Romance: Yes, Stepbrother!

by Annie Valentine

  “What?”

  “Taste! Tell me if you like it.”

  Ranael blinked then obediently opened his mouth. Caitlin smiled and slid the spoon in his mouth. The temperature was just fine and Ranael chewed on the chicken morsel he’d been presented with. The chili and cumin blended to deliver a sharp kick to his palate.

  “Rather good,” he commented after swallowing.

  Caitlin just stood there, hands on her hips.

  “That’s it? Just ‘rather good’?” she asked with a small laugh.

  Ranael blinked slowly at her and she just turned back to her pots with a smile. The archon knew he’d messed up. But he wasn’t sure how to fix it. He’d never felt so attracted to anyone. The fact that Caitlin was Terran was almost irrelevant. It wouldn’t be the first time, or the last, that a seraph and a Terran got together. After all, they were all human. The seraphs just had the advantage of increased mental abilities. No, the real problem came from the fact that Caitlin was his charge. His mission. And the archons were taught early on that mixing business and pleasure often led to difficulties far beyond the initial problem. Ranael had been keeping his distances, but it was hard.

  “Would you please stop looking like we’re about to die?”

  Ranael looked up rather pointedly at the young woman facing him and she winced.

  “Yes, okay. That was a bad choice of words. But right now, I want you to stop worrying and enjoy this meal.”

  Ranael pursed his lips, considering the dish that Caitlin had just put on the table. Over the past few days, he’d learn more about Terran food than probably anyone in the fleet knew. It seemed that Caitlin was particularly partial to spicy and sweet foods.

  “So what’s that called?”

  “Red hot chicken risotto.”

  The space warrior sat back and watched as Caitlin pilled their plates with sticky rice and chicken. They ate in silence, as they usually did. Ranael had barely finished his plate when the woman opposite him smirked. He watched as she stood and moved to the fridge. She came back with a large bowl of brown something, standing beside him and leaning a hip against the table top. She dipped a finger in the bowl and swiped at the tip with her tongue before sucking it into her mouth.

  “And what’s that?”

  “Oh, this? It’s to go with dessert. Wanna taste?”

  Caitlin dipped her finger in the bowl once more, and then she presented it to him. Ranael leaned forward a bit and licked the substance off her finger. It was light, chocolaty and the perfect mix of bitter and sweet. But what made it truly delicious was the gasp that escaped Caitlin as he closed his teeth over her finger and ran his tongue over her fingertip.

  “It’s chocolate mousse.”

  “I had gathered,” Ranael replied, his tone low, and he watched Caitlin’s grey eyes darkened.

  She smirked at him and grabbed a fistful of his t-shirt, pulling him to his feet.

  “I thought we were going to eat dessert.”

  “Well, I am anyway.”

  Through the descending haze of lust, Ranael heard the voice of his once-upon-a-time trainer, reminding him that being distracted on the job was usually a fatal mistake. Caitlin led him to the bedroom with measured steps.

  “And I thought the mousse went with something else.”

  “It does,” came Caitlin’s playful response, and Ranael knew with certainty what she’d planned then.

  “This is not a good idea,” Ranael said with a shake.

  But Caitlin smirked and pushed him back until the back of his legs connected with the bed and he was forced to sit down. Even with only one hand, she made short work of getting rid of his shirt and he couldn’t find the will to stop her as she shoved him backward and she straddled his hips. Her fingers dipped into the chocolate mousse and she trailed them across his lips, down his neck, across his chest, and around his nipples. The cold mousse caused the dark buds to tighten further and Caitlin licked her lips at the sight. Ranael couldn’t stop his hips from bucking under her and Caitlin’s stormy grey gaze flicked up to connect with his golden one. She leaned forward, watching his eyes as they started to glow in the dark. She drew the flat of her tongue slowly across his left nipple, licking the mousse off him. Ranael groaned and he grabbed the other pillow to stuff it under his head, making himself comfortable so he could enjoy the show. Caitlin repeated the motion again and again, carrying on long after the mousse was gone. She eventually switched nipple and started over.

  Caitlin continued to lick the trail of chocolate she had left on him, moving up and grazing her tongue along his neck and lips and sharing the taste of chocolate mousse with him straight from her mouth. Ranael was soon forced to unbutton his jeans or risk giving himself an unfortunate injury. The little minx above him had apparently been waiting for this. She smiled and hopped off the bed, pulling hard on his trousers and boxer shorts all at once. Ranael lifted his hips to help the process along. His member sprang up from the confines of his clothes and Caitlin gave him a wicked look that shot straight to his groin.

  “Am I dessert then?”

  Caitlin shot him a devilish glance even as she dragged her fingers through the chocolate mousse.

  “If you’re very nice, I might even share with you.”

  A large glob of mousse was spread on his erection and then Caitlin was there, licking his hard-on from root to tip. Ranael swallowed hard when she wrapped her lips around his head and tongued at the slit before she took as much of him as she could. Ranael threaded his fingers in Caitlin’s light brown hair until both his palms held her head but he stopped short of pushing her down on his member. She hummed around her mouthful of him and Ranael barely stopped himself from thrusting into her face. Caitlin started to bob her head up and down, one hand gripping around his shaft, the other fondling his sacks.

  “You’re gonna have to stop if you don’t want this to be over before its time.”

  Caitlin moved her head up, sucking hard as she went until she drew a groan from him. His erection popped free of her mouth and she blew on the tip. Ranael fisted a hand into her hair and pulled her away but she resisted.

  “And what if I want cream with my chocolate mousse?”

  Ranael looked down and blinked, taking in his lover’s delicious pout. Then he chuckled as he pulled Caitlin back up his body.

  “You have a deliciously filthy mind at times.”

  “I try,” Caitlin shrugged with a little smile.

  She bent to kiss him, slowly drawing out his tongue to play. Her hand situated him between her thighs and she sank onto him with a deep sigh. Ranael watched as the woman above him rose until only his head rested within her body then let herself fall back on him, hard. She set a slow rhythm for them, circling her hips around him and grinding her clit against him. He stared as her breasts bobbed with her movements until he couldn’t resist anymore. Following her example, he reached for the chocolate mousse and soon enough her nipples were coated in the cold sticky substance.

  “That’s my dessert,” she groaned with a smile, still moving on him.

  “You should really learn to share.”

  Her reply was lost in her long moan as Ranael wasted no time and drew her tight bud into his mouth. He licked her skin, alternating between broad swipes and flicking her flesh with the tip of his tongue. He gave her other breast the same attention and soon Caitlin was speeding up her movement on him, slamming herself down onto his erection and mewling.

  “Ranael!”

  He felt her internal walls fluttering against him then gripping his member hard before she fell forward, spent.

  “Are you sure the seraphs aren’t sex gods?”

  Ranael chuckled then gathered her tight in his arms before he rolled them over, making sure his flesh never left the safe haven of her core. As her breathing calmed slightly he smiled and moved, pulling out and shoving himself back in.

  “Yes!”

  The space warrior smirked, needing no other encouragement. He set a punishing pace, the sound of sk
in on skin soon echoing in their ears. The tingle of his imminent release was ignored as he concentrated on Caitlin, reaching between them and pushing down on her bundle of nerves with his thumb, circling it until the young woman shouted her pleasure to the stars once more. Ranael followed quickly behind. He crashed down on Caitlin, wondering if it were possible to die this way. His lover moved to embrace him, caressing his sweaty back and squeezing him tight.

  Ranael dropped a kiss on her forehead before he moved off her. He lay on his back and Caitlin turned on her side and let her head rest on his chest.

  “You smell like chocolate.”

  “And whose fault is that?”

  Caitlin chuckled lightly and said nothing else. The seraph looked down at her for a long moment. They had never discussed what would come next. The likelihood of him staying posted to Earth was… less than nothing. And there was no telling what the High Command of Jeduthun would decide to do about this new Potential. The rules said that no Terran should be left with a Potential. Then again, none had ever accessed a Potential’s full powers. Not since their creators had somehow lost control over them. The sudden beep that echoed through the cabin brought Ranael out of his thoughts.

  “Data analysis complete.”

  The voice of Tiamat chimed and Caitlin looked up and around, as if expecting another person to materialize into thin air.

  “It’s my computer,” Ranael reassured her. “Tiamat, report.”

  “Secondary trace parsed: trace comprised of two compounds. Initial compound is used by local intelligence agencies, mainly the CIA and the Mossad, to track moving targets. Compound was modified to include a more sophisticated bio-chemical tracer, typically used by the Shadow Stars mercenary group.

  “Are you telling me the Shadow Stars are on Earth?”

  “Based on established data, the probability of this is 56%.”

  Ranael rolled off the bed and got to his feet, getting dressed quickly.

  “Up. Get dressed.”

  Caitlin gaped but did as she was told, following him back into the main room. From a case by the door, Ranael took two guns. One, he stuck in a holster and he placed it on the table. With the other, he unloaded the magazine, worked the slide before he looked at his lover.

  “You’ve ever fired one of these?”

  Caitlin shook her head and Ranael crooked a finger at her. She turned the heat off under the saucepans and took a few steps in his direction.

  “I don’t really want to do this.”

  “Tough,” Ranael replied in a gruff tone.

  As soon as she was close enough, he reached for her, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her into a one-armed embrace, fitting her back against his front.

  “Feet apart, knees bent. I’m sure you’ve seen enough police shows to have at least an idea about what it’s supposed to look like.”

  Ranael stuck the gun in her hand and made her hold it, wrapping his fingers around hers.

  “I don’t need to…”

  “Yes, you do. If the Shadow Stars are involved, you need to be able to defend yourself.”

  “And who are the Shadow Stars?”

  Ranael picked up Caitlin’s empty hand and brought it up to wrap it around and under her other hand.

  “Your shooting hand pushes forward; your support hand pulls back. Your shooting foot should be level with your shoulder. Your other foot, on the non-shooting side, should be forward of the other and should support your weight.”

  As he spoke, Ranael nudged Caitlin’s body into position. He tried his best to suppress his reaction to her. His trainer had been right. Mixing business and pleasure was a very bad idea.

  “I don’t think I can shoot someone, Ranael.”

  “Trust me, when the time comes, you won’t have time to think. Instinct will take over. Now, this is a Glock. You aim first with the front sight then you align the rear. Don’t look at where you’re shooting. Keep the sights in focus. You need to pull hard on that trigger. And make sure you pull it nice and even across the trigger, or it won’t fire.”

  Ranael pressed his lover’s finger on the trigger with his until the gun clicked in their hands.

  “Good. Now do it again.”

  “Ranael…”

  “Do. It. Again.”

  Caitlin shivered in his arms but pulled the trigger.

  “Again.”

  Caitlin did as she was told once more and Ranael nodded.

  “Magazine slides in through the bottom of the handle. Make sure it locks in place.”

  Ranael demonstrated quickly for the woman in his arms then slid the loaded weapon into another holster.

  “I’m going to going to leave this here with you. I need to get some safeties in place for us.”

  “Ranael…”

  “When I get back, I’ll be calling out before I get into the cabin. If I don’t, I want you to shoot through the front door. Do you hear?”

  “Are you crazy?”

  “This isn’t a game, Caitlin. I have a job to do.”

  “Just take the stupid computer and get back to your friends out there.”

  “The stupid computer, as you call it, doesn’t work if it’s not with you. More than that, I don’t know if you’ve noticed but it can’t exactly be separated from you anymore.”

  Caitlin let out a shout of pure frustration and turned in his embrace.

  “I’m not a soldier. I’ve never fired a gun. And now you expect me to take someone’s life just like that?”

  “This is how it has to be.”

  “This is my life, goddamn it. Why can’t you just leave me out of it?”

  Ranael gritted his teeth and glared at the young woman before him. He’d known getting close had been a mistake. He had a job to do. Sex was just the bait. He shouldn’t have let her any closer than he had to.

  “You’ll do as you’re told. Or you’ll die.”

  The archon pushed the Terran woman out his way, picking up his gun as he went. He made straight for the door, ignoring Caitlin as she called his name. The wooden panel slammed shut behind him and Ranael set off at a jog. The night air was cold, promising rain and maybe even snow. He’d walk the perimeter, add some motion detector, and set Tiamat to watch out for them from the skies. He just had to hope his backups would move their asses. The Shadow Stars were ruthless. It wasn’t impossible for the Terran to have stumbled on a cache of their abandoned tech and they had helped themselves to the content. But it was also unlikely.

  The space warrior continued to walk through the night, forcing his mind to remember that Caitlin was a charge like any other. That she was his job. And he ignored his heart as best he could, already feeling he was losing that battle.

  CHAPTER NINE: Face Off

  Caitlin stood for a moment, the gun held loosely in her hand. She gaped at the closed door.

  “Well f…”

  The young woman gritted her teeth around the curse. If Ranael wanted to be an idiot, let him. She put down the gun on the table. She would never be able to shoot at someone. She couldn’t stomach the sight of a paper cut, never mind the thought of causing actual harm to another person. With a shake of her head, she started on the washing up. As she scrubbed dried-up sauce from the saucepans, she tried to understand what was going through her lover’s mind. But she found she just didn’t know anything about him really. And the fact was, he wasn’t actually human.

  “I had sex with an alien,” she muttered to herself as she scratched at a rebel spot with her fingernail. “And not just once. Oh no, I did it three times.”

  And she wanted to be angry with him. She really did. But the man had saved her life. He was protecting her. And she knew he had set up the scene that first time. But he could have done what these others were doing: kill her, take her necklace, and disappear.

  The Potential around her neck pulsed in a bright green flash and Caitlin frowned. The stone was often glowing for her. But never had it emit such a light. And even as she thought this, it started to hum against her skin. It
wasn’t anything audible, more like a vibration she could feel deep down in her bones, and in her mind. The feeling was unsettling, and Caitlin closed her eyes while breathing deeply. The little that Ranael had told her about the stone had been enough that Caitlin knew the Potential would never leave her unless she died. This also meant, given that it was a semi-sentient computer, that it would try to protect her if needed. Caitlin breathed in slowly, attempting to clear her mind. She identified her anger at Ranael for leaving. And the worry that she’d tried hard to keep at bay in the deepest recesses of her mind: worry for herself and for her best friend John. But the jittery feeling that coursed through her veins now had no cause or reason.

  “What are you trying to tell me?” Caitlin whispered to the stone around her neck.

  Without thought, the young woman moved back to the table and picked up the gun. She blinked at the heavy metal in her hand, and she looked between the weapon and the Potential.

  “I get your drift.”

  Caitlin swallowed hard against the sudden lump in her throat. She repeated Ranael’s instruction to her as she lifted the gun and pointed it toward the door. A frisson ran down her back as she glanced sideways at the window above the sink she had just been standing at. She may not be a fan of television, but she’d seen enough cop shows and thrillers to know she should move away from the glass panel. Mouth dry, she decided to crouch behind the couch. She rested her arms against the backrest and waited.

  *

  **

  Ranael hadn’t taken two steps out of the door before he realized that something was wrong. He’d chosen this particular cabin because he knew full well there was nothing and no one around. So the sound of two engines heading their way was too strange. His gun was immediately out and he took a step back toward the cabin. But he knew there was no time to warn Caitlin. Going back would only make it easier for those guys to take them out. Ranael followed his head and quickly made it round the cabin, checking that they weren’t about to be surrounded. The archon disappeared in the darkness, watching the surrounding area.

  “Tiamat, contact Silver Custody and tell them we’re under attack. Then initiate threat assessment.”