Warrior's Wife (7 page)

Her courage ran out. She dropped her gaze to her twisting fingers and forced herself to still her hands.

He caught her chin and lifted it until she met his eyes. “I’m relieved you’re attracted to Marcus and Horace.”

“You are?”

“Absolutely.” His attention moved back to the road, but his mouth quirked with genuine pleasure.

“I’d be purple with rage if you wanted to kiss other women,” she admitted with way too much candor.

A deep chuckle rumbled from him. “You please me in more ways than I can tell you, cupcake.”

“But you’re not jealous of me?” Okay, that sounded middle-school insecure, but she didn’t understand him.

“If anyone other than the triad tried to touch you, I’d rip their arms off and beat them to death with the bloody limbs.”

That was definitely nice and possessive.

“The triad is a single unit. The three of us belong with you. You’re why we’re here. We want to please you more than anything, except for keeping you safe. If you didn’t want all three of us then we’d have a problem.”

She sat and stared straight ahead, blinking stupidly.
Three mechs and me? In my fantasies, sure. In real life, I’m not at all sure.

“Trust me. We are all about making you happy. However you want us, whenever you want us. The only way we fail is if you reject us.”

I’m not crazy. Three gorgeous men want me and braved the dangers of time travel to save me from the metal monsters. I don’t know how this is going to work. But I’m not failing these warriors, not in my lifetime.
“Maybe if I’m with one of you at time.” She flushed at the images in her head then sensed him bracing for bad news and squeezed his iron-hard thigh. “Rejection isn’t happening, sugar.”

Chapter Four

The closer dawn got the more often Marcus checked his mirrors for some kind of signal from Gideon to leave the highway. Riding solo wasn’t near the thrill of having Tori’s arms wrapped around him and her softness cradling his ass. Besides, day-tripping in this hostile world was for idiots with a death wish.

They needed to get off the fucking freeway and secure Tori and the vehicles somewhere safe for the day. In the last hour they’d passed a half-dozen farms that would’ve done the job. Natch, none of them met Gideon’s standards. His leader hadn’t bothered to open the mental link during the past five hours and he was the only one who could. The radical change from their standard operating procedure didn’t put Marcus in a happy place.

Marcus had worried up a sweat by the time Gideon’s turn signal blinked in his right side mirror. What the fuck was the mech thinking? Marcus clamped his jaw and executed a three-sixty to follow the pickup and tanker down a gravel road. He ate dust for a few meters then zipped around the truck parade. A mile farther in, the lane looped into a driveway.

Seconds ticked past while his head warped into a holo-suite historical tour. The two-story federal-style house was wood and stone. The structure’s classic lines were framed by sculpted shrubs circling a dry fountain. Aside from the bronze sprite’s lack of actual pouring, the whole place was way too perfect. It might’ve been created by a computer imagery program for background.

He rolled the bike to a stop behind some of the too neatly sheared bushes and climbed off. When the pickup stopped he was right there to lift Tori into his arms. “Hi, beautiful, did you miss me?”

“Maybe a little.” Her hazel eyes sparkled with teasing glints. Her arm slid around his neck and her tone was sultry. “If you keep this up I’m going to lose the use of my legs.”

“Your lip is better.”

She touched her mouth lightly. “You’re right. Some of your mech strength must’ve rubbed off on me, Galahad.”

He grinned at her, happy just to hold her.

“Are we going in?” Tori twisted her neck to check out the facilities. “This place looks amazing.”

Gideon strode toward them on his way back from the barn. Marcus called out to him, “You want do a quick walk-through first?”

“Nah, place looks solid.”

Where the fuck was their mental link when a mech needed it? The well-kept farmhouse might be full of rotting corpses. Marcus shot his leader a hard look. “Won’t hurt to inspect the building.”

“Don’t need to.”

“Yeah, that’s so not working for me. How about a private convo?”

“Mind link’s not working.”

“When did that happen and why the hell didn’t you say something?”

“Shortly after this last insertion and I haven’t had a chance. I’ll check the house if it makes you happy.” Gideon moved past, took the front steps in a single stride and disappeared through the front door.

“Mechs communicate telepathically?” Tori asked.

Marcus dug out a reassuring smile. “Apparently not now.”

“Do you miss the mind-to-mind connection?”

“Sometimes.” Like right now. He took in her concerned expression, realizing his all’s-well kisser needed work.

“But not always.” She paused, waiting for him to fill in the blanks.

“Not when I’m thinking about you, beautiful.” He tucked her head under his chin, inhaling her special scent.

Ten seconds might’ve elapsed before Gideon stuck his head out an upstairs window. “All clear.”

Horace raced up the steps. “The break in the mind link might be a temporary side effect. I’m working on rigging a replacement.”

“Thanks, bud.” So Gideon had found time to share with Horace.

His favorite geek turned to Tori. “How are you?”

“Amazing, actually.” She beamed at Horace. “Even my bad leg is better. Your injection worked wonders.”

“Glad to hear it.” The mech ducked his brilliant head and scooted past.

Damn, all three of them had it bad for her. Not a big surprise. Hell, he’d been half in love before he’d met her. How would she feel about marrying the triad? Marcus didn’t plan to ask her until he’d put every single seduction lesson to good use.

“Shall we?” He dipped his chin toward the entrance.

“Onward, my champion.”

Not a mote of dust marred the gracious living room. The whole place gleamed from the cherry-wood banister lining the curved staircase to the pristine white doorframe they’d just stepped through. The lack of corpses helped, but didn’t completely ease his mind. He sniffed the air, taking in nothing scarier than lemon-scented furniture polish and Tori’s delicious natural fragrance.

She squirmed in his arms. “Set me down, please.”

Reluctantly, he obeyed.

“Wow, it’s like the housekeeper of the year took a quick break after cleaning the place for a photo spread.”

“Right, but it bothers me there’s nothing personal. Most folks from this era leave some mark on a place.”

“Maybe they were putting it on the market.”

“Maybe.”
But I’m not buying it. The house is too clean, too nice and way too convenient. Something is off. Trap comes to mind.
He moved closer to Tori, staying alert for any threat.

“The place is tidy and vacant. No problem.” Gideon switched his attention to Tori and instantly got friendlier. “Everything okay, cupcake?”

Cupcake?
Marcus’ brows rose. “It’s gotta be killing you not to be first.”

“Tori wanted to save the best for last. Relax, enjoy yourselves.” Gideon didn’t slow down on his way out, closing the solid front door behind him.

First impressions count too, bud.
Marcus zoomed in on Tori.

She must’ve sensed him staring. The lace curtain fell from her fingers and swayed gently in the still air. Her cheeks darkened with spots of color and she dropped her thick lashes, veiling her beautiful eyes.

His focus followed the direction of her gaze, skimming down a determined chin to her slender neck. He lingered on the delicate, feminine lines of her collarbone then homed in on her chest. Her proud breasts rose and fell to an encouragingly urgent beat.

He moved nearer with slow, careful deliberation, giving her plenty of time to escape.

Aside from a flutter of her lashes, she held perfectly still.

He cupped the side of her face, holding her in place while he brushed the soft skin of her lower lip with his thumb. The swelling, bruising and split had vanished. Her mouth parted and warm breath feathered over his skin.

Still keeping her right where he wanted her, he tugged off the elastic binding from the end of her braid and unraveled the heavy plait. After loosening her hair, he released her face and spread the waves over her shoulders. “I’ve wanted to do that since I first saw you.”

“Anything else you want to do, Galahad?” The words were low and husky, a siren’s invitation.

“Everything.”

She swayed nearer. “Me too.”

Her soft, soft lips touched his. Their breaths mingled. Her breasts pressed his chest and the hard tips sent jolts of white lightning right through the layers of cloth between them, jerking his hips against hers.

“Tell me what you want.” He barely recognized the gravelly demand that came from his raspy throat.

“I want all three of you.”

For a second, he gaped at her. Then an image of sharing her with Gideon and Horace lit him up from the inside. His cock grew impossibly stiffer. “You want me to get them?”

“Not now, I want to start with you.”

She nipped his lip and licked her way into his mouth.

Hell yeah, kissing. He was so on board with that plan. His tongue slid along hers, penetrating her sweet recesses and claiming the erogenous zone as his personal property. Their bodies strained together until her heartbeat synchronized with his. Her slight belly cushioned his hard shaft.

Tori broke the kiss long enough to loosen the laces on her boots then toed them and the socks off, kicking them behind her. Once barefoot, she scrambled back aboard, standing on top of his shoes and fusing her lips with his.

The kiss resumed seamlessly as if their joined mouths were the most natural action in the world. With ballsy finesse, he cupped her round bottom, lifting her so his erection notched into the vee of her sex. He used his other hand to palm one plump breast. Superheroes had nothing on him. He was ready to leap over raging cyborgs and conquer armies for this woman.

She murmured against his lips, “Is your arousal enhanced too?”

“Uh, no.” He felt blood warming his cheeks. “My penis is proportionate to my overall size. Aren’t natural humans the same?”

“You are a big guy, but this is huge.” She skimmed his erection with a fingernail.

She’d avoided the question, but he was too close to coming to worry about human anatomy issues. He captured her wrists and held them over her head. After tugging his t-shirt off her, he promised, “I won’t hurt you.”

“I’m safe with you—with all three of you.” She raked her fingers through his hair, not meeting his eyes. “But let’s take it slow, ’kay?”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” Ah fuck, had those cyborg bastards hurt her? “This is all about what you want. I’m satisfied just to hold you.”

Those thick lashes lifted and her gaze locked with his. “Not me, Galahad. I want more—I want all of you.”

“Fuck, yeah.” He’d imagined this a thousand times—every touch, every sensation. The real Tori left his fantasy back with the slow-mo droids.

She held him in place with one small palm on his heart. “Nice and slow.”

The reminder sent an impossible chill through his bot-regulated blood. His excited cock had no conscience. He ignored the eager erection, he’d cut the damn thing off before he’d hurt her. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

“Actually, I’m better than I’ve been in years.”

“The cyborgs didn’t…” A damn lump in his throat made it impossible to finish the question.

She captured his face. “God no, you interrupted them. That’s not why I want to go slow.” She dropped her lashes again. “It’s been a while for me.”

The knot of fear choking him dissolved and he grinned at her. “Any way you want me, I’m yours.”

“I like that. Lose the clothes and sit on the couch,” Tori practically purred. She skimmed off her clothes, revealing perfect breasts—perfect everything—and gorgeous, silky skin he couldn’t wait to touch.

Marcus joined her, stripping to his skin in record time and parked his ass on the sofa cushions, ridiculously thrilled to take direction. “Great plan, I don’t want to crush you.”

“You’re a big guy, but I’m not that fragile.”

“I’m a lot heavier than you think. Metal components strengthen but they add serious weight.”

“Good thing I like being on top then.” She placed one knee outside his right thigh, grasped his shoulders and swung her other leg over him to straddle his lap.

The perfume of her arousal hung in the air, intoxicating him. His cock bobbed against her hot, wet slit, instantly ready to spurt. He hissed in a breath and prayed for control or quick recovery.

Tori rubbed her swollen breasts against his hard chest. She tugged one of his hands to the smooth perfection of a mound.

“You are so fucking perfect. Tell me what you want.” He rolled the tender coral peak between his thumb and forefinger. “Do you want my mouth here?”

“Yeah, but on the other one please.”

When he released the nipple he’d been teasing she caught his hand, stopping his retreat. “Don’t stop.”

He returned to the tender button of flesh. She wound her arms around his neck, encouraging him toward the neglected, puckered tip. He fastened on to the taut tip and sucked hard. She tasted as delicious as she smelled.

She arched into his mouth and whimpered, “More.”

Oh yeah. He was right there with her. Pre-cum leaked from his cock head, adding another musky layer to the heady smell of sex.

Marcus was the stuff of any red-blooded woman’s dreams. His rapid breathing and throbbing cock told her he was into this every bit as much as she was, but he hadn’t initiated anything. His eager patience, always waiting for her instruction before making a move seemed off for such a confident guy. “Tell me about you.”

“What do you want to know?” His voice was a sexy rumble.

“I’m not sure.” She faltered, distracted by his nearness.

“You know you want me.”

“Sure of yourself much?” she squeaked, trying to look haughty and sultry at the same time. It would’ve been much more convincing without the nervous-mouse voice.

“About this? Hell yeah. You’re wet for me.” He delved into her slit, lightly grazing her clit and skirting the mouth of her sex. “We met twelve hours ago and you’re spread over my lap, begging to be fucked by a stranger.”

Her hips jerked, wanting more than his teasing caress.
Actually he was practically a stranger. How many times have I masturbated to that particular fantasy? But there is no way he would know any of that. So why is he saying these things? And why does hearing it make me hotter for him?
“I know you. I know your name.”