Fighting Chance (7 page)

Their eyes widened in pleased surprise and they clumsily
returned her bow. “The honor was ours, lady warrior,” one said. The other
added, “You could teach us many things, if time allows.”

With a salute to their commander, they left to join Zandar
in the medical ward. Mahoney trotted over to the weapons case where she cleaned
each blade carefully before returning them to their place. The warriors watched
her every move as if they could determine how she learned to fight simply by
observing her.

Mikael, feeling his own blood begin to thrum with
excitement, called out, “Lieutenant Andreus, please escort Miss MacGregor to
the cafeteria for dinner. She is under your protection as she would be in mine.
Warriors, you are dismissed for meal break.”

Mahoney made to follow her friend who was chatting
animatedly to the dazzled lieutenant, but Mikael stopped her with a firm hand
on her arm. “I had hoped you would like to spar with one more opponent,” he
answered her quizzical gaze.

 Her stomach quivered with anticipation and heat. Their eyes
locked and she answered, “I will not hold back.”

“Nor will I, little warrior,” he promised, his face
splitting in a devastating smile. “Nor will I.”

Jessica paused at the door, worry evident in her posture,
but Mahoney waved her on with the promise to meet up with her later. When the
room was empty of all except the two, Mikael pinned her with his pale green
eyes and called out, “Command, secure doors and do not release without my permission.”
Without further ado, he began to unfasten his jumpsuit with deliberate care.

“What are you doing?” she asked, nervousness making her
voice skip.

He peeled the clothing down his body revealing sculpted
mounds of muscle that rippled and bulged with his movements. He bent down to
slip off his shoes and pulled the jumpsuit off after them. When he stood, his
only remaining clothing was form-fitting shorts that reached mid-thigh that
resembled boxer briefs.

When he stood proudly before her in all his bronzed,
masculine glory, he finally replied, “That is my favorite uniform. I would hate
to get blood on it.” His whiskered face sported a shameless grin.

Mahoney’s chin lifted in defiance. Reaching down to her
waist, she whipped the torn red shirt off over her head and toed off her shoes
to leave only her pants and black sports bra behind. His eyes grew dark and
stormy with desire as his gaze swept over her athletically toned body. Like
mirror images of each other, they slowly began to circle each other, neither of
them making the first move.

“What animal will you use against me, Katsuko? Will it be
the snake or the crane?” he taunted her with raised eyebrow.

A sly grin of anticipation preceded her answer. “Neither.
Let me introduce you to Krav Maga.” Squaring her body with his, she brought her
clenched fists down to her hips.

As if that were his cue, he came at her low, aiming for her
hips. Reaching toward him, she grabbed his arm, swung it wide, and brought her
outside foot up for a punishing blow to his gut. Spinning his arm the opposite
way, she used his momentum to force him to the ground on his back and followed
it up with three brutal punches to his face.

Before she could step away from him, however, he grabbed her
foot and jerked hard, sending her pin-wheeling backward to fall with a grunt.
He was on her in a flash, his huge body covering hers. Even with blood dripping
down his face from a cut on his eyebrow, he was grinning madly as she struggled
for purchase.

“What will you do now, Katsuko?” he taunted her.

Instead of replying, she brought her head up in a stunning
blow against the bridge of his nose. He roared with pain and scrambled back
away from her, leaving her free once more. It took him only a few moments to
recover before he was back on his feet and stalking her like prey, determination
etched into the crags of his already bruising face. When he was close enough,
he brought his left arm swinging toward her face. As he hoped she would, she bent
backward to duck the blow, leaving her muscled abs open. Careful to use minimal
force, he threw his right fist into her stomach. As she doubled over to grunt
in pain, he grabbed her around the waist and flipped her over his head and
brought her down to the ground. Both of them were sweating and bleeding, her
from her forehead and him from his eye, but neither of them stopped fighting to
gain the upper hand. As soon as he thought he had her trapped, she would wiggle
out from under him and grapple for purchase.

They rolled and wrestled across the expanse of the cushioned
flooring, her swearing and him grunting each time she managed to land another
punch or elbow to his face. Mahoney could feel her body beginning to tire, but
she refused to give up. Mikael was more than a match for her, and even though
she knew he was pulling his punches, she could still feel the soreness of her
ribs beginning to protest.

When she was crouched on top of him and doing her best to
rain blows down on his face, he slid his feet towards his chest and planted
them in her stomach to send her sailing through the air to land on her back.
The drop knocked the wind out of her chest, and he took advantage of her
stunned efforts to breathe by scrabbling over to her prone body. Quick as a
flash, he straddled her legs and hooked his feet around her calves, pinned her
hips to the ground with his own, and trapped her wrists in each of his big
hands. Before she could head-butt him again, he dropped his forehead to the mat
next to hers and took a moment to rest.

They were both breathing heavily, their bodies coated in
sweat, but Mahoney only gave a token effort to get free. The feel of his body
against hers was too delicious to ignore, and he apparently felt the same way
since his shaft was hard and hot as a brand against the juncture of her thighs.
His breath steamed against her throat and she couldn’t suppress a moan when his
mouth opened against her skin to lick and suck before biting down gently.

“Never have I wanted anyone as badly as I want you right
now,” he confessed in her ear, his breath ragged and full of longing.

“Let go of my hands,” she answered back, her voice low but
full of resolve.

He heaved a defeated sigh and released her hands. Before he
could push off of her, though, her arms slid over his biceps and up his neck.
She grabbed his face between her hands and brought his mouth to hers. He
groaned into her mouth as she devoured him with all the same passion she had
shown during their fight. Her legs slid out from under his until she was
cradling his hardness between her thighs and she rolled her hips against his
with a whimper of need.

His hands were busy, skimming over her jaw to trail down and
cup her breast as he nipped and sucked at her lips. Her nipple beaded under the
pressure of his palm and she broke their kiss to moan, “More, Mikael.” He
obliged her plea by grabbing the material of the stretchy bra and ripping it in
half to free her breasts to the cool breeze of the central air conditioning.
Her skin was like silk under his calloused palms and he trailed wet,
open-mouthed kisses down her torso until he reached her breast. He squeezed and
plumped his firm handful before tracing the tight bud lightly with his tongue.
Mahoney’s fingers were buried in his hair and she pulled at the short strands
impatiently until he chuckled against her flesh and pulled her nipple deep into
his mouth.

While his mouth was busy suckling and pulling at her aching
breasts, his hand trailed down over her washboard abs and delved beneath the
waistband of her pants to sink into the moist, wet heat of her sex. Her breath
stuttered and she writhed as his large, blunt finger dipped into the pool of
her desire and dragged it up to circle her clit with slow, torturous strokes
that sent shockwaves up her body.

“Oh, God…” she moaned as he slid two fingers deep into her
channel while his thumb took up the teasing pressure at the center of her
pleasure. “I need, Mikael…More!”

Pulling his mouth away from her breast and removing his hand
from between her thighs, he curled his fingers into the waistband of her pants
and underwear and dragged them down her legs. Before he could cover her again,
though, she sat up and did the same to him by wrestling the shorts down over
his corded thighs.

“Oh. My. God,” she breathed, awe and appreciation dripping
from her voice.

His shaft was long, nearly touching his belly button, and
wide with a flared crown that was topped with a shiny pearl of fluid. He was so
swollen with need that the veins were pulsing and she reached out to trace them
with a delicate touch. He hissed at her touch, but held himself rigid while she
explored him. Her touch grew bolder as she grasped him in her palm and slid her
hand up toward the crown and ran her thumb through the fluid to swirl around
the head.

“Careful, Katsuko. I cannot endure much,” he cautioned her
through gritted teeth.

She shot him a wicked grin and then leaned forward to swipe
her tongue along the depression of the head before popping it in her mouth for
a long, wet suck. He growled low in his throat, the vibrations running through
his body, and he fisted her ponytail lightly to pull her head back. When his
member slid free from the heaven of her lips, he gently pushed her back to the
mat and followed her down to claim her lips in another scorching kiss.

Her hands were wild and desperate, roaming over the broad
planes of his back and down to grasp the firm globes of his ass. “Now, Mikael,”
she pleaded, her hips lifting and seeking his hardness. Her body was on fire
for him, her core throbbing and aching to be filled by him. His beard left a trail
of sensitive skin in its wake as he filled his mouth with her breast, taking
deep pulls before biting down just enough to make her moan. He ignored her
plea, content to run his fingers through the slick petals of her sex before
plunging inside to offer temporary relief of the aching void.

Mahoney’s head thrashed back and forth as he played with
her, ratcheting her up closer and closer to the peak. His fingers pressed and
swirled on her clit before sliding back into the welcoming heat as she groaned
and raked her short nails over his shoulders. Every time she got close to
tumbling over the edge, he slowed his movements and smiled against her skin
when she pummeled him in frustration.

With a fierce growl, Mahoney shoved him off of her and onto
his back. She hiked her long, muscled leg over his pelvis and glared down at
the smug satisfaction in his face. “I said
now
, you stubborn ass!”

Reaching her hand between her legs, she grasped his shaft in
her hand and held it steady as she slowly lowered herself over his length. All
traces of humor left his face as her bottom sat flush with his thighs and she
threw her head back to groan at the delicious fullness within her. His hands
shook where they traced up the expanse of her thighs to come to rest on the narrow
swell of her hips. Bracing herself on her knees, Mahoney began to rise up,
causing him to slide backward, before dropping herself back down again.

Mikael cursed at the feel of her tight, slick sheath
gripping him so snuggly and held on to his control by a thread as he held her
hips and powered up into her. He had wanted her from the moment he first saw
her standing in that trailer defying him and fighting with the soul of a
warrior. The reality was so much sweeter than his fantasies, especially when
she cried out her pleasure at his thumb rubbing against her clit while she rode
him faster and faster.

Mahoney dug her fingers into the skin of his chest and her
breath came in pants as she rose up and down on his length, chasing her
completion. Her blood was racing, her heart was pounding, and the coil of
passion inside her was winding tighter and tighter until she could barely move.
Mikael took over, his hands cupping the soft swells of her bottom, and lifted
her and pushed her back down in punishing slaps of flesh against flesh.

Lights flashed behind her eyes and she moaned, “Oh,
God…Mikael! I’m going to…” she trailed off as the coil sprung loose within her,
sending her sailing into a spiral of pleasure. She cried out in ecstasy when he
pulled her body down to his chest and held her waist captive in his embrace while
he powered into the pulsing waves of her core. A growl was ripped from his
throat as he plunged deep within her and allowed his body to release wave after
wave of his seed to splash against her womb.

The only sound that filled the room was the sound of their
harsh breaths and the whisper of Mikael’s hands as they ghosted over the curves
of the woman draped so sweetly across his chest. He moved his face to bury his
nose in the inky depths of her hair and pressed gentle kisses into the sweet-smelling
strands. She felt so good against him, as if the stars had created her just for
him. She belonged there, in his arms, her heart beating against his own.

Mahoney closed her eyes to keep the stupid, girly tears at
bay that were trying to well up in her eyes. Her head was a snarled mess of
conflicting thoughts, but her heart was content to lay in Mikael’s arms while
he caressed her so tenderly. Unfortunately, Mahoney had trained herself long
ago to rely only on her wits and not let emotion cloud her judgment. No matter
how amazing the sex had been, there could be no future for them. He was
T’Kalan, and she was a human. He was her captor, and she was his property. She
had a life and a career to get back home to, and he was the obstacle preventing
her return.

Without a word, Mahoney slid off his body and rose to her
feet. He grinned up at her lazily, and motioned her back toward him. “Come back
to me, little warrior. We will not be disturbed here.”

She averted her eyes as she rushed to gather her clothing
where it was strewn across the floor. Her bra was in tatters, but she slithered
into the torn shirt and slid her legs into the pants. “I want to go back to my
room now. I need a shower.”

Mikael sat up, his face pulled into a scowl. “We can go to
my quarters together. I will order some food and then we can bathe together,”
he offered, his voice cautious but tinged with hope.

“No!” she snapped, desperation causing her tone to be sharp.
“I need some time alone. Open the doors and I will have Jarvis direct me back
to my room.”

He stood to his feet and closed the distance between them. He
pulled her against the solid wall of his chest and demanded, “Katsuko, look at
me.”

She met his gaze defiantly. His face was mottled with dried
blood and purpling with bruises, but he made her heart race with his
magnificence. She hardened her flighty heart against him and snarled, “Let me
go, Commander.”

He wrapped his hand around her hair and pulled her head back
to expose her eyes to him. He lowered his lips to hers and whispered,
“Commander? That is not the name you cried out in pleasure while I sank into
your body over and over again.” He sealed his lips to hers in a punishing kiss
full of his frustration and desire, his tongue plunging in to the warm depths
of her mouth to steal her breath. He pulled her into his chest and promised, “I
will never let you go, my little warrior. You belong with me.”