ThirteenNights Read online

“Let me show you just how much.” Faster than she thought possible, he had the door closed and her facing the wall, ready for his entry. His size hid his true prowess and those skills sent heat coursing through her. No one had ever taken her that quickly and she was ranked the most decorated Amazon under thirty. With one hand, he liberated the rose, the other had her wrists against the wall in an unbreakable vise. He used his knee to thrust her legs wider. “Your pleasure belongs to me, Antiope.”

  Satisfied he’d proven his worth, she bent forward, inviting him in. “May your seed conceive a new warrior.” She said the required words to begin the first taking. Instead of a powerful entry, a whisper of silk glided up one thigh, floated across her mons and slid down the other. The rose. An offer of a different kind—a test of who they’d be.

  “Call me Annie.” The name she used in the human world, an alternate identity—one that reflected her whole self, not just the warrior.

  “Annie,” he repeated, acknowledging and accepting her offer. And then he oh so carefully spread her gently with his fingers and rolled the petals against her clit, a touch so soft and unexpected, she came instantly. Keeping the rose in place, he knelt and used his shoulders to widen her legs farther, the leather rough against her skin. Tai slid the rose down one thigh, then replaced its caress with his lips. Gentle, persistent licks turned to hard, driving suckles, his tongue a wet and wild pulse determined to draw out every ounce of her passion.

  While that mouth of his deserved no end of awards, it was not enough. She was Amazon, her body a finely tuned weapon at the height of its power and feral in its need to be taken to the edge, to be physically challenged even in the act of love. “Take me, Tai.”

  “It shall be.” He kissed his way across the exposed tattooing on her back. One hand tightened its grip on her hip. The small pain, a promise of the ferocity to come, had her body shuddering in anticipation. The whoosh of a zipper opening had her panting with need. Two fingers thrust up her channel, pumped her hard and fast until they dragged a moan out of her.

  “Do you always have to be different?” she managed to gasp.

  “When my actions no longer give you pleasure, just tell me to stop.” His fingers accelerated their aggressive rhythm. The other hand traced the rose along her stomach, under the lingerie, until he buried her nipple in the petals. The silken cloud caressed and teased the delicate skin of her breast. Her eyes closed to savor every touch, she gave in to the blaze of desire scorching through her.

  Leaning her head against the wall to keep from collapsing, she wiggled her bottom against Tai’s cock. A desperate groan filled the room and he lunged into her, hard, hungry, and so thick, he stretched her to the limits. “Damn, Tai, you fill me up.”

  “Good.” And the dance began. Tai, who seemed determined to test the boundaries of first night tradition, pushed slowly in and easy out. Again and again. The rose, still molded around her breast, massaged her nipple and skin with every thrust. His control was beyond any Gargarean she’d ever known while hers was almost nil.

  “You’re a sadist.”

  “You aren’t enjoying this?”

  “I’m an Amazon,” she growled, her yearning a wildfire rampaging through every cell in her body. “Take me like one.”

  That seemed to register with him. He jackhammered into her at a tempo that scrambled every synapse in her brain and detonated every nerve ending. The softness of the rose petals balanced the aggressive pounding of a warrior. Her nails dug tracks into the wall. “Yes, that’s it. More,” she rasped.

  “Greedy.” His voice was pure male satisfaction. He gave her more—fast, powerful thrusts tore through her body at a strength and speed that took her to oblivion.

  Next thing her consciousness registered was Tai’s arm around her and the stroke of a rose petal down her cheek. When her vision returned, she noticed the rose had no thorns.

  Third Night

  Tai left her the night before with his home address and without a kiss goodbye. She shouldn’t have wanted it. The Elders opposed kissing, dating, spending a full night together and other activities they feared formed emotional bonds between breed partners. Even so, disappointment was a knife twisting in her gut. The second night of coupling, ritual dictated that the female took the lead at the male’s home. She donned fighting leathers over a pink silk bra and panties. Lacy, silky lingerie was a secret passion she rarely revealed and she kept her things hidden in several shoeboxes in the back of her closet. Tapping his residence address into her phone, she wasn’t surprised to discover he lived within walking distance. When employed in cities, the warrior races gravitated toward any green space they could find. In DC, Rock Creek Park cut through the Northwestern sphere of the city and most of her kind settled around it.

  She arrived at the address to discover a late-night barber shop nestled in between a crowded liquor store and a boarded-up former diner. Not sure what to make of it, but convinced that Tai was not shunning her or the ritual, she walked in and asked for him. One of the barbers, a small, wiry African-American with graying hair handed her a newspaper photo of Tai with his arm around a lanky, coffee-colored teenage girl. An address was scribbled on the back of the page. “He told us to expect you.”

  Odd including humans in the Rite of Thirteen Nights. From Tai, maybe not. Surprises seemed to be his forte. “Who is she? Why are you helping him?”

  “She’s my daughter,” he answered. “I would do anything he asked me to do, no questions asked.”

  “Explain.”

  “About a year ago, she didn’t show up at choir practice after school. Tai was here. Eddie,” he pointed to a heavyset man sitting in the corner, “was cutting his hair. Tai overheard me on the phone begging the police to help. They didn’t, he did. Thank the lord for it. He found my baby, before they could hurt her. Six boys…” A tear flowed down his cheek, his voice too choked up to continue. Pain dusted the air and filled Annie’s lungs.

  “He seems to be special,” she whispered.

  The address on the back of the photo led her to a Chinese takeout restaurant three blocks away. Again, she asked for Tai and was handed another newspaper photo with his arms around an Asian family in front of the marbled counter that traversed the width of the store.

  “He came in to pick up dinner,” a petite, dark-haired woman explained, “in the middle of an armed robbery.” A man entered from the back and put his arms around the woman Annie guessed to be his wife. “In a flash, he disarmed the man and held him on the floor for half an hour until the police arrived.”

  Her next stop, a flooded bookstore he helped to rebuild after the insurance company refused to cover the costs. He had sent her on a scavenger hunt of his past. On the first night, he should have regaled her with boasts of his feats of glory, something she now realized he had not done. Instead, he sent her on a tour of the good he’d left behind, not the bad he’d taken down. A subtle difference. A brilliant strategy that impressed her mind, tugged at her heart, and turned her body into one big flame.

  Six helped families later, she arrived at a tree-covered, red-brick house that backed up against the park, heart overflowing and libido in overdrive. Tai opened the door seconds after the bell chimed, naked, delectable and ready. So damn ready. His cock jutted up hard against his belly in bold invitation. Her lower body clenched in anticipation, liquid heat pooled in her panties.

  Ritual dictated it was her turn to be the aggressor. She shoved him inside, kicked the door closed behind her and pushed him onto the first chair she could find. His throat trapped in her right hand to hold him in place, she unzipped her leather catsuit with the left and watched his eyes darken as she revealed each inch of skin.

  “Pink lingerie. Unexpected but most welcome.” His smirk sang of victory, as if he’d won a secret war.

  She’d explore that later, after she satisfied them both. “Unhook my bra.” He flicked the front clasp as ordered.

  “Now undress me.” She squeezed his throat a fraction to remind him who was in cha
rge.

  “It’s my pleasure,” he said, undeterred by her grip. He peeled the leather from one shoulder, trailing his fingers along her arm in a heated caress. She released his neck to open up her other side to him. He liberated her second arm, then freed her breasts from their satin prison. The cool air tightened her nipples into diamond-hard points.

  “Beautiful.” Tai licked his lips. “Mine.” His hand covered one mound and squeezed gently, sending shudders through her body.

  “I’m not fully naked.” She tapped her nails against the tender skin of his cheek. He just smiled, tugged at her nipple, and pulled the suit and her panties to her ankles. Annie kicked off her boots, let the clothes fall and mounted him, groaning in sheer delight. He cupped her breasts, brought one toward his mouth and she arched to give him better access. His tongue flicked across one swollen nub then the other, whispers of sensation that sent flames licking up her spinal cord. That mouth taunted her to madness—lips sliding slow and wet on her flesh, gentle suckles that tormented her senses.

  “Suck it harder,” she demanded and pulled his head toward her with both hands. But he was having none of it. Instead, her hips tight against him, he thrust up while he swept soft kisses along the flesh of her breasts. His tongue circled the areola with damp, teasing touches. Sheer aggression married to an innate gentleness, what she’d come to think of as Tai’s brand.

  Tightening her inner muscles, she gloved his cock and pushed her breasts against his lips until he opened. And then he gorged on her with teeth, lips and tongue. His upward thrusts alternated with rough nips of nipple and breasts until she was comatose with pleasure. She was Amazon, supposed to be in control but he’d taken over. By Athena, she couldn’t believe how much it got her off. For the second night, she found herself coming back from la petit mort wrapped in Tai’s arms with gentle, almost loving strokes along her skin.

  “Okay?” He cupped her breast in a possessive hold and she allowed it.

  “How do you do this to me?” She didn’t ever want to this to end but buried away that thought almost as quickly as she had it. The Elders forbade warriors to enter committed relationships.

  “I satisfy the warrior and seduce the woman.”

  Fourth Night

  To Tai’s surprise and satisfaction it didn’t take a lot of work to convince Annie to go out on a human date. He was strategic enough to ask her after a few mind-blowing orgasms, before she had completely returned to herself. Although the Elders discouraged dating during the ritual, Tai wanted to experience all of Annie. Not just how to fuck her, but what made her smile, what secret fears she kept hidden, everything about her. If asked why, he couldn’t articulate the answer, but he trusted his gut. Living in a world of archaic rules designed for centuries long past, he found that his heart and his instincts more readily led him on the right path. The laws always took him backward to a place where he didn’t belong. He suspected that some part of Annie, with her silken brown hair and eyes that had seen too much, would agree.

  With seduction in mind, he hopped on his Ducati 1198R and headed to his Amazon’s house, making sure to pack an extra helmet. Starting the evening with her arms wrapped around his waist, and those long, gorgeous legs pressed against his while the engine vibrated beneath them had him battling a hard-on before he even left home. The ride was short, only a few minutes, but anticipation made it feel longer. It was worth every imagined extra second when she opened the door.

  Stunning. The pencil-thin skirt that curved around her waist, a tailored blouse that molded around perfect cream puff breasts and displayed cleavage would have him fighting off challenges for her all evening. A raindrop necklace lay flat on her chest, pointed downward to the treasures below. He’d figure out a way to remove it later. She was off the market, for his pleasure only.

  Fortunately—or not—the slit on her skirt allowed her easy access on the Ducati. He jacked into high gear, hoping that if he went fast enough no one would have the chance to drool over her extraordinary legs. Speeding down Sixteenth Street, with those lush breasts pushed tight against his back, he barely noticed the grandeur of the White House, which marked the end of the road. At Lafayette Park, he took a left and parked in the motorcycle spaces across from the Veterans Administration, one block from their destination—a drink at the hotel rooftop bar with the best view of the city usually worked to set a mood. Would it succeed with an Amazon?

  He reserved a table right next to the railed edge that offered a bird’s-eye view of the White House, having had to call in every FBI contact he had to get the booking on such short notice. The hostess led them to a corner table. He let Annie slide toward the rail across the black-cushioned couch and shimmied in behind her, pulling her against his chest as they drank in the one-of-a-kind panorama.

  A waitress came for the order.

  “Champagne, your best,” he ordered then planted kisses on Annie’s neck to head off her annoyance. Warriors didn’t like other warriors to act on their behalf.

  “Damn it, Tai. I don’t know what kind of women you’re used to but don’t do that again. Ask me before you order for us.”

  The distraction hadn’t worked. His kisses morphed into bites to remind her of his warrior status. “You don’t like champagne?”

  “I didn’t say that. I said, consult me.”

  “I promise to do so next time if you promise to enjoy the champagne.”

  “Okay,” she agreed, leaning back against him and making sure her ass rubbed enticingly against his dick, now hard, erect and throbbing.

  “Not nice,” he growled at her.

  “But totally deserved.” She turned to confront him, a big grin on her face, mischief in her eyes.

  He wondered if she would be into public sex, but quickly squelched the idea. He wanted her heart, even if he had to fight his body to get it. After the ritual ended, he intended to keep her in his bed and his life. Lots of time to explore the full range of their sexuality.

  The waitress arrived, uncorked the bubbly and filled their flutes. Tai clinked her glass in a toast. “To a unique adventure.”

  “To a child,” she countered.

  “To our child.” When she didn’t shy away, he wrapped his arm around hers and drank in that corny, silly way that lovers do. It was perfection.

  “Why do you let me break the rules?”

  “I seem unable to resist.”

  “For someone who’s like no other Amazon I’ve ever met, your battle record is one of the most impressive I’ve seen.”

  “Amazons will forgive their best fighters a lot.” She stroked his cheekbone, a sad smile hung on her face.

  “You’ve spent your life in hiding, haven’t you?” As soon as he said it, he knew this to be true.

  Her body shifted, turning away so that her back faced him. After placing his drink on the table, he slid his arms around her, pulled her stiff body between his legs, his hold firm, possessive but tender. He alternated butterfly kisses, aggressive bites and healing licks down her neck to respect the strength of the warrior and romance the gentle woman she suppressed.

  “Tell me what you hide so deeply, Annie. Don’t you feel that I’m your ally?”

  Her sigh floated along the breeze on the open terrace and her body shifted positions. If she hadn’t been Amazon, he would have said she was fidgeting. Warriors were trained to an economy of motion. He remained quiet, using the silence to allow her to open up but continued tender caresses along her arms, soft kisses on her throat. Only stillness had the power to draw out secrets held for a lifetime.

  “Yes, I truly feel you are my ally. I’m a low-level empath.”

  It was Tai’s turn to sigh. For as different as he was he knew that to feel the feelings of others could cripple a warrior. He made a mental note to delve more deeply into her virtual trail. “Ah baby, how do you survive?”

  “I earn income as a highly specialized bounty hunter tracking sociopaths, the criminally insane—the Hannibal Lecters of the world. They are either so cold that th
ey don’t trigger empathy or so angry that it feeds the warrior. For the Amazons, in addition to any fighting duties, I serve as their chief negotiator. My abilities to differentiate words and actions from underlying emotion make me hard to beat.”

  “How do you endure the city?” He stroked her arms, back, trying to soothe, to signal his support for her, whatever she did, whoever she was, whatever she needed.

  “I like cities. So many feelings bombard my senses that I can package them together as white noise and ignore them. It’s one-on-one with humans or small groups of them that strain my ability to control it.”

  Tai strengthened his embrace, bracketing her in the steel of his arms and legs, letting her know at every level that he would care for the vulnerability she just shared with him. No warrior ever handed another a weakness—it was a gift he would protect. “You’re dealing with humans now, aren’t you?”

  Her nod, quirky and out of rhythm, spoke volumes. “My house is between two families, their love a chronic low-level buzz, always in my system.” Her voice lowered to a whisper so low, only his enhanced hearing allowed him to pick it up. “It makes me want it, but why do you?”

  His body stilled, her declaration a surprise, although not an unwanted one. “You can read me.”

  She nodded.

  “This appears in your medical records as a genetic anomaly but the precise talent is not identified. How have you kept it under the radar?”

  Her shoulders stiffened. “You’ve seen my records?”

  Time for quid pro quo—vulnerability for vulnerability. “I hacked into the database. I wanted to ensure that you were matched with me. You weren’t. Because of that anomaly, human genes were forbidden, so I switched the pairings. I would only accept you.”

  “If you’re ever discovered, that carries a death sentence under Amazon law.”

  “Not under Gargarean law. Don’t worry, they’ll just make me do extra guard duty.”

  She leaned her head against his shoulder and turned to look him in the eye. “If you partnered with another Amazon, maybe, but I’m from Hippolyta’s line. Amazons put a high price on protecting their royal genetic heritage. For me and my sister, they will take this directly to your Elders and demand justice. Your life is not guaranteed.” Worry lines rippled across her forehead.