Melody woke shivering, with darkness pressing in all around her. And for a moment she forgot exactly where she was before reality sank in. Fuck. She blinked, but the blackness was relentless and all encompassing. And so thick she could all but touch it.
Was this some kind of a joke? Nighttime had nowhere near this intensity of absolute darkness. Even under heavy cloud cover there was a hint of stars outside, a moon. Some kind of light source.
How long had she been asleep? It felt like ten hours, but she guessed it had been closer to an hour or two at most. Not counting the time she’d spent trying out her supposed invisibility gift. All she’d managed was more of the same tingling sensation, and the growing suspicion the doctors had somehow bungled her DNA results.
A sharp clink alerted her to the fact she was no longer alone. But she didn’t panic, her muscles relaxed on recognizing the sound of claws digging into rock. “Damon,” she called out.
“Don’t move,” he bit out. “Dangerous.”
“No shit,” she said softly, pushing away Damon’s wet vest that had pillowed her head. She rubbed the gooseflesh on her arms and wished she’d opted for long sleeves. Twisting her hair, she pinned it back into place as she waited for Damon.
Why the hell was he even climbing in the darkness? The ascent was near impossible and treacherous at the best of times without darkness and excruciating cold on top of that.
She sat carefully, touching around her with outspread hands to check she hadn’t rolled anywhere near the cliff face. Anything to stop thinking about the danger he had put himself in, and anything to clamp down the claustrophobic feeling of being hemmed in beneath relentless black.
Another sharp clink of Damon’s claws filled the thick, oppressive silence, giving her a twinge of relief. She hated to think how the other hunted were enduring this all alone. Though she strained to hear, she detected no distant screams, no cries…nothing at all. She wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or seriously concerned.
A minute later, Damon grunted as he pulled himself up and over the ledge, his breathing short and labored. But she knew it wasn’t because he was unfit. Far from it. She’d never met anyone more robust. No one could withstand the icy-cold water he must have swum through before he even
started the climb. The freezing temperature would have leeched away all his energy.
She scrambled toward him on all fours, reaching for him and touching his cold, damp skin. “Damn,” she said. “We’ve got to get you warm.” He didn’t answer, and she sensed he was rapidly weakening. “Oh, don’t you dare go all frail and feeble on me now,” she said fiercely. “And don’t for a minute think I’ll let you fall asleep up here.”
He might go into shock and never wake up.
She ran her hands along his wet, denim-clad legs, searching for and undoing the button at his waist before unzipping him. It took every bit of her energy to drag the wet jeans down his legs and pull them free. Moving back up his bare, corded legs, she was shocked when her fingers brushed over his semi-aroused cock in its nest of springy hair.
He was commando. Of course he was. It had given him easy access to her pussy. She smiled wryly, ignoring her clenched womb and the hard points of her nipples. Had she really expected him in some kind of silk underwear?
At least his thickening hard-on was a sign he wasn’t dying anytime soon.
A pity it wasn’t so easy to ignore her body’s automatic response.
Damn. He was dying from overexposure while she panted over him in the dark. She needed to get him warm.
She swallowed hard, as much from self-recrimination as lust, then reached up and unbuttoned his shirt. It took some maneuvering to lift him up and drag off his wet clothes, but soon enough he was lying naked on the stone ledge…and colder than a block of ice.
She quickly tore off her own clothes and lay on top of him, putting her arms around him to keep him warm, skin-on-skin. She wouldn’t think about the hard ripples of his torso, their hearts beating in sync, or how vital he felt beneath her, despite his shivering body.
Her breath hitched. She needed a blanket, or some kind of fire to get him warm and keep him alive. All she had was her own body heat, and an ability to use friction.
She stayed on top of him, her nipples sharp points poking into his chest, and ran her hands up and down his arms, rubbing hard enough to get the blood flowing and warmth spreading. She started on his shoulders next.
Thankfully, her palms went from cold to warm within minutes.
It took her that long to realize the air temperature was no longer chilled. In fact, she was beginning to feel flushed lying on his hard, masculine body. A fact exacerbated when his cock fully thickened and lengthened against her belly, and he rumbled in her ear, “This wasn’t exactly how I’d planned our next date. Not that I’m complaining.”
She jerked back from him, but his big hands caught her shoulders, keeping her in place. Probably as much so that she didn’t fall down the rock face as it was that he didn’t want her to leave him.
She gasped. “How long have you been awake?”
“Long enough to appreciate your efforts in keeping me warm.”
Heat suffused her entire body. She was only glad he couldn’t see her blush. “Clearly,” she muttered. “But you need to take it easy. You almost died.”
“Hardly. I should be taking you right here, right now,” he said huskily. “While your body is hot and primed, ready for me. Because you are ready for me, aren’t you Melody?”
Breath shuddered from her lungs. She couldn’t deny it. Not when wetness slicked her thighs, her every muscle quivered like the tautest bowstring, and her pebbled nipples dug into his torso like twin cones. “I’m trying to save you.”
He moved suddenly, catching her off guard and spinning her underneath him faster than she could draw her next breath. She couldn’t see him, but she sensed his triumphant smile, his knowing face. “Too late.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked breathlessly.
“It means I’m not the white knight you seem to think. I’ve seen and done too much to be the good guy. I’m dark and twisted, and I take what I want. And right now, nothing will stop me from fucking you again.”
(C) Mel Teshco, Entangled Publishing, 2020 Reprinted with permission from the publisher.
THE VIRGIN HUNT GAMES by Mel Tescho
EARTH, YEAR 2324
Melody Simmons desperately needs to fill her bank accounts with credits that could help her family climb out of near poverty. And in the Virgin Hunt Games, that means enticing as many hunters as possible to bed her. The downside? Billions of viewers from all parts of the galaxy would be watching her fall from virtue with avid interest.
Alien Damon Banscott despises everything about the Virgin Hunt Games. Except the fact he can now legally destroy his enemy in the games. He is in this only for revenge. Then Damon sees one of the beautiful hunted and, for a moment, his heart stops beating. He’ll fight to the death before allowing another hunter to touch and deflower Melody.
But while the hunters get more credits by pleasing their captive mate sexually, the hunted women received more by finding their pleasure with any of the hunters who weren’t their assigned mate.
The hunt is on…
Romance Science Fiction | Romance Erotica Sensual [Entangled: One Handed Reads, On Sale: January 18, 2021, e-Book, ISBN: 9781640637795 / eISBN: 9781640637795]
Buy THE VIRGIN HUNT GAMES: BN.com | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play |
About Mel Tescho
Mel Teshco loves to write scorching paranormal, sci-fi and contemporary stories. Not easy with five cats, two dogs, and a fat black thoroughbred vying for attention, especially when Mel’s also busily stuffing around on Facebook. With only one daughter now living at home to feed two-minute noodles, she still shakes her head at how she managed to write with three daughters and three stepchildren living under the same roof. Not to mention Mr. Semi-Patient (the one and same husband hoping for early retirement… he’s been waiting a few years now…) Clearly, anything is possible, even in the real world.
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