Page 68 of Salvation
Chapter Twenty-one
Something soft and warm brushed Nick’s lips, something he should wake up to investigate. He forced his eyelids open. Saku leaned over him where he’d fallen asleep on the couch, his neck at an uncomfortable angle. He glanced at the clock over her shoulder. Had it really only been twenty minutes since everyone else had left? He reached up and cupped her smooth cheek in his palm.
Her mouth curved in a secretive smile. “I have something for you.”
God, he loved her voice, low and sexy. “Do you, now?” Wonder what it could be?
“Mm-hmm. It’s in the lab.”
He blinked. That was not the response he’d expected. “Are you sure it’s not in one of our bedrooms, or…under your skirt?” He waggled his eyebrows.
The secretive smile turned into a smirk. “I’m positive. Come on.”
He allowed her to lead him to the lab by the hand. The door shut behind them and she made a beeline to one of the small storage boxes on the lab table. Seconds later she held up a vial. “Atolce.”
His lips parted as a spurt of hope shot through his heart. “You got it?”
“I got it.” She grinned like a schoolgirl who’d just aced a tough exam.
A whoop of elation erupted from him and he grabbed her in his embrace and spun her in a circle. Her laughter filled the air. “Nick, be careful. I do not want to drop it.”
He set her down, holding her for a couple of heartbeats in case she was dizzy.
“I would like you to double check my work, if you don’t mind,” she said.
Always thorough, his Saku. “Sure.”
It took less than five minutes to confirm that the mixture was identical to the original sample. “Dead on the money, Sakura. This is great news.”
“Thanks. I, ah….” Her cheeks appeared flushed and she worried her bottom lip with her teeth. “I recalibrated it to be compatible to our physiology, and gave myself a dose.”
He gave her a side-long look. “Did you, now?”
She reached up and pulled her ponytail from its band. Her hair spilled over her shoulders. “And,” she looked up at him from beneath those lovely lashes, “I have a dose for you.”
Now things were getting good and interesting. “Which I should take because I want to set a good example for the Anferthians.”
She nodded agreeably. “It is the right thing to do.”
Could she be even remotely aware of the desire shining from her eyes? He lowered himself onto a stool and pushed his t-shirt sleeve over his shoulder. “Then, I suppose you should give it to me.” At one point in his life, before Saku, he would have snickered at the corny double meaning of his words, but not now.
Her motions as she prepped the syringe were precise and economical. Then she slid the needle under his skin near the same place another more-deadly needle had broken his skin less than twenty-four hours before. It was over in a blink, and she stepped back. “It’s effective immediately.”
“So I’ve heard.” He reached for the syringe, took it from her fingers, and tossed it toward the counter along the back wall. It was a careless maneuver, but what the hell. “I’m effective immediately, too, you know.”
Her tongue darted between her lips and her gaze darted to his crotch. “So I’ve heard.”
That was enough. He grabbed her by the waist, lifted her onto the table and pushed her skirt up. Goddamn, she was beautiful, and she smelled good. Clean and fresh with a strong hint of arousal. “I love it when you go commando.”
“Less talk, more action.” The throaty tenor of her teasing voice went straight to his groin. “Let’s find out if you also went commando.”
He hadn’t, but would more often in the future. Together they worked the seals of his pants until he sprang free.
“Yes.” Her whispered word was like a breath of warm air, and in that moment it didn’t matter that they were in the lab or that his pants were still around his ankles like a teenage boy. He pulled her legs over his shoulders and guided himself to her glistening opening. Pink, his new favorite color.
She leaned back, bracing herself against the table with her elbows and hands. One smooth stroke brought him home, a guttural growl emanating from his throat. Her silken heat tightened around him and her small whimper turned into a moan. God, she was coming already. His hands grasped her waist to keep her from sliding as he rocked her. Her entire body shuddered under the force of her orgasm.
“Oh, god,” she whispered between pants. “I need more of that.”
