He stiffened, a wave of guilt rushing over him. He’d felt it often before. His inability to move forward was unfair to Jaylin, yet he couldn’t. He swore to himself he wouldn’t, not ever again.
“I’m done with this argument.” He stalked past him on his way to the door. “Go to her, Jay, with my blessing. I’ll stand by you until the end of this mission. Afterward, I’m going home.”
“Mal, you can’t—”
“You’re wrong. I’ll rejoin the army where I have structure, purpose, and there is no temptation for me to betray my vow of faith.” He looked once more at the frozen screen, and the expression of pleasure on Dani’s beautiful face. “What I can’t do is this. Not anymore.
“A vow you made to our dead wife five years ago. Do you think she’d want you to grieve for her this way, to never love again, or be loved? You know she wouldn’t, and you wouldn’t want it for her if the situation was reversed.”
His voice raw, he met his brother’s stormy-gray eyes when he uttered, “I loved her.”
“As did I, Malik, but this isn’t right.”
“It’s the only right I know. I made a vow.”
“That vow was unto death, man! She’s gone. You’ve spent five years, missing her. It’s time to let her go.”
“You’re wrong,” he whispered. “The vow I made was forever, and I made it to myself. Never again, brother. It hurts too damn much.”
He walked away, not hesitating when Jaylin called his name. Nor did he stop or so much as flinch when a violent bang and a crash, followed his twin’s frustrated curse.
***
Seething with a whirlwind of emotions—anger, frustration, and sorrow—he spun and, needing an outlet, punched the wall. A profound error in judgment because, rather than meeting the wall, his fist went through glass and one of the video screens exploded. He didn’t feel pain, only regret, as the crystal shards and internal components rained down around him.
“Fucking hell,” he growled.
“Are you hurt?” Her soft voice cut through the rawness clouding his vision. He blinked and looked down, seeing the back of her head as she took his hand in her own. Bending close, she ran her thumb lightly over his knuckles, examining it. “The skin isn’t broken,” she whispered. Her head tipped up, and the cloud of vivid red curls was replaced by pools of deep green.
“The Creators protect idiots, evidently,” he muttered.
“We have a similar saying on my world. What happened?”
“It’s nothing.”
She shifted slightly, glass crunching beneath her boots. This time, they both looked down. He immediately wished he hadn’t because wisps of her soft hair brushed his face. The fragrance of his shampoo, a light herbal scent, smelled different on her—seductive and alluring. As if he needed more stimulation after seeing her fantasy of the three of them, in glorious, clear crystal color on every wall in the room.
“Let’s get you out of here,” he announced abruptly, moving his hand to her lower back to firmly guide her out. After the automatic doors closed behind them, he hit the locking mechanism by the ceiling. “I’ll get this cleaned up. Until I do, this is off limits.”
She angled her chin up. “You’re very bossy.”
“I’m the captain, Dani. Bossy is a prerequisite for the job.”
“I don’t mind, although it seems to rub Malik the wrong way, despite his programming. I saw him storm out in one of his extreme modes. He looked angry.”
“You flew out of here earlier, just as upset. Do I rub you the wrong way?”
“No.” Her response came out on a breathy sigh, which stirred both his blood and his mounting need for her. “I kind of like how you take command and wield your authority. I’m sure there will be instances when it will set my teeth on edge, but so far, so good.”
“In general, I’m easy to get along with. There are times, particularly while on a mission, when my instincts take over. If so, do as I say and you’ll be fine.”
“What times?”
“If we are under threat, or there is imminent danger, or if someone I know is being stubborn as hell.”
“Me?”
He smiled, taking in her expression, wide-eyed with curiosity and a touch of regret. Noting an out-of-place tendril of hair clinging to her eyelashes, he lifted it away, tucking it behind her ear before he answered. “You aren’t stubborn, Dani. Not that I’ve seen. You’re very agreeable and sweet natured.”
“I have my moments.”
His own words echoed back to him from the night before made him chuckle. But as he stared down into her upturned face, seeing the becoming smile and the glint of humor in her stunning green eyes, his amusement faded, becoming a burning, aching, need. If Malik was so stubborn to deny the gem who had fallen into their laps, so be it. He had no such qualms.
He captured her mouth, reveling in her quickly indrawn breath and the press of her body against his. She didn’t hesitate to kiss him back, and it was all the encouragement he needed to take over. Threading one hand through her thick hair, he angled her face to take things deeper. The other, he swept down her back to curl around her ass. He lifted her, and while her legs wrapped around his hips, he carried her across the pod, down the hall, and into her room.
“Tell me you want this, Dani. If you don’t, I need to know now.”
“I want this. Twenty-five, well, almost, less a few days, is too damn long to stay a virgin. And I’d like my first time to be with someone gentle, like you.”
Humming his approval, he didn’t correct her or explain he planned for all her times—not only this one—to be with him, and Malik, when he brought him around. Which he fully intended to do with her help.
Instead, he crossed to her bed and sat down with her in his lap, drinking in her sweetness. While he reveled in her taste, his hands sought the roundness of her breasts, her soft convex belly, which pleasantly cushioned his hard body, then his fingers slipped between her thighs encountering the heat permeating her clothing. Erect from witnessing her full-screen fantasy earlier, his cock jerked with anticipation.
He wanted to toss her on the bed and consume her, but forced himself to be gentle, as she deserved. He stroked her body, listening to the whimpers of delight rising from her throat and feeling the tug from her grip on his hair. Too far gone in the headiness of claiming his woman, he refused to think of the ramifications of what he was about to do. Warm, willing, and already precious to him, Dani was his. He’d be damned before he handed her over to the son of a bitch who called himself her father. Their debts he’d worry about later, once he thoroughly sampled her lips, her full breasts, and sweetly rounded thighs. And after he introduced her to the joys of lovemaking, made her come apart in his arms a time or two, and long after his body was spent alongside her own. Later, he’d think about the future and what came next.
Busy fingers made their clothing disappear, hers, opening the buttons on the front of his shirt, stopping when he impatiently pulled it over his head. He did the same for her, whisking her tunic off in one smooth movement. Moving her hands to his waistband, he encouraged her to finish the job which she did with a few fits and starts, and several low moans, because he was unable to resist the temptation of her pink-tipped breasts staring him in the face. Drawing one into his mouth, he sucked, nipped, and nibbled, as he worked her tights over her hips and down her legs. He muttered a frustrated curse when thwarted by the fasteners on the side of her boots, but made fast work of those, too.
Lifting her, he deposited her naked in the center of the bed. He had to stop to take in the lovely picture she made, cheeks flushed, hair in disarray, the red waves tumbling around her shoulders. Despite her obvious shyness as she sat with her hands clasped over her breasts, fingers tightly interlaced, he could read the unbanked fires of desire in her eyes.
He moved in, leaving his pants on for the moment. Clasping her beneath her arms, he moved her up the bed and laid her back on the pillows. Next, he followed her down, so they lay chest to chest, hips al
igned, his face hovering over hers.
“Last chance, sweetness. I intend to take you now, unless you say no.”
“I want this, Jaylin.” She raised her head so her lips touched his. “I want you.”
He knifed off the bed and removed the rest of his clothes, stripping in mere seconds. When he returned, pressing his naked body to hers, he kissed her until they were both breathless. Without breaking the connection, he nudged her thighs open and settled between them, making it so the length of him slid along the glistening seam.
Near ready to burst from wanting her, Jaylin stared down at her intently. “I can do gentle, baby, but don’t know if I can manage slow, or long on this first round. I want you too much. I admit it’s been a while for me.”
“It’s been a lifetime for me, and I don’t want slow, either.”
Eager to be inside her, he propped on his forearm, and guided his cock to her entrance. Gliding the head through her wetness with firm steady pressure, he slid into her tight sheath. In far enough to go hands-free, he wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck, his thumb along her jaw, supporting her beautiful face. As he advanced, he watched how her lips parted, and she sucked in a breath when he hit resistance.
“A little pinch then pleasure. I swear.”
“I’m ready,” she whispered as she braced, her face squinching up tight.
He almost laughed at her brave sacrifice, but that would have spoiled the moment. Instead, he murmured softly, “Look at me, Daniella.”
She peeped at him between her lashes, opening them fully when he remained still. With her green eyes locked on his, bright with excitement, and, yes, some trepidation, only then did he move. With a controlled, steady thrust, he broke through the barrier and sank in to the hilt. She didn’t look away, eyes big as she stared up at him in surprise. He remained still waiting for her to adjust to having him inside her. It took a moment for her features to soften, as she began to relax.
Only then did he move. With care, he eased almost all the way out before sliding back, going as slow as his control would allow. He repeated the motion, watching for the slightest sign it wasn’t good for her, too. When he didn’t see her flinch or grimace in pain, he picked up the pace a bit.
As was her habit, she bit her lower lip. He almost stopped, but her fingers curled into his shoulders, her nails digging in, as one of her legs moved to encircle his hips. She arched to meet his motion, and he knew she felt the connection.
Like he’d promised, he made it all about pleasure, his mouth once again opening over hers, involving tongue and, when hers matched his motions, reveling in her response. Her moans were like an anthem, spurring him on. Determined to give before he took, he found the nerve center at the front of her sex. With his thumb, he circled it, rubbing back and forth until she pulled away, arched her neck, and cried out.
“Yes, Dani,” he urged, in a husky groan of encouragement. “Give in to the pleasure.”
Her body tensed beneath him, the muscles inside her, rippling around his cock and gripping him fiercely. He didn’t stop fucking her, but he did raise his head to watch her find her release. So damn beautiful, his only regret that Malik wasn’t there to witness and partake in it, too.
After a moment, the nails in his shoulders eased, and she softened beneath him. “Now it’s my turn,” he murmured, thrusting faster. “Feel free to join me for seconds.”
His thumb working again, he drove her to the precipice of another orgasm, and since he knew what she looked like when about to soar, his head came down, mouth sealing over hers when she found it again. As his own orgasm gripped him, something more than pleasure overcame him. A feeling like he’d felt only once before, a feeling of rightness, of coming home. He had suspected, but as it washed over him, he knew without a doubt Daniella was made for him. It also meant she was the perfect woman for his twin, his second, his incredible, maddeningly stubborn brother, as well.
Chapter Seven
In the aftermath, Dani snuggled up against Jaylin while he dozed, amazed at the amount of heat his body produced. Big, strong, protective, and a phenomenal, caring lover, he seemed too good to be true. Maybe she was stuck in an immersion reality session and couldn’t get out. If so, she didn’t want to.
With the notion of a perpetual sex fantasy with Jaylin bouncing around in her head, she giggled softly, nuzzling her cheek into his chest.
“What’s amusing?”
Uncertain she wanted to express her silly thoughts, she gave him a fact, just not the answer to his question. “Your chest hair is tickling my nose.”
He shifted, hauling her up his body until she lay on top. As she came up on her elbows to look down at him, a thick swathe of her dark-red hair slid over her shoulder into his face. He wrinkled his nose, and she laughed when it twitched. With a toss of her head, she shifted it all to one side, watching it mingle with his dark blond. “Together, we have a lot of hair.”
“On our heads.” His hands slid down her back to her bare behind. There he cupped both cheeks. “Your body, unlike mine, is smooth—everywhere. I hadn’t heard this about Earth women. Is it true of all your species?”
“No, our females have body hair, except most of us laser it off.”
“Really?” His perfectly arched brows shot up his forehead. “Isn’t that painful?”
“Heck, yeah, especially the first time.” She shrugged. “You get used to it.”
“You lasered your skin more than once? And you did this everywhere?”
She flushed, knowing the “everywhere” he referred to.
He grinned. “This calls for further exploration.”
He rolled them, gave her a short yet thorough kiss, then began to slide slowly down her body. The thick mass of his hair trailing his lips as he moved lower, tickled, making her squirm.
“Jaylin!” she squealed, turned on but also giggling from the light sweep of the silken strands.
At her thighs, he spread them wide, his mouth sliding over the smooth, denuded skin. Immediately, her giggles evaporated, changing to hitching inhaled pants when his thumbs parted her outer folds and his tongue licked into her.
“Exquisite,” he murmured, the heat of his breath stimulating her clit an instant before he sucked on it. She arched off the bed, sensation rocketing through her body. Needing more, she gripped his head, her fingers twining into his hair, and she pulled him in closer. After wantonly spreading her legs, she went a step further and draped them one at a time over his broad shoulders, offering him whatever he wanted to take.
“Mmm,” he hummed, not letting up while he swirled his tongue in a slow torturous circle. He flicked it back and forth and few times, finally dropping lower and dragging the flat of it from her weeping entrance up to the bud again. Next, he opened wide and sucked it inside, letting go after a three count with a wet pop. “Mm, mm,” he repeated in a low, hungry growl. “Sweet like pershada nectar,” before he went back for another taste, making her quiver.
“What’s...that?” she asked between ragged gasps.
“A native fruit from Trilor.” He gave her another slow lick. “It’s very expensive...because it grows...in a remote location.” He punctuated his words with slow licks and flicks of his tongue. “It’s well guarded by treacherous terrain.” When he applied sustained suction, she bowed off the bed. Releasing her again, he finished with another slow swirl, this time in reverse. “However, the risk is well worth the reward.”
“Please...”
“Isn’t this what I am doing, pershada? Pleasing you?” he whispered, teasing the bud with his tongue.
“Yes, although I can’t bear much more of this deliberate torment.”
“Ah, Dani,” he murmured, and slid a finger into her soaked channel. “Don’t you know anticipation makes the reward all the sweeter? Like waiting to harvest the succulent berries only at their ripest, or teasing you to climax.” He added another long, broad finger and, while pumping at an unhurried pace, went back to lashing and sucking her clit. But he r
elented on the stopping and starting, not letting up until her hips arched, and, with her legs clamped around his head, she cried out in ecstasy.
Breathing fast, with the rapid beat of her heart thudding in her ears, she twitched as he pressed one more kiss on the top of her mound, and then he rose over her. He positioned himself, and, unlike the first time, slid in all the way with one thrust. There was the same stretch and wonderful fullness, without a hint of discomfort.
He covered her with his body, and lowered his mouth to hers. He tasted of her, not at all like berries, but the mix of her and Jaylin on her tongue she found pleasantly erotic.
“You enjoyed tormenting me,” she accused without any bite to her words.
“Damn straight,” he replied, his grin like the cat who lapped up some cream. When he began to move, all teasing vanished from his face, replaced with intensity, his silver orbs dark from unquenched desire.
“Wrap me up, Dani. This time is going to be neither slow nor gentle. I want you too bad.”
With all four limbs, she encircled him, locking her ankles behind his hips, her arms around his neck. She hung on while he moved above and within her, his hips driving harder and faster than before. Although it seemed impossible, in a few full strokes, a quiver started low in her belly, and the throb in her clit rekindled, intensifying every time his body melded with hers. Breathless, when his tongue drove into her mouth, it made her more so. Jaylin’s power and passion surrounded her as he took control. The room filled with groans, slapping skin, and sensual wetness, the same sounds at any other time would have been mortifying. Now, she found it hot.
Then she couldn’t think because another shattering climax raced through her. Her moans were drowned out by his discordant, yet sexy masculine cries. He slammed into her once more, hard body going rigid, while his chest left hers, and his head arched back. She latched onto him, clinging to his shoulders, lips open along his corded throat, tasting the salt on his skin, and feeling the tension inside him as his climax took hold.
The Renegades' Reward Page 9
