EnforcersCraving (8 page)

Tarkan had spent a lot of time thinking about what he’d say
if Chelsea decided to take him up on his offer. However, now that she was here
in his home, her sky-blue eyes wide and nervous, he wasn’t sure how to proceed.
He wanted this too badly to fuck it up and he had a feeling this was the one
and only chance he’d have to bring Chelsea around to his way of thinking.

He guided her to a chair and once she was settled he took a
seat on the sofa opposite her. He didn’t want her to feel crowded and sitting
across from her gave him the opportunity to study her responses.

He figured he’d let her kick things off. “What is it you
want most, Chelsea?”

She sat sword-straight in the chair and clasped her delicate
hands tight in her lap. She looked fragile, despite her best efforts to the
contrary. “What I want most is to go home, but I’ve come to accept that won’t
happen.” She took a steadying breath. “Other than that, I want to find Tansy
and bring her here where she’s safe.”

He already knew that and he’d started putting out feelers to
gain the right information. The Enforcers were warriors, they fought Brightstar
incursions and protected their township from any threat by air, sea or land. They
also kept their skills sharp by guarding council-sanctioned smuggling
operations, and those smuggling contacts provided all kinds of information—including
the sale and current whereabouts of all manner of women.

“I’ve started making enquiries about your friend but I can’t
do a lot until I have a physical description.”

Chelsea nodded. “I can do that. I’ll give you whatever you
need.”

Tarkan sucked in a breath and held it while his heart
hammered against his ribs. “Will you?”

“You mentioned a price.” She chewed her bottom lip and when
she lifted her eyes to his they were shadowed with doubt. “What will it cost me
for your help?”

The tightness in Tarkan’s chest made it hard to breathe,
hard to talk but he managed to get the words out. “The cost is you, Chelsea. I
want you to agree to be our woman, to let us care for you and protect you. I
want the three of us to be family.”

Unfortunately she didn’t have a chance to reply before Ari
peeled himself from the wall he’d been leaning against. In three angry strides
he’d crossed the room, grabbed Tarkan by the back of the tunic and hauled him
to his feet.

“We’ll be back in a moment,” Tarkan said, with more hope
than surety.

He knew Ari wouldn’t appreciate the ambush, so he was
prepared for the anger and the high-handedness. They were both tall and strong,
matched well enough that Tarkan could have broken Ari’s grip had he wanted to,
but he meekly submitted as his best friend dragged him toward the bedrooms,
saving his fight for the conversation that was to come.

They ended up in Ari’s room, identical to his own apart from
color choice, a few knickknacks and the unhealthy state of tidiness.

Ari shoved him into the center of the bedroom. “Are you out
of your fucking mind?”

“No. I told you I had a plan.” He just hadn’t shared what
that plan was.

“You intend to blackmail that girl into having sex with you?”

All right, that accusation hurt. Blackmail made it sound so…coercive,
and it was so much more than that as far as Tarkan was concerned. “It’s not
blackmail, it’s an exchange. She needs help finding and retrieving her friend,
I need help to have a woman of my own. You and I both know we are never going
to get to the top of the Council’s list.”

“Even if she was mad enough to agree to your terms, you won’t
be able to keep her.” Ari looked at him with a mix of frustration and sympathy.
“We both know they won’t let you.”

That was true. Tarkan didn’t have enough pull to hold her on
his own, which led him to the tricky part of his plan. He had to find a way to
convince Ari to stand with him, otherwise Chelsea would be swept back into the
protection of the Council and they would never see her again. “No, they won’t
let me keep her, not on my own. But if she was ours, yours and mine, they
wouldn’t be able to take her without a fight.”

Ari stilled, and for a brief moment his eyes shone with
possibilities. “You would share her?”

“With you, yes.” Tarkan took a step forward, closing the
distance between them and forcing Ari to hold his gaze. “I’d rather have her
and share her than wait on a list that is designed never to have my name at the
top.” He placed his hand on the arms Ari had crossed over his chest. “The
Council argues that our job is dangerous, that allowing a woman to mate with an
Enforcer is a waste, considering the risks we take in the air. But if there
were two of us, we’d have a built-in redundancy and Chelsea would have double
the protection.”

Ari’s body softened, his face relaxed and Tarkan knew he was
almost there.

“And our combined standing in the den is better than mine
alone.” Tarkan tried not to sound desperate, but he was so close to success he
could almost see Chelsea in his bed. “I’ve got lots of friends, people like me
well enough but I don’t have any authority. As Wing Captain you are second only
to Jax and if the other three captains stand with you we will have the entire den
behind us.”

“You want to start a revolution?” Ari’s lips compressed into
a disapproving line and those arms folded tight once again. Fuck.

“No. No revolution, just other possibilities.”

It was turning out to be harder than he thought to get Ari
on his side and Tarkan did his best to mask his frustration. He also fought the
urge to take his den-mate by the shoulders and shake some sense into him. But
temper and passion wouldn’t convince Ari. What Tarkan needed was logic and
calm. Two things he was never very good at.

“Mating one female with two males was common when our
ancestors first moved to Ivasta and there’s no reason we can’t resurrect that
tradition.” There, that sounded rational enough.

“Females were only shared because there were so few of them,”
Ari replied. “That practice fell out of favor pretty quickly.”

“Because there were plenty of women to go around. That’s not
the case anymore and we have to find a way to adapt if we don’t want to spend
the rest of our lives alone and visiting the bower houses for relief.” Tarkan
took a deep breath and kept his voice even and steady. “I’m not sowing the
seeds of rebellion. I’m just a man who wants to share his life with a woman of
his own, our own. I want those rescued women to know that they have options
outside the Council chambers.”

“Options?”

“Yes.” Tarkan locked eyes with Ari but when his den-mate
smirked and lifted a challenging eyebrow, Tarkan knew his plan had somehow been
derailed. His stomach bottomed out and he was almost too afraid to ask. “What?”

“If you want to give these women more options, then we
should start with the one sitting in our living room.”

No. No, no, no, no. Ari was out the door and Tarkan
scrambled after him like a panicked dragonet. He had to head this off. He had
to convince Ari the plan had the best chance of success if they stuck together.
He had to—

Too late.

Ari settled himself in the sofa across from Chelsea and
proceeded to annihilate Tarkan’s brilliant strategy.

“I’m wading in on the negotiations,” Ari said. Of course he
was, the fucking control freak. “Tarkan and I will help you find Tansy
regardless of what you decide today, you have my word. If you choose to give
yourself to one or both of us, we will offer you a standard mating contract so
you have legal protection as well as the physical protection Tarkan and I will provided.”
Ari leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “I won’t lie to you, if
you choose to contract with us we’ll have to fight to stay together. The
Council will want to keep you for themselves and they’ll throw everything they
have at us.”

Chelsea stared at Ari as if she expected him to sprout
wings. “You’ll help me, no matter what?”

“Yes.”

She turned to Tarkan who was standing in the middle of the
room, watching his future slip away.

“Does that offer go for you as well?”

“Yes.” Not that he wanted it to but Ari had made it
impossible for him to keep his leverage.

Chelsea turned back to Ari, traitor that he was. “If I say
no to a contract with Tarkan, if I go back to the dorm, what is the likely
outcome for me?”

“You’ll be bound to a Councilor or Holder, either in a short-
or long-term mating contract.”

She screwed up her face in disgruntlement. “Marry you or
marry them, is that it?”

Tarkan realized he wasn’t going to make any inroads
loitering on the periphery, so he moved further into the room, positioning
himself to stand beside Ari. “Chelsea you aren’t equipped to survive in our
world. You don’t know enough about our rules and traditions, you don’t have a
family to help and support you and you have no way to support yourself.”

Her chin jutted out in what he suspected was ingrained
stubbornness. “I can work. I’m perfectly capable of getting a job.”

This time it was Ari who shot her down. “Your capability is
not in question, it’s our laws that are the issue. Women can work if they wish
but only if a husband grants permission. She can own property if she has the
means but only if her husband is willing to sign a release.”

“So I’m trapped.” Her eyes were a little wild and Tarkan
suspected tears were not far off.

He tried to keep his tone sympathetic. “Your choices are
limited, that’s true but there’s no point putting your head under the pillow
and wishing it would all go away. You will have to make a contract at some
point, we’re simply asking that you make it with us.”

She dropped her head into her hands. “I need to think.”

No, she really didn’t. If she had time to think she might
decide that a life of wealth, privilege and leisure was a better option than a
life being shared between two Enforcers. Tarkan had her here in his den, on his
ground and he wasn’t giving up that advantage in a hurry.

“I’m sorry, love, we can’t give you any time. If we don’t
come to a mutual arrangement now, the Council will separate us and we won’t see
you again.”

She scrunched her eyes shut. “And my chance of rescuing
Tansy will be gone.”

“Yes.”

“It’s just…” She opened her eyes and pierced them both with
her obvious misery. “This feels like a form of prostitution, like I’m selling
myself to the bidder with the best offer. I don’t know either of you. How can I
make a decision about something as fundamental as marriage?”

That circular argument wouldn’t get them anywhere and Tarkan’s
patience was wearing too thin to accommodate Chelsea’s anxiety, however
understandable it might be. Words and negotiation weren’t getting him where he
needed to be, so Tarkan decided on a more direct approach. Easing forward, he
stepped smoothly around the foot table and lowered himself to his knees at
Chelsea’s feet.

“I know you’re scared and I’m sure you feel overwhelmed and
out of control. I’m sorry for that.” He shuffled a little closer and laid his
hands on her thighs. “And regardless of what your head is telling you, I think
your biggest problem is that you’re not sure you should trust us.”

She nodded, but didn’t speak. He took that as a sign to
continue.

Sliding his palms down the sides of her legs, he pushed up
under the hem of her skirt, wrapping his hands around her booted ankles. “What
you haven’t realized yet is that you already trust us, maybe not in your head,
but certainly in your heart.” He eased his palms up, the calluses on his hands
lightly abrading the fine silk of her stockings. He stopped when he slid his
fingers around the backs of her knees, his grip firm and warm. “You trusted us
to take care of you on the shuttle, you listened to what we told you about our
world and you know now that we told you the truth.”

Pressing closer, Tarkan leaned his hips into her legs as his
hands slid higher along the outside of her legs, over her garters to the soft,
silky heat of her bare upper thighs. She felt like perfection, and every atom
in his body tightened in need. His cock surged, hard and fast and it took a
sweat-inducing amount of control to keep his touch light and his voice
soothing.

“You trusted that I could make good on my offer to help you.
You trusted that I’d be at the lake, right where I said I’d be if you needed
me. You trusted us to take care of you and keep you safe on your first dragon
ride.”

He was trying to keep his focus on her face, taking in every
detail. Her short breaths, her parted lips and her wide, fascinated stare would
have convinced him he was on the right track—but it was the scent of her
arousal that urged him further than he’d planned to go. He leaned in closer, so
they were barely a breath apart and as he did he smoothed his palms up to cup
her naked hips.

“And now here you are, alone with us in our Den, and you’re
trusting us to keep to our honor. Nobody knows you’re here, we could do
anything to you, but you know we won’t. Not without your permission, not
without your full and active participation.”

Sliding his thumbs up and down, he began working his way
across her lower abdomen. “You know we want you, you know we’ll take care of
you, you know you can trust us.”

Lowering his head, he closed the distance between his lips
and hers. He brushed against her once, twice, then sipped at her lower lip,
teasing the soft flesh and resisting the urge to bite.

“Yes or no, love? Will you accept Ari and me as your own, or
do we take you back to the dorm?”

Chelsea had spent the entire week thinking things through
and looking at her current situation for what it was, not what she wished it to
be. She had also spent a lot of time thinking about Tansy, about what she was
enduring every day that Chelsea kept herself safe with what amounted to an act
of cowardice. Ari and Tarkan weren’t monsters and so far they’d treated her
with more respect and consideration than she’d received from anyone else on
Gemarra.

Both of the Enforcers were insanely sexy but it was the kind
of dangerous, demanding sexy that was good in her imagination but scary in real
life. Chelsea had pretty much decided to accede to Tarkan’s demands even before
she sought him out but the idea of taking on both of them was more than she’d
bargained for. It seemed a bit slutty, truth be told. Slutty, scary and more
than a little intriguing. A part of her was tempted, despite her moral
misgivings but she would have managed to resist if Tarkan hadn’t touched her. Unfortunately
for her, the moment he knelt at her feet and slid his big, warm hands under her
skirt all her cognitive abilities dissolved under the heat of his touch.

Then he started talking, his deep voice dropping to a
bedroom octave that stroked every nerve she owned. Her skin prickled, becoming
too tight for her body, and her breasts swelled and pushed against her corset
in an unbearable ache. And he kept talking, his words brushing against her like
velvet as his hands moved higher. Over her thighs, against her hips, then over
her corseted her belly. She started to pant as he moved closer, his lips almost
near enough to kiss, her whole body yearning for him and whatever it was he
could offer. His fingertips moved lower, barely brushing her mound, and that
whisper touch sent a jolt of lust firing through her body.

She tried to open her legs, to silently invite him where she
wanted him to go but he had her pinned tight against his hips. She strained
forward, desperate for something, anything, until he finally touched his mouth
to hers. Once, twice, taking little nibbles when what she really wanted was for
him to feast.

“Yes or no, love.” He whispered the words onto her lips. “Will
you accept Ari and me as your own, or do we take you back to the dorm?”

Back to the dorm? Was he completely out of his mind? Or
maybe she was, because in that moment the only idea that had any merit was
getting naked with one or both of them. And staying naked, for hours.

Her pussy ached, her nipples hurt and the need building
inside her was too urgent to ignore. All she could think about was bare-skinned,
sweaty Enforcers and how many orgasms they could give her. If her brain had
been functioning she might have given a different answer but it wasn’t and she
would have promised them the moon if they could get her off.

“You. I choose you and Ari.” She tried to squirm closer but
Tarkan gripped her hips to hold her still. As she took a breath to beg her
lungs filled with the pure, sweet scent that she’d first encountered on the shuttle
and then again when she’d met the dragons. As if she weren’t lightheaded enough
already.

Ari loomed over Tarkan’s shoulder and his frown had no place
in her pleasure buzz. “Are you sure Chelsea? There can be no going back once we
take you to bed.”

Good, she didn’t want to go back. Hadn’t that already been
established? She managed to focus enough to look into Ari’s purple eyes and
then asked a question that had never before passed her lips. “Can you make me
come?”

He lifted an eyebrow and gave her a half smile. “Yes, I
think I can manage to give you an orgasm or two.”

She pushed at Tarkan, which turned out to be totally
ineffective. “Then why aren’t we naked?”

Tarkan shifted position. Pulling his hands from under her
skirt, he gathered her into his arms and lifted her against his chest as he
rolled to his feet. He stalked across the room and Chelsea didn’t have to look
to see if Ari was following them, she could feel him practically breathing down
her neck.

The bedroom Tarkan carried her to was paneled and floored in
the same cool gray as the rest of their home but it was warmed with furnishings
of ochre red and moss green. The large bed was not quite made and there were a
few clothes on the floor but she didn’t have the time or the inclination to
give the room a closer look. When Tarkan lowered her to her feet and stepped
back, she didn’t have eyes for anything but the two men in front of her.

Tarkan was the one who’d been pushing for this and his eyes
were roving over her like a touch but it was the look on Ari’s face that
squeezed all the air out of her lungs. His expression was hard, impassive and
she would have faltered then if she hadn’t been able to see his eyes. The
amethyst color had darkened to almost black and the storm of need and desire
seemed totally at odds with his controlled body language.

Then his fists clenched. “Strip. I want to see you naked.”

She rocked a little under the spike of lust that command
sent through her body and she squeezed her thighs together to try to stop the
ache. “I need help. I can’t dress or undress by myself.”

Tarkan stepped forward. “You don’t have to, love. It would
be my pleasure to relieve you of your layers.”

Chelsea had a feeling he wasn’t just talking about her
clothes and his comment sent shivers of anxiety down her spine. Along with a
completely foreign sense of anticipation.

Here she stood on an alien planet, ready to share her body
with two men who were little more than strangers and she wasn’t feeling
anywhere near as scared as she should be. What she felt was aroused, needy and
so ready to beg she should have been embarrassed.

Then Tarkan moved behind her, his big body throwing off heat
like a fire, his large hands skimming her shoulders and down her back. “You
feel so soft. So delicate.”

Chelsea resisted the impulse to snort in derision. She was
of average height but she was curvy and she had never in her entire life been
described as delicate. But she supposed to the oversized Enforcers she must
seem small and frail.

Tarkan lowered his head, trailing his warm, firm lips along
the side of her neck and Chelsea’s bones melted right out of her body. He kept
his mouth on her, licking and sucking as he unlaced the back of her gown. Reaching
around her to undo her sleeves, he pressed his body against her back so she
could feel every hard centimeter of him, including the rock-hard erection that
pressed against her ass.

Once all of her buttons were undone, Tarkan stepped back and
pulled the gown up and over her head. He made short work of the ties of her petticoat
and as soon as that was discarded he relieved her of her garters, stockings and
boots.

Standing there in nothing but a corset and chemise, she wasn’t
sure where to look, or where she should put her hands. She was fighting the
urge to cover herself—because really, what was the point?—when Ari lifted his
eyes from her body and trapped her gaze with his.

He took one step toward her and she started to pant, her
ribs pressing helplessly against her underwear. Then he took another step and
another, never once releasing her eyes.

Tarkan pressed up tight against her back, his arms firmly
around her waist and she grabbed him for something stable to hold on to. She
allowed his heat and strength to anchor her because when Ari got close enough
to touch she knew she was going to beg.

“Undo her chemise.” Ari had his eyes on her, but the command
was for Tarkan.

Chelsea felt the pull of the ribbon around her neck and then
Tarkan tugged at the fabric until her breasts were mostly bared.

Ari finally lowered his gaze. “You really are a pretty girl.”

Closing that last bit of distance he lifted his hand and
trailed calloused fingertips over the fine, pale skin of her chest, working his
way down in slow, sideways sweeps from her collarbone to the mounds that were
barely contained by the satin cups of the corset.

“So soft.” He bent his head and licked along the line where
his hand had just traced, sucking lightly as Tarkan shifted his hands to cup
her. Ari lifted his head, Tarkan squeezed and Chelsea moaned, not even caring that
she wasn’t holding herself upright anymore.

“Take her mouth, Ari,” Tarkan said. “Keep her busy while I
finish up.”

Ari put his hand on the side of her face and she leaned into
him, needing the connection of his touch. Then he slid his hand into the coiled
hair at the back of her head, pulling her forward at the exact moment Tarkan
started unlacing her.

Ari didn’t bother easing her into the kiss. He fitted his
mouth over hers and pushed at her with his tongue, demanding and gaining entry
before Chelsea’s brain caught up. She sagged into him, allowing him to plunder
as he would, surrendering to the demands of his lips and tongue. Wrapping his
arms around her waist he pulled her tight against him, forcing her head back as
he devoured her mouth, sweeping and stroking her with his tongue, thrusting
into her in a foreshadowing of what was to come. She didn’t care. She didn’t
care that he just took, she didn’t care that he was demanding, she didn’t care
about anything but the heat of his body and the way he made her feel.

Her chemise disappeared and this time when Tarkan pressed
against her back she felt hot, smooth, naked skin. Pulling away from Ari she
turned, not hesitating as she ran her hands over the broad expanse of Tarkan’s
chest and abs. He still had his trousers on but there was so much to explore
above his waistline she didn’t much care. Then it was his turn to kiss her, his
fuller lips softer than Ari’s but no less masculine. Tarkan didn’t demand, he
seduced. He teased and cajoled, he nipped her lips and licked into her mouth,
never giving her quite enough.

Chelsea wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer,
grinding her body against his in an effort to push him. She didn’t want to feel
like the only one out of control but Tarkan wouldn’t didn’t oblige her. Instead
he kissed his way down to her neck, took a firm grasp on her hips and levered
her away until there was too much air between them.

Chelsea moaned. “No, no don’t.” And the now familiar heat of
a naked body at her back returned to warm her. Her protest died when Ari slid
his hands around her, one to cup her breast, the other gliding down to slip
between her pussy lips.

She’d never been this turned on, this hot and achy, and she
could only imagine how wet and slick she’d feel under Ari’s strong fingers. His
legs bracketed hers and she rubbed her ass against his erection as he used two
fingertips to circle her clit.

Tarkan stepped back, leaving her wholly in Ari’s arms, his
cognac eyes hot and hungry. “Make her come, Ari. I want to watch her shatter.”

Ari bit her shoulder before lifting his head. “Put your
fingers inside her, then you can watch.”

Chelsea was parting her legs before Tarkan took a step and
when he slid one long finger into her she arched against Ari’s hold, flexing
her hips, trying to grind herself down on Tarkan without losing the intense
swirl of Ari’s fingers.

Her whole body was on fire, every nerve and muscle wound so
tight she couldn’t breathe or think or do anything but feel. Ari circled her
clit faster and faster as Tarkan inserted a second finger, stretching her tight
as he fucked her with his hand. Ari grabbed her breast with his free hand,
squeezing and rolling until she was mindless, until she was nothing but
gyrating hips and a burning need to come.

“Please. Please, I’m so close.”

Ari pinched her nipple, pulling and twisting. “Come. Come
for us, pretty girl.” And just as she broke he bit her on the back of the neck,
holding her with his teeth as she came in shivering, racking waves of mindless
pleasure. Colors exploded behind her eyelids, her body shattered into a million
pieces as it scattered into the sky and for a long, shining moment there was
nothing but pure ecstasy.

Her body vibrated, shivering and twitching as she started to
ease down. Ari still held her but his touch was gently soothing as he stroked
his hands over her breasts and belly. Tarkan still had his fingers inside her
and when she lifted her head to look at him he had a self-satisfied smile
plastered on his face.

“Good?” he asked.

Chelsea nodded but wasn’t up for much more than that.

“Excellent.” He curved his fingers inside her and rubbed up
and down. “Now it’s our turn.”