Hammer Down: Children of the Undying: Book 2 (12 page)

Doors lined the back wall, along with a few couples, screwing with a total disregard for anyone who might watch the show. Part of the thrill, probably, knowing they had an audience.

Zel didn’t need one. He ducked through the first open door and kicked it shut behind them, leaving them alone in a small, dimly lit room. He couldn’t tell where the light was coming from—the walls themselves seemed to glow—but the illumination revealed a floor scattered with cushions and a low, plush couch. “Good?”

“Mmm. Zel.” She kissed the corner of his mouth, his cheek. “Dominic.”

His name on Devi’s lips was magic. Yearning rocked him as he sank to the couch with her in his lap. “Say it again.”

“Dominic.” Her hands slipped under his shirt, soft and hot on his skin. “Dominic.”

Kissing her was the only thing he could do. This time he savored it, dragging her mouth to his for a long, languid exploration. She met his kiss with a hunger that matched his own, her tongue sliding over his.

Slowly, she began to rock against him, her knees digging into the sofa cushions. This time when he slid his hands up her legs there was nothing but smooth, warm skin, no pants, no fabric, nothing to stop him from touching her.

Her head fell back, her lips parted and glistening. “Fast,” she whispered. “The way you would have taken me earlier, in my room.”

“No.” He traced across her leg, to the inside of her thigh and higher. “First I want to watch you.”

Devi jerked on his lap and wrapped her hand around his wrist with a moan. “Then slow. Tease—tease me.”

“You’re one damn bossy lady.” And even wetter than he’d imagined. His fingers slipped against her and he groaned, his cock aching at the thought of being clenched in slick, perfect heat. “Christ, Devi.”

Another moan melted into a sharp gasp of pleasure. “I’ll throw myself at your mercy, if that’s what you want,” she offered quietly, her eyes heavy-lidded and unfocused.

“Later,” he murmured, and as he teased a finger inside her he almost forgot there wouldn’t be a
later
. He had to watch her now—writhing above him, lost in a haze of sexual need—and know her body was his. “I’m going to fuck you just right, sweetheart. Hard and hot and deep until you can’t take it being so damn good.”

Her hand tightened on his wrist, and her hips moved erratically. “Tell me how.”

“Maybe over the arm of this couch. Long, slow thrusts…” He eased a second finger in and let her set the rhythm, let her ride his hand as she rocked over him. “Take off your dress.”

Devi faltered, then resumed a faster pace. “Is that a request, or an order?”

“It
was
a request.” He lifted a hand and fisted it in her hair, coaxing her mouth to his for another long, tongue-tangling kiss. “But maybe you shouldn’t. Maybe I should open my pants and we can do it like this. Fully clothed and never having to know what we’re missing.”

She didn’t answer, but she let go of him and skimmed the clingy black fabric up her body and over her head.

It was heaven and hell, having her naked astride him. Her body was sleek and muscled, strong but curvy enough to make his mouth water. No frail, fragile woman—even out in the world, Devi would be a match for him.

Or better.
Details could never be programmed accurately. Bodies changed. So did their virtual representations, but not always in the same ways. Later, he’d try to comfort himself, eye her clothed body and tell himself he’d had the best of all worlds.

He knew it for a lie as he skated both hands up her body. She could be perfect here, more perfect than life, but it would never be the best of any world. The heat under his hands wasn’t real. The scent of her arousal, the press of her hips as he cupped her breasts—none of it was real.

But her moan was. He remembered the noise from their brief encounter in her room, the throaty, full sound of her, and
that
was real enough to drive him crazy. He plied her nipples with his thumbs, just to hear that desperate sound again, and whispered a command. “Open my pants.”

Her hands shook, and she fumbled with the buttons and again with the zipper. “I’m not usually so clumsy.” The back of her hand grazed his cock.

His capacity for higher reasoning died. With his hands on her hips, he could drag her into place
and
close his teeth on the firm swell of her breast, and it made him crazier. “Just like this,” he whispered as soon as she’d gotten his pants open. “Hot and fast.
Now
.”

“Yes.” She wasn’t any more patient as she tore at his shirt. “I need more, to feel you—” He didn’t move fast enough, and she ripped the fabric, baring his chest. “Yes.”

One hard jerk, and she sank onto him. She was slick and ready, so damn ready he groaned as he slid deep. He’d thought of a dozen ways to take her, each dirtier than the last, but nothing beat having her sweat-slicked body rubbing against his, her breasts pressed to his chest and her throat bared and vulnerable as she tossed back her head.

Devi moved, taking control as she gripped the back of the sofa on either side of his head and rode him. She was strong, lithe, and her hips tilted to take him deeper with every rolling thrust. Her moans gave way to noises almost like whimpers, low and needy, but she didn’t speak.

She didn’t have to.

Neither did he. He touched her instead, her shoulders and arms, the damn near perfect breasts. Mind over matter was easier in the network, but the clench of her body around his cock still forced him toward the edge of sanity, until the only thing to do was work a hand between them and stroke her clit in a desperate attempt to get her off before he exploded.

“Dominic.” His name trembled out of her, broken by harsh pants. She moved faster and threw back her head again, this time on a scream. Her body gripped his, squeezing tight around him, and her fingernails dug into his skin as she tried to pull him closer.

It couldn’t end. He rocked off the couch, still buried inside her, and lowered her to the floor. “Again.” He braced his hands on either side of her and lifted his body, making it easy to thrust deep. “Come again.”

Devi arched to meet his thrusts as she shuddered and twisted on the pillows. “Fuck! Please, please—”

“What?” He’d give her anything.

Her thighs were strong around his hips. “Harder.”

In the world, he’d have to worry about hurting her. No such concerns here. His next thrust slammed their bodies together, inching her back.

She went wild beneath him, another orgasm shaking her, drawing a sharp, hoarse cry from her throat. There was no mind over matter, no holding back. The impossible grip of her body as she came was too good to resist. Pleasure twisted inside him and burst forth as he sank into her once more, savoring the throbbing, perfect release.

Devi lay on the pillows, her chest heaving, soft whimpers occasionally filling the space between them. When she spoke, her words were dazed and abrupt. “I’m leaving.”

“I know.” He rolled to his back and clenched his eyes shut. Grinding his teeth together was the only way to keep from asking her to meet him here again. To meet him here every night.

She turned to him and curled up at his side, her hand on his chest. “How much time do you have?”

“An hour. Maybe two.” He covered her hand with his. “I’ve got a meeting later to figure out exactly what the spy knows. I’ll be able to tell you if you’re safe in the morning.”

“Don’t worry about it too much.” Devi kissed his shoulder. “I’ve made provisions. We’ll be okay, even if we have to go off the grid.”

He wasn’t surprised. Maybe sex and danger had provided a false sense of intimacy, but it seemed like the sort of thing she’d do, especially with Cache on board as living proof of how bad things could go. “You’re free to go now, but we always need people willing to trade with us. In a few months, when things have settled down… Well, you’d all be welcome back.”

She propped her cheek on her hand, her elbow on the pillows. “I like to keep moving, Zel.”

It wasn’t supposed to hurt, as if he’d lost something precious. “Fair enough.”

“Still, we’ll have to come back at least once.” Her lips brushed his skin again. “To pick up your niece so we can drive her to Manitoba.”

“Thank you.” He sank his hand into her hair, and it felt just as good around his fingers as he remembered. “Want to make the best of the hour we’ve got?”

“Don’t know.” Her tone and her body both teased, lazy and yet expectant. She stretched out on her stomach, her cheek pillowed on her folded arm. “Convince me.”

So he did, with lazy touches and soft bites, wringing every possible ounce of indulgent pleasure from both of their bodies as the minutes ticked down. He marked her for every one that slipped away, reckless in the pursuit of possession, but even with her body bared and helpless under him, he was taunted by knowledge that no hint of him would remain on her skin. Her scent would fade, and he’d wake up alone, with no proof that he’d had her at all. Something was missing. Life. Heat.

Or maybe just the promise of a future that couldn’t be measured in minutes and marks that had never existed at all.

Chapter Ten

Devi had no idea what time it was when she dropped out of the network. Her mind responded sluggishly, prolonging the connection, rendering her dizzy. Sick.

She sat alone in her room, the lights dimmed, exactly as she’d been before meeting Zel in the club. Now, she wiped her cheeks, turned up the lights and rose to dress.

Sleep was an impossibility, and she needed to do something.

Staring at her reflection as she pulled her hair into a severe ponytail gave her something to focus on. She could check the trucks, run through as much of her checklist as was prudent before their actual departure, and then she wouldn’t have to think about Zel.

He looked at her like he wanted to really touch her, to find some way to brand her as his. Worse, like he wanted to
know
her. Stand side-by-side in a kitchen, preparing a meal, or tell stories and laugh over beers.

The first involved treading a fine line, but one she knew well. She’d continue to see him and, sooner or later, it would all come down to an ultimatum. Few men, even fully human ones, could stand the way she came and went, addicted in a way to the freedom that came along with her job. It threatened them even as it left them behind, alone and lonely.

Whether it ended in screaming arguments or cold silence, it always ended. But it was the second option that was the quickest way to a broken heart. Involvement that went beyond the sexual, maybe even something like love.

She couldn’t afford it.

The thump of her boots echoed in the empty corridor as she headed for the garage bay where the trucks had been stowed. Her crew was her family, and all her emotions not tied up in sex or physical attraction were reserved for them.

Liar.

Devi pushed through the heavy double doors and yanked a slim digital gauge from her pocket. Tires first, and that would take a good half-hour if she did it right.

The outer tires were easy, but it was impossible to check the innermost set on each axle without crawling at least halfway under the truck or trailer. Grease and dirt smudged her skin and clothes by the time she’d finished the first truck, but her racing thoughts had calmed.

She dragged her fingers across the tread of one tire and breathed in the scent of slightly worn vulcanized rubber laden with traces of exhaust. That smell hadn’t changed in her thirty years of life—had, in fact, been her earliest memory. It was easy, comforting.

She wrapped up her tire check and grabbed a tool case from under the driver’s seat, then opened the hood and climbed up on the frame to examine the fluid tanks, belts and hoses. Maintaining the trucks was hard physical work, and a harsh reminder that the time she’d spent with Zel hadn’t been real. Her muscles should have ached with a delicious soreness that she could carry with her when she left.

Instead, she felt as if she’d sat in a reclining chair for two hours.

“Remember that, Devi,” she muttered as she jiggled the steering tie rod to check its stability. Zel hadn’t come to her outside of virtual space because it was too complicated, even dangerous, and that wouldn’t change. He needed a partner, whether he was actively looking for one or not, someone who could help him run his settlement and care for his people. The absolute last thing he needed was a lover he couldn’t be seen with.

Her hand slipped off the fan belt and slammed into the alternator. The rough metal bit into her skin, and she breathed a curse as she flexed her scraped knuckles. “Fuck. Fuck, fuck,
fuck
.”

“You okay up there, boss?” It was Tanner’s voice, and the first sign of his presence.

Luckily, she managed to avoid bumping anything else. “Yeah, I’ll make it. You’re up late.”

“Couldn’t sleep.” He circled the truck, footsteps silent, and hoisted himself up onto the opposite side of the frame. “Ready to feel the wind again.”

Ready to get the hell out of Rochester was more like it. “We’ll be on the road soon enough.”

“Good. Things are better on the road. Safer.”

Devi could only hope that was true. “If not, still better than being stuck in a hole underground, huh?”

“Especially if that hole’s filled with suspicious people.” Tanner held out a hand. “Fuel filter cap’s a little loose. Toss me a socket wrench.”

She planned to comply silently, but her mouth formed the words anyway. “The scrutiny makes you nervous?”

Tanner didn’t look up from the engine, but his shoulders tensed. “You’ve always been good about not asking a lot of questions, even when I do things that a human man probably shouldn’t be able to do. After all this time, if there are any questions you want to ask, I figure I owe you an answer or two.”

Devi watched as he tightened the cap. “The only thing I care about is whether we can trust you, Tanner. Can we?”

“I would never do anything to put you, Ruiz or Cache at risk. Ever.”

It was all anyone could ever ask for. “Then that’s everything I need to know. The rest is your business.”

The hard lines of his face softened, and he smiled and tossed the wrench back to her. “That’s why you’re the best, Dev.”