of it shocked her—his scent and feel overwhelmed her senses until everything narrowed to just him.
He froze behind her, still buried to the hilt inside her. Agony tore his voice to a ragged whisper, “I hurt you, khalaa.”
Wriggling to get closer, to force his cock even deeper, she pressed herself into him. He was so big, he filled her so well. It was amazing. Mind-blowing. “Stop and I will do a lot more than hurt you.”
He remained still, doing nothing to help her gain the satisfaction she craved. “Bren…”
“Don’t make me beg.” Because at this point, she would. Her body screamed with tension, fire and ice tingling over her skin. She gritted her teeth to keep from whimpering.
“I won’t.” He began moving again and she did whimper, so grateful that tears sprang to her eyes. She blinked them back, unwilling to let anything encourage him to stop again.
Sweat beaded on her forehead, sliding down her temples. The breeze wrapping around them chilled the moisture on her skin, but it was just one more stimulation, one more thing to make her moan. The thread of awareness that connected their minds filtered desire back and forth between them. Heat whipped through her, made her skin feel too tight, as though she would explode any moment. She closed her eyes, gasping for breath as he ground himself against her. “Oh, my God.”
Her pussy flexed around his cock and she could feel her orgasm building, knew he could feel it too. He groaned, and his claws slid forward, digging deep into the tree bark. “Merciful Anun.”
“Harder, faster. I’m so close.” She didn’t give a damn if anyone was nearby, and she knew that was stupid, that this was stupid, but it didn’t stop her. He gave her what she wanted, his hips bucking hard as he slammed deep. Waves of ecstasy radiated out each time he entered her, her whole body focused on that one point that joined them.
His fangs grazed her throat, scoring her flesh. She threw her head back on his shoulder, gave him all the access he could want, and arched her hips to meet his hammering thrusts. Their skin slapped together, the sound loud in the quiet forest.
One of his hands dropped to fondle her breast, his claws scraping her as he slipped lower to flick over her clitoris. A thin cry burst from her, and she clamped her inner muscles around him, giving as good as she got. His groan was as helpless as she felt.
He worked her clit in time with his thrusts, arching her forward into his finger, and back into his cock. Then the point of his claw raked her sensitive flesh oh-so-lightly. But it was enough. She was so hot, so ready, it was enough to send her flying. Her mouth opened in a silent scream, her body locking tight. Her sex fisted around the length of his cock, pleasure cascading through her with each rhythmic pulse of her inner muscles.
He rammed his cock inside her, dragging out her orgasm as he sought his own. He hissed between his teeth, the sound not quite human. When he came deep inside her, his fluids filling her with heat, her sex clenched again, making them both groan. His mouth opened against her neck, licking and sucking at her sweat-dampened flesh as his voice filled her mind. Yes, khalaa. Just like that. I have wanted this for so long.
So had she, though she’d never confess it to him. She didn’t even want to acknowledge it to herself. Her heart still pounded in her ears, her muscles beginning to cramp from the awkward, bent position. The cloud of lust began to clear from her mind, and reality came back in an awful rush. She closed her eyes as she scrambled to gather up the unraveling edges of her self-control. Jerking her hand out from under his, she scraped her palm against the rough tree.
God, she was pathetic. How hard up did she have to be to fuck a virtual stranger, an enemy, out in the open? Especially when she had come for reasons that were more than a little time sensitive. How long did she have before Arthur realized she’d defected? Tomorrow morning at the latest, and she doubted she’d be that lucky. She needed to know if she could count on Farid and his emperor for help.
Dancing her hips away, she felt Farid’s cock slide from her body. A final shiver wracked her, pleasure ricocheting through her whether she wanted it to or not. And she did not, damn it. Why did the chemistry with him have to be so powerful, so right, so beyond anything she’d ever experienced before? She hated it so much. Almost as much as she craved it, him.
He sighed softly, righting his clothes as she did the same. Her movements were jerky, stiff as she lambasted herself for her stupidity. Mustering the flagging edges of her dignity and courage, she finally faced him. He wasn’t looking at her. His eyes were closed, his head tilted as though he were listening for something. Foreboding rippled through her, the hairs standing up on the back of her neck.
“What’s wrong?” she whispered as she pulled the gun out of the holster strapped to her ankle. Call it a reaction to him or just good old-fashioned gut instinct, but she knew something was out there. Could be a harmless hiker getting a voyeuristic thrill or it could be something much more dangerous. “I thought you were alone, Arjun.”
Then she heard what his sensitive ears had picked up first. The sound of helicopter blades slicing through the air. It was moving far faster and far lower than a commercial helo would, which meant one thing. They were screwed. A spotlight hit the clearing she’d never reached, the glow filtering between the tree branches, as soldiers repelled out of the aircraft and hit the ground.
She turned to run, but Farid grabbed her, dragging them both to the ground. “Down!”
Machine gun fire rapped a staccato beat as bullets slapped into the ground beside them. A root from the tree they’d fucked against slammed into her belly, knocking the wind out of her. She gagged for air but scrambled forward to take cover.
“I thought you weren’t followed!” He hissed, his fangs fully extended.
“Damn it!” Her heart pounded loud in her ears. She braced her back against the tree, held her weapon at the ready, and tried to steady her breathing so she could hear.
He snarled several words in his language that she was pretty sure were spleen-venting curses. The ground rocked beneath them as something large blew up, shooting flames and debris high above the canopy of trees.
“That would be my shuttle.” His voice was clipped, cold.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I didn’t see or hear you land.”
“I was here long before you were.” If possible, his tone chilled even more, dipping into subarctic.
A distant rumble sounded as something farther away exploded. Oh, Jesus. Realization hit her in a sick rush. “And that’s my car. Shit!”
He snarled again, his eyes boiling green sparks, but said nothing else. He scanned the trees, and she could feel the heat of his power pulse out in a wave. What he was looking for, she didn’t know, but she took the opportunity to listen for approaching footsteps or movement. The machine gun fire had come at them from the north—the same direction as her car—his shuttle was south, but every second that passed meant they could be moving while Farid and she were pinned down. “Bren, where is your cell phone?”
“E.T. phone home?” She fished it out of her pocket and handed it to him. She could hear the whine of the helo coming back, spotlight on and ready to reveal their location.
“What?” He flipped open the slim phone and the screen lit.
“Nothing.” She shook her head. “You’d have to be human to get it.”
“I
