Project Terminal: Legacy (5 page)

“Sterile? You gave them that?” She tried to pull back and look in his face.

He nipped her shoulder, scrambling her brain. “Can we talk about my choices later?”

He slid her down until his tip teased her entrance. She relaxed, his thick girth filling her, and waves of pleasure pooled within. He gripped her hips, pounding into her until he sent her over the edge of oblivion. She screamed his name and soon after he called out his own release.

He leaned against her, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. “Sorry about the lack of more foreplay.”

“I’m not complaining.” She smiled as she slid to her feet. He soaped up his body, and they finished the shower in a blissful silence.

Later, Laura enjoyed the chicken soup. Despite the lack of flavor and cold temperature, she greedily downed it with the saltine crackers. Damian stole glances in her direction while she ate. The television played in the background, luckily the newscast predicted pleasant weather for the next several days. She couldn’t imagine how miserable it would be riding a motorcycle in the rain. The air conditioner rattled and hummed to life as she crawled beneath the covers next to her new lover, and within a minute fell fast asleep.

* * * *

The Fat Boy jolted and bounced down an unkempt county road. Laura held tight to Damian’s waist, her butt sore from so many hours on the road with few rest stops. Supposedly, somewhere out in the middle of this nowhere lived the man Damian wanted to see. Doug Martin. A small house lay in the distance and he gunned the engine. The sun sank low in the sky and Laura sighed, grateful the ride would be over soon. They’d left the motel room at four-thirty AM. More than anything she wanted off the damned motorcycle.

He pulled into the drive then cut the engine. “Wait here.”

He dismounted and walked to the house.

She got off to stretch her tight muscles. She winced, her back popping in numerous places. Not to mention the soreness settled in her nether regions after the tryst in the shower. She would’ve gone for round two this morning, but Damian rushed her out the door. Maybe their lovin’ would be a one-time thing, much to her disappointment. Even now she squirmed thinking about his naked, wet body.

The front door opened, and a portly, balding man stepped out. She couldn’t make out the conversation, but the man eyed her warily. At last he nodded, waving her inside. She trudged up the driveway.

Doug looked her over carefully while she surveyed the living room, smelling stale cigarette smoke and fried chicken. She wrinkled her nose.

“So you’re the survivor?” he asked.

She gave him a tight smile. “It seems so.”

Rocking back on her heels, she studied a collection of baseballs sitting in a glass cabinet.

“Fascinating.” He rubbed his hands together. “Oh, they’ll want to get their hands on you.”

Her gaze darted to him. “Why?”

“Because that’s their foolproof master weapon of destruction, no one is supposed to live through it.”

Her mouth fell open. “Damian said it was created to help injured soldiers.”

She looked to Damian, noting his guarded expression.

Doug laughed. “Well, in the beginning it was. Then the project realized how valuable it would be in other areas. You can set it loose somewhere then just sit back, letting the enemy destroy themselves.”

Doug’s eyes looked beady behind his Coke-bottle thick glasses and she didn’t entirely believe him.

“Damian, is this true?” she asked.

He shrugged. “It seems plausible to me.”

Laura rubbed her hands over her face. “I just want to go home and take care of my restaurant. I don’t want to be involved in this madness.”

“I left the program when I learned the truth,” Doug continued. “Well, I was asked to resign, they didn’t care for my opinions. But once they find you, Laura, you won’t be allowed to leave. I can promise you that. You’ll be a guinea pig for them. This virus, it’s their legacy. Nothing like it has been seen before. It’s worse than anything man or nature has ever created, and they can slap their collective names on it.”

“They can’t lock me away. I’m an American citizen, and I have rights.”

Doug snorted. “Not when you’re a valuable asset to the country’s security. You’ll disappear in the system.”

Laura looked once more to Damian, wanting to hear none of it could be true.

His eyes glittered in the soft lamplight of the room. “I’m sorry, Laura, but I believe Doug’s telling the truth. It’s an organization that runs under the radar of most government offices. The President, members of the House or Congress, I doubt any know about Project Terminal as it stands. Plausible Deniability.”

Energy left her in a whoosh. “I don’t want this.” She sat down on the arm of the nearby sofa. “I don’t want any of this.”

“I won’t let them get to you, I swear.” Damian reached for her. She cringed away from his touch and he dropped his hand.

“Well, the best I can do is draw some blood. We’ll need to go to the university to do that.” Doug walked over and grabbed a set of keys out of a bowl. “Damian tells me you had rabies shots a year ago, could be something to do with that, along with your personal genetics. I realize the scientists wanted a fatal virus, but they neglected the fact every virus has a portion of the population immune to it. Bubonic Plague, HIV, even these two deadly viruses have people with natural immunity to them.”

She hung on to two words. “Draw blood?” Laura’s eyes widened. “I hate needles.”

“That’ll be nothing if the program gets their hands on you.” Doug’s face fell solemn. “Let’s hope Damian hasn’t lost his edge when it comes to the soldier thing.”

She looked between the two men, her heart sinking. Needles gave her panic attacks.

“You sure you weren’t followed?” Doug asked, giving Damian a stern look.

Damian shook his head. “No, not a sign.”

Doug stroked his chin. “Remember Strong Stock?”

“Yes.”

“If things go sour, look there. I’ve got some information stashed that could be useful if things go south. I’ll take an extra sample of her blood out there tonight when we’re finished.”

“Okay, we’ll follow you. Best if we keep to two separate vehicles, just in case we need to bail. They’re after us, not you.”

They took the twenty minute trip to the university where Doug worked as a professor. Nighttime rides weren’t so bad, Laura found she could almost relax and enjoy them, perhaps because she couldn’t see the world flying by at a neck-breaking rate. Damian’s hips were fit snuggly between her thighs and, combined with the vibrations of the motorcycle beneath, did funny things to her naughty spots. She squirmed, but there was no stopping the rush of arousal filling her blood. She groaned.

Chapter 6

They’d taken another smelly motel room. It was past midnight, and Laura barely dragged herself to the bed before she collapsed. She poked the sore spot where Doug had drawn blood, shuddering at the memory. Of course when the obscenely large needle had appeared she’d started to black out. Damian had held her, speaking soothingly, but it’d been little use.

“What now?” She kicked off her shoes, massaging her tired feet. Surprising since she’d spent the day with her ass glued to a motorcycle seat.

Damian stripped down and she looked on in appreciation when his hard cock popped out. She licked her lips, eyeing the offering.

“I haven’t decided yet, but I have other priorities at the moment.”

He stalked toward her with intention on his face and her fatigue fled. She smiled broadly, beckoning him forward with a finger, ready to forget her woes and get her hands on the soldier. He crawled atop her, his hands tugging and yanking her clothing until they lay scattered around the room. Naked, with his hot gaze studying every inch of her skin, she writhed, wanting a hundred things at once, all involving his amazingly dexterous tongue.

As if reading her mind, he pressed her knees apart and stroked two fingers within her labia, spreading her to the chill of the air conditioned room, running the tip of his tongue over his lips. But he didn’t move in and the wicked gleam in his eyes let her know he’d make her beg first.

Fuck that.
The tease of being denied immediate gratification left her cranky and she shoved her own fingers within her pussy. He murmured approval as she played, enjoying the exhibition, and when he took his cock in hand her light petting became more eager. Soaking wet, she circled and stroked her swollen clit until hot chills shot through her. Not wanting to come so soon, she slipped inside her canal, thrusting one then two fingers deep, arching with the pleasure when a third joined, stretching her walls but not as much as his cock would.

She closed her eyes, imagining he was within her as she took her breast in a rough caress with her free hand, before pinching her nipple, moaning with the shot of pain mingling amid pleasure. A heady mix, and she squeezed it harder, testing her masochist’s side, opening her eyes to meet his heavy lidded gaze. Languid strokes over his cock quickened, until he pumped it in his fist. His lips drew back over his teeth, a deep flush darkening his skin, and she half-feared the wild look in his face.

“Damn it, you win.” He reached for her, flipping her onto her stomach, his fingertips digging deep into flesh as he yanked her to her knees on the mattress. Before she had time to take another breath, he’d shoved deep inside her pussy, and the shock of the union made her scream. She clawed the rough polyester comforter, another hard plunge making her cry out again and struggle against his unforgiving grip.

Taunting had backfired and he’d taken her like a lust crazed beast, but oh hell, she
loved
it. Even as she pried at his bruising hold, she wanted more of his power. A savage growl escaped his throat and he grabbed her wrists, pinning them behind her back, driving his hips harder. Face down, she bit the comforter, muffling her cries, every part of her craving the orgasm just out of reach.

Arching, spreading wider, she met thrust for thrust, until the bedframe rattled beneath them, desperate to find release before she broke beneath his merciless endurance. Her shoulders ached from her arms being twisted in a submission hold, but she’d become his captive and knew he’d not release her until he’d spent his energy. That knowledge alone sent her into heights of eroticism unknown to her, making her feel like an animal in heat.

He pulled back, leaving her empty, the shock wrenching a gasp from her throat. His mouth replaced his cock, tongue and teeth within her labia, eating her out like a starving man. Too sensitive for such a rough touch, she struggled, but unforgiving, he took her as he wished, keeping her arms pinned, expert with the technique of captive positions. He let the waves build higher and higher, and just when she sought blessed release, he stopped. Then he was inside her, balls deep, pounding until choked sobs tore from her chest, until the room spun and she didn’t know if it was due to the intensity of pleasure or lack of oxygen to her starved lungs.
Harder, harder, faster, faster…

A loud crack of wood and the bed dropped to one side, knocking her to her stomach. Damian fell atop her, gasping for breath. Gripping her shoulders, he rolled her to her back, burying hilt deep within her again, bracing a hand on the crown of her head, unrelenting until the most intense orgasm she’d ever experienced swept through her. Robbed of her voice, she could only collapse beneath it, and one, two, three thrusts later, trembling and sweating, Damian called out, pumping his hot cum within her.

They lay curled around one another, shaking and exhausted, on the ruined bed, car horns blaring outside, the sounds of coitus coming from another room. Most likely a john and prostitute, she mused. The woman’s calls of encouragement sounded rehearsed, nothing like her own from earlier. She snuggled deeper into her lover’s arms.

“When can I talk with my family?” The longing to hear a familiar voice pulled her heart strings.

He rolled onto his back, flinging an arm over his face. “I’ll get a disposable phone tomorrow, and you can contact them. But you can’t tell them the truth.”

She chuckled. “What? I can’t tell them I was bit by a zombie, kidnapped by a super soldier, and now I’m going to help take down a secret organization?”

The corner of his mouth quirked up. “Okay, smart ass, what are you going to tell them?”

Her forehead wrinkled. “That handling the diner got to be too much so I bailed for a few days. They’ll be furious with me. I inherited the restaurant from my grandmother and refused to sell it. Her memory lives in the place, and I can’t part with it.”

“I’m sorry.” Damian’s words were laced with sleep.

“Yeah, me too.”

* * * *

“I ran away from home when I was ten years old. I made it all the way down the street to the library, backpack stuffed full of clothes. I even remembered clean underwear, if you believe that. I didn’t realize my sixteen-year-old brother had spotted me and followed me. He went back and told our folks what I’d done, so they let me sit in the library until closing.” Laura twirled the cellphone in her hand, leaning forward with elbows braced on her knees. “I’m that ten-year-old kid again to them, a horribly immature and incapable adult. Like my brother.”

She sniffed, blinking back tears. They’d made a stop at a discount store so she could buy new clothes, then the laundromat so Damian could wash his. He’d anticipated her call home would be harsh, but judging by the angry voices he’d heard from the cellphone stuck to her ear, she’d gotten reamed.

“The manager is keeping Nana’s going, thank God. I can’t be out here many more days, Damian. My life is tied up in the diner.” Her wide, green eyes pleaded for empathy.

He fisted his hands at his sides, wanting to reach out and pull her to him. He couldn’t keep his hands off the woman, though he kept swearing he would. Perhaps he craved contact with another human being. Maybe he felt desperate for distraction. Whatever it was, he felt like a slave to it. Not a good feeling for a soldier.

“I’ll see you home before I make the trip to Texas.” The thought of not having Laura with him left a hollow spot in his chest.