Savor Me Slowly (Alien Huntress #3)(38)
Author: Gena Showalter

“This is a dangerous game to play.”

“Ask me if I care.”

Finally she whipped around, eyes narrowed, knife hanging at her side but pointing toward him.

Mission accomplished. Concentration broken.

She bared her teeth in a scowl. “You do not want to mess with me right now. I can make your last beating seem like a massage.”

Don’t smile. “Prove it.”

He heard grinding and knew she was gnashing her molars. Slowly she raised the knife. She turned the tip away from him, however, and slashed the top of her glove. The black material floated to the floor, leaving her silver skin visible.

“You want me to be human, therefore you fool yourself into thinking I am. But I’m not. Not really.”

“A metal arm does not a machine make.”

“That’s not the only part of me that is machine.”

“What else?”

A frustrated grunt slipped from her pursed lips. “Look. Does it really matter? I’ve killed animals. I’ve killed women. I’ve killed children. I’ve been gentle with you so far and haven’t crushed you as I’m fully capable of doing. One flick of this metal wrist, however, and I can snap your neck.”

He knew he treaded on dangerous ground, but that didn’t stop him. “You don’t want to snap my neck,” he said. “You want to kiss it. You want to kiss and suck me and that scares you.”

Her jaw dropped. Her gaze slid between his legs, clearly searching for an erection. When she saw that he was indeed hard, she gulped. “You have three seconds to leave this room, Jaxon.”

“One. Two. Three,” he supplied helpfully.

Rather than her anger being roused another degree, a tormented curtain fell over her features. “Why are you doing this to me?”

His chest constricted painfully. He’d wanted emotion, and here it was. He just hadn’t expected it to slap him upside the head. She’d lived a terrible life, had done horrible things. He wanted the pain gone; he wanted pleasure to take its place.

He didn’t know how this woman had sunk under his skin, but she had. He hated seeing her like this almost as much as he hated seeing her unemotional.

“Why?” she insisted.

“I don’t like seeing you upset,” he said, opting for honesty.

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, stop. Please.”

The only other time she’d said the word please and meant it was during their kiss, when she’d desired more from him. He opened his mouth to say something. What, he didn’t know. There was a blur of moment, and then Le’Ace was pushing him to his back and straddling his chest, her knife at his throat, cold and menacing. Automatically the mattress widened, adjusting to their weight and length.

“I told you this isn’t a game,” she growled.

“No, you told me it was a dangerous game.”

“Whatever! This is life and death. They’re separating us tomorrow, all right? We will not see each other again.”

His eyes narrowed menacingly. “What?”

“You heard me.”

“No one but us can decide that,” he growled as he gripped her thighs.

“Someone can and he did.”

“No, the f**k he didn’t. He won’t.”

She didn’t say another word, yet she radiated such grim determination that she didn’t need to speak. The thought of being without her, the thought of never seeing her again ignited a dark thunderstorm of emotion inside him. Fury rained the hardest.

“You’re going to obey blindly, without hesitation? You’re going to let this man dictate your life?”

Her eyes lost all hint of gold, going pure emerald as they beseeched him to understand. “If I don’t, I die. You know that. I wasn’t lying about the computer chip in my brain.”

He refused to give up and scrubbed a hand down his face. “Why does he want to separate us?”

“I didn’t do my job. Therefore, I’m off the case.”

A moment passed. This could be a manipulation on her part to finally get him to talk. In that instant, however, he couldn’t have been less concerned. Hell. No. They weren’t keeping him from Mishka. He would see her again.

“You need to know what I know about the Schön? Fine. I’ll tell you.”

Eyes widening, she shook her head. “Don’t. Don’t say another word. Whatever you say to me, I will repeat, and I hate my boss so f**king much right now I want to fail.”

He couldn’t let her go. Not yet. “The Schön can smell when a woman is fertile.” He settled his palm on her thigh again, the heat of her skin like a brand. “I asked about your period earlier because fertility is what they crave, what they need.”

A shallow breath emerged from her. “Stop. Just stop.”

“Stop talking or touching?”

“B-both?”

A question when she’d meant it as a statement. So telling. He almost smiled. Her feminine core was positioned in the middle of his chest. When he slid his fingers to the edge of her panties, she moaned. A bead of moisture wetted his shirt.

Shit. He moaned.

“They don’t want halfling children,” he said.

“Halflings aren’t even possible.” She spread her knees wider in invitation. “Our scientists have tried. Only reason I’m possible is becasue I’m a machine.”

He wouldn’t take her over the edge. Not yet. No fast, easy orgasm for her this time. They were both going to work for it. Otherwise, she’d walk away from him afterward, emotionless mask back in place. He knew it, felt it. So he clasped her hips, fingers digging in and holding steady.

“Our scientists failed, but other species’ scientists have not. Halflings are possible.” Mia was proof of that, though only a rare few knew it. “But like I said, I seriously doubt that’s what the Schön are after. I don’t think they care about the babies they create at all.”

“Then what?” Mishka wiggled on him, rubbing her clit against his sternum. Her head fell back, hair tickling his stomach. Her lips parted on a blissful sigh.

He squeezed her waist until she stilled. God, his blood was burning his veins, turning everything to ash. His erection throbbed, desperate for a single touch. A stroke.

“What I learned through the women is that the Schön can’t experience orgasm unless there’s an egg to receive their seed. That’s why they keep the women for several days if conception doesn’t happen right away. There’s still a possibility of it, which means they can still experience orgasm.”