The Necklace Read online

  Her eyes examined the monitor. “Press enter,” she read in a confused voice. “Uh …okay. No problem.”

  Punching the “Enter” key with a swift jerk from her wrist, the music from the next leg of the tour started.

  Sighing audibly, Marissa sat back down, smiling in relief.

  Great.

  She’d have a few more minutes before having to worry about activating more responses from the damn machine.

  Curious, her eyes moved to the closed circuit TV on her left. Any minute now, Tylan should be walking by.

  Her breath hitched in her throat, waiting for a glimpse of the sexy stranger.

  “What’s taking him so long? He should be here by now,” she wondered aloud, after waiting over two minutes for his arrival.

  Rising from the chair, she peered closer through the acrylic, looking left and right. “He can’t be lost. It’s not a damn maze for Christ sake.”

  Marissa scanned the minds of the passing fish. She was perplexed when she received a distinct impression of him walking.

  Well, where in the hell is he?

  “Right here.”

  Marissa screamed, whirling around to face her intruder.

  Unbelievably, Tylan stood right behind her, grinning from ear to ear.

  “H-how how did you g-get in here?”

  Marissa really wanted ask if he'd just read her mind, but she figured she could handle the answer to the other question much better.

  “You left me out there by myself. I thought you were supposed to be my guide.”

  “Forget about that! How did you get in here?”

  Had she forgotten to lock the door? Marissa’s narrowed her eyes, thinking back. No, she remembered hitting the dead bolt on her way inside.

  “I guess you forgot to lock it,” Tylan murmured, lifting his eyebrows in amusement.

  “I know I didn’t forget. How did you get in here? Did Felix give you a key or something?”

  “No, he didn’t. I got in here all by myself.”

  “Well, I think you should go back outside and finish the tour. This room is for employees only.”

  Tylan took two menacing steps forward. “Is it now?”

  Marissa wished she could have taken two steps back, but her spine was flushed against the main control panel.

  Swallowing the lump in her throat, she stood her ground. “Y-yes, it is”

  “What are you going to do if I don’t leave?”

  Good question. And, unfortunately there were several triple x-rated ideas of what she could do to him running around in her mind.

  She hoped that wasn’t what he was talking about.

  “I-I haven’t thought that far in advance. But, you look like a gentleman…” Marissa ignored the laughing in her head, “…and I don’t think any of that … stuff should be necessary.”

  “But, I’m not a gentleman. So, now what are you going to do?”

  Again, good question.

  Her options were decreasing by the second.

  Removing him bodily was a definite no-no. The man stood well over six-feet-five inches tall, and from the bulk covering his body, he easily weighed over two hundred-seventy pounds.

  Her sixty-seven inch, hundred forty pound frame, wouldn’t move him to the corner, much less out of the room.

  She’d already tried reasoning with him to no avail.

  Marissa couldn’t think of what else would work.

  “Nothing’s going to work.”

  Blinking several times, she knew she wasn’t imagining things, he was reading her mind.

  “How are you able to do that?”

  “Do what?”

  Marissa snorted. “Don’t play games with me.”

  Tylan smiled slowly, taking another step forward. “No games, Marissa. But I do want to play with you.” He paused, punctuating the heated looking in his eyes. “I want to play with that soft, wet flesh between your thighs.”

  Rampant desire spread through her body, the images from his words arousing. Valiantly attempting to deny her own lust, Marissa tried to back up, only to remember futilely the control desk blocking escape.

  “I don’t even know you,” she whispered, not knowing if she said the words for his benefit, or hers.

  “But, your body knows me. I can smell your arousal.”

  “Good Lord, what are you?”

  “I think the more appropriate question, Marissa, is what are you?”

  “I a-asked first.”

  Laughing softly, Tylan rapidly closed the distance between them. “You’re not ready to know what I am, yet, but soon you will be. Does that help the sweet aching in your body, ca’hill, knowing all your questions will be answered?”

  Marissa nodded, perplexed by the strange word he used. It sounded like an endearment, but in a language she’d never heard.

  She closed her eyes, willing to say or do anything to make him stop the sexual torment. She sighed, her head lolling back against her shoulders.

  “Does it hurt, sena? Does the thought of the pleasure I can bring scare you? Don’t deny it then, sena. You’re only making it worse.”

  “Pl-please. Make it stop.”

  “No, sena. I can’t. I don’t want to.”

  “Please … please. I need…”

  “I know what you need,” he murmured, trailing his fingers along the sloping curve of her breasts.

  Every single shred of control left her body. Tylan’s nearness, his incredible scent making her feel hot and sweaty. Her pussy began to throb violently, wetness gathering between her thighs, pooling in her panties.

  She should have been scared at the level of control he exerted. If she could think straight, she would indeed be scared. But no force on earth compared to the rapture he inspired, to the all-encompassing pleasure from just presence alone.

  “I will give you what you want, leethil. I will give all you need,” he whispered, his lips centimeters from her mouth.

  Time slowed for Marissa, Tylan’s exhilarating aroma filling her. Dipping her head forward, she sealed their mouths in a fusion of passion.

  Boldly taking the lead, her tongue swept through the moist confines, tasting his spicy sweetness. Anchoring her body, he lifted her closer, wrapping her legs around him. The feeling of the solid bulge nestled within her womanly cradle was almost too much to bear.

  Marissa screamed as tremors shook her hard.

  “Yes, sena. Release yourself to the pleasure.”

  She rotated her hips, trying to feel every inch of his rock hard length. Marissa could only imagine how his cock would feel inside her, the thought sending her body careening off a cliff of gratification.

  “Yes, ca’hill. Feel me. Feel all of me.”

  “Please,” she begged. “I need you inside me.”

  “Vala!”

  Setting her upon the desk, Tylan reached both of his large hands for breasts, his eyes glowing brightly in the dimness of the control room, as a fierce inhuman roar erupted from his throat.

  The buttons on her blouse flew in every direction as he ripped open her shirt and bra. Her baggy pants and underwear followed next, ripped to shreds in one single motion. He pulled her soft-soled Keds and socks free from her feet, caressing the instep of her right foot.

  Iridescent eyes fastened on her naked body; Marissa could sense the wildness she unknowingly released. Even the creatures swimming in the tanks around her recognized the presence of a predator in their midst.

  The ferocious growls continued to sound, grew louder, and for a brief moment Marissa felt slight tendrils of fear easing along her spine.

  The feelings lasted approximately as long as it took for Tylan to latch his mouth to her aching nipple and suck hard.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Tylan sensed the reckless abandon streaking through his body as his tongue lavished Marissa’s peaked nipple.

  The scent of her was driving him crazy, urging him forward with unstoppable frenzy.

  Removing her breast from his mouth with an audible “
pop,” his tongue moved toward the “V” of her chest, sweeping boldly.

  “Forgive me, leethil. I need to be inside you. I need to feel your pussy around my cock,” he growled.

  “Oh God… Please. I need you inside of me now,” Marissa moaned, her fingers finding their way to the buttons of his black silk shirt.

  Snarling, Tylan unzipped his pants, freeing himself, and plunging inside her warm, wet crevice without a second’s delay.

  Marissa whimpered—a sound laced with pleasure and pain.

  “I-I’m sorry, leethil. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Vala! You’re just so tight,” Tylan grunted.

  The muscles in her pussy were clamping his cock so tightly he barely had half inside. It took every ounce of his strength to stop the need to push deeper into her body.

  Gods! He didn’t want to hurt her, but if she didn’t stop flexing, he wasn’t sure he could stop himself.

  Inhaling large gulps of air, trying to control the insistent needs of his cock, Tylan reached between their bodies to circle her swollen clit with the pad of his thumb.

  Marissa moaned loudly, her head falling back as she pushed her hips against him.

  “Yes, my love. Take all of me,” he urged, kissing the column of her throat.

  As she continued to rock against him, her pussy slowly suctioning his length, inch by inch, Tylan could no longer stop the urge to thrust. The feel of her dripping essence, caressing and titillating, drove him toward a fevered pitch.

  Her tight, clenching muscles relaxed, finally allowing him to pull his cock all the way out. Tylan quickly plunged back inside, ruthlessly accustoming her body to his girth.

  Whatever constraint he had left faltered under the sensations of her body, his hips jack-knifing back and forth, stroking ceaselessly into her core.

  The duo of moans sounding in the small room, along with the whizzing and buzzing of man’s latest technology, mattered little to him. His only intent was to feel, to experience.

  Gods, you feel so good, unconsciously whispering to her in mind-speak.

  Tylan didn’t doubt he could fulfill Marissa’s every want, her every desire. He already knew the shudder of her body as it clasped his cock in completion.

  But, he wanted to give her more, needed to give her more.

  Though he hadn’t known it when they first met, there was no doubt in his mind now.

  Marissa was his mate.

  It was imperative she be ready for the power-exchange.

  Slowing his hips, Tylan finally allowed his thrust to become shallow, less penetrating. Tilting her chin with his free hand, he looked deep in her eyes, reaching into her mind, heightening her lust.

  “What are you doing to me?” she whispered, sexual yearning lacing her voice, her blue orbs cloudy with desire.

  “Ya may lastil.”

  Marissa’s head fell back against her shoulders, her body leaning further against the monitors and keyboards lining the desk. “I want you to love me,” she answered, moaning breathlessly.

  Tylan gave a fierce bellow, paying little attention to the fact that she understood his words.

  Resuming his hard, potent contact, he snatched a fistful of her hair, yanking her head forward, pulling her body as close to his as possible.

  Sucking on her pink tongue, he ceaselessly continued banging into her tight pussy.

  Vala. Marissa made him feel more than a man, more than a King. The feelings she inspired could not be matched by any force on earth.

  The redirection of his power was nearly complete. The grunts and groans filling the air began to muffle in his ears.

  Tylan felt everything. The way her pussy clenched—squeezed—every inch of his cock. The way her body rolled into his.

  The joining was close now. He could feel it, feel the encompassing need to become one with his mate.

  Careening down his own path of pleasure, power flooded through his pores, streaking straight into Marissa, saturating her body with his essence.

  “Relax, sena. Let it flow into you. Don’t fight it,” he grunted, grabbing onto her tightly, halting her frantic movements.

  “It … it hurts. Ma-make it stop-p.”

  He couldn’t make it stop. With this one act, he knew their fate as pair bonds was sealed.

  There would be no escape.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “Gentlemen. Welcome to the Hearder Aquarium.” Felix Coulter motioned to the group.

  Keanan Kamis shook his head at the nasally tones.

  Vala!

  He hated the surface, couldn’t stand the humans here.

  Rarely did he find a land dweller worthy of more than the spittle in his mouth. There were a few capable of respect, but they were limited to a species other than homo sapien.

  Slowly, his eyes came to rest on the most unworthy of specimens ever created, Felix Coulter.

  The slick, cockroach of a man stood too near to him; he could smell the sickly scent of sweat and womanly perfume.

  This human needed to be watched, and unfortunately he’d been left to the duty.

  Turning his mind to the words flowing around, his gaze left the sight of polished Palmetto to wander around the entrance of the aquarium with reluctant admiration.

  “…the facility is newly built. The cost of its upkeep is beyond what I like to maintain, but I plan on cutting expenses and bringing in new attractions to keep costs in line with profit. The building and its attractions can be well-kept on a tighter, more stringent budget.” Felix chortled a self-gratifying laugh, adding, “I don’t think the fish will mind.”

  Keanan itched to squash the man.

  He could easily kill the human with one blow from his fist. The only reason he restrained himself was because he knew Tylan wouldn’t find it amusing if he killed the very one they needed to conduct the mission.

  Sighing again and disgruntled that the vapid man would continue to walk the earth with his fumes a while longer, Keanan watched Felix flash a toothy, false grin to the company surrounding him.

  “So, let us begin this portion of the tour. Dr. Nash will answer any questions you may have about the inhabitants, and I’ll answer the more pertinent financial questions.”

  Dr. Nash stepped forward, his gaze perplexed. “Y-yes … I-I can answer those … that’s odd.”

  Noting the doctor’s disturbed glances, Keanan blinked rapidly, turning his head in every direction.

  The situation was odd.

  The fish in the aquarium weren’t swimming idly in caged splendor. Their behavior was erratic, disturbing. Searching each of the creatures present for sickness, Keanan detected nothing.

  Narrowing his eyes, he knew only the presence of very large, very dangerous predator on the loose could make a healthy fish or mammal act this way.

  Revulsion rolled through his body.

  He’d been too preoccupied with being here, the smell of the land, the ambient odors of the land dwellers, causing him to be a step behind. He should have detected the disturbance immediately.

  Putting aside his annoyance, Keanan cast a warrior’s shyre inside and outside the building.

  The muscles in his arms flexed as he allowed his senses to flair outward, his whole being preparing for battle.

  The presence of a well-built, black-haired man standing close to the back entrance of the aquarium penetrated his mind. Probing further, intent on a mental attack, Keanan stilled at the image of Arvlin, looking sharp and alert.

  Exhaling noisily, he scanned for the more potent enemy.

  Arvlin couldn’t cause the latent traces of power frightening the life inside the building. He was a captain, but his training had yet to be complete.

  Something else had to be doing this.

  Something Keanan was determined to find.

  Ignoring the questioning gazes directed toward him, he walked on silent feet into the foyer.

  The humans might think he was interested in the aquarium. He, of course, knew better.

  Alert, ready for invasion, every sound
magnified through his eardrums.

  He would have never expected an assault at the institute. Most of the Dissidents were incapable of even traveling to the surface. However, the strangeness of the occurrence made anything possible.

  Walking through halls noiselessly, glancing around at the wall to ceiling tanks surrounding him, Keanan felt his body edge into battle.

  Monitors lined the corridors, like silent sentries awaiting orders, but he ignored them, continuing to move. Stopping in front of a tank largely absent of marine life, he sent another mental probe into the minds of the fish and mammals around him.

  Distinct impressions of fear and wariness moved through his mind, and he walked closer toward the tank nearest him, stopping almost a foot from the partition. Tilting his head to the side, Keanan gazed at the clear panel, his own image reflecting back at him.

  Without life swimming around, it resembled a blank screen that seemed void.

  Strange.

  Focusing, intent on peering through the blankness, Keanan suddenly reared back, choking on his breath.

  It wasn’t an enemy hiding behind a barrier. Something totally different stood on the other side. Indeed, a predator, but not one out to attack, at least, not in the literal sense.

  His mouth gaped wide, Keanan watched Tylan copulating fiercely with the woman he’d seen earlier, the one with the long, blonde hair and endless legs.

  The massive streams of electrical currents pouring from his brother, the woman, and the room initially inhibited his vision, and were responsible for the disturbing reaction from the creatures inside.

  Shaking his head, shuddering in disgust. Keanan would have never imagined Tylan desiring a human, albeit a very attractive one.

  The idea itself was repugnant.

  Reaching for his brother’s mind, he spoke to him in the way of their people. Something must be wrong, breha, if you are anxious for the affections of a human.

  Tylan growled in response, the loud sound rocking him back a bit.

  Cautious, Keanan took a few hasty steps from the partition, continuing to watch the scene in front of him.

  Tylan kept rocking his hips against the woman, his head moving from side to side along her chest. Her head was tossed back against the door with abandon, her mouth forming a silent “O.”