Up in Flames (12 page)

“They won’t.”

“What if they do those horrible things to me again? I had blocked most of them out, but now I remember everything. Every horrid, painful thing they did to me to get me to learn control. I never want to look at something like this again and feel nothing.”

“That won’t happen, Cara,” Hayden said firmly.

Cara wasn’t so sure.

* * * *

Alex grumbled to himself as he followed Sidious to the landing pad where Sidious’s ship, the
Vultair
, was parked. Alex had tried to talk him out of this, but Sidious wouldn’t be swayed. They wanted to get him off Rhinari and out of the spotlight.

Alex had a bad feeling, though. He’d had it all morning and hadn’t been able to shake it. It was a sense of walking into a trap.

They rounded the corner at the end of the hall, and Alex almost stopped dead in his tracks. Standing by the door that led out to the landing pad was Sidious’s daughter, Miya.

Every time Alex laid eyes on her, his heart raced. She was beautiful and so damn not for him. But that didn’t stop him from looking, wishing, wanting.

All that thick, glorious chestnut-brown hair cascaded down her back in soft curls that made him want to grab a handful of it, jerk her head back, and kiss her till she melted into his arms and begged him to do his bidding. And there were a lot of things he wanted to do with her.

She was always dressed impeccably, but today she looked especially delectable. Her green dress matched her eyes, and the black belt around her waist showed off her hourglass figure to perfection. She had all the right proportions wrapped up in a tight, petite package. Even wearing boots with three-inch heels, she still barely came to his shoulders.

Alex loved those heels. He called them “fuck-me heels” because every time he saw her in them, that was all he could think about.

She had a black jacket slung over her arm for the colder temps outside. This high up, it was a good twenty degrees cooler than on the ground, and right now they were about a thousand feet up.

Alex had a hard time sometimes with the idea that such a sweet little angel had come from Lord Sidious Marcone. The man was probably one of the only people Alex knew who could silence a room with just a glare. He’d seen him do it. Once those gray eyes narrowed, and Sidious stood to his full height, there wasn’t a man left in the room who would raise his voice back at him.

Hell, even Alex would think twice.

Size-wise, they were a close match. Equal in height and width. If Alex had white hair like Marcone’s instead of black, the two would be very similar from behind.

Miya tilted her head slightly, looking around her father’s wide shoulders straight at Alex and bringing his thoughts back to the delectable angel who more often than not occupied his erotic dreams. If her father knew what he did to her in those dreams, Sidious would castrate him.

Her beautiful deep green eyes narrowed in concern as she watched him approach. Had her father told her what happened to him? What the hell was she doing here?

“Morning, pet. Did you bring that file from Chris’s office?” Marcone asked as he approached.

Miya jerked her gaze away from Alex and turned her attention back to her father as she handed him a small electronic tablet. “I did. Chris said everything you need is in there.”

Marcone nodded. “Good. Thank you.”

While her father studied the file, she brought her gaze back to Alex, and it was all he could do not to reach out and touch her. What the hell was the matter with him? He had no business fantasizing about dominating Miya. The first time he tied her up and flogged her would probably scare the hell out of her. Then he’d have to deal with deadly Daddy. No, thanks.

His gaze shot to Sidious, and Alex frowned. How could a man in his sixties still be so damn formidable?

“I understand it’s Chancellor now instead of Ambassador,” Miya said, bringing his attention back to her.

“Yes,” Alex said.

He had to bite his tongue to keep from telling her to call him Alex. He would love to hear the sound of his name on her lips.

“Surely you’re not going with us,” Alex said with a frown.

He wanted to take back his words at the anger that flared in her eyes.

“Absolutely not,” Sidious said as he studied the tablet.

“Of course not,” Miya drawled. “Wouldn’t want the baby to be injured.”

Alex’s lips twitched. Miya may be young, soft-spoken, and petite, but she was certainly no baby.

“Miya,” Sidious growled.

Miya rolled her eyes and stood on her tiptoes to kiss her father’s cheek. “I love you anyway, despite your overprotectiveness.”

“Imp,” he mumbled, but the tenderness in his eyes belied his harsh tone.

She smiled at her father before turning that stunning smile his way and stopping his heart. “I’m glad to see you’re okay, Chancellor.”

Alex inclined his head as she walked away. He didn’t trust himself to speak after she smiled at him like that. He tried really hard to not watch her. He really did, but he turned his head anyway and studied the soft sway of her tight little behind.

A hand slapped across the back of his head, and he winced. At first he thought it was her father who had done it, and he turned to glare at him. Instead he found her uncle Taron watching him with amusement sparkling in his deep brown eyes.

Taron leaned in and murmured, “Hands off.”

Alex’s scowl deepened. “I pity the poor man that’s dumb enough to fall in love with her with you two SOBs as his in-laws.”

Taron chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” Sidious asked as he opened the door and ushered them outside.

Taron strolled out first and smiled at Sidious as he passed. “I was just thinking how much the boy is like you.”

“Boy?” Alex snapped.

Sidious’s lips twitched as he let the door shut behind him and followed the other two to the ship. “You’re still in your thirties. At our age, you are a boy.”

* * * *

Cara sat on the weight bench, watching Hayden just a few feet away. He was…shirtless, restacking weights. She couldn’t seem to take her eyes off his shoulders as he moved. They flexed and bunched with every weight he pushed back into its slot.

She swallowed as memories from the night before made every inch of her flesh tingle. The way he felt inside her. The way he kissed her, touched her body, and made her want things she never… Their eyes met in the mirror, and Cara’s breath caught. He’d been avoiding touching her all afternoon, to the point she was ready to jump out of her skin.

She had gotten to know him, recognized the heat in his eyes for what it was. She knew he wanted her, but he held himself back. Why?

Letting out a deep sigh, Cara stood and began walking toward the stairs. If he wanted to be stubborn, then so could she. As she walked past him, his hand snaked out and grabbed her wrist.

She stopped and glanced at him over her shoulder. The hungry look on his face made her gasp.

“I’m tired of fighting this,” he murmured.

Cara started to say something but was cut off when he jerked her toward him and lowered his mouth to hers. She landed against his chest and gripped his upper arms. She held tight as his mouth plundered hers, leaving her literally weak in the knees.

It wasn’t gentle at all. It was hard, aggressive, and so hot Cara wanted to purr in contentment. She loved this side of Hayden—this raw, alpha, extremely sexy side.

He jerked her top over her head, exposing her aching breasts to his hands. Practically bending her backward, he covered one breast with his mouth and bit down delectably on her nipple. Cara moaned and buried her fingers in his hair, trying to tug him closer. He swiped his tongue over her engorged nub, making her shudder in delight. When he sucked the tip of her breast farther into his mouth, she yelped in pleasure.

She’d been aroused all day. Now her body was screaming to have him buried inside her.

“Hayden,” she whispered and began to tug at his pants.

They both shoved them down, then removed hers. Before she could even draw in a deep breath at the sight of Hayden naked, he pushed her against the wall and landed a kiss on her lips that had her squirming.

There were no gentle touches. No sweet kisses. There was only deep-seated need as Hayden settled the head of his cock at her entrance and thrust forward. Cara squealed as his thick girth stretched her walls, filling her so full she shouted in pleasure. There hadn’t been any pain this time, no sharp prick, no burning in her walls, just a desire to feel him moving inside her.

“Hayden,” she groaned as he rotated his hips and pressed in even deeper.

Cara gripped his strong shoulders, holding tight as he forced her body to take even more of him. She never imagined being joined together with another human being would feel this good or that it would tie her so much closer to him emotionally. Every time he touched her, she could feel herself losing a little more of her heart to him. Was this what it felt like to love someone? Was this what her father had with her mother?

Hayden cupped her breasts and squeezed them in his palms. He pinched her nipples hard before rolling them between his thumbs and forefingers, tormenting her with little bites of pain that sent her lust careening over the edge.

“Hayden,” she screamed as her body erupted into pulsating waves of bliss. “Don’t stop. Please don’t…”

“Don’t stop?” he purred, then did exactly that. “You mean like this?”

“Damn you,” she growled.

Hayden chuckled and bit her earlobe. Cara sucked in a breath and tried to move her hips. She found out quick that he would have none of that. He lowered his hands and gripped her hips, holding her still.

“You realize I can make you move,” she whispered.

Hayden lifted his head and grinned at her. “You’ll get it when I’m good and ready to give it to you, and not before. I suggest you remember that.”

Cara’s whole body ignited in a wave of heat. What was it about the way he said things during sex that made her so hot?

“I feel like I’m on fire,” she sighed. “Please, Hayden.”

He pressed forward slowly, filling her inch by glorious inch.

“Faster?” he asked softly.

“Yes.”

He moved faster, but it still wasn’t enough. She wanted it hard, deep, forceful. She wanted it rough.

“Say it, Cara. Tell me what you want.”

“I want you…I want you to fuck me hard. Rough.”

He pounded into her, giving her exactly what she wanted. Several seconds later, when Cara thought she couldn’t possibly take any more, she screamed as her release barreled through her, sending shock waves of pleasure straight to her womb.

Hayden found his own release deep inside her. She felt his pulse against her walls and marveled at how their hearts seemed to beat in rhythm. It was so odd, yet so perfect.

He sighed and rained soft kisses along her jaw and neck. She moaned at the feel of his soft lips against her skin.

“Can we do that again?” she asked.

Hayden chuckled. “I may need a few minutes first.”

She moaned and wiggled her hips. “Why?”

He smiled down at her and brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. She wanted nothing more than to melt into his arms and stay there forever.

“You are so adorably clueless,” he murmured.

“Is that a bad thing?”

She bit at her bottom lip. Hayden used his thumb to tug her lip away from her teeth. He placed a soft kiss against it, making her sigh.

“No,” he whispered. “Not bad at all.”

He kissed her on the forehead. “Let’s get dressed and go eat lunch before Beena starts searching for us. After that, we’ll spend the rest of the day doing whatever you want.”

She smiled. “I already know what I want.”

“Me too,” he purred, then bit her chin.

Cara giggled, then whined slightly as he pulled from her body, allowing her to put her feet on the floor. He swatted her behind. The sound of his palm hitting her flesh echoed through the room, and she gasped in surprise, both at the loud sound and the heat of awareness it sent snaking up her spine.

She rubbed at the sore spot as she glanced at Hayden through her lashes. Would he do that again if she asked him? It had stung but at the same time sent a wave of desire traveling through her belly. Was it supposed to do that? If men enjoyed spanking, did women?

“Stop looking at me like that before I give you another smack on the ass,” Hayden drawled.

She smiled and took the clothes he handed her. They quickly dressed before heading up the stairs that led to the den on the main level. Hayden opened the door and turned to smile down at her as he stepped through it.

A loud
pop
sounded, then a groan from Hayden as he was thrown across the room, landing in a heap against the wall a few feet away. Blood soaked his chest, and Cara screamed at the pain that raced through hers.

“Hayden!”

Chapter Thirteen

“You will come with us, Cara,” a deep voice she recognized as Comune’s called from the den.

Cara’s eyes narrowed at the sound of the older Mundi’s voice. He was one of the Mundi who’d trained her and the one responsible for the majority of her broken bones. For a man who felt nothing, his brutality was often shocking.

She tamped down the pain of losing Hayden. Nothing had ever hurt so badly in her life, but she forced herself to go numb, to feel nothing. “I will not,” she snarled through her teeth.

She climbed the rest of the stairs and turned to face Comune and fourteen other Mundi, all there to take her back against her will. Squaring her shoulders, she stared Comune down, silently daring him to try.

“You have no choice, Cara. You serve the Order.”

“I serve no one. Not anymore.”

Typical of an emotionless Mundi, Comune showed no surprise, no anger, nothing at her refusal. Had she really been that cold? No wonder her father called her a stone. Keeping her eyes on Comune, she slowly walked toward Hayden. Kneeling by his side, she fought the despair that threatened to take over her mind. Her lip began to tremble, and she drew in a deep, calming breath.

Don’t let them see. You can’t let them see you cry.

“We have orders to take you by force if we must.”