Illicit Desire: Outlawed Realm, Book 2 (29 page)

“As long as it gets me to where I need to go, I don’t care. And as for your question, there’s no need to be alert at this point.”

“Ah, such a wonderful work ethic.” She gritted her teeth. Of all the men to be stuck with, the powers-that-be gave her him. “When would you like to start the GCCs? I haven’t programmed them in yet, since I don’t know—”

“Willa, just stop, all right?” Stratton squirmed into an upright position, slammed his feet onto the floor and swiveled his chair around to face her. “We don’t need course corrections at the moment. We’ve been in space for an hour. Relax.” His glare sent a tremor down her spine. “If you feel the need to make asinine conversation to fill the silence, fine, but don’t expect an answer from me.”

She attempted to avert her gaze from his spread legs and crotch, but her willpower had dissolved. In the mandatory slick gear, there was no doubt that Stratton Sinnet had the necessary equipment to please the ladies. The black suit hugged his body so tightly, she clearly saw the outline of his abdominal muscles, as well as the bulge between his legs. Insistent heat rushed to her pussy, made doubly uncomfortable by the uniform.

Needing a distraction, she cleared her throat and wrenched her gaze to his. “Are you always an ass?”

“A good portion of the time. That’s what makes me well known.”

“No, that’s what makes you an ass.”

“It’s working for me.” A knowing smirk crossed his face. “See something you like?” He rested a hand on his upper thigh with his fingers dangling in such a way she couldn’t help but glance at his package again.

“No, actually.” Arrogant bastard. There was no way she’d let on how yummy she thought he looked. “You’re not as impressive as you think. I’ve seen better.”

His eyes narrowed, and his lips thinned. “Do you always have to be so aloof?”

“I’m not aloof. I just feel the need to come down to your level.”

“Ah.”

Annoyed when he said nothing else, she sighed. “I’m going to do those course corrections whether you want me to right now or not.”

He shrugged. “Suit yourself, Miss I-Always-Need-To-Be-In-Control. I’ll bet you’re rigid like that all the time. Unbending control, right?”

Hot anger jumped into her cheeks. “Without control, there is chaos. Besides, I’m a Lingorian and proud of it. We’re a race who cherishes pride, schedules and steely control over every aspect of life.”

“And why do I care?”

“I’m trying to tell you why I am the way I am.”

“Nope.” He shook his head, boredom clear in his expression. “You’re that way from something else. National pride has nothing to do with it. Hell, back in the day, I was from Earth, but that’s not why I love money, fast women and faster ships.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t been killed by someone before now. Asshole.” She glanced quickly away and pretended an interest in the display on her datapad. There was no other choice than to be in control; otherwise, she’d be forced to reckon with the voices in her head telling her she wasn’t good enough, would never be good enough. No way was she going to let Stratton know that. “How long are you planning to cruise at this pace? We’re supposed to reach the moon Aga no later than 1300 hours tomorrow. You keep this crawl, and we’ll finish in the back of the pack. That scenario is not on my agenda.”

“Is that a problem,
kita
?”

The man never stopped! Her chest burned with irritation. “Yes, since the point of any race is to finish first.” Unable to help it, she turned and regarded him again. Despite his lack of manners or decency, the man intrigued her. He held a lifetime of secrets in those deep brown eyes. The trick was to get him to share. “Why do you keep calling me
kita
? What does it mean?”

“On the last planet I lived on, it’s used as a derogatory term meaning spoiled or privileged.” Stratton shrugged, and the gesture caused the slick suit to pull tightly across his impressive shoulders. Shiny foiled patches and emblems of sponsors flashed in the weak interior illumination. “I figured it fits, since you’re so bent on getting your own way.”

“You have no idea what drives me or makes me who I am.” She gripped the datapad so hard, the lightweight plastic dug into her skin.

“Is that so?” His gaze flickered over her face, his expression clearly bored. “You have to be in control every minute, you probably wear your hair back like that until it gives you a headache—every day, correct? You get annoyed when people don’t do what you say that exact moment. Seems to me you’re so tense, a titanium rod would be jealous of your backbone.”

Willa hooked a finger into the neckline of her suit and pulled at the confining fabric. Angry heat rolled over her body, becoming trapped within the outfit. Damned uniform. What good would it do to keep a crew member alive in the event of a crash if the fabric meant she’d burn to death internally? “What about you? Don’t you demand as much control? Just look at the stunt you used getting into the cockpit.”

“That wasn’t control. It was seizing an opportunity.” One corner of his mouth lifted in a grin. “We’re not talking about me.”

“Start sharing, Stratton. It’ll be a long trip otherwise.” She secured the datapad into a slot on the wall, then punched a button that brought up a star map on the windscreen. “At our present rate of speed, it’ll be three days before we make it to the moon.”

Idiot. At the checkpoint and after the mandatory rest period, there was no way he’d be back in the pilot’s seat. They had to get through the checkpoints as quickly as possible. Didn’t he understand the concept of the rally?

Stratton chuckled. The deep, rich sound reverberated through the close confines and did strange things to her insides. “In your world, you might rule the roost, but remember, I’m the pilot. What I say goes.”

Right, as if he even had an idea of what her home life was like. Willa bit down hard on her bottom lip to stop the retort. “My life is exactly the reason I’m here.”

“Fair enough, but resist the urge to tell me. I’m not in the market for a BFF.” He swiveled the chair until he faced the instrument panel. “If we burn through the bulk of our fuel now, we won’t have enough to sprint for that checkpoint tomorrow. I’m not going to come up short in order to stay on your schedule.”

She stared at the star chart, determined not to look at his smug face again. “Listen, the only reason I’m on this bird with you is to win. There’s no other option. If you can’t deliver the goods, I’ll be forced to evict you from your position and get someone else.”

More than anything, she wanted the accolades that went along with crossing that checkpoint first and entering their energy signature for the official record. He could keep the damned prize money. Funds would be nice, but that wasn’t her objective. All she wanted was for her father and brothers to see her at the top of each race leg—and for them to say she was worthy despite her sex.

“I’d like to see you try. It’s not like spare racers are trolling the area. Besides, I’ll easily overpower you, have you on your back so fast you won’t know what happened. I rather enjoy a woman on her backside, especially one as
golvertic
as you.”

“What does that mean?” The man was a pig. Too bad she couldn’t continue the race without him.

Illicit Desire

Tina Donahue

Pleasure that destroys all thought. Love that shatters all barriers.

Outlawed Realm, Book 2

Once a sex slave marked for termination, Lukan was miraculously liberated from E4’s Pleasure Palace, where E2’s fine, upstanding rulers secretly indulge their cravings for every imaginable vice. But freedom is not enough.
 

He left his heart behind with Arez. Within her fragrant, heated caress, he knew everything denied him. Rapture, contentment, tenderness…and love. Desperate to have her back in his arms, he embarks on a dangerous mission to deliver his untamed temptress from the certain death she does not know awaits her.

Within her velvet cage Arez knew only carnal submission and loneliness—until Lukan. But he has disappeared, and she senses something different in the way the supreme ruler is using her. Then, as if Lukan felt her longing for his strong arms and fevered kisses, he is there to sweep her from this twilight dimension to another.

But true freedom lies just out of his grasp. To reach the last portal—and their destiny—Lukan and Arez must first outwit an army of predators that hunt them. Human, subhuman…and monsters.

Warning: Features a lusty guy who makes Greek gods look wimpy, and a wanton woman who lives for scorching sex. When these two get it on, watch out, they ain’t playing at lust or love.

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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

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Illicit Desire

Copyright © 2012 by Tina Donahue

ISBN: 978-1-61921-083-7

Edited by Linda Ingmanson

Cover by Angela Waters

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First
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: September 2012

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