Dragon Void (Immortal Dragons Book 2) (13 page)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Marcus

Ultiori Compound

Mid-1980s

“T
he angel in cell 201,” they called her, even before Marcus had confessed to the other two Elites that he considered Evie his angel. He often thought back to their first meeting and her sardonic smile at being called an angel. The memory was one of many he’d had with her that made him smile. Knowing what she was didn’t bother him—in fact, it had been a relief once he’d found out she wasn’t human. There was no way a woman as amazing as Evie could possibly be human.

His two fellow Elites had approached him warily at first, but as time passed, he grew to trust them. He’d eventually developed a rapport with them after working together so closely. During a hunt, their emotions shone brightly in his mind—excitement was what they presented on the surface, but underneath he sensed the same familiar self-hatred and dread he carried, along with something primal, like the pathos of a caged animal.

Because those emotions mirrored his own so well, he sensed without asking that the other two Elites were in similar straits. He confirmed his suspicions when Sterlyn refused to switch a shift guarding one of the female dragon captives while she was being transferred the short trip to the lab for tests.

“He isn’t allowed to have contact with that one,” Naaz had explained later, but refused to elaborate.

Marcus wasn’t allowed contact with Evie, either—not after the one concession had been made shortly after his change. When they started referring to her as
his
angel, he knew they were brothers in arms, even if they were still trapped under Sayid’s thumb.

He soon learned not to even
think
about escape, or at least not without shielding his mind with the dark power he soon learned to wield. He learned to do other things, too, such as conjure a cloaking smoke that would render him virtually invisible, and to easily sense the strongest emotions a target was experiencing without them even knowing he was in their mind.

His fellow Elites had to know he used it on them, considering he’d caught them both using their powers on him—testing his defenses every so often as they had during his training. If they caught him, they never gave any indication, but when he tried it with Sayid, the man immediately threw back a blinding bolt of pain that seared through Marcus’s mind and left him with dizzy spells for days.

Simply knowing he had allies was a comfort, even if they were impotent at helping each other overcome their master. The first time Marcus tried sending a hopeful nudge out to them both to open up deeper conversation, all he got was a blank wall of denial from Sterlyn and a pornographic image of Sayid fucking him in the ass from Naaz. Both responses were not-so-subtle hints that even the most benign sort of telepathic contact was a bad idea.

Their actions spoke louder than any words, however, and while the three had to be careful in both shared thought and speech, the ease with which they worked together grew into deeper trust. Marcus often imagined if he had joined the military, he might have wound up on a similar team. Their deeper mental connection reinforced that sense of fraternity.

He also reminded himself that if he had joined the military, there was a very good chance he would be dead already. But at least Evie would have been free.

The only time they ventured a deeper conversation was nearly two decades into Evie’s captivity, when Sayid divulged the secret of his research. The man wanted the Elites to couple with the female captives, which meant he could make love to Evie again. That wasn’t to be the case—his separation from her would still be enforced.

After the meeting and Sayid’s abrupt-as-always departure, the three of them had sat around the table in the shared dining room of their private quarters.

“To hell with it,” Sterlyn had said. “I love Zamirah, and the thought of sharing her twists me in knots, but until now they’ve barely kept her from turning feral with the infrequent visits from human hunters to service her. I would rather one of you were the one to fulfill that need for her than any of those crazy bastards. She accepts them because she has no other choice.”

Marcus envied the man his telepathic link to his lover. Something about the dragon blood running through their veins allowed the intimacy of that mental contact, which he wished he had with Evie. She had her own subtle power to contact him, though not as directly. Every so often he heard her voice like a whisper in his ear, reminding him that she still loved him, and he would whisper back when he heard it, hoping that his own sentiments made their way to her on the wind. Some days, it was the only thing that kept him moving.

“You are like brothers to me, too,” Marcus said. “If it has to be anyone, I’d rather it were one of you. Just as long as it isn’t
him
.”

Both men nodded, understanding his meaning. Their master had a reputation for brutality in the bedroom, but only had a taste for blue dragons, who sadly never survived a night with him. Marcus dreaded the day their master would send them out to hunt for another.

Naaz frowned, his lips twisting in distaste. “I would rip the man’s head off if he went near my sister. Better she’s locked up and prodded by his scientists than touched by him.”

Marcus and Sterlyn shared a glance that acknowledged neither of them could stop Sayid if he decided he wanted one of their lovers, or Naaz’s sister, Neela. The Elite’s twin was the collateral that kept Naaz in line. The pair had been in the Ultiori’s clutches the longest, the Blessed human female transfused with the same blood as her brother, but kept locked up. If she were to die, Naaz would have no reason to continue serving as an Elite, and the immortal dragon blood was the surest way to keep her alive.

The prospect of making love to either female left a bad taste in Marcus’s mouth. He had been their guard for years and knew them both well. They were as much like family as the two men were. And they were helplessly trapped as much as Evie was. As alluring as the prospect should have been, he couldn’t in good conscience go through with this without their explicit agreement.

“They have to tell us it’s okay,” he said. “I’m not going to
rape
your women just because he commands us to. That’s what he’s asking us to do. We can’t let it go down like that.”

Sterlyn stared into his cup and nodded, his jaw clenching. He looked up and met Marcus’s gaze. “Evie means almost as much to me as Zamirah. Whatever has to happen, it won’t be forced, I promise you. If she says no… she says no and we suffer the consequences.”

Naaz grunted and nodded, looking at his friend. That was enough of a consensus for Marcus.

“You two have a good relationship with Evie already, but I need her to say she’s on board.”

“We can do that. When the time comes, we’ll make sure it’s her decision.”

Marcus nodded, strangely self-conscious about the conversation. Clearing his throat, he said, “Whichever of you does the deed, you’d better not leave her hanging when you’re with her. Promise me you’ll make sure she enjoys it.”

Naaz chuckled. In his deeply accented voice, he said, “I was born in a harem. It is against my religion to leave a lover hanging. The bigger danger is that I please her so well she forgets every other lover she’s ever had. But if you share your secrets, I will be sure everything I do reminds her of you.”

Marcus gave him an agonized smile. “I’m not worried about her. She knows what she wants. But Neela and Zamirah… I’m definitely not happy about what has to happen with them.”

Naaz sighed. “My sister is a strong girl and not shy. Let her take the lead. We were the honored pets of a dragon goddess before Nikhil captured us. If you know anything about dragons, you know their pets are never deprived of pleasure for long. She’ll guide you, friend. Just promise me you won’t share any details afterward. I don’t want to know.”

They stood together and Marcus steeled himself for the night ahead. “Tell her I love her, please? Just don’t tell her what I’m doing.”

Both men nodded and they made their way to the door. Sterlyn patted his back as he left the room. “You can’t rape a dragon,” he said. “As long as you’re enjoying it, Zamirah is enjoying it. I trust you.”

Marcus trusted both of them, too, but he hoped Evie didn’t wind up hating him after this.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Evie

Ultiori Compound

Mid-1980s

“S
ayid wants to try something new,” Sterlyn said when he came to her one day, almost twenty years into her captivity. Evie was feeling particularly vulnerable, wishing for word about Marcus, so was comforted by Sterlyn’s presence. He and Naaz saved her sanity and always brought loving messages from Marcus when they came. Today’s message had nothing to do with Marcus.

“I don’t think I know what ‘new’ means. What is it he wants to try?”

Sterlyn’s face flushed and he turned away from her, pressing his hands against the door to her cell as if he wanted to escape. She knew Naaz was on the other side with the key. All he had to do was say the word and his brother in arms would open the door to release him.

“Sayid thinks artificial insemination won’t work. He thinks it needs to be natural.”

It took mere seconds for Evie to grasp the suggestion. “He wants you to fuck me.”

Sterlyn kept his back to her, his hands pressed against her door, but she could see his muscles bunch under his shirt.

“Should I be insulted that you look so disgusted at the prospect?” Evie asked. She wasn’t surprised by this shift of events. Wishing he were Marcus didn’t change a thing, though. Sterlyn and Naaz were her best friends in here.

He turned around again and let his eyes drift over her body, roving slowly as though letting himself recognize her femininity for the first time. She almost laughed. At the moment, she was dressed only in a threadbare white tank top and black sweat pants, her lank hair pulled back into a ponytail. She hadn’t been allowed to cut her hair or shave her legs—nothing aside from simple bathing—since she’d arrived. Her smile faded under his gaze, however. How long had it been since either of them had lost themselves in intimate contact?

“You’re as beautiful as she is, you know,” he said. “She used to give me this look when she wanted me. Her eyes would kind of flash with light, and she would glow a little. It’s a dragon thing, I guess.”

Evie’s breath left her lungs, but she managed to nod.

“Yeah,” she finally said. “Totally a dragon thing.”

“Except
he
won’t let me near enough to her to touch her anymore. Not since he discovered we’d become lovers. I can still contact her telepathically, at least, but even that is risky.”

“Does Marcus know you’ve been sent to do this?”

“Yes. He…” Sterlyn paused and met her gaze directly, his blue eyes studying her with an unexpected heat lingering deep within. She suddenly felt drawn to him on two fronts—attracted as though he had some latent seductive power, and set alight deep in that secret place only Marcus had touched her, and only once on the day when she’d last seen him.

Sterlyn’s voice pitched lower when he resumed speaking. “He told me how you liked to be touched. How to make love to you. What I do with you would be what he asked me to do. To remind you that he hasn’t forgotten. It’s an abomination of what we are, I know this. I don’t want to be the man our master has turned me into. I was built for honor and righteousness. I’m a fucking
knight
. I don’t rape women. But if we don’t go through with this, he
will
punish us all for disobeying him. Still, you can tell me now that you don’t want it and I will leave. The three of us promised each other that it would be your decision, not ours.”

He took a few slow steps toward her and Evie’s pulse quickened.

“What about Zamirah? Does this mean that Naaz or Marcus is with her? It would be Naaz, wouldn’t it? So Marcus must be with Neela. Is that what this is, one big swap to get us all pregnant to progress his twisted experiments? How in the world can you let this happen?” She stared at him, struggling to comprehend how he could even consider suggesting the idea to her, and how he could condone letting anyone else be with the woman he loved.

Sterlyn’s strong features twisted with anguish and he stared at the ceiling. “I’ve been Sayid’s dog for more than a thousand years, Naaz for far longer. Don’t you think if we could have left him, we would have? His power is
immeasurable
. Even if I were to
think
about betraying him now, he would sense it. You may be trapped in here behind that locked door, but I am trapped behind the lock he has on my mind. He only grants us enough slack that we can function, but the second we test our boundaries, the leash snaps tight.”

Behind the tension in his words, Evie heard desperation. She had the strongest sense that he might fall to his knees and beg at any moment. She pressed her lips tighter, but her anger dissipated.

“If any of us say no, then would we all be punished?”

Sterlyn shook his head and grimaced. “There’s no telling what he would do, but if he wants this badly enough he’ll go to every length to make sure we perform to his satisfaction. We may not have the option of
asking
the next time. And you may not have the option of having any control over the situation. If you want me tied to the bed and have your way with me, we can do that.”

Evie smirked. “I have a suspicion you might enjoy that too much.”

He gave her a sheepish smile and a little shrug. With a more serious expression he came toward her. “I care about you, Evie. I know how much you mean to Marcus, too. I would rather you had the opportunity to enjoy it than otherwise.”

Evie frowned. It had been so long since she’d enjoyed anything, the prospect of the kind of intimacy Sterlyn promised was incredibly tempting. And if Marcus was with Sterlyn’s lover now, and they had talked about this beforehand, why shouldn’t she agree? By the Winds, she wanted Marcus here more than anything. To have him hold her, to talk to her in that sweet way he knew she liked. To drive her mad with desire until she begged.

But she didn’t have Marcus. One of the other women had Marcus, and she had Zamirah’s lover, instead. The prospect of another failed pregnancy made her chest tighten. If she said no to Sterlyn, would she keep being subjected to the horrible experiments? Maybe this would be an opportunity to escape the humiliation and subsequent pain of those horrible experiences. Except the idea of actually producing a child who would likely become a prisoner itself turned her stomach. What choice did they have? The idea of being able by some miracle to give Marcus a child had been a fantasy of hers for so long. If this worked, she might have a child and that old craving hit her full-force for the first time in years. Maybe she would be allowed to keep it in the end. Could she risk it just for the sake of having that chance—a chance she may never get again?

She studied Sterlyn who was watching her expectantly. Her stomach did a little somersault. Oh, but she did care deeply for him, even if he wasn’t Marcus.

“I’ll do it,” she said.

Sterlyn let out a sigh, his shoulders relaxing. With a slight smile, moved and stood barely inches from her, his closeness causing goosebumps to rise on her skin in spite of his warmth. “How does Marcus make you feel?” Sterlyn whispered, his lips brushing against her ear.

Evie blinked, then caught on to his game. He’d heard Marcus’s version of their love life, now he needed to hear hers. She didn’t want it any more than he did, but if he could take the ruse as far as this, she could give back. His lover was as trapped as she was so neither of them had a choice. Being the jailor who was himself a captive had to be torture. This had to happen, so they might as well make it good.

Evie focused her thoughts on Marcus, smiling. “He doesn’t think he’s a musician, but he is. I’m his instrument. He makes me sing when he touches me.”

Sterlyn closed his eyes as he shifted even closer to her and brushed his hand up her arm to cup her jaw.

“Can I make you sing tonight, Evie?”

His blue eyes closed, and his mouth pressed against hers while she processed his question.

No. No, this wasn’t right. He was being
too
sweet. Too much like Marcus. She didn’t want an imitation of Marcus. If she couldn’t have him, she wanted something that didn’t even come close to reminding her of him. If this had to happen, she didn’t think she could stomach a fake.

With Sterlyn’s mouth on hers, she could certainly tell the difference. He was already a little harsher in his touch than Marcus, and that harshness spurred her on. She kissed back hard and nipped at his lip, tasting hot copper when her teeth broke skin.

Sterlyn’s head flew back, his eyes wide. He raised a hand to his mouth and pulled his fingers back, blood glistening on the tips.

“What the fuck? I thought you wanted this.”

“Oh, I want it,” Evie said. “But don’t you
dare
try to make love to me tonight. If I need to be fucked, that’s all it’s going to be. I don’t care what Marcus asked you to do. If you care about me even a little bit, leave him out of it.”

Sterlyn grimaced, his blond eyebrows squeezing together in irritation. “You said you couldn’t get pregnant with someone you didn’t love. I hoped simulating that love would help.”

Evie raised her hands to the sides of his face and pulled him down so that his nose was almost brushing against hers and their foreheads rested against each other.

“How could I not love you after tolerating you all these years? You and Naaz both have kept me sane. But neither of you are
him
, and I’d rather keep it that way. If we need to participate in some debauched experiment to satisfy the asshole you call a boss, I’d rather keep my love for Marcus a million miles away from it.”

She raised her lips to capture his and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against him. He plunged his tongue between her lips, passionately consumed as much as she was in their kiss.

The little spark inside her brightened like a candle flame showing her the way through the dark, and the path led her deeper into his arms. It wasn’t her final destination, just the place she needed to be in this isolated emotional wasteland she’d found herself in. He was her waystation, and she would take solace with him for as long as necessary.

Sterlyn pushed her hard against the little ledge of a table she ate her dinner on—nothing more than a steel shelf attached to the wall of her cell. He lifted her up effortlessly and seated her on it, stripping her shirt off, followed by her pants. She wore nothing else—any other garments were superlative in this place.

He fell to his knees and spread her legs wide, sliding his hands up her thighs with the hungriest gaze, laser-focused on her core. Sterlyn certainly had the smoldering look down to a science. Her core throbbed hard under that gaze and she let out a little squeak when he pressed his lips against her heated flesh.

Goddamn, Sterlyn was talented with his mouth. His tongue flicked adroitly at her clit, swirled around it before he pulled it between his lips and sucked. He pressed two fingers into her tight channel and twisted, hooking his fingers just enough to rub in the exact right spot to make her vision go dark. She wanted to lose herself in the pleasure. To be plunged so deep in it she forgot who she was, where she was, and that the man kneeling before her wasn’t really the man she wanted. If she were going to do this, she wanted it to be a binge, because she may not have another chance. Sterlyn alone was not enough.

“I wish there were two of you,” she stuttered. “I need more.”

“What did you say?” he asked, raising his head and resting his hands on her thighs. His blond hair was mussed and sticking out at all angles from where her fingers had tangled in it. His blue eyes were bright with lust.

“I wish there were two of you?” she repeated, blinking down at him, a little irritated that he’d stopped the glorious things he’d been doing with his mouth.

He grinned. “There are,” he said and stood up, wiping off his mouth as he strode swiftly to the door. Halfway there, he hesitated and turned back. “You mean that, right? You want two of us? Naaz is outside the door. If you’d said no to me, he was going to try to convince you himself.”

The admission made Evie’s eyes widen. The suggestion made her body tingle all over with desire. If Naaz had been the one to initially try to talk her into it, she probably wouldn’t have held out as long. “Do you think he’ll do it?”

Sterlyn’s mouth quirked into a sideways smile. “We’re men, Evie. You’re the most beautiful woman we get to have contact with on a daily basis. And like you said, it’s hard not to love someone who you’re that close with for so long. He’s right outside.”

Evie spent a second trying to imagine what Marcus might think of her if she did this, but she knew already. He’d once told her how he often dreamed of watching her with another man. Besides, he’d given them both his blessing already.

“How close is Marcus?” she asked.

Bewildered, Sterlyn said, “In the guard office up top.”

“Can you contact him? I need to hear him say it’s okay before we do this.”

Sterlyn nodded and banged at the door. It opened a crack, and he whispered something to Naaz. The door closed again for a few minutes, then opened and Naaz stepped inside, a handheld radio gripped in his palm.

“Bruce is watching the door,” he said. “Marcus wants to talk to you.” He shoved the radio into Evie’s hand. “Tap the lever here to talk to him,” he said, indicating a little trigger on the side of the radio.

“Baby?” Evie said into the radio, following the instructions and trying like hell to ignore Naaz’s gaze studying her naked body for a second before he turned away and pulled Sterlyn into a corner to talk covertly.

Marcus’s voice crackled through the speaker of the radio. “Oh, God, Evie, I miss you so much. I miss hearing your voice. Are they being good to you?”

“Y-yes. Very good.” She neglected sharing precisely
how
good Sterlyn had just been to her and grimaced at the wetness on her upper thighs. How in the world could she be talking to him so casually while she stood there,
naked
after another man just had his tongue buried in her snatch?

Marcus was silent for a second. “You agreed, I take it?”

“I did. It might take two of them to make up for the fact that I can’t have you, though. But if you aren’t okay with that, then I won’t.”