Chapter 9

9

Z ara dealt the cards, her fingers deft and sure as they flicked across the table. The silence stretched between them, thick and heavy. Traax's gaze bored into her, his amber eyes intense.

"Aren't you going to ask what I want?" His deep voice cut through the tension.

She looked up, quirking an eyebrow. "Okay, I'll play the game. You don't like me or humans, so it can't be anything personal."

Her brows snapped together as a thought struck her. "I don't have the authority to remove my team from the station. If that's what you want, you'll have to talk to the president. I hear he's real good at poker, though."

Traax grunted, a sound of displeasure rumbling in his chest. "It's not your withdrawal from the station I want."

Surprise washed through her. Did that mean he didn't want them gone? She pushed the thought aside and concentrated on the cards.

"Then what do you want?" She kept her tone casual.

"A kiss."

Her gaze snapped to his, her eyes wide as she fumbled the cards, a few slipping from her grasp. Recovering quickly, she snatched them back up before they could scatter.

"That's it? Just a kiss?"

He arched an eyebrow. "Do you give such things lightly?"

She shrugged, trying to play it cool even though her pulse was racing. "I'm a pilot. Didn't you know we have a guy in every port..."

A roar cut her off. Traax sprang to his feet, his chair clattering to the floor. In one swift motion, he flipped the table, sending cards and matchsticks flying.

Pain exploded through her face as the edge of the table caught her. The metallic taste of blood flooded her tongue.

"What the fuck?" She snapped her hand up to stop the blood dripping on the floor. In the next second, he was there, scooping her into his arms as if she weighed nothing.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he murmured, his voice holding a desperate edge. "I didn't mean to hurt you, kelarris. I swear."

She struggled in his grip, trying to break free, but his arms were like steel around her, holding her prisoner.

"What the fuck are you doing? Where are you taking me?" Her words were slightly slurred, her lip already beginning to swell.

"Medical." His reply was short, jaw clenched as he ran down the corridor, shouting at people to get out of the way.

She snorted and then winced as pain shot through her face. "For a busted lip? No, you're not. Put me down, damn it. I just need a medical kit."

But he didn't listen, and the station's corridors blurred past as he carried her, his long legs eating up the distance. Her head spun, both from the rapid movement and the throbbing pain in her lip.

She couldn't help looking at him. In shock.

The arrogant, controlled lord starfighter was gone, replaced by a man who radiated panic and guilt. It was disturbing.

They reached their destination in record time. The door slid open with a hiss, and then they were inside, the dim lighting casting long shadows across the room. Only then did she realize he'd bought her back to his quarters.

Her eyes darted around, taking everything in as he carried her through the main room. The space was large and imposing, huge couches upholstered in dark, battle-scarred leather in one corner near a large desk. A strange chair hung suspended from the ceiling in the corner. She ignored that, hoping to god it wasn't some kind of alien sex swing.

The walls were adorned with an array of gleaming, lethal weapons. Blades of various lengths and shapes were displayed, their razor-sharp edges honed to perfection. The metal floor was scuffed and dented with a few scattered rugs in intricate black and silver patterns to provide warmth and softness underfoot.

He carried her into the bedroom, and her eyes widened at the massive bed filling the space, its frame made of dark, polished wood. The bedding appeared simple and functional but more rustic than she'd have expected from an alien duke.

He set her down gently on the edge of the bed, his hands lingering on her waist for a moment before he pulled away.

"Stay here," he ordered gruffly. "I'll get the medical kit."

She watched him as he strode into the bathroom, her mind reeling. What the hell had just happened? One minute they were playing cards, and the next he was flipping tables and carrying her off like some kind of caveman all because of some stupid comment about having a guy in every port. It wasn't even true. Sure, she flirted and had fun, but she was far too focused on her career to get serious with anyone.

And he didn't even like her, so why react the way he had? As if the thought of her with another man had driven him mad?

She didn't have time to think about it before he was back, medical kit in hand. He knelt in front of her, his large frame suddenly making her feel small and delicate.

Frowning, he tilted her chin up to examine the damage and her breath caught. His touch was far gentler than she expected, her skin tingling at the contact.

"It's not bad," he murmured, speaking more to himself than to her. "Just a split lip."

Rummaging through the kit, he pulled out antiseptic wipes and a tube of healing gel. With careful movements, he cleaned the wound, his expression set in concentration.

She held still, barely daring to breathe. The heat of his body beat against her skin as his scent wrapped around her. It was…

Her train of thought scattered as he smoothed cool gel over her lip, his thumb brushing the corner of her mouth. She tried to suppress the shiver that rolled down her spine, but he spotted the movement, his amber eyes flicking to hers.

The air between them crackled with tension, thick and heavy. Her heart pounded in her chest, blood roaring in her ears. Trapped by the intensity in his gaze, she couldn't look away, couldn't move.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Then he cleared his throat, breaking the spell.

"There," he said, his voice rough, little more than a growl. "This should help with the swelling and the pain."

She licked her lips and grimaced at the bitter taste of the gel. "Thank you," she managed, her voice sounding strange to her ears.

He stood abruptly, stepping back to put some distance between them. He busied himself packing away the medical kit, not meeting her eyes.

"You should get some rest," he said, focusing on his hands. "I'll have someone escort you back to your quarters when you're ready."

She blinked, surprised at the sudden dismissal. "I can find my own way," she said, getting to her feet. The room spun for a moment and she swayed, grabbing the edge of the bed for support.

Instantly, he was there, his hands on her arms to steady her.

"Okay… You're not going anywhere," he growled. "Not until I'm sure you're all right."

She bristled at the command in his tone, trying to shake off his hold.

"I'm fine," she snapped. "I don't need you to coddle me."

His jaw clenched, eyes flashing with anger as he lifted her with ease and dropped her onto the bed. She gasped as her back hit the cool sheets, but then he was there, braced over her.

"This isn't coddling," he snapped, glaring down at her. "This is taking responsibility for my actions. I hurt you and now I'm going to make sure you're okay."

"Traax?"

She couldn't muster more than a whisper, all the wind taken out of her sails at the feel of him over her, his hard body pressing her down into the softness of the bedding.

His gaze latched onto hers, boring into her until she was sure he could see right down into her soul. Her breathing caught as he used his knee to push her thighs apart so he could settle between them.

Her eyes widened as his cock, hard, heavy and almost busting the seams of his leather pants, pressed against her. He was huge. No, not huge. There weren't words for something that size… gargantuan. Maybe?

"That's not fitting inside me," she blurted out, only for him to growl and slide his hand into the nape of her neck, holding her still.

"Oh, it'll fit. Believe me, it'll fit."

His lips crashed down on hers, hard and unforgiving. She stiffened, her hands on his shoulders, ready to push him off. But then he moved, pulling her closer almost as if he were cradling her, a desperate edge to the moan that rumbled in the back of his throat.

His kiss was no less hard, but she relaxed against him. Heat rolled through her as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, driving her hands into his hair as she kissed him back.

It was like adding jet fuel to a fire.

With a growl, he turned them on the bed until she straddled his hips without their lips parting once. She moaned as she nestled against him, tilting her head to deepen the kiss. Instantly, his hand tightened in her hair, holding her still as he pried her lips apart and drove deep within. His tongue slid against hers in demand.

She melted, all thought other than kissing him back gone. Pressing against him, she teased… not letting him control the kiss like he wanted. A deep growl of warning was her answer, and his hand spread out over the back of her hips, holding her to him as he rocked against her.

Heat exploded through her as the thick, hard bar of his cock pressed against her right where she needed him. He growled as she pulled back, and she smiled. "Too many clothes."

He looked up at her, dark heat in his amber eyes.

"Are you sure?" His voice was low and rough, the sexiest thing she'd ever heard.

She nodded, spreading her hand out over his broad chest. Over his skin. It was like warm silk over steel. This was a bad idea, but she didn't care. She wanted this, needed this.

"Absolutely sure?" he demanded, a harder edge in his voice as his hand on the back of her hips pressed her harder against him.

She leaned down to kiss him again, needing more, but he shook his head. "I need the words, Zara."

It was the first time he'd used her name, and hearing it in that deep, accented voice made her shiver. She bit her lip as he rocked against her again, thick, dark heat swirling through her. The way he made her body respond to him should be illegal.

Anticipation and need surged through her as she looked at him directly.

"I'm sure. Now, are we going to get naked, or what?"

She found herself flat on her back on the bed in a heartbeat as he all but tore his jacket off, dropping it unheeded to the floor as he started on his boots. Looking over his shoulder at her, he eyed her clothes.

"Unless you want me to tear those from your body, I suggest you remove them."

Her eyes widened. He meant it. She rolled to the edge of the bed and toed her boots off, shooting quick glances over her shoulder to see how long she had left. But he was quicker than she was, and she'd barely stepped out of her pants before he was on her, flipping her back onto the bed, still wearing her T-shirt and underwear.

"Out of time, Major." His lips quirked, the smile rendering his hard face darkly handsome. "I hope you won't prove this slow when we hit some real action out there."

She arched her eyebrow. So he wanted to play things that way, did he?

"Oh, definitely not," she purred, reaching out and wrapping her hand around his cock.

It derailed him, his breath catching in his throat and his Adam's apple bobbing in the thick column of his neck as she stroked.

Fuck, he was as big as she'd thought, his cock like a steel rod in her hand. Her pussy clenched in anticipation. Forget going slow; they were going to need to go at the speed of fucking light here… but she'd never backed down from a challenge, and she didn't intend to start now.

"Dangerous games, little human," he warned, his voice deeper than she'd ever heard it. His hand dropped and cupped her pussy, his strong fingers tapping over her clit. It was all she could do to hold his gaze and not moan. "Careful or you might get…"

"Might get what?" she threw back in challenge.

Her heart sped up at the dark heat that flooded his amber eyes, turning them to chips of fire. A wicked little smile quirking the corner of his full lips warned her a second too late as he moved, pushing her panties aside to slide two thick fingers deep into her pussy.

"Oh, holy fuck," she gasped, clutching at his shoulders as her body was forced to accept the sudden intrusion, to stretch around his fingers.

"Goddess," he groaned against her lips. "You're tight. Hot. Wet… and tight."

She nodded, and they shared a breath as he moved, using his thumb to smooth her slickness up and over her clit.

"Tight and wet… and all mine," he murmured, his lips leaving a trail of fire along her jaw and the side of her throat.

Her breathing was compromised as he pulled back and then thrust in again, finger fucking her as he teased his thumb over her clit. No, there was no teasing about it. He was driving her to her climax. Quickly. Ruthlessly.

A whimper escaped her, and she arched her back, rocking against him.

He chuckled and nipped her earlobe.

"Am I not going fast enough for you, kelarris ?"

She whimpered as he scissored his fingers while he pulled out, stretching her even further.

"You're not ready yet…" He pressed against her clit as he kissed down the side of her neck. Every cell in her body was focused on the path of his lips and that of his fingers as he fucked them in and out of her pussy. "You're going to need to be nice and wet before I spread your thighs and make you take every thick inch of my alien cock."

She whimpered, and he chuckled, the sound a pure, dark temptation. "Oh, you like that. Do you? Me telling you that I'm going to make you take me? Take every thick inch."

He reached out and caught her hand, wrapping it around his cock again. As he fucked her with his fingers, he made her stroke him, being far rougher than she had been.

"Feel how long and thick it is?" he growled by her ear. "Imagine it as I push into you, parting and stretching you around it. Maybe I'll make you ride me, watch as you impale yourself on it, and I can watch that pretty little human pussy stretch wide aroun?—"

Pleasure hit her broadside, his filthy talk, the erotic images he was painting in his deep, sexy voice sending her over the edge. She cried out as her climax exploded through her, the sound muffled by his lips as they crashed down over hers. Her pussy clamped down hard around his fingers as she convulsed around them, holding him in place as she came.

She clung to him as she rode out the waves. He held her cradled, his thumb on her clit, drawing out the sensations until she shivered, finally lying limply under him.

"You look wonderful when you come," he said as he looked down at her, his eyes almost blown black with need. "And I'm going to make you come again and again."

Pulling his hand from her, he lifted it to his lips and licked his fingers clean. His groan was utterly masculine and full of hunger as he looked down at her.

"You're mine, Zara. Don't forget that. Never forget that."

She shivered as he reached for her panties, shucking her T-shirt as he pulled them down over her hips. Her bra followed the top onto the floor as she lay naked beneath him.

He loomed over her, and the need to touch him obliterated all else. She spread her hands over his chest, stroking and exploring as she'd wanted to from the moment she'd first met him.

He rumbled deep in his throat, one hand still in her hair and the other sliding up her leg to the back of her knee. He pulled it up higher as he settled between her thighs. The broad head of his thick cock pressed against her entrance, slipping against the slickness of her release.

"You're small and tight," he told her as he pressed forward a little. "But I'll go slow."

Her pussy clenched, need returning full force as he parted her thighs wider with his knees. She bit her lip as he pressed further. Harder. He was actually fucking huge.

"Slower than that," she argued, her hands flat on his shoulders to slow him down.

Then he breached her, and she gasped at the sudden pleasure as her pussy parted around the thickness of his cock.

"Oh god…"

She concentrated on her breathing as he pushed deeper. Her pussy fluttered and pulsed, stretching more than she'd ever been stretched before. Inch by inch, he pushed, his eyes locked on to hers, not giving her any mercy. She realized she was half a second from coming again. Just from the feel of his cock in her. Fuck. That had never happened before.

Then he was in her fully, his balls pressing against her ass.

"Just… hold still," she whispered, needing a moment to process being filled more than she ever had before. She'd never had a guy as big as he was. It was like she was finding nerve endings she'd never realized were even there.

He grinned wickedly and pulled back. Then he thrust hard and filled her completely again. She whimpered, pleasure hitting her like a thousand needles in her blood.

He didn't let up, pulling back and surging forward. Relentless. Unstoppable.

Each time he slid into her, pleasure spiked in her blood, making her clit ache. She didn't own her body anymore. He did.

Her nails dug into his back as he moved over her, and she clenched around him again. He growled, his thrusts speeding up as he chased pleasure for both of them. His cock jerked within her, pulsing and thickening even more. She whimpered as his rhythm became harder but less coordinated. She panted, and then, between one thrust and the next, she was there. Hovering on the edge again.

"Oh… Traax… God… I'm…"

He grunted and slammed into her. But this time, he stopped at the end of the stroke, rolling his hips to trap her clit between them.

She shattered again, pleasure exploding through her like a supernova and screamed his name.

He pulled back. Sped up. Harder and faster. Each movement added to the storm of pleasure rolling through her. Then he thrust into her one last time and threw his head back, roaring his pleasure as he came.