Desperate Measures (20 page)

push her to her limit. The anticipation built into an intense need.

His teeth grazed over the swell of her breast. She licked her lips and arched her back. Her

breasts ached already and felt tight and swollen. She wanted and needed to feel his mouth there

and her imagination wasn‟t helping matters any with the constant barrage of images and feelings.

His tongue lapped at the curve of her small breast. She gasped when he used his teeth, scraping

and nipping, but not on her nipple.

The taut peaks tightened almost painfully and she lifted into his touch, trying to nudge

them into his mouth. She ached to feel his lips there. He seemed to touch her everywhere, but

where she most needed it. He licked in the dip between her breasts and his tongue swept across

the underside of the small mounds. Her breath rasped in her throat and her feet dug into the bed.

She wanted to grab his head, to push it right where she needed it. It was all she could do to hold

back and wait for him to give her pleasure like she‟d asked.

His breath puffed over her nipple and she held her breath, but his mouth moved down the

slope to her belly. He used his teeth, lips and tongue with wicked effectiveness. He never

touched her like she wanted and the frustration and anticipation were pushing her desire higher

and higher. When his tongue swirled just above her bellybutton, she‟d had enough. She could do

some teasing of her own. She pushed on his shoulder and followed him as he easily went over

onto his back. She knew he hadn‟t resisted and that‟s why it was so easy, but at the moment, she

didn‟t care.

She rose onto her knees and straddled him. This wasn‟t going to be a long teasing game.

Her body was burning and she could feel the slick moisture on her thighs. The man had seemed

to know what would drive her desire high and fast. She put her hand in the middle of his chest

and looked down at him.

“You‟re a very impertinent captive and you didn‟t please me.” She leaned down and

nipped the skin just above the darkened circle surrounding his nipple.

He sucked in a breath and his entire body tensed. She saw his hands clench but he kept

them at his side when she knew he wanted to grab her. His cock pressed against her stomach

insistently. She deliberately pressed a little closer to him and moved from side to side.

“I‟m not one of your tame little pets. I don‟t know why you thought I‟d behave like one.”

He grinned. “You‟re hot and ready. You can‟t deny that what I did excited you even if it wasn‟t

what you wanted.”

“But there are rewards for behaving and doing as I want.” She licked his chest and then

moved lower, ensuring that she brushed against his cock the entire time.

His eyes closed and a low groan rumbled from his chest. She smiled and then looked

down at his cock. It was hard, the rounded head darkened and a bead of pre-cum gathered on the

tip. Drawing her fingernails over his hip and thigh, she wanted him to wonder just for a moment

what she was going to do. Grasping his cock, she drew her tongue around the head just once

before she lifted her head and once again moved up his body.

“Now, I‟ll take my pleasure,” she said as she grasped his cock once more and guided it to

her entrance. She slowly lowered herself onto him.

His hands grasped her hips and for a moment it seemed that he didn‟t know what he

wanted to do, pull her off him or help her ride him. She took control and began rocking and

grinding against him. Her body was already primed from the fantasies and his teasing. It wasn‟t

going to take long before she came. His hands tightened and he rocked her more urgently against

him. With her free hand, she cupped her breast and plucked at the nipple.

“Lean down.” His eyes narrowed and he licked his lips.

She shook her head and continued moving on him. The feelings tightened and intensified

and she knew she‟d come in only a few more strokes. She threw her head back, focused on

reaching for the pleasure. One hand braced on his chest as her hips moved faster and harder

against him. Sensation tightened. She bit her lip and undulated her hips in a furious grinding

motion. All that she could think about was the need pounding through her. He pulled her hips

down against his as his rose.

It sent her right over the edge. Fiery pleasure exploded, rolling from her core and all the

way to her fingertips, leaving a tingling wake. She felt his hands tighten as he worked her hips

against him and then his hips lifted into hers. A harsh groan ripped from his lips and his body

shook as he came. She lay down against him and savored his closeness. It was going to be a good

night.

Raine looked over at the two people working at the other end of the table. She had to

admire their tenacity and the way they worked together. As much as she wanted to find

something to outright hate about this clan, she couldn‟t. They watched over each other and

seemed to genuinely care. It would make it so much easier to walk away if she could find

something even approaching the treachery of her mother‟s clan.

It wasn‟t going to be easy. Connal slipped a little bit more into her heart every day. The

man genuinely cared for his people. She‟d seen it in many ways, but still the one that stood out to

her was the way he‟d agreed to her conditions without so much as trying to bargain. He‟d have

done anything to get the help needed.

The difficulty wasn‟t only because Connal seemed to be a good leader. The people on

this ship were nice and accepting even though their first meeting had been filled with lies and

trickery. She‟d half-expected someone to try to find out what kind of shifter they were already.

She knew that she or one of the others would have in a similar situation. Knowledge was power,

but these people took his word as theirs.

“Is there something wrong?” one of the men at the other end of the table asked.

Raine blinked and stared at the red-haired man. His name was Ian. “No, just thinking.

There‟s actually been a bit of progress made and this shouldn‟t take too much longer. You‟ll

have your crewmate back soon. By the way, not too much longer is days, not immediately.”

“Good that you qualified that. I was getting a little excited.” He smiled and looked back

down at the screen for a moment before glancing back at her. “When you find her, we‟ll be

ready.”

“To find our friend, we had to hit two places in the same night. I can‟t guarantee that

we‟ll be able to get it down to only one.” Raine wanted to make sure he understood that this

wasn‟t necessarily exact. They could only narrow things down so much. “We know there were

three women of similar looks taken on the same night in the same area. You might have to check

all three buyers to find Tricia.”

“That won‟t be a problem. We‟re prepared to do what we have to do.” Ian shrugged. “If

you need help, just tell us.”

She nodded. Again that so wasn‟t helping her. They were too damn nice. Was it too much

to ask for a little rudeness? She could hardly sit still in her seat. Fear and uneasiness made her

want to put distance between her and this situation. Part of the problem was she didn‟t know

what to do. There was also the fact that she wanted to know what he was to her and if there was

something behind the strong feeling between them. She hadn‟t been able to think of any way to

get a piece of his clothing or anything with his scent on it out of his room. That was something

she had to do, but she couldn‟t very well steal any of his clothing with him watching her. The

man‟s eyes seldom left her when they were together. Normally, she didn‟t mind that hungry

gaze, but she was getting frustrated and she knew time was running out. They‟d gotten to the

point where they were only trying to follow the money of the three possible buyers. When that

was finished, they‟d have the locations of the three buyers. It would be a matter of going to get

them. She had a feeling she‟d have a fight on her hands there because she intended to go along

with them. Subtlety and cunning should be the first priority on a rescue like this. She had a hunch

that he and the other men would be more inclined to bust in and beat the person bloody. She

didn‟t want the Deveaen government involved in any part of this until the criminal part of it was

completed.

She did what she could until Gianna came to relieve her. The program did most of the

work at this point. Someone just had to be there to refine and generally just watch over it. When

Gianna walked in Raine smiled and stood. She stretched and stepped out of the way so Gianna

could take the chair.

“I hope you have some big plans for tonight,” Gianna said as she looked down at the

screen. “Every moment counts.”

Raine nodded. She knew time was running out here. The knowledge was pressing on her

every moment she was away from him. There were some hard choices she was going to have to

make.

She shook her head. Now wasn‟t the time for thinking. It was time to do something. She

couldn‟t stop time, but she could use what she had and savor every second they were given. To

do that, she had to find Connal. That wasn‟t necessarily an easy thing. The man seemed to be

everywhere at times, but he‟d been good about making time to eat with her at almost every meal.

She stopped by the kitchen and made a few special arrangements for dinner tonight. Some

instinct told her that tonight would be one of the last nights she‟d have the chance to be with him

without interruptions or distractions. She wasn‟t going to question it.

She searched, but in the end, he found her as she was walking back toward his quarters.

His smile widened when he saw her and his pace quickened. He didn‟t stop until his arms

wrapped around her and pulled her flush against his body. She slipped her arms around his waist

and leaned into him for a moment.

“You were hard to find today.” His voice was muffled as he nuzzled her hair.

She pulled back enough to shoot a glare up at him. She was hard to find. “I was looking

for you.”

“Well, we missed each other while we were searching then.” His head cupped the back of

her head and then smoothed down her back. “I hear you‟ve made a special request for our meal

tonight.”

She nodded. “I thought we deserved something a little special tonight.”

“What do you have planned?” He pulled her close again, before releasing her and curling

an arm around her waist to draw against his side.

“Wait and see.” She smiled.

“It won‟t be long. Since you‟ve arranged something special to eat, I‟ve arranged for us to

have something special to drink.” He began guiding her down the hallway to his room.

She made no move to separate from him. She wanted to be as close to him as possible

and since they were still in the hall she couldn‟t very well rip out of her clothes and plaster

herself to him even though it sounded like a really great idea.

Raine only released him so that they could get through the door. As soon as the door slid

shut behind him, she reached for him. He seemed to have the same idea because he‟d stopped

just inside the room and turned. She inhaled and was a little frustrated, because the scent was

wrong. She knew he smelled good. His natural male musk tinged with spice and a sharp tang that

reminded her of the bitter
grita
fruit. It was just that that was all she could smell. She couldn‟t really smell his arousal except when the musk increased so noticeably even a human would be

able to smell it and she couldn‟t smell the
Feiral
scent. It was something she needed to know.

She felt so close to him and part of her screamed that it couldn‟t be just sex while another part of

her hoped that it was.

She rose up on tiptoes and slanted her mouth over his in a kiss. She felt his fingers slide

up her back and cup the back of her neck. His teeth grazed her lower lip before he deepened the

kiss. His mouth ate at hers and she loved the way he couldn‟t seem to get her close enough to

him. It was exactly the way she felt about him. She couldn‟t get enough of him and when she

was near him, she still wanted to get closer.

“We can‟t get too involved in this. Any moment our food is going to arrive. I don‟t want

anything to stop us once we start.” His hand lifted from her neck and he stroked the hair away

from her face.

He was right. She knew it, but it didn‟t stop her from wanting to keep on kissing him and

touching him. Taking a deep breath, she tried to focus her thoughts. It wasn‟t only the urgency

she felt because this could be their last time together although that did make it intense. She

always wanted to be with him. Just watching him walk could send her thoughts straight to sex.

She‟d never been this focused on another person before and it did make her wonder if what she

felt was just an extreme case of out-of-control lust.

“So we go over to the couch, sit down and relax. Now that I think about it there are one

or two things we should talk about.” She grimaced. Talking about it could ruin the whole night

but she did need to get this out in the open. If they were going to argue about it, it would be

better to do it sooner so he couldn‟t run out on her and ignore everything in the rush to get Tricia.

She knew enough about him to know that he‟d be focused on getting Tricia to safety and worry