HeartStorm (HeartFast Series Book 3) (2 page)

            They had gone no farther than kissing and holding each other close. A few furtive caresses were the only steps they had taken toward lovemaking. It was time they made their arrangement permanent. It was time they sealed their words with action.

            "How do you take it off?" she managed to ask in a hoarse voice.

            After he unbuckled and dropped his belt, he began pulling the top out of his waistband and drawing it over his head. She didn't wait. Her outfit consisted of the typical green jumpsuit that identified her as a member of the medical profession. A simple flap in the front sealed and opened it.

            She stripped and stood naked before he bent to remove his boots. Commander stopped to stare at her body. Smiling gently as he observed her smooth, flawless skin. Her full breasts. The lush growth between her legs. Slowly, his eyes crawled up to her face, and his breathing was noticeably faster.

            "By the stars, you're beautiful."

            She smiled and pointed to his pants. "Need a hand with those?" She was surprised to see his face flush. Without waiting for his reply, she kneeled and held the boots as he slipped them off. When he reached for the waist of his pants, she put her hands over his and smiled. "Allow me." He removed his hands, holding them out to his sides.

            Gradually, she lowered his pants over the firm buttocks, the powerful thighs, and down his muscular legs where he stepped out. As she'd suspected, his genitals were enclosed in one of those protective cups that most of the Guardian men wore. A little squeeze around the sides, and the gear nearly fell into her palms.

            Immediately, his erection sprang thick and full, nearly parallel to the floor. Devorah found herself almost eye to eye with the flushed head. Impulsively, she gave it a lick, and Commander trembled at the touch. She started to take it into her mouth, when he laid a hand on her shoulder.

            "I desire you now. The rest can wait until later, but at this moment, no more foreplay," he roughly demanded in a soft voice.

            Before she could reply, he bent and lifted her back into his arms to carry her over to the bed. They went down together, and this time he claimed her mouth.

            His hunger matched hers as they tried to chase away the nightmares that had plagued them ever since the wormhole disaster. One hand lightly squeezed her breast, the fingers capturing her taut nipples between the knuckles to tease and pinch until she gasped. She could feel the storm gathering inside her, her need and desire growing dark as clouds before the lightning. She squirmed beneath him, and along her leg his erection quivered and burned.

            His mouth slid down her throat where it seared her neck and shoulder. She was on the verge of begging him to take her when his hand left her breast, and his nails scratched their way down her belly until his fingers found her mound. After lightly stroking the soft hairs there, his hands slid between her thighs, reaching her clit where he parted the swollen lower lips to roll and squeeze the hardening nub.

            Devorah arched her back as she tried to breathe. The storm was all-consuming, blanking out her mind as it heightened every nerve in her body. Her hands found his shoulders, and she tried to pull him on top of her.

            "Paol. Paol, love me."

            "I do. I always have. I always will," he murmured into the hollow of her throat. In the next moment, he brought himself over her, spreading her legs with his knees. And paused. When she opened her eyes, she found him staring at her, passion and anticipation flooding his face.

            He lowered himself, pressing the tip of his erection against her entrance. Then, gradually, he slid inside her, taking care not to hurt her with his greater strength. Allowing her cream to ease his passage as his thickness filled and stretched her. Watching her reaction, ready to stop or withdraw at the first sign of distress. His infinite care touched her heart.

            "Paol, I'm not made of glass. Make love to me." To emphasize her point, she raised her knees to give him better access. He closed his eyes and bowed his head as he reached underneath her buttocks with one hand to steady her.

            His strokes came faster, longer, and more forcibly. His rhythm increased, until Devorah felt her nerve endings tingling. She squeezed her inner muscles, now slick and hot from their combined friction, and her body shivered as the intensity flared within her. Small bolts of intense pleasure zipped through her bloodstream, signaling the sweet promise of release soon to come.

            He was panting, his breath hot and moist against her skin. They were both slick with sweat as he continued to pump her. Pushing her toward the brink. Relentlessly driving himself inside her in order to reach his own peak.

            He was no longer treating her as if she was some fragile object. They were caught up in the midst of down and dirty sex. She dug her fingers into his back and shoulders in order to hold on, urging him to take her harder as she jutted her hips upward to meet his downward plunges.

            For a split second she derided herself for taking so long to accept his advances. For not initiating their relationship to go to the next level before now. For not enjoying this pleasure with him countless times in the past. Her mind barely glossed over the wonder of how incredible this was, when everything within her erupted in a blaze of white hot ecstasy. Devorah cried out as her body jerked beneath him. Relentlessly, Commander continued to ram himself into her, forcing himself through her silken inner chamber that suddenly tried to strangle his member and squeeze all the blood from it. A dozen more thrusts, and he vaulted over the precipice, filling her with his release.

            He groaned as his knees gave way, and he slid onto her pliant body, his semi erection cradled between her slick thighs. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and for the next few minutes neither of them spoke or moved. The aftermath was too delicious, too heady to do anything other than let it spread over them like a gentle rain. Soaking through their skin to cover them with its sweet blanket of completeness.

            Devorah felt his lips kiss the top of her head, and she smiled. It had been years since she had taken a man to her bed. Years since she had allowed another man to have this kind of absolute control over her soul and her body.
Not since you met him,
a little voice whispered in the back of her mind.

            It was true. From that time, when he and the other Guardians had come to rescue her people from her planet before their sun went nova, and took everyone back to Synaria, her body seemed to isolate itself. Her thoughts had remained on the intense man who'd made it a personal issue to physically remove her from her hospital because she'd refused to leave until she was certain every one of her patients had been taken to safety. At that moment, when he held her tightly in his arms as he hurried to return to the ship, she'd known there would never be another man allowed into her life. And for years afterward, while she worked diligently to establish a career for herself on his world, she had watched him from afar. Never daring to hope to meet him again. Never daring to dream of even a chance encounter.

            Until that eventful day StarLight entered the hospital, and Devorah had had the singular luck to be on duty that day.

            Commander moved slightly to remove his weight off her. She turned to cuddle against his chest although they both continued to radiate heat. His hand lifted her chin to where he could kiss her.

            "Why did we wait so long?" he murmured. His breath stirred the fine hairs at her hairline. A couple of strands drifted down and tickled her cheek. Before she could brush them back, he tucked them behind her ear. "By the stars, that was nothing like I'd dreamed it would be."

            She smiled but managed to give him a critical look. "Oh? Nothing whatsoever?"

            His boyish grin melted her heart. "No. It was better. In fact, there's no way I could have imagined how fantastic it would be."

            A wayward thought suddenly came to her. Opening her eyes a little wider, she peered closer into his eyes. "Paol, were you a virgin before we made love?"

            "No, but it's been a long, long time. I've forgotten when was the last time I'd had a woman." He scratched the side of his jaw. "In fact, it's been years. Why'd you ask? Did I act like I didn't quite know what I was doing?" He chuckled at the idea.

            She answered him with a soft kiss. Reluctantly pulling away, she threaded the fingers of one hand through his thick hair. "What now, Paol? What happens to us now?"

            Unexpectedly, he rolled onto his belly and propped himself up on his elbows. Looking down at her, he gave her another one of those heart-melting smiles. "No more separation. No more working apart. I'm sticking with you from here on out. What do you say, Dev? Care to be wrapped in silver ribbon? Of course..." He glanced around her apartment. "I don't know how I'll feel about bunking behind the clinic."

            She laughed and hugged him tightly. He enclosed her within the circle of his strong arms and hurried to silence her with his kisses. Kisses that inevitably led to more lovemaking, and continued into the night until well past daybreak the next day.

Chapter Three

Assignment

            StarLight watched as
Guardian Transport Two
was delivered five weeks later. Standing at a safe distance inside the bay, she noted the difficulty the crew was having as the massive repair ship from Abernath attempted to slowly lower the ship into its cradle. The storm outside was creating a problem with the tractor beams, making the ship swing dangerously, until Blender created a counter wind to help buffer the descent.

            She was aware of someone coming up behind her. A pair of arms possessively encircled her, and a hand caressed her extended belly. Hunter lowered his chin onto her shoulder.

            "Good morning, my love. How are you feeling?"

            She smiled. The warmth of his body pressing against her back and buttocks was comforting. "How was roll call? Anything of importance?"

            He lightly kissed her cheek. "So far, it looks like a slow day, which is good. We need to work on getting
Two
back into service."

            She glanced at him. "I thought all its repairs were supposed to have been done at the base on Abernath."

            "They concentrated on getting the engines back online. Deceiver thought it would be better if we finished the repairs here at Command." He kissed her cheek again, following it with a nuzzle. "I miss having you at roll call."

            Star patted his hand where it continued to stroke her swollen abdomen. "I do, too, but Doctor Perlakian says I need to get as much rest as possible." Chuckling, she added, "Dev still hasn't forgiven me for taking off to the black hole." She wriggled slightly, seeking more of his hard warmth along her lower back. Hunter growled at her.

            "Careful. It's been a while since we've had any of that kind of intimacy, and when you do that, you're not helping matters."

            "You know I can help you with that." She smiled seductively. Even though she felt like a bloated garf whale, her husband always managed to keep her feeling sexy.

            "Nope." He gave her cheek another peck before repositioning his arms around her. "It's either a two-way street, or nothing. And you haven't answered my question. How are you feeling, other than your back aches?"

            "Want me to make a list?"

            At that moment, the babe kicked outward, enough to show the outline of its tiny foot. Both StarLight and Hunter laughed.

            "She's precocious," Star accused lovingly.

            "She's like her mother," he responded, earning a playful retaliatory slap on the arm.

            "So how long do you think it'll take us to get
Two
back up to speed?" Deceiver inquired, walking up to join them.

            "Hopefully, not long," Hunter responded, eyeing the outer hull. "Let's hope most of what we're looking at is cosmetic damage."

            "Cosmetic, hell," Commander said, taking a stance next to the Guardian leader. "That ship's been through a shit storm, and then some. It's a good sign those guys managed to get the engines back online. But has anyone checked to see if the internal workings have been fried? I wouldn't be surprised to find every power cell totally drained."

            "Guess we'll find out when we get inside her," Deceiver commented. "Let's go grab a hand comp and see how depressing things look."

            Hunter gave his wife another kiss, this time on the lips. "Go sit down. Get off your feet. Why don't I bring you a comp, and you can help me with recalibra—"

            The claxon went off, signaling an emergency call. Everyone froze as Deceiver ran to the communications board. All ears strained to listen.

            "Guardian Command! Can you read us? Please respond! This is Fio Toreedus on Sigma Vialla's third moon! Guardian Command!"

            "This is Guardian Command," Deceiver answered. "We read you. What is your emergency?" He tried to adjust the vid screen, but received only static.

            "Thank the heavens! This is Fio Toreedus. I'm with five other men on the third moon of Sigma Vialla. It's in the Mandrus Vialla system."

            "We know the location. What is your emergency?"

            "We've crashed in the middle of a major blow storm, and we need to be rescued before this gets stronger. Our systems are failing. We have less than forty percent oxygen, and we've lost all heat."

            "Surface temps in a blow storm can reach negative three hundred degrees," Provoker commented from across the bay.

            Deceiver nodded. "What's your current temperature, Toreedus?"

            "Negative sixty-nine degrees, and dropping more than ten degrees every minute."