by Lauren Dane
But this Andrei, this man, this breathtakingly handsome and sexy man wasn’t alluring. He was mesmerizing. She realized with each passing moment that she’d never lost her craving for him. Andrei Solace wasn’t going to leave there again, not without lying with her, not without telling her where the hells he’d been.
He’d given her scraps, and now she wanted more of the story. He’d given her the merest of kisses and a lot of secret, smoldering looks. She wanted more of him. Period.
Determined, she looked herself over in the mirror across the room. She shed one of her shirts, leaving on a semi-threadbare camisole and the soft, worn pants that she thought made her butt look pretty nice, too.
Two glasses and a bottle procured and dangling between her fingers, she headed to him.
Andrei stretched out on the now familiar bed and considered the problem. His cock. Since he’d first seen her, he’d constantly been hard. Twice, three times a day when he could find the time alone, he’d jerk off, imagining her cunt surrounding him, imagining her on her knees, looking up at him as she sucked his cock. Always her face, her body. Gods, the filthy things he wanted to do with her. To her. His hands shook with the effort to walk past her bedroom door each night and not stop.
Only to lie in bed, his fist around his cock, thrusting, sweating, dreaming of her and not having her.
It wasn’t enough, and for the first time since he’d started Phantom Corps, he doubted his ability to resist temptation during an operation. The kiss two days before had ripped the restraint from him, had weakened his resolve. He knew her taste again, and his body, his mind and his cock wanted more.
He could seek his satisfaction with one of the numerous women he’d come across since he arrived, but it wouldn’t have been enough. Worse, it would have disrespected her.
Yes, he’d loved the girl. Fiercely. Enough that he wasn’t sure how she could ever forgive him for leaving her behind. For making her less safe than she’d been with him to protect her.
In the years since, he realized now, he’d compared every woman he’d fucked, every woman he’d flirted with or spoken to, to Piper.
To the Piper of his memories.
But this Piper was a craving. A deep, aching need. This Piper was indelible in a way he hadn’t truly understood until earlier that afternoon when she’d had her head tipped back, a laugh bursting from her juicy, luscious lips, her eyes dancing with amusement. More than the kiss, this glimpse at the woman so few ever saw had humbled him.
It had been a good thing they’d been sitting or he may not have kept his feet. It slammed into him, the raw, bare truth of it. Their attraction was still a heavy, consuming thing. Only now they were older, and the sexual tension had ramped up so the air was thick with it any time the two of them were together.
She was a powerful woman. Independent. Fiery. Intelligent. Absurdly, ridiculously beautiful. Gods, the light on her skin. Kava with a bit of milk, nearly bronze. She mesmerized him. The way she moved with purpose and command. Her lips: seven hells, he looked at them as often as he could, thought about them more often than that. The dark gleam of her hair, the long, thick braids pulled back, exposing the grace of her face. Delicate. Such a contrast to her will, which was hard and implacable. Her breasts were sweet. A mouthwatering handful with pert, beautiful nipples he remembered the taste of still.
He’d been her navigator since he arrived. Had taken several trips a day with her out and about. Her scent lived in his senses. The way she sounded when she was delighted or angered. She was in charge. A wholly tough-assed bitch when she dealt with potential clients. That’s what made him so hard when she went soft when she was with her family. The contrast in her—hard to soft, gentle to rough—no one but Piper could be so alluring simply by being exactly who she was.
He drew fingertips over his nipples, idly thinking about her. She never shut the fuck up either, which he thought he’d be annoyed by, but instead seemed to find charming. He sighed heavily and sat up, swinging his feet to the floor.
And a knock sounded on his door.
He knew it was her before he opened it.
Thank the gods he wasn’t wrong. She stood there, holding up a bottle and some glasses. “Want some company?”
He should have said no. But there was no way he would have. He stepped back so she could pass.
“So.” She placed the glasses on the bedside table and poured them both a few fingers of the amber liquid.
He took his glass and clicked it to hers before swallowing it down. A fiery trail led to his gut, but it also did the trick, easing his energy back a little. Though, as he took in the way she looked, he realized that was only temporary.
His cock thought the sight of her nipples through the thin material was just wonderful. The rest of him knew that his cock had entirely different motivations for wanting her so close.
She took another sip and shrugged when he sent her a raised brow. And then she settled down onto his bed as if he’d asked her to.
He stood for long moments, just looking at her, letting himself paint the portrait of her in his bed so he could draw it up any time he wanted to.
“I won’t bite you, Andrei.” She patted the bed beside where she sat.
That was too bad. He liked biting.
Attempting to appear cool and collected, he moved to sit beside her, trying not to breathe in too deeply and get a noseful of her, instantly regretting it because he hardened further.
“I’m here now, and you’re going to tell me exactly where you’ve been the last eleven years. No, don’t put that expression on. You’re too handsome to spoil your face.” She paused, looking at him intently, daring him to try skittering around the subject once again. “Eleven years. I worried. I cried. I thanked the gods each time a courier packet arrived, not only for the credits, but that it was a sign you were still out there, alive.”
He was weak, damn it. Weak and tired, and she’d always gotten to him in ways no one else had.
“I know it must have been a shock when you got my note. I’m sorry. I had to go.”
“Note? What note?”
“When I left with them, I gave a note to the jailer to be delivered to you and my sister.”
Her eyes widened and then narrowed. “We never got the note. We assumed you’d been taken to a work camp. Or worse.”
Andrei realized he’d simply disappeared without a word and how that must have been for her. “I apologize,” he said simply. “I had no idea.”
She shrugged. “He didn’t die well.” She clearly meant the jailer.
“Good.”
“You said you’re in the military. What happened? How did you end up on that path? You used to sneer at the corps.” She turned, half-reclined, reaching to touch him. He had to close his eyes when she drew a strand of his hair between her fingertips and twirled it.
They’d had this level of comfort before. They used to sit on her bed, much like the one they were on right then, and talk for hours and hours. Now, though, now it was raw. And so good he was afraid of it.
“I’ve been in the military. They took me directly from here into training. I’ve been with them ever since.”
She cocked her head, lying back against the pillow after she’d examined him closely. “Super secret stuff? I can tell you’re no ordinary soldier.” She closed her eyes a moment, and he wanted so badly to lean in and brush his lips across hers. So badly he had to fist his hands, pressing the nails into his palms.
“Something like that.”
“Are you happy?”
“Sometimes.”
“You used to talk a lot more.” She grinned a moment, and before he knew what he was doing, he’d closed the gap and his lips were on hers. She gasped, but then her arms were around his shoulders and she wasn’t letting go.
Not that he was complaining about it as she pressed herself against him, her mouth opening to what had started out as a brief kiss. Her taste, the taste of a woman who could fly at full speed through a narrow canyon wi
thout breaking a sweat, swirled through him. Taking root with deep, indelible digs into his soul.
Her fingers wove through his hair, her breasts pressed against his chest so hard her nipples burned against his skin.
He rolled on top of her. Her eyes opened but quickly went half-lidded again. “Not that I’m arguing with this direction, but you should keep in mind that I still want to hear about what you’ve been doing since you left.”
“You don’t talk less than you used to.”
Her smile was quick and infectious. “I have to fill the void for you.” She arched her neck to reach his mouth again, capturing his lips in a quick kiss. Without a thought, he captured her bottom lip as she began to retreat, holding it between his teeth and sliding his tongue against the juicy swell in the center.
Her groan was dark and sweet, a puff of her breath against his mouth. Enough to send the throb at his lap into a full-blown crashing boom, boom, boom.
“I’ve been all over the Known Universes.” He rested his forehead against hers, trying to get his breath back.
“What’s it like?”
He rolled to his side before he wasn’t able to resist grinding himself into her. “It’s beyond anything I ever imagined as a boy. Oceans, rivers, streams, lakes. Beaches. Tall mountains, grassy plains and miles of farmland. So much diversity I still haven’t seen it all.”
“And do you live on Ravena?”
He nodded.
“Alone?”
“I travel too much to have a pet.”
She snorted a laugh and belatedly realized she’d been fishing to see if he was with anyone. He could tell her he was. She’d back off, being an honorable woman. Without the temptation she presented, he could finish the job without any entanglements.
“There’s no one else,” he found himself saying, instead.
Her smile was his reward, he supposed. “Good.” She nipped his chin, and he realized he was setting a bad example to let her get this close.
Though he had no plans to make her stop.
“There’s no one for me either. No one else, that is.”
He shouldn’t care. He should actually be happy that she had someone. But he was selfish, apparently. And petty, because it made him happy to know.
“Why did you leave? I understand your life, our life, was hard. I don’t fault you for getting out. I just want to know why.”
He swallowed hard. “They made me an offer.” He shrugged. “It was a dead end here.”
“Don’t be flip about it.”
Her voice was sharp, the fingers she’d threaded through his hair tightened and then she yanked. He growled, moving forward, his body against hers, pressing her back into the bedding. Instead of anger on her features, that slid away, revealing raw desire that tore at him.
“I’m sorry.” He tipped his forehead to hers again. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight.
“All right. Andrei?” She looked into his eyes, her face, her mouth so very close to his.
“Yeah?”
“I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad you’re alive.”
Anyone else in the Known Universes, and he’d have been able to bat it away with a cool response. But not her. Not Piper, because Piper got to him. Understood him even without having seen him for years.
He didn’t trust words, so he kissed her.
Which, he thought as her lips met his and sent electric arcs through his system, was stupid. Her taste wended through him, owning him, marking him, making it impossible for him to do this with anyone else and not feel as if it were a sad parody.
Her tongue traced the seam of his lips, inciting him. Heat banked in his belly, turning his limbs to lead. There wasn’t a single place in all of creation he wanted to be more than right there, right then.
Her mouth was hot, wet and sweet as she teased his tongue, sucking it, stroking the underside with the tip of hers.
It was only because his hands gripped the bedding so hard that he hadn’t ripped her clothing from her body. Each time she arched against him it sent shock waves through his brain.
“Are you happy?” she repeated when he managed to drag his lips from hers.
He blinked to clear his head, and Piper couldn’t stop her laughter from bubbling up. “In your life, I mean. I hope you’re happy right now. Part of you is anyway.” She canted her hips forward, grinding herself against his hard-on.
“I’m good at what I do.”
This was important to him. She could tell by the way he tipped his chin as he said it.
“What is it you do exactly?”
A hint of a smile flirted at the corner of his mouth, but he didn’t give in.
“Come on, Andrei. You know I’ll pester you until you tell me. Save us both the effort.”
The right corner of his mouth quirked up briefly.
“I’ll let you see my tits.”
His amusement darkened into something else. Something raw and starkly sexual. Appraising.
That expression unsettled her. Reminded her she wasn’t playing flirtation with some silly boy from town. The man she wrapped about like a wanton was dangerous. He was a predator as clearly as the day was long.
The intensity of their chemistry hummed between them. The playfully sexual nature of the moment melded into something headier, thicker. The humming between them became a throb, stealing her breath.
“You should go back to your room, Piper.”
She paused, mulling over how to respond. All the while lost in his eyes. That pale blue had darkened with emotion.
“I’m not a universe traveler. I don’t have fine clothes. But I know some things. I know what I feel. I know who I am, and I’m proud of that. I know my flaws. My weaknesses as well as my strengths. One thing I’m not is a liar. Least of all to myself.
“This thing between us is long past me leaving the room. I could. And we’d still want each other. A man like you? How often do not get what you want? Hm?”
He licked his lips, and her pussy spasmed. So much control. His muscles coiled as he lay against her. She moved in, her lips just against his. “I want you. You want me. This is going to happen.”
She could sense all that power drawing within him, sense his ability to leash it, and his growing resistance to stopping her. “I’m not good for you.”
She laughed. “Gods, you’re right about that. You were trouble when we were young, and you sure as seven hells are now. But my pussy is wet for you. My nipples ache. I don’t want to masturbate. Again. I want you. In me. I don’t need you to be good for me. I just need you to be who you are.”
He groaned. “This is a bad idea.” He tried to pull away, but she stayed, her limbs holding him to her.
“I want your mouth on me.”
He froze, and she realized he was as bent as she. “Do you now?” he murmured, the tension falling from him.
She nodded, her bravado slightly diminished as he looked at her with such raw appraisal.
He took her wrists, stretching her arms above her head, holding her in one of his hands. Tight, but shy of pain. She was where he wanted her, and that sent her heart beating wildly in her chest. She swallowed hard on a wave of pleasure at being restrained that way.
He pressed an openmouthed kiss to the side of her neck. A series of sharp nips of teeth and the flat of his tongue laving away the sting followed.
She struggled against his hold, and he pulled back to look into her face. She paused, fascinated by the way so much played over his face. He was usually so implacable, but just at that moment she saw the argument he had with himself.
It was important that he understand her struggles were play. She only knew she wanted him totally unleashed. She’d waited eleven years. Piper didn’t want nice sedate four or five fuck sessions and then he would leave. She wanted all Andrei had to give, wanted him to trust her enough to let go.
“Give it to me, Andrei,” she urged, rolling her hips. “I don’t want you diluted. I won’t break. Use me. Let me use you
.”
His eyes darkened as his lips parted.
“You don’t know what you’re asking for.”
“Don’t fucking insult me. I know exactly what I’m asking for. You like holding me like that. You like restraining me, being in charge. So what? I like it when you restrain me like that. I like it when you’re in charge. I’m no virgin. You of all people should know that.”
He pushed up, hopping from the bed to pace.
“I know you want to fuck me, Andrei. Your cock is hard. You kissed me first.”
“I told you, I’m not good for you.”
She got to her knees on the bed, peeled her shirt off and then shimmied from her pants and underthings. She waited, naked, unashamed of her body, especially when he looked at her with such raw longing it tugged at her belly.
“You’ve grown up. And so have I. What good will denying yourself do? I have no intention of you leaving Asphodel without having sex with me. At least once. I didn’t survive this fucking place by being nice and taking no for an answer, and you know this better than most. I am offering myself to you, and you try to remain aloof. Am I unpleasant to look upon then?”
He scrubbed his hands over his face. “You’re beautiful, Piper. You always have been. It’s not that. I’m here on a job. It’s an important job. I need to keep my focus.”
“Right now?” She sat, back resting against the wall. And slowly drew her knees up, exposing herself to him. She’d never been this bold with anyone before. But he was Andrei. She wanted him, and if she didn’t take some drastic action, he’d keep trying to make up reasons to be noble.
His gaze snagged on her hands as they slid over her knees and down her thighs, toward her pussy.
“I’m going to come. You can make it happen, or I will, but you can’t expect me to walk out of here without it.” She spread her pussy open to his gaze, delighted in the way his attention sharpened. Watched his control weaken. “What’s it going to be?” Her breath hitched as she tapped on her clit a few times with the pad of her middle finger.
With a groan he was back, moving her hand out of the way, replacing it with his mouth.
