The Bond That Consumes Us (18 page)

“Close your eyes.”

It took him a few seconds longer to comply this time, but once he did, she knew he wouldn’t open them.

“Just feel.”

Knowing he wouldn’t touch her as she rode him was thrilling. She had full access to his body and wanted to take advantage of it. As she lifted her hips forward, pulling her pussy to the top of his cock, Fallon dipped her head forward and licked one of his flat nipples. She smiled when he sucked in a breath before she impaled her body back down on his shaft. Repeating the action only served to heighten her already peaked desire, making her body tense as her orgasm started to build.

“Your cock is so big. You fill me up almost too much. But I love it.”

I love you.

She couldn’t say those words to him though. Not now—he wasn’t ready.

Instead, she ran her hands over his chest, tracing the cords of muscles that covered his stomach as she rocked her body on his shaft. His cock twitched inside her, his muscles clenched and released as she caressed him. All the while she kept the steady rhythm going between them. Then she had an idea—something she’d always wanted to try, but had never had the nerve to ask.

“Open your eyes.”

He complied and she could see the strain she was putting on his self control. He was a man of action and she was forcing him to do nothing. Well, not for much longer.

Fallon pulled her body up so his cock fell out of her pussy and landed against his stomach with a wet smack. Licking her lips, she put her knees to one side of his body before pressing a light kiss to his lips.

“I’m going to suck your cock. But I want you to lick me at the same time.”

Taber cocked an eyebrow. “How?”

“Like this.”

Fallon pulled back, turned around and swung her leg over his body. Her face was now perfectly in front of his cock, the scent of her cream on him strong in the air.

Behind her, she heard Taber moan, his hands going to her ass, spreading her cheeks wide. She didn’t wait for him to act, instead she leaned forward and sucked the head of his cock into her mouth.

With her legs spread wide, she felt more exposed than before. The cool air from the room caressed her thighs, made the muscles of her pussy tighten. But when Taber moved forward and his tongue licked a slow path from her clit to her asshole, she cried out.

121

“I would never have thought to do this,” he said, his lips pressed against her pussy.

“Suck me harder. Yes, like that.”

All remaining thoughts Fallon had evaporated from her mind. She sucked his shaft as far into her mouth as she could, the taste of her arousal mixed with his, sweet as it slid down her throat. She’d only pause to gasp at something he’d done to her.

She forgot to lick his cock for a moment when he sucked her clit fully into his mouth and pushed one finger into her pussy and yet another into her ass. Her body began to shake with every flick of his tongue. To distract herself from coming, she squeezed her eyes shut and leaned forward to suck his balls into her mouth. Taber moaned against her cunt and she sucked even harder.

“I’m going to come,” he said with a ragged voice.

“Not until I say.”

Now she understood the rush of power he experienced when he’d dominated her in the bedroom. Because she knew without a doubt that he’d listen to her. He’d fight his own body to do what she asked of him.

Not that she had any intention of making him wait long. Licking her way back up to his tip, she sucked him hard, circling his swollen head around in her mouth. She pumped his shaft with one hand while she reached down and massaged his balls with the other.

Taber returned his mouth to her clit, sucking her as hard as she was sucking him.

He began to pump his hand hard and fast into her, each finger stretching her opening wider with every thrust. The world around her went dark and her world shrank to nothing more than the contact between their bodies. Then she felt it—the rush of her orgasm starting, threatening to explode from her.

“Come for me, Taber. Come with me.”

His balls tightened in her hand and she knew he was letting go. Fallon sucked him harder than ever as he sucked her clit and thrust his fingers deep inside her. She wanted to scream as she came but couldn’t. Her mouth was filled with his cum as wave after wave shot into her. Their muffled cries mingled together until they both collapsed.

Fallon didn’t remember Taber moving her body so her head was beside his. In fact, she barely remembered him wrapping his body around hers as they spooned on the bed. The last thing she heard as she drifted off to sleep was Taber whispering in her ear.

“
Mi tramsi, shalla.
”

* * * * *

Taber drifted in and out of sleep for quite a while. Fallon was exhausted from their lovemaking and snored softly in his arms. Once he came back to his senses, he twirled a lock of her hair around his finger, enjoying yet again the softness of the strands.

The weight of the chain and stone around his neck still felt odd. Briel men didn’t wear such adornments and only the females on the elder council ever wore these types 122

of items. But looking down at the stone, he knew he would never take it off again—

customs be damned. Fallon had this for years. It was a part of who she was and she had given it to him.

Mi tramsi, shalla
. The words had come from him as if on reflex. He’d never spoken them to another living being before. His mother had died when he was a boy, not old enough to even form the words to say. And he would never have said them to his father—it would have been considered a sign of weakness. No, not even Calantha had earned that sentiment.

The communicator on his belt began to chirp. If it wasn’t for the fact no one on the station would ever use that channel unless it was an emergency, he would have ignored it. Instead, he was forced to untangle Fallon’s arms and legs from his and make his way to the communicator.

“Yes,” he said, keeping his voice low enough to prevent waking Fallon.

Sean’s face filled the tiny screen and Taber could see there was a problem. “Are you with Fallon?”

Taber looked behind him to make sure she was still sleeping. A crushing panic began to rise in his chest. “Yes. What’s wrong?”

“Captain Zane, Officer Jenny Green and Deputy Officer Tony Scott left for Eurus over an hour ago.”

Taber wasn’t surprised that the captain would come to the station. But the fact he’d brought the other two was. “Have they been cleared? Any other deaths?”

“Yes and no. The problem is Commander Bruce is missing. I think he may be onboard the shuttle, coming for Fallon.”

123

Taber paced outside the shuttle bay doors, waiting for them to open. He had a security force waiting down the hall, ready to come at a moment’s notice in case Bruce was indeed on board. Kamran was standing to the side, his eyes fixed forward, while Davin stood leaning against the wall a few feet behind.

“Computer, time to arrival?”

“Five standard minutes.”

“Asking it again won’t make it get here any faster,” Davin drawled.

Taber turned his icy glare on the Raqulian. “Why are you here?”

“Because I asked him,” Kamran said simply. “Why are you so on edge?”

Turning around, he faced forward and linked his hands behind his back. “I’m not on edge, Administrator. And if I was, it would be due to the fact we potentially have a serial killer about to arrive at our home. He will be going after a woman who is in my protection and could put you and your family at risk. I’m merely concerned we get this contained as quickly as possible.”

Davin gave his head a shake. “I swear that’s the most you’ve ever said at one time.”

Taber turned, ignoring the quip. The thing that upset him the most was the fact he
was
on edge—and it was killing him. Bruce was coming after Fallon, could even have killed the captain and the two security guards already. There was no way he would let that
brakav
anywhere near her. He’d die before he’d let her get hurt.

Kamran turned his head and Taber could feel his friend staring at him. He did his best to ignore the silent concern, struggling to gain control over his emotions.

Calm. I need to be calm.

The groan of the external metal doors vibrated through the floor, causing Taber to stiffen. Every one of his soldier’s senses went on alert, his muscles tightening and relaxing. Davin moved beside him, resting his hand on Taber’s shoulder.

Before he could say anything, Taber felt Davin reach out with his ability, attempting to calm Taber’s mind. The turmoil and blackness lifted for a moment, sucked away to some other place, allowing him to relax. When his vision cleared, Taber was looking into Davin’s golden gaze, a look of concern on his face.

“Not your fault,” Davin whispered before stepping back.

Taber’s heart was pounding, but he didn’t move to say anything else. Davin knew—maybe not everything, but he knew.

Kamran stared between the two men, frowning, but instead only nodded. “The ship is here.”

124

With no time to ponder what had happened, Taber reached down and activated his communicator. “Security force, stand ready.”

“Yes, Commander.”

Kamran pressed the door release button and walked ahead of them. Taber watched as his friend quickly slipped into his administrator role, not for the first time earning his admiration. How he was able to do that, use his easy way to win others over and get what he wanted had always been an amazing thing to watch.

Taber took up a left flank position behind Kamran, with Davin on the right. In a situation like this, he knew the Raqulian was more than capable of being able to keep Kamran safe. He’d watched him battle an Ecada single handed over a year ago. But knowing that Davin now knew something of his inner turmoil made him uneasy. What if Davin didn’t trust him any longer? Didn’t think him capable of completing his duties?

“Here we go,” Kamran muttered before smiling and extending his hand as he walked forward. “Welcome to Eurus, Captain Zane.”

The captain was the first to disembark from the small shuttle and Taber was relieved to see the older man was unharmed. It appeared that Bruce’s intent was to sneak onto the colony and avoid detection as long as possible while he got to Fallon.

Taber wasn’t willing to give him that chance.

“Thank you, Administrator. I have to say being stuck on a shuttle isn’t my idea of a vacation. May I present to you Officers Green and Scott? They both insisted on being my protection while I’m here, even though I ensured them it wasn’t necessary.”

“We are thankful to have them, nonetheless. I believe you already know Commander Taber. This is Davin Jagt, my head of trade relations for the colony.”

Davin held out his hand for the captain to shake, which struck Taber as odd. Then he watched as Davin held the older man’s hand a fraction longer than he should have, before nodding once and shooting off his lopsided grin. Kamran had asked Davin to make sure the captain wasn’t the one with the mental instability. He wouldn’t be easily able to detect it, but he’d sense any major mental faults, especially if Taber was the target of the killer’s rage.

“A pleasure,” Davin drawled.

“Thank you for having us here on your station. It will be a pleasant change to have my feet on solid ground,” Captain Zane said, letting go of Davin’s hand.

Kamran led the captain toward the main area of the station, then he stopped and turned around. “I hope you don’t think this ill mannered of me, but we do need to inspect your ship.”

Zane frowned, crossing his arms across his chest. “Why?”

“It’s nothing personal. We are extra cautious since we had an Ecada operative get on board the station six months ago. Now everyone, including overtly friendly ships, are searched.”

125

Taber knew Zane couldn’t say no when Kamran worded his request that way. And so did everyone else.

“Of course. Jenny, stay and help the commander with his inspection.”

Jenny nodded, letting her gaze slip over his body. “Of course, Captain.”

Taber wouldn’t have noticed Jenny’s reaction to him even six months ago, refusing to acknowledge the fact that any woman would seriously want him. But seeing how she was looking at him now, he knew she would gladly step over Fallon’s lifeless body to have even a chance at being with him. He’d have to be extra cautious around her.

Instead of closing up, he did his best to be like Kamran. He nodded and gave her a slight smile. “Thank you for your assistance.”

“Any time.” She winked at him, resting her hands along the small of her back.

“If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to check in with Fallon. Make sure she hasn’t been too much trouble for you,” Zane said to Kamran as Davin walked to join them.

Taber’s gaze flew to the captain and his body tensed. He had no reason to protest the visit, by the goddess he should be thankful that her friends were still flocking to her side in a time like this. But he didn’t want any man to be with her unattended.

Fallon was his.

“Of course. I will have security let her know that you are here and wish to see her,”

Kamran said and smiled, his gaze steady on the captain.

“I can do that,” Davin spoke up. “I have a meeting in that section of the station shortly and can escort her to you.”

“We’ll set up a meeting in the observation room. Once I give the captain and Officer Scott a quick tour.”

Kamran and Captain Zane took their leave with Tony trailing behind. Davin was about to leave when Taber stopped him. Standing in front of the Raqulian, staring him in the eye, Taber didn’t know quite what to say.

“I’ll make sure she’s okay,” Davin said softly.

Taber opened his mouth to say something, but the words wouldn’t come. All he could do was nod and make his way back over to the ship. Fallon would be perfectly safe with Davin—and for once Taber knew what it was about the man Sara liked so much.

Jenny was leaning against the outer hull of the shuttle, her short black hair tucked behind her ears.

“So, you getting ready to send Fallon back to us or has she taken over your bar here yet? I assume you have a bar.”

“We do. Several, in fact.”

“God, we’ll never get her off this station.”

“And no, she is not being an inconvenience to us.”

126

Jenny frowned for a moment before turning her head to the side, exposing the side of her neck to him. His eyes were drawn to the skin, but there was no temptation for him there. She simply wasn’t Fallon.

And the longer he was away from her, the more he wanted to see her.

“Shall we inspect the ship?”

He motioned for Jenny to go inside as he pulled his communicator from his belt.

“Security team, we’re ready.”

Jenny’s gaze snapped to his. “You mean we won’t be doing this alone?”

Ah, now he understood. If she thought there was an opportunity to press her advances, Jenny was more than willing to take it. “It would be against protocol for me to allow that.”

She pouted before taking a step forward and running her fingertip down the middle of his chest.

“But I was looking forward to finally having some time with you. I figured you wouldn’t be so busy protecting everyone’s favorite bartender.”

“Until we find who’s responsible, Fallon will still be under my protection. A duty I take very seriously.”

Jenny didn’t back down, instead taking another step forward to press her body hard against his. He could feel her hard nipples even through all their clothing. She gently rocked her hips against his groin, closing her eyes momentarily before stepping back with a sigh.

He didn’t have time to respond to her blatant proposition, as the security team arrived.

“Where do you want us to start, Commander?”

“Inside the ship, front to back.”

“Aye, sir.”

He couldn’t stay in here with Jenny any longer and walked outside to the hangar bay. She didn’t follow him at first, choosing to stay by the shuttle door, shifting her gaze from him to the security crew.

Taber pushed away the feelings of guilt that were growing inside. He hadn’t done anything to betray Fallon. Even his body hadn’t reacted to Jenny, which may not have been the case years ago. No, in a short period of time, Fallon had wormed her way into his heart and he wasn’t going to let her go anywhere.

It felt like he had been standing there for hours when his security team finally emerged from the shuttle, a concerned look on the ensign’s face.

“Sir, we tore that ship apart. There’s no one on board,” the ensign said quietly.

So either Bruce had slipped off while Kamran was speaking with Zane, or else he had another ship and was on his way to the planet.

127

“Increase station security but be subtle about it. I don’t want our guests to think it has anything to do with them.”

He stepped aside and spoke loud enough that Jenny would be able to hear from the shuttle. “Ensign, could you escort Officer Green to her captain? She will want to join him on the tour.”

With a sigh, she stepped down to the shuttle bay floor and walked past the group of men, eyeing Taber as she went. “Come on, boys. I’d hate to miss the good part. Maybe you can show me where I can have a good time.”

Taber was about to follow them when his communicator sounded—a call on a secure, private channel. Flicking it open, he walked to a corner, far away from the shuttle.

“Yes?”

“It’s Sean. Has the shuttle arrived?” The note of urgency in his voice was loud and clear.

“Over an hour ago. What’s wrong?”

“We found Bruce.”

Relief washed through him, knowing Fallon was finally safe. “How did you catch him?”

Sean sighed and rubbed his hand down the front of his face. “We didn’t. We found his body shoved into one of the engineering conduits on a seldom used part of the station. Fuck, Taber, someone had torn him to pieces.”

“By the goddess—”

“The murderer knew we’d waste time looking for Bruce and not concentrate on other suspects if he was missing. I think he’s one of the three on the shuttle.”

No, no, no!
His heart raced at the thought of what this psychopath would do to Fallon now that he was here with her. And with Davin having cleared Zane, that only left Jenny and Tony.

“I have to go,” Taber said out loud. The sudden numb feeling in his chest was starting to spread to his stomach and legs. He couldn’t let anything happen to her.

“I’m on my way back now. I should be there in an hour.” Sean said, and with a nod, broke off communication.

Despite the urgency, it took him a minute to get control of himself enough that he was able to move. He didn’t know what he’d do, how he’d react if anything happened to her. His mental distraction was the only reason he was startled when he spun around to come face to face with the murderer.

“Oh I don’t think you’re going anywhere, Commander.”

A heavy mist blew into his face, causing Taber to gasp. His body betrayed him, going weak, and Taber fell to a heap, unconscious on the floor.

128

* * * * *

Fallon found herself walking down a long corridor that led to the crew quarters. It had been hours since she’d seen Taber, since he’d left to greet Captain Zane and whomever he’d brought with him. Stopping in front of one of the wide windows, she found herself looking outside at the dry, red surface of the planet. It was a desolate place to live—a poisonous planet where humanity had somehow managed to eek out a life. Beautiful and dangerous at the same time.

“I like to look out this window too.”

Fallon turned to find Haylie standing behind her. She had her baby cradled over her shoulder, the little one busily sucking her thumb. “I somehow doubt Taber would be happy to know you were out here wandering around.”

“I can’t believe they were able to actually build a colony here. You’d think it would never work.”

“The first colonists were a tough bunch. I thought I’d miss Luna before I took up position here, but I can’t imagine living anywhere else now.”

Turning, Fallon scanned the surface again. Could she give up moving back to Earth, the dreams she’d been so focused on for years, to stay here with Taber? A part of her didn’t want to, but it was almost tiny compared to the mountain of feelings that were building up.

“I can imagine why you’d feel that way,” she said softly. “You’ve gained a family here.”