Conquering His Captive

by Ivy Barrett

  “Why did you come after me? What happened at the party was no chance encounter.”

  He pushed his fingers through his hair while regret pelted him like hail. “Nicho uncovered something important, but… they got to him before he could pass it on to me.”

  “So you seduced me to get whatever Nicho had uncovered.”

  “Yes.” Their separation became intolerable. She was slipping away, barricading herself behind the past where he couldn’t reach her. With feral determination, he caught her wrists and dragged her toward him.

  “Stop it!”

  She tugged against his hold and the blanket sagged to her waist. He wrapped his arms around her then rolled, sweeping her beneath him. Realizing her hands were free, she swung at his face, tears seeping from the corners of her eyes. Her kicking only allowed him to wedge his body between her legs and he pulled her arms above her head.

  “I’m not going to fuck you!” she cried. “Let me go.”

  “I lost you once. It will not happen again.”

  She made a sound half laugh and half sob. “You didn’t lose me. You walked away. You willingly walked away.”

  “Cassie, it wasn’t like that. I didn’t have a choice.” Pain crept across his soul, making him feel old and weary. “I haven’t had a choice for longer than you can imagine.”

  “Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?”

  Her sarcasm game him strength, drew him back into the present. “Pity is the last thing I want from you.”

  “I know damn well what you want from me.” She glared then stilled as uncertainty clouded her gaze. “What did Nicho uncover? Was it worth what you did to me?” Tears trailed out the corners of her eyes, disappearing into her golden hair.

  “I never meant to hurt you. I tried to take the memory from you, to spare you the pain.”

  “You’re a ruthless bastard,” she sobbed.

  “I know.” The sorrow in her voice released a fresh rush of guilt. “I hunted you down and intentionally seduced you. I knew exactly what I was doing, until I touched you. What erupted between us was unexpected and amazing. I will not apologize for loving you.”

  “Loving me?” she scoffed. “You’re deluded. You don’t know the meaning of the word. Now get off me!”

  He should give her time to grieve, give her space to think about all—no, thinking was the last thing she needed to do. The mutations were escalating. Lorelle and the others didn’t have time for Cassie to mourn her dead husband. The past couldn’t be changed. These were desperate times, requiring desperate actions. He couldn’t afford to be noble.

  “Believe what you like but your body knows the truth. This is real and it has nothing to do with the war.” He kissed her with all the passion consuming his soul. She was his and he intended to keep her. Duty had taken her from him once. He would not make the sacrifice again.

  For a long time she tolerated his kiss, refusing to respond. He caressed her face and slowed the frantic movements of his tongue. Heat smoldered beneath the surface. He could sense her building desire yet stubbornness and pain created a barrier between them.

  His dark nature surged, the primitive, elemental essence unchanged by centuries of progress and technology. His mate lay beneath him, denying herself and denying him. He tightened his fingers around her wrists and whispered an incantation against her parted lips. Mystic cords wound around her, anchoring her arms to the bed.

  “What did you just…? How the hell did you do that?” She tugged against the cords, her eyes wide and uncertain. The struggle jostled her breasts, but the cords easily held her.

  “I’m a sorcerer, remember? You’ve not yet glimpsed the full extent of my power.” She closed her eyes with a soft cry and the stench of fear tainted the air. He forced the savage back, infusing the possessive demand with threads of tenderness. “Cassandra, look at me.” She shook her head and he ran his knuckles along the side of her face. “Please open your eyes.” Her lashes fluttered then rose and their gazes locked. “I will never hurt you. Never.”

  “Then release my hands.”

  “You’ll run away or try to. There really isn’t anywhere for you to go.”

  “I don’t want to fuck you.”

  “Then we won’t fuck.” His fingertips trailed from her flushed cheek to the base of her throat. “I’ll just touch you and taste you until you accept the fact you’re mine.”

  A nervous laugh tore from her throat. “How is that any different than fucking?”

  He crawled off the foot of the bed and dragged the tangled blanket out from underneath her. His hands unfastened his pants, but his gaze admired her naked body. Soft curves and graceful angles, she spread out before him like a pagan sacrifice.

  She clamped her thighs together when he crawled back onto the bed. With a wicked smile, he moved up along her body and straddled her waist. “Seduction is soft and gentle.” Angling his hips, he rubbed his cock between her breasts, pushing the mounds together to better stimulate his shaft. “Fucking can be harsh and overwhelming.” His thumbs teased her nipples, sending prickly sparks of sensation into her chest.

  Shifting restlessly beneath him, she said, “No one in their right mind would define this as anything but sexual.”

  “You offered me your body or led me to believe you had. My protection for the pleasure of your flesh. That’s the nature of a social alliance.”

  She shivered and her lust stabbed into his mind. Already her resolve was eroding. She wanted him no matter what she said.

  Leaving his cock in the soft valley between her breasts, he rolled her nipples. The tips grew tight and flushed, responding best to a firm, steady pressure. She shifted restlessly, her gaze darting to his cock again and again.

  “Do you want it in your mouth?”

  “You wish.” She turned her face aside. “I don’t want it anywhere near me.”

  He chuckled. “If you say so.” Crawling downward, he settled over her, holding most of his weight on his forearms and his knees. He angled his hips and pushed his thick length between her thighs then wrapped his legs around hers. His lower body pressed her into the bed, but his upper body hovered above her chest. Her heat sank into his flesh even though he wasn’t inside her. “I ache, love. Can’t you feel how much I want you?”

  “I don’t care.” Her voice cracked, and she closed her eyes again. “Just get it over with. I hate these games.”

  “Are you sure?” He sucked her breast, drawing the beaded tip deep into his mouth. “You’re awfully wet for true indifference.” He gently rocked between her thighs as his mouth moved from one breast to the other. Knowing she was helpless, unable to deny him, allowed him to slow.

  “It’s just sex,” she muttered. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

  “Of course not.” He eased her legs apart and slid farther down, insinuating himself between her thighs. “It means nothing at all.”

  Her scent surrounded him. He inhaled deeply and smiled. Her scent might be provocative, but it was nothing compared to her taste. He pressed his lips against her thigh. She clasped him with her legs, preventing him from accessing his destination. “Bend your knees, love. Make room for me.”

  “Go jack off in the bathroom. I am not your love!”

  Her stubbornness amused him far more than it should have. If he pushed her knees to her shoulders and impaled her, she’d gasp and protest and come despite her objections. But it wasn’t enough. He wanted her wild and eager, needed to hear her cry out his name while she pulsed around his cock.

  Grasping the back of one knee, he positioned her to his liking and repeated the incantation. Mystic cords slid around her thigh just above her knee, supporting and securing her leg.

  “Fane!” She kicked at him with her free leg, panic momentarily renewing her struggle. He ignored her protests and caught her flailing limb, binding it with another whispered incantation.

  She was utterly helpless now, spread before him, her ass barely touching the mattr
ess. “There is no reason to fight me.” He pushed his middle finger into her silky cunt. “Not when you want this as badly as I do.”

  * * *

  Desire throbbed through Cassie like the persistent beat of a drum. It had always been like this with Fane. No matter how forcefully her mind protested, her body refused to obey. She wanted him, needed his aggression and the overwhelming pleasure that drove reality away.

  No! She would not surrender to his… sorcery.

  Taking full advantage of her immobility, he started at her ankle and kissed a searing trail down the inside of her leg. Each time his lips pressed against her skin, heat burrowed into her flesh. Objecting to his seduction only made her sound petulant. The proof of her willingness gleamed on her folds and slicked the insides of her thighs.

  Her body wanted him regardless of how much she resented his actions. The conflict was dizzying and useless. This was a battle she couldn’t win. She dragged her gaze away from his face and looked at the golden cord restraining her leg. The magical fibers shimmered in the dim light, securing her limb in midair. Sorcerer. How could she doubt it now? He obviously wielded powers that had nothing to do with technology. Her legs were spread and her hands were bound, nullifying her injector. Not that she would have considered using it. Fane’s death was the farthest thing from her mind.

  His warm breath teased her feminine curls, scattering her troubled thoughts. She arched toward his mouth, craving the skillful lash of his tongue and the greedy pull of his lips. He moved on without touching her sex and she whimpered.

  “If you want something, sweetheart, all you have to do is ask.”

  Pride tugged the words back from the tip of her tongue. She might not be able to control her body’s response, but she would not encourage him. She closed her eyes and thought of Nicho, his kind eyes and boyish good looks.

  Fane shot upward, his face directly above hers. “Look at me. Feel me. Think only of me.” He traced her slit with his cock head, sliding easily between her slick folds.

  Nicho’s image faded, lost in the gleaming power of Fane’s gaze. She licked her lips, her core clenching, anticipating his hardness deep inside her. “Please.” The word escaped with a whimper and Cassie trembled. She didn’t want to want him, but the longing was inescapable.

  He found her entrance and pushed slowly inside. His gaze bore into hers as his cock invaded and claimed. When his entire length impaled her, he slipped his hand in between their bodies and circled her clit with his thumb.

  “Come.” It wasn’t a suggestion, it was a command. He braced himself above her, waiting and watching as she accepted the inevitability of her surrender.

  Without motion, she was focused entirely on their joined bodies and the tension gathering deep inside her. Sensations jolted with each pass of his thumb. Her inner muscles took on the rhythm of his touch and she arched her back, imbedding him more deeply.

  The pleasure tightened, trapping her breath in her lungs. Then the sensation released and she cried out, coming in distinct pulsations.

  “Very good.” He kissed her briefly then pulled out of her pliant body.

  “Fane?” Had that pleading, breathless voice really been hers?

  “I’m right here, love.” His mouth settled over her pussy, rewarding her with tender licks and careful sucks.

  She floated on a sensual tide, savoring the languid pleasure. His hands glided over her skin, caressing her hips and squeezing her breasts. The possessive demand was gone, replaced by amorous caring. Her heart fluttered, echoing the spontaneous ripple of her core.

  “I could live on this.” His mouth moved against her as he whispered the words. With deliberate precision, he tilted his head and pushed his tongue into her passage.

  The penetration seemed slight after the fullness of his cock, but it thrilled her all the same. He craved her, hungered for her body and soul. As if responding to her fleeting thought, his fiery being rushed into her mind. He warmed her and consumed her, even as his energy infused and strengthened her.

  She gasped and trembled, lost in the sizzling flow. His mouth became more demanding. She clutched her hands and rocked into the kiss. Her immobility freed her to revel in the pleasure, to respond without distraction. Opening her mind, she welcomed him, absorbed his energy with greedy abandon.

  Her orgasm burst with sudden fury and a sharp cry escaped her lips. He lunged upward, thrusting to the hilt as her passage throbbed. His entrance prolonged her release. She tightened around him, embracing him the only way she could.

  He drove into her, strong and steady, the force jostling her breasts and launching fresh sensations. The cords securing her legs disintegrated and she locked her ankles behind his back. He slipped his hands beneath her ass and lifted her into each deep thrust.

  His gaze ignited with mutant light, showering her skin with tingles. Tension sculpted his features, accenting the angles with savage beauty. He tossed his head and thrust harder. His presence in her mind intensified, blinding her, overwhelming her.

  Unhooking her ankles, she raised her legs high against his sides, holding him without restricting his movements.

  “Mine.” He covered her mouth with his and thrust his tongue into her waiting warmth. The taste of her pleasure filled her mouth as his tongue stroked against hers. Joined, melded, combined, she couldn’t tell where she ended and he began. His ravenous hunger incited her eager response and her excitement fed his fire.

  With a deep moan he wrapped his arms around her and came, the forceful jet of his seed triggering her final climax. She shuddered against him and rippled around him as they hung suspended beyond reality.

  The cords around her wrists released and he gathered her against his chest, rolling them to their sides. He anchored her leg to his hip, keeping their bodies joined as he peppered kisses over her damp skin.

  “Is the link intentional?” she asked when her passion-muddled brain began to function again.

  He raised his head and looked into her eyes. “Not entirely. I connected with your mind so I could locate you but…”

  “You didn’t mean for the line to stay active?”

  “Basically.” Mutant light faded from his gaze and his expression became guarded. “As long as I’m responsible for your safety, it’s a necessary precaution. That’s why I haven’t terminated the link.”

  She smiled despite the disappointment creeping into her lethargy. When push came to shove, she was his prisoner and they were enemies. She couldn’t let their physical attraction distract her from reality. Nothing had changed. This was just sex. Just unbelievable, mind-blowing sex.

  “A metaphysical tracking device?” she mused.

  “I can’t sense your thoughts unless I intentionally scan your mind, but I will instantaneously know if you’re in danger.” He hesitated then asked, “Have you always been telepathic?”

  “I inherited the power from my mother, but it’s nothing special. My strongest ability is shielding.”

  “Can you access our link, or are you just receiving?”

  Should she tell him she had access to his mind? It had given her a small advantage when she first awakened. No, the situation was slanted toward him on so many levels. She’d keep this secret to herself for now. She shook her head. “Everything grows stronger during sex, but I seem to be the receiver.”

  “Even now I can feel your shields going back up. Who taught you to protect your mind?” His tone was casual, but she didn’t miss the suspicion in his eyes.

  She shrugged, emulating his conversational tone. “After Nicho was murdered I learned many new skills. I refused to let the tragedy drive me from my home, but I wanted to feel safe.”

  “There is more to this than new skills.” He paused again, his gaze penetrating. “Did you have yourself altered in some way?”

  There was no drawback to letting him know she wasn’t as helpless as he presumed. She closed her fingers into a loose fist, hiding the transfer tube. She could reveal t
he source without divulging the details. “Think about it, Fane. What’s my life’s work?”

  “Nanites. You injected yourself with nanites… that do what exactly?”

  “That’s none of your business.” She turned her face into the warmth of his chest to hide her smile.

  * * *

  Fane stared at the ceiling, trying to will his body to sleep. Cassie curled against his side, soft, warm, and inviting. His arousal stirred back to life mere moments after he found release. They’d made love twice more before she fell asleep and still he was not satisfied. Only with Cassie was he insatiable and only with her could he hope to ease the ache.

  He understood the urgency, the instinctual demands fueling their passion. Their souls had started to bond three years before while her heart was open to his. Then the bond had slumbered, inactive yet intact during their separation. Now that they were together again, the bond would strengthen each time they touched and it would compel them to touch each time they were together. The bonding process could last weeks or months, depending on the couple.

  She might have accepted him back into her bed, but she was far from inviting him into her heart. Her resentment was understandable. She’d been betrayed at every turn. Even so, he felt powerless to bridge the gap and start the healing.

  Easing her onto her back, he carefully disentangled their bodies. Mutual trust was the foundation for any relationship and Cassie wasn’t going to trust him simply because her body responded to his. He had to earn her trust, prove to her that he would never fail her again.

  He took a quick shower and dressed, loath to leave her yet needing a few minutes away from the intoxicating distraction of her soft body. He’d let her sleep for a few hours then bring her breakfast, so they could share a quiet meal before they started the day.

  Light streamed out under Roark’s office door, so Fane knocked on the panel. He hadn’t expected anyone else to be up and around.

  “It’s open,” Roark called.

  Fane triggered the door and stepped inside. Roark was seated behind his desk, studying the angled monitor centered on his desk. “Good morning.”