
His assistant stepped carefully into the room and bowed his head. “Nea Shorn,” his assistant murmured.
Shorn stopped pacing and forced himself to relax. Turning to his assistant, he asked, “What?”
The young man lifted his head and swallowed. “We believe Cara may be on the moon, Daego.”
Shorn frowned. “Daego?”
“Dorn went there on his own a few days ago, just before announcing to the senate his new position. We believe someone is holding her there.”
Shorn’s lips twisted. “We can’t get into Daego. We’re not on their approved list.”
“We believe we may have found a way around that.”
Some of Shorn’s anger began to subside. “Indeed? Tell me more.”
Chapter Twelve
&nbs
p; Hayden stood on the terrace staring out toward the lake. He could barely see the sunlight as it began to peek over the horizon. Last night with Cara had been incredible. Her innocence was refreshing, her candor adorable. He loved how she gave as good as she got, how she lived every moment as though it was something to be cherished.
She showed no sign of regret as she curled into his side and fell asleep in his arms. It was the first night since she’d been there that she hadn’t awakened half the house screaming from nightmares. She’d slept peacefully.
Hayden just wished he could’ve done the same.
As a doctor, he should know better. As a man, he couldn’t keep his hands off her. He’d never met a woman like her, but in some ways, Hayden felt like an experiment to her. She was experiencing new things, new emotions, and he was one of them. Would this curiosity last? Would her desire for him last? And if it didn’t, what would that mean for him? Should he push for more? Did he want to push for more?
So many questions.
Sighing, he pushed his hair back from his face. When had he turned into such an insecure sap? Chris would have a heyday with this. He’d fallen in love with one of his own damn patients. It was something he never should’ve done. But now that he had, what next?
Cara had so many things she needed to figure out. It wouldn’t be right for either of them to just jump into something straight out of the gate.
Arms wrapped around his waist from behind, startling him. He glanced over his shoulder to see Cara’s light blue hair resting against his back. He’d been so lost in thought he hadn’t even heard her walk up.
He smoothed his palm over her arm and sighed at the feel of her body next to his. “Morning,” he said softly.
“What are you doing out here so early?” she asked. “The sun isn’t even up yet.”
Hayden continued to rub his palm over her arm. Her skin was so warm, so soft. “Couldn’t sleep. Come here.”
He loosened her arms and tugged her to stand in front of him. Settling her back against his chest, he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her against him.
“Watch,” he whispered in her ear.
CARA’S WHOLE BODY tingled as Hayden’s breath tickled the side of her neck. He placed a gentle kiss at her temple before resting his chin against it and staring out toward the lake. Cara had a hard time concentrating on the beautiful colors as the sun rose above the horizon. All she could think about was how good it felt to be in his arms.
Bright colors of orange and purple lit the sky and reflected in the lake. “It’s stunning,” she murmured. “No wonder your parents live here.”
“This house was actually my grandparents’ house. They would come here on vacations and family get-togethers, until one day when my uncle Stefan almost drowned in the lake. My grandfather insisted they leave and head back to Tilarus. The house sat empty for a long time until my parents came here. It was where my mother first told my father she loved him. It’s where they’ve lived ever since.”
Cara smiled softly. “That’s sweet.”
“Living on Daego also provides an incredible amount of security,” he said as he continued to stare toward the sunrise. “No one can get on this moon without clearance, and that clearance is sometimes very hard to get.”
“So you think your father stayed here more for the security aspect than the other.”
Hayden shrugged and snickered, making Cara grin. “With Dad, there’s no telling.”
“What about your mom?” she asked.
“Mom just likes it here. It’s quiet. Peaceful. She would’ve gone with Dad anywhere, but here…I don’t know. Here is definitely special.”
She stared back toward the sunrise as sadness curled into a ball in her stomach. “As a Mundi, I would’ve never appreciated this. We never paid attention to such things. It was all about work, learning, improving our skills. One time when I was younger, I remember watching a comet as it skimmed the atmosphere of the planet. It created a trail that lit up in colors of yellow and blue. We knew it would pass that close, and everyone had run outside to watch. They all gasped and sighed at the beauty of the colors. All I saw was the chemical reaction. It was nothing. I felt nothing.”
A tear slipped from the corner of her eye, and Hayden kissed it away as it slid down her cheek. She felt such sadness for all the beautiful things she’d dismissed over the years—looking at them but never really seeing them. She’d gone through her whole life with blinders on and now could see clearly. She never wanted to return to that lifeless existence. Ever. “How did I go through life feeling nothing?”
Hayden tightened his arms around her. “I don’t know,” he whispered.
“What if they win?” she asked. “What if they get me back?”
“They won’t.”
“What if they do those horrible things to me again? I had blocked most of them out, but now I remember everything. Every horrid, painful thing they did to me to get me to learn control. I never want to look at something like this again and feel nothing.”
“That won’t happen, Cara,” Hayden said firmly.
Cara wasn’t so sure.
* * * *
Alex grumbled to himself as he followed Sidious to the landing pad where Sidious’s ship, the Vultair, was parked. Alex had tried to talk him out of this, but Sidious wouldn’t be swayed. They wanted to get him off Rhinari and out of the spotlight.
Alex had a bad feeling, though. He’d had it all morning and hadn’t been able to shake it. It was a sense of walking into a trap.
They rounded the corner at the end of the hall, and Alex almost stopped dead in his tracks. Standing by the door that led out to the landing pad was Sidious’s daughter, Miya.
Every time Alex laid eyes on her, his heart raced. She was beautiful and so damn not for him. But that didn’t stop him from looking, wishing, wanting.
All that thick, glorious chestnut-brown hair cascaded down her back in soft curls that made him want to grab a handful of it, jerk her head back, and kiss her till she melted into his arms and begged him to do his bidding. And there were a lot of things he wanted to do with her.
She was always dressed impeccably, but today she looked especially delectable. Her green dress matched her eyes, and the black belt around her waist showed off her hourglass figure to perfection. She had all the right proportions wrapped up in a tight, petite package. Even wearing boots with three-inch heels, she still barely came to his shoulders.
Alex loved those heels. He called them “fuck-me heels” because every time he saw her in them, that was all he could think about.
She had a black jacket slung over her arm for the colder temps outside. This high up, it was a good twenty degrees cooler than on the ground, and right now they were about a thousand feet up.
Alex had a hard time sometimes with the idea that such a sweet little angel had come from Lord Sidious Marcone. The man was probably one of the only people Alex knew who could silence a room with just a glare. He’d seen him do it. Once those gray eyes narrowed, and Sidious stood to his full height, there wasn’t a man left in the room who would raise his voice back at him.
Hell, even Alex would think twice.
Size-wise, they were a close match. Equal in height and width. If Alex had white hair like Marcone’s instead of black, the two would be very similar from behind.
Miya tilted her head slightly, looking around her father’s wide shoulders straight at Alex and bringing his thoughts back to the delectable angel who more often than not occupied his erotic dreams. If her father knew what he did to her in those dreams, Sidious would castrate him.
Her beautiful deep green eyes narrowed in concern as she watched him approach. Had her father told her what happened to him? What the hell was she doing here?
“Morning, pet. Did you bring that file from Chris’s office?” Marcone asked as he approached.
Miya jerked her gaze away from Alex and turned her attention back to her father as she handed him a small electronic tablet. “I did
. Chris said everything you need is in there.”
Marcone nodded. “Good. Thank you.”
While her father studied the file, she brought her gaze back to Alex, and it was all he could do not to reach out and touch her. What the hell was the matter with him? He had no business fantasizing about dominating Miya. The first time he tied her up and flogged her would probably scare the hell out of her. Then he’d have to deal with deadly Daddy. No, thanks.
His gaze shot to Sidious, and Alex frowned. How could a man in his sixties still be so damn formidable?
“I understand it’s Chancellor now instead of Ambassador,” Miya said, bringing his attention back to her.
“Yes,” Alex said.
He had to bite his tongue to keep from telling her to call him Alex. He would love to hear the sound of his name on her lips.
“Surely you’re not going with us,” Alex said with a frown.
He wanted to take back his words at the anger that flared in her eyes.
“Absolutely not,” Sidious said as he studied the tablet.
“Of course not,” Miya drawled. “Wouldn’t want the baby to be injured.”
Alex’s lips twitched. Miya may be young, soft-spoken, and petite, but she was certainly no baby.
“Miya,” Sidious growled.
Miya rolled her eyes and stood on her tiptoes to kiss her father’s cheek. “I love you anyway, despite your overprotectiveness.”
“Imp,” he mumbled, but the tenderness in his eyes belied his harsh tone.
She smiled at her father before turning that stunning smile his way and stopping his heart. “I’m glad to see you’re okay, Chancellor.”
Alex inclined his head as she walked away. He didn’t trust himself to speak after she smiled at him like that. He tried really hard to not watch her. He really did, but he turned his head anyway and studied the soft sway of her tight little behind.
A hand slapped across the back of his head, and he winced. At first he thought it was her father who had done it, and he turned to glare at him. Instead he found her uncle Taron watching him with amusement sparkling in his deep brown eyes.
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