There was no pain, just a feeling of stretching fullness. She needed more, and she pushed her hips in a mute plea.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he murmured.
She jerked against him. “You won’t. I want this. I need this. Just to forget.”
He nodded. Then he pulled out and shoved back inside her. Hard. There was nothing gentle about his lovemaking. It was full of rage and sadness. Fury and passion. She lost herself in the ebb and flow of his huge body moving on her, in her. The glide of his withdrawal, the push of his hips when she whispered to have him back inside her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled her to him but it limited his movement and he growled deep in his throat.
Gripping her knees in his big hands, he bent them against her body, so she was open to him, and then he pounded into her, forcing the memories from her mind. Each stroke drove her closer to release, but she didn’t want this to end so she fought the pleasure that built inside her.
His hands shifted to her bottom, pulling her up against him, and he ground into her, rotating his hips, pressing against her swollen clit so however much she fought the pleasure it was too much. She gave herself up to it, her mind blank, her body just a mass of sensations. Then he lowered his head, sucked one nipple into his mouth as he pressed deep inside her, and she exploded in a starburst of pleasure.
He followed her over the edge, his head went back, and his hips pumped against her. She came again, her spine arching from the bed, until finally she collapsed back, sated.
Afterward, she lay with him still lodged deep inside, his arms tight around her. “I’m going to die, aren’t I?” she said.
“Yes.”
Chapter Twenty
El Cazador was a mess. Tannis had seen the battered hull all scarred by laser blasts as they’d docked the smaller ship. Rico would have hated that.
What was left of the crew were gathered together on the bridge. It looked like there had been a firefight in here as well. But if the ship was a mess then the crew was no better.
On the surface, Skylar looked in the best shape, but her figure was tense, every muscle tight. Jon had shifted back into human form. He paced the bridge as though unable to stay in one place, and his eyes glowed feral. Daisy sat in Janey’s old chair, her emerald eyes bloodshot from weeping.
Tannis put her hands on her hips and stared at them all. “I leave my goddamn ship for five minutes and this is what you do to it.”
A smile flickered across Skylar’s face but didn’t reach as far as her eyes. Tannis looked at her closely and realized she must be holding herself together by willpower alone.
“Rico’s dead,” Tannis said. She was pretty sure Skylar already knew, but she needed to get the words out in the open.
“I know.” Skylar’s voice was without expression. “The Church contacted us. They seem to believe that if we know he’s dead, then that will be it.”
“It won’t,” Tannis promised. “So, what happened?”
“They were already waiting at the rendezvous point. Almost as if they knew we were coming.”
“They did,” Tannis said. “Venna told them.”
“Fucking bitch. I’ll kill her.”
“Too late. She’s dead. We left her on that planet we blew up.”
“Good. Anyway, we nearly managed to fight our way out,” Skylar continued, “but there were just too many of them. In the end, they boarded us. They managed to capture Daisy and Janey, and it was all over.”
“They made us try and comm you, but there was no answer, so I tried Callum.” She looked at Tannis. “We don’t blame you.”
“Jesus,” Tannis muttered. “You should.”
“You couldn’t know what would happen. Besides, you needed to go on, you had no choice once you were on the planet. You had to get the treatment or…” She studied Tannis, stared into her eyes. “Or you’re dead. Holy Meridian, you did get the treatment?”
“Do I look like I got the goddamn treatment?” Tannis growled. “We were going to—we were nearly at the site when you contacted Callum. We went on anyway—so don’t start thinking I’m some goddamn hero. Then Janey… I couldn’t risk Jon as well, and there was no time.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Tell me what happened.”
“They told us they would execute one of us if you didn’t comply and then another every thirty minutes after that. When you didn’t immediately respond they picked Janey, said she’d be first. I don’t think any of us believed they would really do it. I don’t know why. It seemed unreal.”
“Why Janey?” Janey would have been the last person she would have thought they would pick. Not that anyone else would have been better, but she couldn’t understand it. She would have thought Daisy—she was a GM—but maybe the Church didn’t think she was worthwhile. Or one of the men. If they’d planned to kill Rico, why not pick him? Janey had been so bright and beautiful.