ThenRavikhad turned away, ashamed and desperate.He’dtaken his turn withLiranafirst—filling her pussy almost savagely, as though to prove to himself this was what he wanted.Butwhen she asked ifSeverincould join in, he reminded her thatBeastKindreddidn’t share.
The worst thing of all was that he remembered coming harder than he ever had—his release ripped from him in a blinding, violent rush—becauseSevwas close.Becausehe could feel the tension coiling in his best friend’s frame—could hear the hitch in his breath, could still taste him on his tongue, and could sense the precise moment his control frayed.
Afterwards,Sevhad taken a turn himself andRavik—still hard—had stroked himself as he watched his friend withLirana.He’dcome a second time whenSevcame, looking not at the woman they were sharing but atRavik—holding his eyes as he shot his seed deep inside her, a ragged moan torn from his throat.
The next morning,Ravikhad woken with a pounding head andLiranagone from the bed, with only the indentation in the cushions and the scent of sex remaining.Severinhad been on the other side of the room, already dressed, fastening his cuffs with careful, precise fingers, his face a mask of cool detachment.Neitherof them had looked the other in the eyes.
“Too muchGoldsheillale,”Ravikhad muttered, the words tasting like ashes in his mouth.
“Clearly,”Sevhad said, his voice flat and final.
And that had been the end of it.
Only it hadn’t been, because here they were again.
There was no ale this time—noTenebrianpleasure house.Noeasy excuse to blame for the way his body had responded whenCassiepressed his shaft toSev’sand tasted them both together.
And no excuse for the way his chest had felt whenSevsaid he cared for him more than anyone else in the universe.
Ravik went to the sleeping platform and sat heavily on the edge.
He wasnota lover of males, he told himself.Hehad never wanted males.
ExceptSevwasn’t just any male—SevwasSev.
His friend.Hispartner.Hisshield-brother.Themale who had dragged him out of firefights, stitched his wounds, argued with him over rations, sat beside hisMed-Centerbed for three nights after theKarridianambush, and fought theHungerVirusfor months whileRavikdisappeared into the fog.Themale who had injected himself with an untested cure and then bittenRavikeven though he knewRavikmight hate him for it.
Sev was the male who had saved his life—the male he could not stop wanting to punish because he had madeRavikfeel something he didn’t fucking know how to deal with.
Ravik bowed his head, elbows on his knees, hands hanging between them.
He had agreed toCherubinThreebecause ofCassie.Thatwas what he would keep telling himself.Cassieneeded him.Cassiewas suffering.Cassiewas his mate in his heart, and he would give her his seed, his body, his protection, and anything else she needed to get through this nightmare.
If that meant sharing her withSevfor the cure, he would do it.
If that meant touchingSev, maybe even lettingSevtouch him, he would do that too.Hehad said as much becauseCassiehad been crying and because he would have promised anything to stop the pain in her voice.
But afterward, he was leaving—hehadto.Becauseif he stayed, he would want to stay forever.
The thought hit him like a ton of rocks dropped on his chest, crushing his heart until he couldn’t breathe.
No, that wasn’t right.Thatwasn’t what he meant, he tried to tell himself.Hedidn’t want forever withSevandCassie—heonlywantedCassie.Hewanted to keep her safe, to hold her close, to make her laugh and taste her honey and fill her with his seed, and hear her call him ‘big guy’ in that soft, sweet voice of hers that he could feel all the way down in his balls when she talked.
But ifCassieturned toSevtoo…ifSevheld her from behind whileRavikkissed her…OrifSev’shand came to rest onRavik’ship—not by accident this time, not because of ale or infection or medical necessity…
Ravik’s body tightened all over as he imagined touching them both…and being touched by both of them.
He fuckinghatedhimself for it.
A soft tone chimed from the quarantine door, and one of the medical assistants in protective gear appeared on the other side of the clear panel.
“CommanderRavik?”the woman said carefully.“CommanderSylvanhas authorized transport preparations toCherubinThree.We’llneed to take one final blood sample and confirm your consent to travel.”
Consent—right, he’d consented all right—to all of it.Hewas doing all of this of his own free will.Sowhy did he feel so raw inside?
He lifted his head and looked toward the barrier whereCassieandSevwere still talking quietly on opposite sides of the clear wall.Cassie’seyes were red from crying andSevlooked pale and tired, his broken oculars replaced by a temporary visor that did nothing to hide the hurt in his face.
Ravik had put some of that hurt there—maybe most of it.
