Romancing the Alpha: An Action-Adventure Romance Boxed Set (54 page)

Pris laughed—the sound deep and real—and shook the treasure hunter’s hand. “Don’t worry, gorgeous. I know you like the ladies.” Pris gave a theatrical sigh. “Such a shame.”

“Need some rooms, Pris. And help buying some supplies.”

“Anything for you…and the right amount of e-creds.” The innkeeper’s gaze landed on Lexa and Damon. “What a handsome, sand-covered couple.” Pris’ heavily-kohled eyes zeroed in on Damon.

Lexa expected Damon to stiffen, but he stayed relaxed, eying their host.

Pris’ gaze flicked between the two of them and back to Damon. “I suppose you’re going to disappoint me, too, and tell me you like the ladies.”

“Yep.” Damon handed Lexa down to Pris.

The innkeeper set her down with an easy swing. After Damon dismounted, the two men looked at each other. Their host stiffened. “Helix?”

Lexa watched Damon morph from weary traveler to high-alert security expert. She felt every muscle in his body go tight.

“It’s Damon. Damon Malik.”

The man…woman—Lexa wasn’t sure what to call him or her, but she guessed since the innkeeper was wearing a skirt, she’d go with she—swallowed and nodded. “I was Lancer…in my previous life.”

Damon relaxed a fraction. “You did good work.” Damon glanced at the inn. “Never knew what happened to you.”

“I got out.” Pris set her shoulders back, pasting on a wide smile and shaking her skirts. “I decided to find an out-of-the-way place where I could be my real self.” She smiled at Lexa. “Well, at least you have good taste, even if you are an exceedingly brave woman.”

Brave? She looked at Damon but his face didn’t give anything away.

Pris flicked a finger at Lexa’s hair. “You are a beautiful thing. I love your hair. Tell me it isn’t real and you paid a small fortune in e-creds for it.”

She shook her head, still trying to piece together that little exchange. “Sorry.”

“Ah, we should all be so blessed.” Pris waved them in. “Come in, come in. I’ll find you some rooms.”

Behind a cluttered table, she rummaged around in a cabinet and handed something to Dathan and something to Damon.

“What the hell is this?” Damon held up a slim piece of metal.

“Oh, it’s a key.” Lexa touched it, studying the clunky lines of it. “For an old-fashioned lock. Fascinating.”

Pris winked. “I’m an old-fashioned kind of gal.”

“And where’s mine?” Lexa asked.

Pris laughed again. “My darling, when a man looks at you the way Hel…Malik is, you have absolutely no need for your own room.”

Lexa glanced at Damon. He didn’t seem to be looking at her any differently than he usually did. But then she really looked at his eyes and she caught the flash of dark intensity and potent heat. It hit her low, left her feeling needy.

Pris leaned down and whispered, very loudly, “Honey, you grab that, ride it until you can’t ride no more, and don’t let go.”

Lexa choked on a laugh and saw Damon’s lips twitch.

Pris’ face sobered. “And he’s one of the good guys, who always does the right thing, no matter how tough it gets.” The innkeeper spun with theatrical flair and gave Damon one more wistful look before sighing. “Come along. I’ll show you your rooms.”

They dropped Dathan off with a promise to meet him that evening for dinner. Pris told them there would be a community meal by the water with dinner and dancing, and they wouldn’t want to miss it. The last part was added with a wink.

Damon unlocked the door Pris had shown them. It swung open and Lexa got the impression of a huge bed draped in filmy white fabric.

“Have fun, my darlings.” Pris waved, the bracelets on her wrist tinkling. “And please, make sure you get at least a
little
bit of rest.” She spun with a swirl of skirts and was gone.

Lexa wandered into the room. It was surprisingly cool. The rock-cut walls were smooth but there were narrow veins of some glittering mineral here and there. She stopped at the window and took in the wide sweep of golden desert. It looked just as magnificent and unforgiving from here as it did when you were riding in the middle of it. But, right now, with sand in places she didn’t even want to think about, she was happy to take a short break from it.

Damon was silent, and Lexa found nerves were starting to creep in. It was silly. They’d been through so much in a short period of time and she’d come to trust him. In fact, she hadn’t felt this close to someone in a long time.

A door opened and she turned. He was heading into an adjoining room. She followed and moaned in pleasure.

The room was carved back into the rock and against one wall was a deep-cut pool with water bubbling up and steam rising off it. The room had no window, but three modern ball lights were suspended from the ceiling, each one glowing with a soft light.

Damon ran his fingers through the water. “Mineral water.” He nodded his head at the pool. “Why don’t you get in, take a soak. It’ll help those aches and pains you’ve been trying to hide.”

She chewed on her bottom lip. “So, Mr. Malik, are you going to offer to scrub my back?”

“I thought that might be a bit…clichéd.”

“Oh?”

“I thought I’d just strip you naked, carry you into the water and fuck you senseless.”

And just like that, raw need flared inside her, arrowing between her legs.

She wasn’t sure who moved, her or him. But suddenly, she was in his arms, his mouth on hers.

She parted her lips eagerly. His arms wrapped around her and his tongue swept into her mouth, demanding and unyielding.

Lexa slid her hands into his thick hair. Before she knew what was happening, he was urging her forward until they reached the edge of the pool.

He gripped her shirt and tugged it off. He groaned. “Damn, this sexy underwear makes me hard.” His skillful fingers made short work of opening her sea-blue bra and dropping it to the floor. He groaned again. “Although what’s under it is much, much sexier.” He cupped one breast and she leaned into his touch. Her nipples puckered.

“Ah, such pretty breasts.” He flicked a thumb over her nipple, making her gasp. “Do you want my mouth here?”

“Yes.” Her answer was a breathy whisper.

“Then get in the water.” He knelt and slipped her trousers down her legs.

Staring down at his dark head, she fought back a tremble. His hot gaze slid over her bare legs as he slipped a finger under the waistband of her silk panties and snapped it against her skin.

“Something else pretty under here for me?”

Oh, stars
. She wanted to close her eyes, savor the sensations, but she couldn’t pull her gaze off him.

He tugged the panties down. Staring at the juncture between her thighs, he made a hungry sound, then urged her toward the water.

Lexa sank into the bath. It was almost too hot but after a few seconds her skin adjusted. She found a narrow ledge under the water and sat. She turned to look at Damon and almost swallowed her tongue.

He was shedding his clothes in quick, economical movements, uncovering bronzed skin and his lean, muscular body.

Her mouth went as dry as the desert outside. There wasn’t an inch of fat on him. Just muscles on muscles, each one perfectly defined.

He dropped his trousers and straightened, unabashedly naked. Now, she couldn’t breathe. She knew her eyes were wide and she was staring his cock, but he was…generously proportioned.

“Sweetheart, I’ve been wanting to see that exact look on your face when you looked at me for a while now.” He sauntered toward the pool.

She looked up at him and crooked a finger. He stepped into the water.

“I want to touch you,” she murmured. “All of you.”

“You’ll get the chance, Lexa. But first, I’m going to take care of you.” He grabbed up a natural sponge and the liquid soap set out beside the pool. He squirted some soap onto the sponge and moved closer to her.

He ran the sponge over her shoulder, the surface of it rough against her skin, and the sensual scent of Vedian jasmina combined with some woodsy fragrance followed. He dragged the cloth down and ran it under her breasts, then his glittering gaze locked on hers. Her lips parted.

He set to work with a determined focus, washing her breasts, then her back and belly. As the sponge and his hand slid lower, her breathing increased.

“You like that?”

She nodded, her voice seeming to have deserted her. The sponge slipped between her legs. He washed her with slow, steady strokes that made her gasp.

“Completely bare, just pretty, feminine flesh,” he murmured. “I like it.” He kept stroking, like he was happy to keep it up for hours.

“You have too much patience,” she said, her voice breathy.

“A skill I’ve perfected over the years.” He leaned down and nipped at her lips. “But you’re testing it. Watching you—” he shook his head “—it drives me to the edge of my control.”

She needed to even the playing field, and she desperately wanted to touch him. “Let me touch you.” She ran her hands over the hard planes of his chest, then leaned closer and pressed her mouth to his flat nipple.

“Mmm.” His breathing quickened.

She let her hands drop into the water, her nails scoring over his hard abs.

“Lexa.” A warning, a plea. “Wrap your hands around me.”

She did, her fingers curling around his sizable erection. He was hard, hot and smooth. She pumped him, all the while imagining taking him inside her. She shivered.

He made a growling noise and suddenly the sponge disappeared. Now it was only his hand exploring the folds between her legs.

“Yes,” she hissed, her hips canting forward.

He sank a finger inside and made a guttural noise. “So tight.”

She was moving her hips enough that the water lapped at the edge of the pool. His thumb slid through her slick folds until he found her clit. Now, she cried out.

“I want you to come for me.” He put more pressure on her clit.

She stroked his cock again. “I want this inside of me.”

“And you’ll get it, after you come on my fingers.” He sank another finger inside her.

She felt the pleasure growing, a liquid heat coiling low, threatening to spill over. Stars, she fought to control the sensation, but with another clever flick, she shattered.

Her back arched and she heard her own cry echo off the rock walls. Before she’d come all the way back down, he pulled his hand away and turned her. He pushed her forward until her stomach touched the edge of the pool.

He kept the gentle pressure until she bent forward, her breasts touching the cool rock. She writhed, the contrast of the cool rock, the warm water and the hot touch of Damon as he pressed up behind her overwhelming.

He shifted her body, urging her ass up and again his fingers were touching her where she was hot and needy.

“God, Lexa, you are so beautiful.” His other hand shaped her buttock. “You have a Naamah?”

The implant was a new technology that protected from pregnancy and disease. She nodded.

“Good.” The thick head of his cock nudged her folds, then he thrust into her with one heavy slide.

She cried out, her hands clamping onto the edge of the pool.

“That’s it.” His mouth was at her ear, his big body covering her and his thick cock stretching her. “You feel that, don’t you? I’ve wanted to be deep inside you for what feels like forever.” He pulled back and thrust again.

She moaned, the sensation of him filling her was all-consuming.

He started moving faster, his strokes harder, firmer. “All night, Lexa. I’m going to pleasure you every way I know how. And you’ll still want more.”

She shoved back against him, gratified by his groan. “I’ll give as good as I get.”

He gave a low chuckle. “I never expected anything less.” Their bodies slapped together as he picked up his pace. “Now just feel.”

It was all she could do. The feel of him within her wiped out every thought of treasure hunts, temples, desert wolves and treasures.

He powered into her, the incredible pleasure coiling low and deep inside her, and she knew she was lost.

Damon kept pumping into Lexa’s hot, tight body. Damn, he hadn’t felt anything this good in a long, long time. He felt her release growing, her body gripping him tighter.

On his next thrust she came, his name ripped from her lips and her scream echoing around their small sanctuary. Another two thrusts and he seated himself deep, his own release roaring through him like a blast. He groaned as he spilled inside her, and they both collapsed, half in and half out of the bath.

When he could think again, he pulled her back down into the water with him. Her body was lax and her head dropped back against his shoulder. Her eyes were closed, but he could see a faint, and very satisfied, smile on her face.

After a brief soak, he swung her into his arms and headed for the bed. He didn’t bother to dry them off, just parted the gauzy hangings, set one knee on the mattress, and dropped her onto the plain white sheets. He climbed in after her and curled around her. She scooted back, settling into him, her fabulous ass nestled against his cock. The damn thing twitched. Trying to kill him, no doubt.

She gave a contented sigh and he felt her drop into an exhausted sleep.

Damon stayed there, spooned around her, the afternoon sun casting a glow on the rock walls and a lazy fan spinning on the ceiling above. He pressed his face against her hair and breathed deep. Having Lexa wrapped up in his arms felt…right. He looked at the rock above them. He’d always thought he wanted a simple life, especially after the machinations and complexity of a life in the GSS. A challenging, but non-stressful job, his own place, and his own goddamn bed—not a different one every night. The occasional casual woman when he was in the mood, but nothing too serious. He’d imagined himself in the future as a grizzled old bachelor who could still charm the odd lady when he needed one.

Now he wasn’t so sure.

He closed his eyes, exhaustion and the sensual aftermath of coming inside Lexa dragging him into sleep.

When he woke several hours later, he thought he must be dreaming, and a damn good dream, at that.

The sun had set, and the room was wreathed in shadows, just the glow of a small lamp giving off any light. Warm lips were traveling down the center of his chest. As they reached his abdomen, they took a lot of time exploring each ridge, nails scoring his hipbones.