Bianca D'Arc (5 page)

If she wanted him, he was ready to give her his all.
For as long as it lasted.

Which could be a very short time, indeed.

“
Alex?” Her voice was raspy with
disuse as her gorgeous green eyes blinked up at him.

“
I’m here, Della. How do you
feel?” He lay on the bed, next to her, propped up on one elbow. His
hand brushed her soft hair out of her face, lingering to caress her
tender skin.

“
Groggy. And my throat is
scratchy.”

“
Not to worry.”

He leaned over to the night stand where he’d placed
a pitcher of ice water and two drinking cups. He poured a small
amount into one of the cups and sealed it, pushing the control that
created a straw from which she could sip the water. He slipped one
hand behind her shoulders and assisted her to sit up slightly so
she could drink. When she’d had enough, he took the cup away and
lowered her back to the bed.

“
Better?” he asked
softly.

“
Much. Thank you.” She looked
around in confusion as her senses returned bit by bit. “Where are
we?”

“
We’re in quarters on the jit
ship, heading for Solaris Prime. We’re locked in but they’ll let us
out between lunch and dinner each ship day, or so I was
promised.”

“
We’re prisoners?” Wide eyes
blinked up at him, feathering against his heart.

“
They’re calling it protective
custody, but yes.”

“
Why? We saved their lives!” He
could see the confusion and outrage in her expression. He tried to
soothe her.

“
I know, sweetheart. There have
been some developments since you collapsed. You’re not the one in
the most trouble here. It’s my fault we have to go to Solaris
Prime.”

“
How so?” She pushed the covers
away and sat up against the headboard as he faced her.

“
It’s complicated.” He made a
face, not sure how much to tell her. “I volunteered for some
genetic experiments a few years back.”

“
Enhancement.” She nodded, waiting
for him to continue.

He was surprised enough to pause. She hadn’t even
blinked at the idea.

“
Have you known about me all
along?” He couldn’t help but ask.

“
Yes, Alex.” Her quiet answer was
firm and her gaze was unblinking.

“
It doesn’t bother
you?”

“
It doesn’t matter, Alex. You are
who you are. The sum total of your decisions and experiences. I’ve
never had a problem with soldiers and certainly not with those who
voluntarily risked so much to become even better at what they do.
I’ve always admired your courage.”

Her attitude floored him. In a society where most
civilians walked wide around a soldier if he dared show his face in
the civ parts of town, her simple acceptance was a gift. Her
respect was a miracle.

Alex had to swallow a couple of times to dispel the
lump that had formed in his throat. “I don’t know what to say.”

She smiled and reached for his hand, twining her
fingers with his. “Don’t worry, Alex. I’ve known for a long time
and it never mattered to me.”

“
Not even what it did to me?” He
was talking about the sterility and he read understanding in her
eyes. She knew all about Enhancement. With her security clearance,
he shouldn’t have been surprised.

“
Never that, Alex. None of it ever
mattered. You are a brave and kind man. That’s all I’ve ever seen
when I looked at you.”

He couldn’t resist. He tugged on their joined hands,
pulling her gently into his arms. She met him half way, meeting his
lips with hers, sliding her warm arms around him as they tangled
together on the bed.

Her kiss was as sweet as anything he’d ever tasted.
When he touched his tongue to hers, it was like coming home. This
was the woman he’d unconsciously sought all his life and hoped
never to find. She was the one woman who could smash all his
defenses, make them crumble into dust under her dainty feet. For
her, he would move mountains. He would scale insurmountable
obstacles. He would give her all he was and ask for nothing she did
not give freely in return.

Alex broke the kiss, looking down into her dazed
eyes. She was as affected as he was. Neither would be able to deny
their shared passion any longer.

“
Do you want this, my Della? Do
you want me?”

“
I’ve always wanted you,
Alexander. From the moment I first saw you, I knew you would be
mine.”

He read the truth in her eyes, the stark honesty in
her simple words. He couldn’t resist her any longer. He’d waited
too long already. And now they were in mortal danger. There might
not be a tomorrow. He’d wasted so much time.

“
The day you walked into my bar, I
knew you were trouble.” He cupped her cheek as she smiled, rubbing
the pad of his thumb over her full lower lip. “You are the sexiest,
smartest, sassiest woman I’ve ever known.”

Her smile widened. “All talk and no action, Alex.
That’s always been your problem.”

“
Action?” He grinned at her
teasing. “I’ll give you action.”

He lowered himself over her, taking her luscious
lips with his once more. He could kiss her for a lifetime and never
get enough of the taste of her sweet passion. She was ambrosia. The
finest wine to a thirsty man. A glass of ice water in a dessert.
She was life itself. And all things good.

His tongue plundered her mouth while his hands
roamed her ripe body.

She wore only a thin gown which was little barrier
to his questing fingers. She was as soft and warm as he’d always
imagined and as responsive as any man could wish. Pressing her into
the soft mattress, she encouraged him by spreading her legs and
making a place for him where he most wanted to be.

Oh yes, they were definitely speaking the same
language now. She couldn’t make her desire for his possession any
plainer. The thought pleased him immensely and set fire to his
ardor as nothing else could have done. She wanted him as much as he
wanted her. The waiting was over. The reasons for his self-imposed
denial seemed inconsequential compared to the reality of her in his
arms. Where she belonged.

Alex slid his fingers under the seals of her gown,
exposing the soft skin beneath. She was as beautifully formed as
he’d imagined. Soft under his hands and responsive to his slightest
touch. Would she taste as sweet? He was dying to find out.

Dragging his lips from hers, he kissed his way down
her long, slender throat. He could feel her nimble fingers pushing
at the seals of his shirt and trousers as his tongue found the ripe
peak of one breast. She shivered and made bewitching little sounds
in the back of her throat as he took her into his mouth for the
first time. Her back arched, offering more of her bounty as he
plucked her other nipple with the fingers of one hand and sent his
other hand questing below.

She was hot and slick. Wet and ready for him. Just
that easily. She was a miracle. His miracle.

“
Alex.” Her voice was breathy with
desire as he rubbed her folds. “Alex, don’t make me wait. I need
you now.”

The plea in her voice spurred him to action as
nothing else could. He’d intended to take it slow this first time
but caution was thrown to the winds by their mutual desire. She was
ready. He’d been ready for a lifetime, it seemed. There were no
barriers left. No reason to wait any longer.

Alex shrugged off the rest of his clothes, pausing
only a moment for her eager fingers to stroke over him. When she
reached for his cock, he scooted away. If she touched him there it
would all be over too soon. Just one touch of her soft fingers and
he would explode.

He had to hold it together. He had to be inside her.
He had to make her come with him, sharing their pleasure, sharing
the love in his heart. He wouldn’t speak of it, but he acknowledged
it within his own mind. He loved her more than anything. More than
duty. More than honor. More than life itself.

“
Hold on, sweetheart.” Alex
whispered love words to her as he positioned himself over her.
There would be no further delay. No waiting.

“
Alex!” She cried out his name as
he slid into her body, making them one.

The sound of his name on her lips was an aphrodisiac
of the sweetest kind. She fit him like a glove, as if she were made
for him and him alone. Perhaps she had been. There were many
stories about destiny and perfect love. If Alex had been the
sentimental kind, he would be certain at this moment, that Della
was his perfect match. His destined mate.

“
Della.” He whispered her name
like a litany as he began moving within her. They were joined.
Finally. It was a dream he thought would never come true. He tried
to memorize the feel of her, the incredible heat and softness of
her skin, but things escalated too quickly.

Her legs wrapped around him, squeezing, pulling him
tight into her. Her heels dug into the backs of his legs, spurring
him on. He growled and sucked at the tender skin of her neck. She
smelled like heaven itself, tasted like the finest cognac, and got
him just as drunk on the essence of her.

Alex pressed into her, loving the way her body
squeezed him, the way she gasped at his motion. He would remember
this moment as long as he lived.

“
Are you with me, Del?” His pace
increased and he knew the end was near.

“
Yes, Alex. Yes!”

Just that easily, she clenched around him, her body
quaking as she screamed his name. She came for him, taking him with
her as he roared his completion. His body strained as it spurted
its tribute into her quivering sheath. Tears flowed down the sides
of her face when he finally opened his eyes. He kissed them away,
collapsing on top of her for a moment.

She only objected when he tried to move away.

“
Don’t go.”

“
I’m too heavy.”

“
Mmm.” She wiggled under him and
smiled. “I like the feel of you, Alex. So solid. So
warm.”

“
I’m still too heavy.” Her voice
was breathy probably because she couldn’t get a full breath with
him crushing her lungs.

She laughed and let him go. But she turned the
tables on him. As he rolled off her, she followed, straddling him
as he landed on his back. Now she was lying on top of him. She
grinned in triumph.

“
I’ve got you now.”

“
I surrender.”

Chapter Five

Alex felt damned good under her. Skin on skin. The
way she’d dreamed for so long. Just when she’d given up hope of
their ever being together, this happened.

She wondered idly if he would have given in, if they
hadn’t ended up on an enemy ship headed for another galaxy. It
didn’t matter now, of course. She had him where she wanted him. But
in some corner of her mind, she wished he had come to her more
willingly, without the pressure of the situation in which they now
found themselves.

Never one to question Fate too closely, Della
decided to make the best of it. She had wanted him for a long time.
They were together now. She didn’t know what the future would bring
for either of them. She was winging it and she would enjoy every
second she had with him.

So much could go wrong in this situation with the
jit’suku. They might not live much longer. Or they might come out
of this smelling like a rose. For once, she had no clear picture of
the future in her mind. There were too many possibilities. Too many
choices to be made by different people. As each decision
manifested, the future shifted. She could see possibilities only.
Right now, many of them ended in death.

Della shook off the shiver of fear, determined not
to let the possibilities for the future interfere with the moment
at hand. She rose above Alex, running her hands down his broad
chest. Everything about this man lit her fire. He was smart,
cunning, talented and sexy as all get out. He’d tempted her for
months and now he was hers. The brightest spot in this dire
situation.

“
Shall I show you what you’ve been
missing all this time, Alexander?” She pitched her voice low to
tease him. From the way his body shifted under hers, she’d
succeeded.

His hands lifted to cup her breasts, rubbing her
nipples gently, the way she liked. She pressed into his hands,
purring under his touch. Holding his gaze, she reached behind her
to grasp his cock. It was hardening under her touch and he moved to
give her easier access.

“
You’re a wicked woman, you are.”
His intimate tone and hooded gaze made her pulse leap.

It took little effort to bring him back to full
hardness. Soldiers had a reputation for being more virile than
civilian men and Enhanced soldiers—to those in the know—were said
to have even more staying power. The knowledge was something her
superiors had shared with her before sending her off with their
blessings to work in Alex’s bar.

Because of her gift, she had
always been allowed more discretion than other operatives about
where she needed to be positioned at a particular time. Last year
she’d begun seeing herself at
The Rabbit
Hole
. She had finally been able to put a
name to the tavern after one particular vision in which she had
seen Alex’s face for the first time. A little classified research
into covert operatives produced Alex’s file image and she had known
exactly where she was supposed to go next.

The rest was now history. After the pirate attack on
the station, Della had thought maybe her need to be there was over,
but her gift told her she still had something to do there. She had
stayed and this unexpected excursion into the jit’suku galaxy was
the result. Even she had not foreseen this.