He feathered his palm over her hip, then down the outside of her thigh. Everywhere he touched, her flesh burned. She began to squirm, unable to keep still as his kiss became more demanding. Cara moaned and bent her knee, seeking his touch at her core. She ached so badly there. When he pushed his leg between hers and pressed his thigh into her mound, she groaned and wiggled, seeking firmer pressure.
Hayden gripped her ass, helping her to move in a slow, sensual rhythm that had her purring. His cock hardened against her thigh, and the very thought she could do that to him made her even more breathless.
Suddenly he froze. Cara panted as she stared into his confused gaze; then his eyes widened. His hand was still gripping her ass, his leg still pressed enticingly against her pussy. He was going to pull away. She could see it in his stunned expression, and she didn’t want him to. She didn’t want him to stop. What he was doing felt too good. Just as he started to move, she gripped his upper arms. “Don’t.”
“Cara—”
“Hayden, if you stop now, I’ll fall to pieces. I don’t know what’s going on or what this is I’m feeling, but please don’t stop.”
“That’s why I need to stop. I’m your doctor. I have no business doing this, no matter how much I want to.”
“Don’t.”
She lifted up and put her hand at the back of his neck. She slowly slanted her lips over his. She heard as well as felt his sharp intake of breath as she flicked her tongue over his bottom lip. He pushed her back and thrust his tongue into her mouth.
This kiss was different. It wasn’t gentle like when he was sleeping. It was hot and intense. Very aggressive. It made her whole body burst into flames, sending her entire world off its axis. Part of it scared her. All of it excited her. She couldn’t get enough.
He moved his thigh away from her pussy, and Cara whined in protest. She wanted that touch back. She needed it back.
“Shh,” he whispered against her lips.
He slid his hand between her legs and touched her gently. Cara moaned and jerked her hips toward his fingers, seeking even more. Hayden growled as he separated her labia. The sound he made sent Cara’s heart skipping wildly. When he slid his fingers through the cream that coated her, she almost screamed in a mixture of pleasure and frustration.
She knew why that moisture was there. She knew what it was for, and she’d never wanted anything so bad in her life.
Chapter Eight
“Hayden, please,” she groaned, desperate for him to ease this ache that had suddenly grown from mildly aggravating to overwhelming. She didn’t know what to do—what would make the ache go away—but she could feel her body building toward something.
“I’m not going to take you, Cara.”
“Hayden,” she growled.
She was so out of control, so desperately in need of something, anything to relieve this burning need that held her in its grip. How could he not take her? Why would he leave her like this? How was he so damn calm?
He pushed one finger inside her channel. She screamed and lifted her hips toward his touch. Hayden covered her mouth with his to still her cries, but it didn’t stop her. She just moaned, completely out of control. She couldn’t stop herself from moving and making noise now even if she tried.
He added a second finger, gently stroking her walls. She wanted him to go deeper, but he kept his thrusts shallow. Too shallow for Cara.
She put her hand over his and tried to force him to give her what she wanted.
“No, baby,” he cooed as he pushed her hand away. “Trust me.”
He returned his fingers to her pussy, and she screamed, “Oh, God.”
HAYDEN WAS ABOUT to lose his mind. She was so wet and so damn responsive. Her hips bucked against his hand, and it took everything he had not to tear her hymen. He wouldn’t do that to her, but God, he wanted to. She would be tight. Hell, just thinking about how good her walls would feel squeezing his cock had him growling.
He wanted her so bad right now his whole body hurt.
She lowered her hands from his shoulders and let them fall over her head. She dug her fingers into the pillow, squeezing it as she wiggled and bucked beneath him.
Damn, she was magnificent. She was wild and uninhibited. And loud. He smiled. Cara was definitely a screamer. He liked that. He enjoyed a woman who wasn’t afraid of her own sexuality. A woman who was aggressive and knew what she wanted, and Cara knew what she wanted. Sort of. She knew she wanted something, but he doubted she knew what.
He rubbed his thumb over her swollen clit, and she threw her head back, screaming loudly. As much as he wanted to watch her, he had to quiet her down before Beena came back up here.
He slanted his mouth over hers, swallowing her cries of passion and delight. When she finally erupted, there was no keeping her silent. She screamed his name and ground her hips against his hand.
Hayden couldn’t take his eyes off her as she rode the waves of her orgasm. Hayden drew her pleasure out as long as he could, but eventually her release subsided. Her body relaxed against the bed as she continued to breathe heavy and deep. He kept his hand on her pussy, gently stroking, soothing, easing her down.
“Wow,” she whispered.
“Definitely,” Hayden agreed.
Even though he hadn’t come himself, it had still been incredible watching her. Without thinking, he brushed his mouth across hers. Cara gasped and kissed him back. When she tried to deepen it, he pulled away, shaking his head at her confused expression.
“I need to get in the shower, Cara, before I do something even more stupid.”
She frowned. “But—”
“Just rest here. I’ll be back shortly, and we’ll go to breakfast. Okay?”
Cara nodded, and Hayden quickly jumped from the bed to head to his own room.
CARA WATCHED HIM go, shocked at the sadness that suddenly filled her heart. She hadn’t wanted him to leave. She’d wanted him to stay and make her feel that incredible sensation again. She frowned as she realized he hadn’t felt what she had. Had he?
Sighing, she covered her face with her hands. This was nuts. The way he’d touched her had made her feel… She groaned and pushed her fingers through her hair, moving it from her face and forehead. He’d made her feel things she’d never felt in her entire life. Ever. Mundi didn’t feel passion and desire. It was forbidden to them, and now she understood why. All she wanted was to feel it again.
Would it be like this with any man? Or was it just him? She bit her lip and tried to imagine kissing Alex. She twisted her lips as the image did nothing for her. Hayden was who she wanted. But how did she get him to do that again?
* * * *
Alex walked back to his apartment, relieved his coming out as chancellor was finally over. Guess he would have to get used to introducing himself as Chancellor Dorn now, although that sounded a bit odd. Despite the fact that Nubel had talked to him about it for months prior to actually making him next in line, Alex never dreamed it would really happen. He believed Nubel would outlive all of them, not be executed by the Mundi. Who would’ve ever thought the Mundi would make a power grab of such magnitude?
Thank God Cara had gotten away. She was safe and sound with Hayden. Seeing her smile for the first time had been a shock. He never dreamed he would see a smile like that on her face. He also never imagined he would see adoration in her eyes. He wasn’t even sure she realized she adored Hayden, but Alex saw it. He also saw the desire that Hayden felt for Cara.
After everything she’d been through, after all the pain she’d suffered, she deserved to be happy.
Just down the hall from his apartment, his computer tablet beeped a warning. He stopped and glanced at the screen. A diagram of his apartment popped up with two blinking red dots—one in the living area, the other moving around his bedroom.
Son of a bitch.
He punched a link to the right of the screen, turning on the cameras hidden in the walls. The man in his living room was a Mundi. The light blue hair was a dead
giveaway. Alex switched to the bedroom camera. A Mundi was there as well, digging through a file he’d left lying on the bed this morning.
He frowned, trying to decide the best way to handle this. There was only one reason they would be in his apartment: they were there to kill him. Or at least try to.
Light reflected off the Mundi’s blade. Their preferred weapon. The one in the bedroom had a blaster attached to his belt. If Alex could take out that one, he could get the blaster and hopefully get the other one as well—provided the other one didn’t have a blaster too. To pull this off, he would need the element of surprise.
Although Cara had trained him in fighting techniques, he lacked the strength necessary to actually take out a Mundi in hand to hand without some kind of leverage on his side.
He could call security to handle it, but they would just be slaughtered. The Mundi were that good. No, he needed to handle this himself.
He walked quickly down the small hallway that led to the freight entrances to the apartments. Just a few feet from his freight entrance was another secret entrance that led to his bedroom. Thank God he’d had Sidious Marcone install that new security system. He opened his secret entrance and slipped into the narrow hallway nestled inside the wall.
He studied his screen again, making sure the Mundi were still in their previous positions. Apparently they’d found the dummy system and disarmed it. That was pretty clever of Sidious to hide the main system within a dummy one.
Alex watched the screen, waiting for the Mundi to put his back to the secret panel located in his bedroom. His only chance at overpowering the assassin was to slit the Mundi’s throat from behind. If he was lucky, he could get this one, then sneak up on the other one as well.
Finally, the Mundi turned, and Alex grabbed the silver blade that rested on the ledge before sliding the panel open. It made no sound at all, opening just far enough for him to slide through. He crept, being careful to control his breathing as much as possible.
Taking a calming, deep breath, he stepped forward and reached around the Mundi’s shoulders, sinking the silver blade into his throat. Blood immediately coated his fingers as he slid the blade across, cutting the Mundi’s windpipe and artery.
The assassin made a gurgling noise and gripped his neck, trying to stanch the blood flow. Two seconds later, he started to fall. Alex rushed forward and grabbed him, slowly lowering his body to the floor so it wouldn’t make any noise and alert the other one.
Alex pulled the blaster from the Mundi’s belt, then slowly made his way through the apartment looking for the second intruder. It had been a long time since he’d done anything like this. Too long, if the truth were known. He could feel his heart racing. If he didn’t time this just right, he could screw up everything.
He stepped silently around the corner only to be smacked hard by the hilt of the Mundi’s sword. Caught by surprise, Alex groaned and staggered backward. The blaster fell from his fingers and hit the floor a few feet away.
The Mundi lunged, and Alex kicked, catching the Mundi low in the groin. The Mundi snarled at Alex before straightening back up. Alex stiffened and glanced around for the blaster. He spotted it just a short distance away. Could he get to it in time?
He made a move, but the Mundi was too quick. He backhanded Alex, sending him against the wall. His shoulders hit the paneling, and he groaned, stopping himself before he slid to the floor. “Damn son of a bitch,” Alex rumbled.
Alex pushed away from the wall and swung wide, hitting the Mundi on his chin. At the same time, the Mundi thrust forward. Alex tried to dodge the sword. Unfortunately he wasn’t fast enough, and the tip of the sword sank into the left side of his stomach, just below his ribs.
Alex gasped. Searing pain raced through his midsection as he raised his arm and backhanded the Mundi. The bones in Alex’s hand broke as it slammed against the Mundi’s face. He’d hit him hard, but the Mundi barely moved in response.
This wasn’t good.
With an angry glare, the Mundi took one step and forced his sword forward. Alex tried to dodge it but again wasn’t quick enough. He just didn’t have the Mundi reflexes. It sank in his right side, going clear out the back.
Blood coated his side and thighs, each wound bleeding profusely. Dizziness overwhelmed him as the Mundi jerked the sword free, allowing Alex to drop his knees. Out of the corner of his eye, Alex spotted the blaster, just a few feet away. Forcing himself to fall in that direction, he landed close enough to get his hand on the weapon.
“Where’s Cara?” the Mundi snarled.
“Fuck you,” Alex snarled.
Ignoring his wounds, Alex turned and pointed the blaster at his attacker. His eyes widened as Alex pulled the trigger. A loud piercing sound echoed just before he watched the Mundi’s head explode, spilling blood and brain matter all over his walls.
Alex let his head and arm fall. He stared up at the spinning ceiling and struggled to breathe. Pain coursed through his body like a molten-hot rod. How long before someone found him? He was tempted to just close his eyes and let himself pass out, but his stubbornness wouldn’t allow it. He had to get up.
He had no idea how much time went by as he continued to lie there, staring at the dimming lights above him. He’d lost too much blood. He really needed to get up and call someone.
“Move, Alex,” he growled out loud, trying to force himself to act past discomfort.
Groaning in frustration, Alex rolled to his side and tried to get his legs up, only to fail. He never realized just how much he used his stomach muscles until they were injured. He cursed and tried again, forcing the pain to the back of his mind.
Using one hand, he pushed himself to a sitting position. He gnashed his teeth so hard he had no doubt he would probably crack every one of them before he managed to get up.
His front door slid open, and he tensed, praying it wasn’t another Mundi coming to finish him off.
“Alex?” Chris called out as he stepped into his apartment. “Are you here? I need to talk—” Chris stared across the floor at Alex in shock, then quickly rushed forward, demanding, “What the hell happened?”
“Mundi,” Alex said, barely able to breathe.
Relief washed over him at the sight of Chris. Thank God Chris never knocked. Chris’s assistant Sharna walked in and screamed at the bloody, headless body just a few feet away. “Please tell me that’s not Alex.”
“We’re over here,” Chris said with a wave of his hand as he knelt down by Alex. “Get a medic. Fast.”
Sharna nodded and ran to the communication system on Alex’s desk. Alex raised his hand, trying to get Sharna’s attention, but he was so weak, his hand fell back to the floor. “The password,” he murmured.
“What’s the password, Alex?” Chris asked.
Alex sighed and let his eyes drift closed. How the hell was he going to explain this one? “Green eyes.”
“Green eyes?” he heard Chris repeat.
“Don’t ask, Chris.”
Chapter Nine
Hayden stood over Cara as she stretched out along the weight bench in his father’s basement gym. He positioned his fingers just under the bar she held, ready to catch it if she dropped it. She was doing well. She kept it steady and balanced, and she’d been able to increase the weight quickly.
Her strength surprised him. She was already bench-pressing close to half of what he could. “Again,” he said and moved his hands so she could lower the bar. He kept himself ready to grab it just in case her muscles failed or lifting it back up became too much for her.
He tried to keep his eyes on her face. He really did. Instead, they shifted to her breasts, which rose and fell enticingly with her breathing. Masturbating in the shower this morning hadn’t done a damn thing for him. He’d gotten hard again the second he saw her. He would probably stay hard until he either fucked her or she left.
Damn, what had he been thinking? He should’ve known just touching her wouldn’t be enough. He could still smell her arousal, taste
her kiss, feel her firm body beneath his, and none of it helped to lessen the pain in his balls.
She was his patient; on top of that, she was a virgin. He had no business touching her. She was confused. Her emotions were ruling her thoughts because she wasn’t able to rule them. Taking her now would be taking advantage of her, and Hayden refused to do that.
No matter how damn bad he wanted to.
Her gaze pinned his as she pushed the bar back up. Heat emanated from those beautiful light blue eyes, making Hayden freeze right on the spot. It took everything in him not to touch her, to give her what he knew she wanted. It was right there in her eyes. Her gaze was a mirror for all the desire and pent-up frustration he felt for her.
“Hayden,” she breathed.
Her arms began to shake, and Hayden quickly grabbed the bar. He placed it back in the rack, then stepped away. If he didn’t, he would touch her again. He had to put some distance between them. Fast. “It’s almost lunchtime. We should probably take a break,” he said, not looking at her.
He couldn’t. If he did, she would see how much he wanted her. But would she recognize that for what it was? Did she understand enough about lust to know it when she saw it on someone else? Lord knew he wanted to teach her, show her all the ways he desired her.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her sit up on the bench. She ran her hand up and down her thigh while sighing deeply.
“Are your legs hurting?” he asked.
“A little.”
Hayden closed his eyes. He should rub them for her. Unfortunately he wasn’t sure he could without it leading somewhere else. Like him sinking deep inside her hot, tight body.
She pressed her palm into her thigh and winced. Hayden threw down the towel he’d just picked up and walked over to her. He knelt on one knee and pushed her hand away from her leg, replacing it with his. He rubbed his palm up her thigh, noticing instantly just how tight that muscle was. She gasped and jerked away.
Up in Flames Page 6
