Sky Hunter

by Fae Sutherland

  “Shh.” They didn’t need words. In fact, words would almost taint the moment. Jadi arched his back, tilting his hips up in a move that offered him to Dagan even more. Dagan groaned and circled his hips as he thrust, his lips brushing the back of Jadi’s neck. The prince whimpered, and Dagan let his tongue slide out to sweep across that sensitive patch of skin, his teeth grazing there lightly.

  “I want you to feel me, little bird.”

  Jadi let out a soft sound of protest when Dagan withdrew until just the head of his cock was inside. Jadi moaned as he pushed back inside even slower than before. Dagan braced himself on his forearms, hands covering Jadi’s where they fisted in the sheets. He rocked his hips, setting up a slow, long slipping in and out motion. Not even really thrusting, just slide out, push in, slow and long, to feel every bit of it. He nuzzled Jadi’s neck and his shoulder.

  He loved the way Jadi tasted, sweet and with a slight tinge of spice. He wanted to know all of his flavors, from head to toe and morning to night. A tang on his tongue when he was sweaty during a hard fuck. The faint hint of soap when he was fresh from bathing.

  Right now he tasted warm mostly, and sweet. Skin flushed even though it was hard to tell in the dark. He could feel it. Warmer than usual, so smooth and beautiful. Jadi had absolutely the most beautiful skin of anyone Dagan had ever known, despite the last six years of danger and hard work.

  “Jadikira,” he whispered, shuddering as Jadi clenched around him. It fried his senses, and he shuddered when Jadi bucked his hips up a bit, clenching again. He didn’t have to say a word, his demand for more, faster, perfectly clear.

  Dagan did speed his rocking, but still nowhere near a real thrusting. Still long, still deep, just a bit faster now. Rolling his hips now.

  Jadi moaned, his eyes squeezed shut and head turned to the side, giving Dagan a breathtaking view. His body shuddered under Dagan’s and Dagan could feel every inch of him, his skin hot and just a little damp, smooth over the lean muscle.

  “Dagan...more, Dagan, you’re gonna kill me.”

  Dagan smiled and gave his shoulder a bite. “I’m not going to kill you. And shhh. Tell me what you want with your body, Jadikira. Make me feel your need.”

  Not that it’d be hard to do. It was as if Dagan had a constantly on, open connection to Jadi—even if the channel didn’t always come in crystal clear.

  Jadi moaned, turning his head to bite Dagan’s forearm, eyes flashing sarcasm and amusement, as if to say “How’s that for silent conversation?”

  Dagan laughed. “More, then? That what you want, little bird?”

  Jadi moaned, rocking his hips back hard and Dagan laughed, taking that as a yes. He withdrew again, making Jadi moan. The prince might think he was going to kill him if he kept up with this slow-as-molasses pace, but Dagan knew it’d only make the coming orgasm a hundred times hotter.

  He wasn’t a complete masochist, though, and thrust into Jadi, setting a rhythm, not fast, but not slow either, sinking deep into him over and over again. His lover let out a low moan of satisfaction, fingers curling on the sheets as he tilted his hips in an effort to get Dagan even deeper.

  His teeth grazed Jadi’s shoulder, up to the side of his neck, lingering for a bit over the sensitive skin where neck met shoulder. Dagan had the crazy desire to mark him there, to mark him everywhere. He didn’t, but the thought lingered, wondering what it’d be like to be allowed such liberties. To have Jadi truly belong to him, in every way.

  Pushing aside wishful thinking, Dagan urged Jadi’s hips up, until he was on his knees with his chest and shoulders still on the bed. They moved together like liquid, in perfect rhythm. Hell, even their breath was in sync. Soft, deep pants, punctuated by whimpers from Jadi and groans from Dagan. Wordless messages, some of the coded and unbreakable, passed back and forth with each movement of their bodies.

  It couldn’t last though. Slow and sensual inevitably gave way to the passion that built, the need for friction and heat and within minutes the still-lazy thrusts became rougher, harder, jolting them both as Jadi shoved up to his elbows and began to drive his hips back to meet Dagan.

  Dagan shuddered, kneeling up and closing his hands on Jadi’s waist, thumbs stroking along the base of his spine.

  Jadi shuddered, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, then opening them, meeting Dagan’s heated gaze through the shadows. “You feel so good, Dagan, my God,” he panted, his voice breaking as Dagan thrust harder now, his body answering every one of Jadi’s wordless pleas and demands for more. He bent over Jadi again, fixing his mouth on a spot between his shoulder blades, sucking and licking, his teeth sinking into skin and Jadi let out a sharp cry, clenching his muscles instinctively.

  So much for ignoring silly desires to lay his mark on Jadi. Dagan groaned, his hands slipping down to Jadi’s hips, pressing firmly against his damp skin as their orgasms swept closer. Then something changed, Jadi growled under his breath and abruptly shifted.

  Before he could process what was happening, Dagan was on his back and Jadi over him, panting hard.

  “You marked me.”

  Oh shit.

  “Now it’s my turn.”

  Leaning down, Jadi pressed his lips to Dagan’s collarbone, opening his mouth against his skin. Dagan groaned, his hand tightening in Jadi’s hair as he sucked and licked and bit at the spot he’d chosen. The prince lifted his head after a few long moments, brushing his finger against the spot. Dagan glanced down and could just barely see the dark little bruise in the faint light. Jadi’s lips curved in a satisfied smile as he dipped his head again, this time right on the curve of Dagan’s shoulder. When he was done, Jadi kissed the spot he’d marked and straightened up, shaking his head when Dagan moved to roll them over again.

  “Uh-uh, let me.” Jadi breathed.

  Dagan’s eyes squeezed shut with a rough groan as Jadi sank down on his cock. He groaned, his fingers tightening on Jadi’s hips.

  Jadi panted, meeting Dagan’s eyes. “Now you tell me. How does it feel?”

  Dagan smiled shakily, lifting his hips to meet Jadi’s movements. “Like grabbing hold of a comet’s tail,” he teased, one hand reaching down to close on Jadi’s cock and began to stroke him.

  Jadi let out a sharp cry and lost his rhythm for a second, then bent over him, giving one of Dagan’s nipples a sharp bite. The sting, along with a perfectly timed roll of his lover’s hips, was the end of the fucking line and Dagan groaned, burying his hands in Jadi’s messy curls.

  “Jadi,” he managed, their lips a hairsbreadth apart as they both fucked their way right to the razor’s edge. “Now.”

  And Jadi agreed, because a split second later he was right there with Dagan, clinging to him, their gazes locked as they came. He didn’t speak and neither did Jadi. He didn’t want to move. Not to clean up, not to get dressed, nothing that would break this sort of spell that hung over them. Unfortunately, the longer they lay there, the more rapidly the web dissipated and a few minutes later it was incinerated like so much dew on the grass by the shout from Rain outside and a pounding on the bay door.

  “Put your cocks away, boys! Shit done met the fan!”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “What the hell is going on?”

  Jadi followed Dagan out, shrugging back into his coat. He didn’t meet Torin’s or Rain’s questioning gazes. He didn’t have answers for what had just happened between him and Dagan and he damn sure didn’t want to see their pity. Not now, not ever.

  Torin gestured them over. “We were monitoring the grid, local mostly, thinking if anything happened while you two were gone it’d show up there and we’d know you got pinched.”

  Jadi frowned. “But we didn’t.”

  Rain reached out to catch Jadi’s arm and draw him closer. “No, but you did get seen. Which is now worse than getting pinched.”

  “Wha
t?” Dagan leaned forward to peer at the console Rain pointed at. “Okay, so they got images of us sneaking through at the Notch. So?”

  Torin growled impatiently and tapped a few keys, bringing up the entire series of pictures. “They also have images of you snapping a guard’s neck and leaving him for dead.”

  Jadi’s eyes widened. “What? That’s not what happened. That guard is alive, or was the last time we saw him. Dagan didn’t kill him!”

  Rain looked grim. “That’s the least of it.”

  “There’s worse? Of course there is.” Dagan rubbed a hand over his face. “What else?”

  Both Torin and Rain stared at him. His heart thumped. That couldn’t be good. “What?”

  “Your father—”

  “—is dead, I know.”

  Torin came forward to put a hand on Jadi’s shoulder. “No. I mean yes, but that’s not what we’re talking about. We know who the traitor is. And they’re blaming you and Dagan for your father’s death.”

  Jadi couldn’t breathe for a second, just stared. Dagan, however, had no such trouble and exploded in fury.

  “What the ever loving fuck do you mean?”

  Rain exhaled a heavy breath, glancing back and forth between them. “It’s Kalar. The traitor. And she’s got images of you apparently killing a guard as you sneak on to the grounds, a nurse who says you assaulted her and tied her up while you went into the king’s chambers just moments before he was found dead.”

  Torin’s face was grim. “She’s got warrants out for you, dead or alive. Both of you.”

  It was like the air had been kicked right out of him. That bitch was saying he’d killed his own father. He turned and stared at Dagan, disbelieving.

  Dagan’s face was stricken. “I didn’t know. Jadi, I swear I didn’t know it was her.”

  Jadi reached out and gripped his hand. “No, no I...of course you didn’t. I know. I just... What are we going to do?”

  “Well, so far she hasn’t actually announced any kind of power grab. She’s just slipped into the power role using the ‘manhunt’ as a sort of segue.”

  “Christ.” Jadi sat down heavily on a nearby chair. Nausea roiled in his belly. “We gave her the perfect in. As head military advisor, of course she’s in charge of the manhunt and if we hadn’t gone there wouldn’t be a manhunt.”

  Dagan’s hand on Jadi’s shoulder was strong and reassuring. “She’d have found another way, a violent way even. At least this isn’t going to get innocent citizens killed.”

  Jadi took a deep breath. “I know. I know you’re right. And I don’t regret going. I’d go again to see him one more time.” The shock was rapidly wearing off and being replaced with pure, ice-cold anger. “Well, I don’t care how easily she thinks this is going to go for her. I’m going to make sure her ‘reign’ is the shortest in Hadrian history.”

  * * *

  Three hours later, they had a plan. Whether it was a good plan, well, that was anyone’s guess.

  “So what we know is that Kalar and her ‘administration’ have locked down the planet. No one is allowed in, no one can go out. They know no ships left the planet last night, which means they know you two are still here.” Torin frowned, scrubbing one hand over his bald head. “Unfortunately, with the images, everyone knows exactly how you both look, so getting out is going to be a hell of a lot more dangerous, especially considering the bounty they’ve laid on your heads.”

  Dagan chuckled, though there was no humor in it. “A bounty for the bounty hunter. Ironic.”

  Rain grinned at Jadi. “I like him.”

  “You would,” Jadi retorted, gaze flicking to Dagan. He didn’t seem to take offense, giving Jadi a quick smile.

  “Concentrate, please.” Torin rolled his eyes at the three of them. “We need a plan and we need it quick. If she’s as old a friend as you say, Dagan, she has some idea how you think, which means this warehouse might not be safe anymore. At the very least she’ll know where to start looking and eventually end up here. What about the ‘friend’ who set this place up?”

  “Kobo won’t spill. He’s as wanted as we are now. The last thing he’s going to do is hitch his wagon to Kalar’s bunch. But you’re right, she’d know where I’d go for help and that means we need to move as soon as possible.”

  Jadi knew exactly who could help. “We need to find my uncle.”

  “Leven?” Dagan frowned. “I’m sure Kalar has him. She’d have to, because he’s technically next in line after you, so if she wants to keep her power, she’s got to have him under control. There’s no way, we won’t be able to get to him, even if we knew where she has him.”

  Jadi didn’t care. “He’s the only one who can help and if we’re going to stop her, we need him anyway. Who else is going to run this planet when I leave?”

  Dagan threw him a look. “You don’t have to leave. You could stay.”

  Jadi rolled his eyes. “I came, I’m saving the place. I made—” His throat tightened. “I made peace with my father. Can you please just be satisfied? I’m not staying, dammit.”

  Torin interrupted. “I’m sorry, but I think we should wait a day at least before we do anything.”

  “What? Why? You just said she might know or suspect where we are.”

  “Yeah, but she’s also got the entire guard out there and a city of citizens who could use the one hundred thousand credits she’s offering for your heads.”

  Jadi’s jaw dropped. “Jesus. How much is she making on this trade deal with Shengo that she can toss that kind of money at people?”

  Dagan sank into a nearby chair, as if the enormity of everything had just hit him. “She’s got the entire treasury at her disposal now, Jadi. That money’s not coming out of her private account, I’m sure.”

  He hadn’t even considered that. Christ, they had to stop her. He turned to Torin. “Okay, so you think we should sit tight until the first wave of the search passes? I mean, that makes sense, but what if she does know where we are?”

  Dagan shook his head. “No, if she knew we’d be in shackles and in custody right now. She doesn’t know.”

  That was true. “Then we stay put until morning at least, preferably until tomorrow night when we can move easier in the dark. In the meantime, we find out where she has my uncle.” He could only pray she hadn’t had Leven killed. Otherwise he had no idea how they were ever going to wrest control back from her without a goddamn civil war.

  * * *

  It was like watching the ground just open up and swallow everything you held dear. Kalar wasted no time and by noon the next day her coup was well underway. Shengo and his main freighter were in orbit, apparently just waiting for the first big shipment of gradium. Kalar was calling him a fucking diplomatic liaison and ignoring the protests of the citizens who knew letting a criminal like him have access to their resources was anything but diplomatic. It would mean war with the C.O.P., who probably already had a fucking armada dispatched this way. What Kalar planned to do about them, Dagan didn’t know. Maybe she thought Shengo and his cronies could protect her.

  She was inviting a full-blown war, not just civil here on Hadrian, but planetary if she thought she could keep the C.O.P. out of her backyard. Stronger leaders than she had tried and failed to stand up to the C.O.P. No one won and the citizens always paid the heaviest price. He had no doubt that would be the case this time, as well.

  “Dagan!”

  Jadi’s voice stirred Dagan from his worried thoughts and he pushed to his feet. “What is it?”

  Jadi gestured, waving him over to the console where he’d been sitting all day so far, watching broadcasts and press conferences and basically the entire planet in full-on panic flail mode. No one knew what to make of anything.

  “Here, look.” He swept his fingers across the screen, backtracking the broadcast he was watchi
ng. “Listen.”

  “Prince Leven Adar, brother of the late King Jahan, is working with Advisor Kalar from a location just outside Nashua where we’re told he is in full support of the new administration. We were unable to speak to him, but his aide assured us he would be making a statement very soon.”

  Jadi jabbed his finger at the console. “She’s got him at the military base, probably under lock and key. He’s not working with her. He can’t be, right?”

  “No way. He might be going along though. He’s smart, he’d know she wants him dead but he’s worth more to her as an ally. If he convinced her he doesn’t want the power and was willing to support her takeover, he’d be too valuable to kill. With you wanted for patricide, and him throwing the full weight of his support behind her, Kalar is unchallenged for the moment.”

  “I bet that’s what he’s doing. Which means we should be able to get to him, right? He’s not a prisoner, so we can find him and he can help us.”

  Dagan hesitated, scratching the side of his neck. “It’s not going to be that easy, Jadi. We’re still the most wanted people on this planet. And he’s on a military base. How are we going to get in there without being arrested?”

  Jadi’s eyes lit up like the morning sky and Dagan resisted the urge to lean down and kiss the breath right out of him. “We get arrested.”

  It took a second for Dagan’s brain—still caught in ‘kiss Jadi’ mode—to register those three words. “I’m sorry, what? Are you out of your mind?”

  Jadi smiled. “Come on, it’s perfect. We get out to the base, get ourselves seen and they bring us to Leven. He’s in charge over there, he’s my uncle, of course they’d bring us to him. Then we can tell him what we want to do!”

  “Which is?” They hadn’t even come up with a solid plan to knock Kalar off her newly claimed throne.

  Jadi hesitated. “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter, we’ll think of something. He might already have a plan. Or we can come up with one together. Either way, it’s enough that we get in there and get to him. That’s what matters.”