She believed his boast. His face was all arrogance. He was sure of his ability, but there was no malice in that knowledge, no intent to use it against her. If her desire for him had been nothing more than lust she could have left him there and gone back to Mercury. But it was more than lust. She didn’t know if that made it less or more of a betrayal, but she let the tender feelings bubbling up inside her tug the corners of her mouth into a smile.
Lo dropped to his belly between her legs. Large hands gripped her thighs, pushing them wide and preventing any attempt to thwart his purpose. He turned his head and licked at the soft skin over trembling muscle, a long wet lap of his rough tongue that had her squirming. He tended to the other thigh in the same way, lapping away the evidence of her earlier bout of lovemaking with Mercury and the cream of her more recent arousal.
“You taste as sweet as you smell.” His words rumbled up from somewhere deep in his chest. The next swipe of his tongue burrowed between the lips of her sex and stroked directly across her clit. Lightning shot through her, bowing her body. The next stroke of his tongue followed the same path and all thought was swept aside. The only thing in her thoughts was the wicked sweep of Lo’s talented tongue and the vague thought that she needed to talk to him about the proper pace of foreplay. But maybe not. She felt tender and swollen, needy and hot. Relentless, he stroked her to the edge of orgasm.
And then the pressure was gone. She wanted to weep at the pain of the loss. She blinked him into focus. He hadn’t gone far. He stood in the moonlight, fighting his way out of the tight pants to bare all of his beautifully masculine body. His cock stood up, hard and full, the tip shimmered with pre-cum and the length jerked in anticipation of fucking her.
He dropped back to the blanket. He turned her to her hands and knees then thrust into her. Already wet, her flesh provided no resistance. In that one stoke he was fully, deeply inside her. He withdrew and slammed home again. She screamed her pleasure. He wrapped his hands around her hips and set an unyielding pace, fucking her hard. He was wild and reckless and she didn’t want anything else in that moment. The hard pounding shook every cell in her body, without providing any hope of relief. It was as if he needed to fuck out his pent up pain—something that could give them both searing pleasure, but not release. Release was not something he wanted for this tortured part of himself.
As his cock surged in and out of her he found all the dark corners of her soul. Places that denied her any pretense of fucking Lo because it was what Mercury wanted. Places where she was forced to acknowledge she wanted Lo only for herself and she gloried in the wild freedom of the physical. Later she would worry over what he’d touched inside her. What she’d allowed him to uncover. But not now. Not when the pleasure was a blaring horn in her head, drowning out any rational thought.
When he finally slowed, her arms were shaking, her thighs trembling. Panting hard, he leaned over her back and wrapped one arm around her hips. He held her tight against his groin as they both took a moment to catch their breaths.
Lo rotated his hips in one sensuous, grind then eased out of her. She wanted to protest but couldn’t yet form her thoughts into anything coherent. She was far more compliant than she intended as he repositioned his knees along the outside of hers and slipped his cock back between her thighs. But he didn’t enter her, instead he slipped the head of his cock against her clit. She gasped. Her back arched and she threw her head back.
His cheek pressed against her temple as he moaned. Her thighs were forced tightly together by the position, making a tight wet channel for him. He thrust against that sensitive nubbin in short strokes that kept him surrounded in her slick heat and supplied her with a constant, unbearable pressure.
Instinctively, she started to fight to free herself, but he only wrapped more tightly around her, controlling her and the need to fight died away as pleasure stole her will and left her limp and stunned. Just as the world went black at the edges, she heard him throw back his head to howl and felt the hot splash of semen against her belly.
In the distance a second howl joined Lo’s throaty bay... Mercury.
Arena Dogs Campsite, Planet G-45987
Earth Alliance Beta Sector - Gollerra Border
2210.168
Mercury looked down at his sleeping mate. She’d been nearly boneless when Lo had carried her back to him. Lo had pleasured her well and she’d eased Lo’s pain. The change in his pack brother had been clear in every line of his body, every line of his face. How this had changed his mate would be harder to see.
Time would tell.
Worry stalked his thoughts like a hulking beast with impossible reach, ready to pound him with dismal scenarios. Its boisterous roar warned that she might not be able to accept their ways. That asking this of her when she wasn’t even ready to accept his claim, to call him mate, might have broken something between them. But they hadn’t had the luxury of time. She was strong. She would adapt and he would find a way to make things work.
His mate was worth any struggle. He traced the tip of his finger along her narrow little nose with its curved shape as she slept. She’d driven his lust higher and made his heart swell with happiness as Lo had put her on her feet near the sleeping pallet. The necessity to stand on her own had pulled her out of her well-fucked haze. She’d immediately looked for him and he’d met her gaze, doing his best to look attentive but emotionless, unsure what she might be feeling and how his own emotions would affect her.
Lo’s blunt declaration that they were bonded had sent a thrill of deep satisfaction through him. His mate was safe. Should he die, she wouldn’t be left alone and unprotected. He’d gone to her then and she’d gone into his arms without hesitation. He’d pressed his lips to her ear and whispered his gratitude then urged her to the pallet. He’d pressed his body along one side of her and Lo had taken his place on the other side, his face pressed against her side. His mate had turned her face into his chest, but her hand had stroked Lo’s hair before she’d fallen asleep, bone-tired.
He wanted to let her sleep longer, but they had to leave soon if they were going to catch their enemies off guard. Carn stood by the fire, waiting, impatient. Mercury looked down to Lo to see him awake, but still curled tightly against Samantha.
“It’s time.”
The sound of his voice woke Samantha. Lo pressed a kiss to the underside of her breast as she stretched into wakefulness then he rolled away and left them.
Samantha’s eyes batted open. “Time?”
“Time to go find you a ship to fly.”
She smiled, but something sad lingered in her eyes. “Right.”
“How are you feeling?” He studied the tiny muscles of her face and breathed in her scent. The smell of the pack on her was distracting, but not enough to overlook the tension around her mouth.
“A little sore. Nothing a good hike won’t work out.”
One look ensured Lo and Carn backed off enough to give them privacy. “Samantha—”
She pressed fingers over his lips. “I’m fine.”
He took her fingers, moving them away and threading his with hers. He bent down to press his forehead to hers as he wrapped one arm around her, pulling her tight against his body. “Today, I go into battle knowing I’ve already won, for you are mine.”
She wrapped her arm around him and hugged him then pushed away gently. “Let’s just get through the day without anyone getting hurt, okay.”
He nodded. “That’s my plan, also.”
She laughed. It transformed her face. Cast off the shadows. “Good,” she said. “Then, now that we’re agreed, let’s go find a ship.”
Basking in the warmth of her laughter, Mercury knew he was the luckiest of Dogs. Samantha was special. He would find a way to give her happiness. But first they needed to get off this world. “Lo and Carn will accompany you to find the ship. We expect it will be near their camp.”
Samantha nodded. “And you?”
“I’ll lead a false trail for the hunters then join you.”
She folded her arms across her chest, all the laughter gone from her cheeks. “So you make yourself the bait. Take the biggest risk.”
“I’m fastest. I can lay the trail and get back to you long before the hunters double-back.”
Her lips pressed together in a bunch then the tension eased and she licked her lips. “Be safe,” she said. “And don’t be long.”
“Nothing,” he promised, “will ever keep me away from you for long.”
Mercury breathed deeply, filling his lungs with the scent of his enemies. He turned his head and moved forward taking in another breath. Teasing out the direction of a scent on the wind as he was approaching them was far harder than tracking a scent trail behind them, but the stakes were high, inflaming his senses and driving his determination.
Another deep breath and Mercury had the whip-master’s scent in his nose. He worked his way into Drake’s path, then laid a trail to lure him away from the other hunters that stalked the woods with him. A broken twig, a scuffed trail in the dirt, crushed brambles beneath his boot.
He stopped, hugging his body to a wide tree and listened. There, the scrape of a branch against the whip-master’s coat. Confident Drake followed, Mercury circled around. This time his steps were light. Not even the ground noticed the weight of his tread. He fell into step behind his enemy.
He followed the man past the edge of the trail he’d laid. A satisfied warmth seeped through his muscles as he watched him grow frustrated with no more trail to follow, then Drake stopped abruptly. He stood there, stone still for nearly a minute.
Drake cursed low then raised his voice. “Impressive, Mercury.” He turned slowly to face him. “But I always knew Owens underestimated you.”
His hand edged toward the whip coiled on his hip.
Mercury snarled. “Don’t make the same mistake.”
“You can’t think I’m going to lie down and die, because you’re feeling puffed up on this temporary freedom.”
He said he'd fight, but his hand halted.
Mercury held his distance. “I don’t plan to kill you.”
Drake’s brows shot up. “Turning into a pacifist? That woman is clouding your thinking.”
Mercury grinned, a growl vibrating in the back of his throat. “Are you asking me to rip your throat out? Offer me your throat. Tempt me. I may not be able to resist.” He wanted Drake to do exactly that. Give him an excuse to break his promise. It wasn’t Samantha clouding his thinking, it was his own rage.
Drake’s hands slowly lifted to his sides. His face paled, but beyond that small tell, he remained indifferent. The whip-master was notorious for his unemotional way of dealing with the Dogs.
“You control your fear well.” He thought of Drake’s earlier words, then added, “Impressive.”
“Fear? I’d say it’s more a healthy respect for your ability to kill efficiently. You’re a predator, Mercury. I haven’t forgotten that, even if you’ve fooled Sam.”
“Don’t even think of her. Don’t speak of my Samantha.” Mercury instantly regretted the words that told Drake more than he had a right to know about his feelings for his mate.
“Your Samantha? So, she’s playing it that way. I bet you think she actually wants you.”
Mercury tamped down the rage coursing through him and drew on the icy, calculating mien he’d perfected through years of battle. “Are you brave or foolish to goad me?”
“Maybe there are some things you should know about Samantha Devlin.” Unfortunately, the sudden drop in temperature didn’t work as effectively on Drake as it did in the arena. The bastard had seen Mercury use the look many times. “After all,” Drake taunted. “Roma chose her. Owens never hires anyone without knowing everything about them.”
They hadn’t known everything. They hadn’t known she’d aid him and his brothers. But Mercury couldn’t speak of that. He intended to let this man live and he couldn’t give Drake anything more to use against her.
Drake smiled, the same cruel twist of lips he wore as his men chained up a Dog for him to whip. “Owens and Sam Devlin are old pals, you know.”
“That’s not true.” Even as he spoke, Mercury realized there was no point in listening to Drake. The man was ever a skilled and shameless liar, but he could smell the lie.
“Oh, not Samantha. Her father, Samuel Devlin. I guess the apple fell farther from the tree than we expected. Her old man would never have tried to steal a shipment out from under Owens. He’d never have lived so long.”
“We’ll see who lives longest. Today you live, but we’ll take the hunter’s ship and leave you here to anticipate the day I do come for you. Anticipation—isn’t that what you called it when you taught us to drag out an arena match for the amusement of the fans?”
Drake’s grin confused Mercury. Drake had to realize Mercury had led them away from their ship while Carn and Lo dealt with whatever men they’d left behind. With Mercury’s speed he’d make it to the ship hours before they could get back.
“Do you think because I have no plan to kill you now that you have no reason to fear me?”
“That’s not it at all.” Drake smirked. “But do you honestly think I didn’t plan for something like this? Did you forget who oversaw your training? Who lashed the lessons into your back when you failed?”
Adrenalin flooded Mercury’s body as his muscles twitched. Of course Drake had set a trap, but Lo would keep Samantha safe. He had to trust in that.
“I have a message for our girl,” said Drake. “In case you do get off this rock.” Drake’s smirk widened into a full smile, but his hands remained still, held out to the sides. “Tell her to take good care of you. We want you in good shape when she’s ready to sell you back to us. After spending all that money, Owens will want to make sure he turns a profit off your sorry hide. Will triple the cost for the privilege to hunt you down.”
Mercury ignored the man. He only wanted to return to Samantha and leave the whip-master and his boasts behind. The surge of strength as his muscles readied for the run back, made him restless to move, now. “We’ll leave enough supplies for you to survive. I wouldn’t want you to die out here before Owens can find you. I don’t suppose he’ll be too happy that you let us escape in one of his ships. Enjoy whatever life you have left...”