Byron ran a hand down the back of his head and shivered. “Alec, I want you to fuck Mace while I fuck you.”
Mace’s cunt pulsed at the thought. “Gods, yes, Alec.”
This time she didn’t wait for Byron to say anything else. She shifted so her head was on the pillows at the top of the bed, and spread her legs wide. For a second neither man moved, their gazes locked on her body. She couldn’t remember a time when anyone had ever looked at her that way. No man or woman had bothered to see past the image she projected of the tough pirate. Those who did know the “real” Mace were all members of the crew; they saw her as a sister or daughter, not a potential lover . . . or partner.
But the way Byron and Alec devoured her with their eyes, the unrepentant lust and something a little bit more shining out to her, was enough to make her want to combust.
Spreading her legs as far as she could, she looked directly at Alec. “Now.”
He crawled up her body, dragging his cock along the length of her leg until finally settling between her legs. He didn’t thrust into her immediately, instead pressing kisses between her breasts, slowly approaching one nipple.
“Byron forgot . . . how much . . . I love breasts.” He licked a circle around her now swollen tip. “You have the best pair I’ve ever seen.”
Mace giggled and lifted her thigh up so she pressed against his balls. “You lie.”
“Never about this. I take breasts very seriously.”
“He does.” Byron was behind him now. She couldn’t see what he was doing, but it was clearly something Alec liked, judging by his sudden gasp. “He’s as serious about boobs as I am about ass. And Alec’s ass is one of my favorites.”
“Are you going to fuck him?” Mace reached up and directed Alec’s mouth so he latched on to her nipple. “He’s been so good and worked so hard. So have you. I want to feel you fuck him, Bry. I want you both.”
Their eyes met across Alec’s body. In that instant she saw more than sex in his eyes. She knew she meant more to Byron than what was happening now, in this bed, between the three of them. It was an odd realization to have as Byron grabbed a packet of lubricant, tore it open, and smeared it over his fingers, all without breaking eye contact with her.
The truth of it was comforting and arousing.
Alec gasped against her wet nipple when Byron pressed a heavily lubed finger into his ass. Mace shivered at the burst of cool air on her skin as he sucked in a breath.
Byron grinned. “Gods, you’re always so tight at first, Alec. Your ass is clamped around my fingers so hard. I know it’s going to feel good when I get my cock in there.”
Byron glanced at Mace, then nodded toward Alec, and she knew the time for them to look after Alec had come. For the next little while, their pleasure was secondary to his—and Mace loved knowing she would be part of bringing Alec to the place of pure bliss he’d taken her minutes earlier.
Fighting the urge to buck against him, she waited until Byron moved Alec so he was now firmly between her legs. The head of Alec’s cock pressed against her pussy but didn’t penetrate. He was doing what she was—waiting for the command, for Byron to lead them where they wanted to go.
This was the dynamic of their relationship. Without daring to put words to it before her admission to Byron, Mace had wanted something like this all her adult life, and now it was hers to be a part of. Byron continued to thrust his fingers in and out of Alec’s body. With their position adjusted, every time Byron pressed into Alec, the head of his cock nudged her clit. It only took a few seconds for renewed arousal to spike again.
“Please, Bry,” Alec begged from between gritted teeth. “Can’t wait.”
“Yes, you can.” Byron slapped Alec’s ass, forcing him hard against Mace. “You’ll do exactly what I tell you to do, when I tell you to do it.”
Another sharp slap, followed by a third, had Alec panting. Mace saw and felt that far from trying to escape the abuse, Alec was bucking his ass up into Byron’s hand. The look of concentration on the bounty hunter’s face was all the warning Mace had that the game they were playing was about to change.
Byron braced Alec’s hips with one hand, pulled back with the other, and began to spank him in earnest. Not sure exactly what to do, Mace wrapped her arms around Alec’s upper body and held him to her chest. He’d turned his face, so his cheek now lay flat against her breast. She could feel his tears against her skin but somehow knew this was something he needed. He was in the same state she’d experienced back in the safe house; he certainly could have escaped if he’d really wanted to—but he didn’t try.
“You want to be punished?” Byron slapped him three times in rapid succession. “That’s my job. I determine when you deserve this. I’m the one who looks after you and gives you what you need.”
Another volley of spanks left Alec openly sobbing. “You weren’t there.”
“I am now!” A sharper slap echoed in the room. Byron bent over Alec’s body and pressed a kiss to the other man’s temple. “I’m here now. So is Mace.”
“So many people died.”
Mace’s heart twisted. She knew he wouldn’t listen to reason, not when it came to this. Instead she leaned up and kissed him the same way Byron had. “We forgive you.”
As she spoke the words, she realized they were true. The anger and betrayal she’d felt toward him had melted away over the days he’d frantically searched for an antidote. He’d done so much to make amends. Even if it didn’t make what he’d done all right, Mace couldn’t fault him for turning his back and running away on his responsibilities.
She didn’t miss the look of thanks on Byron’s face. “That’s right, Mace and I forgive you. That’s all that should matter.”
Byron lined his cock up with Alec’s ass and thrust in. Alec groaned, pressing his face hard to Mace’s body. She swiveled her hips, working them until Alec’s cock was lined up perfectly. Byron’s next thrust forced Alec into her pussy. She sighed and pulled her knees up to brace them against Alec’s sides.
“Oh yes.” Byron shifted one of his hands from Alec to cup her knee. “Her cunt is so hot and wet, isn’t it? It’s like I’m fucking you both at the same time.”
Then the words stopped, and Mace could do nothing but absorb the incredible sensations of Byron’s powerful body thrusting into Alec and the hard planes of Alec’s muscles driving against her. Both these men wanted her as much as each other—she completed them as much as they completed her.
Her hips took on a life of their own, bucking up to meet Alec’s thrusts as best they could. With every movement her clit ground hard against Alec, pulling her far faster than she wanted to a second orgasm. This time Byron’s command wasn’t necessary. Mace screwed her eyes shut, her mouth opening in a silent scream, her body tensing below the two men. Alec’s pace stuttered, throwing off the rhythm for all three of them as the pleasure swept through her and she gasped and tightened around him. When she finally opened her eyes again, she could see how close he was to following her over. But he didn’t give in to the pleasure she knew he was feeling. Tipping her head up, she nipped the side of his neck, her gaze locked on Byron.
“I don’t know how you walked away from him,” she whispered in Alec’s ear. “He’s gorgeous and strong and cares for you. And he’s also way too stubborn to come before you, so you better put him out of his misery.”
Alec gasped and pressed his face to her shoulder, slamming into her as hard as he could. Mace rode him out, all the while focusing her attention on Byron. His skin was flushed from exertion, his breathing coming out in pants. She could tell Byron was holding on for Alec, but he wouldn’t last much longer.
He didn’t need to. Within another three strokes Alec came, his strangled cry muffled by Mace’s body. Byron’s look of relief would have been funny if he weren’t screaming out his own climax seconds later.
Finally they fell to the mattress, a tangle of limbs and sweat-soaked skin. Alec pulled Mace into an embrace, only to roll her onto her side so
she was lying between the two men. Byron reached across her, encouraging Alec closer, and held their bodies together as if they were a single unit.
“Wow,” she said softly before kissing Alec’s chest. “That was . . . something else.”
Alec nipped at her shoulder. “What’s with you and biting?”
“She’s marking you.” Byron snorted. “Keeping the stupid people away.”
Mace rolled her eyes. “Not something I thought about before. I just did it. Does that bother you?”
“Nope.”
Byron bumped her hip with his own. “Are you two done chatting? Because I think we should all get some sleep before the universe falls apart on us.”
“Oh, I don’t believe you just said that.” Groaning, Mace thumped her head against Byron’s chest. “Do you have any idea how badly you just jinxed us?”
“Mace, that’s just an old space tale.” Alec kissed her shoulder where he’d bitten it. “There is no scientific proof—”
The com unit across the room beeped.
Mace would have laughed at the twin looks of shock on their faces if she knew it wouldn’t have made things worse. Instead she pushed her way up from them, snagged her shirt from the floor, and walked over to the computer. She yanked it on as she rounded the desk and sat down, settling the fabric in place before acknowledging the message.
Gar’s frowning face on the screen told her all she needed to know. “Are all three of you there?”
Shit. “Why?”
“Macie, answer the question.”
“We’re here, Ice Man.” Byron joined her and leaned into the camera’s line of view. He had pulled on his pants but hadn’t bothered with his shirt. “What’s going on?”
Alec joined them, resting a hand on Mace’s shoulder. “Is Faolan okay?”
Gar nodded. “He’s fine. We have a bigger problem than his illness at the moment.”
“What the hell could be bigger than Faolan dying?” Mace knew she sounded close to panic, but she didn’t care. Very few things could take priority over Faolan’s health in Gar’s mind; none of them were good things.
Gar seemed to collect himself, and she recognized that he was trying to find the best way of wording what he was about to say. It didn’t help prepare her for what finally came out.
“The Admiral of the Black has contacted us. He has a client on board who’s apparently offered him a huge sum of money. And he’s demanding we turn Byron over to him immediately . . . for execution.”
Byron pinched the bridge of his nose and did his best to keep his temper in check. He’d been unable to sit at the war room table another minute longer, instead choosing to stand at the window, looking out into the depths of space. “Run this by me one more time, please.” Because apparently I’m an idiot.
Gar rose from his seat next to Faolan at the table, joining Byron by the window. “The three of you had already deduced that the bounty on Alec was a ploy to get you off Zeten and out into the open. Whoever set the bounty on you must have gotten tired of waiting on the guild, so they decided to hire somebody from the other side of the law to bring you down. A death mark—no middleman, just a straight payment in exchange for a killing. And they went right to the top of the food chain.”
Faolan stayed in his seat next to Doc—who’d insisted on being present at the meeting if Faolan was determined not to hold it in the med bay—but he turned to look at Byron. “And the payment must be huge to pull the Admiral out. Not that he’s got any love for the head of the guild. I’m sure that’s an added enticement. But he rarely exposes himself like this.”
“I understand about the death mark.” Byron rolled his eyes. He wasn’t that big an idiot. “But are you serious? The Admiral of the Black?”
Sure, he’d heard of the “Admiral”—the mysterious, self-proclaimed alpha pirate whose stronghold fleet ruled over some fabled thieves’ quadrant of space. He’d pulled in countless bounties on pirates who claimed the Admiral had set them up . . . or that they’d rather be caught by him than the Admiral. But he hadn’t believed a word of it until now. Everybody knew the Admiral of the Black was a bogeyman, a myth.
But Gar was clearly not joking. “I know. I had trouble believing it too. But I’ve met the man and trust me, he is as real as he is terrifying.”
“It’s because you’re here on the Belle Kurve.” Mace’s voice sounded raw, like the words were being ripped from her throat. “And we’re out here in the far reaches, so he knows he can get in and out without any risk of being spotted or challenged by Loyalist security. I’m sure he thinks we’ll simply hand Bry over like good little minions and be thankful he didn’t blow us out of space.”
“Then it’s simple.” Byron turned from the window to face her. She met his gaze, clearly miserable, but Alec kept staring at the table in what appeared to be stunned silence as everyone else spoke. Byron knew how he felt. “I’ll leave in a pod and get as far away from your ship as possible. It won’t be the first time I’ve blasted out of a port. I can get through the nearest dimension gate to one of the big stations, hitch a ride back to Zeten, and hole up there until I can figure out what’s going on.”
“No.”
Byron wasn’t sure if everyone in the room had spoken at once, or if there was simply one hell of an echo. “Why the hell not?”
Gar sighed. “He already knows you’re here. That means he has us under surveillance. Our scanning range is good, but his is better. Somewhere out there is a scout ship. The Admiral will know if we so much as empty the waste system. And trust me when I say things won’t go well if he thinks we’re trying to pull a fast one on him. I’ve seen the aftermath when we’ve come across a wreck that’s suffered one of his . . . visits. We need to deal with him straight-up, or we’re all done for.”
“You can’t run, Bry. But it might help if we had any idea who else we were dealing with.” Mace turned toward Alec and squeezed his arm. “Do you have any idea who might want to kill Byron and use you as the bait?”
Alec frowned. “You mean since the last two times I’ve been asked? How the hell would I know? I’ve been in hiding myself for seven years. Ask Byron.”
“It wouldn’t be somebody from those seven years, though,” Mace pointed out. “It has to be someone who knew you both from before, from your Loyalist days. Well enough to realize you were still the one thing that could pull Byron out of the safety of the guild. So somebody who knew you both back then, and has had it out for Byron ever since.”
Byron hadn’t considered that, and from the look on Alec’s face, he hadn’t either. Waiting until Alec caught his gaze, Byron cocked an eyebrow and let his mind drift back to all his old enemies.
“Well, there was Jonas, the head of security at the facility. He never much appreciated the influence I had over Alec.”
Alec shook his head. “He was killed a few years back. I heard about it over the link.” He shrugged. “Something about a weapons malfunction that caused the cruiser he was on to explode.”
“Well, it can’t be Seltan. He was caught in a bar brawl over on Damasmus Four last year.”
“What about Hayden?” Alec stood, moving to stand between Gar and Byron.
“Dead. Pissed the wrong person off and apparently got spaced.”
Alec’s frown deepened. “Huh. That’s most of the security and administration of the facility who would have known us both. Really, that only leaves the people from my particular lab. Ryan and Kam, my techs. I wouldn’t have said either one had a grudge against you, though.”
Byron had forgotten about Alec’s two lab strats. “We’ll need to run a check to see if there’s a bounty out on either of them as well. I’m sure Ryan would be fine, but Kam wouldn’t survive long enough to beg for her life. No life smarts, that one. That’s Ryan Xi and Kam—”
Mace was already at the computer typing. “I know their names. Researched Alec, remember?” She made an odd noise, one Byron didn’t like at all.
“What?”
She sat back
and pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes. “They’re both dead as well. And a lot of other people. Alec, it looks like someone has been targeting everyone even remotely associated with the Loyalist facility where you did your work.”
“So they are after me.” Alec cursed. “And I’ve put you all in danger as well.”
“It sounds more like they were trying to get you both with one swoop.” Gar rubbed the back of his neck. “The point is, this seems much bigger than the two of you. Maybe even fallout from some sort of Loyalist infighting. I wonder if the Admiral’s aware of this twist. Either he’s not, or he doesn’t know Alec is on board. He only asked for the head of the guild.”
Faolan nodded. “It’s not his style to get involved with the Loyalists, period, let alone mix up in their politics. He’s more likely to sabotage things than help.”
“Disdain for politics wouldn’t stop him from killing Byron to collect a small fortune,” Gar countered. “We need a plan.”
“Fast,” Faolan added.
Byron glanced up from the computer monitor, trying to get his brain around the new information and what it might mean. Whether it changed anything. “We have six hours until he arrives, right?”
Gar turned to him. “No. He said we had six hours to agree to turn you over. But he’ll show up before then. He never tells anyone the exact time he’ll be in a specific place. It’s why he’s survived this long. But don’t worry, we don’t intend to give you up. The bounty placed at the guild was anonymous. A death mark’s not. It’s two bad guys making a deal. If we know who’s behind all this, we may be able to convince the Admiral that the price for your corpse isn’t worth the risk of his getting involved with this particular client. We just need to figure out who would want to kill off the entire staff of the facility where you were stationed.”
“But that could be anyone.” Alec spoke softly, but didn’t flinch from scrutiny. “Anyone who would have been affected by any of my creations. I have a lot of blood on my hands.”
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