by S. E. Smith
“I… That’s a new one,” she lamely commented.
Viper’s eyebrow rose. “What is new about it?” He asked.
“Usually a guy waits until he has you in his arms and he’s all hot and bothered, and… Well, that is the way it works in the books,” she finished with a strained smile. “I don’t know how it works in real life.”
Viper stood up and walked around the table to the side that she was sitting on. Bending down onto one knee, he gently lifted her chin when she tucked it into her chest. Tina blushed when he locked eyes with her.
“I actually did a very nice job of telling you last night, but you were asleep,” he admitted with a crooked grin. “It was rather long and drawn out and I wasn’t sure I had the courage to say it all again, so I thought I would make it simple and straight to the point.”
“Oh.” Tina honestly had no clue as to how to respond to his confession. “Okay. So, what now?”
She watched as emotions chased across Viper’s face. Her lips parted when she saw him lean forward. She automatically leaned in to meet his lips. A low moan escaped her when he framed her face with his hands and deepened the kiss.
Not sure what to do, she raised her hands and rested them on his broad shoulders. They seemed to develop a mind of their own and before she knew it, they were wrapped around his neck and she was returning his frantic kiss with one of her own.
She stilled when she felt his hands slide from her face to cup her breasts. She drew in a harsh, stuttering breath when his thumbs swept over her swollen nipples. She expected the warning bells to burst into flames from ringing so hard. It took a moment for her to realize they had never even gone off. Where was her paranoia? Where was the fear of being held down and hands groping her? She pulled back and shook her head. What was she thinking?
The fact I want more, her naughty side answered with a roll of its eyes. Hot guy, great kisser, above the age of consent.
Shut up, already, Tina’s good side grumbled. And where does that leave me when he moves on?
Who says he’ll move on? Her naughty side argued. He says he loves me.
“Are you arguing with yourself?” Viper asked with an inquisitive look.
Tina blinked several times before she could focus. “Yes, how did you know?” She whispered with chagrin. “Was I mumbling to myself?”
“Yes,” Viper chuckled. “Listen to your naughty side.” He reluctantly released her and stood up. “Finish eating and I will show you around the warship.”
“Why?” Tina asked, watching as he returned to his seat.
“If for no other reason,” he said, nodding for her to pick up her fork. “To prove to you that your good side is wrong about me.”
Chapter 18
Viper gritted his teeth as he rolled over. For the past three weeks, he had been the perfect ‘gentleman’ as he courted Tina. He had talked to Carmen, but she had just looked at him like he was crazy. Since he didn’t know any of the other humans that he saw aboard the Horizon since they left Earth, that left Pearl. He should have known better than to trust the old female.
“That… hurt,” he finally admitted, looking up at Tina. “Who taught you that move?”
Tina bit her lip as she stared down at Viper. “The guy at the local gym,” she replied. “He calls it the ball and bat.”
Viper nodded as he drew in a hissing breath. “I think I know why,” he choked out. “Why don’t you work with Zebulon or Adalard for a while?”
Zebulon shook his head and backed away. “I have to get back on duty,” he responded hastily. “I don’t have time for a visit to Medical.”
Adalard scowled and shook his head. “I get enough abuse from Samara,” he growled. “Why would I want it from your female, too? It is a shame Bahadur did not return. It would have been interesting to see how he defended himself.”
Tina giggled as the other two men walked away. She released a startled squeak when she found herself suddenly lying on the mat in the training room beside Viper. Her hand immediately moved to the front of his shirt. Trey also told her that good old-fashion t-twister worked in cases of emergencies.
“Guys don’t expect it, so it always catches them by surprise,” Trey told her. “All’s fair when you are in a fight for your life, Tina. Your main focus is to get away.”
“Why did you learn these moves?” Viper finally asked, rolling until he was sitting beside her. “You come at me with good form. I can teach you additional moves, but the ones you know are unexpected and effective.”
Tina bowed her head. “Pearl’s Rule Number Eleven: If you are going to hit someone, make sure they stay down the first time. You might not get a second chance,” she murmured, looking up at him with haunted eyes. “Riley was good at using her mouth to keep the bully’s away. I wasn’t.”
Viper watched as Tina rolled to her feet. He quickly followed, grabbing her large bag as they stepped off the mat. He frowned when he felt how heavy it was.
“What do you have in here?” He asked in surprise.
“Taser, quarters, brass knuckles, rocks, my wallet, first aid kit, tool kit, bottle of water, snack bars, lighter, and a few other things,” she replied, reaching for the familiar weight of her purse.
“Why?” Viper asked, staring at her back when she continued forward.
Tina glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “Pearl’s Rule Number Nine: Always stay alert and don’t let your guard down. This way I’m ready for anything.”
Viper scowled at Tina’s retreating back. He wondered if Pearl had a rule for everything, including keeping her granddaughter out of his bed. With a low snarl, he decided he needed to make his own list of rules for Tina.
A grin lit his face. He could see it now. Viper’s Rule Number One: Tina in his bed. Viper’s Rule Number Two: Tina in his bed. Viper’s Rule Number Three: Hell, they would all be either in his bed, in his arms, and in his life! Obviously, Pearl had forgotten to add that very important rule to her list for Tina to follow. He would have to talk to Tina’s grandmother about that tonight.
*.*.*
“You want me to what!?” Pearl asked, the glass of Valdier whiskey half way to her mouth.
“I want you to tell me how to seduce Tina,” Viper bit out stubbornly.
Pearl looked at Viper as if he had finally lost his mind. She was still thinking he was totally crazy for approaching her three weeks ago to ask her how to get Tina into his bed. Hell, if he couldn’t figure that one out, she wasn’t going to make it easy for him. After all, the guy had Tina living with him in his quarters. What else was she supposed to say? Yes, you can fuck my granddaughter?
Instead, she had told him he needed to court Tina the good old-fashion way. Unfortunately, she was running out of ideas. He had taken her out to dinner every night, served her breakfast in bed, gone for walks around the ship, stargazed, watched documentaries about the different species, and finally went to the training room with Tina to practice her self-defense moves that Trey had been teaching her. Personally, Pearl was out of ideas for the old fashion way. Now, all she could think of were the real down and dirty moves.
“Are you telling me you haven’t figured out how to do that in three weeks?” Pearl asked with an incredulous look. “Damn, what have you been doing? I thought you guys were like these alpha hunks?”
“We are,” Viper snapped. “But, I am trying to do it the human way, not the Sarafin.”
Pearl leaned forward and pointed her glass of whiskey at Viper. “First mistake, you’re trying to be someone that you’re not. Just remember these three rules to start with: Pearl’s Rule Number One: Use your brain, that is why you have one. Damn it, you’ve got her in your room! Walk around naked until she jumps your bones!”
Viper’s eyes widened in surprise before he grinned. “What is the next rule?”
Pearl leaned back and studied Viper for a moment before she spoke. “The next rule is the Unbreakable Rule. Family and friends come first. Be loyal, be true, and love them like there is no tomorrow,”
she said gruffly. “You’d better make sure this is what you want, because you get me and Riley, too. We’re part of Tina’s family.”
Viper’s lips drooped a little. “I already figured that one out,” he said, folding his arms across his chest. “What is the last one.”
Pearl’s eyes glittered and a menacing smile curved her lips. “Pearl’s Rule Number Fourteen. Your word is your honor, be careful what you promise,” she said with a bite in her voice. “I’ll warn you now, if you break Tina's heart, I’m going to come hunting for your ass.”
Viper returned Pearl’s stare. He had every intention of keeping his promise to Tina. The mating between a Sarafin warrior and his mate was not like that of a human, especially his joining with Tina. He would be giving Tina a part of his essence, a part of his cat. If the mating was not successful, or if Tina was to turn away from him, he would be sentencing him and his cat to a painful death, for neither would be able to survive without their mate.
“I will keep my promise,” Viper said, rising out of the chair.
“Where are you going?” Pearl asked in surprise.
Viper flashed his teeth. “To claim my mate,” he retorted.
Pearl watched Viper walk confidently out of the room. With a shake of her head, she finished the whiskey and set the glass now on the low table. Damn, but she wished she could find her a nice older alpha hunk that wouldn’t mind doing a little claim…
On a temporary basis, of course, she thought as she walked out of the room. Hell, maybe I should do a little claiming. At my age, a girl has earned the right to have a little fun.
Chapter 19
Tina looked up from where she was reading. She was tired after the last few days of working out again. She had never enjoyed exercise and avoided it like the plague when she could, but she reluctantly admitted it was fun doing some of the moves Trey had taught her.
She smiled at Viper when he walked into their living quarters. He looked… different, for some reason. She watched as he bent to unhook the straps on his boots. It was a nightly ritual. He would take off his boots, grab some clothes, go in and take a shower, dress, and come back out where he would make a pallet on the floor near the door and lay down. She would turn off the light, they would talk quietly for a little while before falling into a deep sleep, exhausted from a long day of exploring the warship or working out.
Tonight, though, there was a different look in his eyes, as if he were… Her eyes widened when he pulled his shirt off over his head. The ripple of muscles made Tina’s eyes widen in appreciation. The guy was totally ripped in the best possible way.
“What… What do you think you are doing?” She squeaked out when she realized he was pushing his pants down. “Oh my.”
Viper flashed Tina a knowing look. It was obvious he was doing this on purpose. A shiver ran through Tina. She was lying in bed with nothing, but one of his shirts on. He was now showing her his perfectly taut ass as he placed his clothes in the refresher and turned it on.
“I’m going to get a shower,” he answered with a crooked grin.
Tina’s eyes followed his hand as he ran it down over his chest to his stomach before he… Her eyes froze on his long, very aroused penis. It was the first time that she had seen him… it… one of them outside of a picture in a magazine or on the Internet. She didn’t remember them looking so big and long.
Her head moved up and down as he stroked his shaft. For a moment, she wondered if this was what it was like to have died and woken up in a good erotica book. If it was, she was all for volunteering.
“Okay,” she whispered, not looking at his face. “I’ll be here.”
Viper nodded and stepped into the bathroom. He could feel the burn of Tina’s eyes on his ass. Just for good measure, he flexed his butt cheeks. Her low inhalation of air was proof that he had her attention.
Grabbing a drying cloth, he set it aside and turned on the shower with a wave of his hand. The warm mist surrounded him. He closed his eyes as the cleaning solution removed the day’s sweat from his body. He ran his hand over his short hair and down his body. His hand hovered over his straining cock. For a moment, he thought about relieving some of the pressure, but decided against it.
No, he thought, tonight Tina will be ours.
Finally, his cat hissed, rousing itself from its self-imposed exile.
It had been furious with his attempts to court their mate. If he had listened to his cat, he would have been doing what Pearl suggested weeks ago. He decided he was a much better at being himself, than the tame creature he thought Tina would want.
He brushed his hands over his groin and waved the shower off. Opening the door, he stepped out and reached for the towel. He paused when he saw Tina standing in the doorway.
“I forgot to brush my teeth,” she muttered lamely.
Viper smiled and reached up to rub at his hair as she stepped into the bathroom. His eyes moved down over her curvy figure. His shirt stopped just above her knees. It fit tight across her breasts and hips and he could see the outline of her ass through the material.
She quickly used the laser brush. Out of habit, she turned the water on in the sink and leaned forward to rinse her mouth out. A soft squeak escaped her when she found herself pressed forward.
“I can smell your arousal,” Viper whispered. “Every night, before you fell asleep, I could hear your fingers caressing your sweet mound, the smell of your arousal, and the pant of your breath as you came.”
“You could hear that?” Tina choked out, looking at his face in the mirror. His eyes were darker and more of the yellow-gold was evident in them as they glowed back at her in the reflection of the glass. “Viper,” she whimpered, feeling his hard shaft pressed against her ass.
“You need me tonight,” he said. “You want my fingers on your clit, my mouth suckling your breasts, my cock buried deep inside you.”
Tina blinked. “Yes,” she moaned softly when his hands slid up under the silky shirt and along her sensitive skin.
Her legs shifted until her feet spread far enough for him pressed up against her back. She was still leaning forward over the sink. The deep vee in the neckline where she hadn’t fastened the front showed the shadow of her cleavage. She began to shake when she felt his hands skim the soft flesh of her stomach and move up to capture the heavy mound of her breasts.
“I’m going to claim you tonight, Tina,” Viper promised, leaning over her until she was caged between his hard body and the counter. “I’m going to take you over and over until you admit that you belong to me.”
“You are?” She whispered with a moan. “The tips of your fingers are rough. They feel so good.”
She wasn’t lying when she said they felt good. If anything, it was an understatement. They felt magnificent, awesome, incredible, and every other superlative word that her brain was trying to process. When his fingers pinched her swollen nipples and rolled them, Tina felt the hot liquid pool between her legs and she swore she had a mini-orgasm.
The low rumble of a purr and the tell tale vibration against her back told her that Viper was very aware of her reaction to his touch.
Her eyes widened when he released her breasts and grabbed the inside of the shirt and ripped the front open. She started to push up off the counter, but his grunt of warning held her still.
“Don’t move,” he muttered in a low, rough voice. “I want to see you. Touch you. I have very little control.”
Tina swallowed and nodded. She watched as he carefully ripped the rest of his shirt away from her. He dropped the torn material on the floor of the bathroom. Her head fell to the side when he rubbed his nose along her left shoulder and along her neck. The vibration grew louder until she could hear the slight sound of pleasure in his throat.
“Viper,” she whispered, groaning when his right arm wrapped around her waist while his left hand ran down along her side to her hip and across the cheek of her ass. “Oh, yes.”
She tilted her hips up and back when his hand slipped d
own between her legs. Tina swore he’d be able to feel her own body pulsing with need. She had read up on how to masturbate. She might be scared to have a relationship, but she was still a woman.
Being around Viper the last few weeks had changed the rules for her. Every night had been pure torture. Her body wanted to know what it would feel like to have Viper touch her. She had been terrified of knowing what to do, so she had taken care of her restlessness the only way she knew how. The fact that Viper was aware of what she was doing both excited and mortified her.
“Oh, oh, oh,” Tina hissed, staring in shock at Viper as he pressed not one, but three fingers into her.
Her eyes remained locked with his as he bent his knees slightly to get a better angle as he pressed into her slick, swollen channel. She was mesmerized by the look of possession in his eyes. Her legs spread a little further as he pushed deeper into her.
Tina stiffened when the tip of his fingers touched the fragile barrier. He kept her eyes locked with his as he bent forward and brushed his lips along the back of her left shoulder. Biting her bottom lip, she was about to tell him she had changed her mind when he thrust upward through the barrier.
Her body jerked forward and she breathed heavily before she shuddered as the sudden pain faded. Her eyelashes drooped when Viper pulled his fingers out of her almost all the way out of her before he pressed forward again. His hand moved down to her breasts and he began a systematic attack on her nipples and her clit.
The rough pad of his thumb stroked her swollen nub even as he caressed her vaginal canal. The combination of silk and rough sent her body spiral out of control. A low moan was ripped from deep inside her until her wild cried filled the small room.
Her orgasm sent her over the edge and she half cried, half sobbed as she pulsed around his fingers. The weak orgasm she had obtained alone was nothing compared to what he was able to pull from her. Tina’s head fell forward and she held on to the counter in a desperate attempt to keep from collapsing.