Brandt smiled at Ash’s begging. This was better than cuffing Ash and making him suck his cock. Topping them both at once was a heady thing but he got the feeling it would be very short lived given the gleam of fury in Ash’s eyes. Sera on the other hand, was juicy and soft, made for him. For this.

  “How about this instead? You watch while she makes herself come? And maybe, if you’re obedient, I’ll let you lick me clean when she’s done.” Brandt couldn’t resist teasing.

  With an inarticulate growl Ash flexed his biceps and yanked, pulling one wrist free while Brandt laughed and shook his head.

  Ash undid the other wrist and moved to his ankles while Sera continued to slide up down Brandt’s cock.

  “I knew you wouldn’t last.” Brandt laughed.

  “You’re a fucker.”

  “Yes. On your knees, mouth on her pussy. You can touch my balls, you know how I like it.”

  Sera whimpered and showered Brandt’s cock with honey, the heat of it making him moan.

  * * *

  Ash squeezed himself between the bed and where Brandt sat with Sera and inhaled the scent of sex. Of Sera mixed with Brandt and he quickly moved up, sliding his tongue through the wet, swollen folds of Sera’s pussy until he got to her clit.

  Her squeal shot straight to his cock. When Brandt finished, Ash had every intention of sliding that sweet pussy down his own cock until he exploded within her.

  “That’s it, Freka, let me taste your pleasure.” He didn’t waste any time working on her clit to make her come. He wanted her climax, knew it would take Brandt in with her and then it would be his turn. No more of this switching stuff now that Sera was with them. He couldn’t turn it off, his need of her, couldn’t watch without wanting to touch her too.

  Her thighs trembled and she ground herself down over Brandt’s cock, pressing into Ash’s face on each downthrust. Her breath had sped to pants, quick puffs of air filled with desperate moans and whimpers.

  He pressed two fingers hard against the ridge of flesh just behind Brandt’s balls and wanted to laugh at the resulting groan and tightening of his friend’s sac.

  “Ash, oh gods…” she murmured. “Brandt, harder, please.”

  Each man worked her, licking, sucking, fucking until she cried out, body taut, and came so hard it was almost as if Ash felt it like it happened to him. It echoed through their mental link.

  Brandt gave a strangled moan and held her tight down over his cock.

  After several long moments, Ash surged up, pulling Sera with him, spun her, depositing her on the bed face down, spreading her thighs and entering her from behind.

  “So fucking wet,” he said through clenched teeth.

  Her moan echoed through the walls of her cunt and his eyes nearly rolled to the back of his head. Her butt and thighs still burned pink from Brandt’s work and it only made her more beautiful. His mark on her hip, he loved to see it, made him believe they were meant to be together, had always been meant to be.

  Brandt got on the bed and turned her face to take her mouth. She clung to the kiss like a drowning woman as she arched her back, thrusting into his cock.

  “That’s it, fuck me. Give yourself to me.” Ash delivered a sharp slap to her ass and she whimpered and writhed back against him.

  The need to slam into her cunt brought him to the brink. The mindless seduction of her body, the way she made him feel, strong, hard, masculine, swirled around within him until he fucked into her body, teeth bared. He watched as Brandt devoured her mouth, alternating that with the sight of his cock disappearing into her.

  A cocktail of pleasure so intense he was nearly blinded with it.

  His fingers dug into the muscles of those high, firm ass cheeks, leaving white impressions there against the fading pink. He leaned down, over her body, still pistoning his cock, and kissed up the line of her spine. Kissed until he met the tangle of her mouth and Brandt’s. Their kiss became something more, of connection and desperation, of pleasure and contentment, hot and comfort, a tangle of tongue and lip and sighs.

  And just like that, he lost it and began to come, unexpected but in a rush that left him blind and numb on the soles of his feet. It seemed to go on and on as she took him in, the only person who ever made him feel safe and welcomed within the shelter of their body and he knew he was home forever.

  * * *

  Sera was wrung out. Tingly, sweaty, wet, sore, tired, invigorated and completely overwhelmed.

  Even so, after Ash came he turned her gently and his mouth found her again as Brandt’s skimmed to her nipples. Both men gently drew her pleasure out, so sweet and sharp she came in a series of tremors that left her unable to do more than sigh.

  She kept her eyes closed. Something had happened. The price of her love was too high, she couldn’t pay it. But it was too late. Too late because she did love them both so much it changed her irreparably. If they had to marry wives of their class, she’d face the pain then.

  She wouldn’t think on it for the time being. She loved them both, achingly, deeply and totally. The wondrous part was that she loved them both in completely different ways and yet between them, they occupied the space inside her mind, inside her heart and soul.

  “You’re not a very good sub,” she mumbled as she turned in to Ash’s arms. Brandt had come back to bed with a wet cloth and cleaned her up gently.

  Brandt laughed and slid in behind her, fitting against her like he was meant to. “He isn’t. Neither one of us really is. I’d love to punish him for breaking loose but I guess we won’t be topping anyone but you in the future.”

  Ash snorted. “I think not. It was fine as a mindfuck and some rough play before. But with this precious thing we have nestled here between us, there’s no need to. Although I will get even with you for making me watch you fuck her so beautifully. Bastard.”

  “I’ll have you know my parents were married when I was conceived.”

  They bickered effortlessly around her and she smiled as she slipped into sleep.

  Sera needed the work out so she woke up and headed to the gym nestled in the aft section of the transport. It’d been some time since she’d been able to work openly so she relished the long, slow warm up.

  Her hair was bound up in a tight braid but she missed the freedom of her shorter curls that never got in her face. Missed wearing pants with many pockets. Missed carrying a weapon. Hells, she missed being Sera Ayers. Who’d have thought? She’d trade in the life of a pampered plaything for her battlehardened existence any day.

  She fell into a rhythm as she moved through her martial arts moves, losing her mind and letting her body take over, letting her muscles do what they needed to. She lost herself in her work, as she had time and again, which had been the reason she’d come to love martial arts in the very beginning.

  There was nothing by the reign of her muscles and the flow of her energy. It wasn’t until much later she came back to herself and felt the burn of use, the soreness that came with hard work. It felt good.

  When she came out of the shower she saw Brandt working at the bag, boxing. His body gleamed with a fine sheen of sweat. Her gut clenched at his raw beauty.

  She left him to his workout and headed to the electronics center on the transport, a place she hadn’t been able to use on the trip to Nondal because of the Representatives.

  She sent a coded message to her brother. She had a feeling his connections could prove helpful as she tried to find answers. The encryption on that data was beyond her skills so she knew he’d be a big help with that too.

  She needed to get back to Borran, to her own sources and her own life so she could dig in the best way possible. At that point there were no cameras on them but the threat of being listened to still existed.

  Ash wandered in and put a cup of kava at her elbow. “Have you eaten anything?”

  She stood, stretching, before turning and straddling his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. His surprised smile of pleasure warmed her and she kissed his forehead.

  “Hi there. Thank you for the kava. I slept longer than normal but that’ll warm me and wake me up.”

  His skull felt solid against her palms as he skimmed his lips down her neck and she held on, arching back to give him access.

  “There are better ways to wake up.” His clever hands had worked their way beneath her shirt and his thumbs slid back and forth over her nipples.

  “Mmmm. That may be, but my ass still hurts and I’m barely able to walk this morning from the work out you two gave me last night.”

  He laughed softly. “You haven’t eaten or you would have said so.” He stood, holding her around him with a hand cradling her butt. “Come on. You need to eat.”

  She rained kisses over his face as they walked down the corridor and he grinned. “I’ve missed you. Not a moment has passed in the last ten years when I haven’t ached for you. To have you here wrapped around me, loving me freely is such a gift, Sera. Thank you.”

  “I love you,” she said softly, knowing she shouldn’t but wanting to free the words she’d held in her head.

  He hugged her tight to himself as they entered the dining room. “I love you as well, Freka,” he said against her hair.

  “Here I thought I’d just get breakfast and you walk in with something sweet to snack on.”

  Ash dropped her carefully and she turned to kiss Brandt. “Good morning. You looked very fierce and handsome earlier when you were in the gym.”

  His hands on her were gentle but possessive, protective. She curled into him and he kissed the top of her head.

  “Enough of that. Apparently she’s a bit sore from last night. Eat, Freka.” Ash sounded gruff but he wore a smile and she got up to fill a plate.

  Each day of the rest of the trip they worked and played. Their bond grew stronger and despite her streak of hard common sense, a tiny spark of hope grew that they might be able to salvage something to stay together. Even as she knew in her brain their world was set up in such a way that Brandt would have to marry at some point. He couldn’t stay single with a whatever she was in reality, not forever.

  The ruse of their original cover began to wear off but still they didn’t speak quite openly of their mission. Over the link they discussed some of the issues they needed to look into.

  Ash had received a coded file detailing the attack on the relay station. It had clearly been an inside job as the bombs had been placed in the deepest, most secured part of the settlement. It appeared some electronics were missing but they couldn’t say for certain just what because the damage was so extensive.

  Some chatter had been intercepted after the fact and it had come from the quadrant of the ‘Verse where Nondal was located.

  Sera’s sinking feeling got worse as they investigated. It looked more and more like Perry was involved and it was nearly a given Giles Stander was. She needed to push some sources about breaking in to the Stander Family’s personal communication system. She hadn’t had the chance to pursue it before they’d left Borran, not through gray channels. She added it to her list of things to do when they returned.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Brandt stepped off the transport, Sera, regal and beautiful, on his arm, wearing a smirk. She should, he’d just fucked her like there was no tomorrow against the bulkhead no more than moments before they’d been given permission to leave.

  Ash had come upon them just as they finished and snorted. “I can’t leave you two alone.”

  “I can’t leave her alone.” Brandt grinned and Sera had simply rolled her eyes.

  They walked through the spaceport until they’d reached their private vehicle and took off. Once they’d cleared the gates, their cover slipped away and all three of them stepped back into their roles nearly immediately. Their driver took them to a hangar where they’d changed clothes and took a small helicopter back to their compound.

  The freedom to let go of his cover and speak without concern for being overheard again warred against his worry. He dreaded his sister was involved in something horrible and unforgivable and he’d have to be the one to take her down. If she was guilty, she’d be executed. Traitors weren’t tolerated, especially not in this time of heightened tension between the Federation and the Imperialists.

  Could he do the work that led to the death of his sister? Even if she was a traitor? The thought had nagged him since Sera had told him of Kira’s possible involvement.

  But whenever he weakened, he remembered the footage of those destroyed stations. Of the people who’d lost lives and all for nothing but profit. Then he knew he could do whatever he had to to make things right. At that point, what was done was done so all Brandt could do was hope he was wrong and Kira wasn’t involved.

  Once back inside their house, the three of them headed in different directions. He knew they needed to sit down and have a very long discussion about what would happen next with their relationship at some point. But first he had to attend to his trip home. He had to find Kira himself if he could to deal with her. Tossing himself in his office chair, he booted up his comm unit and sent a message to his Family’s social secretary to set up travel arrangements. He’d be getting a personal call later from his parents, but it was best to get things started right then.

  A smaller transport could get him home in less than one turn. Borran wasn’t too far from Majar, his home ‘Verse, just a few slips between Borran and Ravena. Kira had a home there with Perry. She’d mentioned heading back, so he’d try there first. If not, he’d have to meet up with Ash and try Sanctu, the Walker Family controlled ‘Verse.

  After some speaking back and forth, he found himself scheduled to leave before nightfall. He’d wanted some more time with Sera but it looked like it wouldn’t be possible.

  As he’d made to get up and look for her, his comm. pinged and a vid-call from his father came in.

  “Hello, Father.” Brandt smiled. His father was the only person in his family who knew of his military status. It took the pressure off Brandt to know the man he respected most in the Known Universes didn’t think him a layabout with more credits than sense and duty.

  “Brandt, I hear from my assistant you’ll be coming for a visit. Your mother is pleased, she’s inviting half the city to a meal in your honor.”

  Brandt knew that meant eligible women as well. They were angry at him about the concubine thing. His father had known enough to realize what he shared with Sera was genuine. Not that he’d be pleased in either case. Sharing a woman, a woman from an unranked family most especially, was not something a Pela did. Not in the long term anyway.

  He needed to talk to them about Sera, to make it clear he was going to be with her and no one else. But he needed to deal with this business with Kira as well.

  “Father, please tell her not to worry about female companionship. I can’t stay long, I’ve got work to do. Will Kira be in attendance?”

  His father paused and then spoke to someone else before turning back to the screen. “Her house manager says she and Perry should arrive within the next turn or so. Is there a problem?”

  “I ran into them both in Nondal Major and I need to follow-up. I’ll be seeing you soon then. Send my love to Mother.”

  His father’s worried frown was the last thing he saw before he terminated the call. Brandt didn’t want to involve his father in this mess. He didn’t even want to be involved in it. Eventually when it all came to light and everyone would be involved. There was no help for it.

  He looked up at a tap on the door and saw Sera standing there, looking hesitant. Her hair was back to normal and the elaborate makeup had been removed. And yet she was so beautiful his heart ached.

  “Hey, come in.” He motioned to her appearance. “I see you took care of that.”

  She perched on a chair across from him and the closeness he’d felt on the trip back to Borran evaporated. A small smile touched her lips as she drew her fingers through her hair with uncharacteristic self-consciousness. “I know. You were used to high-glamour Sela. This has to be a bit of a shock.”

  Cocking his head, he sighed. “I love the way you look. Long hair or short. The first time I clapped eyes on you, you had on combat gear and if I recall, a dirt smudge across one cheek. You took my breath away then, you take it away now.”

  She smiled, her back straightening a bit. “Mmm hmm. Listen, I’ve put out some feelers and the data should start coming in shortly. Would you like to meet tomorrow so we can go over it?”

  “I have to leave in just a bit to go home.”

  Her face fell but just as quickly, she reassembled herself and nodded. “Oh, of course.”

  “I had to catch a quick transport and it leaves tonight. I won’t be gone too long hopefully. I need to catch Kira before she has a chance to assemble a story. Or while her conscience might sting. Something.” He blew out a frustrated breath.

  Placing her papers on the edge of his desk, she moved toward him, kneeling at his feet and laying her head in his lap. A deep tenderness so sharp it caught his breath, rolled through him at her gesture. His fingers sought the softness of her hair, took comfort there.

  Brandt wasn’t sure what he did but he thanked the gods for her. He bent and kissed her head. “You mean so much to me,” he said, lips still pressed to the cool, sweet-smelling softness.

  “I know this is hard for you. I’m sorry. I wish I could help.”

  So kind, his love. “You are helping and it’s not your fault. Our job is to find the leak and we may have very well done that. I’m the one who’s sorry for having to leave so soon after we arrived. I’d been hoping we could have some time together, to talk and get things settled.”

  “You’ve drafted me into this team and taken away my old one,” she said with humor, “where else am I going to go? Go and do your job. I don’t expect any less of you.”

  * * *

  Ash came around the corner and saw the rich gold of Sera’s hair, short once again, in Brandt’s lap. The look on Brandt’s face brought a smile to Ash’s lips.