Shalia's Diary Omnibus

by Tracy St. John

  I eyed my meal with delight. In addition to a generous portion of grilled ronka and the lobster was a baked potato swimming in wedi herb sauce. Divine.

  Oses poured the shel while Betra claimed two more trays from the unit and sat down. “I’ll be impressed if you eat all that,” the Nobek teased me.

  “With the amount of the training I’m doing? My appetite is off the rails these days,” I cracked open a lobster claw. “I’m working calories off faster than I can take them in. The nutrition guy you sent me to keeps having to adjust for it.”

  “I’m noticing a big change. You’ve come far fast,” Betra acknowledged. He watched Oses gingerly take a small bite of lobster. “Can you handle it?”

  The Nobek’s expression had said plainly that he expected to be disgusted by the shellfish. His features smoothed out as he chewed. “Not bad. It’s not nearly as hideous as it appears.”

  I was amused at big, bad Oses feeling grossed out. “I shocked you’re squeamish about anything.”

  “You never found yourself crashed on a swamp planet, with nothing to eat but creatures that looked similar to this. Those tasted like a Tragoom’s unwiped ... well, we are supposed to be having a romantic date, so I won’t finish my description. I survived on those things for a month before my squad found me.”

  I laughed. Betra grinned and asked, “Where were you that you had to gobble nasty bugs?”

  “A moon orbiting Trag. I was part of a squadron sent to routinely bomb the Tragoom home planet. An unmanned defensive drone shot me down.” Oses rolled his eyes at the memory. “Dumb rookie pilot mistake. I was so embarrassed. I almost avoided rescue to hide my shame when it finally showed up.”

  I was surprised. “I thought the Galactic Council of Planets decreed the Tragoom home system a no-fly zone for member worlds. What were you doing attacking them?”

  “This was before they placed the ban. I was very, very young when I flew raids.” He swallowed the last of his lobster. I guess it agreed with him after all, once he got past its appearance.

  The rest of our dinner passed in that manner, with us sharing stories from our younger days, teasing each other, sharing thoughts. We laughed a lot. Betra and I had our sentimental moments. We talked about Anrel, how fast she was growing, and about her future.

  From there, we went to the promenade. A few Kalquorians from a club Betra said was an ancestral warrior appreciation society gave a presentation. They told stories about the great fighters from the empire’s history. Where my Kalquorian language skills failed, Betra and Oses filled in the blanks. The group even performed an old tribal dance from long ago, one the ancestors used to do before battle. It was mostly stomping, yelling, and slapping the hell out of each other in furious, floor-shaking rhythm. The members of the crew who watched appeared to enjoy it a lot, yelling with the performers.

  “You call this a dance?” I whispered to Betra, wincing as palms cracked hard across fierce, set faces.

  “I like what you and the other women do better. It’s feminine compared to this.”

  That must be why Kalquorian men don’t dance the way Plasians and almost every other citizen of the known worlds do. It looks too sissy compared to how they think they should present themselves. Maybe if I promised to slap the fuck out of Betra, he’d step on the dance floor with me. I’ll have to ask.

  When the presentation was done, we wandered around for about an hour. We window shopped, smirked at the happy sounds spilling from the dance club, and grinned even bigger at the cries that came from the pleasure club when its black door opened to admit or expel patrons. Mostly we talked. Nothing profound happened, but it was an amazing night out with my guys.

  We ended up at my quarters again. Betra had bohut delivered. We opened it, with the two men carefully measuring how much ration they had left for the day. The three of us settled on my lounger, me happily sandwiched between those gorgeous muscled bodies.

  Betra smiled at me. “You never asked why we were having a special night out.”

  “I figured it was for my hard work training. I am due for another treat, right?”

  “I should receive the reports tomorrow,” Oses said. “Although I am pleased with your progress and Nobek Idow consistently compliments your blade work, I need to hear from Resan about how you’ve done with him the past two weeks.”

  The Dramok physical trainer’s name made me wrinkle my nose. I pushed thoughts of him aside. “This isn’t my reward night? What is this about then?”

  Betra swirled his drink in his glass, looking moody all of the sudden. “It’s about taking advantage of the days we have. We’re counting down pretty fast now.”

  I sighed to be reminded. “That’s been on my mind a lot too.”

  Oses kept whatever emotions he felt locked up so they didn’t show, but he swallowed his drink in one gulp. He set the glass on the table in front of us and rubbed my leg. “My time with you is cut shorter still. With those enemy ships showing up twice, I have to be on duty more than usual. Betra’s suggestion to make every second meaningful makes sense to me. I want us to enjoy all we can while we are still three.”

  Ugh. We were starting our farewells already. My chest tightened. At the same time, I appreciated that they thought I was worth the effort.

  “You two need to know what you mean to me. You’ve each saved my life and my sanity at some point. I wouldn’t have survived without you.”

  “You don’t give yourself enough credit, pet,” Oses told me. “You have more strength than you know. And you’re stronger each day.”

  “It’s not only that you’ve been my protectors. It’s not even that you’ve been my lovers. You’ve been my friends, the kind of friends who drop whatever they have going on when I need you. Who called me on the dumb stunts that I’ve pulled. That’s why you had better not disappear for good when this ship leaves Kalquor. You’re more than friends or lovers. You’re family to me. Forever.”

  Betra’s eyes went bright with unshed tears as he smiled at me. Oses’s grip on my leg tightened. He leaned over and gave me kiss on the cheek.

  The Nobek’s voice was lower than usual, as if he had trouble dredging it up. “You will not lose us, no matter how far away our travels take us. We cannot remain your lovers once you join a clan. But you will remain a part of us, and if we are needed, we will come to you and Anrel.”

  Betra nodded. “Coming to the end is as difficult as I thought it would be. I still wouldn’t have traded a second, Shalia.” He barked a sudden laugh. “I wish many parts of it weren’t as challenging as they were for you. Those times I would have been glad to skip.”

  I wiped the tears that had escaped and managed to chuckle. “Yeah, the abduction, then the It ... let’s not do those parts again.”

  Betra helped me rub the tears dry. “Don’t cry. You have a wonderful future ahead of you. As for us, Oses and I have each other. Not only that, with you I feel I have loved a lifetime’s worth in these few short months.”

  I didn’t want to waste our precious hours with mourning. I could cry later, when I was on Kalquor and they were headed to Earth. Besides, they wouldn’t cut me off as Clan Dusa had. Even if I couldn’t have Betra and Oses in my daily life, I would still have them. I wasn’t going to lose them forever.

  Pretending that would be enough, I stood and held out my hands to the men who had helped me through so much. “Enough with this sentimental shit. Let’s jump in my bed and make more memories.”

  Betra and Oses were willing to go along with my demand. To cheer me up, Oses slung me over his shoulder and carried me into the sleeping room in the fashion of the wonderful barbarian he is. I laughed for real over the caveman antics.

  He tossed me on the bed hard enough to make me bounce. “Okay, you beast,” I grinned. “I’m impressed with the ‘me man, you woman,’ bit.

  Betra chuckled, having followed us into the room. “You said, enough sentimental shit. Which is good, since it’s not Oses’s strong suit.”

  Oses gave him a l
ook of pretended hurt ... a hilarious look on that face. “Are you saying I can’t be emotional? You wound me.”

  “Yeah, right.” I threw a pillow at him. He batted it back at me, his expression returning to its usual ‘I am Oses and nobody fucks with me’ look that he wears for the most part. Ah, I adore him in his typical no-nonsense personality.

  “Maybe I’m not the tenderest person.” He took on a contemplative attitude.

  Betra snorted and rolled his eyes. “You say the most obvious things.”

  Oses arched a brow at him. “I do believe I’m being challenged. I bet I can be as gentle with Shalia as you.”

  Betra stared at him in surprise. “You? Maybe in your sleep. It’s worth seeing you try. I’ll take that challenge.”

  Oses looked down at me. “What do you think, Shalia? Are you willing to let me show you how sweet a Nobek warrior can be?”

  Oses sweet? That would be an accomplishment. He’s trustworthy, loyal, sexy, and amazing ... but sweet is not a word I could imagine associating with my big, bad friend. Still, I was not about to refuse being the center of these men’s attentions for any reason.

  “Show me what you’ve got,” I agreed.

  “We’ll start by undressing her,” Oses said.

  Betra bent and snagged my foot. He carefully undid the strap that held my high-heeled sandal in place, then lifted the shoe off. He rubbed my freed foot, erasing the tension that wearing fashionable footwear tends to bring on.

  Oses watched him and repeated the action with the other foot. He was as careful as Betra had been, performing the task with a delicacy I would have thought impossible for those big paws. The biggest difference was the rough callouses that Oses had on his fingers, a harshness that tends to thrill me more than take away from his touch.

  “Nice,” I sighed.

  “Now for the dress,” Betra said.

  Both men slid their arms behind my back, lifting me from my prone position where Oses had dropped me before the challenge started. The seam purred open from their careful tugs on either side, and they slid the dress from me. Again, Oses was just as deft as the Imdiko, his handling downright delicate.

  “Impressive,” I complimented him as I was set down in only my underwear. “And a nice change of pace for us.”

  “Do you prefer it?” Oses asked, his brows drawing down. He looked concerned.

  “I enjoy that it’s different from what we usually do,” I answered. “It’s great to try new things. I do love me some strong, demanding Oses. Don’t get used to treating me with kid gloves.”

  I winked at him. His grin swore the matter was settled.

  “Close your eyes,” Betra told me, lounging at my side. “You can judge how gentle he is better if you reduce your senses.”

  Cutting out sight would enhance feeling. I was more than happy to shut my eyelids and wait for the next steps.

  Fingers stroked through my hair, light as a mother’s loving caress. They went on to stroke my cheek. A moment later, Oses’s weight settled on the mat on my left. I received the same treatment on the other side.

  Betra rained light kisses over my face, moth-wing brushes over forehead, nose, cheeks, lips, and chin. Oses took his turn. The Nobek has plumper lips than Betra, the most sensual feature on his rough face. His kisses covered more surface and were more the flutter of a bird’s feather ... but they were quite tender. I sighed happily.

  Betra’s next move was a profound kiss, his tongue sliding over my lips. My mouth parted open instinctively, allowing him to taste deeper. There was the most delicate of demand there, a quiet insistence that I submit to his invasion. He quested with cautious exploration, a slow savoring of the silky interior. It stroked its twin with gentle encouragement, fondling it with persuasive care before retreating.

  Such a simple thing, a kiss. Yet the crotch of my panties was soaked. Betra has always been amazing with his mouth. His kisses had aroused me to the brink of climax before, needing only a slight pressure to my clit to set me off. It was good the challenge was only to prove Oses could be as gentle as Betra. He’d have his work cut out for him if he hoped to match the Imdiko’s gift of orgasmic kissing.

  Oses is talented in his own right, however. He might not light up my senses as strongly as Betra does when it comes to oral play, but he does pretty damn well. My toes curled as he investigated me with as much care as Betra had. The pressure was firmer, and Oses tasted wilder than the Imdiko. He held back. Sensing the force behind his restraint, knowing the furious lust he could unleash at any moment, fed the excitement that had my toes curling. Betra had won that particular round, but Oses got points for maintaining the control he did.

  The tenderness they used incited a storm of sensation. Every loving caress was as profound as our more tumultuous play. As Betra’s hands and mouth trailed down my throat to my breast, my breath came quicker. Each brush pulsed warm, sending trills of pleasure down to my belly. Oses copied him, doubling the sparkly prickly excitement building deep within. My trembling fingers traced over velvet-covered iron shoulders and backs, adding to my lustrous world of feeling.

  Palms, smooth and raspy, slid over my breasts. Fingers plucked oh-so carefully at my nipples, drawing them into taut points. Tongues lapped at them, making them tighter. They suckled, pulling at me.

  Fingers traced down, investigating the emerging line down the middle of my abdomen, tickling the cup of my navel. They outlined the vee where the legs of my panties lay against my inner thighs. I lost track of whose digits belonged to who when they sketched over the cleft of my sex and drew circles around my clit. Their mouths chased after, kissing and licking lower. The sodden fabric of my panties was drawn down, stripped off with slow, meticulous care.

  Strong but tender touches parted my thighs. Fingers returned to trace my wet folds, mapping me with thorough attention. No morsel of intimate flesh was forgotten; my clit, pussy, and anus received fastidious concentration. They played over the trembling sweetness, making me moan as they tugged, probed, teased, stretched, and kneaded. All the while both men remained scrupulous with care. Not a single harsh stroke was offered, nothing rough.

  Yet I was wild with desire. I moaned and writhed. They held me down with the gentlest pressure while they tantalized me with unhurried bliss. Then they started kissing and licking me in turns. I was already throbbing with need. The feeling of their lips and tongues on my pussy inflamed my senses.

  I’ve had great sex with those men. I’ve known mind-blowing ecstasy so intense it’s driven me out of conscious awareness. Yet this exquisite toying that they did, taking turns to painstakingly arouse me with the most delicate of contact, was monumental in its own manner. I experienced all of it with such awareness, it was as if I reached a new realm of understanding, beyond the mortal. It was spiritual, this acute awakening.

  By the time they left off, I shuddered all over. My insides vibrated with the force of the energy that raced up and down my spine. It was almost too much to bear, yet I kept my eyes closed because I refused to break the spell of all that sensation. I recognized Oses when his grip circled my wrists, pinning them over my head. I sensed Betra when he took his place between my legs. I knew them perfectly without seeing them because I could feel them so well. It was as if I could identify every cell of their bodies by that alone.

  Betra pressed into me, his slick shafts easing into my welcoming core. He pumped slow and sure, his fingers stroking my pulsing clit. I clenched around him, igniting. Betra didn’t thrust harshly, he didn’t pound ... but after being prepared with vigilant ardor, I was lost to all control. In a matter of seconds I cried out, my womanhood convulsing in long, leisurely waves.

  “Good girl,” murmured Betra. “That’s it, sweet girl. Come for me.”

  With his deliberate lovemaking, it mattered not that he continued to work me with an unhurried pace. The first swells of rapture ebbed and grew large again. Once more, orgasm crashed over me. My sheaths seized on the swollen lengths within, drawing with demand, making Betra
groan. His liquid heat filled me in delicious pulses.

  He sighed, sounding happy as he slipped out. He settled next to me, kissing me as Oses took his place.

  I was filled again and again with measured strokes. Betra continued to kiss me, stroking my breasts as Oses offered me lingering pleasure. I was acutely aware of the leashed power of the Nobek. His movements were as gentle as Betra’s had been, but there was the sense of restrained strength. He was fully capable of shattering me with his lust if he decided to let it take control. I don’t think I’d ever understood Oses’s power until he brought it to heel.

  It was that knowledge as much as the loving that brought me three more times. At the end I screamed as climax devoured me. That last orgasm was as violent as any I’d ever experienced going full-throttle-crazed-sex-maniac with the guys. If I’d not understood before that a lot of the best sex happened in the head as well as the body, I understood it now. It wrecked me in all the most wonderful ways.