Clan and Commit (Clan Beginnings Book 7)

by Tracy St. John

  The end came swiftly, with Karil lying helpless on the floor, where Japohn pinned him. The furious Nobek throttled Bacoj’s tormentor, his fangs showing, spittle dripping on Karil’s blue-hued face.

  Vax’s cry rang out as the Imdiko ventured into the chamber of horrors. “Don’t kill him, Japohn! No more deaths. Please.”

  Though Bacoj would have sworn their bodyguard wouldn’t stop until Karil was dead, Japohn immediately stopped choking him. The Dramok was impressed anew. Despite the vicious, violent battle, Japohn hadn’t descended into mindless slaughter.

  Bacoj had no more opportunity to consider his savior. Vax sped to him, kneeling by his side. He fought to untie him as he sobbed over the Dramok’s wounds. He blubbered a litany of, “Don’t die. Don’t die. I love you. Don’t die.”

  I love you. Had Vax really said that? Or was it a sweet hallucination he’d heard as another tidal wave of unconsciousness bore down upon him?

  “Whatever you want, my Imdiko,” Bacoj croaked. Hurting but smiling, he let the room gray out again.

  * * * *

  I love you.

  Bacoj’s eyelids fluttered, the wisp of a voice singing through his head. He woke to a dim room, smiling at the fading dream.

  His first real thought was how no matter what world one woke to, a hospital room was immediately recognizable. The stark surroundings, the antiseptic smell, the gleam of machines near the bed…all familiar, even though he’d only been in Kalquorian hospitals to visit others. Until now.

  He felt no panic to be lying in a medi-bed on Dantovon. Nothing hurt, and that was more than good enough for him. The heaviness of his limbs and his unwillingness to move were okay too. A sense of serenity lulled him. He realized he was probably dosed up on painkillers.

  Remembering the reason he was in such a situation failed to rouse him as well. Karil had beat the living shit out of Bacoj. Then Japohn had arrived, followed by Vax, who’d said he loved him. At least, Bacoj believed that Vax had spoken those wonderful words.

  Bacoj set aside the urge to sleep again, his gaze searching the shadowed room. He didn’t have to look hard. Vax sat next to his bed, his arms crossed on its surface next to Bacoj’s hip, his head pillowed there as he slept.

  My Imdiko. Bacoj knew it in his heart. In his very being. Whatever it took, he’d clan Vax.

  A big, beefy arm draped over Vax’s shoulders. Japohn also sat next to Bacoj’s bed, sleeping with his head resting next to Vax’s. There was no sign of the familiar scowl that often settled over his features. Nor was there any vestige of the primitive fury he’d worn as he’d throttled Karil.

  Japohn was a handsome man when he managed to relax. Or when that rare smile appeared. Most importantly, he was a hell of a Nobek…a hell of a protector.

  I owe you everything. Bacoj had told him that after Japohn had come out of nowhere to save Vax. That obligation was doubled now that Japohn had raced to the Dramok’s rescue as well.

  It wasn’t just obligation or gratitude that made Bacoj wish he could summon the strength to reach out to Japohn. To wake him by stroking that ebony flood of hair, by stroking that handsome face.

  You’re a true hero. You deserve a clan. Along with the right Dramok who can provide the leadership you need.

  Was Bacoj that Dramok? Caring for the man wasn’t the problem. The matter of his feelings for Japohn were settled. He’d never find a better Nobek clanmate if he searched all of Kalquor.

  The real concern facing Bacoj had become whether he was good enough…strong enough…for the willful Japohn.

  He had no opportunity to consider it further. The questions followed Bacoj into the quiet reaches of sleep, which gently claimed him before he realized he was going under again.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Three and a half months later:

  Several minutes after they came off duty, Bacoj and Vax hurried to Japohn’s quarters on board the supply ship where they served. The Imdiko held his arm as they went, and Bacoj relished the touch of his lover. It helped dull the sadness of what lay before them.

  The door to Japohn’s cramped space opened at their approach. Having automatic entry privileges to the Nobek’s room gave them an extra precious second of time grown abysmally short.

  The pair entered, squeezing in at the foot of Japohn’s sleeping mat. Seeing his travel pack out and loaded with gear was a punch to Bacoj’s gut, nearly as painful as those Karil had dealt months ago on Dantovon. Knowing and accepting the end had arrived couldn’t soften the blow of losing Japohn’s constant presence.

  I’ll miss the big lug.

  Vax’s happy expression dimmed too. Then it left altogether as he gazed up at the man standing next to the mat. The Imdiko swallowed but kept quiet as he blinked suddenly overly bright eyes.

  Bacoj regarded Japohn’s stalwart but forlorn features. “I can’t believe this day has come.”

  “Yeah. Seems like we just boarded, doesn’t it?” The Nobek noted the bottle of bohut in Bacoj’s hand and the three glasses Vax held. His countenance eased into a surprised smile. “Hey, this is a nice sendoff.”

  “Well, it’s not entirely about you leaving. Call it a farewell and a celebration.”

  “Celebration?”

  “We just heard from Investigator Yas. Karil was sentenced to life in a prison camp. He won’t be bothering us ever again.”

  “I guess turning evidence on Respel and getting that monster executed for his crimes paid off for him. I wouldn’t call it justice, though. Karil murdered plenty of men on his behalf.”

  “True, but without his testimony, they never would have taken Respel down.”

  “He was bent on slaughtering you in a horrible way. He shouldn’t have been given a break.” Japohn shrugged, clearly not agreeing the news was much to celebrate. He’d grouched more than once in the past few weeks that he shouldn’t have spared Vax’s drug-addled stalker.

  Ignoring the Nobek’s grouchiness, Vax beamed, his usual happy nature asserting itself. “Okay, so how about another reason to throw a little party? Bacoj and I clanned.”

  Japohn’s answering smile appeared tight to Bacoj. “It’s about damn time. Congratulations. That’s definitely worth drinking to. Pour while I secure this stuff.”

  He returned to his packing. Vax gave Bacoj a significant look, and a nudge for good measure.

  Bacoj nodded, but he found it difficult to speak the words he’d rehearsed. They stuck in his throat. After all, the past few weeks had underscored how domineering Japohn could be. Even after spending so many days and nights together, Bacoj struggled to take the lead when it came to the strong and often overwhelming Nobek.

  Never mind all that noise. You adore the oversized bruiser, despite how often he oversteps his bounds and tries to play the leader. Admit it, Bacoj. You’re as broken up over him leaving on this mission as Vax is.

  Maybe it was because he knew Japohn would do anything to ensure he and Vax were safe. Maybe it was due to the Nobek’s weird mixture of strength and vulnerability. Or maybe it was because Japohn was Japohn. No other Nobek compared.

  It was Japohn or no one.

  As he dealt with what being Dramok to such a man would entail, Vax watched him, his expression growing more worried by the second. Bacoj drew a deep breath and took the plunge. “I was hoping there’d be one more thing to celebrate.”

  Japohn glanced at him, his demeanor carefully composed. “What would that be?”

  “Gaining a Nobek for my clan. Would you do us the honor?”

  Japohn stared. Seeing him struggle with emotion—hope, disbelief, a twinge of fear—made Bacoj want to grab him and kiss the entirety of his brutish but handsome face. To reassure this amazing warrior, who refused to believe he deserved a clan, that he was wanted.

  At last, Japohn choked, “Are you serious?”

  Vax sighed dramatically, though he was blinking hard. “No Japohn, this is the cruelest joke we could play on you before you run off to risk your life on a dangerous mission. Of course he’s ser
ious, you giant ronka. We want you to be our Nobek.”

  In spite of Vax’s insistence, Japohn struggled with the offer. A pang of hurt swelled in Bacoj’s chest. The Nobek hadn’t suffered little hope to belong; he’d entertained no hope at all.

  Despite knowing the proud Japohn wouldn’t have appreciated overt sympathy in the form of an embrace, Bacoj couldn’t refrain from grabbing his shoulder and squeezing. His voice rough with emotion, he said, “It would be my privilege if you’d accept.”

  Japohn pulled in a shuddering breath. A smile snuck out, twisting his lips just a little. It grew. Then he laughed outright. “Yes. Yes! Thank you.”

  Vax tossed the glasses to bounce harmlessly on the sleeping mat before leaping into the Japohn’s arms, as an Imdiko was privileged to do in such circumstances. A moment later, all three were laughing and hugging and kissing.

  When the first wave of celebration passed, Vax poured for them. “Now we can congratulate ourselves. Especially me. I’m the biggest winner here, what with getting the two of you in my clutches.”

  Bacoj chuckled and raised his glass. “To my clanmates. May I be worthy of this honor.”

  “To Clan Bacoj,” Japohn toasted.

  “To Clan Bacoj!” Vax echoed.

  To me being the Dramok they need and deserve. Bacoj swallowed his bohut in two gulps. He could do it. He hoped.

  They finished the bottle too soon. As Vax tossed the empty in the recycling bin and put the glasses on a shelf to be returned to the dining hall, Japohn closed his travel sack and sat it on the floor. Bacoj looked him over, appreciating the muscled physique. Despite his few remaining misgivings, he had no problem admitting the Nobek was a delicious man.

  “Don’t you dare think about it, my Dramok,” Japohn warned without glancing his way. His tone was sentimental as he said my Dramok. He spoke the words slowly, relishing them. Somehow, it didn’t mitigate the underlying threat.

  “I didn’t think we had time anyway,” Bacoj answered innocently. “Certainly not if a fight for dominance is involved.”

  “Right.” Japohn’s brow rose, letting him know he wasn’t fooled in the least.

  The next second, Bacoj was on his back on the Nobek’s mat, with the big man on top of him, trying to pin him down. “You underhanded shit!” Bacoj yelled, wriggling partially out from under. “What kind of Nobek pulls a sneak attack?”

  “A smart Nobek,” Japohn laughed, using his greater weight to keep Bacoj from escaping. “Be nice, and I’ll beg Vax to suck your cocks.”

  “No begging required,” Vax answered happily. “Stop kicking, my Dramok, and my mouth is yours.”

  “But Japohn will take advantage while I’m distracted,” Bacoj groaned, knowing how easy it was to give in to the Nobek’s use when Vax’s oral skills came into play.

  “You’d better believe I will. You have such a wonderful ass, my Dramok.” Again, Japohn savored the words that proved he was part of a clan. Then he bent to kiss Bacoj.

  The Nobek’s kiss was demanding, stealing all sense as he tasted Bacoj slowly, thoroughly. The smaller man continued to struggle, though his resistance was weak under the power of that incredible mouth and tongue. Feeling his boots tugged off and the crotch of his formsuit tugged open, knowing Vax was about to deliver a headier sort of kiss, robbed him of his strength.

  Wet heat enclosed first his secondary, then his larger cock. A jolt of purest elation made losing to Japohn unimportant. Bacoj lay beneath his new clanmates, his writhing no longer having anything to do with opposing them.

  He offered no defiance even when Japohn kissed his way down his jaw, heading for the vulnerable spot on his neck. The Nobek held him wrapped tight, pinning Bacoj’s arms to his sides. The trapped Dramok moaned when the Nobek bit him, his hollow fangs delivering the intoxicant that would guarantee Bacoj’s surrender.

  “Lie still for now,” Japohn whispered when he ended the bite. “Let your grateful clanmates enjoy their leader. Give me something wonderful to dream about in the lonely months to come while I’m away.”

  Later, Bacoj would remember that hour with great fondness. Japohn lavished him with kisses from his forehead down to his nipples, licking and biting in the most exciting fashion. Soothed by caring pleasure, galvanized by little shocks of pain, he responded to his Nobek with greater passion than any of their previous encounters. While Japohn’s venom held him under its thrall, Bacoj didn’t mind not taking the lead. Privately, he admitted to himself it was delightful to have the decision-making stolen from him…for a little while, anyway.

  As Japohn explored him, as if to commit him to memory, he whispered a litany of thank-yous and promises he would be the perfect Nobek for their clan once the war was over. Bacoj barely heard him, enthralled by his new clanmate’s adoring attention.

  Also thanks to Vax’s constant licking and sucking. Bacoj’s lengths responded eagerly to the Imdiko’s expert manipulations with hands, lips, tongue, and teeth. Vax eased fingers within him to stroke his hotspot with perfect friction, so that only Japohn’s order to remain still kept Bacoj from bucking the Imdiko off. Instead, he lay beneath the amorous attentions of the pair, groaning as they brought him to full, hungry arousal.

  He didn’t hesitate in mind or body when Japohn ordered him to stand with his hands braced against the wall. Bacoj knew what was about to happen, but with Vax clinging to his shafts, it failed to matter. He assumed the position, his legs spread wide, Vax kneeling between him and the wall. He closed his eyes and sighed as that perfect, wet mouth enclosed his primary yet again. Vax’s fist tugged at his secondary, sending jolts of bliss into the larger shaft.

  The nudge of Japohn’s larger sex against Bacoj’s entrance was merely a reminder to relax. The invader burrowed into him, the aching stretch adding to the growing rapture of approaching orgasm rather than chasing it away. Bacoj grunted from the odd but wondrous mixture of pleasure and hurt that filled him with sheer enjoyment. Japohn’s breath was hot on his ear, and the Nobek licked, then nipped his earlobe. Bacoj shivered, surprised at how erotic that felt.

  Japohn gripped his hips. With a sigh, he slid deep into Bacoj’s hole, making the Dramok yield to his desire. A strangled cry escaped Bacoj as he was taken, fighting to accept the sudden penetration. Yet he exerted no effort to stop it from happening. Even the pain was thrilling. He didn’t want it to stop.

  He was the center of his clan, the unmoving core as the other two strained against him. His body was a riot of entrancing sensation, of torment mixed with heady excitement, coaxed to the brim by his Imdiko and Nobek. They fed on and were fed by him. In that instant, he was their everything, and he sensed it to his soul.

  As Japohn rutted, Bacoj at last began to adjust to his generous girth, lessening the stress. The incredible sensation of the big man rubbing his cumspot magnified with each stroke, adding to the rapture of Vax sucking him. A hot tide of luscious eagerness made his secondary jerk within Vax’s tight fist. The warm river of lust crept toward the base of him, making a slow but inexorable journey to his primary.

  The exhilaration seeped down his legs, up his torso, into his arms. Every cell of his being woke; his very brain was alight under their energetic ministrations. He held his place, absorbing the delights of Vax’s mouth and the thudding strength of Japohn’s quickening thrusts. He moaned as lust reached the base of his smaller sex and pushed toward the larger, closing in on emptying into Vax’s sucking mouth.

  “Don’t come without permission,” Japohn hissed in his ear.

  Bacoj uttered a strangled groan at the order. Under the influence of Japohn’s venom, he had no choice in the matter. He was the Nobek’s to command, and even something as primal as orgasm was no longer under his control.

  He shuddered as Vax’s coarse tongue stroked the length of him, as the Imdiko sucked him down into his throat, as the other man tugged and pulled and excited him. Japohn hammered him from behind, applying incredible friction to his hotspot.

  His one solace was he managed not to beg. He could
n’t stop himself from groaning, or uttering the occasional whimper, as they drove passion into a frenzy, but he refused to plead for mercy. Bacoj suffered wordlessly, shuddering under the onslaught.

  Japohn’s rhythm stuttered. He grunted, the animal sound raising the hairs on the back of Bacoj’s neck. The Nobek thudded hard into him for several beats, driving deep. Then he cried out, his thick cock jerking within Bacoj’s ass, filling him with hot cum until it ran down his legs.

  “Excellent, my Dramok,” Japohn sighed when he finally began to soften within his ass. He patted Bacoj’s butt cheek. “Very, very good. All right, Vax. Your turn. Enjoy it now; he’ll insist on control while I’m gone.”

  “Don’t I know it,” Vax chuckled, releasing Bacoj’s shafts. “Lean him over the mat, would you?”

  Moments later, Bacoj was bent over the edge of the sleeping mat, his ass in the air. Japohn held him by the back of the neck despite the fact that the Dramok was still under the thrall of his bite.

  “Let your Imdiko have his pleasure. He deserves a compliant ass too.”

  Vax moaned happily as he filled Bacoj. Within seconds, his groin slap-slap-slapped against the Dramok’s ass as he fucked the helpless man. Though he wasn’t as endowed as their Nobek, he knew just how to angle penetration so that Bacoj’s cumspot received plenty of friction.

  Vax gasped. “That’s it. Move against me, my Dramok. Yeah, like that. Oh, that’s so incredible.”

  “Damn. I love seeing your cock working his hole. Do it, my Imdiko. Fuck him.” Still pinning Bacoj by the neck, Japohn masturbated him.

  Excited by the sensations—including his inability to escape, though he’d never have told the others the forced surrender was sublime—Bacoj rocked his hips, driving his primary into Japohn’s tight fist in one direction, and his ass against Vax’s groin in the other. He bit his lips together as rapture grew. He was unable to stop himself from intensifying his efforts, despite the knowledge that he couldn’t climax until Japohn told him to.