Depths Of Desire XW5 (13 page)

The inside of her pussy shifted and the
muscles reformed around him, pulling and sucking at his cock. “Yeah! Make me
come hard, Jaeda.” He didn’t know if she was doing it on purpose or if it was a
natural occurrence for a shifter. That was the one and only type of woman he’d
never been with before and she was making him feel like this was his first fuck
with any female. He drove into her with abandon.

“Torque. Harder. I need it.”

He loved the sound of his name on her lips.
He switched his gaze from their bodies to her eyes. Then his gaze followed her
hands to her breasts where she was pulling on her nipples. He grabbed her
wrists and held them down as he shifted his whole body on top of hers. He took
her lips in a searing kiss, plunging his tongue into her mouth. His hips moved
hard and fast. She craved a hard fucking. She’d get it as hard as he could
give. But not the way she expected. He pulled out of her, flipped her onto her
stomach and smacked her ass, over and over, until she screeched. He dug his
fingers into her ass cheeks and spread them wide. “You want it?”

“Yes!”

He leaned over and stabbed his tongue into
her asshole, licking her thoroughly. Then he pulled away and impaled her ass
with his thick cock.

“Ahh!” Her muscles expanded and he sank
even deeper. When they tightened back around his cock, he groaned. “Fuck! I’m
about to lose it.”

She pushed up against him. “Show me no mercy,
warrior. That’s an order!”

That did it. He surged forward, forcing her
body to take even more—his full length. Something no other woman could
physically do.
.
He grunted as he slammed into her ass hard. “No fucking mercy.”
Just as she’d ordered.

He stiffened and roared as he came in an
almost animalistic fashion, knowing nothing but mind-blowing ecstasy. He
reached under her and aggressively rubbed her clit.

She screamed and her body tensed as she
climaxed. And then she climaxed again, her body now trembling beneath his. Her
ass muscles pulled at his cock, drawing every ounce of cum from him as he
called out her name. Just when he thought his heart couldn’t take the physical
pleasure for one moment longer, they both collapsed.

He barely found the strength to shift his
weight so he wasn’t crushing her. “Did I hurt you?” he asked softly as she
turned toward him.

“I’ve never felt anything like that,
Torque.” She cupped his cheek. “I’ve never been so satisfied by any man. I
don’t think I can even move.”

He squeezed one of her plump breasts,
letting his thumb graze her nipple. “Good to know.”

Earth’s Orbit

Halah fell out of the command chair and hit
her head on one of the lower control panels. “Ow!” She touched her temple and felt
blood. “What the hell?” Someone had fired on the ship. How had they located
her? She scrambled back into the seat and this time strapped herself in as she
looked at the monitors. She checked the damage. Partial shield collapse.
“Shit.” She worked to compensate and directed extra power to the system until
she could do a repair.

“Who hit me?” she mumbled. The Egesa ships
looked quiet and stationary, waiting. The supply ships were slowly drifting in
their orbits. No, wait. It only looked like they were drifting. She studied the
patterns. They were slowly positioning themselves. “Who the fuck are you?”

She checked the computer readout. “Wait.
What?” Upon further investigation, she realized that she hadn’t been fired
upon. Something had physically scraped the ship, damaging one of the shield
deflectors. “Where are you?” No matter her expertise, she still couldn’t locate
who. A cloaked ship. But her program wasn’t registering anything and this older
ship’s displacement scanner kept going in and out. The fighter should have
compensated and notified her when something moved within collision range.

For safety, she navigated the ship farther
out. She tried to communicate with the Ice Moon again and received nothing back
but static. According to news she’d finally been able to tap into from Earth’s
satellite system, the Egesa had stopped bombing the planet and sent in foot
soldiers. Several countries had made agreements with Daegal in order to spare
lives, property and governments. Fools. She understood their terror but Daegal
couldn’t be trusted. Whatever arrangements they’d come to, the humans would be
betrayed and enslaved regardless.

She stared at the ships on the monitor as
she de-cloaked. She‘d be even more vulnerable now, but her power supply was
declining fast. She had to conserve resources so they could get back home. “I’m
reasonably sure you’re not what you appear to be,” she said aloud as she
studied the supply vessels. “You’re not Xylon. You’re not Egesa. Your design
looks custom, not government issue.”

The ship rocked violently. She clutched the
panel in front of her. That had been a laser. It hadn’t taken long for someone
to spot her. Alarms filled her ears as she tried to boost the power to the
shields even more. Suddenly she felt a tingling in her stomach. “Oh no.” She
unstrapped herself and surged to her feet. She hit the thruster on the side
panel to gain some distance but nothing happened. “No, no, no.”

In the next moment, Halah found herself
aboard a strange ship. Four men she’d never seen before rushed her. She
jump-kicked one of them in the jaw, sending him to the ground. The second one
took an electrical charge to the eye when she punched him.

The other two men grabbed and restrained
her before she could do them any damage. “Who the hell are you?” she demanded,
struggling against their hold. They weren’t Egesa.

Not even giving a second look to their
downed comrades, they searched her for weapons, then pulled her forward and out
into a corridor. They entered a lift and went sideways, then up. “Where are you
taking me?”

Neither of them said anything. When the
lift door opened, they jerked her along another corridor and then up to a
closed entry. Someone’s private quarters from the look of it. One of the men
pressed a button. After a moment, the door slid open and they dragged her
inside. A woman stood with her back to them.

“Leave us.”

The men released her and departed without a
word. When the woman turned, Halah gasped. “You! What the hell is going on?
How’d you get past my ship’s shields to materialize me out?”

“You’re lucky that I did. Your ship was
just destroyed.”

“Bitch!”

“Not by me.”

Halah blanched. She hadn’t registered an
incoming threat of that magnitude. Sure, she’d taken a couple of hits, but
total destruction? Outdated, shitty power-scanner. Or… “How do I know that,
Frost? Why would you care about saving me? What are you even doing out here?”

“You doubt my words?” Frost turned a screen
her way. “Here’s the playback. See.” As they both watched, the ship exploded in
an instant—a bright-white light, then simply empty space where the craft had
once been. “Poof. Gone. And I don’t care about you. But I do care about fucking
with and ultimately destroying Daegal. Now where’s Braden? Is he on Earth?”

So that’s why she’d saved her. She wanted
to know about Braden. She didn’t understand a lot about the past relationship
between Frost and Braden. Just that she’d betrayed him and destroyed his
relationship with Torque for a while. “Braden is not here.” The look on Frost’s
face was priceless. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
Not really, bitch.

“But he is coming. Yes?”

Halah wasn’t about to tell this woman
anything. “Why are you asking about him, Frost? Don’t pretend to be on our side
when you’re not.”

“I want Daegal dead, so does Braden, so do
all of you.” She smiled slightly. “I guess that does puts us on the same side,
whether you believe it or not. For now.”

“We’ll never be on the same side. What are
you really after?”

A wicked gleam entered Frost’s gaze.
“Power, my dear.”

Halah’s stomach clenched, recognizing that
look. The realization hit her hard.
Power
, yes. But control was really
what she’d meant. That was her ultimate goal. “You want to take over the Egesa.
Don’t you?” Daegal was a ruthless commander. Frost would be worse.

“For a start. I’ve been screwed over by too
many men in my life. Certainly you can understand that. It’s time that I do the
screwing. Braden and I could have ruled Xylon but he was too weak. Daegal and I
could have ruled the entire Xylon system but he turned on me.”

“I heard it was the other way around.”

Frost’s gaze hardened. “I intend to rule!
Everything. Including Earth.”

“You’re crazy. You can’t win against
Daegal. You don’t have the power. Nor can you get it on your own. And Braden’s
certainly not about to help you.” She really did believe that Frost had lost
her mind. The woman’s wild eyes, heavy breathing and the strange tone to her
voice convinced her of that.

“You’d be amazed at how much control and
power I’ve been able to obtain. Some on my own. Some, yes, with help. By the
way, how’s that hunky love of yours?”

The question took Halah by surprise and she
hesitated before answering. “No longer subject to your whims. We saw to that.”
Frost had planted a device in Kam’s throat that gave her control over him.
Leila had deactivated it. She hadn’t been able to remove the electronics. But
that had been a small issue since its power source had been destroyed.

Frost laughed. “Are you sure? Certainly
you’ve felt his approach, my dear. But he’s on his way to me. Not you.”

Something about the look in Frost’s eyes
when she spoke sent a chill down Halah’s spine. Was it possible that Frost
still did have control over Kam and was just biding her time? She’d had
concerns about that. In time, they’d faded. But now… “You’re bluffing.”

“Well, we shall see, won’t we? Now, I want
you to tell me what your orders are and what Braden’s plan is?”

“Like hell.”

Frost chuckled. “I was actually expecting
you to say that.” She pressed a comm button. “Send in my pain masters now.” Her
gazed locked with Halah’s. “They’re going to have such a fun time getting the
information out of you.”

The door slid open behind her and two huge
men tromped inside. Former Xylon Warriors turned to serve a darker master
now…or mistress in this case. There would be no mercy.

If she fought the pain masters, she’d be
killed. If she didn’t fight the pain masters, they’d extract all the
information she knew, then she’d be killed. It seemed to her that her choice
was clear.

* * * * *

Ice Moon, Xylon System

Braden turned slightly as Erik approached
him. “Are you ready?”

Erik nodded. “I’ve cleared a fighter in
your squadron for us. We’re good to go.”

“I already took care of that.”

“A malfunction docked the ship. I had to
clear another one. Ongoing problems. The other squadrons have already left with
their orders. We won’t be far behind. More fighters will follow us as they’re
able.”

“Good. We’ll need—”

“Sir?” An officer approached. As Braden
turned toward the man, the officer asked, “Who will be in charge while you’re
gone? Laszlo?”

“Laszlo’s not going to be in any shape to
assume control for quite some time.” He turned to Erik. “Your second is the
next ranking commander available, right?”

“Yeah, Perkins. I’ll brief him.”

“Good. I’ll find Kam and let him know
what’s going on.”

“Actually, Sir,” the young officer in front
of them interrupted hesitantly, “Nextor is no longer on the Ice Moon.”

“What?” Erik barked. “Where the hell is
he?”

“Not long ago, he confiscated one of the
recently repaired fighters without clearance and took off.”

“How long ago is not long?” Braden asked.
What the hell was going on with Kam now?

“Maybe an hour at most.”

“Was he alone or did he take a crew?”
Braden didn’t like the sound of this. Why would Kam take off without a word to
anyone?

“He was alone. A report was sent to your
terminal.”

“I must have missed it. I’ve been otherwise
engaged lately.”

Erik paced behind Braden. “He’s going to
get himself killed.”

Braden shook his head. “I don’t have time
to deal with this,” he said to the young man. “When the comm grid comes back
up, find his exact coordinates and relay the information to me. Also keep me
posted on Laszlo’s condition when you’re able.”

“Yes, Sir.”

As the warrior made a hasty retreat, Braden
turned to Erik. “Make sure our fighter is outfitted with as much firepower as
possible. Get us extra hand weapons and supplies too though, in case we need to
abandon the ship.”

“Do you want a healer on board?”

“No. Just us, Erik. Actually, I think we
better take two separate fighters. Clear another one. Pull a pilot if you have
to.” As Erik looked into his eyes, Braden tried to keep his expression neutral.

“No way, Braden. Whatever happens, happens
to the both of us.”

“You have Leila to think of.”

He nodded. “I intend to make it back for
her. And I’m bringing you back with me. So don’t go getting any ideas.”

Braden hesitated then nodded. He wasn’t
making any promises. Whether he made it back or not wasn’t a priority for him. Destroying
Daegal, making him pay for what he’d done, was all that Braden cared about. If
he had to sacrifice himself to make sure Daegal didn’t hurt anyone else, he’d
do it in a heartbeat. His siblings would be fine without him. His friends would
be fine without him. And he’d be with Alexa and his children in the afterlife.
“Let’s get things finalized so we can be on our way.”

* * * * *

Planet Earth, State of Colorado, U.S.A.

Underground Tracking Facility

Torque watched Jaeda as she secured her
hair away from her face. After briefly checking it in the mirror, she grabbed
her boots and slid them on. Even those innocent movements fascinated him. He felt
very comfortable in her presence as if they’d known each other forever.

Jaeda reached for her comm unit when it
buzzed. “Yes. All right.” She clicked it off. “He’s here. Are you ready?”

Torque slid on his jacket. “Ready.” He
followed her out the door and up to the same holding room where their group had
been gathered earlier. The facility hummed with activity, though at a quieter
level than earlier. Wait mode—that’s what it felt like.

When Jaeda opened the door and they
entered, a brawny man on the other side of the room turned. As he focused on
them, a wide smile split his face. His blue eyes flashed, standing out against
the dark, ancient warrior insignia tattooed atop his bald head. “Fuckin’ hey.”

Jaeda chuckled. “Good to see you, Grady.”

“It’s the beauty and one butt-ugly Xylon
beast.”

“Shit,” Torque muttered.

Jaeda looked from man to man. “You two know
each other?”

“Yeah.” That was all Torque said. Grady was
the warrior in his vision, except he’d had hair. The other man had been Kirk Logan.
It all clicked in his head at the same time. And he wasn’t happy. It hadn’t
been quite prophetic because of various differences he’d noted in Jaeda and now
Grady. So what had it been? Were breeder visions accurate down to the details?
He’d never thought to ask.

Grady stepped forward. “So what the hell is
going on? We haven’t been able to contact Xylon and now the Egesa show up in
force. We’ve heard some nasty rumors that nobody wants to believe. And Jaeda’s
been reluctant to share details.”

“I thought it best,” she replied.

“You always do.” His gaze zeroed in on
Torque’s jacket. “You’re wearing Laszlo’s insignia. That gives me the fucking
chills, man. Is he dead?”

Torque glanced up at the cameras. He
figured they’d been turned back on by now, so he didn’t want to say too much.
“Is there someplace more private we can go, Jaeda? I need to fill him in so we
can get organized.”

As Jaeda opened her mouth to respond, an
alarm went off. She grabbed her comm unit at the same time that it beeped. Her
brow furrowed as she read the message. “The facility’s been breached. We need
to get to a secure area.” She looked up at Grady. “You were followed.”

“No fucking way.”

Torque cracked open the door. People ran
back and forth along the hallway. Many looked scared. Others looked wary and
kept checking behind them. “I see a lot of panic. I don’t see anyone who
doesn’t look like they should be here. Yet.”