Tangled Shadows (9 page)

Galen pinched harder.

Brooke’s muscles clamped down on Nikolai and she came. He had to grab his dick by the base to stop himself from exploding alongside her. She was a firecracker.

Panting, she laid her head against his shoulder. Gently, Nikolai stroked her hair, while Galen caressed her back. “That was amazing,” she whispered. She rallied and moved off Nikolai’s aching cock. He groaned when the damp heat moved away and he was left in the cool air of the cabin.

Brooke slumped on the bed. Her hunger shone from her eyes and she gently stroked her pussy. The fact she was still turned-on drove Nikolai to greater heights. He focused on Galen. “Bring them out,” he demanded.

Galen tensed and his lids dropped. “Yes,” he whispered.

57

Brooke couldn’t believe she was lying on this bed, watching the two men before her make love. Nikolai’s demand drove both of them closer to the edge.

Galen slunk to the center of the mattress and knelt. Massive blue-green shadows appeared behind him.

Brooke’s breath froze. His wings.

Nikolai’s smile held an edge of darkness. “Spread them.” Galen complied. Nikolai moved forward slowly until their chests touched and he could caress them. His first strokes along the edges made Galen hiss.

The ever-changing color mesmerized Brooke. Galen’s feathers constantly changed; one moment they went from sky to royal blue, the next from deep turquoise to sea green, then a mixture of both. The cabin’s spotlights added a shimmer when they hit at a certain angle.

She wanted to crawl closer and touch, but at the same time she didn’t want to miss a moment of the exchange.

Nikolai moved his hands all across the wings, gaining greater and greater responses from Galen, until the Naema balled his fists and shouted, “Fuck me, you bastard!” Nikolai let go.

Galen became so tense the veins stood out on his chest and arms. His cock was flushed and dripping pre-come. The men’s gazes held each other captive. Nikolai’s silver eyes reminded Brooke of polished metal and Galen’s blue ones had gained a nearly blinding light.

She couldn’t predict who would win this battle of wills.

Then Galen leaned forward and grasped Nikolai’s face in his hands. The intensity hitched up a notch.

They moved at the same time and their lips met.

Once again Brooke expected violence and a battle of dominance, and the kiss had some of that, but underneath they clearly saw each other as equals. Their love surrounded them. If she reached out, she would be able to touch it.

Her vision blurred, her heart ached with the need to be part of the circle.

The men ended the kiss. Nikolai caressed Galen’s face before moving around him until he sat at his back and stroked across the center of the wings. Galen’s tension reached breaking point.

Nikolai clasped Galen’s hips and pushed him on his stomach. Galen got on his elbows and knees. Lubricating two fingers with the juice she left behind as well as gel 58

from a small bottle he retrieved from a compartment in the wall, Nikolai prepared his lover. Galen’s lids dropped.

Nikolai removed his hand and looked at Brooke. As he entered Galen, both men groaning, he held her eyes captive, pulling her in and making her part of the lovemaking.

Brooke froze for a second. The picture before her was the most erotic she’d ever seen, but it hit a nerve she’d thought she’d buried years ago. What she saw right now shouldn’t have this beauty. She shouldn’t be this intrigued.

But “should” had no place right here, right now.

Through the strong movement and dominance their love shone like gossamer strings linking them.

Brooke wanted that. She needed to be a part, needed to be included in their love. As she watched them explode together and joined with a smaller, less intensive climax, she understood they’d gotten far deeper under her skin than she’d ever imagined possible.

Both men panted and Galen groaned as Nikolai withdrew. He flopped on his stomach and turned his head to Brooke. “Did you enjoy the show?” Exhaustion shadowed his face.

Brooke struggled to push her needs down and out of the way and hide her inner turmoil. “Yes, it was great.” Going by Galen’s frown she didn’t do a very good job. He came up on an elbow, but before he could say anything Brooke raised her hand and asked, “May I?”

His smile lit up his face. “Of course, you are always welcome to touch.” She stretched out her arms and grazed the closest feather with the back of a finger.

Galen’s lids dropped.

“They are highly sensitive.” She cleared her throat.

“Yes,” Galen hissed when she used her palm to caress long sweeps of his wings.

They felt like a mixture of the richest velvet and the softest mohair, but that wasn’t quite true. Brooke had never felt a texture like it before and she had difficulty describing it. “Why do you hide them?”

He leaned into her touch. “Our wings have become the expression of our emotions.

Over the last few centuries Naemas have developed the ability to hide them in an alternative dimension. You can’t see or touch them when they are hidden through the rift.”

“But why do you hide something so special?” Brooke asked again, her gaze focused on the swirling colors.

“Because their esteemed leader wants them to give up all emotions,” Nikolai said.

Brooke tore herself away from the feathers and looked at him.

Galen touched his arm. “Let me explain.”

Nikolai nodded.

59

Galen looked at her. “All Naemas have special gifts like telekinesis, psychometrics, telepathy, remote viewing as well as different levels of magic.”

“That is a lot of power for one person.”

He nodded. “Which is why control has become the most important aspect in our society. If we don’t control our gifts, others are at risk.” He moved one of his wings to caress her arm. She shivered. “They demonstrate our feelings. We cannot lie without them giving away our emotions. This is an unacceptable weakness, so one of the first things we learn is control of the dimensional portal. No matter what happens, our wings are supposed to stay hidden. To show them in society is to say you are lacking the necessary control and may have to be secured until you can.” Brooke nodded. “That must be where your inner stillness comes from.” Galen’s brows shot up.

She played with a couple of feathers, not meeting his gaze. “I don’t know how to describe it, but you have a balance and a calm, which lives in the center of you.”

“Thank you.” He smiled and kissed her. “As you have seen, they are also extremely sensitive to a lover’s touch and can be brought out to heighten the experience of the love play.”

“And they come in handy when you are facing overwhelming resistance,” Nikolai said.

Galen chuckled. “Yes, that is true.”

Brooke frowned. “Why is that?”

“Our wings double as weapons in hand-to-hand combat and they increase my power when visible.” He held his hand out to her. “Why are you over there? Come here and cuddle.”

“Yeah, what are doing so far away?” Nikolai asked.

Her thoughts swirled like a vortex, attempting to process everything she’d just learned, but the pressure eased from Brooke’s chest. They wanted her closer. Maybe there was the opportunity for more. She exhaled deeply and slowly cuddled between them. Whatever this was, it was better than anything she’d ever experienced. The more time she spent in their arms, the more she thought the risk of opening herself up to them may be worth it.

She snuggled closer and wrapped their heat around herself like a blanket.

For now she would make the most of what she had.

* * * * *

Over the next two weeks Galen and Nikolai heaped so much pleasure on Brooke, she sometimes had trouble processing it. Nikolai in particular took great satisfaction in torturing her for hours. He would kiss her from head to toe and start again from the 60

beginning, while Galen went the other way, always keeping Brooke on edge, never letting her fall into the abyss.

During their lovemaking both Galen and Nikolai gained insights into her life, her history, but nothing to do with the
Nebokka
. Brooke managed to keep her emotions and needs tucked away behind the wall Galen mentioned, so she was sure neither man knew how deep she’d fallen for the both of them.

There had been no talk about what would happen once they reached their destination. Nikolai seemed to assume once she was back where it started, her memory would return. With their help.

Brooke dreaded their arrival. When they found out what happened, what then?

Would the two of them take on a group of Ferals all by themselves? If the settlers and her crew had been sold as blood slaves, chances of finding out where they’d been taken had to be limited. It had been over a month since The Debacle. The trip of the Hamil Quadrant was another two weeks.

More than six weeks. Chances anybody was still alive were slim.

Brooke sighed as she looked at the colorful stripes of the hyperspace window. What was she going to do?

A hand gently touched her shoulder. Brooke couldn’t stop her smile. Galen. He continued to find her when she woolgathered or worried.

“A credit for your thoughts?” he asked, leaning his cheek next to hers.

“They’re not worth that much,” she said.

He kissed her cheek. “They are to me. Tell.”

She exhaled. “I am scared when we get to our destination I won’t be able to help.

We’ve had no breakthroughs with your method. You and Nikolai have been able to link to me, but we never connect with the right time frame.”

“Maybe it’s because only two of us link.”

Brooke frowned and turned around. “What do you mean?”

“It is either myself or Nikolai who makes love to you.”

“Penetrating, you mean.”

Galen smiled. “Yes, penetrating you. The other is involved, but only on the periphery.”

“You want to do what you and Nikolai have been threatening me with from the start?”

Galen frowned and cupped her cheek, his calloused hand a little rough against her skin. “It’s not a threat, love. We understand that you’re not ready for this and may never be. It
is
one of the most amazing pleasures you can imagine.” Brooke sighed and began to pace, the tension in her back rising with every step. “So you tell me, but I have trouble believing. You’re both hung like rhino-bull, and I have only so much space inside me. It would hurt like hell.” 61

Galen caught her hand and pulled her close. “Oh yes, it would hurt, but we’d make sure you’re ready and in the moment, the pain will be welcome. It would drive you even higher.”

Brooke shook her head. She wasn’t prepared to go there.

“What about another link? If you fuck Nikolai and Nikolai fucks me? That way we’re all connected.” She drew marks in the air around the last word.

Galen eyes sparkled. “That would be another way to try it.” She studied his expression. “Why haven’t you suggested it?” He caressed her cheek. “Baby, why do you fear anal penetration so much? You enjoy watching Nikolai and myself, why not take that pleasure for yourself? Is it really only the pain?”

Brooke’s gaze dropped.

Galen was too perceptive. On top of not wanting to talk about this, she feared that if she looked him in the eye, he might see her fear of them breaking her heart.

She crossed her arms and walked up to the big window. “Good girls don’t enjoy anal sex,” she whispered. “Good girls don’t enjoy sex at all, let alone voice what they want.”

“What a relief then that you’re no good girl.” Nikolai’s laughing voice came from behind.

Brooke couldn’t suppress a flinch.

“Ignore the idiot in the room.” Galen stepped up to her, but didn’t force her to look at him. “Who told you good girls don’t enjoy sex, Brooke?”

“My mother.”

Galen gently stroked her nape. “What did she do, baby?” Brooke closed her eyes, keeping the tears inside, keeping the pain inside.

“I’m sorry, Brooke, I didn’t mean to hurt you. Tell us,
milaya
.” Nikolai came up next to her and slowly stroked his hand down her back.

A stabbing pain shot through Brooke. She couldn’t share this with them. Why in the solar system had she brought it up?

“We can only help if we know where the wound is,” Galen said.

A tear escaped and trickled down her cheek. She’d thought she was over this, she’d really thought her memories no longer held her prisoner.

She wiped away the tear and faced the men. “No big deal, just an old issue I’m struggling with.” She put on a fake smile. “Let’s try the other way of linking the three of us.”

Storm clouds gathered in Nikolai’s eyes. “That’s it? You’re not going to tell us what’s holding you back?”

“There’s nothing to tell,” Brooke said. “I’ll get over it.” 62

Nikolai snorted in disbelief and grabbed her chin. His silver eyes bore into hers as if he tried to dig into her thoughts.

Brooke patted his cheek and stepped away from him. “We’ll be in Abanthe’s orbit tomorrow. If you want to fix me, we have to try this today.” Nikolai looked at Galen with his eyebrows raised. Galen sighed and rubbed his face. “Double penetration, but with one of us being the filling.”

“Why?”

“I’ve theorized that to circumvent her shield, we’ll have to all be touching at the same time, but more than kissing or oral sex.”

Nikolai thought for a moment and shrugged. “It’s worth a try,” he finally said.

Now it was Brooke’s turn to frown. “Why are you so certain it’s not going to work?”

Nikolai crossed his arms. “We’re trying to get past your shield. If I had to make a guess, I’d say you have to be the filling in the sandwich.” Brooke paled. “Let’s see if this works.” Her lips trembled when she tried to smile.

“It’s something we haven’t tried before.” She laughed, but even to her ears it sounded hollow. “I hadn’t thought that was possible after the last few days.” Her cheeks ached from the big smile she plastered on.