Aria's Ascension (Taken Book 2)

by Stacy Jones

  With new slaves showing up and plans to have a large influx of new people soon, Aria found a female who’d been her planet’s equivalent of a foreman to oversee the construction of new housing in the arena.

  She’d intended it to be for the newcomers, but as soon as a house was finished, there were people lining up to move in. She couldn’t blame them. Living in the complex with a couple hundred other people was hard, even for her, and her rooms were away from everyone else’s.

  She also learned there were a hell of a lot of people who were perfectly happy roughing it. She offered to have houses built for them, as well, but almost all of them declined. Perhaps unsurprisingly, most came from less-developed planets, though there were a few from advanced worlds who she guessed just really liked camping.

  Once people caught on to the fact that they could move out if they wanted and lay claim to a plot of land, there was a mad dash to do so. Almost overnight, villages popped up, gardens, stone-working shops, metal shops, and a dozen other things she hadn’t thought to offer appeared in the arena.

  The villages could prove problematic if someone started getting greedy about land, but it actually helped everyone get along knowing they could go home at night to a house of their own, surrounded by like-minded people.

  That wasn’t to say everyone got along all the time, though.

  She, her mates, or one of her Generals—what she’d dubbed her proxies—still had to step in and squash the occasional squabble, a few outright fistfights, and one aerial battle. But, she did her best to keep everyone busy and tried to be understanding. These people were going through one hell of an adjustment. It would take time for everyone to get used to their new reality. Having a common enemy, a mission to focus on, and houses to tend to helped a hell of a lot.

  Another week passed, during which time her covert team fed her enough information that she began making plans of attack to take over the next closest arena.

  The plan was to bring all the slaves and prisoners back to the complex, haul out everything of use, but leave the building itself intact, so as to not tip off the other Overlords that they were coming for them. Besides, she needed more space than this arena offered.

  Kix brought up a good point during that meeting. They needed to have a plan for the guards, Overlords, and masters that didn’t include killing them all. If the Federation ever showed up, they needed to give them as little reason as possible to throw them in prison, execute them, or return them to slavery.

  Aria didn’t love it, but she saw his point.

  The fact that her first solution had been to kill them all, brought to light exactly how much she’d changed since her days as an FBI agent. Life as a gladiator on an alien planet did strange things to a person. Namely, making them quick to kill the people responsible for turning them into a murderer. Ironic, perhaps, but still true.

  What surprised her was that she didn’t especially mind the change. She was sure that had a lot to do with her other half blending and merging with her, and the loving acceptance of her mates, but whatever the reason, she was adapting well to this world and its rules. She had to, if she had any hope of succeeding in the mission to which she’d appointed herself.

  It did no one any good if she tried to hold on to the laws of Earth, and she wouldn’t be able to protect any of these people if she tried to pretend that someone with the power to pass judgement was going to come along after her and take care of the bad guys.

  Aria hadn’t lost her moral compass, it was just pointing to a different north, one that included doing whatever it took to protect the weak and vulnerable from those who would hurt them.

  Talking about stasis brought to mind something she’d been putting off, but the time for hoping someone would magically come to her with an answer was past, so she’d sought out Lilac.

  She’d, predictably, found them in the labs.

  Unpredictably, Lilac’s solution to what Aria expected to be a monumental problem was actually quite simple.

  They’d cocked their head as though they didn’t understand why she was so worried.

  “Zhrovni programmed the clone bodies to live for roughly ten of what you understand to be years. They can be reprogrammed to live longer.”

  “What about the original bodies? And those of us living in clones with an expiration date?”

  “We will replace the original bodies with new, longer-lived clones and transfer you into new bodies, as well.”

  “Will we notice a difference after we’re… transferred?” she’d asked, cringing at the damned unnerving prospect of body-swapping.

  Amusement brushed over her mind as Lilac answered, “None at all. You have been through such procedures many times.”

  While Aria was extremely relieved to know people weren’t going to suddenly drop dead when their clone bodies ran out of time, Lilac’s words presented her with a different problem.

  How long should they program the clones to live?

  Of course people, both gladiators and ship survivors, could always elect to transfer into a new body if theirs got injured or too old, but for those that didn't want to live essentially forever, how long should the standard lifespan be?

  She’d held a meeting with the gladiators first to get opinions, but everyone's answer was different. Same thing when she called a meeting with the entire population.

  In the end, it was Rellik that offered the solution to pick the longest, so no one was cheated of years they would normally expect to live. Those who usually lived for a shorter time could opt for what was essentially euthanisia when they were done. It wasn't perfect, but she agreed that it was the best they could do.

  More and more, Rellik was becoming someone on whom she could and did depend. He was particularly skilled with politics, covert stuff, and gently manipulating people to his way of thinking, which came in handy more often than it should’ve. It made sense. From what he’d told her, he came from a culture that was very much like a monarchy, complete with a queen, palace intrigue, infighting, and politics.

  Late one night, after being briefed by the covert team, she hadn’t been able to resist any longer and asked if he’d found anyone. He’d gone very still for a moment before he stood and walked around the table to stare down at her. Lifting his hand, he cupped her cheek, sweeping his thumb over her lips.

  “You continue expecting me to lose interest.” He bent until they were staring at each other from less than an inch away. “I won’t.”

  The way he said it had been half promise, half warning, and exactly what she hadn’t been willing to admit she wanted to hear.

  He kissed her, lightly, his soft, full lips a mere whisper over hers, but it was enough to set her pulse pounding, before he turned and walked out.

  He’d started bringing her little presents after that, showing her that he was without a doubt trying to woo her. Except, her hesitation wasn’t because she needed to be wooed. Part of it was knowing Rellik wasn’t ready for real physical intimacy, much as he was trying to convince himself otherwise. But, the biggest part was that she didn’t know how Tirox and Kix felt about it.

  Bringing it up would essentially be an admission that she wanted to pursue a relationship with Rellik. Besides, what if they were against it?

  What if they weren’t?

  Aria was having a hell of a time wrapping her head around the prospect of, for all intents and purposes, being married to two men while dating another and longing for a fourth to get past his issues.

  She liked Rellik. A lot. Cared for him deeply. He was smart, funny, sweet, playful, perceptive as hell, insightful, flirty, and deliciously wicked.

  No matter what shit she was dealing with, he and her mates never failed to bring lightness to her day. She depended on them for that along with a million other things.

  The cherry on the hard-to-resist cake was that he got along really well with both her mates.

  Aria blinked, realizing she’d been staring at the wall for who knows how long, lost in her thoughts
when she was supposed to be taking stock of the element cubes the fabricator used to produce food and water.

  Turning at the hiss of the door opening, she watched Tirox and Kix walk in.

  “We’re running low,” she announced, eyeing the stacks again. “We’ll need more, soon. How’s progress on the gardens? Have either of you talked to Meribah about breeding livestock?”

  Tirox tried to hide his grimace, but she caught it. “I do not understand it, but she is still reluctant to breed animals for food.”

  Aria rubbed her forehead. “Yeah, I expected as much, but we’ve got a hell of a lot of people to feed, and we’re going to run out of element cubes eventually. I don’t know that we’ll be able to buy or steal more from the city when the time comes. We need to be self sustaining.”

  Kix came to stand in front of her and tipped her head back with a finger under her chin. “We will speak to her again, aessa.”

  Tirox stepped up to stand at her side and Kix tilted her head so she was looking up at her barbarian. A frown tented the skin of his brow bone as he brushed a gentle finger under her eye.

  She realized she must look as exhausted as she felt, if the concern on his handsome, red face was anything to go by.

  “Come to the nest, my heart.”

  “I… ”

  She wanted to say ‘yes’ so badly. She craved their touch, their closeness. They hadn’t spent nearly enough time together in the last couple of weeks. Everyone was always running around with their own jobs, doing their part to keep this place running with some semblance of order.

  She missed them something fierce. She’d gotten so used to spending every waking moment with them that this whole being apart thing was proving damned difficult to adjust to. Instead of saying ‘yes,’ like she wanted to, she peered over at the supply of cubes.

  “I should really finish… ”

  “Mmm, no,” Tirox decided abruptly then scooped her up like a princess. “It will wait until the sun rises. We need you.”

  Aria chuckled lightly and settled into his arms. “Well… If you need me, how can I say ‘no’?”

  He gave her a dry look and countered, “You cannot. I have stolen you away.”

  Laughing harder, she turned and pressed a kiss to his muscular chest. “I love you, Barbarian.”

  He gazed down at her, eyes swirling hypnotically, and smiled tenderly. “As I love you, my rwy’n la.”

  Twisting, she reached out to take Kix’s hand and brought it to her mouth, pressing a lingering kiss to his palm. Meeting his gaze over his hand, she spoke against his skin, “I love you, Firefly.”

  He stepped closer to walk shoulder to shoulder with Tirox, then smiled mischievously. With no warning, Kix plucked her out of Tirox’s arms and brought her to his chest, cupping her ass with his hands.

  Tirox grumbled, “Damned thieving male.”

  They both ignored him and stared into each other's eyes, “I love you, my treasure. Now and always.”

  Sighing happily, she wrapped her arms around Kix’s neck and laid her head on his shoulder, perfectly content to be carried to their room.

  Just as they turned the corner, she spotted white eyes following her from the darkness of an unused hallway and knew Thrasin was watching over her. Her smile turned wistful as she stared back at him, holding his gaze from the shelter of Kix’s arms, until the bend stole him from view.

  When they arrived at their room, Kix crawled onto the massive bed with her still held to his chest.

  Guess he’s claiming first round, she thought with a chuckle.

  Normally, whoever didn’t claim first round sat in a chair at the foot of the bed and watched hungrily while whomever was first took her, waiting impatiently for his turn. It was an odd arrangement, but one that seemed to work well for her men.

  Except this time, Tirox didn’t do what she expected.

  Instead, he climbed into bed with them, surprising her enough that her jaw dropped.

  Gazing back and forth between them in surprise, Aria opened her mouth to ask what they were planning, but Kix drove in before she could and took her lips in a hard kiss.

  Lying her down, he tore at her spray-paint suit, ripping it down the middle and exposing her breasts. He lifted away from her lips, only to swoop down with a growl and take one of her nipples into his hot mouth.

  Aria’s breath hitched and her eyes fell closed at the delicious sucking of his mouth, only to spring back open when she felt Tirox rip her suit the rest of the way open, push her thighs apart, and dive at her pussy.

  Within seconds, she was gasping for breath, trying to keep from coming apart at the seams under them. It didn’t work. They pushed her into an orgasm so quickly, it made spots dance in her eyes.

  By the time she stopped shaking and twitching, Tirox and Kix had stripped off their pants. Tirox was lying sideways on the bed, and Kix was looming over her, gazing down at her with a wicked smile curling his full, grey lips.

  Aria swallowed back a moan, entirely unsure she would live through the pleasure that smile promised, but entirely sure she was willing to risk it.

  Kix lifted her up like she weighed about as much as a feather with his big hands around her waist, then moved her so she was hovering over Tirox. Glancing down, she saw her barbarian’s fist wrapped around his thick, lower cock, aiming it up at her.

  Oh, god… Kix is going to lower me onto Tirox.

  That was the single most erotic thing she’d ever seen.

  Aria moaned in anticipation as Kix lowered her slowly, then sucked in a shuddering breath when she felt Red’s cock touch her opening. Kix tightened his hands and pressed her down harder, driving her down over Tirox.

  She was wet from her orgasm, but Tirox was big. She was panting and squirming in Kix’s grip by the time he set her down fully. Bracing her hands on Red’s chest, she let her head fall forward and gently rocked her hips over him, trying to adjust to the stretch of having him so deep inside her.

  Once she relaxed, Kix pressed her forward with a hand between her shoulder blades. When she felt him settle behind her, her brows went up, but when she felt his finger, slicked with something slippery and warm, touch the tight ring of her ass, her eyes popped open wide.

  Propping herself up, she gave Tirox a surprised, questioning look.

  He returned her look with a wide, mischievous grin, showing off his dual fangs, and rumbled, “One of the males found veeds.”

  “Vids,” Kix corrected behind her, his voice low and strained with arousal.

  “Mm, vids. They taught us new ways to mate, ways I had never considered. This was claimed as a favorite among females.”

  They found alien porn? Oh, hell.

  “Double penetration?” Aria clarified huskily.

  Kix went still behind her. “Were they incorrect in their claim?”

  She hesitated for a moment. For some women the answer was probably going to be ‘yes,’ and she was definitely suspicious about what else the vids taught them, but honestly, there was no way in hell she was about to make them stop.

  “No,” she hummed, a sly smile tipping her lips.

  Giving Tirox a wink, she laid back down on his chest with an excited wiggle. They both let out relieved breaths, making her chuckle.

  Her quiet laugh turned into a gasp when Kix gently pressed a finger inside her. Biting her lip, she hummed. That felt good, really fucking good. He worked it in and out, coaxing her muscles to relax before withdrawing and scooting up so his hips were tight against her ass.

  Aria’s pulse began racing as she felt the thick, frilled head of Kix’s cock press against her. There was no pain with his slow, steady entry, only a sense of incredibly intense fullness.

  With both of them buried deep, every single nerve ending felt stimulated and, when Kix pulled back just as slowly, the pleasure was mind-numbingly exquisite.

  A shiver tracked down her spine and a low, throaty moan spilled from her lips.

  He kept up that slow, tight retreat until just his cockh
ead remianed inside her, then advanced while Tirox withdrew.

  They set a rhythm, one pulling back while the other thrust forward, faster and faster until the room was filled with the sound of her high, moaning cries, Tirox’s low, urgent growls, and Kix’s deep grunts.

  Aria came three times, each more devastating than the last, before she felt them stiffen almost simultaneously.

  Her hands fisted in the sheets and her eyes rolled into the back of her head when she felt them come inside her. The feeling of them filling both her holes with their releases threw her into another orgasm.

  Writhing and bucking, she rode out the waves between the press of their bodies, sinking her teeth into the flesh of Tirox’s chest to muffle her screams.

  By the time they gently pulled out of her and collapsed into a tangle of limbs, Aria felt about as substantial as jelly.

  She was on the verge of dropping into a deep, exhausted sleep, cuddled between the warm, comforting bodies of her mates, when they started to get up.

  “Where the hell are you going?” she grumbled, reaching for them tiredly.

  When she didn’t feel them, and they didn’t comply with her demand to return, she pried her eyes open and blearily swept the room for them.

  She found them both down on one knee beside the bed. Heart skipping a beat and suddenly a hell of a lot less tired, Aria looked back and forth between them unblinkingly and sat up slowly.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

  They exchanged a glance before staring back up at her, wide smiles on their faces. They looked excited and nervous, which did nothing to slow the racing of her heart.

  In perfect sync, they brought their right hands out from behind their backs. In each of their palms lay a ring—Kix’s a band that looked to have been carved entirely out of diamond, Tirox’s made of a red stone that sparkled and shimmered in the soft light of their room.

  “Will you marry us?” they asked together.

  Her jaw dropped before she slapped a hand over her mouth. Barely breathing, Aria reached out with a shaking hand and traced a fingertip over first one ring, then the other. Raising her gaze to theirs, she felt tears slide down her cheeks and laughed thickly.