3013: Renegade (5 page)

They might be the enemy, but stars above, these two could kiss.

Nikolai’s hands were on her breasts and his tongue was tangled with hers, but it wasn’t until she felt the brush of his still hard cock against her thigh that Alayna realized that she’d been wrong. Falling asleep was the last thing on her lovers’ minds. Apparently their enhancements included powers of recovery she never would have believed possible. For the first time in a long time, she thanked the stars that she’d received some enhancements of her own. It might be the only way she survived the night.

***

CHAPTER SIX

It was close to morning before they finally let Alayna fall asleep. As she slumbered between them, Colin stared at her, feeling more than a little awed by their unexpected bedmate. She had gifted them with her passion and her body without reservation, making this night one he knew he’d never forget.

They had never met anyone like her, and it was almost a curse to know that someone that suited them both so well actually existed. The odds of finding a fertile woman with even a fraction of her sensual fire and sass were not even worth calculating. Thief or not, she was as close to perfect for them as they were ever likely to find. If only she could have children.

He and Nikolai had worked for years to earn the right to claim a fertile woman and start a family of their own. They had been in service to the Alliance since their testing, pushing themselves to be the best every day they had worn the uniform. For Colin, it wasn’t because he wanted prestige or promotion, but because he wanted to father children someday. He wanted the same love and laughter that he had grown up with, once his mother had been chosen by the only fathers he had ever known. He knew that Nikolai wanted that, too.

Nikolai loved spending time with Colin’s family, but avoided seeing his own unless protocol demanded it. It was one of the many reasons they intended to share their lives with a single woman, because they were seeking the same things. Not just a breeding partner, but a friend and a lover to share a life with.

If they were lucky, they’d find someone like Alayna. Hell, even the fact she was a thief was oddly perfect, given Griz’s love for rebelling against his family’s expectations every chance he got. Colin glanced over at his best friend, who was drifting off to sleep, his breathing already dropping to a sonorous rumble. A single reading lamp was the only light, and it was barely enough for him to make out the details of the small star tattoo on Alayna’s face. If they weren’t looking for their chosen, he’d be tempted to ask her to consider staying with them for the time being. But if they did that, what would they say to her when they found the woman who would bear their children?

He knew of other men who kept infertile lovers on the side even after taking a fertile chosen, but he had no intention of being one of them. He only wanted one woman in his life, and in his heart. Anything else would be dishonest somehow. That was something else he and Nikolai had agreed on. They weren’t going to claim just any scroll. They wanted one who had at least some chance of making them happy, and who could be happy with them.

Colin brushed a few strands of hair away from Alayna’s face, his fingers running over the star as he did so. The line smudged.

What the fuck?

“Griz, wake up,” he hissed and Nikolai came awake in an instant. His eyes flew open and he turned his head, looking completely alert despite having been asleep the previous second.

“What’s up?” he asked, his voice hushed.

“I’m not sure.” Colin kept his voice low. He didn’t want Alayna awake yet. Not until he knew for certain that his suspicions were correct.

“You woke me up because you’re not sure about something? What the fuck, man?”

“No, moron. I’m pretty sure about this, but you need to see it to believe me.” He pointed to the star on Alayna’s face and then ran his index finger through the center of it, pressing down a little harder this time.

The line blurred under his finger, and he knew he’d been right. The marking on her face wasn’t permanent, and that meant it wasn’t a real tattoo.

“Fuck me,” Nikolai swore under his breath as the implications of what they were seeing sunk in.

“I know. The question is
, what do we want to do if that fake tattoo is covering a real one?”

Nicolai’s dark brows shot up and he looked from Colin to the still sleeping Alayna. An expression Colin had never seen crossed his best friend’s face, and he recognized it as longing. He knew it right away, because it was the same feeling he had every time he looked at her.

“If she’s a scroll, then we claim the little minx and deal with the consequences later.”

“I agree. And if she’s never been tested?”

“Then we get her tested right away, and pray she’s fertile. I don’t want to let her go. She’s perfect.”

“Yeah, she is. And she’s going to try to kill us if we claim her.”

Nicolai grinned at him. “I know. That’s part of what makes her perfect for us. She’s worth the risk.”

“Then let’s find out what’s under that star and go from there.” Colin eased himself away from Alayna, slipping out of bed with care so that he didn’t wake her. Once she figured out what was going on, she was going to fight them tooth and nail. Whatever her secret was, that star helped her keep it. If it hid the scrollwork tattoo of a fertile woman, then all three of their lives were about to change forever.

* * * *

Alayna hadn’t intended to fall asleep. She wouldn’t have thought it possible considering her surroundings. She never slept well away from the security of camp. Years of living rough had honed her instincts, to the point that couldn’t happen. At least she had thought so. The fact she had woken up still wrapped up in the arms of her lovers would be pretty damning evidence her instincts were not as good as she thought they were.

Fuck.

Disgust at her failure to stay awake turned to ice-cold terror as she felt something scrubbing at the right side of her face. Adrenaline flooded her system even before her eyes opened and she launched herself out of bed. At least, she tried to.

Instead, it felt as though a pair of steel bands tightened around her, pinning her arms to her side and holding her tight against a solid mass of muscle. Colin was the only one she could see, and he had an expression of wary determination on his handsome face. A trickle of water ran down her cheek, and she knew what he was doing. While she’d been asleep, her make-up must have smudged, betraying her secret.

“Get your hands off me!” She channeled her fear into anger, desperate to somehow salvage the situation. Her arms might be held, but her legs were free and she lashed out with them, hammering her heels against Nikolai’s shins.

“Not going to happen,
vorovka.
We need to see what you’ve been hiding from us,”
Nicolai murmured from behind her. He threw one leg over hers, quelling her thrashing.

“You’ve seen me naked. Just what exactly do you think I’m hiding?”

Colin swiped something across her face again and then exhaled sharply. “That, for starters.” There was only one word to describe the expression on Colin’s face as he stared at her. Longing. She had expected anger, condemnation or even a gleam of greed. Instead he was looking at her as if she was the most incredible thing in existence. For the first time in her life, words failed her.

He reached for her slowly and she was surprised to see his hands were shaking. His fingertips danced over the surface of her skin, tracing the scrollwork tattoo that few people had ever seen.

“Is she?” Nikolai asked, his tone almost reverent.

“She is. We found her,
Griz.” Colin’s gaze met hers and he spoke the words that Alayna had hoped she’d never hear. “We chose you, Alayna.”

“No!” This wasn’t happening. The universe wasn’t so fucking cruel that it would take away her freedom over a night’s pleasure and a few stolen hours of sleep.

“Yes.” Both men spoke at once.

“You know the law, Alayna. You’re not allowed to deny a claim,” Colin added.

“Like hell I’m not. I don’t want this. I don’t want you! Either of you. If you don’t let me go I swear I’ll make your life a living hell, and the first time you turn your back I’m going to be gone. I’m not going to give up my life to be your sex slave! I have people who depend on me. You can’t do this!”

“We can. We will. And if you run from us, we’ll come find you and bring you home again. Hold her still,
Griz.” Colin reached for something beyond her range of vision and Alayna knew she was running out of time. Fear and fury fueled her actions and she fought Nikolai’s hold with everything she had.

“I’m trying. Our minx is stronger than she looks.” Nikolai grunted in pain as she managed to dig an elbow into his ribs.

Colin held up a small device, letting her see it clearly. She’d never seen one before, but there was no mistaking what it was. They were going to mark her right here and now, and once it was done there would be no escape. She would wear their initials on the left side of her face for the rest of her life, branded as property just like they once marked livestock. It would mean the end of everything.

Alayna found herself begging. “Please, don’t do this. You don’t want me. I hate the Alliance. I was raised in the badlands. I have lousy manners, I swear. Fuck, I ran away less than a week after they tested me. I haven’t even had the full array of enhancements. You two can do better.”

“Alayna, stop it,” Nikolai growled in her ear. “Please stop. We do want you. I know you’re not going to believe that yet, but you will, in time. We’ll prove it to you. You’re perfect for us.”

“One night of good sex does not mean we’re meant to be together forever,” she argued and Colin laughed.

“Princess, that wasn’t
good
sex. That was incredible, mind-blowing sex. And we’re going to have lots more of it. But that’s not the reason we’re claiming you. We want someone we actually like. Someone who can laugh with us and not be afraid to tell us what they’re feeling. We actually want a pain in the ass with a smart mouth.” He tapped a finger to the tip of her nose. “That sound like someone you know?”

“But I have people who need me. They’ll wonder where I am!”

“You can tell them tomorrow, and they’ll be welcome to come see you whenever they want. With any luck I’ll like your family more than I like mine.” Nikolai said.

There was no point in fighting any longer. Nikolai was far stronger than she was, and they were not going to be dissuaded from their plan. She stopped struggling and went still. “If you do this, I’ll hate you.”

“I hope not,” Colin murmured and touched the device to the left side of her face. He moved so quickly that it was done before she had time to do more than blink. A brief tingle was all she felt. It seemed wrong somehow that something so life altering could happen so fast. She was theirs, from now until their deaths.

Right now she was very tempted to shorten their life spans herself.
Slowly, and with a very dull knife.

“I want to see it,” she said the moment Colin moved the device away from her face.

“Me, too,” Nicolai announced, and without any more warning she found herself being lifted into his arms.

“I meant that I wanted someone to hand me a mirror,” she protested as Nikolai stood up and walked her across the room. Colin was moved, too, and a moment later she was blinking away a flurry of dancing spots that appeared when he flicked on the overhead light. When the spots cleared she realized that Nikolai had carried her over to a full length mirror, and he was staring at their reflections with a look of pure, male satisfaction. She turned her head, revealing the new mark, and her heart twisted in her chest. She’d been claimed.

She looked closer, and a small part of her mind was pleased to note that at least the design wasn’t horrific. The stylized pattern that comprised both their initials had been done tastefully. If it wasn’t for the fact that the mark was basically a brand announcing to the world that she was their possession, she might have even thought it was pretty.

A third reflection appeared in the mirror as Colin joined them, looking so pleased that for a moment Alayna thought he might start purring. She looked at the image of the three of them together, naked, and tears stung at her eyes as she accepted that this was really happening. The two men she’d come to rob and stayed to enjoy for a single night’s pleasure, now owned her.

It wasn’t fair.

“If that other bedroom is for your chosen, then that means it’s mine now, right?” she asked, fighting to keep her emotions in check. She would not let them see her cry.

Not tonight, not ever.

“It is…” Nikolai trailed off and lifted her higher against his chest. It was obvious he didn’t want her to leave, but there was no way she was staying with them. Not after what had happened.

“Not just the room, Alayna. Everything we have is yours now.” Colin lifted his hand and stroked her hair gently, his fingers toying with the strands. “If you want some time to come to terms with all this, we’ll leave you in peace. But Alayna, I meant it. If you run, we’ll come after you. So I’m asking you to stay. Stay and give us a chance to show you this can work. It
will
work.”

“Like I have any fucking choice,” she snapped and a single tear slid down her cheek. She dashed it away with the back of her hand and hoped neither man had seen it. Nikolai set her on her feet without a word, but his hand caressed her shoulder for a moment before he moved away.

“You’ll see, minx. We’ll make you happy. We’re going to be a family.”

Family.

The word made her blood run cold. Alayna straightened her spine, lifted her chin and marched out of the room, her hair swaying from side to side as she left. She kept it together until she was safe inside her new bedroom. The moment the door slammed shut behind her she gave in to her tears, curling up in the corner of the room, legs bent, arms wrapped around her knees and head bowed so she could muffle her sobs.