Kiss of the Night (Carnal Thirst 2)

She made another soft whimper and he cursed, the need to orgasm rising every time he sank into her. Her thoughts, hot and sexy and filled with fondness for him, drove him mad. Her fingers clawed at the glass, leaving damp trails of sweat behind. “Make me come again,” she pleaded. “I’m going crazy.”

Curling his body around hers, Alex shortened his strokes and reached between her legs. He circled her clit with the pads of his fingertips and groaned at the feel of her slick with his seed.

“Yes…” Bree swiveled her hips in time with his tempo, her cunt rippling along his shaft before clenching tight around him. Pure pleasure centered at the base of his spine. His cock filled with lust and desire before exploding in release, draining him of all the emotional barriers he’d set in place between them.

* * * * *

Taking care not to wake her, Alex slid his arm from beneath Briana’s head and slipped quietly out of bed. He stared down at her for a long moment, taking in the gorgeous way she was displayed on his linens. Lost in a sea of blood-red satin and jewel-toned pillows, her pale skin and golden curls made his mouth water.

He was tempted to lean over her and steal a kiss, an act he’d successfully managed to avoid so far, but he knew already that a taste of her would lead to a hunger for more. His animal would awaken and want her blood, want her cunt, want her body writhing beneath his, completely at his mercy. He couldn’t take the chance that he’d hurt her. Not for anything in the universe.

With a sigh, he forced himself to step away. He tugged on a pair of trousers and left the room. Padding softly down the corridor, he made his way to the bridge and sat down at his console with its multicolored lights. Alex took a moment to think, his brain gradually clearing of Bree’s addicting scent. Then he hit the comm and waited for Derek to answer.

The screen lit up almost immediately, revealing the stern countenance of the Security President. “How’s everything progressing, Night?”

“As well as can be expected.”

That answer sounded better than, I’m falling in love with my mission, how about you?

“Has she told you anything?”

Not a damn thing and that was really starting to bug him. It meant there was a trust issue between them. Not that he blamed her with the information she had, but he was arrogant enough to wish that whatever she felt for him would be enough to get past it. He’d got what he needed by probing her mind, but he wished she’d had the faith in him to tell him her troubles out loud. “They want her to withdraw her support of the Eastern Bill.”

Derek frowned. “Why? It’s a minor piece of legislation that doesn’t hurt anyone’s interests. If I remember correctly, it just calls for opening a remote sector of the Gamma Quadrant for travel.”

“Apparently there is a small colony of nomads in that sector who display remarkable regenerative qualities. They can cut off a limb, let it die, then reattach it and it will regain its function.”

“Shit.” Derek fell back in his chair. “I take it Representative Michaels hopes to open the route to researchers?”

“That’s the plan. Briana thinks if they can determine how the regeneration works, they can regenerate the reproductive systems of vamps. She knew opposition would be high if her true intent was revealed so she’s kept it under wraps.”

“Well, someone figured it out,” Derek growled. “I’m really starting to feel out of the fucking loop here. I went through every report on Rep. Michaels and the only droid purchase I could find was a sex bot a few weeks ago.”

“That’s the one I was talking about.”

“You said a PA droid.”

“That’s what she’s using it for,” he grumbled. “She’s had its programming altered.”

Derek threw his head back and laughed. “What I wouldn’t give to be on that ship! I’ve never mixed it up with a sex bot and I sure as hell wouldn’t let one anywhere near Sable, but the idea is intriguing. You can tell me all about it and I’ll live vicariously through you.”

Alex snorted. If anyone even looked at Sable wrong, Derek got pissed. Alex had always thought that kind of protectiveness was funny. Now that he was on the possessive side himself, it wasn’t such a laughing matter. “That damn droid is in the cargo hold where it belongs. It’s lucky I didn’t eject it, like I have half a mind to.”

“Uh-oh. Sounds like somebody’s getting attached,” Derek chimed in softly. “Don’t forget she’s human, Night. The fact that she’s not a vamp helps our cause immeasurably. There’s no future with her. You’re immortal, she’s not.”

“I know that.” But it was too late to stop the way he felt about her. He suspected he’d been half in love with her before they’d even met. The heat, the need between them…hell, the mind-blowing sex had finished him. “How’s her family?”

“Fine. For now. Listen, Night, are you planning on telling her who you are? She hasn’t notified anyone about the threats to her family, including her own personal guards. She obviously didn’t trust anyone to assist her. Are you certain she trusts you?”

No, he wasn’t certain and he hated that. “I won’t jeopardize the mission, sir. I know what the risks to her are if she handles this alone.”

“Don’t discount the risks to our kind. We need her.”

Alex took a deep breath and willed away the frustration that ate at him. “I know.”

“Good. I trusted you with this assignment. Don’t fuck it up by getting emotionally involved. Understand?”

“Yeah,” he bit out. “I understand.”

“I don’t have the schematics on the sex droid readily available, but I’ll get them to you in an hour. And your hunch was right about the would-be assassin. A traveler bearing a Shinite passport went through Thieves’ Cove port the same time you were there.”

Alex kept his face impassive, but inside him everything changed. Shinite assassins didn’t fail. The blaster shot in the bar had either been intended as a warning or it was only by a whim of fate that Briana was alive today. Either way, she was in deadly serious danger and that knowledge solidified his next course of action.

“I’ve got all my security safeguards on their highest levels,” Alex said grimly. “But I’ll run through them again every day. I won’t take any chances with her life. And you were right about her dad. He’s hidden himself away at her request. Even she doesn’t know where he is.”

“Good. That takes care of that concern. Tap into the droid at your first opportunity. We need to know everything it knows. Atkinson out.”

Derek signed off and the comm screen went black.

Alex double-checked the navigational settings and did a quick sub-space scan, before rising from his seat and heading back to Bree. In a little over a week they’d be in Tolan. Somehow he had to make her fall in love with him before then. She had to trust him implicitly or the mission could fail, and he couldn’t let that happen. This wasn’t about doing his job anymore or impressing Derek. This was about Briana and protecting the woman he cared about more anything.

His heart ached as he entered his room where the scent of sex and her skin inundated his senses. If she grew to love him, it would rip him apart to say goodbye to her. But he’d suffer the pain gladly if it kept her and her family alive.

&nbs

p; * * * * *

“Ugh! Get off,” Bree complained. “You’re crushing me.”

James rolled to his back beside her on the padded mat. “We should continue this another time, Mistress. You are too distracted to fight properly.”

“I am not distracted.”

“You have yet to knock me down and we have been sparring for hours.” He stood and held out his hand to her.

She blew the hair out of her eyes and then brushed the strands away that clung to her sweaty skin. Alex. Alex. Alex. He was all she could think about and it was affecting everything, including her ability to concentrate.

“I’m just not used to fighting in artificial gravity,” she muttered, using his proffered help to pull up to her feet. “That’s all.”

“Your excuse is dreadful,” he scoffed.

“Bite me.”

“That’s a pleasure I reserve for myself,” Alex said behind her. Startled, Bree spun swiftly to face him.

He lounged in the doorway with his arms crossed, the picture of seductive leisure in his sapphire-colored vest, loose trousers and bare feet. He looked like he’d just rolled out of bed, which he had. Since she started sharing his quarters a week ago, she’d learned another thing about vamps—they slept like the dead. He hadn’t moved a muscle when she’d slipped out of his cabin earlier.

His dark eyes never left hers. “Send that thing away. I’ll spar with you if you like.”

She snorted. Alex was never going to accept James. He’d been furious to discover she’d reactivated her droid and it had taken a hefty dose of carnal persuasion to cheer up her vamp again. “Sparring with you won’t help me. You have abilities I can’t compete with.”

“Then send it away and we’ll get our exercise in more pleasurable ways.” He pushed off the doorjamb and came toward her with a sultry stride she knew. Let’s fuck, it said, and she always responded immediately.

“You’re a menace,” she grumbled as her body shivered in anticipation, her breasts growing heavy, the nipples beading up tight. She’d wanted hot sex and orgasms with a gorgeous guy and that’s exactly what he gave her. But she hadn’t expected Alexei Night to be so tender. She hadn’t known he would want to be with her as often as possible, that he would want to feed her by hand, wash and brush her hair, hold her close while sleeping…