Where was the Vicious who would kiss and lick and
nibble and fuck her until she was limp and desperate for
mercy? She loved this gentler, tender Vicious but she
craved the harder, rougher side of him too. She felt
completely healed and physically well. Their abstinence
had only made her desire more potent. She
needed
him.
A horrible though struck her as she sought refuge in
their bedroom. What if he was angry with her for not
conceiving? These Grabs existed to facilitate one purpose
—procreation. These men out in the wilds of the galaxy
and far away from their home planet needed women to
provide them with children.
Her hand drifted to her belly. She remembered Vicious’
big hand spanning her skin, his eyes aglow with the hope
of making a child. Their conversation about his tattoos
surfaced in her thoughts. He’d spoken so longingly at the
idea of having their children’s names tattooed on his skin.
Was he angry with her for denying him that chance? Was
that why he was pushing her away?
“Hallie?” Vicious loomed in the doorway of their room.
He spoke softly but his features betrayed his irritation.
“Don’t walk away from me when I’m talking to you.”
She gripped her shirt in her hands, her fingernails
scratching the skin of her stomach. She needed something
to hold onto as she fully faced him and asked the question
that clawed at her heart. “Are you mad at me because I’m
not pregnant?”
He reeled back in shock. His expression slackened.
With long, powerful strides, he crossed the distance
between them and swept her up into his arms. He sat on
the bed and cradled her on his lap. He cupped her cheek
and held her gaze. “Don’t you ever ask me that question
again, Hallie. I could never be angry with you for
something like that. Never.” He swallowed hard.
“Whether we have a dozen children or none, I will always
love you.”
Now it was her turn to reel with shock. “You—you love
me?”
He smiled at her as she stammered. “Yes. I love you,
Kitten.”
The pain of humiliation and fear once twisting her gut
and squeezing her chest vanished. The purest, sweetest
sensation spread through her chest and belly. She stroked
his jaw. “I love you too.”
He kissed her so gently. “I’m sorry I hurt you, Hallie. I
never wanted you to feel unloved or undesirable.” He
hesitated. “I’m afraid.”
She frowned with confusion. “Of what? Hurting me?”
He nodded. “Seeing you so bloody and battered
terrified me. Then I had to watch you suffer in the hospital.
You looked so small and frail.” He gulped and shook his
head. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget that image.”
“Vicious,” she whispered. “It’s all right. I’m fine now.”
“Yes, now. But then?” He looked grim. “You could
have died.”
“I didn’t.” She took his hand and squeezed it. “Vicious,
we live on a war ship. We could be attacked without
warning. You’re an officer in the military. You could be
called out to a battle at a moment’s notice. You could be
killed.” Even saying the words made her tear up but she
pushed through it. “There are no guarantees in this life,
Vicious. We have each other now. We should enjoy every
moment, not focus on the awful possibilities.”
His thumb wiped away the tears sliding down her
cheeks. He brought his lips close to hers and teased their
mouths together. “I’ll be gentle.”
“Maybe I don’t want gentle,” she whispered in reply
and playfully nipped his lower lip.
Vicious growled and claimed her mouth in a passionate
kiss. She gripped his shirt and held on for dear life as his
tongue stabbed between her lips. His fingers tangled in her
hair. His other hand snaked under her shirt and discovered
bare flesh. She’d worn no bra today so her nipples were
easily available. He pinched one of the pink peaks and
made her yelp.
He flipped their positions and took her down to the bed.
Crawling over her, he fisted her shirt in both hands and
ripped the material in his strong fingers. Her eyes widened
at the show of brute strength. In the next instant, his lips
touched her breast. She cried out as he licked and suckled.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and pressed her
bare toes into his thighs. “Vicious! Oh god. Please!
Please
!”
He chuckled as his mouth dragged along her torso down
toward her belly. He slid off the bed onto his knees and
grasped her by the waist of her loose-fitting black shorts.
With a couple of tugs, he freed her from the shorts and her
panties. He clasped her thighs and pushed her knees back
toward her chest. She gulped as he gazed adoringly at her
bared sex.
“I’ve missed your sweet cunt so much, Hallie.” He
lowered his mouth and swiped her slit from the opening to
the very tippy top. She mewled and whimpered as he
licked and sucked her clit. His tongue fluttered over the
pink nub. One of his thick fingers penetrated her slowly. A
second finger soon joined that one. They thrust deep and
awakened every nerve in her channel.
Delicious tingling rippled in her lower belly. It had
been so long and she was so sensitive. Vicious moaned
hungrily as he lapped at her clit. Those skillful fingers of
his found just the right rhythm to drive her wild. Her
shoulders arched off the bed as he licked and fingered her
into climax. She cried out his name as blissful bursts of
ecstasy exploded in her core. “Vicious! Vicious!
Vicious
!”
He placed a noisy kiss right on top of her clit before
standing. He unzipped and lowered his pants and boxer-
briefs. There wasn’t time to get completely undressed but
she didn’t care. He stroked his massive cock in his big
hand and fondled his sac. Heady with lust and still shaky
from her climax, she reached for him. “Take me, Vicious. I
need you.”
He moved onto the bed and between her thighs. His
mouth dropped to hers, the unique scent of her spicy musk
teasing her. He kissed her with such intensity her toes
curled and her belly wobbled. His rock-hard erection
nudged her pussy. He grasped the base of his big cock and
used the ruddy crown to draw circles around her sensitive
clit.
She moaned and clutched at his shoulders. She wiggled
her hips. “Quit teasing me, Vicious.”
He chuckled and lined up with her opening. “All right,
Kitten.”
“Oh!” Head thrown back, she relished that first hard
thrust of his cock inside her wet sheath. It had been so
long, too long, and she needed him so badly. She scratched
at his upper arms and dragged his mouth down for a kiss.
“Be rough with me, Vicious.”
He groaned loudly at her desperate entreaty and began
to jerk his hips hard and fast. She was so aroused and wet
that friction between their bodies instantly felt good. She
lifted her hips to meet his thrusts and darted her tongue
into his willing mouth. Vicious gripped the comforter on
either side of her head and snapped his hips. He took her
hard and fast, his cock plunging deep and with such force
that she gasped.
When he lowered his body, their chests touching now
and mouths mating, her clit came in contact with that
smooth plank of skin along his happy trail. Every thrust
stimulated her clitoris. Their tongues dueled as Vicious
drove into her again and again. His hands roamed her
body, the gentle caress of his rough palms setting her skin
afire.
“Vicious,” she whispered against his cheek. Her thighs
tensed as that fluttery panic started low in her core.
“More. Oh! Harder! I—
ah
!”
She climaxed then, her whole body undulating beneath
his larger frame. Vicious thrust so deep and hard she slid
up the bed a few inches. His mouth settled over hers as he
jerked roughly, his seed spilling into her in hot jets. When
he relaxed, he stayed buried deep inside her and kissed
her tenderly.
For the longest time, they caressed and traded sensual
kisses. Reality intruded on their sweet moment. With a
resigned sigh, Vicious pulled out of her. He placed a
lingering kiss on the tip of her nose. “You were
wonderful.”
She smiled up at him. “We should do that again. Soon.”
Laughing, he climbed off the bed and headed for the
bathroom. “What’re you doing later tonight?”
She giggled as he disappeared into the bathroom. Not
long after, he returned with a clean shirt, fixed uniform and
a wash cloth.’ He knelt at the edge of the mattress and
spread her thighs. She blushed as he gently wiped away
the evidence of their hasty coupling. He kissed her again
and returned to the bathroom to deposit the cloth in the
hamper.
“I’ll be home late.” He bent down and kissed her
forehead. “Don’t wait up, Hallie. You need your rest.”
She started to argue with him but just nodded. “I won’t
stay up late.”
His fingertips trailed down her cheek before he finally
found the strength to pull away. “I’ll see you later.”
“Okay.” He left the bedroom. A few seconds later, she
heard their front door click and the lock beep as it
engaged. She fell back to the bed with a dramatic sigh and
grinned at the ceiling. Finally, she had
her
Vicious back!
* * * * *
“I take it Hallie is feeling better?” General Thorn
pinned Vicious with a knowing smile as he entered the
man’s private office.
Abashed, Vicious started to apologize. “I know your
time is valuable, sir. I should have—”
“You should have told me that you were otherwise
engaged,” General Thorn interrupted. “Colonel, I know I
have a reputation as a hard-ass but I’m not unreasonable.
You and your new bride have been through quite a lot in
the last month. Besides, you were never given a proper
honeymoon period.”
“About that,” Vicious said, “I was planning to request
some time off in the upcoming weeks. I’d like to take
Hallie on a proper vacation—away from the
Valiant
.
Sergeant Crow’s trial and sentencing is next week. I don’t
want her here when the verdict comes down.”
General Thorn pointed to the chair in front of his desk.
“Sit. We need to talk.”
Vicious experienced a tremor of anxiety. He did as
instructed and waited for the general to sit. With a sigh, he
stated the obvious. “I’m not getting my vacation time.”
The general chuckled. “Not if things go my way.”
Vicious was suddenly very glad Hallie had pounded her
way through his thick skull to make him see reason. That
orgasm had mellowed him out enough that he wasn’t angry
with the general for screwing with him. He felt only
frustration. “Why?”
General Thorn sat back in his chair and spread his
hands out in front of him. “This war is growing more
complicated, Vicious. We’re not fighting one single
enemy. There’s no planet to decimate with our highly
advanced weaponry. We’re fighting a shadowy group.
This isn’t a campaign that will end soon. The war council
recognizes this. It’s time for the force to change as well.”
His gut tightened. “What kind of changes?”
“For one, the
Valiant
will be elevated to the Alliance
flagship of this sector. The sky fleet and land corps are
spread too thin in this area. We need a central point of
control.”
Vicious perked at this new change. It was something he
and other officers in this sector had been complaining
about for the last year. “Does that mean you’ll be moving
to the
Valiant
permanently, sir?”
The general shook his head. “General Creed is retiring
from the war council. I’ve been promoted to his position.
They want someone with real experience fighting this kind
of war making the decisions.”
Finally! For so long, they’d suffered in the field as men
who had no idea of actual on-the-ground operations made
decisions from the top down.
With true feeling, Vicious said, “Congratulations, sir.
You’ve more than earned this promotion.”
Thorn smiled. “Thank you. My wife is rather pleased,
as you can imagine. In our entire marriage, she hasn’t once