Sexual Memory [Dark Colony 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Elle Saint James

  If she knew nothing else, Angelica knew that Lord Harcourt couldn’t be trusted and vowed to act accordingly after the filming in the Den of Iniquity tonight.

  Regardless of the amount of sexual satisfaction racing through her system, she’d have to remain alert to any optimal chances for either escape or advantage against the power of Lord Harcourt’s untrustworthy nature.

  Chapter Seventeen

  William followed Parisa—or rather Angelica—down the long dirt-packed hallway toward the new Den of Iniquity arena ready and waiting for them all to be filmed having sex. He wasn’t so prudish as to be unaware that such practices went on, but he’d never himself participated.

  At least he didn’t think he had. Although, to be honest he didn’t know for certain. Perhaps he had a whole orgy of people he fucked on a regular basis wherever it was that he came from, but he didn’t think so. The only thing he was currently jealous of was that Parisa had her memories back and he was still in the dark about his history.

  The idea of sex with her and the lover from her past, Jeremy, didn’t make him upset or filled with dread. Rather, he found the idea rather intriguing. He’d purposely played possum to give Angelica a bit of quiet time to be with her love. He’d been ruminating on the plan he’d concocted to defeat the single warrior in the arena.

  Jeremy had rung his bell with that sword crack to the top of his head. He’d gone down hard as black blotches covered his vision and a cacophony of buzzing sounded in his ears. After the first few seconds he’d truly been somewhere else entirely. When he came to, Parisa—he meant Angelica—had been standing in front of him, defending his prone body. But he heard his contender calling her by another name. He wasn’t stupid. Clarity, even though he’d had a head wound, came easily, and he hoped the other gladiator wouldn’t eliminate him. He certainly could have.

  William had been pretending to be unconscious to gain an advantage, but he knew quickly that he couldn’t kill the other man in the arena. The other man who was screaming a woman’s name, asking desperately if she remembered him. The man from her only memory, her tattooed lover, had come for her after all. Well done, Jeremy.

  Her former lover had forever won William’s heartfelt gratitude and support when he refused to kill him where he’d fallen. So he’d remained out cold for the benefit of ending the battle in the short term. The man had even carried him carefully back to the place where William had been having repeated sex with his woman for months.

  William hadn’t expected the two of them to have sex, but then again, her memories were back and included her forgotten, tattooed man. The lover she knew who had come for her after quite a long time. She never admitted it in all these months, but he knew that singular dream had stayed in her mind. He’d woken more than one time with Parisa stroking the space over his heart as if dreaming he was the lover of her memories.

  William liked Jeremy. He’d acted like a stand-up man since he’d arrived. And it was obvious that he still loved Parisa—shit, he meant, Angelica—passionately. Maybe he should ask if he could continue calling her Parisa. If she allowed it, maybe it would make it seem like she was two different women as she had sex with them both.

  Would that make it easier for her? Would anything?

  Angelica had a plan for what she wanted to have happen tonight. William was ready to oblige. There wasn’t actually anything he wouldn’t do for her.

  The three of them, Jeremy in the lead, moved slowly through the final arch leading to the multicolored silk-draped center of the room. Beneath the pavilion was a large lush-looking bed. Blue silk sheets adorned the large, square surface. It looked so much nicer than the shitty, uncomfortable bed they’d shared up to now.

  They kept moving toward the boudoir-like space. Above them on four sides were people. It was an arena. Smaller than the battle arena, but still an ample crowd was seated. He didn’t know how they’d see through all the silk draped on it, perhaps they only wanted to listen in.

  Once beneath the edge of the canopy he saw the four cameras mounted at each upper corner pointing down to the surface of the bed, ensuring no angle would be left unrecorded.

  The audience wouldn’t miss a thing. In fact, they’d have a better view than he did. Above each wall of people, the large rectangular shapes he’d thought were simply part of the building structure came to life, framing a blue sheet-covered bed. The assembled crowd would be able to see every viewpoint perfectly fine.

  His heart sunk a little at the idea. What if he did have a family out there somewhere? What if they somehow saw this performance? Then again, perhaps they’d already seen him fucking Parisa for months. In that case, one more time with or without Jeremy added in wouldn’t matter in the great scheme of things.

  He’d overheard their discussion about being in the Forbidden Zone. Did this also explain why no one had come looking for him? Was that why no member of his past had found him?

  Or had anyone even bothered to look, since the words Forbidden Zone precluded the idea of any searching?

  Perhaps his only remaining family was the one he’d made with Parisa, or rather Angelica.

  The only other question he wrestled with was, how long their small previous family of two would last once tonight’s show was over?

  * * * *

  Jeremy Cahill had always lived his adult life with rules. His childhood had held so few conventions, that when he was able to make decisions for himself, he did a one hundred and eighty degree turn from the way he’d been raised. It had been a vast relief to do so. He certainly wasn’t sorry about either what he’d done before giving his life over to the military or after.

  There were a few exceptions to the strict guidelines by which he lived. One very large exception walked just behind him right now. Angelica Brice—the only woman he would ever love—was a huge exemption to the way he had expected his life to go.

  They’d met when Jeremy was technically her subordinate. She was equally gifted with the rules bug, and so they were compatible. While he’d fallen for her from practically the first time he’d seen her in action on the command deck, he’d hidden his ardor like a miser hoards gold. Locked away tight and purposefully forgotten because he didn’t expect her to return his feelings or act on them even if she did harbor any warmth.

  And then one day she had returned his feelings, and promptly acted on them, as well. In fact, she’d hunted him down, entered his cabin with prurient intentions, and he’d never been the same since. He’d been much better. They were so good together, he often forgot they hadn’t always been a twosome. Technically, their connection hadn’t even marked a year’s anniversary yet. Almost. However, in some ways it seemed like they’d been together for much longer.

  Seeing Angelica for the first time after their long absence, as she faced down two monstrous beasts with William still chained to her side, Jeremy had almost lost his hard-won cool.

  His fingers had quaked a bit as he set the armament controls to blast the threat, and not reveal his cloaked ship until the last possible moment. Because once the ship was discovered uncloaked, his rule book pretty much flew straight out the closest airlock. In point of fact, it had been tattered and beaten as it trailed behind the ship for the whole time during this clandestine mission to find and retrieve Angelica from the Forbidden Zone.

  Before Drew had quickly suggested taking the shuttle down, he’d been preparing a statement in his head to keep his crew from being detained. They’d only been following orders.

  As he’d climbed into the shuttle, he told Drew that if things went south, to cloak and go. They’d meet at a previously specified rendezvous point just over District Six’s closest border.

  By now, Jeremy figured the Stargazer already waited at the edge of the Forbidden Zone, on the safe side that wouldn’t get them enslaved by the brutality of the District Six border control.

  Even with her following closely behind him into the filming boudoir, Jeremy was still so relieved to see her alive and basically unharmed that he didn
’t care if his bare ass was plastered from here to Parsec Five or streaming video on every digital motion recording screen in the seven districts.

  They would get through this, gain their freedom, and leave. They could spend the rest of their lives together and she could stroke his tattoo whenever she wanted.

  All of his tattoos save one were a veritable history of his military records and service. Embedded in the markings above his heart was a name. His older sister. The one who’d died protecting him when he was three, almost four. She’d been seven.

  Hers was the life he blamed himself for not saving. Regardless of his tender age, he’d always felt he should have done something besides cower behind her. Even at the young age of almost four, Jeremy had inherently understood the harsh life and horrid conditions in which he endured. This likely also aged him to a degree. He’d had keen street smarts by the time he could walk, because his sister had taught him to survive.

  In fact, she’d been the only soul who’d helped him, raised him, cared for him, and saved him repeatedly from their parents’ benign negligence. At least until that last time when she didn’t move fast enough, because she shielded him, and took the brunt of rage from afflicted drug dealers bent on exacting revenge against the two people who didn’t care anyway, but should have.

  Leading the way into the Den of Iniquity—with Angelica trailing behind him so that he could share her with another man—was not as awful as what he’d already experienced as life lessons before the tender age of twelve.

  The rootless, squalid life he’d endured alone with his drug-addled parents had shaped his thinking well before the military life had given him his first sense of peace. Every war-torn shithole had been a walk in the park after suffering through his appalling childhood.

  Unconcerned with the loss of their eldest daughter—even though his parents had been the reason the men had been there that day—his mom and dad hadn’t even buried her. They’d left her behind like so much trash.

  Jeremy had covered her with a large stray piece of newspaper, and kissed her forehead, and quickly followed his parents as they made their escape. His sister had done more to take care of him and prepare him than his parents ever had before and after her death.

  From Jenna he learned about what it meant to be loved. From his only sister, he also learned about the desolation of loss. Her last words to him had been to make sure he carried on. Whatever it took. He’d likely only followed his parents because they were the devils he knew, but also because his sister had directed him to before she took her last breath.

  However, losing his sister, Jenna, propelled a young Jeremy to withstand quite a lot until he’d found the perfect opportunity to leave. He’d remained with his parents until just before he’d turned twelve as more of a habit than because they provided anything useful in the way of his care. In fact, he’d picked up the gauntlet his sister left behind as far as getting shelter, food, and water every day.

  Later, well after he’d left them, he learned that parents were supposed to worry about their children, and their well-being. His mother and father were always pushing forward, doing whatever necessary to achieve and fulfill their addictions. He didn’t even know if they were still alive, and he didn’t care. They’d done little except bring him into the world where he’d had to fight to survive their audacious lack of care. His only solace regarding that time period in his history was when he had taken the opportunity to hunt, track, discover, and rain hellfire down on the two men directly responsible for killing his sister.

  Regarding that incident, he had no regrets then, later on, or now.

  In fact, tonight would be another walk in the park comparatively. The three of them had several quick whispered discussions regarding what they’d do during the performance tonight, and how they’d do things.

  Angelica had very specific ideas about what would take place tonight. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do with or for her to secure their freedom. Especially if it involved making love to her in any way shape or form.

  They entered the large darkened room with the circular rows of seats surrounding the entire space. Above he saw the blank wall screens and figured they’d be lit up with his bare ass soon enough.

  In the audience near Lord Harcourt and his entourage, Jeremy noticed someone familiar seated a row below the lower edge of the platform where his lordship waited.

  The beautiful woman with long blonde hair and striking blue eyes watched the three of them carefully. The man seated next to her was the gladiator with the shaved head and the golden braided beard. Wasn’t his name Vidarr?

  The golden gladiator held the blonde woman’s hand in his, also watching their entrance almost studiously. He caught Jeremy’s eye and a furtive smile slid into place.

  Where did he know this gladiator from? In that moment, Vidarr used his free hand, signaling Jeremy using an old military sign. What the fuck!

  Vidarr’s signal triggered an important splinter of memory which surfaced quickly in Jeremy’s mind. It also ensured that tonight’s performance was about to be very interesting.

  * * * *

  Gray walked alongside Nathan as they traversed the various hallways headed to an impromptu meeting with Trade Governor Brawley. He suspected that the proverbial shit had already struck the fan, spraying him thoroughly until the vile coating was probably at least six inches thick. He was about to discover what it would take to remove it, if that was even possible.

  Although he hadn’t been given a table of contents or an agenda for what today’s meeting would entail, Gray was pretty sure he already knew what the gist would be. Starting with, where the fuck is Jeremy Cahill? Next would be, where the fuck is the Stargazer? Followed quickly by how the fuck could they possibly go missing without Bravura’s fucking radar being able to track them? And finishing up with a whole host of deeper and more probing fucking questions he also didn’t want to answer.

  “Maybe this meeting is not what you think it is,” Nathan said, keeping in perfect step with him as they moved along the hallway at a brisk march.

  “Oh? What else could it possibly be? I’d love to hear what’s sure to be an inventive alternative.”

  “I don’t know. Perhaps he wants to commend you for the fine work you’ve done with the trade runs to the different governors’ planets in the past year.”

  Gray shook his head. “We both know why I’ve been called here. But I appreciate you trying to find the bright side in my shit-covered world.”

  Nathan laughed. “Buck up. It’s only your business, your career, and the whole of your life that will be impacted.”

  “Right. I’ll be lucky if I only spend the next decade in a penal colony.” He turned the next corner and the short hallway opened into the Trade Governor’s reception area.

  Nathan said something unexpected as they crossed the final few steps to the reception desk. “Well, if that happens, don’t worry about Penelope. I’ll step in and keep her spirits up while you’re languishing in the nearest gulag serving out your sentence.” Gray frowned.

  Nathan and his wife, Penelope, had a bit of a history together, due to a rare virus she’d been infected with for a short time, making her require sex as a pain curative, but they’d all remained friends in the aftermath. He’d always been grateful for Nathan’s help and understanding. Was his friend now hinting that he wanted a change?

  Gray would have probed Nathan’s audacious remark further, but the receptionist smiled as they arrived at the edge of her desk. “May I help you two gentleman?” she asked with a genuine smile.

  “Gray Wyckoff and Nathan Tyndall to see Governor Brawley, please.”

  Her smile didn’t fade upon learning who they were, meaning she was an excellent receptionist or she wasn’t privy to the shit storm he faced once she let them inside the governor’s office.

  He heard a voice at the end of the line, but it also didn’t sound loud, angry, or otherwise threatening. Interesting. Perhaps Nathan was right, and this meeting wasn’
t going to be what he expected.

  They were greeted warmly and effusively while the receptionist was in the room, and the moment she closed the door, the trade governor frowned. He leaned forward in his desk chair, planted his forearms on the surface, and asked sternly, “Are you in contact with the renegade ship you sent to the Forbidden Zone, or are they purposefully non-responsive?”

  Gray and Nathan exchanged a glance. He’d thought about lying for a nanosecond and then changed his mind and said, “We aren’t in contact exactly, but have a few pre-arranged signals set up and a rendezvous planned if certain circumstances are met. Although, once they get halfway to the Fulchrome system, any communication signals are iffy at best anyway with the rampant space static.”

  “Yes. I already tried to contact them, but didn’t get a response, or even an acknowledgement that they’d received my message.”

  “What message did you send?” Gray’s optimistic side was trying to break free.

  Governor Brawley pushed out a long breath. “It was a message regarding the same reason I called you in here today. I know you wonder why. Just as I’m hoping we can keep this conversation discreet.” He looked over his shoulder and then glanced at the door the receptionist had exited through. Apparently this was about to be a clandestine meeting.

  Gray relaxed a bit. “Of course, Governor Brawley. What can the Dalton Prime Corporation do for you?”

  “In order to do a favor for another trade governor who’s really more than just a very good friend of mine, I’d like to privately authorize you and one of your ships to go immediately to the Fulchrome system. Additionally, I’d like for you to cloak that ship, cross over into the Forbidden Zone, and look for someone with the possibility of liberating them from their current circumstances, if you find them and the opportunity arises.”