CarnalPromise (15 page)

He sobered and ran his fingers under her derrière then held
them there. “No, Beloved.” Then he smiled again. “However, it would serve you
right.” Bending to the other leg, he kissed this one as well, taking the dermis
and raking it with his teeth. Using his elbows, he pushed her legs farther
apart all the while using his fingers to minister up her leg.

She moaned and thrashed her head again, desiring him so. She
had never wanted a man so much.

As he neared the juncture of her thighs, she risked raising
her hips again, only slightly this time.

He released a low laugh once more. His warm breath stroked
her clit. She pushed her head back against the bed and groaned, wanting his
mouth on her cunt.

“Do you know how much you torture me?” He reached down to
adjust his crotch.

She watched under her lowered lashes. “I didn’t ask you to
take it slow.” She could hear the ache in her shaky voice. Her thighs quivered.

He smiled yet she could read the sexual tension in his taut
frame, the way his body vibrated with unrequited lust. “No,” he uttered against
her wet center, “but I think you like this.” He pursed his lips and blew
against her.

“Aah.” She hiked her rear to meet his lips but he evaded
her.

“Tell me, Jinn,” his voice whispered against her sex. “Tell
me if you like this better than the rush we’ve had before.”

She didn’t want to admit it. She didn’t want him to know
that she had never been a wanton like this, craving the slow, torturous ache
that absorbed her bit by bit. And yes, she loved it.

“Tell me, Jinn.” His voice dropped deeper, quieter but more
demanding.

The effect intoxicated her that much more.

“Tell me.” He blew against her again, over her clit and down
her nether lips. He moved his mouth closer. She didn’t need to look. She could
sense him there.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, Drakkar, yet you torment my soul
as well as my body.” She glanced at him, her eyes glazed.

“I don’t mean to, Beloved.” Pain arose in his eyes.

She smiled to assuage his hurt. “Only in a good way.”

His eyes sparkled and she wondered, when had she fallen for
this man?

Fallen?
No, she couldn’t have. She barely knew him
and he still was her enemy, at least an enemy to her cause. Her eyes popped
open and she stared at the ceiling as he lowered his head and licked her clit,
softly at first. Barely a touch.

Her eyes closed. Her legs trembled. What mattered now was
the heat between them.

With languid strokes, his tongue teased her, around her
feminine nub, down her labia to the sensitive spot between her vaginal opening
and her anus. He pressed his tongue there, stroked his thumb over the rim of
her dark hole as he nibbled his way up the lip on the other side.

“Mmm.” Even through her hands were tied together she moved
them toward him.

Drakkar caught her and stopped her before she could touch
him, sliding over her and putting her arms back over her head. A small sheen of
sweat beaded his brow. “If you touch me I’ll lose it, Jinn. Don’t. Please. Let
me make you fly with passion.”

His green eyes gleamed with sincerity, a look that edged a
ray of joy into the dark recesses of her burdened heart. How could she deny
him? She allowed herself a small smile. “Kiss me, then, Beloved.”

His whole face shone, brightened. The sight warmed her. He
was devastatingly handsome, her warrior.

Her warrior.
Yes, he belonged to her and she to him.
How often had he said as much? Yet only now the idea seemed to set in her.

His lips reached and took hers. Jinn tasted him, tasted the
mix of his honeyed mouth and the essence of her sex that he had laved. She
plunged her tongue in between his lips, allowing herself at least this much of
a touch of him. He groaned between their opened lips and his tongue outlined
hers again, savoring her. Could she ever get enough of this man?

“Now, I must continue my exploration.” He kissed her again.
Quick. Through his pants, she could feel his penis pulse against her leg.

Placing his hands on either side of her, he pushed off her
torso and licked his lips, his chest heaving from his heavy breaths. He arched
an ebony brow. “Now stay there. Otherwise this will be over way too soon.”

She giggled at his reference, feeling like a young girl. He
was so controlled, her warrior, yet from the signs of his body—his tenseness,
his scent—she could tell he stood on the edge of the abyss of lust as well.

She knew the sensation. Even being on the infusions, when
they got to this point she had no control either, not around him.

He eased his body lower and took her sex in his mouth,
laving her clit, nipping at the edges of her labia, plunging his tongue inside
her canal. When he did this, her hips jerked upward in response. God’s teeth
how she wanted him.

He grabbed her ass cheeks as she arched. Squeezed them and
sucked on her vaginal opening, plunging his tongue inside, stroking the walls
where he could reach. He spread his fingers against her backside, moving the
smallest ones to the crevice and letting the sides and tips of them massage her
anus and the skin around it.

The sensation about drove her mad.

He breathed harder against her. She could feel his warmth.
He suckled between her vaginal opening and her clit. With a gentle bite, he
took her nub between his teeth and tugged.

Her whole body shook from pleasure, the sensation of his
mouth on her. The nerve endings in her sex fired, took total control of her.
Her body trembled, shuddered with the quick pace of her rising orgasm. Drakkar
pressed his mouth harder. Thrusting her head back against the mattress, she
jutted her hips upward, yet Drakkar kept control, continued the assault on her
thrumming libido. All thought left her. Only the sensation of the man on her
remained. She screamed with her release, her mate continuing the pressure until
she had fully ridden the wave of her lascivious desire.

The carnal tension in her eased, but not enough. She had to
have him again. “Drakkar, I—must—have—you in me,” she pleaded with him. Begged.
“Skin with skin.”

The wanton look in his eyes said it all. “As you command, my
Beloved.”

In moments, the remainder of his clothes fell against the
floor. He hung over her a moment. His arms and legs caged her as he held
himself aloft. His eyes devoured the sight of her then he leaned against her
and wrapped the steel bands of his arms around her, plunging into her as his
lower body reached hers.

“Ah.” Her hips arched with each thrust. His hand grasped her
ass and possessed her. She molded to him, was clay in his hands. His hard breaths
sped. He nipped the tender side of her neck. Her vision blackened, her only
focuses were his fucking her, the taking and possession she felt from him, and
the part of her she willingly gave. Her lust rose, crested this time with
speed.

Drakkar’s labored breaths deepened, came harder. He kissed
her neck. His cheek pressed firmly against hers. “God,” his deep voice croaked
as his passion rose. His grip clenched around her. A primal moan escaped his
lips, long and loud. A feral growl came from his mouth as he peaked.

The savage sound put her over the edge. She moaned each
panting breath that came from her. Once. Twice. Three times. In all that was
holy, she had never felt such. She peaked as he held her. Did she scream again?
She didn’t know and didn’t care. This man treasured her.

For now, that was all that mattered.

* * * * *

“You fucking stupid droid,” Craddock backhanded Cassius
again. The slap echoed in the room. “You let her get away.”

Let?
Cassius’s head snapped to one side with the blow
but then he straightened it. Towering over the shorter man, he still kept his
head bowed and his eyes cast downward, his single personal goal in mind. “Yes,
Master.”

He used his subservient tone. Kowtowed to the prick. To
achieve his aim, he had to. Besides, the bio-computer chip the man’s friends
had installed in Cassius would destroy this body that housed him if Cassius
disobeyed. And for as many days Cassius had prayed for death, dying from a DNA
meltdown was a damn painful way to go.

Except now he had more to live for.

Mercedes
. No, he couldn’t think about Rurik’s
daughter. He must not think about her. He couldn’t afford to let some
unconscious thought be revealed in his actions. Although Craddock was on the
verge of insanity, the man was still savvy enough to read Cassius.

Closing his eyes, he hung his head and let the old man think
that Cassius felt shame at the loss of the royal Svendian.

But it was a ruse. As Cassius had hoped, Drakkar had left
before the port closed and before Cassius had to take drastic measures and
possibly compromise the position he held at Craddock’s beck and call. He
thanked the fates for that.

As it stood, his plan moved forward. The evil roots of
Craddock’s Purist society ran deep. Until those roots were obliterated, neither
the Svendians nor the Vulgarians would find peace.

Nor would Cassius find his revenge.

“Find where Drakkar the Ruthless took her,” Craddock
snarled. “Quickly.”

Giving the bastard a brisk nod, Cassius turned and left the
dismal abode before Craddock could think of any other horrors to bestow upon
others of Rurik’s blood—especially through him.

Vulgaria.

The green and white planet loomed closer. Jinn settled the
sheet around her nude body as she stood back and watched her half-clothed mate
at the controls. An indicator had rung, interrupting the next phase of
Drakkar’s sweet explorations. He’d untied her and thrown on his pants before he
sauntered his taut, sexy behind out. She followed him, soaking up the sight of
him, wondering what matter of problem was wrong with the ship.

But it wasn’t a problem. Just a notice. They approached the
Vulgarian solar space. Drakkar needed to signal so that the protective devices
would allow them clear entry.

The planet became a faint shimmering spot before them. She swallowed.
Nervous tension knotted her stomach. How many times had she wanted to go to the
surface to fight, to find those responsible for killing her father, especially
the one that now stood in front of her?

But they had been wrong, her and her brother. It had not
been Drakkar. It had been someone too close to home.

Uncontrolled, a shiver took her, the remembrance of that
day. The day her father died. These thoughts consumed her of late, more than
they should, but she couldn’t stop it. Too much stood at risk.

She pulled the sheet tighter around her. Pursing her lips,
she exhaled, forcing the air out with a slow, even pace to chase away her
unease.
The Warrior’s Way.
How would she defeat it? She had a quick
mind. She had to think of something because she would not be deterred from her
goal. Moreover, if she survived her main mission, she wanted more than sex from
the man in front of her.

She wanted his respect. Not just for her body but for her
skills as a warrior. Yeah, he’d said he admired her resolve to be what she was
but that didn’t mean he respected her warrior skills. She’d worked hard,
sacrificed everything she’d once wanted to become the soldier she was. She
wouldn’t give the results of that effort up so easily. Not anymore. She’d earn
the status. She’d be damned if she didn’t keep it.

Her eyes roamed over Drakkar’s frame. With his back turned,
she could admire the lines of his body. Wide shoulders. A broad back that
tapered in a V to his sculpted waist. The curve of his tight, steel-like buns.
Even with his pants on, she could see the cut of his powerful thighs. The
fabric molded across his muscle-bulked legs. A powerful man for sure. It was a
wonder he had not bonded before now, as virile as he was. She watched the
striations in Drakkar’s back shift as he worked the controls. Her clit tingled.
Her body remembered the sensation of all that muscle against her.

She leaned on a bulkhead and sighed, appreciating the sight
of him, hardly believing the turn of events, hoping to enjoy the warmth of his
body for at least a little while, knowing she’d need a clear head when they
made their landing.

She wondered how long the training would take. Craddock
would be long gone by the time she finished. She would have to start again,
this time with a very cold trail.

But she would find him. She swore it. There was no one else
who could, especially not the way her uncle used Cassius to cover his tracks.
Yet he was the key. Find Cassius and you’ve found Uncle Craddock.

She watched Drakkar lean against the console and look
between the indicators and the screen. Turning, he shot her a brief smile. “The
solar wind picked up speed. We’re closer now than what I thought we’d be. Only
another eight to ten PSCs.”

Eight to ten parts of a sleep cycle.
Less than a day
in Earther terms. She wanted to return his happiness but she couldn’t find it
in her. When was the last time she’d been to Svendia? She couldn’t even
remember now, it had been so long. Attempting a smile, she nodded to him.

He turned and studied the panel. Made a few adjustments.

Keeping her breath steady, Jinn fought to excise the
melancholy sense within. She missed her family. Now her mother would have
another child with her new mate. Would Andromeda be okay? Would Jinn ever see
the babe?

She pressed her lips together, willing the gloom away. Now
was not the time to show weakness, not when she was about to face so many who
were once her enemies, who, in most respects, probably still were. When they
found out—and they eventually would—she would be despised, hated for her people
and her part in the war. She knew it.

But they didn’t know the worst of it. No one did. And she
wouldn’t let them know, especially the man in front of her.

Still, she had always been liked, always been sociable, and
with her status in the Svendian world, she’d always been treated well. Now life
had changed for her in a matter of moments. Even so, she would fight to get
what she wanted. She always had. And she’d win, whether Drakkar’s people hated
her or not. She had to.

Jinn grimaced. It wasn’t that she could blame them. The war
had raged for many solar cycles before either she or Drakkar were born, but her
people had caused more injury than what had been necessary. Her father had
sought peace. Apparently, Drakkar and his people had as well until her father’s
death. So much hate. So much destruction.

So unnecessary.

She regretted it all. If she had only listened to her father
and left with the few others when he’d asked, Ulrich would still be alive. She
was sure of it. Then they would already have found the peace.

“We’re almost home.”

Jinn could hear the relief in Drakkar’s voice.
Home
.
She didn’t know what the word meant anymore. Wrapped in her own thoughts, she
looked down, thinking of her mother, of the lost opportunity to get to know
Hunter or her niece, Mercedes.
Family
. She missed them. Shatz, at this
point, Drakkar knew Hunter ten times better than she did.

Padded steps came toward her. Jinn looked up to see Drakkar
standing in front of her. With the crook of his finger, he lifted her chin and
stepped closer. “This must be tough on you.” He’d cradled his deep voice with
kindness. His thumb brushed over her lower lip and across her jaw.

The scent of him soothed her. She closed her eyes and rubbed
her cheek against his palm. Looking at him, she pressed her lips together and
forced another smile, nodding twice, hoping that the tears stinging her eyes
would not fall.

He bent to her and placed a sweet kiss on her lips,
lingering there a moment. “All will fall into place, Jinn. We’ll work together
to make it so.” He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

Holding the sheet with one hand, she placed the other on his
chest and rested her head next to her fingers, savoring his warmth, his
kindness in this moment. He brushed the long strands of hair from her face and
kissed the crown of her head. “This will be your home too. We’ll make it that
way.”

His caring did more to undo her than any other thing would
have. She squeezed her eyes shut. A single tear leaked down her cheek. Not
wanting him to see her weak, she rolled her face against his chest. “My
mother’s pregnant. I’ll miss seeing her.”

He touched his lips to her temple, slowly caressing her with
his mouth. “We’ll visit her as often as we can. I promise you. I want…” He
paused and she could feel his body tense under her palm. “I want us to be a
family.”

She glanced up at him. His gaze was dark, strained. His eyes
shone with worry and pain. What had he lost that was so dear?

Raising her hand, she fingered his rich lips and smiled. “A
worthy goal. And I thank you,” she whispered.

“For?” His brows knitted in confusion.

She let the smile reach her eyes. “For caring enough to want
to become one. A family. I will miss mine. I will have no one but you on this
planet, Drakkar.”

He frowned. “That will change. The people will come to know
you. Please give it time.”

She nodded then buried her face into his chest again. Would
his people, his clan, ever truly accept her? Maybe.

Maybe never, if they knew the truth.

* * * * *

The night approached. Hunter could tell from the lowered
sunlight that lit the welcoming room. At least six hours had passed since
Drakkar finally took off with Aunt Jinn. That was Hunter’s estimation anyway.
He still had a little trouble interpreting galactic time. Still, he hated sitting
there twiddling his thumbs while Sophos and Rurik talked. Well, more like
argued but in a very civil sort of way. He glanced at his father again. Rurik
had dispatched scouts to find Craddock. None of them had located his wayward
uncle yet. Now his father wanted to go after the ex-headmaster himself. Sophos
was having a fit at that idea.

Frustrated, Hunter pulled out his old dog tags from his
battle pack. Planting his elbows on his knees, he fingered the cold metal. He
kept the tags to remember his past, where he came from. The friends he’d left
behind. So often lately he’d still hear the deafening blast of mortar
explosions, the acrid smell of burning flesh. The coppery taste of his own
blood when he’d been wounded.

Yeah, they were just memories but they were things he would
never forget. War sucked. But it kept the adrenaline going.

Expelling a puff of air, he ran his thumb over the ridge the
letters made. He’d been a sergeant first class, the weapons expert for his
A-team. He still wondered how his friends fared. How the war progressed.
Buddies made through the blood of battle were ones you never forgot.

He looked at his father for the umpteenth time. The man’s
blue eyes, the ones Hunter had gotten from him, glared. The woman delayed him.
They were set to go after Craddock so why had Rurik allowed Sophos to stop him?
He understood his father’s angst, his fear that the war could start again if
Craddock wasn’t found. Rurik had been at war much longer than Hunter had. The
man knew firsthand how bad combat was. With the higher tech weapons, in many
ways the destruction was worse. Violence damaged everyone—even those who won.

Hunter sighed with his impatience, wanting to get going,
then snorted as he realized that “hurry up and wait” was an axiom no matter
what army you were in.

Dropping the ID tags back in his pack, he kept an ear to
their talk. Sophos was dead-set against Rurik going for Craddock. He was the headmaster
of their people. The Svendians needed him alive, not dead.

She had a point but Rurik wouldn’t be deterred. Hunter
admired his father for that. Actually there was a lot Hunter admired about
Rurik, but that was only as a leader. Hunter didn’t know him as a father.
Although he knew how much the government needed Rurik, a small part of Hunter
wanted his father to come, just so he could get to know him better.

“Take Knossos with you. He can help.”

Sophos’s sultry voice made Hunter smile. Rurik bristled at
the idea of bringing Sophos’s son but the man was a biodroid like Cassius, one
of four who, as an embryo, had been experimented on. The trial was to see if
they could overcome the infertility problem in the galactic humanoid
population’s DNA but after the four grew, the overseeing powers were terrified.
Even as children, the four had unnatural powers, especially the power to heal
themselves. Superhumans as it were. Part human, part technology. But the
galactic counsel deemed them to be too much of a risk, especially if they
propagated. They were officially defined as machines, slaves to their families,
although he knew many people saw them differently. Hunter wondered at the
forced sterilization the biodroids had gone through, the cleansing of any
ability to procreate. He’d heard from Knossos himself how painful that had
been, how they were forcibly taken from their families in order to make it
happen. His balls tightened and a jerk shook his body at the thought.
Damn
.

He cut his eyes at the negotiator, wondering what her
feelings were about that. She stood with her hands on her hips, meeting Rurik’s
stance one for one. Hunter had to admit, the woman pursued her point with
dogged determination and certainly without fear.

“But Knossos can help you.” Her voice cut through Hunter’s
mental meandering. “You know he can. He and Cassius have a bond. Besides, I
promised your daughter she could have Cassius. You know I’ve had control over
who owns him, ever since his mother…” She winced. The move was so small that
Hunter almost didn’t see it. “Well, you know.”

“Yes.” The harshness in Rurik’s tone eased. “Though I’m not
so sure Mercedes having him is such a good idea.” His father ran a hand through
his hair.

“He would never hurt her.” Sophos’s voice softened.

Rurik huffed but the tautness left him. “We’d have to get
him away from Craddock first and remove that damn chip.” His father was giving
way. He could tell by how the headmaster stood.

Hunter smirked. He couldn’t blame his dad. The persuasive
woman was sex candy. A man couldn’t stay upset with a woman like that for long.
’Course, most of the Nyphosians he’d met were like that. Hunter knew their sex
appeal and willingness to do almost any carnal act was the reason they were the
most successful negotiators in the galaxy.

He chuckled low under his breath. Rurik wasn’t only fighting
Sophos on this, he was fighting Andromeda, his grandmother, in the argument.
Sophos was just his nana’s voice since she couldn’t be here herself. And he
knew his mother would side with the women. Hell. Trista, now “of Svendia”
hadn’t wanted Rurik to come.

Truth be told, his mom didn’t want Hunter here either. She
worried about them getting killed—with good reason. Hunter figured if Craddock
were alone, he could take him no problem. But with his man, Cassius—however a
person wanted to classify the man/machine combo—Hunter just didn’t know. He’d learned
enough about the assassin. The half man half droid would be hard to kill.

Part of Hunter liked the challenge. The other part, the
rational one, knew he had to be prepared.