Captured & Seduced (11 page)
Too much.
Not enough.
Just right.
Camryn groaned, went limp in his arms and luxuriated in the pulsing aftershocks. She felt his shaft jerk, his raw and guttural shout bringing feminine satisfaction. At the back of her mind she knew she shouldn’t feel this pleasure, the drugging contentment. She didn’t deserve a second chance after failing Gabriel.
Ry eased her down and led her from the river. They sat on a large flat stone. She should have felt cold but the hot, intense glow in his eyes warmed her through.
“Tell me about Gabriel.” The words made her feel as if he’d immersed her neck-deep in the cool river.
“There’s nothing to tell.” Camryn studied her hands, noted her fingernails were ragged and ugly. Gabriel had liked her to look after herself. He’d been old-fashioned that way.
“You think about him all the time.”
“Of course I think about him. He was my husband.”
“He was older than you.”
“I loved him. Will you get out of my head?”
“I can’t help it. I’m curious.”
Camryn snorted. “Curious as a cat, perhaps?”
Ry inclined his head, his green eyes watchful. “How did Gabriel die?”
“I don’t want to talk about him.” Camryn jumped to her feet and struggled into her clothes. Dressed, she stomped back to camp. She’d get Mogens to give her lessons in blocking and she’d become the best damn blocker ever. No way would she let him fish inside her head again.
“Where are you going?”
“Away from you.” She sat by Mogens and asked about blocking. Later when they bedded down, she maintained a distance from Ry. But the man filled her dreams—he and the black cat. She dreamed he chased her. She fled but he captured her, swept her up in his arms and carried her off to his lair.
Ry’s eyes flickered open, and when he inhaled, Camryn’s scent hit him. They hadn’t bedded down together but, during the night, one of them had moved. His head raised a fraction. Him. Well hell. He smoothed his hand over her back, savoring the warmth, her feminine fragrance. Whenever Camryn left his sight, uneasiness struck him. He didn’t understand his urgency, the compulsion to stroke her. When they touched, skin to skin, the contact soothed the cat.
His medicine didn’t inhibit the urges he felt when it came to Camryn. Ry hadn’t told Mogens he’d stopped taking the medicine. In the past, he’d have jumped Kaya or Jannike without his daily dose. Camryn’s presence changed things. She was the only woman he craved.
When he heard the others stirring, he slipped from beneath the all-weather blankets they’d used and rapidly dressed. He walked down to the river edge, the pastures on the other side obscured by mist. The lilac tendrils curled toward them, gradually covering the water. Ry bent to wash his face and returned to camp.
Kaya exited the tender, bearing ration pouches while Mogens brewed kafe.
“Tender will function but it still needs work.” Nanu wiped grease off his hands with a rag.
Jannike stomped over to accept her pouch. “I hope this fog doesn’t last for long. I hate waiting around.”
“We’ll fly to another clearing once it lifts,” Ry said. “Since we didn’t have much luck here yesterday.”
An hour later, the tender set down farther inland in a remote area. They covered their transport with large fern leaves, or as much as they could. Ry hoped the camouflage would deter saboteurs but they took other precautions, leaving Yep and Nanu on board to guard the ship and finish the repairs to Nanu’s satisfaction. Since Nanu’s perfectionist tendencies had saved their butts more than once, Ry wasn’t about to complain.
“Are we going out in teams again?” Jannike asked.
Ry scented the air for danger. “Not if you don’t think it’s necessary. We’ll cover more ground if we go out singly.”
Jannike shrugged. “Apart from the hell-horses, we didn’t see any predators.”
“I don’t know.” Kaya surveyed a bite on her arm with a rueful grin. “Some of bugs are big enough to qualify as predators.”
Mogens looked up to scan the clouds. “Good tidings in the cloud cover. I will go on my own. Give me a chance to stock my medicine bag. I saw familiar plants yesterday. Maybe I’ll run across some ghosts to guide me to the correct path.”
Ry shrugged. As long as
he
didn’t start seeing Mogens’ specters, he was happy. “We’ll meet up back here before nightfall. Camryn, you’re with me.” He refused to let her out of sight. He caught the flattening of her luscious mouth and the militant glint in her brown eyes. Too bad. He didn’t intend to suffer alone.
After collecting supplies and water, they left the tender. Camryn walked in the lead, the sheen of perspiration glistening on her skin. His gaze drifted across her shoulders, over the pack she carried on her back to linger on her ass. Curved yet toned, it swayed in an enticing manner. A branch slashed across his face, springing back after Camryn passed. Ry bit back a curse and tried to pay attention to the vegetation. It wasn’t easy. The more he sated himself in her body, the more he lusted after her. A disease. It had to be because no other explanation made a scrap of sense.
The bush became denser, and Camryn struggled to forge a path through the mass of undergrowth.
Ry placed a hand on her shoulder, touching her to soothe his raging hunger. “Let me take the lead.” He should have done that anyway. No telling what danger lurked in this unexplored land. He’d let his hormones rule him, wanting to watch his woman. Predictably, his cock reared at the thought of taking her. For fleeting secs, a vision of shrugging off their packs and stripping down taunted him. He took half a step closer before common sense hit. They needed to capture a hell-horse. He needed to best his brother. Concentrate.
With a soft curse, Ry clasped Camryn’s shoulders and shifted her out of his way to take the lead. He set a ferocious pace, pulling out a sharp knife to hack the undergrowth.
The incline gradually increased. His lungs burned and his acute hearing caught Camryn’s accelerated breathing and creative thoughts.
If he tries to drive his purple rocket into my parking space again, I’ll whack his bag of tricks with river rocks. That will put his kitty out of action. See if he wants to fukk me then.
Ry winced, wanting to protest the threats against his manhood—even though he wasn’t sure he understood the Earth terms—but didn’t want to halt her fascinating commentary.
The tree canopy gave way to huge patches of blue sky and the leaf litter underfoot changed to rough rock. Ry halted without warning, and Camryn crashed into his back.
“Easy.” He grasped her hips and tugged her against his side. “Look.”
They stood on the lip of a canyon, a blind canyon as far as he could discern.
“Hell-horses,” Camryn whispered. “A herd. There’s plenty of water and they’re eating those small trees.”
Ry scanned the ungainly black creatures. “We need to find the entrance to the canyon.”
“A box canyon would work instead of a set of yards. Better since there’s feed and water here.” Excitement shaded her voice, knocking aside his concerns about her being right for the job. He couldn’t afford to let his emotions color the situation. This was a prime opportunity to clear his name, and his feelings for Camryn mustn’t interfere.
“Let’s go.” Ry didn’t wait for her assent but started to pick his way down the hill.
Camryn fumed while she followed the infuriating man. She tried to pay attention to their surroundings, the bright flitting butterflies and contrasting dull-colored birds. Most of the ones they’d seen today ran along the ground rather than taking to the sky. Although their surroundings were beautiful, her gaze kept returning to the alien. She kept remembering his urgent touch on her bare breasts, the stroke of his fingers between her legs. Camryn shivered at the memory and was immediately angry at the reaction.
It was good sex. It meant nothing.
Nothing.
But it sullied Gabriel’s memory. Each time she had sex with Ry, it became harder to call Gabriel’s image to mind, to pretend she made love to her husband.
A sense of helplessness filled her. Her sister-in-law was right. She lacked control. She craved alcohol like most women longed for chocolate. But even worse, since they were in the middle of nowhere without a drop of alcohol in sight, she’d set her sights on Ry instead.
She’d become a sex addict.
With an unhappy grunt, she stomped after Ry. She tore her eyes off his tight, muscular butt and focused on her surroundings. One step at a time.
It took most of the morning to make their way down the side of the hill because of the treacherous footing. Ry had to help her down the steep slopes, his hands lingering for longer than she liked. Even though she hated herself for it, she’d started to long for more mini-cliffs, more hands-on attention.
Sick.
Damn, she’d lost her mind.
They came to another part where they needed to navigate a short cliff face because there was no alternative detour.
“I’ll go first,” Ry said.
“I’m not helpless.”
“You’re a valuable part of our team. We can’t afford for you to suffer an injury.”
His reasonable tone fueled irritation. “That wouldn’t do at all.”
“Stop trying to pick a fight with me.”
Camryn backed over the cliff and chose a foothold. She scrambled down the cliff face, anger helping her to shove aside thoughts of danger. Luckily she had a good head for heights and her natural balance helped. She reached the bottom before Ry and glared up at him.
“I can do it by myself. You don’t need to touch me all the time.”
“Do you think I like this? I need to keep a clear head, and all I can think of is fukking you.”
“It’s not my fault.”
“No?” He’d prowled closer, forcing her to back up until the cliff at her spine prevented her retreat. Ry kept coming. When they were almost touching, he halted and shrugged off his backpack. It hit the ground beside them with a dull thunk. Camryn’s heart jumped into a speedy beat. Her tongue snaked out to moisten her dry lips.
“You can run,” he whispered, his breath warm against her neck. “But you can’t hide from whatever this is between us. My dick is so desperate for you it’s like walking with a dagger between my legs. It’s getting worse. You have to touch me or I’m going to go mad.” He ripped his damp shirt over his head and tossed it aside.
Camryn’s gaze roved over his muscular shoulders, over the swirling tattoos that covered his pectoral muscles and stomach. A gasp emerged when she noticed his erection. He hadn’t lied about his readiness.
“Of course I didn’t lie,” he snapped.
She swallowed, her body reacting with speed. Between her legs moistened with a surge of juices and her breasts prickled against her bra. He was doing it again. Reading her mind. She had to practice building walls in her mind as Mogens had taught her.
Ry’s mouth slammed down on hers, taking her lips in a rough kiss. Her heart pounded in an erratic manner as his spicy flavor exploded across her taste buds. Wild musk with a trace of aniseed. Addictive. Camryn softened, melting against him, dragging his musky scent deep into her lungs.
Oh boy. She couldn’t fight it. She wanted him inside her now. Right now.
“Yes.” Ry lifted his head, his eyes a fiery green glow and full of desire. He yanked her tunic, tugging it from her trousers. With urgent hands, he pulled them down and pushed his knee between her legs, forcing her to widen her stance. With one finger he parted her moist folds.
Her chin lowered to her chest, and she sighed, the ripple of pleasure from his touch removing the last vestiges of protest. Ry was right. She wanted him as badly as he craved her.
Ry continued to stroke her clitoris, teasing her needy flesh until pleasure swirled just out of reach. He dragged his trews down and his cock sprang free. Fully extended, the flared head appeared swollen while his sac had drawn tight. She reached out, wanting to stroke the velvet length of him, but he batted her hand away.
“Don’t touch.” His mouth pulled to a tight line. “I’ll explode.” He grasped her hips and lifted her effortlessly, piercing her body with his cock, slowly pushing inside. Buried to the hilt, he paused, his eyes screwed shut.
He looked savage, yet despite his scary visage, he’d never hurt her. She sensed this at gut level. She stared down at where they were joined and gripped his shoulders, savoring the stretch and the pulse of his cock against her snug walls. Her gaze rose to study his features. His chest rose with a deep breath and his eyes opened without warning to stare straight into hers.
“Kiss my neck,” he ordered. “Bite me.” He released one hip to touch the spot where her fingers curled around his shoulders.
“Yes.” Her heart beat faster at his husky order, desire rippling through her core. The weird thing was she wanted to bite him, craved the savage act. Her gaze went to his chest, and she licked her lips. She bent her head to brush a kiss across his neck and nibbled lightly.
Ry growled and started to thrust. Each powerful plunge shoved her against the rough rock at her back, but all she felt was Ry pounding into her pussy. The wet sound of bodies slapping together filled the air, the scent of raw sex and green herbs filling every breath. Camryn licked across his neck and he groaned, his cock seeming to enlarge until she felt fuller than before. He rocked his pelvis forward, gliding in deep.
“Bite me,” he snapped.
Camryn obeyed, sinking her teeth into the fleshy part where shoulder met neck. Fire and chills warred within her body, every nerve ending blazing with pleasure and sensitivity. But it wasn’t enough. She hovered on the cusp of orgasm, the sensation verging on painful. Ry kept pounding into her, ratcheting up the heat and pressure rampaging through her body. A sob escaped.
Then he lowered his head and kissed a moist path over her shoulder. The closer he came to the area where he’d bitten her, the more painful her impending orgasm became. He let her feel his teeth, grazing over her flesh. A violent tremble racked her.
“Harder,” she said on a long drawn-out groan. God, she couldn’t believe the desperate plea in her voice. “Bite down. Please.”