by Lucas, Naomi
She left the bathroom and went to the bed. She straightened the bedding out for the hundredth time. When the sheets couldn’t get any straighter, she stepped back.
It’s time.
She looked around the room. There was nothing left to do, nothing else she could do.
She still searched for an excuse, because after she called Hysterian, he was either going to give her what she wanted, or not. Wistfulness gripped her heart. She was going to miss the Questor. Even this room. The last few months had been better than she thought they could ever be.
She cared about more than just her revenge now.
In doing so made her fail. She fell in love with the one being she vowed to end. Now it was time to leave before something worse happened. Alexa wouldn’t let anyone else get hurt on her behalf.
Heading to the door, she braced for what was about to come.
“Hysterian,” she said his name, a little hesitant at first. She’d never called out for him before. “I’m ready to talk.”
It was a lie, and he would know it was, but it was the perfect bait.
I love him. There was nothing wrong in pretending for a little while that everything was perfect, right? Tonight was for her, and no one else.
There wasn’t any shame anymore.
She didn’t have to wait long before the door to the room opened.
Hysterian, perfectly handsome, exceedingly dangerous, walked into the room and straight toward her, stopping a foot away.
“You came,” she breathed.
He glared at her, pinning her to where she stood. He was mad. As he should be.
“Not by choice,” he said, his voice low.
She straightened. “I know you’re upset—”
“Why did you call for me, Alexa?” he growled. “Speak.”
“I…” Now that he was here, nervousness stole her courage. He was so beautiful, so overwhelming. Why did he ever want her in the first place? Alexa gritted her teeth and shut the thoughts out. If she failed this time it was going to be because she put her full effort in and he denied her anyway.
She knew he very well may be lying. That he might not actually care about her at all, but whether he cared or not, whether he was manipulating her or not, she was going to do her best to manipulate him right back.
“Why am I here?” he asked again, curiosity now edging his tone.
“I wanted…” She licked her lips. “I, uh…”
“If it’s not to tell me what’s going on in your head, then say it.”
“I wanted”—he swallowed, her cheeks flushing—“to be with you.”
Her heart hammered.
His eyes searched her, and she tried not to wither. She wished she knew what he saw in her. She wished she wasn’t a half-breed and he wasn’t a Cyborg. That they were two normal beings.
She prayed he still wanted her as much as she wanted him.
But as the moments passed, and he continued to stand silently before her, embarrassment wiggled its way into her head. “This was a stupid idea—”
“Strip.”
“What?”
“I said strip.”
Hysterian’s eyes flashed teal for a split second and he pivoted, striding to the sofa. He sat down and crossed his boot over his knee.
Had she heard him correctly? “Strip?”
“I gave you an order.” There was no softness in his voice.
Alexa shivered and wiped her palms on her pants. This is what she wanted, she reminded herself. She wanted Hysterian, even if he didn’t actually want her back. She was doing this for herself and not for him.
She faced him and started tugging off her shirt.
“Slower,” Hysterian said.
She paused midway and inched the cloth up her torso. When it slipped over her bra, she bunched the material up in her hands and drew it off, letting the shirt drop at her feet. She fanned out her damp hair behind her shoulders.
He sat back. “Now the rest.”
Something dark and delicious invaded her soul. Her eyes flicked to the bulge that appeared between Hysterian’s legs. She knew what was under his uniform, and the ache that awaited her if she got what she wanted. The all-encompassing heat. The blissful lightheadedness while being in his arms. She could feel the heat coming off him already and she was feet away from him.
“Now, Alexa,” he commanded when she took too long. “I gave you an order.”
She turned to the side and unbuckled the snap of her pants and wiggled them down her hips, knowing this was going past the point of no return. She hadn’t put underwear on after her shower. She wasn’t making that mistake again.
Alexa took a steadying breath and let her pants drop, revealing her crux, her legs.
She heard Hysterian groan.
She stepped out of her pants and toed them and her shirt aside.
Mostly naked now, she faced Hysterian again.
He was leaning forward, elbows on his knees, his eyes glittering with flashes of light. They flicked over her body, twitching, bulging in that way she’d only seen a couple of times before. His tongue pressed against the cloth of his mouth, pushing it out.
She wanted to see his face.
“Will you lower your mask?” she asked, shifting from one foot to the other.
“You don’t get to ask anything more of me, Dear. Not until you come clean. That ship has fucking sailed,” he said, rubbing his mouth. When his hand dropped, it was normal again. “Fuck, you’re glorious. Your skin practically glows. How did I ever want something different?”
Her skin prickled from the compliment.
His eyes finally met hers. They’d gone dark with heat. “Take off your bra.”
Trembling fingers went to the clip between her breasts. She unsnapped it and let her last bit of covering fall away.
Hysterian stared at her.
“Come here,” he said.
She shivered and took a step toward him.
He reached forward and grabbed her, dragging her on his lap to straddle him. His bulge pressed into her. She gasped, it was almost hot enough to burn her.
“Is this what you want?” he asked, his hands on her hips, fingers pressing into her skin. “You want me? You can have me, little alien. But know I’m not easy to take, nor will I ever be. I’ll break you.”
Good thing she was already broken. “I know.”
His eyes glinted. “Don’t touch my brow, Alexa. Or hair.”
“All I want to do is touch you…” she whispered.
He gripped her harder. “Bad, bad girl. Playing with fire.”
Her core knotted, and she shifted on him.
“Take it,” he urged, hunger lacing his voice. “Take what you want. Your captain is waiting.”
His hands slid up her body and cupped her breasts. His gloves were rough on her skin, and she loved it. He pinched her nipples, and she jerked on his bulge.
“Yes,” he hissed, tweaking her peaks. Pleasure surged through her. She flattened her palms to his chest.
She moaned, pushing down onto him. Emptiness bloomed within her, and she was starving to be filled. Hysterian pinched her nipples, and she squeaked, her knees locking. He pinched them harder. She moved on him, bolstered by his attention.
“I love the sounds you make, Dear.”
He was still furious.
She grabbed his wrists and pushed her breasts into his palms. He moved his hands up and wrapped them around her neck. His thumb rubbed her throat. “Someday, I’ll feel this,” he murmured.
She didn’t respond. It would break her heart if she did.
“Your skin?” she whispered.
His eyes shot to hers. Faster than she could conceive, he was on the other side of the room and she was left sprawled on the sofa. She scrambled upright.
“Don’t move,” he warned, leaving the room.
What?
He was back before she could even react, carrying something under his arm.
His suit. Any thought that he was going to rej
ect her fled.
He wanted her just as much as she wanted him.
Excitement filled her just as much as fear. She wanted to touch him, to feel his skin under her fingertips. Hysterian grabbed her hand, tugging her off the sofa as he strode to the bathroom.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Exactly what you asked for,” he said. He released her hand as he went into the bathroom, and stripped. “But this time, we’re going to do this right. Stay out there. I want to look at you.”
She stood awkwardly on the other side as he pulled off his jacket, yanked off his boots, and stripped for her like how she’d stripped for him. Her mouth dried up as he pulled off his tight mesh undershirt, revealing his lean, muscled body. His beautiful face.
She’d never seen him in the light. Curves of hard muscle, ropes of tendons, and smooth, scarless skin revealed themselves. His waist tapered to a deeply toned pelvis that vanished under his pants. The outline of his cock was flush inside them.
It was long.
She’d forgotten how long and lean Hysterian was. His limbs were sharp despite the muscle wrapped around them, like they could coil if they wanted to. He’d always been tall—so were many men she’d met along the way—but he was built and it showed.
The dryness of her mouth eased as saliva pooled.
How had she ever thought she could kill this being? Even without armor, he could probably take out everyone on Libra within an hour.
Hysterian unbuckled his pants and pulled them off, revealing his cock.
It was hard and roped and long—as perfect as the rest of him.
It wasn’t fair.
“I want to touch you,” she said, her voice barely audible.
“No. You don’t,” he said, straightening.
“Your skin doesn’t look dangerous…”
How could something so alluring be such a trap? She eyed his hands, his arms, his lips—
His mouth opened, and his tongue shot out, hitting the side paneling of the door.
She started, confused at what just happened. “Was that...your tongue?”
Hysterian did it again. His tongue shot out so quickly she couldn’t get a good look at it before it hit the wall next to her with a thunk and vanished back within his mouth.
Alexa’s brows furrowed. “I thought you couldn’t shift.”
“My body,” he said. “I’m still an animal. Even if only a part of me is.”
“Do frogs— Do they have more than that? A long tongue?” she asked, searching his body.
“A long tongue, a long jump, an enormous amount of power, but not much else. My skin is where the real danger lies, Alexa. If you really think you want me, you need to see for yourself.”
He reached out his hand and spread his fingers under the bright bathroom light. She looked at it, trying to see what he was showing her. Slowly, his hand changed. Little by little, tiny droplets formed, like beads of sweat but smaller. As she watched, they got bigger until one dripped off the side of his finger to land on the ground.
She noticed more droplets appearing elsewhere on his body.
“I can’t control it, not entirely. I can’t make it stop, at least not for long. I can’t weaken it, only changing the quantity I give my enemies. My body reacts based on natural cues from my environment, and those who created me…brought me into a dangerous world. I can manipulate the nanobots within my poison to reconfigure it based on other toxins I’ve ingested—I can copy them—but trying to dilute it…” Hysterian sneered. “Just makes it turn back into something called batrachotoxin. A highly dangerous poison to humans as well as animals. Do you still want to touch me?”
She licked her lips. Was it terrible of her that she still did?
Hysterian fisted his hand and gave her his back. The shower turned on, and he stepped under the water. Alexa collected herself as he washed, dried, and threw his uniform into the laundry receptacle, and picked up his black suit to dress.
“Why are you telling me all this?” she asked as he stepped into the suit. The material embraced him like a lover, but she wanted him—him—not a barrier.
“So you’ll trust me,” he growled. He snapped the mask over his face as he said it, leaving just an obsidian outline of everything she wanted to explore. “I’ve never told anyone what I’ve told you. You know more about me than anyone in the universe does. Do you understand what I’m saying to you, Dear?”
She shook her head. He grabbed the doorframe and leaned toward her.
“I’m sharing with you what makes me vulnerable.” His eyes flashed. “So you’ll be the same with me.”
“I can’t…”
Tension filled the space between them.
“Why did you sleep with me, Alexa?” he asked softly. “Why did you give me your virginity?”
She swallowed. “Because I wanted to.”
He stared at her for a moment before releasing the frame and cupping her cheek. She stilled.
“I hate that I don’t understand you,” he whispered.
“Kiss me,” she begged.
He pushed up against her and brought his other hand to cup the other side of her face. Her lips parted. The coiling warmth in her reignited as he slowly leaned down.
She closed her eyes. He pressed his mouth to hers.
She felt something hit her lips, and she knew it was his tongue beneath his suit. She clutched him as she moved her lips against his. Heat burst between them and Hysterian grabbed her back.
He picked her up and carried her to the bed, laying her flat upon it, deepening the kiss.
She felt his tongue move against hers, fighting the suit between them as the fervor built. Desperation and desire burst inside as she tried to tear the barrier with her teeth while he pressed his body against her, lying atop her on the bed.
Alexa hooked her legs around his hips and arched up. Hysterian ground his member between her thighs.
Sweat slipped down her brow, and she pulled back.
His eyes locked onto hers. He slipped a finger over her brow. “We both can’t control what our bodies do.” He eased off her. “But I can at least make sure you don’t hurt yourself.”
She was done with talking. The night was only so long.
Alexa climbed onto Hysterian’s lap and straddled his waist. His hands slid up and down her body, petting it. She curled her fingers around his cock and squeezed. Heat returned to his eyes, and this time there was also softness. The softness hurt. She didn’t know how she could handle him being soft.
He brushed her hair behind her shoulder, and unshed tears of goodbye put pressure behind her eyes.
She lined herself up with his cock and lowered herself upon him.
Her lips parted.
He held her tightly as she worked her body to accept him, letting her take the lead. She was already wet, empty, in need. She’d been that way from the start.
But as she pushed down a little upon his length and popped back up, the ache returned. Her breaths deepened as she stretched to accommodate his size. Hysterian marked her, branded her, from the inside-out like only he could.
He lay back on the bed, gripping her hips, helping her move.
Alexa sank down on him, taking him fully into her.
“Sweet fucking hell,” he groaned.
She clenched and he groaned again, so she did it once more, urging her body to accept him and the branding. She wanted to remember this forever, however long that would be for her. She wanted to take with her one last good memory.
Because like her time on the Questor, she didn’t expect to live through what came next. And she wasn’t going to bring anyone else down with her.
Alexa rose up and sat back down.
Her fingers curled against the cloth on his chest, and she wrenched her eyes closed. His heat rushed through her.
“Fuck,” Hysterian growled. “Use me, Alexa. Take what you need.”
She gave in. Hysterian’s hands squeezed her hips, helping her rise and fall, building in
tempo, increasing in speed. Each time she took all of him, the stretch of him sent her nerves into a frenzy, the emptiness inside her grew. She was at her limit, and yet she needed more.
Gripping his hands on his hips, she rode him hard. The bed shook, bedding shifted. Hysterian’s eyes brightened with each undulation.
Power filled her. Completion. She took what she wanted and gave nothing in return. Alexa dug her nails into his suit, wishing she could make him feel pain for her as much as she pained for him.
She wanted his strength, his godliness. She wanted to scream and hit him, she wanted him inside her always, not just in her head. She needed him to be consumed, to meet her obsession head on. A moan broke from her lips.
Her body slickened with sweat, only driving her closer to the brink. She squeezed and rocked, becoming an animal, riding Hysterian, chasing the high. When she panted, her head falling back, he stole the power back and moved her hips for her.
“Alexa,” he gritted through his teeth. A curse.
Alexa fell back upon him as he thrust up into her, lying on his legs. She swayed her hips and slid her hand over her clit, thrumming it.
Hysterian grabbed her hand and replaced it with his.
The next thing she knew, he was above her, holding himself up with one arm, thrusting into her hard. He filled her vision, and there was nothing else to see, not even the ceiling. He was everywhere.
“Make it hurt,” she begged, letting her hands fall above her head. “It already hurts so much how badly I want you.”
He slammed into her, sliding her body up the bed. His fingers and thumb rolled and tweaked her clit, sending her body reeling.
Alexa thrust her chest out, possessed. Pleasure exploded through her, and Hysterian pummeled his hips to hers, pounding madly. Her core constricted, gripping him. Cries tore from her lips as the emptiness in her expanded and then filled.
Finally.
Waves of intense pleasure surged into Alexa’s limbs. Her joints locked; her mind blanked. Movement, heat, wetness, male, hardness was her entire world for a blissful moment, and she screamed his name.
He fucked her through her bliss, and she clawed at his suit.
