Byron couldn’t stop his gaze from traveling down her body. She’d gotten some clean clothing from the Geilt and was now wearing a simple, form-fitting shirt and a new set of leather pants. The dark-green knit of the shirt suited her, highlighting her hair and eyes in a way that made Byron’s mouth water.
The three of them had avoided anything remotely close to sexual conversations, touches, or even innuendos since they’d set up the lab. It was damn near driving Byron up the wall.
“I was saving that for my afternoon activity. Brooding and bugging you was on the agenda for the morning.”
Mace rolled her eyes and let out a soft snort. “Well, I might suggest you change your schedule a bit. Alec has been doing enough bitching for the two of you.”
The mug she’d pressed into the food replicator was suddenly filled with a spurt of dark liquid that smelled more foul than fair. Byron chuckled at her as she took a sniff, crinkling her nose at the aroma.
“Gods, I thought you said you fixed this.”
Trapping her hand around the mug with his fingers, Byron moved it to his mouth and took a sip. The liquid burned as it passed down his throat, only to curl hot in his belly. Mace’s gaze was locked on his mouth. He licked his lips and ran his tongue along the rim of the mug to capture a drip before it could travel down the side.
“It’s better than the first day.” He kept his voice low as he spoke. Mace met his eyes, and he smiled when she shivered. “I programmed the replicator to add a nice dollop of Grandalian brandy to the mix. Smells like shit but tastes amazing.”
“Good to know.” She swallowed and tried to tug her hand away. “Mind if I get this back?”
Without answering, Byron took another sip, and gently squeezed the mug, soaking in the feel of her skin and the heat of the drink. When she frowned at the wall and he saw her jaw clench, he reluctantly released her. It had been a very long time since a woman had caught his attention the way Mace had. He was finding it just as difficult keeping his distance from her as he was giving Alec the space he apparently needed.
For all her bravado, Byron had quickly come to realize Mace was unsure of herself. Not in her skills as a pilot or even in a fight, but in her allure as a woman. He was certain she hadn’t been abused in any way—there wasn’t the defensiveness in her actions he normally associated with that kind of harm. No, he thought her uncertainty was entirely consistent with the history he knew about her: She’d spent her teen years and adulthood almost entirely among men. And not just any men, but pirates. Rough, tough, muscled bundles of testosterone who probably banged the first willing targets planetside . . . but who all knew Faolan Wolf would kill any crew member who laid a finger on Mace.
She might have picked up a few lovers in port over the years. But she had no idea how appealing she really was, because she’d spent her formative years flirting and bantering with a ship full of tough guys, and never getting anywhere with any of them through no fault of her own. She’d never had the chance at a relationship. So she had zero confidence in her own appeal once things progressed past a quick fuck during a supply run.
As far as Byron was concerned, that was akin to a crime against nature.
So in addition to Alec and his mountain of issues to resolve, he now had Mace’s problems to consider.
It was a good thing he was more than up to the task.
Turning so they stood side by side, he randomly pressed some buttons on the replicator and hoped the end result would be edible. “So what’s gotten into our boy this morning? Is he still upset we shoved that cure down his throat?”
A serving of something that resembled meat was manufactured from the machine onto Byron’s waiting plate. Mace didn’t answer, so he started to move away, but she stopped him with a hand on his arm. She didn’t look at him, but he could feel the tension bleeding off her.
“He’s getting . . . frustrated. I think now that he knows about Faolan and how sick he is, he’s pushing himself even harder to find an antidote. Too hard, I think.”
He remembered what Alec was like when his frustration kicked in. “It’s making things worse. He was always his own worst enemy when he tried to solve problems.”
Mace nodded. “I spent the last hour trying to convince him to take a break. He snapped at me to get out if I wasn’t going to be helpful.”
“Typical stubborn ass. Some things never change.”
“I was hoping you’d talk to him.” She shrugged. “Maybe convince him to come out of the lab for a bit and recharge. He’s no good to anyone if he gets himself into a mental block.”
Unfortunately Byron was also familiar with Alec’s stubborn streak. In the past, he would have locked the overworked genius in a room and fucked him so hard and so long, Alec wouldn’t be able to think at all. Alec would always come out of their marathon sessions better for it—clearheaded and physically relaxed, able to focus properly on the task at hand.
Byron doubted the suggestion would be appreciated in their current situation.
“Byron?”
He shook his head. “Sorry. Anything I would have done in the past to help him involved sex. I doubt he’d be a willing participant right now.”
Mace sucked in a breath but didn’t retreat. Instead she turned to press her back against the wall. A blush colored her fair skin, but she didn’t break his gaze. “I wanted to ask you something.”
Cocking an eyebrow, he waited for her to continue. He had a notion what the question might be, but even if his guess was right, it was up to Mace to verbalize it.
“Back on the Geilt, when we first went through the dimension gate and had to . . . take care of Alec, you were very . . . forceful.”
His cock twitched as his body responded to the memory. “Is that a question?”
“No, no. But I was wondering if that’s something . . . I mean, when you have sex . . . are you always . . .?”
“Do I always dominate Alec when I’m fucking him?”
The blush deepened as Mace nodded. “I got the impression it was more than just you making sure he was going to be okay.”
Shoving the plate back on the replicator, Byron grabbed the mug from Mace and set it down on the counter. Then, in a long-practiced move, he snatched her wrists in one hand and held them against the wall above her head. She didn’t struggle, not even when he slid his thigh between her legs, forcing them open.
“I think it’s fairly obvious,” he said quietly, “that I’m an overbearing bastard. But Alec needed someone to help him. There was so much stress on him all the time. To be perfect, be smart. To help the Loyalist government. It was too much for one man to handle.”
Mace squirmed against him, her pussy grinding down on his thigh. “So you helped him.”
He lifted his leg to increase the tension where he knew she wanted it most. “In my own way. Alec didn’t need to be anyone for me. He could let everything fall away and be himself, knowing I would take care of him. When I fucked him, he didn’t have to make any decisions.”
“No pressure.” The words left Mace’s lips on a sigh. She wasn’t referring to Alec.
“No, little one. No trying to deal with problems bigger than yourself. I see it in you too.” He leaned forward until his mouth hovered inches above hers. “You were so good for me on the Geilt. Did everything I asked when I asked it. And that wasn’t even me taking over. Would you like that, Mace? Want me to lock you in a room and look after you like that? I think I’d like it.”
Closing her eyes, Mace turned her head to the side, her breath coming out in barely controlled pants. Holding herself back, even though she seemed to want to give in. She wouldn’t be the first to walk away from his offer. Normally by this point, Byron would have walked away himself. He didn’t have the patience to deal with lovers who couldn’t allow themselves to admit what they wanted.
But he knew why Mace hesitated just when she should have felt most confident. And he’d already seen how she responded to him. If she let herself have this—if she let him take c
ontrol—the result would be so worth the wait, for both of them.
“Leave her alone, Bry. She doesn’t need your bullshit.”
Mace stiffened, but Byron didn’t react to the threat in Alec’s voice. It was a challenge to keep from spinning around and pressing Alec against the opposite wall, but Byron managed. Instead he lowered his mouth to Mace’s neck and pressed a soft kiss to the sensitive skin.
“He always had poor timing. It was one of the things I constantly worked on with him.” He dipped his mouth lower to drag his teeth across her collarbone. “I wonder if you would be better at it than him? I think you would. Pilot instincts.”
“Byron, leave her.”
It might have been jealousy coloring Alec’s impatient tone, or simple frustration. Either way, he wasn’t about to listen to his ex-lover. Since Byron had left Alec alone in the bed back on the Geilt, something had changed in Alec. It had nothing to do with Mace. No, this was an old fight—back and forth like a planetary ocean tide—Alec’s desire to give up his control warring with his guilt and conscience, driving him to resent Byron for giving him exactly what he’d asked for.
With his free hand, Byron burrowed under the smooth material of Mace’s shirt until his fingers grazed the soft flesh of her stomach. The muscles beneath his touch fluttered and flexed as she tried to hold still. The effort made Byron smile against her skin, encouraging him to place another kiss to her throat.
“I think now that his brain is clear, our boy has forgotten what it’s like to have a good time. Did he try to fuck you down on the planet?”
He felt her breath hitch and a low moan catch in her chest. “No.”
“Didn’t think so.”
The growl from Alec wasn’t unexpected. “I wasn’t going to take advantage of her like that. You know I wouldn’t. You shouldn’t be either.”
“I would never take advantage of her. She’s a grown woman. And she raised the subject in the first place. I’m just answering her question.”
Byron noticed a sound over the steady background hum of the generator and the higher whine of the replicator—a gentle, rhythmic tapping, like rain on a faraway metal roof, soft and soothing. He wondered about it for a moment, but quickly found he didn’t care. Not when he had Mace’s flawless skin beneath his touch and her scent filling his head. The heat poured off her body as she writhed against him.
“What are you doing, Byron?” Alec’s voice again, but this time there wasn’t any anger or resentment. It was calm, and for once Byron couldn’t help but answer honestly.
“I’m trying to seduce her.” The words slipped from him before he gave them much thought. Still, it was the truth, and he wasn’t exactly hiding his intentions. He had Mace pinned against a wall with his hand up her shirt.
“Did you give her a choice? Are you just taking what you want, like always?”
Byron bit down on the juncture of her shoulder and neck, but not quite hard enough to break the skin. Mace gasped, her back arching away from the wall and her hands pulling against his restraining grasp.
“I want her.” He licked the abused area, enjoying the salt from her skin. “She’s mine.”
Somewhere in his brain, Byron knew he shouldn’t be answering Alec. It wasn’t his style. But right then he really couldn’t give a fuck. Mace was wet and willing in his arms, something he would never say no to. If Alec wanted to watch the show, then he was more than welcome.
Sliding his hand up to cup her breast, Byron flicked her nipple with the pad of his thumb. He trapped her gasp, covering her mouth with his in a deep kiss. His tongue matched the teasing flicks of his thumb until he knew Mace would be beyond thought. It was only his need for oxygen that forced him to pull back.
Byron forced himself to look at Mace. Her eyes were screwed shut as her breath came out in heated puffs against his skin. The flush now covered her throat, spreading down to beneath her shirt. If he pulled it off, he had no doubt the red glow would cover her breasts.
The rhythmic tapping increased in tempo, in time with Mace’s breathing.
“Mace? Do you like what Byron is doing? Do you want him to do that?” The uncertainty in Alec’s question almost made Byron turn to face him. Almost.
Mace opened her eyes, licking her bottom lip once she locked her gaze on Byron’s. “Yes. So much.”
As quickly as the tapping began, it stopped. Byron’s mind cleared from a fog he hadn’t noticed. It was like someone had pulled a blanket from his head, and the air around him felt clearer and cooler.
Mace stopped her struggles and gave her head a shake. Though she looked confused, she wasn’t Byron’s immediate problem. He heard the shuffling of Alec trying to slip away.
“Don’t move.” The command came out as tersely as Byron could manage. “Don’t you dare move, Alec.”
Finally turning to look over his shoulder at Alec, he resumed his sensual attack on Mace’s nipple with his thumb. “You came in here telling me I was taking advantage of her. Clearly I’m not.”
Alec swallowed, looking more than a little guilty. “Byron—”
“No, it’s my turn to ask questions. Does it bother you to see us like this?”
“Bry—”
Byron lifted his leg until Mace was nearly off the ground. She moaned, straining on tiptoe, grinding against him until he thought she was going to come.
“Answer me, Alec. Does it bother you?”
Alec stepped back until his shoulders were pressed firmly against the wall and his palms were flush with the surface. Byron recognized his wide-eyed stare, and knew Alec was aroused by what he was witnessing.
“You see, Mace, our boy loves to watch almost as much as he likes to participate. I can’t tell you how many times I’d tell him to sit still and watch me fuck someone else. He’d come really hard those nights when I eventually let him. Didn’t you, Alec?”
He didn’t think Alec would respond at first, but after a few heartbeats, he nodded.
“Yes.”
A quick glance at Alec’s groin proved he was responding exactly the way Byron had hoped he would. “Good. I want you to take your cock out and start stroking. You’re not allowed to come until I say, and you can’t look away. Just like old times.”
Alec groaned as his head bounced against the wall, but he didn’t break eye contact. Byron was pleased to see that it only took him a few moments to comply, pulling his already hard cock out. He gave it a few tentative strokes before falling into a slow, steady rhythm.
Mace sucked in a breath, and Byron turned to see her attention fixed on Alec. This was going to be easier than he’d first thought. And a much better few hours than the other two would have spent if he hadn’t stepped up. A threesome trumped research in his books every time.
“That’s right, Mace. You just keep looking at him. You’re not going to come until I tell you to either. We want to make sure we give Alec the best show we can.”
“We shouldn’t be doing this,” she whispered.
Byron yanked her shirt up, looping it over her head so her bare breasts were on display. “You said yourself we were all working too hard. That we needed a break. Consider me the break enforcer.”
Bending down, he caught her nipple in his mouth and sucked hard, causing Mace to cry out and twist beneath him. Byron held her body still and continued to suck and tease her. “Gods, yes, Bry.”
Hearing Mace moan out Alec’s nickname for him sent a jolt to his cock. Momentarily increasing the suction, he waited for her to moan again before finally releasing his grip on her wrists and sliding down to his knees.
“What do you think, Alec?” He pressed his nose to the hollow of her ribs below her breast. “Should I lick her pussy until she begs me to let her come?”
Dual moans assaulted his ears, drawing a smirk from him. With very little effort, he popped the button holding Mace’s leathers up. Thank gods she hadn’t bothered to put on her blaster holster. He wasn’t sure he was coordinated enough to work the buckle just then.
Ma
ce took the opportunity to take off her shirt, throwing it toward Alec. Then she helped Byron maneuver the leathers down over her hips and thighs. They got stuck as he tried to maneuver them down over her boots, but he managed to jerk them free. Finally finished, he looked up to admire the woman before him.
Mace was the image of sex itself, standing there in nothing but her knee-high boots, her gaze flicking down to him every so often, but mostly fixated on Alec. Byron’s cock throbbed in complaint—he should be buried balls-deep in one of them by now.
Unfortunately for his cock, his mind had better restraint than that. “Mace, I want you to put your leg over my shoulder. Shift your weight so you’re leaning against the wall.”
The heat from her thigh on his shoulder contrasted with the cool, hard boot leather against his back. Mixed with the sight of Mace spread open, cunt staring him in the face, begging him to lean in and suck her clit—yeah, he wasn’t a fucking saint. He was going to need to get naked himself soon or he’d suffer irreparable injury.
The second his tongue connected with Mace’s wet clit, she gasped. The heel of her boot dug into his shoulder blade, forcing him closer. Who was Byron to argue with a lady? His head spun with perverse pleasure from the sounds she made as he ran his tongue up the entire length of her pussy. He’d always gotten off on the power of seduction—reducing Mace to a quivering mass would be nearly as heavenly as when he finally gave in and fucked her.
Alternating long licks with short bursts, Byron brought her to the edge of orgasm before pulling sharply away. Her body shuddered with the strain of her denied release, and she thumped her head on the wall behind her.
“Bastard.”
“No coming until I say. That was the rule.”
“Stupid rule.”
“Necessary rule. If I’d let you come already, you wouldn’t be in the right frame of mind to enjoy it when I did this.”
His fingers met no resistance as he pushed two of them into her pussy. Moist muscles clenched around him as he screwed his digits into her. He pressed against the front wall of her cunt, rubbing her from the inside. He knew he was hitting the right spot when Mace began to moan and buck down onto him.
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