Warriors of Phaeton: Paine and Rowe

by Leora Gonzales

  “And that was before some of our ranks split and formed the Verge,” Paine said, butting into the conversation. “When those brothers defected, it was a blow to all of us. Our numbers were already barely enough to ensure the safety of those weaker needing protection. Losing that many of our brothers at one time was a hard hit to take in the ranks.”

  Indigo stayed silent as she absorbed the information. She’d heard quite a bit about the Verge and their role in her kidnapping but was still trying to wrap her head around how everything was woven together.

  Rowe squeezed her hand to get her attention.

  “I promise we will still pay a visit to the silk merchant; it just may not be until this evening.” Tightening his grip, he helped her maneuver over shuttle panels that littered the landscape. “Take care not to slip.”

  She nodded, focusing on the slippery ground beneath her feet. The flats she was wearing had little to no tread at all, and the hammered metal she was walking on was as welcoming as an ice rink. “Other than this place looking like one big recycle bin, what else should I know about it?”

  The men shrugged in unison.

  “Outside of the market square there is not much else that is populated.” Waving an arm wide, Rowe gestured to the planet around them. “It’s simply a large trading hub for the surrounding planets. The merchants live here for a time, selling the goods they’ve shuttled in, before they must leave to restock. Very few families are among them, for obvious reasons.”

  Indigo frowned, not understanding what Rowe was getting at. “What are the obvious reasons?”

  “There are no medical resources for the common people here.”

  “Common people?” she asked, unsure who classified as common versus not.

  “The merchants and their families, as well as any traveler that stops here for trade. Unless they are working in the brothels, they don’t have access to any type of routine medical care on Euphoria,” Paine tacked on. “Each house has a doctor specifically for treating their workers. The doctors and staff are contracted out much like the workers themselves. Most rotate to another planet within a few months, others stay a year or two depending on if they think the work is worth the credits. Phaeton supplies the houses with medication and treatment plans in exchange for services.”

  “Interesting,” Indigo murmured.

  She had heard quite a bit about the brothels from the Djaromir since that had been their original destination before they ended up turning it into a rescue mission for the kidnapped brides. According to the miners, it was a one-stop shop for anyone needing to get their oil—or anything else, for that matter—changed. If you had the money to pay for it, they supplied the sex workers to make your dreams come true.

  The thought sent a feeling of inadequacy bubbling up in her throat.

  “Do you—do you wish you could still go to the brothels?” she blurted out before thinking. Slapping a hand over her mouth, she closed her eyes and mumbled, “Scratch that. Forget I said anything.”

  As she wished for the ground to open and swallow her whole, the men stumbled, tripped up by her question. Dust kicked up by their boots drifted high on the breeze as they stared at her.

  Indigo coughed and waved her hands to waft away the rusty colored wisps that lingered. “Seriously. Please forget I asked. I just—” She paused, trying to think of a way to work her feelings into words without sounding like a lunatic. “This is all so new to me. I’m still struggling a bit. We’ve shared a bed now for over two weeks, but you still haven’t sealed the deal. We’re over halfway through our trial period and we haven’t actually tried everything. I know this is a shitty time to ask but…why? Did you change your minds?”

  Indigo covered her burning cheeks with her palms, her eyes wide as her mouth continued to spew out her worries. Normally, she’d have more control over herself, but this situation, combined with her lack of sleep, had thrown her version of normal out the window long ago.

  “Am I not enough? Am I too much? I mean, I like pie…and cookies…and cake. Honestly, none of that’s going to change. I just need to know if you two have changed your minds. Do you…do you prefer the women you saw in the brothels?”

  Rowe caught her hand mid-air where it was waving. “Indigo, there is no comparison between what we’ve shared—”

  “Not even a sliver,” Paine interrupted from the sidelines before grabbing up her free hand. “Regardless of us not trying everything as you so delicately put it.”

  “—and the encounters that Paine and I have had with the workers in the brothels. Our experiences with them were nothing more than a business transaction for pleasure. What’s between us—the three of us—is on a completely different level. As for not sealing the deal, we may not have known about the insomnia, but we could tell that something was wrong.”

  “Your wellbeing is our first concern. Both emotional and physical,” Paine said, pulling her close with his hold until she was close enough to feel the heat radiating from the front of his body. “We haven’t taken this further yet because you weren’t ready.”

  “As soon as you are ready though…”

  Indigo gulped at Rowe’s warning. The half-warning/half-promise was delivered not only with a devilish twinkle in his eye but also a wicked grin that made her shiver.

  “I’m ready, guys,” she rasped, her body recalling every single tempting nibble they’d given to her the past two weeks while keeping her on a diet. “I’ve been ready.”

  Paine growled. Starting deep in his chest, it rumbled out into the space between them.

  Chapter Thirty

  Rowe dropped his head back and roared loudly to the orange-tinged sky.

  Indigo squeaked at the sound while Paine just chuckled.

  “What the hell was that?” she asked once he’d finished, her eyes wide as she held a hand to her chest.

  “That, our dear bride,” Paine answered, “was Rowe realizing we won’t be able to accommodate your request until we finish this mission. No matter how badly he wants to.”

  Rowe growled roughly, flashing his incisors at his brother where he stood smiling at him.

  “The same goes for you, brother.” Clenching his hands into fists, he fought the urge to knock the smile off Paine’s face.

  “How about you use that energy to find this guy you need to find, so we can get out of here.” Indigo’s sultry voice broke through to Rowe, as did her suggestion.

  “Sounds like a plan.” He reached over to tug her close, pressing their hips together. “Once this is done…”

  “I know, big boy,” Indigo teased with a wink and a pat on his chest. “Once this is done, all of us are going to…you know.”

  “You know?” Paine asked with a chuckle where he was standing not far behind her. Even though he wasn’t touching her back, he’d still effectively sandwiched her between the two of them. “What are we going to you know? Seal the deal? Try a little bit of that everything you mentioned craving earlier.”

  “Staaahp,” she giggled when he leaned forward to nibble at the back of her neck. “Rowe!” she shrieked, leaning into his body for protection as Paine snorted and tickled her from behind. “Save me!”

  “C’mon, brother.” Rowe turned Indigo in his arms and gave her a pat on the butt. “Focus so we can get this over and done with.”

  “Got it.” He nodded, smacking the opposite cheek as Indigo walked by.

  Covering her bottom with her palms, Indigo rubbed the offended area, making him jealous of her own hands. Shaking his head, he huffed out a few breaths to get himself back on track.

  “Should we split up?” Paine asked, bringing Rowe’s attention back to his brother. “If we split up, we might be able to track him down faster.”

  “That would leave Indigo with only one guard,” he said, shooting down Paine’s idea with that one simple point. His brother wasn’t a fool. Leaving their bride with only one guard—regardless of it being either one of them—would be asking for trouble. Kaine’s intel had been that the
Traccorians and Verge were well clear of the area, but that didn’t mean a scouting party couldn’t land under their radar.

  And that wasn’t even taking into account the threats already on Euphoria.

  Along with the general population being questionable, the current marshal wasn’t to be trusted—at least in their opinion. When Maggie and Hix had been missing on Euphoria, the men had paid a visit to the marshal but left feeling as though the man was hiding something. When they’d turned in their report to Kaine and the council at the end of the mission, they’d advised the members to take a good look at the man they’d placed in charge of the trading hub. As far as he knew, an inquiry hadn’t been conducted yet due to the fallout after the Djaromir had taken off with their brides.

  “Paine,” he hissed, keeping his voice low enough not to call their bride’s attention as she walked a few paces in front of them.

  “What?” Paine looked at him in question.

  “Do you know if Kaine ever approached the marshal regarding our concerns after our last trip?”

  Paine shrugged. “Why? Do you think he’s going to cause problems?”

  “I do not know.” The three braids on his temple shifted at the shake of his head. “I know that I do not trust the man.”

  “Axis said the same the last time we were here,” Paine whispered. “Although he believed his interrogation skills were faltering, he said the marshal wasn’t being completely truthful when asked if he’d been in contact with the Verge.”

  “Shit. Was this ever brought to Kaine or anyone on the council?”

  “Not by me. I turned in a report the same as you that told the council of our initial concern. I doubt Axis said anything, considering his mindset after the mistake with Claudia.”

  “Why are you two whispering like kids in a church, and what did Axis do to Claudia?”

  The question made both men stumble in their tracks, forgetting their conversation wasn’t as private as they’d assumed. Their bride was standing with her hands on her hips and a smile on her face.

  “You two know that your whispering wasn’t very quiet to begin with, right? It never is. I hear every word.”

  “No, we did not know that,” Paine said. Rowe noted his brother’s grimace and side-eyed look to him. “We weren’t necessarily trying to hide anything—”

  “Oh really.” Indigo tapped her foot, sending up tiny puffs of red dust with every impact. “So, the whispering was to what? Not disturb me?”

  “We didn’t want to worry you, love,” Rowe answered, hoping she would see their reasoning. “You’ve dealt with so much. The last thing we want to do is lay more burden at your feet. The council has already interrupted our trial period with this mission. I did not want our work to touch any more of our time together than it already has.”

  Indigo narrowed her eyes before nodding. “I get it. Just don’t shield me from something I should know for my own good. If there is a danger, warn me.”

  “You’re right.” Brushing a few curls away from her cheekbone, Rowe dropped a kiss onto the soft skin. “Paine and I have doubts about the marshal, although we have no proof.”

  “How does Axis fit into this?” she asked, falling into pace beside Paine as he began walking.

  “Axis doubted the marshal was telling the truth the last time we were here looking for Hix and Maggie.” Rowe jumped over a large pipe blocking their way and held out his hand to help Indigo over.

  Once she cleared the obstacle, he adjusted the cloak he had given her to better keep her covered than the one she’d worn when leaving the ship. They didn’t have much farther to go before they’d be at the gates to the city marketplace, and her safety was his first concern. Already, the sounds of the busy city center leaked outside of its perimeter as its shops and stalls bustled.

  “You remember what we said about this place, correct?” Rowe asked protectively.

  “Yes, sir.” Indigo delivered the reply smartly with a sassy salute.

  “Take care, love.” Leaning close, his lips skimmed her ear and he smiled at the resulting shiver that took over her body. “I like the way that sounded on your lips. I may want to hear it more.”

  “Sweet Jesus,” Indigo breathed. Her eyes rolled back into her head when Paine gripped her hip from behind and gave a squeeze. Dropping back, she leaned into the second warrior and squirmed slightly in his hold. “You guyzzzzzzz.”

  Paine chuckled before leaning over and nipping her ear.

  Rowe saw Indigo flinch momentarily as she felt the sting from his brother’s teeth. He took a few moments to enjoy watching his brother play with their bride, taking a few moments out of their mission to bring a blush to her cheeks.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Indigo rocked into the hard cock pressing against her ass. Reaching back, she skimmed the flat of her palm up and down Paine’s rigid length. Then, with her fingers, she traced it up and down before doing it all over again and noticed how the front of his breeches molded tight against his firmness.

  Even as she thought, we don’t have the time for shenanigans, she made time for shenanigans. Stroking the leather that covered Paine’s cock, Indigo leaned forward to steal kisses from Rowe. Arching into his touch, she wiggled her ass against the pants behind her.

  “I wish—” Rowe panted against her mouth. “We had the time to finish this—”

  “But, we do not,” Paine groaned behind her, punctuating each word with a thrust of his hips.

  “Fuuuuuck.”

  Rowe raised his head where he’d been licking a path up and down her neck and cleavage. Blinking slowly at her with glossy eyes, he looked a bit drunk. A zing shot up her spine knowing that the look was all because of her.

  “Find Axis.” The words were gruff but obviously understood by Paine, who promptly released her hips and added only the faintest space between their bodies.

  “We shouldn’t even be on this mission,” he growled before letting out a deep breath. “Come on then. The marshal’s domicile isn’t far beyond the gates. That should be our first stop. With any luck, we’ll catch him between patrols so we don’t have to waste more time tracking him down.”

  Indigo kept her head down but her eyes wide open as they walked. She cast looks from beneath her cloak. The landing field may have resembled a forgotten dump, but the city market was anything but. The stalls were lined with merchants hawking their wares—or at least that’s what she imagined, considering she had no clue what they were actually shouting. Some of it didn’t even sound like words; simply clicks or strange warbles drawn out as they shouted back and forth. Some even tossed in a hand gesture or two to accentuate their trading. A few used even more hands gestures, as they were equipped with more than one pair of arms. Maybe even a tentacle.

  Because apparently that was a thing here.

  She would have pinched herself to confirm the craziness around her was not just a dream, but the surrounding stink convinced her that it was very real. Staring at a creature a few stalls ahead that reminded her of a giant slug, Indigo was pulled to a stop by Rowe with a tug on her cape.

  “What’s wrong?” Looking about, she didn’t notice anything more unusual than the weird shit she’d seen already. “Did you see a bad guy? Please say it isn’t the big slug guy. He looks too squishy to be mean.”

  “You say the strangest things,” he said, and then whistled to Paine who walked a few paces ahead.

  Paine turned quickly and joined their small huddle.

  “I see nothing to worry us up ahead,” Paine said. His eyes and head scanned around them as he talked. “Merchants trading for coin. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

  “Good.” Rowe nodded at Paine before turning his attention to her.

  “What?”

  “You have done amazing so far, Indy. Keep doing exactly what you’re doing once we get to the marshal, all right? Don’t look up.” He adjusted the small hood attached to the cloak. “Keep this on too. The less he sees of you the better.”

  His words we
re muffled after the hood fell farther over her ears, but Indigo still heard them, as well as the concern lacing his voice.

  Tilting her head way back to be able to see him from under the brim of the hood, she frowned. “Why are you acting weird all of a sudden? Should I be worried?”

  “No,” Paine grunted, still watching their surroundings. “Your husbands will handle your worries for you.”

  “Pfft.” Indigo couldn’t stop from rolling her eyes at the statement, even though neither could see her face under the concealment.

  “There may be no need for concern, but when we were here last, Axis believed this man was holding back information if not lying to our faces. You’re too much of a temptation, and he’s been deceptive before.”

  “You trust your friend enough to believe his warning?”

  “Absolutely,” Paine said while Rowe nodded.

  “Regardless of his mistake, he’s the best interrogator we have. If I were to describe Axis, it would be that he is solid. He’s a good warrior, friend, and Brakken.”

  “Okay then,” she huffed underneath the overhang of the hood. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

  “Sure thing, chicken wing,” Rowe shot back before grimacing while she stared at him open-mouthed. “That did not sound right, did it?”

  “Coming from your mouth, no,” Paine said with a disgusted look.

  “Not at all,” she giggled, adding a snort or two for good measure as she replayed it over in her head again. “Who did you hear that one from?”

  “Poppy. It made me laugh when she said it.” Frowning, he gestured for them to get walking.

  “It made me laugh too,” Indigo quipped, keeping pace with Paine as he walked in front of her.

  “Not in the same way,” Rowe grumped.

  Indigo snickered and kept walking. She was anxious to meet the marshal the men seemed to be worried about just to get it over with. She trusted them to protect her, but whatever good vibes she’d had about this little honeymoon-mission was turning sour.