Tempt Me Eternally

by Gena Showalter

  Her breathing became erratic, uneven. “Yes. I want that, too.”

  “You’ll be hotter and wetter than you are now. I know you will be. Just like I know you’ll be tight. Tighter than a fist.”

  She bit her bottom lip, drawing a single bead of blood. “I’m ready. Do it.”

  But he didn’t. He didn’t move. “And when you’ve drenched my hand, when you’re practically screaming for release, I’ll replace my fingers with my mouth. I’ll lick, taste, and suck you again.”

  “Yes. Please, yes.” She gasped in need, the sound of it like a little catch of wonder. Her hips moved toward him, seeking deeper contact, but, damn him, he twisted out of reach.

  “I won’t be able to help myself,” he said. “I’ll bite you, as you did me in the forest. Just a little sting, though, then I’ll lick it away.”

  She moaned. Caught herself. Pressed her lips together. He was holding back, so she would, too. Only, her hips were moving consistently now and she wasn’t able to hide the action. The scent of his arousal was so thick, it was almost a honey cloud enveloping her.

  “You’re all talk,” she gritted out.

  “No, I’m so hard for you.” He released her hands to cup her cheeks. “I’ve never wanted a woman the way I want you.”

  “Then take me.” Take me in a way that they’ll be no holding back for either of us.

  An animalistic sound escaped him, and he tangled his hands in her hair, jerking her head toward him for a bruising kiss. His tongue thrust inside her mouth, feverish, desperate. Finally. Sweetly. He was putting his mouth where his money was. Wait. That wasn’t how the expression went. Oh, who cared. Delectable!

  “You make me so crazy.”

  Brain fogging, she arched into him. “More,” she breathed.

  • • •

  More? “All,” Breean said, and deepened the kiss. They were both so wild, their teeth scraped together. Didn’t help that her flavor was pure decadence. Not the honey he’d once been used to, but better. Sweeter. A rose blooming amid a tempest, he would have said if he were a poet. Caveman that his brain currently was, all he could think was mine.

  He licked his way down her neck as his fingers explored her body. There was a fine, silky tuft of hair between her legs where he dabbled, tickling, exciting, before sinking his fingers into her already soaking folds.

  She nearly shot off the bed. “That . . . that . . . right there. Yes!”

  Her clitoris was swollen, eager. He circled it, and her hips followed the motion. Beautiful.

  “Breean,” she groaned.

  “So wet,” he praised.

  “Hurt.”

  He’d already vowed to take care of all her hurts. This one would be his pleasure. “I’ll kiss it and make it better.” And he did. He pinned her on her back and inched down her body, licking along the way. She was delicious curves and sweet angles, and he hadn’t gotten nearly enough of her. Would he ever?

  He wanted her to come with his cock buried deep, but he had to have another sampling. Was already addicted to her feminine flavor. Besides, what kind of lover would he be if he couldn’t make her come more than once?

  She arched into him, writhing, head thrashing from side to side. Her hands found her breasts, and she squeezed. The sight was erotic, as foreign as she was. He hadn’t seen her in the tub, but he’d wanted to. Oh, he’d wanted to. He liked that Aleaha was pushed so close to the edge right now that she was willing to do anything to find release.

  “Want my tongue on you again?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Licking you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Sucking you off?”

  “Yes. God, yes.”

  His tongue was flicking out in the next instant. She was still hot and wet and she still tasted of passion. He thought he might fight a thousand wars if it meant being with this woman. He thought he might kill violently and without mercy for the privilege.

  “I can’t get enough.” He moved his tongue back and forth, then tunneled it inside her, mimicking sex.

  “Breean, Breean,” she chanted.

  His cock was so hard it could explode at any moment. Already he could feel the hot glide of seed on the tip. “Spread yourself for me.”

  Instantly she obeyed, reaching between her legs and opening herself for him. Pink, wet. His. He gently clamped her center between his teeth, sucking as he’d promised.

  Didn’t take long. In seconds, she was screaming her release. Still he didn’t stop. He reached up and palmed one of her breasts just as she had done. Trembling, she arched into his touch, riding the waves of bliss. Then, as she calmed, she grabbed his wrist and brought his fingers into her mouth, sucking two inside, deep, so deep.

  At that, his blood reached the searing point, burning through his veins, blistering his organs. He pumped his free hand up and down his cock, thinking to find a little ease. That only made it worse.

  “Ready?” he asked her. He was too desperate, couldn’t wait any longer.

  “Give me.”

  “Everything?”

  “And more.”

  Beautiful female. He climbed up her body, nipping along the way. She was simply irresistible. When he was in position, just about to sink home, she gave a strong shove to his shoulders. Taken by surprise, he fell to his back, and for a moment, he thought she meant to leave him. He wanted to curse . . . until she straddled him.

  Grinning, she curled her fingers around his swollen length. “Hard,” she praised. “Big.”

  “Like?”

  Her head fell back, all that dark hair tickling his chest, and she breathed a sweet, “Oh, yes.”

  • • •

  Aleaha more than liked. She loved. Temporary insanity, she was sure, because right now she was drowning in bliss, on fire, achy, so much more so than in the tub—something she wouldn’t have thought possible.

  She was fascinated by Breean’s body, by the grunts of delight he’d emitted as he tasted between her legs. Actually, everything about him fascinated her. Maybe because he’d done nothing she’d expected. They were captor and prisoner. Master and slave, he’d once said, and she was everything he should hate. Yet he’d freely given of himself, ensuring she found satisfaction, all the while acting as if she were important to him, as if her needs mattered.

  The knowledge was as heady and intoxicating as his honey scent.

  When she’d lain in bed at home alone, touching herself, this was what she’d dreamed of. Craved. And now, finally, she was getting it. With her enemy. As doomed as they surely were, this might be her only chance to enjoy him and that saddened her.

  “You look ready to cry,” Breean said with more tension than she’d ever heard him use before. “Do you plan to stop?”

  “Not even if your home is invaded.”

  “Then let me have you. Please.”

  Hearing him beg sent a shiver down her spine. Yes, oh, yes. She rose on her knees, placing her wet core over his cock. He gripped her hips, squeezed, and the round head pressed for entrance, stretching her, tantalizing her.

  “Deeper,” he rasped.

  Another inch.

  It had been so long for her, she felt a slight burn, but the rapture exploding through her soon made her forget any discomfort.

  “More,” he urged, the vessels in his neck bulging.

  “Yes.” Another inch.

  “That’s the way. Take it all, sweet. Take it all.”

  Yet another inch, and another, though he still wasn’t all the way seated. The few other men she’d been with had not been as large as Breean. Was anyone? Well, she had been, she thought with a small smile. That amusement relaxed her and she fell another inch. The stretch was more noticeable now, shoving through that rapturous haze.

  “Big,” she told him again.

  “You can take me.”

  Yes, she could. Aleaha Love, wanton sex goddess, could do anything. She stopped resisting and slammed all the way down. Breean roared in approval, the sound blending with h
er own needy moan.

  “Move for me, sweet.” The words were barely audible.

  Slowly, she rose; slowly, she lowered. Her head fell back, and she gazed up at the ceiling, lost, flying. A powerful warrior was under her, hers to do with as she pleased. He was enjoying her, delighted by her. Dream come true.

  “Faster,” he beseeched.

  Yes, faster. She moved again, increasing her pace. Up, down. Perfect. So perfect.

  “Faster,” he repeated. His fingers, wrapped as they were around her waist, dug into muscle. There’d be a bruise, but it would be worth it. “It’s been so long for me, and you feel so good. I don’t know how long I can last for you.”

  She wouldn’t last, either, was already hurtling through the stars. Faster and faster she allowed herself to go.

  “That’s the way,” he praised.

  “Give me everything,” she said. “I want it. Want you.”

  He cupped her ass, spreading her even wider, making her take him all the deeper. Faster still they slammed together. She could actually see the outline of his spirit, glowing as if it wanted to burst free of his body and into hers.

  “Aleaha,” he growled.

  Something was thrumming through her. Tenderness and caring, perhaps, making the climax she’d experienced before seem like a pale imitation. It consumed her with honey and cinnamon and glimmered as it washed through her. This was her man; his ecstasy was hers.

  “Breean, Breean,” she chanted. Just then, his name was the only word she knew.

  He rolled her over, drilling into her, and her entire body erupted in a cascade of sparks and light, spasming, arching. Must have another taste. Lost again, forever, she gripped his hair and jerked him down for another kiss.

  As his tongue plundered her mouth, he, too, erupted, spurting hot seed inside her and sending her on another tailspin.

  He shuddered over and over before finally collapsing on top of her. She closed her eyes, basking, more alive than she’d ever been before because, in that moment, she was a woman. Not an agent. Not an alien. But a woman. She was Aleaha.

  NINE

  The next several days passed in a wondrous daze for Aleaha, dulled only by her arguments with Breean about the AIR agents. Her thought to be selfish just one more time? Completely obliterated. Breean kept her with him and they rarely left his room. The few times they had, he’d taken her to his office where he’d spoken with his second in command, Talon.

  The two had used their own language, which Breean had yet to teach her and she hadn’t yet figured out, so she had no idea what was said. Afterward, they would return to the bedroom and she would pester him for information—which would in turn lead to another argument. Somehow, someway, he always managed to distract her. Maybe it was the way he savored her body, praising her wit, her sweetness, even her determination to save her friends.

  He made her feel special, cherished, something she’d never experienced before. But, damn it. She would have to do a better job of resisting him to get the kind of results she wanted. Like, her friends’ happiness. Like, Breean’s happiness. And continued good health. Surely there was a way to meet all three objectives.

  Right now, she was naked (again) and snuggled into Breean’s side (again), his fingers tracing her arm. And she let him gentle her. Luxuriated in him, actually. You are in so much trouble, girl. From enemy to lover. From hated to adored. What are you going to do now? She’d wondered a million times.

  Macy probably wouldn’t have gotten herself into this situation.

  Aleaha frowned at the thought. I’m not Macy; I never was. Still, she was a friend to those agents locked below—if she needed to remind herself a thousand times, she would—and she couldn’t leave them helpless. More than you already have, her mind supplied.

  “Can we talk about the agents now?”

  “We discuss them every day,” he said, fingers stilling. “Just because they are prisoners doesn’t mean they are miserable. They are well fed, given blankets. They aren’t tortured.”

  “What if I said I wouldn’t sleep with you again until they were free?”

  “I’d call you a liar and kiss my way to your sweet spot.”

  She gritted her teeth. Clearly, resisting him wasn’t going to get the job done. She was going to have to start fighting him. Truly fighting him. She might even have to hurt him. “Why haven’t you tried to bargain with AIR?”

  “They aren’t yet ready to deal with me.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I just do.”

  Frustrating! “Let me talk to them. I’ll explain that you’re willing to help them fight the Schön queen. Because of your skills and their desperation to defeat that woman, they might overlook your past behavior.”

  “No. I don’t want you leaving.”

  “I’ll call them, then.”

  “Calls can be traced. You know that.”

  Argh! “You can’t hide out forever.”

  “I know.”

  Not just frustrating, but stubborn. He was making her rehash, and she hated to rehash. “If I had your men locked away, I suspect you wouldn’t care how they were being treated. You would want them freed.”

  “You’re right, but I can’t simply let the agents go. I can’t place my people in even more danger. And let me respond to the other objections I’m sure you’re about to raise. They were blindfolded when brought here, yes, so I could blindfold them again and drop them off somewhere and they would not be able to find me. If I do that, however, I’ll be without my backup plan if AIR decides not to risk working with me.”

  “Breean—”

  “It has to be this way. I’m sorry. I wish it were otherwise, but . . .”

  He felt guilty, she could tell from the tattered emotion in his tone, but she also realized there really would be no convincing him to rethink his strategy, no matter what she did or how hard she tried. His determination was as solid as hers.

  That depressed and angered her, because it meant their time together was over.

  Still. If she’d learned anything about him these last few days, it was that he truly wanted to make a home here and would never purposely hurt the innocent. So she tried one more time to make him see the light. “You want to destroy the Schön, yes? Well, if they were to appear today, AIR would be divided, trying to find you and fight the Schön. What if this planet falls because you are too stubborn to try to make something work? Please, just let the men go and—”

  “Enough. I’ve spent the last two years fighting, searching for a new home, and making preparations for that home. Finally I’m here. Finally I have a moment’s respite with a beautiful woman I—a beautiful woman I like. Why can I not enjoy that for a bit?”

  “Because time is our enemy. AIR will find you. And knowing them as I do, I know that if you have failed to initiate a gesture of goodwill, they will show you no mercy.”

  He sighed. “I’m monitoring things, Aleaha. I promise you that. I’ll know when the Schön queen arrives. I’ll know when AIR has softened toward me.”

  She laughed bitterly. How many times had she told him that AIR was not known for softening? You have to act now. No more stalling, waiting, hoping.

  Despite her resolve, she knew it was only a matter of time before he attempted to seduce her again and she caved. His scent was in her nose, his touch branded on her cells, and she would soon find herself begging for more. She always did.

  “I hate to disappoint you, Aleaha. I do. But this is for the best, I promise you.”

  “Of course.” Hating herself—and him—she rolled from his side, facing away from him. She would free the agents, no matter what needed to be done, and then she would . . . what? Come back for Breean? Would he even want her after that?

  Probably not, but it was worth the risk. To save his life, to save her friends, it was worth the risk.

  His fingers traced the line of her spine. She shivered, even as her blood heated. How could she still desire him? How could she still crave him so potently, know
ing what was about to happen?

  “Where are you going?” he asked.

  “I’m hungry,” she said, rising and walking to the bowl of fruit he had refilled every morning. Her legs shook. Stop, her heart shouted. Or rather, what remained of it. Don’t do this.

  This is the only way, her mind replied. As if clumsy, she knocked the bowl from the vanity, and it shattered on the floor. Pieces of fruit spilled in every direction. “I’m sorry,” she said, trembling as she bent to pick them up.

  Don’t. Stupid heart. First, she palmed the longest, sharpest, shard. No other way.

  Breean was by her side in the next instant, helping her.

  Do you really want to do this?

  No, she didn’t. But she would.

  “Go lie down,” he said, clearly concerned for her. “I don’t want you to cut yourself.” Yep. Concerned.

  If you do this, you are the monster you always considered yourself.

  Not true. And damn it, why couldn’t her heart and mind play nice? Keeping the shard hidden, she did as Breean had requested. For Devyn and Dallas and even Macy, for Breean, she would do this. She gulped back the lump forming in her throat. When the smoke cleared—and by smoke cleared she meant blood dried—she would speak to Mia and tell her what Breean had not. His purpose, how his planet had fallen, what he wanted, what he needed, how wonderful he was, and how she herself planned to aid him.

  And if that got her fired, fine. If that got her imprisoned for aiding an alien, fine again. She’d find a way to escape. She’d find another way to save Breean and his people.

  After he’d cleaned up the mess, Breean settled beside her, an orange in hand. He tossed it in the air, caught it. “Still hungry, sweet?” By the sensual bent of his tone, she knew he was thinking about her licking the juice off him.

  Now or never. Do it, just do it. It’s for his own good, after all. Aleaha rolled into him. Before he could figure out her intent, she pressed the shard into his jugular, deep enough to draw blood but not deep enough to kill. Blood trickled down his neck, thick and gold. Her hand was wobbling.

  He stiffened, and the orange hit the mattress. “What are you doing?” The words were strained.

  She shifted as close to him as possible, making it tougher for him to shove her away. “I’m doing what I have to do.” Yet she couldn’t deny a sense of wrongness. Damn it! He didn’t give me any other choice.