Romancing the Alpha: An Action-Adventure Romance Boxed Set (55 page)

He looked down, mesmerized by the sight of Lexa’s dark head against his belly. She looked up and smiled, an expression that was full of feminine promise.

She moved lower. “I’ve been dying to explore all these lean muscles of yours.” She nipped his hipbone.

He jerked under her touch. “They’re all yours.”

“Good.”

God, he’d been famous for his control among the small group he’d worked for in the GSS, and for never losing his cool over a woman. He’d been known to delight in all kinds of women, some he’d liked, some that had just been a job. He’d even had the most practiced courtesans of Windassia work him over as a gift from a grateful potentate.

They had never made him feel as close to the edge as this.

Lexa gripped his cock and gave it a solid pump. His hips jerked up of their own accord. He growled.

“I like driving you crazy. Mr. Malik.” Her lips engulfed him.

Fuck
. Her mouth was warm and she used a lot more force then he’d have guessed. Lexa looked sweet and classy, but there was a core of steel in her. She bobbed up and down, making small noises that told him she was enjoying herself. She slowed down and took him deeper, and his answering groan was long and loud.

He wanted to keep watching those pretty lips of hers stretched around his cock, and come in her mouth. But he wanted to be inside her even more.

He moved fast, grabbing her and yanking her up his body.

“Hey—”

“Inside you. Now.” He couldn’t even make full sentences anymore. He pulled her higher until she straddled his hips. Then he was urging her up, the head of his cock nudging between her slim thighs.

She bit her lip, their gazes locking.

She sank down, taking him in one long slide.

“Oh, God.” She pressed her hands to his chest and her head fell back, exposing that long neck to him, all that smooth skin.

Unable to stop himself, he reared up, adjusted her in his lap and forced his cock into her at a deeper angle. She made a strangled sound, her nails biting into his skin. He pressed his mouth to her neck, nipping where her pulse fluttered wildly.

She rode him, her hips rising and falling. He kissed her, pulling in the taste of her, loving that she kissed him back with wild abandon.

Then she stiffened. “Oh, Damon, I’m going to come.”

“Come, Lexa. Come for me.”

She did, moaning and grabbing onto him tighter. A second later, he followed her, thrusting hard inside her.

Then her eyes shot open. “What’s…oh God, Damon…I’m—” Wide brown eyes clung to his as the second wave of her orgasm hit, making her scream.

They fell back in the bed, wrecked. She was sprawled on top of him, their legs tangled. He stroked a hand lazily up her back.

She turned her head. “I think I like you.”

He tugged a strand of her hair. “Good. Because I really like you.”

“I still think this might be crazy. We could get back to the museum and hate each other again.”

No. Everything in him revolted at thought. “Let’s not borrow trouble. We have a treasure hunt to finish, first.”

She nodded, her cheek pressed to his chest. “You have two heartbeats.”

“Yeah. I have two hearts.” It gave him extra endurance and strength the GSS had prized.

“So, one of your parents was Amdorian or Cyphi?” She named the two humanoid races with two hearts.

“I don’t know.”

Her brow crinkled. “What do you mean?”

“Never knew who my father was. And my mother left for work when I was five and never came back. I have a few memories of her, but they’re fuzzy. She never said she was Amdorian or Cyphi, but she never knew her parents, either.”

Lexa was very still and quiet for a second. “What happened to her?”

He shrugged. “She might have just abandoned me, or been killed. I never found out.”

“Who raised you?”

“I’m from Ranga 9.”

She blinked. “The gang planet.”

“Yep. Gang took me in. Fed me, clothed me, beat me, taught me to fight.”

Lexa sat up, her eyes igniting. He didn’t think she realized she was naked, her beautiful breasts on full display.

“They indoctrinate kids, make them feel loyal to the gang and then use them to fight. I’ve read about Ranga. It’s been destroyed by drugs, gang war, prostitution…”

“Don’t forget thievery and people-trafficking.”

She pushed her hair back. “How can you joke about it?”

“Because I got out.” Damon knew he was one of the lucky ones. He reached out and cupped one of her breasts. She looked down and flushed a little. When she moved to grab the sheet, he shook his head. “Don’t.” He kept caressing her, kneading the soft, smooth flesh.

“How did you escape?” she asked quietly, but the flush in her cheeks now had nothing to do with her righteous anger for the child he’d been.

“I was fifteen and well on my way to earning my final gang membership. I was a good fighter and I’d taught myself to be the best at slipping around unnoticed.” He smiled. “I was also a dab hand at pickpocketing.”

She rolled her eyes. “I can only imagine.”

“Saw this guy slinking around Ranga, trying not to get noticed. He was good. I was the only one who’d seen him.” Damon shrugged a shoulder. “Figured he was one of the perverts that sometimes slipped on-planet looking to steal a kid no one would notice missing.”

Her eyes fired again and this time he tugged her down beside him.

“I figured he had money and tried to…relieve him of anything of value. He busted me.” Damon shook his head. “He was one tough guy, had this huge scar down his face. I thought he was going to beat me senseless.”

“But he didn’t.”

“Nope. Instead, he complimented me on my skills. He hadn’t seen me watching him or sneaking up on him.”

“He was GSS?”

Damon nodded. Roger Barax had been a damn good spy. “He offered me a job instead of a beating. A chance to escape Ranga 9 for good. I took it and the rest is history.”

Her hand played with his chest. “I doubt that, but I’m glad you got away.”

He ran a hand down her side. “Me too.” Then he slipped a hand between her thighs, was blessed with her small, choked cry. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here, enjoying your mighty fine body.”

He rolled on top of her, nudging her thighs apart. “We have about an hour until the dinner starts. How about we put it to good use?”

She smiled, moving so he could settle deeper against her. “What did you have in mind, Mr. Malik?”

***

When they headed through the village, the night air was still warm, the breeze ruffling Lexa’s hair. Damon had asked her to leave it loose. While they’d lost some of their supplies in the wolf attack, Lexa was grateful she still had her clothes. Yet despite that, Pris had dropped off some local outfits for them—something she’d told them was for their night in Liwa.

She fingered the soft fabric of her skirt. It just reached her knee in a flirty fall of vivid red fabric. Her top was an old-fashioned, peasant-style, white blouse, and simple sandals completed the outfit. Since she’d washed all her underwear and left it hanging to dry in their room, she was naked underneath and acutely aware of it.

She was pleasantly relaxed, her skin tingling and her body aching in a few places that had nothing to do with falling into a giant sand trap. They’d had another long soak in the mineral pool, which had turned into another extended session of lovemaking. Damon was relentless and seemed to love watching her come. He’d made her orgasm on his hand, his mouth, and finally he’d come inside her. And every time, his intense gaze had never left her face as she’d tipped over the edge of pleasure.

He grabbed her hand, shot her a knowing smile and pulled her toward a large burgundy tent set up near the water. Lanterns had been strung up, casting a bright glow around the small groups of people gathered. She smiled at him, liking the look of him in the loose-fitting tan trousers and white shirt that contrasted with his dark skin.

Damon and Lexa entered the tent and the delicious smell of food made her realize how hungry she was. A long table was overflowing with a bunch of stuff she didn’t recognize. They both loaded plates high with vine-wrapped meats, some small roasted animals on skewers and spiced rice.

Lexa spotted Dathan standing with a girl in the corner of the tent. She had dark skin the color of polished Tralish mahogany and a pretty face framed by a fall of black hair. She was fluttering her eyelashes at the young treasure hunter, who looked like he was in full charming mode. When he saw them, he tossed them a friendly wave.

Most people sat on colored pillows scattered around the floor. Lexa and Damon found some empty ones in a corner and sank down on them. Lexa, swept her legs under her and tasted the vine-wrapped meat. Absolutely delicious.

“So, are you going to tell me about your time in the GSS?”

Damon chewed on a piece of meat. “I never said I was in the GSS.”

“Is that right, Helix?”

He stiffened. “Never, ever mention that name again.”

That hurt. Her gaze dropped to her plate. She’d thought they’d reached a place where they trusted each other. “Fine.” She snagged another bit of food off her plate.

She heard him curse under his breath, then strong fingers gently grasped her chin. His midnight eyes were turbulent.

“You can push at me with just an expression on your face.” He shook his head. “My former colleagues wouldn’t believe it. Me, besotted by a woman.” He fiddled with the food on his plate. “I was GSS and yes, I was a spy. I worked some of the dirtiest, blackest, nastiest undercover missions…and no, I’m never going to tell you details. Some of them are classified and some—” he sighed “—well, I’d never want you to know, anyway.”

“Did you enjoy it?”

“At first, I felt like I was doing my bit, and I was good at it. I wanted to believe I was helping people.”

“What changed?”

“In an organization like the GSS, there are so many people, species, races, all with different beliefs and agendas. The bureaucracy and politics…it can lead to some stupid decisions. With a few of the missions, I just felt like we should have never been there in the first place.”

She heard a bone-deep weariness in his voice, and she did wonder just how bad it must have been to wear a man with the strength and determination of Damon down.

“There was no one thing that made me decide to leave. It was just a lot of muck and darkness. I wanted to be able to sleep without having to ensure someone couldn’t sneak in and kill me. I wanted to be able to stop looking over my shoulder.” He traced the shell of her ear, his voice lowering. “Helix was my codename. It could be dangerous to you if someone overheard you mentioning it, okay?”

So that was why he’d jumped on her. He’d been trying to protect her. She melted into his touch. “Okay.”

He shook his head. “You’re too good for me.”

She snorted. “Get over yourself.”

He laughed, looking a bit shocked by the sound.

She scooped up some rice in a wide spoon. “How’d you get the museum job?”

“A friend of a friend mentioned it…actually, it was your brother.”

She hesitated, with the spoon near her mouth. “My brother?”

“Aston.”

Lexa swallowed. She’d always suspected Aston hadn’t told her the entire truth about his work. “He isn’t just an analyst, is he?”

“You’ll have to talk to him about that.”

Hmm, she would. “So, the museum job?”

“It sounded like what I was looking for. I took a look at it, liked Marius, and thought the museum had a classy feel to it. I was a bit put off the by the know-it-all curator, but I figured I had to compromise somewhere.”

She slapped a hand against his chest. “I thought
you
were the conceited know-it-all, with a colossal security obsession.”

“And you were right.”

She smiled. “But now I know all that covers a good core with a deep vein of protective hero.”

“I’m not a hero.”

“Heroes never think they are.” She finished the last of her food, licking her fingers. “So tomorrow, we’ll head south-west and find something resembling a Dragon’s Spine.”

“That’s the plan.”

She frowned. She really wished they had more to go on than that. Some clue as what they were looking for.

Damon looked over at Dathan, who was still wooing his girl. “Phoenix has promised me the supplies will be ready in the morning.”

Worry ate at her. “I hope I’m not leading us off on a wild-goose chase.”

“You’ll find it.”

A murmur of voices had them looking over. People were clearing the food table away and clearing a space in the center of the tent. A small group of locals carrying instruments—some old, some modern—settled off to the side. Then a group of dancers—men with tight trousers and bare chests and women in barely-there gauzy skirts and colored scarves tied around their torsos—moved to the center of the tent.

The lights dimmed.

“Looks like the entertainment’s starting,” Damon said.

Lexa leaned forward. Seeing the local dancing would be a great experience. She’d always been fascinated by the customs of different cultures. And because Zerzura’s customs had old Earth influence, she couldn’t wait to see the dancing.

When Damon grabbed her and pulled her between his legs, she went with a smile. Settling back against him, she decided that for the next few hours, she wouldn’t worry about the map, the clues or the treasure hunt. She’d just relax and enjoy.

The performers dipped, whirled and spun in a wild, energetic dance. The women’s skirts flared out, giving teasing glimpses of bare legs. The men’s naked chests glimmered under the lights.

One dance melded into another. When the men grabbed long sticks and set them alight, the dance took on a new aspect. The flames whirling around as the dancers moved to the beat.

But Damon was more interested in watching Lexa.

She had a rapt expression as she watched the dancers. God, if someone had told him he’d find so much pleasure in watching a woman’s face, he’d never have believed them. She didn’t hide a thing she was feeling.

The dance finished and Lexa clapped enthusiastically with the crowd. The dancers bowed and jogged off the makeshift stage. An old woman slowly moved into the center of the tent, accompanied by a young girl carrying a large pillow. The girl set it down before hurrying away. Four men, all carrying burning torches, stood at the four corners of the stage area.