by Laurie Roma
“It really does.” Skylar soft laugh turned to a groan as she started to get up. Her body ached, but she forced herself to a sit up anyways. She let out a vile curse as she got a good look at Reva, then looked down at herself. They were both stripped of the clothes they had been wearing and were now dress in a tiny scrap of material that could barely be called a dress. On both of their necks they wore collars made of a thick metal material.
Skylar pulled at it, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Don’t bother. I’ve tried that already, and it zaps you if you fuck with it too much,” Reva said in disgust. “Hurts like a bitch. It also stops me from shifting. I’ve never encountered something like this, and I vow on the Helix moons that I will kill whoever created it.”
“I’ll help,” Skylar offered. “Do I even want to know why we are wearing....this?”
“You probably don’t, but I heard the slaves that dressed us talking while I was waking up. You know my system burns off drugs faster than yours does. Anyway, they were saying they didn’t understand why they even bothered to dress us, but we are to be part of something called a chase. Males chase us through the catacomb maze down here, and whoever catches us gets to rape us. They seem to like tearing the clothes from the females during this farce, so that is why we are dressed like this.”
“That’s it. Everyone here has to die.”
“Agreed,” Reva bit out darkly. “I did hear that there is a lab somewhere down here, along with several other females that are being held captive and a stock room of other shit they sell.”
Skylar paused before relaying all the information she’d just learned to Arik. She could feel his rage and tried to reassure him. “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine.”
“Don’t you let them put their hands on you, Sky.”
“I don’t plan to. Besides, at this rate, perhaps we can take down a few other bastards we would have normally had to chase down.”
His reluctant amusement came through their connection. “Well, there is certainly that bright side.”
“Yeah, just call me your optimistic ray of sunshine.”
“We’ll be there soon. Stay safe, keeper. I will be monitoring you...you are not alone.”
Skylar relaxed at his words, then decided to try something. Raising her hands to the collar she sent a surge of energy through her hands and yelped as the metal sparked and burned around her neck. The pain was worth it as she heard a small clicking sound and the collar snapped open.
“It stings,” Skylar warned as Reva grinned at her.
“I don’t care. Get this thing off of me.”
Sky knelt down beside Reva and sent another surge of energy through her hands to deactivate the collar. Reva let out a low snarl of pain then yanked the collar off of her with a relieved sigh. “I feel so much better now.”
“Glad to be of service.” They grinned at one another.
Reva’s head cocked to the side and she held up a hand. “Someone is coming.”
Both women reluctantly replaced the collars back on their necks, but hid the fact they weren’t latched any longer by covering the opening with their hair.
Skylar tensed up as a large shadow filled the room when the door to their holding cell slammed open. “You are awake? Good. We’re getting ready to begin.”
“Who are you? Why are we here?”
The man stepped forward and two others followed, holding up a torch so they both became visible. The man who had spoken was fairly attractive, but his demon eyes were filled with madness as he looked down at her. Without any warning, he lashed out and struck Skylar with a hard backhand.
She heard Arik’s curse in her mind as she hit the floor, and took a few extra seconds lying there to replace the collar that had almost fallen off. Turning her head slowly, she wiped at the blood trickling from her split lip as she glared up at him as the other two males pushed three crying Tarin females into the cell.
“You don’t speak until given permission, slave.” He smiled, making him look downright evil. “It’s not often that I have the pleasure of adding humans and shifters to my harem. Now, to explain the rules to all of you at once since I hate to repeat myself. I am Lord Khan, but you may call me Master. You are about to participate in one of my little hobbies. Every once in a while I reward some of my loyal guards with what I like to call a chase.”
Skylar knew Arik was listening to Khan as he spoke through their bond, and she used their connection to allow her to hold back the violent energy she could feel building inside her.
“The chase will begin here. You are given the chance to run and hide, but the labyrinth of the catacombs can be confusing to maneuver through. There are twelve of my guards participating tonight, along with three of my close friends. Since they enjoy being entertained, and you are to be just that...entertainment.” He grinned. “They will be chasing you, and when they catch you, they will take their prize. Since there are only five of you, expect to be used well tonight.”
The three female Tarins were sobbing softly, but Skylar was burning with fury.
She had heard enough.
“Sorry, fuckhead. I really don’t care to play your sick, twisted little game. Count us out.”
Khan’s eyes narrowed in anger and he pulled a device out of his pocket, holding it up so she could see it. “You will pay for your insolence.”
He pressed a button...and nothing happened.
“Performance issues,” Reva quipped. “I guess what they say about Tarin males isn’t true after all.”
“Guess not.”
Khan slammed his thumb down on all the buttons on the device. Nothing happened to Reva and Skylar, but the three Tarin women fell to the floor, moaning in pain. Moving fast, Skylar reached for his bare forearm and latched onto it in a firm grip. She smiled at him, letting him see all the loathing she felt for him as she met his bewildered stare.
“I bet my voltage is bigger than yours,” she whispered, then she dropped him.
Thinking about all the women he had hurt, Skylar sent a huge volt of energy shooting straight into him. She heard the sound of material ripping then the familiar snarls of Reva in her cat-form. She didn’t worry about the two other Tarin, knowing Reva had her back.
Skylar didn’t stop shocking Khan until she was sure he was dead. She turned just as Reva switched forms again, the two Tarin males lying dead on the ground. Covered with blood, she made a gruesome sight.
“These were the assholes that brought us here. I remember their stench.”
“Saved us the trouble of looking for them.”
Both women turned as the sound of shouts echoed off the cavern walls. Backup had arrived.
“I’m going to shift back. I’ll be able to find the xili faster that way.” Reva shifted back to her cat-form just as Skylar felt Arik moving toward her.
She heard him calling out her name and she answered just as he turned the corner and came into view. Arik rushed in the room, picking her up in a fierce hug. “Are you alright? Did he hurt you?”
She pulled back enough to look at him. “Just my lip, but I’d say I hurt him more.”
They looked down at the body of Khan and Arik turned her face away to brush his lips lightly over hers. “Damn him for striking you.”
“I’m fine. I promise.”
“Sky!”
Arik set her down and she leaped over the body at her feet and met Dom at a run, slamming into him as she threw herself into his arms. “Son of a bitch! That motherfucker hit you? I’ll fucking kill him!”
“Too late,” she said with a laugh, then kissed him despite the pain it brought to her lip. “Let’s find the xili, free the women locked down here, then get the hell gone.”
“I’m all over that.”
***
Epilogue
Skylar felt like she was being punished.
After rescuing ten women from Khan’s lair, destroying the lab he used to create the synthetic drug and finding the missing xili plants, one would think that she deser
ved a damn break.
But no, now she had to attend a celebration feast held in her honor.
Skylar had tried to tell her father she didn’t need a party to welcome her home, but he had simply ignored her. Giving in, she had embraced the madness and allowed herself to be whisked away in the celebration frenzy that had taken over the Tor Palace.
In the aftermath of Lord Khan’s death many things had changed.
The balance of power had shifted on Tartarus, in their favor. Dom, Arik, Jax and the Strike Force Team had fought alongside Jaden, Malik and their warriors to take down Khan’s men who guarded the mountain holding. Among the fallen had been the three males that Khan had called friends. They had been other lords that had been opposing her father and Lord Rego’s fight to end slavery on their planet. With their deaths, the slavers had suffered a large blow to their ranks, giving hope to the Tarin people that the war would someday soon be at an end.
Dom had bitched about Skylar’s tiny dress the entire time they had searched the catacombs for the xili plants, following Reva in her cat-form as she led them through the maze. They had located the two plants in a lab and a stockpile of synthetic drugs that had already been made. The Strike Force Team had brought an explosive device with them that they set to go off after everyone had been evacuated from inside the mountain lair.
When everyone was safely outside, Commander Malloy had set off the charge, bringing down half the mountain in the process. The sword battle outside had been swiftly won with Jaden and Malik leading their warriors against Khan’s men. There had been an entertaining moment when Reva had shifted back to speak to Skylar, Dom and Arik, and Malik had lost his shit when he and Jaden had joined them with some of their warriors and they all saw her naked form. Mid-lecture, Reva had simply taken the shirt one of the Strike Force Team members had offered her and walked away.
Once they were back at Tor Palace, Skylar, Dom and Arik had taken a hot bath, then they had passed out from sheer exhaustion. It was the first time that the three of them had slept together, with Skylar sheltered between their two larger bodies and she had been too damn tired to enjoy it.
When she woke, she was alone in the bedroom, but a maid had stopped by to tell her she was to remain in her room until the celebration that evening on her father’s orders after she gave Skylar her personal bag that had been delivered from the Stargazer.
It surprised Skylar to hear that Serra and Archer had come down to the planet, considering Serra’s aversion to the Tarins, but she was happy to hear that Serra was having fun explaining human technology to several of Jaden’s warriors.
Skylar got dressed in her own clothes, then asked the maid to take a message to her father, asking to speak to him. He stopped a few minutes later to tell her about the feast, and said that he wanted her to stay in her room because didn’t want her to ruin the surprise before everything was complete in the hall below.
They shared the midday meal together in her room, enjoying each other’s company. Jaden admitted that he could see the love between Skylar, Dom and Arik now, and offered his approval on the bonding. Skylar found herself sharing her worries about their relationship with her father, and was surprised by the information he’d given her that would help her make things better between them.
“Why haven’t you taken a consort?”
“After losing you, perhaps I didn’t feel worthy of finding happiness for myself again,” Jaden answered honestly. “This is a hard world, and it isn’t easy to find the bond that you have with your males. Besides, I’ve been alone for a long time now. Maybe I am just too set in my ways.”
“It’s hard for me to think of all the time that has passed when I look at you. You look exactly the same as I remember you.”
He smiled. “The Tarin lifespan is a lot longer than that of a human. I hear it is almost equal to that of the D’Aire.”
“That’s good. I like knowing we will have a lot of time to get to know each other again.”
Jaden’s jaw tightened. “Every time I think of what was stolen from us, I get so furious.”
“What are you going to do about Nula?”
“She is not longer an issue. She admitted her crimes and has paid with her life.”
“Oh.” Skylar felt partly relieved she didn’t have to see it, but another part of her had wanted to see the end of the woman who had cost her so much.
Jaden gripped her chin in his hand. “You have dealt with enough death. It wasn’t necessary for you to witness her end.”
“You’re right.”
He paused before saying, “Your bonded and I spoke this morning. Dominic expressed an interest in having me travel to Earth for your bonding ceremony there with his and Arik’s family.”
Skylar’s eyes widened in surprise. “I told them a ceremony wasn’t necessary.”
“Because you didn’t have any family of your own,” he said gently. “I have not been very open to the Alliance or human inference here on Tartarus, but I am willing to bend for a daughter that considers Earth her home now.”
Tears filled her eyes. “You would be willing to come to Earth?”
“Yes. I would prefer if you visit me here, but I cannot refuse to see that part of your life as well.”
She threw herself into his arms, hugging him tight. “That means the worlds to me.”
He cleared his throat when the door opened. Jaden released Skylar and stood as Dom and Arik entered the room. “I shall leave you now to go see to the preparations. Keep her here until sunset.”
“Will do,” Dom said.
When the door closed, Skylar smiled at her two bonded. She felt an attack of nerves, but she forced herself to do what needed to be done. “I didn’t like waking up alone today.”
“I’m sorry, my love,” Arik said. “We needed to speak to your father, and then we wanted to give you some time with him alone.”
“I appreciate it. Now that we’re alone, I think there is something we need to talk about.”
She patted the bed beside her and they both sat down. Shifting positions quickly, she planted herself on Dom’s lap. His arms wound her waist automatically, holding her there and she could feel his erection pressing against her core. She smiled when she heard Dom suck in a sharp breath as she ground herself down on him.
“Arik, how does it make you feel to see me with Dom like this?”
Understanding came into his iridescent eyes. “Have we been making this difficult for you, Sky?”
“Yes and no. I get that both of you aren’t very fond of sharing, but I want to make this work.”
“It is working,” Dom argued.
Skylar shook her head. “I need you both to get used to seeing me with the other, because I expect to sleep between you both every night.”
Dom smiled slowly. “I’m okay with that.”
“As am I.”
“Good.” That was one issue handled. Now, onto the next. “Arik, will you be okay with watching me with Dom? There is something I need to do to make Dom feel like a real part of our unit.”
“Whatever you need, keeper.”
She felt Dom’s body stiffen as he realized they were communicating without him again. Rubbing her hands down his arms she said, “No, don’t tense up on me.”
“Damn it, Sky—”
“See, there you go with that again. I haven’t forgotten about getting that tattooed on your ass.”
He snorted in derision as Arik got up from the bed to sit in one of the chairs facing them, giving Skylar the space she needed.
Dom’s cock was so hard in was hard for him to think, but it burned him when Arik and Sky spoke to one another using a connection he would never have with her. “What do you want from me?”
“I want to make love to you...while Arik watches.”
“Do you, now?” He raised his hands to cup her breasts, using his thumbs to flick over both of her nipples through her shirt, making her moan. “I think you have too many clothes on for that. Take them off, Sky. Undress for us
and let us see your beautiful body.”
She slid off his lap, standing up to pull her shirt off, then she pushed her pants down so they slid down her legs slowly until her body was bare.
“You’re so beautiful, Sky. So fucking perfect…”
Skylar felt her body heat and her pussy slicken as both of her men stared at her with hunger gleaming in their eyes. Taking control back, she slid to her knees slowly between Dom’s thighs, watching the raw lust shining back at her when she looked up at him.
“I want you naked, Dom.”
He lifted his shirt pulling it over his head, then tossed it on the floor without a word. Skylar smiled as she pulled at the waistband of his pants, lifting it over his straining cock so she could slide them off of him. She enjoyed the sight of his naked body on display for her.
“I love your body…you’re so strong, Dom,” she whispered as she traced her fingertips lightly up his thighs, feeling the muscles bunch and flex beneath her hands. She moved her hands up, wrapping one around the base of his cock, stroking it slowly to the tip, then back down again as he hissed in pleasure. “And so hard.”
“You make me hard.”
“There is something I want to try. It’s sort of like a bonding gift from my father, but if I fuck it up, you can blame him.”
“Oh, hell...”
She gave a little laugh as she rose to her feet and crawled onto his lap, positioning herself over his rock-hard cock. She pressed her lips to his, but before he could take the kiss deeper, she leaned back to trail the tip of her tongue over his lips.
“You’re gonna get fucked hard and deep if you keep teasing me.”
“Patience, baby. Don’t worry, this won’t hurt a bit.”
Looking into his dark eyes, she slid down, taking his cock in her with one smooth motion until he was fully sheathed inside her. Her head fell back on a moan. Just feeling him filling her while Arik watched had her on the brink of coming already. She looked over and saw that Arik had taken off his own clothes and was watching them as he stroked his large cock in his hand.