Authors: Tracy St. John
Dr. Flencik shooed the princes out of
Zarl’s room an hour later, insisting the emperor needed rest.
Clajak and Egilka went without fuss, though Zarl made half-hearted
complaints about not being an invalid. The determined Dramok was
showing signs of his indomitable spirit again. Clajak thought if
Zarl could exist on pure will alone, it didn’t matter how battered
his body had become. It put an extra spring in his step as he and
Egilka headed for their shuttle.
That along with the knowledge that he
had his fathers’ leave to pursue Bevau as a clanmate gave Clajak a
sense that maybe, given time, life could be sweet again. He caught
a glimmer of hope and held fast to it.
Beneath his typical placid demeanor,
Egilka exhibited a few signs of excitement himself. They’d no
sooner gotten into their shuttle and flown out of the bay towards
home when he asked, “So. What’s the plan to convince
Bevau?”
Clajak gave him exaggerated wide eyes.
“I was hoping you had one.”
Egilka snorted. “Me? You’re the
charmer. I’m just a biologist, and a nerdy one at that.”
“Stop that. Nerds are adorable as well
as smart. Surely that amazing brain has cooked up a clever plot to
seduce our chosen Nobek.”
Egilka brayed a derisive laugh. “I’m
not charismatic in any sense of the word. Certainly not someone who
can convince Bevau I’m worth his while.”
Clajak’s temper sparked. He set the
shuttle controls on auto track and turned to glare at his Imdiko.
“Who the fuck ever told you that? I’ll pound his jaw to
dust.”
Egilka gave him an adoring smile that
made the Dramok’s heart beat faster. “Come on, Clajak. We know I’m
not the main attraction here.”
“Like hell. Handsome, smart,
honorable—”
“I remember you using the description
of ‘boring and standoffish’ in the not so distant past
too.”
Clajak’s hand itched to whack Egilka’s
bared rear. “You can add ‘unable to sit for a week’ if you don’t
shut up, because I’ll wear your ass out.”
Egilka smirked. “Is that supposed to be
a punishment?”
The Dramok’s eyes narrowed with real
threat. “You know I can make it one.”
Egilka said nothing. He just gave
Clajak a steady gaze, the hint of a smile playing about the corners
of his mouth.
Clajak sighed. He didn’t want to argue
with his clanmate. “My Imdiko, I admit I didn’t appreciate your
reliable instincts for a long time. Don’t think I haven’t kicked
myself over that.”
Egilka flushed with pleasure. “We both
know I’m a stick in the mud. But I can tell you appreciate me.
Thanks for getting behind those protective walls I tend to put
up.”
“You’re my stick in the mud, and I
wouldn’t change anything about you.” Clajak felt a rush of feeling,
more sentiment than he usually allowed himself. “My parents got it
right when they arranged you for my clanmate. I can never thank
them enough for that.”
Egilka turned bright red and ducked his
head. “There’s that charm. Bevau can’t help but be won over if you
turn it on him.”
“You have plenty of irresistible
appeal.” Clajak meant it. He grabbed Egilka’s hand and pressed it
to his lips.
A flustered smile spread over the
Imdiko’s face. “Okay, okay. You think I’m hot.”
“Smoking. Trust me, Bevau sees it too.”
Clajak saw hunger in the high commander’s eyes when Bevau looked at
Egilka. The Nobek had gotten past the barriers as well.
“So what do we do since he’s escaped
our ridiculous amount of magnetism so far?”
Clajak grinned and settled back in the
pilot’s seat, still holding Egilka’s hand. “We invite him over to
our place. We ask Bevau to be our Nobek, apply a little coercion,
and he stays.”
Egilka snorted. “Right. Just like
that.”
“Why not? We’ve had him over before.
It’s not a big deal to get him alone with us. Once we have him in
the suite, we subdue and keep him there.”
Egilka barked disbelieving laughter.
“Subdue Bevau? That man has proven plenty of times he can fend the
two of us off. That’s why it always ends up me and him against you
or you and him against me.”
Clajak crooked an eyebrow at his
clanmate. “How averse are you to getting your ass
kicked?”
“Pretty fucking averse.”
Clajak snickered. “Okay, let me put it
another way. Is Bevau worth a few bumps and bruises? He’ll defend
himself, but I don’t think he’d want to really hurt us.”
Egilka frowned, considering the
proposal. “Well ... I connect with him. I don’t know that I can say
I’m in love with him yet, but I think I might be falling for him.
There is something there that could grow into the same thing I feel
for you.”
“Stop thinking so hard, my Imdiko. I’m
in love with the thug, and I’m glad to admit it. Stop protecting
yourself and listen to what your heart says. Is clanning Bevau and
making him your lifemate worth a little risk?”
Egilka gave Clajak a glare, but he bit
his lip. He often did that when confronting the emotions that
worried him.
Putting one’s heart on the line was a
big deal, Clajak thought. Egilka losing his beloved sister Cyrt and
the break with his Imdiko father had taught him that long ago,
making him cautious at an early age. Clajak had at least the good
fortune to not learn the lesson before discovering that giving
one’s all to another was worth any future loss.
Thank you for being here
for as long as you were, my mother. Thank you for teaching me the
value of love. Not having you any longer hurts more than I thought
I could stand ... but I would not have traded one second of our
time together for anything. A single moment of your love was worth
all this pain. It really was.
He opened his mouth to tell Egilka that
when the Imdiko said, “I guess I can handle getting tossed around
by an angry Nobek. He’d better not break any bones though, or
you’ll be sleeping on the common room’s lounger for a long time.
What is your plan?”
Clajak grinned. “You’re going to love
this.”
Egilka groaned. “I know that
self-assured look you’re wearing. I already regret agreeing to
whatever scheme is in your head.”
“Why the regret if I look
self-assured?”
“Because that particular smile always
means trouble.”
* * * *
Bevau was not surprised when the
princes led him into their sleeping room. It had been a delight to
be invited over for a purely recreational visit, especially now
that Clajak looked more like his old self. Three weeks after his
mother’s death, the mischievous gleam had returned to his
eyes.
Not that Clajak was done with mourning
Irdis’ passing or the crippling of Zarl. Sadness often passed over
his handsome face for no discernable reason. He was a tad quicker
to show signs of irritability than he had been before. He was still
adamant that Zarl would return to full capacity as emperor. The
constant assertions were more a testament to the prince’s worries
about his own readiness to assume rulership than faith in his
father – at least that was what Bevau thought.
He could well understand Clajak’s
reluctance. The events of the tragedy had come with such suddenness
that the prince had not had a chance to acclimate himself to all it
might entail.
Yet it was clear that healing was
taking place. Bevau was glad to see it. He liked Clajak. Okay, if
he was honest with himself, he really liked Clajak. Maybe
more.
It was too bad Bevau wasn’t what the
Dramok needed, because he thought they’d make good clanmates. And
then there was Egilka...
Steady. Reliable. And beneath that
assured demeanor, a sweet vulnerability that begged for a strong
protector. The Nobek knew he’d been granted a special gift for
Egilka to have let him in enough to see that side. The aloofness
Egilka showed to most crumbled away when he was with Bevau. He
trusted the high commander.
Yes, they would make a good clan,
possibly a great one. The thought of the two princes with another
Nobek made Bevau’s temples pulse with jealousy. Yet what was he to
do? He couldn’t harm them by allowing them to court and perhaps
clan him. Especially not after the shitstorm of what had happened
to the Imperial Clan. It was impossible.
So why had he come when they’d called?
Why was he here now, indulging a pleasure that was not his to have?
Damn it, he wanted this. Clajak and Egilka were like a drug to
Bevau’s soul. He felt addicted, with no control over the urge to
have just one more trip.
With a mixture of hurt and pleasure, he
looked over his companions. The many mirrors lining the walls of
the sleeping room reflected innumerable Clajaks and Egilkas, an
army of temptation that Bevau couldn’t fight. Clajak’s gaze on him
was sharp, measuring, his roguish smile making heat swirl in
Bevau’s groin. Egilka looked uncertain, however. Come to think
about it, the Imdiko had been a little on edge since Bevau had
arrived, laughing too loudly over drinks, unable to stay still for
very long, keeping watchful eyes on Clajak.
Maybe the Dramok prince wasn’t doing as
well as Bevau had thought. Egilka worried about
something.
The Imdiko portion of Bevau, which
possessed a sense of great empathy, hurt for Clajak. The Dramok was
as handsome as ever, but there were lines on his face that hadn’t
been there before the loss of his mother. He might be through the
worst of it, but there was still a lot of sadness to
surmount.
In a rush of feeling, Bevau grabbed
Clajak by the arm and pulled him close. He held the other man tight
and kissed him hard. Clajak responded eagerly, his hands roaming
all over the Nobek’s body. What had been intended as a comforting
embrace soon became a passionate groping.
Bevau grabbed Clajak’s ass in both
hands, pressing him hard against his avid groin. He felt the prince
swelling with return lust. Clajak’s arms fumbled around Bevau,
pinning the Nobek’s upper arms to his body.
Egilka moved in from behind Bevau. The
Imdiko nibbled at the back of his neck, making the hairs on his
body rise as deliciously as his cocks. Bevau moaned into Clajak’s
mouth as Egilka kissed around the column of his neck. Hot, wet
warmth painted a collar around his throat.
Bevau’s senses swam with pleasure right
up until Egilka’s fangs sank into the side of his neck. He yelled
at the sudden pain, shoving Clajak. With instinctive speed, Bevau’s
arm whipped back, seizing Egilka’s ponytail to yank him
away.
Egilka growled against his skin,
wrapping his long arms around the Nobek’s waist and hanging on like
a burr. Clajak rushed back, trying to grab hold of Bevau’s other
arm.
He was too late. When pulling hair
didn’t work, Bevau wrapped his hand across Egilka’s forehead. He
dug his fingers and thumb into the Imdiko’s temples.
Egilka’s bite released and he jerked
away with a cry of pain. Before Bevau could grab him and assert
dominance, Clajak latched onto his arm. The Dramok bit, sending
another round of venom into the Nobek.
Bevau half-snarled, half-laughed at the
pair. “Oh, so you two think you can take me down, do
you?”
He was amused by the sport. Even when
Egilka shot forward and yanked Bevau’s trousers down to his ankles,
baring his leg for yet another bite, Bevau enjoyed the battle. He
decided to ignore Egilka for the moment since Clajak tended to be
the more dangerous of the two.
Bevau reached for Clajak, baring his
fangs to bite back. However, the Dramok watched for a counterattack
and darted away before he could be caught.
Panting and looking every bit as
enthralled by their struggle as Bevau, Clajak called, “Door, lock.
Let no one in or out without the leave of the Crown
Princes.”
Since Clajak was busy trying to trap
him within the room, Bevau went for Egilka. The first tendrils of
intoxication’s warmth floated in his head, but the Nobek wasn’t
worried. He wasn’t bowed by any stretch of the imagination. He
looked forward to teaching his naughty princes a lesson in thinking
they could overcome a battle-trained Nobek.
Yet as he twisted around to snag
Egilka, the Imdiko leapt back out of easy reach. He too had been
wary of being caught, ready to run away the moment Bevau came for
him. As the Nobek took a step towards him, Clajak jumped on his
back. He bit into Bevau’s neck.
Bevau roared, “Enough, or I’ll start
hurting you two!”
He grabbed for Clajak, but the Dramok
had already disengaged and flung himself away. The moment Bevau’s
attention left him, Egilka came in low to bite his leg again. He
injected maybe a second’s worth of venom before feinting away from
the yelling Nobek.
They’d gotten enough intoxicant in him
that it was affecting his reaction speed. As Bevau stared at
Egilka, he noted the lack of playfulness on the Imdiko’s face. This
was no game to the lean prince. For that matter, Clajak looked just
as businesslike in his intent.
They were serious about taking him
down. Bevau’s instincts said they weren’t looking to merely top him
during sex.