Cold Attraction Read online

  His shoulders tensed beneath his clothes, but he gave no other indication he’d heard her. Instead, he guided the ship up, straight into the churning night sky.

  As soon as they cleared the shelter of the rocks, wind hit them at full speed. Taron’s fingers twitched over the controls, but the tiny ship swayed and bucked, and Adriana was soon grateful she hadn’t eaten anything since she and Steven had shared a hurried lunch of protein bars hours ago.

  They fought the storm, flying low—she assumed he had some navigation system steering him, because around them, there was only darkness and snow, the wind blowing so fiercely the ice shards flew horizontally, buffeting their windshield, crusting it with layer upon layer of ice.

  She didn’t dare ask Taron if they’d be all right—didn’t dare break his intense focus. She’d admired him when they had traversed deep space and traveled past the stars on his large vessel, but this…this was a level of skill she hadn’t dreamed he possessed. If it weren’t for him, she’d be dead already.

  She suspected he’d saved her life earlier. No memories surfaced about the time between getting hit with that electroshock and waking up hanging over Taron’s shoulder, but something must have happened to those soldiers. Apart from the sore blister on her stomach, which she’d covered with a nonadhesive bandage, she was uninjured. She took a couple of ibuprofen for the burn—and the headache that crept through her skull—but didn’t dare complain. Who knew what he went through, what he did to bring her here?

  In the dim light of the cabin, she saw the blue spots on his woolen clothes and swallowed. Blood.

  “Are you injured?” she asked, a knot forming in her throat. She couldn’t bear to see him hurt.

  “No.”

  One word only, but it was enough for adrenaline to crash in her veins. She sagged in the seat, her hands releasing the armrests; she wasn’t even aware she’d been gripping them so tightly.

  She must have dozed off, because the spaceship was on the ground when she next looked through the window. The world outside was a maelstrom of snow, and though the engine had stopped, the ship trembled with every gust of the wind.

  “Where are we?” Adriana fumbled with her seat belt but couldn’t figure out the latch, her fingers clumsy against the cold metal. She was shaking, her breath puffing out in white clouds.

  Taron unsnapped his own belt and turned to her. “We need shelter. The storm is too strong to go on tonight, and the heater’s not working well.” With that, he undid her buckle, his hands brushing hers. With a growl, he grasped her fingers. “Fuck, you’re so cold.”

  Adriana yelped as he grabbed her by the waist, opened the door, and took her outside into the blizzard. He wrapped his arms around her, protecting her face from the worst of the ice, but crystal shards struck her skin, stinging, biting, and she gripped his jacket, burying her face into it.

  It was rough going; Taron’s legs sank thigh-deep into the snow, and by the time they reached a mound of snow, even he was panting with effort. Adriana looked around, squinting into the dark; she wished she had ski goggles for this. Everything around them dissolved into snow and mist, and she couldn’t even tell where the mountains were, let alone which way the city lay. She hoped to God Taron knew where they were because she was lost, completely lost on a hostile, frozen alien planet.

  She sobbed into his throat, panic suddenly rearing up, clawing at her insides. “I’m sorry,” she whispered over and over again. “I’m sorry.”

  Taron cupped the back of her head with one large hand and pressed her closer for a moment. “We’re here,” he murmured into her hair. Then he gently set her on her feet and knelt in the snow.

  For a wild moment, Adriana thought he meant for them to stay there, to remain forever frozen in the wild. Tears crystallized on her cheeks, stinging them, her eyelashes becoming heavier. The swirling darkness pressed down on her. She might have been one of the first humans to walk on Rendu, but she didn’t want to be the first human to die here, too.

  “Taron?” Her voice was carried away by the wind, and she hugged herself, trembling.

  Then Taron stuck his head inside a snowdrift—no, it was a hole in the snow. He swept his hands over the small mound that attached to the bigger cupola and turned back to glance at her. “Come on.”

  He’d found an igloo.

  Adriana dropped to her hands and knees, following him inside. The wind died down the moment they entered the short entrance tunnel, and by the time they reached the big central chamber, the stillness of the air, the quiet, was complete. Adriana felt like her ears had been stuffed with cotton wool; after the howling wind outside, the silence rang in her ears.

  It was pitch-dark, the only illumination coming from Taron’s wrist cuff, but the feeble light allowed him to find the lantern standing on a shelf and light it.

  A red glow lit the chamber, and Adriana stared. The round room was tall enough for Taron to stand in, just barely, and some twenty feet wide. The floor was covered in rugs and furs, the shelves hewn from ice stocked with some basic items like dried food and canteens for water. There was even something that looked like a small camping stove, likely for melting snow, and a couple of bowls.

  “I need to check the vents. Stay here.”

  Taron disappeared back down the corridor, the leather door flaps that served to protect from the drafts swaying behind him. Adriana turned in a circle, rubbing her chilled hands together. Wow. A real igloo, a shelter against the raging weather outside. Were these scattered around the plains, their locations known? Or did Taron stumble across one by sheer chance?

  A rasping noise near her head alerted her of Taron’s work; the small ventilation hole was soon cleared of the newly accumulated snow. She wondered about the heat retention of the snow house, about oxygen levels and the force of the winds outside, her mind drawn to mundane facts of physics to calm the remaining panic inside her, the shame and guilt she felt for having drawn Taron into this mess.

  She faced the entrance tunnel, awaiting his return. She would apologize again, explain…

  She didn’t get a chance. Taron crawled in, shaking snow off his clothes, took one look at her, and pounced.

  There was no other word for the intense kiss he planted on her lips. He ravished her mouth, gripping her face with rough palms, dragging her closer, closer, until their bodies were flush with each other and she clung to him, trying to keep up.

  And when he finally released her, the dark look in his eyes had her trembling—not from cold but from breathless anticipation, from awareness of him that seemed almost electrical.

  “Get on the floor. Now.” His voice allowed no argument, and Adriana obeyed.

  Kneeling in front of him, she gazed up at this beautiful alien, this man who had flown in to save her, who had protected her and cared for her, and said, “Yes.”

  15

  Taron

  He couldn’t stop staring at her. Adriana knelt at his feet, her dark eyes large as she gazed at him, her lips parted and swollen from his kiss. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, and he wanted her so much his entire body thrummed at the mere sight of her. But when they touched… Her warmth burned him, scorching like a star, addictive and dangerous.

  He wanted her mad with lust, so she could know what he felt every time she looked at him. He wanted her undone, screaming his name, so she would feel a fraction of what he lived with every hour of every day.

  Removing his jacket, he tossed it to the floor behind her, adding another layer that would cushion her back when he fucked her. But not yet. Not until she was breathless with want.

  With slow, deliberate movements, he removed piece after piece of his clothes, never taking his gaze off her. By the time he slipped his arms from the sleeves of his uniform, she was breathing hard, every exhale still forming puffs of white in the air. He wasn’t worried about that; the snow house was built to retain the heat of their bodies—hers more than his—and the red lamp he’d turned on was already warming the chamber.
r />   And he would keep her warm. He would get her burning hot, then plunge inside her. The thought of it had him aching, throbbing, barely keeping himself together.

  He removed the uniform, and she gasped at the sight of him. Her delicate features were illuminated by the red glow of the heat lamp, but he would have bet his spear and ship that her cheeks were flushed.

  He was still too far away for her to touch, so he grasped his cock and gave it a slow tug, watching her for reactions. Her fingers twitched on her knees, and her eyelids lowered, her expression becoming hazy with lust.

  “Taron,” she whispered, his name a sigh and a plea.

  But he would not give her what she wanted, not yet.

  “Undress yourself.” He barely recognized his own voice. Tightening his grip on his cock, he started a steady rhythm as she hurried to obey.

  Clothes flew, and within seconds, Adriana was naked in front of him, the most gorgeous sight he’d ever seen. She grinned at him, but he couldn’t return her smile, couldn’t think beyond the pure, blazing lust.

  Her body was exquisite, he’d known that, but to see it now, offered before him… Her nipples were tight buds in the cold, and goose bumps formed on her soft skin. Her hair, unbound, fell past her shoulders, brushing the tops of her breasts. He trailed his gaze down her taut belly to her generous hips, to the narrow strip of dark curls at the apex of her thighs. Her knees spread wide open, she waited for him, apparently content to let him set the pace of what was to come.

  He stepped forward until his cock was level with her face; her eyes never left his as she opened her mouth and allowed him to guide himself inside. She kept gazing at him, inhaling through her nose. He gripped her hair, holding her head in place, and slowly fucked her hot mouth.

  He had no words. The entirety of his being narrowed to that incredible sensation, to the pull of her lips, the low tremors of her moan coursing through him.

  Pumping his hips forward, he let himself go, and when she gripped his ass, tugging him closer, he came, shouting, bracing one hand on the icy ceiling above him to keep standing. She drank down every last drop of him, drawing it from him with languid licks of her tongue.

  He’d wanted to come first, to let her wait, to punish her for disobeying him, but she peered at him from beneath her lashes, a smug smile tipping the corners of her mouth up. “Mmm,” she purred and touched her tongue to her lower lip.

  Taron narrowed his eyes. She should have been contrite, jealous of his pleasure, but instead, she threw her head back, moaning, her hands restless on her body, one palm rising to cup her breast and the other dipping between her legs, her fingers slipping into those dark curls.

  “Taron,” she moaned, “You’re incredible. Oh, my God, this is the best drug I’ve ever had.”

  He’d done this to her and he hadn’t even touched her yet. Taron watched, his cock still hard and aching, as she circled her clit faster and faster, the movements becoming frantic, stuttering, then reached deeper to plunge her fingers inside her. She came with a strangled cry, her hips rocking, her throaty moans reverberating through the chamber.

  Taron dropped to his knees in front of her, palming her head to bring her close, and kissed her, swallowing the sounds of her pleasure. And she melted against him, warm and supple, her scent driving him insane.

  She gazed at him from heavy-lidded eyes as he brought her fingers to his lips and licked off the proof of her arousal, the essence of her, sweeter than anything he’d ever tasted.

  He pushed her back onto the furs, the luxurious horeen pelts the perfect backdrop for her gorgeous body, and settled between her legs.

  “Taron, I…” she began, but he didn’t give her a chance to finish the thought.

  Spreading her, he licked the slick, swollen bud, listening for her reactions.

  Adriana gasped, “You’re… Oh shit, you’re so cold!”

  He drew back, frowning. He hadn’t even thought of it—was it unpleasant?

  But she lifted her head and frowned at him. “Why are you stopping?”

  That was a no, then. Hiding his grin against her thigh, he trailed slow, open-mouthed kisses over her skin until her thighs trembled and she tangled her fingers in his hair, tugging him to where she wanted him.

  He didn’t relent, even though her grip became painful—the best pain he’d ever experienced. Only when she begged him, hoarse and needy, did he obey.

  “Please, Taron, please, I can’t—” Her words were cut off by a moan the moment he pushed two fingers inside her, sucking her clit at the same time.

  With another stroke of his fingers, another rough lick across her bud, she shattered, his name on her lips, shuddering beneath him.

  He didn’t let go. Keeping his fingers inside her, he pumped slowly, brushing his fingertips over that spot that had her thighs closing around him like she couldn’t decide whether she wanted to hold him close or push him away. He rose above her and kissed her, letting her taste herself on her lips.

  “You’re going to come until you can’t come anymore. And then I’ll fuck you. Again and again, so you know who you belong to. So you won’t ever run from me again.”

  The words, rough and angry, tumbled from him, fueled by lust and rage and something far darker—jealousy and fear of losing her swirling inside him.

  She stared up at him, sweat shining on her face, and opened her mouth to speak—to apologize, perhaps, or refuse him. He couldn’t let her, couldn’t risk her reminding him she would be leaving soon, never to return.

  He kissed her again, tangling his tongue with hers, biting her lower lip hard enough so she hissed, then moaned again. He left her mouth, licking and biting his way down her throat to her beautiful breasts, drawing a taut, sweet nipple inside his mouth, sucking on it roughly until she screamed, bucking against his hand, her entire body bowing off the floor.

  She grew limp in his arms, and he held her close, soothing her body and his soul. Then he brought her to another orgasm, and another. She sobbed beneath him, begging him for more, begging to let her give him the pleasure. In answer, he took her hands and held her wrists above her head, restraining her, knowing that one touch from her would send him over the edge.

  “You’re mine,” he whispered into her ear as she crested another peak, her eyes closed in ecstasy. “Say it.”

  She looked at him then, her dark eyes bottomless, unfathomable pools. “I love you.”

  The words shattered him—they weren’t what he wanted, and yet they gave him so much more.

  Releasing her, he knelt between her legs, marveling at her beauty. Her hair stuck to her skin, her mouth bruised from his kisses, and yet she held her arms out to him, inviting him in.

  Taron stared down at her. This was a first in so many ways, and he knew their relationship would never be the same. His life would change forever. And he couldn’t back away from her even if his icy world was on fire.

  With a groan, he entered her, inch by slow inch, sinking into the warmth of her body for the first time. It unmade him, the closeness, the heat, the words that he never thought he’d hear. “I love you.”

  With a hoarse cry, he thrust inside her, so he was fully sheathed. As he withdrew, a flush glowed all over his body. The contrast between them was incredible, his skin so dark it was nearly black in the red light, and hers brown, soft, delicate.

  “I feel you,” she cried, “I feel you so deep. Ah, it’s— It’s…”

  Her words disintegrated on a groan as he moved inside her. The sensation was incredible, the squeeze of her body too intense to put into words. She urged him on, and he listened for every sigh and moan that told him how she wanted him. So he gave it to her, with increasing urgency, chasing his own pleasure.

  His human liked what he was doing to her.

  “More,” she demanded. “Taron, you’re…oh, fuuuuck…”

  She came, her head falling back, the column of her throat exposed, and he bit her, sucked her skin until bruises bloomed on it, marks of his possession. And with her
inner muscles gripping him tighter than ever, Taron lost the last shred of his control.

  He snapped his hips forward, over and over, the sensation building inside him, a pressure begging to be released—until the dam broke and a surge of pleasure crashed over him, a supernova detonating inside him. Sparks danced across his vision, every nerve in his body singing, focused on her, only on her, the woman who gave him so much, who’d opened herself to him.

  Breathing hard, he dropped to his elbows, keeping his weight off her, and kissed her swollen lips, slowly, gently, reveling in how she licked at his tongue. She gazed at him with sleepy eyes, drawing swirling patterns on his back with her fingertips. Her hand brushed against the spikes on his back, and his hips rocked forward on their own. His nerve endings were so fried, he felt her touch as though he was electrified.

  “I love you,” she whispered and closed her eyes.

  Taron opened his mouth to reply, unsure of what he was about to say, but her head rocked to the side, her arms slipping from his back. He raised his eyebrows, then chuckled. She’d fallen asleep.

  He withdrew from her, then covered her with the soft quilts that were stacked on a shelf, putting her socks back on just in case. He checked the ventilation shaft again and slipped beneath the blankets behind her. She didn’t even stir as he drew her body close, wrapped an arm around her waist, and buried his face in her hair.

  With a sigh, he settled in for a long wait—the storm would rage all night, and they would need to race toward the capital in the morning.

  But the slow, steady rhythm of her breaths calmed him. He never wanted to fall asleep without her again. Letting her go seemed impossible—but he knew in that moment that he cared for her too much to keep her if she wanted to leave.

  16

  Adriana

  The dim light inside the snow house was a shade or two brighter than before, so Adriana assumed it was morning. They were still alive, not frozen to death, which was good. She was warm, even though Taron’s body was cool against her back, but the thick, soft pelts and blankets had kept her insulated from the worst of the chill.