Rebel Heat (20 page)

His disappointment was obvious, but he whispered, “Just for tonight.” She placed her hand on his and his fingers closed around her wrist. “Come here.”

Before she could obey, he pulled her to him and separated her legs. He sat back on his heels as he wrapped her legs around his waist. She couldn’t reach the bed, could only relax and let him take her. His gaze drilled into hers as his broad tip pressed against the entrance to her body.

“Open for me.” He whispered the words against her mouth then his lips sealed over hers.
Accept me into your mind and body.
Then he slowly lowered her onto his cock as his energy pushed into her mind.

She shifted against him, taking his body deeper as she shied away from his mental touch. It felt strange, intrusive, yet undeniably intimate. It was like losing her virginity all over again. She’d been scanned before, had even heard thoughts Mystics pushed into her mind. This was completely different. Nazerel flowed around her and cascaded through her, igniting sensations where their bodies joined.

A moan escaped her throat as he pulled her up, nearly off his shaft, only to lower her again, filling her completely. The intensity of his desire burned away the last of her hesitation. He shared himself with her, an obvious invitation for her to do the same. But he took nothing from her. He waited for her, needing to share her emotions, yet unwilling to take anything without her permission.

Sensations erupted all over her body. Her nipples rubbed against his chest and his thickness caressed her clit. She started there, offering him the physical sensations they created rather than the resulting emotions.

His hands clutched her hips and he moved her faster, sliding her body up and down as their tongues swirled around each other.
More. Show me more
.

His thoughts were so close to begging that she couldn’t resist. She allowed her emotions to flow into his mind, sharing her loneliness and the bone-deep ache she felt each time he touched her.

He tore his mouth from hers and wrapped her firmly in his arms. “Never again,” he whispered. “You will never feel abandoned again.”

Abandoned
? It wasn’t a word she would have used to describe her isolation, but it was unavoidably accurate. Because of her ambition, she’d shut out anyone willing to protect or nurture her. Her brutal self-reliance might have been the reason they all gave up and left her on her own, but that didn’t change the fact that they left. No one had loved her enough to combat her stubbornness. No one had been strong enough to make her see that she didn’t need to face life’s challenges all alone.

He carefully lowered her to the bed, keeping their pelvises locked together. His hands framed her face and he started to kiss her, but she turned away. “Tell me what it means, what it means for you and me.”

Drawing his hips back, he momentarily separated their bodies then thrust home again. “You’re not ready to hear it.” His disappointment rippled across their connection, but tenderness soothed the emotional sting.

She turned back to him, looking deep into his eyes as she enjoyed his demanding rhythm. She’d felt this connection, this pull almost from the moment they met. Then each kiss, each touch, had intensified the attraction. This wasn’t infatuation or even lust, but she was terrified to give it a name.

“Tell me anyway.” She shifted her hips, taking him deeper.

He pushed his entire length inside her then paused to stroke the side of her face. “It means chosen mate. Mate of my heart and my mind. You are not only the one my body craves, but the one I
choose
to love.”

“But you’ve been calling me that for days, almost from the start.”

Rather than argue with her, he pulled back and drove deep again. Only this time he filled her mind as completely as he filled her body. Desire, fascination, tenderness and regret twisted through her mind like an emotional kaleidoscope. His heightened senses made it impossible for him to avoid the truth. He’d recognized his mate as soon as he saw her. Then her scent, the texture of her skin and the taste of her desire confirmed what he’d already suspected. His enemy was also his mate.

“Don’t fight it.” He caught the back of her knees and rolled her hips up, allowing him to thrust more aggressively. “We didn’t ask for this, but there is no way we can escape it.”

He hit that sweet spot deep inside her and a cry of pleasure barreled past her objections. She refused to accept what he’d said, but she no longer denied it either. She concentrated on the thick slide of his body in and out of hers and shut out anything resembling thought.

Hooking one of her legs over his elbow, he freed his other hand to roam while maintaining the angle of her hips. She closed her eyes, unable to bear the stark hunger in his gaze. It didn’t help. The intensity of his need surged into her mind with each forceful thrust of his hips. It was empowering to be so desired, yet frightening too.

He pressed her nipples between his thumbs and fingers, drawing her attention back to the physical. He only lingered for a moment before descending along her ribs. She squirmed away from the ticklish sensations, but again he didn’t stay long. And then his hand eased between their bodies and his thumb covered her clit.

“Look at me,
morautu
.”

Mate. He’d called her mate. No, not just mate,
chosen mate
, the one he would select above all others. “Don’t,” she whispered, but she opened her eyes.

He released her leg and caught both her hands, intertwining their fingers. Then he pressed them against the bunk to either side of her head. “You are my
morautu
.” He thrust deeply, an obvious claim. “Nothing and no one can change that fact.”

The heat of his gaze burned into her as tangibly as his thickness filled her body. She was surrounded by him and filled with him, and nothing had ever felt so perfect. She drew her knees up along his sides and opened her mind, allowing him deeper than he’d gone before.

He cried out and thrust even faster. His fingers closed around her hands and his mouth swooped down, angling over her lips. She opened to him, greeting his tongue with a sensual swirl. All the while his hips kept up their frantic pounding. He staked his claim on her body as his energy blazed through her mind. And she was just as aggressive, bucking and twisting, her fingernails digging into his hands.

Morgan felt consumed, yet instantaneously reborn. She reveled in his frenzy as she abandoned herself to her own desire. She was beyond thought, beyond regret. She was on fire and Nazerel was the fuel that kept her flames burning. Nothing else existed; nothing else mattered.

Suddenly she arched clear off the bed and screamed into his open mouth. Pleasure tore through her body and blasted into his. The violent throbs shook him, triggering his release before washing over her again. Her inner muscles rippled around him as pulse after pulse gripped her core.

She recovered slowly, regaining her senses gradually. He’d released her hands, but was still inside her, still surprisingly hard. He held himself off her with his knees and one elbow while his free hand caressed her face.

“Are you all right? I thought you blacked out there for a minute.”

He sounded almost smug, so she punched him in the shoulder. “That was no better than average.”

“Liar.” He leaned down and brushed his lips over hers. “I’m not taking credit for it, but that was extraordinary.”

“If you say so.”

He chuckled. “The link is still open, Morgan. You can’t lie to me.”

“Well, I’m not going to feed your ego either, so change the subject.”

“All right.” With obvious reluctance, he separated their bodies and sat up. “What would you like to talk about?”

“Dissolve the link then we’ll talk.” Frustration and pain blasted into her mind for just a moment then the connection went dead. She understood the frustration, but why had her insistence on privacy caused him pain? “Thank you.”

He nodded once then scooted off the bed and reached for his clothes.

“Aren’t you going to clean up first? I thought we could take a shower.”

“No shower for either of us. We need to make as strong a statement as possible.”

Mortified by what he’d just suggested, she crawled off the bed and stood facing him. “You expect me to put on that dress and walk around the ship reeking of sex?”

“Yes. Once it’s been established that you’ve been claimed, we’ll come back and take a shower.”

“I can’t.” She covered herself as best she could with her hands. “I won’t.”

“Suit yourself, but the utility room is locked and you’re not leaving this cabin until we establish my claim.” Then his expression softened and he took a step toward her. “I know you noticed the way my cousins reacted to you. Do you really want the entire crew undressing you with their eyes?”

“But they’ll know what we were just doing,” she cried.

“That’s the point. Rodytes are extremely territorial. Another male’s scent makes a female unattractive, even one as beautiful as you.”

Seeing no other option, she reluctantly gave in. “Then let’s get this over with so we can both relax.”

They dressed in awkward silence. She felt his gaze on her frequently, but she wasn’t ready to share her thoughts, wasn’t sure she could express the myriad feelings assailing her mind. He opened the utility room for her, then loitered in the doorway to make sure she didn’t do more than run a comb through her hair and splash water on her face.

Once she’d repaired her appearance, he took her by the hand and led her from the cabin. When they encountered a crewmember, Nazerel slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to his side. Morgan could tell the exact moment Nazerel’s scent reached the other man. He averted his gaze and hurried past without acknowledging Morgan in any way.

They took an elevator up two levels then followed a corridor to a large observation deck. The area was enclosed by curved panels that created a transparent quarter dome. A huge wedge of star-dotted sky arched overhead while triple rows of smaller ships spread out before her. The ships were sleek and angular, not unlike human fighter jets. Crewmen moved among the ships without spacesuits or any form of breathing apparatus, yet the area didn’t appear to be enclosed.

“Why aren’t they all dead or being sucked out into space?” She glanced at Nazerel and found him watching her, his expression intense yet unreadable.

“The launch decks are surrounded by energy barriers. It keeps the oxygen in while allowing the fighters to depart without delay.”

“‘Launch decks’? How many are there?”

“Eight.”

“And each deck has,” she quickly counted the ships, “thirty fighters?”

“Taking an inventory?” He pivoted toward her and reached for her hand.

“As if it matters.” She shook her head, overwhelmed by the scope of her surroundings. “Our most sophisticated ship seems like a toy compared to this.”

“The actual hanger is below the launch deck and stores several hundred fighters. Good thing we’re on the same side.” He pulled her toward him and placed his hands on her hips.

“Are we?” Not wanting to forfeit the comfort of his touch, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her body had barely stopped tingling and already the fantasy was fading. “How long will we stay that way once your cousins start hunting human females?”

Nazerel sighed, clearly frustrated by her stubbornness. “Your government negotiated with Ontarians, more than once. Why would they refuse to negotiate with Rodytes?”

She didn’t want to fight, but their break from reality was over. He’d brought her here against her will in a rash attempt to avoid capture. All of his talk of chosen mates and an hour of spectacular sex didn’t change the basic facts. He was a fugitive and it was her job to apprehend him. “Will the Rodytes negotiate or will they fly this behemoth to Earth and take what they want? We have no way to stop them. When the positions are this disparate, there is very little motivation to negotiate.”

He pushed her away and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re determined to cast us as villains before we’ve even chosen a course of action. Don’t judge my entire race by the actions of one woman.”

“It’s hard not to when you want the same thing. Sevrin was trying to genetically engineer what the battle born can accomplish naturally. You said two-thirds of the Rodyte military is battle born. How many males is that? Thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Earth is not going to give up that many females without a fight.”

“Are you sure?” His tone was cold and cutting as he added, “They assisted Sevrin, and she was one of many.”

“What are you talking about? We did everything in our power to stop Sevrin.”

“Your taskforce creates deniability, but the truth is more troubling. Sevrin’s project wasn’t ‘officially’ sanctioned. Those sorts of projects never are. But the US government not only knew what she was doing, they allowed her ships to land in the desert and provided her with various supplies and personnel crucial to her success.”

She could barely concentrate through the ringing in her ears. “You know this or you suspect?”

“You tell me. How reliable is Flynn? The data he sold me contains numerous messages between Sevrin and various government officials.”