Chase You To The Sun (12 page)

“Not yet,” Bruce whispered, stroking her cheek. “I want you even wetter.”

Lana felt dizzy with lust as she clung to his chest, running her fingers over the hard tips of his nipples as he lowered her legs again and pushed her knees apart to give him even more access. He slowly moved in and out of her for a few more agonizing minutes, then pulled all the way out to rub her clit with his dick. And then, he moved back, letting his hard member rest against her thigh. His fingers slipped into her wet, silky folds, feeling the evidence of her excitement. Bruce waited a few beats before trailing his fingers a bit lower, past her pussy, gently lubricating her asshole. When he pressed up against her, the tip of his cock against her anus, Lana froze. This was too much. In fact, the whole evening had gone further than she’d ever intended to take things with this dangerous brigand, but this couldn’t happen.

“No,” she stammered, her voice cracking. “Please, no.”

Bruce looked up, his eyes dark with passion. “No fifth base?”

Lana swallowed, a blush turning her cheeks hot. “I’ve never – and you’re too – you’re so big. Please.”

He smiled. “That’s all right, Sveta. I might give you a little taste later.” She uttered a sigh of relief when Bruce pulled back and moved in to kiss her softly. His mouth trailed down to her neck, proceeding to suck on the tender skin there until Lana was positive she was going to have a hickey the size of a tomato on that spot.

“People will see that,” she protested weakly.

Bruce chuckled darkly against her bruised skin. “I’m sure John will stay away from you now.”

He licked the sensitive skin above her collarbone, moving further down to gently bite her nipples until she moaned in pain. Lana held her breath when Bruce exhaled and went even further down south, flicking his tongue over her throbbing, hot clit. “Oh,
God
,” she exclaimed, bucking under his mouth.

“Yeah,” he breathed, running a finger through her slit. “That’s right. Just enjoy this.” When he rubbed her asshole with his slick finger, Lana shivered in anticipation. Goosebumps erupted all over her skin when Bruce slid in his index finger, her muscles spasming and clenching around the top, trying to accommodate the invading presence there. As he slowly eased it in and out, her pussy seemed to get hotter than ever.

“Oh, yes,” she gasped, throwing her head back in ecstasy as Bruce licked her clit while gently fucking her ass with his finger. She couldn’t hold back anymore, and apparently, he didn’t want her to. Her entire body shook and rocked under his hands and tongue as she climaxed in an orgasm that seemed to go on and on. When she finally stilled, he held her in his arms and rubbed her arms and back.

“You liked that?” he whispered.

She blushed. “Wasn’t it obvious?”

Bruce laughed. “Just curious,” he mumbled, rolling her onto her back and entering her swiftly. Even though she’d already climaxed, he still felt immensely good inside her. Lana closed her eyes and embraced him as he slammed inside her, quickly abandoning himself to his own orgasm in pulsating waves of pleasure. He shuddered as he spilled himself into her, his breath hot on her forehead as he nuzzled her hair.

When he got up from the bed and picked up his pants to put them back on, Lana sat up straight, shooting him an uncertain look. “Where are you going?”

“To my room,” he replied. “Probably gonna take a shower first.”

“Oh.”

He frowned. “I don’t spend the night, Lana.”

“Ever?”

“No.”

So this is what Chester meant with Bruce not doing the love thing. It figured – the women he had sex with had to be either girls he paid or girls he picked up for one-night stands. After all, nobody was supposed to know who he was or where he was hiding. She wondered where Bruce went to find sexual partners. Did he and the other guys use their unmarked spaceship to fly all over the solar system in order to pick a planet or moon where they’d get lucky?

“Okay,” she replied, trying not to sound too disappointed. After all, this man owed her nothing – she’d given herself to him willingly, and she knew there were no strings attached.

He smiled a bit ruefully, apparently picking up on her mood. “Sweet dreams, Lana,” he said softly. “I hope you had fun.”

“I did,” she assured him. “You’re, uhm, really good at this.”

“Thanks.” He cracked a roguish smile. “You too, little minx.”

Lana followed Bruce with her eyes as he strolled out of the room. Her entire body still felt aglow with passion. Why did it make her sad that he wasn’t there to hold her? She’d had casual shags in college. None of them had felt this intense, though. Thinking of what they’d just shared made her wish he’d come back to her.

Heaving an irritated sigh, Lana hopped out of bed and walked over to the small washing basin in the corner to freshen up a bit. It was bad enough she’d let this happen – it was even worse wanting more of it. She’d spent years trying to push people away in order to avoid getting hurt. Funny that the first person she felt a strange kind of connection with after her mom’s death had to be a man who could hurt her in the most literal sense of the word.

“Just think of
papa
,” she muttered to herself. “Just think of the shame you’d bring to him if you let yourself get carried away.”

And yet, part of her felt there was no need for guilt or shame. As long as she was in this house, far away from everybody she knew, nothing she did would have real consequences in the world outside.

T
he next morning, Svetlana came downstairs as late as possible, wearing a delicate, gossamer shawl wrapped around her neck.

As she made a beeline for the kitchen to get some juice from the fridge, Shou looked up from his newspaper and shot her a curious look. “Why are you wearing a scarf?” he asked. “It’s thirty Celsius outside.”

Lana quickly ran through a list of plausible excuses in her mind. “Because it’s fashionable,” she finally replied awkwardly.

“Sure.” Shou eyed her skeptically.

“I have eczema in my neck, okay?” she spluttered. “Stress, you know.”

“Never would have pegged you as a vain girl,” he smiled. “Why don’t you ask Chester to have a look at it? He used to practice herbal medicine for a while.”

“Yeah, will do,” Lana mumbled. Of course she had no intention of talking to Chester whatsoever. He was really the last one she wanted to show her love bite the size of Luna to, not after Bruce’s former teacher had warned her to be careful.

After having a quick breakfast of juice and some yoghurt, she reluctantly made her way to Bruce’s study. This was probably going to be an uncomfortable meeting, but she had to talk to him about her mother, no matter how tongue-tied she’d get.

“Come in,” his dark, rough voice boomed when she lightly knocked on the door. Lana stepped inside and closed the door behind her before looking up to meet his eyes.

Bruce arched an eyebrow at seeing her shawl. “Hello, trendy girl,” he said.

“Hi.” Lana tugged at the scarf. Shou was right – it was
way
too hot to be wearing this thing. Or maybe Bruce’s eyes on her made her hot and bothered.

“I talked to your father an hour ago,” Bruce went on before she could say anything, making her instantly nervous. “It wasn’t a very rewarding conversation, I’m afraid.”

“Oh.” Her legs trembled as she sagged down on the stool next to Bruce. “What did he say?”

Bruce’s jaw was working. “Well, at least he didn’t lie to me. He didn’t claim he’d stopped transporting gemstones to Mars or Luna. He did say he’d ordered a temporary slowdown in shipments to the moon, though. I guess that’s what we were seeing in your DesEx app a few days ago. Nothing has changed since.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, anxiously looking up at him.

His eyes narrowed when he observed her. “Tell me again, why were you on your way to Earth when I abducted you?”

“To negotiate new trade agreements between the Desidan Alliance and Elitists from Old Russia,” Lana replied.

“What kind of Elite Russians?”

“Just – stock traders. Investors. I was told they’re interested in that new wormhole the Desidan scientists recently discovered near Saturn. The Alliance is funding research into the black hole.”

“Why would they want to enter into a trade agreement when that research is still in its infancy?”

Lana sighed. “I don’t know. You whisked me away before I could get to Nuuk. Why?”

“Because those Russians are all really good friends of your dad’s.”

She swallowed. “What do you mean?”

Bruce unexpectedly slammed his fist down on the desk. “Those Russians are working for Ivanov Mining Companies. Or at the very least, they have very strong ties with the company. Are you still claiming you don’t work for your father?” he fumed.

Lana trembled under his burning gaze. “I work for Mr. Stockton at Desida One. He was the one who sent me on this assignment. If my dad was the one who indirectly gave the order to organize the meeting, I sure as hell don’t know about it,” she muttered indignantly.

Bruce grabbed her arm. “If you’re lying to me, Lana, I swear...” His fingers dug into her skin. Lana tried to free herself from his vise-like grip, but it was no use.

“I’m not,” she snapped. “And if anyone here is telling lies, it’s
you
. You said you had nothing to do with my mom’s death. You said you didn’t kill her, and yet everybody in this house seems to know stuff about her, but you want them to shut up about it. I come here to talk about her, and instead I’m treated to all kinds of horrible accusations again. Seriously, what’s your problem?”

Bruce quietly shook his head. Strangely enough, he didn’t seem to be upset by the tone of voice she was using. “I haven’t lied about anything.”

“Well, neither have I.” She glared at him as angrily as she dared. “I have never worked for Ivanov Mining Industries, I don’t know what they’re involved in, and I bet my dad is doing the best he can to meet your outrageous demands. Imposing trade restrictions really
is
complicated. But I guess my father told you that when you called him this morning. And you mean business, so are
you
gonna beat my face to a pulp to make your point, or will you let John do the dirty work?” Her voice rose to a scream on the last few words, unwanted tears pooling in her eyes.

Bruce took a deep breath, his hand slowly releasing her. “I don’t know.”

Lana rubbed her painful arm. “What does that mean?”

“It means I know I should, but I don’t really want to.”

“Well, if you look the other way, I’m sure John will be more than happy to oblige,” she griped bitterly.

He shook his head. “I’m not gonna let him touch you.”

Slowly, the anger drained from her body. Only now did she realize that she’d crossed several lines in talking to Bruce like this. He seemed to recognize this fact at the exact same time, because his whole countenance darkened. “Don’t get too comfortable with me, Lana. I’m warning you – you don’t want to make me angry.”

Lana exhaled slowly. “I think you’re nicer than you’re giving yourself credit for.”

“Oh, really? Well, enlighten me,” Bruce scoffed. “How am I a nice guy?”

She stared at her hands, thinking back to the gentle way he’d seduced her last night. Sure, she’d been scared of him, but he had respected her wishes. He’d stopped when she’d begged him to stop. And he’d protected her even before that. “You were kind enough to save me from John,” she pointed out.

Bruce showed her a faint smile. “Maybe I just don’t like sharing, little minx.”

Lana slowly shook her head. “Why do you insist you’re a jackass? Are you afraid someone might discover you’re actually quite decent?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Me. Afraid.”

“Yeah. You’re afraid you'll get caught up in something you can't control – something fragile. Because you might lose it one day.”

Suddenly, Lana realized she wasn’t talking about him – she was analyzing herself. In a way, they were both scared of letting their walls down, though.

Bruce stared at her, pinning her with his impenetrable gaze. “You don’t know what you’re saying,” he finally rumbled, getting up from his chair to stare out the window. His entire body looked tense. “I am used to losing what I love. But right now, I’m in control of an army of fighters who follow my orders. Hundreds of ships are ready to fly out at my command. And I’m not scared of anything.”

“Whatever you say,” Lana mumbled.

Bruce turned around and stared her down. “Shut up,” he finally told her quietly.

“If that’s what you want.”

“Nothing would make me happier,” he replied sarcastically. “Now, are you ready to listen to the story of how I caused your mom’s death?”

The bottom dropped out of her stomach. “You
what
?”

Bruce stood next to her stool, towering over her. “Five years ago, I managed to contact your mother. It wasn’t easy – your father has a very tight security net around his household and company, but I succeeded in slipping through it. And once I did, I told your mother what was going on in the mines of Prometheus.” He clicked a few buttons on his computer system.

Lana’s eyes welled up with sudden tears when an image of her mother appeared on screen. “If what you’re saying is true, I have to go there and see it for myself,” her familiar, warm voice said, pouring from the speakers.

“It is true,” Bruce’s disembodied voice told her. “You’ve seen the recordings.”

“Can I trust you, Mr. Randall?” Mrs. Chapham-Ivanova whispered, her face pale with shock.

“Yes, you can. No harm will come to you. I give you my word.”

“Okay.” Her mother blinked a few times before looking down, seemingly gathering courage. “Then I will meet up with you. And afterwards, I’ll go to Prometheus without telling Anatoly.”

Lana’s mouth fell open as she sat there listening to the recorded conversation between Bruce and Mrs. Ivanova. Her mom had talked to Bruce – in fact, she’d even met up with the pirate, and yet she hadn’t turned him in.

“It took some time to convince her,” Bruce remarked softly, casting a sideward glance at her grief-stricken face. “She couldn’t believe it at first.”