"I'm going to f.u.c.k you now. And when I'm ready, I'm going to come all over you."

Fallon's heart skipped a beat. She'd never had a man talk to her like this before. Tell her exactly what would happen and then act upon it. Barely able to nod, she managed a small one and waited for him to act.

She didn't have to wait long. Taber rubbed the head of his c.o.c.k along the outside of her p.u.s.s.y to wet it. Then, in a single thrust, pushed his way inside until he could go no further. The groan that escaped him vibrated through her body, wakening her drained pa.s.sion. He kept his body back, resting high on his knees as he began to slowly pump into her.

Fallon watched the muscles of his chest, stomach and hips flex and release with each thrust into her. His eyes were closed, but she knew the intense pleasure he was feeling. She felt it too. He moved his hands to her legs, pulling them up to rest her feet on his chest.

The new position increased the angle for his thrusts and he was able to penetrate deeper. Fallon moaned-her c.l.i.t now trapped against him.

"Do you want to come again?" he asked the question with his eyes still closed.

"Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes please, Taber."

"That's better. Since you asked nicely, I think I will allow it."

69.

Without warning, he increased the tempo of his thrusts until he was pounding into her fast and hard. Being so close to the end of her first o.r.g.a.s.m, the second approached with lightning speed. She cried out, barely getting the words out of her as she fought her body.

"May I come please?"

"Yes."

"Ahhh!"

She screamed again, this time her world threatened to go black. The only thing that pulled her from the edge of oblivion was the sound of Taber's voice.

"Open your eyes."

Somehow she was able to comply and watched as he pulled his red, swollen c.o.c.k from her body. Slick with her cream, he was easily able to work his fist over his shaft.

He kept his eyes open watching her as he pumped himself. When at last his eyes rolled up into his head and he squeezed them shut, she watched as a heavy stream of c.u.m shot from his c.o.c.k to land on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Spurts continued until he finally collapsed in a heap beside her.

Their steady panting drifted into steady breathing, their bodies slick with c.u.m and sweat. She didn't care and let him pull her hard against him, kissing her shoulder and neck with gentle reverence.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked softly as he nuzzled her neck.

"No. G.o.d no. That was amazing."

"You were amazing. I had no idea...without the bond that two people..."

Fallon giggled at his loss of words. The man who'd been in such control only a few minutes before, now struggling with his vocabulary. Reaching down she rubbed his c.u.m onto her chest with her fingertips for a moment before bringing it to her lips to taste him. Taber watched, fascinated as she sucked her fingers into her mouth.

"Do you like that?"

She nodded and moaned softly. "You taste like you smell."

"I hope that is a good thing."

She giggled again, only this time he joined her, his low, rumbling chuckle shaking their bodies. After a moment, the joy drifted away. Memories of the past two days came flooding back.

Nate was dead. So was Lukas. Here she was acting like nothing was wrong, like they hadn't meant anything to her. What kind of person was she to push aside her memories so quickly? Taber touched her cheek, frowning.

"What's wrong?"

"You're going to catch their murderer, right?"

70.

He didn't answer her right away, instead pushing his body up so he rested on his elbow. Fallon rolled to her back, looking up into his eyes, needing him to tell her the truth.

"Do you trust me?"

His question sounded odd considering what they'd just done. Instead of questioning him, she nodded. She began to play with the skin on his forearm, running her fingers up and down the length of his muscles.

"Fallon, I promise you this. I will find the person who murdered your friends and bring them to justice."

The weight that had been sitting on her heart since she'd found Nate immediately lightened. She knew it wouldn't go away completely until the murderer was caught.

But she knew Taber, knew he didn't make promises he couldn't keep.

"Thank you," she whispered. Then something else hit her. "You'll leave once you solve the crime, won't you?"

"Eurus is my home. I'll be returning with Sean."

He paused, and for a moment she thought he might say something more. Ask her to come with him. Instead he caught a piece of her hair and twirled it around his finger.

"Well, I hope you won't catch him too quickly, but before he strikes again." She smiled but felt a heavy weight fill her stomach. "I'm going to get cleaned up and head home. I don't want to slow down your progress."

Fallon slipped from the bed, leaving Taber to frown after her.

71.

Chapter Seven.

Captain Zane was still yelling at Taber and Sean ten minutes after they'd entered his office-not that it wasn't warranted. Taber could understand the other man's frustration at the lack of progress.

"Not only have we been forced to release our only suspect in Nate's death, there's another body! Do you two intend on doing anything while you're on my ship?"

Sean leaned forward in his seat, leaning slightly on Zane's desk. "I a.s.sure you, Captain, we are doing everything we can."

"It's obviously not enough."

The older man's face was red, in stark contrast to the ma.s.s of white hair on the top of his head. Taber remained standing, his hands clenched behind his back in fists. His normal control was slippery, moving out of his grasp as soon as he thought he had it in place. It was not like him, and caused a major distraction in his thought process.

He'd be as angry as the captain if their positions were reversed. Angrier if he knew about Taber and Fallon, and how much time he'd spent with her instead of chasing the murderer.

"Captain, I have a theory about the murders," Taber said only once it was clear the captain was calm enough to hear it.

"And what might that be?"

Taber had spent most of the night thinking about the case once Fallon had slipped away and returned to her room. He'd tried to follow her, to make sure she got home safely, but she wouldn't hear of it.

"G.o.d, the last thing I need is for the general populace to think you have a crush on me or something," she'd said. "I still have to live and work with these people when you leave."

He hadn't like the way she'd said the last part, keeping him up the rest of the night.

But it had allowed him to draw the one and only connection between the two men.

"Captain, I think this murder is targeting men who are close to Fallon."

Sean twisted in his seat to look back at him. "Are you sure?"

"The only other option is that their deaths were completely random. With the coincidence that they were both interested in pursuing a relationship with her. We've checked every other angle-it's the only thing that makes sense."

"There must be another explanation. Fallon's been on ship for over three years now.

Nate and Lukas longer than that. Why would this be happening now?"

72.

"It's possible, Captain. I trust Taber's instincts in the matter." Sean revealed nothing in his expression that would indicate he was referring to anything other than Taber's investigative skills.

"There could have been a recent event that triggered the perpetrator, pushed him over the edge. A trauma that has caused him to fixate on Fallon. Possibly with the intent of getting rid of what he perceives as compet.i.tion in a bid to win her over."

Captain Zane stared at Taber for a long minute before shaking his head. "I find it hard to believe that Fallon could be linked to this. Even incidentally. Every man on this ship has l.u.s.ted after her at one point or another. That would mean a lot of potential suspects."

"We will continue to follow other avenues of the investigation, but I want to ensure Ms. Reist is protected until we catch whoever is responsible." Taber kept is tone flat, not wanting to give any indication that Fallon meant more to him than any other person in the investigation.

"We know your security resources are limited on ship," Sean added. "It might be easier if she stays in her quarters as much as possible. Or if Taber is ready to release the crime scene, we can reopen the bar and allow her to work. That way she'll be in full sight of us, without her feeling trapped. She'd need an escort whenever she is moving about the ship though."

Zane sat back in his seat and rubbed a hand down the front of his face. "She's going to kill me if I agree to that."

"We can tell her. That way once the investigation is over, there will be no ill will directed toward you," Taber said, knowing full well Fallon would be furious when she found out it was his idea to keep her protected.

The captain stood up and held out his hand for Sean to shake. "I appreciate that.

Our little rocket booster will tear a strip off me when she finds out."

"We've noticed she's very pa.s.sionate about her beliefs. Isn't that right, Taber?"

A sudden surge of anger flooded his system when Sean turned and looked at him with a subtle but smug look. He c.o.c.ked his head to the side and stared at his friend and simply nodded once.

"Re-open the bar. That will at least make the people stuck on this ship until the investigation is done happy. It's a pleasure ship after all. If there isn't drinking, f.u.c.king and fighting then we're doing something wrong."

"Of course, Captain," Taber bowed, trying to ignore the comment about f.u.c.king.

"Let me know the second you hear anything or have another suspect. I want to come down and see the b.a.s.t.a.r.d myself."

Taber and Sean left shortly after, walking side by side until they reached the transport tube. Once they were inside and the doors slid shut, Taber grabbed Sean by the throat and threw him up against the wall. Surprisingly, Sean didn't react with anything other than a look of curiosity.

73.

The beast inside him who'd been under tight control for years rose up with a roar.

Taber's hand began to shake as he squeezed Sean's throat. His heart was pounding and there was nothing he wanted more at that moment than to kill something. The fact Sean wasn't struggling, fighting back in any fashion, quickly quelled his temper, allowing him to get control. After a moment, he released Sean, allowing his body to slide back to the floor.