by Anna Hackett
She felt the head of his cock brush between her legs. Anticipation coiled in her belly.
“Right now, I’m going to thrust inside you and keep going until you come.”
She shoved back against him. “Do it.”
He plunged forward.
God. He filled her up, stretching unused muscles.
He pulled out, then thrust back in. “Damn, baby, you feel so good. So tight, so warm.”
She moaned. As he started moving in a steady rhythm, she felt every nerve ending overload with sensation.
“Natalya.” His hands gripped her hips. “All mine. You aren’t running away from me. Wherever you go, I’ll find you. Got it?”
“Yes.” A breathy whisper. She felt her orgasm growing, a huge thing she knew would hurt as much as it felt good.
“Damn, I wish I had more light, wish I could see you stretched around me.” He thrust harder, faster. “For now, I’ll focus on how you feel when you come. Ready?”
“Yes, yes.” She’d take whatever this man had to give her, because raptor heart or not, she was already falling in love with him.
***
Reed tightened one hand on Natalya’s hip, holding her in place as he slammed home. God, the sight of her pale skin in the moonlight, her upturned ass, it made the need in him ratchet up another notch. He felt her body tightening and knew her release was coming.
He slid a palm up her back to rest on her shoulder blades. He kept pumping into her.
“Reed.” Her palms were splayed against the rock, like she was searching for something to anchor herself.
“Let go, baby. I’ve got you.”
Her orgasm hit. She screamed, arching her back. He held her in place and kept thrusting. God, she was beautiful. She tightened on him, milking his cock. Damn. He gritted his teeth. He couldn’t hold on.
His release hit him like a Hawk at high speed. It slammed into him and he gripped her tighter, pouring inside her.
Panting, his body still shuddering, he dropped down and covered her with his body, their legs still in the water. He turned her a little, so he wasn’t squashing her and so he could move his hand over her chest, over her beating heart.
“Don’t care what they did. That’s on them, not you.” He traced a circle over the fast beat, hard enough to make his point. “That thing is giving you a pulse, life, but I made it race like this. And I want to keep doing that.”
“Reed,” she murmured. “You make my knees weak when you talk like that.” She gave a little laugh. “Although, so does the dirty talk during sex. I’d never guessed that you’d say things like you did.”
He shifted against her, his half-erect cock sliding against her, eliciting a moan. “And I never guessed my prim scientist would like it so much, or do a little of her own.”
She laughed again and it was a free, easy sound that made him feel light.
“Come on, beautiful. Let’s get back to base.”
She stiffened a little, reality leaking in.
“Nuh-uh.” He drew back and then pulled her up. He twisted her to face him. “Don’t let the bad back in. Forward. That’s what we have to focus on.”
“Forward. The future.” She gave a determined nod. “Okay.”
“And, my brown-eyed girl, I can tell you that your future involves more hot, mind-blowing sex.”
Her teeth flashed white in the darkness. She cupped one of his stubble-covered cheeks. “I never realized former Navy SEALs were so bossy. But I like it.”
***
Holy fuck, he was going to come just watching her.
Reed sat on the edge of his bunk, naked, with Natalya on her knees in front of him. She was cupping his cock in slim hands, her eyes alight, her cheeks flushed.
As he’d promised, all the lights were on. He’d already fucked her in the shower and in his bed. Now, she was having a little fun.
And the tease was wearing one of her skirts and a white shirt. And he was well aware she had nothing on underneath. He could see the shadow of her nipples against the white fabric and his hard-as-a-rock cock was well aware that all he had to do was slip that skirt up and find her wet for him.
She moved closer, one hand on his thigh to steady herself. She opened her red lips and all thoughts flew out of Reed’s head. Damn. He had to focus on not coming too soon.
She teased him, swirling her tongue around the head of his cock. Her cheeks flushed a pretty pink, and it was nice to see her just enjoying herself. His muscles twisted into tight knots of anticipation. She licked down his cock, making little humming noises as she did. Damn, she was really enjoying herself.
She moved back up and then, without any warning, sucked him into her mouth.
“Natalya.” He groaned, his hands clamping on the edge of the bed.
She made that humming noise again, bobbing up and down on him, and this time the vibration made him groan. She worked her way lower, taking more and more of him into her mouth.
“That’s it, baby. You can take all of me.”
She did, relaxing and swallowing him down.
“I’m going to come.” His hands went to her head, holding her there as he pushed into her mouth with short, firm strokes.
She moaned around him, her big brown eyes on his face, and a second later, his orgasm—a fucking intense one—tore through him. His groan was long and loud. He spurted into her warm mouth and watched as she licked the last of it from her lips. She smiled at him.
Reed had never seen anything more beautiful. He gripped her chin. “Every time I look at you, you steal my breath.”
Her smile dissolved, need in her eyes. “Reed.”
He tugged her up and kissed her. It went from tender to hot in a flash. He rolled, pinning her to the bed, but he forced himself to cool it a little.
He’d been rough with her, hard. He wanted to give her the tenderness, too. To show her how good slow and lazy could be as well.
Gripping the hem of her skirt he shoved it up.
“Let me undo the zipper,” she said.
“Nope. Leave it there.”
Her mouth opened, her brown eyes glowing. “Want me to wear my glasses?”
He growled, leaned down and nipped her lip. “Next time.”
He undid her top button. Now her face changed, nerves skittering.
The next button followed. “No secrets between us. I don’t give a flying fuck about this scar or what you think it represents. To me, it’s still a symbol of courage and survival.” He flicked open her shirt.
As he’d done before, he leaned down and kissed the scar, tracing it with his lips.
Her hands tangled in his hair. “You are so gorgeous, like a big, healthy lion on the prowl. A part of me thinks you deserve a normal, complete woman.”
He nipped at her with his teeth. “Don’t say that.” His tone was firm, unyielding. “Ever again. I deserve you. I want you. And I’m taking you.”
When he slid inside her, he did it slowly. He watched the expressions flicker across her face and, as he moved inside her, the two of them joined as one, he vowed he’d fight anyone who tried to keep her from him. Even herself.
Chapter Twelve
Walking into the dining room for lunch the next day, Natalya felt a rush of nerves. By now, most of the base would have heard that she’d spoken raptor, been imprisoned, and dragged off to the infirmary. In the close confines of the base, gossip was rife. She forced herself to keep her head held high and not to squeeze Reed’s hand like a lifeline.
They had spent a lazy morning in bed, laughing, making love. He’d fed her breakfast in bed…and her toast had ended up squashed beneath her as they’d fed on each other, instead.
They stepped into the middle of the lunch crowd. Conversations stopped, cutlery rattled onto plates…silence.
Reed glowered. God, it was one thing to not want people to stare at her, but she really didn’t want them treating Reed like a pariah.
Swallowing, she took a step backward.
“Good afternoon
.” Claudia appeared beside Natalya, gripping her elbow gently, but firmly. “We’re sitting over here.”
Shaw bustled up on the other side of Reed and slapped him on the back. “Man, I see you somehow convinced this super-smart lady to take you on.” A gusty sigh. “Almost all the good women are taken.”
Claudia snorted. “Shaw, you never keep the same woman longer than a night.”
He shrugged. “Someone has to keep the single ladies company.” He waggled his eyebrows at Natalya. “But a man can dream.”
Natalya blinked, overcome with emotion as the pair herded them past the gawkers over to a table against the far wall. All of Hell Squad was there, along with Santha, Elle, and even young Bryony. The girl waved, bouncing in her seat. She was wearing a set of dog tags and had two pink hair clips in her short, dark hair.
Marcus stood and pushed out two seats beside him. “Glad you managed to pull yourself out of bed, MacKinnon.”
Reed helped Natalya into a chair, smiling at his boss. She was thankful to see the tension in him lessen. “Well, my bed was warm, and soft and just too darn tempting.”
Natalya knew her cheeks were pink.
Shaw sat and snatched up a piece of toast with what looked like black grease smeared on it. “Heard Navy SEALs were lazy. Now I have proof.”
Reed snorted and sat down beside her. “And I heard Aussie SAS grunts think they’re tough because they eat that disgusting stuff.” He nodded at Shaw’s toast.
“Vegemite is like a sixth food group, mate. But I’ll grant you, it’s not for the faint of heart. It’s an acquired taste.”
Claudia sat back in her chair. “A bit like you, then.”
Shaw gave her an evil grin. “You love me, Frost.”
She huffed out a breath and snatched up a glass of juice. “In your dreams, Baird.”
Elle set a plate of food down in front of Natalya. “Eat. You probably need the energy.” A small knowing smile played around her lips.
More heat rushed into Natalya’s cheeks, but she picked up her fork and started eating the substitute eggs. She was hungry.
Conversations slowly started again, and after a while, she tuned out the interested stares and quiet whispers. Hell Squad helped.
They were all talking at once. Ribbing each other, talking about weapons and vehicles, rehashing old missions. Bryony was telling big bad Gabe about what she was learning in school and the scary man appeared to be listening with apparent interest.
They were like a big family—albeit with more muscles and tattoos and training in ways to kill people. But she was grateful for their support.
Suddenly a wave of titters flared in the crowd. She glanced up and saw Noah bearing down on them. He was scowling, and glaring at anyone whose gaze he caught. He had his dark hair tied at the back of his neck, highlighting his hawkish features.
He stopped at the table. “Hey, Natalya. How are you doing?”
She nodded. “I’m doing okay.”
“Couldn’t believe it when I heard they’d locked you up. Insanity.” He cast a dark glance around the room. “And I’m sure all these fu—” his gaze dropped to Bryony “—idiots are gossiping up a storm. Morons wouldn’t have their precious hot water if it wasn’t for you. And how do they show their thanks? At the first instant, they doubt you, talk about you behind your back, make someone who’s already survived hell relive it again.”
The room went quiet. Natalya squeezed Reed’s hand and stood. She gripped Noah’s arm. “Thank you. I’m so grateful you believe in me. But you don’t have to punish them. They’ve survived their own versions of hell, too, and I know they have loved ones they want to keep safe. They’re just scared. It hurts, but I understand.”
“Glad you do,” he grumped. Then he sat down, reached over and plucked some bacon substitute off Elle’s plate. “I’ve been working on that cube. I think I know why it didn’t work.”
“Oh, yeah.” Natalya moved back to her seat. “I’ve been thinking about it, too.”
“I think we messed up the code. But I do think if we refine it and do some more work, we can get it to work.”
She sighed. “But what we really need are more of those cubes so we can test it out first.” She hated the idea of Reed and the rest of Hell Squad heading into danger to do something that might not work. Again.
“Well,” Shaw said, his tone smug. “If that’s all you need, you’ll be happy to hear that I snatched a few on that last mission.”
Natalya froze. “What?”
Shaw finished chewing, swallowed. “Grabbed half a dozen of those suckers as we were bugging out. Thought they might come in handy.”
She jumped to her feet, leaned over to the sniper, and smacked a huge kiss on his cheek. “You are amazing.”
He grinned. “Oh, well, I know. Next time I’ll have to grab even more alien cubes. Then maybe you’ll toss the SEAL over for a real soldier.”
Reed made a growling noise and she looked over. He didn’t look happy. With a smile, she walked back to him, framed his rugged face with her palms and pressed a kiss to his lips.
The quick kiss she’d intended swiftly turned hot, as he captured her lips with his. Before she could catch her breath, he yanked her into his lap. The entire dining room disappeared. It was only her and this man that saw through to the real heart of her.
“Get a room.” Shaw’s laughing voice permeated the haze. “There are kids present, you know.”
Natalya pulled back and saw Shaw had his hand over a giggling Bryony’s eyes.
“Cruz is always kissing Santha,” the girl said.
Cruz laughed and Santha shook her head.
“Kid, seal it,” Cruz said, chuckling.
As the others all laughed, Natalya pressed her forehead to Reed’s and lowered her voice. “I can make that cube work.” She could prove to everyone that she wasn’t a raptor spy.
His hands came down over hers. “You have nothing to prove to anyone,” he said darkly.
Her mouth dropped open. “Are you reading my mind?”
“No. You just have the most expressive face I’ve ever seen.”
A communicator beeped and Natalya settled back into Reed’s lap. She saw Santha open her device.
Suddenly, the woman sat bolt upright. “What? Where are you?”
Everyone at the table went silent, watching her intently.
“You’re where?” She looked at Cruz, Marcus, then the rest of the table. “It’s Devlin. He says he’s found thousands of the raptor energy cubes.”
Natalya gasped and the men around the table cursed.
“Where?” Natalya asked.
Santha’s face turned dark. “On the alien spaceship.”
Now there was shocked silence.
Marcus stood, his chair scraping on the floor. “He’s on their spaceship?”
Santha nodded. “Yes.”
***
Reed stared at the screen. The feed wasn’t great, the image jumping around and filled with static. But he could see Devlin and he could see the strange room he was standing in.
Jesus, the guy was in the alien ship. He had to have a big brass set of balls.
Reed, Natalya and the rest of Hell Squad were crammed into Hell Squad’s conference room in the Ops Area.
General Holmes had also arrived. For once, he wasn’t in uniform, just wearing chinos and a white shirt. He looked…almost human. But the look on his face as he watched the screen was pure military.
Devlin was walking through a room on the alien ship. The walls made Reed think of the orange dome of the Genesis Facility that he and Hell Squad had blown to smithereens. The walls were the same amber color with black vein-like striations. Every now and then the walls pulsed with light. It was eerie as hell.
“The cubes are in here.” Devlin’s crisp voice was a little distorted.
“Can you clear up the image and audio?” Marcus asked Elle.
She was tapping on a comp screen, Noah hanging over her shoulder. “I’m trying.” Elle push
ed back a strand of dark hair with a huff. “But nothing’s working. Something on the ship must be interfering with the signal.”
“I’d like to know how the hell Devlin waltzed right into their ship?” Shaw said. “Right past who knows how many fucking aliens.”
Devlin walked through an arched doorway. The next room was completely different. The walls were an oily-black and in the center of the floor was a huge stack of energy cubes, higher than Devlin’s head.
“There are adjoining rooms just like this one.” He panned the camera around. “Filled with these things. All operational.”
“They must power the ship,” Noah said.
“I think so,” Devlin agreed. “And everything they do in here. Hang on, I want to show you the next room.”
He passed through another doorway.
Reed wondered where the hell the raptors were. Security in the ship was pretty lax. Then again, it was tight outside and they probably never believed anyone would make it through undetected.
In the next room were cages. They were filled with animals from Earth. Birds squawked, monkeys screeched and somewhere a wolf gave a mournful howl.
“Fuck me,” Claudia said.
“This isn’t what I wanted you to see.” Devlin kept walking.
Something in the man’s tone made Reed tense. Whatever was coming wasn’t good.
The next room was long and cavernous. It made Reed think of a manufacturing plant. A huge raptor-version of an overhead crane dominated the roof, looking like some giant black tentacle. On the floor, it looked like things were growing. They were circular, around half a meter high.
Reed narrowed his gaze. “Are those—?”
“They’re making more genesis tanks?” Marcus said darkly. “Bastards.”
“We have to stop this,” Santha said. “Dev, how’d you get into the ship? Could you lead a team in?”
The image bobbled as the man turned the camera, his face filled the screen. “I came in from the water. They had loads of security and patrols on the land side of the ship, but they’re clearly not expecting anybody from the ocean side.”
