by Nina Croft
“Payback time,” he murmured and slowly lowered his head.
At the first touch of his tongue, Skylar’s eyes drifted closed. She held her breath as he licked from the cleft in her buttocks, over her already drenched opening, pushing his tongue inside, up toward the inflamed nub between her thighs, stopping just short, so she moaned in delicious need. He repeated the move, always leaving her wanting more until she reached up and curled her hand around his skull and dragged his head towards her, pushing herself up against his mouth.
He laughed softly, took her swollen clit in his mouth, and suckled. Her hand dropped from him. Her head fell back, and she moaned. He bit down and pleasure poured through her, arching her back as she came immediately. She struggled against him, out of control, and his hands grasped her thighs. His fingers bit into her flesh, holding her open while his tongue continued to work, and pleasure pulsed through her. Finally, he kissed her one last time and raised his head. She forced her eyes open.
“I was planning on taking my time,” Rico said, his expression faintly rueful.
She opened her mouth, but no words came out, the pleasure still buzzing through her. He ran the pad of his thumb over her sensitized clit, and she nearly leapt from the chair.
She lay back and watched as he undressed for her. He pulled his shirt over his head, tossed it on the ground. His skin was pale, smooth over the swell of muscles. A narrow line of hair disappeared into his waistband, and she held her breath as he opened the fastener and dragged his pants down. He was already fully aroused, his shaft thick, the head swollen and blushed dark with blood as it arched up against his lean belly. She licked her lips, and his cock twitched. Taking it in his fist, he squeezed. His head went back, and he groaned. “Tell me what you want,” he said.
“I want you,” she whispered.
. . .
She looked so beautiful sitting there. Beautiful and bemused as though the pleasure had taken her by surprise. Swiping his tongue over his lower lip, he tasted the salty sweetness of her. His gums ached with the need to savor her blood.
She had come much too fast. He’d wanted to prolong her pleasure, force every other man she had ever known from her mind until there was only him.
Now, she was sitting almost primly, her thighs clasped together, and she kept shooting wary glances at his cock; it did nothing for his control, but she seemed unaware of the effect she was having on him.
“I get the impression it’s been a long time for you,” he said.
Surprise flashed across her face. He could see her mind working, deciding whether to deny it. Instead, she shrugged. “You don’t want to know how long.”
Actually, he did want to know, but he didn’t push it—that wasn’t a conversation to have just now. He reckoned it would be a definite mood killer. And right now, he wanted to sink himself into the hot, silky depths of her. “Tell me if I hurt you.”
She looked at his cock and nodded, and the muscles in his belly cramped. Rico picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Turning, he sat down in the chair, positioning her knees on either side of his hips. For long moments, he held her close, breathing in the wild, musky scent of her sex. He stroked a hand down over her breasts. She was lean, no spare fat, but her skin was soft and her breasts a heavy weight in his palms. Bending over her, he took one swollen nipple into his mouth while one hand went between her thighs and parted her sex with skillful fingers. The head of his cock nudged at her opening. He raised his head to look at her, and her eyes were wild.
“Ready?” he asked.
Without answering, she put her hands to his shoulders, held his gaze as she pushed herself down, sheathing him inside her. She was so tight, and he held himself still, savoring the feeling.
When he could wait no longer, his hands moved to her hips and lower to cup the firm globes of her ass, and he moved her on him. The drag of her muscles was exquisite, and he shoved into her harder this time. He could already feel the orgasm building in his balls, sending ripples of pleasure through his spine. He grasped her tighter, pushed her down, grinding her sensitive core against him until she whimpered. He knew she was close, and he slid one hand between their bodies, massaged her clit with the tip of his finger, and she exploded against him. He released his control, holding her hips and thrusting into her, feeling the ripples of her pleasure tugging at his cock.
He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her against his chest as the waves of pure bliss pulsated from his shaft, through his whole body until it burst in an explosion of pleasure.
His head fell back against the chair and he lay, eyes closed, sated. For the moment.
Finally, he opened his eyes to find her watching him, her own eyes wary. He was overwhelmed by the urge to comfort her, tell her everything was going to be fine. He couldn’t find the words, and instead he wrapped his hand around her neck and pulled her towards him. He kissed her long and deep, felt the tension ease from her as the hunger rose inside him, and his gums ached with the need to feed. He couldn’t remember a hunger like this, as though he would die without the taste of her.
He backed off and stared into her eyes. “You know what I want?”
She nodded. “Rico, I just wanted to…” she trailed off and shrugged, then raised her chin, baring the smooth line of her throat.
He smiled at her fixed expression. “Don’t look so worried, querida. This isn’t going to hurt.”
“Querida—what does that mean?”
“It’s Spanish for ‘darling’. Now relax—you’ll enjoy it, I promise.”
He stroked the pad of his thumb down the line of her throat then leaned in close, breathing her in. He could smell the sweet scent of her blood as it thundered through her veins, so close to the surface. He tilted her head slightly and sank his fangs deep into the vein. She gasped against him as the warm blood filled his mouth, and the power filled his body. He swallowed, and a jolt of shock ran through him. He’d never tasted anything quite like Skylar’s blood, and for a moment, he went still. He forced the knowledge to the back of his mind—it was nothing he hadn’t already guessed, and it would wait for later.
She wriggled against him. He lifted her with ease; never releasing his hold on her throat as he lowered her to the floor and came down on top of her. Inside the tight sheath of her body, his cock stiffened, and she gasped again.
This time, they made slow, erotic love, the thrust of his hips keeping time with the pulse of her blood. He was careful not to take much, just enough. Finally, he released her, swiping his tongue over the small wound, before rising up over her to stare down into her desire drenched eyes.
“That was amazing,” she murmured.
Tension eased in his mind, and he realized he’d been worried she would not enjoy his blood-taking—another first. What was it about her that made him so unsure? He pushed the thought aside and flexed his hips, filling her, wanting to feel her shudder with desire beneath him.
Her blood buzzed inside him, saturating him with power. He continued to thrust slowly into her, holding tight onto his control, until finally, they came together in a burst of pleasure.
. . .
Skylar lost consciousness after the third orgasm. When she opened her eyes, it was to find Rico lying next to her on his back. She was pretty sure he was awake, but she didn’t have the energy to lift herself up and look.
She waited for him to say something, to denounce her, ask her what was going on, but he didn’t move.
She should get up, go get a stake or something, be prepared, but her body refused to obey. She felt boneless, weak. Complete for the first time in her life. The thought brought her up short and she sat up abruptly.
“You’re thinking again,” Rico murmured.
Her throat hurt, she reached up, ran her fingers over the puncture wounds and hissed under her breath. They had stopped bleeding, but still stung.
“Come here, querida.” He tugged her, so she fell on top of him. Nuzzling her neck, he kissed her, running his tongue over
the small wounds. The stinging stopped, and she pulled away and rose to her feet. She kicked off the silver shoes, then dragged a clean jumpsuit out of the small closet and pulled it on. Boots followed. Finally, she fastened her weapons belt around her waist. And all the time she waited for Rico to denounce her. Instead, he stayed silent.
Her gaze shifted to where he still lay on the floor. He’d rolled onto his side, his head resting on one hand as he watched her. Skylar could read nothing from his expression. Flinging herself down into the pilot’s chair, she reset the coordinates to head back to El Cazador. She stared at the screen for a long while, but her gaze was drawn back to Rico. He still hadn’t moved. She allowed her eyes to wander over the length of him. She’d never met anyone so comfortable in his own skin. Finally, she reached his face. He raised an eyebrow.
“What?” she asked.
He sighed and pushed himself up. “You think too much.”
“Yeah, I know. Can’t seem to stop.”
Rising to his feet, he grabbed his pants and shirt from the floor and pulled them on. He leaned on the console beside her chair. “What do you plan to do now? Take little Jonny and go back to the rebels?”
Why wasn’t he confronting her? After tasting her blood, he had to know she’d lied about everything.
Her gaze narrowed on him. “I told you, I can’t go back. I stole their money.”
“Hmm, so you did. So, what will you do?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“You could stick around for a while.”
She glanced at him in surprise. Why would he say that? She considered the idea of staying on, and then berated herself for even allowing the thought to cross her mind. It was never going to happen. She was an idiot to even think about it. Besides, if she didn’t get out of there before Jonny woke from his cryo, she doubted Rico would be offering her a place on his ship. More likely, she’d be straight out the emergency exit without a spacesuit.
“I can’t. We’re fugitives. We’ll bring the Collective down on you.”
“Darling, we’re all fugitives after that little escapade.”
“They might not have identified you.”
He tossed her a look of disbelief. “You reckon?”
“No,” she replied honestly.
“Well the offer’s there, if you want to stay. At least until you decide on your next move.”
Pain shifted deep inside her. Why had he made the offer? It just made everything so much harder. “I can’t.”
Anger flared in his face. “You know, we are what we are. There’s no way around that truth. But that doesn’t mean we have to behave in a way prescribed for us by others. There’s always a choice.”
“Not always.”
He shifted irritably. “Of course there is. It might sometimes seem a choice between bad and worse, but it’s still a choice.”
“Bad and worse,” she mused, and shrugged. “We’re approaching El Cazador. Get ready for docking.”
Chapter Fourteen
Skylar landed the shuttle, and wordlessly, they made their way to the bridge. As they arrived at the door, Rico put his hand on her arm. He had a feeling the whole world was about to go to shit. He was expecting it, but even so, he wished he could put off the moment for a while. What he really wanted to do was turn around, drag Skylar back into that tiny shuttle, and disappear into deep space for the next hundred years. Maybe longer.
But he wasn’t going to do that.
All his life, he had taken what he wanted. Skylar was different; he needed her to come to him freely. Right now, he was sure she was planning to bolt, and he wouldn’t stop her. But he wasn’t leaving everything to chance, either. He’d left her a little something in the shuttle, for when she ran again. Something he hoped would tip the balance in his favor.
“What?” she asked.
“Just this.” He took her in his arms and backed her against the wall. Thrusting his hands into her short hair, he curled his fingers around her head to hold her still while he bent down and kissed her. She didn’t resist, her tongue thrusting fiercely into his mouth, her hands gripping his shoulders as though she would never let him go. He pressed into her, feeling the whole length of her against him. His cock nudged her belly, and she squirmed against him.
Behind him, the door slid open. Tannis coughed. “We have a little problem here, Rico.”
Skylar went still in his arms. Her tongue slid from his mouth. Reluctantly, Rico raised his head.
“What’s that?”
“Well, it seems that little Jonny has just woken up, and while he’s very grateful to be rescued, it appears he doesn’t actually have a sister.”
Rico raised one eyebrow. “How surprising.” Skylar met his gaze, her own steady. “Anything you want to add?” he asked.
The tip of her tongue came out to lick her lower lip, still swollen from his kisses. “He must be confused. I’ve heard cryo can do that, and Jonny never was too bright.”
He watched as she strolled across the bridge and sank into a chair. God, she was cool. Even now, he was impressed. “Aren’t you eager to go have a tearful reunion with baby brother?” he asked. For a moment, he wished she’d break, confess, and throw herself on his mercy. And he would be merciful. But the thought was fleeting—if she’d been the sort of woman who broke, he probably wouldn’t have cared one way or the other. There was still a chance if he gave her a choice, she would choose him.
She pursed her lips. “I think I’ll wait till he’s a little less fuzzy. It will break my heart if he doesn’t recognize me after all the trouble I’ve gone to.”
Rico smiled in admiration. “Hmm, and we wouldn’t want to break your heart, would we?”
Tannis stood, hands on her hips, her gaze flicking between the two of them. “Is someone going to tell me what’s going on?”
Skylar remained silent, and Rico shrugged. “She’s Collective.”
Tannis stared at Skylar. “She can’t be. Her eyes are the wrong color.”
“Have I mentioned the word gullible before?” Rico shook his head. “Skylar?”
Skylar reached up and removed the contact lenses, dropping them on the floor. Her eyes glowed with the violet of Meridian. She turned to Rico, a look of resignation on her face. “When did you know? Was it the blood?”
“Actually, no. I suspected almost from the start, but Janey confirmed it. You were the only one who could have called up that space cruiser, and as you were with me, you must have had some internal comm link. The only people with that are the Collective. It gave you away. Why did you do it?”
“I had no choice. You were about to munch on me, and you’d just told me you could tell how old I was from my blood.”
“You could have said no.” He studied her face. “So, how old are you?”
She shrugged. “Two-hundred and thirty-two.”
“A baby.” He shook his head. “When the ship attacked, at first I thought you’d had a lucky break, then I got to thinking.”
“I make my own lucky breaks,” she said.
. . .
Skylar was furious with herself. How could she have not seen this? She looked up at where Rico lounged, one shoulder against the wall. She couldn’t believe that all the time he’d been making such sweet love with her, he’d known what she was. One thing was sure; he was a damn better actor than she was.
Time to get off his ship.
There was a good chance that they would attempt to kill her before her backup got there, but right now, she couldn’t think of an alternative. She closed her eyes and opened her internal comm link.
And hit a wall.
She tried again. Nothing. They had cut her off, and the first stirrings of panic awoke inside her. She opened her eyes to find Rico watching her, an amused smile on his face.
“Janey reconstructed the frequency,” he said. “She’s put up a wall. I’m afraid there’s no calling for help.” He grinned. “Oh, and you told them to rendezvous about two hours from here. So don’t be exp
ecting them anytime soon.”
A sense of fatality settled over her. This was it. It was over. They even had an assassin on board who knew exactly how to do away with the Collective on a permanent basis.
“If you knew all this, why am I still alive?” she asked.
“Good question,” Tannis said.
“I had planned to kill you,” Rico said. “I don’t like being double-crossed. But you saved our lives back on Trakis One. Those Collective would have killed us and by now you’d be back with your own kind.”
She scowled. “It was a reflex action.”
“Of course it was. Whatever, I owe you, and, like you, I pay my debts.”
“What does that mean?”
“You can go. Get in your shuttle and leave.”
She looked from him to Tannis. The captain’s face was set, but she didn’t speak. Skylar rose slowly to her feet.
“Just one thing,” Rico said.
She turned to him.
“What was this all for? Why go to the bother of freeing a man condemned by the Collective?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I was told it was a training exercise.”
For the first time she saw a real reaction. “A what?” His tone was outraged.
She didn’t blame him; she was outraged herself, but she kept her tone bland. “You said it yourself. They were getting sloppy. The Collective houses a lot of political prisoners on Trakis One. We needed to be sure it was secure. Plus my boss hates the guy in charge of security.”
“And just who exactly is “we”?”
“The Corps.”
“Jesus,” Tannis muttered.
“So why don’t you introduce yourself,” Rico said.
“Lieutenant Skylar Ross.”
Rico studied her for a moment, and she wondered if he would make the connection. She saw the moment enlightenment struck. “Would that make you related to Aiden Ross?”
She nodded. “He was my uncle.”
“So Jonny assassinated your uncle.”
“It’s not personal.” She shrugged. “I never liked Uncle Aiden anyway. He was a pompous ass.”