Fueled by Lust: Cato (Siren Publishing Classic) Read online

  She’d blown his mind and he’d never be the same. It’d been intense when he’d been with her in their shared dream, but the reality with her was mind numbing. She was his match in passion and he was never letting her go. He’d kill anything that got in his way or ever tried to harm her again. His heart sped up at realizing how much trust she’d given to allow him to bind her helpless as he explored her body. It had been the most fulfilling and erotic experience he’d ever had. He’d experimented twice with females in the past, but the experience had felt hollow and lacking. They’d thought it a game and he’d put aside his need after that. Encounters from that point forward were vanilla and strictly to ease his screaming libido. Sex became a function, much like the need to eat food had to be satisfied.

  What he’d experienced with Luna on both these occasions was far beyond anything he could just call sex. It was without label. He loved her. Even that sentiment seemed small for what he felt.

  Shaking his head to keep from spinning out of control again, Cato eased back from her warm body and reached between them. He grabbed the edges of the condom and pulled gently from her channel. He was reluctant to leave her, but he needed to get rid of the damn condom and get her cleaned up. He rolled from the bed and wobbled to the bathroom. He tossed the rubber into the trash and cursed. If he’d had his way, he would’ve taken her bare. He didn’t want any barriers between them, ever. Hopefully, when he explained himself to her, she wouldn’t run screaming from his life and would understand they didn’t need to deal with the nonsense of this separation. They both would control the ability to conceive and Earth diseases would never be a bother.

  Cato turned the water on and waited for it to warm. He felt weak with the thought of having to tell her about his race. Damn. How did Drusus and Severus keep from losing their minds? He had to keep boosting his confidence with the knowledge that he wasn’t the first Insedi to break the news and he certainly wouldn’t be the last. He took a deep breath and walked on stronger legs back to their bed. At least that thought brought a smile to his face. It was their bed now and he was going to clean up the love of his life before he scared the shit out of her.

  Pulling the sheets back, Cato slid in beside her and grinned when she grumbled at being turned to her back. She threw an arm over her eyes and settled back to sleep. He gently spread her legs and lay the warm cloth over her mound. He carefully cleaned her and threw the cloth on the floor. He situated her to her back and spooned up close to her side. He had them covered and her nice and tight in his embrace when he called out to her.

  “Luna. Baby. Wake up.”

  He jostled her a few times and eventually she opened her eyes and stared up at him.

  “How long have I been asleep?”

  He traced his finger across her temple and smiled. “Not long. I’m sorry, but I’m ready to tell you my secret now.” His gut clenched at how sweet she looked wrapped in his arms and her eyes wide with curiosity.

  “Oh. Okay. I’m going to turn on my side so you don’t have to look at me. I found that easier to tell my story. Okay?”

  He bent and kissed her lips. “Okay. I just want you to promise me something.”

  She nodded.

  “Let me tell the whole thing before you leap up and go call 911, okay?”

  She smiled and his heart turned over.

  “Deal.” She shifted to her side and he smiled when she lay her palm on his forearm when he wrapped her up tight again.

  Cato blew out a breath. “Okay, here goes. I’m half human and half pure energy and come from a planet called Insedivertus. Around 300 BC, a roman emperor and his mate were sucked through an interplanetary vortex and ended up on our planet. My ancestors were pure energy and wanted to have structure like humans. They mimicked the emperor and others traveled back to the emperor’s home and took on human form as well. We pretty much left Earth alone for centuries and only traveled back to gain more knowledge. Soon we surpassed Earth in technology. A planetary war caused the death of the Insedi females and we’ve been forced to return to Earth to find our mates. Gods, this sounds insane to me and I’m living it.” He peeked over her shoulder and saw that she had her eyes closed. He was completely shocked that she hadn’t even budged or showed signs of fear. Maybe she passed out? He looked at her again and jerked when she spoke.

  “Go on.”

  Cato talked for almost thirty minutes straight and explained about the Seeker agencies, his role in finding potentials, how they maintained their energy while on Earth, how Drusus and Lina met, and all about Cassie and Severus. He refrained from explaining the mating cycles and how his necklace played into all of it. The last thing she needed was to think he was after her just to mate. When she was still quiet and unmoving, he grew fearful that she was just placating him while she planned her escape. He continued while he still had the nerve.

  “You’ve been there, Luna. To Insedivertus, I mean. When I told you that first day that I had a Master Surgeon heal you, it was the truth. We took you there because you would have died if the brain tear wasn’t healed. You haven’t been missing for months, baby. All of this happened within the last two weeks.” Still, she didn’t move and his heart started pounding that she was in shock or catatonic. He’d have to call Kallon to come check on her. He felt the blood rush from his head and almost passed out when she spoke. Her voice was eerily calm.

  “Describe it for me. Insedivertus. I want to hear about it.”

  That was the last thing he expected to hear. Was she trying to see if he hesitated while making up his fantastic story? He started rambling out the features in hope that she would stop and ask questions on the way.

  “It has oxygen just like Earth. There’s water and animal life-forms, but that’s where the similarities stop. We have three large purple moons, and a sun, of course. We get there by way of a vortex in the Chinati Mountains. If we leave Earth at dawn, we arrive within minutes on Insedivertus after the sun has set. We have a predominant mountain range close to where I’m from. Our trees are yellow. Some of the grasses are similar to Earth in color, as well as some of the flowers. But the biggest difference other than the three moons is the grass. It isn’t green, it’s magenta.” He felt her stiffen in his arms and closed his eyes to prepare himself for her attempt to fight her way from the bed.

  “I know I scared you, Luna. I’m so sorry. I hope that you can come to believe me in time. If you want a demonstration that I’m not lying, I can actually show you something that made Cassie and Lina quick believers. Just say the word, baby.” Cato held his breath and waited what felt like forever and slowly let it out when he felt her chest rise and fall on a deep breath.

  “I believe you, Cato.”

  He tightened his hold and waited for the “But.”

  “I believe you because I’ve dreamed of your world almost every night of my life. No, don’t turn me over yet. I’m trying to wrap my mind around this. Just lay here with me. I need to sleep. I’ll be better after I get some sleep.”

  Cato stayed quiet and settled his head against the pillow. He sensed when she fell asleep. His “What the fuck” moment lasted until the morning rays of the sun slipped into the room around the edges of the window shades. He closed his eyes and passed out from pure exhaustion.

  * * * *

  Cato sat at the kitchen bar and couldn’t keep his eyes off Luna as she walked casually around the room and prepared breakfast. It was surreal. She’d gotten up before him and taken a shower. He only knew that because her hair was damp and back in its braid when she shook him awake. She’d smiled at him and said she’d meet him in the kitchen. He’d taken the fastest shower of his life and tripped over Donk until he got him fed and retrieved one of his favorite toys stuck under the couch.

  When he’d finally sat at the bar, she’d pushed a cup of coffee his way and the sketch pad that’d been hidden in her suitcase.

  “You said that you’d seen the pride lion and the mountain peak sketches. If you’d have had more curiosity, you would’ve
figured me out a long time ago, Cato. Go ahead. Five more sketches in.”

  Cato flipped the book open and counted pages until he hit five. When he spread the pad wide, his mouth dropped open. It was a perfect likeness of Insedivertus as seen when you stepped from the vortex. The mountain range, the moons, the yushta trees, and magenta-colored grass. She’d captured the purple-flowered ground cover as it stretched out into the distance. He was speechless. He turned page after page and felt lightheaded at what he found. The vast Trancis River and the Great Plains were captured to perfection. Native animals were drawn in such minute detail, he could count the whiskers extending from their snouts.

  “How, Luna?” That was as much as he could muster for a question.

  Chapter 28

  Luna snorted and rolled her eyes at him as she picked up the sketch pad, closed it, and set a fat omelet in front of him. He didn’t think he could eat with his stomach roiling in confusion.

  “How in the hell am I supposed to know?” she baldly asked. I’ve been drawing these since I was little. Started happening around the age of ten. You want to know why I thought you’d read my journal? I heard you ask your friend how anyone could explain what I’ve drawn without someone thinking them insane. I’ve described the visions in my journal in great detail. I mused that the world was real. Bryan laughed at me and called me a nut. I thought you were about to do the same, so I ran. So, you tell me your theory because I have none.”

  Cato stared at her with wide eyes and tried to find words. Eventually he just grabbed on to what he knew. “Maybe you’re psychic.”

  Luna laughed and rounded the bar. She reached up and grabbed his chin. She leaned forward and kissed him soundly on the mouth. “Yeah. Okay. Let’s go with that. It beats the hell out of psychotic any day of the week.” She placed the fork in his hand and pointed at the omelet. “I worked hard on that, now eat.”

  Scrubbing the top of his head, Cato scooped a piece up on his fork and shoved it in his mouth. His eyes widened. “Damn. This is good, Luna.” He pulled her close and squeezed her rounded butt cheek. “Sexy and cooks. I’m a lucky son of a bitch.”

  She laughed, retrieved her plate, and sat next to him. “So what makes you think I’m psychic?”

  Between bites, he explained how the warrior had connected with his mate by her psychic dreams of him and her ability to call for him. She’d had dreams of their world and had pictured his face for years before he’d ever stepped on Earth.

  Luna set her fork down and slowly turned her head in his direction. Her brow was arched. “I dreamed of you, too, but, it wasn’t until recently.” He saw her blush. “We were on your world and we made love in the colored grass. I only have bits and pieces of the memory, but I remember us together. I think I called you storyteller.”

  Cato grasped her hand and squeezed. “It wasn’t just a dream, Luna. I was there, too. I remember us together. All of it.”

  “What?”

  He reached up and caressed her cheek. “Every day that you were in the hospital, I talked to you and told you about my world, my friends, and anything I could think of. One day I fell asleep and woke up in what I thought was a dream. I encountered you there and we did make love. It was the first time that I saw your face without bruises and swollen eyes, so I assumed I was having an erotic dream to make up for what I couldn’t do in reality. You called me storyteller, so no you’re not losing your mind.” He liked her little smile of satisfaction.

  “It was also the same time that I saw your phoenix tattoo. Imagine my surprise when the physician healed you and I saw that you looked exactly like the women in my dream. I was still a disbeliever until I saw your tattoo. I knew then that we had met on the psychic plane. There was no way I could have conjured up that unique design.”

  Luna looked down at the plate and shook her head. “Man. This is just too weird. I don’t know what to make of all of this.”

  They both remained silent and finished off their meals. Luna took their plates and was cleaning up when an idea hit him.

  “I want to contact Kallon and see what he has to say about this. I believe he did a study on the couple I told you about. If anyone can figure out what the hell’s going on, it’ll be him.”

  Luna shrugged. “Hell, why not. I’m refusing to get freaked out by all of this. In fact, I’m one happy bitch right now knowing that I was drawing and writing about something that’s actually real. I’ve been vindicated.”

  Cato chuckled. “You have no idea how relieved I am. I actually entertained the idea of tying you up and explaining, but nixed that when I figured out I’d probably end up licking your ear and other things before I could finish.”

  Tinkling laughter filled the room, and Cato grabbed her up into his arms and hugged her close. He melted in relief at the feel of her squeezing him back. He wanted to yell to the ceiling how much he loved her, but didn’t want to spook her. He’d just thrown a load of “way too much” on her already. He’d save his lovesick ramblings for another time. “You want to take a ride on a Harley, my little psychic? I’ll take you to Kallon and you can meet the guy that saved your life.”

  She tilted her head back and her beautiful smile sent warmth skittering across his chest. “I’d like that very much.”

  * * * *

  Luna reached out and grabbed Cato’s broad shoulders as he lifted her off the bike. She was constantly amazed at how strong he was and could flip her all over the place like she was a wisp of nothing. She felt her face flush at how he’d handled her last night. He was one sexy as hell, beast of a man and she was falling hard for his alien ass. He set her on the ground and started undoing her helmet. She willed her features back to calm nonchalance when he lifted it off her head. His grin alone could knock her flat in the dirt.

  “Well, how’d you like the ride?”

  She smiled and looked back at the bike. “I loved it. I felt so free. It was peaceful and I needed that. I thought I’d be scared, but you handled it like you were part of the machine. Thank you.” Damn, a full-blown smile made her panties wet. Fuck! She’d have to stop looking at him or he’d think she was having a brain aneurysm. She glanced up at the apartment complex he’d brought her to, so she wouldn’t get tongue tied from looking in his gorgeous blue eyes. “So. This is where the doctor lives?” Cato shook his head.

  “No. He has a house by Lake Travis. He’s just over here visiting Maxim and Caelius. They’ve become close since all of this happened with you. Maxim’s been beating Kallon at chess and he’s trying to figure out how he’s cheating.”

  Luna laughed. “I’m looking forward to meeting them.” She jumped when a deep, baritone voice sounded behind her.

  “I’m not cheating. He just can’t stand that I’m mastering the master. Hello, Luna.”

  Luna swiveled around, looked up, and her jaw dropped. The man stood almost as tall as Cato. His black hair was loose and hung past his shoulders. He was spectacularly handsome, and she couldn’t help staring at his exotic, steel-gray eyes. They just bore deep into your soul and hooked you right in the chest. He wore a black tank top that stretched tight across his exceptionally muscled chest. Faded blue jeans hugged his massive thighs and he wore black combat boots. He looked like he would fit perfectly in the middle of an action movie with the likes of Stallone and Willis. But it was his smile that completely defeated the killer warrior vibe. He was definitely a jokester and she bet he could get someone laughing in under two seconds. Despite his gorgeous face and body, she still thought Cato rocked it in the looks department. Maybe she was biased.

  Cato touched the top of her shoulder and it snapped her out of the catatonic state she was heading for.

  “Luna, this is Maxim. He’s the one that flew the helicopter when we took you home and brought you back.”

  Luna extended her hand and watched it disappear in the big paw he wrapped around it. Expecting to feel her bones crush to dust, she was surprised at his gentle touch before he dropped her hand. “Nice to meet you. Thank you for helping m
e.”

  He threw her a wink and tilted his head toward Cato. “Anytime you want to ditch this lug, just let me know. I’ll fly you outta here.”

  Luna laughed and she heard Cato’s chest-rumbling growl. “She’s not going anywhere. Where’s Kallon?”

  Maxim pointed backward with his thumb. “Upstairs. He’s nursing his ego since I just spanked him at his game again. I think I’m actually giving him a complex. I’m heading to the store. We ran out of bottled water. You need anything while I’m out?”

  Cato grabbed her hand and walked toward the stairs. “Nah. Just have something to run by Kallon then we’ll let you two get at it again. Caelius home?”

  Maxim opened the door to a silver H3 Hummer. “Nope. Cooking class again. I swear, if they don’t get off desserts soon, I’m going to start lugging around a belly or have to double up on my workouts. He’s getting pretty damn good at what they’re teaching him.”

  Grinning, Cato motioned for Luna to head up the stairs. He kept his hand on her shoulder as he turned back to Maxim. “If I were you, I’d worry more about that large ass you’re sporting.”

  Maxim gave him the finger and snorted. “Ha, ha. Bite me, cuz.”

  Returning the middle-finger salute, Cato laughed and pulled Luna up the stairs. She looked up at him when they reached a door and he knocked.

  “Cuz? Are you related?”

  Cato nodded. “Yep. His father and mine are brothers.”

  Luna muttered, “Big must run in your family.”

  Before Cato could respond, the door swung open and Luna did the same jaw-drop impression she’d pulled with Maxim. This time she didn’t know where to make her eyes stop. He was breathtaking. The lightest green eyes she’d ever seen widened and a smile, revealing even, white teeth, lit his face from within. He had blond hair pulled back into what she thought might be a braid, and his skin was golden brown. Several diamond studs ran the length of one ear and she immediately liked the vibe he was putting out. With high cheekbones, full masculine lips, and a perfectly straight nose, he could give any top male model a run for their money. He wasn’t anywhere near as tall as Cato or Maxim, yet he wasn’t a slouch in the muscle department. He wore black jeans, boots, and a dark green T-shirt that made his eyes scream out their beauty. She was suddenly thankful that Maxim’s roommate, Caelius, wasn’t there. If he was anywhere near as beautiful as these two, she didn’t think she’d survive another introduction. The Insedi male was a creature to behold. Group them together, and the ability to speak was lost. She saw Kallon’s gorgeous lips moving and realized he was saying something to her. “Oh. I’m sorry. What?”