Overcome (18 page)

The head of his cock pressed on the tight ring of muscles and pushed inside with a sharp, flaring sting. It eased as soon as the whole head rested inside her. Anna sucked in her breath as he began thrusting in little by little, seating himself to the hilt. Jesus, she couldn’t believe how full they made her. Her pussy and ass both.

Colton’s jaw twitched, and he gripped her hips tight to hold her still when she couldn’t be.

“Oh, my God, do something.”

“This?” Marc withdrew and plunged back in.

And then Colton did the same. The dual sensations shocked the breath from her lungs. She gripped the sheet in her hands and hung her head. Her toes curled. When one would pull out, the other would push in.

She didn’t even need a touch at her clit because the way they had her positioned, the bud ground into Colton’s pelvis each time they shifted.

Only their sharp inhales and slaps of skin on skin could be heard. Her hips would be bruised come morning, and she didn’t care. Wouldn’t have it any other way. Colton’s fingers left her hips to return to her nipples. He pinched them, and the sensation shot straight into her belly. So close…

One…more…

“Yesssss…” Anna shouted with the hardest orgasm she’d ever had.

Marc stiffened at her back, his cock embedded deep inside her, a warmth flooding her channel, and his teeth sank into her shoulder where he’d marked her already. Colton continued to thrust upward at a frantic pace, seeking his own release.

She contracted her pussy muscles, milking his cock. Seconds later, he too stiffened. He pulsed into her pussy, and then found his place on her shoulder and renewed his mark on her as well. She stilled with the twin pinches of their bites. Soon they were lapping her marks clean.

None of them spoke, just collapsed in a heap of sweaty, hard-breathing bodies. Anna winced as Marc’s cock slid from her ass, leaving behind the burn of being stretched.

Much later as they lie in a tangle of legs and arms, Marc and Colton both kissing her all over and trying to awaken her desire again, she stopped them. She didn’t want reality to intrude, but she had to know.

She twisted to her side and faced Colton. “Did you learn anything today?”

Colton sighed and locked her fingers in his. “Peter had nothing to do with it. In light of the time she faces, Vanessa confessed. Apparently Peter had been talking about you more and more, and it pissed her off. She thought she was going to lose him back to you, so instead of allowing that to happen, she tried to make your life hell. She and Evan, the shooter, posed as you and Peter to sell the house, then she convinced Peter to let you have the house, knowing it would look like Peter hated you that much. She also reported your car stolen. I can’t begin to imagine who she paid off to get this all done because it should have been impossible to sign the papers needed to sell the house. Trust me, the agent who did it will be looked at very closely.

“It wasn’t coincidence she had Peter give up the house to you when he did. She knew you were losing your lease.
And
she’s the one who took the new lease so you wouldn’t be able to stay. At the very least, she thought your displacement would be a good way to piss you off since she knew you couldn’t have the house with us living here.”

Marc slid his palm up her side and cupped her breast. “Too bad for her, she didn’t know you’d turn out to be our mate.”

“She’s been watching you through Evan. Had your tire slashed so it would cause you to wreck, and then trashed your place in a fit of rage when that didn’t happen.” Colton tucked a clump of hair behind her ear.

Anna fidgeted as Marc’s fingers found her clit and started to play.

“You are insatiable. Stop it.” She jerked at his hand to dislodge him, but he was much stronger than her, so she gave up and squeezed her legs together so he didn’t have as good a contact as he wanted.

Colton chuckled and flicked his thumb on her nipple. “The last straw came when she heard from Peter that you had tried to get ahold of him through his work. She’d thought changing his number and him being out of the country would be enough so you wouldn’t be able to speak to him. But he told her he was going to call you and find out what had happened. She couldn’t allow him to speak to you, so she convinced Evan to go to the school with his rifle.”

Anna swallowed. The man had nearly killed several people. The principal, thank God, would recover, as would everyone else who’d suffered at his hands. There’d been numerous cuts from shattered glass, and one student had been hit with a ricochet.

“If you hadn’t shot him, he would have killed me.” The memory was still fresh in her head. She’d glanced away from the gun to see Marc pounce, his claws in a deadly arc online with Evan’s throat, but at the last second, Colton had shot through the glass door. The bullet had torn into Evan’s shoulder blade and made him stagger forward, so Marc’s claws had gotten his chest instead.

Marc curved his body more tightly around hers and hugged her hard. “He didn’t, though.”

Colton patted her thigh. “Evan’s going away for a long time for today’s shooting, plus he had several warrants out for his arrest. Vanessa will be jailed too for fraud, identity theft, and accessory to commit murder, among other things. All because she was jealous of you.”

“Which is so stupid because she had Peter and could keep him. I didn’t want anything to do with him.”

Colton kissed her forehead. “How about with us?”

She pretended to think about it for a minute until Marc cut off her breath with his hold and Colton growled.

“I definitely want us.” She made the words as husky as she could and decided to show them exactly what else she wanted from them.

Annmarie McKenna lives with her husband and four kids just outside of St. Louis, MO. She spent years reading romances before deciding to try out the other side
—
writing. After joining RWA and MORWA, she discovered all the things she’d done wrong with her first story. Then she tackled her second, Blackmailed, which she very happily sold to Samhain Publishing, and she’s now had over fifteen books published. Between naps and shuffling kids to various activities, she is working hard on her next project.

http://www.annmariemckenna.com
 

Brett settled into her chair on board the shuttle. In a few short hours, they’d be at their new home. Her father arrived on planet a month earlier to take up his new position as ambassador from Earth to New Commonwealth. Soon she’d be at his side handling her duties.

The rising hum of the shuttle’s engines and the slight jar as the docking clamps released told her they were off. For a moment, they hung in free space, floating. Her stomach dropped, but she only smiled. She loved this part, the docking and undocking. After the excitement of her years in the United Space Marines, training in the dropships, where the craft screamed through the planet’s outer atmosphere, Brett found the rest of space travel predictable and boring.

“Another year, another planet,” she muttered. This would be her third rotation serving with her father in her late mother’s place.

A man in a uniform pushing a cart of refreshments stopped next to her. “Milady, may I offer you a cup of tea?”

“No, thank you.” She eyed the cart’s selection of tea, nutritional drinks, and coffee.

“I’d kill for a cold beer.” The steward gasped, stared at her, then cleared his throat.

“Yes, milady.” He reached into the cart and pulled out a bottle, opened it, and handed it to her with a small napkin.

She didn’t wait for him to place the small glass in front of her, but put the bottle to her lips and drank. The cold liquid slid down her throat, and she savored the flavor.

He moved on with only an odd look back at her.

Again, she’d shocked another man. Her father’s hopes of her finding a husband sank lower than ever. Poor man. She hated disappointing him, always, even as a child.

Brett sighed, took another sip of the beer, and hoped James, her father’s longtime batman, stocked the refrigerators at the new house. Her father’s scotch, several cases of her favorite beer, and a nice assortment of their family’s wine label was sent months ago with him.

Brett snorted as she looked down at the dress she wore. If her sergeant could see her now, he’d laugh so hard he’d spit. She could just hear him, “Butler, what the hell have you gotten into now?”

Social Secretary to the Ambassador from Earth. Long dresses for day wear. Hosting parties for the elite. And here on New Commonwealth, rubbing elbows with the aristocracy. Like something from an old storybook. Kings and queens. Lords and ladies.

The men and women of her old marine outfit would ride her unmercifully. She smiled at the thought of their jokes. She missed them. Good soldiers, all of them.

But she didn’t miss her old life. It was her secret, at least from her father.

Here on New Commonwealth, things were going to have to be very different, and perhaps fitting in on this planet would be Brett’s most challenging job yet.

Women here were treated like delicate flowers, to be protected, nurtured, and kept in their hothouses. Did they never let their branches spread beyond their containers or everyone’s expectations? She sighed and rested her chin in her hand. I can adapt. I can be a plant.

But can I be a flower?

She struggled to think of herself as a flower. Well, maybe a cactus blossom, like the ones which bloomed each spring on their ranch in Nuevo Texas. All you needed to do was get past the thorns and tough skin. She laughed at the image as she keyed in the code on the vid monitor for the residence, and James appeared on the screen.

“Welcome, Miss Butler.” He smiled at her, and she gave him a salute.

“I’m just a few hours out, James. Let the general know.”

“Yes, miss.” He nodded. “Will you need a car?”

“No, I’m riding with the shipping truck to get Black settled at the stables. Once I’m done there, I’ll call for the car.”

“Very well.” His face gave nothing away. “How is the big black monster?” One brow rose.

“The usual.”

“Too bad. I’d hoped for everyone’s sake he’d mellowed.”

“No chance, James.” She grinned. “It’ll be good to see you again. And Dad.”

“Indeed. Call when you need the car.”

“I will. Butler out.”

The transmission cut off, and the screen went dark.

She played with the folds of her dress, straightening them. The light wool material swirling around her ankles bothered her. It tickled her legs, and the occasional rush of air blowing against the soft skin of her thighs and sending little shocks over her body. She felt totally unsupported. She was much more comfortable in trousers and boots. She even walked differently in the dresses. It was hard to stride confidently and with purpose while four yards of pink taffeta swirled around your ankles, threatening to trip you.

The shock of the shuttle hitting the planet’s atmosphere jarred her as it used its rear heat shield for reentry. The belt around her shoulder jerked tighter, forcing her back against her seat. The shuttle shook and vibrated against the outer reaches of the atmosphere.

She let the rush fill her, but she missed the whoops of her men and women as they rejoiced in the thrill. Here in the shuttle, people gripped their seats, gasped, and looked as if they were going to throw up.

Civilians.

She worried about Black down in the hold, and wished she could have been there with him, but the rules didn’t allow it. She should have gone down there anyway, damn the rules. Her fingers gripped the armrest, keeping her in her seat, instead of bolting for the hatch to see to Black.

Then the resistance was gone, and they were through. She exhaled, sad the small memory of her previous life was over. The shuttle rotated to point its nose at the planet-side port just outside of New London, capitol city of New Commonwealth.

Less than an hour until they landed.

She gazed out the window at the planet below as they circled lower. She could clearly see blue oceans, green land, a few snow-crested mountains. How very much like home. Lush forests, fertile fields, flat plains. No deserts, though. The climate was temperate, like a perpetual spring with a gentle winter in between.

Great weather to ride in. Black will like it.

This wasn’t where she’d pictured herself two years ago, before her mother’s death. She’d pictured herself out of the military and running the family ranch, and for once in her life doing what she wanted to do, not what everyone else expected her to do.

One out of two wasn’t bad. She’d left the military, but never made it back to the ranch, at least not to stay. All those hopes and dreams vanished with her mother’s sudden death on a distant planet.

Now as the ambassador’s social secretary, it was her job to understand this planet. She’d always been good at what she did, no matter what duty called her to do or be. Whether she liked it or not.

As the only child of Ambassador Jonathan Butler, formerly General Butler of the United Space Marines and decorated hero of the Jihad Space Wars, it'd been expected she would follow in his boot steps. And she done it her entire life.

No one told her she’d have to take her mother’s place at her father’s side.

His boots were easy to fill, and she’d risen rapidly through the ranks of the military police.

It was the size seven high heels of her mother, Elaine Wallace Butler, Brett knew she could never fill.

“Ta-da!” Katie Walker waved the glittering engagement ring under her friend’s nose.

Gina looked at her, clearly unimpressed. “Engaged, huh? Why aren’t you out celebrating?”