The Power of Persuasion (7 page)
“
Goddamit, keep still!”
She bit even harder and he cursed, his hand tangling in her hair and cupping her skull until she was exactly where he wanted her. He pinned her against the door and she was aware of every muscular inch of him from knee to shoulder. The kiss went on and on, turning into something so needy and filthy and spectacular that her knees started to give way. He grabbed her hand, placed it over the front of his pants and she gripped him hard through the fabric.
“
I thought you said you didn’t want me, Mac?”
He pushed into her hand and she squeezed hard until he yelped.
“
You closed your mind to me
.”
“
Because you made it quite clear that you’d done your duty and that was an end to it
.”
“
And it was. It is. It has to be.”
“Then what’s this, then, Mac?”
“Residual lust?”
She moaned as he slid his hand inside her pajama bottoms and curved his strong palm around her ass cheek.
“It’s not that simple.”
“It never is for a woman.” He braced one hand on the wall beside her head so that she couldn’t look away from him. “I’m supposed to be guarding you until you leave Earth. That’s my primary mission. I was chosen because I’m a telepath and a super soldier.”
“And I’m leaving in a few weeks.”
“Yes,” he stared into her eyes. “We both know where we stand. There’s no future in this for either of us.”
She nodded, but neither of them made any effort to let each other go.
“And yet, I still want you.” Mac murmured.
“I got that.” She licked her lips and then his. “And I want you, even though you might remember that I’m not in my mating cycle.”
He groaned and buried his face in the crook of her neck. It was a good thing that he was still holding her up because her body turned liquid.
“Don’t say that. You’re supposed to slap my face and tell me to fuck off.”
“I’ll tell you to fuck me, if you like.”
His hand scooted lower over her ass and slid down to her sex. “Christ you’re wet.”
She arched her back and his fingers pushed higher over the throb of her clit and lingered there, slowly rubbing back and forth as she rocked against him. With a low sound he penetrated her with his thumb and held still.
“
Please fuck me, Mac.”
It was stupid and they both knew it, but she couldn’t stop the words.
“
Damn
…”
He picked her up and sat her on the side of her bed. She gripped the frame as he stripped with fast, economic movements that left her staring at his tight abs and rigid cock. With a sigh, she leaned forward and tasted him with her tongue, licking at the wetness gathering at the tip of his crown.
He slid one hand into her hair and surged forward, urging her to take more of him, but she continued just to play, licking and kissing him like an ice cream until he was even wetter. She pointed her tongue and wiggled it into his slit and he made the most wonderful sound, a mixture of need and frustration that sank into her like the finest Pavlovan spirits.
“
Suck me
.”
She ignored his urgent command and continued to torment him with her tongue. With a growl he flipped her onto her back and higher onto the bed. He buried his face between her legs, nuzzling her soaking folds with his mouth and the scrub of his stubbled chin.
Shifting his weight, he guided his shaft toward her mouth, groaning as this time she took him in and set her lips around his thick length drawing him deeper with every pull. His mouth plundered her sex, his fingers joining the delights of his probing tongue until she was coming all over his face, grinding herself against the hard lines of his jaw as he started to fuck her mouth.
“
Not yet
.”
She didn’t understand his words until he pulled away from her and flipped her over onto her stomach. Instinctively she came up on her knees. He pulled her back to the edge of the bed, stood on the floor and grabbed her hips.
“
Now I’ll fuck you
.”
His cock slid home in her cunt and he started to thrust hard. One hand braced over her shoulder holding her in position as he fucked her. The other roamed her breasts and hips and finally settled over her clit rubbing and circling her now tender nub until she screamed into the pillow and came so hard she felt the echo of the shock scream back from his mind.
He kept on fucking her and she started to fight him, aware that he was driving her toward a place that she’d never found with Malke and desperately feared. She almost forgot how to do anything but breathe, her mind as open to him as her sex, his thoughts as clear as her own, both of them fused together in the pursuit of immense sexual pleasure.
This shouldn’t be happening, this
couldn’t
be happening, not with him, not with—.
“
God, Neeve
.”
She reached back to grab his wrist and dug her nails in as he continued to pound into her. She couldn’t stop coming now, and he couldn’t stop feeding the emotions back to her and—
“Fuck.” He rammed himself deep and held there as the hot pulses of his come filled her.
She’d lost her mind to him completely and could no longer tell where he stopped and where she began. For a moment he held himself rigidly over her his chest heaving as if he’d run a race.
While he recovered she made a faint attempt to gather the frayed corners of her mind and stitch them back together again. But it was impossible. He seemed to have entered her consciousness at a molecular level and would not leave…
She let him rearrange them both on the bed. Him on his back, and her on her side curled against him. Her hand rested on his chest and her right knee cradled his muscular thigh.
“Mac.”
“Mmm…”
“We can’t keep doing this.”
“Dammit, woman I was enjoying the moment.” He groaned. “Can we just wait a few minutes before we have
that
discussion?”
She kept talking. “Every time we have sex, our telepathic link gets stronger.”
“I’m not the best person to judge that statement. My thought processes are entirely controlled by my dick at the moment.”
“It’s wrong, Mac. I’m not
supposed
to feel anything for you except sexual relief.”
“You’re not in your mating phase, so maybe this is different.”
His tone was more serious now as if he too was considering what was happening more carefully.
“I shouldn’t be attracted to you at all when I’m not in my mating cycle. You’re not even a
Pavlovan
.”
“But I’m a telepath.” He sighed. “I can’t imagine not making love to a telepath now.” He flinched. “Ouch.”
Her fingernails dug into his flesh. She didn’t want him thinking about any other female but her, let alone a telepathic one.
“Which is why we have to stop,” Neeve said firmly.
He came up over her and stared down into her face. She wanted to lick a path down his skin all the way to his cock and start again...
“I’m not sure if I can do that.”
She studied the set of his jaw and the resolution in his dark blue eyes. “Do you
want
to be in a Pavlovan triad?”
“What do you mean?”
“Would you be willing to share me with another male, or another female on a permanent three-way basis?”
“Three-way?” He made a face. “Are you suggesting we’d all be fucking each other even those of the same sex?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” She held his gaze. “All three members of the mating triad decide who gets to have sex with whom, and they don’t get jealous about sharing.”
His expression hardened. “I don’t share.”
“Which is why I’m telling you that we can’t keep doing this. I can’t imagine committing to just one person.”
“Fuck.” He rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. “You’re right.” He sat up and managed to get off the bed. “This
will
have to stop.” He stooped to pick up his clothes giving Neeve a perfect view of his perfect ass. “Call Kaiden tomorrow and tell him you need someone else and that you don’t want me.”
She bit down hard on his lip as he methodically put on his clothing. She daren’t reach out for his mind, which she suspected was as battered and defenseless as her own.
He turned back at the door, his expression grim. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Better to use words than thoughts, better to protect themselves.
“For not being the man that you want.”
“I want you.”
“And I can’t exist in a threesome.”
“I understand. It’s outside your culture’s idea of the norm.” She gathered the sheets around her and nodded, giving him permission to walk away. “Good night, Captain McNeil.”
He briefly closed his eyes and then left leaving her staring at the closed door. What happened if you met your mate who wasn’t even Pavlovan, and they turned you down? She had no idea. It never happened. Maybe her mother would know what to do, but the last person she wanted to confide in at the moment was her mother. She’d never countenance Neeve’s infatuation with a human…
She curled up into a ball and closed her eyes. After Malke died she’d thought she’d never smile again, let alone have sex, and now she’d done both. Dammit, why did emotional stuff have to be so hard? Believing Malke could love her for herself and not for her family connections had been difficult enough. But he’d proved it by being willing to walk away from Pavlovan and follow her to Earth. She’d always wanted to be free of her family and against all the odds she’d managed it. It was ironic that she’d now met a male who had no idea who or what she was and probably wouldn’t care even if he did know. She swallowed hard. Perhaps she’d been right all along and that was all she was, a prize to be won and without that lure she wasn’t good enough for anyone…
She’d survive this, go back to Pavlovan visit the Oracle and find a new mate. If she could get Mac out of her system…
That was the part she was finding difficult.
Mac finished packing and went out to meet the incoming shuttle. He’d managed to occupy himself with work for the past few days and hadn’t seen Neeve at all. She’d done as he’d asked and contacted Kaiden for him to be removed from her pool of mating material. Forcing himself to rebuild his psychic shields had been much harder than not seeing her. He yearned for her like some stupid teenage crush and wanted to be with her all the time.
“Dammit.” Mac muttered. “This is the best way.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Kaiden stood at the doorway of the shuttle, his large frame filling the space. The snow was falling heavily and a thick white mist had descended over the base making it difficult to tell the ground from the air.
“Sir.” Mac snapped out a salute.
“Captain McNeil.” Kaiden’s gaze fell to Mac’s backpack. “I need to speak to you before you leave.” He stepped out of the way. “I’ve also brought someone you know.”
Mac went still as one of his least favorite people on the planet stepped out from behind Kaiden’s vast bulk.
“Captain McNeill.”
“Professor Dean.”
“It’s good to see you again, Captain.” The professor’s dark eyes scanned Mac’s face. “I need to run some tests before you can leave.”
“I’m no longer in your program. It was dissolved.”
Professor Dean looked back at Kaiden who had remained by the now closed door.
“The professor has authority to examine you, McNeil.”
“Who from?”
“The Commander in Chief.”
Kaiden’s shields were so high that Mac could get nothing out of him. He saw the disdainful glance Kaiden gave the professor and knew that he wasn’t the only one who trusted the scientist about as much as a used plutonium salesman. Which was odd, because Kaiden had always been the great believer in the program--the one who’d insisted everything would turn out right.
Mac let out his breath. “The medical lab is through here, Professor.”
He led the way through to the medical wing only to find that the professor’s entourage were already milling around the space and making it their own. He didn’t recall giving anyone permission to install new tech into the lab, but he suspected his protest would be ignored.
Professor Dean’s arrival meant the minions scattered, leaving Mac alone with the woman. She settled at one of the terminals and glanced at him.
“Strip please.”
Mac took a deep breath. “Why is that necessary?”
“I need to do a whole body scan.”
“For what purpose? I’m officially on leave.”
“As you’ve already been notified, your leave has been cancelled by the authority of the Commander in Chief. Do you want to be court-marshaled?”
Mac held the professor’s gaze. “To be honest? At this point, I don’t really give a shit about continuing my military career as long as you keep your hands off me.”
“If you are court-marshaled and found guilty, you won’t be allowed to go free and live a normal life. Who would want a super soldier living next door? You’ll be sent to my lab, and I’ll
own
you.”
“I’d rather commit suicide.”
“And if you attempt that, you’ll be considered mentally unstable and I’ll be empowered to round up all the other males who were in the program with you and have them exterminated as a threat to our great nation.” She paused. “Is that what you want?”
He simply stared at her, his hands fisting at his sides.
She smiled. “But it doesn’t have to come to that, does it, Captain McNeil? Just stay here, mate with Dr. Neeve for three days for the next two months and allow me to monitor any changes in your abilities after each event.”
“You don’t get to monitor us during the ‘event’. Only me, afterward.”
She nodded. “Agreed. Now strip and lie down on the gurney.”
“Dr. Neeve?”
Neeve looked up from her work and found Commander Kaiden looming in the doorway.
“Commander.”
He stepped inside her office and shut the door. “May I have a word with you?”
“Sure.” She tried to smile. “Is it about my mating cycle? Has Captain McNeil left?”
“He’s still here.” He met her gaze. “
There’s been a problem. The military authorities have decided he must remain as your primary contact during your remaining two mating cycles.”
