Depths Of Desire Read online

  “In trouble,” he explained.

  “I won’t lie to you. Earth may be screwed, as you say, regardless. But this will give your planet and people a fighting chance.”

  “If for some reason the serum doesn’t work, it’s not going to kill me, is it? Worst case scenario.”

  She chuckled. “No. If it doesn’t work, you’ll just have Sam’s sperm floating around inside you.”

  Kirk scrunched up his face. “Not a nice visual. I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.” He watched her prepare the shot. “Do you think we can really manufacture a delivery system for a virus and arm the world’s militaries with the weapons before we’re wiped out or enslaved by the Egesa?”

  “The alternative is what? Give up? Surrender? Don’t even try?”

  “Some people have been talking about nuclear retaliation. Complete destruction, except for a select few that would be hidden underground.”

  “Killing the majority of your people and destroying your planet to get rid of the threat, and allowing only an elite few to survive, is not the solution.” She wiped a sterile cloth over a spot on his arm. “This might burn a little. Don’t worry if it does.” Slowly she injected the serum and hoped for the best. She’d told him that there wouldn’t be a problem but she actually wasn’t completely sure.

  After she pulled out the needle and set it aside, he looked up at her. “Now what?”

  “We give it a few minutes to spread and take hold.” The wariness in his eyes touched her heart. If this didn’t work, the humans would have little defense against the Egesa. Without the added ability to heal quickly, they didn’t stand a chance of surviving. After an uncomfortable few moments under his scrutiny, she said, “You’re staring at me.”

  He cleared his throat and reddened slightly. “Sorry. I just can’t believe you’re an alien. Xylons are very close to humans in looks.”

  “Humanoids populate the universe, though we all have our own special uniqueness. We come from a common source, I suspect. But creatures of all shapes and types, good and bad, also roam the galaxies. You’ve had contact with off-worlders aboard various supply vessels, right?”

  “Just voice contact. It must be exciting to travel the stars.”

  She turned and picked up a scalpel. “It has its moments.” She turned back and sliced Kirk’s arm.

  “Ow! Son of a bitch!” He grabbed her wrist as blood poured from the wound. “What the fuck are you doing?”

  “Relax.” She pulled away from him and covered the wound with a sterile cloth. “If the serum worked, you’ll start to heal in a moment. Does it hurt?”

  “Hell yes it hurts! You could have warned me.”

  “I didn’t want you to tense up and make it worse.” She dabbed at the blood. “It’s slowing.”

  “Does that mean it’s working?” He looked down at his arm.

  “I don’t know yet. It needs a few more moments before I can tell. It will stop bleeding first and the wound will slowly close. It will then still take about an hour or slightly less for a cut of this type to heal completely.”

  “Damn. That’s fast. The military will love this stuff.”

  She set the cloth aside. “The bleeding has stopped.” She examined the wound and smiled. “It’s working. How do you feel?”

  Kirk smiled back. “Wow. It doesn’t even hurt anymore. How long does a severe case take? Does it work with all types of injuries? The military is going to want details.”

  “I’ll write up a report that we can pass along with the shots. Now we need to duplicate this stuff and get it sent out as quickly as possible.”

  Kirk’s comm unit buzzed. “Hello. Yes.” After a moment, he looked up. “It’s the disease center. Pending tests of your samples, they think they have something we can use.”

  * * * * *

  Earth’s Orbit

  Daegal sat in his quarters, talking to one of the Egesa Commanders. “What’s our status?”

  The creature’s yellow eyes glowed in the light. His voice, deep and gravelly, filled the room. “Sending the Top Commander to talks, along with a team of Egesa soldiers worked well. He is still stable enough to negotiate but unstable enough to scare humans into compliance. His appearance—his face mask—makes humans fear.”

  Daegal nodded. Fantastic news. A few of his Egesa Commanders knew the full truth about their weakness and need for human spinal fluid, but only his most trusted. All other Egesa soldiers simply understood this invasion to be a grab for power and control of a planet that would provide them with necessary resources, which was also the truth, just not the whole truth. He’d have this planet enslaved and their futures guaranteed in no time as long as his brother’s sanity held up. Nobody would be able to stop them.

  “China agreed to terms. And North Korea. They say they bring other nations to us. Wary of their quickness to capitulate. Strong armies. Maybe trap.”

  “Keep a close eye on them to make sure they don’t try to double-cross us. What about the western countries and what they call Europe?”

  “Won’t talk. Won’t sacrifice people even for salvation of own governments and military. What order is next?”

  “We start with what we have and get everything in place. When we’ve got a firm hold, then we’ll take over the governments of those we’ve negotiated with and destroy their military forces.”

  “What of other countries? We cannot destroy all. We need them.”

  “We’ll down their communications systems, which will throw them into panic. After that, it’ll be easy to send our soldiers down to enslave them.”

  “Their militaries will still be intact.”

  “Yes, but without communication, they’ll be ineffective. Continue to monitor them and make sure they’re not organizing anything that we can’t counter. We need to move quickly and not give them too much time. What’s the status of locating the Xylon Warriors substations on the planet?”

  “All abandoned except for a few found early on. Do not know where they have gone. Warriors we captured are not talking. Suspect recent attacks on troops of slave masters being led by them. Lost more soldiers than likely from a human attack.”

  “Keep looking, and if those warriors won’t respond to our pain masters’ inquiries, kill them.”

  * * * * *

  Planet Earth, State of Colorado, U.S.A.

  Underground Tracking Facility

  When her door buzzed, Jaeda looked up from the computer screen in her quarters. “Come.” She pressed the Open button. The door slid aside and Torque Koll filled the entrance. Her heart pounded crazily against her ribs. When she had first seen him in the holding room, she’d thought she was imagining things, but it was definitely him. The man she’d been dreaming about.

  He stepped inside and the door slid closed behind him. The room suddenly felt way too small for the both of them. Jaeda stood from her desk. “What are you doing here? How’d you even find me?”

  “I asked. I’m done coordinating with the artillery personnel. I thought this was simply a research facility but you’ve got full weapons capabilities.”

  “We’ve got a lot of capabilities here.” She put her hands on her hips. “So security just let you wander around by yourself?”

  “I’m in uniform. I don’t think they quite know what they’re supposed to do around me. We’re all on the same side, right?”

  She glanced at her computer. “I haven’t received a report yet.”

  “It’s coming. A special dual-purpose casing is going to be used that will fit your existing weapons—the ones most commonly used by Earth’s militaries. The manufacturing has already begun and they’ll be shipped as completed. The plans are going out to all facilities capable of producing the ammunition to speed production. Now, tell me about this exchange involving you and Briggs?”

  She cocked an eyebrow. “I assumed you already knew the details.”

  “I’d like to hear it from you.”

  Somehow he made it sound as if he was testing her. She bristl
ed at the thought. “We’re on the eve of destruction here and that’s what you’re interested in?”

  “Unless you want to fuck.”

  Stunned, she simply stared at him. Had he really just said that? She felt as if she couldn’t breathe and she had no idea what to say. Normally if a soldier or any subordinate looked at her crosswise or said something inappropriate, she’d bust his butt. But then Torque wasn’t under her, though the thought definitely held appeal. She gave herself a mental shake. He had her completely off kilter. “Excuse me?”

  He smiled. “Don’t pretend the thought hasn’t crossed your mind.”

  “How about I throw you into confinement, Officer Koll?” She turned and pressed a comm button.

  Before she could connect, Torque was behind her. He pulled her hand away. “It’s Commander Koll.”

  She turned quickly and found herself in his arms. “Let me go.”

  “You know I’m not going to hurt you.”

  “I don’t know anything,” she said, her voice lowering.

  “Is that so? I have a feeling you know everything. Everything about this exchange, about Xylon, maybe even about me. Until everyone checks in, we have time, as long as the Egesa don’t infiltrate this facility.” He leaned close and whispered in her ear, “So you can talk or we can fuck. Your choice.” He pulled back and let her go.

  She stumbled slightly against the desk behind her before she steadied herself. Torque was every bit as commanding and sexy as he’d been in her dreams. Tall, muscular, dark hair and eyes. The insignia on his uniform caught her eye. Laszlo? She should have noticed that before now. What the hell was going on? And how much should she reveal? She’d tread lightly. “The exchange was simply a sharing of cultures and knowledge to help forge an alliance for the future.”

  “Bullshit.”

  She frowned. “Is that really so hard to believe? If it weren’t for the exchange, we wouldn’t have been able to put any of this plan together. You’d have come here not having any connections and nobody here would trust you. Sure, we’ve had a supply agreement for years with various planets that the public wasn’t aware of other than accidentally sighting some UFOs here and there. But once the Egesa showed up, it would have been all bets off without some higher-up vouching for the warriors and sorting out the good guys from the bad. And frankly, from your attitude, you might not have come down on the ally side.” She clamped her mouth shut. Damn. She hadn’t meant to go on and on.

  Torque chuckled. “Fair enough. Can we fuck now?”

  Jaeda gave a loud sigh of frustration. “The world is in chaos. Civilians are panicking. We have riots in the streets. Looting has now started everywhere. Fires. Mass casualties. And you want to fuck?”

  “Yeah. I want to fuck.” He stepped forward, getting into her personal space, but he didn’t touch her. “We’re in wait mode right now. If this shit doesn’t fly, none of us will be fucking anyone again.” A smile tugged at his lips. “Don’t you want at least one more good, hard come?”

  “I have a vibrator.”

  He cocked his head. “I don’t understand that reference.”

  She raised her palms to his chest and pushed. “It means I don’t need a man. Now back off.”

  He didn’t move. He didn’t even budge. He lightly covered one of her hands with his and with his other hand, he gently fingered her waist. “Jaeda. Stop pretending you don’t want me.”

  “We don’t even know each other.”

  “We know each other.”

  She trembled at his touch. Could he see the interest, the need, in her eyes? She saw in his eyes an emotion that tugged at her heart. This was completely her decision, she knew that. Somehow she trusted Torque with her safety and with her life, even though he obviously intended to push his advantage. But could she trust him with her heart?

  Mentally, she gave herself a shake. He just wanted to fuck, that was all. A physical act. A release. She stared at his mouth. So full. The heat from his body warmed her all over. Her clit began to throb. She’d had quite a few dalliances in her lifetime, and had rarely been satisfied with her partners, but somehow she didn’t think she’d ever been with a man quite like Torque.

  His hand tightened around her waist and he tugged her forward. Before she could protest, he covered her mouth with his in a searing kiss. She mewled slightly and melted against him, knowing how crazy this was, but not caring at the moment. When she opened her mouth to him, he slid his tongue inside.

  Something about this warrior called out to her in a primitive way, as if without him, she wasn’t whole. She didn’t care whether it made sense or not. She caressed the powerful muscles in his arms, felt the strength of his thighs against her. Then she felt his cock between them, hard and huge. Oh, to have that inside her.

  Torque broke the kiss. He nuzzled her ear. “You’re trembling,” he whispered. He started backing her up, slowly moving across the room.

  She knew that he was guiding her toward the bed. And well… She wanted this man unlike any other. Her nipples hardened. Every nerve ending in her body screamed for sexual release. The hell with everything! She pushed his jacket off his shoulders. He caught it right before it hit the ground and he set it down lightly.

  He looked into her eyes and a smile crossed his face. “I do like a woman who knows what she wants.” He tugged on the front zipper of her outfit until the material gaped open.

  She shrugged out of it and reached for the fastenings on his uniform but he grabbed her wrists. She looked up at him in question. He spun her around, and from behind, he jerked open her bra and ripped it from her body.

  “Oh!”

  He grabbed one of her breasts and pulled her body back against his. She could feel his still uniform-clad cock against her. Her heart beat so hard that her chest ached and she was barely able to catch her breath. Torque pushed her underwear past her hips and they slid to her feet.

  He smacked her bare bottom. “Step out of them. Now.”

  She did as directed, uncharacteristically giving up control. She felt vulnerable being completely naked while he remained dressed. But she also felt highly aroused as she knew he was. He moved his fingers covering her breast and began tugging on her nipple. She gasped at the feeling that shot right to her clit.

  Then his other hand covered her pussy. “Open your thighs,” he commanded as he nudged her legs with his knee. “Do as I order. Understand?”

  “Yes,” she croaked out.

  “Wider.” He pushed her feet farther apart with his boot. His fingers delved between the moist outer lips. He said something to her in the Xylon language that she didn’t quite catch then he teased her ear with his tongue.

  Her knees buckled slightly but he didn’t let her fall. He brushed her clit just enough to make her gasp and squirm against him.

  “Would you prefer my cock?” he whispered against her heated flesh. “Tell me, Jaeda.” When she remained silent, he tugged on her clit. “Tell me.”

  “I want your cock,” she answered back in a breathy voice that she barely recognized as her own.

  He moved her closer to the bed. “On your knees. On the mattress.”

  With him still behind her, she placed one knee on the bed, then the other, keeping her legs spread so she didn’t kick him. “Are you going to take your clothes off?” she asked, still feeling way too vulnerable. She wanted them on even ground, so she could touch him as he was touching her.

  “I haven’t decided yet.” Torque pulled off her boots then he pushed against her back until she went down on all fours.

  His knuckles brushed her butt and she wondered if he’d spank her again. She glanced over her shoulder and saw him tugging at the fastenings of his pants. Then his hand was between her legs once more. He stroked her clit from behind and she hung her head, enjoying the sensation. “Will you get on with it?” She would go crazy if she didn’t feel his cock inside her soon.

  Torque chuckled. “Are you giving the orders now?” When Jaeda’s comm device buzzed, he pulled
his hand away. “Fucking hell.”

  “I don’t believe this,” Jaeda mumbled and started to move.

  Torque put his hand on her hip. “Stay put.” He walked over to her desk and grabbed the handheld unit. “It says Briggs.”

  “Click the green button on the left then raise it to your ear.”

  Torque pressed the button. “Yeah.” He listened a moment. “Not yet.”

  When the conversation continued, Jaeda turned and sat on the mattress. Torque walked back over to her. She reached out and continued to undo his pants, taking over from where he’d left off. His attention shifted to her hands and he grinned.

  “They’ll contact you. Good.” He looked down at Jaeda. “Red button for off?” After she nodded, he hit the button then tossed the unit on the mattress.

  “What’s the news?”

  “That was actually Brianna. They’re going to do some sort of worldwide tele-conference, I think she called it, with several of the leading governments. Everyone who hasn’t already made an agreement with Daegal is onboard to launch against the Egesa after the plans are agreed upon. They’re waiting on Leila and the ammo specs to present phases one and two to the international panel.”

  “Perfect.” She wasn’t sure if her response was to Torque’s words or to the sight in front of her. She pulled out his huge cock, which grew rock hard right before her eyes. Oh my.

  Torque tangled his fingers in her hair. “Enough talk.”

  “You’re the one doing most of the talking.”

  “And now you’re going to use your mouth for something else.” He tugged her forward.

  Jaeda’s heart pounded as she placed a small kiss on the tip of his cock then let her tongue touch his heated flesh. When a small growl escaped his throat, she wrapped her fingers around his dark purplish shaft and rolled her tongue around his wide cock head. Oh, to have that inside her, fucking her hard, until she screamed in ecstasy. She could hardly wait.

  She looked up at him. “Don’t come in my mouth.” The way he tensed and frowned, disappointment crossing his face, almost made her laugh. “I’m not opposed to it. I just don’t want you spent.”