He blew out a breath and ran a hand through his thick black hair. “I can’t believe this. Haven’t I told you I would never hurt you?”
Liv frowned up at him. “Yeah, well, I’m not sure about your definition of ‘hurt.’ I mean, forced sex isn’t always painful but just because it doesn’t hurt doesn’t mean it isn’t rape.”
“Is that what you think of me? That I want to take you by force?” He swooped down on her suddenly, eyes blazing a molten gold. Liv backed up but before she knew it she was pinned against one cold metal wall with his thick, muscular arms on either side of her and his face inches from hers.
“Well what am I supposed to think?” she demanded, hoping her voice didn’t tremble too much.
“You can think whatever you want, Olivia, but you should know one thing.” He leaned even closer, his hot breath stirring her hair as he murmured in her ear. “When I take you—because I will take you—make no mistake about that,” he said, cutting off her protest. “When I do, I promise you’ll want it every bit as bad as I do. You’ll beg for it, Linlenta. Beg to have my shaft inside you, filling you up as I bond you to me forever.”
“You arrogant bastard.” Liv narrowed her eyes at him. “You must have a pretty high opinion of yourself if you think I’ll welcome you with open arms and beg for more.”
“It’s not an opinion, it’s a fact.” He drew back so that his lips were hovering over hers, close enough to kiss but not quite touching. Liv could almost taste the exotic cinnamon spice of his breath and his scent, the wild musk that she kept noticing when she was near him, seemed to invade all her senses at once, making her dizzy.
“You…I…What makes you think that?” She wished she could think of a wittier comeback but somehow her brain didn’t seem to be working right. All she could think about was how close he was, all she could feel was the heat radiating from his big body and bare chest against her own mostly bare skin.
“The reason I know how you’ll react is because I’m going to spend hours getting you ready, driving you crazy with my mouth and hands.” His eyes were blazing and half lidded with lust as he spoke.
“Get…getting me ready?” Liv faltered.
Slowly, he nodded. “I can’t wait to touch you. Can’t wait to taste you—to spread your sweet, creamy thighs and put my tongue in your hot little pussy until you beg for more. Beg to have me inside you, filling you all night.”
“I—” Liv began but he cut her off with a kiss. And not a butterfly-soft kiss like the one he’d given her at the HKR building, either. This time his mouth on hers was hard and demanding—as hard and demanding as the rigid shaft that was suddenly branding her belly. Liv fought him at first, panic making her heart race. And then, somehow she was kissing him back. His mouth was hot and forceful and his lips delicious—like sucking cinnamon candy. Baird reached down and she felt big, warm hands encircling her bare thighs. Then she was being lifted and carried into the dark room that had seemed so frightening just a few minutes ago.
Oh God, what am I doing? Where are we going? screamed the practical part of her brain. But her body overruled it as his tongue darted between her lips, licking with surprising delicacy at the roof of her mouth. Moaning, Liv licked back and before she knew it he was sucking her tongue in a way that made her faint with desire.
Baird was moving them through the darkened space confidently—obviously he knew where he was going. A good thing in Liv’s opinion since she had no clue in hell where she was going or what she was going to do once she got there. She found out soon enough, though, when he laid her down on a soft, giving surface and began to undress her, all without breaking the kiss.
My God, his bed. I’m on his bed! she realized but even knowing that Baird had taken her straight to the one area she had promised herself she’d avoid didn’t break the spell she was under.
Big, warm hands cupped her breasts and he rolled the tight points of her nipples between his fingers with just enough pressure to make her writhe underneath him with pleasurable pain. God, that felt incredible! So incredible it was hard to think. Liv felt drugged with pleasure. Before she knew it she was spreading her thighs wider for him, opening herself to feel the hard length of his shaft rubbing over the wet silk of her panties, right against the sensitive bundle of nerves at her center.
Baird broke the kiss long enough to whisper something low and urgent in her ear—something that sounded like her name. “So beautiful. So fuckin’ perfect,” he groaned into her hair as she rubbed herself wantonly against him. Then he reached between them and Liv heard the low ripping noise of fabric parting. A cool breeze caressed her heated sex and she understood that the big warrior had actually torn off her panties, baring her pussy completely. She knew that in the past she would have been angry at such a blatantly caveman-like move. But spread out under Baird’s large, muscular body with his mouth on hers and his hands exploring her willing flesh, the primal action seemed exactly right somehow.
She moaned against his mouth as she felt the length of his cock, still encased in the smooth black fabric of his pants, rub roughly over her wet sex. Without the thin silk panties to act as a barrier, his touch was almost unbearably intense, spreading the swollen lips of her pussy and sliding against her throbbing clit with each thrust. Olivia couldn’t help herself, soon she was lifting her hips to get better contact between them, wrapping her legs around his trim waist, practically begging for more. Baird obliged by grinding against her, pressing hard against her cunt with every downward thrust, almost as if they were already making love. It was clear he wanted to be inside her as badly as Liv wanted him there.
She felt so empty, so open and she needed to be filled. Needed him to fill her. She forgot that she hadn’t even known him a whole day yet, forgot that he was practically a complete stranger and that making love with him would mean that she’d never see her family and home planet again. Forgot anything except how badly she needed him inside her filling her up with his thick shaft. God, he smells so good, feels so good. Can’t believe I’m doing this…
“No!” Suddenly Baird was pulling away from her, leaving her cold and empty on the bed. His eyes were still a molten gold in the dim room but they were filled with some other emotion besides desire now.
“Wha…what?” Liv looked at him fuzzily, not understanding. “Why did we stop?”
He sighed roughly and ran both hands through his hair. “Because you’re not ready. Not really. And I don’t want to do it like this.”
“Like…like what?” Liv’s thought processes were still fuzzy but at least she was beginning to think again. God, what had she just been about to do?
Baird gestured with one hand. “Like this—in the heat of passion.” Reaching out he cupped her cheek in the palm of his hand. “I want it to be long and slow, Lilenta,” he growled softly. “Want to take my sweet time tasting you, making you come over and over before I take you. And I want you to want it as much as I do.”
“But I…” It was on the tip of Liv’s tongue to protest that she did want it as much as he did but then the rational, practical part of her brain woke up and started screaming at her. What the hell were you thinking? Were you really just about to give it up to him without even considering the consequences? What about your training as a nurse? What about your plans for the future? And most of all, what about Sophia and Kat? Are you really prepared never to see your family and friends again just to get some from a man you don’t even like?
The thought of that, of never seeing her best friend and twin ever again, sobered her up immediately. Looking down at herself in the dim light she realized that the hard points of her nipples were clearly visible through the thin black silk of her nighty and its hem was pushed up to show her bare sex. Her pussy lips were still parted from his rough and luscious thrusts, her pink interior on display and glistening with moisture as though to show how very ready she was for him to fill her. The fact that she was sitting there, shamelessly open to him, was evidence of exactly how close she’d come to lo
sing everything in the heat of passion.
Blushing furiously Liv sat up, clamped her thighs shut, and pulled the black lace hem of her nighty down as far as it would go. “My God, how did you…how did you do that?” She looked up at Baird who was still breathing hard, his broad chest rising and falling rapidly like a man who was holding onto his self control with both hands. “How did you make me forget everything and just…just want to go for it?” she demanded.
He took a deep breath and shook his head. “It’s not something I was doing on purpose, Lilenta. It’s just your body’s natural reaction to mine. And mine to yours. Like I told you, it’s always like this with the Kindred when we find our mate. We’re drawn together by the need to bond. To fuck. It’s what I need from you and what you need from me. Your body knows it even if your mind won’t admit it.”
“I don’t…don’t believe you,” Liv said. “And I don’t appreciate you using my…vulnerability to you, whatever it is, to prove your point.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “You must feel awfully full of yourself right about now—showing me exactly how easy it would be for you to…to take me whether I wanted you to or not.”
Baird gave her an exasperated look. “That wasn’t what I was doing—didn’t mean to do anything at all. I’ve wanted you for so damn long. It just…happened.”
“Oh, right. The same way our minds just happened to align at just the right time,” Liv scoffed. “Tell me another one, champ. Has everything you told me since we met been a lie or just most of it?”
“Nothing I told you is a lie but you can believe what you want.” His face was like a thundercloud and for a moment Liv thought she might have gone too far. But he didn’t threaten her in any way. He just got off the bed in one fluid movement that made him seem more animal than man for a moment. Grabbing a new shirt from a narrow chest at the end of the bed, he stalked to the door of the bedroom. “I’m going to get some human food for later. Make yourself at home but don’t go out by yourself. Understand?”
Liv’s frustration at her own vulnerability rose to the boiling point. “I understand,” she flared back. “I’m supposed to stay here like a good little bride while you go out and act like the big, brave warrior bragging to all your friends that you bagged your human woman and she can’t wait to spread her legs and let you bond with her all night long. Is that it?”
For a moment he looked even angrier and then the expression in his bold features became quieter and a little sad. “I would never brag about what happens between us in the privacy of our rooms, Lilenta. That would be breaking the trust between us. No matter how much you hate me, I wouldn’t do that to you.”
Her anger drained suddenly away and Liv felt taken aback. “I…I never said I hated you,” she protested at last in a small voice.
“You didn’t have to.” Turning he left the dimly lit room. Liv watched him go, sitting alone on the bed in the dark.
For some reason she felt like crying.
Chapter Eight
“Are you sure this is what she wanted us to send?” Kat looked uncertainly at the contents of the brown cardboard box Sophia was packing for her twin.
“She said send everything in the top dresser drawer. So—this is the top dresser drawer and this is what I’m sending.”
“Yeah, but…that’s not very sexy.” Kat frowned. “In fact, it’s pretty much the opposite of sexy. Maybe we should send her some lingerie too. Something hot and spicy.”
“She’s trying not to have sex with him, Kat. Not the other way around. If anything we ought to be sending her the bulkiest, ugliest clothes in her closet—or maybe a nun’s habit,” Sophie stuffed things into the cardboard box as she spoke, moving faster and faster, trying not to think.
Kat raised one auburn eyebrow at her. “A nun’s habit? You guys aren’t even Catholic.”
“I don’t know. Just anything that would make him leave her alone. That would make him give her back.” Sophie’s eyes blurred with tears and she had to sit down on her sister’s bed for a moment to collect herself. All around her the bedroom seemed to echo Liv’s personality. Her scrubs were hanging neatly in the closet and the pictures on the wall of her recent graduation from nursing school showed Liv in her cap and gown with Sophie and Kat on either side of her, both hugging her at the same time. Liv’s face looked so happy in those shots, Sophie couldn’t help thinking. So excited about her bright future and a career in nursing. And instead what had happened to her? She’d been hijacked. Kidnapped to become some macho alien’s pleasure slave bride. It was all just so unbelievable.
“Hey, are you okay?” Kat sat beside her on the bed and put an arm around Sophie’s shaking shoulders.
Sophie swiped at her eyes and sniffed. “I just can’t believe this. I can’t believe she’s gone. We ought to be eating blueberry pancakes right now and dishing about the latest Hollywood gossip or something stupid like that. Not packing up her clothes to send to her. And I don’t even know how many to pack. Some of them? All of them? I mean what if…what if she never…never comes back?”
She sobbed again and pressed a hand to her mouth. She was closer to Liv than to any other person in the entire world. The idea of never seeing her twin again, or of only seeing her once or twice a year, which was about how often Kindred brides got to visit their home planet after they were taken, was horrible—unthinkable. And yet she had to think about it because it was true—Liv was gone and might not be coming back.
“Hey, don’t cry.” Kat squeezed her arm. “Listen Sophie, don’t count Liv out yet. You of all people should know she’s no shrinking violet when it comes to men. Remember how she pitched Mitch the minute she found out he was cheating on her? She threw the ring at him, kicked him out and broke the lease on their condo all in the same day. And she never went back to him—not once.”
“Yeah.” Sophie sniffled. “I know. Liv can be pretty tough when she has to be. Not like me. I’m a marshmallow.”
“Exactly.” Kat nodded kindly. “Which is why it’s a good thing Liv got drafted instead of you. Our girl can stand up for herself. She’s not even going to let that big jerk get to first base, you’ll see.”
“But what if he doesn’t give her a choice? You saw the way he was looking at her—like he wanted to eat her up!” Sophie tried to picture the dark haired Beast Kindred that had claimed Liv but instead all her mind would conjure was the other one—the big blond man with the spiky hair and the fangs. “I mean he could be…doing things to her right now,” she added, trying to suppress a shiver.
“Look,” Kat said firmly. “If there’s one thing I know for certain about this situation it’s that the Kindred are not allowed to use force when it comes to convincing a human woman to have bonding sex with them. They were very clear about that during that trial I told you and Liv about.”
“What if he’s using something besides physical force?” Sophie asked, wiping her eyes again and snatching a Kleenex from the box of tissues beside the bed to blow her nose. “I mean, she’s been dreaming about him for months—she told me so. He’s been inside her head for so long—what if he’s brainwashed her or something?”
“Did she act like someone who’d been brainwashed?” Kat demanded. “You heard her—she’s determined to hold out the entire month and come back to us. Don’t worry, Sophie. Liv is tough. She won’t let us down.”
“I hope you’re right.” Sophie blew her nose and blotted her eyes on another tissue. “Well, I guess I’d better get this stuff to her since she seemed to want it right away. Should I send her anything else?”
“How about a note?” Kat suggested. “Write and let her know we miss her already and we’re counting on her to come home.”
“Good idea.” Sophie nodded. “Do you want to come with me back to the HKR building to drop this off?”
Kat shook her head and stood up. “I’d like to but I need to run down to the office and get a little more information. I want to be sure we leave no stone unturned when it comes to getting L
iv back, you know?”
“Thanks Kat.” Sophie stood and gave her an impulsive hug. “You really are a great friend, you know?”
Kat hugged her back. “So are you and Olivia. The two best friends I have and I’m not about to lose one of you to some big alien jerk. Okay?”
Sophie gave her a watery smile. “Okay. Let me know if you find anything else out.”
“I will,” Kat promised. “And watch yourself down at the HKR building. You don’t want to be mistaken for a bride and whisked away.”
Unbidden the image of the blond Kindred warrior with the ice blue eyes rose in Sophie’s memory again and she shivered. “Absolutely not! Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.”
“Good. See you later then, doll.” Kat nodded and left her to finish packing.
Sighing, Sophia went to her twin’s closet and looked at the rows of colorful scrubs hanging there. What else should she pack? What would Liv be most comfortable in and what would be most likely to make the huge Kindred warrior who had claimed her keep his hands to himself?
Sylvan sighed when he saw her coming down the sidewalk to the HKR building. It was one of the women who had been with Olivia earlier at the claiming ceremony—her sibling, no doubt. The resemblance in their delicate facial features was unmistakable even though the woman coming toward him had long, silky brown hair and beautiful green eyes instead of Olivia’s blonde hair and grey eyes. Despite his vow never to take a bride himself, he couldn’t help wanting to make a good impression on her, if only because she was so close to the bride of his kin.
She had changed from the loose, shapeless clothes she’d had on earlier and was wearing a dark red top and the tight fitting dark blue pants the human women in this part of the world seemed to favor. The fabric of her outfit clung lovingly to her full hips and breasts, making the double set of fangs in Sylvan’s mouth ache and his shaft grow hard. It was a perfectly ridiculous response to a woman he had no interest in or any intention of mating and Sylvan knew it. Stop it, he scolded himself. She’s the sister of Baird’s bride and nothing more. Besides, you don’t even like human women.