Alpha’s Revenge Read online

  “Stop thinking about it,” he told her. She glanced up at him but his attention was focused on the rumpled pallet in the corner. “It’s not much but it’s better than nothing.”

  She was worried about being tortured and he was worried about the bed being comfortable for her. She started to laugh.

  Adrian’s arm tightened around her. “Are you okay?”

  The laughter grew. She tried to stop but it was as though a floodgate had been opened. “Am I okay? I’ve watched a tortured man die, escaped the inner city, betrayed my father to the Resistance and had sex with a man I barely know. I’m currently in the hands of my father’s most feared enemy and he knows who I am. Of course, I’m fine.” The laughter ended as suddenly as it began. Tears filled her eyes and began to stream down her cheeks. She swiped at them, hating each one that fell. “I’m sorry. I don’t normally cry.”

  Adrian scooped her into his arms, went down on one knee and laid her on the pallet. “I didn’t think you did,” he assured her. He pulled a blanket over her and brushed his fingers over the scar that bisected her cheek. “It takes a lot of courage to do what you’ve done.”

  She shook her head. “I’ve been scared spitless the entire while. I almost gave up and went back to my apartment and forgot everything.” She couldn’t allow him to think she was brave when she wasn’t.

  He pulled up the bottom part of the blanket and began to remove her boots and socks. He didn’t say anything until her feet were bare. “Real courage is being afraid and doing it anyway.”

  She didn’t know how to respond to that. She’d always felt like a coward, unable to find her way free of her father’s machinations and then her husband’s. It always seemed as though she’d been afraid her entire life. Even now, she still felt the sharp edge of fear, but it was quickly becoming dull beneath Adrian’s care.

  If he were going to hurt her, he wouldn’t be tucking her into bed. Would he? He reached for the fastenings of her pants and before she could react, he shoved them down her legs and off.

  Did he think she’d have sex with him? Now?

  Her mind whirled at the implications but her body responded with a resounding yes! God, he confused her. Adrian, unaware of her internal turmoil, stood and went back to the chair, retrieved the other blanket and brought it back to the pallet, covering her with it.

  The sun was coming up, but it didn’t matter to Charity. She was so tired she could sleep standing up. Adrian blew out the candle on the desk, drew a blind down over the window and returned to her side.

  Without a word, he yanked off his boots and pulled off his shirt. He kept his pants on as he lowered himself onto the pallet next to her. Charity lay next to him, almost afraid to move. She wasn’t certain if she wanted him to touch her or not.

  She was still upset at the thought that he’d slept with her strictly to get more information out of her. Not that he’d needed to do that. She’d ended up telling him everything he wanted to know. No torture necessary. No sex necessary.

  Her pussy clenched as she thought about sex with Adrian. Her breasts were swollen, almost tender, and her nipples were puckered tight. No doubt about it, she didn’t have to worry that she was frigid any longer. If anything, Adrian had turned her into a sex fiend.

  Next to her, his big body was tight with tension. She could feel the heat rolling off him in waves. He swore softly under his breath. “Come here.” He didn’t wait for her to move, but pulled her into his arms.

  Charity didn’t resist. When he was done arranging her how he wanted her, her head was resting on his shoulder, her hand was on his chest and her right thigh was draped over his legs just above his knees.

  “Sleep.” His lips grazed her forehead. “We’ll straighten everything out later.”

  How did he think she could sleep? As exhausted as she was, she was still too churned up to rest. He began to run his large hand up and down her back, soothing her. She sighed and closed her eyes. She’d rest for just a minute and then she’d think about everything.

  * * *

  The sensation of something brushing her lips woke her. Her eyes flew open and she met Adrian’s pale blue gaze. He ran his finger across her bottom lip. “I can’t wait any longer.”

  She recognized the depth of the longing she saw in his eyes. It mirrored the same need burning deep in her soul. She didn’t say a word. Instead, she parted her lips and kissed him. It was deep and hot and overwhelmingly beautiful. Adrian’s tongue stroked hers as he sought out every crevice of her mouth, touching, tasting.

  Charity didn’t want to think about her father or what would happen tomorrow. The only time she had was right here, right now. With Adrian. He should be her enemy. He was an Alpha. A killer. She should be terrified of him. Instead, she’d never felt safer in her life.

  He broke the kiss, his hands reaching down to grab the hem of her shirt. “Let’s get this off you.”

  Charity was silent as she helped him strip away her clothing. His pants came next. In under a minute, they were both naked. The sun was peeking in around the edges of the blinds on the window. She had no idea how much time had passed, how long she’d slept.

  Adrian stretched out beside her, laying his hand over her left breast. “You have pretty breasts. Not too big. Not too small. Just the right size for my hand.” He rotated his palm. Her nipple puckered, stabbing the center. Her legs moved against the thin mattress. She felt restless. Empty.

  The corner of his mouth kicked up, the beginnings of a smile. “I love the way you respond to me. You don’t hold anything back.”

  She didn’t understand how he could be so gentle with her. Why he would even want her, after her confession. “I don’t understand,” she muttered.

  He shrugged. “What’s to understand? I want you. You want me.” He tweaked her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, wringing a gasp of pleasure from her.

  She licked her lips and undulated her hips as fire spread from her breasts to her pussy. “My father,” she began.

  “Has nothing to do with us.” His touch was gentle, but his voice was hard. Unforgiving. “As long as you don’t lie to me, you have nothing to fear.” His hand drifted up to encircle her neck, his fingers caressing the slender bones and tendons. “You told me the truth, didn’t you? Told me everything?”

  A sick feeling washed over her. This had nothing to do with him wanting her and everything to do with getting information. She had to admit, as an interrogation technique it worked well. She was aroused and scared to death at the same time. How that was even possible she didn’t know. She suspected it didn’t say much for her intellect or common sense.

  “Let me up.” Her voice was barely a whisper, but he heard her. He frowned, staring down at her.

  “Why?”

  She swallowed hard. His palm moved up and down her throat in a slow caress. “I don’t want this.”

  He wasn’t touching her except where his hand rested on her neck. “Your body says different.”

  Her laugh was tinged with bitterness. “My body isn’t very smart when it comes to you. I’ll tell you whatever you want. You don’t have to fuck me to get it.”

  His hand froze on her throat, his fingers tightening almost imperceptibly. “What do you mean?”

  Was he really that dense? “What do you think? You get me naked and aroused and then start warning me not to lie. I know my actions might have shown otherwise, but I do have a brain and it’s time I started using it. How better for you to get revenge at the General than by fucking his daughter. You don’t care about me. I could be anyone and you’d be doing the same thing.”

  Charity stared up at Adrian, determined to be brave. It wasn’t easy with his large body looming over her naked form. His erection prodding against her thigh, a very solid reminder that he was a male animal and he was very aroused. He could easily take her against her will.
She closed her eyes. That wasn’t anything her husband hadn’t done to her. She could get through this and survive.

  “You really believe that.” His voice was low and rough.

  She tried to nod, but it was impossible given his hold on her neck. “What else can I think?”

  In a quick move, he rolled on top of her, holding his weight on his forearms as he cupped her face in his hands. “Look at me,” he ordered.

  She did as he asked. There was really nothing else she could do. It served no purpose to defy him. The quicker this was over with, the quicker she could work on getting away from here. Although, where she would go was anyone’s guess. She had no idea.

  “This isn’t about your father. This is about you and me. You won’t lie to me because there is no reason to.” He rubbed his thumbs over her forehead, eyebrows and over her cheekbones. “I won’t hurt you, sweet Charity. I would never hurt you.”

  She wanted to believe him. A part of her, the hopeless romantic she thought had died long ago, still flickered with hope. “I’m your enemy,” she reminded him. He’d taken the news about her father much too casually for her to believe he truly felt no animosity toward her.

  He shook his head. “Your father is my enemy. You’re not responsible for his actions. I think he’s using you, but I don’t think you really knew anything about that, or even understood what he was doing.”

  “Because I’m too stupid to get it. I can see how you’d think that.” She was still furious with herself for how easily she’d had sex with Adrian. How quick she’d been to trust him on all levels. “I haven’t shown much intelligence since I got here.”

  “You’re not stupid.” For the first time, she sensed his mounting frustration. He shifted his position, making a place for himself between her thighs. The coarse hair of his legs brushed against the insides of her thighs in a rough caress. His cock pressed against her stomach, her breasts crushed against his chest. The thick muscles of his biceps bulged as he easily held the bulk of his weight off her.

  He leaned down and brought his lips to hers. He didn’t kiss her so much as his mouth simply touched hers. His lips were warm and firm and her stomach jumped, not in fear, but in anticipation.

  She closed her eyes and sighed. It seemed that where this man was concerned, common sense and self-preservation went straight out the window. All he had to do was touch her and she wanted him. She’d gone from believing she was frigid to not knowing herself at all. And it was all because of Adrian.

  “I want you.” He pressed his lips against the corner of her mouth, along her jaw and over to her ear. “Only you. I don’t care who your father is. He’s not a part of what’s happening between us.” His tongue traced the whorl of her ear before delving inside.

  Charity moaned and arched her hips, embracing the heat that enveloped her. She could feel the dampness against her stomach where his cock head prodded against her with growing need. Slowly. Tentatively, she raised her hands and touched his shoulders.

  He groaned, his eyes flashing with pale blue fire. “I want to fuck you.”

  Was she really going to do this? He waited, every muscle of his body tense with sexual desire. It hurt to look at him. He was like some mythical god come to life. He was so strong, more powerful than she could imagine. Smarter, faster, with an intellect that was far beyond anything she could ever match.

  He wanted her. That was real. She truly believed that. His frustration hadn’t been faked. But she wanted the issue of her father behind them before they continued. “Do you have any more questions about my father or the inner city?”

  Adrian groaned. “Hundreds. But not now. Right now I don’t give a fuck about any of it.” He flexed his hips, rubbing his cock against her mound and over her stomach.

  Tension she hadn’t even realized she was holding inside her slowly drained away. Her body seemed to heave a big sigh and melt into the pallet beneath her. She believed him. As he flexed his hips again a different kind of tension filled her. Her toes curled and her pussy began to pulse, the inner muscles clutching hard.

  She moved her hands down his shoulders and over his chest. Adrian swore and grabbed one of her hands. “I’m too close and you’re not ready.”

  Charity undulated her hips, feeling the cream slip from her core. “I’m ready.”

  He shook his head, a lock of blond hair falling across his forehead. “No, you’re not. But you will be.” The look in his eyes promised untold pleasures. “Do you trust me?”

  That was the big question for both of them, wasn’t it? Trust. It all came down to that. Charity went with her gut and made the biggest decision of her life. She prayed she made the right choice. “Yes.”

  Satisfaction gleamed in his eyes. “Raise your arms over your head. There’s an old pipe running along the base of the wall. Grab it and hold on.”

  She tried to read him but couldn’t be sure what he was thinking. “I don’t understand.”

  “It’s simple.” He kissed her palm and lifted her hand over her head until her fingers brushed the pipe. She automatically closed her hand around the thick piece of metal. “I’m going to torture you, sweet Charity. With pleasure.” He lifted her other hand and raised it over her head until it joined the other one. “I’m going to lick and suck and taste every inch of your body until you scream for mercy. And when you’re hot and wet and screaming, I’m going to fuck you until we both can’t stand it any longer.”

  Heat suffused her, filling every crevice of her body. Her heart pounded a wild rhythm. Breathing was difficult. She couldn’t suck enough air into her lungs. Her mouth was suddenly dry, making it difficult to speak. “Adrian.” She said his name, not quite sure what else she could say.

  Her breasts ached. Her pussy throbbed. She wanted him to touch her. To take her. She lifted her hand to touch his face but he captured it and put it back against the pipe.

  “You can’t touch me. You have to keep your hands on the pipe.”

  She licked her lips and almost smiled as his eyes tracked the movement of her tongue. “I’m not sure I can.” She wanted to stroke every inch of his hard, muscled body. She’d barely had the opportunity to touch him earlier.

  “I can fix that.” Rising up onto his knees, he leaned to the side and grabbed her bra. Gripping the stretchy fabric in his hands, he reached up and quickly bound her wrists together before anchoring them to the thick pipe. “Now you don’t have to worry.”

  Panic flared inside her as he tied her hands. She was totally helpless now. Unable to defend herself. She whimpered. Fear began to close in around her.

  “Shh,” Adrian whispered as he peppered her face with soft kisses. “Trust me.” He dragged the edge of his teeth over her neck. Every nerve ending in her body sizzled with sexual heat. It shot to her breasts and down between her legs. She whimpered again, but this time it was pleasure, not fear, that prompted the sound.

  “That’s it,” he praised as he moved down her body. His lips caressed her collarbone and the valley between her breasts.

  Charity moaned, her hips moving restlessly.

  He palmed her breasts, rubbing his thumbs over her erect nipples. “You’re so beautiful in your passion. Let go and trust me. It’s all about pleasure.”

  She licked her lips and arched her back, pushing her breasts against his hands.

  “That’s it. Give yourself to me. Body and soul, sweet Charity. You belong to me.” Leaning down, Adrian captured one tight nipple between his lips and sucked. She cried out as he carefully raked his teeth across the puckered bud, using just enough pressure to bring her the most pleasure. It bordered on pain, but never crossed the line.

  Time lost all meaning as he worked his way down her body. He touched and licked, suckled and nipped. From her neck to her ankles, no part of her was left unexplored, except for her pussy. He purposely stayed away from the area that needed h
im the most.

  Charity thought she might go mad. She was so close to coming. But every time she thought she was there, he’d back off and wait a few minutes before starting the erotic torture all over again.

  “Adrian,” she gasped.

  “Mmm,” he answered as he licked the crease at the top of her right thigh.

  “Fuck me,” she demanded. She planted her feet and pushed her hips toward him. He simply smiled and nipped at her hipbone.

  “I should have tied your legs down too.” He teased her inner thighs with his fingers, stopping short of touching her pulsing, hot core. “Someday I’ll have you on a real bed, stretched out for my pleasure, hands and feet tied to the posts. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” He casually brushed one finger over her slick folds.

  She couldn’t answer. Her brain was about to short circuit. She screamed as she came. Her body stiffened, her hands clenching the pipe for support. Her vision dimmed and the world around her went black.

  When reality surfaced once again, Adrian was watching her. As her eyes fluttered open, he smiled. “Now the real fun starts.”

  Chapter Five

  There wasn’t a cell inside his body that wasn’t screaming at Adrian to take Charity. To fuck her long and hard, marking her as his again. He planned to do exactly that. Just not quite yet.

  He wanted her to have the maximum pleasure he could give. He’d almost blown it earlier. She’d withdrawn from him, shoring up her defenses. He understood why she’d question his motivation, especially now that he knew she was the General’s daughter, but he didn’t like it one little bit. She’d moved away from him, emotionally and mentally. Thankfully, she hadn’t been able to hide her physical reaction.

  He didn’t question his motivation. He wanted her on a level that went beyond the physical and the rational. He didn’t question it, but accepted it. Charity belonged to him. End of story. He lived and died by his instincts. Right now, they were telling him to hold on tight. And he’d do whatever it took to bind her to him.