Striker (7 page)

"Why are you able to speak to your father?" Zeus walked over to the table, tugging Dargon’s hand to make sure he followed.

"We do not use Haven's hypernet, but a Mar'Sani system," Azaes said. "Zeus designed receivers that use a closed-circuit, alternating frequency, meaning we can only speak to each other. Every time we speak, we use a different wave length. He has a separate system solely for speaking to Meme."

Zeus gripped Dargon's hand for a brief moment, then released him to pull out one of the oversized chairs for Dargon to sit in before Zeus continued. "The most disturbing news was an apprehension order, issued for the crew of the merchant vessel Oethra 7 and its captain, Dargon Kal-Turak, in connection with the massacre of Athena and the royal family."

Alpha's shock radiated through their bond.
"We should have expected the move. We knew a spy hid in Haven. We have been pursued across galaxies. When we were assisted by a stronger party, they had to do something. If we do not leave, they will draw Prince Azaes and Prince Mestor under suspicion for treason."

Zeus braced his hand on the chair's armrests and caught Dargon's gaze. That line of reasoning had to be stopped. Mar’Sani family protected each other best by sticking together. "My brothers will not abandon us, no matter the consequence. The two of you can wipe that thought right out of your minds. Athena and her people are safe where they are. Whoever is pursuing you wants you to run from the safety The Gorgon provides. Besides, the Fal'Amoric royal family is very much alive, so the questioning, if the order is not fake, will come to nothing." Zeus explained at Azaes and Mestor's questioning stares.

Azaes crossed his arms and glared at Dargon as if he was a recalcitrant youngling. "Zeus is correct. We would not allow him and his Udens Mahte'lan, who carries royal younglings of House Vondorian, to wander the galaxies unprotected. Athena and her people's safety comes first. Here, they are the out of harm's way."

Mestor clapped Dargon on the back. "If we are being followed, your navigator devised a very clever plan to lose them. We do not want anyone to know we seek help from the Feteine. Those who pursue us will be forced to wait for our arrival in Valespian space. By that time, we should have a sufficient defense drawn up. Have patience and faith in your new family, Dargon. We take care of our own."

Dargon glanced around the room, meeting the earnest Mar'Sani gazes.

"We have been alone for so long, we have forgotten what it is to have a family."

Dargon agreed with Alpha. He swallowed thickly as Zeus moved to lean against him. "Thank you," he said, when he really wanted to say, 'I love you'. As Dargon recovered from shock, Zeus repeated what Alpha said.

Azaes briefly discussed their plans to slip the ship tailing them. Dargon did not have much to add to the strategy, since their navigator, Axis, had been briefed over breakfast. GyrFalconi had a natural awareness on a galactic scale. They knew where they were at all times, without needing to review a navchart. Axis's skills had allowed them to stay ahead of the psi-trackers, until they accidentally ran into the electromagnetic trap.

Zeus tugged on his hand, bringing him back to the conversation. "Once we reach Qestaire, the Qrxzl homeworld, I will go planet side with a team and I need you to remain here."

Dargon scowled. His argument was only prevented by Zeus quickly continuing. "If you come, then I will be distracted by my need to keep you safe. If something happens to me, your responsibility is to the crown princes and delivering the Fal'Amoric safely to Haven." Zeus seemed to tack on the last part in an attempt to appease Dargon, but he would have none of it.

"You forget, Zeus, you are a Marked, a part of an Alpha Trine. I could no more leave you than I could leave Alpha. My responsibilities have altered. Yes, I still have my duties to the crown princes, but those duties will be carried out by my crew in my absence." Dargon met Azaes's assessing gaze. "I cannot leave him, nor will I stay aboard this vessel and helplessly watch him walk into a dangerous situation. I cannot chance his safety any more than he can mine. So we are at an impasse. He cannot go and I cannot stay."

Azaes's eyes narrowed in an expression Dargon did not know how to read. Surprisingly, Mestor, staring hard at the floor, addressed him.

"Let me explain a little about Mar'Sani mating culture, so you can understand where Zeus’s request comes from. A bonded male will create a nest for his mate, sequestering the family within the home where he will see to her—your—every need. Zeus is battling his overpowering need to nest. This situation is unprecedented."

The explanation mollified Dargon a little, but would not prevent the need he and Alpha felt to protect Zeus.

"How long before Alpha gives birth?" Mestor asked, still carefully not looking at Dargon.

Zeus answered before he could. "Less than thirty standard days. Our kits will be born before we can return home."

"I do not believe a Mar'Sani has ever been born in space." Azaes glanced at Zeus. "Are you going to travel to Rhodes?"

"What is in Rhodes?" Dargon asked.

"Rhodes is a mountain on Atlainticia. We climb to the plateau above the clouds to barter with the Gate Keeper for a birth bed for our unborn. The half-shells are the eggs of the offspring from the fabled raptor, Pegasus. All Mar'Sani males make the journey before our younglings are born."

He began to understand the turmoil Zeus felt. All these traditions, and many would not be able to be carried out now. Zeus’s back had been toward Dargon through the telling, as if he feared Dargon and Alpha's reaction.

"Did we not tell him?"

He approached Zeus cautiously, as if he were a skittish beast. Running his fingertips on the outside of Zeus’s arm, Dargon moved up behind Zeus until he could wrap his arms around Zeus and pulled him back into Dargon's chest. Zeus stood still and stiff in his embrace, but he was not deterred.

"I do not see why Zeus could not make the journey to Rhodes when we return to Atlainticia. Yes, Alpha will give birth soon, but it will be a year before the kits venture from the pouch. I had planned on resigning once the Fal'Amoric were returned to Haven. We should arrive home with more than enough time for Zeus to nest and bargain for a birth bed or two.”

He was vaguely aware of everyone leaving, as Zeus relaxed into his embrace. Dargon nuzzled the back of an ear as he breathed in Zeus’s unique scent, now permanently mixed with his own.

He whispered a confession for Zeus’s ears alone. "I am scared, too. Dar Massaga stay with their Alphas and Zetas on Hedisa Gamai, a neutral and secure location where we conceive and birth our kits in relative safety. You are not the only one who worries about the welfare of us all."

Zeus tipped his head to the side, giving Dargon access to his neck. He ran his nose down the length of the muscular column, tongue darting out for a quick taste, turning into a leisurely lick. He assumed after the mating heat subsided, normal attraction would take over and ground them. But Zeus’s pheromones were as arousing now as when they first met. Maybe the chemical balance of Alpha carrying kits affected him. Either way, if life with Zeus continued to hold this kind of visceral attraction, they would never accomplish anything.

Not that he would complain.

"I do not believe this attraction is from the pregnancy hormones. We are a Trine."

The thrumming in his chest started when Zeus grasped Dargon's hands and guided them down his chest to where a stiff erection lay trapped in his pants. Zeus’s breathy moan as Dargon pressed his palm over the rigid length and rubbed was intoxicating.

"Gods, your scent is driving me mad." Dargon ground his groin into Zeus’s ass. "I am going to get into trouble."

"For what?" Dargon attempted to work the fastenings of Zeus’s jacket with his free hand. He needed to touch skin, needed to be closer. Alpha purred and Zeus shivered.

"For this." Zeus turned in Dargon's arms and pushed up on his toes to capture Dargon's lips in a sensual kiss, with soft, pliant lips pressing against his.

Deft hands ran up Dargon's chest under his tunic. Alpha rubbed against him as he whispered to Zeus. Dargon broke away from the kiss and glanced down to see Zeus tenderly caress Alpha before he feathered kisses over Alpha. Dargon allowed Zeus to push off his tunic. He tackled Zeus’s jacket fastenings with both hands, the results much quicker than his one-handed attempt. The heavy uniform jacket hit the floor with a soft thud, revealing a pristine, spyder silk undershirt stretched across Zeus’s broad shoulders, the color matching Zeus’s eyes. Dargon struggled to control himself, his sex fully extended, aching for his lover's touch.

"If you do not stop, I will take you right here." Dargon was not sure Zeus would hear his warning over the growl that accompanied it.

 Zeus took a slow step back, then another. Dargon leaned back against the table, gripping the edge to keep from giving chase. Another time and place, he would have given into the urge to have a good run and pursue Zeus. At the door, Zeus entered a code and the panel backlight went from green to red. His double hearts skip-scotched when Zeus turned and slipped his undershirt over his head.

"That was the idea."

Dargon pushed off the table and prowled toward Zeus. A mischievous light sparkled in Zeus’s eyes as he casually moved around the table. Dargon stopped and sniffed the air, basking in the scents of clean sweat, of clouds and fresh rain, and of male arousal. Dargon's eyes were riveted on Zeus’s hands as Zeus walked backwards, unbuckling his belt and removing his dagger, throwing them on a nearby chair. He loved how the hyde pants hugged Zeus’s legs.

"I think you have too many clothes on." Zeus purred in an exact imitation of Dargon, spurring him into action.

"Oh, he does that well. What other noises can we ring from him?"

"I assure you that can be quickly remedied." He unbuckled his skirt, the weight of the garment falling heavily to the floor.

Dargon stepped out of the circle of hyde, his erection bobbing proudly. For a split second, he considered removing his boots, but a long line of buckles from the knee to the ankle convinced him the effort would take time he wished not to spend working free of them.

Stalking Zeus around the table separating them, Dargon watched as Zeus slowly unfastened his pants, revealing the line of dark hair from his belly button that disappeared below the material. He loved the wickedly sexy expression on Zeus’s face and the smirk lifting one corner of his mouth.

For every step forward, Zeus stepped back, the tease! "Tell me, Dar Massaga, do you practice catch and release when you hunt your prey?" With the table still between them, Zeus stopped to unlatch and toe off his boots.

Unable to resist the thought of his lover caught by his hyde pants, Dargon snarled and leapt onto the table surface, using it to pounce on Zeus. They rolled to a stop with Dargon on top, rising to hover over Zeus. "There is only one prey whom we will keep to ourselves."

He sucked in a breath at Zeus’s laugh. None other in the universe was as lucky as him to have such a male for his Marked.

Zeus’s silvery-white eyes rounded in mock horror. "You have to catch the prey first."

In a move too quick for the naked eye, Zeus slithered out from the cage of Dargon's arms. He growled and chased Zeus around the conference table. What he would not give to have a jungle to pursue Zeus in. But for now, they would make do with a stateroom on The Gorgon. Peals of laughter filled the air when Dargon finally caught Zeus. He had a feeling his lover allowed himself to be caught, but he cared not. Zeus kissed him as if he would drink Dargon in.

He trapped Zeus to his chest, hands sliding over the muscular back. His claws grazed down Zeus’s spine, causing him to gasp and throw his head back as his skin prickled. Dargon fit one hand down the back of Zeus’s pants and grasped a round globe, pulling Zeus’s groin against his own, while the other hand supported the rest of Zeus’s weight between his shoulder blades as he bent his lover backwards, lapping at the column of Zeus’s throat, nibbling the collarbone.

Zeus clutched Dargon's shoulders, moaning long and loud. A hyde-encased leg wrapped around Dargon's naked hip. He needed Zeus on a flat surface so he could map the contours of his lover for the thousandth time with his hands. He spied the table behind Zeus. Perfect.

Pulling away, Zeus whimpered softly before he hopped to wrap his legs around Dargon's waist. Relishing the embrace, he held Zeus snuggly and captured his soft mouth again, swallowing Zeus’s panted moans. He stood like that, not wanting the kiss to stop or for Zeus to move away—ever. But his legs began to tremble from the unaccustomed weight. He reluctantly moved to lay Zeus on the table. The arms around his neck tightened, easily convincing him to bend down over his prey. Zeus arched up into him, rubbing his trapped erection into Dargon's abdomen.

Gasping for breath, he pulled away from the kiss. "Now you are the one who has on too many clothes."

"Hurry, Dargon, I need to feel you."

Fingers hooked on the waistband of Zeus’s tight pants, he pulled them down over Zeus’s lean hips. He stepped back reluctantly to remove them completely. Zeus release a sigh once freed of the constricting hyde. Dargon took a moment to appreciate the sight laid out before him. Zeus lay on the black lacquered tabletop, his hair blending into the surface. His alabaster skin seemed to glow against the dark veneer, and silvery eyes watched him with undisguised hunger as he traced his fingertips from ankle to knee. Zeus splayed his legs, temping Dargon, saying without words what he wanted.

Zeus’s intense gaze followed Dargon's hands as they slid up muscular thighs, fingers tracing old, silvery scars. Alpha purred again and Dargon watched Zeus arch off the table top, head thrown back at the sound. Alpha's effect on Zeus was undeniable. When Dargon hooked his thumbs under Zeus’s heavy sack, pushing up and rubbing over the orbs, Zeus added breathy moans to the writhing instigated by Alpha's whispers.

Running a palm over his shaft, Dargon gathered the oil his body secreted. Using the flat of his tongue, he licked the tender crevice between Zeus’s thigh and groin, causing the skin to form gooseflesh as he kissed and nibbled his way up the taunt abdomen. Dargon prepared Zeus carefully. He would not force his way in, but the desire bouncing between the three of them, the need for each other, rose to a frenzy.