Primal Heat (19 page)

He drove his dick into her, building the speed and force of his thrusts as he expanded their connection. Soon her thoughts and hopes and desires tangled with his, until he didn't know whose was whose, which was which. Their minds danced together, melding, yet separate. His hips pistoned hard, their skin slapping together with each deep penetration. A carnal symphony that pleasured the feline as much as the psychic. Her sex clenched around him, and she clung to him, depending on him to guide her, to lead this dance, and bring them both through it.

He had never loved her more.

The heat of his power gathered inside him, building to a fever pitch. It was almost painful to keep it locked within him. His heart pounded so loudly, it drowned out every other sound. Slipping his hand between them, he rolled his thumb over her clit. Her pussy contracted every time he stretched her with his cock, and soon he gave up thinking and reacted on pure feral instinct. His palm cupped her ass, pulled her tight to the base of his dick. He ground against her clit, sensing which rhythm, which angle, which touch pleased her most. Sweat dampened their skin, sealing them together.

She gasped, her hand clutching his arm. “Farid, please! I'm going to come.”

“Yes!” He rammed himself deep one last time, shoving them both over the edge. Her pussy clamped around him tight, making him groan between gritted fangs. The heat inside him erupted with volcanic fury, burning away anything that wasn't her, that wasn't
this
. His cum pumped into her body, and he let his psychic energy pour into her mind. No barriers, no limits.

Starbursts flashed before his eyes, and he closed them tight, his mind spinning as it meshed with hers. It was beyond his control, and he let it slip through his fingers. The beast was satisfied, a purr sliding free. He held on to her, gathering her to his chest, where his heart hammered. She was there with him, clinging to him. His power hit her full-force; she screamed and came again. He opened his eyes to look at her beautiful, precious face, saw that his power reflected back at him, that green sparks flashed in her ocean blue gaze. The pleasure was twice as intense, the fulfillment beyond reckoning at finally being one with a woman crafted just for him. His memories and emotions tripped over hers, but it was so good, so perfect. He believed. She belonged.

All of her, all of him. Them. One.

H
e was naked and on his knees.

Kyber. Her One.

Chained in the middle of a small, cold room, his arms were stretched out to the sides, wrists in heavy manacles. A thick collar wrapped tight around his neck and attached to the ceiling. He sagged against the bonds, his long ebony hair falling forward to cover his face.

He didn't even look up when the door opened, gave no indication that he'd even noticed.

Jana's heart stuttered, her palms moistening on the handle of the gun she held. Was he more damaged than their intelligence had led them to believe? There was no way a Kith, especially the Kith
emperor
, wouldn't detect someone's approach. A low hum vibrated through the air in this entire military compound. White noise, with an extra added squeal that dampened the Kith's psychic ability. Still, Kyber's animal side should have sensed her, smelled her. He didn't so much as twitch.

She swallowed, giving herself a moment just to
look
at him. It had been so long—months—since she had seen him, touched him. Dark, ugly bruises and fresher crimson lash marks mottled his once flawless skin, needle tracks from whatever they were drugging him with scored the insides of his arms.

But he was alive. That was all that mattered. He was alive and whole and could heal from whatever they'd done to him. Relief made tears well in her eyes, but she blinked them back. Holstering her weapon, she moved to kneel before him.

She lifted her hand, and his head snapped up, startling her. He lunged for her, wrenching at his shackles. His fingers were tipped in deadly talons, long fangs curving from his mouth. Her breath seized in her lungs as his violet eyes locked on her face, alert…and glittering with hate. Hate for her. Hate she'd more than earned.

Rage tightened his bruised features, and his eyes narrowed to dangerous slits, pale lavender sparks roiling in his irises, but not as fast as they would have if the white noise weren't pumping through every inch of this hellhole. The chains rattled as he struggled against them again. He hissed at her, more beast than man gazing out of those eyes at her.

Heart pounding in her ears loud enough to drown out all other sounds, she scrambled back. She closed her eyes for a moment, shutting out the ugly truth written on his face. He despised her. Her One despised her. Sucking in a deep breath, she forced herself to calm. She'd known it was coming, known she deserved it, and it was hard pretending that everything was going to be all right, but she had to. She always had to.

She met his gaze, unflinching before the disgust reflected back at her. “I'm going to get you out of here and back to your ship. We'll deal with everything else after that.”

He snarled, the feline sound a subvocal rumble in his throat. It raised the hairs on her arms, and unease crept up her spine. Despite the fact that he was chained, she felt like the helpless prey to his ruthless predator.

Pushing herself to her feet, she tried to ignore that the tight space stank of blood, urine, and fear. She pressed her finger to the little Sueni communication device nestled in her ear that allowed her to speak to the team of Imperial Guardians on this mission. “Emperor located. Rendezvous in ten minutes.”

A small click answered her, an acknowledgement of information received.

Time to get to work. Their window of opportunity was fast closing, and they might never get the chance again. She loosened the straps on a small backpack and dropped it on the floor to dig through. Setting aside a U.S. Army uniform for Kyber to wear as a disguise, she pulled out the equipment she needed.

“Turn your face away and close your eyes.” She wrapped her hand around the chain that attached to his neck. The collar would have strangled him if he'd tried to shift forms. Her insides chilled at the thought.

He glared at her, distrust evident in his gaze. She arched her eyebrow at him, shrugged, and lit the tiny laser cutter. The flash of light and intense heat made him flinch and jerk away, finally obeying her. The flicker of animal wariness, of caged beast, that shone in his eyes before he closed them made her belly clench with guilt. She shook her head and got back to the task at hand. No bigger than a ballpoint pen, the cutter made quick work of his manacles.

He was on her in moments, one hand fisting in her shirt and the other wrapping around her throat to slam her against a wall. His speed was breathtaking, making him little more than a blur that left her gasping. Her fingers snapped around his wrist, trying to free herself from his grip. It was a futile effort. The sparks in his eyes were wild, terrifying. Her heart tripped before it raced.

“This is some kind of trick. A new game Arthur is playing with my mind.” The voice was guttural, broken, barely human. Nothing like the urbane, skilled lover she had once known. “Has it been fun rutting with him all these months? Does he make you moan, Jana?”

Shock and horror flooded her system, a dark wave of the memories than never stopped haunting her exploding through her mind.
No.
She couldn't think of that. Not now. She stomped the ugliness down as fast as she could.

She choked a bit when Kyber's fingers flexed, wrenching her back to the present. “I…I haven't been with Arthur for months, Kyber. It was only that first few days. I've been on your ship, working to…find a way to save you.”

“
Lies.
” But the self-doubt on his face, the uncertainty of what was true and what was false made her chest squeeze with more guilt. She moved one hand to cup his cheek, but he caught her wrist, pinning it to the wall beside her head.

Her jaw clenched and she stared up at him. “This isn't a trick, Kyber. I'm here and I will get you back to your people.”

“My
people
.” He looked stunned but shook his head, a lock of inky hair whipping into his eyes. “My people would never have let my O—the
empress
come with them.”

She snorted, twisting against his hold. “They couldn't stop me. I'm the empress. You weren't there to countermand me, so they're bound to obey me. All they could do was come with me to protect me. And you.”

The doubt wavered a bit, and he licked at a cut on his lower lip. “I smell no Kith.”

“Hard to infiltrate a human compound when the sparkling eye thing gives you away. Plus, the white noise dulls the Kith abilities and makes them a liability.” Hell, the humming electronic squeal of it made a headache begin to throb at the base of
her
skull, so she didn't even want to know what it did to a Kith. She kept her voice even, her tone firm and sure. “Bren thought it best to only bring Sueni
Kin
Guardians with us.”

His nostrils flared, as though trying to catch some hint of Suen on the air. He looked a bit dazed. “Bren. Farid's One.”

“Yes.”

“They bonded after I was taken.” His head gave a tiny shake as though trying to clear it. Watching him struggle made tears well in her eyes, but she blinked them away and gritted her teeth.

“Yes, your cousin bonded with his One. Life went on without you.” Her voice came out harsher than she intended, but it was either that or break down, and she couldn't do that. Not here, not now. Not ever. She jerked her chin in the direction of her gear. “We don't have time for this. Get dressed so we can go. Or stay here and see what Arthur does next.”

He shoved away from her with a sharp hiss. The back of her head
thunked
against the wall, but she ignored the sting. Instead, she watched him hunker down and grab the garments she'd brought, sliding them on with quick efficiency.

Even as battered as he was, she couldn't tear her gaze away from him. He was a little leaner than he had been, but his muscles still rippled under his skin and he moved with the deadly grace of a feline. He was a beautiful man, as beautiful as he had been the day he'd made her
his
.

She shook herself, palmed her weapon, and pulled the extra out of her ankle holster. When he turned back to her, she handed him her backup pistol. His fingers trembled a bit as he took it, and she flinched when he trained the gun on her. “I'm getting you out of here and back to the
Vishra
. Point that thing somewhere else.”

He jerked the muzzle toward the door, indicating she walk out first. “You'll forgive me if I don't think giving you my back as a target is wise. You've already betrayed me…more than once.”

Her stomach cramped at hearing the words fall from his lips, but she refused to crumble under the hurt, the self-loathing. “I wasn't lying when I said I was only with Arthur for a few days.”

“We'll see, won't we?” He motioned her out with the gun again, his eyes narrowed and cold.

Pivoting on her heel, she pushed her way through the door, leading with her weapon as Bren had taught her. Adrenaline surged, and she welcomed it, channeled it, let it sharpen her senses. Scents intensified until she could smell the jasmine of Bren's shampoo, hear the thump of footsteps down the hall.

The other woman stood guard at the door, her back braced against the wall across from them, her weapon at the ready.

“Farid let you come without him?” Kyber's voice was a low growl.

“Of course.” She cut a pointed glance to Jana. “
He
knows he should leave military operations to military personnel.”

Jana just arched an eyebrow. “Save the chit-chat for later. Let's go.”

Bren's gaze twinkled with laughter, but she nodded and motioned for them to follow her down the corridor. They stepped over a pair of soldiers that had been knocked out and tied up. All was quiet as they wound their way through the bowels of this isolated military compound. Bren and Farid's intelligence had shown this was the best time to try to rescue Kyber, just after the dawn shift started, and hours before anyone checked in again. Everything was going according to plan. So far. Jana wouldn't draw an easy breath until they were back on board the Sueni flagship, orbiting far above Earth.

Bren held up her hand and they halted, breath baited as they waited to see what was out there. This wasn't good. Unease slid through Jana. They were supposed to be joined by Imperial Guardians at this juncture. There wasn't a soul in sight. Bren pivoted on her heel, pointed to her eyes, and then to the corner ahead of them, silently telling them to stay where they were while she scouted ahead. Jana dipped her chin in a short nod.

She closed her eyes and worked to steady her breathing, listening for Bren's return, listening for footsteps that would indicate someone else approached. Jana had known that she was the weakest link on this mission, that she shouldn't come, but her every waking moment since Kyber was taken had been about freeing him. She couldn't stand by and do nothing. She
had
to be here for this.

Her eyes popped wide at the sound of boots ringing on the linoleum floor
behind
them. Damn. She shifted her grip on her weapon. Someone was coming. More than one someone, and she'd guess from the heavy footfalls they were big and male. Double damn.

Lifting her hand, she cued her ear comm. She made her words no more than a breath of air. “We have company here, Br—”

Kyber didn't wait for her to finish her sentence. Dragging her into a short side corridor, he crowded her into the darkest corner. She wrapped her arms around his waist, pointing her pistol in the direction of the passing soldiers. If the men so much as slowed their step, they'd be in for a nasty surprise.

Every second that ticked by ratcheted her tension up, making her muscles go rigid. And they weren't the only thing. Kyber's rising erection dug into her hip. Her breath tangled in her throat, her eyes flared wide, and she snapped her gaze up to meet his. Volcanic heat exploded in her belly, shocking her with its force. He was plastered to her from breast to groin, and she could feel every inch of his hard muscles, his hot cock. Her nipples tightened, her pussy dampening, fisting on nothing. After all she'd been through, she'd never imagined wanting sex again, but…she wanted. With Kyber. Now.

He glowered down at her, the lavender sparks in his irises roiling fast. His voice was a quiet hiss. “It is a biological reaction, nothing more. Don't think it changes anything.”

Shaking her head, she swallowed. She knew it meant nothing, but it took every ounce of her willpower to keep from rubbing herself against him like a cat in heat. Her sex was slick with juices, and she craved the feel of him thrusting hard and deep within her. Tingles raced over her flesh, her eyelids drooping to half-mast as sensations she'd forgotten she could experience ricocheted through her. There'd been a time when her minutest physical reaction elicited a highly pleasurable response from him. He'd stroked, kissed, and explored every millimeter of her body.

But that was before Arthur.

Cold punched through her, killing the heat building within. The reminder of that man made her stomach turn. Pressing her back tighter to the wall, she tried to escape Kyber's touch. Fruitless, but she tried.

It was Kyber's instinct to find her and bond with her that had brought them to this ugly, awful place. He'd come from Suen for her, gone down to Earth's surface for her, which left him vulnerable enough to be taken captive by the leader of Earth's military forces. General William Arthur. God help her, his name alone had the power to make her want to vomit.

Arthur said she'd been kidnapped and he'd make the Sueni pay until she was returned to her family and home. She'd have done anything to save her One and offered herself in exchange. Her mind was intertwined with Kyber's, and she could feel the way he was being cruelly tortured.

Arthur used that to his advantage, forcing her to sleep with him as the price to return Kyber. Even though she knew it would distress her One—and his mental command told her not to do it, that he could escape without her sacrificing herself—she did what she'd thought she had to do to help him. She'd been unable to bear the thought of him in pain; she'd experienced every blow with him.