by Lili Zander
“Wow.” He sinks down next to me, and I put my hand on his arm. “You okay?”
He nods. “It’ll take a while to sink in.” His smile turns roguish. “But that’s not what I want to talk about tonight.”
“You and Hurux both. What do you want to do instead?”
“Do you really need to ask?” He trails his fingers over my bare leg, and I shiver. “You’re our mate, Bryce. I want you in every way possible. Please?”
Please, he says. Nicely done, Cax. Nicely done. The first day I met him, I told him that please and thank-you were clearly not a part of his vocabulary.
We’ve really come a long way since then.
“Let’s go to your bedroom,” I whisper to Cax. He nods, taking my hand in his big one and leading me towards the back of his cave. Anticipation prickles up my spine as Hurux follows at my heels. The large soldier’s tread is silent, but my skin tingles from his proximity. By the time we’re in the bedroom, my entire body is trembling, attuned to the two large Draekons on either side of me.
I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. Everyone will show up, and then what? Matters seem to be coming to a head.
Tomorrow we face the chaos of our circumstances.
Tomorrow we rise and fight to keep this world sane.
But tonight? Tonight is ours alone. Hurux, Cax, and I.
“Is this what you wanted?” Cax asks, sweeping a hand towards the large, low bed on the floor.
My lips quirk. We’ve ended up in the bedroom before, but it’s the first time we’re starting there. I move toward Cax. “Let’s get you more comfortable,” I suggest and start to tug up his shirt.
He chuckles. “Removing clothes makes us more comfortable?” He bends his head and lifts his arms, but I still have to go on tiptoe to remove his shirt. But the view’s so worth it.
“It’s a figure of speech.” I run my hands over the sleek display of tattooed muscles. So yum.
Hurux laughs. “Earth is a very strange planet.” He whips off his own shirt, winking at me. The sight of his rippling muscles is mesmerizing. “But I can’t complain about their women. One in particular.”
Cax reaches for me, his fingers grazing my collar. “What about you?” he purrs. “Are you comfortable?”
“No, these clothes are in my way,” I start, before I remember how Hurux ripped my top. “But don’t...”
Too late. Before I can finish my sentence, Cax hooks his finger into my shirt and pulls. The fabric parts like liquid and my top falls to the floor.
I stare at Cax, amusement mingled with exasperation. “Great,” I say. “That works.”
Cax is unrepentant. He reaches for my bra, his eyes gleaming, and I back off. “No, I like this bra.” I fumble with the hook and back into Hurux’s giant frame. The big Draekon’s hands slide across my midriff, holding my hips as I shimmy out of the bra and start on my pants. I turn and plaster myself against the large soldier, my fingers stroking his tattoos, finding his nipple rings and giving them a playful tug. He’s broader than Cax, more bulky, but still graceful, quick and nimble, despite the power packed into every inch of his body.
His hands roam over me, sliding over my back and waist, dipping down my pants to squeeze my butt. Heat fills me at his touch. “Mmm,” I sigh, arching into him. Another set of hands joins Hurux and arousal washes over me, a huge wave crashing through my mind and wiping out everything else, all the worries, all the fear, all the chatter.
Cax and Hurux continue to stroke me, and I lean into the rhythm of their gentle hands. One plays with my breast, the other cups the back of my neck, massaging the tight muscles there. One strokes down my arm, and the other brushes the back of my leg. I sway between them, practically floating in the ocean of my arousal. Clever fingers pinch my nipple, and electricity shoots through me, weakening my knees. I wobble, and strong arms scoop me up, carrying me across the room and laying me down on the bed.
As I sink back, I stretch out my arms, reaching for my mates. They follow, lying on either side of me. Cax caresses my face and cups my cheek, holding me still for a kiss. Then Hurux. Then Cax, until I’m dizzy with pleasure. I alternate between them, turning my head one way then another as we melt together on the mattress.
Hurux starts kissing down my body, his hands stroking me. My legs tighten as he moves lower, and my toes curl as I realize where he’s headed. He props my knees apart, sliding my calves over his shoulders and down his back. I’m completely open to him. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
Not that I’m planning on running. Not when Hurux is about to go down on me.
His hot breath falls on my pussy. His finger strokes my slit, the softest of caresses. I moan and start to rise up.
Cax leans over me, takes my hands, and pins them to the bed. “Be still,” he commands and leans down to claim my lips.
The Draekons are in charge now.
So I surrender, wriggling on the bed as Hurux explores every spot that makes me twist and moan. He uses fingers, lips, and tongue until I’m thumping my heels on his hard-muscled back. Cax distracts me, kissing me, sucking my lower lip between his teeth, thrusting his tongue deep inside my mouth, over and over, until my pussy clenches in invitation.
Flutters start in my lower belly, growing too quickly for me to check them. Waves of pleasure crash over me, overwhelming me. Hurux’s tongue circles my clit, steady, relentless, and I can’t hold back. I quiver and shake and tremble, thighs fighting the need to clench shut, hips thrusting in Hurux’s face. Desire rips through me.
I’ve watched the Draekons shift into dragons, and I’ve often wondered what it feels like for your flesh to tear and reassemble. My orgasm? Shreds me. Tears me apart.
And Hurux and Cax are there to put me back together. They hold me as awareness slowly returns. They caress my trembling flesh, murmuring endearments.
Oh wow.
I should be satisfied. That was one hell of an orgasm. But I won’t be. Not until their cocks are buried in me. Until they claim me, the Draekon way. Both of them. At the same time.
Hurux rises up between my legs, licking his lips. I’d blush at the evidence of my pussy on his face if I weren’t feeling so satisfied. He quirks an eyebrow at me. “More?”
“Oh God, yes.”
He gets naked. My eyes widen at the size of his cock. Logic tells me it’ll fit—there are eight very content women in our camp right now, after all, and once we get drinking, the stories get more risque— but knowing something isn’t the same as believing it.
Hurux takes in my expression. His lips tilt up. “I’ll go slow,” he promises. He lifts my calves and hitches them on his narrow hips, lifting my bottom and cradling it in his big palms. His thick cock pushes against me, stretching me. I’m slick from my orgasm, my flesh puffy and swollen, but my body needs this. I need this.
He pushes in, slow and steady. I feel every inch of him in my core. I start to tremble with pleasure as he fills me to the hilt. And then he’s in, all of him, buried in me.
“So sweet.” Cax’s thumb brushes my lips. I turn my head, licking at his fingers as they dance over my mouth. “Do that again,” he orders. Craning my neck, I suck his finger deep and swirl my tongue around it. His eyes clench shut. “Ah, Bryce,” he rasps. He pulls away for an instant, and then his cock is at my mouth. “Once again.”
What a good idea.
I take my time, lapping at his cock head. The liquid at the tip tastes sweet for some reason. I flick my tongue over it, and he groans, then slides a hand in my hair. “Suck me,” he orders.
I make an ‘O’ with my lips and take him as far as I can, which is not very far. He’s so huge that I can’t go much past the head of his giant cock, but Cax doesn’t seem to care. His fist still gripping my hair, he closes his eyes and groans.
Meanwhile, Hurux thrusts slowly, driving his cock deeper each time and grinding against me, adding to the tight arousal coiling in my lower belly with every pass. My attention splinters. Cax in my mouth, Hurux in my pussy.
>
Once again, impossibly fast, my body strains towards climax.
“Good.” Cax squeezes my breast and pinches my nipple, teasing the engorged nub, making me whimper as sensation assaults me. I gasp, my sheath tightening on Hurux. He speeds up, driving harder and faster, his cock pounding into me.
My orgasm is long, prolonged. Shockwaves spread through me. I tighten my calves around Hurux’s pistoning hips, drawing him closer. I bob my head around Cax’s cock, taking more and more of his length into my mouth. Tears leak out of my eyes, the pleasure building, higher and faster, closing around me like a suffocating fist, swallowing me whole.
As my pussy ripples around his cock, Hurux grits his teeth and stops thrusting. His face contorts like he’s in pain. Before I can ask what’s wrong, he slides out. He exchanges a glance with Cax, and something unspoken passes between them.
“More, Bryce?” Cax strokes my cheek, his dark eyes on mine.
Both of them. At the same time.
I’m not going to lie; I am a little nervous. They’re both so huge. But so far, they’ve given me nothing but pleasure. I trust them to be gentle. I trust them to take their time, to go slow, to make sure I’m ready.
“Yes,” I whisper.
Hurux lies flat on the bed and lifts me up. I sink onto his cock, slick and wet, and he pulls me against his chest. Cax moves behind me. He reaches for something, and I can’t see what he’s doing. Then something wet and cool touches my bottom.
Oh, right. Lube.
I cling tight to Hurux as the tip of Cax’s finger slip into my ass, spreading a liberal amount of lubricant there.
No one’s ever touched me there. It feels so very naughty. So very strange. I duck my face into Hurux’s shoulder, blushing like crazy. “Do you not want this?” he whispers.
“No. I mean, yes. I mean, I do,” I stammer. Cax’s fingers keep circling my anus, and the sensation is so different. My pussy aches, a deep, heavy ball of arousal building once again in my core. “I definitely want this.”
Hurux’s cock fills my pussy. Cax slowly pushes his finger inside my anus, lubing me, stretching me, preparing me for his cock. I rock forward, trying to loosen my body to accept the strange intrusion.
“Relax, aida,” Hurux whispers. He wraps an arm around me, holding me close. Our foreheads touch, and our breath mingles. Behind me, Cax waits until my muscles unclenched before he pushes another finger inside.
Oh, God. This is so intense.
“Touch yourself,” Hurux orders. “Take your pleasure.”
I swallow hard. I move my hand between our bodies. My pussy is stretched around Hurux’s cock, and my clit is swollen and sensitive from the orgasms I’ve already had. I stroke myself gently. Every sensation is vivid and sharp and jagged.
“Yes,” Hurux breathes. “I can feel you clench around me. Do that again.”
Cax pushes a third finger past the tight ring of muscle. I shudder, and sweat breaks out over my body. It’s not painful. Just strange.
My body is overwhelmed trying to processes all the sensations. Cax pauses, giving me time to get used to his touch. I want this, I remind myself. A little momentary discomfort will be worth the pleasure.
“More,” I exhale. “Please.”
“You are sure?” Hurux plays with my nipple, pinching gently. Just like that, discomfort turns to pleasure. The fullness feels just right.
“Pretty sure,” I gasp. “More.”
Cax works me with three fingers until I’m ready. I keep stroking my clit, tingles running through my body. When I’m completely relaxed, Cax pulls out his fingers and replaces them with his cock. I inhale sharply as he enters my ass, and I clench my fingers into a fist as my muscles stretch to accommodate his thickness.
Cax freezes as I clench, stroking my back to relax me. Hurux kisses my lips. “Do you want us to stop, aida?” he whispers against my mouth.
Oh God, no. The head of Cax’s cock is in me. If this is a marathon, I can see the finish line. I don’t want to stop now. I want to push through.
I force myself to unclench every tight muscle. Cax feels me relax, and he slowly pushes forward until the full length of him is in me.
My mates are big, so big, and there’s only a small sensitive wall between them. Ripples spread through my body, tingling my nerve ends. I can’t tell if it feels good or not. I just...need.
More.
“Please,” I dig my nails into Hurux’s sturdy shoulders. “Please fuck me.”
“With pleasure,” Hurux growls.
They start thrusting, and my eyes fly open. Every part of me is alive and singing. With a growl of my own, I surge forward, tightening every muscle on Cax and Hurux.
Both my mates rumble approval. They coordinate their thrusts now, both pulling out of me, leaving me feeling empty, then thrusting in unison. I’m filled, so filled. A maelstrom of sensation builds in my core. I climax over and over, shockwaves spreading, ebbing out and flowing back, becoming something greater and more powerful. I thrash between my mates, drowning in mind-numbing pleasure. They speed their efforts, reaching their climax one after the other.
After the storm dies, they hold me close, whispering my name.
We fall asleep with our legs and arms entwined. Two Draekons and one human woman, from opposite corners of the galaxy, with enough differences to keep us worlds apart. But we’re truly mated, now. And whatever happens tomorrow, we’ll get through it. Together.
23
Hurux
The urge to transform hits me in the middle of the night. The bonds holding my dragon captive shatter. I have the presence of mind to sprint away from the bedroom and to the open deck. The pain is blinding, yet somehow feels fitting. The dragon is a creature of fire, after all, created for war, yet evolved into something more. Something powerful and beautiful and magnificent.
I jump into the sky, my wings spreading open. I fly under the light of two moons, my heart swelling with joy.
The first time I transformed, I fought it. This time, I don’t. Because this time, when the dragon emerges, it is a sign of something more.
We’ve completed the mating bond, Bryce and Cax, and I. Bryce is our mate. Now and forever, we are bound together. We are one.
The next morning, I tell Bryce and Cax what my father told me.
The two of them are just as shocked as I am. “You’re joking,” Bryce says, her eyes wide and round. “They’re going to exile the Draekons that they themselves infected? Are you freaking kidding me? Hurux, I know these are your friends and everything, but honestly, the High Empire appears to be filled with wankmaggots.”
I don’t know what ‘wankmaggots’ are, but from the context, I can guess that it’s not a flattering description.
Secret labs where the scientists experiment on Draekons. Someone who is reckless enough to deliberately activate the Draekon gene in two thousand people. After everything I’ve learned, I can’t condone the High Empire any longer. “They’re not my friends.”
Bryce squeezes my hand, her expression sympathetic. Cax still has a frown on his face. “Who infected the two thousand people?”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” I reply. “My theory is that it’s the fanatics in the Order of the Crimson Night. They were clearly plotting something. Beirax, the scientist who engineered the humans crashing on this planet was one of them.”
Cax raises an eyebrow. “You know about the scientist?”
I nod. “Fehrat 1 should not have crashed. The first question we asked was why it did. The second: Who was responsible?”
Ru’vi had been in charge of the investigation. The Spymaster should have investigated everyone in contact with Raiht’vi thoroughly before the Fehrat 1 left for Earth. Lenox will hold her responsible for the crash. Caeron help Beirax if the Spymaster ever gets hold of him.
“I’m not worried about the Order of the Crimson Night,” I continue. “They’re already being rounded up. No. Two things have kept me up all night. The first one is Raiht’vi.”
Cax looks grim. “What’s the second issue?”
“Something much more sinister. Dariux and Zunix both tested positive at the same time, and it’s always nagged at me. What are the odds that two of three possible successors to the position of spymaster suddenly test positive?” I take a deep breath. “Infinitely small.”
“You think they were deliberately activated. By Ru’vi.”
“She certainly had the most to gain.”
“Oh, wow.” Bryce sounds shocked. “Are you sure?”
“The odds of testing positive are really low,” Cax replies. “In an exile batch of about twenty people, two of them knew each other. Hurux is right; that’s almost impossible.”
“Not really,” she replies. “I mean, Arax and Vulrux are related, and they both tested positive.”
Everything goes silent. Everything fades to the background.
I stare at Bryce, my jaw dropping open.
She’s absolutely right.
Arax and Vulrux are related. Two people advocating for restrictions on the scientists in the Saaric ending up in the prison planet at the same time.
What are the odds?
Infinitely small.
Cax is looking as stupefied as I feel. “They did this,” he whispers. “One of them. Either Brunox, Ru’vi, or Lenox himself. One of them deliberately sabotaged Arax.”
I exhale shakily. “The Firstborn of the High Empire. The Homeworld will burn if people find out.”
Cax smiles tightly. “If this is true, we have something we desperately need. Last night, I was looking for an edge. I think we’ve found it. We have leverage.”
He’s right. This changes everything.
Bryce bites her lower lip. “Arax, Vulrux, and Zunix are on their way here,” she says. “Are you going to tell them?”