by Moira Rogers
For a moment she thought he’d tug free, but then he smiled and relaxed on the bed. “Just that?”
“Yes.” She kept her gaze on his face and slipped her fingers under the waistband of his linen pants. With the barest pressure, she eased the fabric down.
He clenched his fists around the blankets on either side of his hips. “I don’t lie still easily.”
She pulled open her own pants and lowered the zipper. “Did I say you had to?”
His gaze tracked her movements. “Sort of. How’s your back feeling?”
That hungry stare felt good. “My back hurts less than the rest of me.” Devi teased one finger along the top of her panties and slipped her hand beneath the lace.
Zel groaned and grabbed her hips. “If we can’t get your pants off in about five seconds, they’re getting ripped.”
She eased to the bed and wiggled free of the garment. His were easier, and Devi caught her breath on a gasp as she pulled the loose linen down his legs. His body was large, powerful…and aroused. “Oh. Oh.”
He laughed hoarsely and dragged her back over his body. “They never get that detail quite right either.”
Apparently not. The considerable thickness of his erection brushed her belly, and she kissed him with a whimper. This time he kissed her back with teeth and tongue, everything hard and deep and hungry enough to set fire to both of them. His fingers flexed on her hips, grinding her against the base of his cock.
It could have been hours before he tore away and urged her up. “Now. Ride me.”
Only the promise of having him deep inside her could have convinced Devi to give up the slick glide of his shaft against her sex. She moved carefully, aligning her body over his. “Take me.”
He did, with one slow, hot thrust, pushing up into her. She tried to stifle her sharp intake of breath as he stretched her, but he heard it anyway and froze. “Too much?”
It was, and she’d scream if he stopped. “No, just—” She rocked her hips to meet his, and the almost uncomfortable feeling of fullness vanished, chased away by a wave of hot satisfaction that stole her breath in an entirely different way. “Oh God.”
His face was a mask of intense concentration as he began a slow grind, guiding her into every movement without looking away from her face. “You’re tight.” His voice shook. “You sure you’re okay, honey?”
She managed a trembling whisper as she leaned forward and braced her hands on his shoulders. “Yes.” The position gave her the leverage she needed to move more, to transform the grinding into short thrusts that drove her toward the edge, hot and fast.
“That’s it.” He cupped her breast and slid his fingers down to stroke between her legs and center on her clit. “Come for me.”
That touch alone sent a spasm of pleasure racing through her, and Devi cried out. Her hands slipped off Zel’s shoulders and hit the bed, and she rode him harder.
He rained hot kisses on every inch of skin he could reach and matched her rhythm, a rasping moan tearing free every time their bodies slammed together. “More.”
“I can’t—” Too quickly, her body tightened around him, her muscles tensing in anticipation of release. The last few days had been nothing but wanting, aching with need, and she couldn’t brace herself against the overwhelming rush of sensation.
He helped her move as he began to rock up, driving deeper. Devi opened her eyes, fixing her gaze on his face.
He watched her like he’d never seen anything more perfect than her face as pleasure cinched tight. “Tell me what you need. Anything. I’ll give you anything.”
What she needed was to kiss him. Devi met his open mouth with hers and sought his tongue as the unbearable tension twisted and broke, flooding her with ecstasy. She shook above him, her teeth biting into his lip, and his growl of triumph trembled against her mouth as he rocked her through her release before giving in to his own.
Her limbs wouldn’t hold her, and she collapsed against his chest. Even the hours of sex in the network hadn’t prepared her for the sense of completion, for feeling like she never wanted to move from this spot and lose the sweet press of his skin against hers.
Zel let out a low sigh as his hands settled on her lower back, fingers brushing the taped edge of the gauze. His deep, unsteady breaths evened out before he spoke. “That’s the only advantage to the network, I guess. Unchecked stamina, even with the hottest woman in the world riding you.”
Devi touched his face before nestling her chin against his neck. “You gave me what I needed.”
“Good.” His breath stirred against her forehead, warm and intimate. “If I weren’t so damn exhausted, I’d be giving you what you needed again in five minutes. Tonight you might have to settle for fifteen.”
“We can sleep.” Being in his arms was enough.
“Can we?” Reluctance colored the words, like he didn’t want to say them but knew he had to. “There’s a lot we should talk about.”
“It can wait.” It had to, otherwise he’d drive himself beyond exhaustion.
“One thing won’t.” He stilled, and tension trembled in the muscular chest beneath her. “Lorenzo thinks Cache might be willing to stay. Might want to, even.”
Devi raised her head and met his eyes. “She feels like she’s needed here.”
“She is. I don’t have a fucking clue what to do about Trip, and in the meantime our network will fall apart. No one else we have is good enough.”
“Trip mentioned someone named Marci?”
“Marci McClure, a summoner bound to one of the halfbloods,” he elaborated. “She’s good—brilliant with avatars, really—but hardware isn’t her thing. And she can’t do a lot of the stuff those other two can.”
“Cache talked to me about it. Your friend’s right. If she’s welcome, she’ll stay.”
He relaxed and closed his eyes, relief clear on the planes of his face. “She’ll be welcome, I think. I need to talk to the full council this afternoon. Not just about Cache and Trip, but about everything. The spy and his mission. That Nicollet has figured out a way to kill over the network. It changes everything.”
It was terrifying, having the safety and anonymity of the network stripped away. “I think it’ll be a while before I link up to the Global again.”
“You and me both. I asked Trip to put a ban in place. He seems certain our local network is secure, but we don’t have the resources to host much beyond the challenge ring and a few entertainment options. People will get restless.”
“You have to deal with that difficulty when it comes.”
“Yeah.” His fingers resumed their slow, gentle stroking, tracing down from the top of her skull in a soothing, repetitive gesture. “What about you?”
“Will I get restless?” she asked in a whisper, braced for the answer. “Or do I want to stay?”
He was every bit as cautious. “If you wanted to make sure Cache was settled in all right, there’s a place for you, too. But if you can’t, I promise I’ll take care of her for you.”
It was easy to tell which reply he preferred, but Devi needed to be more than welcome. More than convenient. “It’s all right, Zel. If what you want is to ask me to stay.”
“Is it?” His fingers tightened in her hair, gentle but strong. “It seems like it’s a little crazy. But I already told you I don’t want you to leave.”
Devi traced the ridge of his collarbone. “I’d stay anyway. For Cache, mostly. But also…to get to know you.”
He smiled, slow but warm, so warm, and nothing compared to the heat in his eyes when he repeated his earlier words. “There’s a place for you.”
She shifted up his body, moving slowly, until she could reach his mouth with hers. “Not willing to give up the hot, non-virtual sex yet?”
“You just wait, sweetheart.” His fingers curled in her hair again, urging her head back so he could taste the line of her jaw. “They don’t have names for the things we could do together.”
“Yes, they do.” She relaxed, gi
ving in to his touch. “We just probably don’t know them.”
He laughed and kissed her again, soft kisses trailing from her cheek to her temple as he guided her head back to his shoulder. “Bet Cache and Trip would. Techies always do. I think too much time in the network corrupts innocent minds.”
“Yeah, I seem to remember the network corrupting us pretty well the other night.”
Laughter rumbled up, vibrating under her cheek. “You sure that wasn’t your nonexistent dress?”
“Where do you think I got the idea for it?” She certainly wasn’t carrying anything like that around in her truck.
“Mmm, I take it all back. The network is a wonderful place.”
His voice slurred more with every sentence, and she realized he was staying awake for her benefit. “I’m pretty tired.”
“Yeah?” The heavy weight of his hand settled in the middle of her back, just above the bandages. “Wanna stay here?”
She wanted to, and that meant she really shouldn’t. “I need to be where my crew can find me quickly.”
For a fraction of a second, the weight of his hand increased, pressing down, holding her to his chest as if he couldn’t quite bring himself to release her. The moment passed before she could draw another breath, and his fingers traced up her spine before falling away. “What about your crew? The other two, Tanner and Ruiz?”
“What about them?”
“They’re welcome to stay too, but I didn’t get the impression either wanted to. Especially not Tanner.”
It was the perfect opening, and Devi found herself oddly reluctant to take it. “Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you.”
“Something about Tanner?”
The tiny hint of tension in his voice couldn’t be her imagination. She raised her head. “Is something wrong?”
He shook his head too fast. “No. Nothing. Ask your question.”
He sounded almost jealous. “We still have cargo on the trucks. We had one more delivery, and Tanner and Juliet want to make it. I can’t send them out alone, though, and I’m not leaving right now.”
Realization swept over his features. “So they need help? I think I could get some volunteers. There are more than a few warriors desperate to get out of here.”
“Just a few, and they don’t need any special training. They’ll be paid,” she added quickly. “It’s hard to justify defaulting on this contract because I—I don’t want to leave right now.”
“I understand.” His thumb swept over her cheek, and he smiled. “I’ll check tomorrow. Trip did—does—a lot for the soldiers. He created custom training programs and scenarios for them and built special areas for the halfbloods so they wouldn’t have to link up to the Global and deal with the ADS. I think when I tell them what you and your people did, I’ll have more volunteers than you can handle.”
“Any humans? I can’t run the risk of sending Tanner and Juliet out without the ADS.”
“Mmm. Plenty of human soldiers. But even the warriors can handle ADS when they have to. We’re used to it.”
But they shouldn’t have to. “My crew could make this run with their eyes closed. All they need is backup.”
“I know. It’s just…” His voice trailed off, and his finger curled in a lock of her hair, a playful, absentminded touch. “I’ve never met a hauler who liked life better underground. Halfblood warriors are like that too. The ADS might hurt, but staying underground day in and day out hurts more. So let us worry about it, unless you’re trying to say Tanner and Ruiz need humans because they don’t like people like me.”
“No.” If anything, Juliet had shown a particular acceptance of halfbloods. “Ruiz is fine with it. And Tanner… Well, he doesn’t trust anybody. It’s not personal.”
“Then I’ll pick out the best suited. How many? Four or so?”
“Four,” she agreed absently. “Do you need to ask the council first?”
“No. The soldiers are mine.”
A sudden thought made her sit up straight. “You think they’d like to get out more?”
He smiled, drowsy but amused. “I think like would be putting it mildly.”
They could get contracts from anywhere, as long as they still had unrestricted access to the Global network—and her cities. “We could run the trucks while we’re here. Maybe increase your trade.”
“Make this your home base for the time being?” His smile widened. “Oh yeah, I think that would make a lot of people happy.”
That smile tore through all of her defenses, made her want to promise him the moon. “It should help with the council’s decision to let us stay for a while, right? If we’re contributing.”
“Yes.” His eyes rolled up as he sighed. “They’re not bad people, but they’re as self-involved as anyone else. Our city is growing faster than our resources, so trade… Trade is good.”
“I don’t blame them, you know,” she murmured. “If having us here isn’t an asset, then it’s a liability. That’s harsh, but it’s reality.”
“And here I thought halfbloods were supposed to be the cynical ones.” Some of the tension was back, evident in the set of his jaw and the way his body stiffened. “It was easier that way. When I got to be the cynical one.”
She’d hurt him, and she wasn’t even sure how. “What did I say wrong?”
“Nothing.” It was too quick, and he seemed to know it. His fingers slid back into her hair, stroking gently. “Nothing, I promise. Like I told you before, trouble was already here. I’m still working out how to deal with it.”
She wished she knew how to help, but it was beyond her. “I should go, let you get some sleep.”
She thought he might protest again, but instead he nodded and eased upright, bringing her with him. “Get your clothes. I’ll walk you back to your room.”
Devi dressed quickly. It was silly to blush after she’d already been in Zel’s bed, but being so exposed outside the heat of passion left her feeling vulnerable. “I’ve been dancing around the question, but there’s something I have to ask.”
Zel swung his legs over the side of the bed and reached for his pants. “Ask anything.”
“Is it a problem?” She pulled her shirt over her head. “If I stay, will it cause more trouble for you than if I go? I need to know the truth.”
He didn’t answer at first. He shoved his legs into his pants and dragged them up, then ran a hand through his short hair before sighing. “Honestly? I don’t have a damn clue.”
But he wanted her there anyway, there was no doubt about that. “Take my suggestion about the trucks to your council and see if it helps. We can deal with things from there.”
“We’ll make it work.” His smile was tired, but real. “And after that, we’ll find you and Cache better rooms.”
Devi moved without thinking, stopping in front of where he sat to thread her fingers through his hair. “You don’t have to walk me back. I’ll be fine on my own.”
“Sure you will.” He caught her hand and twined his fingers with hers before coming to his feet with enviable grace. “Doesn’t mean I don’t want to walk with you. You can waste time arguing if you want, but I learned manners from a scarier woman than you.”
“I know, I met her.” Though she hadn’t seemed scary so much as determined, and that much of his mother Devi could see in Zel. “Come on. Let’s go so you can come back and rest.”
Chapter Fourteen
It happened exactly as he’d predicted.
The first tedious minutes of the council meeting were wasted in chiding Zel for not convening regular council meetings. He sidestepped that by introducing the topic of Devi’s crew becoming full citizens with all rights and privileges that entailed.
Pandemonium.
He endured Hailey’s exasperated glare and let the angry, agitated voices of the assorted council members settle into a meaningless hum as they fought to see who could express his reservations with the most volume—and who could tie those reservations to a favored pet project.
Fifteen minutes later, Zel rapped his knuckles on the table to catch everyone’s attention. The querulous old man who represented the interests of the artisans was the last to fall silent, seemingly dedicated to his tangential rant on the decline of the quality of their imported clay.
It was hard to see how Devi could possibly be responsible for crumbly clay, but Zel used the topic as a convenient segue. “Roman is right. We’ve had a harder and harder time recently getting reliable shipments for trade. You all know what sort of haulers we’re forced to deal with. That’s why I’ve asked Devi and her crew to consider making Rochester their home base. In exchange for protection and shelter, they’re more than willing to make our trade needs a priority. We’ll be the only outcast settlement in the Midwest running two of its own trucks.”
Silence. Blissful, uninterrupted silence. Zel held his breath. One…two…three…four—
“With unlimited access to clay we could—”
“—clearly more important to address the lack of textiles—”
“—wouldn’t need textiles if I could keep sheep—”
“If Jonas gets sheep, I want cows. Goats’ milk changes the taste of so many recipes—”
“—don’t know what you think the sheep will eat if we don’t get new parts for the hydroponics systems—”
Lorenzo leaned over and whispered, “Now that you’ve dangled your new girlfriend in front of them like a carrot, I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“He’s trying to send me into premature labor, obviously.” Hailey had one hand on her bulging stomach. “I was going to fake contractions to get them to stop talking, but at this rate I won’t have to.”
Zel was only three-quarters sure she was joking. He lowered his voice, though he could probably shout himself hoarse and not get the council’s attention. “We can let them talk themselves around for a few more minutes, then tell them to organize a list of needs for review.”
Despite his light words, Lorenzo looked uncharacteristically grave. “And hope Devi doesn’t decide after this that the best place for her business is back in the city after all.”