Wounds of Engagement

Blurb

Argadian Defiance, Book 2

Natasha is a woman who deserves the love of a good man; Benedikt is a killer who isn’t even human. Yet destiny may have plans as these lovers come together with a searing passion that will ignite both their worlds...

Benedikt Venus, a lethal, nanus-enhanced Enforcer lived and breathed at the command of the Argadian Tribunal. The world as he knew it was shattered when rebels overthrew the brutal Tribunal. Although the Enforcers were de-programmed and offered homes on Argadia, there were some things that couldn't be erased. Irrevocably scarred by his past, Benedikt chose self-exile to Earth unable to face the people he felt he'd wronged without conscience.

And then he met a beautiful, intelligent woman who tempted him to reach for passion. He was out of his mind to fall in love with a human. Wasn't he?

Excerpt

Sometimes he was the hunter. Sometimes the prey. At odd moments he couldn’t tell the difference. He knew his role this time. It’s one he’d played before. One he didn’t want. His heart felt like one of those overinflated balloons he’d seen last week at the county fair. Stretched tight and close to bursting. His chest and throat hurt from exertion. And then he saw her. After what felt like pursuit that went on into forever, he stretched for another burst of speed. She had long red hair, just like his sister, Sidra. His hand clenched on the diffuser. The weapon was more like another appendage attached to his body. He fought the Enforcer rage as it built and tried to gain control of him. The howl of anger rent the air as a piece of himself separated and ripped away.

Was there blood? He couldn’t take the time to find out. He had a mission. He must complete his mission. He kept running. It was like being on a treadmill that went on and on and on, getting nowhere. Kind of like his life. He felt a presence as someone tread within his personal space and he was no longer alone. He had to catch the woman. He should have overtaken her by now, but he was frustrated by the realization the distance separating them was just as wide as it had been before he started.

“Sidra,” he cried out, knowing the man racing beside him would destroy her if he had a chance. But what about himself? Was he there to kill her or to rescue her? Was he murderer or savior? The woman never looked back when he yelled.

Benedikt turned to glance at the man running neck-in-neck with him. He recognized him. Recognized the long white hair, the broad shoulders, the cut of the uniform, the scarlet look of murder in his eyes, and the set, dispassionate expression on his face.

In horror, he watched as his twin lifted the diffuser and aimed it at Sidra. Benedikt launched himself at the dark twin and they both fell to the ground, arms clenched around each other rolling over and over, each trying to gain the upper hand. They fought for control of the weapon. Benedikt was on top, forcing the twin’s arm to the ground, locking his wrist to the earth, squeezing with all his strength. He could feel the bones beneath his grip, the bend and yield, and then the crack as the diffuser fell away and the twin screamed with pain and rage.

And then Benedikt was on the ground, flat on his back, the twin above him, locking him to the earth. They stared at each other. Tears poured from Benedikt’s eyes. The twin glared down at him, a snarl on his lips, his red eyes glowing with killer intent. He dropped down over Benedikt and snarled words in his ear.

“Do you love me, brother?”

Shock flashed through Benedikt and he violently reared back and shook his head. How could he love someone so consumed by hate? Someone who would murder without thought, without guilt. Over and over again.

He heard the guttural snicker of the man gazing down at him. Lips drawn tight, teeth bared. Benedikt couldn’t move, couldn’t find the strength to toss him off. All he could do was lay there beneath the strength and determination of the murdering twin.

“No,” Benedikt screamed and bucked upward, throwing the twin off. He broke away from the control of the twin and they rolled once more.

Now the albino-haired twin looked up at him. “The only way to beat me is to love me, brother. If you can’t love me, you’ll die.”

Benedikt threw back his head and screamed with rage. “Never,” he yelled. “I could never love you.” His hands closed around the thick neck of the man beneath him.

And then he was gone like a wisp of smoke and all Benedikt was left clutching was the loose dirt of the ground beneath him. Again he screamed with rage. And with pain.

Benedikt was running again. And this time he could almost touch the woman with long, flowing red hair. One more burst of speed and he would catch her. She swung around to face him and he skidded to a stop.

The woman he’d been chasing morphed into another woman. She reached out for him. Wavy, shoulder-length brown hair, hazel eyes. An Earth woman, with a soft, gentle smile, slender frame, almost boyish. And she was naked.

Her flesh was softly rounded, warm and silky to his touch. She leaned closer and he felt her gentle curves mold to his body. His hands dropped to her narrow waist and he lifted her. His mouth claimed her lips and his body wanted to claim her body, to feel her soft shax surround his khout. He wanted to burrow inside her. To rest beside her, within her healing embrace. She rubbed against him and his hands slid over her rounded buttocks, a finger delved into her moist channel and she purred in his ear. Her hands stroked over his shoulders and down over his pecs. Dipping lower and lower, between their bodies where she gripped his khout.

It was like entering Lydion, so soft and yet so sure. Her gentle gaze captured him as she stroked over his erection, her other hand cupping his balls. A finger delved beneath to track a path to his anus.

“Oh, Mylonna, yes, enter me there,” his words, a growl of need.

And then his gaze shifted as his mirror self rose behind her. His hands gripped the woman’s throat and she arched and began to choke, gasping for breath. Her gaze wide and frantic.

“Tell me, Benedikt,” Benedikt’s twin commanded. “Tell me you love me. If you can’t love me, we all will die.”

“No,” he screamed, watching as the woman’s complexion grew mottled, the strong hands at her throat compressing.