Twisted around his body, his mate clung to him, her breathing even and deep. Her lashes brushed her cheeks and her hair drifted around her in all its glory. His cock, with a mind of its own in his sleep, nestled between her legs, the tip pressing against the entrance to her warm channel.
That woke him up. He could watch her sleep. Or he could wake her up in the best way possible. God, she was soft and warm in all the right places. His hands traveled over her breasts and his lips brushed hers. She murmured his name in her sleep, her hips shifting to send electricity through him. Damn, she was sexy, even sleeping. He leaned in and ran his tongue over the gentle curve of her neck and she shuddered. His hands cupped her tits, his thumbs scraping her erect nipples. Her back arched and the tip of his penis slid into her pussy easily. Her response drenched his cock and he groaned against her neck. She was made for him.
Her hands were busy and she dragged her fingernails across his back. He lifted his head and discovered her eyes were half open, their golden depths filled with the same need he knew shone in his. He swooped down and plundered her mouth, reveling in the way her tongue twined around his. His balls tightened, his cock throbbed, but he held back, only allowing the tip to rub in and out of her pussy. She tried to thrust forward but he resisted, not allowing her to deepen his penetration.
She whimpered and rubbed his body with hers. Sparks shot through him and he almost lost his grip on his sanity. He tore his mouth away. He slammed her onto her back on the bed, his hands grabbed her wrists to hold them over her head. He loved her in this position. Her hair fanned out, her breasts high and jutted out, the muscles in her arms tensed. He didn’t hold her tightly, but she wasn’t fighting him. She arched her back and thrust her hips until his cock sank deep. Her pussy squeezed around him and he growled, a low, vibrating sound in his throat. What was it about her that brought out the animal in him?
“Alex, I won’t last a second if—”
“I don’t want you to, damn it!” She bent her knees and rotated her hips. The tenuous hold he had on his control broke and he gripped her hair, his fingers threading through the soft strands.
He angled her head and took possession of her sweet lips while he pounded harder, deeper. God, the way her pussy clamped him was so hot, so erotic. The moment he touched the key to unlock her release, he knew it. Triumphant, he moaned against her lips, reveling in the warmth of her response. She cried out, her mouth covered by his. He moaned in hers, increasing the speed of his thrusts.
She screamed, her fingers in his hair, her mouth frantic on his, her pussy like a glove around his dick. Fresh cum surrounded his cock as she came and he tumbled over the edge into his own release. Their mouths crashed together, their tongues entwined the way their bodies were. There was no space, no way to tell where she ended and he began. They merged, melded together in a sweet, tumbling mass of need.
The vibration of her moan echoed in his mouth. The kiss went on just as her convulsions did. Her pussy wrung every drop from him and he couldn’t breathe when she kept on shuddering in his arms. She was a dream, a fantasy. He didn’t want it to end.
He kept thrusting inside her, even though his cock had spent itself, and sent her over the edge again. She tore her mouth from his and shouted his name, her voice hoarse and strained. It was music to his ears. The fresh, warm flow of her release dripped over his dick and he started to harden again. For her. Always for her.
“Don’t stop, Tory,” she cried out.
His teeth scraped along her neck and she shivered. Still buried deep within her, he bent down and sucked on her nipple, the erect flesh filling his mouth the way his erect cock filled her pussy. An answering clench from the muscles that held his dick in their grip increased his suction.
She chanted his name over and over, her nails marking his back, her hips moving in uncoordinated, fast thrusts. His cock filled, hard and ready. He switched his lips to her other nipple and she gasped when his teeth nipped her hardened tip. He dipped his hand underneath their bodies to slide down her spine and along her ass crack.
He reached his goal, the small, puckered entrance between her sweet, soft globes, and ran his finger along the rim. She sobbed out his name, her pussy getting wetter and her breath hot on his skin. But when he slipped his finger inside her ass, she went crazy. She thrashed beneath him. The action slammed his cock hard in her slick channel. He struggled to hang on, but when she bit his neck, her nails digging into his ass and driving him deeper, he gave up the fight and exploded inside her.
Her keening cry filled him with satisfaction along with the rush of hot lava that swept through his veins. This one was sharper, quicker, more intense than the last. His mind blanked and he floated in a sea of pleasure.
His pulse, erratic and fast, matched her frantically beating heart. Their breaths mixed and mingled as they panted, sweat sliding off their skin.
She murmured something and kissed his neck, his shoulder, her fingers sliding over his damp skin. He realized the weight of his entire body was over hers. But when he tried to move, she clamped her legs around him, her feet digging into his ass.
He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, the space on the side of her nose, the corner of her mouth. He could spend all day doing this with her. It occurred to him he had no idea what time it was or what was going on. And he didn’t give a shit.
As if someone read his mind, the com crackled and Jezar’s voice filled the room. “Commander, we have fighters ten thousand light years away and heading right for us.”
Alex groaned and relaxed the grip she had on him. “I don’t know if I can move,” she muttered.
He smiled. “You were moving just fine a minute ago.”
“A minute ago, I was coming all over you.”
He groaned. “Don’t say that. I’ll get hard again.”
She purred, a sound that went straight to his dick. Damn it. When it came to Alex, he was insatiable.
But they had to get up. “Shower. Now.” He slid away from her body, her pussy unwilling to release its grip, but finally giving way. He gripped her hand and yanked her to her feet. “I’ll take one after you.”
“Sure you won’t join me?” She threw him a cocky look over her shoulder as she sped toward the bathroom.
He groaned. He wanted so much more. He wasn’t sure there was enough time in the universe to have her. “Believe me, if there weren’t people out there trying to kill us, I’d be pinning you to the bathroom wall.”
She licked her lips and he had to close his eyes.
As she disappeared into the bathroom, he wondered if she’d kill him. What a way to go.
Chapter Twenty-One
One thing Alex had figured out. Tory had amazing self-control. He couldn’t hide that he sported a hard-on, but he didn’t touch her after her shower. She was bruised, worn, deliciously sated. Still, if Tory so much as crooked his finger, she’d run down to his quarters with him and have him again.
Not thoughts she should be having on the bridge of the ship as four fighters barreled toward them. Besides, Jezar would read them and that would be embarrassing.
The blips on the screen clicked closer and Alex wondered what their options were. She knew Tory had two fighter ships on board, but destroying these Teran One fighters might bring the whole fleet descending on them. Hiding would be better.
Bud suggested the very idea Alex had been thinking. “We could hide behind Teran Two. Most likely, they’ll come to the last coordinates they received.”
No one said Pulzer’s name but they all knew he’d turned them over to the Teran One government. Tory had a signal jammer to confuse the fighter’s sensors but if they stayed here, a fight was inevitable.
The best thing to do was leave this grid. Pulzer probably gave them a square section of space they’d be in. The fighters would search the grid to find them. She knew the routine. Who the hell had ordered them out? Darius was still on his warship.
A message had come in while she and Tory had been sleeping. Darius managed
to contain one of the ships with only a minimal loss of life. The other ship’s crew killed forty of Darius’ men and disappeared, ostensibly to return to Teran One.
Her planet was imploding.
Civil war hung on the horizon. All Ena Solly had to do was shove it over the edge. If she released the plague, the infected humans would kill the rest.
But Ena’s survival depended on getting off Teran One after she released the plague. From her history lessons, Alex knew one thing. Once the infected humans rampaged, there was no place to hide. Stronger, meaner and oblivious to pain, they destroyed anything and everything. And blood was all they wanted. The smell of it, the sight of it, the taste of it was their goal.
Alex’s knowledge of Old Earth’s fate was mixed with myths, stories of humans that ate the flesh of others, drank blood, and swarmed in huge numbers. The vids on Ardasia had been more horrific. They weren’t scary tales told to children to keep them from going out at night or myths passed down by their ancestors. They’d been the reality, the harsh truth.
Those blips on the screen represented a truth too. Someone on Teran One was calling the shots and they weren’t sure who anymore. Probably Gregor. But if that was who had scrambled the fighters, why would Pulzer give Gregor the coordinates? Ena Solly wanted Gregor’s bloodline gone.
But maybe this was a move toward that end.
A thought occurred to her. “Tory,” she met his gaze. “They want to blame us.”
He blinked twice and then his lips pursed. He got it. “Top speed, Bud. Move us to the dark side of Teran Two. Keep us out of range of any satellites.”
Bud clicked buttons and levers. Dink frowned at her. “I don’t get it.”
She kept her focus on the blips and the numbers indicating the distance between The Pinnacle and the fighters. “Pulzer gave the government our coordinates and sent them after us. The idea is to announce that we have the Old Earth plague so when he and his girlfriend released the plague on Teran One we’d take the blame. Well, us and Gregor.” She met Dink’s wide gaze with a steady one of her own. “Think about it. All the Teran planets would hunt us down. Meanwhile, Ena and her horde of rebels would take over, spreading the plague to the other Teran worlds.” She shook her head. “Everyone would think we did it.”
“Fuck,” Dink breathed the word out.
“Yeah. We’ve got to stop her before she can release those vials.” She caught Jezar’s attention. “Do we have a timetable?”
“Shoshani.”
“Of course!” she burst out. It made sense.
“Shit! Why didn’t I think of that?” Tory shook his head.
“You’ve been distracted,” Jezar said wryly.
“Fill me in?” Dink asked them.
“Shoshani is a planetwide festival, a celebration. The old families are honored and everyone pays homage. Nothing tangible, but it’s like a really big party and the First Families are the guest of honor.”
“Everyone who has connections to the Firsts gathers to celebrate the colonization of Teran One,” Tory added. “They’ll all be in one place.”
“When is this celebration?” Bud asked.
“Tomorrow.” Alex met Tory’s stare. “That doesn’t give us much time.”
“No, but we have to try.” Tory’s jaw jutted out. “We’ll have to take a shuttle. Five-man crew.”
She shook her head. “Don’t even suggest it,” she told him when he gave her that look, the one that said she should stay behind. “You’re not, are you?”
“No,” he said emphatically and sighed. “You, me, Jezar will go.”
“Let me go,” Dink spoke up and Tory shook his head.
“I need you here. If we don’t come back, you’ve got to get word to the other Teran worlds.” Tory shot a glance at Jezar. “I can ask for volunteers.”
“They should know the risks.” Jezar said, a frown pulling his mouth down.
“Only my immediate crew knew what was in that box.” He glanced at Bud and Dink. “And even they didn’t know we transferred it.”
Bud shot out of his seat. “What?”
Dink’s mouth dropped open.
Tory nodded. “If you’re going to take over, you’ll need to know. The scientists on Ardasia are working on a cure. The vials of Old Earth Plague are there.” He glanced at Jezar. Alex wondered if they were having a separate conversation. She wished she and Tory could communicate that way. Tory continued. “By the bidding we know only Teran Five knew what Alex was carrying. They offered significant sums under the table and definitely not through official channels. By their official silence so far, we know they didn’t like it. We didn’t even get a polite protest. Basically, Teran Five is willing to blow us into the next century rather than allow the plague to be released. I don’t think they’d react this way about anything else. I think the only reason they hesitated was because they weren’t sure what the hell I would do.”
“And Teran Four?” Dink asked.
Tory shook his head. “They only knew it was a weapon Teran One had and they didn’t. If they’d known what was in that container, we’d have been attacked.” He shrugged. “We weren’t. They think we’ll sell it. If they knew what it was, they’d doubt it.”
Bud nodded. “I believe you’re right.”
“What’s the plan?” she asked Tory.
“Why, Commander Alexandra Zeerah is coming back to Teran One to celebrate her bloodline, of course.” He grinned.
“Of course.” She smiled. “So we’re not trying for secrecy.”
Tory shook his head. “No. We’re trying for misdirection. None of Pulzer’s communiqués included my abduction or his capture. He’s going to send a transmission and make plans to meet his lover.”
“She’ll know he’s not with us,” she warned.
“I know,” Tory said. “That’s why he’s coming.”
* * * * *
A little later, Alex and Jezar met with Tory in a meeting room to discuss their strategy for the planet operation. The idea of Pulzer going with them was ludicrous. “You can’t bring him. He’ll turn on us in a heartbeat,” Alex said.
“He’s our ticket in,” Tory answered. “Jezar is going to keep tabs on him and I’ll shoot him myself if he tries anything.”
“I don’t like it,” she said worrying her lip between her teeth. “What other insanity do you have planned?” Though Dink and Bud needed to be in on the overall plan, the details were only between Jezar, Alex and Tory. It seemed safer that way. The Pinnacle’s crew could claim ignorance.
Tory and Jezar must have been having a mental discussion since the minute they were alone, Tory’s face was serious and he took her hand in his. “I have to ask you a favor, something that may change things permanently.”
She curled her fingers around his hand. “Ask.”
“Jezar wants to create a bridge between us, one that won’t go away when he backs out.” Tory kept his gaze on her face, but she couldn’t tell by his demeanor whether he wanted her to do this or not.
“Okay.” There was no question in her mind. She was connected to Tory in every other way. She wanted to know what he did. If that meant a permanent bridge, so be it.
Jezar’s tone was firm. “I think you’d better understand what this means.”
A cold finger of fear slid up her spine. Something about the way the Ardasian’s green eyes studied her gave her the willies. She tried to shake them off. She held his gaze. He continued. “The bridge will give you access to each other’s mental processes, your emotions. Every time a thought passes through your brain, the other will know it. At first, you will be unable to stop this.”
Alex blinked. Every thought? She squirmed in her chair and pulled her fingers away from Tory’s hand. What would that look like, feel like? Nothing private, nothing separate. And it would be reciprocal.
She glanced at Tory. What would his thoughts be like? Did she really want to know what he thought? “But eventually, we’ll be able to…filter out thoughts?”
“
Eventually,” Jezar answered. “It’s like a muscle you’ve never exercised. Sometimes when you’re tired, or stressed, the muscle will fail.”
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Pros and cons. Unlike with her mating, Tory gave her a choice. Her gaze met his. He gave no indication of his own preference, his blue eyes bright, but hard to read. This was her decision.
All her life, intimacy had been discouraged by her parents. They weren’t an affectionate family, preferring competition and achievement to love. Her family’s position at court made relationships more difficult to maintain. She’d felt more loss when one of the men in her command died than when her father was killed on his mission of mercy. When her brother was killed on Teran Five, she’d felt outrage that, for political reasons, she wasn’t allowed to avenge him.
But then, she’d almost lost Tory. All those feelings of loss and outrage were nothing compared to the overwhelming panic and fear that flooded her when she believed he might be dead. A solid certainty swept away the churning in her stomach, the doubts in her mind. Whatever happened now, she belonged to him. It wasn’t just the mating. And love was such a small word for what she felt for him.
“Do it.”
“There’s more,” Jezar started and she snapped her gaze to the Ardasian’s face. “The connection is…intense. If it is physically severed by death, the emotional consequences—”
“I don’t care. Do it. Whatever happens, we need all the advantages we can get.”
“Alex,” Tory said gently as he took her hand again. “I don’t want you to do this out of duty.”
She almost rolled her eyes. Idiot. But he’d find out how stupid that was in a minute. “Can you do it now?”
Jezar’s nod was slow. “The sooner the better. When we go to the surface of Teran One, you’ll need those filters in place. Otherwise, you’ll drive each other crazy.” He clasped her hand and immediately, Jezar’s thoughts were there. He was…different from Kera. Stronger. I am a Child of Light, Alexandra Zeerah. I have been sent to save the universe. She caught an ironic tone to his thought.
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