“She took me down like I was a child.”
“No.” She stomped her foot. Ben stared down at her delicate looking toes in amazement. He’d never seen her this adamant before. The emotion added color to her cheeks and, to his utter amazement, his cock jumped in his pants. “We’re all children next to her. That’s how she got to be the Madame. You withstood her. You are here and not in a mental hospital. You got me out of there. So what that Roman showed up at the end? If he hadn’t, you would have found a way.”
“Oh, Shiri.” When she said it like that, he could almost believe her.
“You’re not supposed to be able to battle people like Madame. None of us should have to. It’s this whole system of Institutions that makes someone like her possible. For five years, you made her miserable by throwing lawsuits at her. Trust me, Ben; you’re more than capable. Besides…”
Her voice trailed off, and he pushed back to look at her. Her hair appeared windblown. Her face looked a mess of tears and fury. He’d never seen her more beautiful.
“Besides?”
“I had no heart until I met you, Ben. I was dead inside. I love you.”
“I was dead, too.” He sighed. “And then when you died—”
“I’m so sorry—”
“I thought I could never know happiness again. I love you. Forget it. I won’t give you to Roman. I can’t. I thought I could, but I can’t.”
She kissed him. Her soft mouth met his, and he shuddered. She was his, no matter what name she used. He’d never been self-sacrificing, and he had no idea why he’d thought he could be. Needing her like air, he pulled her closer against him. His excitement had to be obvious to her; he was as hard as a rock.
Her hand stroked the side of his face. She was such a loving, gentle being. If he could, he would make certain she never had another bad day. She should spend her life bathed in sunlight with only gentle breezes leading her way.
As if on cue, the boat lurched to port, sending them both flying backward onto the ottoman. She screamed and threw her arms around his neck.
“It’s okay.” He rubbed her back. “It’s rough water, but Gene is really good at this. He sailed around the world, remember?”
“Through weather like this?”
Ben nodded. He really had no idea, but he was certain they hadn’t been through everything they had just to drown. “Yep.”
“Are you lying?”
He grinned. “Can you taste it?”
“Apparently.”
“Come with me.” He pulled her with him, trying to resist the urge to slam her against the wall and take her until she pleaded with him to give her release. It had been five years since they’d been together. He was going to have to be gentle with her so he didn’t scare her off.
“Tell me again.” Her voice sounded barely above a whisper but it pulsated through his blood.
“I love you, and I won’t give you up.”
He might never be able to protect her, but he would die trying. That would have to be enough.
“Where are we going?”
Ben couldn’t help the grin that crossed his face. She sounded impatient, and he was enormously glad she was as affected by their reunion as he was. “My cabin.”
“How big is this boat?”
“Pretty damn large. Addison says her family had several this size, but it’s the biggest one I’ve ever been on.”
“Guy has a lot of resources behind our movement.”
He slammed open the door, dragged her inside, and then closed it just as fast. Pushing her against the wall of his cabin, he sniffed her skin until he felt as if he could drown in her scent. It would be a good way to go. “I don’t want to talk about Guy or the movement. I only want to focus on you.”
Their lips met, and he plunged his tongue into her mouth. He’d waited so long for this, had doubted it could or should ever happen. Hell, he’d thought she’d died. There was nothing more important to him in the universe than laying claim to her body. Until he felt her quiver with pleasure beneath him, he couldn’t believe it was actually real. Even then, he might not believe it.
“Shirt. Off.” He couldn’t speak in full sentences. His cock strained at his pants, begging for release.
Shiri did as he instructed, her eyes wild with heat. “I want your hands on me, Ben.”
“I want them on you.” He caressed her flat stomach. She was too thin. He would feed her until she begged him to stop. But first he had to possess her.
He tugged at her bra until the clasp came loose. The last thing he wanted to do was break it, but he would if it got in his way. The boat jarred to the port side again, and Shiri squeaked.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing.”
She laughed, running her hands through his hair. “You don’t know that.”
“Let me distract you.” He lowered his head to lick her neck, desperate to have her taste in his mouth. “We’ll make our own rocking.”
Shiri laughed, her perfectly formed breasts brushing up against him. “That was cheesy, Ben.”
“Sorry. I never promised you poetry.”
She kissed him, hard. His lady was aggressive, and he loved it. “Take your shirt off and I’ll forgive you the corny lines.”
He laughed as he pulled his Polo off.
She ran her fingers down his chest. “Ben, you’re always so buff. How much do you work out?”
“Not as much as I should, but enough that I can stay in shape.” He kissed her nose. “Do you want to talk about this now?”
“No.”
They embraced like two people starved for each other. Ben had never needed another person’s contact as much as he required hers. He struggled with her pants, pulling the button apart and tugging on them until they fell to her ankles.
Her legs had gotten even shapelier in the five years they’d been apart. She must have taken up running.
“Shiri, I want to have you naked out in the sun. When we get to this island, I’m going to find a way.”
She kissed her way up his chest toward his neck, stroking his erection through his pants as she did. “Couple of problems with that.”
“You’re going to kill my fantasy.” He let his fingers play with her panties, toying with the edge of the lace but not really taking them off her. “What are the problems?”
“I’m a redhead. I know you don’t like redheads.”
He suddenly recalled his ridiculous statement. “You know that’s not true. I like you an incredible amount. I love you. I was just trying to be contrary. I’m a big fucking idiot.”
She grinned from ear to ear, showing off her perfectly straight, white teeth.
“You are forgiven.”
Her sweet words made his throat close up. How was it that this gentle soul wanted him? He pushed away the question—he was keeping her. Somehow, he’d gotten her. He wasn’t giving her back.
“What does your gorgeous red hair, which is really more of a strawberry blonde, have to do with nakedness and the island?” He swept a hand over her belly button and felt her shiver.
She raised an eyebrow. “The sun is not my friend.”
Shiri had the most beautiful porcelain skin. He traced his hands down her shoulders to her wrists. “Yep, I definitely see some freckles that weren’t there five years ago. You’ve clearly been spending too much time out in the sun.”
She bit down on his shoulder, and he yelped. “I do not have new freckles. Bite your tongue.”
He grinned as he unzipped his pants. Shiri cupped his hard length, and he managed not to come in her hands through sheer force of will alone. “You said there was a second reason why I can’t have you naked outside.”
“There isn’t a whole ton of privacy on the main island. You can be alone in your cabana, but outside of that, someone is always around, needing you to complete some kind of task.”
“Seven…” He knew he’d used the wrong name but seemed powerless to do otherwise sometimes. “I’m very resourceful. I promise you
I will find us some private shade at some point where I can have you alone and naked.”
“This will be your project?”
“Yes.” He finally slid her panties down her legs.
“How is it fair that I’m standing here naked and you still have your briefs on?”
Ben looked down as if he hadn’t known he was still partially dressed. “Really? I guess you’ll have to take them off me.”
She bit down on her lower lip, which had to be the cutest thing he’d ever seen. Every unconscious movement the woman made caused him to get even hotter. He could spend days staring at everything she did. But for now, all he wanted was to be inside her, to feel her muscles clench around him as she cried out in pleasure.
Shiri yanked his briefs down his legs, and he stepped out of them. She cupped his penis, massaging it between her hands.
“You can’t get me pregnant.”
He nodded. “I know.” He wished he could, but told himself it didn’t matter. He wanted Shiri more than anything in the world, with or without babies. “There hasn’t been anyone else for me in five years. No one.”
She kissed his lips. “Ben, there could never be anyone but you.”
“Do you trust me?”
“Always.”
He picked her up so that he supported her weight up against the wall. “Wrap your legs around my waist.”
With minimal movements, Shiri had her legs around him. Ben positioned his cock just outside her core. He could feel her heat calling out to him. Yes, this was what he needed, what he’d craved for five years. This was all he wanted in life.
“I love you, Shiri.”
She bit down on his lip. “I love you too, Ben.”
Shiri met his gaze. He didn’t have to be told what she wanted. He tried to start out slowly, but every movement and moan she made drove him further into a frenzied pleasure he’d never known before. Their joining felt destined to him. He was supposed to feel like this. He was supposed to have Shiri as his own.
“Oh God, Shiri.” He called out her name as if it were a prayer, because to him it was. “I love you, sweetheart.”
Shiri yelled for him as she came. Her muscles grasped him and milked his cock until he came—hard. He cried for her again, knowing that nothing would ever be more important than that moment between them.
Somehow, he didn’t drop her. He maneuvered them both down onto the bed, and then he knew nothing at all but blackness and happiness intertwined.
Sometime later—he had no idea how long—he opened his eyes. Shiri ran her hands gently through his hair. Her eyes were sleepy, but she looked happy and peaceful. Good—that was how he wanted to keep her.
“The seas seem to have calmed.” She curled up closer to him.
He took a deep breath to take in more of her scent.
“I told you I would distract you.”
“You did.” She kissed his shoulder. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.” He yawned. What he really wanted was to kiss her senseless, make love again, and pass out until morning. But he was pretty sure he was going to have to get up and relieve Gene from his captaining duties. Plus, he needed to check on his girls.
“How did you know you were going to marry your wife?”
He sat up a little bit. “How did I know I was going to marry Dana?”
“Yes.”
“You want to talk about Dana?”
She nodded. “I do.”
“I knew I would marry her within seconds of meeting her, because that’s how it works for me. Just like I knew I would love you forever right away, too. I’m built that way.” He pulled her up against him. “Why do you want to talk about Dana?”
“Because you married her.”
Now he understood. He kissed her temple. “You want to know if I want to marry you?”
Shiri’s cheeks turned a delicious shade of red. “Am I that obvious?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, yes, I want to know if you want to marry me.” She closed her eyes as she spoke.
“I do. I want forever, Shiri. Will you marry me?”
Shiri’s eyes popped open. “You’re serious?”
“God, yes.”
“Yes, I want to marry you. It’s all I’ve wanted for five years.”
He rolled over to kiss her. “I don’t have anything to offer you now. I’m going to have to start from scratch, and I come with two companions. They adore you, but we’re a package deal.”
“Then I guess it’s a good thing I love them, too.”
He’d known that to be true, but he liked hearing it just the same.
Chapter 22
The Island, One Year Later
“Two things, Ben.” Guy looked up from his computer screen as Ben came farther into the room.
It was always two things. Hiding his smile at the way that Guy always addressed him, Ben sat down in the chair opposite Guy’s desk.
“I read your memo.”
Ben nodded. He’d emailed it to him that morning.
“You’re serious?”
He took a deep breath. “We can’t blow anything else up. It’s time to try winning the hearts of the people.”
Guy sat back in his chair. “Do you think that’s even possible?”
“I do. And if it doesn’t work, we can always blow up the
Institutions again.”
Guy scratched his bald head. “I’m going to have to think about this. You make a good point. A lot of them. I can see why you were a good lawyer. I’m glad to have you on my side. Always have been.”
It had been a little hard for Ben to warm up to Guy once he’d found out he had been the reason Shiri hadn’t contacted him during their separation. However, Ben had always appreciated a good leader. Guy had an enormous responsibility, and he bore it well. He did his best. They’d come to some kind of friendship, even if neither of them would ever call the other man his closest friend.
“Thank you.” He shifted in his chair, anxious to get back to Shiri and the girls.
“Was there a second thing?”
With a gleam in his eye, Guy spoke. “Our Seers tell me Shiri is pregnant.”
Ben shook his head. “But she’s infertile. How…? I mean… who changed that? Laurel?” It wasn’t that Ben wasn’t excited that Shiri was pregnant, but hearing about it from Guy had thrown him for a loop. Did Shiri even know?
“Roman. But if you ask him, he’ll deny it. He’s not exactly forthcoming when it comes to Shiri.”
That was true. Ben couldn’t blame him. There couldn’t be anything easy about being in love with someone who didn’t love you. Still, the former Fury behaved like a nice guy to him. Ben would always be grateful.
He grinned as Guy’s words sank in. Shiri was pregnant with his baby. It was everything he’d wanted. The girls were safe and starting to find their feet in this strange place. It was weird not having to hide.
“You know that Gene, Ella and yes—you—are all Conditioned. I can always feel when someone is Conditioned. It’s like a ringing in my head. It’s why they wanted me to be a Fury. You may have hidden it really well or maybe it was subdued because you weren’t able to push at your powers. Here, maybe you’re more open. I don’t know why it’s obvious now, but it is, so I want you to know that.”
Ben hadn’t known that Guy could do those things, but there were a lot of things about Guy he didn’t know. He would suspect Guy’s best friends didn’t know him.
It didn’t surprise him to find out he was Conditioned, and now that he was safe from the dangers of being labeled as such, he really didn’t care.
“What’s going on?”
Shiri stepped into the room behind him. Swinging around in the chair, he grinned at her, hoping she could see all the love in his eyes. Later, when they were alone, he would show her again how he felt, make sure he let her know how utterly irreplaceable she was to him. He could try to wait until they had a private moment to tell her but there was no such thing as privacy on this is
land. She hadn’t been kidding when she’d told him that.
“You and I… we… we’re pregnant.”
Shiri gasped before a breathtaking grin overtook her expression.
Life was as close to perfect as it could ever be. He was a damn lucky man.
Epilogue
The President looked at the message that flashed over his computer screen.
How the hell had it gotten there?
We are the Conditioned. We are Human Beings held against our will. We will not be forgotten.
Afterword
Dearest Reader,
Thank you so much for reading Illicit Connections. I am hard at work on the next book in this series. In the meantime, please join us in my reader group https://www.facebook.com/groups/rebeccasrandomness where you can chat with me and hear about all of my books. Please turn the page for a complete list of all my books and to learn more about me.
Thanks again
Rebecca
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Please Turn the page for a complete list of my books
About the Author
As a teenager, I would hide in my room to read my favorite romance novels when I was supposed to be doing my homework.
I am the mother of three adorable boys and I am fortunate to be married to my best friend. I live in Austin Texas where I am determined to eat all the barbecue in town.
I am in love with science fiction, fantasy, and the paranormal and try to use all of these elements in my writing. I've been told I'm a little bloodthirsty so I hope that when you read my work you'll enjoy the action packed ride that always ends in romance. I love to write series because I love to see characters develop over time and it always makes me happy to see my favorite characters make guest appearances in other books.
In my world anything is possible, anything can happen, and you should suspect that it will.
Illicit Connections (Illicit Minds Book 2) Page 22
