Codename Winter (3 page)

Inwatta could blast into his mind in an instant, or render him unconscious while she took control of his body. He would awaken with a faint sense of disorientation and several hours of missing time.

Are you finished fighting me yet? Is your foolish pride appeased?

The mocking tone only made him fight harder. He was so tired of her smugness and manipulation.

Inwatta had chosen a female voice today, but just as often the tone was deep and commanding, more inherently male. Gender was a physical concept, one of many Inwatta was using Evard to explore. Her official designation was Sector Three Supervisor, but she spent very little time overseeing her sector. She was far more absorbed with her personal obsessions—physical sensations and the complexities of humanoid interaction.

I’ve used your body to do everything I can imagine. I think it’s time for you, personally, to amuse me.

“You can use this body like a tool, but you can’t make me do anything.” He clenched his hands and closed his eyes. But the voice was inside his head.

Oh, this will be so much fun! I’ll even give you a choice, exotic or innocent.

“Get out of my head. I can’t control what you do with my body, but I will not willingly play these sick games.”

Choose or I’ll choose for you.

He clenched his fists, hating her and despising his helplessness. There had to be a way to resist, a way to…there was nothing. He’d tried everything. Starvation, sleep deprivation, meditation, open rebellion in the hopes that she’d kill him. She had no intention of depriving herself of her conduit to the physical world. Gathosians couldn’t link with humans. In fact, there were very few species who could survive extended exposure to their energy. That’s why they dragged him along, campaign after campaign, world after world, until his life had become a meaningless blur of carnage and ruin.

“What do you want me to do, and what are my alternatives?”

I want you to fuck me of your own free will. I will form a temporary link with a female and take control of her body. You will bring me pleasure as many times as possible, for as long as I am able to maintain the link, knowing that I am in full control of the body.

Disgust rolled through him and her laughter filled his head.

Exactly! You despise me. You would rather fuck any other female on this planet and yet you will humble yourself and pleasure me, in any way I choose. And I will not compel you to do so. It must be your choice, a tribute freely offered.

“I won’t. I’ll die before I give you pleasure!”

Inwatta took control of his voice and called, “Guards, bring her in!”

Two guards escorted a girl into the room. A tall man stood behind the girl and a female guard stood at the girl’s side, openly glaring at Evard. He was unfamiliar with the female guard’s species, but she looked decidedly reptilian. He immediately understood her animosity, however. The girl was lovely. Golden ringlets rested on her shoulders and tears rimmed her sky-blue eyes. But one glance at her barely discernible breasts confirmed his suspicion. She couldn’t be more than twelve or thirteen.

This is the female you want me to fuck? He let the angry question ring through his mind, doing nothing to temper his hostility.

The choice is yours. Fuck the girl, or fuck the guard. More laughter followed. Either way it’s just a vessel. You’ll be fucking me.

He pressed his fists to his temples and closed his eyes. I won’t do it! I can’t. Foreboding closed in around him, clogging his lungs and speeding his pulse. She never set out without the end in mind. His heart hammered and his mouth dried out as he waited for her ultimatum.

Well, if you don’t, I’ll lock the door and take control of the male guard. He’s a burly brute, you might have noticed. He’ll start by raping the female guard, so the girl will be good and terrified when he forces himself on her. Then he’s going to bend you over your favorite workspace and make you take it up the ass. Every time you glance at the workspace your body will burn, and your mind will relive the humiliation and the pain. Doesn’t that sound like fun?

Shaking with useless fury, Evard opened his eyes and lowered his arms. The male guard was tall and muscular, just like Inwatta had said. Even if Evard found a weapon, it was doubtful he could overpower the guard before he harmed one or both of the females. If he managed to overpower the guard at all. Evard had to be realistic. He wasn’t a warrior. He was a scientist.

If his body were the only one at risk, he might be tempted to rebel and deprive Inwatta of her victory. But two innocent people hung in the balance. No, make that three. Inwatta could easily leave the male guard with memories of the crimes, even arrange for him to be executed for her actions. The bitch was right. Evard had no real choice.

“Where did you get this child?” he asked the female guard.

“Genetics lab.” Her impatience implied the answer was self-evident.

How do you form the link? he asked Inwatta. Do I have to be touching her?

You have to be inside her.

He recognized the challenging lilt in her tone and asked, Will a deep kiss do?

You’re learning. Yes, I can flow from your body into hers if your tongue is in her mouth.

And how long can you maintain the link?

Kiss her and we’ll find out.

Evard took a deep breath and prepared for the performance of a lifetime. Inwatta sank to the back of his mind, hovering, siphoning sensation without influencing or assisting him. “I’m seriously stir-crazy here, but she is way too young for what I have in mind.”

“Glad to hear it—sir.” The woman added the title with belated deference as her animosity began to thaw.

No one would label him promiscuous, but he suddenly felt significantly under-qualified for the coming task. The vast majority of his lovers had been Bartonese, like him. The few who had not had been humanoid and physically similar to the Bartonese. This guard was anything but.

He had to be bold, or at least seem desperate enough to swim into uncharted territory. He cleared his throat and focused on the woman. “Too bad you’re on duty. I can think of all sorts of things we could do together.”

“Seriously, sir?” The man chuckled, and the woman glared at him over the little girl’s head. “A few of the men got desperate enough to ride the lizard, and they came back with serious scratches on their…um, backsides. No one has braved the waters ever since.”

“I’m not afraid of a few scratches.” He focused on the girl for a moment and reinforced his determination. “When are you off duty?” he asked the woman.

“Our shift ends in twenty minutes,” the man answered for her. “If she’s in the mood to amuse you, I’ll return the kid to the genetics lab and log out for both of us.”

“Thanks.” The woman grinned, her solid black eyes flashing. “It’s been weeks since I ‘amused’ anyone. This should be fun.”

Evard only wished it were that simple. A quick, anonymous fuck, he could force his conscience to accept, but Inwatta had something altogether different in mind. She wanted to humiliate him, to watch him debase himself before the enemy. He must literally offer his body as a willing sacrifice to one of the creatures who had destroyed his world and killed everyone he ever loved.

The lab door whooshed closed behind the male guard, leaving him alone with two females, one standing in front of him, and one stirring restlessly in the back of his mind. Bile rose to the back of his throat and his belly tensed. How the hell was he going to maintain an erection when he loathed everything about this?

“What’s the matter, sir?” The guard clasped her hands behind her back. “You don’t seem certain anymore.”

His authority over the soldiers was indirect. He wasn’t a member of the Protectorate. But they knew Inwatta’s power, and they knew he had a direct line to Inwatta. “I’ve never…”

She shook her head, the green tone over her cheeks deepening. “May I speak frankly, sir?”

“Please do.”

“Humanoids are incredibly arrogant. For the record, my perfect male is hairless and dark green. On his worst day, he can fuck me better than you’ll ever be able to simply because he has equipment you don’t possess.”

“Then why’d you agree to this?” If she refused him, Inwatta couldn’t blame the failure on him.

“I’m bored. Same as you.”

Damn. “Are we compatible?” His last hope was that she’d say they weren’t, but the guard’s crack about “riding the lizard” didn’t give him much hope.

“More or less. I’ve got an opening you can stick your cock in, and if you shove really hard, at just the right angle, you can reach my rowplintasta—my species’ version

of a clit. There’s no reason to go down on me, so I won’t be putting your cock in my mouth. I find kissing humans disgusting, so this will be a good old ‘wham, bam, thank you ma’am’. If that’s all right with you, sir.”

Tell her yes. I’ll make you hard enough to get inside.

Lust poured into Evard’s groin, and his shaft hardened so fast, and so completely, he flinched, struggling to disguise his moan as a dry cough. “Works for me.”

“Good.” She suddenly lost the “sir”.

“Would you tell me your name?”

“I really don’t see the point.” Without further explanation, she unbuckled her gun belt and carefully set it aside. Stooping, she untied her boots and left her socks on. Then she casually tugged her underwear down with her fatigues and paused facing him. “Go ahead. Everyone stares when they first see my legs.”

Despite their mottled green color, her legs were well-shaped and not significantly different from a humanoid’s…except for the extra joint between her knees and ankles. Balancing on one foot, she lifted her leg and curved her other leg inward. The extra joint allowed her foot to rest on her inner thigh.

“Handy,” he muttered.

“It can be.” The hem of her shirt covered her crotch, and she made no move to show him the mysterious opening. “How do you want to do this?”

Let her mount you. I want to be on top.

If he refused, Inwatta would wrestle him into position as soon as she took control of the guard’s body. “You’ve been down this road before. I’ll let you drive.”

Her mouth curved in what he presumed was a smile though she didn’t really have lips. A tiny nose was formed at the front of her rounded head, but she had no ears or discernible chin. Long black hair softened her reptilian appearance, yet he suspected it was a wig. Had Inwatta chosen this particular guard because she was so different from him?

It didn’t matter. The alternative had been unthinkable.

Without further ado, he opened his pants and took out his cock, eager to have this finished. His balls were tight, his shaft painfully engorged, and still he felt no emotional connection, not a hint of attraction.

Stop thinking about her. Stroke yourself, and imagine the nurse we fucked last week. I didn’t need to make you hard for that one.

“Take your pants off,” the guard advised. “It works better if we’re both naked below the waist.”

He wasn’t sure why it would matter if she was going to ride him, but he didn’t argue. He kicked off his shoes and shucked his pants, pulling off his underwear at the same time.

“On the floor. Unless you have a bed stashed in the back somewhere.”

“Sorry, no bed.” He took off his lab coat and spread it on the floor then lay on his back and waited for the guard’s next move. Dread coiled within him, compounding his tension. He closed his eyes and thought of the nurse. She’d been a welcome reprieve from the drudgery of his life. A viral outbreak had swept through the Protectorate in sector six, and he’d needed assistance with his regular duties while he developed an antiviral to curtail the spread.

That’s right. Picture her smile and her big blue eyes.

The guard lifted his shirt and warm air wafted across his genitals. “Well, this is encouraging.” She straddled his hips, her thighs cool against his legs. Her fingers lifted his shaft and he tried not to cringe. Something warm and snug closed around the head of his cock. He turned his head to the side, keeping his breathing deep and even. She grasped his hips and drew him up as she pushed down onto his erection.

“Holy fuck! Are you…always so tight?” He panted, gritting his teeth against the pleasure-pain.

“Our males have armor on their cocks. Without a firm grip, they feel nothing.”

“Shit! I’m not sure I can stay hard.”

You will stay hard until I allow you to come! The compulsion lodged in his brain and fire rushed through his veins, pooling in his groin. He cried out and arched, shoving his cock deeper into her ultra-tight passage.

“Oh yes!” She moved her hands up his sides, her nails dragging across his skin. Not quite a scratch, the added stimulation accentuated the urgency building inside him.

Despite his anger and resentment, his body understood these signals.

“Move. I need motion.” She pulled her hips up then slammed down, impaling herself again and again. She might have been reluctant to begin with, but she was into it now.

Evard had never experienced anything like it. There was nothing smooth or rolling about the way she fucked him. It was violent and raw, and arousing. She crammed his cock as deep as she could with each thrust, hoping to hit her internal trigger. All the while her strong internal muscles incited his lust like never before.

I can’t reach her! Her mind is primitive, instinctive. You must help me. Adjust your rhythm to hers. Allow your instincts to surface. Give in to your anger and your lust.

He had no intention of helping Inwatta. If she couldn’t make the transition, that was her loss. He thought of the nurse, her teasing smile and tender caresses. Karen. Her name had been Karen.

Stop it!

Relaxing beneath the guard, he focused on Karen. He pictured her above him, smiling sweetly as she smoothly rode his cock. Her pert little breasts would jiggle and a lock of her blonde hair would stick to her damp cheek.