Merry & Seduced (10 page)

He withdrew and thrust into her heat again, his forceful stroke wringing a groan from her throat.

Marcus stilled, embedded deep inside her. “Did I hurt you?” Strain throbbed in his voice and a tremor worked through his muscular arms.

“I don’t mind sex a little rough. I’m not a weakling.”

“No you’re not.” His gorgeous grin lit up his harsh features. “Hold tight now.”

Marcus set up a fast invade and retreat, and Amme clung. His musky scent deepened as did her own. Pleasure swirled just out of reach, but she didn’t complain. Instead she enjoyed his touch, the way he imprinted his scent on her, his touch. She recorded every detail for later memories.

“Kiss me,” he ground out and slipped a hand between their bodies to rub back and forth over her sex center.

Barely able to grasp his words, she dallied, luxuriating in the swirl of pleasure that surged forth with every stroke of his fingers.

“Kiss me.” She complied in a daze, the kiss slow and sensual and holding a different flavor. Passionate and eager, all encompassing. He devoured her mouth as he plunged into her with extra hard strokes. On the third thrust, he stopped and a masculine growl escaped with his next kiss. Against her chest, she could feel the pump of his heart and deep inside her body, she registered the spurt of his seed.

“Amme.” His clever fingers whisked across her sex center in the perfect manner.

She jolted and climaxed in a hard series of pulses that flared bright colors across her closed eyelids. “Marcus.” His name was a whisper of contentment.

“That was incredible. I haven’t…I don’t… It’s never been like that before.”

“For me either,” she said.

Their next kiss was gentle and soft. Tender. For Amme it said everything she couldn’t tell him. She liked him very, very much but come the beginning of the year, she’d depart with her friends.

The idea of leaving Marcus made her heart-pump stutter.

“Sleep with me tonight?”

“Yes, please.” Another new experience. Ry and Camryn always shared a bed, and she’d wondered if the intimacy would become obtrusive and annoying. Here was a chance to discover the answer to her intrigue.

Marcus pulled from her body and levered away. Curious, she watched him remove and discard the condom. He was back in secs and slid into the bed. After switching off the light, his arms slid around her, his breath warm against her neck.

“Thank you, Marcus. I enjoyed that very much.”

“You say that like it was a once-off.” It wasn’t difficult to hear his frown. “I want you again, have you sleep in my bed every night.”

“Yes.” That word made her belly roil and her senses leap. “Yes.”

“Perfect.” A kiss landed on her cheek. “Because that’s what I want too.”

Very good, Amme thought, and she sent her systems into rest mode, a smile of happiness curving her lips.

Chapter Five

“T
hat was a fun night,” Camryn said.

Ry opened the door and urged her inside her cottage. “It was. Marcus seems like a decent man.”

“He’s not stupid. Nanu slipped a couple of times. He needs to remember his English because we don’t want to attract attention.”

A tap sounded on the door Ry had just closed. Camryn scented the new arrival, the quick rise of tension fading into welcome.

“It’s Max.” She opened the door and grinned at her twin. “I missed you so much. It’s gonna be hard to leave, although Ry says we can come and visit again.”

Her twin’s smile faltered, and her feline senses picked up the strain in his body, his discomfort.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Come in,” Ry said.

Max dithered on the doorstep then sighed, his shoulders drooping into a pose resembling misery. He cleared his throat, shot them an apologetic look. “Ellen said if I don’t return to the house in half an hour, she’ll call the authorities.” He focused on Ry. “She’s worried you’re going to attack me. She’s already forbidden Luke to come anywhere near either of you.”

“I’m sorry.” Melancholy popped like an overfull balloon inside her, tensing her muscles and stirring her feline into a grumbling frenzy. She batted her feline down and forced her uncooperative mouth to produce and understanding smile. A visit. Was that too much to ask? “The last thing I want is to cause trouble between you and Ellen. But you should know I can shift to feline too. It’s not just Ry.”

Max’s mouth dropped open, and he didn’t shut it again until Camryn reached over to push his jaw into the closed position. He studied her like he scrutinized the horses he trained, but in this case his watchfulness suggested he was waiting for her to chuckle—to let him in on the joke.

When she remained silent, watchful, he broke first. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope. I can prove it if you want.”

“Fuck,” Max said, his posture one of uncertainty, of a man waiting for the knife to fall. “I’m not sure whether to believe you or not.”

“Believe it.” Camryn flexed her shoulders and sent calming thoughts to her agitated feline. The wild part of her wanted to drum sense into her twin. The human part knew the importance of communication. “It came as a shock to me too. Not that I regret a moment. Ry and his crew kidnapping me was a turning point. They saved me from wrecking my life. Ry gave me purpose.”

“She fought us, or rather me, every minute of the way,” Ry said.

Max’s brows drew together in a visual question mark. “You really came for me?”

“Yes.” Ry confirmed his words with a nod, matter-of-fact and unrepentant. “As it happened we made the best choice. No offense.”

“None taken,” Max said, but his frown deepened, discomfort broadcasting like a communication satellite.

“What is it, Max?” Camryn asked.

“I promised Ellen I’d take her and Luke to spend Christmas week with her family in Taupo. I want to spend time with you but…” He trailed off, a man unhappy with his message, yet stuck between the love for his wife and his twin.

“Ellen doesn’t approve of me.” Camryn tried to pretend it didn’t hurt. She didn’t fool Ry, and he was at her side in secs flat, his muscular presence the strength to lend her courage.

“She doesn’t believe you’ve changed, and she’s terrified one of your friends will hurt us,” Max said with a grimace.

“That will only happen if you physically attack Camryn,” Ry said. “It’s easy to see you love her so you’re safe.”

“Ellen is worried about Marcus and his little girl. She wavers between telling them the truth and reporting you to the authorities.”

“No!” Camryn planted herself in front of her brother. “Max, you can’t let her do that. No one will believe her. Hell, they’d probably ship her off for a psych evaluation. They might even decide she’s not stable enough to keep her babies. Has she considered that? Amme was designed for childcare. The children of her planet are scanned at birth and their natural inclinations are enhanced with cybertronics to make them exceptional at their jobs. You couldn’t find a better nanny. She’d put her life in danger rather than let Autumn injure herself. I promise, both of them are safe. You have to make Ellen understand.”

“I’ve tried and tried to think of an alternative, but I’ve decided it would be best if I take Ellen and Luke to Taupo as we’d planned,” Max said, glancing once at his twin, then allowing his gaze to shoot to his balled fingers. “It will give Ellen the distance to gain perspective. When are you going to leave?”

“The second or third of January. It’s a long journey to Viros,” Ry said.

“All right. How about this?” Max asked. “I’ll make sure we’re back here between Christmas and the New Year. We’ll have a party to celebrate the New Year. At least by then Ellen should be more confident you’re not here to start an alien invasion.”

Camryn scowled. “I don’t like it but I won’t cause trouble. We’re going to the beach tomorrow afternoon. Would you and Ellen and Luke like to come? Who is looking after the farm while you’re gone? You have horses in training.”

“I have a couple of employees who live in the Karaka area. I was going to ask them. I don’t suppose you’d be willing to help out.”

“We’d be happy to aid you,” Ry said.

“I’d love to,” Camryn said at the same time. “Although the horses might sense my feline self. That might be a problem.”

Max blinked. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Camryn said.

“Okay. I’ll talk to Ellen about the beach. She probably won’t want to come, because she’s busy with Christmas baking, but Luke and I will go with you. I’ll persuade her somehow.”

“I’ve missed you, Max.” Camryn wrapped her arms around her brother, clung for a luxurious moment and wallowed in the scent of family.

“Likewise,” Max said. “You really came here on a spaceship?”

Camryn rolled her eyes. “Last time I looked, I didn’t have wings.”

“We’ll give you a tour if you want,” Ry said. “We need to do some repairs and maintenance before we leave.”

“Deal!” Max checked his watch. “My half an hour is up. I’d better get back to Ellen. You coming down to the stables tomorrow morning?”

“Yes,” Camryn said and kissed her brother on the cheek. “See you tomorrow.”

“You’re disappointed,” Ry said once Max left.

“A little. I would have liked to share Christmas day with my brother and keep up the traditions our parents started. It’s silly, I know.”

“It’s not silly. We’ll make our day special and start our own traditions. We can continue them wherever we find ourselves on Christmas day.”

“I love you, Ry,” she said, her heart aching with the hugeness of her emotions.

“Love you too, kitten.” He took her hand and led her toward the bedroom. “Let me prove it.”

“Excellent idea,” she said with a saucy wink and a hip bump. “You need to keep reminding me or I might think I dreamed the entire alien experience.” She let out a shriek when he pinched her bottom and growled.

“You’d better run, little girl,” he said, his voice full of feline.

Camryn took one look at her mate, ripped her hand free and ran right into the bedroom.

* * * * *

“I
haven’t been to the beach before,” Amme said.

“No?” Marcus shot a puzzled glance at her, and she realized she’d erred with her throwaway comment. He pulled into the driveway of Max’s farm and stopped outside their door. “Wait there. I’ll go and tell Max we’re here.”

Before he could climb from his vehicle the front door opened, and Luke ran out carrying a ball and a towel.

Amme grinned at the little boy. “Someone is excited.”

“I want to swim,” Autumn said from her car seat.

“We’re all going to swim,” Marcus said, sharing a grin with Amme.

The bright smile turned her insides rebellious. They swooped and dived and didn’t behave in the correct cyborg manner. This wasn’t the time for a malfunction, yet she couldn’t help but enjoy his sparkling happiness. Amme gave a soft sigh as he went to help Max with the car seat for Luke. Marcus had made this holiday feel special—a celebration of home. In a short time she’d become attached to Autumn, which was the way her programming should work, but this tie to Marcus…

The rear door opened, and Max deftly fixed Luke’s car seat in place. In a matter of mins, he had his son buckled in and ready to depart.

“Is Ellen coming with us?” Marcus asked.

Max shot a quick apologetic glance to Amme. “No, she has a lot of Christmas baking to do. She’s making edible gifts for her sisters and cooking a Christmas cake to take with us to Taupo.”

“Oh,” Amme said. “I thought…Camryn said we would have Christmas dinner here. She must be disappointed. I know she was looking forward to it.”

Max’s expression wiped clean, yet Amme sensed the tension in him and the anguish at the tension between his wife and his twin sister.

“We can have Christmas dinner at my place,” Marcus said as he pulled out of the driveway. “Still plenty of time to arrange it, and we already have our trees.”

Max shrugged, and Amme picked up another wave of his unhappiness. “I’d promised Ellen already, and I don’t want to disappoint her. I suggested to Camryn we have a party to celebrate the new year instead.”

“Good idea,” Marcus said. “Since you’ll be away, why don’t we have it at my place? I have plenty of helpers.” He winked at Amme. “Your friends seem to relish organizing things.”

“That’s a fine plan,” Amme said. “That way Ellen won’t have to race home and organize a party.”

“We’ll invite the neighbors and some of my friends,” Marcus said. “How does that sound?”

Max shared another quick look with Amme or at least their gazes connected when she glanced back. “That would work. It’s a great idea, and I know it’d reassure Ellen. She’s stressed at the moment, and it’s not good for the babies.”

The babies might be a factor, but Amme knew Ellen didn’t want her house overrun with aliens. At least Camryn’s brother seemed more open-minded.

“What is the name of this beach?” Amme asked. “Camryn calls it Ma Right Eye. That can’t be right?”

Max burst out laughing. “You mean Maraetai. It’s ma-rye-a-tie. The Maori language can confuse visitors.”

“One day, not long ago, she had us laughing until we were crying when she was explaining some of the names. Some of them sound rude to foreigners.” She glanced at the kids, saw they were chattering together. “Why-poo?”

Max barked out a laugh. “You mean Waipu. Trust Camryn.”

Conversation flowed after that, ranging from Christmas to horses to business and beaches. The drive took them through the outskirts of a town and into the countryside. After the nothingness of space, the lush green pastures dotted with trees and grazing animals were a visual feast.

“There are lots of different animals,” Amme said, frowning at one they passed. It was small, white and shaggy with horns curling from its head. She had no idea what classification the creature fell into but didn’t like to ask too many questions in front of Marcus.

“This is perfect farming country,” Marcus said. “You find alpacas, cattle and sheep along with some stud horse farms. Some farmers grow crops.”

Amme nodded and kept watching the landscape.

“Are you going to the Christmas parade?” Max asked.