Nothing on Earth (12 page)

Just a little bit grateful,
Tara
opened her eyes expecting to see Alec’s kind face. There was no mistaking this man for Alec. She twisted her head, startled to find the man holding her still looked like John. Was it possible it was him?

She tried to say his name, but the words came out wrong, and she started to cry even harder with frustration. Strong arms squeezed her tighter.

“Don’t cry, baby. We’ll be home soon.”

She wanted desperately to believe this man was John, so she nodded her head against his chest and closed her eyes against the tears.

Chapter Fourteen

“Alec,” Altan said as he stepped through the doorway. “We need to move quickly.”

“
Tara
?” he asked, his worry for her safety overriding everything else in his mind.

“John has her. They’ll meet us at the transport shortly, but you and I have another mission first.”

Alec tilted his head and looked at Altan expectantly, but the older man just handed him a weapon and headed out the door. Alec glanced at the weapon in his hand, hoping that he wouldn’t have to use it. The fact that he had no idea how to use it could be a major problem.

Quietly, Alec followed Altan as they made their way through the corridors. Alec wasn’t familiar with this ship at all, and several times he felt like they’d traveled in a complete circle. Finally, they came to a security door. Altan stunned the only guard on duty and then unlocked the door and stepped inside. Alec followed quickly, dragging the guard into the room, unwilling to get caught loitering in the hallway.

“Jade, are you okay?” Altan asked the naked human woman tethered to the wall by her wrists.

She nodded and shook her head at the same time, and Alec figured that pretty much summed up the way he was feeling, too. Altan undid her restraints and handed her his coat. The jacket practically covered her from neck to knee, but as she stepped forward, she stumbled a little, and Altan pulled her into his arms for a moment while she found her balance.

“I’m okay,” she said quietly. Altan touched her face with his large hand, his fingers trembling slightly as he breathed deeply. Then he grabbed her hand and headed for the door.

* * * *

“Where are they?” John asked in agitation. He and Tara and Beiltar had reached the hangar bay without incident. The entire ship was practically deserted, and Beiltar had explained that all crew had been ordered to the viewing area so that they could not only witness the allocation ceremony but also the punishment meted out to collectors who thought to circumvent the breeding council’s authority.

Beiltar didn’t hint at what John’s punishment may have been, but John knew the breeding council well enough to know it wouldn’t have been pleasant. He held
Tara
in his arms as she continued to writhe with the drugs’ effects.

Tears misted his vision as she moaned again, the sound unpleasant and animalistic, not the sound of a woman in the throes of desire. Her eyes continued to dart around the area as if she had little control over where they landed or what they saw.

Beiltar signaled to him to keep quiet as they heard the approach of hurried footsteps.
Tara
moaned, and he pressed his lips to hers to swallow the sound of her agony. She kissed him back enthusiastically, but he tried to keep the contact brief and light.
Tara
had no control over her body, and he would never abuse the trust she’d placed in him only a few days earlier.

Beiltar stepped out of the transport craft, and John held his breath as he waited for either his return or the sounds of a fight. Neither happened, but the next person to walk through the door filled his heart and soul with such relief that he almost cried out his name.

Alec saw him, carefully placed the heavy sack he’d been carrying on the floor, and hurried to him and Tara. He kissed
Tara
on the forehead, his look of relief warring with the same anguish John felt. He leaned forward to press a kiss to John’s mouth.

“Is she okay?” he asked quietly.

“She’ll be fine as soon as the drugs wear off.” John knew it was more complicated than that but didn’t want to add to Alec’s worries at the moment. There would be plenty of time to worry about
Tara
’s recovery once they escaped the ship.

“We managed to grab some weapons and supplies. Would it be okay to give
Tara
a sedative?”

Relief coursed through John. “Yes.”

Alec dragged the sack of supplies over to John. It looked like they’d practically cleaned out one of the medical storage lockers. He spotted a sedation rod easily, and Alec handed it to him to administer. Almost immediately,
Tara
sighed quietly and slipped into a fitful sleep, but at least she wasn’t screaming in frustration.

Beiltar stepped back into the ship with a young woman pressed against him. She looked about the same age as
Tara
but smaller, more fragile, but at least she didn’t seem to be drugged.

“Altan?” John asked Beiltar as the door slid closed. Beiltar shook his head. “He’s staying undercover. He hopes he can find more like us and maybe put a stop to collections.” John nodded his understanding, realizing there was a whole lot more to the story. “We have five Earth minutes before Altan sounds the alarm. He’s headed to
Tara
’s cell as we speak.” The small transport lifted off the ground and swung around to face the closed hangar bay door. The word “How?” was on the tip of John’s tongue, but he quickly swallowed it when a flash and small amount of smoke caused the doors to blow outwards.

“Well timed,” John said admiring Beiltar’s handy work.

“Thanks,” he said as he flew the little ship through the opening and into space. John noticed with surprise that they were still in orbit around Earth.

“Are there still collectors on the planet?”

“Not at the moment, but they plan to resume as soon as…well, I suppose they’ll resume after all the fallout from your escape now.”

“Any idea where we can hide while I get the portable dampening fields built.”

Beiltar smiled seeming more relaxed now that they were moving. “Ever heard of Coober Pedy?” John shook his head. “It’s a small outback town in
Australia
. Many of the buildings are underground. The locals call them dugouts, and they even have some that are luxury hotels. I figure if we stay a few weeks underground while we make the portable field dampeners, we should be able to avoid their scans at least until their next collection expedition.”

“Local currency?” John asked, concerned over the practicalities.

“Taken care of. Altan made sure that I have enough money to last several lifetimes on this planet. Spending a few dollars on a luxury resort is not going to be a problem, and besides, after everything you’ve been through in the last few weeks, I think you three are entitled to a little comfort.”

John glanced down at the woman sleeping in his arms. She deserved comfort and a whole lot more, and as soon as the drugs wore off, he was going to make sure both his lovers knew how important they were to him.

Chapter Fifteen

Tara
growled in frustration.

“John, I’m fine. Really, the drugs wore off days ago.” For five wonderful, glorious, frustrating days Alec and John had held her and soothed her and comforted her as the drugs worked out of her system.

It had taken nearly two days before she’d been able to use her voice, and she’d spent a lot of time since then trying to reassure them both that she was okay. Unfortunately, they’d taken her attempts to cuddle into them as a sign that the drugs still ruled her choices and had sedated her several more times before she’d been able to convince them not to.

Quite a few times, both John and Alec had soothed her overwrought body by gently sucking and licking her clit until she reached orgasm, but neither man had penetrated her. Now, three days after she got her voice back, they still refused to do anything more than hold her.

Well, she’d just about had enough of their coddling, and things were going to change right now!

“Alec, tell him I’m fine.”

Alec smiled that sexy, gorgeous smile, and excitement zipped through her midsection. She knew he was convinced, but she also knew he wouldn’t make love to her until John believed her, too.

She lifted away from the bed and slipped the buttons of her shirt open as she sashayed toward John. His eyes darkened, and his nostrils flared as she got closer, but he shook his head even as he pulled her into his embrace. Despite the fact that she’d promised herself that she wouldn’t do it, she growled in frustration as he pressed her face against his heart.

“I know you’re okay, baby. Alec and I are very glad you’re feeling better.” She rubbed her face against his chest, enjoying the warm feeling that always came from his embrace. “We just want to be certain that you are making your own decisions and not influenced by the drugs still.”

“I am making my own decisions.” She wasn’t really impressed with the sulky tone of her voice, but it had been a long week and she really needed to feel attraction and desire that wasn’t drug induced. She wanted to feel real love and real emotion for both her men. “John, I wasn’t under the drugs influence when we made love in the caves.” He stilled at her spoken words, so she rushed on, trying to explain what she felt. “I need to be with you, love you, and watch you and Alec love each other. I need to feel normal.”

“Oh, baby,” he said sorrow softening his voice. “I’m just trying to protect you. I want you to know that Alec and I would never do anything you didn’t want us to do.”

She smiled, shamelessly taking advantage of the opening he’d just delivered her.

“Well, I don’t want you to
not
make love to me.”

Alec’s strong chuckle sounded behind her, and she felt John’s chest shake with suppressed laughter. “Okay,
Tara
,” Alec said finally. “I think maybe we can convince him with a little work.” He leaned over her and kissed John reverently, gently trapping
Tara
between them. “What do you say, big guy? Ready to ravish your lovers?”

John grinned, leaned forward, and lifted
Tara
over his shoulder. She giggled as he caressed her bottom and moaned when he squeezed the soft flesh with his big hand. He lowered her to the bed, kissing her gently as he finished undoing the buttons on her shirt and pushed it open. She wasn’t wearing a bra, so her beaded nipples crinkled even tighter when she saw the heat in his eyes.

Alec crawled onto the bed behind John and set to work relieving them all of clothing. Inch by gorgeous inch, the men of her dreams—and her heart and her reality—were revealed to her avid gaze. She licked her lips as she lifted her face to John’s mouth. He kissed her like she was fragile, precious, and her heart constricted at the care and restraint Alec and John had shown over the past few days. One of them had been with her constantly since they’d escaped the ship, so she knew that they hadn’t even had a chance to be together.

Finally divested of clothing, John groaned as Alec wrapped his hand around his hard cock, pumping the tumescent flesh with his fist. John leaned forward, chasing Tara with his kisses as she fell back onto the mattress. She moaned into his mouth as Alec urged him to cover her body with his own. She was already dripping wet with want, but John skimmed her clit with his fingers, dipping lower to her hot core, making certain that he wouldn’t hurt her.

Her eyes misted as he pressed his thick cock into her tender flesh with such exquisite care. She loved that about him. He’d never hurt her. Several times over the last few days, she’d thought about that moment almost a month ago when he’d slammed into her home and abducted her. It had taken a little while to reconcile her feelings. Even as it had been happening, her instinct had been to trust him, but fear had overridden her thought processes. She knew now without a shadow of a doubt that he was an honorable man and that her intuition had been spot on. Her only regret was that she hadn’t realized sooner. She had no doubt that her behavior that day, her fear and mistrust, had hurt him deeply, and she was prepared to spend the rest of her life making it up to him, convincing him that he did the only thing he could’ve done under the circumstances.