GalacticInferno (3 page)

Her eyes narrowed. Anger built. Her memories might be vague
but she knew without doubt she was a one-man woman. “Let’s say for one moment I
chose to stay with you, what would happen to me?”

His eyes glittered like diamonds. “You would have me—along
with four other alien males of worth.”

Her belly dipped then twisted into knots before realization
set in. He didn’t intend to give her up. He never had. The bastard! Serious
anger kicked in. “No.” She glared up at him, unable to hold back the venom
inside. “No friggin’ way. It’s one man for me or no man at all.”

His eyes fairly glowed as he murmured, “To be so lucky.”

And then blessed relief as her whole body relaxed, her mind
emptied of all anguish. Mind control, again, she realized vaguely,
unable—unwilling—to fight against it this time.

He held out a hand and she took it without hesitation.
I
should despise this man…alien
. But even as the thought formed, it melted
away and she allowed him to pull her to her feet as though an obedient child—an
extremely cold, obedient child.

He could take away mental discomfort, but clearly not
anything physical.

His stare swept over her, assessing. “Take off your clothes.”

She glowered even as her traitorous body stirred into life
at the inconceivable thrill. “I’ll never willingly fuck you or any other
alien.”

He stared back. His mouth twitched. And even in the
semi-dark she could see the mirth building behind his eyes. A laugh burst from
his mouth, the sound warming her from the inside out. “When we have sex, my
sweet, it’ll be consensual or not at all.”

When?

She released the breath she didn’t even know she’d been
holding. “I’ll be leaving as soon as the storm passes. There’ll be nothing more
between us than small talk. That’s a promise.”

His laughter died a quick death as somberness filled out the
creases at either side of his mouth. “Don’t make promises you don’t intend to
keep.”

She stared at him, disbelieving. Of all the conceited,
arrogant men she’d ever met…

He raked a hand through his short hair on a sigh. “Perhaps
you’re right to want to leave. When the virus wiped out all the women on our
planet, it caused many of the Carèche men to go crazy with lust.”

Ally forgot about the wretched cold, forgot about everything
to do with sex. “Your planet has no women now?”

He nodded, expressionless. But somehow she knew he was
holding back a whole lot of hurt and loss. “That is correct. Just the same as
your planet no longer has men.”

Oh, god. Even now it seemed so inconceivable. Like a
nightmare she couldn’t awaken from.

The hard planes of his face softened. “There is plenty of
time for questions later. For now, let’s get you dry and warm.”

And here she’d imagined he wanted her. She lifted robotic
arms, stupidly offended, despite herself. Clearly some insecurities bit deep.
She’d never been any raving beauty and now with her hacked-off hair and grubby
appearance she really must be one of the last women on the planet for Renate or
any man to be halfway interested in her.

She stood mutely, her eyes open but not really seeing as he
peeled the sodden tee over her head.

His breath whooshed at her unrestrained breasts with their
immediately hardening nipples. “Beautiful,” he murmured.

Her stare widened. She searched his expression and saw a
whole world of desire. And she was glad. Wonderfully, ridiculously glad. Just
once she wanted to forget all the recently returned memories, the doubts and
pitiful insecurities scrambling inside her head as though a freight train
without direction.

He stooped low, his blunt-ended fingers unbuckling her
boots. Her footwear looked more like something a man would wear to a building
site than anything close to the feminine and sexy heels she used to wear.

That’ll nip his lustful thoughts right to kingdom come.

His warm fingers encircled her ankle. She lifted her foot
and clasped his downturned head for balance. Without missing a beat, he tugged
first one boot and sock off, then the other before looking up, his stare hot.
And in that moment in time, all hate for the alien male dissolved. Hate
couldn’t take part in something that made her feel so…sexy. Beautiful. Wanton.

She gritted her teeth. Yet more mind control?

She dropped her hold on his head and closed her eyes for a
moment to the madness consuming her. Had she been alone for so long now she’d
been made susceptible to the aching, carnal need inside?

He straightened, his deft fingers unbuttoning her denim
shorts. She drew in a long breath, wanting only to lean into his muscled heat,
absorb it. But the heat wave from his burning stare as he pulled down her
shorts, then hooked his thumbs into her panties, was all the warmth she needed.

Insecurities be damned!

He might well have resisted the pleasures of the flesh with
the men of his species, but she realized now, he most certainly wasn’t immune
to her…to an earth woman.

He took his time divesting her of her panties and she
stepped out of the fabric bunched at her feet on trembling legs. Ice-cold wind
belched through the hole that’d once been a window and she shivered almost
uncontrollably as he retrieved the flashlight and shone it over a wooden pallet
covered with ripped cardboard, a sleeping bag on top. “This was all I could
find,” he apologized. “But it will keep us off the floor.”

“Us? We’re sharing the sleeping bag?”

“Body heat,” he explained. As her eyes dropped to the
unmistakable bulge of his crotch, he said hoarsely, “My body can’t lie, but
I’ve said you’ll be safe with me. And you will be. Unless you choose
otherwise.”

She jerked out a nod. Whether she trusted him or not—and
somehow, foolishly, she did—she’d die of frostbite if she didn’t hurry the hell
up. Seconds later she climbed into the fleecy warmth of the sleeping bag.
Behind her, Renate slung her clothes over some shelving to dry, and then bent
to roll his pants past his thighs and calves. Stepping free, he exposed his
huge, aroused cock that looked about ready to burst at the seams.

Oh, dear lord.

It seemed these males were human in every way except for
their humongous size.

Face heating, she rolled to her side, averting her gaze. But
seconds later he slid into the sleeping bag beside her, his all-too-naked,
powerful body taking up the remaining space and more.

He turned toward her, pulling her naked back and butt
against him. “I’ll keep you warm, kitten,” he said hoarsely. “Now sleep. It’s
going to be a long night.”

Sleep? Not in a million years. Not with you wrapped
around me and the press of your hard, hot cock against my skin.

It was the last thought she had before the delicious cocoon
of warmth pulled her weary body into a deep, dreamless sleep…

She drifted awake ever so slowly, savoring the almost
forgotten intimacy, the utter peacefulness of being in the arms of her husband.
It’d been way too long since she’d woken beside him, his arms wrapped around
her as if he’d never let her go.

She rolled over, snuggling into his body, her eyes still
closed as she pressed her face into his masculine heat. “Mm. Luke, you smell
good,” she mumbled.

“Luke?”

She jerked awake at the foreign male voice, eyes springing
apart as the truth slammed into her like a lead ball. He wasn’t Luke. This was
not her bed—it wasn’t even a bed. And this was no early morning to be filled
making love with her husband.

Oh, hell no!

Here. Now. This was her reality.

Renate’s eyes drilled into hers, anger and fierce need all
rolled into one. Then he flipped her on to her back, his body moving to cover
hers. A half growl rumbled from his chest, the back of his open mouth revealing
razor sharp canines that weren’t even remotely human. “You think of this Luke
when you lie with me?”

She swallowed, throat dry. “Luke was my husband. I…loved
him.”

Didn’t I?

Surely this alien understood love? Perceived her loss?

Apparently not.

Renate’s face was a mask of raw possessiveness. He pinned
her hands above her head, her struggles all but useless as he growled, “Then
I’ll make you forget your love for him.”

“You can’t,” she breathed.

So why did her heart stutter with excitement? Why did the
blood rush to her face and heat her pussy? Why did she want to kiss his sexy,
kissable lips?

“I can. And I will. You’re my mate now.” A muscle flickered
in his jaw. “Mine.”

Her eyes burned, vision distorting with unshed tears. But it
was from passion as much as loathing and for that she despised herself as much
as him. In a voice that rasped with emotion she asked, “And yet you’re willing
to share me with four others?”

Something primal flashed in his stare. And she realized
then—he wouldn’t be sharing her with anyone. Not anytime soon.

He ground his cock against the lightly haired mound of her
pussy, causing her to gasp and squirm in both horror and unmistakable delight.
When his mouth took possession of hers, his lips hard and demanding, she fought
him at first, a mental fight as much as physical.

She bit into his lip, her teeth piercing his soft flesh.

He reared back. Shell shocked?

She angled her chin. “What happened to consensual or not at
all?”

“That hasn’t changed,” he growled. “I feel the passion you
struggle to contain.” He used one hand to restrain her arms, the other to swipe
at the blood smearing his lip. “But your resistance ebbs fast.”

She glowered, ignoring the sculpted lines of his golden
chest and his tight abs, ignoring the feel of his rearing cock with his heavy
testicles beneath. She shook her head. “Your mind control makes me weak.”

His free hand moved to cup one of her breasts, his thumb and
forefinger rolling the stiff nipple harder still. “Except I’m not using mind
control. I haven’t since I asked you to undress.”

Oh, shit.

Somehow she believed him. Especially when he moved
rhythmically over her body, a slow dance that replicated the act itself without
penetration. The head of his cock slid along her clit and up over her pussy,
then back down again, up and down, forward and back. He sucked her earlobe into
his mouth, his hot breath sending ripples of need through her every cell.

She closed her eyes, dredging up all the horrors she’d lived
through in an attempt to keep the insatiable hunger at bay. It didn’t work. Her
body absorbed his touch as parched ground did rain. And god help her, she
wanted this, wanted him. Wanted nothing more than to live in the moment and
enjoy the now.

And perhaps create a new, amazing memory to override all the
bad ones.

Her body began to move of its own accord, her repressed
emotions unraveling at his touch, his voice, at the friction of their bodies.
And then his hand released her arms and he was pressing kisses along her jaw
and collarbone, the tips of her breasts.

She writhed, gasping, her fingers suddenly in his short
hair, clutching at him even as he continued his journey ever downward, the
sleeping bag sliding along with him, exposing them to the cold.

His lips branded the skin along her taut belly, his tongue
swirling around her navel before dipping inside. Her breath shuddered. Her
pulse jerked. Had she ever known how hypersensitive that area was?

He looked up, his stare glowing and filled with passion,
with promise. The next instant his hands clasped her inner thighs and he spread
her wide. His head dipped. She jumped, teeth gritted at the exquisite touch of
his hot tongue on her hard, sensitive clit.

Luke hadn’t enjoyed giving oral sex. Their sex antics had
encompassed a more missionary flavor. Not unlike the boring and predictable
routines of their life.

She squeezed her eyes shut. Where had that dangerous
thought—that memory—come from? But then all contemplation dissolved as flames
of pleasure licked at her clitoris and spread through her body, Renate drawing
the hard nub of her clit between his lips and suckling hard, his tongue lashing
at the bundle of nerves.

“Ohhh…
fuck
.” Her hips jerked at the sudden climax,
the involuntary spasm pushing her cunt even closer to his mouth and undoubtedly
giving Renate an extra burst of pussy flavor.

His expression brimmed with satisfaction as he tasted her
again and again. When at last he drew back, he replaced his mouth with one of
his big hands that immediately began massaging and stimulating her pussy all
over again. “You’re so damn wet,” he growled. “So ready for my cock to slide
right in.”

She gasped for breath and his expression was all male
triumph as he drawled, “Just say the word.”

Her hips bucked as the pressure of his fingers intensified.
She reached out a tentative hand, touching the thick bulge of his cock. “You’re
too big,” she breathed “You couldn’t possibly fit.”

His free hand took hold of hers, pressing her questing touch
closer still to his arousal. “Say the word and I’ll show you just how perfectly
we do fit,” he said hoarsely.

She whimpered, wanting him with a desperation that was
almost painful. “I do want you,” she groaned. “But only you. No one else.”

His cock jumped beneath her hand and she stared up at his
savage, yet almost vulnerable expression, willing him to agree and somehow
knowing that his word—once given—wouldn’t be broken.

“That’s not possible,” he growled. “You ask too much.”

“Yet I ask for even more.”

At his silence she said in a rush, “No more mind
control—ever.” She was barely thinking straight but knew without doubt he was
at his most susceptible now, the perfect time to use what feminine wiles she
had. “I want to be joined with you—no one else—and with all my thoughts my
own.”

She slid a hand between his thighs, biting back a wanton
groan at the heat and hardness she found. “Renate. Please. Say yes.”