Rescuing Rory Read online

  “I’m going to fuck you until you scream my name again.”

  She didn’t know if she should be scared or not. All she knew was she wanted that too. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down. She kissed him and could taste herself on his lips. It was sexy as hell. She deepened their kiss.

  He shoved her thighs wide with his own, slid one hand under her ass and angled her lower body upward. She felt the press of his cock head against her opening. Suddenly she was more worried than aroused. Would it hurt? He was bigger than any lover she’d ever had.

  As if sensing the change in her mood, he paused and then slowly pushed inward. She was swollen from her orgasm but he slid past the initial resistance. Since she was already wet, he sank deeper. All the while, he kept his gaze on her, watching her reaction.

  “Look at us,” he told her.

  Rory looked down to where they were joined. His thick shaft was about halfway inside her. While she watched the rest of his cock disappeared inside her. He was a part of her, stretching and filling her completely.

  They were breathing heavily now, both of them poised on the edge of orgasm. Kal spread his knees for better leverage and began to thrust, keeping the strokes long and slow. Rory grasped his arms for support as he continued to plunge in and out of her pussy.

  Nothing in her life had ever felt this good. She hated each time he pulled back to the edge, leaving her feeling empty. She wrapped her legs around him and dug her heels into his muscled ass.

  He groaned and began to thrust faster and faster, his strokes shorter and harder. Rory moved with him and cried out when the head of his cock brushed a particularly sensitive spot inside her.

  Kal swore and angled her body so his pelvis rubbed her clit with each thrust. Rory let go of all her troubles, all her thoughts, and simply rode the wave of pleasure to the crest and tumbled into oblivion. She squeezed his cock in rhythmic contractions as she came. He yelled and she felt the hot spurts of his cum as he filled her.

  For some inexplicable reason, tears filled her eyes and several spilled over, running down her face. She turned away, hoping he wouldn’t see them, but that hope was in vain.

  “Hey.” He caught her face and turned it back toward him. “Did I hurt you?” He wiped away several stray tears with his thumbs.

  She shook her head. She couldn’t allow him to believe he’d injured her. “No, I’m fine. I don’t know why I’m crying.” She hated shedding tears. It was weak and she couldn’t afford to be anything but strong.

  No matter that she and Kal had just had mind-blowing sex, Rory knew better than to depend on anyone but herself. “Just emotional, I guess.” All the men she’d ever known would take the excuse and accept it, happy not to have to discuss it.

  And it seemed Kal was no different when he pulled out of her and strode to the bathroom. Rory lay there on the mattress, bereft without him inside her. She pulled her legs to her chest and yanked a blanket over herself.

  Kal came out of the bathroom carrying a cloth in his hand. He obviously had no problem walking around naked. She admired him for that even as she hated him for it. He sat on the edge of the mattress and tugged at the blanket. Rory gripped it tighter. He simply pulled harder until she was forced to either release it or rip it.

  She let go.

  He made a low humming sound in the back of his throat as he wiped the tearstains from her face and then used the cloth between her thighs. She batted at his hands but he wouldn’t be deterred or denied. “I can do that,” she haughtily informed him.

  “But why would you when I can do it for you?” He continued to wield the cloth until he was satisfied. Rory felt more exposed than she ever had dancing in front of a room full of men. This was so much more intimate.

  When Kal was done, he tossed the cloth onto the small shelf by the bed and studied her intently. She fought not to squirm beneath his regard. For a space pirate, or mercenary, or trader or whatever he was, he saw too much. Rory feared he could see all the way to her soul.

  He placed his hands on either sides of her hips, effectively caging her in. The expression on his face was intent. “Now we talk.”

  Chapter Five

  Kal didn’t know what he was doing. Why in the hell did he want to talk? He never wanted to talk after sex. Getting away as fast as possible was his usual procedure. It usually wasn’t a problem either as most of the women were just as happy to have him gone. But since Rory was in his room, aboard his ship, he couldn’t exactly run away. And he didn’t want to, which was even more confusing.

  Her tears gutted him. He hated to see any woman cry but seeing silent tears roll down Rory’s face had almost brought him to his knees. He wanted to see her smile, which was crazy. He barely knew her. It had to be the sex. He’d had sex plenty of times since he first became aware of girls in his mid-teens but what had happened between him and Rory was in a class all its own.

  She tried to tug the blanket over her but he wasn’t having any of it. He grabbed both her hands and held them over her head, effectively chaining her to his bed. He didn’t want her to cover up, wanted to be able to see her gorgeous body.

  She was still wearing her socks. In the heat of the moment he hadn’t thought to remove them and didn’t think she was even aware they were still in place. She looked adorable and very sexy totally naked but for feet. His dick responded to the sight and feel of her. It was still full and thick even though he’d just come. He was ready to go again but first he wanted answers.

  Resentment made her eyes darken. Her lips tightened. There was no denying she wasn’t happy with him. For that, he was truly sorry, but he needed answers to the questions plaguing him.

  “What do you want to know?”

  He loosened his grip but didn’t release her. He wanted to be able to see her face and gauge her reactions. He didn’t think she’d lie, exactly, but he wasn’t convinced she’d tell him the entire truth either.

  Why it was so important for him to know everything about her, he didn’t know. It just was. “What happened?” He ignored the way her entire body stiffened beneath him. “Our source told us that your father was a well-respected trading captain.”

  Rory turned her face away and chewed on her bottom lip. Kal caught her chin and applied a steady pressure until she was forced to look back at him. “Bully,” she muttered.

  He ignored the slight discomfort in the pit of his stomach but didn’t deny her allegation. “I’m waiting.”

  “My father died and the loyal crew wasn’t as loyal as either he or I thought they were.”

  Kal scowled. “I thought you said they helped raise you?” Or had she been lying about that.

  “Yes, my father’s crew did help raise me but almost all of them were dead or retired by the time he died. Running a trader ship in deep space isn’t an easy job. People die every day due to accidents and medical emergencies. Not to mention there are always pirates who want to confiscate the ship and her goods.”

  Rory narrowed her gaze. “Are you and your brothers pirates?”

  “No.” That was one thing they’d never be. “We trade, legally when possible, illegally when we need to. We also handle security problems for smaller planets.” It was a far cry from the small mining planet where they’d grown up but it was the life they needed in order to find their sister. None of them made any apologizes for what they had to do.

  She nodded as though he’d confirmed what she’d already suspected.

  “What happened?” he asked. Going on instinct, he eased down onto the narrow bunk beside Rory, lifted her so she was lying on top of him and tugged the blanket over her.

  He cupped her bare butt in his hands and tried to ignore the way her pussy rubbed against his erection. The damn thing had a life of its own, trying to burrow between her slick folds.

  Rory gasped and levered herself above him. That only served to push her sex more snugly against his cock.

  “How is that possible?” Her words were breathy and her eyes
slightly unfocused. “You just came.”

  “You inspire me,” he tossed back. He rolled so they were both on their sides, facing each another. It was probably better if they weren’t touching so intimately or they’d never finish this conversation.

  I’m a fucking saint. Either that or I’ve totally lost my mind. His dick was still poking Rory in the stomach but that was manageable. He hoped. The smart thing would be to climb out of bed, get dressed and then question her, but Kal didn’t want to lose the cloud of intimacy surrounding them. He told himself it was because it would make her more likely to talk and had nothing at all to do with how much he liked having her in his arms.

  “So your father died,” he prompted and then winced when her eyes grew moist. He’d been around his brothers for so long he’d forgotten how to talk to a woman. He cursed himself for being so blunt. He promised himself he’d try to do better.

  “I thought the crew was loyal.” She shrugged and gave a sad little laugh that tugged at his heart. “I don’t know what I thought. That I’d become captain. That a group of hardened long-distance traders would listen to me.” She tugged the blanket more securely around her shoulders.

  She really was beautiful. Her body had captured his attention but her sad face and vibrant hair truly were lovely. “They took the ship.” It wasn’t a question. That kind of mutiny was all too common when a captain died in space. Only the most ruthless and cunning would be able to wrestle the men under control and keep them there.

  “Yeah. Adam Brecker, my father’s new security specialist, took over. The damn man had only been on board for three months.”

  Kal got a sinking feeling in his stomach. “What happened to your father?”

  “System malfunction.” The anguish in her eyes tore at his heart. “I don’t know how it happened. He went down to one of the storage bays to check on an emergency beacon on one of the shipments. The darn thing wouldn’t shut off.”

  “Why didn’t one of the other men go?” he asked.

  Rory shrugged. “They were all busy and my father always pitched in. He did every job on the ship at one time or another. It was one of the reasons his crew respected him.”

  Kal nodded and continued his questions. “What happened then?”

  “The airlock malfunctioned while he was there.” Her breathing was getting faster and faster. “One of the hatch doors opened and he was sucked out into space.” She was practically hyperventilating now. “I’d done maintenance on those doors two days before. They were working perfectly.”

  Kal grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. “Rory. Look at me. Breathe. It wasn’t your fault. Do you hear me? It wasn’t your fault.”

  Rory could hear Kal talking to her but wasn’t registering what he was saying. It was impossible to hear him above the harsh gasping of her own breath. Her chest was so tight it hurt. She couldn’t get enough air into her lungs. She felt lightheaded and her vision was dimming.

  She could still hear the last transmission of her father’s voice. One second he’d been swearing at the emergency beacon and shutting it off manually. The next she’d heard fear enter as he’d yelled that one of the outside hatches was opening. Before she could scramble to the panel to override the system and shut the door her father was gone, sucked out into space with a small portion of their cargo.

  “Breathe.” Somehow she was lying flat on her back with Kal sitting next to her, his large hands gripping her shoulders. His green eyes were fierce. His command absolute. “Breathe.”

  Rory managed to suck in a lungful of air and hold it briefly before slowly releasing it. Her head was pounding but she no longer felt as though she was going to pass out.

  His fingers tightened around her and she knew she’d have bruises on her shoulders. “It wasn’t your fault. Do you understand me?”

  Obviously he was the one who’d misunderstood. “I was responsible for the maintenance on those doors.” And that would haunt her for the rest of her days.

  Kal shook his head, causing a lock of hair to fall over his broad forehead. “No. It’s too pat, too easy. This new guy Adam was head of security?”

  Rory nodded, wondering where he was going with this.

  “Don’t you think it’s a bit too much of a coincidence that an emergency beacon is set off on the cargo, which would be easy for a man with his skills to do? Then one of the doors you’d done maintenance on only two days before suddenly malfunctions.” Kal shook his head. “This Adam Brecker planned your father’s death. He came aboard, got used to the routines of everyone on board the vessel and once enough time had passed that he was accepted, he set up this accident.”

  Rory thought she might be sick. If what Kal was saying was true her father had been murdered. It hadn’t been an accident at all. And Kal wasn’t done yet.

  “So he discredits you, the only other person who could really challenge him for control of the ship. After all, I assume your father had a will and left the ship to you.”

  Rory nodded, still trying to wrap her head around such a betrayal. “The three men left from the old crew all stood beside me. They knew I loved my father and would never hurt him. But Adam convinced the others it was neglect at best, greed at worst. After all,” she bitterly continued, “what could you expect from a woman.”

  It still infuriated her how easily the rest of the crew had gone along with Adam. Several of them were only too happy to condemn her because she’d turned down their sexual advances. She’d never told her father about that. In hindsight that had been a mistake. He’d have fired them and hired new. But she’d wanted to handle the situation herself. Being the lone woman on board a deep-space trader was hard enough without having the men grumbling about her getting preferential treatment.

  Kal cupped the side of her face and rubbed his thumb over her cheek. “He set you up to take the fall for his dirty work.”

  Rory closed her eyes and swallowed hard. She hadn’t seen it. In her grief, she’d never suspected her father might have been murdered. She’d been too devastated, thinking some neglect on her part had killed him.

  “What happened next?” he asked.

  Bitterness ate at her guts. “Some of the men wanted to make me the ship’s whore but the three long-time crew members wouldn’t hear of it. They claimed it was a horrible accident. I was locked in an empty cabin. I think Adam feared a mutiny. Before anything was settled, he took me off the ship. I think he must have slipped something into the food or water he brought me once a day and loaded me aboard the shuttle. One minute I was on board the Traveler, the ship I’d called home my entire life, the next I woke up in a cage on a slaver’s ship.”

  “Son of a bitch.” Kal’s eyes were hot with anger on her behalf. It helped lessen the pain swamping her to know that someone cared what had been done to her. It didn’t change a thing but it helped.

  “The slavers eventually sold me to the captain of the Exos. The new girls are put to work in the dancing cages for a month. After that, they’re sold to the highest bidder for a night and then permanently put to work in the back rooms. According to the captain, it keeps the product fresh and the men interested.”

  She shivered, remembering how dehumanizing it had been to be stripped and sold at auction and locked away at night in a tiny room with one bunk and a toilet. They didn’t even let the woman have any contact with one another so no friendships or alliances could form.

  “I had maybe a day or two left in the cage before I was sold,” she whispered.

  Kal swore again and pulled her into his arms. “You’re never going back there.” She felt the desperation in his grasp and knew he was thinking about his sister.

  As much as she wanted to stay in his arms forever, she knew that wasn’t practical. Nor was it likely. Her time with Kal was short and it wouldn’t do her any good to forget that. He and his brothers had rescued her from hell. Yes, it was because they wanted something from her but she’d still be on board the Exos if it weren’t for them. She owed them.

&nbs
p; “I should get to work looking at those pictures.” The quicker she finished, the faster she’d get taken to Albion 5. But deep down she knew she was doing it for Kal and for Abigail. If his sister was out there somewhere, Rory wanted to do everything in her power to unite them.

  He loosened his grip and rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip. “You know your father’s death wasn’t your fault, right? You were set up from the moment Adam stepped on board the Traveler. He must be good to have gotten past your father.”

  Rory nodded, trying not to notice how her entire body was vibrating in response to Kal’s touch. “He was an excellent judge of character. He had to be in order to be good at his job. There’s a lot of danger to a deep-space trader. He dealt with all kinds of people from every known planet.”

  “Like I said, he had to be good. There was nothing you could have done to stop him. If he’d failed that time, your father would have simply had an unfortunate accident at some other time in the near future.”

  “Thank you.” Those words felt so inadequate to Rory but they were all she had to offer. Kal had taken a load of guilt off her shoulders, guilt she’d never thought she’d shed. A part of her had begun to wonder if she hadn’t deserved her fate because of her part in her father’s death. Now she knew better. But more than that, she knew her father wouldn’t have wanted her to wallow in grief, nor would he ever have wanted her a prisoner aboard a pleasure ship.

  Strength flowed into Rory, and with it a new sense of purpose. She’d help Kal and his brothers find their sister. Even if she didn’t recognize anyone from all the photos they had, she knew people all around the galaxies. She knew where to go to get answers to questions. Her father’s name and reputation would open doors.

  She put her hands on Kal’s chest and pushed. He leaned back, giving her space. They were both still naked but that didn’t seem so strange anymore. Maybe it was because she’d gotten used to wearing practically nothing in her time on the Exos. But she didn’t think that was it.