Numbers (23 page)

“Candi…” He paused, deciding to be honest. “I need to put
some space between us. Finish watching the movie. I’ve seen it many times. I’ll
be back in ten minutes.”

She didn’t pull away from him, but instead lowered her chin.
“Oh.”

He cringed when he followed her gaze. The boxers were long
ones that nearly went to his knees but the outline of his engorged dick was
clear, despite him trying to keep it between this thighs.

“Ten minutes. I’ll be back.” He pulled his hand off her hip.

She sat up, and when she was off him he stood fast, ready to
flee. She snagged the back of the waistband of his boxers. “Wait.”

He twisted his head to look back at her, frowning. “Let go.”

She stretched across the couch and dug her fingers behind
the cushion. She withdrew his lotion and smiled. “Sit down.”

He was too stunned to do anything but glance between the
bottle and the smile on her face.

“Sit down.” She yanked on his boxers. They slid down his
hips and legs. She let go of them and they landed around his ankles.

He still resisted. She’d never seen him without something
covering his dick. That wouldn’t be the case if he turned. Her hand stroked one
of his ass cheeks and he growled.

“Do you know what you’re doing, Candi?”

“No, but I think I can figure it out with your help. Turn
toward me or sit down.”

“I don’t want to frighten you.”

She smiled. “You’re mine. Let me see all of you.”

He lifted one foot and then the other, kicking the boxers
away. A smart male would make a dash for the bathroom as he’d intended, but he
was too aroused to think straight. Candi wanted to use lotion on him. He turned
and tensed, watching her face to judge her reaction. He’d flee if he spotted
fear.

Her eyes widened and her lips parted. She said nothing as
she studied his dick. He glanced down at it. It wasn’t trapped between his
thighs or hidden now. Her hand lifted and she gently brushed her fingertips
across the top of his shaft. His knees weakened at that hesitant touch, but he
locked them. She didn’t look afraid.

“You’re so hard and big.”

“Yes.” He couldn’t deny that.

“Sit,” she urged, pulling her hand back. She uncapped the
lotion and poured some into her hands. “How do you like to be touched?”

He sat, the leather couch still warm from his body. He was
excited and afraid at the same time. He spread his thighs and leaned back,
shoving his hips forward a little to give her access to him.

“What feels good?”

Candi expected an answer. “Anything,” he growled. He looked
up at her face and she smiled.

“You look angry.”

“Hurting. Excited. Not angry.”

She dropped the lotion bottle on the table and rubbed her
hands together. He had a difficult time breathing as he watched her. She’d
reduced him to the ability to say few words. He tensed when she reached for his
dick, and moaned when she wrapped both hands around his shaft. She explored
him, rubbing her palms and fingers around the sensitive flesh. He growled when
she stroked the tip.

“You make me hurt too,” she whispered. “I like touching you.
Am I being gentle enough?”

He nodded. He couldn’t speak. Her hands felt amazing. He
wanted to come just from knowing it was her, and from seeing his Candi’s hands
bringing him pleasure. He clenched his teeth until his jaw hurt. She played
with him, stroking up and down his shaft, rubbing circles over the crown of his
dick, gripping him a little more firmly to give the shaft a squeeze.

“What feels best? Tell me.”

He had to tear his gaze away from her hands to look into her
eyes. “Up and down. A little more strength. I’ll come fast. I’m almost there.”
He wouldn’t lie to his Candi.

He groaned when she stacked one hand on top of the other on
his shaft and gripped his dick harder. She slid them to the base and then up
until she swirled her thumb across the crown, and then back down. He threw his
head back and stretched his arms out along the back of the couch, gripping it
so he wouldn’t grab her instead.

“You’re so perfect,” she whispered. “So beautiful. Should I rub
you slow or fast?”

He didn’t care. It didn’t matter. Candi brought him
pleasure. He opened his mouth, breathing heavily. His ass left the couch a bit.
He locked his body so he wouldn’t start rocking his hips. He imagined what it
would be like if he was inside her and that was it. He came hard, unable to
warn her before he did. It was just blinding rapture and his semen exploding
outward. She kept touching him, almost killing him, and he blindly grabbed at
her wrists and pulled her hands off his dick.

He fought to regain his composure but it took a minute. He
opened his eyes and realized he still had her wrists captured in his hands. He
held her gaze, worried that she would be upset. She smiled at him instead, as
if losing his composure and coming all over his thighs, stomach, her hands and
on part of the shirt she wore was okay.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

He glanced down his body. He wasn’t surprised to see his
semen everywhere. He’d felt it hit his skin. He looked up into her eyes. “I was
really excited.”

“I don’t understand why you’re apologizing.”

“I should have said something before that happened, and
covered the head of my dick with my hand so it didn’t go everywhere. I also
swell a bit if you noticed the lump that formed near the base of my shaft after
I came. It’s normal for a canine.”

She twisted her hands and he released her wrists. She
reached down, shocking him by running her fingertips through his semen,
spreading it on his stomach. “This is a part of you.” She looked up. “Never
apologize for that.”

He placed his hand on top of hers, trapping it on his lower
belly. He sat up, holding her gaze. “You’re not unsettled by what happened?”

“No. I want to do it again and again. I love touching you
and watching your body react to my touch. Your muscles tighten and you move in
ways that makes me ache. I like to see that expression on your face. It’s
almost like pain, but not. You’re sexy, my pup.”

He released her hand and twisted toward her. “You ache?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Show me where.”

“You don’t like it when I take off my shirt, but you make me
feel that way all over.”

“Take it off.” He didn’t bother trying to soften his tone.
Candi had heard him growl many times. She ached and he picked up the scent of
arousal coming from her. He couldn’t mount her, but he wanted to make her feel
good. His dick hardened again just thinking about how it would be to make her
come. “Show me.”

She eagerly wiggled out of the shirt. She moved to toss it
away, but he snagged it as she released it and used it to wipe off her hands
first, and then his belly, thighs and dick. He dropped it then and slid off the
couch. Predatory instincts awakened inside him as he watched her lean back the
way he’d been, and spread her legs open in front of him. He wanted to pounce on
her, eat her alive, in all the good ways.

Hero rose to his knees and grabbed her hips, putting her
where he wanted her. He tugged her toward him and she complied. She scooted
down until her ass was on the edge of the couch. It put her pussy close to his
dick. She placed her toes against the coffee table, her calves at the sides of
his hips. He let go of her and clutched one of the cushions from the couch. He
slid his hand under her back and lifted, shoving the thick padding under her.
It arched her back and she was spread out in front of him like some beautiful,
sexy feast.

He still saw no fear in her. Candi held his gaze and looked
at him with anticipation. It sank in then. She’d accept anything he wanted to
do to her because she trusted him. His hands trembled as he opened them and
lightly placed them on the top of her thighs. She didn’t jerk away or tense. He
pushed upward, gliding them over her skin and up to her stomach. He paused.

“Are the pads on my skin too rough? You have such soft
ones.”

“I love your hands. They feel good. It almost tickles, but
don’t stop.”

Her nipples beaded when he slid his hands upward and
massaged them. They were perfect, so soft, and he loved playing with them.
Candi’s breathing increased and so did the scent of her arousal. He had to
shove his ass back a bit since he glanced down at her spread pussy and realized
his dick was in danger of coming into contact with it. He was hard as a rock
again, as if she hadn’t just gotten him off.

“That feels so good.” She arched her back and pushed her
breasts against his hands. He gently squeezed, pinching her taut nipples
between his forefingers and thumbs. Candi moaned and her legs parted farther.
Her toes slipped off the coffee table and she hooked the back of his thighs
with her heels.

He wouldn’t enter her. He couldn’t risk hurting her by
taking her too roughly in his excitement, or risk getting her pregnant. She
looked too frail, and it enraged him that humans had made her so skinny.
Mercile had killed plenty of Species, but not by starvation. He released her
breasts and skimmed his hands lower. Her stomach muscles clenched under his palms
and he looked up at her face. She watched him, her features flushed.

He needed to go slowly so he resisted the urge to do what he
wanted. It might shock her if he grabbed her ass, sat back on his heels and put
his mouth against her pussy. He massaged her inner thighs instead, inching
closer to her sex. He continued to look for any indication that he was
frightening her. He’d stop if he was, but he saw nothing to discourage him.

Hero grew bolder and brushed his thumb over her pussy. Her
breathing increased, but she didn’t protest in any way. He was glad his nose
hadn’t been wrong when he dragged his thumb over the proof of her arousal and
eased that wetness up to her clit. He paused for a split second when her body
tensed, but she didn’t try to jerk away. He tested how she withstood his touch
by circling the little nub with the softest part of the tip of his thumb, which
was just above the thicker layer of tough skin.

Candi sucked in a sharp breath and her hands dug into the
couch, getting a good grip on it. He cleared his throat so he was able to speak
around the lump that had formed there. She liked it when he talked to her, so
he did.

“You’ll like this, Candi. It almost feels like pain, but
don’t be afraid. Just try to relax and let me do this. It will be wonderful.”

She nodded.

He started to rub her clit again, circling it with his
fingertip. Her eyes closed and she bit her lip. A soft moan came from her and
the scent of her arousal grew stronger. He turned his hand a little so the
length of his thumb rested against the crease of her pussy. She grew wetter as
he played with her.

Blood rushed to his already-stiff dick but he ignored his
discomfort. It was about his Candi, not his desire to be inside her. He slid
his thumb off her clit and ran it through the honey silkiness of her arousal.
He loved how wet she was. He coated his thumb and returned to her clit, bending
it to slide up and down instead of in circles. Candi moaned louder and her
fingers clawed at the couch.

“I hurt,” she whimpered. Her calves squeezed against his
hips as she tried to close her legs. He sat on his ass and leaned forward so
his chest kept them spread. He used his upper arms to pin them open too.

“It’s not pain. It’s strong pleasure. Trust me,” he urged.

She arched her back and wiggled her hips, grinding her pussy
against his hand. He stroked her faster and applied a little pressure. He
didn’t want to draw it out for her. Not the first time. Her nipples were stiff,
beaded, and her body rigid. He knew she was close. He twisted his wrist upward
just enough to fit one finger between her sex and his thumb. He pressed his
fingertip against the opening of her pussy and eased it inside.

Fuck.
He managed not to snarl that word, but it
ripped through his mind. She was so wet and tight. Her pussy would be paradise
to his dick. His balls felt like pins and needles were jabbing at them as he
pushed that finger inside her deeper until he found the spot he wanted. He
wiggled his thumb and finger in a rhythm that would bring her to climax as her
vaginal muscles clamped tightly around him.

Hero watched as she tossed her head, her body writhing on
the couch, and her lips parted. She cried out loudly as she came all over his
hand. She was gorgeous, and his. He refused to remove his finger, or move his
thumb off her clit. He just held still, feeling her vaginal walls twitch in the
aftermath as that fleshy bud softened. Her body turned slack as she panted. He
suffered physically since he’d never felt so turned-on in his life, but he kept
his urges in check. It was one of the toughest things he’d ever done, because
he wanted to withdraw his finger and sink his dick into his Candi.

Candi had tried many times to imagine how it would feel if
927 touched her down there. He always knew how to make her feel good by
stroking her hair or lightly scratching his nails on her back. That was nothing
compared to what he’d just done to her. Her body felt wrung out, but amazing.
She opened her eyes and smiled as she lifted her head to stare at him.

His expression reminded her of when he wanted to kill
someone. His fangs dug into his bottom lip and his features were tense. He
breathed hard, as he had when enraged. The look in his eyes almost scared her,
but not because she feared him. It was one she’d seen only once before. Sheer,
absolute pain.

“What’s wrong?” She sat up, causing him to withdraw his hand
from her. She missed the loss of his finger inside her, touching her
intimately. She kept her gaze locked with his and clutched his shoulders. He
didn’t speak. “What’s wrong?” She massaged the rigid muscles. “Did I do something
wrong.”

He closed his eyes and tersely shook his head.

She leaned closer and something jabbed at her. She looked
down his body to find the source. His cock was harder than before and it looked
painful. It was an angry red color. It moved as she watched, kind of jerked,
twitching once, and then again. The tip was wet, as if he’d leaked a tiny bit.

“Oh.” She looked up at his face, but he kept his eyes
closed, just silently kneeling in front of her.

She frantically looked for the lotion, but didn’t see it.
She reached down and curled her fingers around his shaft. She rubbed, but
quickly realized there was a big difference between having lotion on her hand
and not. He made a low grunting noise and she stopped.

Another quick visual search didn’t reveal where the lotion
had gone. She looked down at where her legs were spread. Her entire sex felt
warm and soaked. She wiggled closer to him and gripped his cock again. She dug
her toes against the carpet and scooted until she almost slid off the couch. It
put her right where she needed to be as she rubbed the thick tip of his cock
against her pussy.

He snarled and opened his eyes. His hands gripped her upper
arms, and Candi gasped when she was shoved back. 927 came with her, bending
over her as she landed against the cushion he’d placed behind her. His chest
smashed against her breasts, trapping her arm between them. She still had a
firm hold on his cock.

“No.”

“You’re in pain.”

“Give me a minute. I’ll get it under control.” He shifted
his arms, bracing some of his upper body weight on his elbows, but he didn’t
release her shoulders, keeping her pinned.

“You’re not going to hurt me. I want to know what it feels
like to have you inside me.”

He stared at her with that terrible, pained look. “That
isn’t helping.”

“You’re crushing my arm.”

He arched his back to make a little room between their
stomachs. It was enough for her to move it a little. Candi was tired of her pup
being overprotective. He wanted her and she wanted him. She lifted her legs and
hooked them around his hips, digging her heels against the back of his thighs
to prevent him from jerking away without taking her with him. She gripped his
cock tighter near the base of the shaft and wiggled her hips. Between her hold
on him and her movement, it rubbed them together so the crown of his cock slid
along her pussy.

He snarled at her, even opening his mouth as if he planned
to bite her. She wasn’t afraid.

“Go ahead. Do it, my pup. It wouldn’t be the first time you
snapped at me.”

She rocked her hips and watched his face. His eyes closed as
she used her pussy to rub against him instead of using lotion. It felt really
good to her and she figured it was the same for him. He growled low and twisted
his head.

“Stop,” he rasped. “I’ll break.”

She knew he wasn’t talking about the thick, hard body part
that she kept hold of. She’d make him break his resolve not to mount her. It
was something she could live with. She wanted him and he wanted her. Sometimes
males were irrational and overprotective. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her, even
if he didn’t.

She rolled her hips and wiggled them until she had him right
where she wanted him. His body, bent over hers, was as rigid as a statue. He
wouldn’t move, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t. She aligned their bodies
until the crown of his cock pressed against where his finger had been. She used
her legs, locked around him, to pull her body closer to his since he left her
with no choice.

He felt huge and too thick. Her body resisted, but she was
determined. A little more wiggling and rolling her hips and he eased inside
her. Her pup snarled and his body grew more rigid, as if acting like a statue
wasn’t enough. He was as hard as one. She bent her knees and lifted her legs
higher on his waist. That worked. More of his cock entered her. She released
his shaft, pulled her arm out from between them and wrapped it around his
middle. She raked her fingernails over his spine.

“Candi!”

He sounded panicked and angry at the same time, and his grip
on her upper arms was bruising. She ignored the slight pain and looked at his
neck near her mouth. She licked her lips and lifted her head enough to reach
him. She lightly bit him and his body jerked. She ran the tip of her tongue
over the bite mark and a little lower to the curve of his shoulder. She bit him
harder there, knowing it wouldn’t break the skin, but it would cause him to
react. She knew her pup.

He released her shoulder and reached down, grabbing her ass
with one big palm. She moaned loudly when he came down heavily on top of her.
He drove his hips forward and she loved the sensation as he filled her. He was
inside her deep, his cock so hard and thick that it seemed as if they were
actually one person. He eased his hold on her shoulder and slid his arm between
her and the cushion, gripping her again, but from the back. He withdrew a
little and thrust forward. She moaned louder. He stopped, just holding her
tightly.

“Yes,” she urged. “Don’t stop.” She dug her nails into his
back and wrapped her other hand around the back of his neck. “Claim me.”

He turned his head and buried his face in her hair, his
cheek against hers. His hand on her ass found a better grasp, his upper arm
pressing against her outer thigh to pin it against his side. He rocked his
hips, moving inside her at a steady but unhurried pace. Candi closed her eyes
and clung to him, letting him hear how good it was through her moans and soft
cries.

Being mounted by her male brought her ecstasy that increased
with the speed of his cock driving inside her, rubbing against her clit, adding
to the sensations that threatened to overwhelm her. “Don’t stop,” she panted.
She knew her pup. He’d worry about hurting her. “So good.”

He snarled and she knew he stopped holding back. He fucked
her harder, the couch making creaking noises as if it were going to break. She
didn’t care if it did. She clung to her male until the pleasure hurt and it
exploded, shattering her. She cried out his name as her body seized.

She was barely aware of him shoving his hand hard against
her ass, but she hated the loss of him as he pulled all the way out of her. He
kept hold of her though, pinned under him on the couch. He’d just withdrawn his
cock. At the same time, he made a sound she’d never heard from him. It was
almost a whimpered snarl.

His hold on her shoulder eased until it was no longer a
death grip and the hand on her ass lightly massaged. It took time for both of
them to recover, and he lifted his head when he did. Candi opened her eyes and
stared into his. She expected him to be angry. He liked to snarl and lecture her
when she did something that made him angry.

“You are soooooooo bad.” He looked amused.

She grinned, remembering the past. “I am.”

“You know what I have to do when you’re bad.”

“No!”

He eased his arm from beneath, but kept hold of her ass. He
straightened up a little, dug his fingers into her ribs and tickled her. Candi
squealed, laughing as she tried to evade him. His mood sobered and he stopped.

“Did I hurt you at all? Are you sore?” He leaned back,
staring at her lower half. “You’re so small down there.”

“You’re just too big.” She wanted to reassure him. “You
didn’t hurt me, my pup. I knew you wouldn’t. I enjoyed you mounting me so much.
I want to do it all the time.”

His slid his hand between them and touched her pussy, but
didn’t play with her. He just rubbed one hand there while looking at it. He
relaxed.

“What are you doing?”

“I don’t smell blood, but I wanted to make certain.”

“Look at me.”

“What?” He held her gaze.

“Stop worrying so much about me. I’m not fragile.”

He twisted his body and reached for something on the floor.
He used her discarded shirt to clean them up. He dropped it and held out his
hands. “Come with me.”

She grasped his hands and he pulled her to her feet. He kept
hold of one and led her into his bedroom, through it, and into his bathroom.
She thought he intended to take that shower he’d mentioned, but he stopped in
front of the mirror and turned her to face it so he stood behind her.

“See what I see,” he rasped.

She really looked at them both. He was wider and taller than
she was. Her pale skin seemed stark compared to his golden tan. It wasn’t her
fault since they hadn’t allowed her out in the sunshine at the asylum. Her body
was too thin, caused by all the drugs they’d forced her to take and the few
meals she’d been given. She had to admit she looked weak and small compared to
him. Her body looked like a shrunken version of the sixteen-year-old she’d been
when they’d taken her from Mercile.

Hero released her hand and wrapped his arms around her,
bending down a little to put their faces closer together. Their gazes met in
the mirror. “I’m going to worry until you’re healthier and stronger. I’ll worry
even then because you’re so important to me. Your inner strength and will is
amazing. It’s just contained in a frail body right now. Can you see that?”

Tears filled her eyes. “Yes.”

He turned her away from the mirror. “Don’t cry, Candi. That
wasn’t my intention. You will get healthy and stronger, but be tolerant of my
fears. Can you do that?”

She nodded.

He wiped her tears away. “Thank you. I’m going to baby you.
Deal with it.”

She smiled. He’d learned that last phrase from her as they’d
been growing up. She’d said that to him often when he’d complain about
something too human that she’d do. “Fine but this no-sharing-sex thing is
stupid. I refuse to wait until you deem me at a good weight for that.”

“I want to disagree with you, but you’re sooooo bad.” He
smiled. “I can’t resist you but we’ll only share sex with great care, and not
too much.”

“What is too much?”

He hesitated. “I don’t know. We’ll have to figure it out.”

She asked him the question that had bothered her since she’d
studied herself in the mirror and put herself in his frame of mind. “Do I
disgust you?”

“No,” he snarled. “Why would you even think that?”

“I don’t look good.”

“You’re my Candi.” He suddenly grinned. “You could have been
very ugly in your face and I would have still loved you. You’re mine.”

She laughed. “You don’t think I’m ugly even with my funny
features.”

“I said it when we were small, and I still mean it.”

She lifted her arms and he bent forward so she could wrap
them around his neck. “I love you.”

He enclosed her in his arms and lifted her off the floor. “I
love you too. You have my heart and always will.”

She wrapped her legs around his waist. “I missed you so much.”

“This is the first time I’ve felt completely alive, and not
broken inside, since I lost you.”

“Me too.”

He eased her down to her feet and removed her arms from his
neck. “I won’t lose you again. That means you need to help me make you stronger
without being difficult. Shower now, we will watch the movie so you can eat
popcorn, and nap after that.” He paused. “Do you need a nap now?”

“No. I’m not sleepy.”

He stepped away and turned on the shower, adjusting the
temperature for her. He backed up. “Go in. I am going to clean up the couch.”

“Shower with me and I’ll help you when we get out.”

“No. That will lead to trouble. You’ll touch me and I’ll
touch you.”

She grinned. “I’d like that.”

He shook his head. “Movie, popcorn and nap. I’ll feed you a
big meal when we wake and that is when we’ll consider sharing sex. Not before.”

“What if I were to slip and fall?” Her grin widened. “I
could get hurt if you aren’t in there with me.”

A deep growl burst from him. “You’re being bad. I know you,
Candi. Don’t manipulate me.”

“I had to try.”

A slow smile spread across his lips. “You are a
troublemaker, but one who won’t share sex with me before you get some sleep and
eat another meal.”

“All right. I can compromise.”

“We both will.”

“I would have rubbed you all over,” she teased, stepping
into the shower stall. “I want to learn how to touch you in all the ways that
make you feel good. That’s difficult to do if you won’t let me.”

He didn’t respond and she glanced back. He wasn’t in the
bathroom with her. He’d fled. She laughed. He might run, but he wouldn’t go far
and he’d come back. He was her male. An overprotective one who would be
difficult to deal with until she had padding on her bones, but he wasn’t the
only stubborn one.

Hero scrubbed the couch down, grateful it was leather. It
had been hell pulling out of Candi but his fear of getting her pregnant had
motivated him to find the willpower and determination to do it. It had left a
mess though.

He needed to get condoms, unwilling to further test his
ability to pull away from her during sex. The shower turned off as he entered
the bedroom to put on a pair of sweatpants. He jerked them up his legs and
paused by the bathroom door, though he avoided watching her dry off.