by Marie Harte
She grinned but hurriedly masked her smile when he scowled.
Once past him, she settled into the chair across from his desk. But instead of crossing to the other side and sitting down, Talson crouched next to her and took her chin in his hand. He turned her face from side to side, looking her over. Then he ran his fingers over her neck.
The feel of his hands on her skin froze her to her seat. The energy sparking between them could have lit up the room, for all that it made her body ripe and willing to be fucked. Holy crap, but this man had an effect on her libido like nobody’s business.
Unfortunately, Talson looked no more moved than if he’d been checking out a sick puppy.
“Good. You look okay.”
She opened her mouth to respond but had no clue what to say. He glanced at her lips and away, darting behind his desk and sitting in the blink of an eye. The man could move when he wanted to.
He cleared his throat. “Darren Woreski no longer works for Talson Shipping. He left Port Watch yesterday in a full-body cast and won’t be back. If you ever see him around here, you come tell me right away. We clear?”
Body cast? She liked the way he worked. “Sure thing.”
He raised a brow.
“Yes.”
When he just looked at her, she sighed and said, “Yes sir.” She popped a salute he didn’t seem to find amusing. “So, ah, how did I get home the other night?”
“I took you.”
“O-kay. Thanks?”
He grunted. “You’re under my protection. What? Should I have left you here to sleep? Trust me, that couch is not as comfortable as it looks.”
She glanced over her shoulder at the couch against the far wall, where Talson spent many a night. She bit her lip, knowing she’d slept in the same place he had. Turning back to him, she pasted a bright grin on her face, determined not to jump him in gratitude. “So, Mr. Talson, what do you need me to do this morning?” Polish your desk, sweep the floor, suck your cock?
The thought struck without warning, and she stared at him in wide-eyed horror. Where were these thoughts coming from? She normally managed to control her lust around the boss until she got home at night. But after his rescue the other day, she feared she was now harboring a bad case of hero worship. So not good.
“The list is by the door. Kendrik?” His eyes narrowed. “Did you eat today?”
The man constantly nagged her about nutrition.
“I had an apple.”
He shook his head and pressed a button. In seconds, a tray full of food appeared on the transporter table by his desk. Two plates full of heaping meat, eggs, fruit and vegetables. And a cluster of alien berries she recognized as Otra. Rare, delicious fruit she’d seen once or twice on gourmet cooking shows. She’d never known anyone who could afford them, or anyone Otra. Which one was Talson—rich or alien?
Her mouth watered, but she refused to be a charity case. Talson could afford to eat like a king. She was the king’s peon, and as such, could only afford table scraps. An apple? Please. She’d had her last piece of stale bread that morning. What little currency Talson gave her for a meal allowance she mailed home to her sisters.
“Eat. That’s your first job today.” He smiled at her, and she had to concentrate to breathe evenly.
How ironic that this rude, brash, arrogant man should be so incredibly appealing.
“Fine, but only because you’re ordering me to.” She took the plate he offered and tried not to let his intense scrutiny bother her. Oh man, the eggs are perfection. Deliberately eating with patience, she matched him bite-for-bite. Then the blasted man handed her a cup of coffee, fixed with the right amount of cream and sugar.
He took his black. That he’d taken the time to order hers fixed the right way made her feel funny inside.
“Kendrik, how long have you worked for me?” He took a sip and sighed. “Can’t start the morning without this. Try the fruit after you take a sip. Gives it a punch.”
She eyed the berries with enthusiasm. She’d heard stories about their addicting flavor, but she’d never eaten one before. Talson popped one into his mouth and looked orgasmic.
Realizing she hadn’t answered his question, she took a quick sip of her coffee and said, “A little more than a year now.”
“And in all that time, have I ever violated our agreement?”
She wondered where he was going with this. “No.”
“Ever tried to hurt you or cheat you out of your due?”
“No sir.” He might be an asshole, but he was an honest asshole. One that carried you home and put you to bed. One you want to wrap your body around and kiss until you can’t breathe.
He nudged her plate closer to her. “Try the berries.”
She took another swallow of coffee then ate a berry. The explosion of delight on her tongue shocked and thrilled her. “Oh my God.” Heat spread throughout her body and centered in the tips of her breasts and her clit. The throbbing sensation stunned her.
“Good, hmm? I love these things.” He ate a few more. “Have another.”
She didn’t think she should. The urge to leap over the desk and kiss her way down Talson’s body grew by the second. “I don’t know…”
“Go on. This is a special treat, a reward for doing such a good job for me. Besides, the fruit actually builds immunity and restores energy. You’ve been working too hard. And after the other day, I worry about you.”
She took another berry and let the juice fill her mouth before she swallowed it down. Jesus, it feels like heaven. She blinked and the cup of coffee met her lips. Talson had rounded his desk and held the cup to her mouth. When had he moved?
“You okay?” He seemed concerned. “Weird. The fruit’s supposed to boost your energy, not suck the life out of you. That’s it. Drink some more. Maybe the caffeine will help.” He sat on the desk in front of her, his groin at eye level.
Bad, bad place for him to sit right now. Her hands shook with the need to peel his jeans down and take that cock between her lips.
“…think you need to slow down a little. You’re doing a fine job. Best office manager I’ve ever had and you run the schedule as well as our foreman, but don’t tell Bud that.”
What was he saying?
He held the cup to her mouth and she drank it down, thirsty for something else.
“Jamie?” He frowned and neared her, staring into her pupils. “Oh hell. What are you feeling, honey?”
“Honey?” She grinned. “Why, Mr. Talson, how nice. For a major pain in the ass, you’re awfully cute.”
He stared at her. “What?”
“Man, you have no idea what I want to do to you right now.”
“Shit.” He sounded strangled and quickly leaned back. “I thought the fruit would help. I mean, it makes me feel better. But Romy did tell me—Kendrik.”
She stood between his legs and propped her hands on his thighs for balance. She inhaled, and the scent of sweet, sexual need hit her hard. A glance at his crotch showed his arousal.
“Why, Mr. Talson, are you happy to see me?”
“You have no idea,” he muttered. When her hands drifted up his thighs, he gripped her wrists to stop her. “Now, Jamie. Stop this. It’s got to be an effect of the fruit and the caffeine. It’s never hit me hard at all, but maybe you… I’m an idiot.”
“No, you’re a sexy dictator who needs to get laid. Everyone talks about you.” She nuzzled his cheek, taken with the smooth, masculine feel of him. “How you could have any woman you wanted, but you’ve only been seen with one or two in all the time I’ve been here. Why is that?”
Jamie nipped his earlobe, and to her delight, the big man shuddered.
“K-Kendrik. Step back. I take full responsibility for this. I won’t negate the contract.”
“Which part? The section that talks about taking care of your employees? But you are. You saved me from Darren. You gave me a decent place to live.” She wiggled her wrists and he loosened his grip. She took advantage and scooted
her hands up his rock-hard thighs again. “You fed me a delicious breakfast.”
He groaned. His breathing grew shallower, and she leaned back to see his expression. To her astonishment, his dark brown eyes looked black, and she swore she could see bands of silver pulsing in the pupils. Otra eyes. Yet Talson had never claimed to be anything but human, his relation to the alien Talsons one of an unfortunate courtship between his human mother and an alien stepfather.
She kissed his chin. “So pretty. Just like in my dreams.”
“Your dreams?” Had his voice always been that low?
Remembering just this morning, she told him about it. “I was in my shower, and you were there. Touching me, stroking me. You kissed me all over.”
He looked as if he wanted to devour her, but he held back. “Fuck. Kendrik—Jamie—please. Just go sit over there on the couch. I’ll get you some water and let this wear off. I’m not going to fuck you.”
She wasn’t sure, but it sounded as though he added not yet under his breath.
“Don’t want to void my contract, hmm?” Per the legal terms of their agreement, if he violated the terms and had sex with her, she’d be free and her debt would be paid. She’d thought about trying to seduce him, but Talson was like a rock, unshakeable in doing the right thing. Even now, the poor guy looked as if he’d explode if she so much as whispered over his lips, but he refused to violate his agreement.
She had to respect that.
“You need it bad, don’t you, sexy?”
“Jamie, let me go and move to the couch.”
“You can’t initiate contact, but I can.”
His entire body locked up tighter than a drum.
She unsnapped his jeans and unzipped him.
“Shit. Jamie, honey, you don’t know what you’re doing. You should—”
His cock sprang free, the huge, hot length of him bound by nothing. His balls were still gripped by the denim of his pants, but the rest of him was there for her pleasure.
She ran a finger over him, sliding over the moist tip of his cock. “You’re a big boy, aren’t you? Just like you were when I dreamed about you last night. When I fantasized this morning and made myself come.”
His gaze shot to hers, and he stared into her eyes with such need and hunger that she couldn’t resist.
Jamie bent over and took his thick cock between her lips. She licked the salty essence of him, and combined with the berries, he tasted sweeter than cream.
“Oh, yes. Oh fuck.”
She sucked and felt his hand in her hair. Not holding her down, not pressuring her, but petting her.
She wanted his cum, wanted him to give her something of himself. She controlled this, and she wanted him unglued. Jamie licked and nibbled, more than pleased when he jumped under her tongue and bunched his hands in her hair.
He felt as if he grew in her mouth, and she still hadn’t gone down on all of him. Roarke Talson was a big man.
“Jamie, oh shit. Wait a minute,” he rasped as she rubbed her tongue up, down and under his cockhead. “I’m close, honey. You need to stop. Now, before I—” He moaned the rest as she sucked him hard.
Warm cum spilled into her mouth, the sweetness filling her entire body with throbbing pleasure. Oddly enough, as he came, so did she. A feeling of masculine contentment drifted through her, and she wondered if the berries she’d eaten could produce this kind of hallucination.
Because damned if she didn’t feel his orgasm spurring hers.
“Yes, oh yeah.” Talson ran his fingers over her cheeks and down her hair. He throbbed, his size not diminished at all in her mouth. She sucked harder, wanting all of him, and earned another burst of seed with his moan. His surrender.
More than pleased at the outcome, she finally pulled away and straightened. The sleepy satisfaction on his face overjoyed her, because she’d put it there. Feeling much more clearheaded and full of energy, she stepped back, gave him a jaunty wave, and started for the door.
Over her shoulder, she added, “Thanks for the breakfast, sir. I’ll get started on the manifests going out today.” She took the electronic clipboard hanging beside the door. “Time to get to work.”
Roarke watched her leave in a daze. He stared around him, noting the familiar sounds of the busy docks, the scent of coffee and breakfast in the room, the neat office that had been his for the last four years. A glance at his cock hanging out from his jeans told him all was not as it should be.
He stood and tucked himself back into his pants then fastened them closed. Holy shit, but he’d never felt that before in his life. Jamison Kendrik, the woman he lusted after with every breath in his body, had just blown him to heaven. It didn’t seem real.
He’d only meant to make sure she ate well. He couldn’t stop a grin at the irony of the thought. He’d meant the berries and coffee to be a gift, a reward for her hard work. He’d never heard of the fruit acting like an aphrodisiac before. Then again, how many humans could get their hands on the fruit, and of those, how many would think to eat them with coffee? Still, someone might have tried it and spread the word by now.
But for her to… She’d taken him in her hands, had put her lips around him… Like something out of his deepest, dearest fantasies. The woman had finally touched him of her own accord.
He sent the trays back via the transporter and sat in his chair, staring at nothing.
When he’d hired her over a year ago, he’d been intrigued and disappointed to see someone so vibrant and beautiful with such little character. He’d found her in debtors’ hell—a place for those who refused to pay their debts, the lowest of the low. The government found and forced them to contribute to society, indentured until they’d earned back their freedom.
Jamie had appeared out of place on the Block. Lush, dark red hair framed a siren’s face. Her brown eyes had seemed so innocent and so sad as she stood there awaiting sentence. A young woman with a body that wouldn’t quit could have had a shorter stretch. Yet she’d turned down a two-year stint with the Lowren brothers, apparently having no desire to work off her service on her back.
He’d bartered with several other agencies to get her, but when he’d read her contract, he’d known why there weren’t more interested. She’d added a no-sex addendum. Indentured contracts were fairly standard, but her no-sex requirement had been a smart one, and fully backed by the government’s new Debtor Protection Bill. If Roarke tried to have sex with Jamie in any shape or form, the contract became null and void. So what had just happened in the office?
She’d been correct in that there were no rules about her initiating intimacy, but it was a slippery slope. Far too easy for the indentured to claim rape and get out of serving her term. From the get-go, Jamie had told him there would be nothing but a professional relationship between them. Even when every atom in his body told him she meant something more to him than an indentured dockworker, he’d agreed. There were other ways an honorable man might break a legal bond. She could give up, quit and take the offer of becoming his lover.
Yet Jamie met every challenge he issued. She didn’t balk at hard work. She didn’t lag behind. A fast learner, she often did the jobs he assigned her better than those who’d been working here longer. She’d won the admiration and loyalty of his men, and his as well.
Problem was, he wanted her. Bad. Today had proven how little control he had. He should have pushed her away, forced her to move back. But when she’d touched him, he’d been helpless to do more than feel. Fuck, but coming in her mouth had been a dream long in coming. Literally. He grimaced, wishing he’d given her more than that echo of orgasm. The Otra side of him functioned the way it should. Though he didn’t possess any psychic abilities, his climaxes always spurred his partners to theirs.
But she’d been empty. She should have had him buried balls-deep inside her, riding her while he commanded her body and soul. Just the thought had him getting hard again. A definite problem he’d been dealing with since he’d hired her. But now that he knew what she
could do with that mouth, his desire would be even more painful.
Hell. At least he’d worked off his frustrations with Woreski. He allowed himself a grin then buckled down to try to work. To no avail. Putting her in her bed and leaving her clothes on the other night had nearly killed him. Hell, she had the little yjor flower he’d secretly given her on her nightstand, and the alien bloom gave the room a positive energy that felt seductively like home. Like Jamie. The woman got to him on every level. He had to have her. Though he tried, he couldn’t banish Jamie from his mind, or his heart.
And then he received a phone call that changed everything.
Chapter Three
Jamie finished the last item on her list, conscious that she hadn’t seen Roarke—Talson— since early morning. She’d been thinking about him all day, mortified at what she’d done yet relieved as well. She’d wanted him for the longest time. It gratified her to know he wanted her too. A more dishonest person might charge him with coercion. Those damn berries had been partly responsible for her actions. But in hindsight, she knew he’d done his best to push her away.
Good to know he wasn’t as immune to her as he pretended.
Working without him hovering over her shoulder also gave her an added sense of relief, easing her stress of discovery. Gregory, the alien she’d smuggled aboard the shipping crate, must have made it to Werfal 7 by now. His contact would have hidden him away from the docks on the Otra planet. Freedom for Gregory. No arranged marriage for the poor scholar, but no more contact with Susanna either. Her sister’s lover might be safe, but she’d truly sacrificed all for love. And at least this way Jamie had kept Susanna from trying to free Gregory and getting herself arrested in the process.
If Gregory had stayed on the planet, she and he would never have continued anyway. He’d have married the woman of his parents’ choosing and lost that bit that made him so special to her sister.
Jamie understood about wanting freedom, about being punished for what others had done, about sacrifice. If she ever saw her scum-sucking parents again, she’d—
