Page 24 of Taken (The Vampire Legends 2)
Chuckling, Menace set her down in their bedroom and started to strip out of his tactical vest and holsters. “You’re starting to sound like a wife.”
“Keep it up, Menace. One good kick and you’ll sound like a choirboy.”
“Ouch,” he said with a laugh. Pressing his thumb to the keypad of the gun safe installed in his closet, Menace unlocked and stored away his weapons. He removed his boots and shed his clothing.
Naked and already hard for Naya, he left the closet and found her sliding back into bed. The undershirt she had been wearing had been dropped on the floor. He would have to talk to her about neatness tomorrow. Desperate to get his hands on her again, he lifted the bedcovers and slipped in beside her. She came right to him.
When she tried to throw a leg over him to gain the more dominant role, he shook his head and pressed her fully onto her back. “Not tonight, sweetheart.”
Pinned beneath him, she breathed excitedly but didn’t fight him. She was getting used to being submissive to him. Her face flushed and her pupils seemed to dilate. The instant reaction she had to his dominance over her made his cock throb.
Menace captured both of her wrists in one hand and dragged them above her head.
He nuzzled her neck. “I’m going to give you a choice. I’ll cuff you to the headboard or I’ll hold you down like this. Either way, I’m going to fuck you senseless.”
Shuddery breaths breezed across his cheek. “Hold me down.”
As need raced through him like a wildfire, Menace claimed her mouth in a possessive, demanding kiss. She arched under him. Still gripping her wrists in one hand, he used the other to caress her silky skin. Her dark nipples were tight peaks now. They begged to be licked and pinched and sucked.
By the time he’d finished tormenting her breasts with his mouth and fingers, Naya practically sobbed. He let his hand slide down her belly and forced her thighs wide open with hisknee. His fingers explored her pussy. She was soaking wet in her desperation for him.
Rising up on his knees, Menace angled his body just so. His rock-hard cock found its target. He thrust forward into her welcoming slick heat. Naya cried out and tried to lift her arms but he held her wrists too firmly. The knowledge that she was completely at his mercy rippled through her. He felt it when her pussy clenched him.
“Now,” Menace said with a teasing lilt, “let’s see how much it takes for me to convince you that I am your master…”
Chapter Twelve
Four Weeks Later
“Idon’t understandwhy this is so complicated.” Naya tried to suppress her frustration with the clerk in the clothing department but it was proving difficult. “I gave you the name of the warehouse on Calyx. How hard is it to import two cases of shirts and pants?”
The older Harcos male shot her a pissed-off look. He manned his computer console as if he were a sentry guarding state secrets. “I can’t force them to trade with us. They won’t meet our terms for import taxes and fees. Unless you want to pay the difference, those boxes aren’t leaving Calyx.”
“This is ridiculous.” Naya rubbed her forehead and tried to think of a way to deal with the red tape. “Look, where I can get a copy of the trading agreements and tax fees and all that?”
The man pointed to the scanner on the corner of his desk. “Scan your chip. I’ll have the relevant files sent to your personal tablet.”
Naya waved her hand in front of the scanner until it beeped. “Thank you.”
Annoyed, she left the store and made her way into the retail sector of the ship. Now that she and Menace had been together for more than thirty days, there was no issue of her being taken by another male. He had taken her off restrictions two weeks earlier as long as she had an escort, usually Hallie because no man on this ship would dare bother the wife of the general.
Naya glanced around the bustling shopping center. Her gaze fell on an empty storefront. The idea Hallie had seeded all those weeks ago about opening a store here had taken hold and sprouted. At the wives meeting earlier, Naya had confided her dream to Hallie. She planned to familiarize herself with the laws and rules before she made any concrete plans. Money would probably be an issue but she had a good chunk waiting for her in a bank on Safe Harbor. If it was enough and the laws were in her favor, she would talk to Menace and see what he thought about her idea.
There was no doubt in her mind that he would support her. Bit by bit, her sexy sky warrior had chipped away at the wall she had erected around herself. There had been arguments in the last month and there were times she really wanted to whack him upside the head with the nearest heavy object, but he truly was the most honest, loyal man she had ever met.
That he absolutely adored her, even when she was acting like a raging bitch, still left her feeling a bit uneasy. Her experience taught her to be wary of any man who thought that her waspish tongue was “cute”. She tried to take their relationship day by day, but it was hard sometimes. She felt as if the ground was constantly shifting beneath her feet.
Crossing to the elevator bank, Naya caught movement out of the corner of her eye. At first she didn’t even see him but then his one-eyed, scarred face registered. Her stomach coiled painfully. What the hell was he doing here?
Naya hastened her pace and squeezed into the already filled elevator. She dismissed the irritated glances of her fellow passengers. There was no way she was going to wait for the next car, not with Creeper McCreepypants giving her the stinkeye.
A week ago, Naya had overheard Menace talking to Vicious about Terror and his team leaving on a new mission. Her eavesdropping had confirmed her suspicion that Terror was nomere logistics clerk—and that he was incredibly dangerous to her. Knowing he was back onboard theValiantmade her knees knock together.
While Terror was away and no longer posing an immediate threat, Naya had been able to convince herself that Menace didn’t need to know all the ugly details of her teenage years. She had done her research and learned that the things she had done were in a gray area when it came to the statute of limitations.
Menace kept telling her the past was the past and it couldn’t be changed. He had overlooked her involvement in the Red Feather, but if he ever found out about the other things she had done? Naya’s chest ached with the very real possibility that he would turn his back on her.
When she reached the floor where the armory was located, Naya stepped off the elevator. The guard at the doorway seemed surprised to see her but he scanned her wrist and waved her through to the office Menace occupied. She had come down here with him twice, both times only to grab something he needed from his desk.
