Chapter 5

Long after the rest of the crew retreats to their rooms for the night, Fadai, Yossul, and I stay behind, staring at the maps on the council table and trying to figure out the best way to do this. We go over the Pearl City blueprints, guessing where a hangar big enough to house a starship may have been built. Judging by the square mileage alone, the thing would need the equivalent of an entire neighborhood for a hangar.

“It could be here,” Yossul says, pointing at a western square surrounded by university buildings. “It’s not big enough, but if they tore down this entire section, it might do.”

It’s past midnight, and my eyes feel tired. My heart stings with the grief and the scars of recent events. In human-on-human combat, there was never the concern that I might be abducted and forced to carry Sunnaite hybrid babies to term. I only feared death.

The Kreek brothers have done a remarkable job of watching my back over the past six years, but I worry that Cynthia may be right. My luck will run out, and those last couple of skirmishes have proven that much. The Sky Tribe mercenaries got too close for comfort each time, and it threw me for a loop.

“Jewel?” Yossul asks, noticing my gaze wandering away from the table.

“I’m sorry,” I reply with a weak smile. “I’m tired.”

“There’s more to it,” he says. “You’ve been like this since Ruby City. What’s wrong?”

Do I lie, or do I abandon my defenses and simply tell the truth? I’ve lied before, and they never bought it. They both know me too well. I can’t fool them anymore. I can’t brush anything under the rug. Yossul and Fadai won’t let me.

Besides, they deserve better. If we’re about to walk into some sort of deadly situation in Pearl City, I owe it to them and to myself, to tell the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it may feel.

“I’m scared,” I say, my voice uneven with angst. “Twice now, I was almost taken by Sky Tribe fighters. I’m either losing my touch, or they’re getting craftier. I’m not sure which, but I’ll admit I’m scared.”

Yossul and Fadai stare at me for a while. I see disbelief in their shimmering red eyes. They’re not used to seeing the vulnerable side of me. Granted, I’m also wearing one of Cynthia’s summery dresses since we only had the clothes on our backs when we returned to Sapphire City—and it’s making me feel a lot more feminine than my usual shorts and tees.

I not only feel a lot more feminine but also a lot more sensitive. No, that’s silly. It’s just my emotions getting the better of me. The fact that Fadai and I shared a moment the other night isn’t helping, either. I’ve lost my defenses. For heaven”s sake, I should stop resisting my own desire. It’s practically torture.

“We won’t let anyone take you from us,” Yossul finally says, straightening his back as he turns away from the table to face me. “Jewel, we’ve been your guardians for six years. We’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”

“Have we not proven ourselves already?” Fadai asks.

I nod slowly. “My fear is not a reflection of your capabilities,” I reply. “It’s just… I think it’s war fatigue. I think it’s finally settling in, and it’s affecting my reason.”

“You were almost captured in the last two fights, it’s true,” Yossul says. “I suppose you were reminded of how truly vulnerable you really are, regardless of your own composure, of your own resolve.”

“No woman should ever have to feel this way,” I mutter, looking away for a moment. “My heart breaks for every woman out there who’s in fear for her life, for her freedom.”

“But you’re not every woman,” Yossul says and takes a step forward. Jewel, you have us—as protectors, friends, partners, and men. You have us.”

I feel my gaze being pulled in his direction. Fadai shifts slowly to stand beside him, and they’re both so close to me that I can smell their spicy cologne, their scent of pure wilderness, the raw whiff of the men they truly are. The men I have.

We look at each other for a while, my skin catching fire as I realize this is my turning point. My one and only chance to take what I’ve been offered.

What if we die in Pearl City?

Can I really go on fighting this war without ever knowing what it’s like to be with two incredible men like Yossul and Fadai? I’ve been fawning over them for years, secretly yearning for them to claim me, to make me theirs, and here they are, making themselves mine first.

“And you have me,” I say, and it feels as though a titanic weight has just been lifted off my shoulders. “You both have me.”

Fadai’s eyebrows arch upward, his lips slowly curling in the same direction. “What are you saying, Jewel?”

“I’m saying we may not survive this, and I’m done fighting my own body, my own soul,” I reply with a heavy sigh. “I’m yours.”

“Jewel, are you sure?” Yossul asks me.

“I don’t think I’ve been more sure of anything in my entire life,” I reply, then move away from them and leave the grand hall, heading straight for my room. They know what’s going to happen next and judging by the quick sound of their footsteps behind me, they’re coming.

As soon as I walk into my room, I whirl around to find Yossul and Fadai stalking toward me—tall, dark, and handsome devils, lust simmering in their eyes as the door closes behind them with a definitive thud. This has been a long time coming, and I can no longer resist it.

With trembling hands, I peel the dress off my shoulders and let it fall to the floor. I stand naked and wanting before them.

“For fuck’s sake, Jewel,” Yossul groans, halfway out of his shirt. His bare chest is covered with fine scars, old injuries sustained during our previous hostile engagements. But they look beautiful to me, especially as they stretch across layers of rippling pectorals and ropes of tight abs. “Come here.”

I obey, smiling softly as I look up.

He kisses me. Hungrily. Ravenously. Desperately. I welcome his tongue over mine, his lips crushing mine as he consumes me, arms wrapping tightly around my waist. Fadai growls as he comes closer, fingers trailing up my spine. He gets behind me, his erection firmly wedged between my buttocks. I didn’t even register the moment when their clothes joined my dress on the floor, but this is it. The point of no return.

Passion explodes between us as Fadai bites my shoulder. Yossul torments me with deep kisses, lips, and tongue teasing and exploring every inch of my skin. The night whispers beyond the wide-open windows, a gentle breeze sneaking into the room along with the milky rays of Sunna’s sister moons.

I doubt we’ll have another night like this again, a night so warm and tranquil that no one and nothing can get between us.

Yossul takes hold of my breasts, kneading my flesh as his fangs graze the side of my neck. Every nip has my breath fracturing more and more while his fingers pinch my nipples tighter until I whimper and let my head fall back.

Fadai’s shoulder is there for me, his muscular frame giving me warmth and refuge while his hands travel down my sides, fingers digging into my flesh before they make their way around to the front.

“It’ll never be the same again,” Yossul warns me.

“It can’t be,” I whisper, then lick his lower lip. “I’m yours tonight.”

We all know it’s not just for tonight, but that’s a small white lie we can live with.

“You are ours for life,” Yossul says. A second later, he dives down and takes a nipple in his mouth. My legs part slowly while I let my fingers explore his big, rock-hard shoulders.

“My, my, you’re ready for us,” Fadai whispers in my ear and nibbles on the lobe in a playful manner as his hand slips between my legs, fingers quick to explore my wet folds.

He’s right. My clit is already swollen as liquid heat pools and trickles down the inside of my thighs. Yossul shifts his focus between my nipples, suckling and biting each until I’m whimpering, aching for more. Fadai’s cock feels huge, a long and monstrously thick thing deftly probing my entrance from behind.

“I need you inside me,” I say to him.

“Not yet,” Yossul replies and drops to his knees.

I barely have a second’s worth to take one last deep breath before he devours my pussy. Unlike Fadai, Yossul is a merciless beast, and I love it just as much. He eats me whole; he licks and bites and sucks on my slick folds, teasing my clit until I find myself falling over the edge.

“AH!” I cry out. Fadai holds me close, grabbing and squeezing my breasts. “More… I need more.”

I manage to glance down, my gaze locked on Yossul’s as he captures my clit between his lips and applies enough pressure with his tongue to break me apart into a trillion little pieces. I come hard against his mouth, my pussy rippling in endless incandescent waves as he licks every drop of liquid desire flowing out of me.

“Bend over, baby,” I hear Fadai behind me.

I happily oblige, just in time for him to bury his cock so deep inside my body that I lose my footing for a moment. Yossul shoots up and catches me, but it’s a delicious trap as he slides into my mouth. I’m breathless and still shuddering from one crippling orgasm while my men fuck me both ways.

Yossul is a gargantuan beast; my lips stretched beyond belief as I work hard to take all of him in. He slides down my throat quite easily, to my surprise, and I revel in the sensation while Fadai holds me firmly by the hips and rams into me.

I’m filled to the brim, each thrust expanding my senses and setting my body on fire. My muscles are taut as I somehow maintain my position.

“Oh, you taste like fucking sweetness,” I manage in between deep-throating gurgles as Yossul lovingly caresses my face and fucks my mouth with slow and deliberate movements.

Fadai goes deeper, faster, harder while his hand moves around and takes hold of my clit. He knows what I want. He has already read my mind, and I’m about to lose it completely. The nerves are raw and clustered tightly together, the skin slick and tender. Every flick of his deft finger causes a sparkling sensation that shoots all the way up into my core.

“HARDER!” I scream. And boy, do they oblige.

The Kreek brothers are strong and relentless. They do not take prisoners, and they sure know how to make a woman theirs in every possible sense of the word.

“Do you feel our bond, Jewel?” Yossul asks, his powerful frame casting a heavy shadow over me as I take him, gladly, deeper down my throat. All I can do is blink, tears of joy and ecstasy streaming down my cheeks while Fadai comes hard, spilling his seed in the warmth of my womb.

I feel it, yes.

I have felt it for years, throbbing in my rib cage, beckoning me to close the gap between us. Alas, my pride and my determination to win the war have kept me from something incredible. I see it now. I see it so vividly.

We’ve been missing out.

This whole time, we’ve been missing out on the single most precious connection mortals like us will ever get to experience. Never again, I tell myself as I swallow Yossul, as I feel the veins along his thick shaft pulsating with his climactic release.

Never again will I let anyone or anything keep me from them, just as I know that never again will they let anyone or anything keep them from me.

The night is still young.

We have so much catching up to do.