Paired Pursuit (8 page)

She caught a brief glimpse of the small dwelling as they led her farther inside. There was a living room with a comfortable couch, a kitchen, a bedroom with two king-sized beds. Gareth turned to light another candle while Finn began teasing her skirt down, interrupting his more functional movements with the occasional caress.

Although she knew this was no permanent residence, the place had a masculine feel with its dark tones and sparse, heavy-duty furniture. Patrice's place had been fairly bare as well, but there had been touches of decorations here and there, a hint of femininity this place lacked.

Her underwear fell to the floor as Finn tugged them over her thighs. Cool air washed over her sensitive parts as she stepped out of the garment, kicking it aside. She was trying her best to appear confident, but she was more nervous now than she had been on the train.

This is silly
, she snapped at herself.
I know what to expect now, and there won't be any pain this time. Unless…

Mari swallowed. There were two of them. Of course they would want to try
that
.

Even so, her trepidation dissipated as they both came to her, Finn standing in front, Gareth behind. Finn's bulge was as large as his brother's, and without really thinking, she reached to ease it by unzipping his fly. There was an echoing zip behind as Gareth undressed, and their jeans fell to the floor with twin
whumps
.

Her eyes widened. “Isn't it uncomfortable for men to go commando?”

“When you're rock hard, yeah,” Finn said with a grin. “We didn't take the time to get dressed properly after our showers earlier.”

Guilt prompted her to cast her gaze downward. “I'm sorry for running off.”

“You don't have to apologize,” Finn said. “We should have kept a better eye on you, made it clear we wanted to keep you with us.”

It would take some time to grow used to that, the feeling of being wanted. These men had gone after her with single-minded intensity, which didn't unnerve her so much as fill her with relief that someone else was taking charge for once. With an unfamiliar warmth in her chest, she gladly gave herself over to them, leaning back against Gareth as Finn pressed close. The tip of his erection rested against her, neither asking nor demanding as Gareth supported her weight with his arms around her. He pressed a series of teasing kisses to her neck as Finn bent to taste her mouth, tongue flicking against hers in a move that made her dizzy.

Gradually, Gareth removed his arms, so that she was supporting her own weight again. She made a sound of disapproval against Finn's lips as she heard the other man's footsteps recede. She needed him—needed them both. Otherwise, she was afraid the fragile almost-relationship they were building might disintegrate.

Moments later, she gasped as Gareth returned and slid something cool and rubbery between her thighs. Instinctively, she spread her legs, but shivered as he nudged it against her back passage. Although it was lubricated, she stiffened in involuntary protest.

“Relax against it,” Finn said. Without urgency, he cupped her sex, toying with her clit in a way that made her squirm.

“I—I'm trying.” She sucked in a breath as Gareth gently but insistently worked the toy inside her. He caressed her thighs when he was done, causing her to gasp and wriggle, then immediately freeze at the unfamiliar sensation of the plug inside her.

“Walk here to me,” Finn urged, backing across the room. His gaze followed her appreciatively as she complied, the plug sending tiny jolts of pleasure at each step.

“
So
sexy,” Gareth said, his voice roughened with passion. When she reached the bed, he sat at the foot of it, pulling her atop him. She squeaked at the falling sensation, but Gareth's strong hands kept hold of her, turning her so she was astride him, his cock pressing deliciously against her pussy. She couldn't help but give a little rub against him, then another, eyes glazing in pleasure. She felt so full with the plug inside her.

“That's it, honey, get yourself off.” Gareth's voice grew even rougher and his expression was avid as he watched.

He could easily have made her feel dirty, embarrassed, but all she detected in his attitude was lust, pure and simple. Her breath came in short pants as she thrust against him. She was nearly there, breath coming in short, uneven bursts—especially when Finn reached around to cup her breasts. She moaned as he stroked her nipples with movements that seemed to shoot fire right through her.

It was almost too intense, and she cried out when Gareth took hold of her hips and guided himself inside her. Closing her eyes, she shuddered in release, vaguely aware that the only sounds in the room originated from her as she whimpered in a sweet aftermath.

Gareth guided her forward so that she lay on his chest with him still inside her. Mari gasped as Finn withdrew the plug and stroked her anus, dabbing something cool and liquid back there. She tensed, and Gareth immediately rubbed her back.

“Easy, now. We'll take this slow.”

She had half expected Finn to get it over with in one swift movement, but he worked slowly, inserting two fingers and curving them so that she nearly jumped at the sensation. Meanwhile, Gareth tilted her head up for a kiss. By the time he let her up for air, Finn had graduated to three fingers.

“Relax now,” he told her, and she felt the tip of his cock press against her. Two sets of hands held her still as Finn eased inside. Mari hissed at the sudden sting—Finn was larger than the plug had been—but the pain began to ease. Both men remained motionless within her, waiting for her to adjust.

Her arms didn't seem to have enough strength in them to prop her up, but Gareth was more than willing to support her, which was a good thing since Finn began to move. Mari clenched the blankets in her hands, the powerful, concentrated pressure almost too much to take. The two men quickly hit their rhythm, and soon she was gasping, riding the edge again.

“That's it, Mari. Let go. Scream for us.”

She obeyed because she simply couldn't help it. The orgasm rattled her like a wolf shaking its prey, and she dug her fingers further into the blankets. Behind her, Finn groaned, driving hard into her as he spilled his seed.

When Finn withdrew, Gareth helped her into a sitting position, his cock jerking inside her as he neared his own completion. His green eyes bored into hers, the scar on his face barely visible in the golden candlelight. Mari knew her lips were parted, that her hair was a mess, but all she could focus on was Gareth.

His eyes never left hers as he released, letting out a deep sigh of pleasure. Mari thought she was too tired to respond, but she clenched against him in an involuntary response, a movement which seemed to heighten his pleasure, for he muttered an expletive.

“You all right, beautiful?” Finn lifted her off Gareth, gathering her close against his chest.

Mari managed a nod. “I—I don't think I can stand quite yet.”

“That's fine.” Finn took her into the adjacent bathroom, where the shower was already turned on. Although the water pressure wasn't great in Scar City, Mari was thankful for the warmth. When Gareth climbed in after them, the men braced her between them, soaping her liberally. She sighed, resting her cheek against Finn's chest, thoroughly sated.

By the end of the shower, she felt a little stronger—and smelled far more masculine than she expected. She toweled herself off and reached for her clothes as the men dried themselves. “Maybe I should lend you two some flowery soap for your shower. I smell like sandalwood now.”

“We won't be here long enough to appreciate it.” Gareth paused to spear her with a look. His damp black hair stood almost on end, lending him a rakish look. “Mari, this City's going to fall within the month at the very outside. I'd give it a week, maybe two, before there are serious problems here.”

Okay, she was going to need some time to process this. She shook her head, an automatic reflex against what her gut reaction told her was the truth. But it couldn't be—coming here was a move of desperation. Her father had even said so on his death bed, gripping her hand weakly as he tried his best to communicate, speaking through the haze of expensive, black-market medication. She'd helplessly memorized his last words, scrawling them down in a futile protest against death. During the last two days, he'd repeated the same thing over and over in a gradually weakening voice.

“Find it, daughter, before it's too late. Read the notes I left for you. Do what I should have done years ago. Then seek your own fortune—somewhere safe.”

Scar City had been the only logical choice. But she'd been thinking in terms of her own desperation, her own need for money, food and lodging. She had assumed that whatever her father had left behind in Scar City was valuable.

“So soon?” she blurted. She would give herself a week to find the hidden device before she had to get out. She wasn't stupid—but neither did she know where to go next. Mari felt as if a rug had been ripped out from under her feet.

“Given the state of those walls, yes,” Gareth said. He made no move to get dressed yet, instead leaning against the damp, tiled walls, staring at her with that hungry, possessive look of his. It made her want to chatter like a schoolgirl.

“So you'll head back to…” She trailed off, unsure which City they hailed from. Washington DC? Or perhaps Chicago, where the majority of the Twins had been…born or created or whatever they called it.

“Chicago,” Finn confirmed. He wrapped his towel around his waist, never taking his gaze off hers. “You'll be comfortable and safe at the Complex—that's where the majority of the Twins live. We'd like you to come back with us, Mari. I'm stating that up front in case you try to disappear again.”

“The scientists would allow me there?” Her thoughts whirled. Coming to Scar City had seemed like the only way to fix her life, the only way to get away from Tim. Now that was being taken away from her, what else could she do but throw herself on the mercy of the Twins?

Crawl back to Flagstaff City, beg for her old shipping crate back? Accept Tim's offer of marriage—if it still stood, given her lack of virginity? She rejected that immediately. Ugh.

Gareth pulled on a pair of boxers, his movements sharp, forceful. “
Allow
isn't the operative word here. The scientists should not run our lives. That's down to us.”

Mari pulled on her clothes, hoping she hadn't offended them. With the superhuman way the Twins had fought, she realized that the scientists who created them would no longer have the upper hand. Not in this day and age.

“We'll talk about this later,” Finn said with a glance at his brother that suggested they were also communicating telepathically.

“Damn straight we will.” Gareth jammed on his boots and straightened to look directly at Mari. “I hate the thought of being separated from you for even one night.”

“Do you always move this quickly with women?” Mari tried to keep it light. Gareth was simmering with pent-up rage. As far as she could tell, it wasn't directed at her, but she wasn't entirely sure what to say or do.

“We've never shared a woman before.” Gareth stopped en route to the door of the bedroom. “Like we said, we've never even been attracted to the same woman—before you. I'm going to go scout ahead, see if there's anyone else to fight in this godforsaken City.”

“He's right, you know.” Finn hooked an arm around her waist. He was shirtless, but the night air wasn't cold. “You're a first for us, and Gareth feels very strongly about protecting those he loves.”

“I'll be fine,” Mari said automatically. How many times had she told her father that? It seemed to reassure him every time. But the words didn't reassure Finn.

“You think so, but you can never be sure. Gareth and I lost someone special in the first flush of the Invasion, back before we knew the aliens' Achilles heel was sensitivity to UV light. She was a scientist, our foster-mother, a wonderful, ethical woman who…well, basically raised us as her own.”

Finn paused, looking out into the night as the howls of the aliens rose and fell. “She died rushing off to save her neighbors. Told Gareth and me she'd be back in an hour. By the time we followed, she'd been killed. By a goddamn human, in fact.”

Mari said nothing but reached out for him, letting her actions do all the talking. With her arm around his waist, they walked down the City streets until Finn suddenly stopped again.

“So you can see why we might not want to let you separate from us. Rationally, we know we can't smother you. Emotionally…yeah, that's a whole different ballgame. It takes a special woman to accept both of us. Losing you would be pretty damn tough, Mari.”

“I promise I'll be careful. I really like you guys too. It's just…we're moving so quickly, and I need to catch my breath.”

They passed the Wanderer Inn. More people had arrived at its downstairs gaming hall, and strains of loud rock music leaked into the night. Mari wondered if they cranked it up to drown out the howls of the aliens that sought their flesh. Perhaps they knew they were living on borrowed time. Perhaps not.

“I understand,” Finn said. “Let's get you to bed. We'll be there for you in the morning.”

Chapter Four

“You'll be all right out there?”
Finn sent.

“I'm fine.”
Gareth's reply was terse, curt. He was still seething—not at Mari, Finn knew, but at the world itself. Mari was staying in a clean, well-appointed house, but its only occupant was an elderly woman and her dog. They wouldn't be much protection for Mari if some junkie broke in, so the Twins had mutually agreed to watch over the house that night.

Gareth had taken Hailey's death particularly badly. He'd been the one to find their foster-mother's body, and his grief had been long, dark and deep. When they'd buried her in a grave outside Chicago's walls, he had left a simple cross behind, engraved with the word
Mom
.

In a way, his Twin had lost a part of his soul that day—the part of him that trusted. Finn hadn't seen Gareth truly trust someone since. He tended to hold people at arm's length, even the other Twins they considered part of their inner circle of friends.

Being privy to his brother's unguarded thoughts, Finn knew why, of course. Gareth couldn't be there for everyone, couldn't guarantee his protection by controlling their every movement. With Finn, that was fine, since they were never apart.

With Mari, however…

“You know you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink, right?”

Gareth's reply was long in coming.
“Yeah. But you can sit there with a water pail and make damn sure they don't dehydrate.”

Finn pulled back, shielding his thoughts once again. It had been a tense day. He was glad they'd found Mari when they did, because Gareth was spoiling for a fight. The man sleazing over her back in the gaming hall had gotten off lightly.

Besides, they'd run Mari's name through several of the government databases. They hadn't found anything—until Gareth suggested they try spelling her name with an
i
. That had narrowed the list significantly, bringing up one Marisol Aquino, only daughter of Jorge Aquino, the scientist they sought. So
that
was what she'd been trying to hide.

Not that Finn blamed her for keeping quiet. Likely, she was scared stiff, and her father's death was recent. Still, they would have to have a little chat at some point, talk the situation over.

“They didn't bargain for this,”
Gareth suddenly sent.

“What? The scientists?”
Finn tried to follow his Twin's thoughts.

“Yeah. When they laid out our DNA, what the fuck were they expecting? That we would be simple machines to go fight their wars?”

“I don't know. Hailey said the alien ships were spotted from the largest observatories shortly after the turn of the century. That gave them almost forty years to prepare. Creating us was part of that preparation, except nationalism, politics and corporate greed got in the way.”

“As always. Did our creators expect us to
need
the same woman?”
Gareth's mindvoice was bitter.

“I don't know. Hailey did mention something about us responding strongly to certain pheromones.”
Finn stared into the darkness from his bed, trying to recall the women he'd been attracted to prior to Mari. None of them even remotely compared, and none of them had been attractive to Gareth either. They'd all been quick, short fucks, easy flings that ended on mutually amicable terms.

Hell, Mari probably wasn't the
only
woman in the world whose pheromones called to them both. Finding a woman who both turned them on
and
accepted them hadn't been easy, and with the human population so whittled down, Finn knew the pool of candidates had shrunk drastically.

They'd both been drawn to Mari the moment she stepped into the train. Finn had immediately wanted to crawl between her legs, bury his nose there and prove that she smelled and tasted as sweet as she looked. To his utter surprise, Gareth had much the same thought. When she'd fallen from her seat, it had provided the perfect excuse to dote upon her, making sure she didn't take another nasty tumble. Despite her sensible demeanor, Mari possessed a sweet gentleness that he never wanted to see tarnished.

“I don't want it tarnished either,”
Gareth sent.
“That means getting her the hell out of here as soon as possible.”

“That means convincing her to come. And finding Dr. Aquino's device.”

There was a pause.
“Gotta break the news to Mari that we know who she is. Why do you think she didn't trust us?”

“Don't know. It's something we ought to take slowly and carefully, though. She has no living family members, she said, so Jorge Aquino is dead. Looks like that was recent enough to cause her serious grief. Maybe that's why she didn't mention it.”

Finn closed his eyes. They would need to get cracking on their mission, given their lack of time. Although he doubted Dr. Aquino had discovered anything groundbreaking, apparently the man had contacted the Complex to report that he'd found an interesting alien device, something he deemed important. Then he'd disappeared off the radar.

To Flagstaff City, apparently, where he'd raised his daughter. After they'd found Mari's name in the database, Finn had sent off for more information, and the idiot powers-that-be had unearthed the fact that Dr. Aquino's wife, Mari's mother, had died of cancer in Flagstaff about seven years ago. Why they couldn't have found that information before sending them away from the Complex, he didn't know.

In any case, it was a fortuitous coincidence that they'd run into Mari on the train. Their previous visits to Scar City had been utterly fruitless, but maybe they could coax a lead out of Mari.

“Not that much of a coincidence,”
Gareth interjected.
“I mean, yes, it's a stroke of luck, but we've spent a lot of time going back and forth from the Complex to this City. There aren't that many trains routed through Flagstaff, and the world's population isn't near what it used to be. So if you ran the probabilities—”

“All right, point taken. I'm still glad we ran into her.”

“I don't disagree with you.”

Finn lapsed into silence, eyes still closed. Train tickets were expensive. How much had it cost the government to send them to this City?

“All that money spent on defense, and we couldn't fucking find a cure for cancer.”

“Stop reading my thoughts and let me catch some sleep,”
Finn sent.

His brother complied, and Finn fell into a fitful doze, waking four hours later. Fully rested and energized, he dressed himself and went to relieve Gareth.

“I don't need you to spell me.” His brother looked up as he approached. He sat on an overturned bucket across from Mari's front door, watching and waiting.

“She's asleep now,” Finn pointed out. “You might as well sleep while she's sleeping.”

“You'll wake me when she does, then.” His tone brooked no argument, and he stood only reluctantly. “Goddamn. I don't think I'll relax until we're out of here.”

“Neither will I.” Finn settled in to wait. He'd long since mastered the art of entertaining himself during long stretches of downtime. Concealed in the shadows, he watched the streets of Scar City. Its denizens were mostly asleep, although there were more than a handful of hardcore junkies who called this City home—mainly Turquoise addicts who huffed the blue-green, chemically manufactured powder.

Turquoise was cheap, once you had the facilities to make it, and the stuff was apparently hard to overdose on. Out here, there seemed to be a never-ending supply of it. Turq tended to make people boisterous, active, with an aggressive edge. Not an environment he wanted his woman to stay in.

He frowned into the darkness.
My woman?
Yet the words felt right, despite their short acquaintance. Even now, so soon after taking her, he wanted her again.

His cock was stirring to life again at the mere thought of sex with Mari. He'd thoroughly enjoyed taking her ass last night, gentling past her initial resistance until she actually screamed with release. Finn sighed, shifting atop his perch so his erection didn't strain against his jeans quite so much. He wished he could go into the house now, find her room, and kiss her until she woke up.

He gave himself a mental shake, running a hand through his short black hair. He'd accused Gareth of moving quickly—what was he thinking? Hell, they hadn't even discussed rules. Were there rules in this situation? He'd never considered discussing this with the one pair of Twins they knew with a wife. They would have to have a chat once they got back to Chicago.

As dawn approached, the howls of the aliens dissipated, leaving a brief, eerie silence. Then a pair of roosters began to crow, making Finn smile. As a boy, he'd often wished he could live in the country instead of at the Complex. After the Invasion, the country came to him, in a way.

The Complex, once full of state-of-the-art technology, now boasted a roof garden and greenhouses—once used for experiments—chock-f of crops. The courtyard housed goats, who were built-in lawnmowers and also their source of milk. Chickens roamed freely.

Mari would like it there, he thought. As their openly acknowledged woman—wife, if she wanted it—she would be a trailblazer of sorts, but she could handle that. She was strong, resilient.

“And if the scientists tell us we cannot have her?”

“Gareth, you've only been asleep three hours.”

“I'm perfectly rested. Seriously—you know how some of the scientists have frowned upon what Mitch and Jake have going on with Arianna. The way they push birth control on everyone makes me think they want to continue to control
us
.”

“It's been two days since we met her. Let's slow down a little, take things one issue at a time.”

Gareth sent the mental equivalent of a huff, and Finn tried not to smile. In all honesty, he was ecstatic that Gareth was coming out of his shell, showing affection and real interest in something other than pure survival or fighting aliens.

In the back of his mind, he was aware that his brother was on the move. Judging by the uppermost thoughts in his head, he was searching for breakfast. Stretching, Finn rose from his seat and began to pace the alleyway, limbering up his muscles as the sun spilled golden across the decaying City. On his tenth lap, Gareth appeared, clutching a bag of food, and Finn raised his eyebrows at the delectable smell. Freshly baked pastries?

“Who'd you kill to get that?” he asked.

“I found a little bakery of sorts on my way here. Bought every muffin they had. Stupid expensive, but the smell got me just right.” Gareth glanced toward the door of the house they'd been watching over all night.

“Hope she doesn't like to sleep in,” Finn said.

“I hope she does. Then we'd have an excuse to hand-feed her muffins in bed.”

“Way too messy.” Finn gave his Twin a sidelong look as they approached the door. He'd have to get it through Gareth's head that Mari needed
some
freedom, at least.

Finn rapped on the door, and a low growl sounded behind the wood, followed by a bark. He met Gareth's eyes in wry approval. They'd both been tacitly wondering how the elderly woman, Patrice, had managed to live alone in this City. A good guard dog, however, would put off all but the most desperate junkie.

There was a shuffling behind the door, an eye pressed to the peephole, and a long pause. Then: “If you're looking to kill Barks, you're in the wrong place.”

Finn quelled Gareth with a nudge. His brother didn't do diplomacy, but Finn put on his most charming smile. He held the bag in front of the peephole. “We brought some muffins for Mari.”

“Huh. Muffins?”

“Yeah, I think we got too many. Might need help eating them.”

Chains rattled, and the door cracked open. “How much help?”

“Lots.” Finn increased the wattage of his smile. “You don't need the gun, lady.”

“I might do, if you don't behave.”

“Depends on what you mean by that.” Even Gareth smiled now.

Patrice snorted, pushing the door all the way open. She was on the short side, five foot four or so, but she looked as if she'd brook no nonsense. Tightly curled gray hair crowned her head. Her face was wrinkled and dark as a prune.

Setting the butt of her rifle down, she regarded them. “I wouldn't be allowing you in if I hadn't seen the expression on her face yesterday. When you were passing by in the road, she wasn't afraid of you. In fact, she looked wistful, like she kinda wished you'd seen her duckin' down behind my rocking chair.”

“Wistful?” Finn asked.

“Yep, I'd say so.” She took hold of her dog's collar and led him to a blanket in the corner. “Down, Tank. Stay.”

The Rottweiler complied but kept his eyes trained on the Twins. Gareth gave him a once-over. “Good guard dog. Barked once but didn't keep yapping once you knew we were here.”

“I used to be a trainer. Most of my dogs had Schutzhund titles.” Patrice gestured toward the kitchen table. “Tank is my last. He more than earns his keep, but it's slim pickings for humans, let alone dogs.”

Finn could see that. Patrice's arms were bonier than they should be. It hadn't been easy for the remaining humans to survive once most of the ready sources of food had been looted. Still wasn't easy, even though people were adapting.

“So you kept your dogs through the Invasion and its aftermath,” Gareth commented.
“A fine woman,”
he sent.
“Clearly she feeds him better than she does herself, though
.
”

“Yep. Tank was part of my very last litter—my last remaining bitch produced two pups. I kept Tank and sold the other to a friend.”