Which wasn’t four days, but I had a warm, soft woman in my bed and no reason to hurry my way out of the situation. Jenkins would keep an eye on things. The FBI was probably scratching their balls, wondering what the fuck they were going to do with a missing corpse, a missing doctor, a missing cop, and no video to help them figure out what happened.
Jenkins would tell them nothing about the cyborg assholes. At least, not until I was ready to come back to the land of the living. He would, no doubt, take the opportunity to try to track them down himself. Call our new friends. Make sure real justice was served, not the politicized, sanitized version the Feds would want to feed the world.
We’d still never caught the fuckers who killed Eddie. Or Jenkins’ family. When we did, he didn’t want to wait for our justice system to deal with them. No. We had an agreement, an understanding. Blood for blood for Eddie, Charlene and Maddy. If we found the aliens who tortured his family, they were dead.
Jenkins wanted to punish them first. Make it hurt. Not my thing, but I couldn’t deny him his right to avenge the woman he loved. If he wanted to cut them into little pieces for what they’d done, I’d guard the door. Never thought I’d think that way, but after seeing what they did to Charlene and Maddy? I didn’t care if Jenkins kept them alive with IVs and feeding tubes so he could make it last. Fucking Atlans.
Every time I thought about that damn Bachelor Beast television show, and how all the ladies at work swooned and adored the Atlan Warlords like they were watching a soap opera, it made me sick. They didn’t know what those Warlords were capable of. Did. Not. Know.
Lyra stirred and rolled to face me. She laid her head on my shoulder, flung one arm over my chest and one leg over my thigh until we were tangled up together. “Shhh. She can feel you.”
“Feel me doing what?” What the hell was she talking about now? I’d grown accustomed to her talking about her pussy in the third person, the same way I sometimes thought about my dick as a separate, greedy little bastard. But this didn’t make sense.
“Worry. Sad. She can tell.” She wiggled closer and kissed my jawline. “Go to sleep. We can chase the bad guys tomorrow.”
“It is tomorrow.” I glanced out the bedroom window to see the first layer of pink and orange lining the horizon. Sunrise.
I glanced down to gauge her reaction, but she was already asleep, her deep, even breathing comforting in a way I didn’t want to question.
I’d given Jenkins all the help I could, for now. I had nothing to hide. Except Lyra, and the fact that she was the one whoturned the corpse into ash. That she—and the CIA—had access to Coalition transport technology that wasn’t supposed to exist. I was pretty damn sure the CIA didn’t want the local police or the FBI sticking their noses into their secret alien business.
To be honest, I didn’t give a shit about the CIA. Loyalty to her—and her alone—kept me from telling Jenkins about Lyra. She saved my life. She was mine. Part of me—fuck that, all of me—wasn’t ready to share her with the rest of the world. Not when she was cuddled up, naked and asleep in my arms. Beautiful. Vulnerable. Trusting.
Mine. At least for now.
I’d learned the hard way, sometimes now was the only thing I got.
I fell asleep with a smile on my face.
I woke up in handcuffs.
9
Lyra
Oh,he was going to be mad.
My beast didn’t care. She wanted to see him with mating cuffs on his wrists and his human handcuffs were as close as I could get.
“What are you doing, woman?” His sleepy rumble made me giggle. Inevergiggled like a naughty little girl. Not anymore. Nor for years. Seeing him restrained, cuffs locked around the brass headboard, made my beast practically purr. He was mine. I could lick and suck and taste him everywhere.
“Taking advantage of you.” It was the truth. I loomed over his naked body wearing nothing but the shirt I’d borrowed, buttons completely undone. I placed my hands on his thighs, his hard cock inches from my lips. “I’m going to suck on your cock until you beg me to free you. Then I’m going to straddle your hips and take you for a ride. I’m going to fuck you until your seed explodes from your body and fills up mine.”
His gaze narrowed. He tested the strength of the headboard. Pulled hard. It held. His chest heaving, I watched as his cock hardened in front of me. “You are a dangerous woman.”
“I am.” He had no idea. He still thought I was human. I hovered over him, happy when his gaze dropped to my hanging breasts. They were full and heavy, the nipples nearly touching the head of his erection. I licked my lips slowly, my intention clear. “Do you want me to stop? Let you go?” I would free him, if he asked.
I really hoped he wouldn’t.
“No. Do it.” His grin was eager, a blatant invitation and a challenge all in one.
I wasn’t gentle. I swallowed him down, licked and tasted him as I gripped the base of his hard length in a tight fist.
Raw lust spurred my beast, but desperation pushed me to make this count. I’d gone downstairs while Ethan slept. Received a message from Core Command. Orders. Instructions.
This would probably be the last time Ethan allowed me to touch him at all.
My beast howled a denial inside me and sucked Ethan’s cock until his hips bucked up off the bed.
