by Dena Christy
“Fuck me,” she said between her teeth, and he answered her demand with a hard, fast slam of his body inside her.
It was exactly what she wanted and what she needed from him. He continued his hard fast pace as he reached between their bodies to toy with her aching clit. It became too much for her, and he’d primed her so well with her first orgasm that her second followed so swiftly at his touch that a surprised groan ripped from her throat as it exploded through her. On and on it went as he took his own pleasure from her body. She wanted this to last forever, and for a moment it seemed to as she was caught in the never ending pleasure his body was delivering to her.
Her heart raced, and as if from far away she heard his muffled groan as he allowed himself to find his fulfillment with her. She cradled him to her as he spilled himself inside her, and the pulses of his cock inside her, and the grinding of his hips against her sent her over the edge for the third time.
His body was heavy against her, and she felt like she didn’t have a single bone left in her body as her heart calmed it’s frantic pace. Never in her life had she experienced so much pleasure, and she felt a small stab of sadness that she would never get to experience its like again.
As he rolled over to his side, and held her against his body, cherishing her with his arms around her, she wished for a moment that things were different. For the first time in her life she wished she was different, that she lived in a world where the choice of her mate was up to her. If she lived in a world like that she would have chosen him. But as she closed her eyes, and rested her head against his chest, with the steady beat of his heart pumping softly in her ear, she realized that this wish would not come true. At least not in the life that she lived right now.
Chapter Eight
Ryce lay in the darkened bedroom, under only a sheet as he held Collette’s body close to his. He heard the soft sounds of her breathing and knew that she slept as her breath fanned rhythmically across his skin. He stared at the ceiling, unable to stop the thoughts racing in his head.
He’d had women before, although the women on his planet were all spoken for. He’d availed himself of opportunities presented to him on other planets that they traded with, buying the services of women that offered themselves for coin. He’d always enjoyed his time with them and hadn’t minded at all needing to pay for sex. It was his only option if he wanted to enjoy the comfort of a woman’s body, but none of his prior experiences, such as it was, prepared him for Collette.
He knew she’d enjoyed herself, and even if he hadn’t achieved his own pleasure that would have been enough. She’d been so expressive and responsive that his prior encounters had paled in comparison. It had meant more to him than a coupling with a woman who expected coin, and he’d felt a deep connection with her when he’d been inside her. Laying here with her, he was content to hold her to him, even if he was never intimate with her again. Those thoughts worried him. He could’t offer her anything and he knew that tonight would be the only night they would enjoy together. He couldn’t help feel a stab of regret at the thought. If only he’d met her, at a different time, when her being with him didn’t exposed her to danger.
“What has you thinking so hard?” she asked, her voice husky from sleep. He glanced down at her, and he could see the shine of her eyes in the darkness of the room.
“Everything and nothing.” He tucked her head under his chin as he snuggled her close. “We should sleep. We will have an eventful night tomorrow.”
She stroked her hand on his chest, and once she stilled, he thought she had returned to sleep.
“You don’t regret it do you?” she asked, her voice quiet and small. He tightened his arms around her and cuddled her closer. There were things in his life that he regretted, but exploring her body and bringing them both pleasure was not one of them.
“The only thing I regret is that we only have tonight. You know that don’t you? It’s not because I don’t want to be with you again after this, but I’m not at a place in my life where I can devote the time necessary to you. I need to free Cynric, and we have to get home. Being a stranger to this planet means that if I stayed, I’d spend the rest of my life hunted. It’s not the kind of life you need or deserve.”
“I know.” She sighed. She shifted up, so she was leaning on her arm to look down at him. “We’ve made no promises to each other, and I know that we can only have tonight. I’m not exactly at a good place in my life either. Once we free Cynric, I’m going to have to figure out what to do with my life.”
“You won’t go back to a man like Reggie?” He held his breath to await her answer. That she was a woman who was paid to be a companion to rich men didn’t bother him. From what he’d seen on his brief stay on this planet, few of the citizens enjoyed the freedom of choice that he did on his own planet. The thought of another man being with her after him sent a stab of jealousy through him, but he had no right to feel that. And that wasn’t the reason he didn’t want her to go back to the life she had. He sensed that that life didn’t make her happy. And above all, no matter what the rest of their lives held for him, he wanted to know that she was happy.
“I can’t go back to that life. It is so shallow, and I want to get away from it. I don't want to end up like my mother,” she said, and there was a sadness in her voice when she spoke.
“What do you mean?” he asked, finding himself curious to know more about her. He knew very little about her life, and he could tell from the tone of her voice that there was a story there to be told.
“My mother was a chippy, just like I have been. In her heyday, she was very much in demand, and could have her choice of companions. She met my father, and it was her downfall. She made the mistake of falling in love with him. She got pregnant with me, and I think for a short time he was happy to have a secret family tucked away from his legitimate one. I remember him coming over to see us, and he always brought a small gift for me. This was when I was little.”
“And what happened?” he asked, although he could guess by the sadness in her voice that whatever it was it wasn’t good.
“She forgot her place. She thought he would leave his prestigious family for us, and she pushed until his visits got fewer and farther between until eventually he stopped coming at all.”
“After going through that, how could she set you up in the same life,” he said.
“That’s how things work. I am the daughter of a chippy, and it doesn’t matter who my father is, since he made no move to claim me as his own. So my mother’s life was all that she could aspire to for me, and that’s the direction she pushed me into. She didn’t have any more keepers after my father left, and I think something in her died after he was gone.”
He held her to him, sensing that she was finished talking about a past that appeared to be so painful. He could hardly fathom what it was like for her, to be forced into a profession that was not of her choosing. On his planet, his father had been a soldier, as had his father before his, but Ryce knew that if the soldier's life was not what he wanted, he would not have been forced into it.
“We should sleep,” she said, and while he agreed, he wanted to offer her comfort, to take the sadness that hung so heavy inside her away, at least for a little while.
He pulled her body on top of his, and he threaded his hands through her hair as he kissed her. He was ready for her almost instantly, and as she responded he could sense that she wanted to block out everything but him while she was in his arms.
She pulled up, so she straddled him and reached down to put him at her moist entrance. He flexed his hips up until he was buried deep inside her, and she rocked her hips in a slow movement that had his eyes rolling back in his head at the pleasure she gave him. He let her control the pace and reached down between her legs to toy with her clit. The soft sounds of theirs sighs were the only noise in the darkened room as they made love.
Soon the slow moments were not enough, and she picked up her pace, grinding her hips against him as they both race
d to sate their bodies. He could feel himself climbing higher and higher, and by the urgent sounds of her calls knew she very close. She climaxed as she rode him, and he was right there with her, matching her pleasure with his own. He spilled himself inside her and for a fleeting moment as the waves of pleasure took him, he wondered how he was ever going to let her go.
Once they were spent, he pulled her down on top of him, and pressed his lips again the top of her head. He held her to him, not wanting even the smallest of distance to separate them in this their one and only night together.
She let out a sigh and her body relaxed against him. He closed his eyes, and the sleep that had eluded him finally caught up with him.
Collette put the finishing touches on her makeup as her final step in her preparations for the ball. Ryce was waiting for her in the lounge, having already donned his disguise as Reggie. Once she was finished, she took one last look at herself as she turned to the right and then to the left. Her hair and makeup were immaculate, and her strapless gold ball gown was at the height of elegance and current fashion.
Show time. Taking one last look, she turned away from the mirror and walked out of the bedroom. As she made her way to the lounge where Ryce waited, her gaze went to the bed where they’d spent the previous night in the throes of passion. Had it even happened?
In the cold light of the morning, the night before had taken on an air of unreality, and if her body hadn’t given her the evidence of how well sated she’d been, she would have doubted that it had happened at all.
She turned away, determined to focus on the task at hand. It was crucial that Ryce had physical contact with Colonel Dawson, and it was her job to ensure that it happened.
She walked into the lounge, and Ryce stood up when she entered the room. He looked stunned for a moment, and the surrealism of their situation hit her once more, because he was looking at her through Reggie’s eyes. Reggie had never looked at her like that.
“Will I do,” she asked to mask her nervousness. She always had confidence in her appearance, and wasn’t one to fish for compliments, but it mattered what he thought. She felt vulnerable with him as if what he thought of her mattered.
“You’re beautiful.” He took a step toward her. He made no move to touch her, and she figured it was just was well. She was still struggling to see him inside his disguise, and if he touched or kissed her it would be like it was Reggie doing those things.
“Thank you.” She laced her hand through his proffered arm. “Are you ready for this?”
“I have you as my guide, and I think that with the way you look tonight, all eyes will be on you and everyone will take no notice of me at all.” He escorted her to the door of their room. A slight stab of regret pierced her as they left the hotel suite. While they’d been in there, the world had retreated and it had just been him and her. Now the outside world was intruding and Collette didn’t like the feeling it caused in her.
She did her best to paste a smile on her face and push down the turmoil churning inside her. Ryce needed her to focus on now, not on last night. Perhaps it hadn’t been a good idea for them to make love at all because at least before last night she hadn’t known what she was missing. Now she did, and she needed to figure out a way to put it past her because under the circumstances she was positive that it wouldn’t happen again.
They walked down the hall toward the elevator. Fortunately they only needed to go as far as the huge ballroom downstairs, and Ryce had already taken their bags down to the car, so that once they contacted Colonel Dawson, they could leave. With any luck, contacting Dawson wouldn’t take very long since the longer they lingered at the ball the more at risk they were. While she’d done her best to assure Ryce that no one would see through his disguise, there was the slim chance that one of his cronies would pull him aside. If that happened, they would notice any out of character behavior and although they wouldn’t be able to see past Ryce's disguise it would raise questions. Questions that might be put to the real Reggie. Above all, Reggie couldn’t find out about their little deception because he would know that he hadn’t gone to the ball, and since she had the invitation, it was a trail that would lead directly to her.
“Why are you so quiet?” Ryce said as he glanced over at her. “You aren’t nervous are you?”
“No.” She relaxed her face, and attempted to show the confidence she should have in this situation. She was the expert on Reggie's world, and she needed to have faith that she could get them through this. The smile she forced herself to wear did nothing but caused her cheeks to ache. “I want to get the contact with Dawson over with so we can leave.”
“It would be a waste of a fancy ball if we left right away. Is that something that Reggie would normally do?” Ryce asked.
“No.” He was right if they left right away that might cause questions. Reggie wasn’t the type to party all night, but he liked to stay for several hours at one of these things. Perhaps things would be all right if she managed to steer Ryce away from any of Reggie’s friends that they might chance upon.
“You need to relax.” He reached out to take her hand, and he raised it up to his lips. He pressed a brief kiss on it, and she tugged her hand away. She knew it was Ryce, but she couldn’t see past the mask he wore to the man underneath. He drew back and his brows collided over his forehead. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t like you touching me as him.” She licked her lips, and struggled to think of a way to express what she was feeling without offending him. “I know it’s you and not Reggie, but my brain is struggling to make the distinction. After last night, when I kissed and touched the real you, I want no one else to touch me. And I know that sounds stupid, since you are you, even under the Reggie disguise, it’s just—"
“You don’t need to say any more.” A smile crept onto her his face. “I understand what you’re saying. And it’s a good thing if you think about it.”
“How can me not wanting you to touch me when you look like him be a good thing?”
“It means that my disguise is flawless if someone who knows that it’s a disguise can’t distinguish the difference. So you can relax. We’ll be fine, because if the way I look can fool you, it can fool anyone.”
The tension holding the muscles in her shoulders stiff melted away. She hadn’t thought about it that way, but he was right. No one was going to see past the face he presented. A genuine smile crossed her face as they left the elevator, and a small thrill of excitement replaced the dread that had wanted to settle in her stomach. They were going to do this and no one would be the wiser. Tonight would take Ryce one step closer to saving his friend, and she was glad that she had chosen to be a part of it. For the first time in her life she was at a ball that would serve more of a purpose then showing off her pretty face.
They stepped off the elevator in unison, and she threaded her arm through his.
“Do you have the invitation?” she asked as she looked over at him.
He reached up and patted the right side of his jacket level with his chest. He winked at her and she stifled a giggle. She never giggled with Reggie, as he found it irritating, so she forced herself to tamp down on the excitement churning inside her, and present the calm, cool demeanor that she always presented when she was at one of these functions. She doubted anyone would notice the difference, since in this world her looks were all that mattered, but if she was going to help Ryce, she needed to get a handle on her emotions.
They walked down the hall toward the ballroom, and with each step Collette could feel her confidence rising. This was her world, and she’d been trained from the cradle for this moment. They drew up to the doorman, and he looked familiar to her. She’d been to enough functions at this hotel to have seen him over the years. He looked at them both respectfully.
“If I could get your invitation sir,” he said as he held out his hand. Ryce reached inside his jacket and withdrew the invitation from the top right inside pocket and handed it over. The doorman barely glanced at
it as he opened the door for them and they walked inside.
“Holy shit,” Ryce said from beside her, his voice holding a note of awe.
She knew what he was feeling since she’d experienced herself the first time she’d been here. The ballroom was massive, and took up the equivalent of three floors on the hotel, and was built down underground. Where they stood right now was part of the gallery which encircled the ballroom’s upper level and from here they could see everything happening inside the room. An elaborate balustrade prevented anyone from walking the gallery from falling the two stories down to the ballroom floor. If they wanted, they could walk half the circumference of the gallery and out the glass French doors that stood opposite them on the other side. Those doors led out to the immaculately kept grounds at the back of the hotel.
“Ready,” she asked as she looked up at him. He nodded, and she squeezed his bicep as she gently lead him forward toward the sweeping curved staircase that would take them down to the ballroom. At the top of the stairs she paused for a moment, her eyes sweeping the room and a smile curved her mouth when she saw their target standing over on the fringes of the crowd, near one of the refreshment tables. “Do you see him?”
“I do,” he said as he took a step forward. She squeezed his arm, and he stopped and looked at her.
“You can’t go right up to him. He’s been chasing Reggie for years, and Reggie would never go right up to him. Dawson is on a lower social standing and Reggie is a stickler for protocol. So what we will do is dance, drink and make every appearance of enjoying ourselves.”
“But how will I have contact with him if I don’t go to him,” he asked as he frowned.
“Don’t worry,” she said with supreme confidence. “He will come to you.”
She took one more look toward Dawson, and he turned his head and looked right at her. She smothered her gasp and looked away. His picture hadn’t shown the hint of the predator that was in his eyes, and she would have sworn that she could feel them on her.
