by Susan Hayes
She kissed him back, keeping her eyes open as they came together in one blistering rush of need and heat and lust.
He used just one finger, flicking it back and forth across her clit. When she finally tore her lips from him to take a deep breath, he let his gaze wander down her body.
“You are so damned beautiful like this. Naked and breathless and curled up in my lap. Do you have any idea how many times I imagined getting you like this?”
She shook her head.
“So many nights I’ve lost count. I’d lie in bed and imagine all the things I wanted to do to you. Tasting your skin, playing with your gorgeous breasts until you were squirming and begging me to suck them. I wondered what you would taste like and how you’d feel when I finally got to fuck you.”
His words turned her on, and she couldn’t hide it, not when he was watching her so intently and his fingers were inside her.
“Do you want me inside you again? Now?”
She nodded. “I—I do. Yes. Please.”
He uttered a low groan and nuzzled her cheek, then withdrew his hand and lifted her off his lap and back onto the bed. “Don’t move.”
She reached for the blankets, but there wasn’t anything to cover herself with. The bedsheet and quilt were still lying in a heap on the floor.
Blade finished skinning his shirt over his head and skewered her with a look that made her pulse race. “You moved.”
“I—“ she pointed over the edge of the bed to the pile of bed linens.
“Don’t need anything but me to keep you warm. And if you were thinking of covering up one inch of your glorious self, think again.”
His eyes started to twinkle as he looked around the room. “Computer, activate reflective surface mode on all walls.”
“What?” panic and a thrill of something much more intriguing coursed through her as she caught on to what Blade intended.
“Trust me. This is going to be fun.” He stripped off the rest of his clothes as she watched. His reflection was captured on every wall, letting her admire him from multiple angles. Okay, maybe this wasn’t a bad idea, after all.
*
Blade was fighting a battle to stay in control. He didn’t want to rush this, but seeing her lying on the bed, flushed, naked, and waiting, was enough to push him to the breaking point. He wasn’t supposed to be in her bedroom at all. They’d agreed that they had to focus on her protection for now, but when she had called herself a distraction in that bitter, pained tone, he had made a judgment call. What good was protecting her body if they ended up causing her a different kind of hurt?
“Since I’m not supposed to move, I think that means you have to come to me,” she said with a soft laugh.
It wasn’t until she spoke that he realized he’d been staring, his feet rooted firmly to the floor. His cock was painfully aware of the separation, however. It was hard, throbbing, and pointed in Alyson’s direction. Every cell in his body vibrated with need as he made his way to her side, crawling into bed and drawing her into his arms again.
He watched their reflection as they kissed. She looked fragile next to him, her slender body and soft curves dwarfed by his massive frame. There were so many times he’d resented how he’d been designed. His bulk and strength ensured he could never blend in anywhere. He dealt with fearful whispers and resentful stares everywhere he went. Even on the Drift, there were some who were deeply biased against the cyborgs. But not Alyson. She had never looked at him that way. Her lovely figure was wrapping for an even more beautiful soul.
“Lie on your side, back to me,” he instructed her between kisses.
She obeyed him with only the slightest hesitation, but that shadow of doubt was back in her eyes when he next saw her face in the mirror.
“You’re thinking too much.”
“So, distract me.”
He settled in behind her, pressing his cock to the lush curve of her ass as he fitted their bodies together. He slid a hand between her thighs, coaxing her to lift a leg up and over his so that her pussy was visible and she was on display in the mirror across from them.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m very damned distracted right now.” He let his fingers glide over the top of her thigh and down to her pussy, stroking along the seam and parting her damp curls.
“Mmhmm.”
“Do you want my fingers inside you again, Alyson? Do you want me to fuck you until you come all over my hand?” Her eyes widened at his crude words, but her legs parted a little more, and she rocked her hips against his hand.
“Is that a yes?”
She blushed again and whispered, “Yes.”
With a low groan, he buried his face against her neck, sucking on the delicate skin at her throat as he pushed his fingers into her channel. A flood of moisture flowed over his hand, and her inner walls gripped hard around his fingers, making his balls tighten and his dick turn to stone. Soon, he wanted to feel those tight muscles clamped tight around his cock instead of his fingers.
He pumped her pussy with slow, deliberate strokes, keeping his thumb on her clit as he primed her body for an orgasm.
“That feels so good. Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”
“I’m not stopping until you come for me. Then I’m going to fuck you until you come again. I’ve got you all to myself, and I intend to enjoy every second of it.” He would have to answer for it later, but right now, he didn’t give a damn. She needed this, and so did he.
Shifting his hand slightly, Blade pressed his fingers deeper into her tight passage, curling them slightly as he sought that sensitive spot that could push her over the edge. She flexed her upper leg slightly, lifting herself as she instinctively helped him in his quest.
The second his fingertips found their target, her entire body stiffened, and she moaned his name. She was trembling in anticipation, eyes bright as their gazes met in their reflection. She was enjoying watching this as much as he was. He worked her clit harder and faster as his fingers hit the sweet spot again and again. He wanted her to come so hard that she remembered this night forever.
The finale came quickly, hitting hard and leaving her breathless and quaking in his arms. She was still panting as she reached over her shoulder to lay a trembling hand on his cheek.
“I never imagined…” she trailed off and nodded toward the mirror.
The look on her face did wonders for his ego, and his chest swelled as he saw the slight indent where her teeth had closed on her lower lip as she came.
“I know, I’m amazing,” he winked at her in the mirror.
“Yeah, you are.” Stroked his cheek. “I’m a very lucky woman.”
“I think you got that backward. We’re lucky to have you, Alyson. We’re three broke, broken drifters who haven’t had much luck in our lives, not until you came along.”
They were interrupted by shouts and heavy footsteps in the hallway outside. Alyson paled as the door slid open and Dirk came charging in, a blaster in his hand.
“You weren’t at your post!” Dirk bellowed.
“He was with me because I asked him to keep me co—”
“You left her unguarded so you could score some time in bed? What the fraxx were you thinking?” Dirk cut her off with an angry slash of his hand.
“Back off, Dirk. You’re scaring her.” Blade was torn between his desire to punch his brother in the face and the need to shield Alyson. She was tense and shaking in his arms, and he didn’t want to let go of her to teach Dirk a lesson.
“He’s not scaring me. He’s pissing me off!” She tore out of Blade’s arms and stormed across the room to plant a finger in the center of Dirk’s chest. “Don’t you dare come into my bedroom yelling and waving a firearm ever again.”
“I thought you were in trouble. Did you want me to stand out there and politely knock while someone killed you?” Dirk snapped.
Lance charged into the room at that moment, and Blade wanted to laugh at the jumble of expressions that crossed his face as he took in th
e scene in front of him. An angry, naked Alyson, glaring at Dirk, the bed was a wreck, and Blade was still naked. Oops. He should probably do something about that.
“Everyone okay?” Lance finally asked, holstering his weapon.
“No.” Alyson had calmed down enough to remember she was naked and stomped back to the pile of blankets to fish out her t-shirt and put it on, tossing Blade his clothes at the same time.
“You could have sent me a message,” Blade tapped his temple and shot both his siblings a death glare as he pulled on his pants and tucked the rest of his clothes under his arm.
“Right back at you. You know you weren’t supposed to be in here. We made an agreement.” Dirk finally put his blaster away, but he didn’t look any calmer.
Alyson made a noise strangled noise of frustration. “And that’s the problem. You made an agreement about me, without talking to me. I know you want to keep me safe, but I get a vote in how that happens. Blade knew I was upset and he was trying to help me feel better. He was also trying to explain why you were all acting like last night never happened.”
“We have to protect—“ Lance started to speak, but this time it was Alyson who interrupted.
“I don’t want to hear that word again. In fact, I don’t want to hear from any of you right now. Everyone, get out.” She pointed to the door.
“All of us?” Blade didn’t want to leave her. Not now, when she was clearly upset.
She flashed him a tiny smile, but her eyes were dark and stormy. “All of you. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. This is not your fault.” Blade knew exactly whose fault this was, and he was going to kick his ass once they got out of earshot.
“I’ll see you in the morning.” She looked over at Dirk. “And I meant what I said. If you walk into my bedroom again with a weapon in your hand, I’m done.”
She was retreating from them already, and it wasn’t only physical distance. Even Dirk seemed to have calmed down enough to realize he’d screwed up because he didn’t argue with her.
“Next time, I’ll knock,” he said before leaving. Lance looked like he wanted to say more, but in the end, he blew Alyson a kiss and followed Dirk into the hall.
“To be continued,” Blade said. “If you need me, I’ll be on the other side of the door, thinking about you.”
* * * *
He went for Dirk the second Alyson’s bedroom door closed, slamming his fist into his brother’s stomach and throwing him up against the nearest wall. He didn’t want Alyson to overhear this conversation, so he opened up a channel between the three of them.
“What the fraxx was that? Are you trying to ruin the best thing to ever happen to us?”
Dirk’s response rang inside his head like someone had dialed the volume up to maximum. “I’m trying to keep her alive. Maybe you should have been thinking the same thing instead of getting laid.”
“Asshole,” Blade growled out loud and shook Dirk hard enough to make his head snap back, striking the wall.
“What the hell did I miss?” Lance demanded.
“Dirk lost his mind, and we might have very well lost Alyson because of it. You gave me shit for tackling a droid, but you charged into her bedroom with a blaster in your hand, bellowing like an enraged Torski.”
Dirk shoved him hard in the chest, forcing Blade to step back and release him. “Blade left his post. I was going to ask him if he wanted a cup of coffee or something to eat, and he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. I assumed the worst and ran into Alyson’s room and well, you saw how I found them. Naked and totally distracted.”
Lance groaned and squeezed the back of his neck as if trying to stave off a headache. He looked over at Alyson’s door and then back to the two of them. “So you went to console her, and your clothes suddenly fell off? You should have told us you were with her. I understand the motivation, but…”
Blade knew they had a point, but he wasn’t ready to admit it. Not to them, at least. “Can we focus on the bigger problem and save the lecture for later? Alyson is not just an asset to protect. She’s the woman we love. Hell, Dirk said the words last night. You can’t tell someone that and then shut down and pull away the next fraxxing day. She’s hurt and confused right now. She thinks we’re pulling away from her, and the way we’re acting, who can blame her?”
There was a long stretch of silence as all three of them pondered the situation.
“Shit,” Dirk eventually muttered as his shoulders slumped, and his head bowed almost to his chest.
“We were programmed for combat and asset protection, not this.” Lance looked pained, and a little lost as he leaned against the nearest wall.
“Then you better figure it out, fast.” A new, but familiar voice interjected.
“And while you’re at it, you should probably figure out which comm channel is which,” someone else added with a snicker.
“Mack? Dash?” Blade said, though he already knew the answer. They weren’t linked to anyone else, and he still wasn’t used to being connected to anyone but his brothers. As angry as he was, he hadn’t paid attention to which channel he’d opened. Wonderful.
Both of his brothers rolled their eyes and muttered under their breath.
“Since you’ve already heard everything, got any advice?” Blade asked.
Dash snickered again. “Yeah, if you’re done growling and snarling at each other, we can probably help. Dirk and Mack have a lot in common. He nearly screwed things up with Lieksa by being an overprotective idiot. Since we’re awake, thanks to you, why don’t we drop by? We can give you the crash course on all the ways you’re going to fraxx up this relationship, and what your best moves are for fixing it afterward.”
“We could bring along some of the others, too. They’ve been doing this longer than we have.” Mack suggested.
All three of them groaned.
“It’s an intervention,” Lance muttered.
“Maybe that’s what we need. Apparently, we’re not doing so well on our own.” Dirk didn’t look thrilled at the prospect of sharing his feelings with a bunch of other men.
Blade was right there with him, but for Alyson, he’d give it a try. “Bring whoever you think can help, but be quiet about it. Alyson’s asleep, and we can’t leave her unguarded.”
“I’m insulted. Do you really think anyone is going to go after her with a bunch of cyborgs between them and her room? Not to mention our team members are patrolling downstairs. Your phantom would have to be insane to come anywhere near that place tonight. We’ll see you in thirty minutes and give you a heads up before coming upstairs. If you shoot any of us, I’m demoting you,” Mack replied.
Blade returned to his post outside Alyson’s door, then said to the others in a low voice. “Tell me when they get here. And you better activate Huey. He’s going to be thrilled to have so many guests to take care of.”
“I’ll get him started on food prep right away,” Lance said.
Dirk stayed where he was until Lance was gone. “We good?”
“Yeah. She makes us all act a little crazy sometimes. That’s why we need to fix this.”
Dirk nodded. “Do you think I’d be doing this for anyone else?”
“She’s worth it,” Blade agreed.
“Things have sure changed since we came to the Drift. Six months ago it was the three of us against the universe. Now, we’ve got jobs we like, a woman we love, and friends who are willing to show up in the middle of the night to help us.” Dirk smiled. “Can you believe it?”
“Not really. But even if this is all a dream, I’m ready to fight to hang onto it for as long as we can.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Alyson woke early and rushed through her morning routine. She wanted to grab a fast bite of breakfast and head downstairs as quick as possible to check on the lab and her test results. If they were good, then she was finally going to be able to give Cynder and the others some much needed good news.
Blade was on his feet and beaming when she w
alked into the hallway. His upbeat demeanor was a far cry from how she felt after the events of last night. Not that she was letting herself dwell on that. Over the course of her life, she had gotten good at setting aside hurt feelings in order to focus on what needed to be done, and she had important work to finish. “You look a lot happier than the last time I saw you.”
“That’s because I’ve been looking forward to doing this.” And with that, he pulled her into his arms for a toe-curling kiss. She pressed her hands against his chest, trying to push him back, but she’d have better luck trying to shove a planet out of its orbit.
“Do you want me to stop?” he asked, barely moving his head away enough to be able to speak.
“You need to let go of me. I can’t do this. Not right now. It’s better for everyone if we have a little distance, right? Then I’m not a distraction, and you three aren’t fighting with each other.”
He moved back just enough to be able to look into her eyes. “Doc, we talked about this already. Brothers fight, it’s what we do. And you are not a distraction. You’re the woman I love, and I want to be the first one to apologize for not handling this better.”
Words failed her. Blade was apologizing. He had even said he loved her. The walls she had spent all night rebuilding came crashing down again, leaving her heart vulnerable.
“Doc?”
She bit her lip as an emotional tug-of-war raged inside her. “I’ve been on this roller-coaster ride once already. I don’t want to ride it again.”
“It’s not going to be like that. After you went to sleep, we got some things figured out. We’re going to do better in future.” He gave her a lopsided smile. “If you’re willing to give us a second chance, that is.”
“Before I agree to second chances, maybe we should go find the others.” She reached up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “But that’s for making this morning better than I thought it would be.”
