Hunting Kat (8 page)

“You’re too much in a whole lot of ways.”

She was wary, and he deserved it. He reached out and tapped the pendant resting below the hollow of her neck. “You make interesting connections.”

“Contrary to popular belief, it’s not premeditated.” She lifted her face, her eyes narrowed and jaw set.

Something tightened in his chest. “I know, sweetness, I’m getting that. It just hasn’t been my experience with other women.”

“I’m not any of them.”

True. Kaitlyn was singular. Not like any woman he had ever met, and he’d known it from the minute she’d plowed her way through a bar brawl to get to a glass of scotch. But he’d let the past turn the taste of her bitter.

Struggling to figure out how to fix what was between them before she left, he glanced at her packing.

“Lace?”

As he craned his neck to get a better look, she darted in and set her teeth against his neck.

His cock was rock-hard in an instant and he dragged in a gasp for air. “Do that again.”

She licked the spot and then slowly bit him again, not hard, but enough to scorch his skin and send his pulse skyrocketing. Groaning, he buried one hand in her hair, loving the silken feel in his grip. Okay, maybe she wasn’t completely shy anymore.

But it was a good thing.

The heat of each kiss seeped through him as she placed them along the line of his neck. Tightening his fingers in her hair, he pulled her head back just enough, capturing her mouth in a hungry kiss. She was so sweet—honey and cinnamon—her tongue dancing with his and her lower lip perfect for sucking. Her hands gripped his sides, pulling at his uniform, demanding skin.

Releasing her, he let Kaitlyn sit back on the bed, her expression glazed, her kiss-bruised mouth slightly parted. Tearing at the fastenings, he was out of his uniform in a second. He took her hands and pressed them against his torso, every nerve and fiber of his being focused on her touch. And she ran her hands over him, caressing and petting, stroking his desire hotter and higher.

He cupped her face—looking deep into those dark blue eyes, seeing the vulnerable girl inside the predator—and hesitated. He didn’t want to hurt her.

She must have sensed his withdrawal. Her hands tightened on his sides. Her lids lowered, dark lashes falling in a veil and then rising again as she looked right through him.

“Come inside me, please?”

Kaitlyn wanted it, needed him. Suddenly, she couldn’t stand the thought of parting ways without one more memory to take with her.

A good memory.

She watched the war of emotions cross his face as he struggled to decide. For a moment, she thought he’d leave and her heart stopped. His hands, still on either side of her face, had frozen. When she tried to look down, his palms stopped her. His thumb stroked across her cheek, and she let loose the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

And then his mouth closed over hers, and she gasped against his lips. He pressed her back onto the bed, shoving her duffel out of the way with a powerful sweep of one arm. He drank her in, licked at her lips and then swept into her mouth. When her tongue met his, he encouraged her, deepening the kiss as he pressed his thigh between her legs. She writhed under his weight, frustrated, her uniform preventing her from feeling his skin all along her body.

“I need this off.” She was growling, she realized, and he laughed at her, a deep, masculine chuckle.

He levered himself off, stripping her of uniform and lingerie, turning his attention to her exposed form. Holding her at the hip with one hand, he ran the other down her side and then up over her belly, gripping one breast in a firm hold. When he closed his mouth over her nipple, Kaitlyn let her head fall back as she focused on the feel of the moist heat of his tongue teasing and licking. His other hand came up to massage her neglected breast, lightly pinching at her other nipple until she squeaked. His hands froze.

“Too hard?” His voice was husky, his eyes half-hooded.

Swallowing hard, Kaitlyn nodded a fraction. “Just a little.”

“I’ll kiss it better.” And he did.

Oh, what the man could do with his mouth.

Kaitlyn was wet, embarrassingly ready and wanting him. But he held her down under his weight, licking and suckling at her breasts as he used one hand to stroke up and down her torso. Gripping his shoulders, she pricked his skin, arching her back from the pleasure of his attention and aching for more at the same time. He grinned at her and grazed her nipple with his teeth on purpose, making her jerk in surprise.

She cursed. He laughed.

In a smooth roll, he lay on his back, his hands on her waist, lifting her to straddle him. Instead of entering her, he held her by the hips and ground against her wetness until his cock was slick. Kaitlyn panted, dizzy with need. She ran her hands over the hard planes of his abs and chest, loving the feel of all those muscles. And Rygard watched her, rolling his hips against her—the pace driving her further to distraction. She tried to match his rhythm, but he had her so sensitized. And then he shifted a hand so he could press his thumb against her clitoris, rubbing hard and fast until she clutched at his chest for balance.

“Please.” She was almost blind with need. “If you don’t fill me now, I…”

She didn’t know what.

Rygard didn’t make her finish the sentence. Lifting her by the waist, he slid her off him, pausing for a long kiss. And then he turned her, coaxing her onto her hands and knees. His hands caressed her hip and lightly stroked her inner thighs.

Kaitlyn bit her lip. She’d been in this position before. It hadn’t been a good thing. She shivered, fear running down her spine and along her skin. But Rygard kneeled low behind her, urging her thighs wider with his shoulder and blowing a soft puff of heat against her sex. She sucked in air.
That
was different…in a really good way. When he began to lick her in strong, sure strokes, the ghost of memory was driven from her mind.

Every touch of his clever tongue made her tighten. She mewed deep in her throat as he nibbled at her.

“Are you going to come for me, baby?”

Words were not an option. She was too close to…something. He slid one finger into her as he set his teeth against the inside of her thigh. She cried out with the pleasure of it. Her body tightened even more as he pumped her with his finger, and Kaitlyn couldn’t think, could only focus on the feel of him stroking her until she slid over the edge into orgasm. The ecstasy burst through her in short, jagged waves.

“That’s it, sweetness.” He continued to touch her, helping her ride through the pleasure of it, extending it.

As her pulse slowed, she became aware of his hands on her hips, pulling her back to the edge of the bed still on her hands and knees. Rygard bent over her back, dropping kisses across her shoulder and down her spine. Standing behind her, he nudged at her entrance, gripping her backside to steady her. When he slid into her, filling her, it felt so good she rocked her hips back to meet him.

His hands dug into her. “Careful. I don’t want to hurt you.”

But she liked the feel of him, touching places inside her in a different way from before. Looking over her shoulder, she rolled her bottom back against him again. He groaned, his chest expanding as he took a ragged breath.

“Naughty girl.”

His hands shifted, took a better grip. He withdrew from her slowly, holding her in place so she couldn’t take initiative this time. When he thrust into her, it was controlled and deep, forcing a cry of pleasure from her.

“Again?” His voice was dark, caressing her.

Panting, Kaitlyn felt herself tightening around his shaft, preparing for a crazed ride. “Please.”

He rocked into her, and then again, picking up tempo until he was thrusting into her hard enough they both called out. His hands shifted to her shoulders, giving him better leverage, letting him penetrate deeper. He was so hard, so perfect a fit, stimulating every pleasure point as he slid in and out.

“Do you want me to come?” His hands left her shoulders, one burying in her hair, gently tugging her head and encouraging her to arch back. She didn’t think it possible, but her excitement jacked up another notch. His other hand reached under, fingers finding her clitoris and rubbing in firm circles as he continued to pump into her.

Ecstasy zinged, her sensitized nerve endings firing out of control. “Yes!”

She could feel the orgasm cresting, starting low in her belly and rippling through her entire body. He was drawing her higher and tighter, out of control, until her world exploded. As Kaitlyn convulsed, caught in the throes of pleasure, Rygard drove into her again and once more, coming with her at the final moment with a ragged cry.

“Had a busy couple of days, Kat.”

It wasn’t a question. Kaitlyn didn’t bother to turn at Dev’s words. He’d listened to her summary of her time on station and the impromptu mission she’d soloed. Even if she didn’t have to explain why she’d needed Chester, she would have told him. He was her captain. Of course, she’d skimmed over a couple of details, but there was no way in hell she was telling him
those
, even if he asked her directly. His face had been carefully blank as he’d left, claiming he needed to do some pondering.

Right. He’d gone off to laugh himself silly.

At least Dev had been kind enough to take himself somewhere else while he did it.

“Package came for you.”

She did turn then, cocking her head to one side as she studied the black case in Dev’s outstretched hand. Puzzled, she took it and placed it on her desk, thumbing open the catches. Nestled in protective plas-foam was a sleek magnum handgun.

Dev let out a whistle. “A nice firearm you’ve got there, Kat. Somebody knows how to pick out a gift.”

“I don’t use guns.” And her captain knew it. Still, she could guess who it was from, and she bit her lip to fight off the smile trying to take over her mouth.

There was a small message disc in the case. She activated it and the text was laser-projected in the air above the disc.

Rygard picked it for you. Enjoy. Boggle.

Below someone had scrawled another message.

Pick up another skill set. Rygard.

“I’m thinking you found the smile we sent you looking for.” Dev was grinning like an idiot.

Oh no, she was not going to admit it…even if the corners of her mouth were already turning upward. Before she betrayed herself with a full-blown smile, she bared her teeth. “Maybe.”

“Not maybe, Kat. The man is standing in the airlock now, waiting for you.”

“What?”

He held up his hands with the familiar oh-so-innocent look on his face. “Could be I’m wrong, but he fit the specs you were giving Skuld not too long ago. Not the uniform I expected, but he’s built solid and looks to know his way around a fight if it comes to it.”

Kaitlyn didn’t wait around to let Dev tease her more. She was out of her cabin and down the hall, headed for the airlock.

“Like the gift?” Rygard smiled as she turned the corner and stepped across the threshold of the open lock.

It hadn’t been that long. Still, she drank in the sight of his strong, sculpted features, his muscled physique barely contained by his fresh uniform.

As if he would have changed over the last twelve hours or so.

“Thank you.” Suddenly, Kaitlyn fell back to feeling awkward. She hadn’t expected him to return. He’d gone to report in and make his decision. Either way, she figured he’d move on. She stood just short of him, unsure.

Rygard reached out for her hand and tugged her closer. “I made my report. Kept details to a minimum. Met you, escorted you back to your ship. CO wouldn’t have wanted the other stuff in the report anyway, considering how shady it all was.” He chuckled. “The minute he tried to head out to collect you from your team, high level orders came through. He’s not in command of our unit anymore. Your captain is an interesting man.”

Kaitlyn huffed, blowing a lock of hair off her forehead. “Don’t go thinking whatever it is you’re thinking. He’s my captain and that’s it.”

“You trust him.”

Well, true. “It’s not like…”

“No,” Rygard agreed. “But you do trust him and that’s a good thing. He’ll watch your back.”

Relaxing, she risked leaning into him. His arms slid around her waist in an easy embrace. Turning her face into his neck, she breathed the clean, spiced scent of him. “Mmm.”

Giving in to her feline urges, she rubbed her face against his skin, transferring her own scent to him and picking up as much of his as she could.

“I decided to re-up for another tour.” He said it quietly, but layers of emotion hid there.

She nodded against his shoulder. “You don’t need to deal with him anymore.”

“Gotta hope the next-in-command will be a better man.” A pause. “I’m good at being a soldier. The service is the only thing I know. My unit is specialized, sweetness, the missions we complete make a difference where no one else can. I joined because I had the edge, and violence is what I do best.”

“Neither of us is exactly made for domestic living.”

He rested his chin on top of her head, holding her close, wrapping her in his strength. “No. We’re not. And watching you make the wrong things right, seeing the way you had my back when I didn’t deserve it, I can’t leave my unit yet. I need to know the new commander is the right man to lead the team. I need to see my unit get back to being the strike force we were meant to be, not some band of poachers in uniform. Once I’m sure of all that, maybe I could be a merc, but I’m not there yet.”

No. The service was his family. She got it.

“But I’m not going to forget you, sweetness.” He stepped back, hooking a finger under her chin and tilting her head until her gaze met his. “First leave I’ve got, I’m coming back for you.”

No need to let on how happy he’d made her. She fought the urge to glomp onto him and instead let the purr vibrating in her chest loose. “If you can find me.”

He grinned at the challenge. “Don’t say goodbye.”

So she didn’t say anything.

He kissed her then, long and unhurried. Their tongues danced, tasting and exploring. She nipped at his mouth and he sucked on her lower lip, his hands tightening around her waist until she pressed against him.

They parted breathless.

And then he was gone.

Returning to her cabin, Kaitlyn collapsed on her bunk, staring up at the ceiling. She felt a little hollow, but it wasn’t a bad thing. It was in a place that had been too broken before to be anything but a shattered mess of pain. Rygard might not have made her whole again—she was too damaged. But he’d been good for her. And, she hoped, she’d been good for him too.

She would see him again, as friends at least and maybe a little something more.