“We don’t know that.” Despite his obvious unhappiness, Gabriel’s jaw set in a stubborn line.

  “I’m unwilling to give you up so easily, Gabriel.” As much as he appreciated the position his human lover was in, Baknu was definite on that. “We can and will figure this out.”

  “There’s nothing to figure out. Love isn’t meant for me. Can’t you see that?”

  Another strike to Baknu’s heart. No one should believe in such a morose future. Certainly not someone like Gabriel.

  Yet he’d uttered the word love. He saw the possibility with Clan Baknu. Despite the ache in his chest, Baknu’s pulse quickened.

  “I don’t agree you weren’t meant for love. But for now, we’ll let you alone. You need space, so we’ll grant it.”

  He bowed. His grim clanmates followed suit, and they left the shop. But not before Baknu saw a tear streak down Gabriel’s cheek.

  Walking away from the weeping Earther was possibly the hardest thing Baknu had ever done, but necessary. The Dramok sensed insisting Gabriel listen to him at that moment would make things worse. Perhaps even spur Gabriel to make the awful separation final.

  Leaving him crying in his shop was still heartbreakingly difficult.

  * * * *

  Mit-noc sat on the rim of a fountain, rubbing a node on his wrist with pleasure as the Kalquorians walked in the opposite direction along the concourse. From his vantage point, he’d witnessed the emotional scene between the Earther and his would-be suitors. Unnoticed due to the heavy traffic, he was in the perfect position to see the clan’s disappointment and Gabriel’s misery.

  Gabriel had, for whatever reason, rejected them. Perhaps their interest would cool now that their pride had been trampled. If not, he had nothing to lose in the effort to capture the Earther chattel. Either he would earn the money that would grant him a few months of paradise within the confines of the yuphor dens, or he’d flee into death at the hands of uncaring debt collectors.

  With no fear of Gabriel escaping him to leave with the Kalquorians, Mit-noc could move on to his next task. He rose and slipped away, heading to the station’s more unsavory areas to find what he needed for the next step of his plan.

  Chapter Nine

  Baknu sat cross-legged on a seating cushion in his quarters. Takat occupied the sleeping mat, staring at rather than eating his snack, a packaged bread from the Rossis’ shop called a blueberry muffin. Kisk paced the floor between them, his forehead furrowed.

  “Second thoughts after our night together should have been expected,” Baknu offered after a long silence.

  “I didn’t expect this. What did we get wrong?” Takat moped. He opened the package and scowled at the blue-dotted bread. His mood was that of hurt confusion. It was no wonder; Baknu’s Imdiko had always been about pursuing pleasure and sharing it with those around him. Second-guessing hedonistic delights was a foreign concept.

  “Gabriel enjoyed himself. There’s no doubt on that score,” Baknu consoled. An image of Gabriel climaxing, the ecstatic expression on the young man’s face, sprang in the Dramok’s mind. He banished it with reluctance, forcing his thoughts to remain on track. “His loyalty to Iliana is commendable. And correct. He’ll feel guilty about her going to Kalquor if she doesn’t do so wholeheartedly.”

  “As a good brother would.” Takat sighed. “Why did I have fall for another of the honorable type? Wasn’t my Dramok enough?”

  Kisk halted his pacing. “Hey!”

  “I had to have a bad boy too, didn’t I? Naughty men are so exciting.” Takat leered at his Nobek, snapping an audible bite out of his snack. Baknu chuckled.

  Kisk grinned, then sobered again, looking to Baknu. “Okay, so Gabriel won’t come with us unless Iliana does so wholeheartedly. How do we make her happy about Kalquor?”

  “I doubt we can. She’s distrustful of men for good reason. Until a clan proves itself to her, she’ll be reluctant.”

  “Which means Gabriel doesn’t hesitate to turn his back on us. Don’t look at me like that; I don’t blame him. Tell me then, my wise Dramok who always has all the answers, what do we do now?”

  Baknu snorted at Kisk’s flattery. “We wait. Maybe in a day or two, one of them will come to us.”

  “We can delay our deliveries for only so long.”

  “I know. Let’s see what happens.” Baknu saw no other option open to them.

  The door announce buzzed. “Yes?”

  “Matara Iliana Rossi to see you, Captain.”

  The clan rose, exchanging questioning looks. “Door, open.”

  Iliana stepped in. Baknu hardly noticed the Nobek security guard who’d escorted her. The young woman was riveting with her eyes flashing and high color. A real beauty. Her energy fairly crackled. It was no wonder his crew always appeared astonished in her presence. Her escort wore an expression of someone who’d been shocked out of his wits.

  Baknu made a shooing motion to the security guard. Iliana held her hand up as she imperiously glanced at the disconcerted Nobek. “Don’t go far. I won’t be staying long.”

  Baknu offered a belated bow, his stunned clanmates following suit. “Matara, what a pleasure—”

  “Where’s the file on my proposed clan? You said you’d gather the information.”

  Kisk blinked and shook himself. “I have that prepared for you, Matara. They also sent a message ahead for you, letting you know they’re a highly ranked clan—”

  “Give it to me. I’ll view it for myself, along with everything else you have on them.”

  Kisk glanced at Baknu, who nodded. His Nobek went to the desk and retrieved a plug-in file. He handed it to her.

  “Thanks.”

  Takat remembered his manners and gestured to the lounger. “Would you like to—”

  Apparently, Iliana had no intention of letting any of them finish a sentence. “Gabriel will be alone in our apartment tonight. I’ll be staying elsewhere, so pay him a visit. I hope you’ll be more convincing about why he should go to Kalquor than you’ve managed thus far.”

  Her frank gaze skewered Baknu in particular. He cleared his throat. “Gabriel was rather upset when we tried to speak with him earlier. I’m unsure we’ll be welcome.”

  “Change his mind.” She drew a breath and spoke with a less demanding tone. “Save my brother, Baknu. From Nal and himself. Please.”

  The Dramok bowed again, hardly believing this turn of events. “We’ll do our best, Matara.”

  She snapped a nod, turned on her heel and left, the security guard scurrying after her with wide eyes. The door closed behind her.

  “Damn,” Kisk breathed. “She makes me wish I was attracted to women.”

  Baknu snorted. “I doubt we could handle her.”

  * * * *

  It had been a long day, and Gabriel had the feeling his evening wouldn’t be any better. A feeling that seemed proven when he entered the apartment and found no sign of Iliana.

  His stomach churning, he clicked his com and sent her a message.

  Hey. Talk 2 me?

  He could have cried from relief when she responded seconds later. I’m okay. You?

  I guess. Dinner?

  I picked something up. Decided to do inventory. Spending night at shop.

  He swallowed. Knuckled his blurred vision clear. Wish u wouldn’t.

  I’m not mad. We’re fine. Sending u something nice. Love u.

  Love u 2.

  He sat on the lounger and re-read I’m not mad. We’re fine. It helped, but he was miserable that they’d fought. Miserable to be alone.

  Prophets, it hurt to have done the right thing by sending Clan Baknu away. He had done right by Iliana, hadn’t he?

  At least he and she were somewhat okay, but he ached when he thought about the three men who’d come to mean too much in such a short time.

  “Life? In case you’ve forgotten since the last time I told you, you suck.”

  As if in answer, the door announce buzzed.

  He stared at it from the lounger, wondering if he should be concerned—he and Iliana never got visitors—when he remembered Iliana had said she was sending him something nice.

  Probably a fancy dinner. Which I won’t want since I’ll be eating it by myself.

  He went to the door anyway. “Open.”

  It did. Baknu, Takat, and Kisk waited on the other side.

  Gabriel stared, too shocked to move. Baknu stepped into the apartment.

  “Your sister sent us.”

  Then Gabriel was in his arms, being kissed with brutal fervor. A small voice in his head ventured he wasn’t supposed to be doing this, he was supposed to be thinking of Iliana’s future instead. Yet the rest of him had other ideas. Gabriel hung onto the Dramok for all he was worth, drowning in his embrace, swept under a tidal wave of longing.

  Baknu swung him up, draping Gabriel over his arms. He carried him into the apartment’s hall and paused outside Iliana’s bedroom. “Here?”

  “Next room.” Gabriel pointed to the end of the hall.

  Baknu took him there, the other two following. The Dramok wasted no time with niceties; he lay Gabriel on the bed and pinned him with his hulking body, rubbing Gabriel’s crotch to demanding erection.

  “Just to make sure we remain in agreement,” Baknu whispered before sinking his fangs into the muscle joining Gabriel’s neck to his shoulder.

  Gabriel yelped at the stab of pain, but he offered no resistance. The hurt was gone in an instant, leaving only the heat of Baknu’s mouth against him and his insistent rubbing on the Earther’s stiff cock. Baknu’s weight lifted enough for Takat and Kisk to pull clothes off them both. They worked fast, and by the time the Dramok released the bite, he and Gabriel were naked.

  Baknu leaned back, searching the Earther’s face. Gabriel gasped, his mind swirling with incoherent excitement as the captain stroked his shaft. Grinning, Takat and Kisk each grabbed the younger man’s legs, spreading them and tilting them up so his hips lifted. Putting him in position to be fucked by their clan leader. They pinned his arms to the bed.

  He’d never felt so vulnerable. He’d never felt so excited. Gabriel moaned as Baknu positioned his smaller length against his hole.

  “Say please,” Baknu prompted as he squeezed the base of Gabriel’s sex.

  “Please,” Gabriel choked, overcome by need.

  “Good boy.”

  Baknu invaded with a single thrust. He wasn’t rough, but he took Gabriel as if it were his right to do so. The Earther arched against the welcome ache with a cry, tight muscles forced to yield.

  The Dramok’s thrusts were steady, his lids half-closed as he worked Gabriel’s cock in rhythm and caressed his sack. “That’s it. Surrender to your Dramok, lover.”

  As Baknu fucked him, Takat and Kisk kissed every inch of skin they could reach, pausing to lick, nibble, and suck his nipples until he cried out with need. He writhed at the trio’s erotic assault, unable to think past the gorgeous sensations of lovemaking.

  Though Baknu panted and his eyes were dark with hunger, he sounded as calm as ever. “Do you enjoy my cocks rutting your ass, Gabriel?”

  Somehow, he found the intelligence to reply. “Uh…uh…uh-huh.”

  “You want this, don’t you?”

  “I—I want it.”

  “Say, ‘fuck me, my Dramok.’”

  He’d found that sweet spot within Gabriel’s ass, where the most exciting shocks came from. The Earther’s voice came out in a little shriek. “Fuck me, my Dramok!”

  “Say, ‘fuck me hard.’”

  Takat bit his nipple. The dart of pain twisted into excitement, joining with his clamoring shaft.

  “Fuck me hard!”

  “‘Shoot your cum inside me, my Dramok.’ Say it.”

  “Shoot—shoot your cum inside me, my Dramok.” Gabriel moaned. His balls and shaft throbbed.

  When Baknu pulled out, Gabriel had the terrible thought he’d said it wrong. His despairing cry was cut off by his lover shoving his primary in. Baknu resumed fucking him without missing a beat. Though the secondary had stretched him somewhat, Baknu’s front cock was longer and thicker. Gabriel’s ass protested the greater girth, but his cumspot responded to the steady friction. The line between pain and rapture was blurred, and arousal crept closer to the breaking point.

  “I think he’s close.” Takat sounded as if he were gloating.

  “Are you close, Gabriel?” Baknu’s groin thudded against his ass.

  “Yes.”

  “Do you wish to come for me?”

  “Yes.” He sobbed in delicious agony.

  “Do you want to come while I’m filling you with my cock?”

  Gabriel’s sex gave an impatient jerk. “Yes.”

  “Say it.”

  Another jolt of heat through his length. “I want to come while you fuck me. My Dramok,” he added.

  Baknu’s grip tightened. “Do it. Come for me, boy.”

  As if he’d been waiting permission all along, a streak of heat shot through Gabriel’s cock. His scrotum drew up. Excruciating bliss galloped from his balls, thundering the length of his shaft, then jetting free in shattering bursts, raining burning drops on his belly.

  Baknu’s groan joined Gabriel’s cries. A distant part of the Earther’s brain noted the thickness within his ass pulsing, joining his passionate release. Kisk and Takat’s encouraging murmurs disappeared in the roar of his ears as he and Baknu strained under climax’s demands.

  When they stilled, the Nobek and Imdiko greedily lapped the spend from Gabriel’s belly, their rough tongues rasping against his skin. Baknu sighed, smiling slightly as the last soft spasms spent themselves in Gabriel’s ass.

  “Good boy.” His approval warmed Gabriel.

  Even after they erased the signs of orgasm, Kisk and Takat continued to lap lower until they reached the soft curls of glossy pubic hair. Takat kissed Gabriel’s softening cock. “I have a request.”

  Gabriel tried to ignore the tingles the Imdiko’s mouth had left. “What?”

  “Do you mind if I shaved you? I brought a razor.”

  Gabriel blinked to hear Takat kept a razor with him. Or had he brought it with this express purpose? “I guess that would be okay.”

  Takat ignored his hesitant tone. He pulled a powered shaver from one of the pouches on his belt. “Excellent.”

  “I’ll grab a cloth,” Baknu said. He returned from the bathroom with a hand towel.

  It was odd to be groomed by Takat in such an intimate manner. Why it felt more personal than being sucked or fucked, Gabriel wasn’t sure, but it did.

  Maybe it was because the entire clan was involved. Baknu rubbed Gabriel’s testicles, shifting them out of the path of the humming shaver. Kisk did the same with his shaft. They watched intently as Takat removed the black curls, leaving Gabriel’s groin smooth.

  “I’m not sure which way I like it better,” Kisk mused as Baknu brushed the shorn hairs onto the towel.

  “He’s beautiful with and without.” Baknu set the towel on the floor. He kissed the tip of Gabriel’s sex.

  The kiss turned voracious, with the Dramok sucking him to his hairless base. Takat pushed at his leader’s shoulder.

  “Give me a taste too.”

  Meanwhile, Kisk mouthed Gabriel’s scrotum. The younger man squirmed as they took turns licking and sucking sensitive flesh until he was erect once more. The excitement was intense, almost painful in its strength. Gabriel tried to escape being devoured.

  “Instead of biting you into compliance, let’s try these,” Kisk grinned. Lightning-quick, he had a pair of silvery hovercuffs around Gabriel’s wrists, careful of the flex-metal bracelet the Earther wore. He pinned Gabriels arms over his head. “Cuffs, freeze subject.”

  Gabriel yanked, but the cuffs held his arms in place. With an evil chuckle, Kisk returned to jostling with the other pair for space to play with his prisoner’s balls and cock.

  They ignored his increasing cries for mercy, mouthing him into mindless passion until he spurted pre-cum.

  “Someone’s eager,” Baknu growled. “Better give him something else to think about.”

  “I have a distraction for him.” Takat yanked his uniform off. His cocks jutted, appearing to Gabriel angry in their livid state. “Let him loose, my Nobek.”

  “Cuffs, allow subject to move.”

  Gabriel didn’t have time to react. Takat was fast and Takat was strong. Before the Earther knew what was happening, the Imdiko lay on the bed, and Gabriel knelt over him, straddling his waist.

  Takat grasped his hips. “Down on that cock, boy.”

  Gabriel was obeying whether he wanted to or not. The broad-shouldered Kalquorian was all strength, and he used it to pull him onto his hot shaft. At the same instant, Takat arched his hips up, filling Gabriel’s ass with his primary.

  Friction dragged against the Earther’s hotspot, standing every hair on end. Gabriel slammed his palms against Takat’s acre-wide chest to keep from collapsing. Takat kept him moving, up and down, plunging his eagerness deep inside. It was all Gabriel could do to hang on and keep his balance.

  “Oh yeah. Make him ride that cock,” Kisk growled. His devouring kiss swallowed Gabriel’s cries.

  “He looks good on top,” Baknu chuckled. He patted Gabriel’s ass—hard. The heat from the sharp contact went straight to the young man’s shaft.

  “That’s it, Earther man. Take it. All the way down on it.” Takat’s fangs were showing as he pounded into Gabriel’s ass. Kisk and Baknu mauled him, hands and mouths grasping, nipping, pinching, leaving no inch of skin untouched.

  There was no finesse. No delicacy. Just brutal flesh-hunger that could only be appeased by harsh, dirty sex. Gabriel howled in the storm’s center, his fist slamming on that wall of chest beneath him. Takat bellowed animal laughter at the reaction and fucked him harder.

  A terrible spasm clutched Gabriel’s scrotum, so strong he would have curled in on himself if Baknu and Kisk hadn’t been in the way. Violent energy barreled through his cock. His climax exploded over Takat, streamers of passion that sprayed him from abdomen to chest.