Her Master's Collar (On the Hunt) (9 page)

Their arrival also meant they were one step closer to their goal.

Roland held her hand tightly, kissing the web between her thumb and finger as they waited for their luggage. Her body still buzzed from the way he’d made her feel. She suspected it would continue to sing for Roland until they found some time to completely sate this need.

If they even did at all.

It could be days before this ordeal was over, but her priority needed to be hostages.

Pesky thing, the sex drive. It tended to do as it pleased most of the time.

She lifted their joined hands to her face, rubbing his fingers over her cheek. He started to turn toward her, but was interrupted by a blur of silver dropping from the sky. The windowless ship hovered for a moment before settling gently a few inches above the surface of the landing pad.

“Must have cost more than just a few extra credits to secure seats on this tourist trip. How big of a dent is this putting in my expense account?” She whistled long and low as she followed Roland into the oversized dock the ship had been pulled into. The large ship dazzled the senses as the spotlights focused on the reflective hull. The ground crew began performing maintenance as the loading ramp began to lower. “Sure she’s not too pretty to fly?”

“She’s not just attractive packaging. There’s—”

Korene set a gentle hand on his biceps. “You don’t have to sell me, Roland. I trust you think this is for the best.” She followed him, smiling at the other passengers as he led the way to the forward end of the ship. Markus said nothing as they sat in the seat beside him, but Jericho Valentine, Roland’s surveillance specialist, shot her a knowing smile from across the aisle. She held his gaze, lifting a speculative eyebrow when he pushed up from the seat to cross the small cabin.

He stood imposingly over her, his arms crossed, his feet wide as those crystal eyes bored into her. She stared back, unfazed by his intimidating green stare or the freckles scattered across the bridge of his nose. Jericho Valentine, former Army Ranger, was nothing more than a teddy bear when push came to shove. At least to the only woman who’d ever kicked his ass at
holopool
.

“Still moping?” She folded her arms.

“You swindled me out of five hundred credits. I had to spend the next six months scrambling to pay my debts.” Annoyed, he didn’t bother to hide the melodic harmony of his thick accent.

“Well, maybe if you shoved one of the pool sticks up your ass, you would have found some change to help.”

Jericho let out a booming laugh, gathering her up in his arms. “Blast it all to hell, it’s good to hear your smartass mouth again, Korene.” Held tight in his embrace, she scented the cinnamon and honey spice shampoo he’d used to wash his crew-cut auburn hair.

“If you don’t put me down, no one is going to see me again.” He released her, but held her within arm’s length. “How have you been?”

“Just fine and dandy. Life has certainly been treating you well.” He leaned forward, brushing his lips against hers before moving into hug her again. The firm lines of his body molded against hers and he hummed an Irish tune as his hands splayed wide to blatantly fondle her ass. “And judging by the daggers flying from Roland’s eyes right now, I take it you two are back together?”

She hesitated. Could she even put a name to what they were at the moment? Surely it defied description. “Somewhat.”

Valentine touched the tip of her ear, a gesture that always made her smile. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Need me to give him a thorough lashing?”

The extremely attractive Irishman had always looked out for her even when she didn’t need it. Their heavy flirtation had always been limited to teasing one another. She’d forgotten how protective some of these guys could be, especially the ones who tended to embrace the dominant side of their personality. Jericho Valentine was a well-known Dom who routinely sought the company of the submissives in his favored club on Vegas Two.

“No. No, I can handle him.” She could, right?

One corner of his mouth lifted in a wry smirk. “You’d better. He’s been pretty damn grouchy for the past, say, ten years.”

The comm speaker overhead gave a sharp blare. “Ladies and gentleman, please take your seats. The captain has turned on the safety sign as we’ll be lifting off shortly.”

For now, there was nothing to do but wait as the ship lifted to settle on a course for the volcanic park.

Valentine tapped the small data unit balanced on his lap as their shuttle continued on its trajectory toward Mars. “From what I can tell in the surveillance I’ve been doing since you called, there’s only one way to get where they’re being held.”

Roland nodded. He’d seen the same thing during his own research. “The caves.”

“I was afraid of that,” Markus grumbled.

Valentine shifted, pulling the data to a large screen at the rear of the small cabin he’d reserved so they could speak privately about their plans. “It’s been a while since I did a dive, but I’ve procured the equipment we’ll need to get to the bottom of the cave as quickly as possible. Cave diving is a popular pastime for the visitors here, so it’s not uncommon for people to be around the area. Once we’re down there, if the equipment is still in place, we won’t need the oxygen suits anymore.”

“Good.” As much as Roland knew they needed the suits, they were bulky and cumbersome to operate in. He wasn’t opposed to having to work in the protective equipment, but he much preferred the idea of having more movement available to him. Especially because the sightline in the suits was somewhat diminished. They would need every advantage they could get since they were already going into this blind.

So far everything had been going too smoothly for his liking. Typically, on an assignment such as this, something inevitably went wrong. Small or large, something always put a kink in their forward motion. Then they’d have to scramble to recover. The only resistance he’d met to this point had been with Korene.

And wasn’t she a surprise?

Reconnecting with her had gone more smoothly than he expected. Oh sure, he knew they had a long road stretched out in front of them, but the fact they’d started to chip away at the wall erected between them was an excellent sign for their future together.

He could still hear the way she’d sounded when she came. Still feel the tightness of her pussy clenching around his fingers when he’d bent her over the bench in the suite. His dick stirred in his pants, hardening to nearly the point of pain in the blink of an eye.

No woman had ever caused him to react as if he possessed no more control than a randy teenager. That kind of feeling wasn’t something he’d recalled missing until the second he’d seen her in her conference room back in New Washington. What he would have given to spread her out on the table so he could spend an infinite amount of time undressing her. Perhaps even use her expensive suit to bind her ankles and wrists so he could lavish attention on her cunt with his tongue.

He missed tasting her—
savoring her
. He missed the way she felt writhing under him almost as much as he missed driving his cock into her succulent pussy. He’d hold her hips as he drove into that wet, pink flesh, burying himself so deep his vision would go black.

“Do we need to leave you alone?”

Roland snapped out of his ruminations at Markus’ question. Looking down, he realized he’d been absently rubbing those fingers he’d had inside her while staring at them. And his dick had grown hard as steel. His inattention had also caused him to completely miss the rest of Jericho’s debriefing.

Damn.

Korene smiled from her seat across the aisle. She crossed her ankles, tugging on the skirt of the luxurious dress he insisted she wear in order to keep up appearances. As the hem split, revealing more of her shapely leg, he began to rethink his insistence she wear the garment.

His gaze flicked up to hers, questioning her motives. She lifted an eyebrow as she inched open the fabric even more. As the split widened, falling away at her thigh, her ankles uncrossed. She appeared to be shifting in her seat, stretching her legs from the long trip. For his position directly across from her, the movement allowed him a brief glimpse between her legs. The harsh overhead lights weren’t bright, but she was situated in such a way he caught a quick flash of her tempting pink flesh.

His hands tightened and he caught the perceptible shake in his fists before he managed to control it. Evidently pleased with her actions, Korene neatly arranged her skirt around her legs again and stood, walking toward him. He smelled her arousal as she leaned closer, her hand pressing against his shoulder for balance.

“Amazing how such a commanding and powerful Dom can be reduced to putty when a woman flashes her cunt at him.” She stood, tilting her head in what Roland read as invitation. Her hips swayed suggestively as she moved to exit the passenger compartment.

Christ, he wanted her.
Now.
Waiting wasn’t an option.

“Jericho, how much longer do we have before we arrive on the surface?” Her hand settled on the metal casing as she waited for his answer.

“About twenty minutes? Thirty tops.”

“I think I’m going to change so I can be ready when we land.” She disappeared as the doors whisked shut behind her.

Roland blew out a shaky breath, ordering the need running rampant through his veins to calm. He wouldn’t be reduced to a brainless oaf who gave in to the needs of his dick over his brain. But he couldn’t stop thinking about Korene getting naked on the other side of the bulkhead. It reminded him of how she’d looked when she’d come out of the shower, her flesh dewy and so damn lickable.

Fuck it.

He pushed to stand, crossing the small compartment in one stride.

“Boss? What about our escape route? We still need to get it finalized.”

Roland growled at Markus. The last thing on his mind was deciding what to do once they succeeded. His mind had one thing occupying it. Evidently he
could
be reduced to brainless oaf status. “Handle it.”

The door whisked shut behind him, silencing the loud shouts of protest from the members of his team. He’d deal with the consequences of his choice some other time. For now, he had something else to handle. He turned to the left, gambling on the fact she’d ducked into the forward cargo hold to change in privacy. His gamble paid off as he found her standing on the far side of the room, surrounded by metal containers. The harsh lines of the military-grade storage units contrasted starkly with soft lines of her body.

Facing him, she slid her hands up over the swell of her breasts, her fingers lingering on the dusky-pink nipples he saw pebbling the fabric. Smiling, she pulled on the hem of her skirt again. The fabric parted, giving him a full view of her shapely leg again. A quick tug ripped the fabric split to her waist. She flipped open the skirt. Offering him an unencumbered view to the tempting heat he couldn’t stop thinking about.

Seeing her so bare and open to him made his mouth water.

I want to keep her.

He wanted nothing more than to kneel before her, worshiping her body to show her just how damn much she really and truly meant to him. And Roland Asher didn’t go to his knees for anyone. She’d driven him to this madness, and damn, he loved her for it.

When his gaze finally lifted to meet hers, the invitation read clearly in her eyes.

His mouth crushed against hers before he could ask himself if this was the best idea. The bitter taste of the energy pack she’d ingested earlier tasted strong and tart in his mouth. He deepened the kiss, pushing her against one of the large metal containers filling the hold.

A soft grumble of delight rumbled in her chest, resonating into him. Driven by his craving for her, he forced his knee between her thighs. She opened with little resistance, giving a quiet little mewl of pleasure that hardened his dick even more.

Caught up in the energy between them, her hands tore at the elegant dress she’d donned for the excursion. What was left of the material dropped to the floor, forgotten. Her short nails bit into his chest, scraping against his flesh. The bright pain reminded him of the time she’d scored his flesh with her nails. He’d worn her scratches like a badge, refusing to wear anything more than a tank until the red welts had faded. He pushed harder against her, desperately needing to wear those marks again.

She responded in kind, the level of fervor rising as he wrapped a hand around her nape, his other around the back of her thigh. Those mile-long legs were around his waist before his heart took its next beat. Desire reached a flashpoint, screaming at both of them to sate this anxious need burning their bodies.

As much as he prided himself on control, he seemed powerless to stop himself from ravishing her. He levered his hips away, his hands tracing over her fine curves. She arched against him as his hands molded against her bottom. Desperate for more contact, he cupped a hand around one of her breasts. Her nipple peaked against his palm, the hard nub seemingly desperate for more of his touch.

Her soft cry of delight split the charged air when he shifted, pinching the bud between his fingers. She ground her hips against him, the heat of her pussy nearly scorching him through the fabric of his pants. His tongue traced the side of her neck, drawing out a soft whimper that echoed through his soul.