by AJ Sinclair
“We need to find a master key.” Jack glanced back toward the stairwell.
Austin still hadn’t recovered from their trek. “We’re not going back down to the lobby.” They’d sleep in the hallway if they had to, but his muscles ached for the softness of a mattress. And a woman. Did she want him too? Them? How would they even do something like that?
“Maybe housekeeping has one.” Jack strode down the hall to an abandoned cart.
“If you had your guns, you could shoot the lock open.” Indie mimicked the action with her fingers.
Cody snickered, and Austin corrected her. “Weapon, not gun.”
“What’s the difference?”
“A weapon is for shooting, a gun is for fun.” Cody chanted the manta that had been drilled into each soldier’s head from day one.
“A gun is for…?” Comprehension apparently dawned as Indie rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Men and their penises.”
“Here.” Jack waved them down the hall. The housekeeping cart stood outside a propped-open door.
Austin and the bunch jogged to meet him and peered into the room. The sheets had been stripped from the king-sized bed, and fresh towels had been placed on the bathroom counter. “Looks clean.”
“I’ll make the bed.” Indie grabbed a stack of folded sheets from the cart and carried them to the bed. Jack and Cody helped her while Eli plugged in the coffee maker. Austin kicked the doorstop free and smiled as his men and their woman took pleasure in the amenities. Not Lorne’s sick pleasure but genuine appreciation for small luxuries.
Indie inhaled deeply. “Mmm…that coffee smells good.”
“I hope you like it strong and black.” Eli handed her a full mug.
She thanked him with a teasing smile. “I like it a variety of ways.”
Austin showered while Indie sipped her coffee. By the time he finished, Jack had found a suitcase filled with clean clothes and was able to fit into a shirt, but the pants were too long for him.
“I don’t like being out of uniform.” Austin zipped up the snug jeans Jack had offered him. “No weapons, no camo. I feel naked.”
A little smile stole across Indie’s lips. “Maybe there’s a laundry room somewhere.”
“I saw one at the end of the hall.” Jack collected the dirty uniforms and Indie’s discarded clothes, wrinkling his nose at the pile. Eli helped him carry it, and they came back a few minutes later wearing nothing but white towels.
“God, I needed that.” Indie emerged from the bathroom in a short, plush bathrobe and poured herself another cup of coffee, her legs dewy from the hot shower.
Austin wrapped his hands around a warm mug. “Me too.” The coffee cleared his head, and reality settled in as he glanced around. Clothes, bathroom accessories, suitcases. The room had been occupied. “I wonder where these people are.”
Cody rubbed a towel over his wet hair. A pair of khaki pants in a dresser drawer had fit him. “Probably in the ballroom downstairs.”
“Which side?” Jack held tight to the towel draped around his waist then ducked into the bathroom to shower.
Eli shuddered. “They’re all going to end up on the infected side.” He tested a door to an adjoining room, and it opened. “I’ll use the shower in here.”
The sound of running water filled the room, lulling Austin into a precarious peace. They could hunker down here for a few days. Regroup. Plan another escape attempt. A tickle crept up his throat, and he suppressed the urge to cough. Would they live long enough to try again?
“He killed all those people, keeping them in close quarters where bodily fluids could fester.” Indie had sunk into a chair beside the bed.
Austin gazed at Indie, trembling as she stared into nothing. “You didn’t infect him.”
“I know.” She sighed and sipped her coffee. “My virologist brain believes that. Too soon. He was already infected when he kissed me. But I can’t help thinking…”
“You’re not responsible for this.” He set his mug on the desk and moved to kneel before her.
“But I am.” She sat up, coffee splashing on her robe as her hands trembled. “I should’ve stayed in the lab. Dr. Francis ordered me to, warned me. I thought he was being a jerk so I defied him.”
He took the mug from her and set it on the nightstand. “You couldn’t have known.” Cliché, but what else could he say to her?
“People died. My entire family.” Her face turned ashy and she blinked at him, clutching his knee. “Your brother.”
His brother. Dead before he’d had a chance to really live.
“Charlie gave his life for his country.” He bolted to his feet and grabbed his mug, but the caffeine couldn’t numb the tearing pain in his chest.
“That’s bullshit!” Indie shot up and followed him. “He didn’t give anything. It was taken from him because I had to go to a wine tasting.” Tears shone in her eyes, but she quickly banished them as her fists curled. “And now this country is leaving you to die along with him.”
“Fuck!” Austin hurled his mug across the room, and it shattered against the door. Coffee dripped down the wall like dark blood, staining the paint, the carpet, everything it touched. “I told him he had to do something safe. Carpenter, lawyer, priest…anything that would…wouldn’t… After mom and dad died, it was just the two of us, and our–” He swallowed and shook his head, refusing to acknowledge that specific hurt. “I’m never having kids, so he had to…carry on… But the little shit. Mom said Charlie always had to do everything his big brother did, so he enlisted. And now…I couldn’t take care of him.”
He dropped to his knees, mashing the heels of his palms into his eyes. Why did they sting so bad? And what was this wetness dripping down his face? Shit, am I infected? Warmth enveloped him from above. Soft hands, a swirl of silky black hair. What sweetness was this? He didn’t deserve it.
Indie wrapped her arms around his shoulders, holding him tight. “It wasn’t your fault.”
She was lying to him, of course, whispering words meant to bring comfort. But nothing could take away the pain. He had to bury it, bury himself…inside her. Movement to his left alerted him to Jack’s presence. He didn’t care if the other guys watched; hell, they could even join in. Anything as long as the pain stopped and he could feel only her.
Austin angled his head, and his mouth covered hers. Everyone he’d ever loved died, but Indie was likely to kill him. He could fuck her, but she’d stay safe as long as he didn’t love her.
She pulled back and raised her trembling fingertips to his lips as if shielding him. “This is dangerous.”
“I know.” He kissed her again, wrapping an arm around her waist as he lifted her to the bed.
A soft moan escaped Indie as she lay back, pulling Austin on top of her. Her robe parted, exposing her left breast. The fat nipple pebbled in his palm as he fondled the warm mound. He wrestled the belt loose and flung it aside as she slid her hands over his shoulders and nibbled his neck. His cock stiffened inside the too tight jeans he’d somehow managed to stuff himself into. God, he wanted her. He was going to die, no question about that, but he might as well taste heaven before he descended into hell.
Indie struggled under him, seeming to fight with something.
Shit, have I crossed a line? Austin sat back. “Do you want me to stop?”
“No.” A little laugh brightened her eyes. “I’m trying to unzip your pants.”
Relief swept through him as he knocked her hand away and practically ripped the metal teeth open. They both groaned when her fingers curled around his erection. Her sweet, bold touch melted his last shred of concern, and he pulled her back down on the bed, kissing her lips, her neck, her bared breasts.
“Please,” she sighed while he nuzzled her. “Please take me away from all of this.”
He’d tried. Tried to help her escape this damn quarantine but had failed miserably. “I wish I could.” Could he save anyone?
A new meaning to her statement became apparent when her pa
rting thighs brushed his cock and she rolled him on his back.
“Here. Now.” She shoved him down and straddled his lap. “Take me hard and don’t stop until I can’t think about anything but my throbbing…” She bit her lip and left the word unsaid, but he understood. Loud and clear.
“As you wish.”
***
INDIE
Indie had always been bold in the lab—demanding, even. She’d learned early on how to take charge in a male-dominated field. Taking charge in bed, however, had never been her forte. So she complied when Austin flipped her to the mattress, yanking her robe off her shoulders and tossing it to the floor at Jack’s feet. He’d taken a seat in the chair beside the bed, watching with a dreamy smile on his face and a bulge between his legs that threatened to drop his towel. She smiled back at him then twisted to look around the room. Eli perched on the desk and Cody stood, leaning against the dresser. Every one of them could see her naked, see everything Austin did to her, and the knowledge thrilled her to the core. We have company.
Austin distracted her with kisses that trailed down her body, nipping at her breasts, her stomach, her quivering thighs. Sweet shivers danced across her skin, and she spread her legs, inviting him in. “Take what you want.”
He groaned. Well, someone did. Indie wasn’t quite sure who until Austin’s lips touched her swollen slit, vibrating the tingling mound. Yes, that was definitely him. His days-old beard scratched her inner thigh as he pressed her knees apart, breathing hot on her begging flesh. Slow, thorough, maddening in his approach, but finally his tongue snaked out and flicked her clit.
“Oh mercy!” Indie mashed her hips against his mouth, begging for more without shame.
Jack shifted in his chair, and the towel fell open, exposing his erection. Indie stared while he stroked it with a smile. She peeked at Cody over Austin’s shoulder and caught him gazing at Jack too. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they could all enjoy each other without limits?
Eli’s towel slid to the floor, but he didn’t bother to retrieve it. He got up from the desk and sat on a lower corner of the bed. “We want you to come,” he whispered, voicing the words Austin might’ve said if his mouth wasn’t otherwise occupied.
God, she needed a release. All the angst, terror, and pain of the last couple of days bottled up inside her. Could she let it go? Or should she hold onto it? Why?
Jack stretched out beside her, leaning an elbow on a pillow while he stroked Indie’s hair. “Don’t think, just feel.”
How did he know? She smiled up at him, moaning as Austin shifted and slid a finger inside her, matching the strokes of his tongue.
Eli caressed her ankle. “You deserve it. We all do.”
She’d debate that with him later, but now little jolts of please-I-need-to-come demanded her attention. Fuck thinking. Fuck doing. Now, just fuck. “Oh God, I want you inside me!”
Austin’s head popped up. “Come first.” Then he ducked down and resumed his oral gratification.
“What if I can’t?” Shit! She hadn’t meant to say that out loud.
“I believe you will.” Cody uttered that prediction from his place on the dresser.
She couldn’t disappoint him—any of them. Indie closed her eyes and willed her body to relax. Conflict flowed from her, and pleasure swept up in its place, following Austin’s tongue as it circled her clit. “Please don’t stop!” Her body tightened, arching into his mouth. Her toes curled and her thighs clamped around his head. Oh yes! So close! What would it take to send her over the edge? Her mind had to let go.
Something in her brain clicked off, and every synapse fired, sending wild electric sparks through her limbs. “Yes! God, yes!” Oh sweet heaven, this! Feel. All of it.
Austin clamped his arms around her hips while she bucked. Eli ducked her erratic kick, and Jack tightened his grip in her hair, sending a wave of pleasure-pain from the roots to her stiff nipples.
“Please,” she panted. The orgasm left her satisfied, but she craved more. An empty space needed to be filled. “I need you inside me.”
Austin stood and wiped his mouth with the back of his arm. “I need a condom.”
Shit! “General Kerr took my backpack.” They couldn’t come this far just to be stopped by a lack of prophylactics.
“Damn it!” He gripped his hard staff and gritted his teeth.
“You just licked the carrier’s mmf.” Cody muffled the word as if saying it in front of a lady would corrupt his southern gentleman charm. “From one end to the other, and you’re worried about protecting your dick?”
“I’m protecting her.” The major crossed his arms over his naked chest and snarled at the soldiers under his command. “We all will, got it?”
“Yes, sir.” Cody picked up Indie’s lab coat from the chair she’d draped it on and pulled a box of condoms from the pocket.
“How did you…?” Indie’s blitzed brain couldn’t complete a sentence.
Cody winked at her. “A magician never reveals his secrets.”
Jack fished a few packets from the pocket of his discarded jeans.
Indie managed to put words together. “Where did you get those?”
“From the bowl in the ballroom.” He blushed and handed one to Austin.
Austin ripped it open and rolled it on while the men resumed their positions. He knelt between Indie’s legs, sinking slowly down until he rested on his elbows, his heaving chest meeting her pounding heart. “You want me first?”
Chapter 14
INDIE
“Yes.” There’d never been any doubt she’d have them all. One at a time, four at a time. Nothing but loving them mattered.
The corner of his mouth quirked up, and his eyes twinkled. Then his gaze darkened, and he planted his knees on the bed, surging up and in, pushing deep while she gasped. He filled her, driving fast and hard, then pulling out slow only to return in a heated rush. “Fuck!” He dropped down on top of her, crushing the air from her lungs, but she pulled him closer, wrapping her arms and legs around his sweat-slicked body.
Heavy, sticky, grinding heat swamped Indie. She moved with him, taking his thrusts deep and gasping for more, refusing to think and allowing this man to feel her from the inside out. But Austin took over, seducing her release with deliberate strokes and erratic gasps, breathing hot as she cried out, clinging to him, grasping for more. Release, yes, but the purge had just begun.
He came quickly with a hoarse curse on trembling limbs. She supposed it had been a while for him too, especially under these circumstances.
Indie reached for him when he moved to stand, catching his arm. “More.”
A lazy smile curled Austin’s lips and he nodded to Jack. “As much as you want.” The major stepped back and both Jack and Eli stepped up. “However you want it.”
Oh my.
“I want…” She sat up on the bed and pondered her choices. Eli and Jack stood before her, naked and hard. Cody sat on the dresser, his borrowed pants stretched tight over his aroused cock. How can I possibly choose? Could she take them all at once? That possibility played in her mind until she realized who she wanted next—the reckless cowboy who’d never hesitated to jump into action, the man who’d been the first to kiss her.
She stretched her hand out to Cody. “Please.”
He smiled but shook his head. “Not yet.”
Indie’s heart faltered. What? Why not?
Jack scowled at him then grabbed a condom off the desk and stepped over to the bed, swooping down to kiss Indie. “I’ll take you.” He backed up a bit and gazed into her eyes. “If you’ll have me.”
Of course, she’d have Jack. She’d wanted him, the quiet observer, from the moment he slipped from the shadows outside The Imbibed Scholar. The sting of Cody’s rejection faded to a dull burn as she reached for Jack, sliding her hand behind his neck and pulling him down to the bed with her. “I want you.”
He barely had time to catch himself as they dropped onto the mattress. Even braced on his elbows, Jack
crushed her beneath him, his heat searing her skin as their mouths met. His tongue touched the seam of her lips, and his fingers slid along her slit, seeking entrance.
She parted for him, lips and legs, allowing him to enter and explore. His touch matched his kiss, deep and insistent, yet he followed her lead, taking what she gave and magnifying it in return.
“You’re beautiful.” Jack’s words burned hot on her neck. “Soft and wet.” His fingers slid over her slippery flesh. “God, I want to get inside you and pound…” The heel of his hand battered her clit as he jammed his fingers deep.
Indie smiled, clinging to him. The patient observer had reached his limit. What would happen if she delayed him a little longer? Would he explode?
She flattened her palm on his chest and rolled him on his back. He allowed it, having set the precedent, but his hand remained firmly tucked between her legs, and his lips caught her nipple as she bent over him. Indie grabbed his upright erection. “Hard and hot.”
Jack grunted as she scooted down his body, dislodging his hand as she took his cock in her mouth. “Fuck.”
Her audience emitted a collective groan, and she smiled around the stiff member between her lips. She stole a peek at the men watching. A lazy smile lit Austin’s face, clearly satisfied, but Eli looked ready to burst with anticipation. And Cody.
Cody clenched his fist and jammed it against his mouth, gnawing on his curled finger. The reckless cowboy was restraining himself. He wanted in on the action.
Indie lifted her head and smiled at him. “Come help me.”
Cody blinked as if startled, and then a wicked gleam flared in his eyes. “Yes, ma’am.” He knelt on the floor beside the bed, dragging his hand up Jack’s thigh.
“Shit.” Jack groaned, his body quivering as Indie slid across to kneel on the bed.
Then Indie and Cody kissed with Jack’s cock between them, tongues circling around him to touch each other.
“Fucking hell.” Eli grabbed his cock, and Austin’s dopey smile widened.
Indie’s head swirled, over-stimulated and loving every second of it. The room radiated sex, lust, and orgasmic glee. She took the tip of Jack’s cock in her mouth while Cody licked the shaft. Jack squirmed beneath them, one hand clapped over his eyes as if looking would be too much to bear. She didn’t blame him one bit. The entire encounter had turned her brain into pudding. Thinking not an option.