Unity

by Kim Knox

  Alena pulled her thoughts back. “And yet they risked you on Beta-Arietis-4…”

  “They have my DNA in the banks.” The water muffled his voice. “And remember, I wasn’t supposed to be the strength-giver. I was supposed to breed.”

  Alena turned her face to the showerhead and let the water sting her face. She wanted to wash away the unexpected irritation of Vadim being studded out to a succession of Volkov women. She tugged her fingers through her hair. After the ritual, she would be as cold-hearted as her mother, completely uncaring—

  She stopped, her fingers caught at her hair roots. Would she? With the wildness of a Talar absorbed into her body, what would that mean? Her gut cramped. Did the geneticists know what they were doing? The iciness of the empress and the battle-fury of a Talar … she could transform into a monster.

  Alena snapped off the flow of water. She had no choice. Whatever she became, it was better than her whole city falling to the Talar fleet.

  “Here.”

  Vadim pressed a warm towel around her shoulders. The man was shadow and silence. A wry smile lifted her mouth. That would be a good skill to absorb. He rubbed the soft material against her skin, cupping her shoulders, before sliding the towel down her ribs to her waist. Alena closed her eyes at the smooth strokes over her buttocks, her hips, the push of the towel forward to dry her belly, up to massage her breasts. The towel fell away, and his thumbs teased her hardened nipples Liquid heat dropped through her body. “You’re evil,” she murmured.

  Vadim moved closer, his warm, wet body brushing against hers, the press of his erection slipping between her cheeks. “You have no idea.”

  Her head fell back against his shoulder, and she sighed as he nibbled at her shoulder.

  “Is this a change in the ritual?”

  “Maybe.”

  His hands eased down, shaping her waist, her hips, and sliding between their bodies.

  He massaged her buttocks, his fingers edging closer, closer… He traced a wet fingertip over her puckered hole, over and over, until the tip breached it.

  Alena gasped and grabbed at his hips as the sensation burned through her.

  “Relax,” Vadim murmured, his other hand rounding her waist and slipping down to press against her belly. “I need to prepare you.”

  Alena laughed. “Shouldn’t you be leaving this up to Sacha?”

  His finger hooked, and an involuntary moan escaped her. “Call it Talar possessiveness.”

  The finger eased inside her and then out, finding a slow rhythm that had her biting at her lip. Vadim’s breath ran hot and ragged against her neck as a second finger stretched her. Alena’s hips worked with the even push of his fingers, and her clitoris ached for his touch. Heat flashed over her body as the hand on her belly sank lower and he teased her mons.

  Vadim pulled his fingers free and replaced it with the blunt head of his slicked cock.

  “Vadim…” His name was no more than an escape of air at the slow, slow push of him into her body.

  “We need this. Fuck, I need this.”

  He sank deeper, a slow, inexorable slide that ran fire through her veins, dragging with it the desperate urge to push back hard against him. Alena surrendered to her impulse. Vadim groaned, and his balls slapped cool against her arse. He pulled back, and the hot, sweet friction had her gasping. Heat coiled in her belly, tightening as his clever fingers found her clitoris—

  Alena swore, long and foul, and Vadim’s low chuckle blew warm air over her neck.

  “Who knew an empress could swear like a grunt.”

  He pushed forward, and they both groaned. The flickering tendrils of an orgasm twisted through her flesh. Gritting her teeth, Alena pulled herself free. She closed her eyes at the empty ache. “Too close, Vadim.” She ran trembling fingers through her damp hair. Turning to the store of towels, she pulled one free. “Way too close.”

  Vadim let out a heavy sigh, but a soft laugh followed. “The need to have you at any opportunity is … unexpected.”

  Alena dried herself, glancing back to Vadim as he cleaned himself in a short spray of water. Yes, he was still painfully hard. “You’re surprised?” She threw a towel to him and gave him an arch smile. “Did you think it would be a chore?”

  “Maybe…” He took her towel, dropped it, and wrapped her hand in his. “Time to go, Alena.”

  Retrieving his Zahlta, he led the way up the curve of the stairs and across her bedroom. Their feet padded soft against the rugs, and Alena let the need that had twisted through her for too long run free. She ignored the vein of panic that ran with it, the panic of what she would become … after.

  Vadim squeezed her fingers. “You’ll be unique, Alena. Brilliant. Powerful.”

  “So modest, Vadim.”

  “I know.”

  Alena laughed, stopping when they stood outside the open door to the small chamber. Her gaze slid down to his erection. “Time to play.”

  He led the way down into the chamber, the door locking behind them. It was now Sacha’s turn to sit in the low chair. The wash of silvered moonlight etched his beautiful body. Alena couldn’t help her smile, and she sent a thank you down the ages to her insane Dubov ancestors who had orchestrated the ritual.

  “Something keeping you?” her friend asked. A wicked smile cut his mouth, and he glanced downwards at his straining erection. “Has the good flight-captain told you I get to join in?”

  Alena snorted. “You’re incorrigible, Sacha.”

  He held out his hands to her, and she linked her fingers through his. “This will work,” he said. Sincerity shone in his blue eyes. “The heavens will worship you.”

  That had her grinning. She glanced back to the waiting Vadim and found his face dark, brooding. He hated sharing. It was there in his clenched fists. His Talar possessiveness. Alena let her gaze slide down his biteable stomach to his solid erection … and then back up to his burning silver eyes. She wet her lips. “Ready, Flight-Captain?”

  Vadim sucked in a breath, and she could almost taste his angry retort. He calmed, but a wicked glint shone in his eye. “Yes, Majesty.” He straightened. “Do you wish to seal the offer of my strength?”

  “I do.”

  She turned and stood between Sacha’s thighs. “I offer you my knowledge,” he said.

  His hand smoothed down her spine, easing her into his lap. “Alena, you should…” His strained words faded away as the head of his cock slid so easily into her. “You’ve been busy.”

  “Yes…” She pushed down, his hand falling away from steadying his cock. Her hands dug into his muscled thighs, and she closed her eyes. He filled her, his trembling hands sliding over her belly as she shifted her hips in slow, slow circles.

  Vadim’s hand framed her jaw, and her eyes shot open. “Finally,” he said.

  Sacha’s hands gripped her thighs, his breath hot against her shoulder, and he held her open for the flight-captain. Alena licked her lips, watching Vadim’s eyes darken. He took his cock and pressed against her slick wetness, slipping, sliding, teasing so that she clenched hard around Sacha. Her friend groaned, his teeth nipping at her shoulder.

  With his hand tilting her jaw to him, the flight-captain covered her mouth with his own. His tongue tangled with hers, sweet and hot. Alena rocked against her friend, the tight grip of his hands on her thighs intensifying the fire and need warring within her.

  Vadim continued to tease, only the head of his cock pressing into her slickness. She groaned, the tight curl of orgasm building low in her belly. She tilted her hips, demanding him … and only succeeded in making Sacha pant and buck his hips.

  Vadim pulled his mouth away, his forehead resting against hers. “More?”

  Alena growled. “Fuck me, already.”

  “Yes…” Her friend’s voice was no more than a groan. “Please, fuck her now.”

  “Since it’s what you both want…” Dark humour edged his voice, and he pushed, pushed … until Alena had to crush her eyes against the overwhelming fullness
of both of them deep within her body. Vadim stilled. “Alena?”

  She forced her eyes open. His mouth was so close to hers, she just wanted to taste him and fuck him. Nothing else. Her needs were simple. She took his mouth, thrusting her tongue as her hand gripped his buttock, urging him to move.

  Vadim jerked forward, and the collective moan fired through her blood. He pulled back and thrust again, and Alena swore she saw stars bursting behind her eyelids. Within a few strokes, the three of them found the most delicious rhythm that fed the rising rush of desire building in her flesh. The two men’s fingers teased, played with her, and really, really—

  Sacha came in an explosive groan, digging his fingers into her thighs, pushing hard, hard into her arse, and Alena arched her spine, her breath escaping in a soundless cry.

  Her insane body absorbed his seed, and a white heat flared over her skin. And Vadim, Vadim still pulsed inside her as thick and hard as ever.

  She opened her eyes and met the molten fire of his gaze.

  “Now, I offer you my strength,” he said, his voice no more than a rumble.

  His hands slid down her waist, hips, and slipped under her buttocks. With an easy strength that had her heart pounding and her desire for him making her breath short, he stood, lifting her with him. She pulled free of Sacha’s cock in a slow, delicious slide. The loss had her legs wrapping hard around Vadim’s hips, pushing the flight-captain deeper, pressing him hard against her aching clitoris.

  “Sacha, support her.”

  “Just give me a minute…”

  “Now, Sacha.” The rough authority in Vadim’s voice had Alena clenching around him. His fingers dug into her flesh and pulled her tight against him. The slick heat of his body enveloped her, and she jerked as Sacha’s cool hands slid above her waist and rested on her ribs.

  Vadim’s gaze speared her, a wicked smile curving his mouth. Alena held her breath, wanting him, needing him to fuck her, fuck so hard she screamed. Her mouth took his, her hand fisting in his hair, her tongue duelling hot and wet with his. Vadim’s hips bucked, and fire uncurled low in her belly. She pushed down, trusting Sacha to hold her, meeting the flight-captain thrust for thrust.

  Alena tore her mouth away and let her head fall back against her friend’s safe shoulder. Vadim’s power surged through her with each stroke, the strength of his muscles, his will, his mind. She’d wanted this, wanted him for what felt like an eternity.

  The hot twist of orgasm tightening in her belly had her hands digging into his arms. She gripped the growing sensation, willing it to take her, to take this man, to—

  With a final thrust, Vadim came, a harsh growl escaping him.

  White fire unfurled deep in Alena’s flesh and erupted in a sheet of blinding flame that surged up through her body. She screamed, screamed her throat hoarse as her muscles, her skin, her nerves, cascaded in a stream of metamorphosis. Somewhere in the rush of change, she felt herself sinking, Sacha’s arms easing her down and Vadim, still deep inside her, pressing the softest kisses to her shoulder.

  Slowly, so slowly, the scream faded, and Alena choked back a final sob. Her eyes opened and found Vadim’s worried gaze. He blinked.

  “Your eyes,” he murmured, a trembling finger wiping away a wet track of tears.

  “They’re silver.”

  Alena swallowed in a dry throat. She cupped his jaw, enjoying the strength she now shared. “Am I as hard-boned as you?”

  A smile shot over his mouth, brilliant, unexpected, and her heart jumped. She wanted to kiss him, lose herself in his taste. The image of him she’d had, the one of him spread and bound to her bed, surged back, and heat flared. She wanted him. It was her turn to blink. She wanted him… “I need to tie you to my bed and fuck you. Hard.”

  Vadim flushed, but his eyes darkened and his cock, still deep inside her, twitched.

  Sacha laughed. “Still the decadent Rodin empress of which we are so rightly proud.”

  Alena laughed. “What? Did I just say that out loud?”

  The flight-captain pushed her damp hair from her face, an affectionate gesture that had her heart flip-flopping. “How do you feel, Alena?”

  “I feel…” Her gaze dropped to his mouth as she tried to name the new riot of power and emotion coursing though her. Strength charged her limbs, and her mind chased too many thoughts with blinding clarity. A grin grew at the rush of new life in her veins. “I feel,” she said. “No ice, no indifference.” She closed the distance to Vadim’s mouth and nipped at his lower lip, savouring his taste. Her bed and long lengths of silk, his muscles straining as she sank down, down on him—She deepened the kiss, and Vadim groaned.

  “Alena…” Sacha’s amused voice broke into her rush of desire. “We need to cement the bond, end the ritual. You take Vadim again and who knows what you’ll become.”

  Alena pulled back, licking her lips as the flight-captain’s flavour lingered on her tongue. “Spoilsport.”

  Vadim ran his thumb over her mouth, and she gave him a playful bite. Maybe she’d absorbed some of his possessiveness, because the thought burned that he was hers, hers alone, and she’d kill anyone who tried to deny that. “You belong to me.” The words escaped before she could stop them, and she couldn’t look away from Vadim’s face.

  His eyes darkened, and the muscle jumped in his jaw. “I know,” he said. He gripped his cock, his thumb tip running light over her mons, before he drew back in a slow, aching slide. “I always have.”

  An empty pain pulsed within her. She wanted him again, and again … but Sacha was right. Wildness and flux still swirled through her. She needed to stabilise what she had become. Whatever that was. She held out her hand to Vadim, and his warm fingers closed around hers. “I think we should make it formal.” She stepped down from the chair and felt the incredible rush of her new strength. Rodin mixed with Talar in a powerful concoction. However, before she assumed her new role, instinct prompted her words.

  “You’re mine,” she said. The muscle jumped again in his cheek, and his fingers tightened in her grip. His cock twitched, his erection growing again. “Say it.”

  A flush flared over his cheeks, and slowly he dropped to his knees before her. Her stomach hollowed, and heat bloomed in her chest. Vadim’s hand still gripped hers, tight and hot. His breath brushed hot over her mons before his lips placed a tender kiss there.

  “I’m yours.” The words brushed against her skin. Alena’s lids dropped, and she almost swayed. Vadim stood, and his forehead touched hers, his breathing deep, controlled. “Thank you,” he murmured.

  A tear leaked, and Alena swallowed against the sudden lump in her throat.

  “What did you just do?” Sacha’s voice broke into the moment, bringing Alena to her senses.

  She held Vadim’s gaze, not wanting to deny the bond that had formed, but she had to explain what was a Talar ceremony. “We’re … betrothed.”

  Her friend choked and then laughed. “And the Talar cry that we’re depraved. Kissing her there?” Sacha waved at Alena’s nakedness. “Not exactly the conservative Talar we know and love.”

  “It’s usually a private affair,” Alena said, not knowing how she knew, but she did.

  “And really, I should have clothes.”

  “Ah, the depraved Rodin spin on it.” The humour in his voice thickened. “Nice.”

  Alena bit back a smile. “Time to go to bed.” She placed a brief kiss on Vadim’s mouth and willed herself to pull away from him. They needed to talk, but the need for that to be in private pulsed through her. She led the way up the short steps to the now open door and across the main room.

  The shield burned bright across the sky, and no doubt, the build-up of power within the city would protect them. With the setting of the second moon, the ritual would be complete, and full power would surge. Already, the fresh beat of the living technology ran beneath her bare feet.

  The bed awaited them. Sacha dived in and waited, his eyes gleaming as she climbed in after him, settling her back again
st his smooth chest. “Is this the last time I get to play with you?” he said, his hand sliding down over her hips to tickle the crease of her thigh.

  His fingers dipped into her wetness and rubbed against her clitoris. She shifted her hips, grinding back against his semi-hard cock.

  “Sacha…”

  Vadim’s growl had her flesh hot, and she pushed involuntarily against her friend’s cock. The blunt head slid all too easily into her arse, and she moaned. Sacha’s fingers tightened in reflex, finding sweet spots that had her taking him deeper, deeper…

  Vadim’s eyes seared her, his body so close that heat flared. Sacha thrust again, and her spine arched. He bit into her shoulder, his fingers stroking, playing with her clitoris and sliding down to find her. One finger and then another hooked and slipped inside.

  Sparks danced, but Alena wanted more. She wanted Vadim there.

  “We can do this together.” Alena ground back against her friend, fire racing through her veins as Vadim continued to watch another man fucking her arse. Sacha’s rhythm increased, his cock pushing hard and steady. His balls slapped against her cheeks, and the sound had her orgasm coiling low in her belly. “I can have both of you. Vadim…”

  He yanked Sacha’s hand away and pushed his cock hard inside her.

  Alena cried out at the sudden intense fullness of having the two men, the grip of their hands on her breasts, her hips. It was right, and the geneticists were wrong; her instinct screamed it. She still needed what they had to give her. Sacha found his rhythm again, and crushed between their hot, damp bodies, Alena rode the alternating waves of pleasure as Sacha pushed deep and Vadim withdrew, .

  With each thrust of his cock, Vadim’s gaze gripped her, raw need and fury powering him. “I want to hate you for this.” He growled the words against her lips, and her flesh clenched. “But I could fuck you like this forever.”