Havoc (25 page)

He tightened his arms and breathed out a low moan as he held her closer still. “Sayal..."

She rubbed her palm over his unshaven cheek and pressed her belly against his growing erection. “If you would like to, I would like to also,” she murmured, dipping her head shyly and gazing at him through her lashes.

He gazed at her speculatively, then turned his head to kiss her fingertips. “Mm, I believe I would. Why not? Why not indeed...” He stroked the hair flowing down the curve of her back, then her hips and her bottom, and he brushed his lips over hers, firm yet gentle, coaxing a rising heat in her belly, turning her thoughts to unhurried lovemaking under the warm, fragrant mist of the cleanser.

After a moment, he lifted his head. He tipped his chin toward the com deck. “Should we, uh, invite the evil overlord?"

She slipped her hand over the firm, sleek muscles of his chest. “Not this time if it's all right with you.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Unless you want to..."

"Nah. Let's let him twist for a bit.” The blue of his eyes darkened as he touched her face, her lips. “I want you all to myself,” he murmured, lowering his mouth again. “I want you...” The focus and intensity of his kiss took her breath away.

Surely this was love. This tender ache, this swelling in her heart, the need to touch, to give, to take... To be with these two men forever... It could never be, but she let the sensation sweep her up like a solar wind, spin her from her feet, swing her to the stars. Should she die on her mission, she would die with this glorious fever in her soul. She gripped Elion's face between her hands and devoured his mouth, letting him feel all her joy and desire through her kiss.

Elion caught her up in his arms again as if she weighed nothing at all, and she laughed as he carried her through the door into the waiting cleanser.

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An hour later, after Kels had washed and dressed in insulated canvas pants and heavier boots for the landing, Elion was back in his seat in front of the com, similarly dressed and pivoting his chair idly from side to side while he hummed an aimless tune beneath his breath.

Kels made sure to stomp down the steps, bringing his mate's gaze to him. “Where's our girl?” he asked.

"Making a meal for us,” Elion answered, then yawned and stretched like a well-satisfied golden cat.

"She's not a servant. She doesn't have to cook for us.” Kels wondered at the sharpness in his own tone. Was he jealous that Elion had fucked Sayal, or was he jealous that Sayal had fucked Elion? This could become quite the complicated business. Perhaps he wasn't jealous at all, just envious. Most if not all the memories of his night with El had come filtering back, and he felt torn between the relief that came with finally resolving an issue and the guilt that he'd been hammered close to unconsciousness while doing it. El deserved better. And he'd probably gotten better with the lovely bird.

"She says she enjoys it,” Elion replied, obviously unaware of his captain's inner meanderings. “It makes her happy."

"I should think so."

"I meant cooking.” Elion frowned at him.

"Oh.” Dear, oh, dear, his mind really was one-track. “Well, she is a good cook. Better than a Quitza."

"And far more attractive."

"You think? I'd begun to find those twitching whiskers somewhat intriguing."

Elion glanced over at him, one of those wry looks that let Kels know Elion wasn't buying his forced cheer. Kels flopped into his chair, his thick, scratchy pants making it harder to get comfortable, and cracked his knuckles.

Elion broke the silence. “Are you upset that we fucked?"

"Hm?” Kels glanced at him, then idly called up the star map, even though he knew exactly where they were going. “Nah. I'm glad. It's about time. How was it?"

"I'm not going to fuck and tell.” But he put his hands behind his head and went back to humming. “Her tattoo is lovely by the way. You didn't tell me it'd bloomed."

Sayal walked in on her quiet bare feet, balancing dishes full of some delicious-smelling food in her hands. Elion fairly sprang out of his chair to help her. “Thank you, sweetheart,” he murmured and took two dishes from her before he dropped a light kiss on her lips. Her gaze darted to Kels as she clearly watched for his reaction, and guilt gripped him. Well, he'd been pushing her and shoving El, and now they'd done exactly what he'd wanted, and what right had he to feel pissy about it?

Kels smiled at her, and he could practically see the relief pour through her. Despite being a tremendous lay, Sayal still managed to radiate innocence. She was feeling her way through this odd arrangement as much as any of them. She must have been gently raised to some degree, for this was clearly foreign territory. Leaving Elion holding two plates, she brought one to him, coming down the two steps to place it in his hands.

"Thanks, luv.” She smelled awfully good, all soapy and girlie, and he threaded his fingers through the silky fall of hair, drawing her to him for a kiss. Her lips parted readily beneath his. Knowing they'd most likely been wrapped around Elion's cock not so long ago sent an extra-pleasurable jolt of heat through him. He let her slip away, finding Elion's prurient gaze upon him, and would bet his last iron the same thought burned across his mate's mind.

Just like that, everything clicked back in place. They were behaving more and more like a triad, despite the fact they hadn't all fucked together yet, but the vibe was there. Mm, this could be very good indeed.

Sayal padded away to take one of the dishes from El, who sat and patted his knee. “Come on, sweetheart. The only other place to sit is way over there. It's all right. We'll dine together; then we can talk."

She perched shyly on his mate's knee. Kels smiled to himself. They made a striking couple. He'd never seen Elion respond to a woman this way before. It was far more than lust. Maybe it was the soldier in him, the part that wanted to protect and serve. As he watched Elion dote over Sayal and her excellent cooking, Kels found it amazingly sweet and touching.

"Sayal was wondering,” Elion said between bites, “if she could come out with us when we meet Corsair."

"No, absolutely not.” Kels shook his head. “Sorry, it's too dangerous."

"It's Corsair. It's not as if we haven't dealt with her before."

"Yes, exactly. It's Corsair.” Kels could hardly draw his attention from his breakfast. He'd rarely had anything so tasty, and to think it had come out of his commissary. “She's mean as a bastion tiger and just as unpredictable."

Elion started to say something else, which surprised him, and not in a good way. Just because he was besotted with Sayal, his first mate shouldn't get ideas that he was the one in charge now.

But Sayal cut him off. “Forgive me for asking, Captain. I haven't been on many planets, and I was curious."

"It's all right. I understand. But you're not missing much with this one. It's just a moon, and a crappy, cold one at that."

"He's right actually,” Elion said, backtracking as if he understood he'd overstepped his bounds. “It really isn't a very nice place at all.” He mopped up the last crumb from his plate. “It's a frozen wasteland. Without protective gear, you'd be gone in minutes. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you."

Kels restrained his eyes from rolling. “Nothing's going to happen to her, El. She'll be warm and safe on the
Nova
while we smooth the deal."

"Maybe,” Elion said, perking up, “once you're finished with the high games, we could take a jaunt. We'll have the iron from M'Tal and your winnings, nothing else pressing. What do you say, Kels? Couldn't we show her around the SenVerse? It's been a long while since we've had any sort of shore leave, at least not one that wasn't forced on us."

Kels glanced at Sayal, whose cheeks flushed. He said nothing, waiting for her to break the bad news to El, especially since he could see in her eyes that she was hoping he'd spill it. After a moment when Elion looked from him to her, she bit her lower lip. “I won't be staying with you after the games, Elion."

"What? Why not?"

"Well, that was never the arrangement, mate,” Kels said, chasing a bit of fruit around his plate.

"Couldn't it be? Plans can change,” he said hopefully.

"Not my plans,” Sayal said, putting her spork down across her plate.

"I guess there were some conversations we had that you weren't part of,” Kels said. “Sayal's trying to catch the attention of a particular fella. Isn't that right, princess?"

"It is.” The sadness in her voice and El's expression tore at him. Kels wanted to see his friends happy. Hells, he wanted to be happy. The three of them together could be magic, but the sooner Elion realized it wasn't a long-term thing, the better, he supposed, like ripping off a bandage. They could still have some fun in the days ahead.

"I'm sorry, Elion,” she murmured, her eyes huge with emotion. “It's very important that I find this man, and the only way I know how is through the high games. He lives on a private deep-space liner that's constantly changing position. I can't go to him. He must bring me to him."

"Why? For what purpose?” Elion's confusion and hurt flooded his tone.

"It's the high games. What other purpose could there be?” Kels observed drily.

"Don't be an ass, Kels,” Elion snapped.

Dear, oh dear. He didn't have it in his heart to reprimand his friend. Elion's sorrow was too apparent.

"My own purpose,” Sayal said, stroking her hand along Elion's cheek. “Please don't be sad. We can still enjoy one another in the time that's left."

"My sentiments exactly,” Kels chimed in.

"You've known about this all along?” Elion shot at him.

"When has it ever been anything different?” Kels shrugged and set aside his empty plate. “Neither Sayal nor I considered anything long term."

"It's because of Keeva, isn't it?"

"Keeva's got nothing to do with it. This is Sayal's decision.” He kept his tone level despite a tweak of temper.

Elion shook his head. “Who is this man? What's he to you?"

"I think that's her business,” Kels cut in, noting her rising distress. He picked up his plate and handed it over to her. “Thanks, luv. That was fantastic. Hard to believe it came out of our little cooker. You worked a miracle."

Taking the out he offered, she slipped from Elion's lap and set the other plates on top of his. “You're very welcome. I...” She pressed her lips together and, head bowed, left the deck without another word.

Kels said nothing for a few minutes after she'd left, and neither did Elion. Finally he scrubbed his hands over his face and said quietly, “Take it easy on her, mate. It's clear she cares for you. Making her feel guilty for having to leave is just going to make things worse when the time comes."

Elion simmered in silence. Then at last he said, “You're right of course. I don't know what I was thinking."

Kels searched for words of wisdom, but none came that wouldn't sound trite or disingenuous, coming from him, who blasted through women the way a fast ship flew from one port to the next. He said, “Did you ready the weapons?"

"No. I'll do that now.” Elion stood and left the deck to get the plasma rifles they'd carry while dealing with Corsair. She'd never given them trouble, but her bloody reputation preceded her, and it was always better to treat her with the caution and respect due a predator.

While El was off on his task, Kels tracked down Sayal. She looked up when he came into the narrow commissary, and he had only to lift one arm for her to come to him, wrap herself around him, and press her cheek against his chest. “There now, precious,” he murmured. “Don't fret."

"I don't want to leave you and Elion,” she said, her voice muffled against his shirt. “I never thought I'd feel... That everything would get so tangled."

"Yeah, that does happen.” He kissed the top of her head and rubbed his hands over her back. “Put it aside for now if you can, and come on the deck. I have a little job for you while we're about our unsavory doings."

He'd always found it helped to give someone a task if you wanted to take their mind off other things, and Sayal was no exception. She gazed up at him with utter trust, and he could have fallen into those lovely eyes. Hm, perhaps he was a bit besotted himself. Before he could get himself into more trouble, he took her hand and led her back to the com.

"You see these controls?” he asked, pointing out a panel of glowing lights.

"Yes. I can't fly the ship, I'm afraid, if that's what you want me to do."

"No, not hardly. I just want you to watch this one in particular. It tells us if there're any other ships approaching, from the top, the side, wherever. If you see it flashing, press this indent.” He tapped a blue one. “That'll give me a signal only I can hear, and then Elion and me'll be back on the ship in a flash. All right? Never know when the law might be lurking, even out here in the remotes."

She carefully repeated the instructions back to him, and he nodded. There wasn't a rat's chance there'd be law in these parts, but it gave her something to do. “Good girl. Ah, here's our man now with the side gear."

Elion, fully dressed in a drab green canvas jacket and gloves, handed a formidable black plasma rifle to him along with a smaller sidearm and belt.

Sayal looked positively alarmed. “I thought you said this was safe?"

She directed her query toward Elion, who slung his rifle over his shoulder and adjusted the buckles on his weapons belt. “It is, sweetheart. This is just for show."

Kels drew on his own heavily padded jacket. His rifle hung from a strap over his shoulder, and he checked the power charge, not that Elion ever forgot to juice them. “How long till intercept, mate?"

"Land-side in ten, planted in five. Weather's clear for a change."

Kels snorted, thinking of the frigid, hellish moon and its nearly constant storms. “Must be springtime."

They took their seats, but as they did, another thought crossed Kels's mind. He rose again and removed a disruptor from a side panel, then went to hand it to Sayal. “It's not much, but just in case something goes awry, here's a little something to keep you safe."