Damn it, of all times for Cora to be more interested in herself than what was doing with Gen. “I’ve been learning all sorts of stuff.”
Come on, Nana, read between the lines.
But Cora’s mind had wandered too deep into the gutter outside la-la land to pick up on her granddaughter’s cues. “What kind of stuff? Oh, do they offer samples? Or maybe a senior citizen discount—”
“Not gonna happen,” Jack called from the background.
Gen smacked the heel of her hand to her forehead. Time to change tactics. “Nana, have you heard from Tanny?”
“No, lovey, she hasn’t tried to reach out at all. Tanny’s decisions are her own, Gen. You need to accept that. She’ll come back when she’s ready.”
Gen glanced back at the candle and thought,
I bet you’d be plenty juiced off of all this misery, Rhys.
“You think I’m wasting my time, leaving the home fires burning for her, don’t you?”
Cora’s voice softened. “No, baby doll, I’d never think that. I’m just glad you’re capable of genuine love. Few people are anymore and it’s so important.”
“It hurts though, Nana.” Gen found herself reaching for Rhys’s candle again. She relit the wick and moved away. Whether this confession came from her need to get the weight of misery off her chest or to feed Rhys, she didn’t care. “I don’t know if I can do it anymore—keep opening myself up to it when all I get is bitch-slapped for my trouble.”
“Believe me, I know, sweetheart. Do you think I wanted to love your grandfather? An assassin sent to kill me? The thing you need to understand about love is it doesn’t give you a choice in the matter. Will you ever stop loving Tanny, no matter how much of a little shitbird she is?”
Gen sniffled. “Of course not.”
“Do you think I’ll ever stop loving you, no matter how much of a little shitbird you are?”
Laughter bubbled up. “I love you, too, Nana.”
“Good. Now go on and enjoy yourself. And remember to be safe!”
The door behind her creaked open, and Gen swallowed hard.
“It’s a little too late for that, Nana.”
10
G
en’s first sight of Marshal stole the breath from her lungs. He was as handsome as Rhys, dark where her empath was bright. His hair was long, dark, and thick and would be the envy of any woman worth her estrogen. If she wasn’t too busy running her fingers through it. He had sharp slashing eyebrows and eyes that seemed to suck all the light from the room. A long aquiline nose was his most prominent feature, and his lips curved up into a predatory smile. He was tall, just as tall as Rhys’s projected self had been, but otherwise there was no way to tell he was part of an alien species.
She shivered and his expression turned apologetic.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but the cold is cutting through my clothes.”
“Who is that?” Cora’s voice had picked up a lusty note.
“Genevieve, put on the vid. I want to see if the face matches my—”
Without waiting for the rest to be delivered, Gen disconnected. Nana would be livid. No getting around that now, though. Instead, she set her sights on the new man in her life.
“You are a tasty morsel, you know that, Genevieve?”
“Now, how would you know what I taste like, hmmm?” Forcing her shoulders back, Gen lifted her chin, painting a picture of pure defiance. She knew men like Marshal, the kind interested in breaking a spirited filly. At least Rhys had dressed her well. She didn’t allow her gaze to rove to the candle. Too much weirdness and not enough time to process, but Gen knew one thing for sure. She didn’t trust either man to play straight with her. Rhys had already made it clear that her wishes were secondary to his desires, and Marshal ...
Marshal looked like trouble incarnate.
“Is that an invitation to find out exactly what you taste like?” That dark gaze probed her face, searching for something.
“I’m going to play it straight with you here, Marshal. I’ve heard some less-than-complimentary stuff about you. Your reputation, I mean. The past week has sucked rotten produce, and the last twenty-four hours have been beyond odd. I don’t want to cook, clean, talk about the state of any society, childhood trauma, psychology, religion, or career goals. I’m not looking for anything but a good old-fashioned fuckfest. You up for the task?”
“Hot
and
forthright. I believe I’ve met my match.” He moved forward, a predator stalking his prey, but though her heart thundered in her rib cage, Gen stood her ground, her body responding with all the blatant signs of arousal.
He stopped when the toe of his leather shitkickers were an inch away from her bare feet. “What’s with the candle?”
Gen searched his face. Did he know about Rhys and the other empaths? One eyebrow was raised, and his lips curved up in a cat-that-ate-the-canary smile. “Ambience, I think. Franco lit it, and no one has bothered to blow it out. I kind of like it. Makes me feel ... hot.” She forced her lips into a feline smile. There was no way she could hide her nervousness, but if Marshal was like every other man she’d ever met, he’d attribute her case of the jitters to his proximity.
“So where do you want to start?” Marshal may have been the source of all evil, but he smelled terrific, like the cold winter wind with a touch of male spice.
She scowled up at him, annoyed that she was with yet another man who hadn’t taken charge of the sexual situation to her liking. Maybe it was time to assert herself. “Aren’t you supposed to be the expert?”
One finger reached out and snagged a strand of her hair. “I am going to show you the most pleasure it is possible for a body to accept, then push you even beyond those limits. It might save us both time and energy if you helped in the process.”
She activated her health guard. There was a faint hiss as it gobbled up all traces of foreign genetic material on her person. “Safety first.”
His lips twitched and he shook his head. “I need a shower before anything else, to warm up a little bit. Stage a fantasy for us—I’ll be out in five.” She watched him walk down the hall. The moment the bathroom door clicked shut, anger flared up inside her.
Was it her destiny to be manipulated, controlled, pushed around by everyone, including strange men she’d just met? If so, it was about time she snared fate by the short and curlies so they could have a powwow.
No more, do you hear me? I am snagging the reins and riding this bitch.
After picking up the candle, she placed it on the mantel where the glow from the firelight would hopefully mask Rhys’s dancing light. She marched into the room where all the crates of supplies had been left and popped open the first one. Franco had derived some sense of control from dominating his bed partners, even if it was only skin-deep. If she couldn’t have what she really wanted, maybe she needed to set the bar a little lower. Here she had a man who desired her body and might be an emotional black hole. Well, she would feed him big steaming fistfuls of the rage buried deep within her until he begged for mercy. Yeah, she had plenty of fuel for his and Rhys’s fire both.
Her fingers brushed across a velvet box. Curious, she lifted the lid and peered in at the thin metallic bands. She let out a low whistle at the quality of the tech and design. “Damn, Franco, you didn’t skimp.” Antigrav strips. She could totally get into that.
Digging farther into the box, she hit pay dirt. She could only imagine the look on Marshal’s face when she said she wanted to use this on him. On them. Or maybe she’d just be a turbo bitch and not tell him until they reached the point of no return. The toy was still in its casing, obviously new. She wondered why Franco even had a magic wand—it wasn’t exactly something a guy would need since the Y chromosome equaled outdoor plumbing.
She ripped open the packaging and read the small instruction sheet. The toy had three settings: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Averaging her experience with Marshal’s, she selected the intermediate setting. The power pack lit up as fully charged, which according to the sheet translated to “hours of sensual delight.”
“Find something you like?” Marshal asked from the doorway. She gave him a slow once-over, starting at his feet and slowly moving up his trim legs and taut thighs to the undersized towel that barely covered his hips. His flat abdomen sported an eight-pack of lean muscle, and his chest was totally devoid of hair.
Probably been lasered off.
His arms were corded with muscle; his hands were big and rough-looking.
His wet hair dripped water onto his tanned forehead, those light-consuming eyes fixed on her. “Like what you see?”
Her eyes narrowed. She did and he knew it. Licking her lips, she envisioned what waited beneath the towel. An image of Rhys surfaced, him caressing her sex with his hardened shaft, his green gaze locked on her face, but she ruthlessly shoved it away.
“Since there’s no one else here, let’s do this in the great room. By the fire.”
He nodded and she watched him walk away, making sure he didn’t notice her picking up the cache of goodies. Her dress had deep pockets, and when not activated, the magic wand was only about three inches long. Excitement rushed through her as she followed him out into the great room.
Marshal took the towel off and turned to face her. “Time to let it all hang out.”
“Do you want me?” Gen asked, her gaze glued to his straining erection.
He activated his own germ shield before taking his cock in one hand, fisting the swollen head. “What do you think?”
She assessed him from head to toe, a slow sweeping caress that lingered on his shaft. “I think you’re into head games.”
“All parts of the body are meant to be played with.” He chucked his chin in her direction. “Let’s see those pretty tits.”
Setting down her wares, Gen trailed her fingers up to her collarbone and ran them back down to hover over the top button. “Slow down there, big boy. You want boons, you gotta earn them.”
His lips twitched. “Oh, so that’s how you want it to be. Power games. I feel ya.”
“Not yet, but you will, if you do exactly what I tell you.” She bent down and flipped open the box with the antigrav strips. Proffering four of the smaller ones to him, she backed off before he could grab her. “Know how to work these?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You sure you want to go vertical the first time?”
She thought of what was coming. “You bet. Gear up and then we play.”
Gen watched Marshal’s movements as he bent to fasten the straps. His body aroused her, especially the thought of owning him the way she was going to.
No more Ms. Nice Gal.
Marshal activated the strips, which changed his center of gravity. He floated in the air above her, and Gen walked beneath him, trailing her fingertips along his torso but dodging his erection. He had to crave her touch there before she would give it to him.
He shivered under her caress as her germ shield sparked against his. “Now do I get to see your tits?”
Slowly, Gen unbuttoned her dress, exposing the flesh beneath. A case of nerves struck, not because she gave a flying fuck what this flying fuck thought of her body, but because it somehow felt disloyal to Rhys to share herself with another.
Oh, get over yourself, Gen. He wants you to do this, would have done it for you, probably without your consent, if he could have.
Because he didn’t care about her.
Hurt and anger roiled in her stomach, and Marshal closed his eyes. “You’re killing me here, baby.”
“Don’t call me baby,” she snapped.
Those pitiless eyes cracked open and fixed on her. “What are you going to do about it, baby?”
She didn’t react right away, letting her hand take its time until she cupped his stones. With one sharp fingernail, she applied even more pressure, not enough to break the skin, but he hissed and tried to jerk out of her grasp. “What did I just say?”
“Don’t call you baby,” he grunted.
She released him and studied his swollen shaft. A drop of moisture beaded at the head. Whether it was her act or her emotions, Marshal was enjoying the sparring.
A rush of power filled her, and she glanced at the flickering candle. It might have been her imagination, but she thought she heard Rhys say,
What’s not to enjoy?
Stepping out from underneath Marshal, Gen scooped up a bottle of sandalwood-scented oil. “Lube up.”
The reality of germ shields blocking fluid transfer required an external lube to ease any sort of penetration and prevent chafing. Marshal swayed in the air and popped the seal on the bottle. Pouring a dollop of liquid onto one hand, he began to coat his hard-on.
Gen tsked at him. That would not cut the mustard. “More, damn it. I want you dripping with it.”
Groaning, he did as she commanded, moving his hands over his inner thighs, around his sac, and back behind it. She moved forward again and blew her hot breath against his glistening skin. He jerked at the light contact, and she took his lubed-up hand, germ shield crackling, and rubbed it into the crease of his ass. “Pour it everywhere.”
He kept going, applying more of the transparent liquid onto his body, and kept his gaze fixed on her.
She unsealed her own bottle and unfastened the front clasp of her bra. Parting the fabric, she poured a generous splash of the lube onto her breasts and massaged it into her straining nipples before trailing her hand down across her belly. This particular bottle had a warming ingredient, which along with the fire, helped dispel the chill from Marshal’s soulless stare.
“Show me that pussy, already,” the impatient bastard panted.
Gen glowered at him. “Shut up.” Yeah she could do this with her clothes mostly on—he didn’t deserve to look at her body.
Taking her time, she slid the antigrav strips over her arms and legs. When the last one cinched lightly around her thigh, she activated them and floated up. She stared him down when they were at eye level, but his gaze fell to her breasts.
“What are you doing?” he asked when she swam through the air, executing a neat somersault in midair and coming up behind him. Nana had been right—those antigrav dance lessons did pay off.
“Getting ready to fuck you.” Again, she let her fingers play lightly over the skin on his shoulders and back. However, when he tried to turn around, she sank her nails into his hips. “Be a good boy and lie still.”
“You sure you’re new to this?” Marshal panted when she slid a finger into the crack of his ass. “You’ve got moves like a seasoned pro.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere.” Her finger breached his anus and his body bowed. She smiled as she took the wand out of her pocket. At the last second, she added a little more lube to the end of the toy before pushing it up inside him.
“What the—” His words cut off as she activated the phallus that extended six inches into his channel. She flicked another switch and the toy started to vibrate, the protruding end rubbing through the material of her panties until it moved against her clit.
Pleasure spiked through her. Enraptured, she watched his big body heave as the wand retracted and then thrust forward once more. Sweat beaded on his skin. Their shields crackled as she pressed her slick breasts against his back, working the toy around her throbbing bud as it fucked him.