Page 16 of The Rebel and the Rogue

Clearly, he was mad as hell… and hard as a rock. His cock was plainly evident beneath his pants, the heat of his flesh practically scorching me through my own uniform despite the fact that he held himself several inches away. The lack of contact made me crave him more. Why did we have to fight and want to fuck?

What I’d loved about him when we

’d fucked earlier was his complete lack of control. Yes, he hadn’t bitten me, so he’d been restrained, but other than that he’d been wild. Uninhibited. I’d loved it. Wanted more, even now. I wanted to push his buttons, make him lose it, just a little bit. Just enough, because for some stupid reason, I craved it.

Oh, I knew I was playing with fire, but I just couldn’t help myself. He was so… fuck.

This man—alien—whatever, sent both my body and my imagination to naughty, naughty places. He’d fucked me on a game table and against a wall, my legs wrapped around his waist. What would it be like if he spun me about and pressed me into the cockpit door, fucked me from behind? Made me drop to my knees and suck his cock?

So many ideas came to mind, all of them making me wet. And horny.

I took my time, my gaze roaming over him slowly, admiring every inch. The sturdy legs with thighs like tree trunks. Narrow hips. Powerful abs. Broad shoulders. Strong jaw. When I got to his mouth, I licked my lips, and his gaze grew darker, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. His black gaze was penetrating. So hot it looked cold.

“I told you I only wanted one time, a quickie, Zenos. No games. No bullshit. No biting. Those rules were for you. Telling Barek to bite me wasn’t to mess with you, it was to prove a point, not because I wanted to climb him like a tree.”

“You want to climb a tree?”

I put my hands on my head, yanked on my hair, groaned.

“You, Zenos. You are the one with a problem here, the only one. This is about you. Not Barek. Our time together was just for fun. God, I didn’t tell you my name for a reason.”

“And what reason was that, Ivy?” He leaned in and placed his hands at either side of my head so I was caged, pinned. Under his control. And that fast my knees went weak and my pussy was wet and pulsing. God, this guy was lethal to my senses. “Are you working your way through all the hybrid Forsians? Trying to entice another into biting you… just a few hours later? Is it your intention to torment one of my brethren in front of me and risk your own life for your vengeance?”

Well, when he put it that way…

“I wasn’t risking my life,” I countered. “I told you that. The antidote keeps me safe, no matter what you think. No, I wasn’t doing it to mess with your friends. For that I’m sorry.” I paused, looked him in the eye so he could see I was sincere, at least about that. He might be jealous, but I wouldn’t pit him against his friends. “And yes, I want vengeance. I need it. My friends are dead. They were my family, do you understand? My family. And they all died. Every. Single. One of them.”

Gently now, he turned my face to the side and lifted my hair away from my exposed neck. Shivering at the intimate touch—how could a guy so dang big be so gentle?—I sighed when his fingertips traced the thick line of scar that began at the base of my skull and ran the back of my neck to disappear beneath my uniform. “And you were only injured?”

He had been able to connect what had happened to me and the scar he’d seen, touched. I was melting. I sucked in a breath. Was it hot in here? “Yes.” If nearly dying, making a deal with the devil and living to tell about it counted as injured.

“Why did a ReGen pod not take care of this?” His fingers continued to stroke my neck, but his gaze returned to mine. His touch was tender, but he would not release me without an answer.

“They didn’t find me for almost two months. The scars were permanent by then.”

“A surgeon could have removed them.”

I shook my head. They were part of me, a reminder of what I’d lost and what I’d survived. “No. They stay.”

“On Rogue 5 scars are badges of honor,” he said.

“That’s why you spoke of them, touched them earlier?”

He nodded, then stepped back, and the air around me went from inferno temperature to deep-space cold. I wanted him back, wanted to exist in that small space where I knew nothing could get to me, nothing could hurt me, and all because of Zenos. But that wasn’t why I was here, on this ship. I had a job to do, a debt of blood and honor and love I owed to the friends I hadn’t been able to save.

I took a deep breath and tried to get my head back on straight. “Is that all, Zenos? You wanted to tell me not to flirt with the others? I apologized.”

“No.” He crossed his arms now, and the glare was back. “I accept your apology, but I will also not allow you to risk your life like that again. To you, the act is professional, proof the antidote works. To us, biting is so much more. It means something. We’ve lived our entire lives knowing it was deadly. Forbidden. What you ask threatens to unleash something we’ve kept in check. Always.”

I didn’t mind poking Zenos’s inner bear, but it was unkind of me to mess with the others. I could see that now. I nodded. “I understand. I shall apologize to Barek if you wish.”

“Good. Now, when we arrive, you will not go anywhere on Rogue 5 without me. Is that clear?”

The biting was one thing, but these other rules? We’d see about that once we landed, but for some inexplicable reason I couldn’t make myself lie to him, so I remained silent.

“If you do not give me your word, I will tell Astra to turn this ship around and take you back the moment she has the antidote,” he vowed.

“I don’t like ultimatums,” I countered. “This can be easily solved. I just won’t give her the antidote.”

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