The Power of Three (2 page)

“
No males?”

“
No, you’re the only one I’ve ever—” He
swallowed hard. “Ever wanted that way.”

“
Well, that’s good isn’t
it?”

Esca kissed Ash’s elegant foot. “So will you
fuck me?”

“
If that is what you wish.”

“
Tonight?”

“
Why this sudden rush?”

“
Because I keep thinking about all the
time I’ve wasted because of my own stupid pride, all the psychic
power I’ve denied you by refusing to complete our bond.”

“
I’ve done fairly well without you.”
There was a hint of amusement in Ash’s voice that made Esca relax.
“But additional psychic power is always appealing to a man of my
political appetites.”

“
Then will you take mine?”

“
With pleasure.” Ash stood and headed
for his bedroom. “Come, then.”

* * *

Ash led Esca into his bedroom and closed the
door. At first sight, the Oracle couldn’t have chosen a more
unlikely mate for him than this hardened soldier, who still looked
rather unsure of what he’d let himself in for. Esca wasn’t a man
used to submitting to anyone—his sheer strength of will and
physique shouted that. Even at eighteen, his arrogance and courage
had impressed Ash. At twenty-six he was breathtaking. Ash
considered the flex of his Second’s muscles, the tight abs and long
legs. He’d waited a long time to lure his mate into his bed, and he
was determined not to frek it up now.

“
Sit.” Ash pointed at the side of the
bed and Esca did what he asked. He sat like the military man he
was, feet spread wide, shoulders back and his hands on his
knees.

Ash approached and put his hands on the other
man’s shoulders, felt his own shock at the intimate contact echoed
in Esca’s mind. Gods, he wanted this man. Reaching out with all his
senses, he slid his hands down over Esca’s arms and muscled chest,
letting him access his mind in a way he allowed no other, letting
him feel what he was feeling.

He stroked over Esca’s nipples until they
were hard against his palms and then used his fingers and thumbs to
make them even harder.

“
Ah…”

Ash smiled as he noted Esca’s cock filling
out and pushing against the confines of his towel. He kissed Esca’s
nose and then his forehead.

“
What did you imagine it would be like,
Second Male?”

“
Like this,” Esca whispered against
Ash’s lips. “Like I wouldn’t want to stop, that I’d end up begging
you to do anything you wanted to me.”

Ash’s own cock thickened at that admission,
and he bit gently at Esca’s lip. “Are you hard for me?”

“
Yes.”

Ash dropped his hand lower until he grasped
Esca’s hard cock through his towel. “May I see you?”

“
Yes
.”

Ash pulled the towel away and fell to his
knees. “Beautiful.” He leaned forward and licked Esca’s already-wet
cock from tip to root.

“
Aren’t I supposed to be doing that to
you?”

Ash smiled up at him. “Eventually—unless you
object to me touching you first.”

“
Gods, no, go ahead, I’m—”

Ash swallowed Esca’s cock in one smooth
motion, easing him down his throat and sucking hard. He wanted to
smile at his mate’s reaction, the way his hips thrust forward to
push himself deeper and his hand buried in Ash’s hair, holding him
in a tight painful grip. He took his time getting to know what Esca
liked, keeping him aroused and hard, only easing off when he sensed
it was too much. Being able to access his partner’s chaotic
thoughts made the process so much easier and much more intimate.
While he sucked, he brought his hand up to play with Esca’s balls
and explore the soft skin of his taint and the pucker of his
ass.

“
Oh
frek
, I’m—”

Ash swallowed Esca’s come and then carefully
released his lover’s now-flaccid cock. Standing, he gestured for
Esca to lie back on the bed and climbed up beside him.

As he slowly took off his robe, Esca’s gaze
lowered. “You’re big.”

“
Don’t worry, I’ll fit.” Ash straddled
Esca’s stomach and cupped his cock and balls. “Give me your
hand.”

Esca complied and Ash wrapped it around both
of their cocks, intertwining his fingers with his lover’s. Wetness
soon covered their moving fingers. Ash carefully leaned forward and
brushed his mouth over Esca’s parted lips.

“
Do you like this?”

“
Yes.”

“
Do you want to come again, or will you
wait?”

“
I’ll do whatever you want as long as
you don’t stop touching me.”

“
Oh, I’m not stopping now. Not until
I’m so deep inside you that there’s nowhere else to go.” Ash smiled
as he picked up the lube he’d placed by the side of the bed and
coated his finger.

He disentangled himself, leaving the other
man holding his own shaft, and knelt between his legs. As he licked
the crown of Esca’s cock, he eased the tip of his finger inside
him, felt a tremor run through his mate and distracted him with
more licks and kisses.

It was no hardship to take his time. He’d
dreamed of this moment for years—Esca willingly spread beneath him,
begging to be fucked. The reality was even better than he’d
expected. He pushed in further, to the first knuckle and soothed
Esca’s cock with his tongue and his mind. Moving up, he grasped
Esca’s shaft with his free hand and kissed him, using his tongue to
mimick his slow deliberate possession of the man’s ass.

“
More,” Esca groaned.
“Faster.”

“
I don’t want to hurt you.” Despite his
words, Ash eased a second oiled finger in alongside the first and
started to work them back and forth.

“
And what if I want that?” Esca said.
“What if I want to feel owned, possessed, and
sore
? What if I want to remember you fucking me
hard when I’m sitting on that spaceship tomorrow?”

“
How hard?” Ash’s cock jerked and he
fought the urge to come.

Esca’s brown eyes were narrowed and full of
lust. “As hard as I can take. I’m a big, tough soldier. I know
you’re being careful with me, but—”

Ash kissed him, shoving his tongue back into
Esca’s mouth, adding a third finger and working him until his hips
lifted and his cock filled out again.

“
Gods, yes.”

It was enough encouragement for Ash to draw
back, grasp his cock and press the head against Esca’s well-lubed
ass.

“
Do it,” Esca growled. “Do me
hard.”

Ash pushed forward, gasping at the tightness
of Esca’s passage. Each tiny gain was a victory, each yielding, a
mark of his right to possess this arrogant magnificent male, to own
him as no other man ever would.

“
Ah…” Ash paused to appreciate the
sight of the last inch of his cock disappearing inside Esca. He
looked down at the other man and held still.

“
Hard enough for you?”

He was rewarded with a flicker of a smile.
“You feel as big as my fist.”

“
And I haven’t even started pounding
into you yet.”

“
What are you waiting for?” Esca licked
his lips and squeezed his own cock.

“
I just wanted to appreciate the
moment, to see you on your back, filled with my cock just as I’ve
imagined you countless times.”

“
I’ve imagined it, too.”

Ash rocked his hips, watched Esca’s
expression tighten. “It’s better than I dreamed.”

“
Then finish it. Fuck me. Make me
yours.”

Ash didn’t need any more encouragement. He
leaned into Esca and started to thrust, each jerk of his hips
exploding a thousand sensations through his tightly encased cock
and his mind. As he powered toward a climax, Esca’s thoughts
reached him and became entwined with his. For an amazing moment,
they were indistinguishable from each other. He even imagined he
could see those new neural connections being formed through the red
haze of his closed eyes as he came.

When he opened his eyes, he lay against
Esca’s chest, one hand tangled in his lover’s short dark hair. He
eased his cock free and came up on one elbow to assess his
mate.

“
Shall we shower?”

“
You don’t want me to
leave?”

Ash opened his eyes wide. “Without
reciprocating?”

Esca went still. “You’d let me do that to
you?”

“
Yes.” Ash rolled over and stood up,
loving the way Esca’s gaze rested on his nakedness. “We are
supposed to be mated.”

“
But I always assumed—”

“
That you were destined to be forever
fucked and left wanting?” Ash opened the door into his lavish
bathroom and put on the shower. “You don’t have to fuck me.” He
stepped under the blissfully hot water and waited for Esca to join
him. “If we add a female to our threesome, you could choose to only
fuck her.”

He opened his eyes as Esca’s hand closed
around his cock.

“
Oh, I think I want you.”

Ash smiled. “Then let’s not waste any more
time.”

* * * * *

One planetary year later.

“
What’s wrong? Are you in
pain?”

Esca turned from his contemplation of the
city lights to find Ash framed in the doorway of his suite.

“
I’m fine.” He surreptitiously moved to
ease the cramp in his leg. “I was just thinking about
tomorrow.”

Ash sat beside him on the couch. His quiet
presence always made Esca feel better. He wore his usual silk robe
and his long pale hair was tied back at the nape of his neck. He
smelled of the shower and of himself, an indefinable scent Esca
still craved like a drug. His robe was tied so loosely that Esca
could see his finely muscled torso, the long limbs and strong
fingers that made sharing his bed so freking pleasurable.

Not that they’d been sharing much recently,
what with Esca’s injury and Ash’s preoccupation with the affairs of
the senate. That was probably his fault, too.

After he got out of the hospital and returned
to their apartment, his lover had taken time off to care for him,
putting up with his moods, his rages and his totally unreasonable
demands. And now Ash was slammed with work.

“
Are you sure you’re fit enough to go
on this mission?”

Esca’s guilty thoughts about Ash dissipated,
and he cast him an irritated glance. “Sure I am.”

“
You’re certain?”

“
You might be First Male, but you
aren’t my mother, or the military physician. Luckily, the latter
declared me fit, so I’m going.”

“
Whether I think it’s a wise decision
or not.”

“
What are you going to do, stop
me?”

“
I could.”

“
And you know I’d never freking forgive
you if you did.”

“
I’m concerned about your
fitness.”

“
I get that.” Esca stared out at the
city. “I can’t stay here forever. The accident was months ago. I’ve
passed all the tests the military have thrown at me, I’m not in
pain, I’m mentally competent and I’m bored witless
here.”

Ash didn’t say anything, his gaze fixed on
the rapidly darkening horizon, too.

“
Dammit, Ash.”

“
What?”

“
You’re determined to make this
difficult for me, aren’t you?”

“
I’m well aware that the decisions I
make in the Senate have caused this war to drag on,
and—”

“
You don’t like being reminded up close
and personal of the cost of those decisions?” Esca gestured at his
leg, which despite all his declarations to the contrary, still hurt
like frek. “I do my job. You can’t protect me from
everything.”

“
I know that you wouldn’t be the
extraordinary leader and tactician you are if you were any
different. I just wish you were more careful sometimes.”

“
I’m a special ops soldier. I’m not
paid to be careful.”

Ash swung around to study him. “You were
offered a promotion out of the field. Why didn’t you take it?”

Esca took a long slow breath. “How the frek
do you know about that?”

“
I was informed by the military.” Ash
paused. “It would’ve been nice if you’d mentioned it to me
yourself.”

“
Really, or did you tell them what you
wanted to happen?” Esca glared at his companion. “Dammit,
Ash.”

“
I didn’t ask.”

Esca’s skeptical expression made Ash
stiffen and slam down his shields. “I’ve expressed my concern.
You’ve told me it’s irrelevant. I accept that. Have a successful
trip.” He rose from the couch. “Goodnight,
Second
.”

Esca forced himself to remain still and
seethe quietly. Even with their unique psychic link, sometimes Ash
could be the devil to understand. He certainly didn’t need the male
who practically ran the Senate treating him like a little lost
puppy. None of Ash’s colleagues would believe their leader had a
weakness like him. Sometimes he didn’t believe it himself.

He resolutely stared out over the city. His
bags were packed and he was going on the next mission. If he didn’t
go…

With a curse, he heaved himself upright and
went through to Ash’s rooms, not bothering to knock. His First Male
was seated at his desk working, his expression absorbed. He looked
older than his thirty-four years, more careworn and exhausted.
Despite Ash’s calm exterior, Esca knew better than anyone the
tremendous strain his mate was under.