by Nina Croft
She wasn’t sure she could take anymore, but she nodded anyway, and he held her gaze as he filled the emptiness inside her with one lunge of his hard body. There was a slight moment of tension, a sharp pressure and then he went still inside her. He was so big, he stretched her, filling her, everything so sensitive after her orgasm that she gasped as he twitched inside her.
“Okay?”
She could only manage a small nod, but he obviously took it as a yes, because he pulled out of her slowly, the drag of his flesh against hers sending pleasure shuddering through her. Then back inside. As he pulled out again, her legs wrapped around him, and she drew him back into her.
“Hold on, sweetheart.”
He pulled out and shoved back in hard, and it was more sensation than she had known existed in the whole world. She closed her eyes and concentrated on that place where their bodies joined. As he moved faster and harder, the feelings were too much, as though she couldn’t take anymore, and the pressure was building again, until he crashed into her one last time and she exploded, shudders running through her, cracks turning into fissures, as she broke apart.
Above her, he arched his back as he found his own release. Pumping into her, his expression savage, and a wave of elation rushed through her that she could make him lose control.
Finally, he went still above her.
She was beyond words.
She wanted to cry and laugh and…
He wrapped his arms around her and rolled so he lay on his back with her sprawled on his chest, his cock still inside her, his hand on her bottom, holding her close. And she closed her eyes and felt the rhythm of his heartbeat.
What did you do after this?
How could you have this and then lose it?
She didn’t want to think of what the future held. Of a life without him. It seemed impossible. She realized she felt…safe. And it was unusual. Always the world had seemed like a puzzle for which she had no answers. As though she didn’t know who or what she was supposed to be. Now it didn’t matter. And she closed her mind and drifted off into a light sleep.
When she woke, it was to hands moving over her skin, massaging the globes of her ass and he was hard again. She lifted herself up sleepily and stared down into his eyes, then wriggled experimentally and felt him twitch and jerk inside her. The movements sent spasms of pleasure clutching at her. She moved some more, shifted her legs so she straddled his hips. She lifted herself slowly, experimentally. It felt good. So good. Lowering herself, she ground herself against him, feeling the lovely friction against her nub. As his hands cupped her breasts and plucked at her nipples, she felt it in her sex, so her inner muscles squeezed him tight.
This time he was slow and intense, and she cried as she came, and she didn’t care.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“… in the shipwreck of life, for life is an eternal shipwreck of our hopes, I cast into the sea my useless encumbrance, that is all, and I remain with my own will, disposed to live perfectly alone, and, consequently, perfectly free.”
—Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
Milo came awake suddenly. The sun was coming up on the other side of the lake and his arms tightened around the woman sprawled on top of him.
Beep. Beep.
The noise sounded from the bracelet on Destiny’s arm. A tension ran through her and she pushed herself up. Sweat stuck their bodies together. She blinked. Then her eyes widened as she glanced at her arm.
“Drones,” she whispered.
It took a moment for the word to make sense, and then he shot to his feet, pulling her with him.
He glanced around, grabbed their clothes into a bundle with his free hand. “Run.”
He pushed her ahead of him, into the cover of the trees. Then on farther. He could hear the faint whirring of the drone now, but it was getting fainter rather than louder, and he slowed their pace. It sounded as though it was flying along the edge of the lake.
“I think we’re okay,” he said, halting and turning to face her. She was naked and she blinked back at him.
“That was a little abrupt,” she said. She bit on her lip, a worried frown on her face. “Are they looking for me?”
“I don’t know.” But at a guess, yes.
His gaze wandered over her. She was beautiful: her body slender, her breasts full, her nipples hard, and blood rushed to his groin. He couldn’t remember ever wanting a woman like this. They’d made love over and over again through the night, until his body was sore and still he hadn’t had enough of her.
He stepped closer, meaning to kiss her and more when he heard a rustle in the bushes behind her. As he stared into the trees, he caught a flash of sable fur. A glint of golden eyes in the shadows. He exhaled and closed his eyes for a second, bringing his body under control. Then he stepped back and tossed Destiny her clothes. “We need to go back.”
Disappointment flashed in her eyes, but then she nodded. “I know.”
Nothing like an early morning drone chase to get things back to normal.
He pulled his clothes on quickly.
“Thank you for last night,” she said. “Whatever happens, I’m glad we made love. It was beautiful.”
He opened his mouth to say—what? That they hadn’t made love? He didn’t make love, he had sex. But he closed it again because he didn’t want to dim the glow in her eyes. Not yet anyway. That would no doubt happen soon enough. He just nodded instead and bent down to tug his boots on.
When they got back to the tunnel entrance, Dylan was leaning against the wall, waiting for them, arms folded across his chest, one eyebrow raised.
Milo decided to get in first, before the wolf could make any stupid comments. He had that I’m-about-to make-a-stupid-comment look on his face. “So what’s happened?”
“I got back last night, and they were watching the shuttle. And not discreetly. At least ten men, plus Silas. I presume they were there to take us in whether we wanted to go or not. Luckily, I spotted them before they spotted me and got the hell out of there. But they could be monitoring the comm frequencies.”
“Crap.” Had they been seen in the tunnels? Was there surveillance they didn’t know about? But he didn’t think so.
“Likely, they’ve just gotten suspicious. Maybe we’re not toeing the line enough and Kinross wants to weed out any trouble, make an example of us before it escalates or gives the others ideas.”
“Could be,” Milo said, but there was another possibility. “Or maybe he’s looked into the Trakis Two—followed up on that red flag we found against Rico’s name. He’s prepared and he has a lot of information. And if he tried to talk to Rico…”
“Let’s hope that didn’t happen,” Dylan muttered.
Rico had somehow managed to do the five-hundred-year trip from Earth and still maintain secrecy. Milo could only presume that he’d had very little interaction with the rest of the fleet, because Rico had never been particularly good—actually fucking awful—at diplomacy. “Come inside,” he said. “And I’ll tell you what we found. It’s not good.”
Destiny touched his arm. “What’s happening? Is it because of me?”
Actually, he didn’t think so. “No. I think it’s about us,” he said. “But it looks like you have two house guests for a while.” Until they sorted this mess out, they weren’t going anywhere without the shuttle. They couldn’t even contact Rico.
A smile blossomed on her face. “That’s wonderful.”
“Not really. It’s actually totally fucked, but we’ll make the most of it.”
He put a hand at her waist and steered her around, left it there as they headed back to the ship, Dylan behind them. Once inside, Destiny took the lead and they followed her not to the bridge but to the room next door, some sort of galley-cum-meeting room. There was a table and chairs for six. Whoever had built this ship had definitely been humanoid
. She went to a cabinet and pulled out a bag, brought it to the table. It contained what was left of the food they’d brought her. As they sat down, she emptied the contents onto the table and picked out a chocolate muffin. They would need to find an alternative source of food from somewhere soon, if the shuttle wasn’t available.
His stomach rumbled and he grabbed a bread roll and started eating. It was slightly stale. He glanced up and caught her gaze as her tongue flicked out to lick a crumb from her lips. He had a vivid memory of those lips around his dick last night and he shifted in his chair.
“Have you two been working up an appetite?” Dylan asked.
Milo was quite aware that Dylan had seen them in the forest. Without any clothes on, so he didn’t bother answering.
Dylan grinned, then pulled a bottle out of his bag. “We have to get onto the shuttle,” he said. “This is the last bottle I have with me.”
“Probably Silas and his men are drinking it right now.”
A shudder ran through the werewolf. “Don’t say that.”
He took a swallow and passed it to Destiny; she took a big gulp and handed it to him. Milo relaxed back in his chair. No one had said this was going to be easy. Time to break the good news to Dylan. “Kinross has enough nuclear weapons to take out a planet,” he said.
Dylan raised a brow. “Well, that’s not good news. But nothing we weren’t expecting. He had to have something to back up his plan.”
“Right. But shit, nuclear? Christ, it’s the same old crap, but in more concentrated form. We need to decide what we’re going to do next, but we can’t do that until we discover what’s going on. Why the surveillance? How much crap are we in?”
“A lot,” Dylan said, grabbing back the bottle. “I think as a priority we need to find a way to contact Rico.”
“The captain of the Trakis Two?” Destiny asked.
“And your boyfriend’s uncle. He’s the one who sent us here.”
She turned to him, her eyes wide. “You have an uncle?”
“No.” He shrugged. “Maybe. He was married to my mother’s sister. A long time ago.”
“How lovely.” He had an idea that Destiny had some strong feelings about family. And he really didn’t want to get into a discussion about his relationship with Rico right now.
“We need to get the comm unit from the shuttle. Or at least decide if that’s going to be a possibility. If not, then we need to steal a unit from one of the other ships or from Kinross’s headquarters.” That might be easier than trying to get back to the shuttle as it wouldn’t be watched so closely. But there were other things he’d like to collect from the shuttle. Not least the supply of whiskey, plus some personal stuff that might come in handy. “I think we go take a look at the shuttle first and then decide. I suppose you could cause a diversion and I could go in there.” With a cloaking spell he could likely get in and out without too much bother as long as their attention was directed another way.
“Will it be dangerous?” Destiny asked.
“No,” he said.
“Can I come with you?”
“No,” he said again, without even thinking about it.
She was watching him, with knowledge in her eyes. She had come so far. She clearly understood that this was the beginning of the end for them. That he would be leaving soon. A sharp pang of unease hit him somewhere in his chest—he wasn’t willing to narrow the area down further than that—at the thought of leaving her behind.
Would she come with them if he asked?
A few days ago, he would have said a categoric no. That her belief in Dr. Yang and her “duty” were instilled so deep that she would never turn her back on them. Now he wasn’t so sure. And that wasn’t just down to their great chemistry. Which was pretty fucking great. He figured her beliefs were changing as her knowledge of the world increased. She might be the most intelligent person he had ever met, and he’d met a lot of people. She read phenomenally fast. Not only that but she assimilated the knowledge. She’d taken a few physics books and gotten an alien spaceship to work. Okay, maybe she’d just pressed the red button out of curiosity, but still impressive. She had courage as well as brains.
He supposed the question he should be asking himself was—would he ask her to go with them? Hell, did he want her to?
Already, she was insinuating herself in his life. He had an idea that she would tighten the bonds if she could. And he was a loner. Plus, he’d promised himself he would never risk caring for anyone again.
That last image of Maria flashed in front of his mind. Her blackened and still smoking body dead on the altar, with the church burning around her. She’d wanted to save his soul. Hell, he was pretty sure he didn’t have a soul to save. Her betrayal had broken him, and it had taken years to put himself back together. To come to terms with what he was. Now the memory brought no pain. Maria had been a product of her times and beliefs.
If Destiny didn’t go with them, then what would happen to her? He was still no closer to understanding who and what she was. Would she be safe here? She was clearly important to Kinross, so likely she would be looked after. Safe. But he couldn’t dispel the niggle of worry.
Maybe if he could prove to himself conclusively that she would be safe on Trakis Four, then leaving her would be easier.
There was also the fact that she didn’t know their true nature, and he wasn’t about to tell her. Rico had a strict policy about what happened to outsiders who discovered what they were, and it usually involved death.
“I could keep watch when you go in,” she said, dragging him from his thoughts. “I want to be useful.” Her chin took on a stubborn tilt.
He thought about his answer carefully. “It will be more dangerous with you along,” he said. “I’ll worry about you and that will make me careless. Likely I could get killed.”
Dylan smirked and raised the bottle of whiskey in his direction.
Milo cast him a dirty look that said keep out of this conversation.
Her eyes narrowed and he braced himself for an argument. But in the end, she smiled sweetly and nodded. “Okay. I’ll stay here.”
A feeling of unease ran through him, not helped by the fact that Dylan snorted another laugh.
How had his life gotten so complicated?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Yet man will never be perfect until he learns to create and destroy; he does know how to destroy, and that is half the battle.”
—Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
They left in the late afternoon.
Milo was already distancing himself, though Destiny was aware that he still wanted her. Occasionally, she would glance up and find his gaze on her, his eyes heavy with desire. But he didn’t touch her. And when they left, he didn’t kiss her goodbye or anything.
She held herself firmly in place, clutching the arms of her seat while every atom of her body screamed to go to him. Cling to him. Men hated clingy women, and she suspected Milo more than most.
Besides, she knew what they were doing was dangerous, and she wouldn’t beg to be allowed to go along. She didn’t want to be a distraction. They were only leaving her for her own protection.
She huffed. Why did that sound familiar?
Deep inside her, the old familiar anger stirred. She waited for it to sink back down as she had taught herself. Anger had never gotten her anywhere. Instead it grew, swelling and rising to the surface. She gritted her teeth. The truth was she didn’t want to be fucking protected. She didn’t need protecting. She was strong and she was fast, and she could shoot a gun…probably.
As the door slid closed behind them, she hurled her ereader across the room.
Then jumped to her feet and picked it up and heaved a sigh of relief that it wasn’t damaged. She loved her ereader. Plus, she needed the information on there. It occurred to her that in some ways Dr. Yang was right; an
ger didn’t solve anything and could make you act stupidly. Like throwing your ereader across the room.
She was still going through the engineering books. It had occurred to her that what they needed most from their shuttle was the communication system so they could contact their captain, Rico. Maybe if she got the comms system working on this ship, she could somehow rework it so they could use it to contact the Trakis Two. She couldn’t see why not. In principle. She hadn’t mentioned what she was doing to Milo or Dylan. She hadn’t wanted them to tell her not to press buttons.
She’d read through the part of the books that covered the comm system on the Trakis ships, but so far, she hadn’t found anything that looked the same or even similar. Now she was going through the various consoles on the bridge, eliminating anything that obviously wasn’t a comm unit. She was left with two possible areas. Both almost bare except for a panel, like the ones that opened the doors, so she deduced they were activated by pressing her palm to them.
She couldn’t decide between the two and in the end, she picked at random. She pressed her palm to the panel. For a moment nothing happened, and then the screen straight in front of her came to life. It took her a moment to realize what she was looking at. The view from the back of the ship. There wasn’t a lot to see, though. The light was dim, but she could just make out the entrance to the tunnel, then as she watched, Milo and Dylan came into sight, Milo holding his “torch” in front of them. They were of a similar height and both moved with an easy grace.
Dylan said something, but she didn’t have sound and so couldn’t pick it up. Whatever it was, Milo didn’t like it. He snarled and walked on, ignoring the other man. They disappeared into the tunnel and were gone, taking the light with them.
She swiped her hand over the screen, and it broke up into smaller screens. Some showed the view from outside, others the various parts of the ship, the galley, the sleeping quarters, the engine room, which was directly below the bridge.