Patrolling the Stars (Leaving Triad Series Book 2) Read online

  He’d never felt anything as good as Carolina. She squeezed him with her inner walls, and when she moved herself against him, he damn near lost control.

  Slowly, Drako began moving within her. In and out, pulling and pushing, gradually building in speed and intensity. She felt like the heaven that the Terrans spoke of, everything beautiful and golden. That was his Carolina.

  “Drako," she moaned as she began to move with him, instinctually matching his rhythm.

  He lifted her leg up higher over his back and changed the angle, allowing him to hit the point of pleasure inside of her that would send her flying over the edge of ecstasy.

  “Drako!”

  Fiery desire spiraled through him. All he could think of was getting as far into her as possible, making her his and his alone. He pivoted his hips and found a more rapid stroke that brought more breathless moans from her open mouth. Her passion was quickly rebuilding. Carolina was so responsive, so utterly perfect, and she was his. He reached between their bodies and teased her clit.

  “Oh fuck!" she screamed out, her walls tightening briefly as she reached another orgasm, following hard on the heels of the first.

  Drako gripped her tighter to him, pounding himself into her welcoming body over and over. It was a more frantic rhythm, his control shattered. He felt her spasm against him again, and he couldn’t hold back any longer. His spine arched as he pumped into her.

  “Carolina!" Drako cried out as he released within her. Everything was pure bliss, and he hoped that he would have it always, with her.

  Chapter Eleven

  Ambassador Clen watched as Carolina went home with some lowlife Quadruped. She’d refused to go home with him, and seeing her go home with some other male just made his blood boil. He waited for her to leave, but she never did. He knew she was letting the other male lay his filthy hands on her. He wanted to make her his, give her respect, give her everything, and she’d turned him down. No one ever turned him down; he was wealthy and attractive. He refused to accept her answer. He would show her that no one treated him like a fool.

  He’d always gotten what he wanted, no matter what the cost. His parents would go to extraordinary lengths to make sure his every whim was satisfied. He could hear his father’s voice mocking him, ‘You want her? Take her. You’re rich; you can have whatever you want. Money buys everything.’

  Yes, he always got what he wanted. He wasn’t going to let that change. He was going to possess her completely, no matter what the cost. He wanted her, so he — and no one else — should have her.

  *****

  Drako walked Carolina back to her room with a big smile on his face. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. She smelled just as good as she felt, and her skin was just as soft as it looked. Damn it! Why was he walking her home? He should have kept her in his suite all day, teasing her body in any way he wanted. He couldn’t believe how badly he wanted her; he could already feel himself hardening again in his jeans.

  He kissed her goodbye, lingering for a long time, savoring her lips. He finally forced himself away before he allowed himself to carry her into her bedroom and take her again like he wanted to. Drako had to at least make it seem like he was still investigating the ship so he could stay a little while longer. He had no clue who he was going to investigate, but he wasn’t ready to leave Carolina yet. He walked the ship for a while before he headed back to his own room to try to sleep.

  *****

  Carolina tried to tone down her smile a little bit as she entered the suite. She wished Drako had come in with her, but he’d said he was really busy. She wasn’t sure what he was doing; as far as she knew, his investigation was over. Mary smiled a knowing smile as she walked through the door, and handed Carolina a cup of coffee.

  “So you spent the night with Drako," Mary stated.

  Carolina sipped from her coffee as her cheeks flushed red. She wasn’t going to respond to that question, but she knew the answer was painfully obvious. She sat down at the table, continuing to sip from her coffee.

  “How was your night?” Mary tried again, looking for details.

  “Fine." Carolina smiled mysteriously.

  Mary turned towards her with her hands on her hips. “Fine? That’s all you have to say?”

  “It was … amazing,” Carolina finally admitted. She was glowing.

  “For a first time to be amazing, he must’ve known what he was doing.”

  Carolina nodded. “Oh yeah."

  Both women giggled at that.

  Carolina’s satellite phone rang, interrupting them. “Hello?” she answered, surprised. It was her day off, and most of her clients knew not to bother her on her day off.

  “This is Ambassador Clen. I’m calling to set up an appointment to meet with you again.”

  “Umm…” Carolina froze. She couldn’t see him again after what had happened last time. Did he really think his behavior was acceptable? “I’m sorry, I won’t be able to see you any longer.”

  “You signed a contract.”

  “You broke the contract when you assaulted me.”

  “You say you hold this contract in high regard, but I saw you go home with one of your clients and stay the night with him. That’s against your precious contract.”

  “He’s not a client; that was a real date.” She felt sick to her stomach at the thought of Ambassador Clen watching her. “Do not contact me again.” She hung up the phone, looking as white as a ghost.

  It rang again seconds later. She was so upset she couldn’t concentrate on the numbers on the display. It could be him or someone else. All she knew was that she couldn’t talk to him again — he scared her. Mary took her satellite phone out of her hand.

  “Hello?” Mary answered.

  “Carolina?” Drako’s voice rang over the phone.

  “No, it’s Mary. Hold on, I’ll get Carolina for you.” She handed the phone to Carolina.

  “Yes?” Carolina answered.

  “I miss you.”

  She smiled. “I miss you too, but it hasn’t been that long.”

  “Seems like forever. Would you like to join me for breakfast?” he asked.

  “Umm… How about we have breakfast at my suite?” she suggested.

  “Sure. I’ll be there in a minute or so. Is something wrong?”

  “No, no, but I’d like to walk with you,” she lied. “See you in a bit.” She hung up the phone.

  Mary looked at her questioningly. “What’s going on? Who was on the phone earlier?”

  “That weird ambassador who assaulted me. He wanted another liaison date. He also commented on seeing me and Drako together.”

  “Why didn’t you tell Drako?”

  “I don’t want him to worry,” Carolina said. “If he knew that the guy was watching me, he would want me to stay here all day.”

  “Maybe you should. I mean, that is the guy that Drako had to take out of the restaurant, isn’t it?” Mary looked concerned.

  “Yes.”

  Mary got up, pulled out a couple of frying pans and some bacon, sausage, and eggs, and started cooking. There was a knock on the door shortly afterward. Carolina answered it after looking through the peephole to make sure it was Drako. She let him in, glancing down the hallway in both directions before shutting the door behind him.

  “What smells so good in here?” Drako asked.

  “I’m cooking breakfast,” Mary called from the kitchen.

  Carolina’s phone rang again. She looked at the number, and then just ignored the call. Drako gave her a confused look. She never ignored phone calls for any reason. Mary served out their plates quickly as they sat at the kitchen table.

  “Would you like some coffee, Drako?” Carolina offered as her phone rang again.

  “Aren’t you going to get that?” Drako asked, knowing she was hiding something from him.

  “No.” She shook her head.

  “Why not?” Drako asked her.

  She didn’t answer him, so he just took the phone off the table
and answered. “Carolina’s phone, Drako speaking,” he said.

  “I need to speak with Carolina immediately,” Clen’s voice boomed gruffly over the phone.

  “What do you want with her?” He saw the scared look on Carolina’s face, and became suspicious.

  “I know she hasn’t left her apartment. I just spoke with her a few moments ago about rethinking the proposition I made the last time we met. Tell her to call me back," Clen said, hanging up.

  “That was the guy from the restaurant. Why is he calling you?” Drako asked, concern written all over his face.

  “He called earlier. I told him our contract was null and void,” Carolina answered, pushing the food around on her plate with her fork.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about this?” Drako asked, trying to swallow his anger so he wouldn’t scare Carolina.

  “It happened right after you left.”

  “You still could’ve called me or told me while I was on the phone.” He was a little relieved that it hadn’t been going on any longer, even though it shouldn’t be happening at all.

  “I didn’t want you to worry, you’ve got work to do.” She sounded apologetic for not telling him.

  “Just be careful, alright? He could be dangerous,” Drako told her.

  “I know. He saw me go home with you.”

  “He watched us? Why didn’t...” he started, but he wasn’t sure how to finish the question with Mary there.

  “I don’t know, but he said he knew I was there all night with you,” she answered.

  “I don’t like this. I need to go see about restraining this guy.” Drako still hadn’t told Carolina that he had to leave for a while, and now he definitely didn’t want to. What if something happened to her while he was gone? He would never forgive himself. “Do you have any liaison dates set for today?”

  “No, I was taking today off, and planning on tomorrow too.” Truthfully, she didn’t really want to spend time with anyone except Drako. This was becoming complicated. Her personal life was interfering with her professional one.

  “Good. If you need to go anywhere, call me or Thesos, even Turk — just make sure someone goes with you,” Drako begged.

  “Alright.” She wasn’t sure of how to feel about him being so overprotective. On the one hand, she was grateful that he cared for her so much and worried. On the other hand, she was used to being independent and taking care of herself.

  “I’m supposed to meet with Turk in a while,” he said, taking a big bite of his eggs.

  “Why do you need to meet with Turk?” Carolina asked, eating her bacon.

  “I need to finish up some loose ends of the investigation.” It wasn’t entirely true; the investigation was pretty much over, he just had to send off the report declaring this ship free of suspicion.

  “I thought ...” Carolina was about to question him further, but Drako’s phone rang, interrupting her.

  He looked at the number; it was the GPP. He wanted to ignore it, but he knew he couldn’t. “Hello?” he answered hesitantly.

  “Have you finished your investigation yet, GPO Drako?”

  “Not quite yet.”

  “Finish it and move on to the next ship,” his superior ordered, and then there was a click.

  “I better get going,” Drako said reluctantly as he ate the last piece of bacon off his plate. He leaned over and kissed Carolina’s cheek, then stood up and left the suite.

  He was pissed that someone had been watching Carolina. He tried his hardest not to show how angry he was over it, but right now he felt like he could put a fist through a wall. He hated knowing that Carolina had been stalked, and if he knew where Clen was at that moment, he would probably kill him. Unfortunately, with Clen being an ambassador, it was going to be hard to do anything except warn him off. The GPP was expecting him to leave soon. How was he going to leave?

  Normally, he didn’t mind being a GPO. He liked the power and prestige the position granted him. At that moment, though, he actually hated his job. Life was a lot easier when he was a pirate, going place to place at his own discretion, not on the orders of others. He had made a commitment, and he had to complete his mission. He needed to let Carolina know that he was leaving. He picked up his phone and dialed her number.

  “Hello?” She sounded skittish, like she was afraid of who might be on the other end of the phone.

  “Carolina, it’s Drako.”

  “You just left here," she laughed.

  “I know. I just wanted to ask if I could cook dinner for you this evening,” he said nervously.

  “That’s very sweet, Drako. Yes, I’d love that.”

  “I’ll stop by and walk you to my suite once I’m done with Turk,” he said.

  “Alright, I’ll see you then.”

  *****

  Drako knew how to cook; he just rarely had company that he cared about entertaining. He and Turk went down to the market on the lowest level, so Turk could help him pick out what he should make for Carolina.

  “Have you thought about resigning from your GPO position?" Turk asked.

  “What would I do? My pirating days are over.”

  “I could use a second.”

  Drako looked at his friend. “Are you offering me the job?”

  “Maybe. I’d have to see your application."

  Both men laughed, because it sounded like what Carolina would say.

  *****

  Drako was nervous about Carolina not liking the food he’d decided to cook, so he stuck to a simple shrimp stir-fry. He marinated the shrimp in soy sauce with a little bit of teriyaki for extra flavor. He was so nervous he was half-tempted to taste the meat raw, just to make sure it was alright. Then he just waited patiently until he could start cooking.

  Chapter Twelve

  Carolina wasn’t sure what to wear to the dinner Drako was cooking for her. She went through all of her dresses, until she found a pretty dark blue one that came down to just above her knees. It was low-cut in the front, but not too much. She left her hair down, letting it just hang over her shoulders. She kept her make-up light, only mascara and a lip-gloss that was slightly flavored.

  She checked herself in the mirror a few times, trying to decide if she should change or not. She was dressed somewhere in between casual and formal, but wasn’t sure what was appropriate. She reassured herself that she looked fine, and left her bathroom quickly so she wouldn’t change her clothes again.

  *****

  Drako dressed in a nice pair of jeans and a black button-down. He put the already cooked food into the oven just to keep warm while he went to pick up Carolina. The smell was amazing; he only hoped it tasted half as good as it smelled.

  He headed straight to Carolina’s suite and knocked. When she answered the door, he found himself breathless at the sight of her. She looked so beautiful in that dark-blue dress. His heart raced as she took his arm. Shit, I should’ve taken her somewhere special tonight.

  He walked her back to his suite, happy that it wasn’t so far, and set the food out on the table. He fussed with the plates a little, trying to keep his hands off of Carolina. She just looked so damn sexy in that dress.

  He served her food, poured her a glass of the chardonnay that he’d bought, and sat down across from her. He normally didn’t drink wine, but he had a glass as well. They ate in silence, giving each other a smile every few minutes or so. Every time she made those moaning sounds from enjoying the food, his cock would bump against his thigh. She made the same sexy sounds when he made love to her. How was he supposed to eat when she was doing that?

  Carolina wiped her mouth delicately with her napkin and pushed her plate away. “That was so good, Drako. Thank you so much,” she complimented him. “No one has ever cooked for me before. You’re an excellent cook.”

  “I haven’t cooked anything in quite a few years,” he said. “Would you like to watch a movie?”

  “Sure, that sounds great.”

  Drako sat on the couch nervously as he fumbled through
the channels to find something good to watch. He was trying to give her a typical date, like they had on Terra. Turk told him that human males would pick up the females and take them to dinner and a movie. He wanted to give those things to her, make it normal for her.

  There was nothing on that he was interested in watching, but he saw Carolina show interest in one of the movies, so he just left it on that channel for her.

  They held hands while watching the movie, and Drako put his arm around her shoulders. His long fingers caressed her arm. She wiggled closer. Hmmm. Was this what they called snuggling? He could get used to this.

  At a sad part in the movie, Carolina turned to him with tears in her eyes. He cupped her face and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Mmmmm. He kissed her again and again. She responded to his kisses, seeming to sink into him.

  Before Drako even knew what was happening, Carolina was straddling him and kissing his jaw. He took her lips harder, firmer, with more intent, and she started to unbutton his shirt. She pulled it off his arms, laying kisses on his chest.

  He pulled her dress off of her and took her nipple into his mouth, teasing it with his tongue and lightly biting. He repeated the same with the other, pushed her panties to the side, and slid a finger into her already wet canal. He moved so that he was on top of her and added another finger, pumping them in and out.

  *****

  Damn, the man was built. Drako was firm and muscular under her touch. She loved how her pale skin looked against his darker complexion. They were a contrast to one another: she was light and soft, while he was dark and hard. They melted into each other.

  She fumbled to unbutton his pants, pulling them down just far enough for his already hard cock to fall out. He reached for her hand and brought it to his shaft, showing her how to stroke him by squeezing a little, then releasing. Once she had the hang of it, he let go of her, and Carolina held her hand around him tightly as she continued sliding her hand up and down his length. She returned to kissing him, their tongues moving in a frenzy together. Carolina was ready to explode from her desire for him. She shoved his hand away and slid off his lap, causing him to protest as she rose back up to her feet.