by Eden Bradley
“Dhatri. You came.”
His lover pulled him into a brief embrace, and his heart lifted.
“I came for you, Akaash. I would not abandon you. I started on my way here as soon as I realized you’d been taken. I was already in the city when your message came to the trader.”
“Dhatri, there is much to explain… This is Nitara.”
“Nikkan has told me everything. We’ll talk more later.”
“Yes.” He turned to Nikkan. “What is this place? We will be trapped.”
“The Temple is full of passageways and tunnels,” Nikkan said. “This one branches into the eunuchs quarters to the right, and deep into the earth to the left. It will take you to the sea.” Nikkan pulled a leather bag from a niche in the wall and shoved it into Akaash’s hands. “Take this. It is clothing and food, a cask of water, a piece of flint. And take the torch from the wall where the passage splits. Hurry!”
“Come with us,” Nitara pleaded.
“There is no life for me, Little Sister. I will stay and lead the guards in another direction, if I can.”
“And die if they discover your part in this, Nikkan. Come with us.”
“No, Nitara. For our mother’s sake, go!”
Akaash gripped her shoulder. “We must go quickly.” She looked up at him. He’d never realized how tiny she was before, never having had the chance to stand beside her. Her green eyes were enormous, filled with tears. “Will you come with me?”
She nodded. “Anywhere you go, I will go with you.”
They ran.
They had been walking for hours. Nitara had been quiet, uncomplaining. Akaash knew she must be tired. She was unused to physical activity. But she never said a word. She just held onto his hand tightly.
The tunnel had been quiet behind them, but they hadn’t stopped, other than for several brief moments to dress in the clothing Nikkan had given them—a white, hooded tunic for Nitara and a loincloth for Akaash. He wanted to be certain Nitara would be safe. The only sound had been their footsteps on the smooth floor, the occasional skittering of rats moving in the dark and their own harsh breathing.
Finally Nitara asked him, “Are we safe yet?”
He heard the fear trembling in her voice.
“We’re away from the temple. I don’t think they know where we went. We’re safe from them, anyway.”
“But there are other challenges ahead…”
Dhatri said, “Your brother made sure to supply us, and we’re hunters, Akaash and I. We won’t go hungry. And we have nothing to fear from the road raiders—they know to leave the clan’s warriors alone. But once we reach the surface it’ll be hot. You’re not used to it, and the sun will burn your fair skin. We must find a way to cover you. It won’t be an easy journey back to our clan, and will take several weeks on foot. But we’ll take care of you, Nitara.”
“You don’t have to care for me,” she said, her voice soft.
“You are Akaash’s, and therefore you are mine, as well.”
Akaash looked at Dhatri. Reached out to stroke one long, soft dreadlock. His mate smiled.
“I didn’t think I’d find you alive,” Dhatri told him, his voice rough.
Dhatri was not a man of many words, but he didn’t have to say more. Akaash felt his love in the few he spoke, felt his acceptance, despite his own sense of shame. He nodded, smiled.
They walked on.
Nitara wasn’t afraid of the darkness, only of the unknown. The only certainty she had at the moment was her love for Akaash, her trust in him. And his love for her. But Dhatri seemed kind and strong, and if Akaash trusted him so utterly, then she could too. She knew they would care for her. Still, there was so much about the world that would be new. Her mind was spinning with every step.
The tunnel narrowed as they progressed, until they had to walk close together, and when she stumbled Dhatri took her free hand and didn’t let go. The last hour they walked side by side, the two men holding her up when she would have faltered, her bare feet torn by the rough surface, littered with rock and other debris.
Finally there was light ahead, just a small pinpoint. Akaash’s grip tightened on hers.
“We’re almost out of this dank place,” Dhatri said, picking up his pace.
Soon they were approaching a small opening, and Nitara could smell the sharp scent of salt. It was strange. Wonderful. When they got there Dhatri went first, having to bend almost in two to slip through. He held his hand out for Nitara, and she bent her head and went into the sunlight.
She blinked, dazed by the brilliance of the sun, something she had been exposed to only rarely. She could feel the warmth on her skin. There was a strange roaring, a heavy white sound, and fear was a rumble deep in her body, her heart fluttering.
Akaash stepped through, pulled her close to his side, and she felt for the first time the full impact of his embrace. It chased away her fears, her doubts. She pressed her face to his bare chest, inhaling the scent of his skin.
“Don’t be afraid, Nitara. The ocean is vast, powerful. Beautiful. Open your eyes and see.”
She did so slowly, keeping her head close to the safety of his beating heart.
The sight astonished her. Overwhelmed her.
She’d heard of the ocean, certainly, but had never hoped to see it. It seemed as endless as the night sky. Gray and blue and green, a moving, glorious entity. She felt its power, saw it in the waves that crashed on the shore.
“It’s so…enormous.”
Dhatri laughed. “Yes, it is. It’s the home of the pirates and fishermen. Not for the people of the Wasteland. But we can use it as a guide to tell us where we are, by measuring the sun’s position on the horizon.”
Akaash nodded. “We head north. There’s a rocky incline farther up the beach. We can find a place to make camp for the night. Our day has been long enough already.” He bent and laid a kiss on the top of Nitara’s head before pulling up the hood on her tunic. “Keep this on always during the day, Nitara.”
“I will.”
Akaash took her hand, and they moved over the sandy beach. She’d never felt anything like the fine graininess sifting between her toes. It was a wonderful sensation, sensual.
“Akaash…”
“Are you all right?”
“Yes. But…I want to touch it. The ocean.”
He grinned, and Dhatri, coming to stand beside him, grinned, as well. She had a moment now to see how beautifully made Dhatri was. A few inches taller than Akaash, his skin was a gorgeous, smooth brown, as dark as the earth. His hair hung in long, flowing dreadlocks. It was woven through with metal wires, studded here and there with beads made of clay and bone, some of them intricately carved. His smile was lush and wide, a short goatee surrounding his mouth. And his eyes…they were a stunning hazel. Silver and gold and green all mixed together, framed by long, curling lashes. His smooth chest was crossed with long scars that ran down over his ribs, but did nothing to lessen his masculine beauty.
“You should touch the ocean,” Akaash said to her. “You should experience everything you’ve been denied.”
Dhatri tugged on her hand. “Come on, girl. Let’s touch the ocean together.”
The two men led her to the water’s edge, and her pulse sped as they neared it. They stood at that point where the water reached its foaming fingers onto the sand, and it was surprisingly warm as it flowed over her toes, even as it stung the cuts on the soles of her feet. The next wave splashed her ankles, making her smile.
Dhatri reached out, stroked one finger across her cheek. “You’re beautiful, girl. Too sweet for a pair of old warriors.”
“Never too sweet,” Akaash protested, smiling at her, his dark eyes gleaming in the yellow sunlight.
She felt safe with them. Cherished. Desired.
Heat seeped between her thighs, despite the long journey, the terror and excitement of the day.
She wanted them both.
“Akaash…”
He leaned in and kissed her,
pressing his lips to hers. They were soft. Lovely. And when he opened her lips with his tongue, she went soaking wet all at once, her legs trembling.
He pulled away. “I want you even now.”
“Yes,” she murmured, tilting her chin to be kissed again.
“Dhatri wants you too,” he murmured.
“Yes. I want him.”
She felt another pair of hands settle on her waist, then slip around her. Turning in their arms, Dhatri pulled her close, his gaze on hers, those beautiful eyes watching her closely. “Only if you say yes, Nitara.”
“Oh, yes. Please.”
He smiled, then lowered his face to hers and kissed her.
His lips were fuller, more plush, his kiss a little rougher than Akaash’s. Another rush of heat between her thighs. She was filled with the sound of the rushing waves. The scents of the two men. And an overwhelming desire.
Akaash’s voice was a low growl behind her. “We must find a camp. Now.”
Dhatri laughed, stroked her hair. “Yes. Now.”
They took her hands once more and pulled her up the beach, so fast she was breathless. In minutes they reached the rocky outcropping at the northern end of the beach.
“I’ll scout ahead,” Dhatri said, running ahead to climb over the rocks, disappearing behind them.
Nitara and Akaash waited, and he looped his arm around her waist, his hand wandering over the curve of her thigh.
“I can’t wait to have you, Nitara. To really have you. And for Dhatri to be with us…”
Dhatri’s face appeared at the crest of the rocks. “There’s a small cave here. Come.”
Akaash helped her climb. They found a narrow path up into the hill overlooking the sea. Dhatri waited at the opening to the cave. It was small, as he’d said, but would shade them from the harsh rays of the day’s sun, and roomy enough for the three to stand in together. To lie in together. Nitara shivered.
Akaash took her immediately into his arms, his mouth coming down on hers. He kissed her hard, his tongue slipping into her mouth. His hands were on her shoulders, then moved down to her waist, her hips. She felt Dhatri come up behind her, his hands joining Akaash’s, their fingers twining at her sides. Their bodies were burning, as hot as Akaash’s tongue in her mouth. And she was melting with desire that rose higher and higher.
Akaash pulled back, smiling at her, then he leaned over her shoulder. She felt Dhatri moving in, turned her head and saw the two men kiss, their mouths coming together.
Her blood sang, her sex going damp all over again. She had never seen anything like it. Had never expected to respond this way, with a torturous, sharp need that overpowered her. She wanted to see the two of them together, every bit as much as she wanted their touch herself.
“Ah…” she moaned, pressing her breasts against Akaash’s chest, feeling the gentle scrape of her tunic against her nipples.
The men’s joined hands moved lower, over the front of her thighs as they kissed. She could see the curl and clash of their tongues, flashes of their strong white teeth. And then their hands pressed between her thighs, over her aching mound.
“Oh, please…”
She heard Dhatri’s low, husky laugh once more, then they both stepped back and one of them pulled her tunic over her head. Akaash fell to his knees before her, his mouth going to her belly, kissing the tender skin there. Dhatri’s hands came around from behind and cupped her breasts. She thought she might come at that very moment.
Fingers teased her nipples into two hard points while Akaash moved his mouth over her skin, kissing her, nipping gently, his tongue darting out to lick. She was pure liquid, her body hot with need. Her beasts, her sex, ached so terribly she could hardly stand it.
Akaash grabbed her hands and brought them to his chest, and she explored his smooth skin, tracing the narrow path of hair that ran down the center of his chest and belly to his navel. Moving her hands back up, she found his flat nipples, and brushed her fingertips over them until they hardened.
“He likes to have them pinched,” Dhatri said from behind her. “Watch how it makes his cock jump.”
She pressed Akaash’s nipples between her fingers, glanced down and saw the solid ridge of his erection press against the loincloth he wore.
“I want to see you,” she told him.
He sat back on his knees, his dark gaze on hers, full of hunger. Dhatri stood behind her, his hands cupping her breasts, his thumbs teasing the hard nipples until she could barely hold still.
She watched as Akaash untied the leather cord at his waist, drew the loincloth off.
His cock was even more beautiful in the full light of the sun than it had been in the torchlight of the Temple. The skin was a deep gold, going darker at the swollen head. Her mouth watered.
“Dhatri,” she said, breathless with need. “I want to see you too.”
She felt Dhatri’s hands slipping up, over her shoulders, then he was standing next to Akaash.
“And so you shall, girl,” he said, smiling.
He stripped off his vest, then his pants, letting them fall over his thighs.
His cock was as hard as Akaash’s, a rigid shaft of beautiful brown skin. She reached out, then paused.
“Do you want to touch me, Nitara?” Dhatri asked.
“Yes, please.”
“Touch me, then.” Dhatri reached out to her, took her hand and folded her fingers around his rigid shaft. She heard the gasping intake of his breath, and pleasure swarmed her.
“Stroke me,” he whispered.
She moved her hand up, then slid it down.
“Ah, perfect,” he said, his head falling back.
“I love watching you do this to him,” Akaash told her. He slipped his hand between her thighs, over her wet slit, and she cried out. “Ah, beautiful. You’re so wet for us, Nitara. Tell me, are you too sore?”
“No. I want you.”
“Then spread wider for me. Yes, that’s it.”
She moved her legs apart, and Akaash leaned in, until his breath tickled the tender, shaved skin of her sex. He breathed out, warm and enticing. She looked at her hand, working on Dhatri’s cock, then to Akaash’s dark head moving closer and closer. His hands came up and grasped each of her thighs, and he planted his mouth on her cleft.
“Oh…”
His tongue darted out, licking first at the swollen lips, then burrowing between them to find the hard nub of her clitoris. His tongue was soft and rough at the same time, and when he sucked her clitoris into his hot, wet mouth, she nearly exploded.
“Akaash!”
“Hold back, Nitara. Try not to come yet.”
“I…don’t know if I can…”
“You can. Give me the pleasure of watching you like this. Seeing your juices on your pink lips. Tasting them on mine.”
He pressed a finger to her entrance, and she took a gasping breath.
“I’m going to fuck you with my hand, Nitara. I want you to hold back. And as I fuck you, I want you to stroke Dhatri harder. He likes it hard…”
Dhatri groaned.
She tightened her grasp on his cock, felt him pulse with pleasure.
“Ah, just like that…so damn good.”
Dhatri’s muscular thighs tensed, his hips arching into her fisted hand. A new wave of desire swept through her, simply seeing his pleasure.
Then Akaash was back between her thighs, his tongue darting out to flick at her clitoris as he pushed two fingers inside her.
“Oh!”
Her sex clenched, her body one long, undulating shimmer of pleasure.
“Akaash, please.”
“Please what, little beauty?”
“Let me come.”
“You must make Dhatri come first. I’ll help you. Hold his shaft tightly. Yes, exactly like that.”
Keeping his fingers buried in her sex, he turned his head and licked the tip of Dhatri’s dark cock. Pleasure stabbed through her once more, simply watching him do it.
“Ah, you two torture m
e,” Dhatri said, his voice rough as gravel.
His hands went into Akaash’s hair. And Akaash went to work with his mouth, the lush lips closing over the head of Dhatri’s cock, his mouth sucking him deep, until she could feel his lips on her hand. She squeezed Dhatri’s cock harder, moving up and down the slightest bit, sliding over his rock-hard flesh. And all the time Akaash’s fingers were deep inside her, thrusting, thrusting.
Dhatri pumped, into her fist, into Akaash’s mouth, and crying out, he came. She felt the hot, liquid rush, over her hand. She kept pumping even as Akaash pulled away, reached up to lace a hand behind her neck, pulling her face to his. He kissed her, and she tasted the salt of Dhatri’s come on his lips even before he opened her mouth with his tongue.
With Dhatri’s come sweet in her mouth, Akaash drove his fingers into her, his thumb pressing on her clitoris. She came, pleasure like a thousand stars going off in her head, blinding her. She was shaking, her climax pounding into her like the waves of the ocean so loud in her ears.
“Akaash! Ah…”
In moments she was lying across Dhatri’s lap on the ground, and he was spreading her thighs with gentle hands. Akaash knelt between them, held her chin in his hands.
“I will fuck you now, little beauty,” Akaash whispered, his eyes glittering.
“Yes. Please.”
He moved over her, used his fingers to spread the lips of her sex, the tip of his cock pressing against her.
“God, to see you come like that. To feel your hot little cunt. You will drive me crazy, Nitara. I need to be inside you. To come into your body.”
“Yes, do it.”
She opened her thighs wider, loving the way Dhatri’s big hands closed over hers. It was purely erotic to her, the way he held her open for his lover. Their lover. Akaash thrust, his cock driving deep.
There was no pain this time. Only the most exquisite pleasure. As he plunged into her, over and over, Dhatri’s hands caressing and pinching her nipples once more, the pleasure built, crested. Then she was coming again, shivering, crying out in their arms. And still Akaash went on, his breath warm in her hair, pushing pleasure ever deeper into her body.
