Undaunted (Battle Born Book 6) (25 page)

She opened for him as she raised her hands to his neck. Finding the love of a lifetime had always been her dream. She just had no idea how far he’d have to come to claim her.

Caressing her way around his neck, she slipped her fingers inside the collarless top and triggered the seam release. Then she pulled the sides apart and bared his torso. The temptation to touch him was so strong she left the garment hanging from his shoulders while she stroked his muscular chest.

Desire pulsed across the transfer link. Clearly her eagerness pleased him. But the transfer link was a preview, a pale imitation of what they were about to form.

He searched for the zipper in her dress. Then his fingers brushed against her skin as he lowered the zipper and eased the top down along her arms. She pulled her arms out and wiggled the material past her hips. Then she stepped out of the dress and kicked it aside.

With a few quick motions, he rid himself of his boots and uniform so he could focus on undressing her. She felt his need, his hunger, yet the emotions seemed far away. “Is the transfer link dissolving? I can barely feel it anymore.”

“It’s necessary.” He paused to kiss her, sensing her need for reassurance. “It would have interfered with our soul bond.”

“We don’t want that.” She smiled and he reached behind her, unfastening her bra. His phitons flared, coming alive with blue fire. Before he could rip her panties off, she quickly wiggled out of them.

“Smart choice.” His voice sounded rough, almost gravelly.

He picked her up and placed her on the middle of his bed. Then he paused and looked at her. She could no longer feel his emotions, but everything she needed to know was in his eyes. He wanted to devour her, needed her so badly he was literally shaking.

A sense of power passed through her, making her bold. She slowly parted her thighs and lifted her arms, the invitation unmistakable. He was her mate, the other half of her soul. And she was ready for their true joining.

He crawled onto the bed, his expression intensely focused as he moved between her legs. “Mine.” The word sounded dark and possessive, threatening to consume her, yet it filled her with anticipation, not fear. Balancing on his knees, he swept his hands from her ankles to her knees, across her thighs to her hips, then higher. He staked his claim with every touch, memorizing the shape of her body and the texture of her skin.

His gaze followed the meandering progress of his hands while she watched him. He cupped her breasts then bent so he could lick her nipples. The soft stroke of his tongue felt nice, but she needed more, firmer touches and more intense sensations.

She arched, pushing her nipple into his mouth. He chuckled, easily understanding her silent request. His lips closed around the beaded tip and he aroused her with long, hard sucks. She moaned, trying to share her enjoyment with him, but their mind link was no longer there.

“I can’t feel you any longer. When can you form the new link?”

Releasing her nipple, he looked into her eyes. “As soon as I’m buried deep inside you.”

“Then do it. I want you to.”

His grin was blatantly sexual. “You’re not nearly desperate enough.”

She closed her eyes with a little whimper. He intended to drive her crazy, make her ache and beg before he pushed inside her and claimed what was his. Begging right now would do no good. He knew she didn’t mean it. So she surrendered to the moment and raised her arms overhead.

“Very nice.” He ran one hand from her wrist to her shoulder before returning his attention to her breasts. He squeezed and pressed until her nipple was tightly gathered, then he drew on the peak until sensation zinged from her chest to her sex.

She shivered and moaned. Already she could feel her inner muscles clenching as an orgasm built. “I’m going to come if you don’t stop that,” she whispered the confession, shocked that she had grown so needy so fast.

“Come.” He sucked on one side and then the other. “I want you to.”

And apparently his desire was all her body needed. He carefully pinched both her nipples at the same time as his gaze bore into her. She cried out, helplessly arching as the orgasm released and deep, tingling spasms radiated up through her core.

He slid downward as she rode out the sensations, spreading out on his stomach and lifting her legs to his shoulders. She knew what came next. They both loved to give pleasure with their mouths, loved watching as the other lost control. She waited for the warm softness of his lips. But it never came, at least not at first. Instead, he touched her, stroked her inner thighs and her mound, tracing her slit with his thumb. But he didn’t part her folds. Every touch was a tease, a promise of pleasure not yet delivered.

She grew restless, discontent as he avoided her most sensitive areas. “Please.” The word slipped out before she could stop it. It was much too early to beg.

“Please what?” His thumb brushed up and down along her crease without easing inside.

“In me,” she whispered. “I need to feel you sliding in and out.”

He chuckled deep in his throat. “I told you. You’re not desperate enough for that.”

“Then your fingers,” she said more forcefully. “Or your tongue.” She added the last as she looked away. She’d never been comfortable talking about sex, not even with Garin.

Slowly, he eased between her folds and slid two fingers up inside her. She moaned, squeezing him tight with her inner muscles.

“Better?” His voice was a silken taunt.

“For now.”

He laughed and slid nearly out, then pushed deep again. He watched her face as his fingers filled her. “You’re so soft.” In and out. In and out. “And
so
wet.” He pushed in, but left his fingers there, surrounded by her core.

His gaze locked with hers as he slowly lowered his head. Then she felt his tongue part her folds and locate her clit. He brushed over the nerve cluster and watched for her reaction. She jerked then relaxed as the simple caress sent tingles ricocheting through her abdomen.

“More.” She was beyond shame, beyond games. She needed her mate and she needed him now. “Make me come, then make me yours.”

His control seemed to snap. Their gazes parted as he tilted his head, giving his mouth better access to her sex. His hand shuttled in and out as his lips focused on her clit. He flicked her with his tongue and gently sucked with his lips, all the while filling her with his fingers.

Tension gathered between her thighs, making her inner muscles clench rhythmically. She bit back a cry, not wanting him to stop. But he sensed her impending orgasm or felt it with his fingers. Suddenly his hand pulled back, depriving her of the slight fullness. She whimpered. He wanted her desperate and she was heading that way fast.

His mouth slowed, allowing the urgency to mellow before he started all over again. Except this time he only used his mouth. He pushed his tongue up inside her, groaning as her creamy core enveloped him. He stayed there for a long time as if imprinting her taste on his brain.

Then he pulled back and returned to her clit, teasing her for a moment before claiming her again. And that was what it was, an elemental claiming. He inhaled her scent and drank down her taste, greedily returning again and again.

She arched, pressing against his lips and driving his tongue deeper into her core. It would be perfect if… “Turn around,” she urged. “I want to taste you too.”

He looked at her, phitons glowing. “Next time.” Then he held her open with his thumbs and closed his lips around her clit. He was careful and yet the sensations he created still bordered on pain. She cried out each time he sucked and gasped as he released.

Another orgasm neared, barreling toward her with ferocious intensity. She cried out, arching off the bed. He released her clit half a second before the orgasm hit and she screamed in frustration. But he lunged upward, her legs still draped over his shoulders. He pinned her shoulders to the bed and stared into her eyes as his cock drilled into her core.

She screamed again, but a very different emotion triggered the sound this time. She’d been incomplete, hollow, and now the emptiness was gone. Her body stretched, opening for him, taking him deeper than he’d ever gone before. She panted, dizzy, yet teetering on the brink of something she didn’t quite understand.

And then he pushed into her mind. The soul bond expanded slowly, inundating her with his emotions. Consuming need and ravenous hunger, he was easily as desperate for her as she was for him. The link anchored with a sharp sting and then the world exploded in a colorful burst of sensations.

She came so hard she saw stars, then squeezed him so hard he cried out. But he didn’t lose control. He shrugged and her legs slid down his arms, catching on the bend of his elbows. He drew his hips back, stopping with just his tip still inside her.

“You’re my mate and I am yours.” He punctuated the statement with a hard thrust. “Our souls are now linked as they were meant to be.”

Rather than echoing his words, she poured her emotions into his mind. “I love you. I think I’ve always loved you.”

Her unexpected declaration, combined with the intensity of her emotions, shattered his control. He threw his head back and yelled as his hips went wild. He took her hard and fast, each impact driving the sensations higher. She lifted into each thrust, meeting him halfway. Their bond expanded and hummed as emotions surged into him only to rush back into her.

The transfer link had allowed her to sense his emotions, or more like shadows of his emotions. The soul bond was so much more vivid, so much more powerful. Not only did she sense his emotions, she understood why he was experiencing each. They were truly joined, body, mind and spirit.

She climbed with him, amazed that her body could ignite again so soon after her last orgasm. But his desire blazed through her mind, spilling over into her body, devouring her from the inside out. She tightened around him, urging him onward. He pounded into her, muscles straining, mind lost to everything but the storm they created.

He drove deep one final time, his fingers digging into her hips. He shuddered against her and bucked inside her as his release coated her inner walls. Pleasure detonated in her mind, forcing her body to respond. She screamed his name as she came in harsh, fast spasms. For endless moments there was only them, lost in the perfect storm.

They gradually floated back to reality. The room came back into focus as he rolled to his side, taking her with him. They lay in a tangle of limbs, no longer joined, faces close together. She searched his eyes, wondering if he felt as different as she did.

“I knew it would be intense,” he whispered, “but I never expected this.”

She understood exactly what he meant. The urgency had passed so their connection lessoned, yet he was still a part of her, would always be a part of her now. “Do the others feel like this?”

He smiled. “I have no idea how the others feel. I’m only bonded with you.”

“Good point. Will it always be that intense?”

“Give me a few minutes and we’ll find out.”

She drew in a deep, shuddering breath then rolled onto her back. “Is this where we’ll live once we’re here to stay?”

“If you like.” He propped his head on his hand, still on his side. “And if the Triade reinstates my properties.”

“That’s a given with Bandar on the panel. When will we be moving back for good?”

He chuckled. “Do you always get chatty after joining with your mate?”

She laughed and stretched her arms overhead. “I don’t know. I’ve only ever joined with you.”

“We’ll return to Rodymia once things are running smoothly on Lunar Nine. A few more weeks, sooner if I can help it. Until Paytor is neutralized, I’m not sure where I’ll be needed most.”

“And once he’s been neutralized? What happens then?”

For a moment she didn’t think he’d answer. Then she felt a surge of emotions, though she couldn’t yet decipher them. “He’ll have to be replaced.” He said it with complete nonchalance, as if he were indifferent to the fact. Yet, thanks to their link, she was able to penetrate his façade. She felt driving ambition and the sort of longing that defines lifelong goals. “You want it to be you.” She rolled back to her side and searched his eyes. “You have positions picked out for all of your men, but I thought you’d left nothing for yourself.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, my love. I’m not quite as selfless as you first presumed.”

A spark of shame accompanied the confession, but she didn’t let it smolder. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. This entire rebellion has been fought on behalf of others. You could have taken Quinton’s throne if you’d wanted it and no one would have thought twice about it.”

“I don’t want to rule the world.” He grinned. “I want to protect it. I’m a soldier. Military life is all I’ve ever known. I’d go insane as a diplomat.”

“But Apex General Nox has a nice ring to it?” If ambition were a flaw, and she didn’t think it was, this tiny imperfection in his character only made him seem more real and more endearing.

“I didn’t really think about it until I stood face-to-face with Paytor, but it makes a lot of sense. The military will need to enforce the decisions of the Triad, so the military must be run by someone loyal to the Triad.”

“And I have no doubt the Triad will agree.”