Merry & Seduced (12 page)

“I want to decorate the chocolate cupcakes,” Kaya said. “You said we can make the ones we saw in the shop, the ones with the white chocolate twirls.”

Jannike nodded. “Me too.”

“I want to do everything,” Autumn said in her little girl voice.

“What she said,” Kaya said, her head
bob-bob-bobbing
like Luke at his most excited. All Kaya required was the arm waves and they’d make creditable twins.

Warmth shimmered through Amme. When Gweneth’s father had offered Gweneth’s hand in marriage to the winner of the Dowry Derby, Amme had expected to remain on the planet Ornum, at least until her charge wed. That hadn’t happened. Ry’s hell-horse had won the race, and Amme’s life had changed in a heartbeat because he refused to mate Gweneth. Instead, he’d offered to take Gweneth with them. Amme had traveled with the crew of the
Indy
because she’d wanted to keep Gweneth safe. She’d never expected to find personal happiness during the process.

“I think Marcus needs a translator. Nanu keeps forgetting to speak his English,” Amme said. “Marcus is clever. He’s noticing.”

“Max said Marcus questioned him, but he put him off.” Camryn checked the oven timer. “Ry and I discussed this. We think it’s better if we don’t tell him. I’ll send Mogens over with a translator later tonight. That’s the easiest way to divert suspicion.”

“I’m keeping him distracted,” Amme said, the smugness in her voice making her friends chuckle.

“How many sleeps until Christmas?” Autumn asked.

Amme counted the days on the nearby calendar, proud of the Earth knowledge she’d amassed under pressure. “Twelve sleeps.”

“That’s a lot of sleeps,” Autumn said.

“We have lots to do,” Camryn said. “We have to choose a Christmas stocking for you, so you’re ready for Santa Claus. We have a play date with Luke tomorrow. Max is bringing him over to swim in the pool.”

“Can we visit the ’pacas?” Autumn asked.

“You need to ask your daddy,” Amme said.

“Ask him what?” Marcus asked. “It smells good in here.”

“Chocolate chip cookies,” Ry said, entering behind him. “I’m sure that’s what I can smell.”

Camryn went straight to him, and Amme wished she had the freedom to do the same with Marcus. She forced herself to remain at the kitchen counter. He wasn’t a child and she shouldn’t experience this compulsion to keep him safe. She frowned inwardly, testing her system, analyzing. No, not the same response she experienced with Autumn. Similar, true, but different in that she wanted to spend time with him, be with him and bask in his smile.

“Camryn will smack your hand with a spoon,” Autumn said without warning.

“Why?” Marcus asked, cookie in hand.

“You’re not meant to steal the cookies yet.”

“Busted,” Camryn said, waving her wooden spoon at him. “But I think they’ve probably cooled enough. Anyone want cookies and milk?”

“I’ll make a pot of tea,” Amme said and a tremor of pleasure tore through her when Marcus smiled at her with thanks.

“What’s on the schedule for tomorrow?” Marcus asked.

“Camryn is going to teach us to sing some Christmas carols. Something about deers while we decorate the Christmas cake,” Kaya said. “Does a Christmas cake contain chocolate?”

“No.” Camryn pointed at Kaya with her spoon. “You’re putting on weight. Even Mogens has noticed your arse is getting bigger. And he was muttering about clouds and readings.”

Kaya peered behind at her shorts-clad butt and scowled. “Does my arse look big in this?”

“Yes,” her friends chorused.

Marcus just stared because he had no idea what they were talking about. Kaya wasn’t fat and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky today.

“We’re going to sing a Santa Claus song,” Autumn said.

“We also need to do some S. A. N. T. A. shopping,” Amme said, spelling the word just as Camryn had told her she should. “We’re going to buy a Christmas stocking for Autumn to hang near the fireplace.”

Marcus frowned. “Where do we get one of those?”

“Max said there is a stall at the Farmers’ market in Clevedon. We’re all going on Sunday morning.”

“A market? Where?” He seen more of the area in the last two weeks than he’d seen in his entire life. After the beach visit, they’d gone to the Christmas parade. They’d visited Rainbow’s End, the fun park, and he’d even gone grocery shopping where Amme’s friends had scurried up and down the aisles, picking up and looking at everything. One night they’d decorated their trees, and now it seemed he’d be participating in carol singing and shopping. He waited for the shudder of horror to sweep through him like a black fog of doom.

It didn’t arrive. Not a breath of foghorn terror.

“We should have another barbecue tonight and maybe some dancing,” he suggested. “I have a volleyball net and a croquet set somewhere. We can set those up.”

“Plan,” Camryn said.

“You said dancing because you want to cuddle with Amme,” Gweneth said. “And you want to kiss her under that mistletoe stuff.”

“Busted,” Marcus said. “But I’m not going near the mistletoe if Nanu is around.”

A guffaw burst from Camryn. “I wish I’d had a camera. The look on your face. And Nanu’s face…” Her cheeks turned red as laughter overtook her.

“Daddy.” Autumn tugged on his shirt hem. “Can we visit the ’pacas?”

“We can do that,” he said, gazing down at his daughter with a smile of wonder. “As soon as we’ve eaten cookies.”

“I
haven’t enjoyed the Christmas season so much for ages,” Marcus said.

Amme’s hands paused on the hem of her T-shirt. She had the translator from Mogens, which she needed to attach behind his ear. A simple enough process.

“I’m glad,” she said. “You’re making it special for Autumn too, at a time when she needs more attention than usual. You’re lucky you can work from home.”

“I lucked out when I found you,” he said. “I wouldn’t have known what to do if it wasn’t for you and your friends. It’s not just the babysitting. It’s the simple things like decorating the tree and singing carols. Baking food and teaching her to cook. Those are life skills and things she’ll remember with pleasure in the years to come. You’re giving her traditions.”

But she wouldn’t be here to share in Autumn’s accomplishments. A bittersweet moment, and a reaction she shouldn’t experience, given her programming. She swiftly diverted her brain back to the present.

“Your daughter is a beautiful child. I can see when she’s sad about her mother, and I try to keep her busy. We’re going to fit in a movie day with a lunch meal at a restaurant.”

“During school holidays?”

“Camryn said that’s half the fun. I think she mentioned a Christmas movie. And Kaya heard about a new chocolate shop. She wants to visit. Camryn said we’d need to go too because Kaya requires supervision.”

“True, the woman should be the size of a bus with all the chocolate she stuffs into her mouth. I’m in. Give me details and I’ll fit it into my schedule.” Marcus held out a hand, his gaze glowing with sensual promise. “Come to bed.”

“I’ll just peek in on Autumn.” Amme hurried off and found Autumn sound asleep. She was a good kid, although she’d had to unleash her anti-monster spray a couple of times when the child woke with bad dreams.

She found Marcus in bed, the sheet draped across his waist while he checked email on his tablet. He muttered a curse and jabbed at an email to make it disappear.

“Problem?”

“Nothing I can’t handle. She asleep?”

“Yes.”

He set his tablet aside. “Come here.”

Amme paused to whisk off her clothes, and she basked under his intense gaze as she stripped.

“God, you’re beautiful,” he whispered.

“I like looking at you too.”

“Enough with the looking,” he said. “I want action.”

Amme slid into his arms and sought his lips. Their kisses were no longer hesitant since they’d become comfortable together. And each time the sex felt better and more satisfying.

She’d placed the translator on the tip of her finger and now, she clasped Marcus close and strummed a finger over the smooth patch of skin behind his ear. She tapped the translator into place and muttered a few words in the Universal language they spoke.

“I want you too,” Marcus replied.

Amme smiled against his lips, sinking into his voracious kiss. Their tongues stroked, dipped and delved while their hands wandered over shoulders and chests. At least if Nanu slipped now, Marcus wouldn’t realize.

Marcus rolled over, taking her with him. She ended up on top of him and stared down at him in surprise.

“I want to see your breasts and watch you when you come.”

“So I shouldn’t turn off the light?” Amme teased.

“No,” he barked. “Loosen your hair. It’s so pretty flowing around your shoulders. Smells good too.”

“Bossy.”

“Hurry or I’ll spank you.”

Amme stilled, her heart-pump beating on the fast, choppy side. “Ry threatens to do that to Camryn.”

“You think I wouldn’t follow through?”

Amme’s pulse quickened as she attempted to read him. A sultrier, dangerous mood slithered into the room along with his reply. “I… You always do what you promise.”

“Exactly, and don’t forget it.” He ran a finger down her nose and back and forth across her lips. “I’d enjoy seeing your backside turn pink after I applied my hand.”

“Smacking hurts.”

“It might at first, but if the smacking is done right, the pain transforms to sensual heat, which makes for very good sex.”

“You say that as if you have experience.” The translator made it easier for her to express herself.

“I’ve had sex with other women. I’ve never said I was a monk. You’ve been with other men. You told me spanking makes sex better.”

“Yes, I have.” Which meant she had no right to the squirmy, uncomfortable emotions of jealousy. She’d have to ask Camryn, but she was sure this was the sensation banding her chest and forcing her heart-pump to overcompensate.

“I don’t like knowing that,” Marcus said, blunt and uncompromising. “It makes me a bastard, but I hate the idea of another man touching you.”

The conversation needed turning. “I’m here with you now. We should make the most of it. Let’s shove our pasts out of the bed and concentrate on now, on us.” She trailed her fingers over his pectoral muscles and pinched one of his nipples. To her fascination, the disc pebbled hard, in a similar way to hers. She pinched the other one to make sure before moving her attentions down his body.

His stomach muscles bunched beneath her fingertips.

“Are you ticklish?”

“No.” His hand settled on her hip. “Your skin is extra soft. So sexy. I love touching you.”

“You’re not soft.” Her hand curled around his cock and lightly squeezed. She dipped her head and licked across the fat crown with brief forays underneath. Back and forth and underneath until the tip started to leak with his arousal.

“God, that feels good. No, don’t stop. Keep going.”

Amme had no idea who this god was but she continued to explore and tease, giving him a gentle suction of her mouth. His hips lifted, the action forcing him deeper. He groaned, the sound stirring her to drag more of the cries from deep in his throat. She palmed the heavy weight of his testicles and sucked his cock a little harder.

“Amme. I’m gonna come. Take me inside you. Ride me.”

Amme repositioned her body and guided him to her. She sank down, taking it slow, teasing both of them with the unhurried penetration.

“Oh, that does feel good. You’re deeper than usual.” She swayed back and forward until she found the best angle. She rose and fell, her gaze on Marcus and the enjoyment etched into his hard features. When she didn’t get enough friction, she used her finger and stroked her pleasure center.

“That looks so damn hot,” Marcus said in a hoarse voice.

Her inner muscles clenched around his shaft, and he groaned, his brown eyes glittering with mesmerizing golden highlights, with excitement and enthusiasm. His hips strained upward, surging deep into her pussy. Strained breathing and soft sighs resounded inside the bedroom, the scent of sex and Marcus’s citrus aftershave filling her senses.

A coil of energy surged to her lower body, the ball of heat growing larger and larger with each up and down stroke. The pleasure swelled until she didn’t think her body could contain the blissful sensations or continue the urgent tempo.

Marcus reached up and pinched her nipple. The spike of pain surprised her and shoved her into an emotional storm. Her orgasm ripped through her, hard and intense, her pussy pulsing around his cock.

“Hey, beautiful.”

Amme realized she’d stopped to grab her own pleasure and a spurt of concern dulled some of her enjoyment. “Sorry, I stopped moving.”

Marcus rolled until she lay under him. “Not a problem.”

His kiss stopped her reply, her explanation. His was hot and hungry and when he parted their lips not a single thought of regret remained. His potent power claimed her, leaving a heavy fog of desire shimmering in the air between them.

He set up a fast rhythm until all she could do was hold on and enjoy the ride. He drove into her again and another mini explosion rocked her system.

Marcus groaned. “Amme.” And then he was coming, her receptors recognizing the convulsive heave of his muscles and the spurt of semen from his cock. For an instant she felt his full body weight and luxuriated in the sensation, which too quickly ended. He levered off her and pulled free.

“Fuck,” he muttered. “We didn’t use a condom.”

Amme stilled at the note in his voice. She met his gaze without flinching, simply staring at him.

“Fuck,” he said again and stomped away. He disappeared into the en suite, leaving Amme hurt and confused. Was the idea so abhorrent?

He returned mins later.

“Do you want me to go?”

He ignored the question. “How likely are you to get pregnant?”

Amme fought hard to remain impassive but her receptors sent signals before her brain override them. Her mouth shaped into a twist, into the grimace they called a scowl here on Earth. She’d thought he’d cared a little but the note in his voice, the horrified attitude said otherwise.