Grabbed by Vicious (5 page)

admitted grudgingly. “You weren’t wrong.”

“Come here, Hallie.” He was willing to ask her one

more time. “Let me make love to you.”

She stepped back from the bed. “No.”

“Hallie.” He made sure his tone conveyed his warning.

“You’re playing with fire.”

“And you’re being an unreasonable jerk!”

He jumped onto the bed and crossed the wide mattress

in one quick hop.

When he landed on the other side, she scrambled away

from him and straight into the nearest corner. She squeezed

her small body into the tiniest ball and put her hands up

over her face and neck as if to shield herself from blows.

His blood ran cold at the sight of her trembling with

fear. He’d never in his life hit a woman in violence.

Spanking, flogging, some light caning—these were all

things done to arouse and titillate, and always with

consent, but to hurt a woman in anger? No. Never.

To realize Hallie thought him capable of such brutality

slashed deeply. He sat down on the edge of the mattress

and gazed at her cowering figure. What had he done to

make her think so badly of him? He thought back to the

playroom and the tears on her face. She’d been afraid but

he’d assumed it was the virginal fear of consummating

their marriage that terrified her. Had he been wrong? Was

it something far worse that she feared?

Feeling off-kilter, he rested his elbows on his knees and

dropped his head into his hands. Failure wasn’t familiar to

him but he’d done just that with Hallie. He’d failed to

understand her needs. He’d failed to see things from her

point of view. She was a farm girl from a backward planet

where even the most basic medical treatments were

shunned. All of this was probably very unnerving to her.

He’d thought he was doing his best to ease her into his

way of loving but clearly he’d gone too fast, too soon.

A slight movement drew his attention. She sat in the

corner and hugged her knees. Her stare, both wary and

confused, bore into him. Their gazes met and held. Finally,

he held out his hand. She eyed his fingers with some

uncertainty.

When she shoved up off the floor and slowly

approached him, a flutter of hope invaded his belly.

Perhaps all wasn’t ruined.

Hallie placed her hand atop his palm. He curled his

fingers around hers and held tight. When he tugged gently,

she came to him. He slid an arm around her waist and

pulled her onto his lap. He swept aside the hair clinging to

her cheek and neck and pushed it behind her shoulder.

Though she’d mastered her fear and come to him, he

sensed that fright just under the surface. One wrong move

and she’d run from him again.

“I’m sorry.” Surprise crossed her face, and he smiled.

“Yes, I’m quite capable of admitting my mistakes and

owning up to them.” More serious, he added, “I thought

we were playing a bit, just now. I didn’t realize you

would think I wanted to hurt you if I jumped onto the bed.”

She considered him for a moment. “It was just instinct. I

didn’t think you would actually hit me but I wasn’t going

to take the chance.”

Instinct? Had someone dared to put their hands on her?

“What do you mean it was instinct?”

She shrugged. “It’s not the first time someone has flown

at me in a rage.”

Fury ignited in his chest. “Who hit you?” His gruff

voice startled her. He quickly stroked her hand and

apologized for the second time in as many minutes. “I’m

sorry.”

“It’s all right.” She placed her hand on his arm. Her

voice was soft as she explained, “My father isn’t the

nicest of men. He drinks heavily and, well, patience isn’t

his strong suit.”

It occurred to him that he knew so much about her body

already but nothing of her. “Tell me about your family.”

She frowned at him. “Why?”

Because I said so
, he thought, but instead answered,

“I’d like to know more about you.”

“Oh. Well, there’s not much to say. My father is a

blacksmith. My mother died when I was a little girl. I had

a stepmother, briefly, but she died the winter the cough

came to the village. My two youngest brothers, her

children with my father,” Hallie clarified, “followed her

to the graveyard. Father never remarried. My oldest sister,

Kerri, raised the five of us until she married. By then, we

were all old enough to see to ourselves.”

Their upbringings seemed so vastly different. She’d

grown up at home, surrounded by family. He’d been sent

to the most elite military academy at five to begin his

training. It occurred to him that she might have a brother-

in-law among his people since she had an older sister.

“Are you the only female in your family to enter the

Grab?”

She nodded. “Kerri married a dairy farmer before our

councilors signed the treaty with your kind. Bernie…lives

in the colonies.”

He noticed the slight hesitation but didn’t press. His

interrogation skills told him there was a story there but

this wasn’t the time to ask Hallie to divulge all her

secrets. She barely knew him. Trust was something they

needed to build.

“What about you?” She drew a loopy shape on his

forearm. “Do you have family?”

“I did. My parents died some years ago.”

She squeezed his hand in sympathy. “I’m sorry.”

He smiled at her kindness. “Thank you. My fellow

soldiers are my brothers.” He caressed her neck and

touched his lips to her cheek. “But you are my real family

now.”

She eyed him carefully. “Is that what you want with me?

A proper family?”

He placed his hand on her belly, his fingers spanning

the small space. The thought of her growing heavy with his

child warmed his heart. “Of course.”

“Are you sure? Because from what I’ve seen so far, you

want to be my master. A slave-and-master relationship

doesn’t exactly lend itself to the formation of a proper

family. Families require compromise and sacrifice,

Vicious.”

Hearing her voice her uncertainties helped him

understand. He cupped the back of her neck. “Hallie, I

want to be your master
here
, in our private quarters. I

don’t want you to be a true slave to me.”

“I don’t understand. I thought the men from the sky ships

viewed women as slaves and property.”

“Well,” he said carefully, “our laws are similar to

yours in that a woman becomes property of her husband,

but the notion that we all view women as slaves is

nonsense. Just as your men have different ideas about

marriage, some of them more extreme than others, so do

we.”

“My father is a domineering type. His word is law in

our home, but he never put a collar on his wives or put

them in restraints.”

He hesitated before saying, “It’s true that Harcos men

have very specific tastes when it comes to the bedroom.

Some of us require submission from our wives in all

aspects of daily life. Others, like me, find such

relationships tiring. As a colonel, I’m in charge of

battalions of men every hour of every day. I don’t need or

desire the added stress of micromanaging your life.” His

fingertips followed the curve of her jaw. “I only want your

complete submission when we’re together in this way.”

She chewed her lower lip. “And the rest of the time?”

“You’re a grown woman, Hallie. You’re more than

capable of making choices for yourself.” He paused and

considered their future. “There may be times where I ask

you to default to my will outside our quarters but they will

be few and far between and only to ensure your safety.”

She silently considered his explanation. With a smile,

she asked, “And what if I want
you
to submit to
my
will?”

He didn’t miss the teasing glint in her dark eyes. “You

would have to reward my submission.”

“Oh?”

He nuzzled her neck, inhaling her sweet scent now

mixed with the woodsy smell of his soap. “When you

submit to me, I reward you with pleasure. For me to lower

myself to you, I would require an inordinate amount of

pleasure in return.”

Her entire face brightened with amusement. “Is that a

dare?”

He laughed and kissed her gently before touching his

forehead to hers. “Somehow I think you would rise to the

occasion.” He traced her lower lip with his thumb. “I’m

going to make love to you now.”

She gripped his hand. “Please don’t tie me up.” She

dropped her gaze in embarrassment. “I want to be able to

touch you.”

Her simple request moved him. He lifted her chin and

waited until she met his gaze. “I
want
you to touch me,

Hallie. I meant what I said earlier. My body is yours to

enjoy.”

He grasped her smaller hand and put it against his chest.

Her fingertips grazed his skin and left a searing trail. His

eyelids lowered as she explored him. He battled the urges

warring within him, the desire to throw her onto her back

and thrust inside her tight, wet pussy so intense it nearly

overwhelmed him. His dick pulsed in time with his

heartbeat. He forced down the primal need and tried to

concentrate on her gentle touch.

She followed the outline of one of his tattoos, the one

marking his first victorious battle as a commander of men.

It had been the battle that made his career. Like most men,

he’d marked only the right side of his body with mementos

of war, leaving the left bare for his family. Soon, he’d

have their family crest applied to his skin. Hallie would

be given a special space near his heart. Their children

would branch out from there, each one a new branch in

their family tree.

When she placed her hand along his jaw, Vicious held

his breath. She looked uncertain and nervous as she leaned

forward. He didn’t dare move for fear of startling her. She

pressed her lips to his and held them there. He kept his

hands still on her waist and waited for her to gain the

confidence she needed.

At the first movement of her mouth, he groaned. There

was no stopping the needy sound that escaped his throat.

She didn’t seem to mind. If anything, his admission of

desire encouraged her. One of her arms slid around his

shoulders. Her other hand stayed on his jaw, her fingertips

stroking his cheek as her tongue flicked at his.

Had any woman ever kissed him like this? Before now,

his trysts had always been confined to the occasional hour

or two at a sky port brothel or one of the public parties

arranged by the corps. In either case, the women were

professionals paid handsomely to entertain. They were

extremely satisfying encounters, especially when he was

able to engage a professional submissive for an evening. It

hadn’t ever occurred to him that those experiences were

lacking something.

Of course, he hadn’t had a woman like Hallie perched

on his lap, either. There was something beguiling about

her hesitant, awkward kisses and touches. Some primitive

part of him rejoiced at the knowledge that he would be the

first and only man to know her body. It was his hands and

his mouth that had evoked that first passionate climax. It

would be his seed that first marked her, his seed that took

hold in her untouched womb.

Burning with desire, he slipped his hand into her hair

and tangled his fingers in the dark waves. He claimed her

mouth in a more insistent kiss. She whimpered against his

lips and clutched at him. Her fingernails bit into his

shoulders. He slid his arm around her waist and turned her

on his lap until she straddled him. He cupped her backside

and shifted their bodies.

Vicious guided Hallie down to the bed and crawled

over her. Their mouths continued their sensual dance as he

moved between her thighs. His cock jutted into her soft

belly, the weeping tip smearing pre-cum all over her skin.

He couldn’t remember ever being this excited. Even his

first time hadn’t turned his blood so hot. He wanted Hallie

so badly. She’d ensnared him and now only her supple

flesh would sate him.