“In here.” He didn’t give Camryn time to object, dragging her into a tavern. He pushed through the mass of bodies, using his elbows to make his way to the bar. A back door. Ry opened the door a crack and saw a Red Mumber approaching via the alley running between the tavern and the building next door.
“Change of plans.” Ry noted a staircase leading to a second floor. “This way.” He resisted her struggle and dragged her up the stairs. The flashy interior gave him pause.
A pox on it. A brothel.
He halted before realizing he’d run out of alternatives. Ry smiled at the madam, summoning every measure of charm available. “I know this is an unusual request…could we have a room?”
The madam fluttered her ridiculously long lilac lashes and leaned forward to better display her assets, showcased in a tight ruby-red gown. “We cater for all requests here. Take your choice of my ladies. Would you like two to join you? Maybe more?”
The choked sound from Camryn went straight to his cock. Ry’s mouth twisted at the sensual reminder of the woman. Dammit, he’d lied to himself. Another woman wouldn’t work. Another woman wouldn’t soothe the ache echoing through his body. Another woman wasn’t Camryn.
“Just a room,” he said in a hoarse voice. A mistake. He sensed his error straightaway. No alternative.
Blast it
. “Some privacy. Some of our crewmembers might stop by to ask if you’ve seen us…” He let his voice trail off suggestively for the madam to connect the dots.
“I won’t say a word.” She winked at him, her broad smile indicating a streak of romanticism despite her profession. “My girls know how to keep their lips buttoned. No one will interrupt you.” She handed him a key. “The room at the end of the passage.”
Ry bent to whisper in Camryn’s ear. “Quick.” He propelled her down the passage, unlocked the door and shunted her inside. With a final glance and a grateful wave at the madam, Ry entered the room. He locked the door and turned to face temptation.
Camryn glared at him, despite the contradictory tremor of her hands. “I’m tired of you hauling me around.”
The flash of anger fascinated him, as did the riot of curses tumbling through her head. He grinned, amusement blooming with full force.
“It’s not funny.” Her brown eyes narrowed to slits, and when he continued to smirk, she advanced on him, her fists clenched. “I don’t like bullies.”
“Me neither, but if you’re working with us, you’ll have to learn to move faster.”
“Why? Run away from a lot of thugs, do you?”
Ry stifled his amusement. No mistaking her tone for anything but snide, and here he’d thought the woman lacked backbone. “I’m wanted for murder.” He shifted his weight and returned her stare with an intimidating one of his own. “There’s smart and there’s stupid. I saved your sweet ass, but if you want to live in a harem, fine. The extra quids will come in handy. I can take you straight back and commence negotiations with the administrator.”
“Piss off.”
A bark of laughter erupted. Not timid at all. The Earthling became more intriguing by the min. “We’re stuck here until our pursuers cease their search.”
Camryn’s dark brows scrunched together. “We could have returned to the ship.”
“And attract attention to the
Indy
? Why do you think we docked our frigate at the old spaceport? It’s called keeping a low profile.”
She advanced on him, mouth set, eyes flashing. Ry’s mouth quivered in the beginnings of a grin. It disappeared smartly when her right hand fisted and she let rip, landing a punch in his stomach. Didn’t hurt but he grabbed her hand to avoid a repeat blow.
The instant they touched his control ebbed, the feral cat taking over. Ry struggled to bat him into submission while telling himself he’d saved himself from another blow.
A lie
.
Ry ached for her touch, craving her with an intensity he’d never experienced in the past. Despite his misgivings, he went with the feline’s desires, hauling Camryn against his chest, holding her squirming body with brute strength.
“Cease.” His order brought renewed resistance, and a grunt hissed from him when her boot connected with his ankle. Secs later, his mouth slammed down on hers. Not a gentle kiss but a statement of intent.
A claiming.
After a brief hesitation Camryn’s tense body slackened into acquiescence. With a soft sigh, she slid her arms around his neck to cling, lips parting hungrily, her submission taking him by surprise. Her low moan of pleasure dispersed his lingering doubts. Ry relaxed and let the hunger flare out of check.
Hotter.
Brighter.
He ran urgent hands down her back, over her curvy ass and lifted her, cradling her against his chest. The warmth of her body created a series of explosions inside, chipping away the cool voice of reason, the remnants of his restraint.
“You push at my feline,” he said in a low growl as he forced himself to pull away a fraction.
“You say it like that’s a bad thing,” she purred, clinging to him sweetly and baffling the hell out him.
A paradox. The woman was full of them. At first weak and scared, now her fear had eased. Her contradictions fascinated him as much as her exquisite scent and sexy body.
“I need control to keep my feline at bay.” The truth, but for the last half cycle his feline had gripped him firmly by the balls. With Camryn’s presence, he’d slipped the leash entirely.
“Does it hurt when you change forms?” Camryn stroked his cheek, a frown of concentration on her face. Instantly, power flared beneath his skin, transmitting her touch to every part of his body. The feline arched and purred, and Ry accepted he was in trouble. The woman rubbed wantonly against his burgeoning erection while a smile played on her lips. Seductive. Knowing.
“Not really. The change—it just happens. I picture the cat in my mind and shift.” Ry stole another look and knew he had to kiss her again.
A compulsion
. He moved slowly, in an effort to temper his former roughness, not wanting to scare her into telling him to stop.
Their lips touched and he sipped, tasted. Savored. All the time trying to go slow. Yes! To his relief she started to return his kiss, opening her mouth in encouragement to take the kiss deeper. Mogens must have given her some of his mouth fresheners, and she delivered a burst of aniseed along with her enthusiasm. He gloried in the sleek feel of her body, the smooth curve of her top lip and the luscious lower one. A purr rumbled through his mind. Camryn tasted good. Too damn good. And she could kiss, knowing how to tease, to drive him higher, make him crave more. Her sharp nip of pain was soothed with the moist rasp of her tongue. Without stopping his exploration of her mouth, he carried her to the bed, dropping her onto the blue silken covers.
He stared, still trying to do the right thing and ripped his gaze away from her swollen, glistening lips. For a bordello, the room appeared clean and didn’t offend his nose with the stench of unclean bodies or the use of scent to disguise offensive smells. Ry removed her boots and set them aside.
“I think I’m dreaming.” She lay in the middle of the feather mattress, staring at him with her golden-brown eyes. They glowed like tiger-eye gems while her tongue darted out to moisten the full curve of her lower lip.
“This isn’t a dream.” A touch of irritation flashed through him, lightning quick and dramatic. He’d never cared overly much about his sexual partners—in the past it had been about appeasing the cat and sating his urges. With Camryn he wanted real and gritty. Hard and furious, but he needed it to be more than just sex. “It’s real. My shin aches where you kicked me.”
“Does it?” She laughed hard enough to jiggle her breasts, catch his attention. Like an addictive drug, she called him.
Sighing, Ry removed his jacket, unlaced his shirt and yanked it over his head. Without taking his gaze from her, he sat to tug off his boots and foot linings. The softened leather clomped to the wooden floor. Camryn flinched and sat up. Ry stilled, ready to pounce. She wasn’t going anywhere. She belonged to him, dammit.
His.
Ry ignored the cat’s strident clamor for ownership to watch her closely. He wondered if she were behaving in character, frowned and guessed she probably wasn’t. But the knowledge didn’t stop him. His body pained him—he had to have her now.
“Every time you touch me all I can think of is sex.” Camryn’s petite frame arched, reminding him of an agitated feline while her voice held pure frustration and a hint of accusation. “I don’t do sex. Not anymore.” This time confusion flared in her eyes.
Camryn’s bewilderment lightened his tension, bringing a flicker of humor. Part of him wanted to commiserate. It wasn’t as if he liked the out-of-control sensations, the driving urge to claim. Ryman Coppersmith walked alone. He’d never take a permanent woman, not when danger lay in every direction.
“You have the same effect on me.” Except all he needed was a whiff of her scent to make him crave. He couldn’t understand why her presence pushed him so hard, worse than other women.
Her brows lifted, the tone of accusation draining away. “So it’s not a drug?”
“No! I’ve never reacted to another woman like this.
Never
.”
“What is it then?” Camryn gritted her teeth and reached out to place a trembling hand on his bare chest. At his harsh rumble, her eyes widened, her expression edging into panic.
The touch, her touch, seared a hot path straight to his balls. He hissed, his lip curling up in part pain, part denial. “Don’t stop. Please. Touch me again.”
At his plea her fingers flexed, nails biting into his pectoral muscles. A wash of pleasure hit him. He groaned and pounced, trapping Camryn beneath his larger frame. She trembled but didn’t protest, merely observed him with wide eyes.
“My mind is screaming at me to move, to run, but I can’t.” Her tongue darted out to moisten the curve of her bottom lip. “I have never wanted any man as much as I want you right now.” A tear leaked from the corner of one eye and trickled toward her ear.
Ry knew. He knew the torment she experienced because he suffered the same sensual plague. “This…” He swallowed thickly, forcing away the urge to claim. “It doesn’t mean anything. I can’t…” To his great relief, she nodded abruptly.
“Just until I return to Earth. If that’s what you want.” Her tone and her expressive eyes held a tentative question.
Would they return her to Earth?
“Until you return to Earth,” he confirmed.
She shivered. “Good. I don’t want a relationship. I’m…not good at them,” she finished with a rush.
Another tear flowed down her face and this time he surrendered to instinct and leaned over to lap it up with his tongue. The salty taste, laced with her musky scent, pushed harder at his restraint. He trailed kisses across her cheek, leading to her luscious mouth. Ry loosed the tight rein on his control and let the magic flicker freely. Deep inside, the feline purred in anticipation.
Ry slipped his hand inside the neckline of her black tunic. Her skin radiated heat. Smooth, it reminded him of the synsilk so beloved by his sisters. His hand slid across the warm curves of her upper breasts. Almost immediately he wanted more. Ry withdrew his hand and grasped the hem of her tunic. He whisked it over her head and reached down to unfasten the tight black trews. Slowly he tugged them down her legs to reveal a pale pink undergarment that matched the bindings around her breasts.
“Pretty,” he murmured, tracing one finger along the fabric around her breasts. Although the garments screened her secrets, they enticed too, bringing a surge of deeper hunger. A groan lodged in his throat when his finger retraced the same path and dipped briefly beneath the fabric. Hurry.
Hurry
.
The word lodged in his brain like one of Mogen’s chants.
Ry stood, aware Camryn watched avidly, her attention a massage to his ego. Want, need, pounded him. Urgency. He dragged down his trews, letting his heavy cock spring free. He kicked the garment away and returned to the bed. The feather mattress depressed with his weight, rolling Camryn toward him. She didn’t notice, her gaze on his body, his cock. Under her scrutiny, it lengthened, the head flared and glistening.
Silence, thick with tension, throbbed inside the bedroom.
“Do something,” Camryn snapped. “Make it go away.”
Ry yanked the remaining garments from her body, understanding her exactly. Her bindings confounded him but Camryn flicked a concealed fastening on the front. The fabric fell away, spilling her breasts free until she was completely naked. Beautiful.
Ry stared, a rough purr erupting, vibrating in his throat. His vision flickered from color to black and white before settling in monochrome gray. Didn’t matter. He leaned over, drawing in her piquant scent. Rich. Seductive. His tongue dragged across her collarbone, rasping over the delicate dips and curves. He nuzzled her neck, giving her a scrape of teeth.
Camryn squirmed in protest, giggled. “Tickles.”
“I don’t feel like laughing.” His feline strained, pushing against his tight skin. Sharp canine teeth shoved through his gums.
The grin faded, eyes meeting his. Her tongue darted out to moisten her bottom lip. “Don’t laugh then.”
They stared at one another. Ry moistened a finger and lightly circled the nipple of her right breast. Camryn gasped. Shivered. The scent of her arousal intensified. Ry bit back a feline bark, ran his tongue over his teeth. He shuddered, a full body tremble, and stroked his hand down her body, coming to rest on her smooth hip.
“Part your legs for me.”
Camryn splayed her legs without shame, flashing her moist pussy, watching him closely. His patience at an end, he leaned over, slipping his hand between her legs. He’d smelled her arousal but now trailed his fingers over her slick folds, smiling when she sucked in an excited breath. His tongue followed the same path as his fingers, her flavor bursting across his taste buds. Honey and exotic spices. He licked his finger, cleaning it of her juices, watching her the entire time.
“Ry,” she whispered, eyes pleading him to touch her.
“Delicious.” Ry rose to kiss her, heart hammering. Their lips brushed. Clung. He tunneled his fingers into her hair, gripping the silky strands, holding her head still while he deepened the kiss.
His
. The possessive thought rippled through him yet again. Ry embraced it, loving the way she surrendered to him. His tongue thrust past her lips as he lined up his cock and pushed into her sheath. Hot, clinging flesh gripped his shaft, feeling better than anything he could remember.