by Kim Knox
“It’s simply ceremonial sex, that’s all it is,” she murmured, pulling the throw tight around her shoulders. “It’s a Volkov thing. I’ve just known Sacha forever, that’s why I’m not reacting to him so strongly.”
The words made sense. As sleep tugged her down, Alena wished she believed them.
Chapter Three
“Alena…”
The soft voice pulled her from her sleep. A smile slipped over her mouth. What did Sacha want now? How had he stolen into her bed, her mother—Alena’s eyes shot open onto an unfamiliar, candlelit bedroom. A shadow shifted. “What…?”
“Alena, the first moon has risen.” Golden light flicked shadows over Sacha’s perfect face, a brief smile sparking in his eyes. “It’s time.”
Her fingers loosened their tight grip on the fur throw. She swallowed. Sacha stood naked, waiting for her. Her gaze flitted over the lithe beauty of his gold-cast body. It had been over a year since she’d last had the pleasure of Sacha Ivanovich. They’d found more fun in being friends rather than bed buddies.
“You’re drooling, Alena.”
She smirked. “Just thanking my ancestors for their preoccupation with male beauty. What other senior lecturer in anything other then the Rodin Academy of Sciences would look like you?”
He stared down at his chest, running a hand over his flat abdomen. “So you’re saying all physicists don’t look like this?”
Alena snorted, just as he’d meant her to. “No, Sacha.” She stretched, working the sleep kinks out of her spine. “So Vadim didn’t shoot you?”
“He threatened it, at least twice. I don’t think the flight-captain is too impressed with me.” The smile grew, and Sacha held out his hand. “Tell a lie. Three times. The last after I offered to kiss him.”
A spluttered laugh escaped her. “You didn’t!” Alena took his hand and dropped down from the high bed. Lamps cast light across the floor, picking out the patterns in the hand-spun rugs. Her white slippers gleamed against the dark image of the distant mountains woven into the soft carpet. “Why do that? I don’t think you’re the flightcaptain’s type.”
Sacha squeezed her hand. “And he’s not mine. I just wanted to let him know that we were sticking strictly to the ritual.”
Alena couldn’t help the grin. Her friend was crazy. “By kissing him?”
“Offering to kiss him. There’s a difference.”
“Only to you, Sacha Ivanovich.” She looked up. “So Vadim’s dislike? Does it bother you?”
Sacha shrugged. “No.”
Alena stroked his jaw, a familiar action. His sculpted cheek felt satin-smooth under her fingertips. “You really are insane.”
He lifted her hand from his jaw and brushed his lips over her knuckles. Little sparks of heat flared under her skin. “For you, always.” His eyes gleamed with mischief. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “Over with?”
Sacha laughed and led the way though the open doors and across the main room.
“Time for me to lick and suck and nibble every part of your delectable body. How does that sound? Oh, and in the right sequence, of course.”
Breath hitched in her throat. She’d read the histories, and a part of her soul had always envied the rite of the empress. Alena had never dreamed…
Sacha squeezed her hand. “Nothing else, no other worries,” he said softly. “Tonight is just you and me…”
“And Vadim.”
Sacha glared at her, but still his humour shone in his face. “And him.”
A door stood open to a small chamber. Steps dropped away into the darkness, and Alena followed Sacha down. The door clanged shut behind her. The hiss and click of locking mechanisms fell into place. Yet another door that formed part of the ritual, one that wouldn’t open until the rite was satisfied. The Dubovs had wanted to make absolutely certain that the right genes activated.
A clear dome curved over the low ceiling, spilling moonlight over a small, circular room. Alena swallowed. In the centre of the room stood a low chair, large and looking smooth to the touch. On the narrow seat sat Vadim Caethes.
Alena had to remember that breathing was important.
The light shone down over him, a wash of silver over his dark hair, throwing the strong muscles in his shoulders, arms, chest into stark relief. Vadim’s hands gripped the arm of the chair, his knuckles strained white. His face, heavy with shadow, showed her nothing. A thin line of black hair ran down his taut abdomen, and it drew her, forcing her gaze down. She had to justify her need to stare at him, at his thick erection—
“Not yours yet, Alena.” Sacha’s soft, amused voice brushed her ear. His hand landed light on her shoulder. “Turn around, I need to undress you.”
She obliged, turning to face her friend. She smiled up at him. Sacha had been her first lover, and it felt right that he stood here with her now as her knowledge-giver. Her finger traced over the warmth of his skin, circling a dark nipple. “So eager.”
Sacha smirked as he pushed the soft silk of her gown from her shoulders. It slid down her arms, and as she let her hand drop from his chest, the silk slipped over her breasts, waist, hips, thighs, to puddle at her feet. Alena stepped out of it and her slippers.
Warm air brushed her skin, and she drew in a deep breath. “At least it’s not cold.”
Sacha looked down, and Alena followed his gaze. He ran his palm over his cock, stroking his erection. “Cold air, not conducive for what we have planned.”
“Sacha, this is supposed to be serious.”
“Sex is never serious.” Sacha grinned at her and brushed a lock of hair from her cheek. The affectionate gesture warmed her. “Do you wish to seal the offer of my knowledge?”
Alena let out a slow breath. When he said it, it didn’t sound like an ancient ritual passed down through the centuries. With Sacha, it was an offer between friends. “I do.”
He grinned, took her hand, and turned to the chair.
Vadim’s gaze gripped her, and all ease evaporated. Yerik would have leered, and she could’ve stuck her tongue out at him … but she couldn’t do that with the flight-captain.
His intensity bore through her, and she had to will herself to move closer.
“I offer you the strength of authority.” Vadim held out his hand.
What he thought of this ritual, she had no clue. Nothing in his expression, in his body, showed her his mind. Only his eyes, steady and clear, revealed that he was prepared.
Alena took his hand, his fingers hot around hers. The heat charged her. “I accept,” she said. She turned and positioned herself between his legs. The hair of his thighs brushed up against her smooth skin and spiked heat to her core. Rodin men were smooth, with only the lightest smattering of body hair. Her heartbeat accelerated, waiting for the hot pulse of his hands on her body. Alena wanted to explore his strangeness … but the rules of the ritual were strict. She stood in the small chamber to become the Rodin empress. Her body was a key to be unlocked.
Vadim’s hands slid over her hips, his long fingers pressing into her abdomen. She bit down on a gasp and caught Sacha watching her. A wicked smile curled at the corner of his mouth, licking tension hard in her belly. He enjoyed seeing another man’s hands against her skin. Vadim pulled her down, dropping her with ease and settling her in his lap. Her spine straightened, wanting to deny the sudden surge of heat tearing through her body.
His hand pressed against her hipbone, slipping under her thigh so that he could position himself. Alena took a sharp breath at the press of his cock along her slick flesh.
The ache to have the flight-captain burned fresh and sharp. The hand still on her abdomen teased lower, and she watched his dark fingers explore her pale skin.
“Alena.”
Her gaze darted upwards and found Sacha kneeling close, his hand ready to cup her jaw. His mouth brushed hers in the softest of kisses, fingers threading through her hair.
His tongue demanded entrance, familiarity pul
ling her into the kiss. Her ability to think dissolved in the rise of need and desire. The heat of the unfamiliar body at her back swirled through her senses as Vadim’s hand sank lower, tracing a slow, intricate pattern over her mons before dipping into the heat of her flesh.
Alena moaned, and Sacha swallowed it, deepening the kiss.
She ran her hand over her friend’s smooth skin, tracing down his spine to the curve of his buttock. Squeezing a cheek, she felt his grin. He eased back and tugged at her lip.
“I thought this was meant to be serious?”
Light carved his face, and his beauty held her. “Aren’t you pandering to my every whim?”
Vadim’s mouth, hot and wet against her spine, startled her. “I thought…” He paused, and her skin tingled as the vibration of his voice through her body faded. The flightcaptain’s finger circled her clitoris, and Alena’s forehead fell against Sacha’s. She fought to keep her breathing even as sparks danced behind her eyes. Her fingers trailed over the hairy thigh beneath her, edging to his hip, and she wanted to believe that her touch deepened his voice. “…this was the final stage of Rodin experimentation.”
Sacha chuckled. “Insane experimentation.”
The flight-captain smiled against her shoulder blade, and her chest hitched. His hand ran up her spine in a slow, hot glide, melting though her. “Though it seems to have its …
compensations.” His words burned, and a second finger joined the first in teasing her clitoris.
Anger edged the rush of need. “I am here, you know.”
“Oh, we know where you are. Now relax, and let us do our job.” With a grin, Sacha’s mouth found hers again, his hand cupping her breast, his thumb playing her nipple.
Alena closed her eyes. Sensation burst through her, clever hands, fingers, tongues, teeth, finding blinding points of pleasure on her skin. Heat surrounded her, Vadim’s hot skin slicking her own with sweat. His hand on her hip eased her forward, and his cock pressed against her wet lips in a delicious slide that had her moaning into Sacha’s hungry mouth. The flight-captain’s hand pulled back and gripped her left thigh, the other taking her right thigh. Tightening the grip, his thumbs pressed against her inner thigh.
“Lean back, Alena.”
She melted against his chest. Her head fell sideways, brushing her cheek over his.
Vadim’s strength wound through her, curling, twisting with the liquid fire burning through her veins.
“Almost.” His voice was just a whisper, his mouth barely touching her skin.
“Fuck me.”
His hands flexed around her thighs, cock twitching against her arse. Alena wanted to move, to let him sink—She gasped, her eyes flying open. Sacha. Sacha buried deep, deep inside her with one swift thrust. Her friend’s head fell against her shoulder, his hands braced against the flare of her hips. Turning his face, his lips brushed the pulse in her neck.
Alena crushed her eyes shut, trying to hold onto her sanity, the desire pounding through her body. Her damp body, slick with sweat, ached to be satisfied. The taste of orgasm flickered … and then Sacha pulled back and thrust again. Vadim’s hands held her, forearms tight across her hips, holding her firm for her friend.
Tension coiled tighter, tighter with each deep thrust. She ached to meet those thrusts.
Ached. Heat and need pulsed through her. The mix of hands, bodies, and Vadim’s mouth so close to her own, his breath hot and ragged against her cheek. More than anything, she wanted to taste him, feel his lips, his tongue, lose herself in him.
“Let go, Alena.” Vadim’s raw whisper ran hot over her skin, merging with Sacha’s low moans. “Please, Alena. Please.”
Sacha’s hand tangled in her hair, pulling her away to cover her mouth with his own.
His tongue mirrored his thrusts. She could almost, almost…
With a final shudder, Sacha came.
Alena threw back her head and screamed.
Chapter Four
Orgasm rioted through her in a surge of blinding white light. It burned from her toes to the tips of her fingers, filling her, twisting, moulding, changing her. Alena’s chest ached, unable to breathe through the incredible stream of ecstasy.
Hands supported her shuddering body. Sacha’s? Vadim’s? Both, the difference burned sharp against her skin. Her friend’s smooth, strong hands stroked her hair back from her upturned face. Sweet little kisses covered her closed eyes.
Vadim’s hands had eased back from her thighs to grip her hips, his fingers digging tight. He buried his face in her neck, the brush of his silky hair edging the wild rush flooding her body.
Alena found her first breath and let out a slow, trembling sigh. “Thank you.”
Sacha laughed. “My pleasure, believe me.” She gave a soft chuckle, twisting her hips as Sacha pulled his thickness from her. He placed a final kiss on her mouth. “Your Majesty.”
“Not properly. Not yet.” She brushed over Vadim’s fingers still clutching her hip. He jerked away. “Vadim?”
He lifted his head from her shoulder, but his mouth was still close enough for his breath to stir her damp skin. “Can you please stand?”
“Stand?”
“Alena…” Her friend had stood back, and a look of pity flitted across his face. “We got to play. He didn’t.”
Heat flooded her cheeks. She’d forgotten in the riot of her own release. Vadim couldn’t orgasm, not yet. He had to save himself until the next night and the rising of the second moon. She jumped to her feet, and Vadim let out a slow groan that unexpectedly tightened her flesh again. She winced as her gaze fell on the solid strain of his erection.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured.
He waved a hand as he sat forward. Running fingers through his hair, he focused on the floor of the chamber. “I’ll be fine. Please, a moment of privacy.”
“You can’t…” Sacha began.
The flight-captain’s head snapped up. “I know my duty.” His voice growled. “Thank you.”
She pushed Sacha ahead of her. The door stood open at the top of the steps, casting a soft glow against the smooth floor. They padded upwards and out into the open room beyond.
The hum of organic systems vibrated through the bare soles of her feet. Satisfaction burned hot in her stomach. It had worked. The synthesised flesh running the city beat again. Alena ran a trembling hand through her hair. And if it went well with Vadim the next day, then the flicker of power now lighting her room with an easy white glow would surge. The city would run as its designers intended and protect them from the attacking fleet. Her gut cramped. But Vadim wasn’t a thoroughbred Volkov. Solid Talar genes from his enslaved father would mix within her. The resulting unknown scared her.
Sacha placed heavy hands on her shoulders, and he leaned in close, his lips brushing her ear. “You did it, Alena.”
She let out a slow sigh. “I hope the generals know what they’re doing with…” She waved a hand back to the chamber, where Vadim remained. “The Dubov designed your house”—she patted the warm hand on her shoulder—“with a specific goal. To activate the empress’ genes and power this city.”
“Not my department, Alena … but I know that they consulted with senior officials at the Academy.”
“Like that’s any kind of reassurance.”
Sacha’s soft chuckle eased over her. “Are you calling us vacuous?”
“Well, something has to give. You can’t be that beautiful and have brains too.”
“Fuck me and insult me. Same old Alena.” He pulled back with a laugh. “Well, now that the synthetics are working, it means a fully functioning shower.” He paused. “Care to join me?”
Alena ran a hand through her damp, tangled hair. “I think I need to shower alone, Sacha.”
He glanced back to the open chamber as the soft pad of bare feet echoed over the walls. Vadim stood, framed in the doorway, and scrubbed a hand over his face. The man was still painfully hard. “Think I should invite him?” Sacha murmured.
A
lena bit back a smile. “He’d kill you with his bare hands.”
“Yes, he would, wouldn’t he?” Sacha turned on his heel and headed in the opposite direction from the imperial bedchamber. He disappeared through one of a row of three doors and shut it softly behind him.
Alena found herself suddenly alone with Vadim for the first time. She felt her nakedness and cursed the fact that she had left her gown on the floor of the chamber.
Damn it, she was the empress. She lifted her chin. “Vadim? You should wash, it will ease…” She waved a hand at his erection. “I was going to do that too. Shower, that is.
Alone,” she added quickly. Alena held back a sigh. Could she sound more stupid?
His gaze narrowed, and he searched the soft shadows of the oval room. “Where’s Sacha Ivanovich?”
“Showering.”
“You’re alone?”
Vadim padded towards her. Hairs prickled on the back of Alena’s neck, but she refused to take a step back. And she was having trouble placing her hands. Alena clasped them loosely together and still felt awkward. She hated how the man made her so stupidly nervous. “No. You’re here.” She cursed under her breath. Didn’t that sound like an invitation?
The muscle jumped in his jaw. “I’m a flight-captain in the Imperial Guard, Alena. Your safety is my responsibility.”
“I’m perfectly safe here, thank you, Vadim.”
His mouth thinned, and her fingers curled into a ball, nails digging into her palm.
She wanted to stroke away the harsh lines. And that was completely inappropriate. Alena turned away and found the flight-captain following her. She ignored him, walking into the bedroom. Getting her bearings in the round room, she padded down the steps to the washing facility. And damn it, her spine ached from holding her back like a rod.
She stopped on the bottom step. “You don’t need to follow me into the shower, Flight-Captain.”
“My general impressed upon me to watch you at all times.” His gaze flicked around the domed room with the two showering alcoves. Black tiles gleamed in the small spots of light embedded in the curve of the dome. “You’re the only Dubov alive to power this place.”