CHAPTER TEN
Austin startled into consciousness with images of blood and bodies writhing in her head and that cold chill locked in the center of her chest once again. She lay on her side, encased in silk. She pulled breath to the full depth of her lungs and reality caught up with her. She’d fallen asleep in Zander’s bed.
He shifted behind her.
Broad hips thrust closer as the bristle of morning scruff nuzzled her neck. A gentle snore vibrated behind her ear and warmth tickled her nape with each exhale. Muscle-banded arms and legs wrapped so tight around her, she was amazed she hadn’t woken sooner.
Man, his limbs weighed a ton.
Her dreams made sense now—the endless scenarios of being bound and trapped, trying to free herself from beneath the invisible force that held her down. No matter how she struggled, she couldn’t extricate herself.
As she shifted her weight she knew why. Her arms were wrapped across her chest and he held them both. The moment she moved, Zander’s hold constricted. His body shifted, tightening his embrace. That should scare her.
After what happened with Rick, she should swear off men. He’d cheated on her for who knows how long. Being played a fool was a kick in the pants, but beyond that, she didn’t object to Rick’s exit from her life. Didn’t that say something?
She’d only been on her own for a week and she enjoyed independence. Always had. Getting attached to someone new so soon would only lead to more heartache. Who needed that?
Zander growled in his sleep and she stiffened. The vocal warning resonated inside her and struck at a frequency that triggered an emotion jumble. The man was dangerous. Good guy or not, his world burst way beyond her comfort zone. The voice in her head said she needed to leave this mess behind her and get back to her life.
But her head wasn’t the loudest part of her weighing in. Her body screamed another language altogether. Something much more basic. Heated.
What was wrong with that? Within a few days, he’d find his friend’s killer and she’d return to her apartment and work—with Rick. Her stomach squirreled inside her. She didn’t even want to think about that yet.
Distracting herself with a little bad-boy fantasy seemed the better idea.
She breathed deep and drew in the faded scent of expensive cologne infused with the unmistakable masculine power of Zander. His musky spice washed over her and she closed her eyes. Just because you ride a stallion doesn’t mean you’ve got to hitch the trailer and take him home.
The man could kiss like nobody’s business.
Zander’s morning erection pressed firmly against her backside. He impressed her on many fronts. She wriggled her butt against him and bit back a smile when a deep, grumble perforated his sleep. Considering his size and the level of testosterone it would take to fuel his aggression, it was no surprise. His pants were about ready to burst apart at the seams.
With slow, deliberate movement, she turned in his arms and lay face to face.
She wished she could see his expression as he slept. It would be harsh yet beautiful. Likely, this was the only time his warrior life washed away enough so he could relax.
She still couldn’t believe it. Son of an archangel.
Zander stirred awake, his morning wood more like a full-grown sequoia. His thick length pulsed and raged, incensed to be trapped in his damned jogging pants as it had been since he changed from his gear and crashed last night. He slept naked—always. However, when he’d finished with the men and turned in, he thought it might be ballsy to drop his pants. He’d barely convinced Austin that he wasn’t perverted scum.
He drew a sleepy breath and stretched.
A low feminine sigh had his eyes opening a crack. She was there, inches from his face, biting her lip like an imp up to no good. Bring it.
The tension on his waistband gave as her fingers unlaced the tie. His eyes snapped wide.
She paused with the fingers. “You didn’t seem comfortable, so I took liberties. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“No offense taken. I’m up now.”
“Truer words were never spoken.”
When her fingers continued working on those strings, he pulled back to read her. “Not that I’m complaining, because I am sooo not complaining, but are you all right?”
She snuggled closer, the sweet allure of her feminine scent making him dizzy.
“It struck me when I woke up—I’m alive—and I want to live. So, since we’re both unattached, and I’m leavin’ soon anyway, I thought I’d climb back up on my horse and live in the moment. Right here. Right now.”
He studied her. The idea that he played the horse in this scenario and she wanted to take him for a ride—um, hells yeah. Heat coiled inside him and spread in urgent need. As the inferno got hotter he closed the inches between their mouths and captured her lips.
The taste of her consumed him, exactly how it had yesterday. He trailed his kiss down the column of her throat, nipping at her pulse racing beneath his lips. The blankets were cumbersome, but he found the small of her back and tucked her closer. He didn’t begin to understand this vibration in his head, the tremble in his hands, or the arousal that never faded, but he had no interest in trying to figure it out.
“I want to touch you,” he whispered. “I want inside you.”
“I’m on birth control injections but do you have condoms?”
“I do.” He’d bought some last night with a determination to put them to good use. The smile she flashed him was nothing sort of breathtaking.
Pulling back, he lifted the comforter to get at her. He willed his hands to steady and slid them under her shirt. Miles of silky warm flesh met his palms. Spanning the flat plane of her navel he followed the subtle ridges of her ribs up to the rise of her breasts. He pushed her shirt away and went down, his lips finding the tight peak of her nipple. Pulling her breast into his mouth he sucked and then released, blowing a caress across the glistening tip.
Rough fingers tightened in his hair and forced him back to where he’d been. And wasn’t that sexy? He recaptured the gathered peak in his mouth and massaged the swell of her other breast. She made the most incredible noises. Inhaling deep, he drank in her need. Yeah, she wanted him.
He bit back a growl. “So, you’re sure? We’re good?”
Velvet fingers disappeared below his waistband as a soft moan escaped her lips. “Positive. No strings. Just this.”
No strings. Hells yes. “You mentioned taking liberties.”
Austin chuckled and yanked his pants down his thighs. Going commando had advantages. The instant the nylon barrier lowered, his cock sprang forward. Her quick grasp to take him in her palms, nearly had him undone.
He studied the mixtures of sage and forest green in her eyes and how the flecks of gold and brown sparkled more in the morning light than he’d noticed yesterday. He loved that she started this and would take what she needed from him.
“Austin? If I’m the first man you’ve seen in years. Am I the first man you’ve seen like this? Taking you?”
“Yes.”
His chest swelled, his kiss exploding in possessive sweeps of lips and tongue. He could lose it just grinding his mouth against hers. Why hadn’t he ever felt a connection like this before? In all the centuries, no woman had ever tuned him up like Austin did.
His distraction ended as her stroking ceased and her hand released his arousal. The growl that rumbled from his chest was nothing he could contain.
“Hold your horses,” she said, her body vibrating against him with quiet laughter. “Let me pull these down more so I can get at you.”
Who could argue with logic like that?
She shoved his pants down to his calves and he scissored his feet until his legs were free. Then he buried his face in her hair and whispered a steady stream into her ear. He wanted her to be with him in every one of her senses. Wanted her to see him.
Needed it more than he should.
Reaching between his legs, she resumed her attention. His body torqued as she raked her nails down his length and gave a tug at his sac below. He gasped and bit back a curse as she tugged harder. “That’s unbelievable, cowgirl.”
“Too rough?”
“Not. At. All.” Zander’s jaw clenched as her fingers closed and twisted ever so slightly. He shifted over her before he knew he’d moved and he wasn’t being a gentleman.
“I need inside you.” Every throbbing inch of him demanded it. He reached into the drawer in the bedside table and retrieved the box of condoms. He tore the cardboard open and snagged a silver foil packet. “So, we’re good?”
One quick head bob and he shifted in a frantic scramble. He tugged her yoga pants down her legs. The stitching along the seam cracked in protest, but he didn’t care. No flimsy Lulu-cotton-bullshit would keep him from his mission. He shoved her T-shirt over her head, so her body was bare to him. “I wish I had the patience to do this properly.”
“Next time,” she rasped.
Yeah, next time. And the time after that and the time after that. Oh, and did he mention the time after that.
She exhaled in a rush as his tongue ran the column of her neck. The taste of her skin made his gut clench. He was gonna lose his mind when he latched onto her core. A scorching shiver shot through him and he reached between their heated bodies. “Fuck. You are so beautiful.”
From beneath lowered lids, he kept his gaze locked on her and dragged a lazy touch through the length of her sex. When he rubbed her cleft her body jacked off the mattress, her thighs falling further open. For him.
***
Austin undulated against Zander and increased the skin on skin friction, greedy for more contact. He stroked her, his touch moving up her side and over the rise of her breast. The tear of a condom wrapper created an almost Pavlovian anticipation. She went hot and wet, and then he was there, lying over her, pressing her thighs wide enough to accommodate his hips.
Notched right where she needed him, her core bloomed.
Electricity arced in the air, raising goosebumps on her skin. No strings. Enjoy him, let him enjoy her, and then get back to reality. Zander’s muscles bunched and released under her hands and she wanted to scream.
How could she possibly be so turned on by a stranger?
Zander pressed his palms into the bed and swayed forward, parting her. He slid inside her torturously slow, giving her body time to adjust. She gasped at the invasion and then, as the pinch eased, arched to take him all the way. The sweet sting stretched her to the point of straining. And then he began to move.
Oh, sweet Texas.
The first few glides in and out had him buried to the base of her pulsing core. As he increased the pace, the sense of invasion intensified. She wrapped her legs around the backs of his thighs and locked on his hips. Moving as one, their frenzy gained momentum. He was all male, virile, demanding and passionate.
“How we doing, cowgirl?”
She stared at his blue silhouette and brushed his wavy hair along the line of his brow. Connected like this, she could see every inch of him. The hunger blazing in his eyes. The twisted ecstasy in his expression. Breathtaking.
Running her fingers over his features she memorized all his harsh angles. The tight clench of his jaw, the broad span of his back, the muscled cords of his ribs and hips. A military commander mounting for siege—and she was his Blitzkrieg.
She arched, tension building, bringing her closer to climax with every hungry stroke. He felt incredible inside her, ribbed and powerful, hitting her deep and hard. She saw him, saw his need, saw his passion. Her breath quickened as her release hit.
A growl escaped his lips and his hips pounded on.
Lost in their connection, she almost missed noise outside the room. The voice rang hard and serious. “We need to talk.”
Had someone knocked? Zander didn’t seem to notice or was too preoccupied to care. Another round of knocking, this time a real pounding on the door. “Zander! Stop what you’re doing and get your ass out here.”
Zander lifted his head and shouted over his shoulder. “Fuck off, Danel. Later.”
“Forget later. This is life and death. Yours.”
Austin froze, the dreamy spell broken. “Should you see what he needs?”
He paused for a moment, breathing hard. Bending lower, he reclaimed her mouth and continued. Her body welcomed the onslaught and she wrapped her arms around his—
“I hate that you made me do this, Z.” Danel strode into the room and approached the bed.
Zander rolled to the side, pulled the comforter over her, and lunged to his feet. He aimed his strange, glowing knife at Danel’s chest. “Get out of my quarters or I’ll fucking gut you!”
Electricity bristled the hair on her skin. The air was alive. A cyclone of energy swirled, flinging her hair around her face. The thud of thundering footfalls pounded up the hall followed by the click of Stetson’s nails on the hardwood.
“Oh shit.” Kyrian and the dog burst through the doorway.
Zander shifted to block her. “Both of you. Out! Before I do something, I won’t regret.”
“This is no picnic for me either, Commander.” Danel scrubbed his palm over his face. “I’ve been up all night researching and we need some face time.”
“It can wait twenty minutes.”
“Not if those twenty minutes are spent sexing the human, it can’t.” The word human dripped off his tongue like he equated her to a festering plague.
Zander stiffened and light bulbs exploded like glass bombs. Austin screamed, shielding her face. Shrapnel crackled to the floor around the room. Zander glowed brighter. His entire body bared to her in all its naked glory.
“Z, calm down.” Kyrian forced his face into the path of Zander’s vision. “You’re pissed. We all feel how pissed you are. This was a majorly stupid intrusion, but what Danel found must be important. Lower the blade, my brother and let’s hear him out.”
The air swirled malevolent. The tingling on Austin’s skin burned. With all the yelling, she both felt and watched things unfold. As horrible as it was, it was amazing at the same time.
“Look at me and regain control, Zandros.” Kyrian broke into a long rant in the beautiful language the spoke with one another. He droned on and on in even tones. Austin didn’t understand the words but recognized the intent. Her Daddy talked many a spooked stallion down using that tone.
“That’s it. That’s right,” Kyrian said after a long while. He leaned closer, his palms held up in the air between them. “Danel crossed a line, no argument, but you don’t want to hurt him. Despite your differences, you don’t. Drop the blade, my man.”
Austin watched the glowing blade perched in the air. With Danel quiet, the weapon just pointed into the open air beside Kyrian as he spoke.
Kyrian stepped closer and tried again. “Wherever you are right now, fight your way back. This isn’t you. Lock it down. Give me the dagger and cool off a minute. Let’s figure out what’s happening.”
When it seemed like Zander might never back down, he finally stepped back. “Both of you. Out of my sight. Give us a minute in private.”
“You’ve got thirty seconds or I’m boomeranging—”
Zander surged forward as Kyrian wrangled Danel. The two of them grunted and cussed, struggling until Danel caught Kyrian in the face and his head snapped back with a crunch. Kyrian spun him around and clamped a rough arm around his throat, dragging him to the door.
“Danel and I will be in the dining room,” Kyrian said, his muscles flexing and bulging as he gained some distance inch by grueling inch. “Sorry about the drama, sweetheart. S’all good, though, see, s’all good.”