by Clare Murray
“Attractive? She’s a full-on siren,” Gareth sent. “I’ve never felt like this before.”
Maybe they could seduce it out of her.
“Mari.” Finn watched the way her eyes heated when he said that. Yep, that was her real name. So she hadn’t given them a false identity. Good. Time to up the ante.
In one smooth movement, he lifted her entirely into his lap, relishing her gasp. Gareth took the opportunity to come sit next to them, draping one of her calves across his thigh. She wore much-darned tights under her long, overly conservative skirt, revealing tantalizing hints of bare skin.
“Seducing information out of her is one of your better ideas,” Gareth sent.
“Do they give you surnames?” Mari asked. She referred, of course, to the scientists who had created them.
“No. Some of the Twins take the name of the woman they marry, though.”
“Real subtle,” Gareth sent.
“You were the one who brought marriage up in the first place.”
“Oh. That’s a nice departure from the norm.”
“I love the way she talks,” Finn sent.
Gareth smirked. “I love the way she subtly bucks authority.”
“Not our authority, though.” Finn caressed her, stroking her back, allowing her to grow used to his touch, like gentling a skittish animal. Her backside nestled so sweetly against him that his cock strained against his jeans, aching to spring free. But that would have to wait. This was a fragile rapport they had, and he didn’t want to move too fast.
“Where are you planning to stay in the City?” Gareth inquired. “Wonder how much planning she’s done.”
“She doesn’t strike me as overly spontaneous, Finn replied. She’ll have organized this in advance. Look at all the bags she’s carrying—she wasn’t kidding about this being a long-term move.”
“Wrong city for anything long-term.”
The Twins had been to Scar City twice in the past six months, reporting back to their base—the Complex—in Chicago after each trip. This was their last run, their last chance to find Dr. Aquino’s rumored device. Their superiors considered it a top priority but were unwilling to risk themselves. So they’d sent Finn and Gareth.
“I’m staying in the Wanderer Inn,” Mari said, naming one of the worst establishments in the City.
“Have you been there before?” Finn tried not to let too much worry infuse his voice. She’d be in for one hell of a shock when she saw the place. Then again, it could give her an excuse to come stay with them…
“Yes.” The answer surprised them both. “I stayed next door with my parents, many years ago. At the time, my father was going through…well, a rough period. He seemed depressed, talked to himself a lot. He used to wander the City walls at night, alone. My mother and I were so worried. He said he was observing the Barks, making notes. I—am I talking too much?”
“Not at all,” Finn reassured.
“We spent two years there, and Dad—” She cut herself off, suddenly wary. “We moved to Flagstaff, where his health improved.”
And then, presumably, went downhill, given her comment about no living family. What was she hiding from them?
“How old were you when you left?” Finn turned his caresses into a light, soothing massage and felt the tension in her muscles begin to relax.
“Fourteen, maybe fifteen.”
“Wonder why he bolted,” Finn mused.
Could be money problems, or health stuff. That comment about observing the Barks was interesting. I’m more concerned about why her family left so abruptly. You think the girl’s going to run into trouble when she gets to the City?”
“Maybe. Let’s find out.”
Finn braced himself as he sensed a slight humming in the tracks. A split second later, the train lurched, but he was able to hold Mari firm.
She flinched and gasped. “Do trains always do this?”
“This is an old train, so it will be a rougher ride. Not many people go into or out of Scar City. It’s mostly freight that runs through this area.” Finn resisted the urge to skim his hand underneath her blouse.
“I had heard that,” she murmured. “I don’t remember it being this bumpy when we last left. There’s maglev trains between the more prosperous Cities, but I…”
“But she doesn’t think she belongs in a prosperous City.” Finn picked up Gareth’s thought and conveyed silent, indignant acknowledgment.
“Must have been tough, going from a comfortable life to being on the run,” Gareth said.
She shrugged. “Everyone had to cope with that, one way or another. What about you guys? You’re older than me—at least, I think—so you must remember more about the days before.”
Everyone, even strangers, tended to enjoy talking about the days before, as the pre-invasion years were called. People tended to forget there were troubles back then too. Rose-tinted glasses were fun to look through.
“We were fourteen when the first mothership landed. Until then we were being prepared to combat other humans. Our focus shifted.” Finn gave in to his urge as he talked, gently gliding his hand up her blouse until bare skin met his fingertips.
“Oh.” It was both acknowledgment and encouragement.
When Gareth slipped her boots off, the sigh she made was mingled relief and arousal, strengthening into a moan as Finn cupped her breast. The look in her eyes was needy, yet wary. Were they merely a fantasy fulfilled? He rejected that line of thinking, tilted her chin up and leaned in for a kiss.
Hot. Seriously hot. He took his time, savoring her mouth, aware that Gareth was shifting her body so that she lay atop them both. When Finn pulled back, Mari was panting, eyes wide and slightly unfocused.
“Wh-what if the train goes over another bump?” she asked.
“We’ll keep you safe. Relax.” Finn brushed another kiss across those delectable lips.
“Trust us,” Gareth said. He was working her tights down, but paused as she reached for his arm.
“Please—I don’t know if I can…”
“Can what?” Finn asked. “Come?”
She blushed a shade deeper, gaze flitting from him to his brother and back again. “Do this?” It came out a question.
“With both of us?” Only Finn heard the subtle strain in Gareth’s voice.
“No—you…” She trailed off, gamely trying to recover her equilibrium. “I just mean, here? In a train?”
That she questioned the location rather than anything else—like the fact that both of them were attending to her—pleased Finn immensely. He never chased women. They came to him—or to Gareth.
But never to them both.
God, he’d chase Mari through a pack of Barks, the way he was feeling right now.
“You think she’s one of those chem-attract women?”
“What?” Finn glanced up at his Twin.
“Like the others have been saying—there’s a tiny percentage of women out there who, I don’t know, have some sort of je ne sais quoi that complements us exactly. I’ve been hearing the term chem-attract bandied about. They say it’s kind of like a fancy love at first sight, applying to both Twins. Might involve pheromones or something like that.”
“I’d ask you what you were smoking if we weren’t all ready to rip the pants off her—and she ours.” Right now, she was eyeing his crotch. As he watched, her gaze shifted to Gareth, taking him in too.
“I suppose you could think of it as joining the mile-long club instead of the mile-high,” Finn offered. As he’d hoped, she smiled.
“Well, we won’t get interrupted, at least. There’s only one passenger carriage, and there doesn’t look to be a way through from the freight cars.”
“Nobody else on the train except the driver,” Finn confirmed. “But, Mari, we won’t push you. We just want to get to know you a little.”
/>
“I’ve never…”
“We know. We’ll take it easy, go slow and make sure you enjoy yourself. And your enjoyment is ours.” Gareth spoke this time, his usually gruff voice gentle. Actually, Finn had never seen him so tender with another person. It hit him hard in the heart. Gareth had been through too much. He deserved some kindness in his life.
“It’s too early to think about doing something like taking her back to the Complex,” Gareth warned, following Finn’s thoughts to the inevitable.
“Then we’ll talk about that afterward.” Finn teased Mari’s blouse up, exposing her breasts. He couldn’t help but make a pleased sound in his throat at the sight of her hardened nipples jutting against her bra. That had to go, of course, and Gareth supported her as Finn undid the straps at her back.
“Gorgeous.” Gareth voiced the very word he was thinking, and redoubled his efforts at her waist.
Finn couldn’t wait, bending to taste her breasts. He drew one nipple into his mouth and she arched against him, stifling a cry. Lifting her a little, he kissed his way up her chest, lingering at the hollow of her neck. He could smell hints of rosewater—a very feminine smell that only served to turn him on further.
Mari tensed in his arms as Gareth eased her tights fully down, pulling back to look at him with a hint of trepidation.
“Our pleasure,” he reminded her. “There is no need to be self-conscious when it’s our pleasure.”
“I—I assume you have done this with other women?” There was a slight challenge in her voice, one that had to be addressed.
“Yes.” He made no bones about it. “But both of us together? No.” They’d never found someone suitable.
She looked at Gareth, who nodded. Then whispered an oh.
When she moved to shield her body, Finn teased her arm away, bending to claim her lips. Instinct told him that if they stopped, lost momentum, she wouldn’t feel confident enough to begin again.
“Hush now, Mari. I don’t want to hear a word out of your mouth unless you’re moaning in pleasure or asking me to stop. You don’t get to talk until you come. Understand?”
Just like that, Finn took control. Competing emotions warred in her eyes—first mutiny, then grateful acceptance. She managed a nod.
“Brave girl,” Gareth said. He rested a hand on her thigh, his hand pale against her darker skin. His other hand tugged her tights the rest of the way off, leaving her bare to their ministrations.
Her body responded to Gareth’s praise, warming Finn’s heart. Although hesitant, she obeyed their commands as they arranged her body to their liking. Finn supported her back, his arms wrapping around her from behind. It was an ideal position in which to toy with her breasts, something he continued to do. He wanted to keep her aroused and ready to receive pleasure.
When Gareth parted her legs, she made a little sound of distress. “Shhh,” they said in unison.
“You’re beautiful,” Finn whispered in her ear.
“Very.” Gareth braced himself against the opposite seats with one powerful leg, eyeing Mari like a long-denied treat. Finn breathed in, anticipating the little shiver she gave when Gareth began to touch her.
With Gareth between her legs and Finn at her breasts, they softened her up, leading her trembling to the edge of orgasm. At one point, the train lurched, but their combined grip on her meant she was never in any danger of falling.
At first she didn’t know where to put her hands, but she finally settled upon gripping Gareth’s shoulder with one hand and Finn’s arm with the other. Her eyes were closed, lips slightly parted as Gareth continued to stroke her and Finn made lazy circles around her nipples.
“Gonna let her come now,” Gareth sent.
“Good. I forbade her to talk, and I think she’s about to start begging.”
“I wouldn’t mind a bit of begging now and again.”
Mari stiffened in Finn’s arms the instant before the orgasm swept through her. Finn quickly accommodated her as she threw her head back against his shoulder. She was quiet, intentionally holding back her cries and squeezing her eyes firmly shut. She turned her face into the crook of his neck and breathed out shakily.
Definitely a woman in need of some confidence. They’d have to take things slowly. Finn leaned down to nuzzle the top of her head.
“Good girl, giving that up to us,” he told her. “You rest now. I’ll hold you.”
* * * * *
The haze around the edges of her vision had barely receded when both men began putting her to rights again, lifting her to pull up her tights and rearranging her skirts. Finn fastened her bra and tugged down her blouse. She had no time to think, no time to regret. Within a few short minutes, she was presentable—rumpled and panting, of course, but modest again.
And yet…not modest, for she wanted very much to do it all over again.
When the modern world had come to an end, Earth’s population—those not killed in the violence of the initial invasion—had to focus solely on survival. There was no time for sex education, for mass-manufacturing condoms or other birth control. Sex as pleasure turned into sex for procreation.
Most people got married young these days. Conversation tended to revolve around chores or day-to-day life, maybe with some gossip thrown in. Old magazines were hoarded as treasures, and Mari had read only a few. Some of them featured skimpily clad people and relationship advice, which she’d devoured avidly.
She doubted any of them addressed the specifics of a three-way relationship, though. The last article she’d read had involved blowjobs and ice cubes. Who the hell had access to ice cubes these days?
Mari wondered what the magazines would say about men who pleasured her yet denied themselves. Wasn’t sex supposed to be a two-way thing? Three-way, in this case. They hadn’t done anything for themselves—or let her do anything, for that matter.
“Are you hungry?” Gareth had left her side for a few minutes. Now he was back, unwrapping a large parcel of sandwiches. He placed several jars of juice on the seats. Real juice, it looked like. Her mouth watered at that thought. She’d drunk powdered juice for so long.
Still, she had her pride. “I have food in my bags. I’ll eat later.”
“What kind of food?” Finn asked conversationally. He was still holding her, feet braced against bumps in the tracks.
“Bread,” she said as brightly as she could. “And boiled turnips.”
“Turnips?” Finn repeated.
She closed her eyes in embarrassment. “They’re very filling.” Also cheap enough that she could afford food and the train ticket.
“They’re disgusting.” This from both men.
“Hunger is the best sauce.” Prim Josie, her neighbor, had often repeated that saying. Former neighbor, she corrected herself, and she wouldn’t miss the woman.
“These are peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,” Gareth said.
Mari swallowed. “I didn’t know peanut butter even existed anymore.”
“It does.” He watched her with those dark green eyes, slightly amused. “Want one?”
Pride only went so far. Mari nodded, and seconds later was biting into the most heavenly meal she’d had in a long time. After the sandwich, Gareth handed her a jar of juice and a small square of actual chocolate.
Bliss.
“I’m spoiled,” she said. “Thank you. For—for all of it.”
They merely smiled at her, which almost made her feel guilty. She’d felt the size of Finn’s arousal, seen the fierce hunger in Gareth’s eyes. Yet they’d made no demands for themselves. Perhaps…but no, they would be in Scar City in a matter of hours.
By now, the afternoon sun rested a little way above the horizon, reminding her with a jolt that the aliens would soon be roaming. She swallowed, suddenly wanting to get up, to move.
“Which way is the ladies’ room?”
&nb
sp; “Through that door.” Finn let go of her after a moment, seemingly reluctant to loosen his hold. In fact, he looked as if he wanted to come with her. Now that was a step too far. She gave him a reassuring smile and traversed the aisle, holding firmly on to each seat as she walked. Her head didn’t hurt anymore, but it had been a shock to fall like that, and one she refused to repeat.
When she re-emerged, both men were still staring in her direction, as if they couldn’t take their eyes off her. Perhaps it was the whole reciprocation thing. Should she feel guilty? Mari made her way back and sat down, this time with some distance between her and Finn.
She couldn’t think of how to broach the topic. I’m not ready sounded trite. But she wasn’t, and the environment unnerved her.
Since she’d been up at four in the morning—her landlord had wanted her out early since there was a new tenant moving in—her brain was growing incredibly fuzzy. She was in desperate need of a nap.
“I…” She trailed off, and was saved the effort of speaking further by Gareth, who simply lifted her into his own lap.
“My turn,” he said with evident satisfaction. “Settle your head right here, baby.”
Mari wanted to protest, but sleep deprivation won out. She wasn’t entirely certain when she’d begun to trust these men, but Gareth’s lap was too comfortable to resist. Her eyes drifted shut as she gave way to sleep, lulled by the steady rhythm of his heart and the rocking of the train.
Chapter Two
When she woke, she was alone, lying on the seats with a blanket draped over her.
Mari wriggled upright, dismayed to find the Twins gone. Moonlight played over her face as she looked at her watch. It was still an hour until they were due in Scar City.
So why was the train stationary?
“O-kay,” she muttered, tossing the blanket aside. She peered out the window, terror icing her veins as she saw the extent of their isolation. There wasn’t anything manmade for miles around. No buildings, no people…more importantly, no wall.
Mari unholstered the Glock. Maybe those aliens were good bullet-dodgers, but she felt safer with the weapon. Flicking off the safety, she walked slowly down the aisle. All the lights were out; only the moon illuminated the train. And it was quiet. Dead quiet.
