New Species 10 Moon (17 page)

He opened his eyes to the sight of chestnut curls spread across a pillow and the pale column of her throat only inches from his mouth. His gaze followed the curve of her chin to her dainty face. She seemed familiar but he couldn’t understand the protective instincts that rose so strongly inside him as he studied the female while she slept.

His dick was hard and buried inside her. He tried to remember how the female had entered his cell but nothing surfaced.
Breeding drug.
It took him seconds to associate the thought with the meaning. A foggy memory of being shot with a dart and intense pain flashed inside his head. The drug had been used on him before but the details of how many times and exact circumstances were out of reach. He knew it was a weapon used against him to force him to mount females.

Human.
He lifted his head enough to stare down at the slumbering female lying on his mat. To be certain. Rage engulfed him and his heartbeat accelerated.
Enemy.
More images and partial memories surfaced—humiliation, abuse and sadistic behavior unleashed on him by her male counterparts.

He lifted his hand, careful to make no sudden moves that would alert her to his intent. The lower half of him throbbed, more than aware of how wet she was and how tightly she gloved his shaft. Desire to take his pleasure from her almost overrode his urge to seek revenge. It would feel good to drive his body in and out of hers.
Helpless.
She is too small and weak to fight me.
That made him pause. He was not cruel.

He would show mercy. It enraged him that he’d been used for more tests. They obviously had wanted to breed him with a human. His gaze scanned her shoulders, throat, and down her arms, which were bent upward, resting near the pillow. No bruises or bite marks marred her pale skin. He hadn’t taken her as aggressively as he somehow knew he would have on the drug. It was also confusing that she faced him, their bodies joined that way, when she should have been facedown. He would have mounted her from behind.

He wrapped his fingers tenderly around her fragile throat. One quick twist and it would be over. She’d die without pain. The test would be a failure. He focused on her face, studied every detail of her features. Her mouth was a temptation. Her nose was so different from his—smaller and narrower. Her cheekbones were less pronounced. Even her eyelashes were dainty.

The memory of her gazing at him slammed into his mind. He knew her eyes would be blue, beautiful, with flecks of yellow. He couldn’t remember where he’d seen them before but it was a certainty that would be what he saw if her eyelids parted. His hand on her throat relaxed.

The protective instincts grew stronger until his chest felt as though it actually constricted. He had to swallow the lump forming in his throat as he nearly choked on raw emotion. It was confusing why he felt such self-loathing over even considering snapping her neck. The sight of his hand against her throat was even more alarming. He withdrew it and fingered a thick lock of her hair instead.

Soft.
He inhaled, breathing her in. His dick hardened until his balls ached. He was so focused on the female that it wasn’t easy to concentrate but he forced his attention elsewhere to assess the situation.

The mat was thicker than the one he was accustomed to and it wasn’t on the floor. He turned his head, stunned by his surroundings. The cage he knew so well was gone. Bars ran from floor to ceiling on three of the walls. Chains wrapped the bars of the door but the locks were all inside. Logic told him the door had been secured from the inside.

He wasn’t a prisoner. He had secured the area to keep humans out. His gaze returned to the slumbering female. Her chest rose and fell steadily. He growled and her breathing changed. Her eyelids remained closed but she wasn’t so drugged that she couldn’t wake.

Think.
How did I get here? Who is this female?
He turned his head the other way, staring past the bars to a cavernous, dim room beyond. The smell of the place was different from Mercile. A howl threatened to explode from him as rage heated his blood. He hated them. It took him a moment to remember why. Mercile employees were vile humans who caused him pain and kept him at their mercy. They had none. They were cruel, cunning, vicious adversaries. Even females were cruel at Mercile.

He pulled back his lip into a snarl as he turned his head again to stare down at the female.
Enemy. Human. Kill.
He hesitated, unable to do it regardless of his need to seek vengeance on one of them. His lungs constricted again and it was difficult to draw breath as tenderness swamped his senses. It was a foreign concept.

Why?
There was no answer. He couldn’t hurt her. Other needs grew stronger until he couldn’t resist any longer. She was his, at least for the moment, on his mat. No one could reach them without cutting through the bars or the chains. He’d secured his space…unless she’d done it after he’d been drugged. It didn’t make sense though. Humans locked him inside a cage to keep him away from them. They would not willingly trap themselves with their victims.

I did it. I must have locked us inside.
He was certain of that now, despite his lack of recollection. The condition of his dick was a hint as to why he might have kept her captive. One more survey of her skin and its lack of trauma verified that she hadn’t struggled.

Some of the sluggishness faded from his mind, making it easier to think. The smell of sex hung in the air, a mixture of himself and her. He growled, wanting to find pleasure in her body. She stirred under him and her lips parted slightly. Her eyes under the closed lids moved and then they opened. Blue with yellow specks—exactly as he’d somehow known.

He expected her to scream when she became aware that he had her pinned. Instead, she smiled and the warmth in her gaze was devastating to his libido. She moved leisurely, her hands uncurled and lifted to touch the tops of his shoulders. Fingernails didn’t claw his skin in protest but gently caressed him.

“Good morning.”

Her voice was husky and feminine, honey to his ears. He wanted to hear her speak more. She did, as if she could read his thoughts.

“You passed out.”

Her palms and fingertips slid over the curve of his shoulders to the front of his chest, exploring and almost destroying his tight control. It was difficult to remain still when all he wanted to do was drive his hips against hers. Many questions bothered him but he refrained from speaking.

The expression on her face changed to one that he identified as concern.

“Are you okay?” Her touch paused. “What’s wrong?” She paled. “Do you know who I am?”

He didn’t like seeing her distressed and instantly responded by shifting his position, making sure she couldn’t struggle if panic set in. The concept of harming the female in any way was offensive to him. His arms settled next to hers to keep her caged.

“Easy.” He wanted to assure her she wasn’t in danger.

Fear filled her eyes and his heart rate increased at her distress. She lowered her gaze, but he wasn’t fooled. He might be crushing her so he braced more of his weight on his arms and legs, lifting half an inch. It gave her the opportunity to wiggle out from under him but she didn’t.

“You are safe,” he rasped, mindful of his tone to avoid frightening her more.

He didn’t tense when her hands slid up his chest to his shoulders again. She wasn’t strong enough to really harm him. Her nails would hurt if she dug them into his skin to draw blood but he could handle that discomfort. She wasn’t going for his face, where she could do actual damage to his eyes. The female gripped him, clinging in a way he liked.

“I’m Joy. We know each other.”

Very well.
He took a deep breath, drawing in the scent of their spent passion, still lingering in the air. His dick inside her, combined with their lack of clothing and what his nose told him assured him of that. He wanted to mount the female again.

“Do you know your name?”

He had no answer but it didn’t matter. They were together. He shifted his hips carefully and the silken confines of her pussy were torture. The small movement was enough to send him into a frenzy of mindless passion. She was hot, wet, and tight around him. She didn’t scream or struggle when he tested how she’d take him while sharing sex. Surprise was the only emotion she showed, urging him to sink his shaft deeper inside her.

Her legs tightened around the back of his while her hands gripped him with more force. He paused, waiting to see if she’d protest. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips but she stared at him now without fear. He noted the way her breathing increased but as he slowly dragged his dick almost all the way out of her, she lifted her thighs higher to his waist and clamped them firmly against his hips.

That was definitely a yes. He buried his nose against her throat, his mouth parting to taste her skin, and growled in excitement. The flavor of her was delicious and he wanted more, to lick her all over and explore…later. He plowed his hips into the cradle of her thighs, careful not to be too rough. She was human after all. They bruised easily and harm was the last thing he wanted as she moaned next to his ear.

He nearly came from the feel of her. She squeezed his dick to the point of pain but it was the best kind. He drove in and out of her pussy, moving faster until he had to stop kissing her and clench his teeth to resist losing control. Her moans rose in pitch as her vaginal muscles tightened even more. The feel of her climax was the final straw as her sex grew wetter, hotter, and she dug her nails into his skin.

His head snapped back and he howled as his body exploded. The ecstasy left him blind. He was not sure if he’d closed his eyes or if all his senses had been overridden by his swelling dick as he locked inside her, filling her with his seed. He shook violently from the intense experience.

He dropped his face into the curve of her neck before he could pull his thoughts together and find rationality. She was his. He sank his teeth into her tender skin and blood coated his tongue. He snarled, loving how good she tasted—so right. He felt her body jerk under his but it barely registered until she cried out. It wasn’t a sound of pleasure but one of pain.

Horror jolted through him as he realized what he’d done. He jerked his mouth away and stared at the bite he’d inflicted upon the female. Bright-red blood from two puncture wounds stained her neck and shoulder and dripped on the bedding. The indentations of his lower teeth were already forming bruises on her pale flesh near the base of her throat in the curve of her shoulder.

She released him and grabbed at the injury. He looked at her eyes then. They were filled with distress as she stared at him.

He would have rolled away but his swollen dick held him captive inside her. He snarled, enraged at what he’d done. Regret didn’t undo the action. Her legs released his hips and straightened along the length of his. Tears slipped silently down the side of her face. A ragged sob escaped her.

“I didn’t mean to.” He winced over how raw his voice came out but he couldn’t mute his sorrow.

He grabbed her trembling hand and pulled it away from the wound. He studied what he’d done to the female. The bite would scar where he’d pierced her skin. She’d carry his mark for the rest of her life.

She turned her head away, giving him a better view of the damage he’d inflicted, and used her other hand to hide her upper face. He would have urged her to trust him but it seemed insincere under the circumstances.

“I’ll tend it. Relax.”

She didn’t say a word but it had to hurt. He lowered his mouth and prepared to hold her securely if she struggled. His swiped the injury with his tongue as gently as possible. It drew a gasp from her but she didn’t flinch away.

The taste of her made his dick twitch and harden. It was uncomfortable instead of arousing with the swelling still receding from the knot that had formed near the base of his shaft. They both suffered a little as he finished cleaning the wound.

Joy shielded her eyes while she attempted to get a handle on what had happened. She didn’t argue about germs or how unsanitary it was for 466 to lick at the bite. Animals tended to wounds that way and there was no denying his DNA.

He bit me.
She couldn’t get over that fact. It was bad enough that he didn’t know who she was. It wasn’t much of a surprise, albeit disappointing. He could have reacted in various ways when he’d awoken to find an unknown woman naked under him. It took control not to shudder as those scenarios scrolled through her mind. The worst being that it could have cost her life.

Where is he right now? Still at Mercile?
She was afraid to ask. He might think she was the enemy. He could go from being tender to tearing her apart with his bare hands. The stories she’d heard about Species killing their captors were the makings of nightmares.
Nope, don’t go there
, she decided. A bite suddenly didn’t seem so bad.

He finished licking her and raised his head. She needed to get a read on his emotional state but kept her hand over her eyes. Dragging out the moment didn’t seem so terrible as she dealt with her own turmoil.

“Joy?”

Hope flared that his memory had finally returned. She wiped at her tears, blinked rapidly to clear them, and shifted her hand to peer at his handsome face. “You remember me?”

His frown and the confusion in his eyes was answer enough. It would be a terrifying situation if she wasn’t in love with him.