Parallel Desire by Deidre Knight Read Free Book Online Page B

stroking the silky curls between her legs.
    "Well, when you put it that way"—she tipped her face upward, kissing him full on the mouth—"I get all turned on and want to take you back to bed."
    "Then we could forget everything." He sighed, drawing her mouth back to his. "The war, our enemies."
    The kiss deepened between them, Kelsey's robe falling completely open. Fear clawed at the edge of her mind, but she brushed it away, losing herself in this pure moment with her mate. The need to make love with him had been overwhelming since she'd become pregnant, and now was no exception.
    "Do we have time?" She panted, tugging at the zipper of his uniform pants.
    Jared slid her robe to the floor. "I don't care if we do or not." He growled in her ear, working her back toward the bed. "We only have now, and I want to mate."
    Fully naked, Kelsey sat on the end of the bed, opening her legs to him. She worked at his belt and the fastenings of his pants, which quickly pooled about his ankles, revealing his fully erect cock, long and thick and ready for her. She never ceased to marvel at Jared's beautiful body, the darkness of it, the exquisite lines of muscle. She circled her fingertips around his erection, taking hold of his hip with her other hand. There was a slight indentation where his hip met his muscled abdomen, and she always loved to touch that place. Valley of Kelsey, he'd jokingly named it because it turned her on so much.
    A shuddered breath passed from his lips as she tightened her hold about his shaft; he slid both hands atop her head, pulling her against his abdomen. With a flick of her tongue, she laved his belly button, all the while increasing the friction of her hand against his quivering length.
    Jared slid both hands along Kelsey's shoulders, then back, needing desperately—as if his very life depended upon it—to feel physically closer to her. To take her within himself and hide her there. Opening their connection, he allowed his soul to reach toward hers, the feather-light touch of their deep bond opening. Without warning, an explosion of their shared power and light jolted into him, causing him to stagger slightly.
    "Easy, there," Kelsey murmured, lowering her mouth until he felt the warm wetness of her tongue encircling his hard cock.
    "Didn't you … feel that?" Warm rays of light filtered through his mind, his spirit. It was always like this when they mated, yet something felt different this time, too.
    Something dark accompanied the light.
    Kelsey smiled up at him, caressing his abdomen. "I only feel you."
    He returned her smile, bending to kiss her, and with every bit of strength inside of himself, he willed the darkness away.

Chapter Four

    J ake stood back from the desk , gauging Shelby's reaction. He'd pried open the surface microchip from the wallet that had belonged to Jake Tierny—the original Jake Tierny—to reveal the much tinier quantum chip hidden within. She stared down at it, the look of horror he'd anticipated sweeping across her features. "That's Antousian."
    He kept his gaze on her. "You've seen one of these before?"
    Shelby bent low over the desk, narrowing her pale blue eyes as she examined the chip; he swore that she blanched. "Of course." She didn't elaborate, but he heard the revulsion in her voice. "I'm a medic—I've had my share of encounters with these processors in the past."
    Now it was Jake's turn to be surprised. "You've tended to Antousians before?"
    She rubbed at her eyes, frowning. "There have been times back home. I did some viral work at one of the rebel outposts. It wasn't like I would turn someone away just because they were my enemy, not when they were that sick."
    "Some people would."
    Shelby shook her head vehemently. "Being a nurse is my calling. I'll always answer to that, no matter who the patient might be."
    They exchanged a look of understanding. Even though Jake had never identified with his native species, or even called himself