“He’ll be here in moments,” Khel said. “I can incapacitate him.”
“Absolutely not!”
Khel stared at her expectantly. She didn’t know what to do. She worked plenty of Saturdays and could easily explain away her presence. Harry would probably even believe that she had forgotten to sign in. But Khel wasn’t authorized to be in the building. As laid back as Harry was, he’d have to call it in.
Paige grabbed Khel by his arms and swung him around till he was standing in front of her chair. Then she pressed on his shoulders. He sat and stared at her expectantly.
Here goes nothing.
She knelt on his lap, then grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him to her for a kiss. At least, that was the plan. He was too quick for her and angled his head away.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Coming up with an excuse for why you’re in my office. We don’t have time to explain to Harry why you’re here and you don’t have clearance.”
“Harry?”
“The guard. If we can convince him we snuck in for a little office nookie, he’ll leave us alone.”
“I highly doubt—”
She pressed a finger to his lips, then ran it over their satin surface. “This is Earth. You need to start thinking like an Earthling.”
His gaze bored into her, but then he grabbed her face with his strong hands, pulling her down to him. His lips brushed hers stiffly at first, but then softened as he followed her lead.
She burrowed her fingers in his hair, nipping his lips, sucking one and then the other into her mouth. He groaned and she couldn’t help but smile. His hips started to move. She slid her tongue into his mouth and he froze for a moment. She explored him cautiously, giving him time to adjust. He didn’t need long.
His tongue started to dance with hers, testing, teasing. He pulled her hair free from its ponytail holder and let it fall around her shoulders. He deepened the kiss, his lips massaging hers as his hands slid down to her hips. He leaned forward, pressing their chests together, his fingers tightening their grip.
“Ahem.”
They both jumped at the sound behind them. Right, Harry. She had forgotten why they started making out in the first place.
“Harry! Hi,” she said, shifting to sit in Khel’s lap. His dick was pressing against her ass and she felt her eyes widen. “I…um…”
Right. The plan. She used her best caught in the act expression and did everything but bat her eyelashes.
“I just brought my friend by to show him my office.”
“That right?” Harry said. “Forgot to sign in, though.”
“About that… I sort of didn’t want my boss to know I was here today with someone.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
She was actually sweating. Khel’s body had gone rigid beneath her, and not just in his crotch. She could feel the coiled energy in him, waiting to spring. Harry was a nice guy just doing his job. He didn’t deserve to be ‘incapacitated’.
“Might want to use the conference room down the hall. More table space.” Harry winked at them, then was all business again. “Make sure you check in with me at the desk before you leave.”
He exited the office, pulling the door shut behind him. Paige let out a deep breath.
“I can’t believe that worked. I mean, it always works in my favorite romance novels, but—”
She stopped when she turned back to Khel. He hadn’t relaxed at all. He was gripping the armrests of her chair so tight—
Snap.
“Oops,” she said.
He kept staring at her while he held up the broken piece of chair. She carefully peeled his fingers off of it so she could toss it on the floor under her desk. There was nowhere for him to gracefully rest his arm, so she planted his hand on her hip. He sucked in a breath and held it from the looks of things.
“What do I do?” he asked.
“I don’t understand the question.”
“To make it go away.”
“To make… Oh.”
Her eyes must be bugging out of her head. The thick mass of his erection was pressing against his jeans in what had to be a really uncomfortable position.
“Let me help you.”
She undid his jeans to try to let things straighten themselves out on their own without realizing…he went commando.
Chapter Six
Paige wouldn’t stop staring at his erection, which was making the situation worse. Khel felt her gaze like a caress. His penis jerked on its own in response. Why wouldn’t his body obey him?
He closed his eyes and willed the erection to go away. Tried to think of anything but the softness of her lips on his, the warmth of her tongue in his mouth.
His penis twitched again.
“It won’t stop,” he said.
“I can see that. Wow, can I see that.”
He glared at her. “What do I do?”
“Haven’t you ever… Of course you haven’t.” She let out a sigh. “You’ve never even had morning wood?”
“Morning wood?”
“You know, a stiffy in the morning? Wake up at attention?”
“The regen bed I sleep in would address that. It maintains our bodies, scans and treats us for illness and disease, and stimulates our muscles to keep us fit and ready for duty.”
“You’re certainly ready for duty.” She grinned at him.
“Paige! Help me.”
“Sorry.” Her expression softened. “No wonder you were confused by the gym. You guys could make a fortune selling those regen beds on Earth. Work out while you sleep.”
She shifted on his lap, reminding him of the fullness of her hip in his hand. Her breasts would be infinitely softer. He tightened his grip as he tried to marshal his thoughts.
He should have followed orders to the letter and taken her to his ship any way he could. He had disobeyed, and now his body and mind were doing the same to him.
“You’ve really never had a hard-on for someone before?” she asked.
“I’ve had reactions, but was always able to control them. It never took more than a few minutes of quiet distraction.”
But his reaction had never been this intense. He had never tried to calm his body while he had the taste of someone on his lips—the lingering memory of their body pressed against him fueling his reaction.
“I can’t function this way,” he said. “How do I make it go away?”
“Uh…” Her gaze dropped to his erection again and she licked her lips.
Adam had alluded to things that Evelyn taught him about how Earthlings coupled. Khel wondered just how creative they were in using various parts of their bodies to stimulate each other.
“You can always jerk off,” Paige said.
“Idioms, Paige.”
She sighed and took his hand from her hip. He reluctantly allowed it. Then she wrapped his fingers around his erection.
“What are you doing?”
“Showing you how to do it. You just grip yourself and…pump.”
His hand felt awkward on his flesh. It was much better where her hand touched his. He wanted something, but he wasn’t sure what. More of her touch, more of those amazing kisses. Thinking of it, he realized he had felt a pull toward her from the very beginning.
When Adam had returned to the Arbiter with Evelyn, Khel thought the General had lost his mind.
Things changed.
“Paige, I want…” He wasn’t sure what. He didn’t have words for what he felt.
She had seemed interested in him from the beginning as well, but he hadn’t known how to respond. He still didn’t. But he wanted. That was the one thing that was clear. He wanted her.
She sighed, then slid his hand away and replaced it with her own. The first touch sent currents of electric stimulation along his nerve endings. Every cell in his body seemed to be focused on her slight hand wrapped around him. She gripped him tight, then began to move.
“Paige,” her name was a primal moan. The energy
in his body was pooling low, centering on his shaft in her cool fingers.
“The regen beds have cured all disease among your people?” she asked.
“Yes.” The word was drawn out as he closed his eyes and gasped.
“And I assume you’ve been inoculated against everything on Earth. With all your advanced technology.”
“It was…thoroughly studied…”
“Yes or no, Khel.”
She squeezed his penis tighter.
“Yes.” His breath was coming faster. He heard a loud crack and realized he had torn the other armrest from her chair.
They both stared at it for a moment, then she swatted it from his hand. It clattered onto the floor. She slid from his lap, kneeling in front of him.
“What are you—”
Before he could say more, she leaned forward and wrapped her lips around his erection.
“Paige!”
Both her hands gripped him tight, sliding up and down along the length of him while she sucked and swirled her tongue over his crown. His body was thrumming with energy, his shaft a live-wire sending out arcs of sensation along his nervous system. The wanting increased. More of this, more of her.
The coiled energy burst forth, exploding into her mouth as she kept pumping him. Shockwaves of an ecstasy more intense than anything he had ever experienced crashed through him, keeping time with the pulsing of his penis.
Echoing tremors of pleasure rippled out from where they touched as she let him slide from her mouth. He was finally softening again. All he could do was stare at her.
“Better?” she asked.
“I… Yes.”
She stood, and said, “You might want to put that away.”
He was buzzing with energy, his awareness of everything heightened as he stood as well. The scent of her body, the heat, the dampness left on his penis as he slid it into his jeans and fastened them again.
She wasn’t smiling.
“Something is troubling you,” he said.
“I’m fine. We should go.”
She was radiating tension. His body felt more relaxed than ever. Relaxed and yet alert. Ready to defend her, to see to her needs. Perhaps that was the issue. If she had felt half of what he did, her body must be aching.
“I can…see to your needs,” he said. The idea would have revolted him just a few hours ago. Now he was excited, eager to experience more with her. The attraction he had felt since they first met had intensified. He wanted to kiss her again.
“No thanks. Deflowering virgins is not my thing. Especially since I was the only one around to help out.”
She said the last under her breath, but his hearing was too keen to miss it.
“You think what happened between us was purely based on circumstance.”
“Wasn’t it?” She crossed her arms and glared at him.
Stars, that glare. He had over a foot on her and at least a hundred pounds, and she looked as if she was planning to take his head off. With the right training, he had no doubt she could.
“Partly. Not purely.”
She rolled her eyes. He smiled, which earned him a look even more heated than the first. Anger, yes. But passion. So much passion.
“I have never met anyone like you,” he said.
“What—someone who’s willing to blow you while you destroy their favorite chair?”
“Someone who is alive.”
“Please don’t tell me you’re all space zombies. The vampire frogs are bad enough.”
He laughed, and her expression softened the slightest bit. Her hair was dry, the coppery waves framing her face and making him want to touch her again. Why not allow himself?
He lifted the ends of her hair with just his fingertips, letting the strands fall feather-light across his skin. She didn’t seem to mind.
“Zombies, no. But sleepwalkers. All of us. You have no idea what it’s like being created in the Coalition. Existing among septillions of others without ever connecting.”
“Well, now that you know what you’re missing, maybe you can find a nice Sadirian and—”
“I don’t want someone else. Others have approached me. But no one else has ever…captivated me. Since the moment we met—”
“Stop. Don’t get your hopes up and don’t pin dreams onto me because of what happened between us. I don’t do relationships.”
He swallowed hard, sensing that this moment was pivotal for them both. He stepped closer.
“I told you that I’m considered a glitch.”
“And I told you I don’t like that word.”
“You aren’t supposed to. None of us are. It’s used to remind us of our place, that we don’t belong with successful results.”
Her lips pressed into a thin line. Stars, he wanted to kiss her again. He let himself lift his hands to her arms, savoring the warmth and softness of her skin.
“Even among others like me, I’m considered an outlier. The geneticists studied me for years to determine why I’m so different. All I have ever done is try to be a normal Sadirian—to fit in. The majority of our society use Coupling alone. I didn’t use it at all because I’ve always thought that if I could somehow exemplify what it means to at least act like a perfect Sadirian then perhaps I would gain some acceptance.”
He was admitting the fact as much to himself as her. Deep down, he had always known he was searching for something. A sense of belonging, of value and worth. He had been trying to obtain it by being the perfect soldier, the perfect citizen. He had never let himself think that there might be another way.
Until Paige.
She lifted her hand to his face, trailing her cool fingers along his cheek.
“I accept you.”
Her words struck him in the center of his chest. His breath rushed out as he bowed his head, trying to regain some control.
No, composure. Control was…overrated.
She sighed, then said, “That doesn’t mean—”
Before she could finish her sentence, he leaned in and kissed her.
Chapter Seven
The stiffness and hesitancy Paige had noticed the first time she and Khel kissed was gone. He pulled her against his chest, savoring her lips before sliding his tongue between them. His hands grasped her waist, then moved down to caress her ass. He lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he pressed her back against her door.
He was hard again. She wasn’t as eager to help him with it this time.
Well, okay, physically, she was ready to tear off their clothes and let him keeping working his magic with his hands and lips. He was kneading her ass, rocking his hips against her in just the right places.
It didn’t matter that he’d been genetically engineered. When it came to sex, the man was a natural.
But the other things he’d said, about connecting and finding acceptance… That was too much. She didn’t want him to form attachments to her and then be disappointed.
Most of the guys she hooked up with took it for what it was. A one-time thing. They both walked away a little more relaxed and a whole lot happier. The few times guys had become clingy, she had shut them down quickly and fairly easily. She was committed to her job. She had never met someone who could match her passion.
Or had she?
The thought was unwelcome, but she followed it through anyway. Khel was as driven as she was. His worldview was in a tailspin, though. He had been dedicating himself to a society that shunned him and used him. And she would have something to say to his leaders when they finally made it to that ship.
As focused as he had been on that objective, he still had been able to have an open and flexible mind. He was realizing the problems with his society, and wanted to do the work to fix them. That was heady.
If she tried to shut Khel out, she didn’t think he’d go quietly like the others. He would fight for her. She could tell. And it thrilled her down to her toes. Someone who could handle her, match her passion and her stubbornness.
It was
terrifying.
She had only ever dated weak-willed guys. She could never admit it to herself before, but it was true. Khel was iron to match her steel. Her match.
No. No way.
She kissed him harder, trying to block out her thoughts. It was the situation, the craziness of it all. This was a false sense of connection based on danger, lust, and adrenaline.
He matched her intensity, his tongue driving into her mouth to meet each parry. She ground her clit against him through their jeans, imagining what it would be like to have that huge dick buried deep inside of her, pulsing as he came.
He let go of her ass with one hand and slid his fingers up under her shirt. The warmth and strength of his palm soaked into her skin as he massaged her breast. He ran his thumb over her nipple, exploring the tight bud as it peaked beneath his touch.
With a grunt, he leaned back from her, unwrapping her legs from his waist so that she was standing again. Had he finished already? How disappointing.
She was a little dazed as he undid her pants and tugged her jeans down to her knees. He knelt before her, pulling her panties down as well.
“Khel…”
He looked up at her, blue eyes blazing with lust or…something stronger. He leaned forward, pressing his lips against the curls between her legs. His tongue lapped at her, sending threads of pleasure streaming through her body.
Yeah, he was a natural.
She shifted her legs as far apart as she could to give him better access. He must have taken that as an invitation, because he worked his hand between her thighs, sliding two of his fingers deep into her. Her core gripped his fingers, heightening the friction as he slid them in and out, her body sparking with each pull and thrust.
Her legs felt weak and the room was spinning. She reached up and held onto the coat hook attached to her door to try to steady herself. She wasn’t sure she would ever truly feel grounded again after this.
After him.
His fingers moved within her, his lips sucking, pulling on her clit. He had to have done this before. There was no way he could hit all the right spots, match his movement with her need. There was no way they could fit so perfectly together.
Business or Pleasure (The Department of Homeworld Security Book 3) Page 4
