Mere Temptation (6 page)

“So you’ll stay.” He said it with finality and moved in to peck her cheek. She ducked away. “What?”

“Si, I’ll stay with you, but this… this kissing and stuff has to stop.”

“Why?” Clearly he was going to push this through to its end, and Isa hated him more by the second for it.

“Why? Well, let’s see. Because you’ll want to change me. Because I live in Landworld. Because you would never be happy with what I can give you.”

“Who says I wouldn’t be happy?” His tone was lighter now that she’d spelled out her concerns.

Isa aimed her words like arrows to penetrate his scaly reptile brain. “Sidon, I’m not going to have sex with you.”

“I know that.” Flippant now, he pulled back even further, but stayed close enough for her to smell the salt on him.

“Then what do you want?” Her body moved toward his now that he retreated.

He smiled at her approach. “I want to kiss you and spend time with you while you’re in town.” His words were light and friendly, as if asking for the most reasonable thing in the world. “And as far as the other stuff goes, we’ll do whatever you’re comfortable with.”

“Really?” She laced the single word with as much sarcastic disbelief as she could muster.

“Why not?”

Quips and replies flew through her mind, but, “
Because you’re so damn fine!”
kept bubbling to the surface. She opted to keep that to herself. He continued to look at her, his posture mild and casual.

Something told her he was working an angle, or maybe trying a soft-sell. She was tempted, terribly, excruciatingly tempted. It had been a long time since she’d had a man to spend time with. She’d tired of laying out the rules over and over with guys who didn’t want to respect them. Why not enjoy Sidon’s comfort for now? Why not date a ridiculously hot, kick-ass guy for a few days? She could deal with her broken heart later.

“Okay.”

“Okay?” Sidon jerked in surprise, and then his grin stretched from ear to ear.

Now that they’d come to an agreement, Isa was unsure of what to do or how to act. She shuffled, feeling oddly formal.

Sidon broke the tension. “You want some ice cream?”

“Sure, what have you got?”

“Mint chocolate chip.”

“Awesome.”

They ate their dessert in silence. The downpour slapped wantonly against the window, as if highlighting their lack of conversation. She tried to chit chat, but Isa couldn’t ignore the soft pulsing that grew low in her body. Despite their simple pact, she fought a strong urge to run as fast as she could.

His long, tapered finger tapped just a little too hard on the table, and her eyes travelled up his arm to his tense bicep. His nervousness softened her, made her want to comfort him. She slid her hand across the table to stroke his tanned arm with one finger. His dark chocolate eyes lit up. At her touch his entire body seemed to simultaneously relax and expand, and Isa’s senses were flooded by his salty-earth smell. The tunnel-vision from the night before returned. She hovered on the verge of orgasm awaiting his touch.

As though he felt it too, he lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed the tips of her fingers. Each press of lips sent a little jolt of pleasure up her arm, but when he rose and gestured for her to do the same, she gave him a look of concern.

“I’m just going to kiss you,” he said.

Awkwardly, she stood.

He bent toward her and moved his lips slowly over hers. His hands found a home between her shoulder blades and at the small of her back, and he dipped her slightly. Her muscles turned to putty and she moaned into his mouth. He took the sound as encouragement and slid a familiar hand to cup her bottom while the other hand stroked her face. He paused at her mouth to snake a finger inside along her cheek. His contented growl vibrated against her as he broke the kiss and used the rough digit to spread their mixed saliva over her parted lips.

A wave of hot need made Isa’s center clench.

So much for just kissing!

She dropped to her knees, placing her mouth over the bulge at Sidon’s fly and breathing warm air through the fabric. She squeezed her legs together and, hoping he didn’t see, pressed her hand over her mound to ease the pulsing ache. The sooner they both got off, the better. A few blow jobs and he’d tire of her, and she could go back to her life. Sidon stroked his hand softly through her hair, but when she reached for his belt, he lifted her to her feet.

“You are so sexy, and I want you to do that, but I want to lie down with you. Will you come?”

Despite being about to go down on him in the living room, the idea of going to his bedroom made her nervous. He would never force himself on her, but her self control was teetering on the edge. Sidon seemed to understand because he led her over to the cushions of the sofa instead.

Next to her on the soft expanse of white, he kissed her with a slow, deliberate passion that left her breathless. At first she wondered why he wasn’t pressing further, but her thoughts washed away in a sea of ruthless kisses and gentle hands. He stroked her shoulders and neck, before lightly trailing along the edges of her breast. His deft fingers would venture toward the peaked center, over the delicate tissue of her areola. Then his touch would drift outward again; soon Isa was arching up toward him, offering her flesh like bonbons on a plate.

He began to circle one nipple through her shirt till it stiffened and puckered. The sensation shot straight to her core, tearing her between offering him the other side and pressing herself into his hand.

Isa rolled to straddle his hips, pressing her center against the thick ridge on his lap. Sidon brought her closer, and still plundering her mouth, rocked her steadily against him. Despite the clothing between them, they both moaned low at the pressure.

His musky scent made Isa buck against him and bite into his jumping muscles. He moved to control her frenzied rubbing. She had lost all reason, and she panted and strained against him, her climax just out of reach. Grabbing her roughly, he wrapped one strong hand around her hip and the other in her hair, holding her face to his gaze.

“Come for me, Isa.” The growl of his voice raked her taut nerves, causing a hot rush of moisture to dampen her shorts. He pressed her along his steely hardness. One, two, three strokes and she cried out with spasms, calling his name while his grasp held her tightly in place.

Isa’s legs still trembled as he lifted her and started toward his room. Tendrils of concern wove through her mind. This was all so much easier when he was a horny kid. He said
please
and she said
no
—
simple. The confident male who carried her now would never stoop to such childish games. No, the games the Sidon played now were far more dangerous.

Chapter 4

Chummed

Sidon laid Isa flat and caged her small body with his arms. Then he pulsed his tongue into her mouth, trying to taste her every gasp. Her explosion on his lap had been the most erotic thing he’d seen in years. Damn, she was beautiful and hot and so crazy when she got worked up that he’d almost come with her. Though his cock ached at the memory, he needed to go slow, to draw her out and make her want it. Make her want him.

He pressed kisses into her mound through the material of his boxers before winking and pulling them down with his teeth. Her lower half was naked to him and pale curls framed the glistening folds that had haunted his dreams ever since he first tasted them. She blushed under his stare and pressed her knees together, making him want to kiss her again and again. He wrapped a hand behind each leg and eased them gently apart, watching for every reaction. “Don’t close them again, Isa.”

Her parted legs shook ever so slightly as she held her sex open, and he touched her mouth one more time, never tiring of the feel of her tongue and cheeks. She captured his finger and suckled, causing his cock to twitch and his heart to lurch. Closing his eyes to regain composure, he moved downward to stroke through her slippery crease. He smiled at her wetness and added another finger to the first one, circling her entrance.

His mouth watered to taste her, but he held back, needing her panting before he’d go further. She scooted on the sheets, trying to get his touch in the right spot. He placed a firm hand over her belly, pinning her as he plummeted two fingers into the narrow passage, and his gaze flickered between the ecstasy on her pretty face and the quivering of her thighs as he drove calmly into her. His thumb brushed her nub gently, as he worked her, and soon she was thrashing and squirming, trying to rub her tender button against his hand.

She pled with her eyes, with her mewls, with her hips. He’d make her beg for him to go further, but not tonight. Instead, he looked into her eyes and pressed his thumb up into her clit, curling his fingers onto the little sponge inside her, and Isa arched up off the bed. Her screams washed over him like ambrosia.

“Oh, Sidon! Oh, God, Si. Oh, God.”

Petting her down, he stretched out along her body to plunder her mouth in a fresh bout of kisses. When she was done shaking, he eased the T-shirt over her head and undid her bikini top. She colored anew, and his chest beat hard at the sight. A stab of desperate need rocked him before he could tamp it down.

He bounded up, partially to undress, but also to break away from the haze of her embrace. Isa’s big blue eyes never left him as he lifted his shirt and unbuckled his cargos, letting the weight of his belt pull the shorts and boxers to the floor. Her gaze panned down his body like a caress and came to rest at his cock. That perfect pink tongue swept out to wet her lips. Her little white teeth bit down on the finger that had drifted into her mouth. His erection wept. Isa’s eyes drifted back up to meet his, and he fought to keep the violent desire off his face.

He took her hand so she knelt on the bed, and gave her a sweet kiss, caressing her face, her shoulders, her breasts. She was in the zone—sighing, flushed, waiting for his every direction. After a long moment he shuffled her to sit at the edge of the bed, raising his hips to her face so that his hot length pulsed at her cheek. She tilted her pink-tinged face up to him. Those eyes grabbed at his gut, brought a throb so hard to his groin that he almost cried out. Deliberately slowing his breath, he stroked one hand through the silk of her hair, the other across the line of her jaw. “It’s my turn, Isa.”

* * * *

“Dr. Grathers, it’s Karon. We were able to bring in the first batch of subjects last night. There are four of them, all part of the same family, ages seven, ten, twelve, and fifteen.” Karon read through the intake forms laid out on his desk.

“Great, great. Have they been processed yet?” Grathers’ voice chirped in his excitement.

“Doc has them sedated and ready for transport. When can I ship them out to the pick up?”

“I think we’re going to want you to hold on to them for now. We’re looking to set up a research site closer to the habitat, but in the meantime I’ll come out to start collecting samples.”

Karon jerked in his seat. “I don’t have the resources for this.”

“I don’t see why not.”

“We can’t keep those kids sedated permanently. And what am I supposed to do with them when they wake up?”

“Don’t anthropomorphize, Karon. You should have adequate containment units for at least fifteen subjects.”

Karon bit back a curse. “So how long will I be running a hotel for mere?”

“I’ll arrive within the next day to start intake, but you should plan on holding your captures for at least the next few weeks.”

“Fine.” He paused, fists clenched in frustration. “Did you find out any more about the dragon situation?”

“The board is looking into it. I was under the impression that the dragons had given up all their Caribbean colonies. There may still be a few of them in the area, but I can’t imagine they care about what happens to the mere. Your team probably just happened across one accidentally.”