Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
Eos was a mass of molten desire. Her veins thrummed with it, her skin tingled. Dathan’s mouth ran down her spine, his hands shaping her sides, his thumbs rubbing in circles.
She was going to combust. His touch was electric. All thoughts were driven from her head. She wanted the pleasure, she wanted him.
His mouth teased the top of her ass and her legs shifted restlessly. Her control was slipping away, her mind lost to thoughts of anything but his touch, his kisses, the pleasure.
“Mmm, I love your skin.” He urged her down and turned her over. He nipped at her belly. “Tastes sweet.”
She moaned, her eyes fluttering closed.
“But you know what I find most attractive about you?”
Eos opened her eyes, looking up at him crouched over her body, a smile on his lips. “What?”
“That nimble, agile mind of yours.” He pressed a kiss to her hip bone, tongue laving in a promise of things to come. “But I think I’ll enjoy watching you turn it off for a bit just as much.” He lowered his head.
The hot shock of his mouth on her thigh made her mind empty in a rush. He pushed her legs apart and then his mouth was on her. She reared up, but his hands held her in place. He lapped at her, his tongue stabbing deep.
“Dathan.” Her cry echoed in the desert night. She couldn’t believe the pleasure-drenched voice was hers.
He continued caressing her, not letting up, until she writhed on the blanket, her body no longer under her control. She was his to play as he pleased.
“Stop thinking, Eos.” He nipped her upper thigh.
The sharp sting just added to her rising desire. When his mouth flicked over her clit, working her hard, everything inside her contracted to a tight point. Then she splintered apart.
But even after her orgasm, desire still rode her, common for her people. She reared up and pushed Dathan backward. She straddled his thighs, her fingers working at the fastening of his trousers.
He laughed in delight. “We have all night, sweetheart.”
“I need you now. Inside me.”
His smile melted away, leaving only raw desire on his face. “I’m all yours.”
Then his thick erection was spilling into her hands, hot and hard. She stroked her hands along his length, reveling in his groans.
She wanted him inside her, wanted to ride him into oblivion. But first she wanted to taste him. Scooting back on his strong thighs, she lowered her head.
“Jesus.” A heartfelt groan.
She circled the broad head of his cock, sucking him into her mouth. He bucked beneath her, his hands clamping in her hair. Vedian women were well versed in pleasuring men, an ancient tradition they took pride in. A pleasured man led to a pleasured woman.
She worked him hard, with long strokes and quick flicks of her tongue. She felt his lean body tensing more and more.
“Eos—”
Sitting up, she straddled him. His cock brushed her where she was hot and damp, then she was sinking onto him, taking him deep. They both froze. He was lodged deeply inside her, his hands clamping down on her hips.
“You feel so damn good,” he groaned.
She wasn’t sure anyone had filled her so thoroughly. For the first time, she felt closer to a person than ever before. She felt a strange sense of completion.
Then she started to move. Urged on by the dull throb of desire burning low in her belly, she found a fast, unforgiving rhythm. Dathan liked it, his hands urging her on, his body harder than steel beneath her.
“God, don’t stop.” He reared up, his hands sliding into her hair. “Don’t ever stop.”
Their gazes caught. She rode him as he stared deep into her eyes. She felt the roar of her orgasm growing and a tingle of fear edging beneath it.
Not fear of the pleasure, fear that this man was becoming more than she could handle. The fear that he might be a treasure worth more than what she’d come looking for.
Dathan couldn’t remember seeing anything more stunning than a naked Eos rising above him in the firelight.
He gritted his teeth against the pleasure roaring through him. She clenched around him, a hot, tight fist. Her skin was a luscious golden cream he wanted to lick forever.
He’d never get enough of her.
The thought shook him and he instantly pushed it away. Instead, he kissed her. A wild tangle with an edge driven by passion. She came with a sudden cry, her head falling back to display the long line of her throat. Leaning forward, he latched his teeth on to the taut tendon in her neck.
Her inner muscles squeezed his cock, dragging him to the teetering edge. Mindless, he pushed her onto her back and thrust into her. One palm was flat, keeping the bulk of his weight off her, the other gripped her hip, tilting her.
Two hard thrusts and the muscles in his back locked. Another thrust and he felt her shudder under a second orgasm. The pulsing of her body sucked him in and he roared out his release.
When he could focus again, his face was buried in her hair. She smelled like jasmina, a scent he’d always associate with her. He realized he was crushing her.
He rolled onto his back, bringing her with him. He didn’t want any space between them. Usually, he was eager for air after being with a woman, but Eos didn’t cling like others.
She snuggled her head against his shoulder. His hand slid down her slim arm, his fingers caressing her wrist. Her pulse still raced and it made him smile.
“We did a good job of that.” He pressed his lips to the side of her head. “Damn good.”
She laughed. “You have more skills than just sniffing out treasure, Phoenix.”
He smoothed a hand down her hip. “You did the hard work.”
Another laugh, husky and full-bodied. “You can be on top next time.” Her laugh cut off.
He moved on his side, looking down at her. “So, there’ll be a next time?”
Her gaze shifted away to look into the night-shrouded desert. “We both enjoyed it, and we’ll be sharing close quarters for a while, and we have similar interests—”
He kissed her. When she talked all prim and logical like that, it turned him on.
Her hands gripped his shoulders, nails digging into his skin.
He bit down on her lip. “Time to stop thinking again, Doc.” He pulled her leg around his hip, sinking into her with one thrust.
Her hips slammed up, her voice breathless. “Sounds good to me.”
The morning sun beat down on the ruins.
Dathan swiped a forearm across his head. The heat was building, but it did little to dampen his good mood.
Humming, he filled two plastic bottles with water and dissolved nutri-tabs in them. Eos had been down in quadrant two for the last few hours. She’d need a break.
“So.” Zayn came out of the Infinitas and leaned against the dull, gray hull. “You and the doc enjoyed the desert air last night?”
Dathan snapped the cap back on the last water bottle. “I slept fine, thanks.”
His brother snorted. “Not a whole lot of sleeping going on, I’m guessing.”
Okay, in the past he’d been happy to share a little info about his conquests. Talking about Eos like that…it felt wrong. “Shut it.”
“Hey, don’t blame you. The doc is all kinds of gorgeous. All that hair and golden-brown skin. Those markings on—”
Dathan spun and stepped in close to Z. “I said, shut it.”
Zayn held up his hands. “Hey, just saying, I see the attraction. If she’d shown any interest in me, I would definitely have enjoyed—”
Dathan gripped his brother’s shirt and slammed him against the hull. “Shut your trap, right now.”
Niklas strolled out of the ship. When he saw them, he paused. “Something wrong?”
“No,” Dathan ground out.
“Yes. Big bro here just went nuts. For no reason.”
Dathan shoved Z again.
Niklas pushed in between them. “Let him go.”
Dathan pushed away. “He needs to keep his mouth shut about Eos.”
“Hey, I just said she was supernova hot. I wasn’t insulting her.” A strange look crossed Z’s face. “You like her.”
God, why did those words make Dathan’s mouth run dry? “Of course I like her.”
“No, I mean really like her. She’s different.”
Dathan’s heart pounded. He was a man who lived his life as he pleased. Took the hunts he wanted, the risks that suited him, enjoyed casual hookups. He couldn’t be any more than that.
Nik was frowning. “What are you talking about?”
“Dath here spent the night with the lovely doctor.”
Nik scrubbed a hand over his face. “With Eos?”
Z laughed. “Well, you’re the only other doctor around here…”
Nik stared hard at Dathan. “Eos isn’t someone to mess around with. Couldn’t you have kept your pants on—”
“She’s an adult.” Dathan snatched up the water bottles.
“Yeah, but she isn’t some space bar bunny for you to dally with.”
“It’s not like that,” Dathan snapped.
Nik paused, his head tilting. “I see that.” A thoughtful look crossed his face. “You do like her.”
Dathan shoved the water bottles in the pockets of his cargo trousers. “We’re just crossing paths for a while. No big deal. I’m going now.”
He skidded down the dune, more than happy to abandon the grins on his brothers’ faces. Following the sand-strewn main street through the colony, he moved toward the heart of quadrant two, looking for Eos’ dark head.
The ruined buildings rose around him, silent tributes to a time long past. He liked to imagine the place as it had once been—filled with people living their lives, writing their own adventures.
Was it truly the legendary colony of Star’s End?
A myth spoken about throughout the galaxy—historians recording history, kids dreaming of adventure, adults dreaming of treasure.
A sound had him raising his head. The echo drifted away. He scanned around but didn’t see anything. The ruins around him were still except for the warm desert wind. He was sure he’d heard the scrape of something on stone.
He stood and kept a lazy amble, but his gaze was sharp. Turning a corner, he saw a very welcome sight.
Eos was bent over, studying some twisted metal lying in the ruins.
With silent steps, he moved in behind her and slipped an arm around her waist. She straightened on a gasp. He pressed his lips to the side of her neck and breathed in the scent of her.
She laughed. “I’m sweaty.”
He took an exaggerated sniff. “Smells good to me.”
She whacked his shoulder. “Typical male. As long as it’s female and breathes.”
He shifted his lips to her jaw. “You’re on to our secret.
” He found her lips and took his time kissing her.
Then, just to prove he could, he pulled back to look into her face.
“Although I seem to have formed a particular liking for dark hair.” He tugged at a curl.
“And skin that looks like it’s coated in gold dust.” He brushed the back of his hand against her cheek.
Her eyes were wide. She licked her lips and took a step back. “Any luck in quadrant one?”
He shoved his hands in his pockets. Wondering why the hell he’d spouted all that poetic nonsense. “Nothing. How about you?”
“Some fascinating artifacts of daily life, but nothing I can definitively date yet.” Her face lit up.
“There are some eroded Terran numbers stamped on this metal. I know, not much of a clue since most of the galaxy uses the Terran numerical system.” She glanced up and pulled a face. “Sorry, I’m rambling.”
A small smile tugged his lips. “It’s okay.”
She shook her head and reached out to pick up a small brush from the kit she had laid out nearby. “No, I’m not here on a dig. Darc could turn up at any moment, or any other treasure hunter who hears about this.” She ran the brush through her fingers. “No sign of treasure.”
“No point looking until we can prove this place is Star’s End.” He stared across the site.
Eos sighed. “That might take too much time.”
He gripped her chin. “Treasure hunter rule number three. We never give up, no matter what.”
Her eyes brightened. “I’m not going to ask what rules one and two are.”
He kissed her, quick and friendly, despite the gnaw in his gut that wanted more. Much more. “You will. You, Dr. Rai, are insatiably curious. In the meantime, let’s clear your quadrant and see how my brothers are doing with theirs.”
They walked side by side. As they reached the spot where she’d been working, the ground beneath them vibrated. A deep rumble echoed through the ruins.
He grabbed Eos to keep her steady.
“What was that?” She looked behind them.
Another deep rumble, and he saw the sand beneath them start to move. “I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure it isn’t good.”
A plume of sand shot high into the air. Eos gasped, and he yanked her backward.
A huge creature, ten meters long, broke the surface. It had a long, sinuous body, its armored, brown scales sparkling in the sun. Dathan glimpsed an enormous mouth edged with razor-sharp teeth.
“Fuck.” Grabbing Eos’ hand, he leaped onto a fallen stone plinth, tugging her behind him. “Run.”
“What the hell is that?” Her breathing turned rapid.
“Sand monster.”
“BEll said there were no large creatures.”
He watched the creature burrow back under the sand. “We have similar animals called sarpa on my homeworld. They burrow deep, out of scanning range. And they like to eat people.”
“Oh my Suva.”
“My guess is the mag-lift stirred them up.” He yanked out his Sync. “Z? Nik? We have a problem.”
There was no response for a minute, stretching Dathan’s nerves tight. Then Zayn’s harried voice burst through. “If it has lots of teeth and lives under the sand, we have one too.”
Shit. Dathan was about to answer when the sand monster reared up in front of them. The rubble they stood on bucked and they both lost their balance, windmilling their arms to keep from falling.
He grabbed Eos’ hand and pointed to a broken pillar. She nodded and leaped across the space, landing in a sprawl. He followed, landing beside her in a crouch.
“Can we chase it off?” She stood, pushing her hair from her face. “Kill it?”
“If they’re anything like the sarpa, then they don’t like fire.” Might have been why they hadn’t made an appearance during the night.
The creature reared again, shooting up in a huge explosion of sand. Close. Too close.
The pillar rocked violently.
With a scream, Eos fell forward.
No. Pulse spiking, Dathan lunged for her. His fingers missed hers by a hair.
She fell.
Onto the monster.