by Laurie Roma
“Fuck!” he raged as he slammed a fist down on the low wall, shocking her into silence. He spun on her, eyes blazing with anger. “Do you really think I had anything to do with that? You think I have waited this long for you just to fuck it all up by having them push you into this position? I want you to choose me. To come to me and Arik of your own free will, not have you forced to take us just because you have no other option.”
“Well, we can’t all get what we want now, can we?” she spit out bitterly. “And what do you mean by waiting for me, you arrogant ass? Did you think I was just going to give in one day and beg you to claim me?
“Ha! You wouldn’t beg for water if you were dying of thirst, you stubborn woman.”
“Damn right.” She turned to leave, but Dom grabbed her arm, spinning her around again.
“We aren’t done.”
“Let go of me,” she snarled as she jerked her arm away from him. “Do you think I’m going to just let you claim me now because the regents think they can force this on me?”
“No, I know you're going to let me claim you because of this.”
Dom grabbed hold of her, wrapping one strong arm around her waist while the other wound her hair tight around his fist. Using it a leverage, he jerked her head back and slammed his mouth down on to hers, taking her lips in a brutal kiss. Her body went rigid in his hold, and he braced himself, ready to take the surge of energy he was sure she would hit him with.
But it never came.
Her hand came up to the front of his shirt, but instead of shoving him away, Dom felt her fist the material in her grasp to pull him closer. Fuck it, he thought. If he wasn’t on his ass from her shocking the shit out of him, he might as well take advantage and thoroughly enjoy the situation.
Dom’s grip on her tightened as he coaxed her lips apart, spearing his tongue deep to mate with hers. She let out a soft moan that made his cock painfully hard, and she met his passion with equal fervor. There was no hesitation as her own tongue stroked against his, making his body burn with the need to take her. He knew she could feel the rigid length of his cock pressed against her and let out a groan of his own as her body moved enticingly against him.
Stars, he wanted to fucking devour her in great greedy gulps.
He lost himself in the kiss. Forgetting to breath, he had to pull back when he started to get light headed. His lungs billowed as he gulped in air. The feel of her breasts pressed up against his chest made him growl as he lowered his head to taste her again, but the momentary pause had given her enough time to gather her wits. She released her hold on his shirt to push at him, stopping him from claiming lips again.
“Wait! Just...wait.”
“Damn it, Sky,” he growled. “Just let me claim you for star’s sake!”
“No. This is crazy!”
“Crazy is stopping,” Dom argued harshly. “I want you.”
Skylar made herself pull away from him even though her body was still humming with the pleasure from that simple kiss. No, it wasn't simple. That kiss had nearly been enough to make her come. Every instinct told her to take what he was offering, to give in to the need building between them, but she couldn’t ignore the warnings flashing through her head.
“Dom, we have to think about this. You’re still my commanding officer—”
“Fine. Fuck it, you’re fired.”
She gave a half laugh. “Then I really would have to kill you.”
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Dom ran a hand through his thick black hair. “I know you want me, Sky. Are you really going to try and deny it after the way you burned for me just now? Why are you fighting it?”
“I have my reasons.”
Dom saw the sadness flicker in her pale blue eyes, and he didn’t like it. “You’re going to have to face your past sooner or later.”
That put Skylar’s back up. “Don’t tell me what I have to do. I know I have to abide by the dictates of the regents, but I won’t be pressured into anything before I’m ready. I may be attracted to you, but I have to think about this.”
“You know we’re good together, Sky.”
“We have chemistry, Dom. I’ll admit that, but there is more to consider than just whether or not we would be good in bed.” Skylar took a deep breath, releasing it slowly as she tried to calm the rapid beat of her heart. “I’m going to go now. I’ll...we’ll talk about this later.”
Dom waited until she walked a few steps before softly saying her name. When she turned back to him he had to force himself not to go to her and drag her to the floor where he could have her under him. His hands fisted at his sides, and he knew she could see the proof of his need for her tenting his loose pants. “You can’t keep running from me.”
Annoyance flickered in her icy blue eyes. “I’m not running, I’m just being cautious. I just have to think.”
He didn’t bother to argue the point, but pierced her with an intense stare instead. “Think fast.”
She gave a curt nod, then hurried from the room.
Dom stood frozen in place as he watched her leave the gym. As the automatic doors slid closed after she exited the room, he heard the rush of wings behind him and knew without turning that it was Arik. He couldn’t blame the D’Aire. If he had wings he would have hidden in the rafters where he could have watched Skylar without her knowing as well. Not that he wanted to think about that. Dom had an aversion to heights that greatly amused his friend to no end.
The bastard.
Arik stepped forward so he was standing beside Dom as his wings retracted into his back. “That was...intense.”
“She’s lucky I let her leave.”
“You would have never forced her.”
“I wouldn’t have had to force her,” Dom growled back. “She wants me. She’s just too fucking stubborn to let us claim her.”
“What she said was true. There are issues to consider, and this new ultimatum puts a new twist on the situation. She has so much anger in her...”
“Wouldn’t you be pissed, too? Fuck, what the hell were the regents thinking? I wish I could strangle the fucking lot of them for backing her into a corner like this.”
“They are trying to control her, and we both know that is something she cannot abide. It is part of the reason she avoids you.”
Dom turned to glare at his friend. “Bastard. You aren’t helping.”
“I’m simply stating the truth,” Arik said with a shrug. “Still, this does not make pressing our suit any easier.”
Pressing their suit. What an old world, solicitous way of saying they wanted to fuck her brains out, then claim her so no other man could ever touch her. Dom sighed. “I don’t want to control her. I just want to make sure she doesn’t get herself killed.”
“That isn’t how she sees it,” Arik countered. “You are controlling. She knows that. And she fears what being with me will mean concerning her forgotten memories. We’ve had this conversation before.”
Dom knew they had. Since Arik had met Skylar, he’d made it clear that she was the fated keeper of his heart, the title given to a D’Aire’s chosen. At first, Dom hadn’t liked the thought of sharing Skylar with anyone—even his best friend—but they had come to terms with the arrangement. Sure, that agreement had come after the two of them had beat the hell out of each other, but it was something they had finally decided was best for her.
Arik had a calmness, a peace inside himself that would help counter Skylar’s fiery temper, while Dom would be able to understand her in ways the D’Aire couldn’t. Both males had made a vow to protect her, and would do so whether she wanted them to or not.
Stubborn fucking woman.
“I need a damn shower.”
“You might want to make it a cold one.”
The smirk on Arik’s face as he glanced down at Dom’s body made him want to punch the winged bastard.
“Funny. At least I got a taste of her.”
That had the grin fading from Arik’s face. “Do not remind me.”
“She’ll be ours soon. There’s no other option,” Dom said. “It’s either that or lose my fucking mind.”
“I agree, and I think it might be time for me to give her a nudge in that direction.”
Dom laughed. “Good luck with that.”
Arik sighed as he nodded. He knew he was going to need it.
***
Chapter Four
Skylar was frustrated as hell as she paced her quarters.
Since leaving the gym, she had showered and changed, then tried to get some rest. Lying down hadn’t done any good because she couldn’t turn her mind off long enough to fall asleep. There was too much on her mind. She’d gotten back up when her stomach growled, and realized she’d missed dinner, but nothing stocked in the food console unit appealed to her.
Giving up, she stopped pacing and threw on a black shirt and matching drawstring pants before she left her room. It was late enough that she didn’t see anyone in the corridors as she made her way to the main mess hall. That suited her just fine since she didn’t think she would be capable of polite conversation as the moment.
The doors to the main dining hall silently slid open as she approached them, and she entered the room, relieved to find it empty. It was a large room, with comfortable chairs around long tables that allowed for various members of the crew to sit in groups as they ate or socialized. The entire hall was decorated in different shades of blue, and was both appealing as well as relaxing.
The glow of the stars out of the large windows cast shadows through the dark room, but the motion lights fixed into the ceiling lit up as she made her way across the room. Her step slowed as she saw a light was on in the back kitchen area through the small windows in the door. Part of her didn’t want to deal with seeing anyone, but her desire for chocolate ice cream was greater than her reticence.
Pushing open the swinging doors, Skylar peeked in, then huffed out an annoyed breath as she saw Arik standing in front of the large freezer wearing a white shirt and matching pants. She thought the contrast they made in their choice of colors somehow seemed appropriate. He turned as she approached, and she frowned down at the bowl of ice cream he set down on the counter.
Arik saw the suspicion on Skylar’s face and held back a smile. She was right to be cautious around him, since he was on a mission...a mission to win her heart. He knew she would come here, just as he’d known he wouldn’t be able to stay away from her knowing she was upset.
The D’Aire race was vastly different from humans, even though they had formed a cohesive bond over the years since they first made contact. They took pride in being analytical, logical and never letting their emotions rule their actions...that is, until they found the keeper of their hearts.
Then logic warred with pure instinct and the intricacies of love.
Being an ambassador for his race was a struggle at times. His people depended on making the alliance that existed between the two races strong and lasting. It was difficult to make a new home far away from his planet and everything that was familiar to him, but Arik knew everything had all been worth it since it had brought Skylar into his life.
She was his light, even if she had no idea how much things had changed for him since he’d met her. Arik had forced himself to be patient, to wait for her to come to him. Clearly, that had been the wrong approach to take with her since she was too stubborn to give into the attraction between them gracefully. He should have known better. She never gave in without a fight.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
Skylar frowned at Arik’s statement. She walked toward him slowly, taking the time to do quick scan of the room to make sure they were alone, then stopped when she was a few feet away from him. The kitchen lacked the comforting feeling the mess hall had, but it made up for it in functionality and purpose. The gleaming silver appliances were top-grade, and there was a large metal work table in the center of the room that allowed plenty of room for the kitchen staff to prepare all the meals that were served in the main dining hall and the items they loaded into each room’s food consoles.
She would have bet a month’s pay that the ship’s head chef and his crew would have had heart failure if they knew she and Arik were invading their territory without their permission, but a girl had to do what she had to do to get her chocolate fix. “What are you doing in here?”
“You haven’t eaten, have you? When you’re upset, you tend to forget to eat. And I know that you like ice cream when you’re troubled. Chocolate ice cream, to be exact.”
Skylar’s greedy eyes dropped back down to the bowl of ice cream, but when she went to grab for it, he moved it out of her reach. “Hey!”
“Come here, Skylar.”
Arik didn’t give her time to protest as he simply picked her up and sat her down on the metal counter in front of him. He stepped forward to keep her where he wanted her, then picked up the bowl. Scooping up some ice cream with the spoon, he held it out. The scowl on her face made him want to laugh, but his face was a mask of impassivity as he waited for her to open her mouth.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Skylar pinched her lips together as she leaned away from him and reached for the bowl. “Just—”
“No. This is the very last of the triple chocolate fudge brownie ice cream. If you want it, you will have to share with me.”
Her scowl deepened. “You can’t even eat chocolate. It makes you high.”
“So it does,” Arik said with a grin. “But if you want this...you’ll have to let me feed you.”
With an irritated huff of breath, Skylar took his offering, allowing the cold, creamy chocolate treat to settle her nerves. She felt silly sitting on the counter as he fed her, but what the hell, it was ice cream and she wanted it. She cocked her head to the side to study him as he fed her another bite.
He was so damn handsome that sometimes she lost her breath just looking at him. He’d left his long, white hair loose so it framed his strong face. While some people had nicknamed the D’Aire angels, Skylar thought it would be more appropriate to call them avenging or fallen ones. There was nothing soft or cuddly about D’Aire males. They were strong, well muscled, and all of them stood around seven feet tall, but that was before they released their majestic wings that added another foot to their height.
Arik was a D’Aire warrior through and through, and his slightly leaner frame complimented Dom’s heavier muscled body, making them an unstoppable force when they worked together. They were like day and night, Arik’s light to Dom’s dark. She had to admit that she was equally attracted to both of them, but the fact that there were two of them was a whole different issue in itself that she had no clue how to handle. “What gives, Arik?”
He smiled at her, his iridescent-blue eyes luminous with amusement. “You are so suspicious, Skylar. I only want to share my treat with you.”
She waited until she swallowed another mouthful of ice cream before she sighed. “You know about the kiss, don’t you?”
The handle of the spoon bent in Arik’s hand as his grip tightened around it. He released the spoon, then set the bowl down. “Yes, I know about the kiss.”
“I never pegged you and Dom to gossip like a bunch of little girls.”
His eyes narrowed as he gripped her chin, making her look at him. “We were not gossiping. Everything that happens between two of us affects the third, you know that.”
Skylar knew she was being unfair, but she didn’t like the guilt the swept through her as she remembered the kiss she’d shared with Dom. “Arik, I... Hell, I’ve already been through this gambit with Dom. I’m not really in the mood to rehash this right now.”
Arik smiled as he gently pushed a strand of her thick, black hair behind her ear. Skylar had a face he could happily spend the rest of his days looking at...and he would if he had his way. She had reservations about being with him, and he could sense that she felt uneasy with him knowing about her interlude with Dominic earlier. Sometimes she was so easy for him to read, while other
time she left him feeling so frustrated he wanted to pull his own hair out. Arik didn’t mind that Dom had taken advantage of his time alone with her, because he was about to do the same.
“Skylar, you don’t need to feel bad about spending time with Dominic, just as you shouldn’t feel guilty about us being here alone right now. The three of us must come to terms with how this relationship will work between us.” Her shoulders slumped a little as the fire in her eyes died. He didn’t like seeing the look of defeat that seemed to settle over her.
“Why are you and Dom pushing this now? Do you know how much it pisses me off to know you guys have just been waiting to swoop in when I have no choice about my own future? I know I’m on borrowed time, Arik. It doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
He let out a sigh. “You’ve known how we’ve felt about you—”
“Have I? Both of you have watched me, annoyed the hell out of me sticking your noses into my business, but never once have either of you said anything about wanting to claim me until now. Being a scroll sucks. All you guys think you need to do is snap your fingers and poof, I’m just supposed to be happy someone wants to claim me.”
Arik tilted his head to the side as he studied her. “Have we not courted you enough, Skylar?”
“Oh, fuck it. Forget I said anything.”
She tried to get off the counter, but he pressed forward, pushing his large body between her thighs to keep her in place. He could tell that he had insulted her by the way her body had stiffened, and he fought back the need to pull her into his arm so he could soothe her. Skylar’s anger he could deal with, but her sadness was a different story. And he could see that what he’d said had wounded her beneath her show of temper.
“Move,” she snapped. “Let me up.”
He ignored her command and reached up to gently cup the sides of her face with both of his hands. “Do you know what having a keeper truly means to a D’Aire, Skylar?”
She took her time answering, but finally said, “I know you bond with one woman.”
