Demonic Attraction (5 page)

She palmed her office door and ordered up water from her food unit. She’d taken the senior administrator’s office and that brought her that rank’s privileges. Taking the cold glass from the small shelf, she pressed it to her warm forehead and let out a slow sigh. “If I can’t get to Theta-Scorpii-3, then its den of depravity comes to me.”

The door to her office hissed open and Anya’s heart jumped. She pulled in a breath, but no scent of coal burned against her tongue. So whoever it was wasn’t there to screw her on her desk. Shame. She’d never had desk sex. Anya turned, fixing her professional smile in place. It dipped as she met Keve’s sharp, green eyes.

He crossed the threshold and the door hissed shut behind him.

Anya took a sip from her glass, letting the cool water ease the tightness of her throat. She wouldn’t fall into the trap of thinking she was projecting her suspicion onto him. “How can I help you, Keve?”

His gaze narrowed on her. “You won’t stand in my way.”

She frowned at him and pulled her chair around to sink into it. Anya needed an action to distract her from his unexpected statement. She stared into her glass, its moisture cool against her fingers. “My supervisor opened the platform to you.” She took another sip before placing her glass on the clear surface of her desk. “I’m not in anyone’s way.”

“You know what I’m talking about.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out a triangular piece of metal. Light cut across its worn surface and something about the quality of the metal looked familiar. “Five years ago I lost four days. No tech has been able to retrieve what happened to me. All I have is this,” he held up the metal, turning it to catch the light. It glowed… A pyramid. It had formed a part of another repository. “And a reprieve.”

Anya stared at him. “A reprieve?”

A muscle jumped in the man’s jaw and he rubbed his thumb hard against the small piece of metal he held. “I’d been diagnosed with Arama-Marne’s disease.”

She couldn’t help the wince. Rare, nasty and invariably fatal, it attacked the brain, turning it to pulp. But the disease acted fast. “This was five years ago? Once the symptoms start to show, isn’t it…?”

“Weeks.” Keve gave a sharp nod. “I should’ve been dead and unlamented a long time ago.” She matched his wry smile. “I’m a medical marvel. My harvested antibodies have added years to the lives of others.”

“But not a cure.”

His lips thinned. “No. I have a projected six months. Maybe less. Others given my cure are already dead.”

Her stomach cramped. Keve Blayne had been possessed, as Damianos had possessed Nathan and Thain. And, as they’d strengthened her, they’d given Keve life. “You think the pyramid you found on the surface will do the same thing?”

“Metallurgical tests prove the piece I have is the same, even if Thain’s energy signatures differ. What’s left of the writing is identical. I’ve hunted for years. And the…events…here were too similar to what I
can
remember.” His chin lifted. “This is my only chance of living and you won’t deny me it.”

“Why would you think I’d deny you?”

Keve moved closer to her desk and Anya fought the need to shrink back to the soft, protective padding of her chair. His dark intensity pushed raw under her skin. “My missing time didn’t only give me a reprieve from my illness. I also came away with a sense of others who’ve been touched by this thing.” His green eyes narrowed. “And Anya, it’s all over you.”

“What is?”

“They are.”

“They?”

Keve leaned forward, heavy palms planted against her desk. The metal in his hand clattered against the tough surface. “Look, you can dance around this all you want. Thain is here to chase phantom energy spikes and Nathan is our executive ride home.” He paused and anger shifted in a dark shadow over his eyes. “I’m here because I want to live. Whoever—whatever—resides in that pyramid ordered me to open it in the presence of the others. I did. I thought…” He stared down, rubbing his thumb over the gleaming triangle of silver metal. “I thought that would be it, another five years of health. But my condition hasn’t changed.”

“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “But weren’t you worried that you could be putting Croft and Thain in danger?”

“I woke up naked and alone five years ago.” Something else gleamed in his eyes, something that reminded her too much of the desire she’d witnessed in the two men she’d left not long before. “I hadn’t
been
alone and I felt
very
sated. I’m sure my two colleagues will feel the same way.”

Anya willed down the blush she knew wanted to stain her cheeks.

“But then you know what I’m talking about, don’t you, Anya?” His head tilted and he pulled in a deep breath. His eyes darkened and something in his gaze had her nipples peaking. “You reek of sex.”

She turned the subject away from such dangerous territory. “So what do you have to do now? Open the pyramid to me?”

“It’s been opened close to you.” Keve shrugged. “I’m still awaiting new orders.”

“This is crazy,” she muttered, and reached for her glass again. The water eased her tight throat. “Aliens don’t live in little metal boxes.”

“Think of it more like a gateway.” He straightened. “So what are they?” His laugh was harsh, bitter. “And don’t pretend you have no idea what I’m talking about. Stanton didn’t hire you for your ability to lie, believe me.”

Anya had to go with her gut…and her computer. “Computer, verify Keve Blayne’s medical condition.”

“Doctor Keve Blayne has entered a slowed fourth and final stage of Arama-Marne’s disease. This stage is marked by—”

“Thank you,” Keve broke in, his voice hard. “I don’t need my symptoms listed.”

She bit at her lip and took another quick sip. “I don’t know what they are, but they’re called the Yalene.” A small, embarrassed smile pulled at her mouth. “And, well, you know what they want from me.” Anya put the glass on the table. “So what do
you
want?”

Keve straightened and let out a slow breath. “I offer myself.”

She stared at him. “Offer yourself?”

“As I said, I thought the opening of the pyramid would begin my…possession. It wasn’t. I’ve been hunting for five years and now my time is running out.” A stain ran dark across his cheeks. “I want to live, Anya.”

Her heart tightened in her chest and she bit at her lip. His pain gripped her. Anya let out a tight breath. “It’s not up to me. Damianos…” Speaking their name forced a pause and with it came the first bitter taste of coal. She pressed her trembling fingers to her lips, suddenly nervous. Somehow it felt different. It wasn’t simply about her pleasure or Damianos’, it was Keve’s life.

“Anya?” His green eyes narrowed on her.

“Are you…you?”

Keve’s eyes darkened, he pulled in a deep breath and rolled his head from side to side. “Which ‘you’ do you want us to be?”

“Damianos?”

Keve smiled, something wicked and filled with charm. “In the flesh.”

“Funny.” She rubbed her thumb over her palm, pressing hard into her flesh. “Can you push back his disease?”

He stared at his hand, turning it over to examine the sun-browned skin. Flexing his fingers, he frowned. “Another of our kind has taken him before.” A brief smile lifted his mouth and his voice softened. “Ah, Hadia. We never thought to experience them again.” His fingertips rubbed together, the slight rasp the only sound in the silent office. “They enjoyed this body.” He snorted. “Enjoyed him for days. But then that’s Hadia, pushing everything to the extreme. The very first of us to break into his dimension.”

Damianos’ sudden seriousness gave her the first chance to question him. “Who are you?”

“Energy. Unity.” The twitch of a smile eased the grave expression from his face and Anya’s cheeks burned with the memory of where they’d last said those words. “We were a race living too long without pleasure. Hadia’s solution was to find flesh.” His eyes gleamed and the smile curving his mouth turned wicked. “Now here we are.”

The familiar rush of need ran hot through her veins and her thighs squeezed as she tried to deny the growing ache. Seeing Damianos grinning at her from Keve’s face unnerved her. She had to know that the man would get all he needed to survive his fatal disease. “And Keve will go into remission?”

“I could do more than that.”

Anya blinked. “
Keve?
”

It was him. She knew it. The slight shift in the way he stood, the easing back of the wicked smile into something more restrained. Still, it had a promise that had her recrossing her legs in the hope of relieving some of her growing tension. It didn’t work.

Keve’s head tilted. “We have something of a proposition for you.”

Her stomach hollowed and she couldn’t ignore the increased beat of her heart. She wet her lips and Keve’s gaze fixed on her mouth. Her voice became little more than a squeak. “Really?”

“I can feel Damianos,” he murmured, “like a fine sheen under my skin. Their strength, their history.” His gaze turned inward, his expression thoughtful. “They shared it all with me as they harnessed themselves to my flesh.” Keve found her eyes again and desire warmed them. “And something about us, the mix of our biological energies makes it…pleasurable…for their kind to interact with us.”

“Pleasurable?”

“Damianos wants you in
every
way.” A wry humor lit his face and Anya
knew
he was reviewing memories of her last few hours. Her cheeks burned, but the heat in his eyes increased. “And that is what they want to propose.” He walked around her desk, his gaze never leaving hers. Anya’s breath caught in her throat as he swiveled her chair around to face him. He gripped the armrests in tight hands and leaned over her. Anya pushed back into the soft padding. Her nipples peaked under her shirt and Keve’s gaze drifted down her body. “They live in me, are harnessing themselves to me right now and they want to continue to play with you.” He glanced away and drew in a deep breath before he looked back. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “To do that, you have to accept me.” The smile faded. “Please.”

Chapter Five

Anya ran her fingertips in a light touch over his knuckles and the sudden contact was electric. The attraction to Keve had stolen over her, surprised her. Was it a part of Damianos? They favored him so she did too? She watched her forefinger play down the curve of his thumb before she looked up at him. “Just you and me?”

“If you’d rather Damianos—”

Anya broke into his question. “How long will this go on? You, me,” she couldn’t help her smile, “them? For your time on the array? Will it carry on after my duty is up?” She blinked. “Can they leave here?”

“Damianos is bound to the pyramid. It stretched their energy to the limit reaching out to you from the moon’s surface. But they found me,” he gave short laugh, “or I found them and now there’s the possibility of a permanent bond…if you agree.”

“And that would cure you?”

For a moment he was silent. He straightened and stepped back from her, his body tense. “I don’t want guilt or a sense of obligation to force you into this.”

“It isn’t.” Anya pushed herself out of her chair. Nerves ate at her stomach and the sensation was unexpected. Something about having sex with Keve was important to get right and she couldn’t explain why. So she undid the first three tabs on her service suit, her fingers delaying on the fourth. “Where are Croft and Thain?”

“Sleeping. Possession can be exhausting.”

She smirked and more tabs came free. The smooth material dropped free from her shoulders and cool air brushed over her bared skin. “Then where would you like me, Dr Blayne?”

Keve blinked. “You want to go ahead?”

“No, I want to stand naked in my office.” She laughed. “Has it been a while, Keve?” A shadow flickered through his gaze and Anya could’ve kicked herself. He’d spent his time searching for another pyramid, hunting down his chance to live. Had that been his prime focus above everything else? She ran her hand over her braided hair. That was her nervousness. Instinctively, she’d known how unsure he was. “Keve.” She took his hand, gently squeezing his warm, dry palm. “You have Damianos’ memories.” She took a step closer, almost pressing up to his chest. His scent pulled into her lungs, warm, male skin with hints of cologne and the soft scent of soap. “You already know everything about me.”

His fingers tightened around hers and for a moment she was certain Damianos flickered bright in his green eyes. Then Keve was back and a faint blush stained his cheeks. “Yes, yes I do.” His finger brushed her jaw in a gentle caress, the contact rippling a quick shiver under her skin. “How you taste.” Keve leaned in, teased the lightest kiss across her lips and she gasped. The kiss deepened, a slow, delicious tasting that curled all the way down to her toes. Damn, he had a clever tongue. He pulled back and his forehead rested against hers. The affectionate gesture tightened her chest. “Is exactly as I remember. That is…strange.”

“Should we stay here?” Her voice sounded croaky and she swallowed, her heart still beating hard. Keve’s mouth tempted her again, so close she burned to trace her tongue along his bottom lip. The man was unexpectedly addictive. “Or find my room?”

His firm lips curved into a smile and Anya found herself mirroring it. “You’ve never had sex on your desk. I think that should be rectified.”

Anya didn’t want to think how he knew, and let his warm hands slide down over her ribs, waist, to tighten against her hips. Kev turned her toward her desk. Her ass hit it and she grinned. “I work alone.”

“Not today.”

Anya laughed and gave in to temptation. Her mouth found his, losing herself in the softest kiss, teasing, tasting, enjoying him. She ran her fingers through the tangle of his dark hair, drawing him closer. Keve eased her back onto the cold surface of the desk, his hands sliding down to her thighs. He parted them further, his thumbs pressing through the thin fabric to tease sensitized flesh…and then he pressed up against her.

“It’s been a while,” he murmured against her lips as his fingers found her suit and worked more tabs free. “I had to prioritize.”

“Less talking, more getting naked.”

“But you make a compelling argument.”

He pushed down the fabric and she wriggled to help him pull it from her hips, legs, until it pooled to the floor. The clear surface of the desk pressed cold against her skin and she shivered as she grinned. “And you’re still not naked.”

He shucked off his shirt. Anya ran light fingers over the smooth perfection of his chest, playing with the lithe run of muscle. She felt the power of exploration, the first chance she’d had to touch, to trace over warm skin and not rush into a blinding surge of sensation. She pressed her lips to his collarbone, her tongue teasing along, tasting his skin. Anya closed her eyes. Salt-sweet with the bitter hint of coal sharpened on her tongue. She curled her tongue-tip around his nipple, her palms easing over his ribs so that she could snake her arms up the warmth of his spine.

Keve groaned, his arms wrapping around her as he buried his face against her neck. He pulled in a deep breath and crushed her to him. Anya grinned and tugged hard at his nipple. Keve growled. “You’re not playing nice.”

“Was I meant to?”

She felt his grin against her skin before he lifted his head. His mouth hovered over hers. “I think you’ve been very naughty.”

Anya couldn’t resist the need to tease her tongue over his lip again, drawing him into a kiss that washed down to her toes. She fisted her fingers in his hair as his mouth took her, stroking heat and desire deep into her flesh. Anya broke away with a gasp. “You’re very good at that.”

“I’m
very
single-minded.”

A laugh escaped her and she ran her fingers down the cooled flesh of his spine to slide under the band of his trousers. She pushed at the thick material, easing them down. Her nails scraped over thick muscle and he twitched. “That’s a good trait.”

His fingers already tugged at her underwear. “I thought so too.”

Keve’s mouth found hers again as her panties dropped to the floor. He pushed forward and his cock brushed against her damp flesh. Anya groaned and he deepened the kiss. Damianos was assured, took control to please her, but Keve—Anya ran her palm the length of his spine—was deliciously human.

He gripped his cock and teased the head over her sensitive flesh, swallowing her soft moans. His skilful mouth already danced sparks behind eyes and she arched her spine, urging him to sink into her willing flesh. She wanted him. A slow exploration, a quick fuck, all of it. The sudden emotion, the need, surprised her, and she went with it, enjoying him, the first push of him into her flesh flaring a burst of bright release.

Anya pushed forward, taking him deeper. She grabbed his ass and he growled against her mouth. “This will end all too quickly.”

She pulled in a quick breath, the slow shift of his hips spiraling need deep into her flesh. “Desk sex should be quick and hard.”

“Is that the rule?”

Anya grinned at him. “Yes.”

“Then I’d hate to disappoint.” He wet his lips. “Put your hands on the edge of the desk. Grip it.”

Anya lifted an eyebrow. “You’re giving me orders now?”

Keve’s eyes gleamed and she tightened her muscles around his cock, wanting him. He groaned and the rush of desire thickened in his gaze. “I’m waiting.”

The dark promise in his voice had her heart pounding. She slid her hands around his hips, her nails teasing until her hands hit the cold surface of the desk. Her fingers curled around the curved edge and she almost lost her balance as Keve arched her back. His palms hit the desk and he leaned over her. Anya breathed in his scent, savored the heat of his skin against hers. She liked Keve. So much more than she expected.

“Ready?” His smile turned wicked, playful, and the sudden push of his hips had her gasping.

She ached to kiss him, to lose herself in this taste. “More than ready.”

“Good.”

His hot hand pressed against her spine, supporting her before his mouth took hers in a slow, deep kiss that curled heat down to her toes. Her body shook and her fingers bit into the edge of the desk. Keve’s hips echoed his kiss, slow, deep thrusts that burned up from her pelvis. She hooked her calves around his thighs, wanting him faster, harder, more of him, all of him. Keve swallowed her increasing moans of need, rewarding her with deepened thrusts.

Tightened coils of need low in her belly had her meeting his hips, the soft slap of their flesh, the muted moans filling her office. Her tongue stoked hard against his, her teeth nipping at his lips. She ached to cling to him, for him to slam into her body and release the orgasm burning so close to the edge of her flesh she could almost taste it.

Keve growled and ripped his mouth from hers. He buried his face against her neck, his breath hot and rasping over her ear, sending tight shivers that brought her release—

“Come for me, Anya. Scream my name.”

The hot, dark words arched her spine and her release splintered over her mind in a breaking rush of heat, light and endless joy. Anya thought she cried out something that might have been his name, but the strangled word was unrecognizable.

Keve held her, his hips driving hard against hers. His teeth nipped at her earlobe, sharpening the flickers of release still coursing her flesh before he came with a low groan. He crushed her to him and let out a long sigh. Anya slid her arms around his damp skin, teasing down his spine and unable to deny the smile breaking across her mouth.

“Thank you.”

Keve drew away and pulled up his trousers. He leaned in again to press a soft kiss against her lips. It tasted of him and the bitter hint of coal. Damianos. Keve had pushed them from her thoughts and she laughed. “Are you cured, Keve?”

His mouth stilled and he pulled back. Stroking her tangled hair from her face, his head tilted. “I feel…more alive than I have in a long time. But I think…” Keve’s words fell away and a smile eased over his mouth, something sharp, wicked, and her heart jumped. Damianos. “You forgot us?” The smile deepened and suddenly Keve was gone. Completely. “Bad, Anya.”

“Damianos…” The name came out on a little sigh and her reward was a sharp nip at her bottom lip. It stung. “Is Keve…?”

“We share this body.” A fingertip ran over her mouth, teasing the still-stinging skin. “And Keve wanted us to share in the moment.” The wicked smile grew again. “You enjoyed him?”

“Yes.” She ran her fingers through her damp hair, staring at Keve and seeing only Damianos in his eyes, in the sharp twist of his mouth. The memory of Keve, of his incredible ability to kiss her until she forgot everything else swept over her and had her heart pounding.

She found a smile on his familiar face. “I can see that you did. Keve has talents you should explore further.”

Anya blinked and tried to wrap her mind around her situation. “So…this is for keeps? You tie yourself to him…and then what?”

Damianos traced a slow finger along her jaw. “We have you. You’re
ours
.” He stepped back and retrieved her underwear, dropping them into her hand. “And we promise, with us, time and aging will no longer concern you.”

Anya wriggled into her panties and found her crumpled service suit. Her life had become insane, it really had. “It’s that simple?”

“Not simple.” The sharp grin returned. “More…interesting.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You’re making me suspicious.” Keve took her hand, and she realised it
was
him, not Damianos. “And can you say when you’re going to swap?”

“Why?” Keve’s fingers tightened around hers and pulled her toward the door. The clear panel parted with a soft hiss. “You can sense the difference immediately.”

“Where are we going?”

“As Damianos said, this is about to get interesting.”

Anya stopped, and tugged back on his hand. She pulled in a tight breath, her mouth thinning. “I want to know what’s happening here, what’s going to happen.” She untensed her shoulders, letting them drop and her fingers flexed around his. “I’m obviously more than happy to go along with what you, they have planned, but I also like details.”

“Details…” Keve drawled the word, soft, slow, and the small hairs rose on the back of her neck.

He could do that. Stir her with simple things, his voice, a look, that hint of a smile growing on his mouth. And Damianos had promised them endless unageing time… Suddenly the thought was appealing. “Yes, details would be nice.”

“We will share you, now, always.” Keve stepped closer to her and the light from the watching moon washed over his smooth features, silvered his dark hair. His fingers curled against her jaw. “Damianos needs us, through us they experience living, pleasure. And we get a chance to thoroughly enjoy that pleasure.”

He brushed a light, tantalizing kiss over her lips and Anya sucked in a breath, denying her need to take his mouth and push Keve up hard against the curve of the wall. “And how will that work with me here and you on Earth?”

Keve’s hand slid from her jaw, dropped lightly over her arm until he found the curve of her hip. He squeezed. “You have how many days left here?”

“Thirteen.”

“Then Thain investigates the now-nonexistent energy readings and I drag out the time until your replacement shuttles in.” His hand eased from her hip to caress her ass and drew her flush to his hard body. “And then you come back with us.”