by Lili Zander
He inhales sharply, and his eyes glaze with need. “This shouldn’t be about repaying a favor, little human.”
“It isn’t.” The favor is just a convenient excuse to do something I’ve been dying to do.
“You’re sure of this, Olivia?” he asks once again.
As sure as I’ve ever been about anything in my life. “Are you going to make me beg for your cock?” I retort, holding his blue eyes in mine. “I want this. I want you.”
A smile curls the corner of his mouth. “Good.” He strips out of his pants, and his cock bobs in front of my face, already hard and with a drop of pre-cum at the tip. I cup his balls, massaging them as I flick my tongue over his head.
Zunix kneels behind me. “You are wearing too many clothes.” I lift my head off Liorax long enough to let Zunix tug my rest of my clothes free. His big hands come around me to massage my breasts, and I moan around Liorax’s cock.
“Do that again,” the dark-haired Draekon orders, and I oblige, humming as I take him deeper. His scent is subtle and smoky, his pre-cum almost sweet. I run my tongue under his shaft, finding the spots that make him gasp. He strokes my hair as I devour him, cupping his taut bottom as I pull him into my mouth. His muscles tighten as he grows closer.
Zunix runs his fingers down my spine, content to watch as I suck the other man. My pussy spasms at the thought of his green-gold eyes on us, watching as I take more of Liorax’s cock in my mouth. God, I wouldn’t have thought I was an exhibitionist, but the idea sends a thrill of pleasure through me.
Liorax’s fingers tighten in my hair. “Olivia,” he gasps my name. I bob my head faster, keeping up the pace until his hips jerk. I fight to take him to the root as he spills in my mouth.
Draekon cum is sweet. Who’d have guessed?
Liorax staggers back, his expression dazed. “You’re going to be the death of me, little human.”
I grin at him and lick my lips in satisfaction. “My turn,” Zunix growls. He helps me lie back and positions himself between my legs. “I want to taste you.”
Liorax is lightning and passion, but Zunix is all about the slow burn. He nibbles my inner thighs, nuzzles and kisses my pussy. By the time he lays his mouth on my clit, I’m dripping and wild. My hands brush his short-cropped hair, and he grasps my wrists, pinning them on either side of my hips. The dominant move is too much. Digging my heels into the floor, I press up into his mouth, demanding all he has to give.
He chuckles. “Are all humans so impatient?” he teases me, his voice muffled against my pussy. His tongue darts out and circles my clit, and I whimper and grind into him.
“Please.” I’m not too proud to beg for my orgasm.
I don’t need to ask again. He gives me all I want and more. His hands grip my bottom, and he lifts me, positioning me so I straddle him. “Ride me,” he orders. “Take your pleasure.”
For a moment, I’m tempted to slide down his giant body and drive myself onto his cock. I’m supposed to choose between two pairs, but who am I kidding? Zunix and Liorax are the only two Draekons in the world for me.
But caution stays me. Dariux said I had to date my four suitors for six months before I could choose. I can’t risk the fragile peace in the camp. There’s too much at stake—my life as well as the other women’s.
Zunix tugs my hips over his mouth, and he swipes at my pussy. Fuck yes. Desire courses through my body, threatening to overtake my common sense.
No one said you had to wait six months before getting to third base, Liv.
With a sigh of pleasure, I lower myself onto Zunix’s face. My hips rock of their own volition, my breasts bouncing. Zunix’s tongue stabs into me, thick and hot. I glance behind me. His cock is pressing against his pants, and when I see his erection, I can’t help myself.
Before he can stop me, I switch positions, turning around so I’m straddling him facing the other way. As soon as I push down his pants, his giant erection springs free. I attack, swallowing as much of him as I can take, using my hands and eager tongue when my jaws can’t stretch wide enough.
Liorax is sitting on the couch opposite me, totally naked. “You are so beautiful, Olivia,” he breathes. He’s hard again, and he fists himself as I suck Zunix’s cock. I’m so turned on. This feels so carnal, so wicked.
Zunix eats me out with gusto, and I groan and part my legs wider, rocking my hips into his mouth. When he thrusts two fingers into my pussy, my eyes roll back, and I almost explode. Liorax is pumping faster, his blue eyes never leaving my face.
Then Zunix pushes a finger into my tightly puckered anus, and my already-fragile control unravels. I climax, shuddering through aftershocks while I work his thick, beautiful cock. As I bob up and down his hard shaft, he groans into my pussy, setting me off again. His cock jumps in my hands, and I just manage to put my lips over his broad head before he erupts, filling my mouth with sweet cum.
We’re lying on the bed afterward, lazy and sated. “Tell me something,” I ask, my voice sleepy. “If you could go back home, would you?”
“We can’t go back,” Liorax replies practically. “We are Draekon. To the citizens of the High Empire, we will always be something to be afraid of.”
“Okay, what if you could leave the prison planet?” I persist. “Would you go somewhere else?”
“I would,” Zunix replies instantly. “I miss civilization. People. There is food and water on this planet, but there isn’t much else.”
“Admit it,” I tease him, running my hand over his six-pack abs. “You miss women.”
His gaze rakes over me, heavy with lust. “Not anymore,” he murmurs.
My nipples pebble and my insides twist with desire. “Want to get to third base again?”
Both of them look puzzled. Laughing at their confused expressions, I explain the concept of baseball to them. Then we get to first, second, and third base all over again.
16
Olivia:
It’s almost dusk, and I get up to leave before the detsena show up. “Tell me again why you have to go.” Liorax sounds super grouchy, poor guy. Zunix doesn’t look much happier either.
“I have to,” I mutter reluctantly. “You heard Dariux earlier. He wouldn’t let Belfox and Herrix wager away their claim to me. How’s he going to react if I spend the night here?”
“I don’t care what Dariux thinks,” Liorax snaps.
“I don’t either, but...”
“But you have to consider the other women,” Zunix finishes. “If Dariux is in a snit, he might use his influence to delay or even cancel the plan to look for the missing human women.”
“Exactly.”
Liorax pulls me against his chest. “I want you, Olivia,” he says quietly. My heart starts to beat faster at his tone, which is serious and intent. “My dragon knew right from the start, but I was too damaged by my past to recognize the truth, even though it was in front of me all along. I fought against it, and I tried to resist, and I was stupid.”
His presses his lips on the curve of my shoulder. “I was afraid of repeating the past,” he says. “But I have nothing to be afraid of. Kat’vi was selfish and cared only about herself. You are nothing like her.”
I can hear his heart in his chest, steady and strong. “Claim us,” he says. “Allow us to claim you. We don’t need Dariux’s skimmer to look for the other women. When we complete the mating bond, we can fly to the Lowlands.”
I have to force out the words through the tightness in my throat. The three of us got off on the wrong foot, but not anymore. When I got to camp, I didn’t know who I could trust. Now, there’s no doubt in my mind. I trust Liorax and Zunix. And when the time is right, I want to do exactly what Liorax is asking me to do. I want to claim them as mine.
My mates. My Draekons. Mine.
But not yet. “I can’t. There’s only nine of us on this planet. If we complete the bond now, you know people are going to take sides.” I glance at them in appeal. “You said it yourselves. There were twenty-four Draekons on your ship
, and now there’s only fourteen of you in camp. I don’t want that to happen to us.”
Zunix sighs. “I don’t like it, but you’re right.” His green-gold eyes rest on me. “We’ve kept secrets from each other from the day we met. You’re not who you pretend to be, and you know already that I’m more than my blood status would indicate.”
My lips twitch. “You’re finally going to tell me everything?”
There’s a familiar amused glint in his eyes, but also something else, something softer. “Olivia, I trust you. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know, whenever you ask.” He takes a deep breath. “I thought my dragon had chosen poorly, but I should have given the beast some credit. You’ve always been a worthy adversary to pit my wits against, sweet human, but you are so much more than that.”
The sun’s setting rays fill the room. Damn it. The detsena are going to be swarming over the ground soon, and I need to get back before that happens. “I’m going to hold you to that offer,” I warn Zunix, brushing a kiss over his lips. “But if I don’t want to be eaten alive by mutant crabs…”
“We’ll walk you back.” Zunix gets to his feet and pulls his pants on, tying them in place. “I want what you want,” he says to me. “Nothing would make me happier than making your wish come true. Seeing the humans reunited. But,” he fixes me with a warning look, “it might not be that simple. People’s loyalties are divided already.”
He’s right. Of course he is. I only have to examine my heart to know that he speaks the truth. If it came down to a choice, I’m going to choose Zunix and Liorax over the other women.
Three of the women in camp have mated with Draekons. May, Felicity, and Paige have conflicting loyalties now. And what about the others? If any of the missing four women have found their mates, then my hope of reuniting all of us might have to remain unfulfilled.
“Don’t get ahead of your problems,” Liorax says as we walk back to the mansion, which is what I’ve taken to calling the treehouse I share with Bryce. “You’re not alone. We’re with you.”
I squeeze his hand. They’re both such good guys.
When I enter the mansion, I find, to my surprise, that Bryce isn’t alone. Felicity is with her, her eyes red and her face blotchy.
“Is everything okay?”
“Of course not,” Felicity snarls, as charming as ever. “Would I be here if it were?”
Bryce rolls her eyes in my direction, and I bite back my grin. “Let me make you a cup of tea,” she says soothingly. “We’re here to talk if you want.”
It’s not really tea, of course, but I’ve acquired quite a taste for the faintly lemon-mint taste of the purple-leaved plant. Steeped in hot water—the kettle a gift from Zunix’s syn—it almost feels like the real thing.
I’m still floating in a happy, well-sexed haze, but something tells me I’m going to want something stronger than tea to deal with Felicity. The Draekons distill the creamy white berries into a sort of brandy, and Zunix and Liorax have made sure I’m well stocked. I pour myself a shot and curl up in an overstuffed chair—once again courtesy Zunix’s syn—prepared to listen to Felicity’s tale of woe.
I don’t have to wait long. “They don’t pay attention to me anymore,” Felicity complains as soon as she takes a sip of the tea. “At the start, they would bring me presents every single day. Now, I don’t even think they know I exist.”
“Luddux and Xanthox?” Bryce asks skeptically. “But Felicity, I’ve seen them around you. They think the sun and moons rise and set on you.”
“Really? Then why have I barely seen them this last week?” Her voice is bitter. “Every morning, they head out somewhere, and when they come back, they’re too tired to do anything fun.” Her forehead furrows. “We used to do it twice, three times a day. Nowadays, it’s once a week. At best.”
I look up. Zunix thinks that Herrix and Belfox are up to something. Now, Felicity is complaining that her two guys don’t have time for her. Coincidence? I’m not so sure. “They head out somewhere?”
“That’s what I said.” She scowls at me. “Maybe if you drank less, you’d be able to listen better.”
Maybe if you weren’t so bitchy, I’d drink less.
I ignore her cattiness. Bryce cuts in hastily to keep the peace. “Have you tried talking to them? Telling them how you feel?”
“I was going to this morning,” she mutters sullenly. “But then that guy showed up, and they took off.”
“What guy?”
“One of the Draekons,” she says. “I can’t keep track of their names.”
We’ve been here for three months. There are fourteen Draekons in camp. It’s not that difficult a task. Of course, that would involve Felicity caring about something other than herself.
“One of Olivia’s admirers,” she adds. “The skinny blond one.”
“Belfox?” Unease trickles down my spine. Luddux and Xanthox are nice guys, but crafty and manipulative they’re not. If Herrix and Belfox are up to something, they’ve now managed to entangle Felicity’s mates in it.
There’s not even a shadow of doubt in my mind. I’ve got to tell Zunix and Liorax about this.
17
Zunix:
There’s a knock on my door at the crack of dawn. It’s Olivia. “We might have a problem,” she says, her face grim.
“Let’s find Liorax.”
We walk north to his house. He hears us coming, and opens the door, his forehead creased. “What’s wrong?”
“Felicity came over last night,” she replies. “She was in a snit about her mates.”
“You’re not here about a lovers’ spat.”
She shakes her head. “No, of course not. She said something that struck me. The reason they’re fighting is because Luddux and Xanthox have barely been around, and,” she pauses for breath, “that they’re going away somewhere with Belfox.”
I sit up. “You think Luddux and Xanthox are mixed up in whatever Herrix is doing.”
She nods soberly. “Don’t you?”
“But what could it be?” Liorax asks intently. “Let’s start there. We don’t know where they’re going, but can we guess what they’re doing?”
Olivia cocks her head to one side. “When did they start sneaking away?”
“After you got here,” I reply. “You remember the day we shot at targets, trying to win the opportunity to court you first?”
“The day Dariux set up the contest?” Her voice is dry. “How can I forget?”
I smile at her disgruntled tone. I know Olivia well enough to realize that it must have rankled her to toe the line, to have Dariux dictate how she lives her life. And yet, to ensure the safety of the other women, she’d done it. “Do you remember how Herrix stomped away when he lost?”
She nods.
“They borrowed Dariux’s skimmer,” I tell her. “Dariux doesn’t lend it out very often, but they’ve been borrowing it a lot.”
“If they’re traveling east of Lake Tuli, they’re going into the desert, right? But wherever they’re going is too far to walk?” She chews on her lower lip. “Why that direction though?”
Then it hits me. All the signs have been there, right from the start. Fehrat 1 had deliberately crashed on the prison planet. Why would someone choose to maroon themselves here forever?
They wouldn’t.
“I’m a fool,” I say out loud. “I had tech, and so did Dariux. When we were exiled, we were able to pull some strings, enough for one drop.” I look up, my voice blazing with certainty. “Raiht’vi is Brunox’s daughter. Of course she’d have arranged tech.”
“Okay, but why wouldn’t they bring it back to camp?” Olivia leans forward with a frown. “You’ve been able to barter for the use of your syn. Dariux has bought power and influence with his med-kit. God knows Herrix and Belfox would be only too glad to lord it over everyone. So why haven’t they?”
“They don’t want to share.” I frown. “A weapon? Another skimmer?”
A light dawns on Olivia’s face.
“No,” she says slowly. “I bet I know what it is. Herrix and Belfox talk about wanting to escape the prison planet all the time. It’s a spaceship.”
The moment she says it, I know she’s right. I stare at Olivia in shock. “It’s not possible,” I mutter under my breath. “The asteroid belt is impenetrable. Any ship will be smashed to pieces. And the Navy patrols…”
“Are you sure?” Liorax’s voice is quiet. “We’re Draekon. Better vision. Faster reflexes. Are you sure it can’t be done?”
“No.” I stare into space. “If Raiht’vi arranged a supply drop, then the ship would have been in pieces. It would need to be assembled. But Raiht’vi is a scientist. She wouldn’t have known how to do that.”
Olivia bites her lower lip. “Technicians have brown tattoos, right? That’s the convention? Mannix did, but he died in the crash.”
“Belfox is a technician,” Liorax interjects, his expression steely.
Olivia takes a deep breath. “What do we do?” She looks up at us, her expression uncertain. “You want to leave, don’t you?”
“Not without you.” I grasp her hand in mine. “Never without you. And I know you won’t leave without the other human women.”
Liorax frowns. “It won’t be a big ship,” he warns. “The smaller it is, the easier it will be to maneuver around the asteroids.”
“You could go without me,” she says, not meeting either of our eyes.
“Olivia. Look at me.”
She does as I ask.
“You are a part of me, Olivia. A part of us. Leaving is meaningless if you’re not there with us. You trusted me enough to tell me what you found. Trust me enough to know that I’m telling you the truth now.”
She stares at me, then the corners of her eyes crinkle as she smiles. “You’re just saying nice things so we get to third base again.”
What was the phrase she’d used last night? “Actually,” I murmur. “I’m hoping we could get a run.”
