Up in Flames (11 page)

Hayden gently sucked at her clit, and she shattered. Pleasure shook every part of her body as wave after wave of pulsating rapture rushed through her limbs. She would’ve relaxed back against the table, but Hayden grasped her arms and tugged her to a sitting position. His mouth slanted across hers. When his tongue slid between her parted lips, she could taste herself in his kiss.

She backed away and touched his mouth with her fingertips. His eyes had darkened to a storm-cloud gray and were filled with a hunger that made her insides quiver. She’d never had a man look at her like that. It made her feel…wanted.

She slid her fingers down over his chin, then dropped them to his chest. She pushed his shirt apart, anxious to feel his warm flesh under her palms. The beating of his heart raced against her hands, and she smiled.

“Can I do that to you?” she asked.

Hayden swallowed. “Yes.”

She dropped one hand to the large bulge straining behind his pants. “I want to see what you taste like.”

Hayden closed his eyes as though in pain. Cara squeezed his balls gently before unzipping his pants. She pushed her hands inside, first cupping his bottom before using her wrists to push his pants down over his hips. Once they were on the ground, he kicked them aside.

She sat back and studied his massive cock. It was long and thick. She touched the moist tip and smeared the cream around the purplish head. Would that really fit inside her?

Hayden groaned. She glanced up at him and smiled. “This has to go too,” she whispered, then began to push his shirt off his shoulders.

Staring at his huge chest, she feathered her fingers over his pecs and nipples before sliding lower over his carved abs. Leaning forward, she licked his nipple. She bit down on the hard nub, and he hissed.

He buried his fingers at the back of her neck and growled, “Cara.”

She pushed his hands away and placed them at his side. “It’s my turn now,” she said, giving him a stern stare just like he’d given her.

Hayden’s lips twitched slightly, but other than that, he didn’t move. Cara jumped off the table and began to circle him, smoothing her hands over his hot flesh and rock-hard muscles. She glanced down at his ass and smiled as she feathered her hand over his firm hip.

She moved to his front and wrapped her fingers around his shaft. It jerked in her hand, and she tightened her grip. Hayden put his hand over hers, gently guiding it down toward the base. When he brought her hand back up to the tip, she realized he was showing her how he liked to be stroked.

She slid her hand down and cupped his balls before stroking up again. Hayden groaned, and Cara couldn’t remember ever feeling more powerful.

She dropped to her knees and placed a soft kiss against the base of his cock. Hayden drew in a sharp breath. Feeling brazen, she licked up his length. When she reached the tip, she wrapped her lips around it and swiped her tongue over the top. His warm salty taste filled her mouth, and she moaned. She liked his taste.

Hayden’s growl rumbled through his chest like the sound the Nora wolves made on her home world, and it sent a shiver of delight down her back. Burying his hand in her hair at the base of her neck, he lifted her up, forcing her to meet his gaze, which was now almost black.

He slanted his mouth over hers in an aggressive kiss that stole the very breath from her lungs. Cara melted against him, holding on to his shoulders for dear life as he continued to dominate her mouth with his kiss. It was almost too much and left her feeling weak and shaky.

Hayden put his hands under her ass and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, holding tight as he carried her across the floor toward the fireplace. He dropped to his knees, not once breaking his mouth away from hers. Cara didn’t care. She could continue kissing him all night.

She loved the way his lips felt against hers, his taste as it ignited her senses. She was just as aroused now as she had been moments earlier. He slowly lowered them to the floor, and Cara moaned as his body weight settled over her.

His hips moved between her splayed thighs, his cock pressed enticingly against her mound. She wiggled, then shivered at the feel of his hard shaft rubbing her. Hayden broke away from the kiss and moved his lips to her neck.

His teeth scraped along her flesh, and she whimpered at the wicked and unusual sensation. He bit her skin, making her yelp, then giggle. She loved how he played her body, how he would use pain and pleasure in a dance that sent her senses reeling.

He lifted to his elbows and stared down at her. Hunger blazed in his eyes, making Cara’s heart race. She would never get tired of him looking at her like that. She loved the way his eyes darkened, the way his look made her whole body tingle.

His lips thinned, and for a brief moment, she thought he might stop, that he might climb off her and leave her desperate for his touch.

“Hayden—” she whispered.

“Shh,” he said before dipping his head and capturing her lips in a sweet kiss that made her toes curl.

He shifted his hips slightly, putting the head of his cock at her needy entrance. Cara lifted her hips, trying to force him to move, but Hayden would have none of it. He gripped her hip with his right hand, holding her down as he pressed the head of his cock inside her.

Her walls stretched tight, and she gasped as his thickness slid farther into her channel. She felt a slight bite of pain, but that was nothing compared to the fullness that was almost overwhelming.

He pulled back, then pressed in again, this time going deeper. So much deeper. Cara groaned as his shaft filled her full. Once seated, he held himself still, raining soft kisses along her jaw and chin.

Cara panted as a need unlike any of the others before began to work its way through her. She lifted her hips, wanting something but not sure what. He felt good inside her, but she needed something more.

Hayden moaned and pressed a little deeper, grinding his groin against that sensitive nub he’d sucked earlier. Sharp tingles of pleasure made the inner muscles of her thighs shake.

He’d said her first time would be painful, but other than the slight prick she’d felt, nothing even resembled pain. This felt incredible.

“Hayden, please,” she sighed, working her hips beneath his.

He mumbled something incoherent, then began to slowly move, pulling out and pushing back in. Her walls tightened around the unusual invasion, trying to tug him back into her as he pulled out. At first he was slow, gentle, the moisture of her walls easing his entry. With every stroke of his cock inside her, need rose another notch. She dug her nails into his back, scratching at his flesh as he drove her ever closer to that blissful release from before.

“Harder,” she whispered.

Hayden obliged, thrusting into her hard and deep. Cara whimpered, lifting her hips off the floor to meet every pounding movement of his hips. He put his hand under her ass, tilting her just a bit more. The head of his shaft bumped her cervix, and she cried out.

Her screams became louder as her body arched toward that sweet pinnacle. Hayden covered her mouth with his, but that didn’t silence her moans as his tongue invaded her mouth just as his cock had invaded the rest of her.

She buried both hands in his hair, holding tight to the soft locks as her body erupted into shards of bliss. Breaking the kiss, she screamed toward the ceiling, shocked she could feel anything any better than the first, but this one…it was earth-shattering.

Just as the last of her throbs subsided, Hayden snarled and thrust deep, finding his own release deep between her thighs.

Sighing, he dropped his forehead to hers. “What the hell have you done to me?” he moaned.

Cara smiled softly. “I keep asking myself the same thing about you.”

* * * *

Shorn paced the Mundi Order chambers in growing agitation. His fingers flexed, then curled back into fists. Where the hell was she hiding? Lenak had died before they could get it out of him. Apparently of a heart attack.

He curled his lips and snarled softly. Damn weakling.

This wasn’t going like it was supposed to. First Cara gets away. Then Lenak dies. Then Alexander kills two of their best Mundi and now resides under the protection of Lord Marcone.

Again, Shorn curled his lip in disgust. He may not have met Marcone personally, but he certainly knew of his reputation. Getting to Dorn, despite the fact Marcone protected him, wasn’t impossible; it would just take some thought. Unfortunately he didn’t have time for thought.

He wanted action, and he wanted it now!

He drew in a slow, even breath. It was getting harder to control his emotions, harder to hide the anger that coursed through him.

His assistant stepped carefully into the room and bowed his head. “Nea Shorn,” his assistant murmured.

Shorn stopped pacing and forced himself to relax. Turning to his assistant, he asked, “What?”

The young man lifted his head and swallowed. “We believe Cara may be on the moon, Daego.”

Shorn frowned. “Daego?”

“Dorn went there on his own a few days ago, just before announcing to the senate his new position. We believe someone is holding her there.”

Shorn’s lips twisted. “We can’t get into Daego. We’re not on their
approved
list.”

“We believe we may have found a way around that.”

Some of Shorn’s anger began to subside. “Indeed? Tell me more.”

Chapter Twelve

Hayden stood on the terrace staring out toward the lake. He could barely see the sunlight as it began to peek over the horizon. Last night with Cara had been incredible. Her innocence was refreshing, her candor adorable. He loved how she gave as good as she got, how she lived every moment as though it was something to be cherished.

She showed no sign of regret as she curled into his side and fell asleep in his arms. It was the first night since she’d been there that she hadn’t awakened half the house screaming from nightmares. She’d slept peacefully.

Hayden just wished he could’ve done the same.

As a doctor, he should know better. As a man, he couldn’t keep his hands off her. He’d never met a woman like her, but in some ways, Hayden felt like an experiment to her. She was experiencing new things, new emotions, and he was one of them. Would this curiosity last? Would her desire for him last? And if it didn’t, what would that mean for him? Should he push for more? Did he want to push for more?

So many questions.

Sighing, he pushed his hair back from his face. When had he turned into such an insecure sap? Chris would have a heyday with this. He’d fallen in love with one of his own damn patients. It was something he never should’ve done. But now that he had, what next?

Cara had so many things she needed to figure out. It wouldn’t be right for either of them to just jump into something straight out of the gate.

Arms wrapped around his waist from behind, startling him. He glanced over his shoulder to see Cara’s light blue hair resting against his back. He’d been so lost in thought he hadn’t even heard her walk up.

He smoothed his palm over her arm and sighed at the feel of her body next to his. “Morning,” he said softly.

“What are you doing out here so early?” she asked. “The sun isn’t even up yet.”

Hayden continued to rub his palm over her arm. Her skin was so warm, so soft. “Couldn’t sleep. Come here.”

He loosened her arms and tugged her to stand in front of him. Settling her back against his chest, he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her against him.

“Watch,” he whispered in her ear.

CARA’S WHOLE BODY tingled as Hayden’s breath tickled the side of her neck. He placed a gentle kiss at her temple before resting his chin against it and staring out toward the lake. Cara had a hard time concentrating on the beautiful colors as the sun rose above the horizon. All she could think about was how good it felt to be in his arms.

Bright colors of orange and purple lit the sky and reflected in the lake. “It’s stunning,” she murmured. “No wonder your parents live here.”

“This house was actually my grandparents’ house. They would come here on vacations and family get-togethers, until one day when my uncle Stefan almost drowned in the lake. My grandfather insisted they leave and head back to Tilarus. The house sat empty for a long time until my parents came here. It was where my mother first told my father she loved him. It’s where they’ve lived ever since.”

Cara smiled softly. “That’s sweet.”

“Living on Daego also provides an incredible amount of security,” he said as he continued to stare toward the sunrise. “No one can get on this moon without clearance, and that clearance is sometimes very hard to get.”

“So you think your father stayed here more for the security aspect than the other.”

Hayden shrugged and snickered, making Cara grin. “With Dad, there’s no telling.”

“What about your mom?” she asked.

“Mom just likes it here. It’s quiet. Peaceful. She would’ve gone with Dad anywhere, but here…I don’t know. Here is definitely special.”

She stared back toward the sunrise as sadness curled into a ball in her stomach. “As a Mundi, I would’ve never appreciated this. We never paid attention to such things. It was all about work, learning, improving our skills. One time when I was younger, I remember watching a comet as it skimmed the atmosphere of the planet. It created a trail that lit up in colors of yellow and blue. We knew it would pass that close, and everyone had run outside to watch. They all gasped and sighed at the beauty of the colors. All I saw was the chemical reaction. It was nothing. I felt nothing.”

A tear slipped from the corner of her eye, and Hayden kissed it away as it slid down her cheek. She felt such sadness for all the beautiful things she’d dismissed over the years—looking at them but never really seeing them. She’d gone through her whole life with blinders on and now could see clearly. She never wanted to return to that lifeless existence. Ever. “How did I go through life feeling nothing?”

Hayden tightened his arms around her. “I don’t know,” he whispered.

“What if they win?” she asked. “What if they get me back?”