Once Bitten, Twice Dead

by Bianca D’Arc

  He shocked her, slapping her clit with a light tap that made her yelp in surprise. Surprise and…arousal? It hadn’t hurt. The little blow had shocked her as much as the resulting clenching of her inner muscles.

  “Be still,” he admonished. “I’ll give you what you want but you must answer my questions. Full sentences, if you please.”

  Damn, he was going all commander on her. His dominant streak made her even wetter.

  “Do you want my cock?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “Say it then, Sarah. What do you want? You have to tell me.” His gaze narrowed, pinning her to the bed as surely as the silk binding held her hands immobile. He was serious. He’d wait until she gave him what he wanted. Oh, man.

  She gave in. “I want your cock, Xavier. Please.”

  “That was good, ma belle.” He praised her, but he didn’t move.

  She was ready to scream in frustration, needing more…needing him.

  “One more question before I give you your prize.” His devilish grin made her tummy clench. “Did you like it when I spanked your clit? Be honest now. I think you did.”

  “I told you I wasn’t into pain.” She was gasping now, needing to feel him claim her fully.

  “Did it hurt?” His expression held true concern.

  “No. You didn’t hit that hard. But it surprised me.”

  “Surprised in a good way?” His smile was confident as he awaited her answer.

  She couldn’t lie to him. “Yeah, Xavier. In a really good way.”

  “That’s what I thought.” A satisfied grin covered his face as he leaned forward, sliding into her. He sat upright between her splayed thighs, watching the progress as he claimed her eager channel. “Now, I believe you owe me a climax.”

  He held himself still within her, strain evident on his face. She watched him, amazed by the masterful way he played her body as well as his magnificent control. She’d never been with a man as skilled and creative as this one. He lowered one hand to rest on her thigh. A second later, his fingers began to toy with her clit as she began to squirm again.

  It was too much. She cried out when the exploration turned to a firm tapping, right on that little button that set her off like a skyrocket. A ragged sound tore from her throat as she came for him, just as he’d wanted. The look on his face was one of triumph mixed with dominance and an iron-hard will.

  Something else was iron-hard, too, and she nearly cried when he pulled it out. Then he flipped her. Those big hands positioned her to his liking, coaxing her up to rest on her elbows, her hands still bound in front of her, her ass in the air as he knelt behind her.

  He didn’t wait for her to come down from her climax, he simply slid into her contracting channel, still quaking with desire, and pushed her higher. He began a pounding rhythm that sparked renewed interest in her greedy body. The next minutes became a blur of continual pleasure unlike anything she’d ever known. She wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t lived it. Xavier drew out her climax and pushed her higher still.

  His rhythm was hard and fast, unrelenting and uncompromising. She pushed back against him as he used her body, giving and taking in equal measure. She screamed as she hit another peak, even higher than the last. She may have blacked out for a second, she wasn’t sure, but the orgasm seemed to go on and on.

  She could feel him spasming inside her, his harsh breathing music to her ears as they reached that amazing pinnacle together. His hands tightened on her hips as they were swept away together on a tidal wave of pleasure.

  Long moments later, after the delicious rigor began to dissipate, Xavier lifted away from her, disengaging gently from her swollen, well-loved body. He stretched her out on her side as he released the silk binding from her tender wrists. Without a word, he spooned her in his arms and drew the sheet over them.

  The reassuring beat of his heart as it began to slow matched rhythm with hers. She felt him kiss the top of her head as she drifted away in his arms.

  The next time Sarah woke up, the sun was riding low in the sky. The lovely smell of fried bacon wafted through her house and Xavier was gone from her bed. She stood and surveyed the room. The bed was a wreck, but that was to be expected. Xavier’s clothes were missing, along with his boots.

  She tore the sheets off the bed and quickly remade it with fresh linens from her closet before heading to the shower. Her body was sore in places it hadn’t been sore in ages. She hugged a secret smile to herself, remembering just how they’d achieved that spectacular level of utter satiation.

  She took a quick shower, already starting to feel better as she moved around. The hot water had helped a lot. No doubt her new healing abilities had also kicked in to make walking a whole heck of a lot more comfortable after the sexual calisthenics of the past few hours.

  Sarah dressed in a clean uniform and sought out Xavier. She found him in the kitchen, flipping an omelet. He grinned when he caught sight of her.

  “Breakfast is being served. Take a seat, mademoiselle.”

  “Breakfast at four o’clock in the afternoon?” She stopped to give him a peck on the cheek before taking her place at the table.

  Toast and jam had already been set out, along with a plate of cooked bacon and condiments. He’d also set two places, complete with filled juice glasses and silverware. He’d really gone all out.

  “For us, it’s the start of our day and I’ve always felt breakfast food is good anytime. It’s also easy to make.” He put the finishing touches on the omelet and cut the huge thing in half with the spatula as he approached the table. He expertly slid one half of the cheesy egg concoction onto her plate and took the other for himself.

  “This is fantastic. It all looks and smells so good.” She was just happy with life at the moment.

  She’d spent a decadent couple of hours making love with Xavier, and at the moment, all was right with her world. The zombie threat and all the other stuff were on the back burner, to be considered after they’d broken their fast. For now, she was taking a minute to bask in the changes in her life. So much had happened in such a short time. It was overwhelming in a whirlwind sort of way, but if the end result was Xavier in her bed and in her home, she couldn’t complain too much. She wouldn’t trade this special time with him for anything.

  “Dig in. We’ve got to meet up with the guys in about an hour.”

  “I thought I heard you tell your XO to bring dinner to the meeting.” Sarah cut a piece of the omelet and took a nibble. It was delicious. Perfectly cooked, with a hint of the spices he’d used to make it wafting to her nose and bursting on her tongue.

  “I did, but Sam’s idea of dinner is probably a couple of pizzas. That’s not enough to keep us going all night. I figured we’d be better off with a good protein boost now.”

  “Good thinking. Xavier, this is spectacular. What did you put in this thing?” She used her fork to point toward the omelet as she took another big bite.

  “Cheese, onions, peppers and a few other things I found in your fridge and pantry. Hope you don’t mind I went foraging.”

  “Mind? When this is the end result? Forage away, I say.” He seemed amused by her answer and they ate in silence for a while.

  “So, how long have you and your team been together?” she asked after the silence had stretched a bit.

  “I’ve known Sam, my XO, since Ranger School. We were assigned to the same unit for a while early on and became good friends. The other guys I knew by reputation and from having worked with them in passing over the years.” His expression closed up. “The unit I belonged to until very recently was decimated by the first go-round with the zombies on base. I was the only survivor of those who’d been bitten or gouged. After they realized I was immune”—he paused to take a drink of juice—“I was asked to pick my own small group when the first reports of the attack on you filtered through.”

  “I’m sorry, Xavier. I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.” She felt awful. The look on his face was so tight,
so controlled. It was obvious to her that he was trying to tamp down the pain that still afflicted him when he thought of those friends, those comrades he had lost.

  “It’s all right.” He finished eating and stood, taking his plate to the sink for a quick rinse.

  She could tell he wanted to change the subject and she was fine with that. He’d lost friends and it had happened recently. Perhaps too recently to talk about. She could understand that and she wouldn’t push.

  She stood, too, and began clearing the table. When she turned toward the sink with an armful of dishes, Xavier surprised her by taking them out of her hands. He placed them behind him on the counter and turned back to her. He just looked at her, staring downward into her eyes for a long moment. There was emotion there, simmering beneath the surface.

  Xavier pulled her into his arms, hugging her loosely while he rested his head over hers. She heard the reassuring beat of his heart under her ear and felt his hands stroking her hair and back.

  “I miss them, but I’m not ready to talk about it yet.”

  The pain in his voice touched her deeply. “I understand, Xavier,” she whispered. “Just know that I’m here for you if you ever want to talk.”

  “Thank you, Sarah. That means more than I can tell you.”

  He held her close for a few minutes more, while she offered silent comfort. Even if he couldn’t talk about it yet, she sensed this helped. She could feel the tension in him ease little by little until he had himself back under control, and she was glad she could be there to help him even in this small way.

  He cleared his throat as he let her go. “We’d better get a move on. The guys are expecting us soon.”

  “Let me grab my utility belt and we can hit the road.”

  She exited the kitchen, leaving the rest of the cleanup to him, if he felt like doing it. Right now, she didn’t care. A dirty dish left standing on the counter wasn’t the end of the world. She thought again about the losses he’d suffered. The lives that had already been lost to these mad scientists. They had to be stopped. That was her first—her only—priority at the moment. Everything else could wait til later.

  As Xavier had foretold, a stack of pizza boxes greeted them when they entered the hotel suite. The B Team had commandeered a set of rooms and done some furniture rearranging. Where the couch had been in a central seating area, there were now two sturdy, collapsible eight-foot tables pushed together, surrounded by folding chairs. Sarah could tell from the fresh dents in the plush carpet that the guys hadn’t left a single piece of furniture where it had been originally. She wondered if they’d put it back when they were through or if the army was going to be fielding complaints from an angry hotel staff.

  Paper plates with multiple slices of pizza and cans of soda populated the area in front of each man seated around the table. She recognized Sam, Lewis and Reno from their previous meeting, but there was another uniformed man present as well. Xavier stiffened when he caught sight of the man who wore navy insignia. He was a commander if she was reading his rank properly.

  Her brothers were marines. They’d talked about things like protocol and rank from time to time. Some of it had rubbed off. If she remembered correctly, a commander in the navy was equal to something like a lieutenant colonel in the Corps or regular army. This guy was pretty high on the totem pole. And he had combat ribbons on his chest. He wasn’t what they laughingly referred to as a “Chairborne Ranger.” This man had seen action.

  He was handsome, too. Tall and broad shouldered, with golden streaks in his light brown hair, as if he spent a lot of time in the sun. He had a rich tan and little attractive creases around his eyes, either from laughing or squinting against the sun. She could easily imagine him at the helm of a ship. The guy could have doubled for half the pirates on romance novel covers. He was that yummy.

  It was highly unprofessional of her to notice, of course, but every one of the men in the room was so far out of the norm, she’d have to be dead not to notice them. Each of them was built like a Greek god from hours of training and hard physical work. They were also among the best and brightest the armed forces had to offer. She knew that simply by the fact that they had made it through all kinds of Special Forces training to become the warriors they were today.

  She knew from her brothers that a lot of men tried to become Green Berets or SEALs, but few made it through the rigorous testing. They had to be both superb physical specimens and outstandingly sharp mentally. All of these men had special skills and a drive to succeed.

  The navy man stood and came over to greet Xavier and her, a serious expression on his handsome face as he held out his hand to Xavier. The only thing that really distinguished him from the other guys, aside from his superior rank, was the fact that he was in the navy and the others were most definitely army.

  “Commander, it’s good to see you, sir.” Xavier turned to introduce her. “This is Officer Sarah Petit. Sarah, this is Commander Matt Sykes, U.S. Navy. He’s overseeing this operation.”

  “I’ve heard a lot about you, Officer Petit.” The man had a killer smile, which he flashed full force. He turned on the charm, but Sarah was still pleasantly sated from her encounters with Xavier. Her Green Beret was more than man enough for her.

  “Please, call me Sarah.” She smiled politely at Sykes but stuck close to Xavier as they moved farther into the room.

  “Since we’re mixing chains of command with abandon here,” Sykes said with a friendly expression, “please call me Matt.”

  When she reached the table, all the men around it stood. It took her a minute to realize they were waiting for her to be seated. They certainly taught good manners in the army. She hadn’t had this kind of treatment in a long time, if ever. Everyone seemed to want to get her something to drink or eat and she found herself declining politely, until finally Xavier stepped in.

  “Guys, I’m certain Officer Petit will let us know if she wants anything.” He rolled his eyes at the men until they settled down. It was kind of comical, but then, she assumed these Special Forces types weren’t all that accustomed to working with women.

  “Since we’re all here,” Matt Sykes began. “I’d like to start this session by thanking Officer Petit for joining our team. I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to talk to you before this, ma’am. I’ve just been cleared to brief you on things we weren’t sure you’d need to know before. The powers that be finally consider it important for you to have all the available information, which, for the record, I was always in favor of. I don’t like sending anyone into the field with only part of the story.”

  Sarah was surprised by his vehemence and his words. What more was there to know? Could it be any worse than learning there were actual zombies in the world and their mad scientist creator was after her? She was almost afraid to listen.

  “You’re probably wondering why a navy commander is involved in what appears to be strictly an army mission. The short answer is that the problem started on my base. The first victims of this contagion were marines stationed at Quantico, my current duty station. We thought we’d eradicated the problem with the help of a Navy SEAL—someone like you, who was immune to the contagion. The science team that inadvertently created the problem was disbanded and sworn to drop the research. Most of them found other jobs and we thought the problem was solved for good.”

  Sykes’s expression darkened as he sat back in his chair.

  “Since then, we’ve discovered that some rogue members of the scientific team have started up the research again. Specifically, there have been two known flare-ups—the one here and one earlier at Fort Bragg that wasn’t discovered until most of Captain Beauvoir’s team was gone. He survived and I was called in to lend assistance once they realized what was going on. That problem is still ongoing and we have a team in the field working to destroy the remaining creatures as we speak. We’re spread thin because of the need to send Captain Beauvoir up here to settle this problem. Which is why your help is invaluable, Sarah. We literally don
’t have enough qualified people to deal with two outbreaks at once.”

  “Is it getting any better back on base?” Xavier asked, concern lacing his voice.

  “Marginally. We still haven’t tracked down the source of the problem. Which is why we need to tie up this outbreak as soon as possible.” Sykes turned his attention back to Sarah. “Captain Beauvoir is a very rare commodity—as are you, Sarah. You’re both immune. We don’t want to send any more men to their deaths. Only those who are immune are being sent into the kill zone. They’re the only ones who stand a chance against the creatures when a scratch or bite can be fatal.”

  “Xavier explained all that to me,” Sarah said, nodding. “I just didn’t realize there was another outbreak other than here on Long Island. I guess I assumed Xavier had been bitten during some initial action that was now over.”

  “Unfortunately not.” Sykes leaned forward again. “I’m only here for this meeting. I came to get a sitrep from your team before I head back to North Carolina and the problems waiting for me there. I’m hoping that something you’ve uncovered might help shake loose the sticking points in my own investigation.”

  “Well, we know for sure the scientist behind this outbreak is Dr. Sellars,” Sarah told him. “He tried unsuccessfully to get blood from me in the hospital,” she put in. “He also left a DVD addressed to me with an invitation to give myself up so he could study why I survived the bites. Xavier and I found it at the last location we searched, along with a phalanx of zombies, which we darted and marked.”

  Xavier tossed the disc in question onto the table, in front of Sykes. “You can have the original. I downloaded the files and my team already has them.”

  Sykes placed the DVD in his briefcase. “Lieutenant Archer played the video for me right before you arrived.” His expression darkened. “I want you to be careful, Sarah. Under no circumstances do we want anyone who survived the contagion to be captured or even sampled by the enemy. We don’t want them figuring out a way to make just a select few people immune. From what I saw on that video, Sellars doesn’t appear to be completely sane. You have to know he’s probably going to make a grab for you.”