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  “Open for me, Liberty.” He exerted a tiny bit of pressure on her thigh.

  She widened her stance.

  “That’s it,” he murmured. “I want to see you.”

  He skimmed one finger through her damp folds, making a humming sound. God, she was stunning.

  “Adam—”

  “You should see how wet you are.” He stroked her, feeling the slippery evidence of her desire. “All this, just for me.”

  Adam pulled his hand back and looked up at her. She was every man’s dream, luscious curves and hidden strength. He licked his fingers.

  She jerked a little, her gaze riveted as he licked her honey off his fingers.

  “You taste so good.”

  “And you are far too damn sexy.”

  No one had ever called him sexy before. He slid his hands back between her thighs, sliding a finger deep inside her.

  She moaned, lifting up on her toes.

  “Do you like that?” he murmured.

  Her hands gripped his shoulders, her fingernails digging in. He knew before the night was over, he’d have more scratches to join the marks she’d already left.

  “You know I do. But I want—” her breath hitched “—more.”

  Adam pulled out and slid two fingers back in. “That better?”

  Her blue eyes were drowning in desire. “You know what I want.”

  Yeah, and it undid him to know she wanted his cock lodged deep inside her. But he wasn’t going to rush this. He knew this night would have to last him a long, long time. He wanted to savor every moment, cherish every beautiful inch of her.

  He pulled his fingers out and slid his thumbs in the sides of her underwear. He pushed them down and she stepped out.

  He pulled her down and pushed her back onto the bed of blankets.

  She raised her arms above her head, stretched out like a naked, private offering.

  She knew exactly what she looked like. The smile on her lips was sultry and her gaze never wavered from him.

  “Lose the shirt,” she said. “Please.”

  Adam quickly unbuttoned his shirt, surprised he didn’t fumble. He pulled it out of his trousers and shrugged it off.

  Now she was busy looking at his chest, soaking him in.

  In that moment, Adam didn’t feel like a modern Army general. He felt like a primitive warlord of old, with his spoils of war laid out before him.

  “You are so damned beautiful, Liberty.”

  She smiled. “Thank you.”

  She’d heard it before, he realized. People had praised her beauty and it didn’t mean anything to her. He wrapped his fingers around one of her ankles, pulling her a little closer to him. He slid his hands up her leg, drinking in the feel of her skin.

  “I don’t just mean the lush body, the pretty breasts and the perfect face.” He walked his fingers up her belly, enjoying when she sucked in a breath. “I also mean the things people don’t always notice about you. The way you care for others, anticipate their needs, the way you don’t just want your own pleasure but others’ as well.”

  Her lips parted and she just stared at him.

  He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her sternum, right between her breasts. He pressed his kisses upward, sucking gently on her collarbone.

  Her fingers slid into his hair, tugging slightly, her body shifting restlessly under his.

  Now he moved to one glorious breast, sucking the dark nipple into his mouth.

  “Oh—” Her fingers tugged on his hair again.

  He released her nipple with a soft pop. He moved across to the other, circling the tight nub with his tongue. “I could do this all night. Kiss, lick and suck you.”

  “Tease.”

  He saw the dazzled look in her eyes and he frowned, wondering where it came from. “Why do you look so surprised? That I could gorge myself on you, lick every inch of your skin, stroke my cock until I spilled all over these magnificent breasts?”

  “Adam…” She shook her head, trembling again. “No one…sex is usually fast, fun…not this.”

  No one took their time with her. She didn’t take her time. In a sudden explosion of thought, he realized for all her enjoyment of sex, she didn’t let a man explore her like this. Uncover all her soft places and hidden secrets.

  Well, Adam was a patient man, an excellent strategist. He liked knowing every inch of the battlefield before he made his final move.

  He pressed his mouth to her belly. “I promise, this won’t be fast, Liberty. In fact, it’ll be very, very slow.”

  ***

  “Yes, Adam, yes.”

  Liberty’s hands curled into the blankets beneath her. Adam’s tongue moved along the sensitive groove between her thigh and body. Then he drew back a little and blew on the damp trail he’d left.

  “Oh.” Goose bumps broke out over her skin. He was driving her out of her mind with the overload of sensations. A flutter of light kisses across her belly, a hard suck on her hip bone, the firm press of his fingers on her thigh.

  No one had ever touched her like this. So slow, deliberate and absorbed.

  When she’d dragged him off the dance floor, she’d envisioned riding him hard, in a fast, sweaty ride they both would have loved.

  But this…it left her realizing just how starved she’d been for someone to truly see her, touch her, savor her.

  By the intense look on his face, the occasional brush of his hard cock against her leg, she knew he was enjoying this as much as she was.

  He was nipping at her thigh, then paused. He went so still and when she looked down, she realized what he was looking at.

  She jerked, but his hands held her fast.

  “What happened?”

  The small, silvery scars were so faded she barely noticed them anymore. She sucked in a breath.

  “Liberty…” He gently kissed each mark, following the trail up. When he spotted more on her belly, his face hardened. “Tell me.”

  She swallowed. “My ex. He beat me with a belt. The buckle end.”

  Something scary flashed over Adam’s face. “I hope he got what he deserved.”

  “I was more interested in getting away and finding what I deserved.”

  He brought his lips down, over her belly. “What was that?”

  She arched under him, her voice breathless. “Pleasure. Fun. A life.”

  “Pleasure.” He sucked on her skin and she gasped. “Let’s see what we can do about that.”

  Then he pulled back and pushed her knees wide apart, baring her completely to his fevered view. She licked her lips, knew what was coming, but she felt the strangest urge to squirm.

  “I am so hard just looking at you, Liberty.” He slid both hands up her thighs, then they slid under her, cupping her ass. “Now, look at me.”

  She did and watched as he lifted her. The look on his face held her spellbound. This. This was what she was quickly becoming addicted to—this intense focus of his.

  His fingers tightened on her. “Look at me.”

  She did, couldn’t look away, the desire in her a firestorm.

  Without looking away from her, he pressed his mouth to her and sucked her clit into his mouth.

  The naughty view, the sensations, they were shattering. Liberty bit down on her lip, never looking away from his focused blue eyes.

  As he lapped and sucked on her, her skin grew hotter, her muscles trembling. There was no sign of the strait-laced general she’d known the last year and a half. This man was someone else altogether.

  He kept working her, relentless. She felt the scrape of his five o’clock shadow on her inner thighs. Every moan and cry she made seemed to enflame him. Everything in her body was tightening, her arousal a roaring rush of sensation. She didn’t think she could take any more.

  “That’s it,” he murmured against her clit. “Give it to me.”

  God. With that, an orgasm like she’d never experienced before crashed over her. Her head fell back, her spine arching, and she screamed his name, the
sound echoing around their private haven.

  Adam held her through it all. She felt his hands on her, keeping her from simply floating away.

  “I’ve got you.” A kiss to her belly. “I’m here.”

  Once she caught her breath, her body one big, languid mass of laziness, she looked up. While she was nestled in the blankets, he was still kneeling above her. The veins in his neck were standing out, his muscles strained. His lips still glistened with her juices.

  “You back?” he asked.

  She nodded. “I think so.”

  “Good.” He let her go and stood.

  A knot formed in Liberty’s throat. As he loomed above her, he undid his belt and trousers with slow, deliberate movements. He kicked them off and then stood there, naked, aroused and so very male.

  Her belly clenched.

  In one move, he lowered himself and covered her. He shifted and the thick, mushroom-shaped head of his cock rubbed between her legs. Liberty lifted her hips, needing him.

  He entered her, one inch, two inches. There was a feeling of full pressure as he stretched her.

  Then he made a harsh sound, grabbed her hips, and slammed inside her.

  “Oh.” She arched her back, full of him.

  He cursed. “I’m sorry. I’m big. I should have been more careful.” He moved back a little and she felt his body shaking. “You just feel so damn good—”

  “Adam.” She lifted her hips up but he pulled out, until just the head of his cock was lodged inside her.

  “Yes.” His big body trembled above her.

  “Shut up.”

  Then, in one perfect thrust, he filled her with his cock.

  She moaned and circled her legs around his waist. She was already swollen from coming, and he was so thick, so long.

  He pulled out, thrust in, and then repeated the motions again and again. He lowered himself down onto her, nestling between her thighs. His mouth found hers, and she poured everything into the kiss.

  Liberty looked into his face. His eyes glittered with heat, staring deep into hers. She wondered if he saw all of her, every little thing, whether she wanted to share it or not. But what she liked was that she felt like he was giving her a part of himself.

  “So. Damn. Good.” He ground the words out.

  She slid a hand down between their slick bodies. She touched tensed muscles and damp skin, and then she felt where he was driving into her. She liked being joined with him, only the two of them. She liked it a lot. The feel of her body wrapped around his hard cock, that thick part of him stretching her, was too much. She moved her finger again, brushed her over-sensitized clit and another orgasm hit her without warning.

  He groaned, his thrusts gaining speed. As Liberty’s body arched and shook beneath him, he kept powering into her.

  Then his mouth slid to her temple and he thrust his cock deep. He jerked, groaning her name as he came inside her.

  Liberty lay panting, Adam’s heavy body lax on hers. In that moment, she didn’t care about the past or present. Or the other people back in the main cavern, not too far away from them, or even the damn aliens.

  There was only her and Adam.

  Chapter Twelve

  Liberty woke, a little unsure where she was and not sure what had woken her. She blinked the sleep from her eyes and her gaze focused on the gutted, burned-out candles nearby. A few still flickered, giving some muted light.

  A hard male body was pressed beside her.

  She knew in an instant it was Adam. The feel of him, the scent of him was imprinted on her senses.

  He was tossing, jerking a little. Having a nightmare.

  She sat up, reaching for his shoulder. “Adam?”

  He jerked awake. With a muttered curse, he sat up, giving her his back.

  She watched the candlelight make his skin glow, but his muscles were strained. He pressed his head into his hands.

  “Adam—”

  “Those people, trapped in that cage…they’re dead. On my orders.”

  She heard the pain, the grief. This was what nobody saw from the man who led them. This was the man who shouldered so many burdens so they could all sleep at night.

  “The aliens killed them, not you.”

  He let out a long breath. “Go back to sleep. I’m sorry I woke you.”

  She plastered herself to his back. She felt him stiffen and he reached up and grabbed her arms, ready to push her away. She held on tighter. He was the king at pushing people away, or rather, never letting them close in the first place.

  It made her realize she was pretty darn good at letting people close…but only so far, and only for a moment. She was friends with everyone, but close to no one.

  God, they were two peas in a pod.

  But now, she wasn’t letting him push her away.

  “I’m not leaving. I’m not taking the easy option so I can sleep. Let me help you shoulder this.” She held him tighter. “I’m here, Adam. For you.”

  He shuddered under her touch. “It isn’t just those people. At Yeranderie we lost people. I fucking let Claudia sacrifice herself to save us all. And people still died.”

  “Claudia’s fine. And the rest of us got away because of you and the squads. There is nothing more you could have done. For any of the people who died.”

  His hands tightened on hers. “All those people dead, and here I am enjoying myself. Feeling pleasure I don’t deserve.”

  Here was the real crux of the problem, and it hurt her heart.

  “Stupid man.” She pressed her face against his. “You do deserve it. You work so hard and sacrifice so much…but you know what? None of that matters. When I was in my darkest place, when my ex had driven me down to my lowest place, I didn’t even think I deserved to live, let alone feel good, or feel pleasure.”

  With a growl, Adam yanked her around into his lap. He cupped her face. “That is bullshit.”

  “I know that now.” She traced his handsome face with her gaze, then touched a finger to his firm lips. “I realized we deserve love and pleasure, no matter who we are, or what we’ve done. We all deserve it.”

  He looked torn.

  Her poor, tortured general. Suddenly, Liberty realized that sometimes, actions spoke louder than words.

  She leaned forward and sank her teeth into his shoulder.

  He growled and it fired the desire flickering in her belly. She felt his body go tense beneath her.

  But this time it wasn’t the strain of burden and torment. It was the tension of desire and need.

  She bit him again, a little harder, and she felt his cock swell beneath her. Hmm. Maybe her general liked it a little rough. Maybe he needed it a little rough. To unleash all that dark emotion he was drowning in.

  She bit the side of his neck, sucking hard, pressing her nails into his back.

  He made a sound in his throat and a second later, he moved, tossing her back onto their makeshift bed on her hands and knees.

  Liberty gasped.

  Before she could really focus on what was happening, Adam gripped her hips hard. She knew she’d have bruises shaped liked his hands in the morning.

  Desire was a fierce shock to her system.

  She looked back over her shoulder and studied the raw, hard look on his face. This was Adam fully unleashed. Her belly contracted.

  “I’m going to take you hard, Liberty. It’ll be rough.” One of his hands moved, stroking the skin at her hip. “Tell me you aren’t afraid.”

  He was stroking her scars. Her belly clenched. “I’d never be afraid of you, Adam.”

  With a groan, he pulled her hips back. With one hand, he stroked between her buttocks, moving down to rub the warm, wet heat of her.

  Yes. She pushed back. Ready, eager for more. A small cry exploded out of her.

  He reached out and pushed her head down. Liberty bent her elbows, resting her cheek on her arms. Edgy anticipation was a hot fizz in her blood.

  His body covered hers, she felt the brush of the hair on his thigh
s against the back of hers, the hard steel of his stomach on her back and his left arm curved around hers.

  She was trembling now. No man had ever left her like this, teetering on the edge of desire, desperate for whatever came next.

  He didn’t give her any warning. A second later, he used his free hand to run the head of his cock against her. Then he pushed inside her with one large thrust.

  “Oh.” She moved forward under the weight of him. She was so full, so stretched.

  “So damn good.” A hot, urgent murmur.

  Her fingers curled around his arm, digging into his forearm.

  Then he pulled out and thrust again. She rocked back and forth, adjusting to the size of him and his unstoppable rhythm.

  She’d never felt so deliciously controlled, so at the sexual mercy of a man, with all his ruthless focus on her pleasure and his. The pleasure built—edgy, paralyzing—a torment she wasn’t sure she could endure much longer. She needed to come, wanted to come.

  But Adam kept up his hard, rough pace, his body slapping against hers.

  “Adam…please…I can’t take any more.”

  He slammed into her again. “You will. You can.”

  She was making small, breathy sounds now, riding the tormenting edge of arousal, but not yet finding her release. His big body moved within her, and her heart was thundering in her chest.

  Then she felt his right hand slide beneath her. A second later, she felt the firm pressure of his thumb against her engorged clit.

  With a throaty cry, she came. Hard. The wild force of her orgasm was like a violent storm. As she felt her body clamp down on his, she turned and sank her teeth into the straining muscles of his forearm.

  He made a matching sound, his hips flexing as he filled her again. His hot mouth touched her shoulder, then she felt the brutal sting of his teeth as he bit her.

  With one final, violent pump, he convulsed, emptying himself inside her.

  ***

  Adam had never felt so wrecked.

  He fell into the blankets, pulling Liberty’s lax body into his arms.

  He felt empty, clear…for a second. Then the guilt flooded in.

  He’d taken her so roughly. He’d let all that ugly blackness in him rise up, and instead of wrestling with it as he always did, he’d let it run him.