by Marie Harte
He didn’t turn on any lights. Shadows of dark amber and lavender filled the room. The colors, unique to late twilight, draped Kade’s profile as he lowered them both onto rumpled sheets and downy pillows. His mouth was lifted in his quiet smirk again. She wondered why the expression didn’t drive a vexed spike into her blood, as it had three years ago. Instead, the tilt now struck her as…cute.
Cute?
Her stunned frown didn’t escape Kade’s attention. Shifting to keep his cock inside her, he prompted, “Well, that’s a look I’ve never seen before.” He ran a thumb across her forehead. “Beaker for your thoughts, little geek?”
Charlotte parted her lips. Pressed them back together. Thoughts? Why the hell did he care? And what was she supposed to say? That simply glancing at his mouth had made her stomach hop on a trampoline—and that scared the crap out of her more than what they’d just done on the piano? That a lot of this still didn’t make sense to her? That though she’d spent the last four days going over her archives from the tests on the Sparta, she still didn’t have even half a theory about what the hell had happened to all of them?
He wanted thoughts. But thinking was all she’d been doing since he left her office.
“Kade…”
“Yeah?”
It was more a grunt than a word. His lips hardly moved. She knew it for a fact because her gaze fixed on them again.
Hell…his mouth. It dipped and curved, creating fascinating little inlets that led to deeper parts of him. Open, sensual invitations for a woman’s exploration…
Screw it. She surrendered to the urge, raising a finger to trace across his top lip. Kade’s eyes turned from smooth butterscotch to sharp topaz. His whole body stilled except for his jaw, which flexed beneath his tanned skin. Charlotte let her finger do a U-turn, starting a slow coast along the incredible fullness of his lower lip.
For half a second, she paused in the middle.
“Lottie,” he rasped—coating her with all the tempting magic of his scent as he did. In an instant, she was transported once more. Pacific wind. Caramel delight. Fantasy and freedom. Eroticism and explosions.
She tugged on his lip a little.
His mouth parted—enough to let him snatch her finger then bite on it. She whimpered as he caught the finger next to it…then began to suck.
“Ohhhh.” She put more breath than volume into it, turning it into a high hum as Kade pumped her two digits in and out of his mouth. His eyes relaying wicked omniscience as he savored her like the world’s most delicious peppermint stick. With every thrust, his stare gained new depths of dark gold intensity. With every slide, he marked every one of her senses with the scent of his excitement.
On a sudden jerk, he pulled back. Charlotte sighed in protest but he kissed her into silence. Without breaking the lock of their gazes, he grabbed her hand in his own—and directed it straight to the wet layers of her pussy.
“Damn.” She gasped and shuddered—and was acutely aware of that part of him still buried in her, swelling inside of her with new life.
Kade’s face made her stomach flip as he inhaled and smiled. “You need it again, don’t you, beautiful?”
Charlotte could only mewl. She shook her head in disgust. What the hell was wrong, that she couldn’t blurt out one stupid word?
“It’s okay. Don’t you know I already know the answer?” He lowered his head, inhaling the grotto between their bodies. “Goddamn. Your lust smells like the sweetest apple pie, Lottie.”
“Kade…”
Well, it was one word. She just had no idea how long her brain would last. She’d thought their coupling in her office was powerful but then gotten here and had her every fantasy granted by the man with that jam session on the piano. Now as darkness wrapped around them, their passion had never sparked brighter…though she didn’t know what she’d do if things got any more intense.
But what a way to go insane…
Kade pressed his hand over hers again. Guided her fingers deeper into the cushions at her core. His fingers stroked and rolled, making hers do the same thing along her hot, tingling nerves. “Give it to me, Lottie,” he encouraged. “Caress yourself for me. Find the little magic ball. Let me smell the sweetness of your need.”
Her throat and lips were dry. Who the hell was she kidding? Every drop of moisture in her body now spilled from her darkest tunnel, drenching her fingers. “Wh-what?” she managed. “M-magic wh-what?”
A smile of knowing intent took over his lips as he shifted to kiss her. “Touch your clit, Lottie.” He continued to make her rub herself, undulating his cock a little to help along her arousal. “Make it wet for me, Charlotte. Rub it. Tease it. Make it cry with your heat. Show me what you do with it when you’re all alone, and you need to make yourself—”
He stopped himself when she wrenched her face away.
“Hey…what is it?”
“I—I don’t know how,” she blurted. “Not really.” She glanced away, eyes burning as hot as the mortification in her cheeks. “I was never very good at it. I’m kind of a control freak, you know?”
Nearly the second he said the words, his dark brows jumped with comprehension. “Oh, shit.”
“Yeah,” Charlotte spat. “That’s right. Oh, shit. Your pheromones jumped into the quicksand with a freak. Sorry, but—”
“But what?” He pulled on her hair a little to jerk her gaze back up to his. A breathtaking combination of smirk and scowl took over his face. “Sweet geek, you’ve just been concentrating on other things, that’s all.”
His smile won the battle, breaking over his lips with the glory of an ocean sunrise. He gave it a boyish flare while pulling back up to his knees. A second later, he pulled her up, too. Charlotte gasped. The position angled his cock into her channel in a breath-stealing new way, allowing his hard, broad head to hit parts of her shaft that she’d never known about before. Kaden’s face, dominated by the sexiness of his lower lip beneath his teeth, was an even better revelation.
“But now,” he told her in a sensual rumble, “it’s time to concentrate on this.”
He opened his mouth and lifted her two fingers back inside. With an intense stare, he swirled his tongue around her skin. Instantly, the aroma of his arousal sweetened the air again. Charlotte took a greedy breath. But her clinical curiosity couldn’t help inviting itself to the party, too.
“Kade?”
“Hmmm?”
“How is this—”
Reluctantly, he set her fingers free. “How is this…what?”
“Um…turning you on?”
His brows lifted again. “Excuse me?”
“Well, you’re hard—”
“You can say that again.”
“But you’re not—well—all you’re doing is—”
He silenced her by pulling her hair again. Charlotte gasped while sparklers crackled down her spine, through her torso, into her pussy. The air in the room thickened in proportion to Kade’s dominant stare.
“Put her away.” His direction was soft—but still an order.
“Huh? Put who—”
“The little lab geek.” He plunged her hand back to the folds between her thighs. “Don’t need her at the moment.” He pushed her fingers even deeper, sliding them into her passage alongside his cock, then back to the crests of her labia. After he released her, he added his thumbs to the torment, parting her flesh and teasing her clit. “Now let the other parts out. Let me see them, Lottie.”
She bit her lip, feeling as unsteady as if she really were treading near quick sand. Kaden lifted his free hand to her nape, forcing her to keep gazing at him. The beams of the rising moon played across the strong angles of his face. His lips fell open, revealing his clenched snarl of spiraling lust.
“Oh,” she rasped. What the hell was taking over her? Aches in her thighs. Tremors in her core. A need, spiraling like sweet smoke, through every inch of her sex. “Oh, my…I don’t know if I can—”
“You’re doing fine.” His nostri
ls flared. His shoulders flexed. His sex thrummed against her walls. “Oh fuck Lottie, better than fine.”
His voice was sandpaper now, abrading her senses in all the right ways. All the nerves in her body burst open a little more, especially the eager bud beneath her fingers. Shards of awakening were thrilling and terrifying at once. She hissed and writhed. Kade answered with a gorgeous growl, dragging her stare back up to meet his. She mewled while visually feasting on his golden eyes, his copper skin, and the primal desire that defined every inch of him now.
On a rush of boldness, she jammed her fingers back into his mouth.
He closed his eyes while sucking off her nectar. She lifted her other hand to his face in order to stroke his thick lashes. When he reopened his eyes, she moved her hand to his jaw, unwilling to give up the miracle of gazing at him like this.
Something about offering her fingers to him…it shifted something between them. Kade was once again the wild creature who’d been waiting for her back at the lab, only a lot more so. He was harder. Hungrier. More urgent. More untamed. Jamming the spear of his intent solely on her. Ramming the knife between his thighs even deeper inside her. Oh yes, so much deeper.
“K-Kade,” she stuttered. “Ohhhhh…”
He anchored himself more securely on the bed so he could brace a hand at her ribcage, forcing her body tighter down on his. “Get your fingers back down there,” he charged. “Explore it, beautiful. Find that sweet spot for me.”
She felt as ridiculous as a duck in high heels but disobeying him wasn’t an option. Awkwardness aside, it felt wonderful to caress herself in that intimate juncture, shivering as the layers of her pussy unfolded for her, awakening in ways she never imagined. She rubbed and massaged, leeching the sensuality in Kaden’s stare to keep going. She treasured how he watched her, soaking her energy right back into himself.
“H-how do I know if I’m doing it right?” she stammered.
Some cathedral in the world was missing a wicked angel from its fresco. The creature was moonlighting as Kaden Tiernan today. “Oh, you’ll know.” He pressed his lips to the curve of her chin. “Keep opening her, Lottie. Keep giving her to me. She’s mine tonight, and she’s amazing.”
As he lifted his mouth off her skin, he raised his gaze to meet hers. Charlotte gasped in amazement. Never had she fathomed that the arrogant soldier she despised three years ago was hiding a lover who’d command the most carnal parts of her. She had no idea that all his dark glowers were shutters on this molten sexuality…that his stiff stances could give way to the beautiful body that undulated with hers now.
Mind-shattering thoughts. Gone the next second.
“Shit!”
He was right. As soon as she hit the sensitive strip of nerves, she knew. One orgasm, coming right up.
She gaped at Kaden. The air choked in her throat. His lips were set but his stare danced with sensual triumph. He slid both hands to her ass, digging in his grip to work her walls along his hot, pulsing erection.
“Shit,” she repeated, starting to shake from the pressure. Her gasps doubled. It was so much. Too much. She tried to wrench back but Kade kept her in place and continued the blistering pace of their thrusts. Every stroke of his cock hit her womb deeper, harder.
The world careened. Everything between her waist and knees ached for release. She whimpered, struggling to keep her mind gated against the charge of the rampaging beasts in her blood. No. God, no. She couldn’t let the stampede in. The gates kept her safe. The gates were her strength. Without the gates, she would tumble into failure.
“Kaden!” She sobbed. “I’m—I’m sorry. I can’t!” The ramparts had to stay up. The alternative was too terrifying.
“Yes,” he charged, “you can.” He stretched his long fingers against her scalp, pulling her gaze to him. Always back to him. His growls, now such beautiful commands. His stubbornness, now a haven of strength. His obstinacy, now lifting her to ecstasy.
“It’s too much. It’s—”
“Exactly what you need.” He hit her with another savage kiss. “Keep going. Fuck, you have no idea how beautiful you are. Touch yourself for me. Set yourself free.”
“Ohhhh!”
“Reach for it, Lottie. And take it.”
She did.
And screamed, not caring if half the house or half the world heard her. Bright fire. Perfect bliss. Unthinking surrender. Her torture and salvation twisted into the same savage, sublime explosion…
The moment her pussy began to convulse, Kaden seized her hips. Shoved his higher. A dark groan consumed him before Charlotte felt the violent jerk of his cock, exploding once more inside her.
They held each other, breathing hard and blending heartbeats, before she let her head fall back. Kaden used that momentum to settle her back against the pillows, kissing her with gentle thoroughness while he finally withdrew from her.
Without a word, he rolled from the bed then stepped to a small bathroom. After tossing the condom and grabbing a towel, he slid back next to her.
Charlotte was glad for his silence. She let him clean her up, keeping her eyes fixed on the ceiling. It was back to the duck in heels time again, even flat on her back. The post-coital social hour was completely new territory for her. Hell, the last time she’d even spent more than ten minutes with a guy after sex, it had been in college. It had been a nice chat, but nothing requiring higher thought.
She didn’t want to think now, either. For the first time in a week, all five of her senses didn’t feel like a hotrod revving at a traffic light. As a result, lethargy assaulted. She was sated, weighted, and exhausted.
But somehow she had to start the process. She needed to get up, retrieve her clothes and contemplate leaving. It was the logical thing to do. More importantly, it was the safe thing to do. She had no illusions that the patient, passionate, and captivating version of Kaden Tiernan was going to stick around after getting his rocks knocked twice in an hour, and she preferred to take home pleasant memories of it all before Ensign Optimus Prime took possession of that incredible body once again.
Not that the man made it easy. Not one damn bit.
After cleaning them both off, Kade tossed the towel to the floor. After turning back, he instantly roped one wickedly long leg over one of hers. He made no move to touch her anywhere else, though the stare he bore down on her, with his head propped on one bent arm, qualified as contact in its own right. He was unrelenting. And unapologetic.
“You want to discuss it now or later?”
Hell.
“Discuss what?”
“You’re smarter than that and we both know it, beautiful.”
“What’s with the ‘beautiful,’ anyway? You never called me that on the Sparta.”
“Circumstances were completely different on the Sparta. You know that, too.” He pressed his fingertips to her jaw, tilting her face up. “Why did you hesitate like that?”
“Hesitate? About what?”
“You want me to say it? I will. Why’d you have issues about finishing yourself off?” A leaden pause stretched. “Didn’t you feel safe enough with me?”
“Hey.” She didn’t have to fake much of her irritation. “I got there, didn’t I?”
“Finally.” He moved a finger to stroke her cheek. “And…was it good for you?”
“Seriously?” His earnest tone, backed by his somber expression, had already provided the answer to that. She huffed and averted her gaze back to the ceiling. “Squid man, the Casanova thing doesn’t fit you, okay?”
Actually, it fit like a damn glove. No, better than that. It fit like the draw of wondering, so many times, what he’d be like between the sheets—and then having every juicy expectation blown out of the water, finished off by this conversation. It was all too damn good. The illusion of something that could be right.
Never, ever, would Kaden Tiernan think of her as Miss Right.
“This is a crazy situation, Lottie. I think it entitles me to some concern for you.”
; She jerked on the blanket, covering herself a little. “Right. Because if I freak and bug, you’ll end up back on the kitchen floor, talking like somebody cut out your tongue and twisted your balls.” She sighed. “Give me credit. A good scientist knows when to admit they were wrong. Until I can figure this whole thing out, I promise not to turn either of us into Jell-O Again. That still doesn’t mean that you have to pretend my life story interests you now.”
“I don’t do pretend.”
Every word came out as its own sentence. Its own low, angry sentence.
She sighed again. Dammit, she should’ve listened to herself two minutes ago and gotten the hell out of here. The brooding military police officer was fast on his way back.
“Well…that’s good,” she muttered. “Neither do I. So maybe this is my cue to leave.”
“Wait.”
He couldn’t resist, could he? Before Charlotte could make her getaway, he had to pull her back down and re-melt every blood cell in her body with a kiss that commanded as much as caressed…and set her up perfectly for his devastating kicker. The words, asked with such tenderness, that for just one tingly moment, she pretended they were a real entreaty from a guy who truly cared.
“You’re going to be happy here, Lottie. Move in with me…please.”
*
“WHEN ARE YOU going to stop making life hell for yourself and just move in with the guy?”
Charlotte didn’t hide the frustration from the breath she expelled across the lab, in Aimee’s general direction. “It’s been three months, Dr. Lawe. When are you going to see the ‘Off-Limits Subject’ sign on that one?”
Her friend tossed back a glower. Since Aims had a variety of them, Charlotte had named them. This one was the Carol Brady, plenty of censure with a dash of love. “Macaroni and freaking cheese, Sinclare. You already have a key to the place. You’re taking birth control because you two make like cats in heat every damn chance you get. I think you missed the window on turning off that sign a long time ago.”
She darkened her scowl. “Are you going to help clean up or stand there and make ‘nag’ your new middle name?”
