Breaking Into Love

by Lacey Thorn

  Webb met us in the dining area, saying the smell of Tor cooking had called to him. I believed it. The aromas had kept my mouth watering. I’d never cooked before. It was too easy to go to the cafeteria or use the serving unit to order something. Tor said he liked to cook, found it a great way to let his brain mull something over while his hands were busy. I liked that idea. Maybe, that was what I needed to do when it came to my current code. I’d certainly had no luck cracking it so far.

  Webb was mad as hell when we told him what the Liege Commander had said. He didn’t like the idea of anyone duping them and was equally pissed at the idea of someone doing the same to me. I ended up getting an hour-long lecture on what I would and wouldn’t do when we reached our destination, which basically translated to I’d obey his every command without question. I lifted a brow at his tone but nodded in agreement. I wasn’t stupid. I knew the element of humanity populating the Fifth Quadrant, and I didn’t want to become a part of it.

  I also knew part of Webb’s demeanor stemmed from what had happened to his mother. I didn’t let him know, though. Tor had been the one to share that fact with me, and I wasn’t sure how Webb would feel when he realized I was privy to such personal information. I’d tell him later, or more likely, Tor would when they were alone. I realized the two men didn’t keep secrets from one another.

  We’d left the dining room behind and though Webb hadn’t ordered me to stay with them, I’d followed in their footsteps anyway. I wanted to soak up every moment with them I could…before I found myself alone again.

  I avidly watched them now, taking notice of the little things that indicated the depth of their relationship. The shared looks, the small touches, even the way they spoke. There was an intimacy to it, easily recognized once you were aware.

  They were in the control room going over the communications they’d received. Apparently, they had a separate backup I’d been unaware of, one unknown even to Command. Tor promised they’d let me know if they figured anything out.

  I headed back to the sleeping quarters and the cleansing unit. I figured it was past time to clean up and wear something other than Tor’s shirt. When I stepped out, I noticed there were fresh sheets on the bed along with a set of my lingerie Webb had packed and another of their shirts. I lifted it and held it to my nose, breathing in Webb’s scent. It made me smile. Apparently, he was ready for me to wear something other than Tor’s shirt, too.

  I sat in one of the big chairs in the sleeping quarters and got out my handheld. I went over the code again and again, listening to the waves of sound. It was three quick sounds, like dit-dit-dit, followed by longer sounds, dah-dah-dah, and then the quick sounds again. The same pattern repeated over and over as if it had been looped. I’d tried putting it through every program I knew, including some I’d created myself. Still nothing.

  I went back to perusing the catalogued library. The more I learned about the Fifth Quadrant’s history, the more I wanted to go there. It was so much more than the cursory information we’d been given in school. Not the current Fifth that we’d learned plenty about, but the Fifth that had once been called Earth. The version I was reading about. I wanted to see the lakes of blue water that were mentioned and see the life that swam within them. The trees that grew from the ground and bore fruit so sweet you could eat it. Don’t get me wrong. We have water and fruit, but not so that I could cup and drink from a large body or pluck it from a branch heavy with treasure. Despite all the technology we had, we’d lost so much.

  I’d never been a huge history buff, choosing to focus on the present, but now, I read as much as I could. I discovered Tor and Webb had access to Command’s archives. Millions of documents catalogued by year then broken down into categories. I stumbled on a category titled Ancient Inventions and found myself pulled in.

  It was easy to see where some of our current technology had begun. We were leagues beyond those rudimentary stages I was reading about, but still. It was there if you looked.

  My mind began playing with the message that was coming from the Fifth. So it made sense that the code could be something unique to that quadrant, something once utilized there but perhaps forgotten once the majority of people moved on. Something simple. I knew the criminal element of the Fifth used technology, but my speculation was the person who’d sent the message hadn’t had access to that. Maybe, they’d fallen back on an ancient form of communication, hoping those around them wouldn’t realize what they were doing.

  Speculation. All of it. Hell, it could be a threat for all I knew, but something told me it wasn’t. I crack most codes instantly. That’s not bragging. That’s what I do, and I’m very good at my job. Because of that, this one was driving me a little crazy. Mostly, because of the simplicity of it.

  I created a filter on my handheld, narrowing the archived information at my fingertips to “communication”, figuring once I dove in, I’d figure out more parameters to set. I wasn’t sure how long I spent on my search. Parameters were forgotten as I grew hungry for more and more information. At one point, my stomach growled, and still, I kept reading, swiping through page after page of the stored knowledge I’d never realized was there. It made me realize we should pay far greater attention to our historians. They knew more than we realized.

  Finally, as I prepared to close it down and go look for Tor and Webb, I came across what I was looking for. I’ll admit I only clicked into the files on Morse code because of what I’d read earlier. From its earliest inception, it had been a form of communication to breach distances only travel had been able to before. But it had grown and changed and played a role in the first Great War of the planet. A particular code had arisen, an SOS message that was sent. It was thought to have meant something like “save our ship” or “save ourselves”. Basically, it was a cry for help from someone in need. Even better, it mentioned the sounds, dits and dahs, long and short sounds, that when put together made up the call.

  This was the code. And to think I could have solved this long ago if I’d just known where to look for answers. We’d been receiving this message for over five months. Someone was in the Fifth, and they’d been begging us for help for that long. I didn’t know who it was, but I knew the Liege Commander had the coordinates of where the signal was coming from. We’d yet to send in anyone because of the location, which was along a rocky terrain that appeared uninhabitable. Our Commander wasn’t one for sending in his Enforcers with no data to support them. We’d lost enough people in the Fifth without making it easier.

  I bounded off the chair and flew down the hall toward where Tor and Webb were. My heart galloped in my chest. I’d need to get in touch with the Liege Commander as soon as possible.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Webb said, catching me around the waist as I ran in and tugging me against him. “Where’s the fire, baby?”

  Tor’s gaze dropped to one of the monitors, and I knew he was searching for any anomaly in the atmospheric system.

  “I broke the code,” I blurted.

  “The one the Liege Commander’s been pressing you for?” Tor asked, and I nodded.

  “I need to call him, but I wanted to tell you first.”

  Tor’s gaze softened, and I knew he understood the significance of that, even if I didn’t want to admit anything aloud. He turned away, but I caught sadness in his gaze before he did.

  “Commander’s in a meeting right now,” Webb said. “We’ve been in contact with him. The order we were sent was issued from his personal unit while he was at home. He said he’d get to the bottom of it this evening. For now, we’ve been ordered to take you to the command post on the outskirts of the Fifth and leave you there until he sends another unit to bring you to him.” He shared a glance with Tor. “Our presence is needed for another mission there. We’ll drop you off then head out immediately.”

  My heart shriveled in my chest. At least, it felt as if it did. I’d known we wouldn’t be allowed together, but I didn’t want reality to intrude just yet.

  “How lo
ng until we arrive?” I asked softly.

  “Tomorrow late afternoon,” Tor answered, still not looking at me.

  I nodded. There wasn’t much else I could do. Orders were orders, and all of us would obey.

  “How long is the Liege Commander in a meeting?” I needed to let him know what I’d discovered. Focusing on work sounded like a good way to shut down my emotions right now.

  “A few hours,” Webb said, pulling my attention back to him and the hard-on he wielded. “Any ideas on how we should spend that time?”

  His hands slid down my sides, snaking around under my shirt and cupping my ass. He lifted me onto tiptoe, and I wrapped my arms around his neck when he dropped his head to kiss me. I heard a groan then Tor moved in behind me. His rock-hard cock rubbed along my ass, and he groaned when Webb’s fingers brushed along his shaft where it lay against me. Tor nibbled along the back of my neck, his lips skimming across my shoulder, and I reached around to wrap one hand around his back and pull him tighter against me.

  How had I fallen so hard for these two so quickly? Maybe, it was because they were the first men I’d let in and allowed to really touch me. Hell, I’d given them my virginity. That meant something. Was it wrong to want to enjoy every remaining moment I had with them? I didn’t think so.

  “Let’s take this to the bed,” Tor suggested and gave me a boost up so I could wrap my legs around Webb’s waist.

  Webb’s hands were all over me, rubbing me against his straining erection with every step he took. I was on fire when we made it to back to the room and he set on my feet beside the bed.

  “Strip,” Webb ordered, and I complied readily as he and Tor did the same.

  My nipples were already hard buds, my breasts heavy with need. I felt my cream coating my pussy lips, and an empty ache settled between my thighs where I wanted one of them to be.

  “My turn,” Tor said and took a step toward me.

  Webb ran a finger down Tor’s side then cupped his ass and gave it a squeeze. “Maybe, we’ll let you be in the middle this time.”

  Tor groaned as Webb moved in behind him. Webb’s hands came around Tor’s torso then dropped to cup and stroke Tor’s cock. Tor’s head dropped back as Webb nipped and sucked along the curve of his shoulder.

  “What do you say, Mandriella? You want to feel Tor’s cock fucking your sweet pussy while I fuck his tight ass?”

  I groaned, more cream spilling to coat the insides of my thighs. It sounded incredible.

  “Mandriella?” Webb murmured again.

  I nodded. “Yes, I like that idea.”

  “Tor?” Webb questioned then gave Tor a bite along the side of the neck that had the other man growling.

  “Fuck, yeah,” he said. “Grab the damn lube.”

  Chapter Nine

  Tor laid me on the bed while Webb rummaged in a drawer and pulled out a tube of clear liquid.

  “I’ve been waiting to taste this for myself,” Tor said just before he spread my legs with his shoulders and put his mouth on my clit. I fisted the sheets in my hands and arched my hips up to meet his lips.

  I glanced up, and the view was just as sexy as watching Tor’s head between my thighs. Webb opened the vial and poured the fluid along his shaft then set it aside and used his hand to rub it along his cock and over the head. I realized I wanted to feel what Tor was about to. I wanted to be sandwiched between the two of them, taking one of them in my ass.

  Tor ate hungrily at my pussy, throwing me into an immediate orgasm then pushing me ever higher. I closed my eyes at one point and possibly blacked out for a few minutes. My entire body was alive, every nerve wide awake and screaming for more. Noises came from my mouth, but they were incoherent even to me.

  Tor growled as he rose over me, gliding up my body until his cock lodged at my entrance. He didn’t pause, just kept moving, shoving his cock deep, his hands planted firmly beside my head. His slid his arms down one at a time and hooked my knees in his elbows, lifting and spreading me wider for him. He eased back then slammed hard back inside, making me cry out at the pure pleasure of it.

  Webb watched us with a hooded gaze, his cheeks darkening as his desire grew. He palmed his cock, working the shaft while Tor fucked me.

  I came, and Tor paused, his jaw tightening as he gritted his teeth together. I gathered he was trying to hold off his own orgasm. While I came down and Tor gained control, Webb moved behind him on the bed. His fingers disappear and Tor closed his eyes with a groan, moving his hips back toward Webb.

  “It’s going to feel so good,” Webb whispered at Tor’s ear.

  Tor’s expression changed the moment Webb entered him. Pure ecstasy. I wondered if that was what my expression looked like to them. I was suddenly close to another orgasm. I reached for Tor and pulled him back down to me, swallowing his groans with my mouth as our tongues met and mated.

  We found a rhythm. Tor would thrust into me, and Webb would follow him then they’d both ease back. Webb guided the pace. Tor only went as fast as Webb did, and I was on fire for more.

  “More,” I pleaded, undulating beneath them.

  Webb leaned over Tor’s back so they were both right there above me. He reached between Tor and me and rubbed hard circles over my clit. Tor grunted, his cock picking up speed as he drove me deeper into the bed. Webb growled and bit down on the bulging muscle at the base of Tor’s neck.

  I lost myself then. I didn’t note Tor’s pleasure or Webb’s, instead becoming immersed in my own. It raced through me, filling every inch of my body and locking down my muscles as I came and came and came. I heard Tor cry out and warmth filled me just as Webb yelled.

  They both collapsed on me, and I didn’t care. I floated somewhere above us, and I wasn’t sure I’d come back down, wasn’t sure I wanted to. I must have passed out. They had that effect on me. I came around with Tor shaking my shoulders and whispering my name.

  “Yes,” I mumbled, brushing my hair out of my face and glancing up at him. He was back in uniform, and somehow, it made me feel cut off from him.

  “Liege Commander Diamato is asking for you on the comm screen in the command center.”

  “Oh,” I said, pushing myself up and moving out of the bed. I frantically glanced around for clothes as the fact I’d cracked the code surged back to my thoughts.

  “Here,” Tor held out something to me, and I tossed it on without thought before striding down the hall to join Webb in the command room, Tor on my heels.

  “Commander,” I said as I entered the room. His face filled the screen in front of me. He was at his desk, and both his eyebrows lifted at my appearance. I belatedly tumbled my hair behind my back and tried to look professional.

  “Officer,” Liege Commander Diamato replied. “I hear you have news for me on the code you’ve been working on.”

  “Yes.” I nodded eagerly, stepping forward. “We couldn’t decipher it because it’s an old code we haven’t used in decades. It’s a distress signal, sir. Someone’s been asking us for help.”

  “And you’re sure about that?” He sat forward, elbows on the desk, palms together, fingers clasped.

  “Yes. They’re using an old communication technique called Morse code. I wasn’t familiar with it, or I’d have figured it out sooner.”

  “It’s not something we use,” the Commander stated, and I knew he was trying to figure out who was sending the message. “You’ll be dropped at an Enforcer-run outpost tomorrow afternoon, Officer Vectors. I’ll meet you there as quickly as I can and see about getting you returned home.” His gaze flicked over me, making me wonder how much of me he could see. I’d only ever spoken to him while on my handheld which limited the picture.

  I stepped back and ran into the solid wall of Webb. His hand dropped to cup my hip, and I relaxed into him.

  “Enforcers Dayes and Xantor, there’s been a change in mission. You’ll receive your orders when you drop off Officer Vectors.”

  The Commander dropped the connection, and the screen went blank, dismissing al
l of us.

  “You look ravishing,” Webb said, tugging softly at my hair.

  I was wearing nothing but Tor’s shirt, my hair a disheveled mess around my face. I noticed Webb was in his uniform, as well.

  “Exactly how much of this room can the Commander see when we’re talking to him?” I asked.

  “The entire room,” Tor answered.

  “Holy Nova,” I moaned. I’d just entered the room, wearing nothing but one of their shirts, obviously appearing as if I’d just tumbled from their bed, which I had. It hadn’t been my intention to share that with the Liege Commander, though.

  “You all right, baby?” Webb asked.

  I wanted to cry. I’d miss this bossy alpha so much.

  “Mandy?” Tor prompted, and I blinked rapidly.

  “He didn’t say who’d sent the message,” I finally whispered.

  “Doesn’t know yet or isn’t saying,” Webb answered, holding me against him.

  Since the first time we’d had sex, he couldn’t seem to keep his hands off me when we were together. It was the same for Tor. It was something I could get used to but wouldn’t.

  “Come on,” Webb said and linked his fingers with mine. Tor took my other hand and we moved back to the bedroom.

  There was a different air to our lovemaking this time, as if we all understood our time was limited. It was in turns fast and frantic then slowed down, becoming more sensual. The first time Webb was in the middle, Tor making love to him while Webb made love to me. It was as riveting as before. I was a part of it, yet I still felt voyeuristic at times, watching the love between the two of them. It spilled over to me, including me, and I clung desperately to it. Tomorrow, this would all end and I’d be alone again.

  And after this, after everything we’d shared here in this bed on their shuttle, no other man would ever compare. Once the three of us parted ways, it’d be back to a celibate life for me. It made these last moments bittersweet.

  After a quick cleansing, we fell back into bed for a few hours of rest, but none of us wanted to let time slip by. I awoke with Tor over me, moving within me, while Webb lay beside us and watched lazily. We all shared kisses, touches, and when I came, Tor flew with me.