Stealing Mercury (Arena Dogs Book 1) (24 page)

Samantha came back to herself minutes later, renewed pleasure already coursing through her body. She didn’t bother to open her eyes, unable to find any reason to resist the delicious lassitude. Mercury’s hand played between her thighs, drawing lazy circles in her cream, touching everywhere but the now over-sensitive bud. Warm lips nuzzled at her belly, trailing kisses up to the lower curve of one breast.

A warm tongue trailed back to her belly button, circling it in a slow wet lick.

She stretched, arching her back and spreading her thighs wider, seeking more of the decadent sensations. Mercury responded, immediately giving her what she needed, stroking her clit with firm pressure. Her hips bucked in response to the agony of a gratification so intense it perched precariously on the border between pleasure and pain. She stroked her hand across the silken head at her belly. Her eyes fluttered open as she gasped with pleasure.

Mercury’s silver eyes met hers…but he was above her—not beneath her fingers.

Confusion, followed by shock, sent ice water through her veins. She fisted her fingers in the silken hair beneath her palm and jerked the unexpected second lover away from her. Lo came up with a snarl. Even in the dim light, she could see the flecks of red fire dancing in those night black eyes.

“Breathe, Samantha.” Mercury spoke in soothing tones as his hand gripped her thigh, where she’d jerked her knees together. “All is as it should be.”

“No. No, I’m pretty sure this is wrong.” She released Lo with a shove and struggled to sit up. “What in the stars is going on?”

With a sigh, Mercury let her go. “It’s all right. Lo would never hurt you. I told you he would join us tonight.”

Samantha vaguely recalled Mercury saying he’d join them later. She tried to think clearly. Whose hand had been between her legs? Aw hell, as if that was all that mattered. “Join us to sleep, not...this.” Her stomach sank as she remembered Owens’ words. They shared their females. But their actions had told a different story. Right up until she’d woken with both Mercury and Lo touching her.

Samantha wrapped her arms around her knees and pulled them to her chest for modesty’s sake. When she glanced around for clothes there were none in sight. Lo had backed to the edge of the sleeping pallet like a dark shadow.

She turned her attention to Mercury. “Can you hand me my clothes?” Her voice shook.

Mercury edged closer and she scooted away instinctively. Underneath her confusion, a deep sense of betrayal lurked, waiting to swallow her up when she got safely dressed and far away from him.

“Let me hold you, Samantha. You’re trembling. Don’t be afraid.”

“I’m not afraid. It’s shock and the cold. Why, Mercury? Why would you do this?”

“This is our way. You’re my mate and Lo is my only unmated pack brother. He must seal the bond.”

Samantha decided to leave aside his claim that she was his mate. “I don’t get it. You share your women? Owens said that, but after being around you guys, I didn’t believe it.” Her stomach clenched, but she knew it was more nerves than disgust. Shouldn’t she be disgusted? No, she’d never been one to judge the practices of other cultures.

This time when Mercury edged closer, she held her ground. He pulled her into the shelter and warmth of his body and the heat of it eased her tremors.

He lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. “We have few women. When we take one as mate, our unmated pack brothers vow to protect her. Sharing pleasure seals the bond. This is our way.”

“It isn’t my way, Mercury. You should’ve talked to me about this. Among my people having sex with someone else is being unfaithful. It’s disloyal.”

He frowned. “Our lives are different in many ways, my Samantha. For Arena Dogs, every day could be our last. We fight in the arena, often to the death. We must ensure our mates are protected if we die.”

She wrapped her hand around his wrist, needing the physical connection between them. “You’re not in the arena anymore.”

 “We still face danger. Let me keep you safe, Samantha. Lo is the only brother I have left to offer you. You know he won’t harm you.”

Offer her? Like a gift? The idea was crazy, but in a weird way she understood what he meant and how important it was to him. The sincerity was plain on his face. This was normal for him. He didn’t understand why she resisted.

“Lo is my pack brother,” he said. “I wish you to bond with him. It wouldn’t be disloyal if it’s what I want.”

“It’s not what
she
wants.” Lo’s voice startled her. Soft and mournful, it seeped out of the shadows. She’d never heard him like that. Lo was always angry, but not now. Her rejection hurt him.

“Lo, please understand this isn’t about you. It’s about me. The way I feel about Mercury.”

He shook his head, but he didn’t meet her eyes. “Mercury wants us to bond. This is not about him. It doesn’t matter. I pledge my protection for my pack brother’s mate.” Finally, he lifted his head, but it was Mercury he looked at. “I swear it. She set us free. I owe her my life. I won’t force the bond on her.”

In a flash of movement, he was on his feet and stalking away from them. Pain radiated in every movement.

Samantha turned to Mercury to find him watching Lo with sad eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause him pain.”

“I know.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “He’d been without hope for so long. He cares for you. That’s why this hurts him. Please, Samantha, go to him and ease his torment. His pain is my pain. I’d find only joy if you could ease my brother’s misery as you have mine.”

She had no intention of having sex with Lo, but she could try to make him understand that she wasn’t rejecting him. She eased back and took a deep breath. “I’ll talk to him.”

Mercury stroked her cheek. “Thank you, my generous mate.”

“When I get back we should talk about this whole mate thing,” she said. “First, I need something to wear.”

Arena Dogs Campsite, Planet G-45987

Earth Alliance Beta Sector - Gollerra Border

2210.167

Samantha pulled on the tent-like top Mercury handed her. She considered making him hunt up her real clothes, but it hung low enough to cover all her girl parts, so she went with it and crawled off the pallet. She padded quickly across the clearing and slipped between the boulders where Lo had disappeared. She saw him heading into the trees at the bottom of the slope and went after him at a jog.

At the tree line she had to slow down. The ground there was covered with brambles and she was barefoot. She grimaced as fine thorns pricked at her tender skin. Lo had to have heard her follow. He’d either allow her to catch him or she wouldn’t get near him no matter how fast she moved.

She stepped on a particularly nasty patch of underbrush and her foot snagged on a vine. One minute she was falling right into the brambles, the next she was in Lo’s arms. He came from behind her. He’d obviously circled around. She sighed. Probably following her to make sure she didn’t get lost. She really was out of her element in this place.

He stood behind her, his arms a loose circle as she got her feet back under her. At her back, he sniffed.

“You’re injured?” His voice was full of concern as he turned her, his clawed hands carefully gripping her slender arms.

She wanted to put him at ease, but she couldn’t hide her uneasiness with him. “Thanks to you, no.”

His inky brows drew together and his nose made a cute little scrunch. “I smell blood.”

“I have a few scratches on my feet.” She could almost feel the distance between them ease as she watched him fret over her. He was still scowling, but it seemed more adorable than threatening. The tension was still there, but she could breathe easier. “It’s nothing s-serious.” Her teeth had started to chatter and it was getting harder to ignore the cold.

In a move too quick to counter, he slipped an arm under her thighs and lifted her into his arms. “It was foolish to come into the woods without your boots...or a blanket.”

She expected him to carry her back to camp, but without another word he strode deeper into the woods. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her, but he might have misinterpreted her actions in following him.

“Where are you taking me?”

“There’s a clearing. It’s not far.” He didn’t look at her when he said it and she became very aware of the heat of his body along her side and the hand gripping her leg, just above her knee.

“Lo, I—”

He didn’t let her finish. “I assume you followed because you wish to talk.”

She was reminded of Mercury’s claims that her scent changed when her moods changed and wondered if that accounted for Lo’s seeming ability to read her mind.

“I’ll listen,” he said. “If it will ease your discomfort.”

Her discomfort? “Gee, thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

She laughed. He was too smart to miss her sarcasm. Somewhere, buried deeply, Lo had a playful side. It hurt her heart to think of the pain that had buried that side of him so deeply.

Lo stepped into the clearing. The moon washed the small ring in a soft light, creating a silvery sanctuary. The lingering aroma of flowers drifted in the air. In the daylight, the spot would be full of color. He set her on her feet in a patch of soft grass. She stood her ground, not stepping back. Choosing instead to reach up to caress his cheek.

“Please look at me, Lo.”

She waited until those devil eyes met hers.

“I never wanted to hurt you.”

He said nothing.

“I don’t know how to explain it right,” she said, the cold beginning to seep back into her. “I’ve always believed loving someone means ch-choosing to be only with them.”

His features were closed again, but he nodded, one sharp dip of his chin. “You love him.”

For one moon-drenched moment her heart stopped.

She loved Mercury.

Her heart pounded hard in her chest. “I do.” She swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. “I can’t believe I t-told you that. I haven’t even told him. I’m not sure I should. None of you realize how much things could change when we get back to civilization. When you get Hera back.”

“Dogs don’t often think of love or spend time trying to predict the future. We think of life and death. Mercury wants to spend whatever life he has with you and he knows you feel the same.”

“Presumptuous,” she said, but there was no heat in her voice and she nodded in acknowledgement.

He pulled her hand from his cheek and moved it to his chest over his heart.

“You’re in both our hearts. I don’t have a whole heart to give you as Mercury does, but I have room there for you. I’ll keep my pledge. No matter what the future holds.”

Her heart ached for him. She wrapped her arms around his ribs and pressed her cheek where her hand had been. He skin smelled of the spring fed river and the night. His arms came around her, pulling her more tightly against his muscular frame and his warmth. They stood that way as she listened to the steady thud beneath her ear.

One of his deadly hands wove through her hair and the other stroked her back with more gentleness than she thought him capable. Her body responded to the heat and shelter he offered. She sucked in a breath. It filled her lungs and pressed her breasts more firmly against the wall of hard muscle. It sent a jolt of pleasure to her feminine core.

How could she want him so much when she’d just admitted she was in love with Mercury? She tried to will away her reaction, but she refused to push away from him, unwilling to shatter the peace they’d made. Her hands stroked the lean muscles of his back, fingers hesitating over the scars that told the story of a life lived in hell. They’d named him Diablo, the devil, but they’d failed in their attempts to turn him into his namesake. He had anger, but he also understood tenderness and loyalty. He’d never betray Mercury.

But Mercury wouldn’t see their having sex as a betrayal. He wanted her to take away Lo’s pain. He wanted them to bond. She wondered if Lo, with his heightened senses, could smell the arousal dampening her thighs. “You can’t possibly want me,” she whispered. “I’m not sure you even like me.” The words slipped out before she could think better of it.

His body stiffened in response. The hand in her hair fisted tight, pulling her head back, as he gripped her ass to pull her off her feet and up his body. The evidence of his desire was hard and undeniable and pressed nearly where she needed it.

“I want you,” he said. “More than I have wanted anything since... I haven’t fucked a female for my own pleasure in a long time.”

 She should probably be offended that he might want her just to ease his horniness, but her body responded to the longing and hunger in every syllable. And she knew behind his words there was a truth he was unable to speak. She wasn’t one of the greedy women who’d used his body with no care for the man. He’d chosen her. She was something he wanted for himself. The knowledge was intoxicating.

She wrapped one leg around his hip, instinctively seeking the pressure she needed to appease her heated core. His hands shifted and he adjusted her, drawing her legs more firmly around him and rocking his restrained cock against her aching pussy. He buried his face in her neck. Licked the pulse point. Growled deep in his chest.

Samantha moaned and ground against him.

Lo’s hands shifted again, pushing aside her shirt to squeeze her bare ass. He boldly traced the valley with the fingers of one hand. His hands were firm, but there was no prick of claws as he touched her. Her heart raced as one careful finger dipped slowly into her wet flesh, but in that moment, she trusted him with the most secret parts of her.

“I want to taste you,” he whispered. “I want to taste his seed on you.”

She shivered at the thought. Cringed at the reminder of the man she loved. Was she really doing this?

“Lo—”

He nipped at her lips, silencing her protests as he carried her across the clearing and to a blanket stretched across the ground.

When her eyebrows shot up, he explained. “This is where I went earlier when Mercury was fucking you.” He lowered her to the blanket then traced a finger across her forehead, easing the signs of a frown. “Don’t worry, he’ll be glad of this.” He grinned—the first happy expression she’d seen on his face. “He’ll be glad as long as you’re well pleasured and there is no doubt of that.”