by Imogene Nix
Next, the bra slid from her body. Silence hung in the air as Rogue laid her on the ground once more, his eyes raking over her body. He slid the damp cloth over her. A breeze blew through the cave, the air prickling against her skin, causing her nipples to harden into peaks. Again, she closed her eyes.
The softness of lips encircled the sensitive flesh around her nipple. She gasped, opening her eyes to find Rogue suckling her breast. He released her only to meet her gaze with a look that promised much more. But his duties continued. This time, the rag slid down lower, across the middle of her stomach, his lips trailing kisses behind the cloth. His tongue dipped to her flesh each time his lips met her skin. He was tasting her. An erotic heat flooded her body, consuming Elara. She was the first feminine flesh he’d ever tasted. And now, he seemed to be savoring her.
He pulled the fabric away and dropped it into the basin. His steady fingers worked the cutoffs over her hips, and he removed them. She was laid bare. Still, the man that was both her captor and her savior said nothing. His silvery blue eyes glinted like moonlight in the dark cave as they assessed her body. This time, he didn’t sweep the rag over her wound, his lips descended on a bruise, and kissed it.
The time had come. He would have her now.
Rogue nudged her legs apart, positioning himself between them. She expected him to unfasten his shorts, but instead, his fingers fondled the flesh just above her apex. His fingers threaded through the soft tuft of hair. Normally, she’d be shaven there, but the journey through space hadn’t exactly allowed for such vain practices. Her captor didn’t seem deterred.
His fingers traveled south. She gasped as he parted the intimate flesh between her legs. As he explored her, slick wet heat escaped her depths, betraying her. She feared him, but her body craved him. She tried to sit up, but the agony of her injuries forced her back to the ground.
“So beautiful.” His whisper hit her wet flesh as he splayed her wide open. “You are wet for me. This displeases you. But it pleases me very much.”
He dipped his finger inside of her. She sucked in a breath, trying not to moan as her body eased his digit deep within her. Rogue pulled his finger free. Elara cast him a glance only to find him sucking her juices from his skin. He groaned. The deep sound resonated in the cave, igniting a primal desire within Elara like she’d never known before.
“I like the taste of you very much, female.”
Proving his words, he lowered himself to the ground before her, wrapping his arms tightly around her thighs. She cried out as he drew his tongue over her clitoris. Her scream only seemed to encourage him, and he drew his tongue over her sensitive bud once more. She grit her teeth, fighting the moans that threatened to escape.
Rogue explored every inch of her with his tongue, tracing the sensual depths, lapping up evidence of her increasing arousal. Just as a long finger thrust deep inside of her, Rogue’s mouth covered her clit and sucked. Her scream bounced off the walls as ecstasy came barreling toward her. He continued to pump his finger inside her, seeking out her depths. Her body trembled, pain exploding in her wounds just before pleasure washed over her.
Climax. It’d crept up on her like a monster from the dark depths of the same cave she was imprisoned in. Her body trembled so hard now that Rogue finally ceased his talented onslaught of pleasure.
“You felt what I experienced before?” Rogue moved to lie beside her. His gaze was only inches away from her own.
Her cheeks heated in response, and she was glad the dark would hide the deep blush. Her clit still throbbed from the pleasure he’d brought her. And yet her captor seemed to possess no further intention to have his way with her.
As the pleasure subsided, tension eased out of her body. Unafraid of her captor for the first time since he’d killed her crew, Elara closed her eyes and let sleep find her.
Chapter 6
Unbridled power thrummed through Rogue’s veins unlike anything he’d ever felt before. Earlier, when the female put her mouth on his cock, she’d brought him such ecstasy, a relief that left him fueled and renewed. To think he had the power to bring her the same pleasure…
No wonder human men wrote of choosing life mates. If Rogue lived on Earth, he imagined he could take this woman as his wife.
Rogue gazed down at Elara who’d passed out on his cot. She’d suffered so much pain and terror. It was about time she fell into darkness after pleasure. After all she’d given him earlier in the cave, he was happy to oblige her. He had plans to oblige her again very soon.
With that tantalizing thought lingering in his mind, he kept guard. All night he would watch her, craving the moment he’d see the bright emerald gaze upon him once more. And see the ecstasy brimming there as he had tonight. He knew having a woman in his bed would be special. What he didn’t know was how deeply he’d be intrigued by her. It made him feel incredibly vulnerable, because he realized he couldn’t bare for anything to take her away from him.
After the female had slept soundly for hours, Rogue decided to revisit the camp and survey the damage. If any had survived, they’d regroup and come gunning for him. Leaving a booby trap at the mouth of the cave, he was assured his sleeping beauty wouldn’t have any unwanted guests.
Rogue kept low to the ground, navigating the deep crevices carved into the landscape so he’d remain hidden. When he came upon the camp, he counted the bodies. One by one, the charred faces of his comrades glinted in the dim moonlight. The scene was one of death and destruction. There were some bodies unaccounted for, and it made him nervous, but the piles of ash on the ground made Rogue realize his explosion had been even more deadly than he’d anticipated.
Satisfied with his head count, or lack of heads in some cases, Rogue returned to his hideaway. The booby trap remained in place, undisturbed by either clone or beast of the nightmarish planet.
He continued into the pitch black cave, the light of his chemical bath having long since died out. In the darkness, his eyes adjusted, first finding the dormant body of his woman’s companion, and then her. She rested, her thick, long lashes still, her expression peaceful.
Rogue recalled the taste of her. The nectar had been silk against his fingertips and honey against his tongue. The sweet liquid that seeped from her depths for him was an aphrodisiac. He craved another taste.
“I’m surprised you left me here.” Her soft voice shook Rogue from his impure thoughts.
“You didn’t fare so well the last time you tried to escape. I trusted that you had learned from that nightmare.”
“Where did you go?” She didn’t disagree with him.
He searched her eyes, finding the swelling in one had already gone down enough for her to begin to open it. “It’s dark in here. No use having your eyes open. Better to let that heal.” He motioned to her semi-swollen lid.
She didn’t obey him. Instead, she held his gaze. Through the darkness of the cave, the brightness of the green in her eyes reminded him of aurora borealis.
“I went to make sure each of our foes was felled,” he said, answering her earlier question.
“Our foes?”
“Thanks to your actions, what’s yours are now mine.”
“Why did you attack our ship?” she asked.
“What drives men to kill? Freedom.”
“I’ve seen men kill for reasons other than freedom.”
“I am not a man. I’m a clone.”
Silence lingered. The woman closed her eyes, as if the ache had returned. But then she opened them once more and focused directly on him. “You’ve killed for more than just freedom. You killed for me today. You killed…to protect.”
“I’ve never possessed anything worth protecting before.”
“You don’t possess me.” Her chin lifted defiantly.
“Let me between your legs again so that I may prove to you otherwise.”
She gasped, her eyes widening until the whites were like crescent moons. Her mouth dropped ever so slightly, and Rogue did something he hadn’t done in as
long as he could remember—he laughed.
* * * *
Elara tried not to stare at Rogue as he threw back his head and laughed. His white teeth flashed into a smile. He looked charming rather than deadly. Not only did he look human, dare she admit he also looked handsome? No. Surely, it was just her bruised brain talking. She needed to focus. “You never answered my question. Why did you attack my ship?”
“Your ship?” Humor abruptly fled his tone, a deadly quality once more dripping from his words.
Uh-oh. Had he not figured out she was the captain of the space shuttle that he’d taken over? No wonder he hadn’t been torturing her for intel on her mission. “It’s just a figure of speech.”
Rogue stared at her long and hard. Elara had a feeling he didn’t quite buy her assertion. “No one on that space shuttle was innocent.”
“No one aboard that ship deserved to die.” Heat burned her cheeks, anger causing her to finally sit up, no longer comfortable on the cot.
“Tell me why they didn’t deserve to die.”
She remained silent for a moment, contemplating if she should say anything at all. Nothing would matter anyway, her entire crew except for her and Angela were already dead. “We were here on a mission. We’re soldiers. That’s what we do.”
“You don’t seem like a soldier to me. I saw your face when we attacked. You’d never seen death before that day.”
“And you have?”
“I was born and bred just for the purpose of killing. You should know this. After all, that’s why you were sent to retrieve me, wasn’t it?” The accusation hung in the air, as if daring her to claim otherwise.
“You’re right. The United States has lost many men in its recent campaign. If we’re going to remain a military power, then we’ll need the clone army that’s been harvested here.”
“Is that what you think?”
No. Elara thought her country should simply strive for peace rather than constantly punish other countries and seek out war. But she loved her home, loved the mountains, meadows, rivers, deserts, and cities. It was a country unlike any other, and she missed it already. But the United States afforded no programs for space flights except those related to the clone programs. The past decade had seen the entire US budget directed toward defense programs. Joining the military was the only way she could fly to space. This had been her first mission.
“I think that right about now I wish I’d been scooping ice cream all day rather than joining the military space program.” Elara stared across the cave into the darkness, avoiding his gaze.
“Ice cream?”
“You don’t have ice cream here?” She glanced toward him, but looked quickly away when the curious expression on his face intrigued her. She didn’t want to be intrigued by him. He’d worn the same expression as he’d explored her body earlier. Right before he’d made her come.
“We don’t have anything here that does not serve to make our muscles bigger, our bodies stronger, or our testosterone higher.”
“Well, that explains a lot,” she grumbled.
His calloused hand found her chin, guiding her gaze back to his. “Tell me about this…ice cream.”
Realization washed over her in a wave of heat, excitement coursing through her veins like jolts of electricity. Ice cream could be her way out. This man—correction, clone—was curious, and that could be her ticket back home.
“Ice cream is my weakness. It’s a dessert we have on Earth—”
“What’s dessert?”
“Oh. Um, dessert is an extra course of food we have after dinner. It’s usually something very sweet and innutritious.”
“Tell me more.”
“Ice cream is thick and creamy and very cold. It’s kept frozen, but it melts on your tongue. It comes in many flavors, but my favorite is chocolate.” She paused. “I could show you better than tell you.” This time she didn’t glance away from the clear blue eyes bearing into her. She didn’t want him to suspect her of treachery, so she did her best to maintain easy breaths and a steady gaze.
“How could you show me? We have no such frozen treats here. Although, I admit, in the blistering heat of this planet, I think I would enjoy ice cream very much.”
“We have some back on our ship.”
“There were no rations. We ransacked the space shuttle.”
“You didn’t know where to look. I’m sure it’s still there and only I would know how to prepare it.”
Elara watched Rogue carefully weighing his options. His brows furrowed deeply, and she knew he suspected treachery. But she was sure his curiosity would outweigh all else.
“All right, woman. I’ll take you back to the space shuttle.”
Chapter 7
Rogue wasn’t sure what the female’s angle was, but he intended to find out. The space shuttle was not a safe place to pass time, but she insisted he carry her still-unconscious comrade with them. Traveling in the middle of night afforded them cover, but every so often, Rogue heard Elara trip behind him. “Do I need to carry you too?”
She never answered, too proud to acknowledge her weakness. If he had things his way, he’d drop the unconscious female and carry Elara to the shuttle instead. They’d eat this substance called ice cream together, then return to the safety of his cave. After all, the missing bodies from the camp still lingered in the back of his mind. Would the shuttle be overrun with clones from another camp already? These were things he had to consider as he led Elara toward the vacant space shuttle that she’d arrived in.
Finally, they reached the craft. The gleaming white shuttle glinted under the dim moonlight. It stood out against the dark red sand, making it easily visible, and easily a target. He didn’t hear anyone inside the vessel, but they couldn’t linger long.
“Finally!” Elara picked up speed, trying to rush past him up the ramp, but he stopped her. She collided against his outstretched arm.
“I don’t hear anything, but let me check inside just in case.”
“I may not have killed anyone before this little space vacation I’m on, but don’t forget I am US military.”
Rogue glanced down at the tiny woman who stood with her hands on her hips. She looked more mouth-watering than deadly. Her long mane of fiery red hair reminded him of the color of the sunburnt terrain. He’d long since tired of the various shades of red the landscape offered him on this planet. It became monotonous. But the color of her hair was soft, welcoming his fingers to touch.
“Why don’t you give me one of those daggers? Looks like you can spare one,” she said, clearly unhappy about the various weapons strapped to his body.
“Quiet,” he hissed.
Rogue climbed the ramp into the open shuttle, and the first glance hinted that the vessel was vacant. The shuttle was quiet, the dead still littered on the ground. The intense heat bottled up in the cabin made the corpses reek of rotting flesh. Wrinkling his nose against the smell, he set the unconscious woman in his arms in a corner. Further inspection of the immediate cabin proved that it was indeed empty. But it was a large vessel, they’d have to be on their toes. He turned to motion Elara inside, but she was already there, kneeling on the ground by one of her fallen comrades.
“I didn’t…” Her voice trembled. Even in the dimly lit cabin, Rogue noticed the glossy sheen over her eyes. “I didn’t think the bodies would still be here.” She curled over the form, burying her face against the stomach of the fallen human. She wept for the man. Her emotions overpowered the disgust and shock he imagined most humans would feel after discovering bodies in such a state.
To care about someone that much would never have made sense to Rogue. But the more time he spent with Elara, the more the idea became plausible. Jealousy nettled him as he watched her cry for the man, outweighing any concern he’d had for her weepy state.
“Was he your man?” The question barely escaped through his gritted teeth.
Her tears ceased for a moment, but she never tore her head from where it rested against the
soldier’s body. “He was the one who recommended me for this mission. He believed in me,” she said, her words muffled.
Rogue’s heart seized in his chest for her. This was something he could sympathize with. “Then one of his last recommendations was a good one. You are incredibly brave, dauntless when the odds are against you.” The admiration clear in his tone caught him off guard.
Apparently, it surprised the woman too, because she glanced up at him, her eyes drying. She wiped the rest of her tears away, rising to her feet. “Let’s find you that ice cream.”
He followed her deeper into the spaceship. “It’s safe to turn the lights on in this hallway now. No one should be able to see this deep inside.”
She hit the lights. He followed her until she arrived at what looked like a plain metal wall. She pulled a hidden lever that opened the storage unit and retrieved a tiny packet. “This isn’t nearly as good as the real thing, but it’s the best we can carry traveling through space. It’s called astronaut ice cream.”
She tore the top off the package and handed it to him, dried blood still staining her fingertips from where they’d clutched her fallen comrade. He dumped the contents of the package, a tri-colored block, into his hand.
“It’s Neapolitan. That’s three flavors—chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. It won’t be soft like the real thing, but the flavor is close.”
He noticed her green eyes dart away as he brought the block to his lips to taste. The chalky square immediately began to melt in his mouth. The flavor was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. It was sweet and…delicious. He groaned at the unexpected enjoyment he found in consuming it. On US-2, eating was about nutrition, not pleasure. If this “astronaut ice cream” wasn’t even as good as the real thing, he shuddered to imagine what Earth ice cream tasted like.
“Don’t move.” Elara’s command snapped him back to reality. His curiosity had distracted him long enough for her to reach a gun from a hidden compartment. She leveled it on him. “I said, don’t move.”
