by DJ Michaels
The corridor opened up into a large chamber and she immediately understood Tarkan’s meaning. She wriggled to get down and he lowered her to the floor, moving back to allow her the freedom to step clear.
The room was beautiful. In fact it was the loveliest room she’d seen since she’d come to Gemarra. Rather than the ornate, tightly upholstered furnishings she’d become accustomed to, this room was fitted with big, comfortable, squashy sofas and chairs. The tables were carved from wood, not the marble that was used at Addestet House, and they added warmth to the room. Paintings of landscapes and dragons hung on the walls and several colorful throws were scattered on the furniture. Almost the entire floor was covered in carpets and the room looked more like Aladdin’s cave than a dragon-rider’s den. But the coziness of the room was completely overshadowed by the floor-to-ceiling windows and the phenomenal view of green forest, pale sky and the sparkling shimmer of the lake.
She turned to face the Enforcers who had their eyes fixed firmly on her. “Your home is truly beautiful. Thank you for inviting me here.”
Ari nodded and turned away but Tarkan looked her in the eye and gave her a smile so dazzling she felt the room tilt.
“I’m glad you like it,” he said. “You are always welcome here, Chelsea McMullin.”
“Thank you.”
He gestured to the ochre-red couch. “Now let’s sit down and begin those negotiations.”
Chapter Nine
Tarkan had spent a lot of time thinking about what he’d say if Chelsea decided to take him up on his offer. However, now that she was here in his home, her sky-blue eyes wide and nervous, he wasn’t sure how to proceed. He wanted this too badly to fuck it up and he had a feeling this was the one and only chance he’d have to bring Chelsea around to his way of thinking.
He guided her to a chair and once she was settled he took a seat on the sofa opposite her. He didn’t want her to feel crowded and sitting across from her gave him the opportunity to study her responses.
He figured he’d let her kick things off. “What is it you want most, Chelsea?”
She sat sword-straight in the chair and clasped her delicate hands tight in her lap. She looked fragile, despite her best efforts to the contrary. “What I want most is to go home, but I’ve come to accept that won’t happen.” She took a steadying breath. “Other than that, I want to find Tansy and bring her here where she’s safe.”
He already knew that and he’d started putting out feelers to gain the right information. The Enforcers were warriors, they fought Brightstar incursions and protected their township from any threat by air, sea or land. They also kept their skills sharp by guarding council-sanctioned smuggling operations, and those smuggling contacts provided all kinds of information—including the sale and current whereabouts of all manner of women.
“I’ve started making enquiries about your friend but I can’t do a lot until I have a physical description.”
Chelsea nodded. “I can do that. I’ll give you whatever you need.”
Tarkan sucked in a breath and held it while his heart hammered against his ribs. “Will you?”
“You mentioned a price.” She chewed her bottom lip and when she lifted her eyes to his they were shadowed with doubt. “What will it cost me for your help?”
The tightness in Tarkan’s chest made it hard to breathe, hard to talk but he managed to get the words out. “The cost is you, Chelsea. I want you to agree to be our woman, to let us care for you and protect you. I want the three of us to be family.”
Unfortunately she didn’t have a chance to reply before Ari peeled himself from the wall he’d been leaning against. In three angry strides he’d crossed the room, grabbed Tarkan by the back of the tunic and hauled him to his feet.
“We’ll be back in a moment,” Tarkan said, with more hope than surety.
He knew Ari wouldn’t appreciate the ambush, so he was prepared for the anger and the high-handedness. They were both tall and strong, matched well enough that Tarkan could have broken Ari’s grip had he wanted to, but he meekly submitted as his best friend dragged him toward the bedrooms, saving his fight for the conversation that was to come.
They ended up in Ari’s room, identical to his own apart from color choice, a few knickknacks and the unhealthy state of tidiness.
Ari shoved him into the center of the bedroom. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”
“No. I told you I had a plan.” He just hadn’t shared what that plan was.
“You intend to blackmail that girl into having sex with you?”
All right, that accusation hurt. Blackmail made it sound so…coercive, and it was so much more than that as far as Tarkan was concerned. “It’s not blackmail, it’s an exchange. She needs help finding and retrieving her friend, I need help to have a woman of my own. You and I both know we are never going to get to the top of the Council’s list.”
“Even if she was mad enough to agree to your terms, you won’t be able to keep her.” Ari looked at him with a mix of frustration and sympathy. “We both know they won’t let you.”
That was true. Tarkan didn’t have enough pull to hold her on his own, which led him to the tricky part of his plan. He had to find a way to convince Ari to stand with him, otherwise Chelsea would be swept back into the protection of the Council and they would never see her again. “No, they won’t let me keep her, not on my own. But if she was ours, yours and mine, they wouldn’t be able to take her without a fight.”
Ari stilled, and for a brief moment his eyes shone with possibilities. “You would share her?”
“With you, yes.” Tarkan took a step forward, closing the distance between them and forcing Ari to hold his gaze. “I’d rather have her and share her than wait on a list that is designed never to have my name at the top.” He placed his hand on the arms Ari had crossed over his chest. “The Council argues that our job is dangerous, that allowing a woman to mate with an Enforcer is a waste, considering the risks we take in the air. But if there were two of us, we’d have a built-in redundancy and Chelsea would have double the protection.”
Ari’s body softened, his face relaxed and Tarkan knew he was almost there.
“And our combined standing in the den is better than mine alone.” Tarkan tried not to sound desperate, but he was so close to success he could almost see Chelsea in his bed. “I’ve got lots of friends, people like me well enough but I don’t have any authority. As Wing Captain you are second only to Jax and if the other three captains stand with you we will have the entire den behind us.”
“You want to start a revolution?” Ari’s lips compressed into a disapproving line and those arms folded tight once again. Fuck.
“No. No revolution, just other possibilities.”
It was turning out to be harder than he thought to get Ari on his side and Tarkan did his best to mask his frustration. He also fought the urge to take his den-mate by the shoulders and shake some sense into him. But temper and passion wouldn’t convince Ari. What Tarkan needed was logic and calm. Two things he was never very good at.
“Mating one female with two males was common when our ancestors first moved to Ivasta and there’s no reason we can’t resurrect that tradition.” There, that sounded rational enough.
“Females were only shared because there were so few of them,” Ari replied. “That practice fell out of favor pretty quickly.”
“Because there were plenty of women to go around. That’s not the case anymore and we have to find a way to adapt if we don’t want to spend the rest of our lives alone and visiting the bower houses for relief.” Tarkan took a deep breath and kept his voice even and steady. “I’m not sowing the seeds of rebellion. I’m just a man who wants to share his life with a woman of his own, our own. I want those rescued women to know that they have options outside the Council chambers.”
“Options?”
“Yes.” Tarkan locked eyes with Ari but when his den-mate smirked and lifted a challenging eyebrow, Tarkan knew his plan had somehow
been derailed. His stomach bottomed out and he was almost too afraid to ask. “What?”
“If you want to give these women more options, then we should start with the one sitting in our living room.”
No. No, no, no, no. Ari was out the door and Tarkan scrambled after him like a panicked dragonet. He had to head this off. He had to convince Ari the plan had the best chance of success if they stuck together. He had to—
Too late.
Ari settled himself in the sofa across from Chelsea and proceeded to annihilate Tarkan’s brilliant strategy.
“I’m wading in on the negotiations,” Ari said. Of course he was, the fucking control freak. “Tarkan and I will help you find Tansy regardless of what you decide today, you have my word. If you choose to give yourself to one or both of us, we will offer you a standard mating contract so you have legal protection as well as the physical protection Tarkan and I will provided.” Ari leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “I won’t lie to you, if you choose to contract with us we’ll have to fight to stay together. The Council will want to keep you for themselves and they’ll throw everything they have at us.”
Chelsea stared at Ari as if she expected him to sprout wings. “You’ll help me, no matter what?”
“Yes.”
She turned to Tarkan who was standing in the middle of the room, watching his future slip away.
“Does that offer go for you as well?”
“Yes.” Not that he wanted it to but Ari had made it impossible for him to keep his leverage.
Chelsea turned back to Ari, traitor that he was. “If I say no to a contract with Tarkan, if I go back to the dorm, what is the likely outcome for me?”
“You’ll be bound to a Councilor or Holder, either in a short- or long-term mating contract.”
She screwed up her face in disgruntlement. “Marry you or marry them, is that it?”
Tarkan realized he wasn’t going to make any inroads loitering on the periphery, so he moved further into the room, positioning himself to stand beside Ari. “Chelsea you aren’t equipped to survive in our world. You don’t know enough about our rules and traditions, you don’t have a family to help and support you and you have no way to support yourself.”
Her chin jutted out in what he suspected was ingrained stubbornness. “I can work. I’m perfectly capable of getting a job.”
This time it was Ari who shot her down. “Your capability is not in question, it’s our laws that are the issue. Women can work if they wish but only if a husband grants permission. She can own property if she has the means but only if her husband is willing to sign a release.”
“So I’m trapped.” Her eyes were a little wild and Tarkan suspected tears were not far off.
He tried to keep his tone sympathetic. “Your choices are limited, that’s true but there’s no point putting your head under the pillow and wishing it would all go away. You will have to make a contract at some point, we’re simply asking that you make it with us.”
She dropped her head into her hands. “I need to think.”
No, she really didn’t. If she had time to think she might decide that a life of wealth, privilege and leisure was a better option than a life being shared between two Enforcers. Tarkan had her here in his den, on his ground and he wasn’t giving up that advantage in a hurry.
“I’m sorry, love, we can’t give you any time. If we don’t come to a mutual arrangement now, the Council will separate us and we won’t see you again.”
She scrunched her eyes shut. “And my chance of rescuing Tansy will be gone.”
“Yes.”
“It’s just…” She opened her eyes and pierced them both with her obvious misery. “This feels like a form of prostitution, like I’m selling myself to the bidder with the best offer. I don’t know either of you. How can I make a decision about something as fundamental as marriage?”
That circular argument wouldn’t get them anywhere and Tarkan’s patience was wearing too thin to accommodate Chelsea’s anxiety, however understandable it might be. Words and negotiation weren’t getting him where he needed to be, so Tarkan decided on a more direct approach. Easing forward, he stepped smoothly around the foot table and lowered himself to his knees at Chelsea’s feet.
“I know you’re scared and I’m sure you feel overwhelmed and out of control. I’m sorry for that.” He shuffled a little closer and laid his hands on her thighs. “And regardless of what your head is telling you, I think your biggest problem is that you’re not sure you should trust us.”
She nodded, but didn’t speak. He took that as a sign to continue.
Sliding his palms down the sides of her legs, he pushed up under the hem of her skirt, wrapping his hands around her booted ankles. “What you haven’t realized yet is that you already trust us, maybe not in your head, but certainly in your heart.” He eased his palms up, the calluses on his hands lightly abrading the fine silk of her stockings. He stopped when he slid his fingers around the backs of her knees, his grip firm and warm. “You trusted us to take care of you on the shuttle, you listened to what we told you about our world and you know now that we told you the truth.”
Pressing closer, Tarkan leaned his hips into her legs as his hands slid higher along the outside of her legs, over her garters to the soft, silky heat of her bare upper thighs. She felt like perfection, and every atom in his body tightened in need. His cock surged, hard and fast and it took a sweat-inducing amount of control to keep his touch light and his voice soothing.
“You trusted that I could make good on my offer to help you. You trusted that I’d be at the lake, right where I said I’d be if you needed me. You trusted us to take care of you and keep you safe on your first dragon ride.”
He was trying to keep his focus on her face, taking in every detail. Her short breaths, her parted lips and her wide, fascinated stare would have convinced him he was on the right track—but it was the scent of her arousal that urged him further than he’d planned to go. He leaned in closer, so they were barely a breath apart and as he did he smoothed his palms up to cup her naked hips.
“And now here you are, alone with us in our Den, and you’re trusting us to keep to our honor. Nobody knows you’re here, we could do anything to you, but you know we won’t. Not without your permission, not without your full and active participation.”
Sliding his thumbs up and down, he began working his way across her lower abdomen. “You know we want you, you know we’ll take care of you, you know you can trust us.”
Lowering his head, he closed the distance between his lips and hers. He brushed against her once, twice, then sipped at her lower lip, teasing the soft flesh and resisting the urge to bite.
“Yes or no, love? Will you accept Ari and me as your own, or do we take you back to the dorm?”
Chapter Ten
Chelsea had spent the entire week thinking things through and looking at her current situation for what it was, not what she wished it to be. She had also spent a lot of time thinking about Tansy, about what she was enduring every day that Chelsea kept herself safe with what amounted to an act of cowardice. Ari and Tarkan weren’t monsters and so far they’d treated her with more respect and consideration than she’d received from anyone else on Gemarra.
Both of the Enforcers were insanely sexy but it was the kind of dangerous, demanding sexy that was good in her imagination but scary in real life. Chelsea had pretty much decided to accede to Tarkan’s demands even before she sought him out but the idea of taking on both of them was more than she’d bargained for. It seemed a bit slutty, truth be told. Slutty, scary and more than a little intriguing. A part of her was tempted, despite her moral misgivings but she would have managed to resist if Tarkan hadn’t touched her. Unfortunately for her, the moment he knelt at her feet and slid his big, warm hands under her skirt all her cognitive abilities dissolved under the heat of his touch.
Then he started talking, his deep voice dropping to a bedroom octave that stroked every nerve she owne
d. Her skin prickled, becoming too tight for her body, and her breasts swelled and pushed against her corset in an unbearable ache. And he kept talking, his words brushing against her like velvet as his hands moved higher. Over her thighs, against her hips, then over her corseted her belly. She started to pant as he moved closer, his lips almost near enough to kiss, her whole body yearning for him and whatever it was he could offer. His fingertips moved lower, barely brushing her mound, and that whisper touch sent a jolt of lust firing through her body.
She tried to open her legs, to silently invite him where she wanted him to go but he had her pinned tight against his hips. She strained forward, desperate for something, anything, until he finally touched his mouth to hers. Once, twice, taking little nibbles when what she really wanted was for him to feast.
“Yes or no, love.” He whispered the words onto her lips. “Will you accept Ari and me as your own, or do we take you back to the dorm?”
Back to the dorm? Was he completely out of his mind? Or maybe she was, because in that moment the only idea that had any merit was getting naked with one or both of them. And staying naked, for hours.
Her pussy ached, her nipples hurt and the need building inside her was too urgent to ignore. All she could think about was bare-skinned, sweaty Enforcers and how many orgasms they could give her. If her brain had been functioning she might have given a different answer but it wasn’t and she would have promised them the moon if they could get her off.
“You. I choose you and Ari.” She tried to squirm closer but Tarkan gripped her hips to hold her still. As she took a breath to beg her lungs filled with the pure, sweet scent that she’d first encountered on the shuttle and then again when she’d met the dragons. As if she weren’t lightheaded enough already.