Authors: Susan Hayes
“See? Not so much as a bruise. I’m fine. Colin’s the one who got hurt.”
“You’re more than fine. You’re fucking perfect,” Nik growled, taking half a step forward and then coming to sudden halt. “Show us the rest.”
She let her hands skim down her stomach to the fastening of her pants, opening them with a twist of her fingers and then sliding them down over her hips. There didn’t seem to be a sultry way of getting them off the rest of the way, and so she abandoned her sexy dance to wriggle out
of them. She managed to partially free one foot, but then her sock tangled in the fabric and she lost her balance as she tried to kick herself loose.
So much for sexy.
Nikolai saw what was going to happen a split-second before it did and sprinted the handful of steps to Alayna. He came up behind her, arms wrapping around her waist as he planted his feet and braced himself, stopping her fall. “I’ve got you.”
“Yes, you do.” Her body shook and at first he thought it was a reaction to nearly falling, but then he heard her muffled giggles and realized she was laughing.
“How is it you can climb a wall, crawl through a vent and throw knives at a suspect without getting a scratch on you, but once we get you safe and alone, you nearly take yourself out with a pair of pants?” Colin asked her.
“Easy. I have a lot more experience doing those other things than I do performing a striptease.”
The thought of Alayna taking off her clothes for any other man had Nikolai seeing red. She was theirs, and only theirs. As far as he was concerned, no one else was allowed to even
look
at her for long. When he’d seen the make-up back on her face, obliterating her tattoos, he’d had to restrain himself from scrubbing the stuff off right then and there. Knowing that she had walked across the compound without anyone knowing she was claimed still got him rankled. Colin may have removed the make-up, but Nikolai was still driven by the need to re-stake his claim. He kept one arm around her waist, sliding his other hand down between her legs to cup her sex.
Her laughter morphed into a soft, needy moan as his fingers pressed between her labia, stroking her slick folds and teasing at her clit. She shuddered and widened her stance, opening herself to his questing fingers. Her silent submission sent Nikolai over the edge. He lowered his mouth to her neck, nipping and sucking at her tender skin while he worked he
r clitoris with his fingertips.
Her hot flesh was already wet with desire, and with every touch she was getting slicker. Her honey coated his fingers as he moved his hand
deeper, penetrating her just enough to elicit another soft moan as she bucked her hips, trying to get him to go deeper.
“Who do you belong to, Alayna?” he asked.
“You. I belong to you and Colin. Now, fuck me already.”
Colin moved to join them and Nikolai waved him off.
“You, no touching. You were fucking with me earlier, over the comm-link. Consider this my revenge. You can look, but that’s it.”
“You’re a bastard, you know that, right?” Colin smirked and lifted his hands as he backed off again. “Sorry, princess. You’re on your own.”
Alayna huffed in frustration and started wriggling in Nikolai’s arms. “And what have you got planned for me, then? Leaving me sexually frustrated while you talk to Colin?”
Nikolai grinned and plunged two fingers deep into her channel, scissoring them slightly as he worked them in and out of her body until she stopped squirming and started riding his hand instead.
“Do you like what he’s doing to you, princess? Come on, tell us how good that feels.” Nikolai glanced up and saw Colin leaning back, his cock in his hand as he watched Nikolai pleasure their chosen.
When the two men met gazes Colin gave him a lopsided grin and shrugged. “What? You said no touching
her
.”
Alayna laughed at that, and even Nikolai chuckled. This was how it would be for
them, just how he’d always imagined it. The three of them loving and laughing and making a life together. He wanted to bury himself in her body and stay there forever. Nothing would ever come between them, because he wouldn’t let it. Being with her made Nikolai want to be a better man, and for the first time in his life, he truly wanted to be a father. A father to a little girl with jade green eyes.
Alayna’s tight little pussy fluttered around his fingers, drawing him out of his thoughts and back to the moment. She was on the verge of orgasm now, so he pushed her harder, wanting to feel the moment her control snapped. She came on a broken moan, her knees buckling as she slumped against him, her inner walls gripping him tight. He gave her no time to recover. He couldn’t. He needed to be inside her so badly that his balls ached and his dick was harder than steel.
He withdrew his hand from between her legs and scooped her into his arms, carrying her over to his chair and depositing her into it so that she was on her knees, facing away from him. She draped her arms limply across the back of the chair to cushion her chin, and Nikolai took a moment to admire the graceful lines of her bare back, tapering down to the sweet curve of her ass.
This is my woman.
Alayna’s thoughts were like quicksilver, darting about her mind and making it impossible for her to form words. When she opened her eyes, all she could see was Colin pleasuring himself in front of her, his eyes gleaming with love and lust. There was a rustle of fabric behind her and then Nik’s hands were on her hips, coaxing her to straighten up and guiding her backward until she could feel the hardened shaft of his cock brushing against her ass. He bent low, lips touching her shoulder and then grazing down one arm. Before she could figure out what he was doing the chair began to rise, and she realized he had changed the height settings, lifting her up so that now the thick head of his dick was wedged lightly between her thighs.
“Cheater,” she whispered and his laughter sent a puff of warm breath across her bare skin.
“I’m a problem solver. I see a problem, I like to fix it. And right now, the biggest problem I see is that I’m not inside you yet.”
“Then I think you should do something about that, don’t you?” Alayna purred, spreading her legs and wiggling her hips so that his cock slipped a little closer to her pussy. She was so wet now that she could feel her cream trickling down her inner thighs, and the need to come was building inside her again, despite the fact she was still coming down from her last orgasm. Fate must have known what she was doing, because when Alayna was with her bonded, she was insatiable. No other man had ever made her feel anything like it, and she knew no one else ever would.
Not that any other man would ever have the chance to try.
Nik
wrapped his arms around her, drawing her back against his chest as he rolled his hips and entered her in one, slow, mind-shattering thrust. His hand dove back down between her legs, stroking her clit in time to the gentle rocking of his hips. She twisted her head back over one shoulder and he met her halfway. Mouths mated in a heated kiss. He claimed her body and her soul with every touch. Her next orgasm came on slowly, unfurling like the delicate petals of the night jasmine that grew beneath her window. When it finally washed over her, tears dampened her cheeks and she moaned Nikolai’s name into the heated depths of his mouth as she reached her peak and tumbled into bliss.
Nikolai never slowed, he continued to make love to her as the waves of pleasure receded. He broke their kiss as a hand touched her cheek and she turned her head back to find Colin standing in front of her, his fingers brushing away her tears.
“We love you,” Colin said and then leaned down to kiss her. He claimed her mouth as thoroughly as Nik had, and when he took her hand and guided it to his cock she wrapped her fingers around it and began to pump it in time to Nik’s thrusts. Time stopped, and the world faded away, leaving the three of them suspended on the brink of bliss. They were together, tied to each other by love, and life, and touch.
Nikolai murmured near her ear. “Come for us, Alayna. Come now.” He pinched her clit lightly and she was off again, racing up the scales of pleasure so quickly she couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t do anything but feel as her body exploded into rapture.
Nik came a few hard thrusts later, drifting several lingering kisses across her shoulders before easing himself out of her body.
“You are incredible. You know that, don’t you?”
Alayna turned her head to grin at him. “Yes, but I love hearing you say it anyway.”
“Arms around my neck, princess,” Colin murmured, nuzzling her cheek. She turned again to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding tight as he lifted her over the back of the chair. Colin’s lips found hers for a deep, toe-curling kiss, his hands cradling her bottom as he kicked the chair out of his way and set her down on the edge of Nikolai’s desk. He positioned himself between her thighs and tugged his pants lower, freeing his cock completely. Then he lifted his hands to her face, stroking her cheeks with his fingertips.
“You are the sexiest, most amazing woman I’ve ever known. I will be forever grateful that you tried to rob us,” he whispered against her lips, silencing her laughter. Colin let his hands drift from her face to her shoulders and then down to her hips, drawing her forward so that her soaking wet folds were pressed tight against the broad tip of his cock. A low, shuddering groan rolled through him as he moved his hands lower, coaxing her to twine her legs around his waist.
Alayna tightened her legs, locking their bodies together and Colin rolled his hips so that their bodies slid together without merging. There was movement behind her, and then
Nik’s hands were on her shoulders, easing her upper body back until she was nestled against his broad chest.
“Perfect,” Colin uttered the single word as he guided his cock to her entrance and drove himself home. He bottomed out inside her and then held himself there, his eyes locked on hers. Alayna could feel every inch of him, filling her so completely she could hardly breathe. Nikolai cradled her close, his fingers toying with her nipples, while Colin placed a hand between her body and his, pressing the pad of his thumb to her clit. A jolt of raw pleasure zinged through her, making her moan while Colin withdrew as far as her legs would allow before driving himself deep into her body again.
Alayna unwound her legs from his waist and Colin set his free hand on one of her knees, coaxing her legs further apart. With his hips freed, he began pounding into her as hard and as fast as a runaway train. He fucked her relentlessly, the two of them working together to send her spinning out of control. Her moans grew louder as they played her body like the finest of instruments. She was completely theirs, a thrall to their every touch, and when she came it was on a wild cry that came from the deepest part of her soul.
Colin’s control broke seconds later, and the three of them lay sprawled on top of Nikolai’s desk until Alayna finally found the energy to speak. “I vote we end all our investigations this way.”
“Seconded,” Nikolai chimed in.
“Motion passed,” Colin said as he gently untangled himself from Alayna and waved toward another door near the back of the office.
“Shower?”
“Good thinking. We’ll get cleaned up and then head home,”
Nik agreed.
Home.
Alayna’s hear swelled at the word. “Home sounds good to me.”
***
EPILOGUE
The day was finally here. What Alayna had thought would be a simple party, with a few friends and carefully selected members of their families had turned into a celebration with a guest list as long as her arm.
Family was still in relatively short supply, with only Sonja attending from Nikolai’s side, and only Sam coming for Alayna. Colin’s entire brood was present, and Alayna was grateful that they were, because Colin’s mother and sisters were the only things keeping the party on track. They had arrived two days earlier, and immediately pitched in to help. While she was still finding the sheer numbers of new family she had gained somewhat overwhelming, it was far eclipsed by the joy of having their acceptance and affection.
They had even helped her pick out a dress for the ceremony. It was a simple wrap dress of shimmering green that made her feel oddly naked after years of wearing pants. She had left her hair loose and kept her make-up simple, despite several offers from her new sisters to give her a make-over for the big day. When she was ready, she slipped downstairs to steal a quiet moment alone, away from everyone else. They were all getting dressed in preparation to head down to the Officer’s Club on the base, where the ceremony and celebration would be held.
Alayna found herself in the living room, gazing out the window again. It had become her favorite place to go when she needed to think. She heard a soft shuffle and turned to find Sam only a few feet away.
“There’s still time to hightail your ass out of here, you know. I spoke to some folks, we could have you out of town before those elites of yours even knew you were gone,” he said with a hint of a grin on his weathered face.
“That’s sweet, Sam, but I won’t be hightailing it this time. I don’t quite know how it happened, but I’m happy here.”
He gave her a bemused look and shook his head. “You’ve gone completely soft, little girl. All my years of teaching gone right out the airlock. Never thought I’d see you taking all I’d showed you and using it to get a job with the damned Alliance.”
She laughed, gesturing for him to come closer. When he did she started adjusting the suit he’d managed to acquire for the occasion. Alayna didn’t dare ask where he’d gotten it. The odds were good that it involved a broken law or two, and she didn’t care to know. All that mattered to her was that he was here for her today. It was more than she had hoped for, since the ceremony was being held at the base, and he’d be spending the day surrounded by the very men and women he had been working against most of his life. That told her more about how much he loved her than any words could ever express.
“Quit fussing. If I wanted a chosen to cluck and pluck at me, I’d of taken one long ago. This is your day, little girl, not mine.”
“I’m glad you’re here for it, that’s all.”
“When have you ever known me to turn down free food? Especially when the Alliance is footing the bill. Besides, I needed to be sure you weren’t having second thoughts. That offer will stand forever, you know. You ever need out, I can have you gone before nightfall.” He snapped his fingers.
“And then we’d just hunt you down and bring you back again,” Nikolai said, coming into view with Colin only a few steps behind him. They were both in their black and red dress
uniforms and Alayna couldn’t help but give them an appreciative once over as they joined them by the window. From the toes of their gleaming boots to the medals and ribbons that covered their chests, Nik and Colin looked every inch the warriors they were. The uniforms were jet black with red trim, and she was already looking forward to stripping her men out of them tonight.
Sam eyed them both, crossing his arms across his thin chest. “If you ever make her cry, I’ll make sure you never see my girl’s pretty face again. Hurt her, and you’ll pay for it with your lives. I know every crook, killer and thug within a hundred miles, and I
will
have them put you down if you give me reason. We clear?”
“Sam!” Alayna gasped, but Sam ignored her, never taking his eyes off of her bonded.
For a second, Nikolai and Colin just stared at him, then both of them nodded once.
“Clear,” they said in unison
“For the love of…was that really necessary?” she demanded.
“Yep.
Now we’ve all had our say and know where each other stands. I want you to be happy, little girl. I’m not so good at saying this crap, but today seemed like a good day to try. You’re the only good thing I’ve ever had in my life. Hell, you’re the only good thing I’ve
done
in my life. I expect them to take damned good care of you.”
Alayna hugged him then, trying and failing to stop her tears from dampening his suit. “I love you. You’re an impossible, stubborn old man, but I do love you.”
“You’re wrinkling my suit, girl,” he complained, but he hugged her back and didn’t let her go for a long time.
“You’re welcome to come back and check up on her anytime you like, sir.” Colin said and Sam went stiff in her arms and then pulled away.
“Don’t you go calling me, sir. Hell no. You can call me Sam, just like she does. And you better believe I’ll be coming around to see my girl. And when the time comes, I plan on showing your kids a few things I know they don’t teach at your precious academy.”
Alayna l
aughed as both her men froze, matching expressions of horror on their faces. “I warned you! But no, you two just had to go and claim a thief and a renegade for your chosen. You brought this on yourself.”
****
The ceremony itself was simple. The three of them stood at the front of an open room that was stuffed full of family, friends and what appeared to be every off-duty member of the base, invited or not. The room had been decorated for the occasion, with festive streamers and a staggering amount of flowers. Alayna had no idea where they had come from. They certainly weren’t grown in the barren lands around Fort Saken.
Nikolai and Colin’s best friends, Vance and Dane, stood on each side of her bonded, acting as the men’s’ honor guard. Alayna could feel the eyes of everyone on her, but she had her back to them all. She only had eyes for Nikolai and Colin, both of them bare-chested as they stood in front of her, gazing down at her with pride and adoration.
She lifted the hand-held device that had been programmed with the design they’d made together and spoke loudly enough that everyone could hear. “Nikolai Grekov, I name you my bonded and claim you, just as you have claimed me.” She could swear she saw his chest swell with emotion as she touched the device to the left side of his neck and slowly moved it downward. The pattern flowed out from her hand as she worked her way down to his shoulder, then to his chest, and finally his flank. It was the same mercurial black as her tattoo, an elaborate design of lines and letters incorporating the initials of all their names. It was stunning. She stood on tiptoe to kiss him, but Nik grabbed her around the waist and lifted her into his arms to kiss her passionately. A cheer went up, nearly deafening her and she laughed when Colin jabbed him with an elbow.
“Put her down, asshole. She’s not done yet,” Colin hissed.
Nikolai released her slowly, deliberately letting her slide down the front of his body as he did so. He was so big, powerful and with a temper that was frightening, but she knew he’d never hurt her. Nikolai was her bear, fierce, protective, loyal and so incredibly sexy that seeing him without his shirt was enough to have wicked thoughts racing around her head.
She turned to Colin next, his steel-grey eyes twinkling as he looked down at her with such adoration her heart did a triple flip in her chest. “Colin Nielson, I name you my bonded and claim you, just as you have claimed me.” Once again she touched the device to flesh and watched in fascination as the pattern flowed out to cover his skin. Colin was her rock, steady and strong. He made her feel cherished, and she knew that would never change. Alayna’s heart was overflowing with a joy she’d never known before as she looked at her two men and their newly tattooed bodies. The designs were identical, and yet somehow they looked slightly different on each man, the lines of muscle and form enough to make them unique to each of them.
She didn’t even have time to remove her hand before Colin had her off her feet, lifting her high in the air and spinning them both around before bringing her close enough for a scorching kiss.
The room erupted into cheers and whistles, but she ignored it all. All she truly needed in the world was within her grasp, and Alayna intended to hold onto it with both hands. She drew both her men close and kissed them again. After all her years being alone, she somehow found everything she’d never dared to hope for of in the most unlikely of places, the Alliance. She had a home, a family, and not one man who loved her…but two.
THE END