An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication
www.ellorascave.com
Deep Cover ISBN 9781419915147 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Deep Cover Copyright © 2008 Anna J. Evans Edited by Briana St. James. Photography and cover art by Les Byerley. Electronic book Publication February 2008 With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/) This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.
DEEP COVER
Anna J. Evans
Anna J. Evans
Chapter One “No fucking way.” Well, that was encouraging. In three years of partnership—and more importantly, friendship—Samantha had never heard Calen utter a single profanity. He was the kindest, most thoughtful, most well-mannered man she’d ever met. Heterosexual man, anyway. In the world of ex-cops and spooks and mercenaries they inhabited, Calen, with his soft voice, easy smile and meticulous grooming stood out like a sore thumb. Even in the tensest situations, he never lost his temper or raised his voice above a firm, commanding tone. In fact, if someone had asked ten minutes ago if he was capable of glaring at anyone with such ferocity, she would have told them no. No. Fucking. Way. She was the one with the potty mouth. That wasn’t Calen, wasn’t the man she knew like her well-stocked weaponry cabinet and whom she trusted with her life. He had never leveled a black look like the one on his face at a perp, let alone his partner and best friend. There had to be some kind of misunderstanding. “Listen Calen, I talked with Bruce and—” Sam began, her words ending in a gasp as Calen closed his large hand around her upper arm and pulled her into the shadows at the end of the street. He was right to seek cover—they were only about two blocks from Club Magan and it wouldn’t do to be seen arguing amongst themselves by others headed into the club—but the manhandling wasn’t necessary. Or normal. What the hell was up with him?
4
Deep Cover
“You’re not coming inside, that’s final,” Calen growled, leaning down until his mouth was only inches from her own. The menace in his tone made the hairs stand up on the back of Sam’s neck. She was suddenly very aware of how small her arm felt in Calen’s hand. It was easy to forget how immense he was when you were around him every day, basking in the easy-going nature that had earned him his nickname—Sunshine. Not the first word that came to mind when taking in a six-foot, five-inch hulk of a guy with dark black hair to his shoulders, but once you got to know Calen it was easy to see how the name fit. The man was relentlessly good humored, so much so that the other guys at The Agency didn’t even bother to prank him anymore. It was no fun wrapping an operative’s entire office in aluminum foil if he just peeled it off with a smile and used the mess to wrap his sandwiches for the next month and a half. Hell, Calen never even had road rage when fighting the commute into the city, he was that Zenned out. But not tonight. Tonight there was nothing sunny or Zen about him—not the fire flashing in his dark brown eyes or the pain he was causing as his fingers dug into her flesh. “Take it easy, Calen. You’re going to bruise her.” Kit’s voice was as small and delicate as the woman herself. She’d always made Sam feel gigantic and clumsy in comparison—and that was before she’d become Sam’s replacement on Calen’s latest mission. “Good, then they won’t even think of letting her in and we can be done with this ridiculous—” “Or Bruce will insist on her coming and they’ll wonder why you brought in damaged goods for a public debut.” Kit laid a gentle hand on Calen’s shoulder and he visibly relaxed. Sam felt a sharp pang of something that felt a whole lot like jealousy, but pushed it aside. She wasn’t here because she was envious of Kit. She wasn’t jealous,
5
Anna J. Evans
simply concerned for Calen. Besides, she was too well trained to act on feelings in a professional situation. Sam was here to help, professionally, end of story. “Bruce had no idea what he was doing, sending her.” Great, now he was talking about her like she wasn’t even here. This just kept getting better and better. “Calen, I’ve had the same training Kit has. I’m prepared, I’m not a complete—” “You’re not the kind of backup we need for this mission.” His voice was barely more than a whisper, but it still made Sam flinch. How could he be talking like this? After she’d saved his ass nearly as many times as he’d saved hers? After they’d become so close they were almost like family? It hurt, made her chest ache in a way it hadn’t since her grandparents’ funerals two years ago, but she tamped down the emotion as quickly as it arose. She wouldn’t get emotional, wouldn’t give Calen the satisfaction of proving she wasn’t in the proper head space for a mission. “I’m here and I’m going in,” she said, her voice cool and assured no matter how confused she felt inside. “You are not, you’re going home, even if I—” “We’ve worked too hard for this one, Calen,” Kit interrupted, obviously getting frustrated with them both. “Just let her—” “Kit, I can handle this.” Sam shot the other woman a look that told her to back off— respectfully, of course. No matter that Kit’s doll-like perfection made her feel a bit inadequate as a female, she was a solid person and a great agent. The petite blonde with the big blue eyes had put herself in danger more times than Sam could count in order to save innocents caught up in the alien sex trade. In a new world where human fragility was highly valued by certain sadistic breeds of Otherworlders, Kit proved the perfect bait.
6
Deep Cover
That, of course, was why she was Calen’s partner on this mission and not Sam herself. The BDSM scene at Club Magan catered exclusively to alien clientele— Dominant male alien clientele. They liked their submissives petite, soft and pliant, everything Sam herself was not. At nearly six feet tall with honed muscles that gave testimony to the hours she logged at the gym, Sam was one of the first women in the Agency to be crossed off the list as possible backup for the operation to rescue Elena Carter. The daughter of a high-ranking politician had mysteriously vanished, only to show up six weeks later as a fixture in New York City’s alien-human BDSM scene. The Mage, the alien race running Club Magan, had a signed contract saying Elena had willingly turned herself over to them for submissive training, but the girl’s mother suspicious. The timing was just too convenient. Senator Margaret Carter was working on a bill that, if passed, would outlaw alien cultural practices that violated the constitutional rights of United States human citizens. The European coalition had already adopted similar laws year ago, but the U.S. had lagged behind, wealthy alien lobbyists encouraging lawmakers to put the issue at the bottom of their list. Until the election of the new president, a man whose sister was killed when her alien husband’s family deemed her an unfit mate and ritualistically murdered her. The proposed Human Protection Act was a big part of his campaign and suddenly a priority for lawmakers as their frightened constituents clamored for action. Elena disappeared days after the committee that would decide the legality of Otherworld customs convened. Senator Carter had been terrified for her daughter, a terror that hadn’t decreased when Elena turned up in New York, but was not allowed to receive her mother’s phone calls. The private investigator Carter hired in an attempt to ascertain Elena’s safety had reported that Elena did not seem to be an eager partner in the scene at Club Magan. Unfortunately, the PI was unable to make contact with Elena herself and he too disappeared before he could share any further findings. His body was later found in his apartment, ripped to shreds by needle-sharp claws.
7
Anna J. Evans
The Mage and the Talhamrians were the only two alien races possessed of such natural weapons. Though the Talhamrian stood to lose several clan-dictated rights if the legislation went forward, they tended to avoid interaction with humans, living in tightly knit family groups in isolated mountain regions. That left the Mage as the likely suspects even if they hadn’t had a contract with the Senator’s daughter. Which they did. A completely legal and binding contract that effectively shut Elena off from the rest of the world. The Mage were the species that had introduced Extreme Submission into the human world, a form of BDSM that many deemed legalized snuff and was one of the “customs” on the Senate committee’s possible outlaw list. Submissives who signed on for training with the Mage knew they were taking their lives in their hands, but were willing to walk the razor’s edge in order to experience the sexual nirvana the Mage claimed could only be had as a submissive to one of their Doms. The willingness of their human subs, however, was being called into doubt now that investigations revealed the alien race might have powers of subtle cognitive coercion. It wasn’t mind control in the strictest sense, but the capacity to twist a human woman’s natural tendencies to the extreme, to make an eager submissive into an eager victim. That was another reason Kit had been deemed the perfect woman for this mission when the Agency was approached by Senator Carter for help. In her hometown of Los Angeles, Mistress Kit was a fixture on the BDSM club scene. The tiny woman was in reality a top, a discovery Sam had to admit confused the hell out of her. She’d done her research into the sexual practices of Dominants and submissives and knew that being either was more dependant upon psychological makeup than any physical characteristics, but still…she couldn’t help but smile when she imagined barely five foot Kit strapping a man to a wall and smacking him with her leather flogger. “No, you can’t handle this,” Calen said, bringing her thoughts back to the present. “You know nothing about the lifestyle or the—”
8
Deep Cover
“I’ve done my research into the BDSM lifestyle and on Club Magan. Bruce wouldn’t have sent me here if he didn’t think I was prepared.” “Bruce isn’t thinking clearly. If he weren’t so busy bending over backward to please the Senator, he would have remembered all the reasons you are not a good fit for this mission.” Calen released her and brought both hands to his face, fingers digging into the tops of his closed eyes, a gesture she knew meant he was getting one of his killer headaches. A part of Sam felt badly about that, but the other part insisted Calen was bringing the pain on himself by being such an unyielding pain in the ass. She got it that he’d been playing at being an alien Dom for a few months, but that was no reason to morph into a bossy misogynist. “Dean has food poisoning, Calen. He can’t even get out of the bathroom, and none of the other male agents can pass as Mage. They aren’t tall enough.” Samantha kept her voice low but firm, trying not to shiver as a gust of cool wind swept over the skin exposed by her leather bustier and super-short miniskirt. She understood this was standard sub gear, but didn’t they make any allowances for changes in season? It was early spring and about forty degrees out for god’s sakes. “Then they should have sent a different female op,” Calen said. “Well, they didn’t, let’s move on. We’re wasting time,” Sam said, not about to tell him that Bruce had agreed with him, that only a good two hours of persuasion and showing up to his office in full BDSM gear had convinced him otherwise. Calen was her partner and she didn’t trust anyone else to have his back the way she would. Sam would risk anything to keep him safe. He was her best friend and her only family now that the grandparents who had raised her were both dead. She couldn’t lose him, especially not because she was deemed too butch by the powers that be to be his backup. If she had to act girly, dress up in skimpy clothes and bare her ass for a spanking in order to protect Calen, she would do it. He’d risked his own life for hers far too many times for her to do anything else. 9
Anna J. Evans
“You can’t handle this, Sam,” Calen said, his voice gentling and a hint of that signature warmth in his eyes. “If I had thought you could, I would have wanted you here from the beginning, you know that. You’re the best weapons specialist that—” “Which is why you’re going to need me tonight. It could get ugly when you try to get Elena out of there and my boots are fully stocked.” Sam motioned to the shiny thigh-high boots she’d loaded with weapons and ammunition. The guns in her heels were composed primarily of plastics, which could be smuggled into Club Magan without setting off their metal detectors, and the stun agent in the ammo she’d taped along the zippers was strong enough to knock out a rhino. She’d come prepared in every way. There was no way Calen was going to succeed in getting rid of her. He needed her, whether he wanted to admit it or not. “Fully stocked?” Calen’s eyes followed her hand, lingering on the pale skin where leather ended and flesh began. For a split second, Sam could have sworn she saw a different kind of heat flare in his eyes—a fire that had more to do with being a man than being angry—and felt an answering rush of heat between her legs. The sensation was sufficiently shocking she missed what Kit said next. “She doesn’t understand what that means,” Calen said, cluing her in that Kit must have expressed at least some belief Sam could pull this off. “Then explain it to me.” She forced away thoughts of that strange surge of arousal. There wasn’t time to analyze random shit. The mission had to go off tonight. Elena Carter might be dead if they waited much longer. “Several of the couples at the club are in relationships. They don’t play with anyone but each other while they’re there.” Kit finally spoke when it became obvious Calen wasn’t going to. “Calen and I have been posing as a couple, but other Masters have expressed interest in having one or both of us join their scene. I’m certain I could find someone else to play with tonight while you and Calen stick together. The Mage will assume Calen is training you in the lifestyle and tonight is your public debut. There are
10
Deep Cover
quite a few Mage Doms who have more than one female sub and they don’t always play with both at the same time.” “Will that be safe for you? To engage with a real Mage?” Sam asked, glancing between Calen and Kit. Calen’s expression was shuttered, but he wasn’t flat out vetoing the plan, which was an improvement. “There are a few couples whose tastes don’t run to the extreme,” Kits said, stepping closer and adjusting the bodice of Sam’s bustier, tugging it lower until the tops of her breasts spilled out of the top. Oh…so that was how the thing was supposed to be worn. Interesting. Sam blushed a shade she was sure was nearly as red as the scarlet lipstick she’d smeared across her lips earlier in the evening. “If anyone else approaches me, I’ll let them know my Master didn’t give me permission to play with them. We’ve only got about an hour until ETA on Elena and the Mage who’s been holding her captive. There shouldn’t be time for things to get too extreme.” “Then we should go, right?” Sam turned to look at Calen, only to find his eyes on the swells of flesh Kit had helped bare only a moment ago. Sam’s pulse began to beat faster and her nipples drew into tight points. Thank god for the thick leather of her bustier, or her response would have been abundantly obvious. What the hell was going on? In three years of working together, she and Calen had never been anything but good friends. She’d never even really been tempted, no matter how stunning a physical specimen her partner. They’d saved each other’s skins too many times for her to want to risk their solid working relationship and spent too many otherwise-lonely holidays together to risk their friendship. She needed Calen in her life more than she needed him in her bed. Sam wouldn’t have willingly done anything to risk causing a rift in their relationship. Besides, Calen had never given any sign he was attracted to her. Why should he be? He was drop-dead gorgeous, sexy, funny and the sweetest man a woman would ever meet. He could have any woman he wanted. Why would he choose a gangly five-footeleven ex-cop with limp brown hair and dirty-dishwater grey eyes? She wasn’t close to
11
Anna J. Evans
being in his league. Shit, they weren’t even playing the same sport. He was that far beyond her, the stuff of fantasies, the type of guy who would never be interested in a girl like her as anything other than friendship material. But there was no denying he looked interested now. Hell, he looked more than interested. He looked like he wanted to pull her top even lower, freeing her nipples to the cool night air and the heat of his eyes, his touch. Sam shivered and it had nothing to do with the cold. “We need a third for backup, Calen, and I know you can make it work. Sam might be tall, but she’s perfect for this mission in a lot of ways.” “That’s why I didn’t want her here, Kit,” Calen said, a hint of doom in his voice that Sam took to mean he’d accepted the inevitability of her presence. Not the rousing endorsement of her skills she would have preferred, but it would do. Especially if it meant they could get going, get off the street and away from the strange sexual tension in the air. “You can keep her safe, I know you can. You won’t let her get in too deep.” Kit turned away before Sam could ask what she meant by that remark. “I’ll wait for you both at the entrance. Don’t take too long.” “I don’t need anyone to keep me safe, Calen. I thought you knew that by now,” Sam said once Kit was out of earshot, unable to keep the hint of hurt from her voice. He’d always seemed proud to have her as his partner, at his back, no matter that some of the other men in the Agency expressed distaste for teaming up with female operatives. It might be the year 2052, but there were still men who acted like they were living a hundred years earlier. But not Calen. Not until tonight. “Do you understand what a public debut means in the Extreme Sub culture, Sam?” Calen ignored her comment as he moved closer, finally getting so close that Sam found herself backing away, only stopping when she hit the brick wall behind her. “No,” she confessed, her voice catching as Calen braced his hands on either side of her shoulders, trapping her in the circle of his arms. 12
Deep Cover
“It means I’ll be claiming you as my submissive for the first time. The way in which I do so will let the other Doms in the room know how they should treat you. If I don’t make it clear you belong to me sexually, there will be those who assume you are ripe for the taking.” He was so close now that Sam could feel the heat of his body marking the front of her own, making her highly aware of the tight tips of her breasts and the arousal fisting low in her body. “And they would take you, maybe three or four of them in the same night if there’s a bidding war.” The way he said “take you” had Sam’s breath rushing out between her parted lips. God…she wanted him. Wanted Calen. There was no denying it now, no matter how much she’d like to. Shit! Talk about bad timing. This situation gave new meaning to the phrase. She needed her wits about her. Lives depended on it. She couldn’t let herself be distracted. Gritting her teeth, Sam did her best to shove aside the confusing desire. “I understand, Calen. I’m ready to do whatever I have to do to pull this off.” Sam met his piercing gaze, praying he couldn’t see the lust pulsing through her every cell. “Are you sure about that?” he asked, a golden light flashing deep in his brown eyes as he closed the last of the distance between them. Their bodies were now pressed tightly together, Calen’s face hovering so close that when he spoke again his lips brushed softly against her own. Sam’s pulse raced and her breath came faster, her body betraying her excitement no matter how she tried to control it. She wanted more, wanted to stretch up on her toes and press her lips to his, to mate her mouth with Calen’s and see if he tasted as wonderful as he had always smelled. Shit Sam! Get it together! Now, before you make a complete fool of yourself. “Yes, I’m sure.” Good, her voice didn’t sound nearly as breathless as she felt. “Are you ready to submit to me?” He pressed impossibly closer and Sam’s pussy clenched in response, slick heat rushing onto her panties. “To do whatever I ask without question, without defiance?”
13
Anna J. Evans
“Ye—yes.” Sam closed her eyes for a split second, praying he would stop before it was too late, before she did something to betray her mounting arousal. “What if I decide to bind you, to blindfold you? What if I strip you, bend you over the spanking bench and use one of my toys on your bare ass?” His lips were at her ear now, whispering, building the fire between her legs until she wanted nothing more than to loop one leg around his waist and grind her sex against him. The images he painted in her mind, lurid scenes of her body bare and vulnerable to him, his to pleasure or punish, were nearly enough to make her come. Right there. On the street where anyone could see, without so much as a finger pressed between her legs. God, she was in trouble. Big trouble. Calen’s mouth moved back to inches away from hers, his slow, even breath puffing against her lips, bringing a wave of shame as she realized he wasn’t the least bit affected by what he was doing to her. Sam closed her eyes again, knowing she wouldn’t be able to hide the desire burning there. It was a weak choice, but definitely the lesser of two evils. She would never live it down if Calen found out how much she wanted him, if he knew she was unable to play this game, to adopt this cover without losing herself to ridiculous desires. “Can you handle that, Sam?” he continued, settling his hands on her hips in a way that gave no doubt he was the one in control. “Can you give yourself to me, make this look as real as possible, even knowing there are people watching?” “Yes,” Sam said, nearly moaning at the sensations stirred within her by his words, his touch. She’d never dreamed she would be turned on by the idea of being dominated—or, god forbid, being spanked—in a room full of strangers. Sure, she’d had fantasies about playing with an alpha male, but even her fantasies always taken place in the privacy of her own bedroom. And they were just that—fantasies, not urges she would ever have acted on in reality. Sam was a woman who prided herself on her control and had never
14
Deep Cover
wished to be divested of it. That was who Sam was, or so she’d thought—the drenched state of her thong, however, told a different story. “Are you ready for me to touch you in any way that I please, to order you to touch yourself if I decide I want to watch you make yourself come?” God, he had to stop talking. Now! Before it was too late. Sam bit her lip, praying she could keep it together for a few more moments. “Can you take things even further if it becomes necessary?” Sam took a deep, slow breath and nodded her affirmation, no longer trusting her voice. She was dizzy from the fierce need pulsing through her veins, throbbing between her legs, making her long to be fucked for the first time in her life. She didn’t want lovemaking, she didn’t want hot sex, she wanted Calen to take her. To turn her around, lift up her skirt and shove his cock inside her. She wanted to feel him pounding into her right here on the street, claiming her body with his own until she screamed her orgasm out across the city. Without asking permission, without foreplay, without any hearts, flowers or promises. She was not only ready for everything he had described, she was dying for it, all of it. It felt as if a beast long caged within her had been set free and was lunging for the freedom so long denied it. A freedom it suspected it would find only at the end of a leash, this man’s leash. Suddenly, Sam understood why Calen hadn’t wanted her here. Humiliation rose within her, banishing a bit of her lust. “How did you know?” she asked, her voice small, ashamed. “I just knew.” Calen’s voice was as soft as the hand he smoothed down the side of her body, leaving shivers of awareness in his wake. “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Sammy.” Sam opened her mouth, but words abandoned her when Calen moved his hand to the inside of her thigh, trailing hot fingers up and under her skirt. She forgot how to
15
Anna J. Evans
speak, then forgot how to breathe as he pulled aside the damp scrap of fabric covering her sex and pressed a finger gently inside her pussy. Oh god, Calen was touching her. Calen, her friend, her partner, was slowly, sensuously fucking her with his hand. It was shocking, strange, terrifying and…erotic as hell. Sam’s cheeks flamed and her eyes squeezed closed. There was no hiding it now, he would know how he affected her, how hot and wet he’d made her with only a few words and a single caress. Their relationship would never be the same. She would be humiliated in the eyes of the only person in the world she truly cared about more than herself. “God Sammy, it’s been hell resisting you,” Calen said, a tremor in his notoriously controlled tone as he withdrew his hand from between her legs. “I just wish we could have done this anywhere but here.” Sam’s eyes flew open in shock, but slid closed again just as quickly as Calen took her mouth with his own. His tongue pushed past her lips, tasting her, claiming her with a primal heat even as his hands lowered to her thighs, hitching her legs up around his waist. Sam gasped into Calen’s mouth as he pressed her back against the wall, pinning her in place with the hips he thrust into intimate contact with her pussy. Raw electricity raced through her body, fierce enough to singe her nerves as she felt the hot, hard length of Calen’s cock throbbing against her sex. He was as aroused as she’d ever felt a man, as ready to fuck her as she was to be fucked. Thank god. Calen didn’t think she was weak or pathetic. He wanted her, was as wild to give in to the pull between them as she herself. Sam deepened their kiss, driving her hands into the silk of Calen’s hair, wondering how in the hell she could have hidden this desire from Calen, from herself. And more importantly, wondering how she was going to focus on the mission at hand when her deepest, darkest fantasies were about to come true.
16
Deep Cover
Chapter Two Calen rushed through his preparations in half the time, hurrying to don his club gear and stowing his street clothes in a locker. He didn’t want to leave Sam alone for a second longer than necessary. She was waiting at the bar, an area completely separate from the playroom where no one was likely to bother her, but he knew he wouldn’t feel she was truly safe until she was back on his arm. As if she’ll be safe then, you fool. Why will tonight be different from any other night? Sam is as likely to end up broken by your hand as anyone else’s. Hell, she’d probably be better off with a more experienced Mage Dom, someone who hasn’t been running from what he is for five years, someone who knows how to— “Enough.” The word came out as a growl, sounding from that primal place inside him that had been far too close to the surface these past months. When Chief Bruce Miller had approached him with the assignment, he’d barely debated the decision. He’d already known Kit would be his partner and that there would be no danger of his desires getting out of control. Kit was one of the least submissive women he’d ever met, no matter how delicate her outward appearance or that she scented as enough of a sub to pass at Club Magen. Calen had taken the job that same day, though Bruce had given him time to think over the assignment. The chief was the only one at the Agency who knew what he truly was, knew the dark, inborn hungers that simmered below his easy-going demeanor. Even though Calen was by far the best choice for the job, the chief had given him an easy out. He hadn’t wanted Calen to be tempted to lose control. Control. As if he’d ever had control. He was a master of avoidance, denial and suppression. He didn’t trust himself enough to even experiment with gaining true
17
Anna J. Evans
control, a fact made obvious by the way his hands shook as he removed his colored contacts, revealing his bright golden eyes. Just thinking of what he and Sam were going to do had rocked him to his core, obliterated his concentration on their mission and replaced it with white hot lust. He’d nearly fucked her out there on the street. How in the hell was he supposed to resist claiming the woman he’d been lusting after for years after being forced to play with her, tease her, punish her in all those little ways that he had always known she craved? Mage could smell the subtle pheromone that made human women yearn for submission and Samantha had it in spades. She’d always smelled like a piece of heaven to him, which had made working with her a living hell. Knowing she was what he had always wanted, and that he’d never be able to have her, had been hard from the first day they were teamed together. After three years spent getting to know and love everything about the woman— from her obsession with antique weaponry to the sweet spirit that made her a favorite with men and women alike—he lived in a state of perpetual torment. He couldn’t have her and he couldn’t ask for another partner without hurting her. And he would never hurt Sam. Never. Calen closed his eyes, holding on to that thought, promising himself he wouldn’t get carried away, wouldn’t let his darker desires make him a danger to the woman he loved beyond all reason. With that promise held firmly in his mind, he left the Master’s dressing room, ready to begin a night that would force him to test the very limits of his control.
***** She’d had a few sips of a stiff drink at the bar—a Long Island Iced Tea the bartender had called it, claiming it was a favorite near the turn of the century with college kids looking to get the most alcoholic bang for the buck—but that couldn’t explain the rush Sam was feeling as she lifted her arms, allowing Calen to chain her wrists to manacles
18
Deep Cover
on the wall behind her. After all, she’d never get intoxicated while on a mission, at least not on alcohol. As far as her hyperactive hormones were concerned, however, she wasn’t sure she was going to have any choice. Just breathing near Calen right now made her higher than she’d ever been on a controlled substance. “Now don’t move, not until I give you permission,” he said, his strangely golden eyes boring into hers with a heat that made her already-accelerated breath come even faster. Even knowing they were only colored contacts couldn’t dispense with her fascination with Calen’s new eyes. They were gorgeous, captivating, much like the rest of Calen in his Mage Dom gear. The soft leather vest fit him like a glove, outlining every perfectly sculpted muscle beneath. The equally tight black pants left nothing to the imagination, letting her know just how exciting Calen was finding their first few minutes in the playroom. He was magnificently hard, his cock straining against the leather, making her traitorous pussy leak with a constant, insistent need. Her thong had been drenched even before they’d entered the club, now it was barely capable of containing her juices. The evidence of her desire would be leaking down the inside of her thighs any moment, but for some reason the thought didn’t make her ashamed. Instead, it excited her, just as the playroom itself, with its dark red velvet walls and dim lighting, excited her, just as the music the Mage had chosen, a deep throbbing Celtic-inspired techno, excited her. It was as if Club Magan had been constructed from her sexiest dreams and Sam was finding it all too easy to relax into her role. Even knowing that Mage mind control could be responsible for intensifying her craving for this experience couldn’t dull her desire, especially not when Calen began to run gentle hands over her body, tracing her curves with a reverence she prayed was real. For all she knew, he had touched Kit the same way, teased the tiny blonde’s nipples through her leather corset, drug down the zipper of her skirt with the same
19
Anna J. Evans
trembling hands. But Sam chose to believe this night was as mind-blowing for Calen as it was for herself. Believing anything else would shatter her and she couldn’t afford to be shattered right now. There was enough of her right mind left to remember the mission to free Elena and to choose to allow herself to pretend there was no Kit, only she and Calen, partners as they had always been. “Turn around,” Calen ordered, his breath coming in quick bursts against her lips. He was so close Sam’s nipples nearly brushed against the front of his chest, as if he was shielding her from the rest of the room, not wanting to share her with even the eyes of the alien men. “Yes, Sir,” Sam replied, a surge of feminine power sweeping over her as a muscle in Calen’s jaw leapt in response. They’d discussed that she should address him as Master or Sir, but this was the first time she’d used the deferential word. Strangely, it made her feel powerful, desirable, not inferior. Or maybe it was the passion in Calen’s eyes as she slowly spun on her chains that made her lips curl in a small smile. Sam could safely say she’d never felt so beautiful, so desired in all her life. At that moment, as Calen tugged her skirt down to the floor and urged her to step free of the garment, she felt like a sexual siren, a woman capable of bringing men to their knees with want for her. Apparently, Calen felt the same way. She moaned as he took her hips in his wide, strong hands and knelt on the floor behind her, bringing his mouth close enough to her ass that she could feel his breath on her skin. Her pussy clenched fiercely around its own emptiness, craving Calen’s hands, his mouth. Or better yet that thick cock she’d felt pressed so tightly against her out in the street. But it seemed he had other ideas. First his tongue traced delicate swirls around one globe of her exposed bottom, feathering in gentle circles that made the ache between her legs intensify more quickly than she would have dreamed. By the time he’d given the same attention to the other 20
Deep Cover
side of her ass, Sam was panting with need, unable to resist the temptation to tilt her hips, arching just enough to urge Calen to attend to the slick, weeping channel that pulsed with hunger for him. Calen’s response—swift, hard smacks on the relaxed flesh of her ass—was a complete surprise. Her body’s electrified reaction to the spanking, however, was a flatout shock. A sound escaped from her parted lips, but it wasn’t a gasp of pain, it was the thick, impassioned cry of a woman close to coming harder than she’d ever come before. Her nipples tightened to the point of pain and every inch of her skin buzzed with awareness, a high she’d never felt, not a day before in her life. “I said, don’t move. Not until I give you permission.” Calen’s voice was deeper than she’d ever heard it, husky with emotion and lust. Lust for her. That knowledge alone was almost enough to tip her over the edge. “And don’t come,” he said, as if reading her thoughts. “I’ll tell my pussy when she can come. Do you hear me, Samantha?” “Yes, Sir,” Sam said, surprised at how blissful she sounded. “Good girl.” He rewarded her obedience by tugging her thong down her legs and— once she’d stepped free of the drenched scrap of fabric—bringing his hand between her legs. “Fuck, Sammy, you’re so wet.” The words came out as a groan as he let his fingers play through her swollen folds, teasing in and out of her opening, first one finger and then two. Then, after instructing her to spread her legs wider, three fingers. Three of Calen’s thick fingers stuffing into her, in and out, in and out, until her pussy felt bruised by the burden of withheld release. But she would not allow herself to come, not until Calen allowed it. Sam instinctively knew she wouldn’t find any real pleasure from a stolen release, that only pleasure commanded by Calen, pleasure that pleased her Master would fulfill the bone deep ache in her body and soul. Sam! What are thinking, listen to yourself. Listen… 21
Anna J. Evans
But the voice of reason was a weak, pitiful thing indeed when compared to the feel of Calen’s lips parting around her bottom flesh, taking her ass into the warm heat of his mouth and biting down. His teeth sunk in, deeper and deeper, until there was pain, pain that highlighted the pleasure he was giving her between her legs like neon behind the letters of a marquee. Sam’s swollen clit throbbed with the fierce pleasure of it, standing up from her equally swollen lips, begging for Calen’s touch. If he touched her there, slid one slick finger over her sensitized nub as he nipped at her bottom and fucked her with his hand, she would shatter into a million pieces. She wouldn’t be able to control it, wouldn’t have the strength to— “God!” She screamed as he bit down on her other cheek even as he brushed the handle of the flogger between her legs, past his busy fingers, teasing the instrument over her clit. Her breath coming in desperate pants, her body singing with the need for release, Sam forced herself to relax into the moment, to fight the pleasure that threatened to claim her without her permission. She would not fail him. She would surrender her body to Calen, wait for his command to come no matter what her needy pussy had to say about it. “Good, so good, Sam,” he whispered, his mouth now against the small of her back, his tongue darting out to lick the sweat-dampened flesh as if tasting a delicious sweet. “Now come for me, Sammy. Come on my hand.” And come she did, gasping for air, grunting in primal pleasure as Calen began to spank her once more, setting a firm, constant rhythm with his punishing hand that seemed to draw out her orgasm. Wave after wave of bliss rocked her from head to toe until her knees were weak and things low in her body sore from the fierce contracting of her pussy. Finally her legs gave way, but Calen was there to catch her, holding her up so that the metal around her wrists wouldn’t bruise, muttering sweet words into her hair that 22
Deep Cover
she couldn’t understand. Her mind was beyond language at the moment, but not beyond reading the tone behind it. Loved. God, she had never felt so loved, so treasured, so alive. How was she going to give this up? Go back to being the old Sam, the woman who prided herself on her control, who would never dare to dream of the kind of wicked abandon she’d experienced in this place? “Turn around, Sam.” Calen spoke softly, but something in his tone told her it wasn’t the first time he’d given the command. “Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir, I was just…” Sam forgot what she’d planned to say as she turned and looked up into the face of the man she’d known for years, but only clearly seen tonight. How had she missed the intensity simmering beneath his easy manner, the passion in his firm touch? The affection in eyes that practically glowed as they met hers, looking so deep inside her Sam knew he must see every secret she’d ever possessed? “Sam.” He said her name, that was all, but it was enough. “I love you, Calen. I love you. So much.” She stood on tiptoe, bringing her lips to his, forgetting the game in the wave of emotion that swept over her, causing hot tears to burn her eyes. Calen’s arms were around her at once, crushing her to him, his tongue pushing inside her mouth as his hands moved down to cup her bare ass. He pulled her hips tightly to his, and she ground against his arousal, heedless of the rough leather of his pants bruising her bare pussy. It seemed impossible to acknowledge pain when basking in the pure pleasure to be found in Calen’s arms. And, truth be told, she liked the feel of the abrasive fabric between her slick body and Calen’s hard, eager flesh, once again enjoying the feel of the pain highlighting her pleasure.
23
Anna J. Evans
“You’ve got a live one tonight, Master Calen.” The strange, masculine laughter shocked Sam as much as the feel of Calen pulling quickly away, leaving her hanging— literally—by the chains still binding her to the wall. “Master Diver, good even.” Calen laughed as if he and the other man were best friends, seemingly forgetting her without a second thought as the two men clasped forearms in the traditional Mage greeting. “And is your blonde haired human here this even as well?” the man asked after the two had exchanged pleasantries. Sam struggled to stand on her own two feet, despite her unsteady legs. She kept her gaze directed at the floor as the Mage submissive tradition demanded, but inside she felt anything but submissive. Inwardly, she was seething with rage. This was why she had never indulged these fantasies before. Because fantasy wasn’t reality. In reality, men who Dominated women didn’t treasure them, they used them. They took their pleasure, caused their pain, and discarded the women who serviced them as easily as dirty tissues. She’d seen the evidence in the haunted faces of the women she’d helped rescue from the alien sex trade and in the broken bodies of the victims for whom The Agency had arrived too late. Calen, no matter that he was human, would be no different than the alien Doms she had learned to hate and fear. He would use her and eventually tire of her when he’d managed to debase her completely, to make her as pathetic and weak as the other women in this club tonight. That’s not true. He held you, kissed you. You’re both undercover, you can’t expect him to act like anything other than a Mage Dom until you’ve saved Elena Carter and gotten the hell out of this club. And what about the way you felt when he was touching you? You didn’t feel weak, you felt strong, beautiful, loved. Sam breathed deeply and, for a moment, cursed the voice of reason. She wished the damn thing would make up its mind. Was it for the thrill of submission or against it? But then again, maybe her logical mind was simply trying to make sure she survived
24
Deep Cover
the night, whether that meant keeping her from falling too deeply into the thrill of passion or wallowing in the despair of rejection. After all, this encounter with Calen wasn’t taking place in the real world. She would do well to remember that before she did something stupid enough to put lives in danger. “She is, but she plays with Fager and his human. Tonight is my grey-eyed submissive’s public debut.” Calen moved slightly to one side, revealing Sam more fully to the Mage. Sam fought to hold still as she felt the alien’s eyes upon her, exposing her in a way that cooled her lust to the freezing point. The awareness of other people that had faded so quickly when Calen touched her returned with a vengeance, until she trembled slightly, unable to control the shame and nervousness that skittered along her pleasureraw nerve endings. “Lovely, just lovely, Master Calen. Like a newborn foal, those long legs. And such abundant breasts for a slender woman.” Master Diver’s lust was apparent in his voice, making Sam shiver again. Apparently, Bruce and the other experts in Mage customs had been wrong. Despite her height and muscle tone, Sam was plenty interesting to Mage Doms, or at least this one. The knowledge made her stomach turn over and she immediately rethought the wisdom of even those few sips of alcohol. “Will you shaft her, or give others a chance?” “She’s mine, Diver. None other shall touch her.” The menace in Calen’s tone made the hairs stand up on Sam’s arms, but it was the possession in it that made her heart fist tightly in her chest. She’d never wanted to belong to any man, but at the moment, even Calen’s pretense of ownership made her knees weak, reawakening the molten fire between her legs. Master Diver laughed, the great bellow of an older man finding amusement in the easily inflamed passions of a younger. “Very well then, Master Calen. Just make sure
25
Anna J. Evans
you use her well. I’ve seen many an eye drawn this way. You’ll have a bidding war on your hands if you leave her unshafted tonight.” The older man drifted away, deeper into the playroom, and Calen turned back to Sam. For a moment the roles they played faded away and they were just Sam and Calen, looking into each other in the way they always had, with no secrets, no regrets. “I’m sorry, Sammy. There’s no other choice now. Unless Elena and Brogan arrive in the next few minutes, I’ll have to—” “I understand,” Sam said, moving as close to him as her bonds allowed, pressing her body against his. “Do you?” His golden eyes swirled in mesmerizing circles and for a split second Sam wondered which eyes were real—the human or the alien. But then Calen moved his fingers to the laces at the top of her bustier and she once again had difficulty wondering anything but when he would take her, how long she would have to wait to feel Calen inside her, fucking her with the thick cock that pulsed against her stomach. “I may not be an expert on Mage BDSM, but I can guess what shafted or unshafted means.” Her voice was breathy, a clear invitation that ended in a hiss of indrawn breath as Calen tugged on her bustier, causing her breasts to spill free at the top. “You’re a smart woman, Sam. I’ve never doubted that.” His hands cupped her heated flesh, his thumbs playing lightly over her tips until she moaned. “Yes I am, Sir.” She laughed at the raw hunger that flashed in Calen’s eyes, a wicked part of her pleased that she could make him so wild, so close to losing his control. “Sam…I want you to know you can trust me. No matter what happens, I—” “I trust you, Calen.” Sam pulsed her hips forward, nudging her bare pussy against his leather encased cock. “Please, Sam, just know—”
26
Deep Cover
“Just fuck me, Sir,” Sam said, her heart stopping as Calen’s hands tightened around her breasts hard enough to hurt. She watched as something changed in the lines of his face, transforming the man she knew into a creature ruled by lust. It was terrifying and thrilling and no matter that a part of her warned of pushing him any further, she couldn’t seem to resist a few more choice words. “Your pussy is ready for you…Master.” Sam found her hands free and herself pushed to the floor so quickly her head spun. And then Calen was above her, between her legs, ripping open the close of his pants, freeing his engorged cock. He guided himself to her opening, the tip of his shaft so furiously swollen it was nearly purple. Sam barely had time to realize that Calen was going to fuck her—Calen, her best friend, her partner, the man she’d secretly been in love with for at least two years—when he thrust forward, filling her until there was no room for anything but Calen. Not in her mind, her heart, or least of all her desperate, aching body.
27
Anna J. Evans
Chapter Three Calen forced himself to stare into her stormy grey eyes as he pounded into her welcoming heat, making sure he stayed connected to the reality of Sam, of the woman he loved, who he would never want to do real harm. Not that he was really worried anymore. His fears had been groundless. He hadn’t lost touch with his care for Sam’s well being for a moment. Not even when he’d pulled away to see her beautiful skin marked with the imprint of his teeth and reddened by his hand—a sight more erotic to a Mage than just about anything in god’s great universe. Not even when she’d told him she loved him and a part of him had responded by squeezing her too hard, urging the delicate skin of her pussy tight to the rough leather of his pants. Which meant he’d wasted two years. Two years when he could have been right here, buried deep in the woman he loved, watching her beautiful face twist with ecstasy, exploring the complex relationship of Dom and sub with the partner of his dreams. Still, he couldn’t regret that now. He couldn’t regret anything right now, not even the fact that their first time was taking place in a room full of horny Mage Doms, intent of getting between Sam’s legs if he didn’t prove capable of Mastering her properly. Shafting her meant not only penetration, but fully attending to the submissive’s pleasure as well. But Calen wasn’t worried, he knew his Sam would be ready to find her pleasure when he gave the word. She’d been so amazingly responsive, opening herself to the experience with an abandon that intoxicated him, making him secretly glad he’d been forced to claim her publicly. If not, he might have ended up here on the floor anyway, so drunk of the beauty of Sam he couldn’t restrain himself.
28
Deep Cover
God, she was so wet, so tight, the perfect fit that he’d never dreamed to find. And she matched his passion with an equal perfection, lifting her hips to meet his thrusts, claiming him as surely as he claimed her. “Yes, fuck yes, Sam,” he growled as she eagerly followed his urging to loop her long legs over his shoulders, altering the angle of his penetration until he hit that sweet spot deep within her. He felt her tighten almost immediately, her passion-glazed eyes widening with surprise and the knowledge that she might lose control. Calen was tempted to wait, to force Sam to hold off, delay immediate gratification for the more intense pleasure it would bring her later, but knew better. He needed to show the Doms watching that he could make his girl come—fast, hard and often. “Come, Sammy, come for me,” he demanded, gritting his teeth as she obeyed instantly, her pussy clamping down so tightly that he had to slow his thrusts or risk losing himself right along with her. That wouldn’t do. His pride wouldn’t have it. Sam was going to come for him, again and again, until she realized no other man could ever fulfill her the way he could. Until she realized this wasn’t one night spent undercover, this was their first night as the people they were going to be for the rest of their lives. Damn the Agency, damn anything or anyone who would dare get in their way. And what about you? Damn you too? She’s never going to forgive you for lying to her, for concealing what you are for years, for— Calen forced all doubtful thoughts away, concentrating on Sam, on keeping his cock buried deep in her sweet little pussy while he moved her right leg up and over his head, spinning her until she was on her knees in front of him. He’d never been so glad for those Yoga classes she insisted they take, knowing it was worth all the ribbing the other male ops had given him for getting up at five in the morning to go chant with a bunch of hippies and old ladies down at the Y. The flexibility he and Sam had gained not only helped prevent injuries during combat, it was a bona fide aphrodisiac.
29
Anna J. Evans
He waited until Sam braced herself on her forearms and tilted her hips before he started to move again, slow, deep strokes this time, communicating his tenderness with every movement. His hands moved restlessly over her hips, her ass, pulling her tightly to him at the end of his thrust, making sure she felt every inch of him buried inside her tight sheath. Little moans sounded from deep in her throat, making it hard as hell to keep from moving faster, from fucking her with all the crazy-making desire that had been running through his veins from the second he’d seen her in her sub gear. Instead, Calen funneled his desire through other channels, grabbing his discarded flogger from the floor beside him. The handle was still wet from where he’d used it to make Sam come a few minutes before, that sweet stickiness making Calen’s hand shake as he raised the instrument and brought the three thin leather strips on the end down on Sam’s already reddened ass. She cried out and spread her legs even wider, beginning to bounce back into his thrusts as he slapped her again and again. Softly at first, but then harder, timing the increase in his force with the increase in his tempo between her legs. In a matter of minutes Sam arched her back, her long, silky brown hair flying back as she came again—this time, without his permission. Without thinking twice, Calen dropped the flogger and threaded his fingers through her hair, fisting them at the base of her neck, forcing her head back as he continued to work into her slick pussy. “Do not come without permission,” he said, whispering the words against her cheek as he tightened his fist, making her wince in pain. Her sharply indrawn breath was followed by a slackening in her body, a marked surrender in her muscles, followed by another fierce wave of contractions around his cock. She was coming again, responding like the natural born submissive he’d known she was. She felt so good he couldn’t even manage to chastise her a second time.
30
Deep Cover
“Fuck, Sam,” he groaned, so close to losing control, but managing to hold his own pleasure at bay for just a bit longer. Four orgasms was good, but five…five was a nice round number. He slowed his pace once more, releasing his hold in her hair and smoothing shaking hands down the silken skin of her back. Sam had the softest skin he’d ever felt in his life. He couldn’t wait until they had time to explore each other in private, until he could feel her bare flesh pressed close to his own. He wanted to mark every inch of her, touch her in ways no other man ever had, claim her, body and soul, as his own. Speaking of ways that no man had touched her… Sam cried out as his thumb moved to the tight ring of her ass, smoothing some of her own hot juices around and around the puckered flesh. They’d talked about this once, over a year ago, how she’d always secretly fantasized about having someone touch her there, or maybe even having her ass fucked. She hadn’t put it in exactly those words, but that’s what Calen had heard. The very idea had gotten him so hard he hadn’t been able to stand for a good fifteen minutes afterward for fear of alerting Sam to his excitement. Thanksgiving dinner and wine had turned into after-dinner drinks and some truthtelling game the humans played. They’d spilled a lot of secrets that night, driven each other crazy with want, but in the end she’d still walked him to the door. He didn’t understand why. Not then, not now. Fear for her safety had forced him to hold his own desires at a distance, but why had Sam pushed him away? Sam doesn’t want more than friendship and a working relationship. No, that wasn’t true. He’d been sure she wanted him even before, but after what they’d shared tonight there was no doubt in his mind that Sam desired him, cared for him. Hell, she’d even said she loved him, a fact that made his chest as tight as his aching sac, just thinking about it. He’d loved her in secret for so long. Now, knowing she felt the same was—
31
Anna J. Evans
She was just high on her own endorphins, you know you can’t trust anything said during a scene. Wanting to fuck you and wanting to be your life partner are two totally different things. Especially once she finds out you’re a liar, a monster, the very thing she came here tonight to— Calen concentrated on Sam, on easing his slick thumb gently into her ass, on fucking her ass and pussy with the same deep, probing rhythm, banishing thought, banishing everything except pure, aching pleasure. The hint of tension he’d felt when he’d first pushed his thumb inside her vanished quickly and he sensed a different kind of tension building within her once again. He was so tuned into her pleasure that it became his own, that he knew the second she began to come. This time, when she cried out in abandon he allowed his own control to slip, withdrawing his touch from her ass and pounding his cock into Sam’s molten heat. The silk of her sheath clutched him, pulling him even deeper inside her, bringing him to the edge in seconds. Calen’s vision blurred as he came with a ferocity that was almost painful, his aching sac emptying in thick, scalding jets. He cried out, eyes squeezing shut as he gripped Sam’s hips with fingers that dug a bit too forcefully into the fullness there. But only a bit. He hadn’t hurt her, not really, not even when that first wave of pleasure had hit him so hard he’d thought he’d lose his mind. The afterglow hit him just as forcefully, rocketing through his body, making his skin shine as gold as his eyes for a few short moments. Sam lay limp on the floor before him, still too weak to lift her head from the ground, let alone turn around to see what was happening to her partner after his orgasm. Calen knew he should be glad of that, grateful she wasn’t going to realize the truth about him in the middle of a mission. But a part of him prayed for her to look back over her shoulder, to see him for what he was. He didn’t want there to be any more lies between them, even lies of omission. Is it a lie of omission to pretend to be human for three years?
32
Deep Cover
Calen squeezed his eyes shut again as his glow faded, cursing his damned inner voice. This was not the time to have a meltdown about his deception. He’d done what he had to do, and helped save hundreds of humans from criminal aliens in the process. Surely Sam would be able understand why he’d hidden his Mage heritage. Being a member of one of the most violent, sadistic races in the universe was not a way to make friends and influence coworkers. He needed the people he worked with at the Agency to trust him, to judge him on his actions and performance, not on the horror stories they’d heard about the people with the golden eyes and retractable razor sharp claws that could rip a human in two with a few well-aimed swipes. “Beautiful, Sir.” Kit’s small hands touched his shoulders, bringing him back to his body with a suddenness that made his stomach bottom out. Only when the small woman braced herself against him, did he realize that he was swaying back and forth, still half buried in Sam, who looked just as worse for wear. “Thank you,” he muttered, slowing withdrawing from Sam and sitting back on his heels, drawing in deep, centering breaths. “Of course, Sir.” Kit knelt next to him and bowed deeply, touching her forehead to the floor in a show of submission. Shit. He wondered if she’d seen the afterglow hit him. There was no way that could be explained away by colored contacts or excellent costuming. What if Kit knew the truth now, knew he wasn’t just playing at being an alien Dom, but was the real deal? Would she still trust him? Had he jeopardized human lives by giving in and finding release inside Sam’s bewitching body? Calen touched the back of Kit’s head, signaling that she could rise. Her blue eyes were as calm and unreadable as always. If she’d seen anything, she wasn’t letting on, and didn’t appear to be troubled. He would just have to hope he still had Kit’s trust and move forward because it was time to do what they’d come here for. There was only one reason Kit would have approached him while he was with Sam. Elena Carter and Brogan must have arrived. It was time to put aside thoughts of 33
Anna J. Evans
anything but the job the three of them had come here to do. They had already participated in the playroom, now they could retreat to a viewing booth relatively unnoticed. “Excellent first session. Your Master is pleased,” Calen said, surprised how hoarse his voice sounded. He must have made a hell of a noise as he came. It wasn’t unusual for Mage Doms to roar and growl—the room was filled with such sounds even now— but it had never happened to Calen. But then, he’d never been with Sam, the only woman who would ever fulfill his every wicked fantasy. He only wished they had more time, but there was no mistaking the nearly ninefoot man who was even now weaving his way through the room, no doubt looking for free space on some of the more brutal equipment. Brogan liked to draw blood within a few minutes of arrival. By the time he and his sub of the night left, the human woman was lucky if she was still able to remove herself from Club Magan under her own power. Elena Carter was only a few scenes away from death if Brogan continued to intensify his sadistic treatment. They had to get the senator’s daughter out of here. Tonight. Two months of investigation hadn’t been required to ascertain the girl was no longer Brogan’s submissive of her own free will—though she had signed the agreement with a clear mind if the email records Kit had uncovered were to be believed. Whatever fantasies Elena had once had about belonging to a Mage, however, the reality had left her broken and traumatized, eager for a way out. Unfortunately that out had been postponed so that the Agency could expose the human trafficking business Brogan was running from Club Magan. Kit wasn’t sure they had enough evidence, even now, but their time was up. It was time to get Elena Carter out before it was too late. “Help your new sister clean herself,” Calen said to Kit, rising and rearranging his clothing. “I will await you in our usual booth.” “Yes, Sir, right away.” Kit bowed slightly again and then moved to Sam’s side.
34
Deep Cover
Sam’s eyes were still a little glazed as Kit helped her sit up and turn around, but the pleasured haze quickly morphed into a look of shame. Her pale skin flushed from her cheeks all the way down to her breasts. She didn’t meet Kit’s eye as the other woman helped her back into her top and handed Sam her underpants and skirt. “You did well, little Sam,” Calen said, trying to funnel all of his care for her into those few words, wishing he could say more. Sam nodded, but didn’t meet his eyes either, only scrambled into her clothes and hurried to follow Kit from the room. Calen could understand why Sam would be shy of Kit seeing her in such a position. He and Kit had become immune to each other’s nudity in the months they’d been playing at being Dom and sub, but Sam hadn’t had the time to come to terms with a world where nudity wasn’t anything to notice, let alone be ashamed of. She also didn’t know that he and Kit hadn’t done anything close to what he and Sam had. They’d played, made a good show of being into the scenes they enacted at the club, but never crossed the line. Calen hadn’t fucked her, hadn’t claimed her in the way he’d claimed Sam. Hell, he hadn’t even let Kit make him come. It hadn’t been necessary since they’d come into Club Magan as an established couple, complete with cover story confirmed by one of Kit’s friends from the Los Angeles scene who had been willing to lie in the name of freeing some highly abused subs. It would be easier for Sam if she knew those things, but…still, he wondered, why wouldn’t she look at him, even for a second, after what they’d shared? She’d enjoyed herself, hell, she’d come five times, been so weak with pleasure she couldn’t even move for minutes after. So why did she look so much like a victim as she clung to Kit’s arm, her thin shoulders hunched around herself as they moved toward the submissive dressing chambers? Could he have hurt her without realizing it? Was he more of a Mage than he thought, a creature incapable of empathy, more a sexual sadist than a true Dominant?
35
Anna J. Evans
Calen knew he should save his worries for after the liberation of Elena and did his best to get his head in the right place, but it was nearly impossible. He was still too high on what he’d shared with Sam. Never, not one single time since he’d bedded his first woman at the age of sixteen, had he ever allowed himself the freedom he’d just experienced. He had always held back, always denied a part of himself, too afraid of what he would do if he allowed his desire free reign. He’d always been so much larger than his lovers, physically dwarfing them even without taking into consideration the superior strength of the Mage. The sight of his large hands on their narrow hips, their tiny waists, had frightened him as much as it aroused him. No matter that he’d been raised with different values than most Mage males, he still wasn’t sure he could resist the inborn urge to inflict more than a pleasurable amount of pain on a relatively frail human woman. But with Sam, it had been so different, not because of her size—she was as thin as any woman in the room though quite a bit taller—but because of the way he felt about her, the way she felt about him, and something else, something not so easily named but which he’d always thought of as Sam’s strength. No matter how much emotional pain she’d been through, no matter how many loved ones she lost or how much hardship she endured, at her core Sam remained one of the toughest people he’d ever known. She never let life or loss break her, and she wasn’t going to start now. After all she’d been through in her life, one night in a Mage club wouldn’t be able to bring her down. Calen forced himself to believe that even when Sam froze for a moment, turning haunted eyes to look at him over her shoulder before disappearing into the dressing room.
36
Deep Cover
Chapter Four “Are you okay, sister?” Kit’s voice was barely audible above the sound of the water pouring into the tub and for a second Sam considered ignoring her, but then thought better of it. If she was calling her “sister”, that meant there had to be other women in the bathing area, though Sam couldn’t see them through the frosted glass surrounding her. Those women would be suspicious if a submissive who was still in training snubbed the more established plaything of her Dom. “Yes…sister.” The word felt strange in Sam’s mouth. She didn’t have any siblings and she sure as hell had never imagined she would share a man with a sister if she had one. “Nearly finished.” “I’ll wait for you in the powder room, don’t be long. Master Calen will want his refreshment,” Kit said, still in that soft, easy tone that made Sam feel like a skittish horse she was trying to settle. The other woman had been nothing but wonderful, helping her up and into the dressing room, looking at her with clear eyes that obviously weren’t judging her for what she’d done, but Sam still felt…dirty. Not because of what she’d shared with Calen, but because she’d done it in a room full of strangers. Not just strangers, alien strangers, monsters who abused women and who had looked at her like she was nothing more than an interesting toy, a pretty pet they might like to play with before play became something more twisted. And the worst part was…she’d actually enjoyed it. Hell, she’d more than enjoyed it. No matter how ashamed she felt right now, Sam knew she would do it all over again. That was what disturbed her the most, what made her feel shell-shocked, lost to herself in a way she’d never experienced. It was like she was living inside a stranger’s 37
Anna J. Evans
body, within a stranger’s mind. There was no other way to explain the way she’d behaved in that room. She’d abandoned herself completely to pleasure, forgetting the mission, forgetting everything except how unbelievable it felt to submit to Calen, to put herself completely at his mercy. As soon as he had touched her, kissed her, it was as if the rest of the world had faded away, becoming a colorless place not worth her consideration now that she’d experienced what it felt like to be truly alive, to be filled with the raw, primal pleasure only one man had ever given her. “Along with whatever else he might have given me,” Sam whispered to herself, the joke falling completely flat. But was she really surprised? The fact that she’d had unprotected sex with Calen wasn’t funny. Sure, she trusted him not to expose her to disease, but what about pregnancy? What had they been thinking? She hadn’t been thinking, but maybe he’d assumed she had taken care of birth control. Most women her age were on some sort of contraceptive pill or shot or something, but not Sam. What would have been the point? She hadn’t had sex in…god, who even remembered the last time she’d had sex? It had been at least a year, maybe more, and there hadn’t been any promising prospects on the horizon. She hadn’t been worried about birth control because the old Sam would never contemplate taking a relationship to a physical level without several months of dating beforehand. But the second Calen slid one thick finger between her legs, she’d been helpless to resist letting him take her, all of her, and hadn’t thought twice about the repercussions until it was too late. Until his cum was sliding down her thigh, thick and creamy and— “Get a grip.” Sam reached over and turned off the water, then sank a little deeper into the Jacuzzi tub, forcing away the desire that flooded through her from just thinking about Calen’s cum.
38
Deep Cover
She was in deep trouble if something as relatively gross as ejaculate was making her horny, making the lips of her pussy grow plump and slick and her nipples draw tight in the warm water. But she couldn’t deny that the thought of Calen coming inside of her— or even better yet, on her, maybe marking her breasts or stomach with the product of his release—made her hot as hell. What was she going to do with herself? How was she supposed to go out there and act like everything was normal, like the mission was proceeding according to plan when she felt like a stranger in her own psyche? No matter what kind of fantasies she’d had, Sam had never indulged her submissive urges, never dared to go to that vulnerable place with anyone. Now that she had, she felt…different…off-balance. Even the specifics of their mission seemed hazy. She remembered Elena, knew they had to get the senator’s daughter to safety, but that knowledge paled in comparison to the images flashing through her head, images of Calen’s hands on her body, Calen’s cock shoving between her legs, of the bite marks on her ass that she’d glimpsed in the mirror before submerging in tub. God, she wanted him to bite her again, wanted to feel her skin trapped between his teeth, feel the violence simmering beneath his touch, but contained by Calen’s infamous control. She wanted— “Sam, you’ve got to get out. Now.” Kit’s voice wasn’t soft anymore, neither were the hands she shoved into the water and under Sam’s arms. Sam shrank from the other woman’s touch, the feel of Kit’s small, smooth skin making her physically ill. She didn’t want soft, feminine flesh touching her, she wanted Calen, no one but Calen to touch her, bite her, own her. No one but her Master, her— “Get up! Hurry!” “Don’t, stop it, I—” Sam gasped as Kit somehow managed to lift her out of the bath and roll her onto the cold tile floor. For a tiny woman, she was surprisingly strong.
39
Anna J. Evans
Thankfully, the cold air seemed to clear Sam’s head, banishing the haze of lust. She gratefully accepted the robe Kit threw her way, wrapping it around her torso as she struggled to her feet. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what—” “You’re probably already addicted. The Mage pheromones can do that if you’re a natural sub.” Kit sighed and shook her head. “I thought Calen was a little too good at playing alien. I should have fucking guessed, but it wasn’t until I saw you two together that the pieces fell into place.” “What?” “He was glowing, Sam,” Kit said, obviously waiting for something important to sink in, but for the life of her Sam couldn’t figure out what. She was thinking more clearly, but not nearly up to her usual level of cognitive function. “I’m sorry, I—” “It doesn’t matter, there isn’t time. Where are your shoes?” Kit asked, looking nervously over her shoulder, toward the main dressing room. It was only then that Sam heard the voices, deep voices. Male voices. There were men in the women’s dressing room, and that couldn’t be a good thing. Sam remembered enough about the Mage Extreme Submission culture to know that men were not allowed around other Dom’s submissives without supervision. Whether they had forced their way in or had been given permission to invade the female quarters by someone in charge, cocks in the hen house did not bode well for the peaceful progression of their mission. “They’re right here, behind the curtain.” Sam knotted the tie around her waist, knowing there wouldn’t be time to change into real clothes. There could only be one reason Kit was asking where her shoes were—she needed weapons. It looked like they weren’t going to make it out of Club Magen undiscovered after all. Now, Sam could only hope she could pull herself together in time. Otherwise, the sensual haze that still tickled at the back of her brain, skittered up and down her spine, might just be the death of her. 40
Deep Cover
***** Something was wrong. Very wrong. Calen hadn’t worried when it had taken over half an hour for Sam and Kit to make it out of the dressing room, or when he’d been seated in his booth for fifteen minutes without a waiter coming to ask what he wanted to drink. He hadn’t even worried when the lights grew dimmer and Brogan and Elena moved to a piece of equipment out of his line of sight. But when three of the four front door men suddenly made a move toward the women’s dressing room, he started to worry. Big time. And when three more of the thugs Brogan employed to guard the rear entrance to the club followed a few minutes later, there was no doubt in his mind that the shit had hit the fan. They’d been exposed. Somehow, someone had figured out that he and Kit and Sam were not what they seemed. Calen barely had time for the realization to hit home, let alone figure out a way to get to the submissive dressing room and help the women escape, when shots were fired from inside. Women screamed and a ripple of unease worked through the couples still playing on the floor. Kit and Sam appeared through the dressing room doors seconds later, firing over their shoulders. Sam was wearing a robe and standing about four inches shorter, meaning she’d had to whip out the heavy artillery. The heels of her shoes were plastic guns, armed with needles containing a neurological agent strong enough to freeze even the infamously large Mage Doms for a minimum of three hours. Of course, they’d hoped not to have to use weaponry at all. They’d hoped to watch Elena and Brogan and wait until she went to clean up after the scene then Kit and Sam would follow her and silently whisk her away. Something had gone wrong. Very wrong, Calen realized as he looked around and saw at least twenty armed Mage barricading the exit to the club. Brogan must have known the truth when he walked in tonight, or there was no way he would have brought that much muscle.
41
Anna J. Evans
Calen cursed between clenched teeth, never having felt more helpless than he did at that moment, watching his partners dash across the room into a trap, knowing he had no weapons and no way to help keep them safe. Sam and Kit both fired into the crowd of men by the door several times, but eventually the guards scored a hit with their laser weapons, knocking the guns from the women’s hands. Someone had tipped Brogan off. It was the only explanation. So why wasn’t Calen under fire? Why was he free to move from his booth and out onto the floor of the main room as Sam and Elena were surrounded? Because the Mage would never suspect a brother of betrayal. Calen knew it was the truth as soon as the thought raced through his mind. For once, being from an alien race he reviled was going to pay off. If he played his cards right, he’d be able to walk free of this place tonight and call for backup to get Sam and Kit and Elena out of Club Magan before it was too late. But in order to do so, he’d have to make it look like he was betraying them, make it clear he was a Mage Dom before he was anything else. It was tradition for a Mage leaving Club Magan unaccompanied to allow his skin to glow as he did so—a macabre way of honoring submissives who were often either dead or damned near it. Calen couldn’t afford to go against tradition without arousing suspicion, but that would mean Kit and Sam’s confirmation that he was not a human man would come as he was walking away from them, seemingly abandoning them to death or worse. Calen prayed both women would know better than to believe such a thing of him, but especially Sam. She still looked so lost, so vulnerable as one large Mage bodyguard pulled her hands behind her and cuffed her with thin wire restraints that would slice through skin if she tried to fight. Thank god she had the sense to submit without a struggle. She would be okay. She’d done her homework and would be able to navigate this world for the half hour—or hour at most—it would take for the cavalry to arrive.
42
Deep Cover
He had to believe she would be safe until he could secure her freedom. If something were to happen to Sam, Calen didn’t know how much longer he’d want to go on living. She was the best part of him, had been for years. It had taken a dangerous mission to make him see the truth, but hopefully, that mission wouldn’t be their last.
43
Anna J. Evans
Chapter Five Two weeks later
Sam stood at her bedroom window, looking out at the deserted beach. The Jersey Shore in late March was still a very cold, wintry place. Usually Sam loved that about her home, loved that for eight months of the year she could look out the window of her little bungalow and see nothing but waves and sand. But today, it only increased her feelings of isolation. It had been two weeks since she’d learned the truth about Calen, two weeks since their investigation bottomed out and the Agency had been forced to violate the law in order to get Kit, Sam and Elena Carter out of Club Magan alive. All Agency activity had been suspended and their Chief brought in for questioning by the President himself, but Sam knew the seemingly dire future of her employer wasn’t responsible for her low spirits. The Agency would rise again. The human world needed their expertise too desperately to dismantle the alien affairs division of what had once been the FBI. Senator Carter’s bill was going to pass into law in a few weeks time and the Agency would be busier than ever. Among the many customs to be outlawed was the Mage practice of Extreme Submission. Brogan Dyre wouldn’t go to jail this time since the evidence gathered by Calen and Kit had been deemed inadmissible in court, but if he continued his human trafficking he’d land his ass in prison eventually. He was on the radar and law enforcement agencies the world over would be watching him. His days of luring innocent girls into his deadly games were over. Sam knew she should be pleased. The things she’d done at Club Magan hadn’t been in vain. No matter that one of the Mage had recognized Kit from the BDSM scene in Los
44
Deep Cover
Angeles and grown suspicious of the Domme apparently turned Extreme Sub, they’d still managed to save Elena’s life and shut down Club Magan. The Mage Doms would be forced to play their deadly games in private and be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law if one of their subs reported mistreatment or, god forbid, was killed during sex play. There were still women in danger, but thanks to the new laws, they would have legal means to get help when they wanted out. If they had the sense to want out. It had been two weeks since she’d seen Calen, since she’d touched him, smelled him, felt his body buried deep inside her, and Sam still ached for him with a strength that made her physically ill. She hadn’t been able to eat or sleep for the first few days, the desire for him had been so strong. She’d become addicted to him that quickly, proving she was the pathetic, submissive personality he’d guessed her to be. Several of the other subs who had asked to be removed from their Mage Doms when the Agency invaded Club Magan had displayed similar symptoms. Some even had to be held captive by concerned family members in order to keep them from returning to their abusive partners. Mage men were possessed of intoxicating pheromones that researchers were only now learning could be as addictive as several street drugs. Couple that with subtle mind control, and it was no wonder so many women stayed with their alien Doms even when they crossed the line between BDSM play and flat-out abuse. Sam suspected she would have sought Calen out, as well, if she’d known where to find him. But he’d disappeared after that night, after he’d rocked her to the core of her being, first with their lovemaking and then with his betrayal. He’d been lying to her for three years. The fact that their chief had asked him to keep his Mage lineage a secret didn’t matter to Sam. He was her best friend, her partner. He should have told her the truth. He should have trusted her with the knowledge of what he was, of what she was.
45
Anna J. Evans
The idea that he’d known for years that she secretly longed to be dominated and never told her made her feel insanely foolish. Senator Carter had forwarded her the research on the Mage after her daughter was returned. It contained a wealth of knowledge, including the fact that Mage could scent submissive tendencies. As if Sam needed more to worry about. She already knew about Mage mind control. The suspicion that Calen might have entered her thoughts during their time in Club Magan and used Mage mind power to encourage her to abandon herself to the experience chilled her, froze something inside of her that Sam sensed was necessary to life. She’d certainly never felt so empty inside, so utterly lacking in the will to move on. Two weeks and she had barely left the house, rarely bothered to cook a meal, abandoned her daily runs on the beach. Just looking out at the white sand and the grey sky above the churning ocean made her tired…until she saw the vague silhouette down the beach. He was walking along the shoreline, moving toward her private stretch of sand. It was still light enough to see his dark hair whipping around his face, but even if it hadn’t been, she would have recognized those broad shoulders anywhere. Calen. He’d finally come. Sam wasn’t surprised. A part of her had been waiting for him, had demanded she come to this window and wait, scanning the horizon for a sign of the man she loved. “No,” she whispered aloud, willing him to go away, to get out of her head if he was still there. She didn’t love him. She didn’t even know him. The man she’d thought she’d known was a lie. Calen stopped suddenly, as if he could sense her anger, her pain. He turned to face her, no more than two hundred feet of sand separating them. If she could somehow walk through the window, she’d have a straight shot to him, to run into his arms, to beg him to—
46
Deep Cover
“What have you done to me?” Sam dropped her face into her hands, fighting off the tears that threatened. She’d never been so needy, so pathetic. Not even when her mother had dropped her off at her grandmother’s house when she was seven years old and told Sam she was never coming back. She’d blamed Sam for Sam’s father leaving them. Daddy had run off because Sam was too wild, too loud, too much trouble for anyone to love. Sam hadn’t begged her mother to stay, hadn’t even cried until she was alone in her room that night, tucked into bed by the only real mother she’d ever known, her sweet Nana Kay. She hadn’t broken down and begged for the love she’d craved when she was a seven-year-old kid. She sure as hell wasn’t going to do it now, twenty years later, when she ought to know better than to indulge her weakest emotions. It took some time, but Sam pulled herself together, lifting tear free eyes to the beach, ready to draw the curtains. That would give Calen the message, let him know she didn’t want to see him, talk to him, and certainly didn’t want to— Her hand froze on the tie that held back the drapes, unable to tear her eyes away from the man in front of her. He was kneeling in the sand, hands fisted in his lap, head hanging down in a pose of complete dejection, a pose as submissive as any Sam had assumed during their one night together. Minutes ticked by, maybe half an hour or more slipping away as she stood there, waiting for him to move, to leave, to raise his head to see if she was still there in the window. But he didn’t move a muscle, not even when the dark gray clouds burst, sending rain down to needle over his bowed shoulders and head. “Dammit,” Sam cursed, turning away from the window. She’d have to go get him, she couldn’t leave a friend out in the cold and the rain. He was still a friend, no matter what had happened. Wasn’t he? She wasn’t really capable of cutting him out of her heart, no matter how she tried. He might have lied to
47
Anna J. Evans
her, but he’d also been there for her when it felt there was no one else in the world who cared. When first Papa Kay and then Nana Kay died two years ago, who had helped her plan the funerals, who had stood with her at the graves and held her hand? When she’d faced her first Thanksgiving alone, who had surprised her at six in the morning with bags full of thawed turkey and cooking supplies? Who had been at her back during countless assignments, who had asked her to the Agency Christmas ball when her date backed out at the last minute, who had filled her prescription and brought it to her house when she’d gotten bronchitis last winter? Calen. He was always there, the answer to every question, the trusted rock she hadn’t realized she counted on as much as she did until he was gone. But what about that night? What if he was in your mind, manipulating you? What if it didn’t mean to him what it meant to you? What if it was only sex, only— Sam grabbed her raincoat and ran out onto the sand, determined to face Calen and her real fears. She’d been hiding behind hurt feelings and wounded pride for two weeks, focusing on Calen’s lies rather than the true source of her anxiety. She wasn’t afraid that Calen had manipulated her feelings inside the club, she knew he hadn’t. Sam had been in love with Calen for a long time. Only her fear of rejection, of love itself, enabled her to hide from the truth for so long. She wasn’t worried that Calen had forced her to confess her feelings, she was worried he didn’t feel the same way. He’d stayed away for two weeks. Hadn’t called, hadn’t written an email, hadn’t even bothered to send a message through one of their friends at the Agency and sure as hell hadn’t been there to sigh with relief with her when she found out she wasn’t pregnant. But then, Mage and humans could only rarely reproduce together. He must have known that, just as he knew so many other things he hadn’t told her. “But he’s here now,” Sam whispered, hoping he was also ready to tell the truth, the entire truth and nothing but the truth.
48
Deep Cover
She stopped a foot away from where Calen still knelt in the sand. Raindrops pricked at her face, sharp and cold, but Sam felt a rush of heat sweep over her skin despite the rain and chill spring air. It was time to see why Calen had come. With her heart beating so loud in her ears she was sure Calen would be able to hear it, she reached out, threading gentle fingers through his soft, damp hair.
***** “Would you like marshmallows on top?” Sam asked from the kitchen, her voice remarkably calm. “Sure,” Calen answered, his own voice sounding as tense as he felt. She’d kissed him softly on the cheek before taking his hand and bringing him inside, but he still wasn’t sure she’d forgiven him, let alone thought about what the future might hold for the two of them together. She might simply feel sorry for him. Sam was a sweetheart, never the type to turn away a friend in need—or an enemy in need, for that matter. And it was obvious Calen was in need. He’d clung to her for what felt like forever. As soon as her hand touched his head, it was as if something broke inside of him. He’d lunged for her, holding her tightly around the waist, burying his face against her stomach, praying she could feel how much he loved her, needed her. He hadn’t been able to speak for fear he would lose control completely and sob his heart out all over her. Calen wasn’t afraid to cry in front of the woman he loved, but Mage tears were bright yellow and Sam was wearing that white designer jogging suit she loved. After all he’d done, after all the lies he’d told, the last thing Calen wanted to do was ruin one of her favorite outfits by blubbering all over her like an overgrown alien baby.
49
Anna J. Evans
“Here. It’s hot.” She handed him his hot chocolate and sat down across from him. Calen noticed she deliberately placed the coffee table between them, taking the overstuffed chair instead of sitting next to him on the couch. But then she’d also used his cup, he noticed. The coffee mug had a big yellow sunshine on the front, an inside joke about his nickname at the Agency. If she’d used that cup, then she at least wanted to stay friends, right? And friends would be better than nothing, better than never seeing her again, laughing with her again, holding her when she cried, being there to— “No, it’s not good enough,” Calen said aloud, shocking himself and Sam, who froze in mid-sip, big grey eyes lifting to peer at him over the rim of her cup. “Sorry.” Calen cleared his throat, and set his cocoa on the table. “But I can’t just be friends anymore, Sammy. Not after what happened, not after I got to touch you, feel you—” His voice broke and Calen dropped his eyes back to the hands fisted in his lap. Great, he was near losing it again. He’d been like this since the night he’d left Club Magan, a hopeless wreck, pining for Sam in a way he wasn’t sure was natural, or at least human. That’s why he’d kept away, forced himself to let some time pass, to try to get himself under control so that when he approached Sam he wouldn’t scare her away. He knew she had issues with commitment, had seen her shoot down more potential boyfriends than alien criminals. And those guys had been human, with nothing really wrong with them besides the fact that they didn’t understand Sam, didn’t understand that beneath the sassy agent and the sweet, giving friend was a little girl who had never known what it was like to take love for granted. But Calen understood, and wanted more than anything to be the one to show her that love could work, that they could work. Too bad the future he imagined looked less and less likely the longer Sam sat in silence, barely even breathing, let alone hurrying to assure him that she cared for him too. 50
Deep Cover
“You can’t just be friends? Why?” Sam asked, setting her hot chocolate down beside his. At least she couldn’t sip cocoa while his heart broke into a thousand pieces. That was good. “Because I love you.” Calen forced himself to lift his head and look at Sam, into eyes that were as guarded as they’d been out on the beach. “I’ve loved you for a long, long time, if you want the truth. But I was afraid…” “Afraid of what?” “Of what you’d think once you realized what I was.” “I don’t care what you are. It’s the lies I can’t stand.” Calen nodded. “I was also afraid of myself. That I wouldn’t be able to control myself if we went to bed together, that I’d hurt you.” The tears welled in his eyes and he couldn’t stop them anymore so he didn’t try. “But I realized that night in the club that I’d been a fool. I’d never hurt you Sam. I love you too damn much, need you too—” “Oh, Calen,” she was suddenly in his lap, arms around his neck. Calen squeezed her tight, holding her close, grateful to feel her hot tears mingling with his own as she rubbed her cheek against his, the touch of her soft skin like a drink of water to a man dying of thirst. No man liked to cry alone and he hoped those tears meant she’d been feeling the same way he had—half a person without his partner, his lover, his friend. One way to find out… He caught her lips with his, pushing his tongue into her mouth, tasting hot chocolate and Sam, pure, beautiful Sam. She met his caress with swirls of her own, suckling his tongue into her mouth until he groaned. God, she was the best thing he’d ever tasted and the only woman who could have him hard as a rock in two seconds, simply from the way she nibbled her teeth into his bottom lip as she pulled back from their kiss. “You weren’t in my head the night we were together,” she said, even as she brought her fingers to the zipper of her jacket and drug it down, revealing nothing but a white bra beneath. 51
Anna J. Evans
“No,” Calen said, hands shaking as he helped ease the jacket off her shoulders. “I’ve never used Mage powers on you until today. I tried to let you know I was coming, but that was it, I—” “I know. I believe you.” She was straddling him and unhooking the bra now, but as much as Calen wanted Sam naked, he needed to know a few things first. “Wait,” he said, hands covering hers as she moved to draw the straps down her arms. “Does this mean what I think it means? You’re ready for us to be more than friends?” “You’ve known me long enough to know I don’t strip for friends, Calen,” she said, a small smile twitching at the edges of her full lips. “I’ve also known you long enough to know that you don’t have a problem separating sex from love.” Calen almost regretted the words as her smile faded and her eyes dropped from his. “I don’t want just sex, I want your heart, Sam. I want us to share our lives, to get married if that’s what—” “I didn’t think Mage men married,” she said, her voice a little breathless. Breathless because she liked the idea, or because it scared her? He couldn’t tell, dammit! If he could only see her eyes… “I haven’t been part of the Mage world since I was a boy. My father didn’t believe women should be treated as chattel. He brought my mother to Earth so she would be safe, so we’d all be safe. He never stopped to consider she might get sick.” “So your mom really did pass when you were ten?” she asked, sympathy in her voice, though it still hurt Calen to hear her doubting everything he had every told her. But he probably deserved it. He’d have to work to make it up to her, start telling the truth and nothing but the truth from here on out. “She did, but it wasn’t in a car accident,” Calen said, forcing out words that still hurt to speak, even twenty years later. “The Mage had vaccines for all the diseases on their planet, but Earth was still relatively unexplored. Only a few dozen Mage had
52
Deep Cover
taken refuge here at that time. Mom caught whooping cough and died within a few months of landing on the planet.” “I’m so sorry to hear that,” Sam said, lifting sad eyes to his. “For your sake, I wish that part hadn’t been true.” “Just about everything I’ve told you about my life is true, Sam, except that I’m not human. But I’ve lived as a human for as long as I can remember. My father raised me in the human world, I learned human values.” “But you also learned how to enter people’s minds, and a taste for…other things.” She blushed and he knew exactly what “other things” she had in mind. “I can’t help what I am.” Calen brought his hand to her face, cupping her jaw in his hands. “Yes, I can encourage certain thoughts in people’s minds, but I can’t force them to do anything they don’t want to do. I don’t misuse the power, I hope you know me well enough to believe that. And as for the other things…” He trailed palms down the column of her neck, catching the white lace straps of her bra and drawing them down to reveal her gorgeous breasts. He captured the dusky nipples between his fingers and squeezed just hard enough to make Sam’s breath rush in on a gasp. “You seemed to enjoy those other things.” “I did enjoy it, I enjoyed everything we did together, but…” Sam’s lids slid closed as he continued to manipulate her aroused flesh, tugging and pinching until her tips were hard and tight, practically begging for him to attend to them with his lips, his teeth, his tongue… “But what?” Calen asked, forcing his hands away from her breasts, though he couldn’t resist leaning forward to press a soft kiss to her parted lips. “But I don’t know if that’s what I want forever.” Sam’s eyes opened and he read the fear there, not fear of him, but fear of losing control, of becoming something weak or pathetic. “I mean, playing with that kind of thing every now and then is—” “There’s nothing weak about abandoning control to your lover, about trusting someone enough to explore the boundaries of your sexual desire.” Calen knew his eyes 53
Anna J. Evans
were starting to glow as he gently took Sam’s wrists and brought them behind her back, trapping them there with one large hand. “And what we were doing wasn’t playing. It was real. It was what you wanted, what you’ve been dying for.” Sam didn’t say a word, but her breath came faster and her nipples tightened even further. Calen had no doubt if he dipped his hand down the front of her pants, he’d find her pussy wet. “I’ve never wanted a man to control me. I’m proud of my life, my career—” “I’m proud of you too, Sam. And I don’t want to control your life. I want you to be the same fierce, sweet, strong person you’ve always been.” Calen tightened his hold on her wrists, just the slightest bit, wondering if his cock could get any harder without exploding. “But in the bedroom I want to command your pleasure, want to own my pussy the way I did the other night.” “God,” she gasped, spreading her legs wider and wiggling closer until she ground against his engorged cock. “Be still,” he ordered softly, unable to resist teaching her a small lesson about who she was, who they were. “Don’t move until I say you can move, Sammy.” Sam immediately stilled, though her breath came even faster and her eyes grew as wide as he had ever seen them. Calen met her searching gaze as he slowly, deliberately lowered his head back to her breasts. “When we’re together like this, you are mine.” He let his lips play across her nipples as he spoke, thrilling to feel the nubs grow tighter, firmer under his light touch. “You will obey me.” Her breath rushed from between her lips. “You will submit to me.” He pulled one taut peak between his teeth and gently bit down. “Calen,” she whispered, her voice thick with desire. “And you will love every minute of it,” he finished with a nip at her other breast. She shuddered against him. “I will…I know I will.” The words seemed to spill out of her against her will, which wasn’t what he wanted. Not even close.
54
Deep Cover
“Sammy, this is what you need, what we both need. We were made for each other.” Calen feathered kisses over her neck, feeling how fast her pulse beat beneath the surface. “You know you can trust me never to hurt you, or take advantage. I love you so much I—” “I know. I trust you more than I’ve ever trusted anyone and that night at the club…” She trailed off with a nervous sigh. “It changed you? Made you realize what you’ve needed?” “You swear you aren’t inside my mind right now?” She smiled, then continued without waiting for an answer. “But what if I don’t always enjoy it? What if I change my mind? Will you still…love me? Still want to be with me?” “I will love you for the rest of my life,” Calen said, tears threatening again even as he smiled. “And I would want to fuck you any way you wanted me to, whether that involves a Dominant and submissive sexual relationship or not.” Though I don’t think we’re going to have to worry about that becoming an issue. Calen slipped one hand down the back of her pants and up between her legs. Sam was indeed dripping wet, as slick and hot and ready as if they’d spent hours engaged in foreplay. Not to mention the fact she hadn’t moved a muscle since he’d ordered her to be still. She was a born submissive, but he didn’t mind if it took her some time to be comfortable with the idea. He was plenty comfortable for the both of them. “Stand up, take your pants and underwear off, and lay down on the floor right there,” Calen ordered, helping Sam off his lap. “I want to eat my pussy. Now.” “Yes, Sir!” Sam laughed as she said the words and scrambled to obey, but he saw the way her hands shook as she moved, the way she nibbled her bottom lip between her teeth as she lay back, spreading her legs wide, revealing her glistening pink sex. “Beautiful, Sam. God, you’re beautiful,” Calen said, settling between her legs, stopping when his mouth was a few inches away to spread her pussy lips wide, revealing every inch of her beautiful sex. “I’m going to kiss my pussy, Sammy. Lick her
55
Anna J. Evans
and suck her and show her how much I love her, but don’t come until I tell you. Do you hear me, sweetheart?” “Yes, Sir,” she breathed, not a hint of laughter in her voice this time. “Good girl.” Calen wasted no more time on words, but got down to the business of worshipping the most beautiful pussy in the world. His tongue played through every swollen fold, tasting the sweet musk of the woman he loved for the first time. He teased her clit in light little circles, then moved down to her entry, moaning as he drove his stiff tongue into her. His cock twitched violently between his legs as her body let forth another rush of cream when he pinched the inside of her thighs between his fingers, giving her that little bit of pain he knew she longed for. “Calen!” She cried out, reaching down to twine her fingers in his hair, nails scratching against his scalp hard enough to hurt, which was a little bit of what he longed for too. But not as much as he longed to see his Sammy come, watch her face twist with that fierce passion that took his breath away. “Look at me,” he ordered before he intensified his tongue’s work at her clit, bringing his fingers to dive in and out of her molten core. Sam lifted herself up on her elbows, gazing down at him across the achingly beautiful landscape of her full breasts, the softness of her stomach, the tuft of hot, damp curls where he now buried his face and busied his hands. Her breath came fast, her nipples standing hard and proud in the cool air, but she waited, waited for him, which made Calen realize he couldn’t make her wait long. “Now come for me, Sam. Come, baby,” he mumbled against her heated flesh as he licked and sucked and his fingers slid in and out of her tight pussy. She screamed his name again as she came, her body pulsing around where Calen’s hand and mouth worked to pleasure her. The scent of her, the heat, the slick fluid that
56
Deep Cover
coated his fingers was too much. He needed to be inside her, buried balls deep in the woman he loved. Now. Ten minutes ago if he could manage it. “I’m sorry, babe, I can’t wait.” Calen reared up over Sam and drove his cock deep into her pussy. The last waves of her first orgasm hadn’t yet dissipated and her body gripped him tight, forcing him to admit defeat. There was no way he’d manage to give her four or more orgasms before he found his own release, not this time. Not when he’d been dying to be with her, connected to her. Damn, but the past two weeks without her had seemed an eternity of torture. “Don’t wait, love. Fuck me, Calen. Fuck your pussy.” Sam mumbled the words against his lips, and he responded with a groan and a tilt of his hips, forcing his cock as deep into her welcoming body as he could go, until he hit the end of her and knew he still wasn’t close enough. He’d never be close enough, deep enough, near enough to this amazing woman, but this was pretty good. Pretty damn great, in fact, and it was only going to get better. He pulled away and slid back into Sam, slowly at first, but losing control all too quickly. Within a few moments he was pounding inside her, fucking her with all the need, the passion, the love that had been building inside of him for years. She responded with the same wild abandon, coming fast and fierce around his thrusting cock only seconds before he cried out, spilling himself inside her. “Wow,” she muttered a few minutes later. He still lay heavily on top of her, relishing the feel of her hands smoothing up and down his bare back. “That was…amazing.” “As good as the night at Club Magen?” Calen asked, lifting himself on his arms. “Better.” She smiled. “I like having you all to myself.” “I don’t ever want to share you with another set of eyes ever again.”
57
Anna J. Evans
“Speaking of eyes…Kit told me you two never…you know,” Sam said suddenly, blushing bright red. “I asked her, I couldn’t help it. Not knowing was driving me crazy.” “Jealous?” Calen smiled and pinched her nipple, delighting in the sound of her laughter. “Yes, very. No more BDSM clubs for you.” “No problem. I have all I need right here.” He kissed her, softly, surprised to feel his cock thickening where he still lay buried inside her. Only Sam could get him going again this quickly. Thank god she was his, all his. “Me too…though I did kind of like the hanging on the wall thing.” She blushed again and Calen’s cock got even harder. “Don’t worry, I think we could rig something up in your bedroom. Or mine,” Calen pulled slowly out of Sam and the slid back in with equal control. This time she was going to get her four orgasms, or more, if he had anything to say about it. “How about both?” She sighed, lifting into his easy thrusts. “We’re only going to need one house. I’m not leaving you, ever again.” Calen said, hoping she heard the promise in his tone. “Don’t I get a say about that?” Sam asked, her grey eyes watchful. “Nope. Not that.” Calen met her hard stare with a firm look. She was his, forever. On that point they needed to be completely clear from the start. “Anything else, we can talk. Is that okay?” A moment passed, then two. But finally Sam’s face broke into the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen. “Yes, Sir. It’s more than okay.” And then she kissed him, and Calen felt the last of his fear fade away in the warmth of Sam’s love. They’d found each other, finally grabbed the future that had been hiding in plain sight, waiting for the chance to begin.
58
About the Author Anna J. Evans came back to her true love of writing fiction after working Off-offoff-Broadway and in a few Hollywood C-movies. She quit the biz to become a stay at home Mom-Writer and she’s loving every minute of it! Anna lives in Arkansas with her Air Force husband, her real-life romantic hero, their three kids and all the stories still making their way from her imagination to the page. Anna has been awarded multiple Recommended Reads for her paranormal and fantasy erotic adventures, but her favorite feedback always comes from fans. So feel free to
drop
her
a
line
or
join
her
newsletter,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/anna_j_evans_newsletter/
Anna welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
Tell Us What You Think We appreciate hearing reader opinions about our books. You can email us at
[email protected].
Also by Anna J. Evans Bad Apple Decking the Hollisters Ellora’s Cavemen: Seasons of Seduction IV anthology Enchanted Love Fool Main Attraction Off the Deep End Seducing the Enemy Sinfully Sweet
Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.
www.ellorascave.com
