Decoding Darkness

by Marissa Farrar

  I nodded and bit my lower lip. “There may have been some tears,” I admitted.

  His mouth twisted. “Shit, Darc, I’m so sorry.”

  I shook my head. “None of it was your fault.”

  We smiled at each other for a moment, and then Alex turned his attention back to my hand. “The main thing we need to watch out for is those joints not popping out of place again. Once you’ve dislocated something, all those tendons around that joint have stretched, so it makes it far easier to dislocate again.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I was worried about. I used a piece of my t-shirt to make my own bandage, but I lost it somewhere.” I gestured to the torn bottom of my shirt and my exposed midriff.

  “I can do a bit better than that.” He smiled. “But I’m not going to complain about the torn t-shirt.”

  I used my good hand to smack him on the shoulder, and he protested, but with a good-natured laugh.

  “Let’s get you sorted, then.”

  He opened the small first aid box and pulled out bandages and a couple of foil packets of tablets. “Anti-inflammatory,” he explained. “They’ll help with the pain and the swelling. Take them first.”

  “Thanks.”

  Alex popped the tablets out of the foil packet into my palm, and I used some of the water remaining in one of the bottles to gulp them down. I tried not to think too hard about what I was doing. My throat always tried to close over when I was taking tablets, and then I’d end up with them as a pulpy, bitter mess all over my tongue.

  With the tablets swallowed, Alex placed my hand on his knee, then looped the bandage beneath, securing my two dislocated fingers to the middle one, which had gone without injury. I caught myself looking at him while he worked, drinking in every detail—from the slight bump on the bridge of his nose, to the way his top lip was thinner than his bottom lip, to the faint cleft in his chin. All the guys sported a good twenty-four hours’ worth of stubble, and Alex’s had come in darker than the hair on his head, and I couldn’t help wondering about the color of the rest of the hair on his body.

  “There, you’re all done.”

  He lifted his blue eyes to mine and caught me studying him. My cheeks flared hot as he gave me a smile, knowingly, as though he had read exactly what I was thinking. I remembered the night we’d spent together back at the house, how I’d been caught between awake and asleep, and wasn’t sure if I’d dreamed getting up close and intimate with Alex. I’d woken with no panties on, and a part of me wondered if I’d removed them in my dreams, and had been dry humping the poor guy in his sleep. I was too mortified to mention the whole thing to him. I guessed I’d never know for sure.

  “Thank you.”

  “We’re really happy to have you back, Darc,” he told me, one side of his lips lifting. I knew it was a bitter kind of happiness, though. They’d gotten me back, but they’d lost Clay. It wasn’t an exchange any of us would have chosen—except maybe Clay himself.

  “I’m happy to be back with you all, too.” I returned the sad smile. “I just wish it was under different circumstances.”

  He lifted his hand and placed it to my cheek, studying me intently, leaning in a little closer. “We’ll get him back again. I swear it.”

  I held his gaze. “And kill Hollan, too?”

  “Absolutely.”

  His fingers pressed against my skin, and then we both leaned in, drawn together like magnets. My eyes slipped shut and his lips pressed against mine, soft and warm. Our mouths opened, tongues sneaking out to taste. The kiss was soft and gentle, finding each other. Alex pulled me in closer, lifting my bad hand to place it over his shoulder, out of the way, so it wouldn’t get hurt.

  He held me against him, his arm wrapped around my waist, as though he’d been waiting for this moment, and now didn’t ever want to let go.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Alex was kissing me as though the only reason he’d been put on this planet was to taste my mouth.

  His fingers pressed against my cheek, his tongue darting into my mouth to tangle with mine. I sensed a quiet passion within him, sensible, reserved Alex, who was always looking out for everyone else. He was the first of the guys I’d come into contact with, the one who’d first grabbed me, and who I’d kicked in return. That felt like a different person now. I remembered how I hated him, but now I couldn’t see a single thing to dislike about this amazing man.

  I became conscious of movement in the van, the bump of the vehicle as someone else climbed in to join us, but I was too involved in Alex’s kiss to see who it was. Isaac had been busy working on the computer, and Kingsley had walked away to call what had happened back to base. That only left one other person.

  I felt the depression of the seat as someone sat beside me. A second set of hands swept my hair from the back of my neck and placed a kiss right at the point where my neck met my shoulder. The kiss sent a shiver through me, and I gave a gasp of surprise.

  Alex noticed, of course, and we broke the kiss. I glanced back to find Lorcan behind me. I was sandwich between the two guys on the back seat—like the ultimate teenage fantasy—Alex on my right, Lorcan on my left.

  A silent exchange passed between Alex and Lorcan.

  “I was just telling Darcy how happy we are to have her back,” Alex said.

  Lorcan nodded. “Yeah, we are. Nothing felt right without you being around.”

  My heart hitched. I’d felt exactly the same way when I’d been parted from them.

  “I can’t tell you how happy I am to be here with you.”

  Stupidly, tears threatened, but I didn’t want that. I’d done enough crying for the moment, and I was sure I’d be in for plenty more tears if we didn’t figure out a way to get Clay back, unharmed. But right now I only wanted to enjoy the sensation of being pressed in on both sides by two incredible, gorgeous men, who both seemed to care about me.

  Lorcan touched my chin, twisting my face toward his, and gazed down at me with his hazel eyes. They seemed to change shades depending on his mood—growing darker with anger, and also, I discovered, with lust. He shifted closer, and I met his movement, turning to face him fully, though I didn’t like how it created space between me and Alex. Not that Alex seemed to mind, as I felt him move up behind me as well.

  Lorcan studied my face for a moment, silently asking me if this was okay. I tipped my face to his, and that was all the answer he needed. His mouth crushed to mine, stealing my breath, kissing me with a ferocity so opposite to how Alex had kissed me. He transported me back to the moment when he’d pulled me out of the hypnosis Kingsley had put me under, pushing me up against the wall, crushing me with his body and kissing me hard.

  It was just me, Alex, and Lorcan in the back of the van, and yes, maybe we should have been doing something more productive, but this felt like their way of pulling me back into the fold.

  Behind me, Alex had slipped one shoulder of my t-shirt down and was kissing my skin. His hand slid down the back of my jeans and my panties, and, even as I kissed Lorcan, he reached down lower, to graze his fingers down over my bottom and cup my pussy. I moaned as his fingers parted my folds from behind and pushed inside me.

  “Oh, God,” I gasped against Lorcan’s mouth.

  Alex kept kissing my neck even as his fingers moved deeper inside me, first one digit and then a second, scissoring inside me and stretching me open. Lorcan’s hand slipped under my shirt, shoving my bra up to free both of my breasts. His touch was as rough as his kisses. His fingers pinched my nipple, twisting just enough to hurt and send sparks of insane arousal right down to where Alex’s fingers continued to push inside me. I wanted to feel some pressure on my clit, greedily needing contact there, and I pushed up against Lorcan, wanting to climb onto his lap to have something to rub against.

  The space inside the van was limited, but I could see where this was going, and I didn’t want it to stop.

  I didn’t even care about getting caught. In fact, the thought excited me. I thought Kingsley and Isaac would be more
likely to jump in and join us than they would tell us off.

  Lorcan pulled me onto his lap, but edged in the seat so he was facing Alex. We were lucky that it was a long bench seat rather than individual ones, which would have been less comfortable.

  But at the same time, we were all aware of what was going on, knowing we didn’t have much time. It was a flurry of groping hands and hot breaths, moans filling the interior of the van.

  Lorcan’s kisses left my mouth, to travel down my jaw and throat, so I moved around and kissed Alex again. His tongue darted between my lips, and I noted how different each man tasted. They were such a contrast—Alex’s blond, to Lorcan’s dark hair. Alex’s skin free from tattoos, where Lorcan was covered. And then there was me sandwiched in the middle, my skin unblemished from tattoos, but covered in bruises instead.

  We couldn’t end up completely naked—we didn’t have the luxury of time for that, and we were still aware that we were parked in the middle of the woods, and there was a good chance we’d have to spring into action at any moment. That didn’t stop us from continuing, however. I fumbled with the belt buckle of Lorcan’s jeans, wanting to free him. The ridge of his cock beneath his jeans was obvious, and my hunger for him grew.

  I pressed my palm on the outside of his jeans, rubbing up and down his length. I stopped to try to undo his belt and buckle again, but I didn’t have use of my other hand, and it wasn’t easy to do. Lorcan helped me out, and I shifted back, pressing more into Alex to give Lorcan space. Alex didn’t seem to mind, and he moved back as well, giving us all more space, even while his fingers were still inside me, making me heady with pleasure. Alex wrapped his other arm around my waist and pulled my bottom up, so I ended up on all fours on the seat, with Lorcan undoing his belt in front of me, and Alex still fingering me from behind.

  Alex’s fingers slipped from my body, and then both hands moved around the front of me to undo my jeans and pull them, together with my panties, down my thighs. Cold air hit my hot, wet pussy, and I shook out one leg, to remove my foot from the leg of my jeans, though I kept the other one on.

  Alex’s face pressed between my thighs, his hands spreading apart the cheeks of my bottom, and his mouth against my folds. He licked me open, and his tongue speared me. My back arched as heat spread through me.

  In front of me, Lorcan had freed his cock, pulling down his jeans enough that they sat low on his hips, allowing his erection to spring up from the thatch of dark curls. My mouth watered for him, and the heady scent of his musk reached my nostrils. I wanted nothing more than to taste him, to feel him slipping across my tongue, and to lift my eyes to his and watch the pleasure in his gaze as I did so.

  I lowered my mouth to his lap, which in turn raised my bottom higher for Alex. His tongue was working miracles, and I arched my back, pushing myself out toward him, wanting more. He must have gotten the message, as his mouth vanished from my pussy, and I felt the shift in his body as he repositioned himself.

  In front of my face, Lorcan lifted his hips. I used my good hand to wrap around the base of his erection, squeezing him and sliding my fingers up and down a couple of times. Then, keeping my eyes lifted to his, watching him as he smoldered down at me, his lower lip slack with lust, I put out my tongue. Starting at the base, I licked him right where his dick joined his balls, up to his glans. He sucked in a breath as I swirled my tongue around the head and then licked back down again.

  “Ah, fuck, princess,” he growled. “You have a wicked tongue.”

  I gave him a wicked smile to match my wicked tongue, and kept going until he looked like he was going to go crazy with lust. Then I reached the top once more and slid my lips right down over the top of him, drawing him across my tongue and sinking as deep as I dared without triggering my gag reflex. His hands knotted in my hair, but he didn’t push me deeper. It was more like he was using the touch to connect to me.

  I sucked Lorcan’s cock, the glans slipping across my tongue, followed by his hard length as I moved lower. I wanted to give him the best I could, to make him want me and no one else.

  The familiar tear of a wrapper came from behind me—trust Alex to be prepared for this situation, even in the middle of everything else. At least he was being safe, not that I’d have expected anything less from him.

  Even as I sucked on Lorcan, Alex moved to his knees behind me. The head of his cock pushed against my wet folds and he nudged his hips, pushing inside me.

  I groaned around Lorcan’s cock, and his fingers dug deeper into my hair, his blunt nails grazing against my scalp. “Ah, shit. That feels so good when you moan like that. The vibrations are intense.”

  “You want me to make her moan?” Alex asked.

  I sensed Lorcan nod more than saw it. “Fuck, yeah.”

  That they were talking over the top of me somehow made me even hotter. Hell, this was the sexiest thing I’d ever done.

  Alex pushed deeper inside me, stretching me open, filling me. He was a perfect size for me, big, but not as intimidating as Kingsley had been. When he was balls deep, he reached around my body and his fingers found my clit. I’d been desperate for someone to touch me there since this whole thing started, and the effect was instantaneous. I bucked at his touch, pushing myself harder onto his cock, my mouth sinking lower on Lorcan’s length. I was impaled by them.

  Alex pulled out and thrust again, all the while keeping up the small circles he was rubbing on my clit. I moaned again, and Lorcan groaned in response. His breath was ragged above me and I could feel his size swelling. Pre-cum leaked from the head, coating my tongue in its salty flavor. Alex’s fingers of his other hand dug into my hip as he fucked me from behind—driving faster, harder, deeper with every stroke.

  The pleasure that had held me in its grip ever since Alex had first kissed me began to build toward my release. I was almost there now, so close I could taste it. The muscles in my stomach and thighs were rigid with expectation, and even though I still had a dick in my mouth, all of my focus was on the tightness building at my core. I was starting to lose myself, my mind drawing inward, to the point where I no longer cared who was on the end of the two cocks penetrating me, only that I reached the point of release.

  I forgot about Lorcan as I came, unable to keep him going as my orgasm pulsed through my body. I cried out, my head hung, my mind shattering into a million pieces. But even as the orgasm began to fade, I moved my attention back to him, knowing he needed to experience the same release. Alex had also paused behind me, allowing my body to recover from the violence of coming, but as my breathing began to slow, his movements quickened again. Now that I’d had my orgasm, he removed his fingers from my clit—it was too sensitive to touch right now, anyway—and both hands grabbed my hips, his thumbs digging into my ass cheeks. He fucked me hard, slamming into me, shoving me forward with every movement.

  In my mouth, Lorcan swelled, and he came hard, hot streams of salty cum jetting down my throat, almost choking me. I took it well, swallowing what I could, only a little leaking from the corners of my mouth.

  “Ah, fuck,” Lorcan groaned, gripping my head tighter, thrusting down my throat once, twice more, each time allowing a little more cum to hit my palate.

  Behind me, Alex swore as well as he came, holding himself deep as the final throes of his orgasm shuddered through his body.

  We tumbled together in a mass of heavy breathing, sweaty bodies. I wished there was more time for us to just be together, but the others would be back soon. It wasn’t that I was worried about them seeing us, more that I knew there was a chance they’d come back with information and we’d need to be on the move.

  We separated enough to pull on our clothes, though we’d managed to remain as dressed as we’d been able to during sex. We exchanged suddenly shy, but happy glances, and both guys made an effort to plant a kiss on my shoulder or brush up against me.

  I enjoyed what we’d done and hoped it would happen again sometime, though of course I wanted Clay to be safe first. In fact, adding Clay into
the mix would have made the sex even better.

  The guys made me feel cared for, desired, cherished. And most importantly, they made me feel as though I was bigger than just myself. Like I finally had a place in the world, and it was with them, by their sides.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The low murmur of voices and the cracking of twigs underfoot signaled the return of Isaac and Kingsley. We climbed out of the van to join them.

  “How’s your hand after that?” Alex asked me under his breath.

  I lifted it to show that the bandage was still in place. “It’s fine. I made sure I kept it out of the way.” I couldn’t help the smile tugging at my cheeks.

  Lorcan handed me a bottle of water. “Thought you might appreciate this,” he said with a cheeky wink.

  I laughed, my cheeks heating. “Thanks.” I took the bottle from him and placed the neck to my lips, taking some deep swigs of the water, washing the taste of salt from my tongue and throat.

  They emerged from between the trees, Isaac still holding the laptop open, Kingsley with the cell phone in his hand. They didn’t look as though they suspected anything had happened while they’d been gone, though I felt like the smell of sex lay heavy on the air. At least I’d been rumpled looking when they’d left, and I was equally rumpled when they returned. Not that I minded them knowing, of course, but it wasn’t something I wanted to be announced when we had more important things to be thinking about.

  “What’s the plan?” Alex asked Isaac. “What did Devlin say?”

  Kingsley cleared his throat before speaking. “He thinks we’ve got this handled. He’s not sending anyone else out. He wants us to make sure we get the memory stick.”

  I didn’t know how to feel about that. The guys were a capable team, so I could understand why Devlin would think they were more than able to handle things on their own. Despite this, a part of me had been hoping Kingsley and Isaac would come back with some miraculous way of saving Clay that Devlin was putting into place.