Operation Cobalt

by Susan Hayes

  “So strong,” she murmured.

  He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tight to his body before admitting the truth he’d denied since the beginning. “Not when it comes to you.”

  Tyra was flying high on a heady rush of desire and happiness. At his quiet confession, she threw her arms around his neck and rose up on her toes, but his head was still too high for her to land a kiss anywhere but his chest. “If this isn’t a one-night thing, I’m going to need stilts.”

  He cupped her ass in his big hands and lifted her into the air, high enough she could look into his eyes. “This is not a one-night fling. I don’t know what it will be or how long we’ll have, but when tomorrow comes, I’m still going to want you in my life.”

  “Good because the next rule is this: no more disappearing acts. If you want out, all you have to do is say so. If you vanish on me again, I won’t be here when you come back.”

  “I’m not going anywhere, shortcake.” He set her down on the edge of the console they were using as a table and stepped between her thighs so that he towered over her.

  Veth, she loved the way he did that, moving so close that he was all she could see, all she could feel. He was dangerous, but not to her. Her heart had known that from the first moment they’d met, and she had chosen to trust him with her life.

  “Sergeant Strak, you’re already in violation of our first rule.” She curled two fingers into the waistband of his pants and tugged. “Why are you still dressed?”

  “I got distracted.” He cupped her breasts in his big hands, stroking her nipples with his thumbs as he leaned in to kiss her. It was a hard, hungry kiss. Mouths open. Tongues tangled. She let herself get lost in the moment, letting go of his pants and wrapping her arms around his waist to cling to him as her world went up in flames.

  When he finally lifted his head again, she tried to follow his mouth with hers, not wanting the kisses to end. It wasn’t until his hands touched her knees and he coaxed her thighs apart that she stopped trying and leaned back instead. She placed her hands on the table behind her as he parted her legs, baring all of her to his gaze.

  He dropped to his knees and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to one inner thigh, letting his fangs skim over her skin before lifting his head to stare up at her. “It’s time for dessert.”

  She barely had time to nod before he bowed his head and pressed his face into her pussy, parting her labia with his fingers as he sought the pearl of her clit with his tongue. Her next breath came out in an explosive gasp as pleasure poured through her. If she’d been on fire before, now she was standing in the heart of a star. She let her head fall back, closing her eyes as she gave herself over to Dante’s talented touch.

  He was a man on a mission, using all his skill to bring her to the brink of orgasm. He sucked on her clit, using his tongue to tease and torment her until she was trembling and breathless. Only then did he slip a thick finger inside her, then another, fucking her with his hand, pushing her closer to the edge of release without letting her reach it.

  “Dante, please. I need…”

  He hummed in affirmation, his mouth and fingers working faster now. She became a creature of pure sensation, riding endless waves of pleasure. One of his fangs grazed a tender spot, and she cried out in pleasure, only to have him stop.

  “Sorry, sweetheart.”

  She opened her eyes and lifted her head to look down at him. “Don’t apologize. Do it again.”

  The look he gave her was hot enough to melt hull plating. “As my lady wishes.”

  He buried his face into her slick folds again, this time baring his fangs just enough she could feel them grazing her swollen flesh. She started to come, her thighs closing around his head as her release loomed. He sucked her clit into his mouth once more, closing his teeth on it with just enough pressure to send her senses spinning as she rocketed into orgasm.

  She was still trying to catch her breath when he rose to his feet, gathering her into his arms for a long, torrid kiss. “You are perfection,” he whispered against her lips.

  “I’m not, but I’m glad you think so.”

  “I know so.” He nipped her lower lip as he moved away from her, undoing his pants and stepping out of them with an eagerness that echoed her own.

  She stayed where she was and tried to gather her scattered wits as he shucked off the last of his clothes. His legs were as heavily muscled as the rest of him, thick, hard, as if they were carved from stone. His cock was as big as the rest of him, and her breath caught in her throat.

  He stepped in close again. “Relocation time.”

  “What? Where are we going? We’re naked, remember?”

  “I am acutely aware that you are naked right now, which is why we’re moving. Just hold on and trust me, baby.”

  She reached up and took hold of his shoulders. “I can do that.”

  He lifted her easily, cradling her against his chest as he turned and strode across the room to one of the reclining chairs facing the windows. He sat and settled her into his lap so she faced away from him, her legs straddling his. His cock pressed against her ass, and she gave a deliberate wiggle before turning her head to glance back at him. “I don’t see how this is an improvement.”

  “I have a plan. You’ll see.” He nuzzled her hair, then swept it off her neck, kissing his way down the back of her neck, not stopping until he reached her shoulder. His gentle kisses and the warm caress of his breath on her skin sent a flurry of goosebumps chasing down her back. His hands covered her breasts again, teasing her nipples with light pinches until they were hard as diamonds and every touch sent a pulse of need straight to her clit.

  “This is fun, but what if I want to get my hands on you, too?”

  He nipped the tender flesh at the top of her shoulder. “You will, later. You spend your life taking care of everyone else, sweetheart. Just this once, lie back and let someone take care of you.”

  She couldn’t remember the last time that had happened. She covered one of his hands with hers and squeezed. “I’ll try.”

  “That’s all I can ask.”

  Dante toyed with her breasts for a few more minutes, until she was half out of her mind with need. She reached for her pussy, but he caught her wrist and pulled her hand away. “Nope. Not tonight. Tonight all of your pleasure belongs to me. Whatever you need, sweetheart, all you have to do is ask.”

  She caught his gaze in their reflection. He looked at her with almost predatory hunger, and it sent a dark thrill right down to her soul. “I want you inside me, Dante. I want you to fuck me until neither of us can move.”

  He uttered a low, primal growl that rolled through her like a rocket lifting off. “Fraxx, yes. That’s what I want, too.”

  She was on her feet a half-second later, and back in his arms a moment after that, only this time, facing him, her thighs spread wide to straddle him. His cock was caught between her slick thighs, the broad head only a few inches from where she needed him to be. She rose and reached for him but froze when he shook his head.

  “No touching,” he reminded her.

  “You’re dangerously close to the line between sexy and annoying.” She set her hands on his shoulders and leaned in to kiss him.

  “Liar,” he whispered before taking her mouth in a long, heated kiss. His tongue slid into her mouth at the same moment he moved into position, the wide head of his cock pressing against her entrance.

  She didn’t hesitate, lowering herself down on his shaft in one steady motion that had him groaning aloud. She didn’t stop until he was buried to the hilt inside her, his thick length stretching her inner walls just enough to add a bite of pain to the pleasure coursing through her.

  “So much for slow and easy,” he muttered when he finally broke their kiss.

  “Nothing about us has ever been easy. Why start now?”

  “I’m starting to think you are the perfect woman for me.” Dante reached down to flick a lever on the chair. The chair dropped back, tipping her forw
ard and opening a gap between their bodies. His hands landed on her hips, gripping her tightly as he lifted her a few inches above him and held her there. “Hang on to me, Shortcake, and try to keep up.”

  Her snarky retort was cut off by a gasp as he thrust upward, filling her completely before withdrawing and doing it again and then again. He kept her suspended above him as he fucked her, her position preventing her from doing anything but enjoy the hard, rhythmic joining of their bodies. His biceps bulged with the effort it took to hold her airborne and she ran her hands over his upper arms, chest, and shoulders, loving the way his body flexed and moved beneath her fingers.

  She needed him. The realization dawned as she leaned in to kiss him and found herself staring into his deep blue eyes. This went beyond attraction, beyond the passion that burned between them. This was something more, or at least, it could be. She pushed the thought away and finished the kiss instead. It was too soon to be thinking about futures and possibilities. All they had was this moment, and she wanted to make it memorable.

  They chased each other across the heights of pleasure, and when he finally lowered her and let go of her hips, she rode him hard, until the friction between had them both sweat-slicked and panting.

  He reached between them and pressed a calloused fingertip to her clit, rubbing it hard as his cock thickened and jerked deep inside her. “Come with me,” he told her in a voice barely this side of a command.

  She would never admit it was his voice that sent her over the edge, but she came within seconds, her orgasm hurtling into high orbit as he arched his back, lifting them both off the chair as he came. In the aftermath, she collapsed on top of him, heart racing and her breath coming in ragged gasps. She lay across his chest, too spent to move, listening to his heartbeat as it thundered against his ribs.

  When his arms wrapped around her, she uttered a contented sigh that came straight from her soul. “S’good.”

  “Very good. Right now you could ask me for anything in the universe, and I’d promise you to get you two by the time you woke up.”

  She laughed. “Right now, I’ve got almost everything I need for my life to be perfect.”

  “Only almost? What’s missing? What can I get for you to make it perfect?”

  She nuzzled his chest. “You can answer one simple question. Why do they call you Buttercup?”

  He swore under his breath in a language she didn’t recognize. “Promise me you won’t tell Magi?”

  She raised her head just enough to be able to nod in agreement. “I promise.”

  “I used to have a tattoo on my bicep.” He reached around her to tap his right arm. “Right here. I got it for Tish. She used to wear these little yellow flowers in her hair all the time. She’d pick them off the side of the road. They weren’t real buttercups, but that’s what the locals called them, so I nicknamed her Buttercup. When we got married, I got those flowers tattooed on my arm. A big bunch of them, all bright fraxxing yellow and tied up with this stupid bow with her name on it.”

  “That sounds sweet.” She touched his bicep, right where he’d indicated the tattoo had been. There was an ornately stylized drawing of some kind of predatory, vaguely feline animal there now.

  “My fellow trainees thought it was hilarious.”

  “And they started calling you Buttercup.” She winced. “That can’t have been easy to deal with when Tish left.”

  “It wasn’t. I…let my anger get the better of me too many times back then. It nearly cost me my career before I settled down.”

  “This is you settled down? I’ve seen you charge into a fight against three armed men with nothing but your fists and a smile. If this is you settled, I can’t imagine what you were like before.”

  His laughter rumbled up from his chest. “I’ll tell you about my wild days another time. For now, I think we should probably enjoy our dinner.”

  “But then our date will be over. I’m not sure I’m ready for that to happen.”

  He shook his head. “Over? Not even close. There’s dinner, dessert, and then I’m taking you back to my room and keeping you there until morning. I finally have you right where I want you, there’s no way I’m giving that up anytime soon.”

  “The last time we spent the night together, you let me sleep all night and then stopped talking to me. This time will be different, right?”

  “That was a younger, dumber version of me.” He pointed his thumb at his chest and winked at her. “The new and improved version has plans for you tonight, and they don’t involve much sleeping.”

  “That sounds good to me.” In fact, it sounded perfect. After everything they’d been through, getting lost in each other was the best therapy she could think of, for both of them.

  Chapter Thirteen

  After being stuck in the med-bay for the last few days, the last thing Dante wanted to do was leave his soft, warm bed and his still-sleeping lover to deal with reality. Reality was a cold, miserable place full of greedy assholes and people who kept trying to kill him. The only thing that would get him out of bed and away from Tyra was a direct order, and that’s exactly what he’d received a few seconds ago.

  Thanks to years of conditioning he’d managed to get to his comm before the incoming alert had woken Tyra. He’d eased out of bed and left her sleeping while he read his new orders. Downs had learned he was out of medical and was demanding to see him immediately. He was to meet her in the briefing room in less than an hour to give her a full report on what had happened during his last mission. Fraxx. So much for enjoying a little more time with Tyra.

  After a quick shower, he returned to the main room to dress to find Tyra sitting up in bed, looking like temptation in human form. “Morning, beautiful. Did I wake you?”

  “You were singing in the shower. I didn’t know you could sing.”

  “Not a lot of call for it in my line of work. I’m sorry I woke you up, though. I was going to let you sleep as long as I could before I left. After last night, I figured you could use it.”

  “I’m not the one recovering from a serious injury.” She blushed but managed to look stern at the same time, an adorable combination that made it hard to remember he had a meeting to get to.

  “Rossi’s orders. Believe me, I wouldn’t have left that bed for any other reason.” He tapped a wall panel and pulled out a fresh uniform. “I’ve got a debriefing with Dr. Downs and her associate in about twenty minutes.”

  Tyra wrinkled her nose. “What an unpleasant way to start your day.”

  “Know what would make it better?” He asked as he dressed.

  “Coffee?”

  “Nope. I’m hoping you’re going to tell me you’ll still be here when I get back. I can make this the fastest meeting in the history of Nova Force if I know you’re lounging around my bed, naked.”

  “Sorry, Muscles. Not today. I should have the results of my last batch of tests in an hour or so. I should have the results ready to be presented before noon, ship time.”

  He’d known what her answer would be before he asked. They both had duties to perform. He just wanted her to know where he’d rather be, and with whom. “Well, as it happens, my doctor wants me on light duty for the next twenty-four hours, which means I’m going to be around tonight if you’d like to have dinner with me.”

  “Dinner sounds good. This time, though, we don’t let Magi make our dessert selections. I can’t believe he had the food dispenser make three different kinds of shortcake!”

  Dante snorted. “I can. I keep telling Rossi that kid needs more to do.”

  “He’s been doing an amazing job of watching out for Nico. That’s a full-time job. He’s going to make a great father someday.”

  “I think so, too, but first we need to fix his taste in women. He seems to have a thing for the dangerous ones.”

  “His burns?” she asked.

  “He told you about those?”

  Tyra nodded. “He showed them to me. I got the feeling he’s had more than his share of pain lat
ely.”

  “He likes the dangerous ones. One gave him those scars, and the next one turned out to be an assassin.” He finished dressing, tugged his uniform straight, and gave her a snappy salute. “What do you think, do I look presentable?”

  “You look great. Especially since I don’t think you’ve even had coffee yet.”

  “I don’t drink coffee. No kick. I’ll grab a quick mug of Ja’kreesh from the galley before my meeting.”

  Her eyes widened in horror. “You drink that supercharged rocket fuel? Do you have any idea what that stuff does to a human being’s synapses?”

  “I’m not human, remember? Well, not completely. I’ve got enough Torski in me to handle the hit.” He grinned at her. “If you want to worry about someone drinking Ja’kreesh, talk to Trinity. She loves the stuff, and the lieutenant is one hundred percent human.”

  “You’re both fraxxing crazy.” Tyra held up a warning finger. “You may have one mug. A small one. Your body has taken enough abuse this week.”

  He chuckled. “Just a small one. I don’t have time for anything else.” He crossed the room and leaned down to plant a slow, lingering kiss on her lips. When he moved away, he groaned. “Though I’m tempted to trade the tea for more time with you.”

  Her eyes glowed with pleasure. “I’d like that, too, but there’s not enough time. You don’t want to be late for your inquisition, and I need to get back to work. Playtime is over.”

  “Only until tonight.” He ducked down for one last kiss, winked, and headed for the door with a bounce in his step and a smile on his face. This was the best he’d felt in ages, and nothing, not even a hostile debriefing with corporate lackeys could ruin his mood.

  Once the meeting started, his optimistic outlook faded fast. The two reps didn’t even try to hide their agenda. They were there to try and get him to say something, anything, they could use to kick Nova Force off the planet and end the investigation.