by Dawn Ryder
Union partners…
Well, she was just going to take that in stride! She was point-blank grateful to be alive in any culture. It really wasn’t so hard to handle, sort of like having all your boyfriends simultaneously. Instead of breaking up and moving on to the next one in the search for Mister Right. Noel grimaced at her own thoughts because she was balancing on the edge of bargaining with the devil to get what she wanted. The ménage replayed across her mind, sending a tingle of excitement through her. Sex had never been better and that was something she didn’t want to give up. And she still didn’t quite believe that it was wrong, since it wasn’t hurting anyone. In fact, the society surrounding her expected it, so she was right back to feeling the idea sink into her brain as something she could live with.
It wasn’t a bad feeling at all.
Two arms wrapped around her waist and she jumped. Her head cracked against Thorn’s jaw and he cussed softly but didn’t release her. Instead he nuzzled against her neck and kissed the sensitive skin before taking a deep breath next to her throat.
“Sorry I woke you up.”
“I’m not.” His voice was thick with emotion and her heart tightened in response. “I have waited for you, dreamed of you for years. I can sleep when I’m eighty.”
Noel laughed softly as she turned around and stroked his face. There was no hint of stubble on his skin and she suddenly realized that the same technology that allowed her pubic hair to be lasered away must be used in other areas as well.
“I’ll get you all the coffee beans you want.” He sounded jealous as he pulled her against his body. Even in the meager light she could see the frown marring his face. She smoothed her fingers over the harsh expression.
“I need to find a grinder too. Then you can discover what real coffee is.”
His lips turned upwards as he clasped her tighter against his frame. “Consider it found, whatever it is.”
His mouth claimed hers in a kiss full of life. Noel wrapped her arms around her lover and let the feeling sweep her away with him. It was the first time she had ever noticed how many different kinds of love there were.
Love of life. Love of friends. Love of a man. Thorn thrust his tongue down to tangle with hers as his hand cupped one side of her bottom and she felt his cock hardening against her belly.
Oh, shut up, Noel!
“You don’t have to stay with me.”
Noel turned her head slightly, not because of the words he used but the tone that delivered them. Hard and dedicated, Thorn spoke in an even tone that betrayed how much he didn’t like the topic. The fact that he told her anyway made her heart twist. His arms tightened around her slightly as he nuzzled her neck before lifting his head.
“I understand what you mean now. Chattel.” Thorn turned her around to look at him. “All credits you earn are yours. You could find your own place to live.”
Noel felt her throat tighten at the pain in his voice. He stroked her cheek as his eyes studied her. “Stay. I do not believe that means I own you.”
His face was drawn into a tight mask as he waited for her response. Noel stared at the emotion flickering in his eyes and felt her heart surrender. It had to be more than sex—Thorn wouldn’t show her the way out if he didn’t care. He caught her mouth in a kiss, but it was a gentle press of his lips against hers. The tip of his tongue stroked her lower lip before he pressed her to open her mouth for a deeper invasion. His body shook as he controlled his hold and only tightened it by small degrees. His tongue thrust into her mouth as his hand smoothed up her back and clasped around her neck to hold her head in position for his kiss.
Noel kissed him back. Right or wrong didn’t matter when he was the man who had pulled her away from death’s grip. Every little inch of her skin felt the warmth from his body, each breath she drew pulled his scent deep into her senses and all of it compressed into one single word—life.
Thorn scooped her up and took her back to his bed. His hands smoothed over her skin as he kissed her and pushed her onto her back among the sheets. There were no lingering touches this time, his fingers found her slit and slipped up to her clit bar. He manipulated the little piercing back and forth as pleasure shot deep into her pussy. It wasn’t the pounding passion that had gripped her body earlier. Now, Thorn’s touch was smooth and unhurried as he watched her in the dark. Her hands curled around his shoulders as a gasp escaped her relaxed lips and she arched her hips towards his fingers. Her thighs spread wide in invitation as she pulled on his shoulders. She craved something deeper than simple climax. She wanted to feel her lover pressing her down with his body as they moved together and found release together.
“Come here, Thorn.”
His fingers gave her clit bar a final motion before slipping down to the opening of her pussy. One finger circled the opening before his cock pressed against her wet sex. “Yes, ma’am.” His voice was thick as he pressed his length into her body. He covered her, his hands grasping her wrists and pulling her arms above her head as his hips began to move between her spread thighs.
There was nothing more perfect than that moment. Thorn shuddered as his cock sank into her body and her thighs closed around his hips to grip him. Her nipples brushed his chest as he listened to the little sounds of delight whispering past her lips. His. More than a word, it was an idea rich in sensation and meaning. Selection was a matter of achievement but the lifting of her hips was a result of choice. Noel wanted him and that was by far the greatest gift he had ever held. She gasped as climax began to tighten her sheath around his cock. She jerked against his hold and he let her go as his hands framed her head. He watched her face as a gasp broke through her lips. Her body twisted beneath his as pleasure flooded her features and her pussy contracted around his cock. Thorn held his body weight on his elbows as he stared into her eyes. Her eyelids fluttered before she locked gazes with him. Her hands gripped his hips as she lifted her hips to take his cock deeper into her body.
“Come, Thorn.”
“You want my seed? Possibly my child?”
His cock throbbed inside her pussy and Noel shivered as she listened to the demand in his voice. He was hard, but willing to leave her without his own pleasure.
The choice rested in her hands. “Our child.”
And their home.
Thorn bucked between her thighs as he drove his cock deeply into her body. His hands captured her wrists once again as he pulled her arms to the top of the bed and drove his cock in and out of her with hard motions. His jaw tightened as his breath rasped between clenched teeth. Her bottom lifted for his fucking as he snarled and his seed began to spurt. His hands tightened around her wrists as his hips pressed his cock harder into her pussy. Thorn growled through his pleasure as he pumped his seed deep into her body. Right there in the dark all that mattered was that moment of shared bliss. It was something unbound by time. It rested inside their human spirits, that need to share with each other. Thorn rolled off her body and pulled her against his chest. His heart still pounded as his respiration began to slow but his hands smoothed over her face as their legs tangled. Her eyes fluttered shut because everything was perfect for the moment. Tomorrow she could let life intrude with its facts. Tonight, Thorn held her and that was perfection.
Chapter Nine
“Noel?”
Noel opened one eye and groaned when she noticed it was still dark. Thorn was completely dressed and far too alert for a man who had kept her up most of the night.
“I must report for duty.”
“Oh.” She opened both eyes and started to sit up. Thorn pressed her back into his bed. He grinned as he pushed the blanket back over her bare chest. “I think I’d like to remember you exactly like this. In my bed. Blade is here. I did not want you to be startled when you woke up to find him here. He will not enter our sleeping room unless he hears a problem.”
Thorn pressed his thumb over her lips for a moment before he stood up and left. His body was stiff as he moved through the doorway and the dim ligh
t faded back to blackness. Loneliness moved through her as she fingered the smooth fabric of the sheet. She had an entire life to rebuild and that task felt enormous right then. Her eyelids fluttered shut as her brain considered where to begin.
Noel didn’t really fall back asleep, she kicked at the bedding as her brain refused to shut off completely. She finally gave up and went into the bathroom to get dressed. It just felt too weird being naked with a man in the house who wasn’t Thorn.
Her logic didn’t make a bit of sense considering last night but feelings had a tendency to be illogical. At least hers did.
Fickle…
Noel frowned at her reflection as she applied some light makeup. The new brands made her frown even more as she learned how to handle them and not make her face look like a clown. She stuck her lip out as she realized that coffee would have made everything all right. Some dark, hot java would have solved all the problems of her morning.
Having a target for her mental dilemma didn’t exactly untangle anything but it did transform her frown into a sarcastic grin. Maybe she could use that little computer to research just how a person roasted green coffee beans. She had never been a barbeque queen, but she wasn’t a fire hazard with a grill either. Besides, that little sack of green beans was guaranteed to drive her insane with its possibilities if she didn’t at least try. Noel grinned as she made her way into the outer room. Blade looked up instantly and flashed her a grin, but he remained silent as his gaze rested on her face. He was waiting to see what she did and that touched her in some part of her heart. Somehow, she found it surprising that a man might harbor insecurities over a ménage. That shift in power hit her again and Noel moved across the floor towards the large male. Stretching up she placed a soft kiss on his lips.
“Morning.” She moved away almost as quickly and hid her smile as Blade raised an eyebrow at her.
“Good morning.”
Noel caught sight of the green coffee beans resting on the counter where they had been abandoned last night. “It is never a good morning unless there is coffee involved.” Scooping up the bundle, she turned and looked back at Blade. “But I’m going to make it my personal goal to save you guys from a life without coffee.”
Questions were popping up in her brain about her union partners’ exact role in her life but she shied away from asking Blade. Somehow, it felt too intimate to talk about with anyone but Thorn. Discovering just how a person roasted coffee beans was the perfect excuse to leave her questions unanswered until tonight.
* * * * *
She set the fire alarm off twice and emptied every cabinet in the living space but Noel smiled with triumph as she managed to transform her fifth attempt at roasting into a success. Her nose twitched as it caught that distinctive scent of java. Blade watched her like a science experiment gone mad. She held her little handful of roasted beans up in the air like a trophy. Hell, it had taken her all damn day to figure the process out.
“So, when you get done burning the beans, you eat them?”
“They’re roasted and now I have to grind them.” Noel considered the items she’d emptied from the kitchen cabinets. The ancient Turks had made coffee—that meant she could too.
The front door chimed before it slid open and Thorn grinned at her. The expression melted off his face as he blinked his eyes and looked back at the disaster of his living space. He sniffed the air before glaring at Blade. The other man lifted his hands up in front of him. “She’s roasting beans.” Blade’s voice indicated that he thought she was insane, but Thorn shot her a grin.
“Good. Guess you’ll enjoy these.” He pulled a large bag off his shoulder and it hit the counter with a soft thump. There had to be at least twenty pounds of green coffee beans in that sack and Noel grinned at him. Thorn held up another package and this one was wrapped in white paper. Someone had painted little ribbons of color all over it, almost like confetti. A carefully handcrafted bow topped it. The pretty present looked out of place in Thorn’s hands but the smile on his face melted her heart. His eyes sparkled as he extended his hands towards her. “This is a present.”
“Yes, it is.” Whatever the box contained was irrelevant. Noel felt two tears sting her eyes because Thorn had gone to enough trouble to discover what she thought a present looked like. For the first time in her life, she truly understood that it really was the thought that counted.
Noel set the present aside and kissed him. Thorn groaned in a deep sound as his arm tightened around her. His tongue thrust deep into her mouth where it stroked hers. His hand pressed her against his body. The hard presence of his cock delighted her as she wiggled in his embrace and laughed softly when he snarled. He lifted his head from her lips and trailed little kisses down the side of her jaw until he reached the delicate skin on her neck. Noel lifted her chin so that he could place more kisses against her throat. Pleasure rippled through her as her hands spread out over his hard chest.
He lifted his head and watched her face for a moment.
Blade stepped up against her back and her lungs froze for just a second before she leaned her head back onto his hard shoulder. Her fingers resumed stroking Thorn’s body as Blade’s hands began to slip over her arms. She caught each man’s scent as her clothes were plucked off her body. Thorn cupped her breasts as his thumbs rubbed each hard nipple, sending pleasure shooting down her spine to her clit bar. She moved one hand and laid it on Blade’s thigh as Thorn leaned down to lick a nipple. This time neither male appeared willing to let her lead them. They gently moved her body between them as they stroked and bared her. The fabric of their uniforms frustrated her as Blade cupped each side of her bottom in his hands and gently squeezed. The hard outline of his cock brushed her bottom as he bent at his knees to tease her by pressing up against her. She shivered as her mind offered up a memory of the dual piercing in his cock. The metal studs had felt so damn good inside her pussy.
“I missed you.” Thorn sounded both frustrated and surprised by the idea. He raised his eyes from her nipples and brushed their wet tips with his thumbs as he locked eyes with her. “You are a complete distraction.”
“Thank you.” Blade bit her neck and she shivered. “You can look up ‘sweet talk’ next.” She only meant to tease him but all motion froze in response to her comment. A little laugh escaped her throat as she reached up and stroked the frown on Thorn’s lips. “Lovers play too, Thorn.”
One of his eyebrows rose. “Play? I’d love too.”
Blade laughed behind her and a shiver shook her body as Noel recognized a promise lurking in the sound. As hard as both men were, she could just imagine what sort of games they enjoyed playing.
Games that required strength, and she got the idea that no one liked losing. She shivered once again as Thorn let her breasts go. He stepped away from her as Blade slid his hands over her hips. His arms trapped her against his body as heat flared through her. Her clit flickered to life as she caught the smell of her own arousal. Thorn lowered his gaze slowly down her nude frame as Blade teased her mons with his fingers. Her clit bar moved only a fraction as he massaged the tender skin that was now hairless. Thorn watched his hand for a long moment before he raised his gaze to her face once more. Emotions battled in his eyes as he began to strip. He did it slowly as Blade moved his fingers closer to her clit bar.
“Maybe we should play a game from your time, Noel.” Thorn opened his fly and his cock sprang into view. Blade touched her clit bar at the same time and she jumped as sensation cut into her pussy. It was acute and hot, her hips twitched towards the hand on her mons as her eyes remained on Thorn’s cock.
“What game?” Her voice was deep and husky. She licked her lower lip as she waited for Blade to move her clit bar once again.
“Simon Says.”
Blade chuckled next to her ear and flicked her clit bar. “I like the sound of that.”
Thorn grinned as the last bit of his clothing was draped over a chair. His body was absolute perfection. He used a single finger to motion her t
owards him. “Simon says kneel in front of me.”
Her clit vetoed the order but her hands were eager for the chance to touch the hard erection pointing at her. Blade released her and she stepped across the floor. Her hand curled around Thorn’s cock before she knelt. He clicked his tongue in reprimand as he moved back.
“You didn’t obey, Noel. Simon said kneel.” He grasped her chin between his thumb and forefinger.
“Okay.”
Thorn clicked his tongue once again, but his arm snaked around her waist as she began to bend her knees. “Simon says turn around and get on your hands and knees for punishment.”
Her clit pulsed with excitement, even as her pride battled against the idea of obeying such a submissive order. Her brain was caught in a tangle of impulses, but her body refused to let her forget how much she had enjoyed Blade spanking her last night. Excitement raced through her veins and it was more than just the sexual anticipation that fired her blood. She was enjoying the game, the flirting with both men. It was almost ridiculous that a child’s game was being used, but somehow that made it even more delicious. Noel turned around and lowered herself to her knees but she made sure she did it just slow enough to tease Blade with the possibility that she wasn’t going to play Thorn’s game. The moment backfired on her as she looked up to find Blade completely bare with a hard cock pointing at her.
“Happy now?” She looked over her shoulder and smothered a giggle at the raw look of hunger on Thorn’s face. His eyes were glued to her bare bottom and he had to shake his head before his eyes moved to hers. “It looks like Simon lost his concentration.”
