Havoc

by Linda Gayle

  “A scrap of gauze covered with burn cream.”

  He couldn’t be serious. “Are you certain?”

  “Absolutely. I knew it as soon as she showed it to us. I don’t care how faint it was. I’ll never forget the smell. I’m surprised you didn’t recognize it, considering you were covered with it after I dragged you to the medi-unit all those years back. I suppose the bonesmen kept you too foggy.”

  “Then…you took all that poison without…?”

  He nodded as he popped his knuckles. “Yeah.”

  “Why didn’t you call her out on it, then?”

  His mouth curled up slightly at one corner. “Curiosity.”

  “You could have died, Kels.”

  “Nah. Puked a lot, sure, but you won’t be rid of me that easily.”

  “I still haven’t puzzled out why she got so sick.”

  “Nerves, most likely. Afraid we’d figure her out.”

  “All that to get to the high games?”

  Kels sucked on his lower lip. “Well, that’s another thing, isn’t it? Is that really her goal?”

  “You have my head spinning. If it’s not, then why’s she fucking you now?”

  Kels laughed. “Oh, another cruel blow to the man’s ego.”

  Elion laughed too, but uneasily. “You know that’s not what I meant. I mean, she’s bent on it, getting into the Dome.”

  “I’m not so sure she is. She tells me she wants to fuck. She tells you she’s frightened. And her and me—we haven’t actually done the deed yet, though to be honest that’s more my doing than hers. Truth, though, she’s doing her best to get us both worked into a lather. I have to wonder, is she playing us, one against the other? Or buying both our loyalties with her favors?”

  Saints, this was making him ill. He’d lifted her up on a pedestal, thinking she was pure and honest, and now all that was being kicked out from under her piece by piece. He rubbed his aching head. “What would be the purpose? What’s her motivation? It’s not as if we’re richers.”

  “Yeah. Haven’t figured out that part yet. But I think it’s clear she’s a richer, or was. I’m thinking runaway princess maybe skirting a marriage arrangement or some warlord’s daughter getting her small revenge on her overbearing parents.”

  “She’s too old for that.”

  “I don’t know. Sounds like she’s had a fairly pampered life. It’s war and hardship that make you grow up quick. There’s a difference between age and maturity.”

  “Of course.” He mulled for a few moments, then sighed. “Well, what are we going to do about it? Take off without her? Leave her on Aleut to make her own way home?”

  “Nah,” Kels said softly, shaking his head and smiling. “I’m gonna call her bluff, take her in the Dome today, and give her the fucking of a lifetime.”

  Kels watched his mate’s face pale, for Elion knew of what he was capable. “Don’t hurt her, Kels,” Elion said.

  “Of course I won’t. Just going to give her something to write home about, let’s say.”

  “And if she ducks out before you go in, you’ll let her?”

  “Sure. You know me. Have I ever forced a woman?”

  “No.” Elion’s gaze fell, then rose again. “What if you’re wrong? What if she’s run away because she’s in trouble?”

  “Yeah, I did consider.” He slouched down farther in his chair and folded his hands over his stomach. “She mentioned a fella coerced her—her words. Made her perform in front of his mates. I warned her the Dome was no place to work out old hurts, but that was early on, and she’s never relented or switched her gears. Didn’t seem too upset about being coerced neither. Maybe she liked it, being watched.”

  “What a tangle.” Elion drummed his fingers on his thigh. “Maybe we should confront her, tell her what we’re thinking, see how she handles it.”

  “Considered that too. Only thing that’s stopping me is”—he paused, puckered his lips—“that something special you mentioned. There’s a fucking sincerity about her that makes me not want to put her on the spot. If she’s running from something bad and needs help, she just might not know how to ask for it. Putting pressure on her might make her run again, and it’d be worse for her with most any other guys.” He’d thought of the other smuggler captains in the station and knew not a one of them who wouldn’t have raped her or sold her by now, seeing as she had no money and no guardians. “She hardly knows us neither after all. Sure, she has her doubts about us, same as we do about her. Wouldn’t make sense for her to spill her guts to us after a few days’ acquaintance.”

  “Hasn’t stopped her from getting into our pants,” he pointed out.

  “Sometimes that’s easier than getting into the heart, you know?” He smiled at his mate. “Our relationship’s a work in progress.”

  Elion sat back. “What’ve you got in mind, then?”

  “I’ve tossed it about all night, and I’ve decided I want to ride it out, see where this leads. It’s not as if I didn’t want to go to the Zone anyhow. We might drum up more business there, and we need that, ‘specially if the Dregs are running dry like M’Tal says. We need to start expanding our horizons too.”

  “But the Dome…”

  He spread his hands. “She says it’s what she wants. Best she learns what she’s in for if she’s truly got the high games in mind.”

  Elion knit his eyebrows worriedly. “What have you got in mind, for her, I mean?”

  He couldn’t help grinning. “A variation on a theme. You know she’s got fantasies about the three of us together. Don’t worry. I see your look of horror. I’m not asking. But I intend to work that angle, best I can with just the two of us.”

  Elion grimaced. “I’m not even going to ask how.”

  Kels huffed. “You big duck. You shouldn’t be afraid to present that magnificent wang to the world.”

  “And how would you know it’s magnificent? Even though it is, naturally.”

  “Naturally. I had my hands on it once.”

  “Yeah. That could have been a good night if you hadn’t ducked out.”

  Kels pointed at him. “We may have our night yet.”

  Elion reeled back. “Saints below, Kels. What the fuck’s got into you lately?”

  “What? After all these years of yearning, now you’re going cold on me?”

  “A man can only wait so long.” Elion arched his eyebrow skeptically. “I will say, you look very nice in black.”

  “Yeah, matches my sinister heart.” He pressed his palm over his chest; then a movement outside caught his eye. “Here comes our bird. Care to scoot down the ramp to assist her?”

  “Yeah.” Elion sighed. “Now I’m more in a muddle than ever about how to handle her.”

  “For now, follow my lead. Promise? Maybe we’ll get her to spill sooner than later.”

  Elion hesitated. “You’re sure about this?”

  “Oh, El.” Kels pulled a face. “Do you know why, with all your military experience and several years’ age on me, I’m the captain and you’re the mate?”

  “I suppose you’ll tell me.”

  “Because I can make a fucking decision; that’s why. Now stop prevaricating and bring in our girl.”

  With a sigh of strained patience, Elion rose and punched the panel that lowered the ramp. Sayal must be wondering why it hadn’t been down for her already. Kels watched Elion’s fine, tight ass as he disappeared into the cargo bay. No doubt, he’d been thinking more and more about a triad between El, him, and Sayal, her curvy body sandwiched between their two muscular ones…

  Like working a puzzle, his brain kept rearranging the three of them into interesting arrays to fill the maximum possible holes. He’d pushed Elion out of his mind as a sexual possibility for so long that now that he allowed himself to consider it again, he kept going back to it like he was worrying a loose tooth.

  The first time he’d had a man in the Dome, it had been quite the revelation. It’d been two guys actually, during a free-fuck, who’d decid
ed to break in the new fella—one on his cock, one up his ass, plenty of lube, thank the saints. Kels had been young, needing the iron and thinking, naively, that an arena full of flipped-on bodies would be fun. It’d turned out scarier, but it had opened his mind to vast possibilities. This bloke had shoved in nine inches of no turnin’ back and banged out a tremendous orgasm. Kels hadn’t liked feeling not in control, but he’d had a few chances to experiment since and discovered that making the other guy nuts was just as good if not better. Serious power rush.

  He’d done a triad too, with a chicky named Ibisna, long time earlier, and some fella… He hadn’t been too good. Ibisna had done her part. Yeah, triads could be tricky. With two guys it wasn’t always clear who was the boss, and Kels learned fast that not every fella liked to be the bottom, while he was certainly more the aggressor. But with Elion, there was no question. It wasn’t a matter of ego; it was simply the natural order of things. And El needed a good fucking, no question.

  Throwing Sayal into the mix only made things more intriguing. It’d be a mind-bending whirl of hard and soft, rough and wet, kissing and sucking. He hummed and gazed out the viewport where El was hitching Sayal’s bag over his shoulder. If only Elion weren’t so emotional. If he could see things more objectively, the way Kels did, he’d realize this was an opportunity for some seriously fierce pleasure.

  But the way Elion worked, his heart’d get all tangled up in it. Crack. For a man who’d just proclaimed himself a good decision maker, Kels still hesitated. Well, he couldn’t keep dropping hints, then not acting. He’d have to shit or get off the crapper soon, or Elion would quit and go work for some man-loving space pirate who would keep his ass and his wallet filled. Kels hadn’t done a good job of either for too long.

  By the time Elion and Sayal came up the ramp and entered the ship, Kels had gotten himself into such a sexual tumult, he was surprised the heat of his stare didn’t melt them on the spot. Sayal, in demure tan pants and a white blouse, appeared to suck in a breath. She was a sensitive little thing, like she knew what he was feeling. Which she might. Another piece of her picture he continued to fiddle with. He could imagine the vision he presented, in devil’s black, sprawled in his chair, burning them with his eyes and his dick blatantly hard, but hells, he was about to go into the Dome, and he should be worked up. He felt like a fucking tiger pent up too long.

  He swung his legs down, stood, and held out his hand. Sayal came to him and put her hand in his without a word. Good girl. He dragged her against him and took her mouth without mercy, digging his fingers into her hair, squeezing her ass with his other hand, and she didn’t disappoint, rising on her toes to meet him and sliding her arms around his waist.

  He knew Elion watched. In fact, he watched him watching, holding his gaze while he ate Sayal’s mouth and smoothed his hand in firm circles over her butt. He gave her ass a hard smack. She jumped, and so did El, and Kels almost laughed, they were both—all—wound so tight, he could smell the sex hanging in the air like a primeval fog.

  He pulled away and wiped his wet mouth on the back of his hand. “Showtime, luv.”

  “Now?” Sayal’s eyes had turned to molten gold. She clung to him; her fingers twisted in the front of his shirt.

  “It’s half past eleven-hour, maybe more. We have to get down there, get ready, go through the short scan…”

  She swallowed visibly. He could practically feel the flutter of nerves in her belly. Discussion would only muddy things. He turned to Elion. “Let’s go.”

  Her hand in his, he walked to the ramp. El choked out, “I’m not—”

  Kels grabbed his arm as he passed and towed him along. “I don’t expect you to fuck, mate, but the least you could do is see us off.”

  “All right, fine.” El pulled back his arm and paced alongside him, hands in pockets as if he could stuff his emotions in there. On his left, Sayal gripped his elbow with her free hand and almost had to jog to keep up with him. Once off the ramp, he hit a command on his com, and the ship sealed up, safe and tidy and where she belonged.

  Yeah, things were falling into place nicely.

  The walk to the Dome passed in a blur. Sayal remembered glancing up at the ribbon screen and seeing Keeva’s butt wagging at her, and almost bursting into a fit of nervous giggles. Her mouth burned from Kels’s hard kiss, her cheek abraded by his stubble. He hadn’t shaved; she hadn’t changed… Shouldn’t there have been more preparation? Kels and Elion escorted her through the labyrinth of corridors to a dressing-room door, but what was she to dress in? Weren’t they supposed to wear something into the Dome? She remembered others had worn robes or outfits with strategic cutouts…

  “I feel…” she said as they stopped in front of an unmarked door to watch a pair of naked ebony men walking by hand in hand, “somewhat overdressed.”

  Kels grinned at her. “No worries, princess. El’s going to take care of that. Aren’t you, mate?”

  “Eh?” Elion’s eyes were huge, following the two swinging asses as they disappeared around the corner. He blinked at Kels. “What’s that?”

  Poor Elion, clearly overwhelmed. How had the captain even convinced him to come this far? she wondered. Kels clapped his hand onto Elion’s shoulder. “I have to check in with Canto, do a few other things. This dressing room’s open. Take her in, get her into a robe. And nothing else, just the robe. Understand?”

  Elion opened his mouth as if he was about to ask a question, but then he stopped and nodded. “All right, Kels. Don’t be long.”

  Kels winked. “Good man. Now, princess, you just relax. You’re in good hands with my mate here. I’ll be back in a flash.” He turned and sauntered down the same green hallway they’d been in yesterday, greeting people as he went. Many seemed quite happy to see him, especially the beautiful women, and he even bent to kiss a few.

  “Well, he’s the popular one,” Sayal said, hands on hips.

  Elion put his palm on the small of her back. “To him, it really is a game; that’s all. Don’t take it personally.”

  His apology made her catch herself. She had no right to be possessive. “I don’t. It’s just so new to me. And so much busier than it was before.”

  “Oh, this is nothing. Wait till the evening games. The headliners draw the real rowdies.”

  A thin, naked woman with flowing red hair and small breasts ran past them, rolling a large bright green hoop before her. Sayal hopped back out of her way. “What the…?”

  Elion grimaced. “Some props are allowed,” he said by way of explanation and put his hands on her shoulders, guiding her toward the door. “Here, Sayal. Let’s get out of the traffic.”

  He opened the old-fashioned hinged door, and she stepped in ahead of him. Once shut, the door snuffed out much of the hallway noise, and Sayal breathed a sigh of relief. In the lighted mirror, she saw Elion behind her, flipping the lock. He noticed her watching him and smiled. He was quite handsome in a military sort of way, and his eyes were kind. He moved quietly, as if not wanting to alarm her.

  “I think there are robes over here…” He swiped his hand over a series of indents. The lights went down; the lights went up. “Well, that’s not it…” Sayal couldn’t help but giggle. Soft music came on, and even Elion laughed, a quiet rustle of humor. She didn’t think she’d heard him laugh before. “Crack,” he muttered. Then finally a large section of the wall whisked away, and a rack holding a variety of costumes extracted. “Ah, here we are.”

  She joined him to examine them.

  “Oh my.” Sayal selected a stretchy red number that would cover all but the most intimate parts of her body. “It would get a bit drafty, I’d think.”

  Elion found a black leather slave outfit, all straps and buckles. “Even I’m not this kinky,” he said, holding it up to himself. “Although…what do you think?”

  She bit the side of her finger, grinning. “Kels might like it.”

  “Kels, a submissive? Hardly. He’s the one cracking the whip; trust me.”

  “I d
idn’t mean he’d like to wear it.” They traded laughing, knowing glances. Sayal’s gaze caught on a gauzy green dress. “This looks fairly normal.” She held it up to her chest. “What do you think?”

  “I think he wants you naked,” Elion said frankly, and her heart skipped. “Ah, here we go.”

  He found a silky white robe similar to the black one she’d worn during her ship tour. Likely Kels had pinched it from a dressing room. Elion handed it to her, and she took it, and the reality of what was about to happen pressed down on her.

  Elion must have noticed her expression. He came closer to her, catching her gaze. “Still having doubts, Sayal?”

  Why did he have to be so gentle, so kind? She wanted to step into his arms and let him soothe away her fears. She wanted to confess everything to him, but then remembered how he’d spoken of Primes. No, he wouldn’t be very sympathetic to her plight.

  She put back the green dress and took the robe from him. “Elion, Kels has said nothing about what we’re going to do out there. I saw him only in the one performance with that Keeva woman.” She noticed his lips twitched at her epithet as if he suppressed a smile. “It looked a bit rough.” She nibbled her lower lip. “Has he said anything to you about what he has planned?”

  Elion had the good grace to look slightly embarrassed. “Not really. I’m sorry. He tends to work on the fly and makes it up as he goes. I know he’s been giving it some thought, but he hasn’t shared specifics. Why, is there anything you particularly like? Or don’t like?”

  He was so easy to talk to. She sat on a small cushioned sofa beside the wall, and Elion came to sit beside her. “He and Keeva were… Well, all that spanking and those restraints and…and the acrobatics.” She wrung her hands in her lap. “I don’t think I’d enjoy that.”

  He gave her a “you never know” tilt of his head but said, “Tell him. He’ll listen.” He put his hand over hers on her knee. “We both would if there’s anything you might need to say to us.” Concern flowed from him to her, warming her. “Sayal…have you had much sex? I mean, are you experienced?”

  “Experienced? I’ve had lovers if that’s what you mean.”