Marked for Danger (14 page)
"Oh?” Leo frowned. “How do you figure?"
Xandros glared at him. “I let it fuck me up, didn't I? I stopped trying to go home. I gave up looking for you and Carina, believed the rumors that you'd cut out and left me.” His chest ached. “I went right over the edge, selling to the highest bidder, taking any bounty that had the highest price. I didn't give a shit who paid me."
Leo reached out and put a hand on Xandros's shoulder. “You survived."
"And I'm still lost.” Xandros stepped away from Leo's touch. “You didn't kill me. I guess I'm grateful."
The silence that filled the room was oppressive. Leo remained quiet for a full two minutes. Finally, he said, “Do you want to go home, Xandros?"
"Yes, damn it. I want my life back.” He turned his back, his emotions rolling through him like a tidal wave. The things he wanted were impossible. A home, his future, a life. He'd sold those things, tossed them away, buried them under his broken dreams and overwhelming hurt. He pretended he didn't care, just as he'd pretended it didn't matter that his father was a broken traitor. But he did care. He loved Nylar deeply and wanted his citizenship back.
"Then let me help you,” Leo said softly.
Xandros couldn't believe what he was hearing. He whirled around and stared at Leo. “Why the hell would you help me?"
"Because you were—
are
—my friend."
Xandros's throat closed, and he stared at this man who had been the closest thing to a brother he'd ever had. “Leo, I'm damaged goods.” He stopped. Carina had said those very words, and Xandros had rejected them. Could he find some semblance of redemption?
His stomach rolled. He knew what it would take to be reinstated into Nyral society. Submission. He couldn't do it. Not after what the TIF had done to him. They'd demanded his submission, and he wouldn't give it. He'd almost died rather than give them the satisfaction of breaking him.
Leo took another step until he was so close Xandros could smell him, feel heat rolling off his skin. “I owe you the chance to come back."
Xandros blinked. “What do you mean?"
"I can vouch for you at the council, but you know what you have to do.” Leo's voice was calm, almost soothing.
"I can't,” Xandros said hoarsely. “I can't do it.” He stumbled backward, his feet tripping faster than his brain.
Leo hadn't moved.
The door opened, and Xandros panicked. He drew his sword, ready to slice anyone who came in. For an instant, he was back there, in that prison. He could even smell the damp walls, the molding stone caverns where they threw him after they'd fucked him until he bled. There was no way he would ever kneel in front of another man. Ever.
"What the fuck is going on?” Shaun's voice vibrated with anger.
"I made Xandros an offer,” Leo said quietly. “I still make that offer."
Xandros couldn't breathe, couldn't move. The drumbeat of his choices thrummed in tune to his heart.
Get fucked and go home or run and be alone
. That was the choice.
Behind Shaun, Carina and Princess Sera had entered the practice room. He swallowed. It all came back. Eyes watching. Men laughing. The constant humiliation.
They seemed far away when Carina spoke. “Xandros?” The concern in her gaze helped ground him, but he was sliding into the past, into insanity.
"It's a panic attack,” the princess said. Her voice seemed miles away. “Carina, you'll have to help him."
Slowly, Carina approached him. She placed her hand on his. He gripped the sword pommel even harder. “Xandros?” She stepped closer. “I'm here, Xandros. I'm here."
When his panicked gaze met hers, his mind cleared. The blood-soaked floor of the cave disappeared; the grunts of the soldiers and the smell of filth faded. If he wanted a chance to clean the slate—with Leo, with Carina, with Nylar—he had to surrender to what Leo needed to do. He lowered the sword.
He sheathed his weapon and took Carina's hand. Still clinging to her, he met Leo's stare and slowly dropped to one knee. And then the other.
Carina gripped his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. “You don't have to do this,” she said, her voice tight and high. “I don't care about the stupid Nyral council. There's only you and me. They don't matter."
He pressed her hands to his mouth. “But I need to do this for you, to feel like I have a chance to be with you.” He buried his forehead in her torso, soaking up her warmth. “I want to be whole, Carina. I can't be if I'm afraid to allow Leo to dominate me."
"It's different for you,” she insisted. “You were innocent. The council has no right to demand—"
He interrupted her. “I have to face this.” His heart thundered in his chest. Since his incarceration, he'd never let a man fuck him. Never. He was the dominant. The idea of trusting another man like that seemed impossible. But to heal, he had to let Leo do it. He shuddered, and then Carina fell to her knees to kiss him.
"Then I'll face it with you."
He kissed her with every ounce of love he'd come to have for her. They weren't children anymore, their innocence stolen, but what they'd built was stronger than what had been destroyed. She clung to him, trembling in his arms.
Gently, he broke the kiss and brushed a stray hair away from her forehead. Then he tipped his head up to stare at Leo. “Do whatever you have to do,” he said.
He was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. On his knees, Xandros was a stone wall of flesh and need. His black hair just brushed his shoulders, sweat still beaded on his skin from his workout. He had removed his shirt and wore only a pair of soft workout pants. Carina's lips tingled from his kiss, and she longed to show him how she felt.
"You understand what this means?” Leo's expression was stern.
"I'll always be your submissive.” He shot a glance at Carina. “But I'll always be your Dominant, machinka, never fear."
She allowed a secret smile. She brushed his lips with hers and rose to her feet. “Whatever it means, my love, I am yours."
Leo gripped the back of Xandros's neck. “I will be your Master, Xandros Jasper. And the council will take you back.” With his hand on Xandros, he yanked the drawstring of his sweats. He dropped his pants and lifted his gaze. “But as well as satisfying the council, we will take care of some unfinished business.” His stare focused on Shaun. “Get over here, Shaun."
Xandros's head snapped up and strained against Leo's hold. Grim determination tightened Leo's mouth. “I'm aware that Shaun has been less than honest with us."
Fascinated, Carina stared at a muscle in Shaun's jaw that jumped and clenched, the only evidence of a response. His wooden expression gave nothing away. “Leo—"
"Master Leo,” Leo snapped.
Shaun's hazel eyes narrowed slightly. “I haven't lied to you."
One of Leo's eyebrows shot up. “Oh? Just when were you going to tell me that you and my sister-in-law had been lovers."
Carina glared at Leo. “I wouldn't call us lovers. We...used each other."
Xandros, still on his knees, gripped Carina's arm. “Let Leo handle this, machinka."
"Shaun,” Leo said firmly. “You carry my brand. You're my responsibility. And yet, I can't do my job if you don't tell me what's going on.” He waved his hand toward Carina and Xandros. “You've got unfinished business with them."
Them. Leo said them. She glanced down at Xandros, and he looked almost guilty. What was between these two men?
Shaun stepped forward and stopped at Leo's left, his gaze lowered, his hands clenched. “I made a pledge to you."
"What does that have to do with it?” Leo snapped, his eyes narrowed, and his body tensed. He was like the Primarian soldier he'd been forced to be all those years as he sought to end the Brotherhood's hold over them.
"Everything. Those men—” Shaun shot a glance at Xandros and pressed his lips closed.
Leo's features softened. “You're wondering too."
Shaun stiffened. “I'm not questioning you."
"But you want to know what the two men mean to Sera and I.” Leo was insistent.
"They have some hold over you,” Shaun blurted the words out, his gaze finally meeting Leo's. What Carina saw in Shaun's tortured face made her heart clench. The adoration the man had for Leo was intense and almost painful to watch.
"Only as part of the prophecy, Shaun,” Leo said calmly.
Sera linked her arm through Shaun's. “We would not deceive you. We care about you, Shaun."
"But I thought—” Confusion swirled in his gaze, and his forehead wrinkled. “Why didn't you stop me from going after Xandros?"
The princess squeezed his arm. “Because we thought you were looking for Carina.” She smiled at Carina. “We had no idea that fate would step in.” Her gaze swerved to Shaun. “And we didn't know you would want Xandros."
Shaun sucked in a breath and closed his eyes. “Princess,” he said with a sigh.
Her hand reached up and turned his face toward hers. “We want you to be free, Shaun. Even from us."
Shaun's features tightened, and he swallowed. “I don't want to be free."
"Why?” Leo asked. “Are you afraid?"
"Master—” Shaun tried to pull away, but Sera held him still, and Leo reached out with a free hand and gripped his neck.
"I didn't mark you to chain you to me. Just as I won't tie Xandros to me. But you will wear our mark, and as long as you do, we are connected.” Leo's thumb slid over the curve of Shaun's throat. “But you are not my slave."
Shaun shot a glance at Xandros. “I felt...drawn to him. I knew who he was.” His hazel eyes were dark when he stared at Carina. “She dreamed of him. Many nights, after she and I had fucked ourselves to exhaustion, trying to burn the memories of what we were out of our minds, she called out his name."
Carina's lips trembled. “I'm so sorry,” she whispered. She'd never meant to hurt Shaun, to make him feel unimportant. Those nights in his arms had been her safe harbor, even though she believed he would betray her in heartbeat.
But in the end, she had betrayed him to Leo, causing the failure that ended in Mira's death. “It was my fault, Shaun. I didn't think, because I wanted it to be over. I wanted to get close enough to kill the leader."
"They weren't going to kill her, Rina,” he said, his eyes closed in pain. “Rape her, yes. But they killed her because Challah armed her, gave my sister a knife. And Mira wouldn't let them rape her to manipulate me again.” He pressed his hands against his eyes.
Carina started forward and found Xandros moving to comfort Shaun too. Together, they placed their hands on him. Leo's hand curled around Shaun's throat, and Princess Sera held his arm, her other hand curved in his hair.
The four of them surrounded him, comforted him, and dry sobs shook Shaun's large frame. Leo's mouth pressed against Shaun's mouth, and Sera's lips brushed his neck. Then Xandros placed his mouth on the opposite side of Shaun's neck, and Carina leaned in to kiss his shoulder.
Electricity sparked between them, a musky scent of arousal burning Carina's nose. Leo leaned back and stared at Shaun. “Together, we will mark Xandros."
Shaun's pupils were dilated. “You don't need me for that."
"Yes, I do. To free you both."
Shaun and Xandros stared at each other, and Carina almost gasped at the heat that flowed between them.
Leo's lopsided smile made Carina grin in return. “Think of this as a ceremony and I'm the director."
He stepped back and walked to the wall. When he pressed several buttons on a console by the door, a small compartment in the wall opened. He removed several items and Carina stared.
Leo produced a strap-on dildo, lube, and rope. He handed the strap-on to Princess Sera, and the woman's smile made Carina's heart pound in her throat. Leo held up the rope and stared at Shaun. “This is because I know you don't go down easy."
Shaun's gaze narrowed. “You're tying me up?"
"Yes."
Shaun crouched. “No."
The ensuing battle made Carina's pussy throb with need. Leo circled Shaun, much like Xandros had circled Carina that night in the club. She pressed closer to Xandros, those feelings coming back to her now.
Xandros slipped his hand along the outside of her flight suit and rubbed his fingers against her pussy. Her head dropped back, and she pressed her hand over his. A sharp slap against the back of her hand made her snatch her fingers away, and she jerked her eyes open. Xandros hissed and shook his hand.
The princess held a crop in her hand and glared at them. “Behave yourselves."
Leo had Shaun tied up and on his back, his pants thrown in the corner and his shirt shredded into strips. Leo had used two rings in the floor at the edge of the workout mat and knotted the ropes that held Shaun's wrists, his arms splayed out.
"Put on the strap-on, Sera.” Leo sat on Shaun's lap, his fingers sliding lightly over the bound man's dick.
As Princess Sera cinched the belt and positioned the dildo, Leo's gaze met Carina's. “Carina, take your clothes off and lie down there."
She hesitated and bit her lip.
Xandros began to undo the zipper on her flight suit. “Do what he says, machinka."
She shrugged out of her clothes and thrilled at the way Xandros's breath caught and his cock stood proud against his pants. Her mark burned, and she cupped her hand over it to cool it, but it wouldn't subside. The fire was within.
When she lay down on the floor, she faced Leo, lined up with Shaun. Even then, she didn't know what Leo planned. Anticipation streaked through her veins.
"Xandros, strip and come here,” Leo ordered.
Carina watched, her mouth suddenly dry as Xandros removed his clothes. Stars, the man was sexy. She licked her lips and took a deep breath. Her pussy pulsed with need, and she had to force herself to remain still.
As Xandros strode toward Leo, he kept his gaze on her, his stare leaving a trail of fire as he perused her from her head to her toes.
"Sera, my love, I want you fuck Carina,” Leo said, his voice gritty and low. “I want her to come as many times as you can make her come. Don't stop until I order you to."
It wasn't like Xandros didn't know what was going to happen. Leo was going to fuck him up the ass. Hard. And then, he was going to brand Xandros's ass with that damn dragon. What he hadn't anticipated was Leo's dominance over everyone else in the room.