One Four All (13 page)

“Gimme some of that action,” said Wat as he finished stripping the soggy material from Lira’s thighs. He shoved a warming blanket beneath her hips to cushion her from the rocks, right before he spread her legs and buried his mouth in her pussy. “Damn, woman,” Wat lifted his head, “even when you’ve been dunked in seawater you taste sweet as honey.”

“Hey,” cried Red, “what about me?”

Kepp pulled his mouth from Lira’s breast with a slow, lingering tug on her nipple. He shot his friend a wicked grin. “You have a head injury. You should sit this one out.”

“Not on your fucking life. She’s as much mine as she is yours,” Red protested.

“Right now, gentlemen,” interrupted Wat, “she’s mine. I can’t wait any longer.” He unzipped his trousers and freed his erect penis. “Besides,” he added with a groan as he buried himself in Lira’s body in one smooth move, “somebody needs to keep watch.”

“I’d rather watch this,” commented Red. “Might help my headache.” He lay on his side next to Lira, resting his head on her shoulder. He unzipped his pants and wrapped his fist around his own erection. “Mind if I jack off?” Lira reached out a shaky hand to help him. Red wrapped his eager fist around hers.

“Be my guest,” groaned Wat, hips moving rhythmically, his thick cock appearing and disappearing into the woman, glistening with her slick arousal.

Kepp watched his friends for a moment, his own hard-on so painful he thought he might burst. As he reached down to make himself more comfortable, he realized Lira was staring at him.

“What?” he asked, his voice soft.

“Kiss me, Tanner.”

“But your lip…?”

“My lip wants yours. Now.” Panting, Lira arched her back, and Kepp knew she was about to come. She threaded her free hand through his long, golden braid and drew him down to meet her.

Kepp tried to be gentle, but Lira wouldn’t have it. She thrust her tongue into his mouth, keeping time to the rhythm of Wat’s thrusts into her body. Kepp felt like he was the one fucking her. When she came, she came hard, biting his lower lip until he tasted blood, sucking on his tongue, arching into the hand he held on her breast. Shit, he nearly exploded.

* * * *

Wat climaxed with a roar. He had barely finished before a growling Tanner shoved him aside and buried himself in her, as she’d heard the men say, balls deep. He pounded, hard and heavy, into her body, possessing her with a violence and a fire that rocked her very soul.

One of her hands gripped Red’s cock. Holding his fist around hers, he tugged her palm up and down his silky skin as he stroked himself. She kept her other hand twisted in Tanner’s braid. Lira dragged his mouth back to hers, demanding that he claim her mouth every bit as hard as he claimed her body.

It didn’t take long for Lira to come. Again and again and again. Lost in a haze of passion, she felt Red’s movements speed up until at last he let out a loud groan and held her hand still. She felt his hot seed pulse upward and spill out of him, over her naked breast. In that moment, Lira relived the all-consuming pleasure of the night before. The memory of all three men in her, coming at once, launched her into another orgasm, the strongest she’d ever experienced.

Lira tore her mouth from Tanner’s and screamed his name just as he threw his head back, lost, as his own climax began. She watched the straining tendons in his neck while he thrust deep within her, once, twice, three times, and then he came with a roar that rivaled the crash of the waves along the rocky shore.

Tanner fell over her, both of them drenched with sweat despite the chill sea air. Lira lay still beneath him, awed by the power of their joining. She thanked the Gods for placing these three men in her path. Any one of them would have been enough. Each was a courageous, righteous man. If she wasn’t the royal heir, if she didn’t need to find three mates who could share her attentions and her body without acrimony, she would have loved any one of them on his own, Red or Wat or Tanner.

Each man held a portion of her heart. Wat, she loved for his brash good humor, his generous spirit, and his ingenuity, Red, for his kind heart, his devotion, and his winning smile, and Tanner, because he was the powerful glue that would bind the four of them together. He was their center, their beating heart, and he would keep them safe. His courage was boundless. Lira felt confident that every one of them would give his life for her and for their children, no matter who fathered them. They could have left her to her fate. Instead, they risked themselves to save her.

We’ll escape Land’s End
and
the dynasty my ancestors founded six hundred years ago will prosper because of these men.

She embraced Tanner, caressing him with great tenderness. Her hands left him to seek out Wat and Red, and she held onto them, too. They were in this together, the four of them. Lira knew with great certainty that the men were hers, that they would never abandon her.

Chapter Eleven

“Pity we can’t contact the commander from here,” commented Wat.

“Cliff’s too high and we can’t risk exposure out in the channel,” replied Kepp. He cast a look over his shoulder at Lira and Red asleep, clasped in each other’s arms.

After cleaning Red’s injury and gluing the edges of the wound together, he’d wrapped his friend in the blanket and ordered Lira to put on the extra pair of fatigues Wat had dug out of his gear bag. The man’s clothes hung on her but they were better than nothing. Kepp shoved her under the blanket and told them to warm up beneath the overhang. Looking at the two of them now, Kepp grinned. Both somehow managed to fall asleep despite their rocky bed and the cold wind blowing off the water. They looked cozy.

Kepp figured it the best way to keep Lira warm. He’d bunked with Red before in the middle of winter, and the man gave off a lot of heat. Kepp fought the temptation to crawl beneath the blanket to warm her himself. Red needed her body more than Kepp did right now. Kneeling beside the two, he checked his friend’s breathing. As if he sensed Kepp’s movements, Red opened his eyes and winked at his captain. “I’m all right,” he whispered. “A mild concussion, no more. I’ve been hit harder.”

Taking care not to disturb the woman, Red pulled his arm from beneath her and climbed out from under the blanket, tucking the loose edges around her. A soft sound of protest escaped her, but Lira’s eyes remained closed, and she snuggled deeper, burying her face into the lingering warmth. Red extricated his long limbs from the small cavern and joined his friends. The three men peered out over the channel, willing the sun to set faster.

“The other guards should have come looking for us by now,” said Wat. “Where are they?”

“Dead,” replied Red. “At least the two who attacked me are dead.”

“You took care of them?” asked Kepp.

“Uh-uh.” Red shook his head. “Her. I was out of it. When I came to, they were dead, and she was looking sick to her stomach. You know, that classic sick look you get the first time you find it necessary to kill a man.”

“She shoot ‘em?” asked Wat.

“No,” replied Red, “Kinji Watah.”

“She kicked them to death?” Wat was incredulous. “Two men with guns and knives?”

“Well, I guess a couple well-placed kicks were all she needed to incapacitate them. And it was them or me. She chose me.”

Kepp glanced back at the woman. He remembered how his heart had thudded to a stop when he saw her charge from the cavern and careen headlong into Speth. Her reckless courage nearly got her killed. Thank God he’d reached her in time. He wouldn’t have forgiven himself if Speth had raped her or, worse, drowned her. The asshole deserved what he got. “I doubt there was anyone else involved. This isn’t the kind of thing you want too many people knowing about. If there
was
anyone else involved, that fishing boat wouldn’t be waiting out there.”

Wat gestured toward the channel. “How long you think they’re gonna wait?”

Kepp took a deep breath and stretched. “I’m guessing they think there’s been an unexpected snag. Maybe they’ll wait until dawn, maybe not. I suspect the plan was to bring her to the fishing boat under the cover of darkness anyway. That’s what I’d do.”

“Then why not grab her at night?” asked Wat. “Why try to sneak her out of the compound in the afternoon?”

“Four men, plenty of time to kill until sunset. Use your imagination. Probably part of the deal they made with Regnan. Reimbursement for the risk they were taking.” Kepp picked up a rock and sent it flying across the sand.

“Why now?” asked Red. He stared out over the water, his chin resting on his knees.

“Regnan knows Battarq is after him. He’s looking at a firing squad for his treason. He figures he’ll disappear with the evidence and, when the time is right, use her as a bargaining chip, trade her life for his.”

“I’d like to get the fuck out of here,” grumbled Wat, “sooner rather than later. The sun’s halfway behind the mountains on the far shore. You think we can risk it?”

“Another half hour at least,” answered Kepp. “I’d rather err on the side of caution.”

“What happens when we get to Zhinshu?” asked Red. “If there are any Zealots over there, they won’t be too happy to see us. They might shoot first and ask questions later, and Lira’s wearing Khubuk army fatigues.”

Kepp pointed across the water. “See that promontory? You can just make it out, near the mouth where the channel opens up. We radio for help out in the channel and then we head for that point. I’m hoping Battarq can clear the red tape and get us airlifted out before we all end up dead. You’re right, Red, in the dark, nobody’s going to ask who’s who. They’ll just sort out the bodies in the morning.”

Chapter Twelve

Lira was lost in a dream of home. She stood on a balcony in her wing of the palace, a balcony that overlooked her personal gardens with their tall date palms and red hibiscus. Swans floated, carefree, below her in the blue waters of the spring-fed lake. The fragrance of frangipani drifted up to where she stood, and as the warm air rose, a hummingbird, his feathers an exquisite luminescent green in the sunlight, appeared before her. He hovered there, tiny wings beating so fast she couldn’t distinguish individual beats. The bird’s wings seemed to be keeping time to the rapid beat of her heart.

“Lira, wake up. It’s time to go.” She recognized the voice, it was Tanner. “Lira, sweetheart, wake up, we need to get moving.”

Yes, get moving. Seems like a good idea. Except I don’t think I can move
. Lira heard someone groan, and she realized it was her.
You are not a baby, and you will not be sick. Open your damn eyes.
She did. Tanner’s face loomed over hers. He seemed a bit blurred about the edges. Lira mustered a smile. “Yes, I’m trying,” she said, her throat burning, her voice hoarse. To show him she could move, she pulled an aching arm from beneath the blanket.

Tanner’s palm rested on her forehead then slid over her cheek. He stuck his hand under the blanket to touch her chest. His hand felt like he’d dipped it in ice water. “Shit. You’re burning up,” she heard him say.

“No,” she protested, attempting in vain to sit up, “I can move. We have to get out of here.”

“We’re getting out of here all right,” Kepp replied. “I’ll carry you to the zodiac.” Lira tried to stop him, but Kepp wrapped the blanket tight around her and maneuvered her out from beneath the low overhang. He lifted her in his arms. She felt limp as a dishrag. “C’mon, honey,” he said, “time to go.”

He strode across the rocky beach with her pressed against his broad chest. “She’s sick,” he said to Wat and Red, “burning with fever. We need to get the hell out of here, and with this piece of shit, underpowered electric motor, it’s going to take forever. Red…” He tossed her into the zodiac where Red caught her. “You hold onto her. Wat, what do you think our chances are of reaching that point if we drift with the current?”

Lira could feel herself grinning despite her aches and her fever.

“What are you grinning about, sickie?” asked Red.