A Conquest Like No Other (4 page)

Chapter
Four

Nikki slumped with her back
against the closed front door. To say she was relieved to see Viper leave was
an understatement. Again her hormones reacted to him. Why they had to come to
life after three years, she had no idea. And even worse yet, for her best
friend’s new brother-in-law. The situation had disaster written all over it.
Even if her fear would allow her to make a move on the unsuspecting man, her
conscience wouldn’t. As he had pointed out, they were now family. And she
couldn’t risk Gabby’s happiness by throwing herself at Viper. It would lead to
uncomfortable family gatherings.

Pushing herself off the door, she
attempted to eject her sexy rainbow-colored angel out of her mind as she went
about getting herself ready for bed. By the time she was snuggled under the
blankets, she was exhausted. Half an hour later, sleep still refused her. Her
body needed something—something she knew
B.O.B
. could
provide.

Reaching across to her bedside
table drawer, she pulled out her purple vibrator. This silicone cock had been
the only form of male company her body had allowed over these last three years.
And he never disappointed her, except when he ran out of batteries.

Throwing the blankets back, she
quickly removed her pajamas. The cool air hit her sensitive nipples, causing
them to harden further. They were begging to be teased. Her hand molded around
her tiny breast, roughly massaging it. The harsh manhandling had more juices
leaking from her already flowing pussy. Her thumb and index finger found her
pebbled nipple, pinching it hard.

A groan escaped her as her hips
lifted from the mattress, seeking out its partner. The hand that held
B.O.B
. traveled lower.
B.O.B.’s
head circled her hypersensitive clit. Electricity raced through her whole
being, enticing her orgasm closer to the surface.

As if on its own accord,
B.O.B
. found her entrance. Scooping up some of her escaped
juices, it slowly entered her. Each thrust took her higher, but still it wasn’t
enough to take her over the edge. Suddenly Viper’s image popped into her mind.
No longer were her fingers pinching and pulling at her nipples. Instead, his
mouth had engulfed her breasts, his teeth worrying her nipples and sending
shock waves throughout her whole being. As for
B.O.B
.,
he had been replaced as well. Viper was carrying her body to the heavens, and
she welcomed it. Her imagination took the fantasy further.

Her legs widened, allowing room
for Viper’s large body. The thrusts were coming harder and faster. Her orgasm
quickly approached, catapulting her over the edge. Still Viper’s body continued
to drive into her. Suddenly he pulled out and turned her. With her head on the
mattress and her backside in the air, he slammed back into her. At this angle
it was enough to encourage another orgasm to make itself known. It danced
around the edges, avoiding her pleas for completion. More punishing thrusts
were delivered from behind. Then it came, a command her body seemed to be
waiting for.

“Come for me, sweetheart.”

Light burst behind her closed
eyelids right before she screamed her completion. As she tumbled back to earth
she felt tears falling from her eyes. Her head was turned to the side, allowing
the sheet and mattress to absorb them. It was then that she realized how
uncomfortable she was. True to her fantasy, her backside was in the air, while
her head rested upon the bed. One arm held her balanced while the other one was
under her body. Her hand was between her legs, holding
B.O.B
.
in her pussy.

As she went about cleaning
B.O.B
and remaking her bed she expected embarrassment to
consume her. It never came. In its place was confusion. How could that fantasy
have felt so real? In her mind, she felt his body against hers. Never before
had any of her masturbating sessions felt like that.

The man she was trying to view as
family had somehow accomplished the impossible. In her mind, he had truly been
with her in this bed. Yet the fear that usually accompanied the idea of being
sexually involved with a male was absent. How was that possible? Why was he
having such an effect on her?

This man with his brightly
painted skin and rusty red hair had her craving things she didn’t think were
possible to ever want again—a sexual relationship. His messy locks with their
just-out-of-bed look called to her fingers. They desperately wanted to delve
into his thick mass of hair. His plump, kissable lips had her mouth watering
and her chin itching. In her mind she could see the stubble rash that would
appear after a kiss from her new fantasy go-to guy. How was she ever going to
look at that man again without blushing?

She was glad that she didn’t have
to see him every day. Otherwise she suspected her rampant hormones would have
her doing something impetuous. With her hormones in overdrive she knew it
wouldn’t be long before she threw herself at this man who was only being
friendly with her because of Gabby’s relationship with Devil. She needed to
minimize her exposure to Viper. It was the only way she wouldn’t embarrass
Gabby and herself.

****

Viper couldn’t believe what had
just happened. When he’d left Nikki’s house, he thought he still had a long way
to go with her. Yet here he was on his knees with his cum all over the floor.
If anyone had walked in on him, they would have thought him to be an untrained
schoolboy.

He had just arrived at his
quarters when he felt the first sign of a fantasy fusion.
Fae
magic allowed mates to share their fantasies. As one’s desires were being used
to achieve sexual completion, the other mate could be drawn into the fantasy to
fulfill their part. He had just experienced that with Nikki. His mate was
thinking about him. In fact more than thinking—she was fantasizing about him.

Not one to deny his mate
anything, he had stripped out of his clothes and let his mind wander. It
allowed him to enter her fantasy, fulfilling all that she desired. His hand
clamped around his hardened cock as he entered Nikki’s body. Each pump had him
fighting off his orgasm. It had been ready to explode from his body since she’d
arrived home earlier that evening. Finally, the first tremors ran through
Nikki. Still he refused to follow her over the edge.

Pulling out of her warm pussy, he
flipped her over onto her stomach. He needed to test her reaction to his true
self. His dominant self. Slamming back into his mate, he pounded into her. His
balls tightened, but still he refused it. He wouldn’t allow himself pleasure
until his mate had orgasmed once more. Her whimpers became louder. It was music
to his ears. She was close. Time to test the waters even further. To his
pleasure, his order to come was met with her calling out his name as she found
her completion. Only then did he allow his body the relief it so desired. On a shout,
his cum shot from his cock. It was then that his mind returned to his quarters.
His cock was still in his vise-like grip, evidence of his orgasm dripping from
his tip.

The whole experience had been
pure heaven and torture all at the same time. Heaven because he had never
experienced such pleasure at the hand of any woman, even his previous mate,
Maya. Torture because even though Nikki was thinking of him while she pleasured
herself, it wasn’t real. Everything in him wanted to experience her wet pussy clamping
around his hard cock in reality, rather than the realm of imagination.

Still he cleaned up his mess and
took himself off to the shower with a lighter heart. His mate had done that to
him. Though he didn’t doubt that many hurdles lay ahead of him, especially when
it came to bedding her, he found a glimmer of hope in their fantasized
interlude. Nikki Greene wanted him. She held no fear of him in her fantasy.
While it was only a small step, he was willing to accept it and work with it.

He was known as Viper for his
patience and his ability to strike hard and fast at his unsuspecting prey,
gaining him the upper hand. His previous triumphs had all been a lead-up to
this, his ultimate conquest. He would be utilizing those same tactics with his
mate, only this time he wouldn’t accept anything but her complete submission.
His mate was about to spend a whole lot more time with him.

Chapter
Five

So much for her resolve to spend
less time with Viper. It would seem that the man had other ideas. Every night for
the last week, he had been waiting for her when she got home. And always with
some of her favorite food pre-prepared for dinner. They would talk, share
stories from their day the way any other friends would and laugh together. Her
comfort level in this man’s company was growing. She enjoyed his presence, even
if it did crazy things to her body. Every night, she ended up pushing him out
of the door through fear that her hormones would finally gain control of her
actions.

The very thought of Viper had
Nikki panting for the man, which led her to question her own sanity. Her desire
to ravage him was beyond her normal behavior, even before the attack. But since
then, her need for him went against her own survival instincts. If only her
hormones would listen to reason. But instead, the very thought of him brought
her to her knees, orgasm close at hand.

Forcing her mind back to the road
as she traveled to work, she attempted to push Viper out of her thoughts. As
soon as she entered the hospital, what she saw in front of her did exactly
that. Instead, another man filled her thoughts. There before her, in amongst
the growing crowd at the front desk, stood a man who represented her past. He
was the spitting image of Paul Watson.

Rationally she knew it wasn’t. It
couldn’t be, because the asshole still had another three years to serve on his
six-year sentence. The lift ride up to the children’s ward gifted her with
clarity. She decided it was the nervous, insecure woman that Paul had created
in her that night that had her fearing a complete stranger. The woman she no
longer wanted to be.

The more negative side of her
personality was reminding her what trusting a man could result in. But Viper
had in his way created his own version of Nikki. Though he was unaware of his
effect on her, Nikki was slowly recognizing how much power she had allowed Paul
to have over her life. With Viper’s hand of friendship, he had her wanting to
reclaim her life.

Which was exactly what she was
attempting to do. With Viper’s constant presence in her mind, all thoughts of
the man who had ruled her decision-making process for the last three years were
slowly disappearing. She couldn’t allow this complete stranger who had
obviously come to the hospital to visit someone to smother her newfound freedom.
The rest of the day went without issues. Even her favorite patient, Emily, had
improved, going twenty-four hours without a seizure.

By the time she got home, her
worry had completely disappeared, replaced by her inexplicable insatiable
hunger for the man who was once again waiting on her front porch. Getting out
of her car, her legs demanded that she run to him. Instead, she moved at a
reasonable pace, her fear controlling her movements. Though she wasn’t sure
whether it was her fear of intimacy or fear of her reaction to the man that
dictated her actions.

“Back again, Tatts?” she greeted,
trying to remain casual.

“Nowhere I’d rather be,
sweetheart.”

Of course his continual use of
that endearment had her imagination thriving. But still she refused to acknowledge
that any of the whimsical ideas had merit. He was just being nice to her. He
probably called all the females in his life “sweetheart.” Except for Gabby and
his sister, Jewel.

Devil would have his head if he
called Gabby anything but her name. Devil was very possessive of his mate.
According to Gabby, he didn’t like her being in the company of any man when he
wasn’t present. She often wondered how Gabby put up with his high handedness.

As for Jewel, Viper had spoken of
his adopted sister the other night. He’d explained to Nikki how he and his
brothers found her on the street, being beaten up for stealing an apple. They
had taken her in and looked after her. They sent her back to school, and now
she was about to graduate college. He was very proud of her, his Squirt. It was
a name he’d given her because of her tiny stature. It was a name that had
meaning, unlike what he called her.

“Why do you call me that?” she
asked, trying to hide the hurt she was feeling.

“What,
sweetheart
?”

“Yes.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” he asked,
frowning.

“Because I’m not one of your
women,” she responded angrily.

“No, you’re not. You’re more than
that.” His response had pain shooting through her heart at the reminder that
she was family. Not someone he would ever consider taking to bed.

She didn’t want to think about
her unusual and instant reaction to the thought that she would never be Viper’s
bedfellow, so she changed the subject. “So, what’s for dinner tonight?”

“Gabby’s lasagna,” came his reply
as he lifted the bag in his hand.

“God, I love that woman,” she
said quietly. It was Nikki’s favorite meal of all times and no one cooked it as
well as her best friend.

“I hope I can get some of that
love too,” Viper inquired, sending her a devastating smile.

“And why would you want my love,
Tatts?” she asked, attempting to tease the man. Except it seemed to have the
opposite effect.

His pupils grew larger and he
stepped toward her. Her body tingled at his closeness. She fought between
wanting to step back and wanting to pull him the rest of the way. Her nipples
hardened, trying to reach him. But still they stood there. Their gazes
connected. His eyes reading her as if she were an open book. It felt like he
was looking right into her soul. With that thought came worry. Could he see the
effect he had on her? Would she finally feel his rejection?

As worry took a hold of her, he
stepped back, putting distance between them. Her heart hurt and her eyes
threatened to tear up. Moving even farther away from the man, she went about
unlocking her front door, mentally reprimanding herself for her stupidity.

Anyone looking at him would see
that he could have any woman he wanted. He had no need for a broken woman like
herself, who feared a man’s touch. Even if she could get him into bed, she
would probably screw the moment up with her panic. Though she had no memory of
Paul raping her, her injuries told her enough about what else happened that
night after she had passed out. Intimacy was not an option for her. She had
long ago accepted it, and now Viper had her yearning for something she wasn’t
sure she could give.

He was a dangerous man. One who
had followed her into her tiny kitchen. He took up a large portion of the room.
With anyone else, she knew it would have been suffocating. But with Viper, Nikki
found a sense of peace and security in his close proximity. What was it with
this man that had her wanting what she couldn’t have?

“Nikki, are you all right?” Viper
asked, drawing her out of her ponderings.

“Sorry?” She frowned, confused by
his question.

“You had a strange look upon your
face, and I didn’t like what you were thinking.”

“Can you read minds?” she asked,
wondering, not for the first time, how Viper fit in with a vampire, a mountain
lion shifter and a warlock.

“I don’t need to with you. Your face
is very expressive.”

“Well that’s good to know,” she
said, making a note to practice schooling her facial features. Her private
thoughts were hers and hers alone. “You wouldn’t want to know what goes through
my head most of the time.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,
sweetheart.” Viper took a step forward. “I want to know everything that’s going
on in that beautiful mind.”

 
“Why?” Stepping back, Nikki’s back hit
something solid and unmoving.

“Because I want to know
everything there is to know about you,” he replied, trapping her against the
kitchen counter but still not touching her.

Her breathing became labored as
her whole being began to buzz. She watched as his hand slowly came up to her
face. Her breath hitched. Carefully he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her
ear. But still she wanted more. His presence within her personal space had her
skin tingling and her brain turning to goo. Unfortunately, or maybe
fortunately, he stepped back before she could test her new sense of self.

“Come on, sweetheart. You need to
eat,” came Viper’s edict as he moved around her still form to gather the plates
and utensils needed for dinner.

He really had frazzled her brain
this time. She needed a reprieve to recover from this man’s effects on her. But
did she want one?

****

That reprieve came the next day.
She’d received a call from Viper, a few hours ago, as she walked into the
hospital. He wouldn’t be at her house when she arrived home from work that
night. Jewel was staying at the hotel for a couple of days before heading off
on a holiday and he had made plans to have dinner with her. A dinner he invited
Nikki to, but she quickly refused. She needed some time to really assess what
the hell was happening to her.

Firstly, she wanted a man! That
was a huge step to take. Never before had she wanted and needed a man like she
did Viper. That alone scared the practical Nikki. That Nikki didn’t like the
power she was willing to hand over to him. She had done that with Paul and look
where it got her—beaten, raped, and left to die. She’d sworn never to allow
another man into her heart again. And here she was, lusting after a man she
couldn’t have.

The romantic Nikki desperately
wanted to believe that her life wasn’t meant to be lived alone. She desired
companionship, love, and romance. That Nikki still envisioned children in her
future. Viper’s children, with his beautiful red hair and soft brown eyes. They
would be gorgeous, just like their father. It felt so real that she could
almost see her imaginary family.

Of course that then raised the
second issue. He was already family. He viewed her as his sister-in-law’s best
friend. He was welcoming her into his family, and all she wanted to do was drag
him off to bed. She was so embarrassed by her response to Viper that she hadn’t
even told Gabby what was happening. Gabby, her best friend in the whole world,
who knew everything else there was to know about Nikki, knew nothing of her
desire for the man.

Occasionally, she had silently
questioned whether Viper felt the same way. Some of his words and reactions had
her wondering. But realistically Nikki knew it was wishful thinking. It had
been so long since she’d allowed a man near her that she was misconstruing his
friendly behavior for something more carnal.

It would seem this was a problem that
wasn’t going to be solved on her lunch break. Standing, she took herself back
to work, where her mind could be filled with her patients.