Heart of Stone (4 page)

He waited until she was finished,
languorous and breathless, lying there with her arms and legs open
for him to look at. Then he sat back on his heels and reached over
his head with one arm to strip off his shirt. His shoulders were
heavy with muscle, his biceps defined, and his chest was a broad
plain, spangled with dark hair that she wanted to bury her nose in,
run her fingers through.

"Now," he said as he shoved his pants
down and levered himself out of them. "You've my promise. And
you've had your pleasure—twice. Will you have my cock as well,
Rose?"

She looked up at him, kneeling between
her thighs, one hand stroking his cock, which thrust out from his
lean hips, flushed with arousal, huge and as dangerous as the laser
gun on the bed stand.

He would probably hurt her, as big as
he was, and she certainly couldn't come a third time. But she
wanted to please him as he had her—wanted to hear him groan as he
found his pleasure, wanted to experience the fullness of her
fantasies starring him. She held up her arms to him.

"You've your vaccinations?" he
demanded. "All of them?'

Rose nodded. She'd been vaccinated
against unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, and
she made sure she had her yearly booster shots.

"Clever girl." He came down to
her.

Holding him naked in her arms was the
best of all, she discovered, shivering with delight. He was hot,
hard and a delicious male combination of smooth and hairy. He
weighed her into the bed like a downed tree and she loved it. A
deep shudder ran through him as she pulled him close, sliding her
hands around his sleek flanks to stroke his hard ass. He leaned up
on his elbows and framed her face with his big hands.

"Now, you'll take me, won't you? You'll
let me fuck you the way I want to."

She opened her eyes, and let him see
her surrender, that this was no longer about getting information.
That she wanted to be his—at least for this one night.
"Yes."

"I'll go slow," he promised.

And he did, although she could feel how
it cost him. His taut muscles trembled, his skin dampened even more
as he forged carefully into her. She sucked in her breath as his
true size became apparent, stretching her channel to the utmost.
But when he was deep inside her, she realized being filled so
completely was the most wonderful sensation she'd ever experienced.
And he was ruining her for all other men.

She didn't realize she was mumbling
aloud until he threw back his head and laughed.

"Ah, siren, you undo me."

He began to move inside her,
inexorably, pulling out to thrust back in again and again and again
… until Rose realized with astonishment her two earlier orgasms
were only the prelude to this, to being the receptacle of a weapon
more potent than any invented for war. Sensation rose again inside
her, heat consuming her like the fire in his hearth devouring the
tarma-wood.

"Wrap your legs around me." He showed
her how and then proceeded to take her with progressively longer,
harder strokes, until he was slamming his cock into her, the bed
rocking underneath her, his brawny torso straining in her grasp,
and she was loving it more the harder he took her. He thrust as if
his life depended on it, holding her in an unbreakable grip. His
skin grew hot and damp, his face flushed and taut.

This time her cries rose to a crescendo
that drove him, praised him, pleaded with him not to stop as she
surrendered completely and found pleasure greater than she'd ever
known.

# # #

Stone couldn't believe his curvy little
siren could take the fucking he was giving her and still keep
moaning for more. Her sweet, escalating cries drove him mad, as did
the incredibly tight, hot suction of her pussy and the way she
bucked in his arms, meeting every one of his thrusts and demanding
another.

When he felt her coming for the third
time, her pussy squeezing him like a wet, secret fist, he could
contain his own ecstasy no longer. He threw back his head, a deep
guttural cry tearing from his chest as he climaxed in long pulses
of savage joy.

Then he sucked in a deep breath and let
it out, his body relaxing.

He was locked tight in his own hot
little heaven, all on a cold winter's night. Letting his head drop
beside hers on the pillows, he laughed to himself, her soft breasts
quivering with the vibration of his chest. On Frontiera, a man
never knew what the winter storms might blow in, but they'd never
brought him anything this sweet before. Her hands smoothing across
his sweat-damp back made him shiver with pleasure.

When he finally moved off of her, he
braced himself for a post-coital chat. Women inevitably wanted
that, another reason he consorted only with paid companions. This
one had come to talk—or at least to make him do so.

Having resigned himself, he was taken
aback when his tempting captor mumbled something, yawned so hard
her body stiffened in a bow, and then let her thick dark lashes
fall shut without a peep. Her auburn hair streamed across his
pillows, baring the tender line of her throat, the shell of her
ear, decorated with a pretty little emerald-green comlink. He could
just see her initials picked out in tiny diamonds.

He stared down at her,
astonished by her complete relaxation. Then his mouth twitched with
humor. Apparently his legend was not as fearsome as he'd been given
to understand. She'd been frightened of him at first, but now she
seemed to find him about as menacing as a big house pet. Of course
he
had
offered to
help her, so she hadn't that to worry about any longer.

In fact he'd made her a reckless
promise. Quark it. Had he really told her he'd take her to Branch?
Leaning on his elbow, he scrubbed a hand over his face. He couldn't
take her out to the site—much too dangerous.

He'd drop her off in Adamant, the
nearest settlement, and get her settled in the rooms he kept at the
lodge there. Perhaps they'd have time for another quick fuck before
he headed out to the site.

Once the merchandise was securely in
place, Branch could ride back to Adamant with him, and she'd see
that he'd kept her brother safe for her.

He grimaced. Wouldn't that be a
touching family reunion? Thorne, his sister and the man who'd
fucked her so well she was out like a fading star. No, he'd deliver
Thorne to her, or vice versa, and leave. Best all round. And if his
gut felt a bit hollow, that was probably just because he hadn't
eaten enough supper.

And thinking of Thorne, the man
should've checked in by now.

Stone slid out of bed and used the
lavatory. As he passed a mirror, he caught sight of the bruise on
his cheek. A small contusion, not bad enough to scar. Even if it
did, it would only match the others scattered over his body. He
dabbed a bit of gesic on it and went to check the security system
as he did each night. Then he stopped in front of the fireplace
with his com-unit. The fire had died, but the glowing embers still
gave off heat. He brought up the holo-vid link that he used with
his most trusted employees and waited for Thorne to
answer.

Instead of a clear picture, he got a
fuzzy, wavering image accompanied by an ululating whine, echoing
the winter wind outside. With a curse, he broke the connection.
Even with such a poor link, wouldn't do to keep it open long enough
for anyone to hone in on the signal. Too many scavengers crouched,
waiting to spring.

He paced back and forth on the hearth,
the smooth stone warm under his bare feet. He wasn't surprised he
couldn't reach Thorne, but it still bothered him. There was so much
riding on this deal.

And tomorrow all the months of
carefully guarded work and planning would lock into place. Unless
something went wrong.

He brought up another holo-vid link.
"Jark? Come in."

This time the image was of his pilot
lounging in a pool of steaming water, his head laid back against
the smooth rock, eyes closed. His long, pale hair was wet, as were
his massive shoulders. Without opening his eyes, he spoke in a deep
voice that rumbled off the stone around him. "What's up,
Boss?"

"Just making sure you'll be ready to
pick me up as planned," Masterson said.

The other man groaned but didn't bother
to lift his head. "I was afraid of that. Just got in a few hours
ago, y'know."

"Did you make contact?"

"Did a fly-over. They signaled me,
waved me on. Don't worry, Boss, everything's fine up
there."

Masterson grunted. "Well, since you're
alone for once, better get some sleep."

The other man lifted his head and
grinned wickedly. "Who said I was alone?"

A sleek head broke the steaming surface
in front of him. A woman emerged from the water, her bare back to
Masterson. "Told you I could stay under for a long
time."

Ignoring Masterson, Jark pulled her
onto his lap. "Yup, and I liked what you did while you were down
there, too. Now come enjoy the results."

Evidently his pilot would be going
without sleep. Masterson broke the comlink and left the couple to
enjoy what was left of the night.

He shook his head at his own
uneasiness. He'd be at the site by tomorrow afternoon. The men
guarding it with Thorne were tough ex-Space Forces veterans with
the best weapons available. Everything was going as
planned.

Except for his unexpected visitor, that
is.

Rose was still asleep. He lifted her up
enough to work the terra-goose down comforter from under her and
lay beside her, pulling it up over them.

She rolled toward him. Then, to his
amused astonishment, she burrowed into the hollow of his body, not
stopping until she was draped half over him. He lay awake for a
time, her slow breath sighing against his throat. Damn, she was not
only extraordinarily trusting, she was a snuggler.

Her hand lay over his heart. He had the
odd whimsy she was guarding it—like a pert mouse trying to shelter
a gyre-hawk. Foolishness, but there was no denying she felt good in
his arms.

He was not a romantic. He was a cynic,
honed by a life of cruel circumstance and choice to cerametal
toughness. But he liked his creature comforts, including a pretty
woman in his bed. He enjoyed an amusing companion, too. This woman
made him want to laugh even when she was not trying.

She was far from stupid, but Thorne's
little sister did seem to be certifiably naïve. That was a rare
commodity that Frontiera usually knocked out of its residents soon
after they landed.

He found he wanted to protect this one
from losing her innocence the hard way.

Of course he'd tricked her into having
sex with him, which women found reprehensible, but he was
definitely the lesser of evils. If she'd managed to make it out to
Adamant by herself, she might very well have suffered some
degrading, if not fatal experience. He, on the other hand, would
take very good care of her.

Now he wanted her to wake up. He was
bored, that was all. Might as well get that post-coital chat going.
Of course he'd have to let her down easy if she had any ideas about
this turning into something more.

He stroked the tender curve of her
back. She started awake. Lifting her head from his shoulder, she
gazed at him with sleep-fogged eyes. One cheek was flushed from
being pasted to his shoulder.

"Welcome back," he said, brushing a
stray curl from her face with his forefinger.

Her eyes widened. She leaned up onto
her elbow and scissored her leg off his groin so fast he flinched,
grabbing to protect his cock.

"Did I fall asleep?" She gave him a
bashful look. "I should go."

He stroked her ass again, enjoying the
softness of the full globes. "Go where?"

"Well—back to the apartment. I can't
just stay here …" She looked around at his shadowed bedroom and
shrugged. Her breasts moved against the side of his
chest.

He gave her a look to let her know what
he thought of that drivel. "You're not goin' anywhere. It's middle
of the night, colder than an Indigon's heart and blowing snow." He
tugged her back where he wanted her, her soft thigh over his groin.
"Besides, you're coming with me, remember?" She already had, matter
of fact, but best not mention that.

Her eyes were the hue of moss in the
soft lamplight, with darker flecks the shade of tarma needles. "I
am? That is, I am." She ducked her head back onto his shoulder and
sighed, her fingers moving tentatively in the pelt of hair on his
chest. "I can't believe I'm here," she murmured, so softly he could
barely hear.

He swept his hand over the curve of her
hip and up her side, pausing to enjoy the dip of her waist, and the
gentle indentations of her ribs. "Impetuous woman that you
are."

She gave an indignant huff, her breath
tickling his throat. "Determined, rather."

He grunted in acknowledgement. "Your
brother’s a lucky man, to have you at his back."

She found his small nipple and explored
it carefully with her fingertips. He held still so she wouldn't
stop. He'd had courtesans caress him there in all manner of
imaginative ways, but somehow her touch was more
arousing.