Dominated By Desire (24 page)

She paused for a moment.

Storm put a hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”

“There was so much blood. It frightened me. It made me realize that whoever was willing to shoot a secondary person was no one to play with.” She shook her head. “Anyway the hostile turned and started walking again.”

“You saved his life, that’s what you need to remember.”

“I know, but at this stage I knew I wasn’t dealing with a simple exercise.

This was for real. I took his weapon, hoping it would do more than just anger the hostile once I caught up to him.” She smoothed her hands against her suit. “I also knew this thing wasn’t human at this point.”

“Why?”

“Because a trained assassin would have made sure Fridon was dead.

Once the target was out of the way the AI continued to move to his destination. He removed the threat according to his program and continued to move to his objective.” She kept her eyes on the ground because she knew her next words would upset him just like the last time. “And if their goal was to kidnap me the AI only had one set of commands. Anyone else would have tried to capture me right after the bike blew up when I could have been most vulnerable, or at this moment. Instead of shooting Fridon the way he did he could have captured him and lured me in.”

“But he didn’t.”

“Exactly.” She took his hand in hers and started down the path she followed. She pointed as she talked. “It walked in a straight line instead of sticking to this path. Lots of little things that made me realize what I was dealing with.”

“Let’s get back to the bike.” He kept a hold of her hand, this time letting her climb onto the bike before he slid in behind her. Once they secured their helmets they flew to the safe house, followed by everyone else.

The door had been repaired. In fact there was no sign of what happened there the day before. Heather opened her visor to look around.

“I watched it smash through the door and knew whoever might be in here could be in danger, and considering it was close quarters I felt this was my best chance to take it out.” She climbed the stairs and opened the door.

The scene replayed in her head. Several had been wounded but they had reacted pretty quickly when the AI had smashed through the door. “It had gotten to here before I was able to put the blaster against its head. I put that on the highest setting it had and hoped for the best. It short-circuited the AI long enough for me to take its head off and remove the memory chip.”

“That must have been glorious to see,” said one of the other men.

“Yeah, you’re going to have to teach us that technique.”

“All right. Head back to the transport.” Storm held her back for a few moments, waiting for the rest of them to take off. He touched her face with tenderness. “The moment things went wrong I feared for your life. You are my heart.”

“And you are mine, but it doesn’t matter where I am. Whoever is doing this is determined to get their hands on me. That first night at the embassy, your apartment, this exercise.” She placed her hand on his heart, the same gesture he had been doing lately. “You can try to protect me, but keeping me in a bubble isn’t going to fix the problem and you know I won’t allow you to lock me away like that.”

“Even if I promise to keep you so busy with so much of our lovemaking you won’t have time to complain?” He placed his hand over her heart as well.“Um, sir? The mike is still on.”

This time Heather laughed.

****

Heather sat on the bed in their darkened room. Storm had been called to his mother’s chambers which gave her some time to meditate. She could have jumped into the shower the moment they returned but she needed to focus on the dream while it was still fresh in her mind.

This time she had the handheld so she could try to recreate what she saw. The ceiling was the first thing she remembered. The way the shadows kept everything dark and hard to see. One big lamp hung over her head.

It reminded her of the old films from the twentieth century, an old seedy warehouse where no one should be. The image she created reflected that too. Next she looked to her right. There were a row of old cabinets or maybe lockers. They were dark, a metal grey or dark brown? They were a little harder to see because of the lighting. To her left was a blank wall. It had been white at one time but over the years it had faded to a dull grey. Had anyone been in the room with her? She didn’t remember anyone.

The bed she was strapped to was made of metal. A leather band went across her stomach and her hands were secured above her head. Her feet had to have been secured too but she didn’t remember that. She had tried to sit up in the dream, which was how she knew her movements had been restricted.

The voice she heard was distorted. Strange. If she didn’t know who the man was why did he distort his voice? Was it someone she knew? But she knew so few people here on Vespia, how could it be one of them? Maybe someone from Earth? The only people she knew were through her work.

Why would they be after her?

The conversation with the strange voice floated in and out. She had said something about Storm coming to rescue her and he laughed, letting her know of the trap he had set. So what was the trap? She couldn’t remember.

All she knew was it frightened her and it was palpable. It had to have been one that would work on him. Some sort of ambush.

Deep in thought, she didn’t focus on who walked into the room, she was just aware someone was there. A hand touched her shoulder which she grabbed, twisted and forced away from her. When she focused back on her surrounding she found she had Storm down on one knee in another one of her joint locks. She released him immediately with a sheepish grin. “Oh, sorry. Guess I should have warned you not to do that when I’m meditating.

I’ve caused a few injuries in the past.”

“You are full of surprises, aren’t you?” He rubbed his hand. “You want to try that one again now that you’re focused?”

“Why? You don’t think I could do it again?” Was he crazy enough to challenge her? She knew her capabilities. They had been tested time and time again.

“I have a few tricks I have learned over the years.” He gave her that if
I win I get to have my way with you
smile. The one that always melted her to the core.

“If you’re going to cheat.” She stood up and found herself wrapped in a hold that kept her immobile. He had moved so fast she didn’t have time to react. With her front pressed to his she couldn’t see a reason to complain.

“I never cheat.” He nibbled on her ear. She could feel his smile as he spoke against her throat. “Manipulate things, maybe, but never cheat.”

“Storm.” She pulled back to get him to look at her. Instead he pressed his lips against hers, his tongue swept into her mouth, swirling with hers, touching her deep inside. Once he broke the kiss he continued to plant soft little kisses along her jaw and neck.

Part of her wanted to melt into the sensations he was drawing from her but she knew everything he was doing was a calculated move. He wanted to throw her focus off.

That wasn’t going to happen.

Her feet didn’t touch the ground or she would have tried stomping on his. Going boneless wouldn’t work. She was pretty much there anyway.

“Thought you were going to try to get out of this.” He said it so nonchalantly, his lips still working on her neck. He knew she hadn’t figured out how yet. In three strides he had her at their bed.

The bed she could use. Gaining purchase on the mattress, she pulled her weight backwards, throwing him a little off balance. That was all she needed. He had to adjust his hold on her to keep them from falling onto the bed and she used that to slide through his arms and drop to the floor. She didn’t get very far, his hand closed on a leg before she could pull it out of the way. Heather wasn’t sure if she really wanted to, but she did prove she could get away from him if she wanted to.

He pulled her toward him until he could wrap his arms around her and pull her back against him. “You can be quite slippery, can’t you?”

“And you can be devious so I think we’re even.” This time she relaxed in his arms.

“So I guess the question I should ask is what should I do to make you understand that you’ll never get away from me.” He started to work on her uniform, releasing the seams slowly. “Make you beg for it?”

“You can’t go that long without needing me. I think I’d win that one.” His fingers skimmed across her skin, sending little frissons of desire spiraling through her. “And what makes you think I want to get away from you?”

“Good answer.”

“I do have a request though.”

“And what is that?” Her uniform opened and gave him complete access to her.

“Shower? Please? I need to feel clean after all of that.” A soft sigh escaped her as his hands slid across her body.

“The suit did that for you. You’re probably cleaner now than when you put it on.”

“True, but there is something about water falling on the naked body.” She felt his fingers slide into her folds. She leaned her head against his shoulder as sensations washed over her. “Remember the last time we were in water?”

That was all she needed to say. He moved them to the bathroom. A large stone area stood in one corner. It looked more like a waterfall garden than a shower. “You asking for a real running water shower had my mother baffled.”

He put her down so he could release the last few seals on her uniform.

“If she knew it was just another place for you to mark your territory she might have said no.” She worked on his, being just as quick as he had been with her uniform.

Heather set the temperature and climbed in. Tilting her face up, she reveled in the feel of the water washing away the emotions of the day. The fear and the anger ran down with the water and washed out through the drain. She wished she could do the same with the dream but ignoring it didn’t work, that was another tactic she had tried that failed miserably.

After soaping and rinsing her hair she looked up at Storm, who watched but hadn’t climbed into the small space.

“Are you okay?”

“I could have lost you.” He had a tight grip on the shower frame.

“But you didn’t.” She stepped up to where he stood and placed her hand on his heart. “I know you don’t believe me but every time I have been in any mortal danger I’ve had those dreams to warn me. I was perfectly safe.”

“And so you trust them?” He placed his hand on her heart. “Aren’t you afraid that the dream could be wrong?”

“It never has been in the past. Questioning it would just make me fear everything. Believe me if I have one before a mission I will tell you. As you saw they’re kind of hard to hide.” She took his hand and gave it a tug.

“Come in with me. Let’s forget about everything but each other.” He allowed her to pull him into the water, but she could still see his worry over her safety. She took some soap and lathered her hands, then slowly she spread the soap across his chest, fingers teasing his nipples, making them hard with a simple brush of her nails. She loved the feel of his hard muscles under her palms. A little more soap and she worked on his waist and his hips before she wrapped her lathered hand around his length, gaining a little shudder out of him.

Storm came alive then. His hands caressed her as he lifted her, centered her and entered her in one movement. It took her breath away. His desire to keep her safe turned into a hunger she had never felt from him.

Swept up in the tumult of fear, anger and desire he swept her away with him. He pumped into her. In and out he moved, building her desire with his. She felt desire lick at her insides as he started to move faster. Her slick sheath hugged him as he slid in and out. Everything in her squeezed him, increasing the sensations they loved so much. Each time he drove into her she could feel her orgasm getting closer. Her body begged for release and she could feel he was close too. She tilted her hips and that was all it took to send them plunging into their orgasms.

Everything exploded around her. She felt like she was freefalling through space. Then she felt his release, just as powerful, racing through his body, sending him soaring along with her. They flew together, their releases intertwining and blending to a point where they couldn’t tell which orgasm belong to them.

The only sound they could hear over the hiss of the hot water was their heavy breathing. Heather felt her heart beating hard in her chest.

Storm kissed the edge of her jawline. “What was that? I have never felt anything so powerful.”

“You felt it too? I felt like I had two orgasms. Mine and yours just like the last time.” She closed her eyes and tilted her head as his lips continued to work their way down to her collarbone.

“I think we need to do that again just to compare.”

“I may never want to get out of the shower if it happens again.” She felt him pulse inside her, felt herself grip him tight, her body fitting him like a glove. The muscles surrounding him caused a delicious friction.

He pulled out and surged back in and both of them groaned. She felt everything. His tension filling her, her muscles hugging him, how he stretched her, the way her body surrounded him each time he filled her. It took very little to send her off again.

Once she took off she felt him tense before she was hit with another wave of pleasure. “Oh my.”

“You thought I was demanding before, you haven’t seen anything if it’s going to be like that every time.” He pressed another kiss against her throat.

“How is that possible?”

“You questioning something so phenomenal? I want it again and again.” He still stayed inside her, holding her against him.

“You think you could do that again?” She wasn’t sure if her muscles could take another round. Feeling his as well as hers made the whole experience so much more intense.

“Sure would like to try.” He held her close, the intimacy between them profound. “Oh my heart, you have changed my world.”

“You’ve used that phrase before.”

He eased her off him and allowed her feet to touch the tile in the shower.

“You know how on Earth they like to use the phrase ‘I love you’?”