by Ophelia Bell
Not to be outdone, the hyena edged closer to Astra’s other side and rested his hand at her other hip, his arm lying across Val’s where they crossed her back. Then he grinned wickedly as if to say two can play at this game.
“Wait,” Val said, urging Javin to stop scrolling through the files when a familiar date appeared next to one. “That’s the file from six years ago. I want to see that one first.”
Nodding, Javin opened it and a video began to play of the nondescript hallway outside Val’s lab. They’d watched the more recent recordings enough the day before to recognize every shift of light and shadow in such an isolated area of the building. It was as sterile and uninteresting a view as it could be, with only a handful of lab techs coming and going over the course of twelve hours.
Javin sped through most of the day at double speed until a darker figure flashed across the screen. He quickly backtracked and resumed the playback at normal speed.
They all tensed and leaned closer, watching with unwavering focus as the seconds ticked by. After a minute, a figure appeared, tall and dark haired and entirely out of place after all the white-coated scientists who had traveled down the hallway.
“That’s your father,” Astra said, glancing up at him and studying his face.
Val clenched his teeth, unable to look away from the evidence of his father’s betrayal. The older Carver glanced up at the camera once, pausing and narrowing his eyes before turning to the door and swiping the security badge that gave him access to every single room in the building.
The door closed behind him and Javin paused the recording, glancing back at them. He met Val’s eyes. “Is that enough for you?”
“The lab cameras. There should be another section. I need to see what the fuck he did once he was in there.”
Molten anger flooded his veins. This recording was from the weeks after his mother’s first round of chemotherapy. That was when she’d been sickest. When she’d needed his dad the most, he’d decided it would be worth sabotaging Val’s life’s work. Because Val couldn’t continue it now, not after what his father had done. Not with that horror tainting what the drug should have been.
“Here,” Javin said, pulling up another file. “Same timeframe, different camera. I think this is it.”
Another room appeared and Val instantly recognized his lab. His father filled the doorway, glancing around for a moment before striding purposefully toward Val’s console in the center. It wasn’t the most interesting set of images, but Val couldn’t tear his gaze away.
All his dad did was plug a thumb drive into his computer, click the mouse several times, then retrieve the drive and leave. It took him all of ten minutes, yet succeeded in tearing the foundation of Val’s life out from under him, leaving his entire world crashing down around his ears.
23
Astra
The fingers on Astra’s hip dug in on one side and she shot a worried look up at Val. He’d gone white, his lips pressed into a tight line.
“I’m going to fucking kill him,” he muttered.
“No, you aren’t,” she said in an even tone. “He’s still your father, but we have to stop him.”
Val shook his head. “I don’t know where he took it. I mean there are only so many other labs who could produce this drug, even fewer who would do it in secret, but I’m not exactly friendly with them.”
She leaned over Javin’s shoulder. “There’s another file I found on his computer when I was in there tonight. Go back to the main drive. Open that file.”
Javin navigated to the thumb drive’s root folder and opened the file in question.
“Is this place familiar to you?” she asked when the image of the letter she’d copied came up.
Val’s mouth fell open and he stared down at her. “I think I love you,” he said in an awed voice.
Astra’s heart stopped beating for a split second and she jerked her hands away from Javin’s shoulders when her palms heated.
“So we have a new lead to check out,” Javin said, twisting in the chair to look up at her, but she was lost in Val’s grateful gaze. He lifted his hands to her face and cupped her cheeks in both hands, the look in his eyes earnest and bordering on desperate.
“Actually I don’t think it, I know it. I’m in love with you.”
“Val . . .” she began, clenching her fists. Her dragon had been pacing like a caged beast since Simon and Val had slipped their arms around her waist and it was all she could do not to derail their hunt and turn the moment into something much more physical.
He lifted a finger to her lips to shush her. “I know you don’t want a mate, but I have a feeling this quest of ours is going to get complicated and I don’t want to drag you deeper without telling you how I feel. Whether or not you want me, I want you.”
Simon cleared his throat and lifted a hand. “Ah, in case you missed it, you two aren’t alone.”
Val’s lips curled in a suggestive tilt. “I’m not just talking to her. Mostly her, but you too. Both of you.”
Javin finally swiveled the chair around to face them. He gave her a pointed look, complete with a single brow lifted that said Told you so, and she had to resist rolling her eyes.
But Val’s confession, even with its assurance, terrified her. More than that, the bombardment of desire on all sides made her weak. She hated feeling weak.
However, retreat was decidedly not her style. She attacked her threats head-on, and this was no different. Perhaps if she dove straight in with the three of them, she could get this need out of her system and move the fuck on.
“Astra.” The rough, desire-laden voice came from Javin and she tore her eyes away from Val’s face to look at him. Javin leaned closer, cupping the back of her knee with one hand and caressing it with his fingertips. “I can see it in your eyes. Remember what we talked about? I was right.”
“I don’t want you to be right.” She turned back to Val. “I just want you to fuck me.”
A chorus of deep growls surrounded her then and her core heated tenfold with the awareness of the three hungry beasts she’d just called to supper. Her own animal rejoiced, but she kept her fists clenched tight even as Val slipped his arms around her waist and hauled her close, commandeering her mouth in a kiss that rivaled the first one they’d shared.
She wanted to undress him and risked relaxing her hands enough to unfasten his buttons. When he parted from her on a gasp, she whispered, “Please don’t forget.”
“I won’t, my love.” He tilted his chin up, glancing past her shoulder. “Lock the door.”
She felt Simon’s warmth disappear for a second as he obeyed Val’s request, then the sturdy hyena shifter returned, drawing close and pressing a warm, soft kiss to the back of her neck.
At her side, Javin shifted closer, rolling the desk chair until his knees rested on either side of her legs. He slid his hand higher up her thigh, fingertips teasing their way closer and closer to her core. He let out a low rumble of interest when his fingers grazed her bare, wet pussy. She turned and hooked an arm around his neck, dipping her head to kiss him hungrily.
Javin groaned into her mouth and she let out a muffled gasp against his lips when his fingers slid deeper, parting her folds and teasing along her soaked slit.
Their heat inundated her, the combination of scents a more perfect cocktail than she’d ever had. She felt drunk with need for all three, wishing like hell that she wasn’t so aware of her dragon’s need to mark them.
Parting from Javin, she gave him a pleading look. “Please don’t let me mark you. I don’t think I can control myself.”
His brows twitched and a flash of hurt crossed his face but disappeared quickly. Before he could respond, Simon said, “I’ve got you, Midnight.”
Simon reached around her waist and tugged the tie on her robe. It fell open, the strip of black satin sliding easily out of the loops, leaving her stomach bare, her breasts barely covered. Then he pushed the robe off her shoulders and she dropped her arms, letting it fa
ll to the floor. She stared up at Val, whose heated gaze traveled down her body.
“You want to do the honors?” Simon said, reaching around her to offer the strip of satin to Val. As he moved close, Simon rested a hand on her bare hip, his groin brushing her ass. The contact made her all too aware of how hard he was, as if their combined scents didn’t make it obvious.
Wordlessly, Val took the robe tie and gripped both of Astra’s wrists. She clamped her hands together, twining her fingers as Val carefully wrapped her wrists, taking his time winding the cloth in an infinity of loops and then tying it with a tight bow.
Then he stepped back and glanced between the other two men. “I’m not opposed to being topped by either of you, but I think this is about her tonight, yeah? Because the second she suggested this was possible, I’ve had a very specific idea of how things would play out, if you’ll indulge me.”
“As long as we get to stay,” Simon said.
“I wouldn’t dream of asking you to leave, trust me.” Val glanced at Javin, who nodded once and started to rise. Val pressed a hand to his shoulder, his other resting on Astra’s naked waist. “Stay there. Astra, sit.”
Would the alpha wolf rebel against being told what to do? Javin’s eyes had gone yellow but they were fixed on her and he opened his arms and sat up straighter, inviting her into his lap.
She settled, biting her lip at the sensation of his erection pressed between them. But when his hands came around and cupped her breasts, she lost herself to the sensation of his fingertips teasing her nipples.
Simon cursed as Val knelt in front of her, lifted her hands over her head and hooked them behind Javin’s neck. This position stretched her torso and she arched into Javin’s continued touch. Her head rested on his shoulder now, the angle of her arms forcing his face close to her neck, and he groaned into her shoulder, hips tilting reflexively into her backside.
“You feel amazing,” he rumbled.
Val stood once more, kicked off his shoes and proceeded to undress while she watched.
“Spread your legs for us,” he said, then nodded at Simon. “Strip.”
“My pleasure,” Simon said.
A moment later both men stood naked and aroused in front of her, Simon’s muscled brawn in stark contrast to Val’s sleeker grace. Val was tall and tan with a hairless torso, broad shoulders and narrow waist. Even his cock looked graceful compared to Simon’s. While Simon’s was a glorious, thick mast jutting straight up between his sturdy thighs, Val’s was long and curved like a horn, more slender but uniform in thickness where it flowed from the nest of glossy black curls between his legs.
“Let me taste you,” she said. “Both of you.” She brought her bound wrists back down and leaned forward, earning a grunt of surprise from Javin when her ass rubbed over his stiff cock. She curled her fingers toward Val, beckoning as she placed her feet on either side of Javin’s, anchoring her hands on his knees.
The pair sidled close, their hips brushing together and their cocks both aimed at her mouth. She swallowed the saliva that had pooled in her mouth and leaned closer to Val, inhaling his musk before darting a tongue out to tease the tip of his beautiful cock. He tasted even better than she’d imagined, salty and sweet at the same time, and she opened her mouth, taking him deeper.
“Fuck,” he muttered, his fingers curling at the back of her neck as she sucked him, drawing her lips back along his length, then descending again with a moan.
Behind her Javin rested both hands on her back, smoothing his palms down her sides, and around to cup her breasts again. She gasped her pleasure around Val’s cock, sliding off and licking her lips with a sigh. Then she shifted her attention to the shining pink head of Simon’s dick, still poised and awaiting his turn.
Just as she took his cockhead between her lips, Javin moved his hands, gripping both ass cheeks and spreading her a little wider. He grazed fingertips down her cleft and pushed two inside her, the sensation making her moan and lift up to give him deeper access.
“I’d like to see that view,” Simon said. “Turn around, Midnight. You can take care of me later.”
Pliant from desire, she released his cock and stood, pausing long enough to accept a hungry kiss from Val before turning to face Javin. She glanced over her shoulder at the other two before straddling Javin’s thighs.
“I hope I didn’t ruin your plan,” she offered.
“I forgive you,” Val said, his gaze sliding over her naked back.
She placed a knee on the chair on either side of Javin, kneeling there for a moment and meeting his gaze as she looped her bound wrists over his head and braced her hands on the back of the chair.
“Are you okay?” he asked, resting his hands on her hips and looking up at her.
“I feel amazing.”
“Good.” He grinned at her. A moment later she heard a ratcheting sound and the chair tilted backward with a slight jerk, then stilled again. She laughed as she caught herself on the desk, her breasts hanging inches from Javin’s face and her ass in the air facing Val and Simon.
“That’s the most beautiful fucking thing I’ve ever seen,” Simon marveled, and a second later she felt his warm touch on her ass, fingers slicking down between her legs. He found her clit and rubbed and Astra moaned. Javin lifted his head and captured her mouth, devouring her noises in a kiss.
He released her mouth with a sigh and touched her cheek. “Can I watch Val fuck you now?” he asked in a low, breathless voice. “He looks like he’s losing it.”
Astra was losing it, because now there were two sets of fingers teasing at her core. Simon rubbed her clit while Val pushed two fingers deep into her, fucking her slowly in a few strokes before sliding his fingers out and teasing her rear opening with her own juices.
When she looked over her shoulder, Val appeared enthralled, and when their eyes met he licked his lips. His top lip curled back ever so slightly to reveal a set of sharp panther teeth, and his eyes had gone a deep green with wide, dark pupils.
“Yes,” she said, directing her response to him. “But don’t forget the rules.”
“Never, my sweet,” Val said.
Simon stepped to the side, fisting his cock, and as Val slipped close behind her she felt the chair begin to rotate, realizing that it was Val moving them with his hands against her thighs.
“Suck him again,” Val commanded. Astra complied, wrapping her mouth around Simon’s cock once more, her body quivering with the first hot contact of Val’s cock between her thighs.
He tormented her with it for a moment, gliding his tip up and down her flooded slit, teasing her clit, then her ass, before finally resting his cockhead at her opening. He gripped her hips with both hands and slowly pushed in, his deliberate movement at odds with the desperate look he’d had a moment ago. It only served to remind her how very controlled this man was, something she admired because it was a quality she usually prided herself for.
But tonight she had no control and wasn’t about to pretend she did. She moaned around Simon’s cock as Val pushed all the way in and began fucking her with torturously slow strokes. Beneath her, Javin had shifted to the side just enough to make room for Simon to get as close as he could to the back of the tilted chair. He kept one hand between her thighs, toying with her hard clit while the other continued teasing her breasts.
The entire time, Javin whispered filthy words of encouragement, telling her to take Simon deeper, suck him harder, making promises about how thoroughly he would fuck her when it was his turn, and how he couldn’t wait to taste her sweet cunt after she was filled with the cum of the other two men.
She let out a shuddering moan, her tied hands clutching at the edge of the desk as she bobbed on Simon’s cock. He rested a strong hand against her head but tightened his hold, pulling at her hair as his cock pulsed against her tongue.
“I’m coming, Midnight. You ready?”
She whimpered around him, her body already at the edge and slipping over from Val’s expert strokes. The com
bination of Javin’s constant strokes at her clit and Val’s teasing at her ass had her at the very edge, and the second Simon’s groan hit her ears she plummeted past too, moaning her pleasure around his spasming cock as she swallowed his thick seed.
Her shuddering eased and she found herself cradled in Javin’s lap as she regained awareness of her surroundings. Val still stood nearby, his stiff cock glistening. Javin’s lips brushed her shoulder and he stroked her back. “You were fucking beautiful, Astra. Ready for more? Because we’re not even close to done with you yet.”
A warm rush shot through her and she gave him a wicked smile. “I can take whatever you three have to give.”
“Is there somewhere else we can finish this?” Val asked, giving their surroundings a dubious look. “Someplace with a bed, preferably.”
“My bed’s biggest,” Astra offered. “Simon, can you check that the coast is clear?”
The brawny hyena went to the door and stuck his head out. “Bruce and Stella are off for the night, looks like. Let’s go.”
He pulled the door open and disappeared, his quick footsteps pounding up the staircase all the way to the third floor.
Javin rose with her in his arms. She wiggled to get free but he held her tight.
“I can walk!”
“I know, but you feel too good to let go.”
She squirmed her way out of his arms, giving him a look of triumph when her feet hit the floor. Javin laughed and held up his hands. “Fine, you win,” he said as she headed toward the door.
A moment later she was swept up again in a different pair of strong arms. She gasped.
“Hey! What the hell?” she blurted but more protests died on her lips when she looked up into Val’s green cat eyes. He kissed her quickly, then smirked. “He’s right. You do feel too good to let go.”
With that, Val hit the stairs, taking them two at a time with Javin following close behind. The lanky wolf shifter had his shirt off by the time they reached her room and was fully naked when Val climbed onto her bed and rested her against her pillows. He lay down beside her and curled an arm across her waist.