Desire Unmatched: 4 (Coded for Love) (11 page)

Slowly, she pulled her gaze to his. His face was all
business.

“I’m going to have sex with you now, and you’re going to
like it.”

Her heart pounded at his words. Xander as a dominating sexy
man was almost more than she could handle. She practically melted on his lap.
Then the humor of what he’d said penetrated. “Oh, am I going to like it?” She
tried and failed to hide her giggles.

Still no humor on his face. “Hell yeah.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’m not stopping until you’re screaming with
pleasure. Now,” he planted his hands on her hips and ground her into his
pelvis, “start telling me what to do.”

“First thing…” She rolled her hips into his. “Lose the
pants.” Together, they tugged off his bottoms and stretched out on the bed
skin-to-skin.

His body was bigger than hers in every way imaginable. Her
toes reached his shins, and he felt as solid as the mattress under her. She
bent her head to kiss him and their mouths met for long, lazy minutes. She
could kiss him all day. He tasted that good. The only problem was his kiss led
to other feelings. Feelings that became more urgent by the second.

Xander didn’t say anything but his hips shifted, pushing his
erection against her. “Keep kissing me,” she said against his mouth. “But also
put your fingers on me. Between my legs.” She spread her thighs in case he had
any doubts about where she needed his touch.

His hand moved under the covers and curved over her ass,
dipping a finger into her wetness. She moaned and pushed her bottom into his
hand.

“You’re dripping wet,” Xander said, sounding awed.

“Mmm-hmm.” She buried her face against the silky hair of his
beard. She knew he’d likely shave it off soon, but for today she liked it.

“I’m pleasuring you.”

“That you are. Keep it up. Move your fingers a little harder
and faster.” She gave a silent prayer of thanks that her guy was a soldier,
excellent at following directions. His fingers played in her folds and found
her clit. “Oh right there,” she cried. “Right. There.”

She reached with one hand to circle his cock and positioned
him between her legs. Slowly, she sank down on him. He stretched her inner
muscles in the best possible way.

The look on his face when she smiled down on him was
something she’d cherish forever. His eyes were wide, and he looked at her with
mingled surprise and awe.

“It’s so good,” he whispered in a hoarse voice. “Does it
feel good for you?”

“Better than good, baby.” She leaned over for a kiss,
putting their lower bodies in a better position to ride this thing to its
natural conclusion.

“Hold my hips, Xander, and move,” she said.

“Do you like this?”

“That feels good.” She started to rotate and swivel her
hips, seeking more and more contact with his body.

When his hips thrust up, meeting hers, she was sure she
wouldn’t survive this. Sex wasn’t meant to be this good. People wouldn’t leave
their bedrooms if sex was always like this. “Harder.”

“I’ll hurt you.”

“No, you won’t. I’m close to coming. Don’t stop.”

“I won’t stop,” he promised. “Gonna make my girl come.”

“You are,” she panted. “So close.”

The hospital bed shook with their frenzied movements and she
rose on an elbow to cling to the railing. The added height gave her extra
leverage to move on Xander’s body harder and faster until she was screaming his
name and blind to anything but her orgasm and his as he groaned underneath her
and stilled. It had been an orgasm unlike any other she’d had.

The fact it was Xander who’d shared it with her made it all
the better. He was a man who didn’t let others in. She’d had to claw and fight
and nearly beg to even get him to talk to her. To see him and feel him needy
and desperate
for her
gave her a thrill. He’d been attentive and caring,
everything she’d dreamed of having in a man.

“Emma?”

“Hmm?” Now they’d done the dirty deed, she could barely keep
her eyes open.

“You had an orgasm, right?”

She rested her cheek on his chest and smiled, keeping her
eyes closed. “You better believe it. That was amazing.” She couldn’t see his
face, but somehow she knew he was smiling.

“How soon can we do it again?” he asked.

One eye flashed open. She reached a hand lower and felt
around. His penis was wet and semi-erect. “Whenever you’re ready, baby. But I
don’t want to exhaust you. Doctor Wise will kill me.”

“Doctor Wise doesn’t get a say in this. I’ve missed out for
too long. Now that I have you, I’m going to fuck you every chance I get.”

An illicit thrill ran through her body at his dark words,
followed by slight concern she’d created a monster. From what she knew of
Xander, he was…intense. If he transferred that intensity to their sexual
relationship, she could be begging for mercy very soon. Her pussy clenched at
the thought.

She pushed her way up his body to look him in the eye. “I’m
yours,” she said very seriously, meaning every word. “Whenever, however you
want me.”

A smile stretched his lips. He reminded her of a predator
eyeing his prey. Good thing she loved animals. “I’m going to want you all the
time. If I’m not on a mission or working, we’re in bed. Can you handle that?”

“Can you?” she asked in her sassiest voice as her heart did
somersaults. He wanted her, he admitted it.

“I—”

She never heard what he had to say because a huge yawn split
his mouth as he tried to speak. “You need to rest.” She tried to sit up and get
him tucked under the blanket, but he pulled her to him.

“Stay?”

“Okay.”
Always.
There was no doubt she was falling in
love with this man. He’d been her hero since he’d rescued her from Paulson’s,
her distraction and kryptonite upon her move to the Program campus. Xander
playing the role of doting and loving boyfriend was beyond her capacity to
resist.

A little later she shifted in bed and then woke fully.
Without a window in the room she couldn’t tell what time it was or how long
they’d dozed. She did know it had been closing in on twenty-four hours since
Xander had been home and she hadn’t left his side other than a quick bathroom break
now and again.

She needed a shower, rather badly. Extricating herself from
under Xander’s arm, she slipped out of the bed, then out of the room. She took
a long, steamy shower in her apartment, shivering, even under the hot blast of
water, at the memory of Xander’s hands on her naked body. As soon as he was
back to full health she was dragging him into a shower with her. She wanted to
admire the water running down his muscular body. He’d be strong enough to lift
her in any position and take her in the shower.

A beep from her cell phone distracted her as she wrapped a
towel around her body and exited the tiny bathroom of her apartment. Tucking
the towel more firmly around her, she padded over to the phone on her table and
checked her messages. She had three messages. One from her father, one from
Kayla and one from an unfamiliar number.

She listened to the messages. “Oh damn,” she said as Kayla’s
voice played in her ear, reminding her she was to meet them at the movie
theater to view a screening of a movie for a class project. A glance at the
time on her phone told her she had thirty minutes to dress and drive to the
theater.

She didn’t bother with makeup and hastily pulled on a pair
of jeans and thick sweater. Her third message from the unknown number had been
from Eric, the flirtatious boy from yesterday. He’d wanted to confirm she was
meeting them at the movies. It’d been clear from his tone he was interested in
getting to know her better.

Yesterday, she’d toyed with the idea. Today, with Xander
home and firmly part of her life, it was a no-go. No one, especially a
twenty-something college student, was going to measure up to Xander.

Once she’d tiptoed into Xander’s hospital room and left him
a note explaining where she’d gone, she headed out into the twilight for the
local movie theater. Her Psychology of Pop Culture professor had made viewing
this movie a requirement before the midterm exam.

She easily found a parking spot and entered the theater
where she saw Kayla and crew waiting. “Sorry I’m a bit late. I ended up napping
and barely woke up in time.” The others took her excuse at face value and got
in line for tickets.

True to her word, Kayla didn’t question her outright, but
grabbed her elbow as they got in line. With pointedly raised eyebrows and
meaningful questioning looks, Emma understood Kayla wanted every detail about
Xander.

“He’s back,” she said in a low undertone as they stepped
ahead one place in line.

“And?” Kayla’s eyebrows practically disappeared into her
hairline.

“It’s good. It’s so good.” A smile burst forth, spreading
her lips wide across her face. She couldn’t help it. Thinking about the last
twenty hours with Xander made her want to skip and sing and giggle.

“Oh my God. Look at you.” Kayla laughed. “You’re so in
lurve.”

“I am,” she admitted. “I think I am.”

“When do I get to meet him? I have to make sure he’s good
enough for you.”

“I’m not sure. He’s not exactly the social type.” Her finger
trailed along the black nylon ribbon movie theaters and airports used to
organize lines. A shuffle in the crowd made them notice it was their turn to
purchase their tickets. Emma stepped forward, but Eric turned and smiled at
her.

“I already got your ticket.” He held it out to her, an
expectant smile on his face.

She stared at the ticket. If she took it, he’d expect her to
walk into the theater with him and probably sit next to him. Almost like a
date. She couldn’t. For one, it wouldn’t be fair to lead him on, and two, she
was loyal to Xander.

“That was really sweet, Eric. Here, let me pay you back.”
She opened her purse to dig around for her wallet.

“No. I don’t want your money. Take the ticket.”

She looked up after hearing the tone of his voice, a
combination of desire and annoyance. “Eric. I can’t let you pay for my ticket.
You see, I kind of have a boyfriend.” As soon as she said the words she
regretted them, because it would open the door to questions she wasn’t sure she
was ready to answer yet.

Eric scowled. “You have a boyfriend? How come we’ve never
met him? Where is he?”

“He’s right here.” A deep voice sounded behind Emma and had
her spinning to see Xander stalking up, an ugly look on his compelling face.
His newly acquired beard only added to the gruff, scary image.

He stepped close in to the group, edging Emma behind him
with his shoulder. He fished a wallet out of his black cargo pants and handed a
ten-dollar bill to Eric. “I pay for my girl.”

Total silence fell as her small group of friends took in
Xander from head to toe. She’d never noticed before, since she always saw
Xander on the Program campus with other genetically enhanced soldiers, but it
was clear he was
other
. He was only an inch or two taller than Eric and
the other guy in the group, but he was…harder, somehow. Even after a month of
captivity and near starvation he still looked stronger than every other human
in the room.

His muscles bulged from under the tight black polo shirt he
wore. He had a baseball cap low on his brow. She guessed to cover up the bald
patch where Doctor Wise had shaved to clean up his gash, and he totally rocked the
wild-man beard. He didn’t fit in with her group, not even slightly.

He didn’t even stand like the others. He was tensed and
balanced on his feet as if ready to spring into action any second at the
slightest sign of a threat.

Kayla interrupted the shocked silence by clearing her
throat. “Anyone want popcorn? No? Good, let’s go get seats.” She stepped into
the small circle of bodies and physically turned Eric around, steering him into
the dark theater.

Emma watched her friends enter, then turned to Xander. “What
are you doing here? Does Doctor Wise know you left your bed?”

His expression softened as he stared down at her. “None of
her business. I woke up when you snuck in to leave your note.”

She frowned up at him. “And you decided to go against good
medical advice and come to the movies.”

Puzzlement crossed his face. “You were here. I wanted to be
with you. Was that wrong?”

Her heart melted. “Oh honey, that’s okay. I’m worried this
might be too much activity for you. Maybe we should head back to campus?”

He leaned down to brush his beard against her ear. “You
weren’t worried about my activity levels when you were riding me and begging me
to make you come.”

She gasped and slapped at his biceps. It felt like hitting a
rock. “Xander!”

“I’m fine, and don’t you have to see this movie for school?
I promised myself I’m never going to interfere with your class work. I swear.”

Her heart was going to be in a puddle at their feet if he
kept saying such sweet things. “Okay, let’s stay for the movie. It’s simply
sitting in the dark. You can nap if you need to.”

“I’m not going to nap,” he said darkly. “That kid wants you.
It’s a good thing I showed up when I did.”

“Eric is harmless, Xander. You can piss farther than he
can.” She mentally rolled her eyes at his jealousy, but a tiny part of her
thrilled that he felt the emotion. She took a step toward the theater in which
her friends had disappeared, but stopped when she noticed Xander was still a
step behind, looking around the theater curiously.

“What?”

“I’ve never been to the movies before.”

She froze, then stepped back to him. “You’ve never been to
the movies.”

He gave her a
well duh
look. “No. My dad was never
going to take me, and by the time I was old enough to go alone, I was busy with
work.”

“But…”

“My dad said movies were a frivolous waste of time and
money.”

“What about telly? Did you watch that?”

He shook his head. “No set in my house, and when I moved
into the dorms with Adam we couldn’t afford one. Since I never got into the
habit, I never bothered to get one.”

She took his arm and steered him toward the concession
stand. “Well, that’s a deal breaker for me. We’re going to have a television
set.”

“We? Are we moving in together?”

Her lips parted and she looked up at him, suddenly
embarrassed at all the assumptions she’d made. She had them walking down the
aisle and shacking up together. He might not be there yet. Therefore she was
totally shocked when he shrugged and said, “Makes sense. If I’m gonna have you
as much as I want, we should live together.”

She suddenly wanted to wrap her body around Xander and
demand he take her right there, damn the public. He distracted her from her
lust-filled thoughts. “Why are we in this line? The theater’s that way, and
don’t you have a ticket already?” he asked.

“You’ve never been to a movie before. I’m going to give you
the whole experience. That means popcorn and candy.” She stepped to the glass
counter with him next to her.

He eyed the candy with suspicion. “I don’t have much of a
sweet tooth.”

Her heart broke at what he didn’t say. She suspected his
parents had never given him candy as a child, and he therefore hadn’t learned
to love it. Despite the recognition that it was nutritionally healthier, she
wanted to cry for the little boy who’d never gorged on an Easter basket full of
chocolate and never had a stomach ache the day following Halloween. “Well,
popcorn then.” She could live without the candy. American chocolate tasted a
bit off to her anyway.

She stifled a grin as Xander paid for the popcorn and a
large diet soda and put one piece in his mouth. “Well, what do you think?” she
asked.

He chewed slowly and swallowed. “It’s a little salty, isn’t
it? Do you think they spilled the container of salt by mistake?”

Her laughter rang out. “It’s not a mistake. It’s very salty.
And delicious.” She snatched a handful from the bag he held and popped it in
her mouth. She led the way to the theater and nearly burst a gut laughing when
the ticket taker waited for Xander’s ticket. Between the two of them, they only
had one.

“No, go ahead,” the smaller man said, ripping Emma’s ticket
in half and handing it to her. “I-I saw you buy a ticket earlier, and your
hands are busy holding popcorn. It must be in your pocket.”

Xander frowned down at the man in confusion. “Come on.” Emma
dragged him into the dark theater. “We’ll pay them back after the movie. I want
you to see the previews.”

The previews had already started when they entered. She
squinted in the dark, looking for Kayla and the rest of the gang. Xander didn’t
seem to have any trouble and walked down the darkened aisle as comfortably as
if the lights were on.

“Damn night vision.” There were perks to being with a man
who was better than average. She clung to his hand as he led them to where her
friends sat. He ushered her into the row behind them. As soon as they were
seated, he swiveled in his seat, looking around.

“What’s wrong?” she whispered.

“You’re vulnerable here. Anyone can walk in from the back
and I can’t see them until it’s too late. I think we should move to the last
row.”

She started to laugh then stopped, remembering he’d been
attacked and kidnapped from a fancy restaurant. He’d been trained from too
early an age to see danger everywhere. It was up to her to teach him to relax.
“You’re stronger than anyone who’s walking into the theater, and besides, the
back seats are too far. We can see the screen better from the middle.”

“I’m not stronger than a bullet to the back of my head, and
I’d see fine anywhere,” he muttered, but settled back into his seat, his long
legs brushing against hers.

She reached for some popcorn and tried to pay attention to
the previews. Every so often Kayla turned around to grin at her and stare at
Xander. If he noticed, he didn’t indicate. He seemed focused and stunned by the
previews. The movie they were seeing tonight was an action picture with lots of
explosions and car chases, which meant the previews were in a similar vein.

She watched him as he watched Hollywood’s version of tough
men facing danger on the big screen. She’d give anything to know what he was
thinking. Did he see that he was ten times scarier and more powerful than any
actor up on the screen?

“What do you think?” she asked, leaning across the armrest
to whisper at him.

He turned and shrugged. “Why is it loud in here? Is everyone
deaf?”

She giggled. “First, compared to you, everyone
is
deaf, and second, movies are always loud. It’s part of the sensory experience.
If it’s really bothering you, I have a set of ear buds in my purse you can
borrow.”

“Nah, I’m okay.” His attention was caught by a huge
explosion on screen and he leaned slightly forward in his chair. From that
moment on, she might as well have been alone in the theater. Every time she
glanced over, Xander was totally absorbed in the drama unfolding on screen. She
also noticed some of her friends in the row ahead were taking notes on the
movie. Damn. In all the Xander-returning excitement, she hadn’t looked at the
list of questions the professor had given of things to pay attention to.

Then she realized Xander with his excellent memory was next
to her, taking it all in. She could count on him to remember anything she
didn’t. She relaxed and sat back to enjoy the film. During the obligatory sex
scene, she glanced at him to see if he was noting the actress’s toned body. A
body that didn’t resemble hers.

For once he wasn’t watching the screen. His eyes were on
her, and he reached to take her hand. She smiled at him and he leaned over to
kiss her full on the mouth, tongue and all. For a minute she thought they might
act out their own version of the love scene, but he pulled back, keeping his
hand on her upper thigh.