Mercenaries (32 page)

“I'll risk it,” she said tightly.

Controlling a grin, Rune reached for his canteen, popped the top, and lifted it to his mouth. The distilling unit in the little device pulled water molecules out of the air, so it wouldn't run dry.

He pretended not to notice the way Cassidy watched him, eyes darkening as he tilted his head back to drink.
Just wait, sweet,
he thought, silently toasting her.
This is only the opening salvo.

The heat was only part of the reason he'd taken the suit top off. Without the thick armor to absorb them, the pheromones in his sweat would soon start to work on her libido again. And judging by past experience, it wouldn't take Cassidy long to feel the burn.

“Beautiful day,” Rune commented, clipping the canteen to his belt again.

“It's too damn hot,” she grumbled. One gloved hand went to the top clip of her suit and opened it. She hesitated a moment, then opened two more, revealing a narrow V of pale flesh. Her cheeks were flushed and sweating.

He glanced over at her and frowned. He really did need to get her out of that armor, and for more than carnal reasons. She was dangerously close to overheating.

“Drink more,” Rune ordered.

Cassidy lifted a brow at him. “Who died and made you my captain?”

“I'm not your captain—I'm your captor. And I don't want to have to stop and nurse you back to health when you keel over from heat stroke. Drink more water, curse you, or I'm going to strip you out of that armor myself.”

Giving him a long, steady look, she unclipped her canteen and took a drink. “Feel better now?”

“Much. Open a few more of those clips.”

“You're pushing it, Alrigo.” But she opened the suit all the way down to her flat little belly.

He still didn't like her color, though.
Computer, are there any bodies of water nearby?

That'll do.
He changed direction.

“Where are we headed?” Cassidy lengthened her stride to keep up with him.

“There's a pond up ahead. We both need to cool off. Besides, it's time to make camp.”

THE pond was perfect.

Rune surveyed it with satisfaction. It was no bigger than the warrior's bath on the
Conquest
—barely a hundred feet across, backed on one side by a cliff. A waterfall tumbled down the rock wall, hissing and thudding on the surrounding stone. Apparently the pond had an underground outflow somewhere, since there was no river to carry the water away.

“It looks . . . cool,” Cassidy said, longing in her voice.

Rune looked over his shoulder at her and smiled darkly. “Yes, it does.”

Without another word, he started stripping, toeing off his boots and pushing the suit the rest of the way down his legs.

“Uhhhhh . . .” Cassidy said, sounding strangled.

“Nothing you haven't seen before.” Balancing on one leg, he pulled the other from the suit. Finally free, he picked the armor up, folded it neatly, and started for the pond.

As he waded into the water, Rune was intensely conscious of Cassidy's fascinated gaze. His comp scanning for hidden dangers, he headed toward the waterfall at the other end.

“I know what you're doing, and it's not going to work.” She glowered at him, attempting defiance. “I'm not having sex with you.”

He looked back at her just before he stepped under the cool tumble of the waterfall. “Aren't you?”

T
HE falls pounded Rune's broad shoulders as he threw back his head under the stream. The muscles in his tight, delicious ass shifted under the brown satin of his skin. His sigh of pleasure made her nipples peak.

“Not this time,” Cassidy gritted, as much to herself as him. “I'm
not
letting you seduce me. Or have you forgotten you threatened to kill me an hour ago?”

He turned to face her, spreading his brawny arms wide. The spray hit his muscled body and bounced. “I merely wanted you to know the risks. I could have hidden the truth from you, but that's not my way.”

“I noticed—jerk,” Cassidy grumbled. That was Rune. Honesty and honor, the cost be damned. She lifted her voice to be heard over the falls. “But I'm still not having sex with you.”

He only laughed and turned his back again. For a moment he stood looking up at the falls, letting the spray splash on the hard, strong planes of his handsome face.

“It feels good.” Rune turned to face her with a groan of pleasure. “Very good. You should join me.”

Cassidy caught her breath at the sight of him. The water bounced and danced on his broad shoulders, rolling down his sculpted torso and the tight ridges of his abdomen. His cock stood high and hard, bouncing slightly under the gentle pounding. His wet skin gleamed in the sunlight, the effect throwing the intricate scarring around his cock into high relief.

She cleared her throat. “You do realize you're washing off all those sweaty pheromones of yours?”

His pale gaze met hers as his teeth flashed in a wicked smile. “I don't need pheromones to get to you, Cassidy.” Slowly he brushed one big hand down his chest and wrapped it around his meaty cock. “Do I?”

Cassidy glowered and propped both fists on her hips, trying to ignore the hungry knot of need gathering in her belly. “You are
such
an arrogant asshole.”

He lowered his lids and cupped his heavy balls in his free hand. “I have a lot to be arrogant about.”

God, he did. He really did.

With a huff Cassidy turned her back on him. Dammit, she was not letting him do this to her.

Not again.

No matter how gorgeous and sexy he was, no matter how delicious that big dick was, he was Dharani, and he'd taken her captive.

She'd thought she could use his potent sexuality against him, but he'd turned out to be a lot better at that than she was. It was time to cut her losses and keep her distance. There was absolutely nothing to be gained from playing his game.

Well, except for the howling orgasm.

Rune groaned in pleasure again, the sound mixing with the musical patter of the water. He raised his voice to be heard over the falls. “Goddess, this feels good. Aren't you hot?”

In more than one sense of the word.
She growled in frustration, feeling sweat rolling in itching trails between her shoulder blades and down the crack of her backside. “You're a sadistic bastard, you know that?”

“And
you
are a masochist,” he shot back. “Otherwise you'd be in here with me, instead of courting heatstroke inside all that armor.”

“Dammit!” With a growl she grabbed the edges of her suit and started stripping it off. Pride notwithstanding, she wasn't an idiot. He was right—if she didn't get cool soon, she was going to be in serious trouble.

She thought she heard him laugh.

The minute she was naked, Cassidy turned around and waded in before plunging her entire body underwater. When she surfaced again, he was waiting. She wasn't surprised.

Rune stood with those brawny thighs braced wide apart, one hand still caressing his impressive cock. Instantly a searing memory flashed through her consciousness—the way he'd felt as he'd worked his way into her by slow, delicious increments.

He was looking at her breasts. The tip of his tongue touched his lower lip, and he slowly slid his hand from the base of his cock to just behind the plum-sized glans. “Feels good, doesn't it?” he asked. “All that water touching you, sliding across your skin. So cool, so soft. Making your nipples so hard.” His lids dipped. The long, dark fingers of his left hand rolled his heavy balls. He let his head fall back. “I remember the way they taste. Musk and heat and sex.” His right hand pumped again, slowly. The head of his erection glistened as it bobbed. The spray struck his face, rolled down his chin and the powerful column of his throat. Slid into the thatch of wet, slick hair on his chest, then down his belly with its intricate patterns of barbarism and suffering. “I want you in my mouth again.”

God, Cassidy ached to taste
him
too. She wanted to close her lips around that tempting glans and drive him as insane as he was driving her.

And why not? Why not let him feel her power for once? It would be so sweet to make him beg. . . .

Dumb,
a soft mental voice protested.
Very dumb. Touch him and he's got you.

Oh, yeah,
a softer, darker voice purred.
And it'll be delicious.

He'll try to do all that anyway, whether you touch him or not,
the dark voice pointed out.
At least this way you'll have a taste of him. At least this way you'll have a chance to make
him
beg
. And she wanted him to beg her. At least once.

He kept getting the best of her.

It was her turn.

Cassidy moved toward Rune, her gaze fixed on that slowly pumping hand. Eyes closed, he gasped in pleasure as the water struck his face. Dropping his head, he grimaced, droplets beading on the blade of his nose. She felt her sex clench and heat even more at the sight of his extravagantly feral pleasure.

“Let me.” She dropped to her knees in front of him. Gasped as the cool water closed over her hot breasts.

His eyes flared wide as he looked down at her, very silver, oddly startled. “What are you doing?”

“What do you think?” She leaned forward and caught his wrist. Pulled his hand away from his cock and replaced it with her own. Aimed the fat, luscious head toward her mouth.

“That's not something my people . . .” Then he sucked in a breath and stiffened as she closed her lips around him. Sucking hard, she took him deep, one hand cupping the taut muscles of his ass as the other held his thick cock.

“Goddess!” Rune drew back, trying to pull his cock free of her lips. She refused to let him go, instead sucking so hard her cheeks went hollow.

“Cassidy, don't . . .” He sounded shocked. “You should not . . .”

Damn,
she realized in delight,
he's never had a blow job before!

How was it possible that Rune, hyper-masculine Dharani warrior, had never had a woman suck him off?

Oh,
Cassidy thought in delight,
I've got him now!

Wickedly she swirled her tongue over and around the satin head. Sucking hard, she drew back to the tip of his shaft, raked it gently with her teeth, then slid him back into her mouth.

She'd never tried to deep throat a man—her gag reflex made it too uncomfortable—but Rune's stunned groan goaded her. Greedily she fed more and more of him into her mouth, tilting her head and shoulders to find the right angle.

He moaned, the sound helpless and erotic coming from such a powerful man. His long fingers curled around the back of her head with a strength that felt involuntary. He began to roll his hips in tiny thrusts.

She nibbled. Suckled. Licked. Found his heavy balls and stroked them between her fingers.

“Stop,” Rune gasped. “I will come if you . . .”

Cassidy grinned around his cock and sucked harder. He tasted like distilled masculinity, hot and potent and fierce.

She loved it. Loved the way he writhed as she suckled him. She could feel his balls tightening in her hand.

Power surged through her, intoxicating, deliciously arousing. He was at her mercy now, and she loved it.

“I said
stop
!” Strong hands closed around her upper arms, dragged her up and off the luscious shaft.

Before she knew what hit her, she was in his arms. He turned with her, pushed her against the wet cliff wall. Rough, cold stone pressed into her back. Blazing silver eyes met hers through the falling spray as he caught her behind the legs, jerked them upward. Spread her.

Cassidy yowled as Rune found the opening of her slick cunt and speared it in a rush of stone-hard erection. Bracing her against the cliff, he began to thrust, grinding hard. “I . . . told you—that's . . . not something . . . our women . . .
do
!”

She gave him a savage grin. “But you liked it!”

Rune's glittering gaze met hers as the water thundered around them. “Yes. Goddess, yes!”

He kissed her, his lips hungry, demanding. Licking and nipping at her mouth just as she'd worked his cock. Giving her no quarter.

Not that she wanted any.

Rune began to thrust, slowly at first, then harder, faster, in long, creamy strokes that jarred her against the stone and made her shudder at his thick power.