Pursued Read online

  “I’ll be fine,” Elise had said confidently as she cupped the fragrant triangular fruits in her hand. They smelled so good they made her mouth water. Merrick wasn’t due back for several hours—he was working in the docking bay to duplicate more of the wormhole ships for the Kindred. Elise knew she ought to put the bonding fruits away and leave them alone until later. But she hadn’t been able to resist taking just one tiny nibble…

  As it turned out, that had been a mistake. It was like opening a big box of chocolates and promising herself she would only try one. Five minutes later, all the bonding fruit was gone and Elise’s chin and hands were dripping with juice.

  She’d had a moment of deep trepidation, but when she didn’t immediately fall into some kind of lust-crazed seizure, she decided that she would probably be okay. The entire time as she cooked supper—she and Merrick usually took turns and she loved playing with her new Kindred kitchen appliances—she waited for the fruit to kick in. But…nothing.

  By the time they were getting ready for bed, Elise had pretty much decided she was immune to the effects of the bonding fruit. It was disappointing, but…and that was when she’d begun to feel it. First as a tingle in her nipples and between her legs, and then as the full-fledged throbbing ache that filled her body with desire.

  “Merrick?” she said in a slightly strangled voice.

  “Baby, please…” He sat down on the bed beside her and ran a hand over his skull-cut hair. “Please,” he said to Elise. “Don’t keep making me tell you no. I want it as much as you do—believe me, I do. Especially when you’re dressed like that.” He nodded at Elise’s sleep outfit, which was a pair of skimpy red satin shorts and a lace-edged red tank top to match. “I mean, I can see how hard your nipples are right through that thin little top,” he went on, his voice dropping to a soft growl. “But I can’t—we can’t—risk it.”

  “Why not?” Elise insisted. Despite the throbbing heat, which was spreading throughout her entire body, she still tried to keep up a rational conversation. “I feel ready, Merrick, honestly I do. I know we can’t reform our bond, but don’t you think we could at least try to make love?”

  He shifted uncomfortably. “I’m just afraid that making love might lead to other things…things that might frighten or hurt you.”

  “You mean bonding sex?” Elise asked, as calmly as she could. “I know all about that, Merrick and the idea doesn’t scare me.”

  “Well maybe it should,” he growled. “Baby, you’ve seen my mating fist and you’ve seen my fangs. In order for us to try bonding sex, you’d have to have both inside you for a long, long time. And it’s not something we could stop in the middle if you didn’t like it. I mean, I could stop biting you, of course, but once the mating fist swells inside you, it stays there until we’re finished. And—”

  “I know,” Elise interrupted him. “And it takes a loooong time to finish. Isn’t that right?” She leaned closer to him, rubbing her breasts against his arm. Just the idea of having him in her like that, so thick and hard, was making her feel so hot and needy she wasn’t sure what she was going to do.

  “Uh, yeah.” Merrick frowned and gave her a strange look. “Are you feeling all right tonight, Elise? You’re acting kind of…strange.”

  “I’m fine!” she protested, sitting back in a hurry. In fact, she felt like she was going to go insane if she didn’t get some relief soon but she didn’t want to admit she’d overdosed on bonding fruit when Kat had specifically warned her not to. “I, uh…I’ll be in the bathroom,” she said, jumping up.

  She closed herself in the bathroom and leaned against the door, trembling. A quick glance in the viewer showed her a girl with tousled black hair, wide eyes, and shaking hands. God, she was like a woman on a drug trip! Have to get this out of my system, she told herself and plunged her hand into her silky red shorts. Surely an orgasm would take the edge off…

  Her pussy was so slick and wet and swollen just a few light strokes with the tips of her fingers were enough to send her flying over the edge. Elise moaned in surprised pleasure. Her therapist had been urging her to do this—to “reclaim her body” as she put it, but so far Elise had resisted. Now that she had no choice, she was relearning for the first time since her adolescence how pleasurable her own touch could be.

  Pleasurable, but not enough, she realized, after the fifth time she brought herself over the edge. What the hell was wrong with her? When was this stuff ever going to wear out? Suddenly, Kat’s words echoed in her head… “You will need help getting over the effects,” she’d said. Elise cursed under her breath. She was going to have to tell Merrick—there was no way around it.

  As though her thoughts had called to him, she heard him knocking on the bathroom door.

  “Elise, are you all right?” He sounded worried. “You’ve been in there a long time.”

  “I…I’m fine.” Elise smoothed her hair and tried to look normal as she stepped out of the bathroom, even though she felt so horny she could scream.

  Merrick frowned at her, his nostrils flaring. “You’re sure you’re all right?”

  “Uh-huh.” She looked down. “Only, well…I may have done something…something I shouldn’t have done.”

  “What?” He smoothed a tendril of hair back from her face and looked at her anxiously. “What is it, baby? Just tell me—I won’t be mad.”

  “Well, I…” When it came down to it, she found it hard to admit. “I got some bonding fruit from Kat.”

  He frowned. “Why would you do that? I told you if we ever had bonding sex the compounds in my precum would help you stretch to take me.”

  Just the thought of taking him inside her sent a fresh rush of lust through Elise and she shivered helplessly. “I…I know,” she murmured, crossing her arms over her breasts. “But I was hoping we would make love tonight and I thought it couldn’t hurt to have a little extra help. You’re really, uh, big—you know? And I don’t just mean your mating fist. All of you is pretty much extra-extra-large.”

  “Yeah, well…” He shrugged. “But you still didn’t have to eat bonding fruit.” He frowned. “How much did you eat, anyway? You’re only supposed to take a few bites, aren’t you?”

  Elise bit her lip. “Um, well, yes. That’s what you’re supposed to do. But Kat gave me three of them and they smelled so good, well…”

  Merrick’s eyes widened. “You ate all of them. All three of them?”

  Reluctantly, Elise nodded. “At first I didn’t feel anything so I thought I was immune. But now…” She gestured helplessly at herself. “I feel…God, Merrick, I feel like I’m burning up inside.”

  “I’m not surprised.” He looked angry. “I’m going to have a word with Deep and Lock about this. That damn bonding fruit is fucking dangerous.”

  “Not if you help me.” Elise put a hand on his arm. “Please, Merrick…”

  He groaned softly. “Gods, baby, you’re putting me a really difficult position. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “You won’t,” she promised softly. “Please, just…I need…need something.”

  “I know what you need.” Abruptly he scooped her up and carried her to the bed.

  Elise looked at him uncertainly as he laid her down gently in the center of the huge bed, with her legs dangling off the edge. “What are you doing?”

  “Taking the edge off.” Merrick knelt between her legs and began to caress her thighs gently with long, slow strokes. “I’ll get you through this, baby, I swear it,” he murmured.

  “Thank you, Merrick.” She moaned softly as he kissed the inside of her knee. “I promise I didn’t mean to eat so much of that fruit. It just tasted really good.”

  “I know something else that tastes good.” He raised an eyebrow at her and kissed the inside of her knee again. “Need to taste you, baby, need to eat your sweet, creamy pussy to try and help you feel better. Can you let me do that?”

  Elise gripped the covers on either side of her. She’d never stopped thinking about how good having h