The Rule of Luck, page 24
“Stop!” I begged. “I’ve never…I can’t take any more.”
“Yes, you can,” was the answer, the words a growl against my thigh.
He was right. I could, and did several more times.
When he’d decided it was enough, all I could do was look up at the ceiling with unseeing eyes, legs hanging over the edge of the bed, arms dead at my sides. I couldn’t catch my breath and my heart beat wildly. I heard a deep, masculine chuckle and the rustle of fabric. A moment later, he loomed over me, hands braced on the bed by my shoulders.
I couldn’t raise my head. In fact, I may have been delirious from too many orgasms if such a thing were possible. “You’re finished already?”
He bent down, lips nuzzling my throat. “Actually, I’ve barely started.”
I raised a hand to trace his jaw, bringing his gaze to mine. “I want to feel you inside of me. Please.”
He held my eyes for a long moment. Then said, “What the lady wants, she gets.”
He gathered me up to lay me more fully on the bed. I rose up on my knees, my hands skimming along his chest to push his shirt off his shoulders. I leaned in to kiss him; he dipped his head to accommodate me, and I could taste myself on his lips. Knowing what he could do with his mouth was unbearably erotic, and I felt a new surge of heat at the thought.
When his hands moved to his pants, I stopped him.
“Let me,” I whispered, my fingers brushing his erection, which was clearly straining against the fabric. “I want to undress you.”
He stilled and his hands dropped to his sides, his breathing growing shallow as he waited. I made quick work of it, pushing them down over his hips. In the room’s dim light, I was finally granted a view of Alexei Petriv in all his naked magnificence. I gasped softly. He was like some exquisite work of art. The tattoos did nothing to take away from the sculpted musculature, enhancing it instead. My hands drifted over his chest, his shoulders, down his arms, then to his abs and lower. All of him was hard, lean muscle, the opposite of my softness. Just feeling his body, feeling that strength and knowing how powerful he was, aroused me unbearably. I could feel my own wetness drip down my inner thigh; I wanted him so badly.
My hands drifted to his penis and cupped him, feeling the heavy weight. I couldn’t help but make an interested hum as I explored, the hum both appreciative and a little daunted by the sheer size. It was impressive to say the least, throbbing in my hands as if it had a life of its own. I closed my fingers around him, barely able to hold that demanding thickness as he twitched. His breath came out in a hiss and his eyes drifted closed.
“Do you know how much it turns me on just to look at you?” I told him. “Do you know how badly I’ve wanted to feel you inside me? I wanted it from the first moment you walked into my shop,” I whispered, stroking him with one hand while kissing along the column of his throat. “When we were at your house and you had your hands on me, I thought I would go insane if I couldn’t have this. Then you walked away and I wanted to die because all I wanted was the feeling of you, pushing inside me.”
He jerked in my hand and I felt a bead of pre-cum on my fingers. I grinned into his neck, feeling triumphant that finally I had power over him too. The feeling continued when he warned, “I’m not going to last if you do that.”
I gave his chest a long, slow lick of my own followed by a series of sharp, biting kisses. “I think that’s the point.”
He grabbed my wrists, pinning them against my back, and lifted me up until my naked body brushed fully against his for the first time. I moaned, feeling his erection against my stomach, then lower where it settled between my thighs. The promise of all that power shafting up inside me left me whimpering and desperate to clutch at his body, to feel all of him pressed against me.
“I need you. Please, just take me,” I whispered.
“I think,” he said pointedly, “that we should get down to business.”
My breath came out in a sigh as he pushed me back onto the mattress with unsteady hands and followed me down. “I completely agree.”
Then he stopped, poised over me, and looked at me so long I began to feel self-conscious. “Stop that.”
“Just admiring the view,” he said, before sinking down beside me.
“I’m sure you’ve admired plenty,” I replied drily.
“No.” His voice grew husky. “Not like this. Not like you.”
When he kissed me again, it started slowly, sweetly. It wasn’t enough. We’d moved long past sweet and I needed more. As if he could sense it, he took my hands in his, lacing our fingers together, and stretched my arms over my head. At the same time, he kicked my legs wide and settled his hips between them, pinning me to the mattress. I shifted restlessly under his weight, unbelievably aroused to feel him there poised against my opening, hard and ready to tear me apart as he’d promised earlier. I met his eyes in the semidarkness.
“You are so beautiful,” he whispered. “You have no idea what you do to me.”
The sentiment was so raw, so unexpectedly passionate, I felt tears rise. “Now,” I demanded instead, challenging him and lifting my hips. “I need you inside me now.”
That was all it took. In one solid thrust, he rammed into me as deep as he could go. I cried out as my body worked to accommodate his, filled almost to the point of discomfort. He went still, his body rigid over mine, both of us gasping, waiting, wanting. He was so big, so deep. I’d never felt so full before. Had never been so possessed by another man, or been claimed so completely.
“Open your eyes,” he ordered. I hadn’t even realized they’d been closed and they flew open. His hips ground against mine and my body clenched around him. “I want to watch you. I need to see you come.”
I felt the strain in his entire body as he carefully pulled out. A second later, he slammed into me again, his width making me whimper. It felt so good, so raw, my body couldn’t help but arch to meet his, my hips rising. Another thrust, just as hard and fierce as the first. Then another that left me breathless. His hips swiveled into me, melting me with every deep, shattering, plunge. Another thrust. Another, and I lost all sense of time or place as his body rode mine, owning me, hungrily demanding it meet his needs and work for his pleasure alone.
“Come for me, Felicia. Now,” was the command.
Helplessly I did, my body clutching his as I shuddered around him. The orgasm was so powerful, it left me wanting to bite him, claw at his back, anything that would give me an outlet for all that heat burning through me. But with my hands trapped in his, I could only take what his body gave. He threw his head back then, my orgasm finally bringing his. I felt him jerk inside me, his hips crashing into mine. His entire body went rigid after a final thrust so deep, I lost my breath as he shouted my name.
Finally he released my hands as he collapsed on top of me, the bulk of his weight falling to my left. My arms were numb, but I clutched him to me, afraid to let him go, desperate to make the moment last. He pressed his lips to my shoulder, and his hands held my hips so that when he moved, he wouldn’t dislodge himself. I could feel his heart hammering against my chest, mine keeping pace. His breath came in ragged pants and sweat coated us both.
An eternity later, he raised a hand to my hair. The caress was gentle, almost tentative, given his earlier domination. Then he pressed a kiss to my throat. When he finally raised his head until his face hovered above mine, I saw a look of fierce determination.
“Fuck your cards. I am never letting you go.”
I swallowed at his intensity, not expecting it. “They didn’t say you had to let me go. Just that things could get in the way. We’ll figure it out.”
He nodded and gathered me in his arms, tucking me against him. When he pulled the blankets over us, I snuggled into him and pressed my face to his throat. His vehemence both scared and thrilled me. He threw a leg over mine, still semi-hard inside me, and kissed the top of my head.
“It’s late. You need to rest,” he whispered, lips at my ear.
“Oh? You mean that’s all you’ve got? I thought you said to check back with you at dawn.”
He thrust his hips subtly and I spasmed around him, the aftershock taking me off guard. My breath caught as I felt him begin to swell inside me. He chuckled. “Not quite. We’ll be busy shortly and it would be a crime on my part to leave you so exhausted that you miss something.”
“Very thoughtful of you.”
Another shallow thrust made me gasp, then a third. “I try to be.”
He was right. Not long after, we were very busy, and I didn’t miss a moment.
* * *
“Tell me what happened with Monique,” Petriv said, hours later.
I’d been dozing on my side, half asleep yet always aware of him beside me. Now he lay propped on his right elbow, looking down at me. His free hand brushed strands of hair from my face. As tired and sore as I was, I also wanted to push him back onto the mattress and start all over again.
“I could have told you ages ago if you hadn’t been so intent on other things.”
“Things I’ll be intent on again,” he promised, making me shiver. “What did she say?”
I sighed and rolled onto my back. Beside me, Petriv moved his hand to continue stroking my hair. Sorting my thoughts, I told him everything: how TransWorld used the clones to manipulate circumstances in their favor; the rules of luck my mother had uncovered; how she’d found my family and why we’d been blacklisted; the Consortium’s rejection of her research which drove her to TransWorld; and lastly her growing frustration at her inability to receive the global acclaim she felt she deserved. Everything, except her obsession with him. I couldn’t go there because it scared me. I didn’t want to see below the surface of who or what he might be.
“There’s no kindness in her,” I said at last. “Not that I expected any, given what I read in the cards, but I guess I thought she might care about the clones. She doesn’t. They’re disposable to her. It’s all disposable, like she’s bored and it no longer entertains her. That’s when I knew she was a monster. TransWorld keeps her in check, if you can believe it.”
“And you said you have a plan to discredit TransWorld?”
“More like a thought with lots of holes in it. We kidnap a clone, run a comparison against my DNA, and present it to some CN-net news outlet. Once One Gov realizes TransWorld is producing illegal full-body clones, they’ll have to bow out of the bid.”
“How would you explain why they’re creating a clone army? Do you propose telling them about the luck gene as well?”
I lightly swatted his chest. “Okay, I already admitted it wasn’t a great plan. Obviously, I’d rather people didn’t know about the luck gene. I’d like to understand it myself, and maybe tell my family. I don’t want to be studied like a lab rat. Let’s just focus on getting a clone first and worry about the rest later.”
He caught my hand and kissed along the knuckles. “In theory, it could work,” he conceded, lips moving to my wrist. “However, breaking into TransWorld will be a problem. By the time we acquire the security specs to their AI, the bid will be awarded.”
“Weeeell,” I began, drawing out the word. “Not if we break in tomorrow. And not if it’s me.”
He stilled. “How?”
“I’m a spook. No t-mods. Plus, I’m a genetic match to the clones. The building security won’t tag me.” I held up the hand he’d been kissing. “This unlocks all the doors. If we do it tomorrow night—or I guess it’s tonight now—while they’re still celebrating the holiday, I can enter the building, grab a clone while she’s asleep, and walk out. Simple.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Why not? It’s a good plan.” I consulted my gut. Nothing. I had no feeling one way or the other about the plan’s success. “Well it’s better than what you currently have.”
“No. I will not endanger you again in such a situation. You’re not prepared for fieldwork. Further, we don’t have the building schematics so we’ve no idea where the clones actually reside. We also can’t guarantee whether or not their handlers might be present, or what sort of deterrents they could use against you. And suppose you do get in? You and the clone both have luck working for you. Who would win such a contest? And now, after this”—he gestured to the two of us in bed—“even if we had years to devise the perfect plan, you are not going.” With urgent hands, he parted my thighs and resettled himself between my legs as if he’d never left. His lips were feverish on mine. “You are not going.”
I turned my head from his kiss and pushed against his chest. I couldn’t stop him nor did I want to, but he needed to know I was serious. Even as my traitorous body happily responded to his hands and lips, I smacked his shoulder to make him listen.
“I’m the only one who can do this.” My words became moans as I arched with him.
His erection pushed against me, on the verge of sliding home. “No. I’m not risking you.”
In he went with the same urgent speed as before, moving with ruthless intent. Again, my body struggled to accommodate him, overwhelmed by both his size and the speed with which he took me. In the end, I couldn’t resist him. My body clenched around him as if I’d been made solely for him to use as he saw fit. And use me he did. Dimly I was aware of the headboard striking the wall until it seemed the whole room shook. All I could do was cry out and cling to him as the force of his powerful thrusts rammed me up the bed and into a blinding burst of orgasms that didn’t seem to end. My brain wanted to protest, but my body cheerfully overrode all logic and reveled in everything he did with it.
I’m not sure how much time passed before I came to my senses. In the end, I lay sprawled across his chest, trying to catch my breath while listening to his heart’s frantic rhythm.
“That’s cheating,” I said, eventually.
“I don’t care. I need you safe and will do everything in my power to keep you that way.”
I turned my face to his, looking at him through the fall of my hair. “Deep down, you know it has to be me. No one else can do it and you’ll never have this opportunity again. If I don’t stop her now, I’m terrified of what she’ll do in the future.”
Petriv looked at me. For a long time, he did nothing other than toy with my hair. I tried to gauge his expression. It wasn’t the look of someone checking in with the CN-net or running through all his options to determine the best course of action. Rather, it was a man who suspected he was losing everything he cared about and could do nothing to prevent it.
“You may think it’s too dangerous or the situation isn’t ideal, but it doesn’t matter. She’s creating distorted versions of me and turning them into slaves. I know the TransWorld bid is your priority, but the way she uses those clones and the things she’s done to justify herself…I don’t think I could live with myself if I stood by and did nothing,” I said, realizing in my gut it was true. “And I don’t think I could forgive you if you tried to stop me from doing something to help.”
“Alright then.” He tilted my head so he could kiss me again. Funny how it felt so final as his lips brushed mine. “It will be tonight.”
Chapter Seventeen
I woke to sunlight streaming through the windows. I was also alone in the largest bed I’d ever seen. Definitely orgy sized. As I rolled over and contemplated the ceiling, my body announced a series of aches in places I didn’t think it capable of aching. Happily, they were the kinds of aches I could live with and would like to repeat in the future.
Sometime during the night, he had removed my c-tex bracelet. I grabbed it from the bedside table, saw it was almost noon, and checked my messages. I had one from Petriv saying he’d gone to make preparations for tonight and would return soon. How soon was soon? Should I stay in bed and wait for him? While the idea had definite appeal, my body decided it was hungry and needed to pee, so I reluctantly got up. I noticed bruises on my thighs but ignored them, knowing they’d been for the greater good.
Next came several brilliant realizations. Firstly, I had nothing to wear since Petriv had destroyed everything except for my boots. Secondly, I had no idea where anything was in this enormous suite. With a bit of investigating, I found the bathroom, then the closet where I asked the AI for a standard hotel robe. I considered ordering room service, but it seemed presumptuous given this wasn’t my room. Besides, I wanted my cards. My hands practically itched with the need to touch them. There were so many things to verify: tonight, Monique, and naturally Petriv and any fallout from last night.
Last night. I shivered. He’d been brutal and demanding, although that hadn’t shocked me. He was the sort who got his own way in everything—almost a stereotypical trait for someone in his position. You didn’t get to the top without some level of ruthlessness. What surprised me was the desperation I’d sensed, as if he needed to connect with someone. Whether he intended it or not, I had probably seen emotions he never exposed to the rest of the world. It made me realize I needed to stop trying to distance myself by thinking of him as Mr. Petriv or just Petriv. It wasn’t like that between us anymore. I didn’t know what it was going to be in the future, but it couldn’t go back to what it had been. Being with Alexei would be unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. Part of me wondered if I was ready for this level of consuming intensity. Would he regret opening up to me? Maybe that was why he wasn’t with me now. Or maybe I was borrowing trouble. Whatever the case, I wanted to be on more equal footing next time I saw him, and lounging naked in his bed wasn’t how to go about it.
