Stealing Mercury (Arena Dogs Book 1)

by Charlee Allden

  He’d apparently already taken advantage of the river. His hair glistened wetly and hugged his head. Beads of water still traced down his shoulders to follow the leanly defined curve of his pectorals.

  Samantha ducked under the tarp. “Uh, a bath now sounds good. Let me get a change of clothes.” Luckily, the escape-pod supplies had included a couple of one-size fits all tops and bottoms. They’d be big on her but she’d manage. Unfortunately, all didn’t include genetically engineered gladiators. Mercury, Lo, and especially Carn were too broad and muscular, so they were out of luck.

  The walk to the water didn’t take long despite the lush vegetation. The pungent mix of foliage and the gentle swish and splash of the briskly flowing river tumbled together to create an exotic oasis like nothing she’d seen before. For some species it would be a paradise and her vow to live in the moment let her bask in its beauty.

  Mercury led her to where the river widened and reeds and willowy trees gave way to a grassy verge that led to a shoal, the perfect place to walk out into the current.

  Samantha dropped down to the soft grass to pull off her boots and jacket. Mercury didn’t even bother to take off his flex boots before wading out to the center. He only had the clothes he was wearing and they probably needed a bath as much as he did, but she’d been hoping to get down to her skin.

  She eyed Mercury as he dipped below the surface then popped back up, shaking his head. Even with only his head and shoulders above water, his presence couldn’t be ignored. She’d spent the day wrapped around him and a little turned on by the countless small touches he’d used to ensure her mind was focused on him as they hiked the alien wilderness. The way his hand would slip along her thigh or a finger would stroke along the sensitive bend behind her knee.

  Samantha shook away the thoughts, but the lingering heat low across her belly wasn’t so easy to dismiss. Stars, what was wrong with her? She’d never been sex-obsessed nor had she been prudish or shy. She huffed out a breath. Tired of over-thinking it, she pushed back to her feet and stripped down to her under-tank and briefs. Decent enough. She stepped into the cool water and waded out a few feet then moved down stream. She dunked her dirty clothes into the clear water and rubbed them briskly, wishing she’d brought cleanser.

  “You’re not bathing.” Mercury had worked his way closer until he stood blocking the setting sun.

  She looked up, but his face was shadowed, his body silhouetted against the brighter sky. “In a minute. Wanted to get these clean first so I could put them by the fire tonight to dry. We could be here a while and I only have one set of real clothes. The emergency gear is going to be like trying to wear a tent.”

  He reached down to her upturned face, still a shadow looming over her, and threaded his fingers through the lock of hair that had been falling into her eyes. He twisted it and smoothed it back from her forehead. “How long do you think it will be before someone comes to look for us?”

  “I’m not sure.” His question reminded her that she still had no plan for that eventuality. “I’m more worried about who they’ll be.”

  “We’ll deal with it when the time comes.”

  She nodded and returned her attention to her washing, glad he wasn’t one to panic or fret. She chuckled under her breath at the thought of a fretting Mercury.

  “What makes you laugh, courra?”

  She looked up again and her retort caught in her throat. While she’d been lost in her thoughts he’d moved, letting the sunlight pour over him, and he’d stripped out of his pants. Her mouth went dry as desert sand. She’d gotten used to the men being bare-chested or at least learned not to stare too hard or too long no matter how enjoyable the sight, but Mercury in all his naked glory made her temperature spike. Knowing the bands along her arms would be shimmering with spreading flecks of gold did nothing to ease her discomfort.

  She’d known the long, heavy muscles of his thighs were there, of course. His pants were form fitting and hadn’t really covered much. But bare, those muscles drew her eyes directly to the part of Mercury that was wholly, impressively male.

  She was silently thankful for the cool water. If he’d been fully aroused she might not have been able to recover. Unselfconscious, he squatted down in the water to mimic her washing technique. Now that he wasn’t standing up, the water was deep enough to cover the most distracting parts of his anatomy.

  Samantha managed to pull her eyes back to her washing. Mostly.

  After a handful of minutes, he stood abruptly. “Enough clothes washing.” He pulled the clothes from Samantha’s hands and strode over to the river bank to deposit the lumps of cloth and his boots in the grass.

  The view of him walking away was no less distracting. Firm muscles worked as he moved, making her think of how he’d feel beneath her calves if she wrapped her legs around him as he lay over her in a sexy reversal of the way he’d carried her that morning.

  “Sammie,” she muttered under her breath, “you’ve lost your mind.”

  She tried earnestly not to stare as he walked back. He didn’t stop, only took her hand as he went past and led her into the deeper water.

  Mercury turned her away from him and urged her to lean back. “You still have blood in your hair,” he explained as he worked the water through the strands and gently rubbed her scalp. Samantha closed her eyes and let the gentle strength of his touch wash over her as the cool water moved around her in a wet caress.

  His hands slid to her shoulders, stroked down her arms and brushed along her ribs. When she could no longer feel his hands she straightened and turned. He was as still as a boulder in the current. She let her gaze take in the tense muscles of his shoulders and the bob of his Adam’s apple. He looked at her like the parched earth watched the rain cloud on the horizon, as if he could soak her in and have his thirst quenched.

  He pulled her into his arms and she let him. “I hated letting you go with the whip-master and his bully. Hated watching you walk away to face them alone.”

  “You probably thought I was such a fool to believe I could handle them.” She’d held her own in some of the most dangerous ports in the sector, but she’d badly misjudged her ability to manage Drake and Resler.

  He cupped his hands around her jaw and urged her to meet his gaze. “I thought you were brave. You have the courage of a Dog.”

  His head dipped as if to press his warm lips against hers. Anticipation trembled through her. She hadn’t been aware of wanting him to kiss her, but in that moment she couldn’t think of anything she wanted more. He stopped a centimeter from touching her, keeping the small space between them, but breathing softly against her lips. Her need to have her lips on his, to stroke her tongue along his, swelled and became urgent.

  His lips brushed hers as he spoke. “I thought you a worthy mate.”

  Samantha blinked, the word jolting her. “A mate?”

  He stiffened and released her. “You don’t want a Dog.”

  Samantha reached for him. “I didn’t say that.” Hurt etched severe lines in his face as she rushed to explain. “It’s just that you’re practically a stranger.”

  She struggled to explain the panic that had hit her at hearing the word—mate. “I know how seriously you take your bond to your mates. I’ve seen how Carn is tortured by it. I was surprised to hear you use that word.”

  The pain on his face was clear in the fading light. “I want you.”

  Her heart melted, twisted with yearning and thudded with a rote fear of reaching for what she wanted. “There’s a difference between wanting someone and wanting to make a commitment to someone. You barely know me. ”

  He stroked fingers across her cheek. “I’ve wanted you from the moment I scented you. My people value every moment of life. When you face death daily you learn not to waste time.”

  He seemed so serious and sad. It tightened the need gripping her heart. “My people believe in building a relationship first.”

  “No,” he said, shaking his head. “Human women often came
to the arena kennels to be pleasured. They were from your world, but they didn’t want to know us first.”

  Samantha cringed. “That’s awful. Er, I mean…” She didn’t want to insult him.

  “You’re right, it was awful. They kept us chained because they feared us, but they wanted to take their pleasure. When I was young, they would touch my body until my flesh was so hungry for release I couldn’t resist. As I grew in strength and wisdom I learned to control my needs until they could no longer use my body against me.”

  Samantha wrapped her hand around his and pressed it against her lips. “I’m so sorry for the way they treated you.”

  “It doesn’t matter now.”

  “Of course it does.” She kissed his knuckles then twined her fingers with his. “But I can’t change what happened to you. All I can do now is treat you with the respect you deserve.”

  “Pushing away what we both want isn’t respect, courra. It’s my choice to pleasure you and we aren’t strangers. I know you, Sam.”

  “No. No you don’t. You don’t even know my name. No one who knows me calls me Sam. Someone I was going to—”

  “Allow to pleasure you?”

  “Yes,” she agreed. “That person would know that and much more.”

  He released her hands and traced his fingertips up her arms. He lingered over the slight variations as his fingers found each of the smoother bands of golden skin. “I know you, Samantha Devlin.”

  She clutched at his ribs. “How?”

  He smiled down at her. “Your friend introduced you to the whip-master the first time I saw you.”

  “And you remembered?”

  He nodded then leaned down to nuzzle her jaw.

  She strained on tiptoes, chasing the delicious sensation.

  He spoke softly, his lips against her neck. “I’ve listened to you speak for many days. I’ve slept with your scent filling the air. I’ve dreamt of your smile. Tell me what name to call you and then I will be free to pleasure you with my hands, my lips, my body.”

  She closed her eyes at the images his words conjured.

  “Samantha is fine.” It slipped out before she could think it through. “But that doesn’t mean—”

  “I scented your arousal at the camp, Samantha.” Her eyes popped open, appalled to see him looking confident and sure of her. “You’ll allow me to pleasure you.”

  He lifted her off her feet, his big palm wrapping around her thigh and hitching it around his hip. The heat of his body pressed intimately against her chilled flesh, waking every nerve ending.

  He pressed his lips to her forehead in a gesture both sweet and scorching. “I ache for you.” Lusty agony laced through the quietly spoken words.

  She cursed low. “Damn it, I can’t think straight when you say things like that.”

  A rough chuckle rumbled in his throat as he lifted her higher then licked a path down to her collar bone. “There’s no need to think right now, Samantha.”

  He was seducing her. The man who’d known nothing but violence was seducing her and she had to acknowledge she wanted to give in, to be seduced. His hands skimmed her thighs on their way to her ass. He squeezed, urging her to wrap herself more tightly around him. His hands felt huge on her body as he held her close and headed toward the riverbank.

  She stroked her palms over his shoulders and the bunching muscles of his arms as he carried her out of the water. The moment he stopped on the grassy bank, he leaned in to take her mouth. It wasn’t a light, easy, getting-to-know-you kiss. It was a kiss of pure possession. He licked her lips and pressed his tongue past them to stroke deep inside. She met the thrust of his tongue, needing everything he offered. He growled into her mouth and her stomach did a little flip in response.

  Maybe he’d been right. Suddenly, thinking didn’t seem so important.

  Her whole body arched into him as she kissed him back, tangling her tongue with his. Her pebbled nipples were crushed against his chest. The sensation sent a jolt of pleasure down through her belly.

  She broke the kiss and buried her face against his neck, panting for breath. Her dampening center begged for more sensation. She fought and failed to control the instinct to rock her hips, seeking relief for her swollen, needy flesh. He widened his stance and adjusted her body so his cock pressed more squarely between her thighs. The firm press of him proved how quickly he’d overcome the effects of the cold river. With the thin cloth of her briefs the only barrier between them, he had no trouble working his hard length against her with maddening precision.

  She moaned, helpless to the sensual hunger. No man had ever taken her over so completely. Made her so needy that the world faded away and she could believe that having her meant more to him than simple release. That he might want her—the mixed-blood girl from a refugee camp—enough to care as much about giving her pleasure.

  His fingertips traced up her spine with gentle thoroughness, as if taking inventory of each delicate vertebra. His other hand burrowed beneath her snug under-tank until his fingers found the hardened tip of her nipple. His fingers stroked and circled the nubbin, sending spirals of heat down to the soft flesh pressed against his hardness.

  She rocked her hips again and he growled. Her stomach did another crazy flip as the growl softened to a rumble and he lifted his chin to give her better access to his throat. The sound vibrated against her lips where they pressed to the tight skin. A shiver raced through her. She opened her mouth and laved her tongue over the spot then licked along the cord of muscle. She followed it down to the vee at the base of his throat and dipped her tongue into the hollow.

  His hands were suddenly back on her ass, gripping, controlling, encouraging the slow dip and roll. She clung to his shoulders as his body moved against her, grinding his cock against her swollen flesh.

  He dropped to his knees in the soft grass, his arms banded tightly around her, and stopped. Their chests heaved as they both panted for air. Her head came up and he met her gaze, his big thundercloud eyes shining with intensity, the lines of his face strained.

  “You feel so good, Samantha. I need my cock inside you, now.”

  There had been no question, but the alert, carefully leashed passion in his face spoke louder than his words. He wanted her, but he needed her permission. He would know how important it was for permission to come from her heart and her head. The body could be manipulated, fooled into unwanted pleasure, and he wouldn’t do to her what had been done to him.

  She slipped her hands down the muscled planes of his chest and gave a gentle push. His arms loosened immediately and she read anguish in his eyes until her hand continued down. Her fingers dipped briefly into his belly button, drawing a muffled groan as his abs jumped, before continuing on to wrap around his cock.

  He moaned louder, thrusting into her grasp as she squeezed and stroked down and then up the long, broad length. His jaw tightened, the muscles in his neck straining in sharp relief, as if he thought she might be teasing him before turning him away.

  “I want you too, Mercury.” She smiled, remembering his earlier words about how he’d dreamt of the simple gesture. “I want to feel you inside me.”

  That was all the permission he needed. He tugged at her clothes, stroking her skin as he pushed and pulled. He turned her naked body away from him and positioned them with her back to his chest, his knees between hers as he sat back on his heels. She leaned back into him and wrapped her hands around his muscled thighs.

  It was probably a mistake to have sex with him, but she couldn’t deny them both. She knew his life had been cruel, but she’d seen for herself that he could be gentle and protective.

  His hands came around to lift her breasts. “You’re so beautiful, courra.” He rubbed his palms over her nipples then lifted her breasts again.

  As she tipped her head back with pleasure she realized he was tall enough to have a clear view of her body over her shoulder. His chin pressed against her temple as one hand stroked down to play in the wet heat between her legs.<
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  “Tell me again you need me inside your body.” His fingers stroked over her clit and pressed slow circles into the sensitized bundle of nerves.

  She could barely breathe to get words out. “I need you. Please.”

  His fingers circled faster, relentless.

  The pleasure was too intense and instinct had her bucking against him. She tried to close her legs against the unbearable pleasure but his knees were between hers and his body moved with her as she writhed.

  “Please, Mercury. Please.” She had never begged a man in her life, but with him there was no pretense, no walls between them. Mercury’s raw, blunt need had swept her into a moment where nothing mattered but the demands of their bodies. And her body ached with a need only Mercury could fill.

  He bent her forward until she was on her hands and knees then moved his knees outside hers, lowering his hips to match hers. The heat of his body never left her. The blunt tip of him pressed against her opening. She was beyond wet, but she had a moment of panic as he pressed forward. He was big and she was small.

  He eased back, perfectly attuned to her body. “I’ll go slow.”

  He adjusted his hips and pressed forward again. This time his cock stroked along her folds, brushing her clit.

  She panted at the pleasure. A low rumble started in his chest and vibrated down her spine. He stroked across her clit again, then adjusted his cock and pressed against her opening. This time she was ready for the pressure, eager to be filled.

  “Yes, courra. Open for me.”

  He eased in, her body stretching to accommodate him. He pulled back then eased forward again. And again. Her body took him more easily each time. Took him deeper. When his cock filled her completely, he pulled his hips back a few centimeters then shoved forward hard as if, after all that gentleness, he needed to claim her with one brutish thrust.

  She yelped at the pleasure-pain of it.

  He nipped at her shoulder, teeth scraping across delicate skin. “You’re mine, Samantha Devlin.”

  He pulled out and thrust hard again.

  His hips slapped against her ass.