Kiss of the Night (Carnal Thirst 2)

“Oh God…oh God…oh God…” He was killing her with pleasure, forcing her to take it, punishing her for wanting too much from him.

More, he growled.

“W-what?” She couldn’t take any more.

His forearms pinned her shoulders down, holding her immobile, and then he rammed into her, forcing her thighs brutally wide so he could thrust deeper. More!

She screamed and came hard, her cunt clutching his pumping cock in hard convulsive shudders. Suddenly her mind filled with him, she became him. She felt the drowning pleasure he took in holding her, in fucking her, in tasting her kisses. She saw how deeply he craved her and wanted her on every level possible. She saw the respect he held for her and the need he had to protect her. And when he groaned into her mouth and flooded her with his cum, she saw something else too, something that filled her with equal parts joy and despair.

Alexei loved her.

Oh God…

But there were dark parts to him as well, hidden parts that he refused to show her. Despite the depth of his affection, it wasn’t enough. Tears slipped past her lashes and salted their kiss.

He ground into her, stroking his cock with her spasming depths until he’d emptied himself. Then he pulled his mouth from hers and stared at her with torment in his eyes, his chest heaving with labored breaths.

“I can’t give you any more than I have.” His voice was hoarse and raw as he pulled out of her deliciously bruised pussy. Leaping to his feet, he tugged up his pants and kept his gaze averted. “I’ve already given you everything.” He turned on his heel and left her there on the floor.

Devastated.

Chapter Five

Briana stumbled down the corridor, her hand running along the cool metal wall to support her weak legs. It wasn’t love. It couldn’t be. Not so soon. They hardly knew each other.

But the reckless beat of her heart called her a liar and the dizziness that accompanied her gasping breaths said the same. Alexei couldn’t deceive her about something so important. Could he? Before she’d begun this journey she’d been certain she knew everything about vampires, but she’d been wrong. She didn’t know if they could lie through a mental link. It wasn’t something she’d needed to know. Until now.

The door to her old room slid open silently and she stepped inside.

“I have news to share,” James said quietly.

Wrapping a towel around her waist, Bree walked over to the bed and sank onto the edge of the mattress. Her hand fluttered to her heart as awe sank into her consciousness. Alexei Night loved her. And that scared the shit out of her.

“You have received another demand.” James took a seat next to her.

“What?” She turned to face him, thoughts of Alex driven from her mind. “What did it say? What do they want? Oh God, my family… Are they okay?”

“Mistress, calm down.” He placed his hand over hers. “They have done nothing to your family, but they know your sister and brother-in-law are staying on Rashier 6.”

“No…” She’d arranged a trip off-world for them, taking great care to hide their departure. Using a generic name, she’d purchased a private service to transport them. She’d told them she wanted to hide them from the media attention brought on by her position, but all her efforts had been for nothing. They’d been discovered anyway.

“What do they want?” she asked starkly, her pulse racing in near panic. If anything were ever to happen to Stella she didn’t know how she could bear it.

“They know you are en route to Tolan and they are not pleased that you have disobeyed their request for you to wait for instructions.”

Bree stood and began to pace. “How they hell do they know that?”

James rose to his feet. “There is an information leak somewhere, Mistress. It is the only logical explanation.”

Throwing her hands in the air, she shot him an arch glance. “No one knows, James. You and me, that’s it!”

“Night knows,” he said softly.

She stilled, astonished. “Oh hell, give me a break! Alex wouldn’t sell me out.”

“Why not? Because he says he loves you? A known criminal who has spent years doing unsavory acts for money?”

“You don’t know him,” she argued, even as her stomach turned.

“Neither do you. A week’s acquaintance is all you have to base your conviction upon.”

“In most cases I would agree that isn’t long enough.” Bree resumed her fevered pacing. “But he’s shown me things, shared things…”

“Has he shared with you the reason for the ten-minute gap in my memory banks?” James asked.

Scowling, she stopped pacing again. “What the hell are you talking about now?”

The droid stood stoically, his classically handsome features impassive. “I hesitated to tell you, because I did not want you to doubt my ability to perform. But in light of the recent demand, I have to disclose the anomaly. There is a ten-minute period of time three nights ago that I cannot account for.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I have run multiple queries and while my database appears undisturbed—”

“Then don’t worry about it,” she dismissed. “What was the demand?”

“I am unable to account for ten minutes, forty-three seconds,” he continued obstinately. “Exactly the amount of time it would take to download all of the information I have acquired since you purchased me.”

Her hand moved to her stomach, which suddenly felt queasy. “Is that what happened? Have you been tampered with?”

“There is no record of a download in my database, but I was curious.” James moved to the door and locked it. “So last night while you and Captain Night were sleeping, I searched the bridge. I found a synapse interrupter, Mistress. It was set at just the right frequency to disengage me. None of the other droids or programs on this ship would require that particular frequency.”

“Oh God.” Swallowing hard, Bree shook her head, refusing to believe it. James was designed to see only the facts. He wasn’t capable of factoring in the effect of emotions. Alex would never set her up. He would never hurt her so badly.

“What other explanation is there?” James asked.

“I don’t know. But there has to be one.”

“The message was very clear. Your exact location is known to them. They are aware that we will enter Tolan orbit in a few hours. They insisted you leave Captain Night behind and land on the planet alone. From there you have been instructed to travel to a local public transport hub near your father’s home where you will receive instructions by public comm link. You are to leave this ship without delay and await their approval before taking any further action. You are to dress in the clothing that displays your rank and present yourself as you would on the House floor. You are to go into the hub without my escort and—”

“This is too much,” she snapped, her hands going to her hips. “These nitpicky demands are simply designed to oppress and frustrate me into doing something stupid. They asked me to back off the Eastern Bill and I agreed. I’m not giving them any more than that.”

“You never intended to give them even that much,” James pointed out. “You merely made the appearance of capitulation until you could ensure your family’s safety.”

“Damn straight! I won’t be dictated to. If I give in once, what’s to stop them from demanding more? I’ll be trapped in a vicious cycle, nothing more than a pawn used to achieve their ends.”

Bree clenched her fists. Despite her frustration, she was going to do as they asked. She’d never spoken to them directly before and she couldn’t pass up the opportunity. This situation couldn’t be allowed

to go on indefinitely. Talking to them would bring her closer to discovering who was behind these threats.

Moving to the round window, she stared out at the starry space beyond. Only days ago she’d enjoyed a similar view, drenched in pleasure as Alex made love to her that first time, moving inside her with breathtaking skill. She’d wanted the moment to go on forever, the joining to last beyond the temporary physical rapture. Known for her pragmatism, that was the one time in her life when she’d lived for the moment.

Now that moment was over. It was hard to believe when Alex’s cum was slowly leaking down her thighs, but there was no denying it. He was a vamp with an endless life. She had another fifty years left, give or take a decade if she wasn’t assassinated first. And he couldn’t be himself with her anyway. What kind of life could they have if he was always living with only half of himself?

She took a deep, shuddering breath and rested her palms on the ledge. The metal was cool to the touch and soothing, reminding her that some things were solid and unmovable in a world that was suddenly careening around her.

Snorting, Bree rested her hot forehead against the cool glass. She’d lost her focus for a while and allowed a seductive vamp to distract her from a matter of grave importance. She’d thought this task would be so easy—hide her family, thereby taking away the leverage of the people who threatened her. Then she could approach them on equal footing. Once her family was safe, she’d have nothing to lose.

But they’d outsmarted her somehow. Now it was time for her to outsmart them.

“How far away are we from Tolan orbit?” she asked, coming to a decision.

“A few hours.” He nodded as he read her thoughts. “An excellent plan. I will go and disable the alert systems for the shuttle pod. Captain Night will be unaware when we leave.”

“You’ll have to keep him occupied for a bit. If he comes near me, he’ll know. I don’t want to drag him into this.”