by Vivian Arend
“You’re going to like this. They package a sharysa in a box and drop it where they want an explosion. After being trapped for a while, the sharysa get pissed enough they produce the first change.” Trev stroked Piata’s fur and she purred, her blue eyes whirling with pleasure. “For skinny little things, they appear to be impenetrable. I’ve seen one carrying a live fragment in their teeth, watched the bomb go off, and all they do is shake their head and go on.”
“Shit, you’re saying they’re invincible?”
“No, I’ve seen one hurt in a rockfall, but an explosion—nothing. It’s like they absorb the energy of it. I think that’s how they make the crystals in the first place—they give off huge amounts of mental energy and force it into the cells of the rock.”
Melina suddenly remembered. “Trev, the rebels sent the pod back to the Eagle with a package. Did they send a sharysa?” He nodded. “Shit, I need to contact them, warn them. My grandfather is aboard and even if he’s a—”
Davis placed a hand on her arm. “It’s okay. If there had been any real danger to the Institute vessel Trev would have told us as soon as you arrived.”
“The ship will be fine, Melina, I made sure. The Derrians didn’t send a sharysa in a package. I convinced them setting one free onboard would cause more mischief than a single bomb. Since it’s loose, it should be at least a week before the beastie gets lonely and starts blowing things up. I’ve got a plan to deal with the lone sharysa, and with the Derrians themselves, but I need to chat with Jayne and Conn to make it happen.”
“Timing for implementation?” Davis asked.
Trev paused and his gaze met hers. He broke off eye contact too quickly and her suspicions rose. There was something he didn’t want to say in front of her.
“Two days from now would be the soonest we could attempt part one. Part two will take a couple more.”
Davis nodded. “Then we’re done for now. Dismissed.” He rose from his chair and reached for her hand, his eyes darkening with restrained desire. She felt his need for her, and an answer pulse beat deep in her core. First, she had something she needed to do.
“Wait.” Melina cleared her throat. Having everyone’s attention on her made her skin itch but she forced herself to stay calm. “Thank you for welcoming me aboard, but I need to warn you my presence may bring extra trouble to your lives. I hope you don’t regret taking me in.”
Conn grunted. “We’re fucking pirates, remember? We like trouble.”
———
They were barely out the door when Melina grabbed Trev by the hand and hauled him to a stop. She glared daggers at him.
“You unmitigated ass. I can’t believe you threw a bomb at me,” she whispered as the rest of the crew walked out of earshot. Davis hid his smile and attempted to replace it with a stern expression. Watching Melina glare up at Trev, who had inches and pounds on her, was seriously amusing.
It was also a serious turn-on. The need to pick Melina up and bury himself in her increased with every passing minute. He’d been rock-fucking-hard since he’d greeted them in the docking station. Dinner and the debrief hadn’t done a thing to cool his ardor, and heaven help anyone who got in his way now.
Trev blinked at her. “I did, but I knew Jem would take care—”
She swung at him, but this time the blow didn’t land. Trev caught her fist in his palm and then pinned her against him as she squirmed and swore. “I’m sorry, you’re right. I should have been a little less flamboyant in my presentation. I didn’t mean to frighten you.” He kissed her forehead and she slowly ceased her struggles.
“Ass.”
Trev glanced over Melina’s shoulder at Davis and winked. “I know. Forgive me?”
She rolled her eyes and then kissed him sweetly, her pink tongue slipping out to tease his. Davis growled, wanting to taste her, to taste them both. He stepped closer and joined in. Melina wrapped a hand around his neck, turning to kiss him deep and hard. Where her breast pressed against his arm, her nipple tightened, and she shimmied from side to side, rubbing like a little feline. Then she turned back to Trev, biting and nipping at his jaw, his throat, leaving room for Davis to attach himself to his lover’s lips, drawing the air from Trev’s lungs as they ground together, Trev’s cock hard against his thigh.
Tongues and teeth, heat and desire. The need to strip them bare and consume them completely raged like an inferno until his vision grew dark and he wouldn’t have cared if the entire crew watched. But for Melina’s sake he fought until he had just enough strength to step back, his head spinning from the pulse of blood rushing through him. “Damn it, I’m not taking you in the corridor. Bedroom, now.”
He swung her into his arms and hauled ass down the corridor back to his quarters, Melina licking and sucking with her hot mouth and tongue at the bare skin of his neck. Trev ran ahead and jerked the door open, the sharysa streaking into the room like furry little rockets. Davis dropped Melina on the bed and stretched out beside her. Trev crawled on the opposite side to capture her between them. Trev caught his eye and he nodded. This time was for Melina, for her pleasure and reassurance in the midst of the uncertainly she’d gone through.
Davis reached down to remove her shirt when suddenly two balls of fur leapt on the bed and swarmed them. Melina giggled, attempting to slip her hands around the sharysas’ torsos and pry the clinging beasts away. She shook a finger in Jem’s face. “Stop playing, this is not the time.” Davis chuckled as she continued to scold.
“You and your creatures. Here, I’ll deal with it.” He stood and grasped both sharysa, one in each hand, their bellies soft and warm in his clasp. Raising them to eye level, he gave them a stern glare. “I’m the captain of this vessel and you are my guests. Behave.” He glanced around the room, finally selecting the top of the jukebox as the safest location.
“Here. This is where I want you to stay when we are on the bed. Understand?” Davis pointed at himself and then back at the jukebox. “When we are on the bed, you are here.” He stripped off his shirt as he returned to the bed, eager to resume his plans, which involved naked, full-body contact with both Trev and Melina at the same time.
Trev shook his head in amazement. “What is with that? You hate furry things and yet they always listen to you. Does everything obey your orders?”
Oh yeah, what an opening. “I’m not sure, let’s find out.” Davis crossed his arms and eyed Trev up and down, deliberately stopping his gaze at Trev’s crotch. The fabric covering him shifted as the hard length of Trev’s cock grew more visible. “Clothes off,” Davis barked.
Trev stripped so quickly he became a blur, the jumpsuit flying through the air to land in a puddle on the floor. Naked skin and nothing else remained underneath, and Davis’ mouth watered at seeing Trev’s cock, rising eagerly from his thick thatch of curls. Melina hesitated, a mischievous smile on her face. Davis unbuckled his pants slowly, and she watched his progress from under heavy-lidded eyes. She clasped the bottom of her shirt and skimmed it up until her beautiful breasts appeared and he groaned involuntarily.
First, some important details.
“You still on birth control, sweetheart? Trev and I are clean and clear—unless Trev was busy down on the planet.”
Trev swore softly. “I’m sorry, Melina, I didn’t even think to ask.”
“I’m good.” She glanced sideways at Trev, her cheeks flushing red. “I wasn’t thinking about much either, except how much I wanted you.”
It had been too long. When she crossed her hands over her breasts, he growled with displeasure and Trev glanced at him, warning him to go slow. Holy hell, staying in control would fucking kill him today.
“You’ve got the most beautiful tits, Melina, dark and dusky and sweet. Trev, lick them for me. I want to see her nipples standing tight and hard before I taste them again.”
Melina moaned, her eyes wide as Trev approached her. He propped her against the pillows before lowering his mouth. Davis sat at the foot of the bed to get a clearer view as Trev
snaked out his tongue to touch the tip to Melina’s areola. She shivered, and the bud pulled into a tight peak, moisture glistening on the surface. Trev laved her skin again, one side and then the other, little gasps of pleasure rising from her as she writhed beneath his touch.
Davis clasped his cock in his hand, squeezing the hard length in long strokes to ease his frustration. Watching Melina and Trev together again was beautiful, his best friend sucking on her tits, with two of his fingers slipped deep into her cunt. When Trev lifted his hand, fingers dripping wet with her juices, and painted her lips with the sweet cream, Davis lost it.
Screw this. Handing out orders would be fun another time. Right now he wanted to participate and just do whatever came next. He crawled over top of them and Melina grinned at him with a teasing smile, her torso quivering as Trev resumed pumping his fingers into her body.
“You can’t wait, can you?” She thrust her fingers into his hair.
“Fuck no.” And he attacked.
Chapter Five
Trev hummed with approval as Davis joined them, and suddenly the bed was filled with more skin and tongues and tastes and sensations than he knew how to handle. It was so right, so familiar and yet it had been too long since they came together to drive away the loneliness and satisfy their aching desire for each other.
Davis kissed like a madman, as if he were intent on cleaning every trace of nectar from Melina’s lips. Trev swirled his fingers in her depths again, stroking her sweet spot the way she loved with the pads of his fingers before he pressed them, sticky and wet, against the seam between Davis’ and Melina’s lips. Davis opened and sucked the digits in, and two tongues licked them clean. Trev bent close to add his tongue to the combined communion, the flavor of passion driving him higher and harder as he ground his aching cock against Melina’s hip.
She reached down and grasped him, using her fingertips to smear the liquid sneaking from his body over the head of his glans. Davis adjusted his body and brought his cock into reach, and Melina cooed with delight, wrapping her hands around them both and stroking as best she could at the awkward angle.
It felt heavenly. The heat of Davis’ erection burned against him, the touch of Melina’s hand softer than he needed to be able to come, but a wonderfully perfect connection between the three of them. Davis thrust his hips, the flared head of his cock rubbing hard and fast into Trev, both their lengths escaping her circling grasp at the top of each stroke to nudge the soft skin of her belly.
Trev groaned before detaching Melina’s fingers. “No. I want this to be for you, not us. Let us bring you pleasure, baby. You’ve been away from us for so long.” He rolled his hips away from her clutching hands and dropped back to worship her breasts.
Cupping them together, he sucked both nipples rapidly, one after another, nipping at the flushed tips, suckling hard then circling gently, blowing air over the sensitized peaks. Melina cried out and Trev looked down to see Davis’ face buried between her legs, his tongue thrusting rapidly as his thumb rubbed her clit in continuous circles. Trev joined Davis, lapping the liquid pouring from her body, licking her flavor from Davis’ tongue, kissing his friend and lover, and continuing to give attention to Melina until she cried out, her torso shaking with her climax.
“Can’t wait,” Davis groaned. Trev rolled aside to allow Davis to experience the sweet pleasure of joining with Melina after so long apart. She spread her thighs wide to welcome Davis and his cock nestled against her opening. Davis stared down at her as he rocked his hips, an inch at a time, working his cock into her tight passage, forcing the wide girth of his shaft deeper and deeper as Trev whispered words of encouragement in her ear.
Melina twisted her head to capture his lips and he gave back his love, his yearning, brushing a palm over the erect tips of her nipples. Every slide of Davis’ cock, every inch he claimed in Melina’s body, Trev felt it as if he were the one being filled. Melina gasped into his kiss and Davis grunted with satisfaction. Trev glanced down to see his lover’s shaft buried between the soft, flowering lips of Melina’s core.
“Fill me,” she whispered, reaching for him, and Trev rose on his knees. Melina used to love to take them, loved to share the talents of her tongue, and he eagerly fed his aching cock into scalding heat of her mouth.
At the same time, Davis grabbed him, pulling their mouths together, promising him more, but for now simply connecting the three of them together. For a few moments, tongues tangled, hips thrust and the three were one. Then Melina sucked wickedly hard, cupping his balls and rolling them in her fingers, and Trev broke the kiss to concentrate on lasting more than thirty seconds in her beautiful mouth.
Threading his fingers through her hair, he held her in place and plunged in, his cock ramming the back of her throat. She tilted her head and swallowed a little more of his length, twirling her tongue on each pass, sucking and humming with delight. Her body shifted on the bed as Davis increased the speed and force of his drives until he impaled her completely on each pass. The room grew noisy with their breathing and the wet slaps of bodies connecting time and again. Melina reached and clasped their hands, linking their fingers together and drawing them to her chest as she began to shake with her release.
Davis roared his approval, Trev swore and stilled, on the verge of blacking out as his climax hit, her sweet mouth sucking him so deep the seemingly never-ending jolts of his come poured down her throat. She swallowed greedily, her legs locked around Davis’ hips to keep him close. Trev attempted to withdraw as his cock grew sensitive, but she lapped and suckled, softer now, but refusing to allow either of them to leave her body.
Trev’s heart ached when he realized why. “We’ve got you, baby. We’re not going anywhere. We’ll be here when you wake up.”
Davis jerked slightly then added his reassurances. “We’ll hold you all night, and tomorrow we can talk about us. About how we’re going to care for you from now on.” He glanced at Trev. “We’ll still be here in the morning.”
Melina relaxed slowly, her eyes opening ever so slightly as she gave Trev’s cock a final kiss and then drew back and took a deep breath.
“I love you.” The words were barely out before she fell asleep.
———
Melina’s even breathing reassured Trev she remained sleeping, her head now resting on Davis’ chest, her hair pooled over him. The satisfied expression on both their faces echoed the feeling in his soul. Except for a few sordid details with the potential to blow the whole situation back to hell, everything was right with his world.
“That was about me leaving you guys, wasn’t it?” Davis asked, his voice a low rumble in the quiet of the room.
Trev gave a wry smile. “I think it was about both of us. You left in the middle of the night and, as far as she knows, I disappeared without a trace—she doesn’t have a lot of reason to trust us.”
“I left for your own damn good.”
“Fuck that, man. I’ve never bought your excuse for leaving, and neither will Melina when you finally get around to telling her you stepped aside so we could get married. The arranged marriage between us was all about political wrangling. I never had any intention of being a puppet for my parents or hers. I want her, but I refuse to give you up to please any of the high-and-mighty Davenports.”
Davis nodded slowly. “Yeah, I get it now. And you’re right—leaving wasn’t the best way to deal with the issue. But that’s all changed, I’ve already said I’m not letting either of you go ever again.”
Trev’s emotions were all over the chart. Back onboard the Nottingham, so many details were falling into place to indicate a happily ever after for the three of them. But was Melina also willing to give up her family connections? There was no way the Davenports would approve of her crewing with the Nottingham, or of having Davis included in their lives.
And the actions Trev considered the only option to deal with the threat from Derryn would potentially affect the entire universe. He’d have a price on his head after the dust sett
led.
“Tell me what you think is the end of the world now.”
Trev glanced at Davis, surprised at the command. “How in the hell do you do that?”
His lover grinned back, soothing his fingers through the tresses covering him. “Like I’m going to let you know what your tells are. I like knowing when you’re up to your eyeballs in shit. Spill.”
Trev hesitated and then settled back on the bed, wrapping a leg over Davis and pressing closer to Melina’s naked back. The four months he’d spent alone with Davis after the Nottingham snatched him from the SIC team had been wonderful, but they’d missed Melina at their core. The sex was somehow far more than sex when she was involved.
“I know how to deal with the Derryn issue, but there are consequences.”
“Usually are.”
“These consequences will affect people close to Melina. Shit, affect—it’s going to ruin them.”
Davis paused. “Fuck.”
“Yeah.” Regret ate at him. He’d already messed up her life, what right did he have to screw with her family? “I’ve pondered for the past month and I can’t think of any other solution to the problem. That was before Melina even dropped into the picture, but having her onboard the Nottingham will make the situation even worse. The admiral could potentially claim we’ve kidnapped her.” Trev laughed softly. “Who am I kidding? We already know the bastard will do whatever he can to paint us in the worst possible light. We’re screwed if we do and fucked if we don’t.”
Davis reached over Melina and dragged his fingers through Trev’s hair, comforting him with his touch. “Hey, enough with the doom and gloom. I know you were by yourself for three months, but you’ve got Melina and me now. Let’s talk it though, see if we can come up with a different solution.”
Some of the burden eased. He wasn’t alone anymore. None of them were.
“The easiest way to eliminate the threat of the Derrians is to drop another sharysa wherever they plan an attack. The creatures are drawn to each other, and where there’s one there’s soon a lot more.” Davis continued to stroke his fingers through Trev’s hair and the sensation relaxed him.