Guilty as Sin (57 page)

happy.” Leaning in, he nuzzled Lise
‟
s cheek, licked the corner of her mouth, then

Michael
‟
s. Different flavors, same heat.

Lise turned to kiss him, her smile blissful. “Gods yes.”

But Michael pushed them off and sat up, his hair tousled but his jaw set. “I
‟
m a

career criminal for the gods
‟
sakes, a thief. It
‟
s what I
do
. You want me to sit on my

hands for the rest of my life?”

“Nah.” Dax took the opportunity to reef the shirt off over Michael
‟
s head.

Lise purred her approval, reaching out to flick a dangling featherpearl. “Do

whatever you damn well like.”

Pink and pointed, her tongue crept out to trace the intriguing line of hair that

disappeared into the waistband of Michael
‟
s trews. “But legal would be good,” she

mumbled into his stomach.

The thief hissed his pleasure.

Lise ran a hand down his calf and grabbed the heel of a boot. “Jan said he
‟
d give

you a job.” Catching the pure horror on Michael
‟
s face, she chuckled. “Or you could set

up your own business.” She tossed the boot aside.

265

“Doing what? Stealing to order?” Michael choked, hips surging as Lise hauled his

trews down to mid-thigh. Bending, she treated his cock to a long, wanton lick, base to

tip and back again.

“Fuck, Lise!” His head thumped back onto the grass.

“Oh yes.” Lise came up on her heels, red spots burning on her cheekbones. In a

single lithe movement, she pulled off the shirt that was all she
‟
d been wearing. Every

drop of blood in Dax
‟
s body landed in his groin with an almost discernable thud.

Slowly, she extended her wings to their fullest extent, the motion pushing her

delectable breasts high on her rib cage, each topped with a pink crest, velvet soft but

stiff with passion.

“Not now.” Her magnificent eyes flashed. “Michael can teach hautladies to pick

locks for all I care. But right this minute?” She showed her teeth, every inch a Pinion

warrior. “I—need—to—fuck.”

“Wait.” Michael caught her wrist. “I want to fly.” He swallowed hard. “Like you

said.”

Lise frowned. “You mean a Mating Flight? Dax gave us that yesterday, right here,

or as near as we
‟
re going to get.”

“Exactly.” Michael
‟
s mouth set in a stubborn line. “
Near enough
. Because it wasn
‟
t a

flight
.” He came up on both elbows. “Not good enough, not for you two, not for what

you are.” He frowned, obviously searching for words. “It
‟
s part of you, isn
‟
t it, deep in

the blood and the bone? Like the feathers, the two hearts. I may be a thief, but gods, I

refuse to rob you of that.”

His face grew dark, his lower lip jutting. “Anyway, you
‟
ve done it. Just the two of

you. And you said it wasn
‟
t complete without me. Or was that a lie?”

Dax leaned in to kiss the cynicism off that elegant mouth, holding him down with a

hand planted in the middle of his chest. “No,” he said, licking a swollen lower lip. “It

was the absolute truth. But I still prefer you in one piece. The logistics are impossible.

Lise could barely support me in the air, let alone both of us.”

“Dax.” Lise clamped a hand over his wrist. She was as pale as paper, save for two

spots of feverish color on her cheekbones. “We could…compromise,” she said slowly.

“Though I
‟
m not sure we have the right to ask it of you.”

“Yes,” said Michael immediately.

“Compromise?” Flickers of dark excitement curled in Dax
‟
s chest, stealing his

breath. He studied her face. “I didn
‟
t think you
‟
d be prepared to risk it.”

“I trust you,” she said simply. “With my life, but—”

As one, they turned to stare at Michael.

He sat up, his face flushed. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Trusting Dax with both our lives,” said Lise. “Trusting he has enough self-control

to hold off until the last minute,
‟
til we land.”

266

Dax smiled at his lovers, his joy distilled into something pure and sweet. It filled

him, drop by drop, a spreading sensation of certainty and soul-deep warmth. “I can do

that.”

“It
‟
s a huge responsibility.” Lise searched his face. “Dax, are you sure?”

“Of course he is.” A wicked grin broke over Michael
‟
s face, and for the first time,

Dax realized how much he
‟
d missed it. This was the reckless boy who
‟
d follow his

friend to hell and laugh as he hauled him back from the pit, the thief who lived for the

thrill. “C
‟
mon, Lise, I dare you.”

“Not so fast.” Before Lise could do more than splutter, Dax grabbed the other man
‟
s

arm. “I
‟
m the only one strong enough to hold you, so you go between us—it
‟
s the only

way.”

He watched expressions flicker across Michael
‟
s face as he worked out the

implications—speculation followed by sudden comprehension, then a half-hidden

flinch and finally—blessedly—heat.

Lise
‟
s chuckle was low, and sublimely naughty. “I like it. You inside me, Dax inside

you.” She danced her fingers over Michael
‟
s half-hard cock, stretching up to mouth his

earlobe. “You
‟
ll be helpless, thief. Caught.”

“Gods.” Michael thrust himself into her palm, his eyes half closed.

Dax forced himself to his feet. His whole body thrummed with a dizzying

combination of love and lust and terror. “Last chance, Michael. What do you want?”

The wind sighed through the candlewood trees as he watched the Grounded think.

He could drown in their eyes, he thought. Michael
‟
s almost amber with excitement

and apprehension, Lise
‟
s storm dark and dilated with desire, but both as steady as the

mountains, warm against him as the touch of their skin.

At last, Michael said, “The one thing I understand is risk. I
‟
m safer in the air with

you and Lise, being fucked, than I
‟
ve ever been in the Slopes. Not just my body, but

my— All of me.”

He rubbed his stubbled cheek across Lise
‟
s jaw, leaving her pale skin marked with a

pink abrasion. When she hummed and pressed closer, he smiled faintly and stroked the

leading edge of her wing.

“You two, being with you— Doesn
‟
t matter how long it lasts, you
‟
re the greatest

prize I
‟
ve ever known. I still say you
‟
re insane, but if you
‟
re prepared to take the risk,

I
‟
ll do the same.”

“All right then.” Dax blew out a gusty breath.

“There are things in the tent,” Lise said. She bit her lip. “Things you could…use.”

Gods
. “So there are.” Dax skimmed the tip of his tail over Lise
‟
s pretty ass. “Get him

hard, chick. Over there.” He pointed to a luxuriant patch of grass only a few feet from

the cliff edge. “I
‟
ll be back in a minute.”

Before he could change his mind, he spun on his heel and headed for the tent.

267

* * * * *

Poor Lise. Her mouth was a beautiful haven, warm and wet and soft, but Michael

didn
‟
t think he
‟
d ever be hard again.
Don’t think about it
, he ordered himself, grass

tickling his shoulder blades as he stretched out for her.
Don’t second-guess yourself
.

Helpless
, whispered a little voice, and his cock trembled against Lise
‟
s tongue.

Spread wide and fucked. Oh gods. He clenched his ass, feeling the reminiscent thrust of

strong fingers, the way Dax had opened him, pleasured him, sent him soaring. And all

the time, he
‟
d been buried balls-deep in Lise
‟
s glorious wet heat, the clasp of feminine

muscles slick and wonderfully familiar.

“Mmm.” Lise drew back a little, giving his erection room to swell.

Helpless
, he told himself deliberately.
Helpless, helpless, helpless
. With each repetition,

the tingle increased and his cock surged a bit more. Lise murmured her pleasure,

squirming when he skated his palm over the base of her tail and outlined the lips of her

sex with a teasing fingertip.

Dax growled, low and dangerous. Something jingled and Michael forced his eyes

open.

Holy fuckin
‟
Twister.

Dax stood over them like a colossus, blocking the sun. His bronze wings were

spread wide, his hands full of long leather straps.

Lise shot bolt upright. She reached out a hand then let it drop, moaning deep in her

throat. “Gods, that
‟
s— Oh shit.”

Michael could only stare, arousal hitting him in a sparkling starburst of sensation.

Frantically, he grabbed himself, squeezing the base of his cock until the pain made his

breath hitch and he could think again.

Huge and thick and golden, Dax
‟
s cock curved up out of its tuft of auburn down.

Thin black strips of leather cinched the base and continued under his smooth velvety

balls, bisecting and constraining them, cutting into delectably swollen flesh. It looked—

oh gods, it looked deliciously, erotically cruel.

Michael had no idea what kind of noise he made, or what expression he was

wearing, but one corner of Dax
‟
s mouth kicked up. “My version of a pleasure slave

harness,” he said, sounding as if his throat hurt.

“Have—” Lise cleared her throat and started over. “Ah. Have you seen—?”

One hand cradling his genitals, Dax sank gingerly to his knees. “Only pictures.” His

broad cheekbones were flushed with vivid color.

“And those?” Michael pointed to the untidy tangle of straps and buckles. “Aren
‟
t

they from the packs?”

Dax grunted assent, his generous mouth going tight. “Insurance. Lise has good

ideas.” His good-natured face was grave, his brows drawn together. He pressed a small,

round tub into Michael
‟
s hand. “Hold that for me.”

268

“Yeah, but—”

“
Listen
.” His eyes intensely green, he leaned in, gripping Michael
‟
s chin in one

massive hand.

“Out there—” He waved an arm in the general direction of miles of empty blue air.

“I
‟
m the strongest. Absolute trust is imperative. Argue, panic, even for a second—and

we could all fall out of the sky.” He squeezed, his fingers digging in. “Do you