Before the End (Beyond Series Ultimate Glom Edition)

by Kit Rocha

  She struggled not to squirm, but Ace was tugging at Rachel's underwear now. He dragged it down a few teasing inches and paused to bite the newly revealed skin. She whispered again, another plea that trailed off into a breathless moan.

  "See?" Cruz was so tall he had to bend to brush a kiss to Rachel's temple. "She begs when she doesn't mean it."

  She reached for him, but Cruz made a chiding noise and tapped the bedpost above her head. "Hands, sweetheart."

  She leaned more heavily against the bedpost, as if her knees had gone weak, and raised her arms. It lifted her breasts, and light glinted off the metal decorating her nipples. In the bar, distance and shadows had obscured anything beyond the fact that it was there, but now Lili could see the delicate hoops.

  They weren't simply attached. Her nipples were pierced, and the memory of having a needle jabbed through her sensitive earlobe made Lili want to cross her arms over her chest.

  Apparently, her discomfort showed. Cruz slid his hand from Rachel's throat down to cup her breast, his thumb teasing just below the adornment. "Tell her about these."

  She sucked in a sharp breath. "My nipple rings?"

  "Mmm." He nudged the ring lightly, and Lili did squirm this time.

  Rachel clenched her teeth and rubbed the back of her head against the bedpost. "It hurt," she admitted. "I didn't know how much it would. I have so much ink, and I thought it would be the same. But Ace is soft with his needles. This...felt like being bitten. Hard."

  Ace ran his hand up the inside of Rachel's thigh. "But it was worth it, wasn't it? Now it hurts just the way you like."

  Another moan. "Yes. Sometimes they catch on my clothes, and it feels like someone's touching me."

  Lili knew the swimming, dreamy warmth of Jared's thumb stroking away the tight ache in her nipple. She tried to imagine feeling it every time she moved too fast. "How do you not go crazy?" she rasped, forgetting until the words were out that she was meant to be watching, and maybe that meant silence.

  But a slow smile curved Rachel's lips. "Who says I don't?"

  As if to demonstrate, Cruz caught one silver ring and tugged until she shuddered. Lili felt the same reaction building in her, but then her brain skidded to a halt as Jared's fingers brushed her nipple through her shirt.

  There was no darkness to hide her shivers this time. No music to swallow her gasp. She clutched at Jared's arm, as acutely aware of being watched as she had been of being the watcher.

  In the bar, it would have been too much. Even a party might have scraped her nerves raw—so many eyes, so many near-strangers. But this was different. Intimate. She was protected.

  Safe.

  Cruz pulled on the ring again and murmured a soft command. "Ace, get her present."

  Ace rolled to his feet, leaving Cruz to stroke his fingers down Rachel's trembling body. "That's right, sweetheart. He's been shopping again."

  Her only answer was a moan, and Jared leaned close, his mouth next to Lili's ear. "Ace loves to decorate her—tattoos, jewelry. Anything that will get her off."

  Her skin was covered in ink—Lili had seen it before, but she hadn't really looked. In addition to the intricate work on her throat and the O'Kane logo nestled between her collarbones and breasts, she had a breathtaking piece on her side of an angel in a dizzying dive, the wind whipping at her hair and ribbons from her gown flowing behind her with movement Lili could almost touch.

  Digital art was popular in Eden, as well as with the sector families who aspired to Eden's luxury. Huge, expensive frames that showed whatever you wanted on a given day. Flat and uninspiring, because there was no risk in artwork where mistakes could be so easily undone.

  Ace marked people forever. Now she understood why they let him. "The tattoos are beautiful."

  "I know," Ace replied, coming back around the couch with a box in one hand. He stopped to trace his fingertips over the angel on Rachel's ribs. "She's a terribly behaved canvas. Gets so hot and bothered. Ten minutes under the needles and her pussy's so wet it'd be cruel not to fuck her."

  Rachel's sleepy eyes widened, flashed. "You love me for it."

  "One of many reasons." Ace set the box on the bed. "Cruz, get her hair."

  They moved in concert, Cruz gathering Rachel's hair as Ace lifted a web of delicate, bejeweled chains. It was impossible not to remember that last party, the way Lili had stared in horror, struggling to understand why any woman would want to suffer the needs of two men.

  Tonight, she was the center of their world. Every touch, every word, was about her. Even Jared and Lili's presence was the answer to another need—to be seen, to be watched as they fastened one delicate chain around her throat.

  It could have been a necklace, except the focal point was a thin piece of silver twisted into an intricate, looping design that hung low, between her breasts. Lili didn't understand why until Ace lifted one of the dangling chains and hooked it to the ring through her nipple. Jewels dripped from the hook, dancing with every one of Rachel's uneven breaths.

  With a smile so wicked it stole Lili's breath, Ace tugged the chain firmly.

  Rachel jerked with a sound that was half-whimper, half-laugh. "More?"

  Cruz hooked the other chain in place with a soothing noise. "So many ways to give you more. Maybe I'll ask Jared what they'd like to see."

  "Why me?" Jared ran his hand lazily down the length of Lili's arm, then back up again. "She's the one watching every single breath, every touch. Drinking it all in. Learning what she wants to do. Right, love?"

  The words should have shamed her, but there was such naked approval in them. And that was when she realized she'd been wrong—this wasn't just about Rachel's fantasies and Rachel's pleasure.

  It was about hers, too.

  Her pleasure, her curiosity. Her comfort. And it was the answer to the secret fear she'd barely admitted to herself—that Jared could only cater to her ignorance and innocence for so long before it began to feel like work. He, of all people, deserved a lover willing—able—to cater to him.

  Ignoring everyone else, Lili sought Rachel's eyes. They were beautiful, a dreamy blueish hazel, and full of unashamed lust. Rachel was open, unafraid. Brave enough to help Lili understand. "How much pleasure can you take before it's too much?"

  "The one question without an answer," Rachel whispered. "All I can do is show you."

  Lili found Jared's hand and wove their fingers together to hide her nerves. "Please."

  Cruz touched Rachel's chin, tilting her face up to his. "Help me undress."

  She reached for his shirt first, her fingers tangling eagerly in the fabric as she drew it up, up, as far as she could before he had to take over and strip it away. His body was as intimidating as Lili remembered, wide and hard, every line perfectly formed. He had tattoos, too—dragons winding around one arm and down to his wrists, the creatures so vivid they seemed alive when his muscles flexed.

  An appreciative rumble vibrated through Jared's chest. "I'm not sure how either of you manages not to lick him all the goddamn time."

  "It's not easy." Rachel demonstrated with a quick flick of her tongue over his ribs as she sank to the floor at his feet. She worked the laces on his boots, her head bent to her task, her movements slow and reverent.

  Lili tensed. She couldn't stop herself. There were too many echoes, vague memories of evenings spent kneeling at Logan's feet in chilly silence as she unlaced his shoes and counted down the seconds to her escape.

  Breathing faster, she grasped for the nuances. And they were there, so clear when she made herself look. Rachel's flushed skin and the smile only half-hidden by her hair. Cruz's protective stance. The gentleness in the way he reached down to stroke the back of her head, murmuring soft compliments that only made Rachel flush harder.

  The echoes might be the same, but the details made it different. Beautiful.

  When his feet were bare, she closed her hands around his belt. The buckle clicked, and leather hissed against denim as she pulled it open, pulled it free, and
handed it to him.

  "Good girl." Cruz folded the belt slowly. His fingers caressed the leather in a suggestive way that made Lili tighten her grip on Jared, but after a moment he tossed the belt aside. "I don't think we need it tonight. Ace?"

  The other man reacted like it was a command. He sank to his knees behind Rachel and slid a hand down to cup her pussy. She arched against him, sinking her fingers into his hair, and Ace groaned. "Fuck, if she gets much more wound up, she'll come if you breathe on her."

  "Not yet, Rachel." Cruz caught her chin. "You're not done undressing me."

  "I know." She ran both hands up his thighs, over the prominent bulge in his jeans, all the way to the button. She undid it delicately, then tugged at the zipper with the same slow dedication.

  All at once, uncertainty seized Lili. Jared's body was a comforting warmth against hers, silent security and support. Staring as another man's erection was revealed felt wrong—and not just the delicious sort of wrong that made her knees weak.

  She averted her gaze, sneaking a look at Jared's face. He was tense, all right, but with anticipation, not dread.

  He caught her eye and smiled slowly. "Ace talks about Cruz's cock like it's a true wonder of the world," he murmured. "What do you think, Lili?"

  The slightest shift and she felt his cock against her hip, hard and big and tangible proof that he was as aroused as she was. "I think he's probably biased," she replied in a whisper. Like I am.

  "Definitely," Jared agreed, "but that doesn't make him wrong."

  "I'm never wrong." Ace's voice dragged Lili's attention back to the trio, and her whole body clenched at the sight of them. Cruz, naked and unashamed, almost as perfect as Jared but in a different way. He was like a statue of a warrior god, and Ace and Rachel knelt before him in supplication.

  Well, Rachel did. The wicked glint that never left Ace's eyes shone as he reached up to grip the base of Cruz's cock. "It's glorious, all right. The only thing more perfect is watching Rachel try to swallow the whole damn thing."

  "I can't." Rachel met Lili's gaze, her tone one of gleeful, secret confession. "Unless Ace makes me."

  Oh God, that was wrong, too. The good kind, the kind that made her skin prickle and her voice waver. "Do you like it when he does?"

  "More words?" Instead of answering, she leaned in, her eyes still locked with Lili's, and traced her tongue up the length of Cruz's cock, from Ace's hand all the way to the tip.

  Yes, she liked it, and Lili didn't have to wonder why anymore. Cruz's groan was the answer. She could understand the concept with her mind, but her body was the part that reacted viscerally to the sight of Ace twisting a hand in Rachel's hair, pushing her forward.

  Making her take Cruz's cock. But there was no force, just her glee and eagerness as she parted her lips and Cruz rocked deeper. Ace's other arm flexed, his fingers still pressed against her pussy. The blowjob muffled the volume of her moan, but it couldn't dampen the sheer pleasure in the sound.

  "Enough," Cruz grated. Ace immediately urged Rachel's head back, but he didn't stop working his fingers between her thighs until Rachel whimpered and Cruz gave him a stern look. "Ace."

  "Tease." Ace withdrew his hand and gave Rachel over to Cruz, who lifted her from the floor and carried her to the bed. Ace had already shed his shoes. As Lili watched, he stripped his shirt over his head, revealing hints of light brown skin and a riot of color—tattoos covering his arms, his chest, his stomach, and his entire back.

  He paused and smiled. "You two are overdressed, brother."

  "Yes, we are." Jared locked his arm around Lili and rose. He set her on her feet, then turned her and captured her mouth in a blistering kiss. His fingers skimmed over her silk blouse, searching out the buttons with skillful ease.

  Another set of hands caught at the fabric, tugging it off her shoulders, and Lili broke from the kiss, panting for breath and off balance.

  "It's okay, blue-eyes." Ace's voice was as soft as his touch—though he wasn't touching her at all, really. Just her shirt, teasing the silk against her skin as he worked it down her arms. "Everyone here has got you. Tell her, Rae."

  "Yes." She was watching from the bed, propped up on one elbow as Cruz traced the tattoos around her throat with his lips. "Everyone."

  It wasn't just watching now. In her gut, Lili had known it wouldn't be. She'd seen how easily the O'Kanes traded touch, traded affection.

  What she hadn't realized was how intoxicating it could be to be one of them.

  When Ace freed her hands, she lifted them to the top button on Jared's shirt. "Everyone's got me," she echoed, staring up into his eyes. His dark, beautiful, hungry eyes. "And I've got you."

  He smiled down at her and nodded slowly, briefly touching her hand before turning his attention to the front clasp of her bra. "This is lovely. Trix?"

  "Yes." It was hard to keep her fingers from trembling when his were brushing her breasts with every movement. She freed the first button and the second, but fumbled with the third when Ace's touch returned, sinking into her hair and lifting it from the back of her neck.

  "Fucking hell." It was just one fingertip, but the way he dragged it down her spine made her shudder. "All this naked skin. When are you going to let me put something on it?"

  "I told you." Affection and laughter suffused Rachel's voice. "He can't resist a blank canvas."

  Lili found herself smiling, too. "I don't know if I'd like the needles as much as you do."

  "You don't have to." She turned her face toward Cruz, nuzzling his jaw as he trailed kisses up to her ear. "It's not about sex. It's about art."

  Ace nudged one of Lili's heels with his foot. "Anyone who walks around in these things all day can handle a tattoo. Plus, it's usually the big manly men who cry."

  Lili bit her lip and undid the next two buttons, revealing perfect skin and Jared's tattoo. "I can't tell if he's teasing me or not."

  "Ace? Always." Jared cupped the back of her head and drew her closer, so close that her lips almost touched his chest.

  So she closed the distance and tasted him. His skin was warm beneath her lips, but his shirt frustrated her. So she jerked at the fabric and sent buttons flying to ping on the floor, the sound nearly drowned out by Ace's delighted laughter.

  Lili was too busy sliding her hands over Jared to care.

  "This is my favorite shirt." His hand twisted tight in her hair. "Rip it again."

  Only two buttons left. She flexed her fingers and tore the edges apart. Her bra slipped to her elbows, and there was nothing between them as Lili pressed herself to Jared's chest, so hot she was burning up.

  They were moving. Lili was only vaguely aware of it, the sensation lost in the tumult of every other wild thing she was feeling—until her legs hit the edge of the bed.

  The last line. She kicked off her shoes and fumbled for her pants. But Ace's hands covered hers and guided them back to Jared's chest. "Trix will murder me if I let you rip your clothes," he murmured, which was when she realized he intended to help—and that she didn't care.

  She explored instead, sweeping her thumb over Jared's nipple, entranced when he sucked in a sharp breath and released it shakily. "Harder, Lili."

  Fabric caressed her thighs, creating another layer of sensation as Ace drew her pants down her legs. Through the fog of want, she remembered the sharp satisfaction of Jared's mouth and echoed what he'd done to her the first night, leaning in to close her teeth lightly around his nipple.

  He groaned, and the sound was still vibrating through her when a soft, wet tongue touched the small of her back and traced up her spine.

  Not Ace. He was at her hip, guiding her to step free of her pants. Rachel, then, or maybe even Cruz, but it didn't matter. It felt good, and she wanted it.

  Silky hair brushed her shoulder as that long, endless caress reached the base of her neck, and Rachel's hand slipped around her body, down her arm, to Jared's skin. "I've never seen him like this before," she whispered, her lips against the side of Lili's throat
. "He's always so composed, but not right now. He's burning."

  "Good," Lili replied just as softly. Their joined fingers caressed his chest before dropping lower, over the firm muscles of Jared's abdomen, low enough to brush his belt.

  "Take it off," came Cruz's voice from behind her, an order that wasn't just for Rachel this time. She'd ventured into Cruz's domain, the place where he held power as firmly as Dallas held Sector Four. Ace and Rachel belonged to him.

  Tonight, so did Lili and Jared.

  Rachel's lips found the sensitive spot behind her ear, and she shuddered and tilted her head farther, silently begging for more as she slipped Jared's belt free of the buckle.

  It wasn't just Rachel who gave it to her, licking and biting and kissing her neck and shoulder. Jared bent to the other side and did the same, until she wasn't sure which way to tilt her head for more.

  They answered for her when Jared drifted lower, palmed her breast, and sucked her nipple into his mouth.

  She cried out, abandoning his belt to clutch at his head. Her back arched, and she would have fallen without Rachel there, warm and soft and nothing like being pressed against Jared's hard body.

  His teeth scraped her nipple, but only for a brief second before he lifted his head. He searched her face, then the corner of his mouth curved up. "You're curious about pleasure, but not just your own."

  Because her own blurred the world. Even now, thoughts slipped through her fingers, and she knew that later she'd struggle to remember them, to remember anything beyond the urge to wrap her legs around his waist and squirm. "I want to understand."

  He grasped her shoulders and turned her around to face the bed—and Rachel.

  She was beautiful. Gentle curves and flushed skin and all that ink. Lili reached out to trace the chain lying across her collarbone, down to the design nestled between her breasts.

  Power. The O'Kanes valued it, exchanged it. Effortlessly, casually, following rules Lili barely grasped and couldn't have appreciated before she understood she held it, too. But she knew who held the power in this room, so she glanced past Rachel to where Cruz sprawled, watching them.