Brawn Read online

  “Forget about everything but me,” he ordered. “There’s just us. Remember yesterday when we met?”

  She nodded, happy for the distraction.

  He smiled. “You like my eyes. You’ve never seen anything like me.” His palms slid from her jawline to her cheeks. “You’re strangely attractive even with your funny little face.”

  She smiled back. “I have a funny face?”

  “Your little pointy nose.” His thumb brushed over it. “Your small mouth.” His thumb lowered to caress her bottom lip. “The tiniest ears.” His fingertips traced the shell of them as he leaned in close enough for their breaths to mingle. “Kiss me.”

  She relaxed, focused solely on Brawn and admitted that he did have amazing eyes. They were so blue and the oval shape of them was exotic. Yellow swirls were spread through some of the blue. Her trepidation faded and she closed her eyes as he inched closer, sure that she wanted it to happen.

  His lips barely brushed hers, so soft and warm it amazed her that anyone so tough could be so tender. He opened her mouth under light pressure and his tongue delved inside. It was hot, teased her own and he deepened the kiss as her hands gripped his shoulders to keep steady, needing something to cling to.

  All tenderness fled as his lips and tongue manipulated the kiss into something wild and passionate. Her eyes closed and she tilted her head to open up to him more, desperate to forget everything but Brawn.

  Kissing him was like sticking her finger in a light socket—shocking and powerful. All-consuming. No one had ever made her respond the way he did. It was extremely passionate and he put everything he had into it. Her hands lowered to roam down the front of his broad chest, sought skin and found plenty of it. A soft purr rumbled between them.

  Becca jerked away in astonishment. Brawn eased his hold on her face, dropped his hands to her sides and just smiled.

  “I make noises. Sorry. Just try to ignore them. I don’t really control it.”

  Hands cupped her face before she could turn her head away and held her still while he gazed at her deeply. Once again she was struck by the beauty of his compelling eyes. He inched his face closer. She knew he would kiss her again and welcomed it. He did wonderful things to her body, made her belly quiver and he had a real talent for distracting her with his mouth. The fact that they were locked inside a cage, held prisoner by monsters, was easy to ignore.

  There was only Brawn, his mouth heating her up and his wonderful skin under her hands. He released her face to grip her hips, turned her more to face him and shifted under her. It was impossible to miss the hard ridge that pressed against the underside of her leg when his thighs parted slightly. She knew what it was, that he was turned-on and so was she.

  She moaned and clawed at his abs, wanted to draw him even closer. It didn’t work with her sitting sideways across his lap so she reached up, gripped his shoulders and moved enough to press a foot on the cold concrete floor. She scooted a little off his lap and straddled him instead.

  Firm hands cupped her ass, jerked her tight against his lap and his trapped cock rubbed against her underwear through the layers of their clothes. Becca ached painfully, her breasts were heavy and hurt and she just wanted to release him to yank her shirt over her head and rub her nipples against his skin.

  He kneaded her ass, his fingers digging in to the soft flesh. He lifted her a little to adjust the angle of his cock to press against the seam of her pussy. Her fingernails dug into his skin as she tried to pull him even closer, the heat of him penetrated through her thin nightgown and she hated having anything between them.

  She urged him on by rocking her hips, moaned louder and her fingers slid upward into his hair and held him closer to deepen the kiss even more. He bucked his hips, used his hold on her ass to shift her and they moved together. The slow rocking against each other made his cock incredibly hard, it notched up her pleasure and it felt so good she knew she’d come. Her clit seemed to swell painfully. She wanted him to move faster, take her over the edge of ecstasy.

  Brawn suddenly twisted his head away, breathed hard and shoved his face against her throat. “We have to stop,” he growled.

  It slowly sank in what she’d done. If he wasn’t wearing sweats and she didn’t have underwear on, he’d be inside her. She knew that as well as he did. They’d dry humped as though they were horny teenagers, in the worst possible place and the timing couldn’t have been more wrong.

  She turned her head against his cheek, slid her hands out of his hair and hugged him around his neck. It was tough to try to slow her ragged breathing. Half of her wanted to ask him to keep going but the memory of the cameras along the ceiling had her silence that plea. Clinging to him helped but her body was on fire.

  He inhaled loudly and a hot, wet tongue licked her throat. “You smell so good and taste it too. I wish I could strip you bare and explore every inch with my hands, nose and tongue. I’d lick every spot that would make you moan my name.”

  “You’re not helping,” she said in a shaky tone. “I want you too.”

  “You want me to help you calm or lick you?”

  “Lick me.”

  He growled viciously, a scary sound if she had the brains to be afraid, but her libido was in charge. He reached between them instead, his hand wiggled in the tight space between his lower belly and hers, until his fingers brushed over her underwear.

  “Hold onto me,” he urged softly. “Scoot back a little.”

  She had to concentrate to follow his orders, her arms tightened around his neck and she wiggled enough to give him more room with his hand. An image of him shoving her underwear to the side, jerking down his sweats and taking her filled her mind. Of course she remembered at that point what he’d said about being larger than human guys. It didn’t matter at that moment. She’d heard other woman had hooked up with Species. Obviously sex was possible and she was beyond fear, more into the take-me-now stage.

  His deft fingers shoved the scrap of material way and he growled again at feeling how soaked with need she was for him, something that should have been embarrassing if she wasn’t beyond caring about anything but the fact that his broad fingertip located and pressed against her bare clit. Her face pressed against his chest, sucked in his masculine scent and it muffled her moan of pleasure.

  “Easy,” he rasped. “I’ve got you.” His arm tightened around her waist and kept her in place as his finger teased the bundle of nerves. “Feel me.”

  She’d have laughed if she could have. There was only him, nothing else and not only could she revel in his touch, his scent, but the way he pinned her over his lap so she couldn’t do anything but hurt to come.

  He rubbed circles over the bud, his hand turned a little and his thumb—at least she thought it was—teased the opening of her pussy. She shoved her face harder against his chest, knew she needed to keep quiet for some reason, but forgot why. The feel of his thick digit pushing inside to part her vaginal walls made her bite down. He snarled in response and drove it into her deeper. He moved his hand, fucking her while rubbing against her clit and a purr rumbled through her ear as he tucked his head against hers.

  The climax hit fast and hard, tore through her in harsh waves and the hand around her back was suddenly gone. Brawn cupped her head, shoved her face tighter against his chest and nearly suffocated her when she screamed out his name. She didn’t give a damn if she had air, she was too gripped by the ecstasy.

  His thumb withdrew, his hand jerked away and he eased the hold that kept her face pressed against him. She swayed a little on his lap without him holding her but he didn’t let her slump to the side as her body turned lax. Brawn wrapped an arm around her waist again and she tilted her chin up to stare at him in wonder.

  The sight of him shoving his thumb in his mouth to taste her stunned and aroused Becca at the same time. He didn’t look away as he growled at her. Desire made his eyes go from amazing-looking to nearly feral in a wild, passionate way that promised her he wanted to eat her alive in the be
st way possible.

  He pulled his thumb slowly from between his lips and bared sharp teeth at her, jerked his hands up over his head as if someone pointed a weapon at him and snarled.

  “Get away from me.”

  The deep, brutal sound made terror grip her instantly as she scrambled off his lap, nearly fell on her ass in her haste and stumbled back until the bars of the cage slammed into her back. The pain that sliced through her made the physical blow she’d taken earlier seem tame in comparison to the emotional slap he dealt by rejecting her.

  He stood abruptly, the cot almost tipped over in his haste and he stormed to the farthest edge of the cage to put space between them. His hands gripped the bars, he kept his back to her and his head was thrown back as he roared out in pure rage.

  Chapter Seven

  Brawn had a hard time slowing his breathing and getting control of his body. His knuckles were white from the death grip on the bars keeping him in place. The roar had helped him release some of the frustration while the scent of Becca’s fear in the air haunted him.

  He’d caused that fear but he needed to. Two more seconds with her on his lap and he’d have done something horrible. He could have hurt her and he’d reacted by getting her the hell away from him before temptation turned into a physical act.

  His dick hurt bad but he tried to ignore it. His eyes closed as he concentrated on breathing through his mouth instead, not that it helped since the taste of her release still lingered and he wanted to roar again.

  The urge to turn, go after Becca, tear off her clothes and force her to her knees over the cot was unbearable. He shouldn’t have done more than kiss her but his best-laid plans had gone to hell quickly the second his mouth met hers. He panted harder and fought every instinct that screamed take her!

  He’d thought the kiss would be sweet, tender and that he could handle that. Instead he’d experienced the strongest wave of arousal that had ever slammed through him. He’d barely remembered the damn cameras, her fear of them and how she’d hate him if he stripped her bare and buried his face where his fingers had played in her cream. The memory of how tight she’d been scared him into keeping a leash on his desires. He’d take her too hard, too fast and tear up that sweet damn pussy of hers. He wanted to make her scream his name but not from pain.

  His chest throbbed from where she’d bitten him and the sharp sting of pain from her teeth drawing blood had nearly snapped his control. She wasn’t Species, it didn’t mean she was urging him to bite her back and mate her. He’d probably been too rough in his urgency to make her come but hoped that wasn’t the case. That concern helped douse some of his passion.

  He never wanted to harm Becca. He’d rather suffer excruciating agony before he’d draw blood from her. She trusted him, needed his protection, yet he’d been more of a danger to her when she’d been on his lap than all the bastards who’d kidnapped them. The thought of what could have happened cooled his blood more.

  Taking her as though she were Species would have been unforgivable. She wasn’t big, powerful, or strong enough to fight him off if she didn’t want him to do anything to her. She’d have been helpless to his lust and in his haze, he might not have realized until it was over. Sometimes a male needed a good punch or tussle to get his attention when passion ruled.

  Brawn finally felt calm and stable enough to apologize to her. It would harm his pride a bit to admit he’d nearly come unhinged but the truth might take away her fear of him that he’d caused when he’d shown his untamed side. He turned and guilt ate at him all over again when he stared at her huddled form across the cage.

  She’d sunk to the floor, drawn up her knees, arms hugging them loosely, and her slow breathing assured him that she slept. He couldn’t see her face since it was pressed against her legs. How she remained upright was something he couldn’t fathom but he slowly approached. Tender hands slid under her thighs and behind her back. He gently lifted and she didn’t rouse as he secured her in the cradle of his arms. Her head rolled against his chest, near the bite mark she’d left on him and he turned slowly. His step was light as he approached the cot, lifted his foot to kick off the blanket and gently laid her down on her side.

  He didn’t want to release her, could have sat with her in his embrace, but thought better of it. His cock had just relaxed enough to go down and he wasn’t about to tempt fate. Brawn covered her with the blanket, tucked it in and studied her delicate face openly.

  She did have a funny little nose but he liked it. Her mouth was small but plush and just right for kissing. Passion began to flare inside him again and he quickly stood, turned away and moved away from her.

  The floor was hard and cold where he sat, his back to Becca, his gaze locked on the double doors where his enemy waited to come for him and his female.

  My female? Damn. He closed his eyes, took even breaths and tried to remember she wasn’t his and never could be. Tim Oberto would never allow his daughter to be with a Species, feared they’d be dangerous to her well-being and Brawn couldn’t fault his reasoning. Human females who mated with Species ended up in danger. It wasn’t just from their mates.

  The doors opened across the room. Brawn’s eyes opened and he watched four humans carry in the unconscious Species male and return him to his cage. He inhaled and grimaced. The scent of spent solitary passion, the breeding drugs and the stench of his enemy didn’t sit right with his empty stomach.

  They hadn’t fed him or Becca. That worried him a lot. It implied they didn’t mean to keep them alive for long but it didn’t make sense if they planned to sell him to someone else when his use was over. Memories of his years in the testing facilities surfaced and he relaxed. These bastards had worked for Mercile and that meant they’d only give food if they got what they wanted.

  The men left as quickly as they’d come and he relaxed again, turned his head to study Becca and hoped they wouldn’t come for them for a long time. She was probably very tired, she hadn’t been drugged, which meant she hadn’t slept the way he had. His gaze returned to the door to keep vigil. He really couldn’t protect Becca but it made him feel better to guard her all the same.

  * * * * *

  Becca jerked awake when booted feet echoed in the room. She had fallen asleep in the corner, huddled in a ball, watching Brawn try to calm down. He’d kept his back to her, refused to even glance her way and exhaustion had finally taken its toll. She woke on the cot with a blanket covering her.

  Brawn stood next to the cot, close enough for her to touch the back of his sweatpants, and watched whoever made those sounds. She turned her head in time to see Randy and a few of his goons stomp their way. Dread pitted in her stomach and she figured time was up. One glance in the direction of the other cages verified that, since 919’s cage wasn’t empty anymore. A male body could be seen on the cot behind the bars. He was either drugged or sleeping since he didn’t move as far as she could tell.

  “Becca? We just have to survive.” Brawn summed up their situation softly. “Do as they ask.”

  She peered up at him but he still refused to glance at her, his sole focus on the four goons who stopped outside the cage door. All of them withdrew their Taser guns, checked them and Randy was the one who spoke.

  “It’s time.” He glared at Brawn. “You twitch and we’ll light your ass up and your girlfriend.” He tapped his weapon. “These have been altered by one of our guys and he removed the safety on the voltage. Do you know what that means? It will kill her. You fight and she’s going to die.”

  “I don’t like this,” Dean hissed. “Let’s knock him out the way we have the others and when he wakes, he’ll be chained up. It’s too dangerous to open that damn door to move him into the room with him awake.”

  “Doctor Elsa gives the orders.” Randy obviously wasn’t thrilled since he looked as if he’d sucked on a lemon. “She doesn’t want him fucked up unless we have to. She thinks it might dampen his mood.”

  “Fuck,” Ray muttered. “Let’s get the Doc’s ass
out here and she can move the big bastard if she’s so sure he’ll protect the bitch he’s screwing. I think he’ll try to kill us. They aren’t real smart.”

  Randy stepped closer, his gaze focused on Brawn and his eyebrows shot up. “Did you piss your girlfriend off? It looks like she bit you.”

  “No.” Brawn reached back, gripped Becca’s hip and gently maneuvered her behind his body when she climbed to her feet next to him. “I will comply. Don’t harm her. I understand you are willing to kill her if I lie.” He turned his head in Ray’s direction. “I am not stupid.”

  “This is nuts,” the fourth guy added. “He’s going to go ape shit once that door opens and he’ll try to take out as many of us as he can. I lost three of my security crew to bastards like that one. He can leap at us, move super fast and watch those damn fingernails. They are rougher than ours and can tear open skin.”

  “I know,” Randy admitted. “We have our orders though.” His voice rose. “Your girlfriend dies if you even make me think you’re going to attack one of us.”

  “I won’t.” Brawn hesitated. “I will carry her. I can’t fight with her in my arms. Will that make you feel safer?”

  Surprise flickered on the men’s faces and Randy nodded sharply. “Yeah. Do that. Carry her with both arms so if you drop her, she hits hard enough to crack her damn skull open on the hard floor.” He lifted a leg and stomped down. “It would fuck her up.”

  Brawn slowly turned to meet Becca’s worried gaze. She had made him mad somehow but he was offering not to attempt to escape to ensure her safety. He bent his knees a little and opened his arms. “Put your arms around my neck.”

  She bit her lip. “I’m sorry.”

  “For what? This isn’t your fault. None of it is. Just do as they say and they won’t have a reason to try to harm you. I won’t fight them. Your safety comes first.”

  “What are you saying to her?” Randy sounded pissed. “Come on and stop stalling.”