Dragon's Blood (Black Planet Book 1) (9 page)

H
e’d not only hustled
a fight; he’d arranged one for that very night.

Annie kept to the shadows two stories above, seething in anger at his stupidity. How dare he come out without her? He was meat on the hoof, as far as this thing was concerned. And it was two nights early!

She hovered over the edge, watching first the crowd and then the fighters.

There was no one she recognized in the crowd, save the blonde woman who allegedly wanted a piece of her. She rolled her eyes at the thought.

The woman stood at the perimeter of a sturdy cage, her hand roaming the muscled ass of a brutish looking man that Annie had never before seen. His cruel mouth and hard blue eyes set her teeth on edge, and she mentally noted him. He was clearly a fighter, and as a fighter, he’d be a Nano. And a possible suspect. The look he gave Aiden was hungry and full of lust, but not the sort of lust a person would want to inspire in a man.

The rest of the crowd looked like gamblers. A pair of rough looking men stood at the perimeter. No doubt they were the brokers, the men who arranged the fight and recorded bets. Their attention was divided equally between the fighters and the crowd.

Inside the cage blood had spilled, she wasn’t sure whose, but both men bore injuries.

Aiden wore a tight black shirt and loose shorts, leaving his muscular legs bare. He was quick and light on his feet, dancing away from blows, rolling and evading with ease.

He fought equally with hands and feet, keeping his kicks low, the same as she’d been taught. When his opponent whirled into a chest level kick, Aiden’s fist was waiting for his inner knee.

She nodded in approval.

The fighter went down like a fallen tree, his knee most likely dislocated. The fight supervisor began a backward count, while the crowd shouted and booed. Obviously Aiden hadn’t been the favorite in this fight.

Before the count ended the other man was on his feet, limping, his Nanos quickly repairing the damage to his knee. Annie shivered, grateful her opponents hadn’t been so quick to recover.

She checked the crowd again. The blonde was still fondling her pet fighter. From her angle, Annie could see he was erect, his cock jutting out in a taut bulge. The woman stroked him there as though she owned him. The look he gave her was lethal and angry. Carin Nakashima was a danger junkie, and her fighter was danger personified.

In the ring, the two men closed and grappled. They went to the ground, rolling and wrestling, lithe, powerful bodies straining. Annie felt herself growing aroused at the spectacle. And why not? The two were savagely beautiful there under the lights, one dark and lean, the other golden and brawny.

The other fighter had a failing grip on Aiden. The black shirt began to pull away from his body, suddenly ripping at the seams. Angrily, Aiden threw the shirt aside, his sweaty body gleaming under the light.

She bit her lip at the sight of Aiden’s sculpted abs. Next to the other fighter, he was sleek and lithe, like a panther stalking a bear. He stepped in and jabbed, landing punches to the other man’s face, kicking out to score a wicked blow to the fighter’s injured knee.

That’s right, Aiden, go for the weak spot
.

Aiden took blows to the ribs, hunching over slightly before launching himself at the giant, hooking a kick into the knee, following him to the ground. They wrestled, rolling and grappling.

When Aiden came up to the top once more, pinning his opponent for the final count, she saw the tattoo, reflecting in the spotlights, leering and laughing from his skin. Not from his chest, but from his back. Annie’s sight went dim. He’d been hiding this tattoo, just as she’d hidden hers.

For a moment, the world stood still before it changed completely.

And again, she ran.

* * *

S
he was up there
.

Aiden could smell her, taste her on the air. He collected his money, ignored Carin and her meat of the day, and set out to hunt his quarry. He jogged into the darkness, finding a ramp upward. A ladder took him up even higher. She was running.

And he was hunting.

Aiden followed the faint fragrance of her scent. She was being obvious, heading back to home and safety. Knowing her destination helped. He made a series of vertical leaps, catching onto ledges, running at speeds that were inhuman and impossible.

He heard her coming, and at the last moment, stepped into her path.

“Annie.”

“Aiden.” She wasn’t afraid, she was angry. Fury boiled from her, overwhelming his senses, inflaming his need. His already hard cock grew harder.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked. Her chin was up, her eyes blazed.

He didn’t answer. The heat of the battle was still on him. Her anger sparked off him, fueling his need. His lust. For her.

“Run. Don’t let me catch you,” he growled.

She stood a moment, he scented the battle within her. Part wanted to stand and fight while her other half wanted to flee. And through it all, he knew she was responding to his wildness. She’d walked this path, when the adrenaline was high from the fight, the lust for life rising and shoving aside rational thought. He saw her submission in her eyes, in the taut posture of her strong body.

And then she ran.

She darted away, and like a cat, Aiden leapt after her in pursuit. She was swift and strong, easily crossing chasms and gaps between buildings. She knew the place well enough to run it blind.

But he was faster. And he could read the pathways and warrens as well as any Wharf rat alive.

He gained, his breath loud and harsh. Without warning, she spun and attacked, crashing into him, throwing him off balance. They toppled to the graveled roof of the building, rolling and wresting, and Aiden fought his second battle of the night. This time his prize was something completely different.

“I want to fuck you.” He came up over the top of her body, pinning her hands so that she couldn’t take control of the struggle. She bucked, scissoring her legs, attempting to throw him off. “Did you hear me, Annie? I’m crazy now, and I want to fuck you. Here. Now.”

She went still, her heart pounding, her breath racing. Her arousal perfumed the air.

“Say no if you want me to stop.”

“If I say no, will you just go out and find someone else?” Her chest heaved under his body.

“No. If you say no, I let you up. I go home and take a cold shower.”

“Let my hands loose, Aiden.”

He struggled to bring himself under control. He’d lied to her. If she left, he’d just lie here on the roof and jerk off. It’d take more than once, the way he was now. And then he’d run, run until the sun came up.

Slowly he released her hands, moving back, taking his weight from her body. Her hands shot out, digging into his hair, pulling his face to hers. She kissed him hard, teeth biting, blood kissing his tongue. She bucked, her legs wrapping around his hips, thrusting herself against his iron hard cock. Aiden cried out at the pleasure and pain of the contact. He found himself tearing uselessly and desperately at her clothing.

His skin stung where sweat trickled into still-open wounds. New scratches and abrasions opened on his palms and knuckles, anywhere his bare skin touched the rough, graveled surface of the roof.

“No! Annie!” He jerked away, pulling her up, onto her feet. The gravel would tear her apart and his control was hanging by the merest thread. Together they fumbled at the waistband of her snug pants, finally jerking them down, pulling one leg free. He lifted her to his hips, and her strong legs wrapped around his waist. Again they kissed desperately. He pulled at her shirt, baring her breasts and using every fiber of his control to carry her to the wall of a small storage shed.

He pinned her there while she fumbled at his shorts, freeing him from the silk and the restrictive athletic protector that he wore. Blessed relief poured through his body when her hand finally freed his engorged shaft, pumping him, her eyes never breaking from his.

Without any preliminaries, he pushed into her body. They joined together like an elemental force. No sooner had he started to move, to plunge into her body, then she came in a shuddering climax. Her head arched back against the smooth metal wall and he caught her cry with his mouth, swallowing her passion, her need.

He pressed himself deeper, and she met him thrust for thrust, determined to pull him over the brink.

“Ahh… fuck, Annie… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… too rough…” He pushed harder, her body slamming into the unforgiving wall of the shed, and to his stunned elation, she took him with equal need. She rode him hard, her sweat mingling with his, their combined breath hot and moist in the cooling air of the night.

“Make me come again, Aiden!”

She was fighting for it, struggling, so close and so ready. Aiden slowed, forcing her to untangle from his body. He settled her to the ground on wobbly legs, turning her to face the wall. He tore her shirt off, looking at the magnificent dragon on her back, stroking his hand along its sinuous body. She wore a set of lethal blades on her forearms. He slid his hands down, stroking the soft skin under the deadly blades. She shivered at his touch, so he bent to kiss her, to touch his lips to the scattered cherry blossoms on her skin.

Annie didn’t think
she could be more aroused, but when he managed to rein himself in, to temper that strength and need, fire coiled tight inside her body, making her compliant. Her desperation receded to expectant need. His hands, his lips skated over her skin, and he whispered of her beauty, of his love.

Like a cornered suspect, she assumed the position, hands braced on the wall of the shed, legs wide. Aiden moved her a bit, bending her just a bit more at the waist, and he was back, deep inside her body, his strokes slow, steady and deep.

Annie had never allowed a man to take her this way. It was too revealing, too vulnerable. With Aiden, it felt right. He’d caught her, conquered her, and was now nurturing her. Annie leaned forward even further, resting her face against her arms. Oddly, tears began to well up in her eyes. The desolation of the past five years began to fill her heart, to overflow and melt away.

His big hands stroked her waist, reached around to cup her breasts and skim over her belly. As though sensing her tumult, Aiden wrapped himself around her body, molding himself to her. One big, bruised hand cradled her mons. She ground against it, her climax rising once again. His strokes were steady and deep, his cock kissing that sweet place deep inside her passage.

Aiden brushed the hair from her nape and nipped lightly, finding a sweet spot she hadn’t known existed. Annie tilted her head, giving him better access. Their movement was less frantic now, more fluid. They both savored the build-up to the coming explosion.

“I love you, Annie.”

A sob built in her chest at the words. They moved faster. He held her tighter, his fingers circling her clit with firm, steady pressure. Again and again, he skated over that sensitive spot in her channel. Her need for more pressure rose up. She tilted her hips to meet him, to beg for him to take her harder, faster, and he complied. His breath was harsh in her ear. Grunts became moans as Aiden grew closer, and Annie held back, held back… and let go…

When he came, he drew back, beating into her in short, shallow thrusts, slamming into her G-spot over and over, pulling her with him. She wanted, needed to hold him, to pull him close, but her arms were empty.

Instead Aiden wrapped her up tight, filling her not only with his seed, but with his very essence, with who he was, who he would be.

And then he turned her around to face him, and he held her close, so close that they might very well be one person.

* * *

“
T
hat was crazy good
, Aiden.”

They’d returned to Aiden’s loft, showered in his solar-heated water and had promptly taken to bed. Aiden lay on his belly while Annie inspected the intricately wrought dragon that was tattooed into his skin.

“Finding those blades strapped to your arms was crazy. I thought you were going to do me in!” He turned his head in her direction, unable to see her face but enjoying the connection.