Fatal Extraction Read online

  “How did you imagine it to be?”

  “That you were caught in some situation and I’d storm in like a hero to save you.”

  Nirvana coughed.

  “I know. You made your disapproval crystal clear the minute you saw me,” he lamented.

  “I have to admit…” She used her finger to trace the shape of his abdominal muscles. “That impression has changed drastically since then.”

  “Really?” Heart skipping a beat, he turned to see if she could have meant it in a joking manner. Nope. Not joking at all. Instead, she gave him a sultry smile and lowered her hooded gaze to his lips.

  If this was the kind of sympathy he was going to get, he would milk it for all it was worth. Inching his face slowly towards hers, he approached her lips cautiously to give her time to move away in case he’d interpreted her invitation incorrectly. She licked her lips as he got closer.

  It was all the permission he needed.

  Moving in, he kissed her gently and waited for her to kiss him back. He felt her lips stretch and tilt upwards as she shifted her body to move on top of him.

  Nirvana broke the kiss and pushed herself to sit up. In the soft light of the fireplace, her auburn hair glowed fiercely. She exuded the air of a queen. What was he thinking, imagining her as a damsel-in-distress?

  “Take off your shirt,” she ordered with a smirk.

  He obeyed her immediately. Her sharp cheekbones cast a slight shadow over her mouth, so he couldn’t make out her expression as her fingers traced his scars.

  “Are you proud of them?” she asked.

  “Why would I be?” he said bitterly. “They remind me of what a loser I am.”

  To his surprise, she pulled off her top, baring her beautiful breasts and toned body. She took his hands off her thighs and placed them on her waist.

  “Feel my scars,” she said. “Feel every one of them.” She held his wrists and guided his hands upwards.

  Zane could make out some scars in the dim firelight, but those he couldn’t see, he felt.

  “I’m proud of all of them,” Nirvana declared. “They remind me of all the times I survived and triumphed over death. You have more of these than me. You should be prouder of yourself than I am.”

  It should have been an erotic experience, running his bare hands all over her naked body. But in that moment, all he could focus on was stopping the hot tears from escaping his eyes.

  “I’ve been getting the dreams wrong,” his voice quivered. “I should have dreamt that you were the hero who would come and rescue me. Not the other way round.”

  Her eyes sparkled in delight as her sensuous mouth widened to a smile. He caught hold of the hand that was about to ruffle his hair and pulled her down slowly towards him. Curling his other hand around the nape of her neck, he made his intention to kiss her clear as he brought her to the tantalizing proximity of his mouth.

  Zane didn’t feel any resistance or hesitation from Nirvana but he stopped to wait for her permission. His heart roared in joy as she closed in and pressed her soft lips on his.

  It broke all the reins holding him back. He had been cautious all this while, constantly reminding himself that the woman he had been fantasizing about would be a different one in real life. While he secretly wished that she would feel some attraction to him, he kept himself grounded by remembering how she reacted towards him when they’d first met.

  This was more than just a dream come true.

  He broke the kiss and held her face reverently in his hands, trying to assure himself that he wasn’t just imagining this moment. Everything had just been too surreal.

  She looked at him playfully and shimmied her way down his body, letting him feel her pebbled nipples brush their way down his chest. He couldn’t stop his hips from lifting involuntarily because his cock was just too eager to meet her approaching butt.

  A gasp escaped his throat the moment they connected, and in his lustful haze, she’d managed to slide his pants down using her toes, setting his stiff cock free. She sat up, spared a cursory glance at his raging erection and smiled at him smugly as she started her own striptease.

  “That’s enough.” He got up and flipped her over onto her back. Kissing her cheek apologetically, he said, “I need to be in control of the pace or it’ll be over very soon.”

  She giggled. “I’ve heard that rumor about younger men before.”

  He pushed the hair off her face and admired her with wonder in his eyes. “Damn, you’re beautiful. This is the best dream I’ve had in forever. I don’t want to wake up yet.”

  “Not a dream.” She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him down for another hot, passionate kiss.

  It wasn’t enough. He wanted to feel more of her. He kissed his way down her throat, enjoying the smell and feel of her skin while he kneaded her supple breasts, not caring if his calloused hands might be too rough for her.

  He let his lust for her consume him as he sucked on one nipple greedily while fondling the other. From the sounds she was making and the way she was rubbing her moist haven against his erection, he must be doing things right.

  For the first time in his life, Zane was grateful for all the sex lessons his father had forced him to go through with the courtesans.

  “Never let a woman think she’s in control in bed. It will allow her to think she has control over you.” He recalled his father’s lecture to him and his brothers. “Be a master in bed, and all she will do is aim to serve you.”

  “What are you plotting with my breasts?” Nirvana’s husky voice brought Zane back to the present. “Stop thinking. Come back to me.” Cupping his jaw, she made him come back up to kiss her.

  “Asht, Zane,” she said to him when she broke off their kiss.

  What? He froze and looked at her.

  “Live in the moment. It’s Atharian dialect. I can feel you thinking too much.”

  She tilted her hips and teased his throbbing erection with the dampness between her legs.

  “Asht,” she commanded him breathlessly as she tightened her legs to pull him in.

  There was no way he could be a master in bed with her. He was so gone. Giving up any semblance of control, he buried himself to the hilt with one hard thrust.

  A gasp escaped her lips as she arched her back. It was the sexiest sight he had ever seen.

  Reaching back, he pulled one of her legs and placed it over his shoulder. He felt around her ankle for that magic spot and pressed in slowly with his thumb.

  “Oh my god,” she rasped. “What is this sorcery?”

  “Shiatsu-magic.” He brought her ankle to his lips, gave it a light peck and applied more pressure with his thumb as he pushed deeper into her. He could tell from the way she clenched that it was working perfectly.

  “Hard. Fast.” She gyrated her hips to emphasize her point. “Now.”

  Zane smiled smugly. He’d been waiting for that. He reached over to pull the other leg over his shoulder and slid his hands down to her thighs. Using his knuckles, he traced the shape of her pelvis down to the spots he was looking for near her pubic bone.

  “Aishiteru,” he whispered into her ear, I love you, and pushed his thumbs in before she could make out what he was saying. The pressure triggered her orgasm and forced a small cry out of her as she started clamping down on him.

  Zane gripped the headboard with one hand, lifted her butt up with the other and pounded her hard and fast.

  In this moment, he would love her like she was his.

  In this moment, she was no longer a fantasy.

  In this moment, she belonged to him.

  “Aishiteru,” he said to her again, since he might not have another chance, and let himself explode into a world of ecstasy and pleasure.

  Chapter 22

  Zane woke up to a loud whistling sound. He rubbed his eyes, trying to figure out what was whistling when he saw Nirvana dash into the yurt towards the kitchen. She lifted the kettle off the stove and put another pot on.

  The
aroma of coffee wafted through the air as she poured the hot water into two mugs.

  “What time is it?” he asked groggily.

  “Ten.”

  “What?! Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?”

  “‘Cause I just woke up not too long ago,” she admitted with a sheepish expression on her face.

  He smiled and tried to remember the best night of his life. Sure enough, he came shortly after he gave into his passions, but he was pleasantly surprised that he could go on even after that without too long of a break.

  The second time lasted a whole lot longer. He took her in all sorts of positions and exhausted all the tricks in his book until she warned him that she would be passing out soon. It was only then he let himself go. He didn’t know about her, but he definitely blacked out after that.

  He wasn’t sure how he should act after last night. Was it just a one-off fling? Would it be too presumptuous of him if he behaved affectionately towards her? If he pretended nothing happened last night would she think him a callous bastard?

  He felt upset with himself for passing out. Women liked to talk. He should have tried to talk to her and find out how she felt. He shouldn’t let this go beyond a professional relationship. He—

  “Zane!”

  He broke out of his thoughts. Nirvana was sitting in front of him, holding a glass of water, looking confounded. Why was she looking at him like that?

  “What is going on in your head? Your face went from smiling, to worried, to really angry in just a few minutes. What’s wrong?” She handed him the glass of water.

  Zane stared at the glass blankly. He didn’t know where to start with all the thoughts swirling in his head.

  “Baby, you’re doing it again. Look at me.” She cupped his face with her hands and directed his gaze to her. “I’m going to ask you questions and you’ll just answer me, ok? Don’t think too much before answering.”

  He nodded.

  “Are you thinking about last night?”

  Nod.

  “Ok.” Her hands slid down to his shoulders. “I had an amazing night. I want you to know that I’m cool if you want it to be just a one-off thing and we maintain a professional working relationship for the rest of the mission. That said, I’m equally happy if you’d like more repeat performances of last night. So, tell me what you’d like.”

  I’d like you to be mine, he thought. “What about you?”

  “Me?” Nirvana pointed to herself. “I already told you I’m cool both ways.”

  “I’m cool both ways too.”

  “No,” she told him firmly. “You’re clearly not cool, and it’s troubling you. Tell me what you want.”

  He wanted her in his arms every night. He wanted her face to be the first thing he saw when he woke up. He wanted to see the desire she had for him in her eyes every night and that look of orgasmic bliss when he satisfied her.

  But at the same time, he didn’t want her to feel any more for him. He wanted her to dislike him enough to send him on the mission alone. That way, she wouldn’t risk her life. He wasn’t worth it.

  “Zane!” Nirvana snapped her fingers in front of his face. “You’re taking too long to answer me. Did you have a good time last night?”

  Zane’s mouth gaped open. “Good? It was the best night I’ve ever had.”

  “Great! I enjoyed it too. We can enjoy sex and still work together in a professional manner, right?” she asked him, looking a little unsure.

  He hesitated.

  “I mean, you’re not going to start behaving like you’re the boss of me just because we slept together. I’m still in charge of this mission. I call the shots.” She threw him a warning look.

  He nodded, “You’re the captain.”

  “Good.” She sighed in relief and closed her eyes. “I really want to try that shiatsu thing again. It feels incredible.”

  The look of bliss on her face managed to coax a smile out of him.

  “Drink up. You’ve got to be really dehydrated after last night.” She winked and pinched his cheek gently. “Anytime you feel uncomfortable and you’d like to change your mind, let me know, alright?” She patted his thigh, stood up and went back to the woodstove and her cooking.

  Zane watched Nirvana as she moved around the kitchen preparing breakfast. He was still reeling from the reality of last night and the fact that she wanted to do it again. He really shouldn’t be letting this go any further because he was definitely not going to survive the mission. The last thing he wanted was to drag Nirvana down with him.

  “Zane!”

  A damp dish towel landed on his face.

  “Stop thinking and go wash up!”

  “Yes, Captain.” He caught the towel as it slid off his face and threw it back at her. She caught it with ease of course, shook her head and went back to stirring the pot.

  Asht, Zane told himself as he walked to the bathroom. There might not be another chance to enjoy this so he should live out his dream with her while it lasted.

  Breakfast was ready by the time he came out of the bathroom and Nirvana was surfing on the data pad while waiting for him.

  “Surprisingly, I can’t find any pictures of Hayashi’s children on the Galactic Net,” she said as she heard him approaching. Her gaze darted around the screen as she scrolled up.

  “My father forbade it. He didn’t allow any pictures of us to be published on Chikara Net because we made perfect assassination targets. He tried to hide us from the public eye as much as he could, that’s why we were all home-schooled.”

  She switched off the datapad, placed it aside and pushed a bowl of gruel to Zane.

  “How many of you are there?”

  “Five boys. Four older brothers and me.”

  “Surely the people in the stronghold recognise all of you?”

  “We work in different departments. I’m in security, my eldest brother works with my father overseeing the operations of the stronghold. Second brother deals with prisoners, and the twins serve in the military. The people we work with would know who we are, but they wouldn’t know us outside of it. Besides, we look very different from each other.”

  “So you can disguise yourself as a soldier and no one will recognize you?”

  “That’s highly possible.”

  “Hmm.” Nirvana took a mouthful of the thick gruel and chewed slowly, staring at an empty spot on the table.

  “Nirvana.” Zane reached across the table and held her hand. “I don’t want you going into the stronghold at all.”

  She flipped her palm up to face his and squeezed his hand. “We’ll talk about it later. Let’s eat. My crew’s coming in soon and we have a lot of explaining to do.”

  Chapter 23

  Nirvana stood at the doorway, all tensed, as she stared into the distance waiting for the arrival of her crew. She would have to tell them about the mission Dein had forced them into.

  And Zane.

  She wondered if she had made a mistake by telling him they could have sex regularly. She should have known better than to get involved with a co-worker, much less Chorax Hayashi’s son.

  Zane had given her many opportunities to pull the brakes last night, but she kept urging him on. What the hell was she thinking? Was she that horny? She hadn’t been laid in over a year since she’d been avoiding Ching, but surely that wasn’t the reason. There were other attractive men who’d hit on her over the last year, but she hadn’t given them a second thought.

  Nirvana pinched the bridge of her nose and massaged it. She had avoided a potential disaster with Ching because of Eryn, but then she’d dived headfirst into another potential disaster. What was wrong with her?

  Zane. He was what was wrong. Ever since he’d appeared, she seemed to keep making the wrong decisions.

  She jumped when she felt an arm circling around her waist.

  Zane jerked his hand back in shock. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you! I won’t touch you without permission in the future. I’m so sorry, Nirvana.”

>   “It’s ok.” She struggled internally for a moment before she reached for his arm to put it around her waist again. “I’m jumpy. It’s not your fault.” She leaned into him and let him hug her.

  It felt so good.

  “I’m a little nervous about seeing my crew later,” she confessed.

  “Why?”

  Nirvana didn’t reply; she didn’t know how to verbalize her thoughts without them coming out sounding wrong.

  “Is it because of me?” Zane asked nervously.

  She shook her head. “It’s this whole mayhem—with Dein, with Ching, with you. For the first time in my life, I feel as if everything is spiralling out of control, and I hate it.”

  A distant rumble broke the silence of the morning as Nirvana saw Marian approaching over the horizon.

  She pushed herself off Zane’s chest and took a deep breath to compose herself. Time to be Captain Faust.

  The spacecraft hovered in the air for a while before descending slowly onto a clearing near the river. The door hissed open, and a ramp extended from it.

  She walked with Zane towards Marian.

  “That’s Daxon, my first mate,” she said, introducing the first man appearing from the door.

  “Handsome man,” Zane mumbled.

  Nirvana raised an eyebrow at him. Was he jealous? Wow, he hadn’t even seen the rest of the crew.

  “First criteria when it comes to hiring is that they must be easy on my eyes. Makes it easier when I’m stuck in a ship with them for a long stretch of time.” She swept her arm out. “Presenting Nirvana’s harem.”

  She walked towards her crew, not waiting for Zane’s response. Dealing with his insecurities wasn’t her top priority at the moment. She fist-bumped and patted the shoulders of the men before gesturing Zane to come over.

  “This is Daxon, Leviathan, Ramsey, Helfer, Alden and Asan.” Nirvana pointed as she introduced her crew. “Everyone, this is Zanetos Hayashi.”

  There was a moment of stumped silence.

  “Hayashi… As in that Hayashi?” Ramsey asked in disbelief.