Roth(Hell Squad 5) Page 6
“Avery—”
“All I can do is try the memory stim and pray that I can give you some intel that might help us keep the base safe and push back at the aliens.”
“Dammit.” His fingers tightened on her skin. “Why do you always have to fight everything I say?”
Anger sparked, hot and righteous. “Because sometimes you don’t listen! That head of yours can be pretty hard.”
With a warning tone, he backed her up a few steps. “Avery—”
“Don’t tell me to let it go, that it isn’t my fault. The same would apply to your family.”
He stiffened. “My family has nothing to do with this.”
“Don’t tell me you didn’t feel guilty that they died and you didn’t. That you didn’t do something to save them. You gave up everything to join the military and fight for them.” She lowered her voice. “I have to do the same.”
His blue eyes turned to steel. Her back hit the wall and her throat suddenly went dry, but she stood her ground.
And found herself pinned to the wall by Roth’s body.
Then he cursed and slid his hands under her bottom. Helpless to resist, she wrapped her legs around his waist, and his hard cock pressed firmly against her. They both groaned.
“Damn,” he muttered. “You’ve crawled under my skin. I think of you every damn minute of the day. Even on my missions, when I should be focused on other things.”
His confession, delivered in that deep growl, made her shudder, her hands sinking into his shoulders. He was only covered by that thin towel, and a part of her was desperate to see him. She wanted to stroke her hands all over him—his hard chest, his thick thighs, the long cock she felt against her.
Roth cursed again, and then one of his hands was under her shirt, cupping her breast, kneading.
“This is crazy,” she whispered. “Half the time we don’t like each other, and the rest of the time—”
“And the rest of the time, we both want to tear each other’s clothes off.” He tweaked her nipple between his fingers making her moan.
“Damn you, yes,” she hissed.
“Nothing wrong in finding some pleasure, Avery.”
Because she couldn’t stop herself, she rubbed against him, saw his eyes flare. “I know. But generally I prefer to like my lovers.”
His hand slid lower, and then it was between them, shoving her skirt up. When a long finger slid against the edge of her panties, she made a small noise, her hips tipping forward.
“You like me, sweetheart. Even if you won’t admit it.”
He pushed her panties to the side, his finger running through her folds. She was embarrassingly wet for him.
He groaned. “Sweetheart. So wet, so perfect. I can’t wait to put my mouth here, lap you all up.”
His words made her belly clench. “Roth—”
Without warning, he slid one blunt finger inside her. She arched again, made a keening cry.
“You like that,” he growled. His thumb brushed through her curls, found her clit.
She made another choked cry. The sensations storming through her were glorious. “Yes. God, it’s been so long since anyone’s touched me.”
“I’ll touch you, baby,” he murmured.
Then suddenly, she was pulled away from the wall and he was carrying her, striding toward the couch. He dropped her on the over-soft cushions. Then he tugged her toward the edge, spreading her legs and kneeling between them on the floor.
Avery had the fleeting thought that she should say something, do something. But he ripped her panties away and left her spread there, bare for him to see, and she couldn’t form any words. She felt like she was in a sensual storm, unable to do anything except just hold on for the ride.
No, dammit. She wanted him to enjoy this, too. She reached for him.
“Uh-uh.” He shook his head, lowering to nip her hipbone.
“Roth.” Her hips lifted. “I want to touch you.”
“You will. But right now, I want to lap at those pretty pink lips of yours and suck on that little clit until you cry out my name.” His ice-blue eyes blazed. “You going to call out my name, Avery? So loud my neighbors will know exactly what I’m doing to you?”
Her breath hitched. “Yes.”
He lowered his head and his tongue slid through her damp folds.
Oh, God. Her hands clamped in his hair. It had been so long since she’d felt pleasure, since she’d had an insanely attractive man pleasuring her.
Avery gave herself up to the cascade of feelings. She felt her release thundering closer, making every muscle in her body tighten to the breaking point. He lapped at her like he needed her taste just to survive, all his concentration on his task.
He looked up at her, and she watched as his tongue licked her flesh. He kept eye contact as he tongued her clit, then he broke their gaze to tilt his head and suck the small nub into his mouth. “Christ, you are hot, Avery.”
Too much. Pleasure slammed into her, her climax tearing through her body. Her back arched, and she felt Roth’s hands gripping her thighs, holding her in place. She screamed his name.
When she could think again, she felt like a warm puddle. She looked at him. He still knelt between her legs, his head bowed. She pressed a hand to his cheek. “Roth?”
He looked up and her stomach tightened. Desire was burning white-hot in his eyes, his face set in stark lines of need.
Impossibly, desire sparked in her sated body. This man seemed to wrench so many emotions out of her, and she couldn’t understand it.
She slithered off the couch and onto her knees beside him. The towel was still around his hips, but had slipped down a few inches, revealing more of the hard muscle of his stomach. She licked her lips. And the towel was tented impressively.
She tore it away.
She drew in a breath. As she took his large cock in her hand, he groaned. So big. She stroked it, and when he groaned again, her gaze went to his face. That look, that stark look of need, was all for her.
Suddenly, a beeping noise penetrated her pleasure-fuzzed head.
Roth cursed and pulled away. “I have to take that. That’s the general’s ringtone.”
As she watched, Roth hitched the towel around himself again, and Avery suddenly felt chilled. She tugged her clothes into place and looked around for her missing panties, but they were nowhere to be seen.
Roth stabbed a button on his communicator. “General.”
“Masters. The debrief started five minutes ago. Where are you?”
Avery watched as color filled Roth’s cheeks.
“Sorry, sir, just finishing…cleaning up in my quarters. I’ll be there in three.” As he ended the call, he turned to Avery. “Sorry.”
She shook her head. “Duty calls.” And maybe it was a sign. There was an alien war going on. She couldn’t afford to have Roth Masters messing her up. This…attraction between them was just a distraction. “It was a great little interlude. Let’s leave it at that.”
“Avery…”
She hurried to the door. “Don’t sweat it.” Keep it casual, Avery. Easy. She winked at him. “And I owe you a blow job.”
Roth made a growling sound. He charged at her, and damn the man could move. She dodged, but she wasn’t fast enough. She found herself caught between the wall and Roth’s bare chest once more.
His hands were pressed to the wall on either side of her head. “This was not some simple roll in the hay.”
“No, it was oral sex on your couch.”
He growled again. “So, you’re going to keep throwing walls between us.”
“There is no ‘us’, Roth. Most of the time, you don’t even like me.”
Something softened in his face. “You’ve got that wrong, sweetheart. I like everything about you, even your prickly stubbornness. And I really enjoy hearing you cry out my name when you come.”
Now Avery felt heat in her cheeks. “You have to go, remember?”
Frustration tightened his jaw. “Yes, da
mmit, I do.”
“I’m doing the memory stimulation, Roth.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Then I want to be there when you do.”
Her belly quivered. No one had ever been with her at her health checks growing up. A social worker, sure, but no one who’d ever wanted to be there. “Okay.”
“Promise me.”
“Yes.” A knot of tension that she hadn’t realized had been lodged in her belly unraveled a little. That was Roth Masters; he’d do the right thing, even when he disagreed.
She pushed against him, and he stepped back. As she opened the door, she realized she didn’t want to leave. She shook her head. Don’t be stupid, Avery. Don’t get attached.
Suddenly, she was spun around and a hard mouth slammed down on hers. His tongue thrust between her lips, and Avery threw her arms around him and kissed him back. Then she was dragging her mouth over his jaw, down his neck. Something wild called to her and she bit down on the hard tendons. He growled, his arms curling around her.
They parted, panting.
“God, go, before I tell the general and his debrief to go to hell and drag you to my bunk.”
She straightened. “Maybe I’d drag you to my bunk. And I’d be on top, Masters.” She shot him a smile. “I like the top.”
He swatted her butt. “Go.” A fierce growl.
As Avery hurried down the tunnel, she felt a lightness for the first time since she’d been pulled from that tank.
Chapter Seven
Avery shifted in the armchair, trying not to bump all the cords attached to her. She couldn’t seem to get comfortable.
“One more.” Doc Emerson leaned over and pressed a sticky electrode pad to Avery’s bare shoulder.
One more. Right. There were already a bunch of other ones sticking to her temples, neck, arms and chest. She wore a tight tank top to give the doc better access. She shifted again, hating that she couldn’t settle down.
The doc pressed a hand to Avery’s shoulder and squeezed. “Relax. Are you sure you want to do this? You know I’m against the idea.”
Avery gave a jerky nod. Roth had promised to be here. She’d left a message on his comp, telling him the doc had set up a time for the memory stim procedure. The doc started tapping on a scanner screen nearby, and Avery let her head drop back against the chair. It was one they used for the regular blood donations all the base residents had to give. Well, except her, and the other alien-lab survivors. The doc was being cautious, not letting them donate until she could fully rule out anything the aliens had put in their blood. Blood that was needed for anyone who was injured…which she guessed was most often the squad soldiers.
She glanced at the door, but saw no sign of wide shoulders and a sandy head. Maybe Squad Nine got called out? Or maybe he’d forgotten and had better things to do.
She straightened. She wasn’t a little girl, needing someone to hold her hand. “Let’s get this show on the road, Emerson.”
The doctor turned and held up a pressure injector. “Okay. I have a few different drugs I need to give you. I’ll just be a minute.”
Emerson bustled around. The scanner started a steady beat, and Avery watched various lines on the screen, bobbing and dipping.
“The drugs are pretty potent, Avery.” Emerson’s face turned serious. “I have to warn you. In order to stimulate your memories, the drugs will lower your inhibitions.”
Avery’s hands clenched the armrests. She thought of her faceless mother, snorting drugs, injecting them, desperate for another hit. That was what she’d come from. “I’ll…have no control?”
“They won’t make you do things you really don’t want to do. They just take the brakes off the things you want to do but stop yourself from doing.”
Avery released a slow breath. “I’ve always wanted to learn to tango. Hopefully I won’t be dipping and turning around your infirmary with a rose clenched between my teeth.”
Emerson laughed. “There you go. Don’t worry. I’m here, I’ll make sure things don’t get out of hand.”
Avery nodded and Emerson went back to organizing her equipment. The doctor shoved a portable light closer, the glare spearing into Avery’s eyes, and a pain gripped her head.
A memory, harsh and hungry, hit her. She tensed. She heard raptors, was being dragged across the floor, and she was yelling. Raptor grunts echoed in the darkness…along with human screams. Orange light filtered through the room, giving the place a scary feel and ahead she saw the empty tank waiting for her.
She heard a female voice calling her name, a hand shaking her shoulder. Avery ignored it. She wanted to remember, but now her heart was beating like a giant drum, reverberating in her head and she…was afraid.
“Avery.”
Roth’s deep, steady voice made her blink.
She realized he was kneeling in front of her, his big hands covering hers on the armrests. The memory of the alien lab shrank in a flash, like he’d frightened it away. “Roth?”
“I’m here, sweetheart.” One of his hands slid up her arm, rubbing. “What did you remember?”
She shuddered and pressed her head against the plump armchair. “Being dragged toward that tank.” She shook her head. “Keep going, Doc.”
Emerson looked like she wanted to argue, but with a sigh, she pressed an injector to Avery’s neck. “The first lot of drugs.”
Avery focused on Roth. He stayed kneeling, but she could see he was wearing his armor on the lower half of his body, and just a T-shirt on the top. His hair was a little mussed, no doubt thanks to his combat helmet. “You had a mission.”
“Just base patrol. Got waylaid in the handover to the next team, that’s why I was a bit late.”
She wasn’t going to tell him she was glad he was here. But she wanted to.
Her gaze zeroed in on a dark shadow on his neck. A bruise. Oh, God. “Is that a hickey?”
His hand went to his neck and he grinned. “Yeah, a hot little wildcat marked me.”
Avery’s mouth dropped open. She’d done that. Left that mark on him. She was equal parts embarrassed and pleased.
“Caught hell for it at my debriefing.” He rolled his eyes. “Don’t get me started on my squad. Don’t think they’ll ever let me live it down.”
“I can heal that for you, Roth,” Emerson said with a wide smile.
He thumbed the mark again. “No, thanks. I kind of like it.”
Emerson snorted and turned back to Avery. When the doctor winked, Avery had to fight the urge to laugh.
“Okay, second lot of drugs, Avery.” Emerson hesitated with the injector. “I won’t lie, these drugs are going to hurt.”
“Do it.” Avery felt the dual sensations, the cool press of the injector on her neck and the warm press of Roth’s fingers on her arms.
The drugs went in, and it felt like fire in her veins. She arched against the chair, wincing.
“Shit, Doc, should it hurt that much?” Roth demanded.
“It’ll wear off shortly,” Emerson answered.
“It’s okay, Avery.” Roth patted her hands. “You’re tough enough to handle it.”
“I’m tough enough to take you on, so yeah, I guess you’re right.”
A crooked smile appeared on his rugged face. “You’d only take me down if you got lucky.”
She snorted. “You’re dreaming, Masters. You’re all brute strength, I’m skill.”
“Sounds like a challenge to me.” His fingers brushing her arm gentled. “Well, you certainly aren’t brute anything, although there is plenty of strength under your prickly persona.”
“I’m not prickly.”
He made a masculine sound that she translated to a skeptical “yeah, right.”
Emerson interrupted. “Avery, I’m going to ask you some standard questions, just answer truthfully. Then we’ll ask the questions referencing the aliens.”
“Got it.”
“What’s your full name?” Emerson asked.
“Avery Lauren Stillman.”
“Occupation.”
A feeling of lassitude was starting to flow through her, the pain receding. She snuggled back into the chair. She felt warm and calm. God, it felt good. She hadn’t felt like this…well, except for those moments in Roth’s arms. She looked at him now, her gaze boring into his blue eyes.
“Avery, what’s your occupation?” Emerson asked again.
“I’m a special agent with the Coalition Central Intelligence Agency.” She frowned. “No, that’s not right. I was, but I’m not anymore. Now I work in the kitchen.”
“How are you feeling?” Emerson studied whatever the scanner screen was displaying.
Avery smiled. “Pretty darn good.” She giggled. “Awesome.”
“High as a kite,” Roth muttered.
“Like I said, your inhibitions are lowered. It’ll make it easier for you to recall the memories you’re after.” Emerson turned. “Where are you from?”
“Brisbane, originally.”
“What were your parents’ names?”
“I don’t know. I never knew them.”
The doctor paused for a second. “Neither of them?”
“My mother was apparently a drug addict. She gave me up as soon as I was born.”
“Who did you live with?”
“I lived in foster homes. Fifteen of them.”
Avery heard Emerson gasp and Roth curse. His hands tightened on her.
“It wasn’t all doom and gloom. Most of the homes were good. Good food, clean clothes, they made sure I went to school. It inspired me to want more from my life. I wanted a career, I wanted to be important, I wanted to help and I wanted to be in charge of my life.”
“All right,” Emerson said. “Let’s move on. One more question, Avery. Who are your closest friends?”
“Friends? No one. I don’t have any and I didn’t really have any before the invasion. I was too busy at work, and I traveled a lot.”
“Lovers?” Roth growled.
“Roth,” Emerson admonished, but they both ignored her.
Avery smiled, she thought it felt goofy. “No one special. Just a few casual ones here and there. I never wanted the hassle of a man to boss me around and moan that I didn’t give him enough attention.” She eyed Roth, wondering why he looked so pleased. “Besides, caring for people is a stupid move. They always leave. Why set yourself up for the pain?”