Alien Intent (Captured by Aliens Book 3) (9 page)

“Are you
trying to escape?” he asked, settling with her legs trapped between his oaken
thighs and his rigid belly melded against her own.

She
glared at him, breathing through her flared nostrils. Her blood pumped so
furiously, she felt dizzy with it. “Would it change anything if I said yes?”

“Admit you
were worried. Is this your fear or anger that makes you react this way?” He
studied her face. Try as she might to look away, she couldn’t keep him from
discerning her emotions.

“Both.”
She wiggled, freeing one arm and then another. She pushed his shoulders.

“Does
this mean you care something for me?” he said, a smile teasing his lips.

“Of
course not. I need you alive to lead me back to the city so I don’t die.” She
couldn’t move her legs or lift her butt to buck him off. “Plus, I always kick
guys in the head if I like them,” she growled, digging her nails into his
shoulders. “You inspire violence in me.”

He
laughed, poor fool that he was. With ease, he scooped up both of her wrists in
one large hand and pinned them above her head. “I’ve seen animals fight for
days before succumbing to their mate. Your defense doesn’t deter me,” he
murmured. Water dripped off his chin and down the hair clinging to his forehead
and cheeks. His dark eyes were shielded by lazy, heavy lids, and his wet
eyelashes clumped together, looking incredibly thick and making a mesmerizing
frame. She wanted to look away, to keep him from reading her face past her
fright and resentment. She didn’t want him to realize that she liked him lying
on top of her, that the feel of his big, hard body crushed against her curves
had her insides trembling for more.

Her body
was against her, reacting with fierce arousal. How long could she war with
herself before giving in to him? She snapped her teeth, willing crazy mad into
her eyes to discourage him. “Wild cats have teeth and claws. And they don’t
like water,” she said through clenched teeth.

He
leaned up on the elbow of the arm pinning her wrists, just enough to look down
at her heaving chest. “You’re right. I should get these wet clothes off of you.
Warm you up…since I made this mess. I’d be crushed if you caught cold.” He
trailed his free hand around her ribcage, working the clinging wet fabric up
until he’d exposed one breast.

She
couldn’t breathe—she’d stopped without realizing. He stared at her brown nipple
puckering with exposure to air, tiny wet droplets beading on her skin.
Goosebumps pebbled the thin, delicate flesh.

“That
answers a question I had,” he said hoarsely. He licked his bottom lip. Every
action played in slow motion to her foggy brain.

“What’s
that?” she croaked. Everything inside her screeched to an expectant halt,
hovering on the edge of a roller coaster.

“I’ve
been wondering what color they were since I met you,” he said quietly. Slowly,
he dragged his gaze away from the nipple jutting out, begging for attention,
and looked at her mouth.

“I
thought you’d gotten a good eyeful when I was showering before…” she said.

“I’m a
gentleman—I didn’t look,” he said, looking amused and insulted that she’d think
that of him.

“What…what
else have you been wondering...about me?” she whispered. She flexed her
fingers, wishing he’d set her free—and scared that he would and she’d be unable
to resist him.

He moved
a calloused hand to her throat, skimming the bottom of her jaw with his thumb.
The touch sent shivers down her spine. His gaze looked so hungry she thought he
could eat her alive with just those eyes. “What these lips taste like. My
curiosity needs satisfying.”

He
cupped her jaw possessively, dipping his head until his mouth was a hair’s
breadth from hers—so close she could taste his hot breath. With his thumb, he
pushed her chin down, forcing her lips to part. No barrier, no way to keep him
out except with her teeth. “No biting,” he warned as if reading her mind,
looking hotly into her eyes as he closed the distance.

Her
belly jerked on a sharp intake of breath just as he connected. Without
preamble, his tongue drove into her mouth, sweeping hot and voracious along her
teeth and tongue. She couldn’t hide or run from him, and he knew it. Arousal
jolted her core, launching her into a desperate response. He was on the attack,
forging ahead, compelling her to react to him. She blocked with her tongue, but
it was not defensive, playing into his plans like a felled chess piece. He
sucked her into his mouth, making her tongue feel swollen with his ravaging
kiss. Fingers stroked her jaw and neck, running down to her bared peak, and
when his fingers plucked her taut nipple, sensation erupted like the fourth of
July.

Jasmine
whimpered into his mouth, struggling against the manacle of his hands. Captive
beneath him, and dear lord, she exhilarated with feeling. Dar ignored her
wriggling, shifting to his elbow and side as he freed her hip and thrust a leg
between her thighs. She didn’t have time to lock her ankles together. Hell,
she’d all but given up the fight. Wasn’t she just punishing herself by denying
this need to be pleasured?

How long
had it been since she’d felt this kind of excitement about a man? She couldn’t
remember, and Dar pushed the levels of arousal fogging her thought capacity so
high she couldn’t quite remember why she was resisting in the first place. He
rubbed his thigh against her mound and dragged his mouth from hers, breaking
suction as he kissed her chin and along her jaw. Scorching damp skin with hot
breath and hotter lips, he branded her jaw and the shell of her ear, grazing
the lobe with nipping teeth.

Her wet
pants robbed her of sensation and penetration. His thigh rubbed her trapped
sex, making her want more. He massaged her breast, teasing her nipple
mercilessly with the proximity of his fingers, always just brushing against it,
but never enough to take her where she wanted to go. Her pussy was wound so
tight she thought she would explode.

“Touch
me down there you fucking tease,” she ground out. “Or let me go so I can do
it.”

He
lifted his head from her ear, giving her a lust-drunk look. “Where? Here?” he
asked, extending his arm and firmly grabbing her mound. She groaned when he
massaged her through the damp pants. “I’d never let you deprive me of stroking
your hot little cunt, Jasmine. I admit I like seeing you struggle though.” He
freed her hands, getting up on his knees to allow him access to her pants.
Thick fingers fumbled at the waist and button holding them closed. He cursed
under his breath, popping the button off to widen the opening for his hand.

Her
belly jerked on an intake of breath. She arched her spine, her eyes rolling
back in her head as his rough hand sought and found her drenched pussy.
Neglected for far too long, her clit jolted at the unfamiliar touch.

“Oh my
god,” she groaned, needing to buck and writhe, do anything to get him closer to
her, moving and grinding and—

A branch
snapped behind them, followed by a loud crash of brush and twigs as something
huge launched itself straight towards them.

Dar jerked
his head toward the disturbance. Without pause, he leapt to his feet and
dragged her up from the ground. Before she could get steady footing, he pushed
her away from him. “Run, Jasmine. Get my gun.”

A growl
carried on the wind, sending a chill up her wet back. Jasmine launched herself
into a run, not daring a look behind. Dar waved his arms, catching the beast’s
attention away from her as she ran toward the bags. She bent and searched his
bag, looking for his gun, hyperventilating when she couldn’t find it. Behind
her, she heard the growl again, accompanied with Dar’s grunts of exertion. In
her mind, something horrible was tearing him apart. Dumping the contents on the
ground, feeling her blood pressure skyrocketing, she almost passed out when she
saw the black and silver gun skitter in a circle in the dirt.

Snatching
the gun from the ground, she spun, facing Dar and the animal.

With his
knees bent and his hands in loosely curled fists, he looked like a mixed
martial artist first entering the cage, bouncing foot to foot as he dodged the
animal’s rampage. Stocky of build, with thick shoulders and tapered hips, the
animal looked like a cross between a rhinoceros and a dinosaur, but it stood no
higher than Dar’s waist. A four inch, ivory horn jutted from its short snout,
and spiny protrusions erupted along its spine and feathered into small greyish
green scales that covered the rest of its body. It pawed the ground with dirty,
ivory claws, and swung a stumpy tail as it lifted its head in fury. Its
movements and reactions reminded her of a wild boar.

Dar
focused on the beast, his eyes never leaving the animal as it circled him.

“I’ve
got the gun!” she yelled, running closer.

He held
up his hand to stop her. She rooted to the spot, afraid to distract him from
the movements of his foe. Jasmine palmed the gun, placing her finger on the
trigger and taking aim.

“It’s a
biometric trigger. I have to shoot it. Throw it to me now!” he said, holding
his hand up.

She
launched the gun into the air. Dar lunged for it and missed. With his
distraction, the beast charged, gouging Dar in the stomach and knocking him
back. It jerked its thick head, slashing an opening through cloth and flesh as
one. Lifting its head, droplets of blood slung through the air like rain. The
gun hit the dirt, sending dirt clods and bits of moss flying as it buried
itself in the loam. Dar groaned in pain, clutching his stomach. Jasmine
screamed, blood thumping in her ears and horror turning her movements sluggish
as she ran for him and scanned the area for another weapon. He hit the ground
on his knees, scrambling for the gun as the animal closed in for the kill with
its horn aimed. Gathering on its haunches, it lunged for Dar’s throat, baring a
mouthful of small, razor-like teeth. He twisted, elbowing the beast in the jaw
as he fell back and hit the gun with his shoulder. The beast dug claws into the
ground, turning for another lunge. Falling onto his back, Dar grabbed the grip
and aimed in one fluid move.

Pulsing
orange blasts of light erupted from the barrel, splintering from a small silver
cartridge as it hit the animal square in the neck. Forward momentum carried the
lifeless creature onto the ground and across Dar’s legs. He collapsed with his
head and arms back, breathing heavily for a moment before sitting up and
pushing himself free of the weighty carcass.

Jasmine
rushed forward, unable to speak as she knelt beside him. Her insides felt
jumbled like a puzzle. He winced, clutching his stomach as blood seeped between
his fingers.

“Let me
see this,” she whispered, forcing his hand away to peel up the saturated and
torn clothing. Ripped flesh and welling blood greeted her eyes. Bile rose in
the back of her throat, threatening to pour out. She choked it back, shook her
head, and stood. Indecision and alarm throttled her brain.

Dar
closed his eyes and lay back down. “At least we have dinner,” he murmured
weakly.

She
choked on a hysterical chuckle and retrieved the spare clothing he’d brought,
which she’d dumped onto the ground when looking for the gun. Moving with
purpose, she shook the sand free and staunched the blood flow with a wadded up
shirt, her mind racing as she tried to think of what to do. He could bleed to
death out here, she realized.

“How bad
is it?” he asked with a rough voice.

“Just a
little blood.”

“Okay.
Good. I thought maybe it had broken the tip off inside my stomach. It feels
like something is in there. The
jajas
tend…to do…that. Good
eating…though. Good…” Every word seemed an effort for him to speak. He gritted
his teeth, breathing shallowly.

That
statement raised her alarm level. She glanced at the dead animal and saw his
suspicions were correct—the point of its snout horn was missing. She gulped
back the returning bile, closing her eyes and feeling hopeless inside.

He
couldn’t afford for her to fall apart right now. She realized she’d have to dig
the tip out with her fingers. “The horn tip is missing. I’m going to look for
it. This is going to hurt.”

His eyes
still closed, he nodded. “Do it.”

Taking a
steadying breath, she lifted the cloth and pushed the opening in his side wide,
going by feel more than anything. Red stained her fingers, thoroughly obscuring
her path. Dar cried out hoarsely. The blood came quicker as his blood pressure
skyrocketed. She didn’t have to go too deep to find the sharp intrusion.
Pinching it with her thumb and forefinger, she struggled to grip the slippery
horn. Dar groaned, and she patted his chest, shushing him as she finally
gripped it and yanked the tip from his body with a great gush of blood.

She made
a whimper of victory and realized Dar had passed out when he didn’t react to
her replacing the wadded cloth on his stomach. She bit her lip, praying for
strength to help him. There was no possibility that she could carry him down to
the valley on her own. He would die here if she couldn’t stop the bleeding.

A shadow
blotted the sun from the sky. Jasmine jerked her head up. Tears of joy blurred
her vision.