In the Flesh

by Livia Dare

  Time. She was running out of it. Stumbling to her feet, she sucked air into burning lungs, her neck throbbing from his brutal grip.

  Smithson snarled, rolling and somehow coming up onto his knees. “I’m going to kill you.”

  As he reached for his boot, she spotted the dagger-hilt he sought. His gaze locked with hers, filled with bloodlust and an inherent evil that chilled her to the bone. This man hunted humans for a living and tortured the helpless for the sick thrill it gave him. He’d almost succeeded in killing the man she loved.

  “I’m relieved you said that.” Sapphire steeled herself for the grim task ahead. “Killing a man in cold blood isn’t my style.”

  He lunged for her, the wicked blade coming to glowing life in his hand. She kicked. Good fortune and a lot of skill ensured that her foot hit his wrist, sending the hilt spinning into the air above them.

  She leaped and caught the weapon. With a diagonal slash, she severed his head. His torso hit the ground with a thud.

  “But self-defense I can handle.”

  Chapter 17

  “Katie Erikson is here, Your Highness.”

  Wulf looked away from the data screen as the captain strode into the room. “Did you see her with your own eyes?”

  The captain nodded.

  “How does she look?”

  “Thinner, tired.”

  “Stubborn woman,” Wulf groused, but he was nearly dizzy with relief. Six weeks of searching and Katie was finally close enough to touch. He stood to get ready, but a quick look around his quarters turned his anticipatory pleasure into a scowl of distaste.

  Tolan was a relatively new member of the Interstellar Council. The planet’s foray into high-automation was so new as to still be something flaunted with pride. Everything everywhere was stark and lacked color. He tried to picture his sensual Katie in such a dismal place and was unsuccessful. The fact that she was here in Tolan entirely on his account made his heart ache.

  “Where is she now, Captain?”

  “She and the mästare are at the concourse as specified by Gordmere.”

  Wulf began stripping from his robes. “I want to see her.”

  “Your Highness, I don’t recommend that you come with me. What if you’re seen? It could ruin everything. It’s taken me weeks to reach this point.”

  “I’ll keep a low profile and stay out of your way.”

  “Forgive me, but it’s impossible for you to keep a low profile.”

  Wulf grinned. “It’s not so difficult when you’re around, Captain. You have a way of drawing attention.”

  A hint of a smile teased the corner of the captain’s dark lips. “As you command, Your Highness. I’ll remove her from the conversation. If I succeed, I suggest you and the Mistress depart the area and allow me to manage the rest.”

  “Taking her away won’t bother me in the slightest, I assure you.”

  Within minutes, they were on their way to the concourse.

  Sapphire draped herself over Dalen and ran her tongue along the shell of his ear.

  “Umm,” she purred. Arching her back, she pressed her breasts into his arm. One hand slipped across his bare chest and up through his golden hair. The fingers of her other hand walked across his muscled thigh and dropped between his legs. He groaned and turned his head, burying his face in her neck.

  “Mistress,” he panted. “Is all of this really necessary?”

  “He must believe we’re a couple. He’s grown terribly suspicious since Smithson was killed.”

  “Y-yes, but…” His hand flew to her wrist and stilled its movements. “I’m only a man, and you are a well-trained concubine. There’s only so much I can take.”

  Looking over her shoulder at the occupants of the small lounge in the Deep Space 10 Concourse, Sapphire noted the slender blond man who entered.

  She moved over Dalen quickly, straddling his thighs and wrapping her arms around his neck. “He’s coming back.” She nuzzled his throat. “You know what to do.”

  “I can’t think when you’re doing that!”

  “Haggle with him a little on the price for your services,” she whispered. “It’s taken us weeks to get to this point, you don’t want to seem too eager. And whatever you do, make sure you find out who hired him to capture—”

  A deep voice rumbled behind her. “Get the woman out of here.”

  Sapphire stilled. She turned slowly, struggling to hide her surprise. She failed miserably, her mouth falling open at the sight of Clarke, who stood next to Gordmere as if they were old friends.

  “We’ve no need of her services for this conversation.” His dark gaze raked her insolently.

  She blinked.

  “Have you never seen a real man before?” Clarke asked scornfully, gripping her elbow and yanking her away from Dalen. He hauled her close, crushing her against his massive chest.

  “When you tire of your pretty boy, come see me.” He bent her over his arm and bit her earlobe gently. “Go to the exit,” he growled, then he pulled her up and shoved her toward the door.

  Sapphire stumbled away, glancing over her shoulder in amazement. What the hell was going on? Distracted, she ran directly into a rock-hard chest and was pulled out of the lounge into the crowded terminal beyond. “What—”

  “Katie.”

  She felt faint. Her gaze followed the golden hand that held her wrist and traveled up the muscular arm with lightning speed. She stopped for a split-second on the delicious lips that were presently pursed in anger, then her wide eyes met Wulf’s furious ones. Tears welled at the stark relief and love that shined in the emerald depths. With a whimper of pleasure, Sapphire leaped at him, locking her legs around his lean waist and taking his mouth.

  He absorbed the impact easily and turned, pressing her into the wall of the corridor, his mouth open and ravenous under hers.

  Her heart raced. She’d longed for him. So badly. Every night his memory would not be denied, demanding she dream of him.

  “I’ve missed you,” she gasped into his mouth.

  Wulf thrust his hips into the open apex of her thighs, revealing the depth of his desire. “You and Dalen…”

  A harsh, edgy noise vibrated in his chest.

  “It’s nothing.” She arched into him, her blood raging.

  He bit the vulnerable point where her neck met her shoulder. His touch was rough, barely controlled. “You were kissing him, rubbing against him…I’ll tear him apart…”

  “No.” She moaned, pinned to the wall by his overwrought and powerfully aroused body. She was burning, on fire for him and his passion for her. “It was all for you.”

  “I don’t care what your reason was. You’re mine!”

  “Yes…”

  “You belong to me.” His hand at her waist wrapped in her hair, pulling her head back to expose her throat. He nipped and licked along the tender skin, his other hand coming up to grip her breast, squeezing her nipple, tugging its ring until it puckered wantonly. “If my life depended on it, you will not ever touch another man.”

  “Jealous fool.” Sapphire laughed, filled with joy to be in his arms. She hugged him with her thighs, but it wasn’t necessary; his thrusting body kept her firmly in place. “I would do anything for you. I love you.”

  “You will be the end of me.” Wulf pressed his forehead to hers. “You’ll drive me insane…”

  “Wulf.” Her hands soothed the taut length of his back, understanding how he felt. She’d experienced the same when she’d sent the concubine to him. “There is only you.”

  “Never again,” he muttered against her cheek. “Never touch another man again. I can’t bear it.”

  Pulling back from the wall, he carried her swiftly away. “We have to get out of here.”

  “Dalen! I can’t leave him behind.”

  “The captain will take care of him. Right now, you need to take care of me.”

  Sapphire leaned back in his embrace, his strong thighs flexing beneath hers as he strode easily through the crowds,
his sheer commanding presence causing commuters to weave out of their path.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, breathless from his bold possessiveness.

  A black brow arched. “Coming after you.”

  His face looked paler, his lips sterner, but he remained by far the handsomest man she’d ever seen. Only for him had she ever felt such a wealth of emotion. It was addicting, overpowering, intoxicating.

  “Wulf. You take my breath away.”

  His chest expanded with a harshly indrawn breath. Tightening his arms around her, he quickened his pace. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you. You’re so damn beautiful. As many times as I’ve pictured you in my mind, it never did you justice.”

  Sapphire smiled. “I look like hell.”

  “You look like heaven.” He pressed his lips to her temple and kept them there. His voice dropped. “I’ll mend my ways. I’ll change. I can make you happy.”

  Her arms encircled his neck. “I can’t go through this again. You shouldn’t have come.”

  “I couldn’t stay away. I’ve never been able to. I love you.”

  Tears slipped free, wetting both of their faces. “Wulf…”

  “Hush. Wait until we’re alone. I have something to ask you.”

  Pulling back, Sapphire looked into his face. His features were so austere and intent, but his eyes were smoldering. She flushed. “I know what you want.”

  His mouth curved in a sexy smile. “You don’t know everything. But you can, if you just give me time to get out of here.”

  She spent the short hackney ride back to Wulf’s lodgings tucked against the warm strength of his chest. His hands caressed up and down her arms; his mouth pressed kisses along her face and neck. They said nothing, both longing for the moment when they could be alone. When the transport arrived at the hotel, they leaped out and hurried to his rooms.

  Wulf led her directly into his suite. The outer foyer was similar to the rest of the city—metallic with silver paint on the walls and polished cement floors. Sapphire still found the barrenness of the decor jarring. Sari and D’Ashier had long ago re-embraced the beauty of the tactile. The need to celebrate what was human was what made warriors so revered and concubines so prized.

  “This way,” he directed. She moved with him into the bedchamber beyond. Her breath caught at the sight that greeted them.

  Multicolored rugs decorated the floors; rich velvet counterpanes littered the bed along with an array of jewel-toned pillows. The glaring lights remained off, the room lit with a profusion of flickering candles.

  “It’s beautiful,” she breathed.

  Wulf came up behind her, wrapping his powerful arms around her waist. “Only because you’re here.” He turned her to face him, then sealed his lips over hers.

  She melted under his kiss. The heat that sparked between them was hotter than before. The passion ignited every nerve ending in her body, traveling from her lips to her toes. Dizzy with longing, Sapphire pulled away to catch her breath and was arrested by the sight of him.

  He was flushed, his mouth moist and parted, his breathing labored. But it was his gaze—fierce and determined—that most aroused her. His effect on her was potent, aging like a fine vintage, becoming stronger the longer she knew him.

  “I’m going to make love to you now.” Wulf’s tone was a sensuous whisper. His hand reached out to cup her breast, his thumb brushing over her nipple. “Then we’re going to talk about our future together, and you’re not leaving this room until I say what I have to say. Understand?”

  Shaking, she kissed him passionately. It was astonishing, really, that this magnificent man loved her enough to pursue her.

  “I adore you.” She felt him shudder. Her words released something primal. Wulf’s hands were rough as his fingers curled into her gown and rent the fragile garment in two.

  Sapphire was as desperate as he, struggling to feel the warmth of his flesh beneath her hands, to know this was not another dream. She paused when she saw the gold chain carrying her Guardian’s chip around his neck. She plucked it away from his skin with her fingertips.

  He held her by the waist as she examined it. “We found it at Braeden’s. I’ve kept it close ever since.”

  Her fingers caressed the warm metal. “I missed this tangible reminder of you.”

  He tugged off the remnants of her clothing and pressed her back into the bed. “You’ll have no more need for reminders. For the rest of your life I’m going to spend every free moment buried as deep inside you as I can go.”

  She sank with a sigh into the rich velvet coverlets, the luxurious material no match for the silken texture of Wulf’s skin. He covered her body with his own. She couldn’t get enough. Her mouth pressed moist, open-mouthed kisses along the top of his shoulder. She licked and bit him. Her hands caressed, her nails scratched. Her legs wrapped around his hips and held him to her. She wanted to devour him.

  “Hurry,” she urged.

  Wulf laughed. “I’ve been dreaming of this for weeks, let me savor it.”

  “Later.”

  With a lusty chuckle, he positioned the broad head of his cock at her entrance and began to push into her. “So tight, Katie.”

  He kissed her deeply, pressing inexorably into her. A low groan of pleasure rumbled up in his throat. “I’ve wanted you so badly, I thought I’d go mad without you.”

  “I love you,” she purred as he lodged to the hilt within her. “I’ve dreamed of you, needed you so much.”

  His head dropped next to hers, his breathing harsh and ragged. He pulled out, then plunged deep. When she arched into him, rushing him, spurring him on, he began to fuck her like she needed, his hips churning, his cock shafting her with devastating skill. His mouth lowered, surrounding a straining nipple, suckling with such force she could feel the pull of it deep inside her aching pussy.

  Helpless mewls of pleasure poured from her. It had been so long. Too long. The feel of him was exquisite, so thick and hard, pumping between her thighs with latent power.

  “Yes…you feel so good…”

  He mumbled something that sounded arrogant, then shifted his mouth to her other breast. Sapphire pushed her heels into the mattress and fucked him back, needing him to be where she was—lost in lust, desperate for orgasm, hopelessly in love. She loved that he was so self-possessed, loved that she was necessary and important enough to him that she was his one and only vulnerability.

  He took control, rising above her, hooking his arms underneath her legs to better ream her. Her nipples were swollen, too tender, distended from the passionate assault of his mouth. He took her fiercely then, his hips pistoning, his massive cock shuttling through greedily clenching tissues.

  Fast and hard, grinding and rolling his hips, Wulf deliberately drove her beyond sanity. The sight of him was stirring. His handsome face contorted in a grimace of pleasure.

  Because he was connected to her in the most intimate way possible.

  “I love you,” he groaned.

  His passion-slurred words pushed her over the edge, her spine bowing in climax. She whimpered as she convulsed around him, her entire body wracked with endless shivers.

  “More,” he snarled. The pounding of his cock into her heat was relentless. “Come again.”

  “No…” she moaned, certain another orgasm would kill her.

  Wulf reached between them, rubbing her clitoris with deftly skilled strokes. Her next orgasm came even more powerfully than before. As she writhed beneath him, she felt him swell. He shouted her name, clutching her to his shuddering body, lewd love words and praise tumbling from his lips as he spurted heavy and thick deep inside her.

  Gasping, Wulf twisted over, pulled her to drape over him without separating from her. His strong arms held her tightly to him as their breathing slowed.

  He kissed the top of her head. “I want to handfast with you, Katie.”

  She lifted her head and met his gaze, astonished. “Handfast?”

  “We can make it
work. We love each other, Katie. I never expected it or even wanted it, but it’s happened. And I’m not sorry.”

  “Handfast?” she repeated.

  “I’ve been doing some research. In the first years after D’Ashier established sovereignty, the monarch and his family were in great danger. To stabilize the throne, preserving lineage was a priority that took precedence over ceremony. If a member of the royal family wished to marry, they couldn’t always wait to do it properly. Not in times of war and treachery.”

  She nodded. “I understand.”

  Wulf caught her hand and held it over his heart. “The tradition of the handfast was established—an informal, yet binding agreement as strong as a marriage. It doesn’t require the blessing of the king the way a formal joining would. It only requires that both parties be willing.”

  “Wulf.” She bit her lower lip. “You would circumvent your father in something so important?”

  His grip on her hand tightened. “He would still have the last word. If he never gives his blessing, the binding would become a morganatic marriage. You’d be my consort, not my queen, and our children could never attain the throne.”

  “Our children…” Longing pierced her chest with such force she shivered with it. Her eyes and throat burned. She would lose all that she had now, but gain something so precious she hardly dared to dream of it. Marriage. A family. With Wulf.

  His green eyes were brilliant and laser-focused. She’d rarely seen him look so determined. “You deserve more, Katie. I wish I could promise you more. But this is all I can offer now—my heart, my bed, the respect and prominence of royal consort, and the promise that I will do everything in my power to sway my father and gain his blessing. I believe it’s possible. And if he never concedes, you would still belong to me. I would belong to you. Nothing could break the vows we make to one another.”

  Sapphire linked her fingers on his chest and rested her chin upon them. “I don’t want to be responsible for causing a rift between you and your family.”

  Tucking a pillow beneath his head, Wulf locked his gaze with hers. “I need you in my life to be happy. It’s as simple and as complicated as that. I can deal with anything, as long as you’re mine. As long as you love me back.”