Tanikka’s chattiness takes an intermission as we leave HQ and slip into the backseat of a pristine white car.
I’ll be above.
Okay. Thanks.
I feel a little tug of regret that Damon has to leave my side, but I don’t show it. He steps back from the car as the driver closes our door, and I’m treated to a rare sight. His feline form ripples and twists, lush fur turning into glistening feathers. In the space of a few heartbeats, my panther spreads his wings and takes to the air in phoenix form. Incredible.
“That was incredible,” Tanikka echoes my own thoughts. “I’ve never seen one shift.”
“He doesn’t usually do it in front of anyone. I’m not sure why, but he seems self-conscious about it.”
“Do you talk with him? I know you communicate,” she taps her slim neck, void of any tattoos, “But is it like actual conversation? Does he have that level of awareness?”
“Yes. He’s very much his own person.” I force the image of Damon in human form out of my head. That’s not something I can ever tell, not to anyone. My new status as an Elite would do nothing to save him if that indiscretion were to be discovered.
“Incredible,” she repeats, but doesn’t question me farther.
New Home
I close the heavy door behind me, appreciating the first moment alone I’ve had all day. It came as no surprise when Tanikka’s home turned out to be a penthouse mansion, adorning the top of one of the tallest buildings in the center of Solar One. She gave me a brief tour of the opulent home, making sure I could easily find the kitchen, gym, swimming pool, library... yeah, this place is pretty ridiculous.
She actually apologized for giving me the ‘small’ guest suite, but holy hell this room is bigger than my entire house. No exaggeration.
It’s a simple, open concept decorated in shades of beige with splashes of blue. There’s chairs, cushions, books, a huge bed tucked into a sheltered nook, and a bathroom with a massive Jacuzzi. Best of all, there’s a big balcony overlooking the city, making the perfect place for Damon to come and go with his new wings.
He came with us in panther form through the downstairs entrance. Now that we’re alone in this room he’s on the balcony, front paws up on the railing as he scans the breathtaking view. The gleaming, metal city surrounds us. The cool, evening air barely stirs the light curtains, even though the clouds look a bit angry outside the protection of the Solar’s artificial atmosphere.
Tanikka was chatty, though mostly about her routines and how the household works. No prying questions about me or my past, thankfully. I’m sure that will come.
I quietly lock the door, just because I can. I’ll have my things brought up tomorrow, and I suppose I might as well sell the house... or maybe just rent it out for now. If this doesn’t work out long term...
I turn away from the door and reflexively unholster my pistol when I see a man standing in the middle of the room.
“Fuck, Damon!” I put my gun away. His smile is full of mischief as he stalks toward me. His bare chest and abs are impossible to tear my eyes away from, and he’s formed a snug pair of faded jeans that sit low on his hips. “You can’t...”
He plows into me, his mouth crushing against mine as his body presses me against the door. His hand tangles in my hair at the back of my head, his other arm wrapping around my waist.
I should stop him.
His kiss is awkward... his first. Our first. I relax into him, letting my lips part as his mouth explores mine, his tongue delving deep.
I should stop him, but the nagging thought gives way to the heat of the moment. Instead, I meet his tongue with mine. He growls, and when I kiss him back, nipping at his full, soft lips, his entire body trembles against me. His arousal is hard against my belly, straining against the confining fabric of his jeans. I can’t even think straight.
He grips my thighs, lifting me off the ground to carry me across the room. He drops me on the bed, and I bounce slightly when I land on a plush comforter over a soft mattress. He’s standing beside the bed, looking down at me with hunger in his eyes, chest heaving, fists clenched and that thick cock straining against his jeans. Fuck. He looks like every fantasy I’ve ever had, rolled into one perfect man.
“I want you, Whisper,” he speaks at last, and his words are halting. Unsure. “I don’t fully know what that means, and I don’t want to hurt you. Ever. But I need to be closer to you, I want to... I want all of you.”
He looks down at me with raw desire, but there’s pain there two. And shame. He has this body, and these emotions, but he doesn’t know what to do with them.
Oh fuck. I can’t. We can’t...
But why not? He might not be human, but his body sure as hell is. And if he doesn’t explore this with me, would our bond stop him from finding someone else? Slipping away while I sleep for some casual sex... just the thought of another woman touching him, showing him.
Fuck it.
I slide to the edge of the bed, my knees on either side of his legs, and grip the waist of his jeans. I pull the zipper down with shaking fingers, watching his eyes blaze with lust. I push the pants down over his thick thighs, his cock springs free, and I forget how to breathe.
He is pure perfection. I want nothing more than to taste his flesh. I want him to have it all; everything he doesn’t know how to ask for. I grip his thick erection, holding him steady as my tongue draws a long, lazy path from the base to the sweet, silky tip.
His breath hisses through his teeth, turning into a deep moan that rumbles through his entire body.
I scoot back onto the bed, pulling my clothes off as I go. He stays in place, only his eyes giving away the fierce emotions raging as he watches me. In a moment, I’m naked in front of him. He still hasn’t moved, but his gaze has gone from hungry to deliriously feral. I hold out my hand in silent invitation, and he climbs onto the bed.
He moves to crawl over me, but I push him until he rolls onto his back. Confusion clouds his features for a brief moment before I straddle his hips. I lean forward, kissing his lips and the familiar scar on his neck. I lift myself up and lower my body down onto him.
We gasp in unison as he stretches me. A hint of pain mingles with the intense pleasure until my body adjusts to his size, and when I’ve taken the length of him in, it’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I’m lightheaded, intoxicated with just the feel of him filling me.
His lips are parted, his forehead creased as his eyes travel up and down my body, always returning to the place where we are now joined. His hands grip my thighs, then move up my waist until he cups my breasts. The sensation of his hands on my skin while his hardness fills my core sends a wave a pleasure through me, and I start to move my hips in slow circles.
Grinding against him, the pleasure builds fast. I desperately want to make it last. But I can hear his breath coming faster. His hands are gripping my waist firmly as his hips rise and fall to meet the tempo I’ve set. He’s just as close as I am, and the mere thought sends me flying over the edge. As waves of pleasure cascade over my body, I hear him climax along with me. He pulses inside me, as he moves his hips at an even faster pace, sending me crashing into another orgasm right on the heels of the first.
The world fades away, and there is only his body and mine and an unquantifiable pleasure that my mind can barely comprehend. We were made for this. We were made to fit together.
I melt onto the blankets beside him, and I’m vaguely aware of him shuffling us around until I’m wrapped tightly in his arms with a velvety sheet over us. As the aftershocks fade, I’m left utterly spent and thoroughly, completely, happy.
The room is bright when my Whisper finally begins to stir in my arms. I’ve spent the night watching her sleep, savoring the feel of her skin against mine, and replaying our mating in my mind’s eye.
I have always loved this woman. As a partner, as a friend, as a piece of my heart. But now that I truly understand the depth of our connection, the extent that a human heart can entwine itself with another
, I can never go back.
But I know my Whisper. I know what she fears. While the rest of the world keeps their distance from my panther form, my Whisper fears this form more than anything. She is brave, strong, intelligent... but delicate in ways only I can see.
As her brown eyes flutter open, her peaceful expression is interrupted by a flash of fear. It makes my heart ache, that I could be the cause of her distress.
She showed me what our bodies can do. After a night of imagining all the possibilities, I have so much more I’m desperate to try. Already my body is responding to her, to the thoughts of what I want to do with her. She notices, and the glimmer of heat in her eyes is all the encouragement I need.
I cover her mouth with mine, and she opens for me to taste her. It’s not enough. I want so much more.
I abandon the sweetness of her mouth to taste the skin of her neck. She whimpers when I bite her flesh, arching her back as I nip and kiss my way down over her collarbone.
When I reach the pebbled peaks of her breasts, she moans and squirms beneath me. I devour each in turn; licking, sucking and biting the peaks as I knead the soft flesh with my hands. She loves it as much as I do, judging by the way she claws at my back, urging me closer.
Her need is clear. Her desire to join with me is all I could have imagined and more. My cock is painfully hard, begging to be buried deep inside her, but I’m far from done worshipping every inch of my mate.
I pull away from her chest, dragging the rough stubble that grows on my face down over her flat stomach. Her skin is so soft and sweet as she trembles delicately beneath my touch. She gasps as I reach my destination and I push her legs apart, savoring the sight of her open beneath me for just a moment before I lower my head to taste her.
The sweetness of her core explodes across my tongue as her hips buck against me. I hold her thighs in place, delving my tongue deep with long, slow laps. The whimpers and moans that escape her are enough to make me lose control, but I’m not ready to stop yet.
I kiss her, pulling that delicious nub into my mouth and sucking it firmly. She cries out with pleasure, and I alternate sucking, licking and nipping her until she’s nearly thrashing beneath me.
She stifles a scream.
I pull away, but her hands grab fistfuls of my hair, locking me in place between her legs. Her scream is a sound of pleasure. Pleasure caused by me. By my touch and my tongue. The realization pushes me over the edge of sanity, and I pull out of her grasp, climb up her body, and bury myself completely inside her with one strong thrust.
She cries out again, but I cover her mouth with mine as I ride the waves of her pleasure. She urges me faster and harder as her sharp nails dig into my skin. Bracing my arms on either side of her shoulders, I pull away from her slick heat, only to bury myself again. Over and over, I pound my hips against hers, holding nothing back. I can’t get enough of her. My body was made for this.
She grips my wrists, anchoring herself as her legs wrap around my waist. Her eyes are wild, her hair splayed in tangles over the bed. She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on. I lean down to taste her mouth, her throat, her shoulder.
I want this to last forever, but as her tight core clenches around me and she cries my name, I’m plummeting over the edge right with her. My own release slams into me with a force beyond anything I’ve ever felt. It radiates through me, consuming me with its intensity as I empty myself inside her.
I feel her relax as she comes down from her own orgasm, and as suddenly as it hit me the intensity fades until I’m left boneless and spent.
I collapse onto the bed beside her, using the last of my strength to pull her tightly against me.
“Holy shit, Damon,” she says against my chest. The breathless awe in her voice mirrors my own emotions, and I’m the luckiest creature that ever lived.
I run my hand over her flawless skin, from shoulder to hip and back again, savoring the feel of her in my arms as my body hums with the afterglow of our mating. Her hand brushes lightly over me with the same lazy fascination, tracing the contours of my chest and stomach, and following the veins along my arm.
We stay wrapped up in each other, enjoying the simple pleasure of touch, until I follow her into dreamless sleep.
The next thing I’m aware of is a stinging slap against my stomach. I force my eyes open, reluctantly emerging from the best sleep of my life. I don’t know if it’s been minutes or hours, but as my surroundings come into focus, I see Whisper land another solid slap to my gut. I growl, and she slaps me again for no good reason.
“Wake up, sleeping beauty. Tanikka’s at the door, you gotta shift.”
She starts to move away, but I loop an arm around her waist and pull her back for a slow kiss. I want to pull her closer, but she pushes out of my grip as she slips off the bed and heads for the door.
I shift into my panther with barely a second to spare. My heightened sense of smell is bombarded with the heavy scent of our mating, and I can’t resist burying my face in the soft blankets to inhale the delicious reminder of last night and this morning.
“Damon!”
Whisper’s stern call commands my attention, and I jump off the bed and lope toward her. Beside her, my shoulder resting against her hip, I feel the calmness that only comes when I’m touching her. She scratches my head in that way that sends tingles down my spine.
“I’m going to go with Tanikka. Meet the staff, learn the routines, figure out how I can be of help; boring stuff.”
I’ll go with you, my mate.
She stiffens at my words, and I look up at her to make sure she’s alright. Her brow is creased, her lips pressed tightly together.
I won’t be leaving the house. You won’t be needed.
I growl at the thought of any distance between us. This is the second time she has ordered me away from her side, claiming she doesn’t need me. I bite her thigh to remind her who she belongs to. As much as I don’t want to, I obey. Shaking my head, I lope back to the comfort of the soft bed. I burrow myself into the blankets, finding the place that smells most like my Whisper, then drift off back to sleep.
Same Shit
I pause just outside the door to my suite, rocking on my heels as I chew the inside of my cheek. It’s been a long day shadowing Tanikka. She reviewed the staff schedules and her own itinerary for the next month. She had me study the layout of the house and learn the names and faces of all the important political personalities that might show up for meetings with her husband.
It’s been exhausting, in a watching paint dry kind of way.
There’s not a lot for me to do on a day-to-day basis when Tanikka is at home. Walk the halls now and then. Have Damon fly the exterior just as often. Her main need is for me to be at her side when she goes out. Certainly nothing like the risk and thrill of the kind of jobs I’m used to.
It didn’t happen how I thought it would. Being used and blackmailed by Gideon makes my stomach turn when I think about it. But that’s on me. I knew better than to trust a man. Charles. Gideon. In the end, they will all just do what they need to do to get what they want for themselves. Not that I can blame Gideon for wanting to save Camilla... it actually makes me like the guy even more. But trust him? Not making that mistake again.
Freeing those girls and ending the assholes that held them captive; that felt damn good. It was a pretty great finale to my time as an Agent. No regrets there. But the thought that’s stuck in the back of my mind, the nagging feeling that’s haunting me, is that those weren’t the only girls suffering that fate. Not by a long shot. I want to ignore it, push it away and enjoy the luxury I’ve earned... but it’s not as easy as I thought it would be.
It’s not my problem. The human smuggling organizations have been around forever. Opening trade routes off-planet simply increased the demand. These are facts I’ve known. I’ve just never had such clear faces to put to the problem.
I’ll talk to Gideon about it. He knows more than most, and I’m sure he’s just as bot
hered as I am by the victims still trapped. Not today, though. He’s had less than twenty-four hours with his niece. I’m sure he’s not ready to jump back into the action just yet. I’ve got plenty to occupy myself with for now.
I reach for the door handle with an unsteady hand. It seems I’ve found an entirely different kind of risk and thrill. I’m pretty confident that what I’m doing with Damon is wrong on a bunch of levels. But I just can’t resist.
I showed him how to fuck last night. This morning, he returned the favor by taking me to a level of carnal bliss I never knew existed. Was that three orgasms, or four? By that point, I barely knew my own name let alone how to count.
The rational side of my brain tells me I’m playing a dangerous game, and I need to stop before it gets out of control. But the rest of me is just debating what to show him next. He apparently has some serious natural talent in the oral department, and the idea of returning that favor makes my mouth water.
The thought that we can work and live in this beautiful place, and explore this... whatever this is... every night; it’s just too good to be true. As long as no one suspects, what harm could it be? The way it felt to be with him... I’ve never experienced anything even close to that before.
But that’s selfish. He would do anything for me. It’s just the way he was made. He’s not human. Taking advantage of his selfless nature so that I can have mind-blowing sex whenever I want... that just sounds so wrong.
I’m such a coward. I’m standing here outside my door fantasizing and worrying about what will happen when I go in, but too chicken to actually turn the handle.
Which reminds me, Tanikka mentioned she made arrangements for me to get my Stim implant. All Elites get it, for an increase in strength and speed. I hate the thought of going under for the procedure, but I’m certainly looking forward to the payoff after. I reach for my comm, I could text her and ask, but I could also just walk back to her office and avoid Damon a little longer.
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