by Ross, Aubrey
With a frustrated sigh, he unfastened his pants and freed his cock. He was fully dressed and she was naked. He stood and she knelt. Each detail was intentional and necessary for his pleasure. And hers. Grasping the end of the stocking with one hand and his shaft with the other, he guided his cock into her mouth.
She swirled her tongue around the tip and drew on him with slow, firm suction. For a long time he let her play, enjoying each soft lick and the persistent sucking of her warm mouth. Her eyes were closed and her head slightly tilted as she lavished attention on his needful cock.
His balls pulled up tight against his body, aching with the need to release. He fought back the urge, determined to take his time and savor each tingle. His hand tightened on the end of the stocking and he pulled his hips back, watching his cock emerge from her mouth.
Her gaze rose as he pushed back in and it nearly snapped his control. Burning with blue fire and unrestrained passion, her eyes softly glowed. He took her face between his hands and steadily fucked her mouth as he stared into her eyes.
Unable to restrain the urge, he brushed against her mind. She was only half Bartonese. He could easily overpower her but that wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted her to open for him, to accept him into her mind as she allowed him inside her body.
She closed her eyes and her lips released for a second before reestablishing the ring of pressure. Damn her! The message was clear. She was willing to fuck him, but that was all.
Angry and frustrated, he pulled out of her warm, wet mouth and quickly finished with his hand. His seed jetted from his cock, beading on her breasts, a mocking tribute to her stubbornness.
“Why?” He trailed his finger through the cloudy liquid, enjoying his scent rising from her skin. “I’ve been in your mind before. Why refuse me now?”
Saroji licked her lips, trying desperately to calm her breathing before she spoke. “We weren’t enemies then.” His fingers caught her nipple and gently squeezed, sending sensations cascading from her breast to her pussy.
“I need to share your emotions for my pleasure to reach its full potential. You’re half Bartonese. You understand what I mean.” He worked her other nipple into a tight peak, his gaze stubbornly fixed on her breasts.
“I can’t trust you not to snoop around.” She fidgeted, unsure if she wanted more superficial fucking while the past loomed between them. “You understand the danger of revealing too much to the enemy.”
His gaze finally rose but his expression was shuttered. He released a heavy sigh and moved behind her. After untying her hands, he helped her to her feet and turned her to face him. “I’m not your enemy.”
“Then prove it. Tell me something that will help the Resistance.”
“Is this why you’re here? You’re trying to recruit me?” He laughed and shook his head. “You’re the one with the death wish, sweetheart, not me.”
“Neutrality is no longer an option. Can you really stand back and watch this world burn, then head off with those bastards to ravage the next one?”
“I’ve done it before.”
Though his expression remained blank, she heard pain in his voice. “Then learn from your mistakes. Make different choices. No one is beyond redemption.”
“It’s not that simple and you know it.” He ran his hand through his hair and stared past her. “I could tell you everything I’ve learned about the Gathosians, their weaknesses, exactly where and how to strike. But it wouldn’t do you any good. You can’t defeat them.”
“You have a rather pronounced opinion of us, considering how little you know.”
He took her by the shoulders and drew her toward him. “I’ve seen it before. If the rebellion starts building steam they’ll close up shop and pull out. Do you understand what that means? They’ll take the compound with them. Everyone will die a slow and excruciating death. Not only is the formula for the compound their most closely guarded secret, it contains things not found on Earth.”
She wanted to tell him that Evard had cracked the code. That he’d figured out an antidote for the dreaded compound, but common sense held her back. She couldn’t trust Malik. Experience had taught her that lesson with painful clarity.
“Unless…” His gaze bore into hers, his fingers lightly squeezing her shoulders. “Did that sneaky lab rat actually do it? Has Evard found some sort of cure?”
She lowered her gaze with the blink of her eyes, unable to hide the truth from him. “For the sake of argument, let’s say he did. Would that change the equation? Do you have information that could help us put together a viable strategy?”
He didn’t reply for a long time, so she looked up. He was staring off into the distance, speculation etched into every feature. She knew the look, understood what it meant. Possibilities. For the first time in a very long time, he was allowing himself to hope.
“For the sake of argument—” His gaze shifted back to her face, intense and challenging. “Let’s say I do. How the hell would I stay alive? You can’t stage my death like you did with Evard. They’ll never fall for the same trick twice.”
“Evard is the one who told us how to rescue him. It wouldn’t have been possible without his input.”
“Go put on a bathrobe or something,” he grumbled, his hands slipping from her shoulders. “I need to think and that’s not going to happen as long as you’re naked.”
Thrilled with the opportunity for a moment alone, Saroji made a beeline for the bathroom. She closed herself inside and leaned against the door, releasing a ragged sigh. Was this really happening? If she could convince Malik to assist them… A violent shiver interrupted her optimism. She couldn’t trust him. He’d betrayed her during their betrothal, and he’d betrayed her when fate brought them back together again.
No, that wasn’t fair. The fiasco on Barton had been entirely his doing, but what happened on Earth was convoluted. He’d pursued her and used the authority of his position in an attempt to bend her to his will, but his resolve had never wavered. He’d insisted that he loved her and wanted her as his mate. And then her brother had tried to kill him.
She shook away the useless thoughts and crossed to the vanity. All she could do was proceed with the utmost caution. Malik was uniquely placed within the Gathosian power structure. He had access to information that would be invaluable—if she could trust him.
Wide haunted eyes gazed back at her from the mirror. Why had she ever thought she could control this situation? Her attraction to Malik had always been electric. It had been foolish to think she could keep her emotions separated from the pleasure they brought each other.
Her breasts were streaked with come and his scent filled her head each time she inhaled. She untied the makeshift collar and set the stocking aside. A hollow ache erupted low in her belly. This wasn’t real. Malik was an assignment, perhaps the most important assignment she would ever undertake. She had to find some objectivity.
She turned on the water and reached for a washcloth. A shower would have been even better, but he hadn’t given her permission and she needed to strike while the iron was hot. After washing her face and chest, she slipped into a bathrobe and tightened the belt.
Her heart lurched as she faced the door. She had to leave the past behind. Focusing on the present was the only way to make the future worth living. She pushed the door open and returned to her assignment.
He sat on one of the sofas, looking composed and gorgeous. He’d tied his hair back and poured himself another glass of fire ale. “How would you have reacted when Ra’jen rushed to your ‘rescue’ if I hadn’t had you restrained?”
So much for leaving the past behind. “What happened between us should have no bearing on your decisions now.”
“I have a hard time being rational where you’re concerned.” He patted the cushion beside him, the corners of his mouth curving upward. “If you haven’t noticed, I tend to turn possessive and overbearing whenever you’re around.”
As soon as he touched her any hope of logic would abandon
her, so she sat in the chair facing him, separated by the coffee table. “If I hadn’t been bound I would have tried to stop Ra’jen.” She chose her words carefully, not wanting to reveal too much. “But I’m not sure it would have mattered. He was in a blind rage. I doubt any force on the planet could have made him see reason. That was thirteen months ago. Why did you allow me to believe you were dead?”
He took a sip of ale, his expression revealing nothing. “It took me months to regenerate, months with nothing to do but think about how foolish it was to chase after a woman who didn’t want me. I’d just about convinced myself to focus my energies elsewhere when my investigation led me to the embassy.” He paused for another sip, then his voice grew hushed as he asked, “Do you consider my claim valid?”
“Oh for God’s sake.” She pushed to her feet and headed for the beverage tray. “There are far more important things for us to discuss than a moldering contract. Both of our planets have been abandoned. Our societies no longer exist.”
“We belong to a dying race, which is all the more reason to proceed with the bonding.” His voice was low and dark, filled with emotions too complex to name.
She returned to her chair with a frothy glass of fire ale, pausing for several sips while she organized her thoughts. “If you honestly felt this way about me, why did you intentionally drive me away?” Emotion welled within her, making her lips tremble and her hands shake. This was the last thing she wanted to talk about. Why was he doing this to her?
He stood and set his glass down on the coffee table. “Fine. Let’s go back to the beginning.” Shoving the table aside, he knelt in front of her and rested his forearms across her knees. “Were you pleased by the announcement of our joining?”
“You know I wasn’t. I was mad as hell and so were you.”
“That’s right.” He took her glass and set it aside, insisting on her undivided attention. “We were both resentful and distant when we first met, but that didn’t even last through our first dance. Our attraction was instantaneous and powerful.”
She pressed her lips together and looked away as vivid memories assailed her. He’d seemed dark and dangerous, yet sensual and charming, far more than any young woman could withstand. “I opened my heart and allowed myself to imagine a life at your side.”
His warm fingers touched her cheek and guided her gaze back to his. “I was conflicted beyond belief. When we met I had a lover named Shirra. In fact, she was my first lover and I had planned to make her my wife.”
Pity tugged at her heartstrings. “Is that who you were with when I walked in on you?” He nodded and she found it hard to breathe. She’d been so angry and hurt she’d refused to see him that night. By the time her temper cooled, the Gathosians had arrived and obliterated life as she’d known it. “But it wasn’t just that one woman. People I trusted had seen you before, with other women, kissing them and touching them. You flaunted your conquests and—”
“I was provoking my father. I didn’t want to be a political pawn, and I—”
“Wasn’t sure which of your lovers you desired most?” She wrapped herself in indignation, refusing to be hurt all over again.
He had the audacity to smile. “In a way. My rebellion only made my father more determined to see me joined, so I explored my feelings for you.”
“You pursued me like a predator.” She shivered. Just the memory of their courtship made her temperature rise and her pussy moisten. She wanted his body covering her, filling her, controlling her and pleasuring her as he drove them both beyond reality.
“I won’t apologize for my nature. I’m Bartonese and so are you. You wouldn’t have responded to a gentle wooing. Admit it.” Tension built between them, drawing their faces closer with each heartbeat.
“What happened to Shirra?” It was a cheap shot and she knew it, but she wasn’t ready to surrender to the insanity that was Malik.
He sighed and sank back on his heels, lowering his arm to his side. “Shirra sensed the change in me when you and I became lovers. The night you walked in on us she had begged me not to abandon her. She suggested I bond with you and make her a royal concubine.”
“My mother was a concubine.” Royal males were expected to produce as many children as possible, which often led to the designation of concubines. She lapsed into thoughtful silence, unable to determine how she felt about the details. Was it less damning that he’d only had one serious lover rather than a horde of meaningless flings? The ache in her heart gradually deepened. He would have shared his body with the one-night stands, while Shirra had shared a piece of his heart. “Is Shirra still alive?”
His hand eased beneath the robe and rested on her thigh. He didn’t caress her, just reestablished skin-to-skin contact. “She isn’t, but it wouldn’t have mattered if she was. As I huddled in the darkness and endured Gathosian torture, it was your face I saw, your scent I remembered and your taste I craved. I’ve tried to forget you, to move on, but I can’t let go. You are my destined mate, not Shirra.”
She pushed his hand away and closed the front of her robe. “I don’t believe in destined mates. Our physiology is compatible for reproduction so our bodies attract us to each other. It’s a genetic apparatus that evolved over time to ensure the survival of our species. There’s nothing mystical about it.”
He pushed her legs apart and pulled her toward him. “You give the credit to evolution and I’ll believe in destiny. The result is the same. You belong with me.”
“Why are we talking about this now?” She put her hands on his shoulders, keeping some distance between their bodies. “Are you afraid to explore the real issue?”
His hand shot into her hair then closed into a loose fist. “I need to know the future is worth fighting for. Will you be waiting for me on the other side?”
Did he mean on the other side of the conflict, or in the afterlife? She could sense the tension coiled within him but didn’t fully understand the cause. “Freedom is its own reward. You can’t do this for me. We’ve been captives so long we’ve forgotten what it feels like to live without fear. Hopelessness numbs the soul.”
“If I betray them they’ll tear this world apart. You have no idea how badly they need me.” The absolute desolation in his tone assured her it was no idle boast. He released her hair and pushed to his feet, obviously agitated by the direction they were headed.
“Can they track you?” Allowing Summer to take control, she suppressed her emotions and watched him closely. Every gesture and micro-expression could reveal a half-truth or exaggeration. It was time for her to do her job.
He snatched his glass off the end table and went to refill it. “I’m not linked with them like I was when I was an anchor. But there is enough of their energy left in my system for them to easily find me.”
“Do they know where you are right now?”
He faced her again but remained by the table. “Yes.”
“How much do they know about the seasons?”
After draining half the glass he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I told them I suspected there was a spy at the central embassy but I wasn’t any more specific than that. They were still interrogating Inwatta. I don’t know what she told them or how much she knows.”
Malik’s investigation into Inwatta’s unacceptable behavior was what had drawn his attention to the central embassy. If it weren’t for the wayward Gathosian, Saroji would likely still believe Malik was dead.
“Why do they trust you?” She had to know why they gave him freedoms no other corporeal being was allowed. “No one refuses them anything, yet you’re no longer a host.”
“The Gathosian I hosted died while he inhabited me. The energy he left behind is tainted. It would poison—” He stopped and finished his drink. “That’s bullshit. It’s the lie I’ve been telling for years.”
“Then what’s the truth?”
“I don’t understand the specifics, but there’s something about my DNA that allowed their experiments to succeed where all
other combinations failed.” He glanced at her then averted his face. “When I realized they have to have samples from a live, healthy donor, my position strengthened considerably.”
She blew out a slow, quiet breath, not sure she wanted to know where this led. “What sort of experiments?”
“They’re cloning anchors, creating biological puppets they can operate without the hassle of controlling a sentient being.”
“How close are they to…” The possibilities spread out before her and bile rose to the back of her throat. “Why the hell did you cooperate? If they can mass-produce anchors it will fortify their only weakness.”
“I only just figured it out.” His tone was sharp and defensive. He slammed down his empty glass and stalked toward her. “When I’m in the Hub I can sense things, echoes of thoughts and images. It took me years to piece it all together. I knew it had to do with anchors but I was told they were trying to prolong the lifespan of the existing hosts. If I’d known what they were doing, I would have fought them every step of the way.”
She didn’t argue. They had all been deceived by the Gathosians. Manipulation was their specialty. “What is the Hub?”
Dread chilled Malik’s blood and clenched his fists. If he told Saroji about the Hub there would be no turning back. He’d be a member of the Resistance. He was here to learn about Autumn and Ra’jen’s operation, not be interrogated. How had Saroji flipped this on him?
Saroji hadn’t done anything. That cool, calculated look belonged to Summer, the well-trained spy.
Forcing his emotions under control, he offered her a sexy smile. “It’s your turn, sweetheart. I’ve shown you mine, now show me yours.”
She didn’t look pleased but she didn’t object. “What do you want to know?”
“How far have you gotten with the antidote?” He sat on the end of the coffee table, his body angled toward her. “Is it still theoretical, or is Evard conducting human trials even as we speak?” Uncertainty crept over her features and he sighed. She didn’t trust him. Even after all he’d explained she was unsure of his motives. “I didn’t ask for a tour of his lab. I’m just trying to establish a timeframe.”
