Project Exorcism Book Two:

FORCE OF ATTRACTION

By

Mandy M. Roth

 

 

 

 

© copyright September 2005, Mandy M. Roth

Cover art by Kat Richards, © copyright September 2005

ISBN 1-58608-643-X

New Concepts Publishing

Lake Park, GA 31636

www.newconceptspublishing.com

This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.

Chapter One

“Have a seat,” Doctor Marisa Langston said, hearing the door to her exam room slide shut. “Go ahead and gown up. I’ll be right with you. I just need to finish up with these logs.”

She ran her hand over the edges of the electronic access tab on the file, allowing a microchip embedded under the skin in her hand to access the information in them. A clear image appeared in her mind as she downloaded the day’s findings into the chart log. Visions of each patient she’d seen over the course of the day rushed through her mind. As quickly as it started, the painless procedure was over.

A husky laugh sounded, accompanied closely by the scent of cedar and musk. The smell drove her wild. The man attached to it drove her insane. “Ah, Doc, I’ve always known you wanted me out of my pants. Hearing you say it confirms my suspicions. I told you yesterday that all you had to do was say the word and I would show you what a real man could offer you.”

Marisa outwardly cringed but inwardly rejoiced at the sound of Lieutenant Commander Bradi Janelle’s deep voice. The man lived to make her life hell. He seemed to take great pleasure in embarrassing her whenever possible. There was something about him that made her blood boil and her body burn in ways it shouldn’t. It wasn’t something she wanted to think too hard about. She was positive she wouldn’t like what she discovered.

She focused on the medicine dispensing panel in front of her instead of sinful thoughts about the man behind her. “Lt. Commander Bradi, I thought you canceled your physical today. I put someone else in your spot.” She let her voice go hard, knowing full well why he was standing there. Giggling was an option she had to fight not to take. While it was childish, it seemed more than called for.

Bradi cleared his throat, the tension suddenly thick enough to choke on. “I did cancel, but since someone went straight to the big boy about my file not being complete, I got a call telling me to get my ass in here. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you, Doc? I mean, you don’t have any certain pull with the Commander, do you?”

Grinning, Marisa turned toward him, wanting to give him the impression that he didn’t get to her, but he did. Everything about the man got under her skin and she wasn’t entirely sure it was in a bad way either. The fact that her pulse seemed to speed with the slightest mention of Bradi’s name and that her body seemed to tighten of its own accord by his sheer nearness told her more than she wanted to know. She wanted him. She could never have him. Off limits didn’t even begin to cover Lt. Commander Bradi Janelle. Dark. Dangerous. Delicious. Everything she needed to avoid.

Bradi seemed to take up so much room that he demanded attention. The dark gray backdrop of the infirmary walls provided a scene that if Marisa didn’t know better, would have said made the brave and ballsy Lt. Commander look uncomfortable. Having an aversion to hospital like settings wasn’t uncommon. Seeing Bradi appear anything but in control was. He squared his shoulders and stared down at her, a challenge in his eyes.

The man was pure muscle, at least from what Marisa could tell. He’d never allowed her to examine him in the two months she’d been the ship’s assistant physician so she could only guess. As far as she knew, Bradi hadn’t allowed anyone to examine him in well over a year. Judging from the way his tight regulation black T-shirt fit him, his upper body was sculpted to perfection. The lower half of him didn’t look so bad either in a ‘great ass, large muscular thighs and an even larger bulge between the legs’ kind of way, but who was really looking at that anyway?

Who am I kidding? I can’t keep my eyes off him.

Bradi pulled the leather tie out of his hair and she watched in silent wonder as waves of silky black spilled over his broad shoulders. His light blue eyes locked on her as his tongue darted out. The sight of his long tongue brushing over his full lips made her hands shake from the need to touch him. On more than one occasion, Marisa had wondered what it would feel like to have him above her, taking her in ways she shouldn’t even think about.

Even while she should have been focused on her job, Marisa was focused on the idea of Bradi taking hold of her, tossing her onto an exam table and having his way with her. Her pussy dampened at the very thought of him sinking his cock into her.

Stop thinking about him like that. It’s wrong. Besides, he’s an asshole.

Lt. Commander Bradi was different from the men she knew. So wild. So free that the idea of not being close to him to see what it was he’d do next wasn’t an option. He was certainly an individual in a sea of the same. She wasn’t used to men with facial hair, the Commission frowned upon it, so Bradi stood out even more than normal. His goatee was well maintained. It wasn’t pointy, like some. No. His was cut close to his natural, squared jawline. It not only suited him, but added to the mysticism behind him going down on her. The very thought of his whiskers scraping over the tender flesh of her pussy left Marisa shifting awkwardly as cream continued to build.

Gods, I want him.

It’d be a cold day in hell before she admitted that to him though.

“As much as I love the fact that you felt the need to show off your non-regulation hair, I don’t need that down. I need your pants down,” she said, sure that her sexual suggestion wasn’t lost on him. “You need your shots updated. You’re dangerously close to the expiration date on your old ones and gods help us all knowing the way you bed hop. The entire ship will be full of little Janelles. We can only hope they aren’t as cocky as you are. Not only that, I’ll be treating bizarre cases of whatever it is men like you spread around sexually for months. You’re an epidemic waiting to happen, Janelle.”

“I do not have little Janelle’s running around,” he said, sounding a bit annoyed. “I never will.”

That surprised Marisa. Bradi generally took everything in stride. He also was known to dish out way more than she liked to receive. Seeing him upset didn’t sit well with her. Softening her expression, Marisa glanced up at him. “My apologies. That was uncalled for and unprofessional. I have nothing to base my assumptions on. Sorry, Lt. Commander.”

He arched a dark brow and ran his hand over his facial hair. “Want a basis? I’d be happy to give you one, Doctor,” he murmured, his blue gaze suddenly raking over her body slowly. Her breath quickened. “Give me one night, Doc. One night and then you can base all the assumptions you want off it, off me. But only if you promise to let me play doctor with you, too. No fair that you get all the fun. You see,” unabashed, he cupped his groin, “I have the perfect thing to take your temperature with.” Bradi took a step toward her, sliding his large hand up toward his belt.

Yes, have me at your mercy.

Need slammed through her, leaving Marisa no choice but to avert her gaze. Her cheeks flushed. Crawling away from him wasn’t an option. Standing there while he dropped his pants before her was what her job demanded. Wanting to see all that he had to offer was something her body demanded.

You hate him. Remember?

“I’ve been meaning to ask you about your heritage, Lieutenant Commander,” Marisa said, doing her best to stay focused. It was far from easy. Sneaking a peek at Bradi’s perfect body would be so easy. She’d lain awake countless nights wondering about him when it was another her mind should have been focused on. Each time she pleasured herself, was Bradi’s face she saw in her mind, his body she imagined in her, not the man who was supposed to be there.

“My heritage?” he asked, taken aback.

“Yes, you don’t look like other Corneusims I’ve met before.”

Bradi laughed slightly. The very sound shook her to her core. “Why would I look like a horny toad warrior from the planet Corn??”

It was as she expected. The man had doctored his medical records. He certainly wasn’t the first officer to do so, nor would he be the last. Whatever reason he had for hiding must have been a good one--to make him as desperate as he’d been. “Hmm, just wondering. After all, your last blood scans showed traces of Corneusim DNA in it.”

Mumbling under his breath, Bradi rubbed his strong jaw. It seemed to be a habit he only had when he was dealing with her. “Doc Graves is ancient. I bet his equipment failed again, or more than likely he just mixed up the samples.”

Bradi was right, Dr. Graves, the ship’s head physician was old, but not careless. Mixing up samples wasn’t something he would do. Marisa decided to fight this battle with him at a later date. Right now, she planned on immunizing him and drawing a sample of his blood in the process. Marisa wouldn’t submit it to the officials. No. Bradi had his reasons for hiding. She just needed to set her own mind at ease. “Ready to bare it all, Lieutenant Commander?”

He released the slight hold he had on his pants, letting them fall to his ankles and grinned from ear to ear. The absence of underwear gave Marisa a quick flash of his front side before he turned around and pulled his T-shirt up. Her breath caught and her inner thighs tightened. Hell, the man wasn’t even erect and his cock was impressive. There was no way Bradi would ever fit in her.

Thank the gods I can’t have him. He’d break me.

Staring at his rock hard ass did little in the way of alleviating the overwhelming need to touch Bradi. Would it be so wrong to just trace the edges of his tight body? She licked her lips imagining her fingers digging into each cheek as he fucked her. Marisa fought to maintain what little she still held of her composure. “All set?”

“I would much rather have you remove my pants next time, Doc,” he said, his deep voice moving over her.

“I’m sure you would,” she said wryly, trying to shake the visions from her head of Bradi fucking her. Grabbing her booster gun, Marisa moved up behind him. Placing one hand on his ass and confirming the fact that he was indeed rock hard, she released the Star Union’s recommended dosage of immunizations and population control into him. He didn’t seem the least bit phased by the injection.

Lt. Commander Bradi Janelle would now be disease free for at least another year and considering the stories she heard about his prowess that was a blessing. Unable to help herself, Marisa patted his bare cheek lightly and let out a soft laugh. Bradi flexed and temptation ran through her. She clutched her hands tight to avoid doing a full backside rub down.

“Have you talked to Peter today?” she asked, desperate to get her mind off his hind end.

Bradi stood quickly, pulling his pants up as he went. The second he turned to face her, he rolled his blue eyes. Running a large hand over his chin, Bradi shook his head, annoyance evident in his masculine features. “You always do that. You always toss Pete’s name out whenever I make a comment that turns you on. Every time I make you wet, you throw him in my face, Doc. What? Do you think I forget that you are engaged to my best friend?”

Marisa’s jaw dropped. “I do not toss Peter in your face every time you make me wet.” Instantly, she cringed. As much as she’d wanted an intellectual debate, she didn’t get one. No. Confirming Bradi’s assumption that he made her wet never factored into the equation. She wished she could take it back.

A smug smile tugged at the corners of Bradi’s mouth and Marisa wasn’t sure if she wanted to kiss or kick it away. “See, was it so hard to admit that I make you horny? Come on, Doc. Just own up to it. You want me.”

Snorting, Marisa reached out and used Bradi’s forearm to steady herself. He didn’t seem to mind so she held tight to it. She laughed and leaned into him as he chuckled with her. “Yeah, must be the Corneusim blood in you. I’ve always wanted a toad. What can you do with your tongue, Lt. Commander?”

“Hold the communicator,” he leaned down, putting his face so close to her that their lips would touch if she dared to move, “was that a joke coming out of your mouth? It was funny, Doc, and you look damn good when you smile. You should do it more.”

Hearing the warm tone in Bradi’s voice, Marisa found herself edging even closer to him as tiny giggles continued to erupt from her. “Do what more?” she asked, hiccupping. The question popped out even though no part of her had intended on asking it. Something about Bradi made rational thought leap right out the window. The man had a way about him.

Running the pad of his thumb over her cheek, Bradi caught her off guard. “You should smile more. You’re getting married soon. You’d think you’d be in a better mood about it.”

His words cut to the bone as they were no doubt intended to. Stiffening, Marisa collected her thoughts and hardened herself to his charms or at the moment, lack thereof. She jerked back from him, unable to hide the hurt on her face. Something moved over Bradi’s handsome features. He reached for her but stopped just shy of actually touching her. “Doc, I-I just wanted you to....”

Doing her best to deal with the turmoil Bradi left her in, Marisa forced a blank expression to her face, donning what she liked to call her work face. “Lieutenant Commander Bradi, my time, as well is yours, is precious, so if you wouldn’t mind....”

He sighed. “Shit, don’t do this, Doc. Don’t clam up and go all stick up the ass on me.”

“Stick up the...?” Her jaw dropped. The ringing of her communicator cut her off. She narrowed her gaze on Bradi, daring him to continue with his juvenile behavior as she answered the call. “Dr. Langston here.”

“Hey sweetheart, are you done yet? I’m going crazy waiting for you,” Peter, her fiancé, said in his bedroom voice. “Did you miss me?”

Marisa turned to avoid Bradi’s penetrating gaze and nodded. It took her a moment to realize that Peter couldn’t see her. “Yes, I think I’m done here. My last patient was just leaving.” She heard the door to her exam room open and close. Relief should have flooded her. Lt. Commander Bradi Janelle had left. Oddly enough, no part of her was happy about that. Suddenly, she felt bad for her brashness. “Listen, I’ll see you in a bit. There’s something I need to take care of before I call it a day.”

“Very well,” Peter said. “See you soon.”

“Mmmhmm.” Marisa clicked the communicator off. Tension filled her neck and shoulders as the weight of her behavior toward Bradi weighed on her. In truth, he was no worse than the rest of the male crew on board. Being one of only a handful of females on a two month deep space journey had left her the target of many deprived males, but none rubbed on her nerves the way Bradi did. No one else made her dream of him, his touch, his cock buried deep within. No. No one else aboard the vessel did what Bradi did to her.

He’s driving me insane.

“What the hell is it about you, Janelle, that gets me all fired up? I have never wanted to punch a man as much as I wanted to kiss him. Why you?” She reached down to grab a file off her desk, shaking her head at the idea that she would give Peter up in an instant to be with a man who only wanted a free fuck.

Two strong hands touched her shoulders and she froze. “If I had to guess what it is you can’t resist about me, I would say it’s my charming personality, my devilish good looks, and the fact that I’ve got an eleven inch dick. Is that marked in my chart? It should be. Wanna verify that?”

Marisa spun around to find Bradi standing there with a wicked grin on his entirely too attractive face. He winked. “Want me to take my pants off again? Oh, better yet, take yours off and I’ll stick you with something special.” He wagged his brows. “Something that will surely give you a boost.”

“Of all the nerve,” she spat as she glared at him. The urge to hit him was great. She gave in to it. The second that her palm connected with his rugged cheek, Marisa hissed, wanting desperately to take the action back. “Oh gods, I’m ... Lt. Commander....”

A fire burned in Bradi’s blue eyes as he locked gazes with her. Marisa felt as though she were pinned by his predatory look. Every instinct in her screamed how very deadly the man before her could be but she didn’t care. She didn’t fear Bradi. She wanted him in ways she knew she shouldn’t.

His cheek reddened and before Marisa could stop herself, she kissed her fingertips and pressed them to hot skin, seeming to douse a bit of the fire that burned in his eyes. Tapping her ear with her free hand, Marisa pressed one of the activation points for her built-in medical chips. “Scan for damage.”

Bradi stiffened a second before a pain like Marisa had never experienced sliced through her head, instantly rendering her scan of Bradi’s cheek ineffective. Grabbing her head, Marisa cried out.

“Shit, sorry,” Bradi whispered, as though he had anything to do with her embedded chip acting up. The feel of his large arms wrapping around her instantly helped to chase the pain away, leaving only a tiny, dull ache in its place. “You okay?”

She nodded and stared down at her hand. “That’s so strange. It’s never hurt me before. Ever.”

“I didn’t mean to use so much ... umm,” he glanced away, “of my good pick up lines on you.”

What?

Growling, Marisa shoved him hard in the chest. Bradi didn’t budge. The man was an oaf. A certifiable space gigolo that ran through women like they were on special. Anger welled in her. The fact that he’d heard her confession, that he now knew she wanted him, drove her to the edge of reason. Afraid of becoming violent with Bradi, Marisa pointed at the door as she glared at him. “Get out now, or so help me gods....”

Instantly, his mouth covered hers. Stunned, she gasped, giving him the opportunity he needed to ease his tongue in. She lost all rational thought. Licking the inner edges of her mouth, he made her knees shake. Marisa’s brain screamed at her to bite his tongue off, but her body reacted by reaching up to touch him, to pull him closer.

He tasted so good. So sweet. So divine. She couldn’t get enough.

With his height advantage, Marisa had to stand on her tiptoes while he bent down to her, but it was worth it. The feel of his hot mouth pressed to hers and of his gifted tongue tracing circles around her own made her nipples harden to pebbled points. Liquid pooled at the apex of her thighs and it wasn’t until she felt Bradi’s hands moving up and under her shirt that she realized what she was doing--making out with a man that could own her heart if he decided he wanted it.

Yanking back from him, Marisa lost her balance and staggered. The sounds of her exam room doors sliding open sounded. She ignored them. Bradi grabbed for her and pulled her into his warm body. The need to kiss him again, to welcome his tongue in her mouth was great. As he leaned down, she thought for sure that he’d kiss her again. He smiled. “Careful now, Doc, wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.”

“That’s why I keep you around, Bradi. You know how to take care of what’s important to me,” Peter said, appearing in the doorway suddenly.

She stilled. Had Peter seen them kissing? She knew Peter well enough to know that he wasn’t one to mix words or beat around the bush. He’d have said something.

Marisa’s eyes met Bradi’s and she saw a shadow pass over them. What they’d done was wrong. It was clear that both parties understood that. Bradi nodded and eased his grip on her. “Yeah, if nothing else, I make a good watchdog, Pete.”

She wasn’t sure if that was hurt she saw on Bradi’s face, or if he was just toying with her so she glanced at Peter hoping he’d shed some light on it. He offered none. No surprise there. Peter rarely had much to offer in the way of insight into Bradi. He was such a sharp contrast to Bradi that she wondered how they’d even become friends.

“Hey, Commander, I thought I told you that I’d meet you in a little bit.” Marisa winked at Peter, signifying she was only joking.

Walking toward her, Peter took hold of her arms a bit harder than needed and gave her a good jerk. “And I’ve told you before that I do not like to be kept waiting--ever.”

Marisa gave Peter a questioning stare as she tried to wiggle free of his grasp. “Peter, you’re hurting me,” she whispered, hoping Bradi wouldn’t overhear her.

He eased up a bit but gave her a hard stare in the process. Peter’s normally warm personality seemed ice cold almost daily as of late. She’d noticed it more and more and wasn’t sure what had prompted it. Sure, Peter was under a great deal of stress with his new position but he’d had that for two months now. The hard as nails persona had come on in the last three weeks.

Glancing down at her, Peter smiled. It was forced and void of emotion. “Excuse us Bradi, but I need to kiss my woman.”

“Your woman?” Marisa shot back, not caring much for the reference and still upset about the rough handling. She tugged her arm free of his grasp. “I am no man’s property.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you.” Peter gave her a sheepish grin and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “I love you.”

“On that note, I am leaving,” Bradi said, sounding oddly even tempered considering how heated he’d been only moments earlier. “I have to check in on the command deck. We are heading into non-Commission territory and it looks like we’ll have that damn meteoroid shower to contend with after all. Our scouts tell us that it’s not bad, but I would advise going around it if at all possible. I think it might be safest.”

Peter gave Bradi a sickeningly sweet smile and when he spoke, Marisa could almost hear the sarcasm dripping from his every word. “That is precisely why you aren’t required to think--buddy. We aren’t adding any additional time to our trip. We’ll continue on course as planned. I’ll catch up with you in a bit. Drinks and a round of cards sound good to you, too?”

“Yeah, sure.” Bradi headed for the sliding doors, not once bothering to look back. It was as though he’d already forgotten what had passed between them.

How could she have allowed him to kiss her? What was she thinking? He was Peter’s friend and a jerk.

Yeah, a jerk who could really kiss!