by Lilli Feisty
Which meant they were under his protection, and Xander would do anything to protect what was his. Even if it meant risking his life which was a real possibility if they were caught.
I own you. And everything that’s yours.
After one last deep drag from the arrat’e, he flicked it into a barrel. Fuck. Now they were on the run from that fuckwad, and if he caught up with them, Xander didn’t even want to think about the repercussion of having Viven discover Bryn.
“Captain. Look west.”
Xander followed Adiv’s gaze westward. He was staring at the sky.
In all the years they’d been sailing, Xander had seen every environmental phenomenon. The Roar, when particles from the sun swirled in a brilliant light toward earth, was the most common. They’d seen every color imaginable, and Xander often followed The Roar when it was blue, believing that would lead him to the northern edges of the earth.
But he’d never seen this.
In the distance were puffs in the sky that looked like storm clouds, but this was different. These were white, pure. Bryn joined him, as did Hawke.
“What is it?” Hawke asked, placing his hand on Xander’s shoulder.
“I don’t know.” He walked to the main mast and twisted the lever, pointing the hull of the ship toward the fluffy white mass in the sky. “But we’re going to find out.”
The closer they got to the white clouds, the more Bryn could feel a shift. In everything. The air became less salty, cleaner. The sky gradated from its orange hue to something almost...blue. Xander, Hawke, Bryn and Adiv stood at the hull, mesmerized. She could feel the energy radiating off Xander’s body—he was wound up like a coil.
And then...
“Holy fucking shit.” He ran a hand through his hair.
She saw it too. Green. So much green all she could do was stare at the image before them. But it wasn’t an image, or a mirage. It was real. And it rose out of the sea in lush abundance. Bryn put her hand over her mouth. “What is it?”
Hawke’s hands were fisted on the edge of the hull. “We’ve found it. We’ve fucking found it.”
Adiv barked a laugh. “Or did it find us?”
Turning away, Xander glanced over his shoulder. “Doesn’t matter. Prepare for docking.”
A month had passed since their arrival on the shore. During their time on the island the men had taught her how to swim in the gentle waves of the ocean. She’d learned how to carve a fish for dinner with nothing but a sharpened shell. She’d spent hours just staring at the lush plants that grew here. She’d stood under drops of warm, warm rain. Rain that came every evening and passed, leaving no havoc in its wake.
Bryn never wanted to leave. She had no clue how she’d gotten this lucky. It was barely imaginable that only a few weeks ago she’d been a captive in a brothel. That was the only life she’d known, and despite her fantasies of escape and freedom, never in a million years did she think that would actually happen. Her only concern was Ayla, and how worried she must be. That thought continued to nag at her, but she had no idea how to fix it.
And she was so wrapped up in the pleasure of it all... Now, as she lay on a hemp blanket in the sand, with Hawke’s face buried between her legs and Xander’s cock shoved deep in her throat, she moaned with total pleasure. She had everything she wanted, right here. Freedom. Power. Control.
And Hawke and Xander. How had she lived without them? They treated her like a princess. And she’d been exploring her sexuality in ways she’d never thought possible. Now, her eyes watered from Xander’s cock as he shoved it deep in her throat. She bucked against Hawke’s face. Looking up, she saw Xander’s eyes were dark with desire as he withdrew and rubbed his cock around her mouth, her lips, her face. “Yes…” she said. “Please.” She loved this. Loved feeling his erection on her face.
Because she loved him. She loved both of them.
“Someone fuck me,” she said. “I want you both to fuck me.” Her sex hurt from want. She needed to be filled. Filled with these two men.
“Fucking beautiful.” Adiv was on his knees next to them, his brown skin even more tan since they’d been docked on the shore of this uninhabited paradise. Clothing was an unnecessary item, and they’d all reverted to spending most of their time in the nude. He never participated in their threesomes, but he would often watch, all the while stroking his long ebony cock. The other crew members were exploring the lush vegetation of the island, but the four of them remained on the sand, because it was simply too hard not to touch these men. And Adiv? He loved to watch, and Xander had once said he had no problem accommodating his trusted purser’s voyeuristic tendencies.
Bryn’s skin had also darkened under the effects of the sun. The sun. How different it was here. It shone brilliantly, brightly. Clearly. Unlike home, the air was pure and the sun’s rays were like a warm blanket on her skin. She smiled. The Madam would be shocked if she saw the tanned hue of Bryn’s skin.
The rush of freedom still affected her as it had that first night she’d held the phallic piece of glass in her hand. It was exhilarating, and made her heart pound. She looked up at Xander. “Get on your back so I can fuck you.”
He grinned. “If you insist.”
“I do. And I want Hawke from behind.”
“Whatever you want, sweetheart.”
She glanced at Adiv, who was pumping his cock in long, slow strokes. His gaze on her sent a jolt of arousal straight to her sex. She loved to be watched. If she could, she’d let the whole world see her having sex because she wanted to. Because she chose to. Because she had that power.
With her palm on Xander’s chest, she pushed him backward. Then she climbed on top of him, and lowered her mouth to his. When he went to kiss her, she jerked away, smiling. Teasing. But then she touched her lips to his as she, finally, sank her wet pussy onto his erection, sliding up and down, using his cock to pleasure herself.
“Mmm, Xander. You’re so hard. So hot.”
“I do what I can.”
She glanced over her shoulder, to where Hawke was kneeling, stroking his cock. The tip was just inches from her ass. “Fuck me,” she said.
“All you had to do was ask.”
She turned back to Xander,. Using the strength of her thighs, she rose up and plunged back down. He filled her. “Uhhh,” she cried. Her legs began to tremble as she rode him. Then she felt Hawke’s erection behind her, rubbing around her damp sex. She knew she was wet. They always made her wet...
He used that liquid to coat his dick. Then she felt him pushing at her other hole. She was tight and he was big, but somehow the sensation was lovely, and as he pushed in deeper her entire body froze as the bliss of having both men overwhelmed her.
“That’s it, baby,” Xander said. “Fuck us.”
She managed to open her eyes. “No. You fuck me.”
And they did. They moved in rhythm, plunging in, out. Every nerve in her body felt them. Pure desire that electrified her fingertips and made her toes curl. She braced herself on top of Xander, letting them fuck her. She felt Hawk’s hair on her back, felt Xander’s slick skin on her breasts. “Yes...”
And she knew Adiv was watching. Watching her be utterly filled by these two men. It fueled her, and she could feel her orgasm building deep inside of her. In her core.
“Oh God! Yes. Fuck, yes. Don’t you fucking stop. Either of you, don’t you fucking stop.”
“No one’s stopping, sweetheart. We got you,” Xander said. He gripped her shoulders. Hawke held her hips. They pounded into her.
The climax shattered her, the intensity of it throwing her into utter bliss. She couldn’t think, only feel. And several moments passed before the wonderful fog in her brain began to clear.
She felt Xander and Hawke ram into her and still. Then the sensation of both men filling her with their hot seed.
She collapsed on top of Xander, and felt Hawke’s weight on top of her. A sigh of contentment escaped her mouth. She could stay like this forever.
Time
passed. She wasn’t sure how long they lay like that. Eventually, gently, Hawke removed himself from her. He then picked her up and carried her toward the sea. Xander followed.
They walked into the smooth, warm water. When the water reached his shoulders, Hawke released her, holding his hands under her back as the gentle waves lapped at her skin. They kissed her breasts, her neck, her wet stomach. The sun she had come to love so much caressed her with its rays. Unlike the hellish heat in the Wasteland, here soft clouds meandered through the sky and diffused the rays.
She never wanted to go back to Kroy Wren. Ever.
“We must return,” Xander said.
Her eyes popped open. “W-what?”
Hawke nodded. “He’s right. We’re running low on supplies. We need to restock.”
“But we have everything we need here,” Bryn said, swimming away. “Fresh water, plenty of fish and vegetation to eat. Why do we need to return?”
Xander shook his head. “Trust me, I wish we didn’t. But this place… We don’t know the storm patterns. We don’t know if there are seasons, if it will be cold. We need to be prepared, and I don’t know if we are.”
“I’m sure we are.” Bryn waved to the shore, where a large tree was dotted with small orange globes. Fruit. There were many such trees, each one producing a different type of food. Things she’d never tasted before. “What else could we possibly need?”
Xander dove into the water and reemerged a few feet away. He tossed his wet hair away from his eyes. “That’s the problem. I don’t know.”
“But…”
She could see the concern in his eyes when he spoke. “Trust me, going back to the ruins for supplies is the last thing I want to do. However, I’m still the Captain of this crew, and I need to make sure my people are taken care of.”
“But we are.”
“We don’t know that,” Hawke said. “This place…it seems like paradise, but the fact is, we don’t know. We don’t know anything. We’ve discovered something so unique, so rare…how do we know what the seasons will hold?”
The fear of the Burning Time was implanted deep inside anyone that was left on the planet. Bryn did know, deep down, that preparation was the key to survival.
“And there’s something else.”
Bryn turned to see Adiv had swum out to join them. “Who’s to say no one else will discover this place? What if we are attacked? We don’t have an infinite amount of weapons.” He smirked. “In fact, we barely have any. If we do decide to stay here, we need to be ready. For anything.”
Silence stretched between them. Finally Bryn nodded, knowing they were right. The only way to ensure they could stay here was to do as the men said. To be ready for everything and anything.
“When do we leave?” she asked.
Xander glanced back to the expanse of sea. “The sooner the better. Who’s to say when and if the weather will change? If we can sail back to the ruins, restock and be back on the ship before anyone knows we’re there, we could be back here within a fortnight.”
She tensed. Because by now she knew Xander, knew what he was thinking. “When do we set sail?”
She wasn’t at all surprised when he said, “Now.”
Chapter Six
For the millionth time, Xander wondered if he was doing the right thing.
Leaning against the ship railing, he drank in the salty sea air as he smoked the last of his hemp arre’te.
Was he making the right decision? The severity of it was tearing him apart. He couldn’t live forever on an island without being properly prepared. That would be irresponsible, and at the end of the day, it was Captain Xander that was responsible for his crew.
His family.
And yet his decision was bringing all of them right back to the eye of danger. And Bryn had the most to lose. If she were detected…
A rush of anger coursed through him. He stroked the handle of the dagger strapped to his right hip. He would not let anything happen to what was his. And this was all his—the ship, the people on it. He’d just keep sailing. They would never be found.
“Sighting, Captain.”
Xander went to the huge metal telescope Adiv was peering through and pushed the man out of the way. Xander had been praying they’d make it as far as the outer city waters without coming into contact with another ship. Of course, luck never seemed to be on his side.
Peering through the tiny glass hole, his entire body clenched. “God dammit.” A huge ship was a dot in the distance, but he could tell it was about to become a lot bigger. The bow was pointed right for them.
Hawke was already at his side. “Can you see their angle?”
“Schooner. Headed this way.” Xander stomped across the deck and hoisted himself onto the main topmast. He climbed to the top and extracted a small scope from his tunic pocket. It was a powerful little piece. He’d given a trader named Ezra a gallon of fuel for the little invention. Perched on the peak of the topmast, Xander squinted through it to get a better look at the schooner. His blood ran cold.
“God fucking dammit!” He scrambled down the pole, jumping the last six feet to land with a thud on the main deck. “It looks like Viven’s ship.”
Hawk ran a hand over his head. “How?”
“No idea.” Xander went to a trunk and began extracting weapons. He threw a hand-canon at Adiv, who caught it adeptly.
Adiv began loading the gun. “Did you get a count?”
“No,” Xander said, heading toward the larger cannon. It was ancient—they’d found it within the ruins of an island in the N’eanarret Sea. It had only been fired once, and that was after a bottle of C’uerveh and the target had been a sharp island of volcanic rock.
“What’s going on?” Bryn approached him, her big green eyes full of concern.
As he gazed at her, something inside Xander swelled. It was that protection thing. Annoying, but he couldn’t help it. And with Viven’s ship cruising straight for them, there was a distinct possibility of them finding her.
What they would do with her if they discovered who—and what—she was made everything inside him ice cold.
He nodded toward the hatch. “I want you down in the hull.”
“You want me to hide?”
He wanted her nowhere near this ship, but that wasn’t exactly an option. “Yes. I want you hidden. Go.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she said, “No. No way.”
Xander grabbed both her shoulders. “This isn’t up for debate. Go. Now.”
She shook her head. “I can fight.”
“Yeah. We saw that when we found you in an alley.”
“That was different.”
“You’re damn right that was different, Bryn. They were three punks in an alley. We’re about to be attacked by a schooner full of wild pissed-off pirates. Do you have any idea what would happen if they discovered who you are?” Just the thought hurt.
She lifted her stubborn little chin. “I’m not hiding down there. What if something goes wrong?”
He turned away and stalked toward the cabin. “Oh, you can count on that, sweetheart. Something always goes wrong.”
Bryn watched Xander walk away. How could he just expect her to do nothing if they were being attacked? She couldn’t, and he couldn’t make her. Did he really think it would be possible for her to hide like a coward when the people she’d come to love were being assaulted?
Inconceivable.
“Look, Captain. They’re sending out a tender.”
Bryn peered out at the water. Indeed, a small structure with a sail was heading their way. It consisted of two long metal pieces connected via three posts spaced throughout the center. She could see a figure steering the sails, and another figure, which was huddled in a corner.
“What do they want?” Bryn asked.
Xander and Hawke flanked her. “I don’t know.” Xander’s hand was on the hilt of one of his daggers.
Adiv pointed the hand-cannon toward the small boat. “Holy shit.”
“What?” Bryn had already figured out that Adiv’s eyesight was more acute than any predator. “What do you see?”
“I would bet my life they have a woman on that boat.” He glanced to Hawke. “A woman who looks incredibly like your sister.”
“What?” Hawke reached into Xander’s pocket and pulled out the eyeglass he always kept near his heart. Hawke peered through the glass and she saw every muscle in his body go tight. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
“Why would they have your sister?” Bryn asked.
Xander pulled a dagger from his pocket. “Revenge.” She’d never heard his voice so dark. He took a deep breath and put a hand on Hawke’s back. “Is she…alive?”
“I think so…she’s upright. I believe she’s gagged.”
Silently, they watched as the tender sailed closer to the ship. It stopped about twenty yards away.
Bryn gasped. “Oh my God.” She glanced at Hawke. “You’re Ayla’s pirate brother?”
He turned to Bryn. “How did you know that?”
“She was my chamber-mate. At the brothel.” Her heart pounded in her throat. They had Ayla? And she was Hawke’s sister?
Hawke continued to stare at his captive sister. “The High Priestess assigned Ayla to the brothel. I was taken by traders until I met Xander. I never lost track of her though. The Wasteland is dangerous. I knew she was safe inside the fortress of a brothel.”
Bryn ignored Hawke’s pleasant view of life as a Rose. Instead she moved on to realize why she’d immediately felt comfortable around him. His manners were familiar, his touch comforting. It all made sense.
And now they had Ayla. Imprisoned. Bryn’s entire body pounded with anger. She was going to kill someone.
A fat man with a scarf tied around his head climbed to the front of the tender. Gripping the mast, he stood and faced them. “Captain Xander. You thought you would simply sail away without paying your debt?”
Xander clenched his jaw. “What do you want, Kaz?”
