The Mercenary's Bounty

by Kristen Banet

  They went late into the evening, sharing small moments of conversation, but mostly beautiful, comfortable silence.

  When she yawned, Bryn stood up and held a hand out. She glanced at Mat, who started cleaning up the table. He didn’t seem tense or worried. When she took Bryn’s hand, he reached out and stopped them from leaving.

  “Enjoy it,” he crooned, kissing her. “I’ll be there soon for bed.” Once he released her, she was pulled from the room. Exhaustion was riding her, calling her to bed, but it wasn’t the only thing. Next to her was a lean rogue who blushed when he saw her topless. Who gave her a soft kiss.

  Who obviously wanted to do this right, who had spoken to her male without her knowing to make sure their family would work, she was guessing.

  She ended up opening the door to their bedroom and the moment it closed behind them, those nerves came back.

  He reached behind her and began to remove her undershirt. “We don’t need to do anything,” he explained. “But I have no other bed now. If ya need some space, though, I can sleep by the fireplace in the main room. Looks like Leshaun gave ya a lot of nice, comfortable furniture.”

  “Stay. I’m just…It was easy with Matesh. We just…did.”

  “And we’re different. All of your males will be different.” He finished and she let the shirt fall. Again that sweet blush heated his cheeks.

  “I hope you never stop blushing,” she whispered, reaching out to touch his cheeks.

  “It’s not because I’m innocent, Mave. It’s because I’m imagining all the things I want to do to those.” His blush was still there as he gained a devious smile. “And I’m worried you’ll be able to read my mind.”

  That made her throb. “Show me.”

  He growled. They were doing this tonight. She wanted this now. She wanted to explore his body and see what things could possibly make him blush.

  He began to kiss her collarbone as his fingers worked quickly to undo her breeches. He shoved them down and dropped to his knees. She gasped as hot breath passed over her and his tongue swiped between her legs.

  She was very thankful she found a stream on the trip back and bathed before they made it back to the village.

  He purred between her legs as his tongue pushed into her, exploring. She moaned, running her hands through his hair. He was skilled. One of his fingers ran over her bud and had her seeing sparks. His second hand rubbed her ass, massaging deep. She didn’t know she had been sore from riding until he helped her relax.

  It continued until her knees felt weak and her legs began to shake. She didn’t finish before he pulled away and kissed back up her body.

  “We’re young. I have plenty of time to show you everything I want to do with you,” he murmured, pulling her against his chest. He still had too much clothing on. She fumbled and began to untie everything, stepping away from her own discarded clothing as he moved closer to their bed. “Tonight, I just want us to get to know each other.”

  “That sounds nice.” Really, anything in that moment probably would have pushed her over the edge from being nice to being great.

  He stripped now, helping her as she fumbled with his buckle and ties. The moment he was nude, she pulled him to her, claiming another kiss. Now she was growling, possessive. Bryn was hers now, just like Mat was. Her male, her family, her friend. She ran her fingers up the underside of his shaft, making his cock jump. She felt the drop of pre-cum already dripping from it. She touched and licked his scars, memorizing his body.

  Hers. Her other gladiator. Her rogue. Her lean lover. All hers.

  He was the one who had to pull her down into the bed. Before she had a say, he pushed her onto her back. She growled. She had been enjoying him and he put a stop to it.

  “Pick a word, Mave,” he hotly whispered in her ear, holding her down. “Pick a word, because now it’s my turn.”

  “Elliar.” It was the first thing she could think of. She knew what he was doing. She knew what this was. He was going to take charge, and if she wanted to fight with him about it, that was the word that stopped everything. That was the word that meant it stopped being a game.

  He bit down on her breast, making her yelp while her back arched. His fingers explored her, sliding between her legs and sinking deep into her. He explored every inch of her with his mouth. His tail roamed, grazing over her flesh, another limb just helping him make her skin feel like it was on fire. Nothing was nearly aggressive enough to make her worried. Instead, she slipped into a haze of pleasure, her mind only focused on where his mouth would go next.

  He moved around her breasts, kissing her stomach, licking her collarbone. She watched with anticipation as he drew closer and closer to her rosy nipple. The room was warm now, but her arousal had her nipples hard anyway.

  He hovered over it for a moment, gazing up at her. She tried to lift up, to force him to take it. He just compensated and lifted a little higher, keeping the distance.

  “Bryn…” She made his name sound like a warning, not a plea.

  He chuckled in response. “Willing to fight me for it?”

  She took a sharp breath. He was serious. He had a taunting smile, wanting to see if she pushed.

  “No.” Not tonight, anyway.

  “Good, because tonight, I just want to make ya feel wonderful.” At that, he took her nipple into his mouth and nipped it with his teeth, sucking hard.

  Her head rolled back and right on cue, she orgasmed, taken by the sensory overload. She couldn’t stop his name from escaping her lips, this time a prayer and praise. He sent her over the edge and they were only getting started.

  He gave a satisfied growl, and in the span of a heartbeat, his fingers left her and he pushed in.

  With a scream, her back arched further as he sank his entire cock deep inside her. She held on to him as he began to rock with a fast, steady pace. Their mouths met as she gasped and moaned, making sounds she had thought only Mat could pull from her. He bit her bottom lip, still giving that low, satisfied growl.

  “I never thought ya would want me,” he said, shoving her to that peak again, not even out of breath the way she was. “Too small for ya. Too dark for ya. Now ya have me and I’m never letting you forget me.”

  She nodded desperately. She wasn’t going to forget him. Not tonight. Not tomorrow. Not in the years to come. He would have to leave her, because she was never giving him away.

  “Mine,” she finally said. “All mine.”

  “All yers,” he agreed.

  Together, they rocked. She felt every movement of his cock, her world focused on it. Which is how she missed Matesh walking in, stripping down, and joining them in bed.

  She tensed for a moment and Bryn slowed.

  “Say the word if ya need to, Mave. This is his bed too.” Bryn stared down into her eyes. She shook her head, then angled to look at her other lover, lying back near them, his cock standing tall. He watched, smirking with a hooded gaze. Then he wrapped his fingers around that thick thing and began to stroke.

  Moaning, she had to turn away, her face hot.

  “I know I intend to watch ya and him and do the same. Don’t think I haven’t fantasized about it. Remember all those awful things I want to do to those tits.”

  Bryn’s words made her hotter. She felt like any moment she was going to burst into flames.

  “Yer safe here, we promise. Ya say the word and it all stops,” he promised softly, finally beginning to pant with her. “Ya just let us know when this has to stop.”

  “Don’t stop,” she begged. Stopping wasn’t an option. A groan echoed over her sounds, and she knew it. Matesh. Matesh was there with them, gaining some pleasure himself from seeing her with another male. This was their bedroom. This was the place where things were private, just for them, her and her males.

  Once, she would have been disgusted by the idea of getting watched, but it was Mat. There was nothing dangerous about Mat.

  Everything about it felt so different from what she had known. Looking into sum
mer-sky eyes, she realized he intended it that way. Bryn and Mat had wanted her to know what being an Andinna was, how the mayara really worked, and make her feel safe at the same time.

  That broke her.

  The climax crashed over her. Quietly, Bryn groaned as she went into that weightless place, her body exploding in pleasure. She clung to him, feeling his cock twitch, and then he spilled as well, coming deep in her.

  It was quiet for a moment, as they both rode it out. They held onto each other, and he leaned her back down to the bed. She hadn’t even realized she had practically sat up in the process.

  When he pulled out, he fell next to her. She was still panting as he kissed her neck more, his hands and tail lazily petting her still.

  “Mat,” she whispered. “Come closer.”

  Without a word, he did. She rolled onto her side. Somehow, with all their wings, hers didn’t end up on the bottom. She grabbed his still-hard cock and stroked him, wanting the last finish of the night. If this was mayara, she could show them she accepted it. She would feel safe in their hands.

  “Mave,” he groaned out. “Ilanra.”

  He finished in only a few moments, his cum covering their stomachs, kissing her as Bryn rubbed her back and ribs from behind.

  “Who gets to clean all of this tomorrow?” she asked, her eyelids suddenly heavy.

  “He does,” they both answered, referencing each other.

  She smiled as sleep claimed her.

  46

  Luykas

  Luykas woke up the next morning in a bedroom that wasn’t his with something kicking him softly in the foot. He knew it before he opened his eyes. He wasn’t sure he wanted to confront it or the body near his. Whoever was kicking him.

  What the fuck did I do last night?

  He cracked his eyes open, hoping it wasn’t too bad. Hopefully, it was somewhere safe. A black wolf pelt greeted him, lush and soft, the warmest thing he knew. It also told him where he was. He tensed.

  Shit.

  “Good morning, brother mine,” Alchan said casually. “Have a nice night? I didn’t. I got kicked in the thigh one too many times. If I remember right, you have your own home. Also, you took my favorite fur. You’re welcome.”

  “Sorry,” he mumbled, pushing up. He was nude, but that wasn’t the problem. If he was in his brother’s home, he knew he didn’t do anything stupid. Well, too stupid, like fucking a female that wasn’t his to bury his cock in anything but his hand. It was still somewhat stupid to come into his brother’s space.

  “Stop. I’m messing with you.” Alchan began to chuckle. “You had too much to drink last night and I wasn’t going to let you fly, so I dragged you out here, away from the unfortunate public who had to witness you last night.”

  “Fuck me,” he groaned. “She was with them last night. It…”

  “She’s not yours. Now, I’m really understanding about how you physically feel whatever she’s going through, but drowning in alcohol because it’s not you doing it…Next time, I’m just going to put your ass in the dirt outside.”

  He sighed. Yeah, his brother was being nice to him about this entire thing. While they were on the road, it wasn’t a problem. But whatever Mat, and now Bryn, did to her made him go crazy. Even the memory of how she felt was beginning to turn his morning wood into a raging hard-on he was going to need to deal with.

  “Do you even like her?” Alchan snorted. “Probably not. The bond is probably just riding you too hard.”

  Luykas didn’t answer that one. He did, actually. He hated her at the same time, though. She was frustrating and glorious. She was a fierce warrior that could meet armies on the battlefield without a drop of fear. She was a Skies-damned frigid bitch who didn’t know how to talk to people and disliked him to the point where she was constantly annoyed with sharing air with him.

  He wasn’t telling his brother any of that. How he wanted to be the male between her legs, who earned her praise and kind words and fought beside her. And damn, they could fight together. The mission had proven it. They could be great together.

  There was one more problem, though. He’d promised General Lorren to protect and help his daughter, not fuck her. They were in a good age range of each other. She was an adult. He hadn’t helped raise her in any way. His attraction wasn’t unsightly in the eyes of their people.

  But she was General Lorren’s daughter and he knew the general had never intended Luykas to want his daughter.

  Damn the Skies, I do though.

  “It’s nothing. I’ll get used to this like the rest. No more drinking, promise.” He didn’t shy away from his brother seeing him or seeing his brother, who was sprawled out nude on the middle of his bed like he ruled the world. He did, in a sense. The Andinna one, anyway.

  “Good. Go use my spring to wake up and then get the fuck out of my house.” Alchan smiled. “I’m not feeding your ass breakfast, too.”

  Luykas was laughing as he grabbed his clothing and headed outside. Of course his brother wasn’t going to feed him.

  It was just before dawn as he stepped into the pool. He bathed quickly, rubbed one out, and got dressed. He didn’t want to waste time bothering his brother when he needed to get something to eat and talk to the very female that plagued him about something very different than his problem.

  He went back into his brother’s home for just a minute to look for something. Alchan was already cooking himself breakfast, but there was more than enough for one person.

  “Who’s getting breakfast if I’m not?” he demanded, looking over the large pan of eggs his brother was working on.

  “Rainev, who will be here any minute.” Alchan waved him away. “It’s his first punishment. I’m going to feed his stupid ass because it’ll make him feel better when I shatter his pride by giving him the first of probably many ass-chewings.”

  Right on cue, there was a knock on the door.

  “Good luck with that,” he said to his brother, thumping Alchan’s shoulder. He answered the door and let Rainev in, whispering, “Good luck,” as he left.

  He didn’t feel very worried about Rainev, really. His brother knew the line to draw, especially with the young and stupid. Their grandmother had set a good example in the family, and General Lorren only enforced it later on. The real problem was that Alchan always took the punishments on himself and let Luykas fix it later, no matter how soft or harsh they were. It made their king look like the bad guy too much in his mind.

  But he took the sign of making Rainev food as well that his brother was going to try and be everything. He would be the judge, jury, and executioner, but also the kind leader who would bandage them up at the end.

  Good for you, brother mine.

  Luykas was going to find himself out of place if he wasn’t careful. It was a good change, but one that would leave him just following Alchan around with nothing to do.

  He left quickly, flying to the village and landing at her doorstep. Her first, then food, that way he didn’t threaten to lose it later if she punched him or gutted him. He knocked hard, hoping any of them were awake. Any of the three of them would work.

  He was a little bitter over Bryn, and he hated that too. He was working so hard to keep her alive, and then to even get her to look at him. Bryn helped with her wings and they talked a lot because he never risked his sanity to help her.

  Bitter was a bit of an understatement.

  Did Bryn deserve happiness? Yeah. There was no doubt. Luykas knew his own issues weren’t Bryn’s problem. None of those rational thoughts changed how bitter he was that Bryn was mayara now with Matesh and he was there, knocking on her door after an awful night of feeling, too much feeling. It wasn’t even about that, either.

  It had to be Bryn who answered the door.

  “Ya need somethin’?”

  “Mave. She and I need to talk about some of her ongoing training.”

  “Aye. One moment.” Bryn left him on the porch, the door open for him to see down the hall. Mat was down there, sh
irtless, wearing only breeches and looking tired. He cast a curious glance down to Luykas and waved.

  With nothing better to do, Luykas waved back. For once, he was at the bottom of the food chain. If he needed Mave, he had to get through her males. They ranked higher in her eyes than he did, no matter if he was her boss or commander, one of the leaders of the Company. In her home, he was the lowest-ranking male.

  She was there a few moments later, moving around her massive male to get into the hallway he could see and to the door.

  “What do you need?” she asked, stepping out and closing the door behind her.

  “You’ve settled in quickly.” In a single night.

  “We’re about to have some important talks about rules. Apparently there are male rules and family rules. I set the family rules and they set rules just for the males, things between them to make life easier.” She sighed. “Why does everything have to be so…complicated?”

  “Because there’s more than two adults in the relationship. It’s what we’ve done for generations.” He wasn’t there to give her love life advice, but damn, he felt that need to give her the information she wanted. “Look, I’m here to talk to you about your blood magic training.”

  “Oh, perfect. I was hoping we could talk about that once we were back.” She didn’t seem annoyed with him. He wasn’t sure he particularly enjoyed the excitement she had, either. He should have been glad, but he had a feeling she was going to want something he couldn’t give her and that would just put him in a worse spot. “And I want to train with you to fight with the bond. I’ve never been so in tune with anyone. That could be used on future missions.”

  He froze, his mind stumbling over what had just come out of her mouth. That was it? She wanted to explore the bond for its combat uses? He should have known. He was the one who introduced her to it while on the mission, and if there was anything that pleased Maevana Lorren, it was being the best fucking warrior she could be.

  “We’ll start tomorrow,” he said, finally finding something to put out there.

  “Perfect. That gives me today to work this out. Where do you want to meet?”