The lobster arrives.
Yay! Distraction.
“Oh, my god.” She stares down at her plate. “A lobster is a fish?”
Alex laughs. “It’s not a fish, it’s a crustacean.”
“Same thing.”
“Not really.”
“It lives in the ocean, doesn’t it?”
“So do a lot of things, and many of them aren’t fish. Just try it.”
She does, and she devours it. In less than thirty minutes, both the lobster and the rum are gone.
Alex checks the time. “We should get going.”
“Where?”
“Dare I invite you back to my place?”
“That depends. Is this a date?”
He reaches out and places a hand on top of hers on the table, stroking her fingers with his thumb. “Only if you want it to be. Otherwise, I’ll understand if you just want me to walk you home.”
Ella doesn’t answer him.
Alex pays and they leave, and she lets him hold her hand. She snuggles into his arm for the whole walk back, until they reach the turn off into her apartment complex.
Alex stops and waits for her to take the lead.
His apartment is two blocks further.
When she leans in and kisses him, he thinks she’s saying goodnight. He keeps the kiss tender and respectful, and doesn’t try to instigate more. It ends when she’s ready for it to end, and he prepares to let her go … but she tugs on his arm and urges him onward.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Kryptonite
Alex’s smile is so big it practically stretches from ear-to-ear. He takes the next two blocks at double pace, hand-in-hand with Ella, and swipes his wrist against the scanning plate on the front door of his apartment with so much haste that he has to do it three times before it reads properly.
In his apartment, Ella peels off her hoodie and slides into the comfort of his couch, waiting for him to join her. He sheds his jacket and tie first, and abandons his cufflinks on a side table. As he sits down, he catches her staring at something in the corner of the room: a pile of comic books.
“Is that your collection?” she asks.
“Part of it.”
“Part of it? Holy shit, how many do you have?”
“Probably more than a healthy amount,” he admits.
“Show me.”
Alex is taken aback. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah. I want you to show me.”
Having never experienced the sensation of a girl asking him to share his hobby with her, he’s temporarily flustered. From the alphabetized stack, he selects a personal favorite: Superman.
He sits back down and she sidles up to him, tucking her legs beneath her and leaning into him, nuzzling her head against his shoulder. In response, he wraps his arm around her, his fingertips quickly finding the sensitive skin of her neck and laying soft caresses there.
As he reads to her—explaining backstory and mythology—his fingers tiptoe delicately behind her ear, and gently back and forth beneath. It’s not long, though, before the comic book becomes a rather unnecessary distraction. Every now and then, she quietly swoons at his touch, offering faint murmurs of pleasure at every shiver he entices.
“I can live without it,” he says at last.
She looks up at him, waiting for more.
“The Hunter Division,” he clarifies, gazing into her eyes. “All of it.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve never met anyone like you before, El. I don’t know what it is. You’re like my Kryptonite.”
“I’m your what?”
“Kryptonite. It’s a rock from Superman’s home planet. It’s impossible for him to resist its power over him.”
“Who’s Superman again?”
“Have you not been paying attention?” He points at the comic. “You can’t miss him. He’s the one with the bright red underpants.”
“Ohhh …”
“You’re such a phony,” he teases her, closing the comic and discarding it onto the coffee table. “I knew a girl couldn’t possibly be interested in my geekness.”
“It’s kind of sexy actually.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“You’re like Clark Kent, but in reverse. By day, you’re this fearless, super-hot monster killer who’s all ripped and tough and impervious. And by night, you’re in trousers and a dress shirt, concealing all that muscle and pretending you’re just like everyone else. I’ll bet you even have glasses. Do you have glasses?”
That warms Alex’s heart. He loves the fact that she actually knows the name of Superman’s alter ego, and is relieved she hasn’t just been politely zoning out this whole time.
He can’t hold back anymore. He brushes his hand against her cheek, causing her to blush with anticipation. Her eyes make that telltale drop down to his lips and stay there, her lids almost completely closed, waiting for him.
Their lips meet. She tastes just as good as she did the first time, and she’s just as confident. She unbuttons his shirt and runs her hands over his bare chest, massaging every inch of him with her fingertips.
He needs no more encouragement.
He pulls the shirt off and exposes himself for her again.
“Oh, hey.” She smirks. “I was just making out with a guy called Clark. Did you see where he went?”
Another kiss.
“Never mind.” Mumbled.
He pushes her back against the couch and moves her legs apart, positioning himself in between. He’s hard already.
Forcing the kisses to break for a moment, he looks down at her. “Technically, I wasn’t lying to Maydevine when I said I didn’t want to fuck you.”
“Huh?”
“I really don’t want to fuck you.”
Ella freezes, her whole body suddenly rigid with the worst kind of expectancy. “What?”
“Any man can fuck you, and plenty would were they given half a chance, but I’ve never thought of you as an easy lay. Never. You deserve so much more than a brief, careless fuck, just for a cheap thrill and a quick release.”
“And?”
He pushes his erection against her. “I want to make love to you.”
He moves in for another kiss, but she pushes him back. She wriggles off the couch and to her feet, and reaches out for him to take her hand.
He accepts, and lets her pull him up off the couch.
“Where’re we going?”
“Where do you think?”
Ella leads him down the hallway and uses guesswork to find the master bedroom. Once inside, she suddenly has to struggle to control her nerves. She lets go of his hand, worried that he might be able to feel the tremor in her touch.
It doesn’t make a difference, though: he can see it in her face. He puts aside his own jitters and tries to make her feel relaxed.
His kiss helps … a little.
It bolsters her confidence.
Her chest tight and her breathing controlled, she pushes him down onto the edge of the bed and lets him watch while she frees her hair and strips to her underwear. Kneeling before him, she locks eyes with him as she unbuckles his belt and discards it.
His erection is pressed awkwardly against his clothing, aching with the need to release, and he lets out a small gasp when she finally pulls him free. Seconds later, she dips her head and takes him in her mouth.
It doesn’t last long, though.
All too soon, he finds himself fighting back against his body’s eagerness.
“Wait, stop.”
Ella lifts up her head. “Why? Did I do something wrong?”
Alex almost laughs at the absurdity of that. “Yeah, right.” He encourages her up from her knees and onto the bed. “I’m so ready for you right now. If I didn’t make you stop, you’d take me too far.”
Ella lies back on the bed, settling her head against a pillow, waiting for Alex to make the next move. Her stomach somersaults again when he takes off the rest of his clothes and draws near her, placing him
self between her legs.
Arching her back, she lets him unhook her bra and slide it off, her perfect breasts bouncing with every gentle motion of her body. Alex takes them in his hands for a brief caress before his lips begin to explore one, his free hand reaching down, over her stomach, his skillful fingers quickly finding their way inside her.
He swells even more.
She wraps her fingers around his shaft while he continues to probe her, and she has no idea how difficult she’s making it for him to concentrate on her pleasure rather than his own.
Soon, her underwear is discarded on the floor. Alex, completely naked, leans over her and rests his body against hers. Her naked breasts are pushed up against his chest, and the heat from her body feels like fire.
“I’ve wanted this since that night I dragged you out of the Belt,” he whispers. “You wouldn’t believe how much.”
Without any warning, he moves her legs apart and pushes himself all the way inside her, in one swift stroke. Amidst a gasp of absolute pleasure, he sees her wince; he catches a faint crease of pain across her brow.
Suddenly suspicious, “El …”
She opens her eyes and looks up at him, instantly so fragile. “What’s the matter?”
“Have you ever … ?”
She shakes her head and Alex’s heart explodes.
“I thought you and Luka …”
More head shaking. “Other stuff, but not this.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I thought you knew.”
“No … I …”
“What difference does it make?”
Alex looks like the cat that got the cream. “Nothing. I—”
“Liar.” Ella beams up at him. “Taking the Hunter General’s virgin daughter is a huge turn on for you. Don’t even try to deny it.”
“I won’t deny it, but it’s got nothing to do with your provenance.”
“Then why?”
“Because I really don’t like to share.” He withdraws almost to the tip, and then slides himself slowly back inside her, savoring every last inch. “I just want you all to myself.”
“It’s your lucky day, then.” She reaches down and slides her hands over his bare ass, pulling him deeper into her.
Demonstrating his willingness to perform, he holds her legs apart and rocks his hips against her, burying himself right up to the hilt. She moans and clutches at his hair, pulling him into a kiss as he rocks against her again … and again … and again.
For the first few strokes, he can still feel her muscles so tense around him, squeezing him tight: a symptom of her discomfort. Slowly, though, he feels her begin to relax into the motion, becoming accustomed to his size and the sensation of having him inside her.
He dares to move a little faster.
A little harder.
Faster still, and he feels her muscles tighten around him again, but not in the same way. The first ripple of her orgasm starts to milk him inside her. Her pleasure is so good and strong that he can feel every shiver and every pulsation throughout her whole body. He closes his eyes and relishes every sensual contraction around him, bringing him to the very edge of what he’s capable of resisting, and then tipping him over it.
His own release comes hard, and he gushes into her. When the euphoria finally begins to subside, and his heart rate returns to normal, he looks down at her, desperate to know if he lived up to her expectations.
She couldn’t keep the smile from her face if her life depended upon it. She pulls him into a kiss and wraps her legs around him, preventing him from withdrawing from her.
“That felt incredible,” she whispers.
“I didn’t hurt you?”
“No.” She quickly reconsiders that. “I mean yes, a little. But not in a bad way, and only at first.”
“It won’t hurt next time, I promise.”
Another kiss.
He unwraps himself from her legs and pulls away, collapsing onto the bed next to her. Still throbbing from the experience, Ella rolls over onto his chest and snuggles into him.
“Should I leave?” she wonders.
“Why the hell would you leave?”
“In case you’re worried that Maydevine will—”
“No,” he cuts her off. “I want you to stay.” He rolls over onto his side and cups her face in his hands, repeating for emphasis: “I want you to stay.”
Kissing her again, he pulls her body close to him, already counting down the minutes until he can be ready again.
“I’ll talk to Maydevine tomorrow.”
“Do you mean that?”
“Right after work.” He pushes her onto her back. “I’ll swear a Hunter’s oath on it.”
His kisses begin on her neck and move to her breasts, then her stomach … and he keeps moving lower until his face is between her legs.
“I want more of you,” he mumbles, his tongue already exploring her.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Better Judgment
Ella stirs into consciousness at the sensation of Alex’s hand upon her rump, and his teeth biting gently on her earlobe.
“Good morning,” he whispers, kissing her neck.
“What time is it?”
His hand slips in between her legs. “Five.”
She gasps. “You don’t have to be at work until seven.”
“I know.”
*************************
Strolling into work at six-forty-five a.m., Alex doesn’t know what to expect. Ella spent the night in his bed, and Maydevine will surely have noticed.
Passing through the DDH, his cell phone beeps.
REASSIGNMENT NOTIFICATION.
REPORT TO 2ND LINE.
Must be a mistake, he thinks. His relegation to the third line is supposed to be in effect for another eight weeks yet—his punishment for failing to adhere to Maydevine’s extraction orders.
He ignores the message and deletes it.
Stopping at his usual third line truck to check his ammo, he doesn’t notice Maydevine standing behind him.
“What’s the matter with you? Can’t you follow simple instructions?”
Alex visibly jolts at the sound of Maydevine’s voice. “I’m sorry?”
“You’re in the wrong line.”
“Sir, we need to talk.”
“You’re telling me.”
“I lied to you. Kind of.”
“What a shocker.”
“After work … can we have some time?”
“Did she put you up to this finally?”
“You’re her father. If I’m to have any kind of a future with your daughter, I need to set things right with you.”
“A future? One minute you have no interest in fucking her, and now you’re planning to devote the next fifty years of your life to her. What the hell did she do to you last night?”
“I intend to pursue a relationship with your daughter, sir. Whether you’re okay with that or not.”
“Fine, but you’re still in the wrong line.”
Alex looks at his truck, then back to Maydevine. “This is the third line.”
“Exactly.” Maydevine lights up a cigarette. “Your relegation was prematurely revoked this morning. Didn’t you get the message?”
“I thought it was a mistake.”
“I tend not to make mistakes; they get in the way of progress. You should try it sometime.”
“Sir?”
“Doing the right thing from the outset. You’d be surprised by the kind of results it can achieve.”
*************************
In the Fringe District, Ella pisses away her Saturday doing what she does best. The Belt has yet to be reopened after the Chimeran disaster, so she’s taking her idea of entertainment to the prison district.
Yup.
Chimera versus Cadet.
Butcher shops are used to pitting monster against monster—they’ve been doing it for decades—but there’s something new and exotic about the idea of pitting one
against a human. Safety be damned. The only thing that matters in the Fringe is whether or not people are willing to pay for it.
If there’s a market for it, they’ll willingly supply it—no matter how morally corrupt it might be—and Ella has certainly found an audience. Her first fight goes well, and she emerges triumphant. The butcher shop is also pleased, and after calculating their profit, they’re eager for a rematch.
And another.
And another.
Although she’s tired, and it’s against her better judgment, she’s driven by her ego and reluctantly agrees to a fourth round. Unfortunately, she fares less well this time, and the Chimera—a well-fed adult male—soon has her pinned to the ground beneath its colossal weight. She’s still just a Cadet, and for all her skill in combat, she doesn’t yet have the muscle of a more experienced Hunter.
And in this game, muscle is all that matters.
It’s a game of brute force and technical expertise, and no weapons are allowed. She’s exhausted, and completely at the mercy of the drooling monster. If it were hungry, it would’ve killed her already. As it is, the angry beast is taking its time over her.
That’s her sheer good fortune.
As it toys with its meal, her savior has enough time to engage it. The high caliber shot rings out and strikes the animal straight between the eyes, causing instant death, and the crowd leaps into an uproar.
Unfair fight.
They want their money back.
The butcher shop owner is violently disgruntled.
Ella looks up from the bloodstained ground and finds Oz standing at the entrance to the pit.
He holsters his gun. “You’re an idiot.”
Ella pushes the dead Chimera off her chest and gets to her feet.
“I’ve been told that before.”
Patrons of the butcher shop begin throwing things into the pit: beer cans, glasses, bottles—anything that might cause injury. Among the drunken, ranting customers, there’s a Hunter. Ella doesn’t notice him, but he’s been watching all along.
McKean.
A man who would, many years later, force her to repeat this spectacle …
Oz beckons to Ella from the edge of the pit. “You need to come with me.”
Inamorato Page 20
