Authors: Joyful Devastation
Bea bit the inside of her cheek,
hard. She had to focus, or he would die. They all would. She crept forward as
silently as she could.
“No, Gideon. Eran is the one who
killed your people,” Theo said. “Because he doesn’t realize that with freedom
comes responsibility. Morals. Ethics.” He spat out every word.
Bea smiled to herself. He knew she
was coming.
“If you think to hurt me, you
should know that nothing you say can change my course,” Eran said.
“That shield you’re hiding behind
won’t protect you from everything,” Theo said, raising his voice.
“It protects me and my ally from
the weapon you absorbed,” Eran replied. “That is all that’s important. I don’t
see you that you have any other options that could possibly injure me.”
Bea loosened the knife strapped to
her thigh, grinning fiercely. He had no idea.
“I can still strangle you,” Theo
said.
“Enough,” the Sitnam interrupted. “Get
the weapons’ codes.”
He voice sounded like crushed
rocks. Bea shivered and quietly pulled out the blade.
“The codes are keyed to the General’s
voice pattern. You can’t do anything with them,” Gideon said.
“Oh, how wrong you are,” a man
replied.
Bea frowned. Was there someone else
in the room? She paused, worrying about her approach. If there
was
someone else, she’d have to be even
more careful.
“In case you didn’t know this, I
love you,” Gideon muttered to Theo. “I wish I’d had time—”
“Shut up, Gideon,” Theo growled,
interrupting him. “Just shut up.”
Bea was in the doorway. She had the
knife out. To her confusion, no one else was in the cell except for the four of
them and a body. She bit her lip when she saw the General’s head lying askew
just inside the room, eyes vacantly staring at her. Eran was on the floor,
rummaging through his pockets. The shimmering bubble enveloped him and the
Sitnam.
That must be the shield Theo couldn’t
penetrate with the weapon
. She bet her knife would go through it just fine.
It has to.
She lowered her arm, blade out to the side, and lunged.
The Sitnam heard her coming and
jerked around, but not fast enough. She slid the blade through the shield and
stabbed him in the abdomen. When he squealed, she yanked it out and sliced through
his rear legs, crippling him. The shield wavered and came down. She slashed
again, catching Eran’s arm before he could hit her, but her blade didn’t cut
him. It felt like she’d hit a brick. He kept coming and she ducked, falling to
the floor. He followed her down. She stabbed him in the eye.
Even
robots need to see
, she thought fiercely.
He reared back silently, not
screaming like a human would, then moved forward again after only a moment’s
pause. She scrambled back, blade raised, but Theo and Gideon were right behind
him. They raised their arms and activated the weapon. Bea flinched as the
energy flowed in her direction, but it didn’t harm her. Eran shuddered, and
then his eyes went wide as his body deconstructed into minute fragments right
on top of her.
“Bea, are you okay?” Theo rushed
over, grabbing her arm. Silvery pieces of what had been Eran fluttered off her
armor like glitter.
“I’m okay,” she panted, twisting to
keep him both away from the Sitnam thrashing right next to them.
“Thank God,” he muttered, pulling
her close, heedless of her armor.
She didn’t let him hug her. “Careful!”
she said sharply. He wasn’t wearing armor. She could hurt him, badly.
“It’s over,” Gideon said and Bea
looked at him. He was on his feet, hands outstretched.
“You’re the last of your kind,” he
said to the alien.
The creature didn’t speak. Gideon
shook his head and activated the weapon again, turning the Sitnam into a
terrible pile of debris.
“That’s done,” he said, then fell
to his knees.
“Gideon!” Bea dragged Theo with her
as she rushed over. “Gideon, look at me.” She tipped up his chin so she could
see into his eyes. His pupils were good. His color was not.
“I’m okay. Just hungry,” he said
weakly looking at her. His eyes widened. “You’re so skinny. You need to eat
more, too,” he murmured, and then his eyes rolled up into his head as he fell
into her arms.
Chapter Fourteen
Gideon felt warm, which was what
woke him up. He hadn’t been warm in weeks. He opened his eyes, squinting at the
sunlight streaming through the window. Yellow sunlight.
I’m on Earth
, he thought.
“You’re awake,” Theo said.
Gideon turned his head away from
the light. His best friend and partner sat beside him on a battered old chair. “Where
am I?” he asked, wishing he had something to soothe his dry throat.
Theo picked up a glass with a straw
and held it to Gideon’s mouth. He drank, reveling in the taste of fresh water,
the first he’d had in longer than he could remember.
“You’re in a house near the old
factory where they had you locked up,” Theo said, putting the cup down.
Gideon frowned, then tried to sit
up. His arm throbbed and he looked down at it. An IV needle was stuck in his
skin.
“You were dehydrated. And
practically starving. Bea gave you something for both.”
Gideon struggled to understand. “She’s
okay?”
Theo smiled. “Of course.”
“Where?”
“I’m right here, Gideon,” Bea said,
walking into the room with a tray.
Something smelled divine, but he
only had eyes for Bea. God, she was beautiful.
But too thin,
he thought,
staring at her. The sunlight backlit her brown hair, haloing her face. Her
silver eyes flashed as she smiled.
“Let’s get you sitting up,” she
said, gesturing to Theo.
They shoved pillows behind his
back, then Bea put the tray on his lap. “I hope you like bologna sandwiches and
tomato soup.”
He nodded, still bemused. “Yeah. Of
course,” he said, echoing Theo.
She smiled. “I’m going to take this
needle out and then you can eat.”
****
A short time later he felt much
better. The more he ate, the better he felt, as if his healing reflex simply needed
a little fuel to repair his body.
“You look a lot better,” Theo said,
leaning back in the chair. His hair was mussed, but his brown eyes were warm
and happy. The hint of silver at the back of his irises flashed at Gideon like
a hint of lightning in a distant storm.
“I heal fast,” he replied lightly,
then turned to Bea and touched her hand. She was sitting on the bed with him. “I’m
so sorry,” he said. He hoped she believed him. If she thought that he and Theo
had abandoned her, well… He didn’t know if he could stand that.
She turned her hand over and
gripped his fingers. “No, you’re not.”
He frowned, worried. “I didn’t mean
to leave you, after we came back to Earth.”
She shook her head. “Oh, I know you
didn’t.” She glanced at Theo. The profile of her face was sharper than he’d
like, but she was still beautiful. “Neither of you wanted to leave me. I know
that now. But at the time, I was devastated.” She lifted one of her shoulders,
then let it fall, as if to say,
shit happens.
Gideon swallowed back tears, hating
what he’d done. “We had no choice. I swear. After the first couple of weeks, we
had every intention of coming back for you.”
Theo picked up where he left off. “But
then we discovered something terrible happening.”
“General Thorazn.” Bea nodded, still
looking out the window. The sunlight made her look ethereal. “I know.”
“He’s dead now,” Gideon said. He
wasn’t sure if she understood what he couldn’t say out loud.
She turned back to him. “Yes. He’s
dead. And so is Eran.” Her eyes held grief. “You must be so angry.”
It was his turn to look away. “I
didn’t really know him. Only vague memories from when I was a child.” He lifted
the tray off his lap and put it on the nightstand with his free hand. He
refused to let go of her again.
“We’re not leaving again,” Theo
murmured, leaning against Gideon.
Bea stared at their entwined
fingers. “I don’t ever want to be alone like that again.”
“You won’t be,” Gideon said,
leaning in and kissing her temple.
She looked up and their lips
collided. She let out a sound that broke Gideon’s heart and he groaned,
grabbing her and kissing her so deeply it felt like he was trying to climb
inside her. When he came up for air, Theo kissed her gently, wiping her tears
away with his lips. Watching them, Gideon went from devastated to rock-hard in
half a second.
“I can’t believe you used yourself
as bait,” he said to Theo.
Theo glanced at him, eyes sad. “It
was our only chance. I had to do it.”
“Stop talking. I don’t want to
think about it anymore,” Bea said, suddenly grabbing Theo’s shirt and ripping
it open. Buttons clattered on the floor. “No more talking.”
Gideon agreed. He didn’t want to
think about the danger Theo and Bea had faced for him. He wanted to forget
about it. He wanted to bury himself in his bond-mates and never come up for
air. He shoved down the sheet that covered him and dragged her onto his lap,
hands sliding under her t-shirt. “Off. Now,” he growled. Theo helped him lift
it over her head. Her breasts bounced out, sweet and perky. He stared, still
bemused by her weight loss.
Bea moaned and touched herself,
making him crazy. Theo stripped off her jeans while Gideon pushed down his
pants hurriedly. A moment later his cock was inside her. He went perfectly
still, not sure if he was dreaming. She was so perfectly warm…
“This is real. She’s real,” Theo
said, standing up and stripping off his pants. His cock sprang out, thick and
hot. Gideon licked his lips.
“I won’t break,” Theo said, palming
himself.
Gideon pulled him in by his hips,
then took the tip of Theo’s erection into his mouth. The position was awkward,
but he didn’t care. His bond-mate’s flavor burst over his tongue. He licked and
sucked, not terribly coordinated, not that Theo seemed to mind. He sank his
hands into Gideon’s hair and let him do whatever he wanted. Gideon groaned
around the cock in his mouth, sucking harder. Theo shuddered.
“Oh my God,” Bea said, squirming
beneath him.
Gideon backed off Theo, and bent
down to suck a nipple into his mouth. She tasted like home. She ground herself
on his dick and he could feel her arousal slicking down his thighs.
“Jesus,” Theo breathed, watching.
He was slowly jacking himself.
Gideon remembered the last time
they’d done this together. “Hang on,” he said, lifting Bea away.
She protested, but he dumped her on
the bed anyway.
“Theo, it’s your turn.”
Theo didn’t waste any time. He fell
down on top of Bea and pushed inside, groaning. “God.”
Gideon knew how to make his lovers
feel even better. He slicked up his fingers with Bea’s wetness and slid them
between Theo’s buttocks.
“Gideon, what the hell?” Theo
bucked, but he didn’t pull away. “What are you doing?”
“Do you trust me?” Gideon said,
kissing his lover’s shoulder.
Theo went still. “Of course.”
Gideon fluttered his finger against
Theo’s anus.
Theo shivered. “God.”
“It feels good, doesn’t it?” Bea
asked. Her face was flushed.
Gorgeous,
Gideon thought, kissing
Theo’s shoulder.
Theo nodded, opening his legs
wider. “God help me, yeah. It does.”
Bea stroked her hands up and down
his back. “Relax,” she whispered, lips against his right bicep. “Let Gideon
inside.”
Theo shuddered, and then Gideon
slipped his finger in, twisting it until he found what he was looking for.
Theo bucked and cried out.
Gideon grinned and rubbed the tiny
bump again and again, wanting to drive him mad. When he withdrew, Theo moaned
in dismay.
“Jesus, don’t stop. Gideon,” he
begged.
“I’m not,” Gideon said, sliding his
arm around Theo’s waist and playing with Bea’s clit. She shivered and arched
her hips. He smiled at her and he rubbed a little faster, slicking up his
fingers. When he backed off, she was sweaty and panting.
“Hold on,” he murmured, slipping
two fingers into Theo this time.
“Fuck,” Theo exclaimed, muscles
tensing. “Why does that feel so good?”
“Just wait,” Gideon said, thinking
of what it would feel like to be inside his partner. He added another finger,
scissoring them to stretch the muscles.
“God, enough. Come on, Gideon. Now,”
Theo said, clenching his buttocks.