27.
With great ceremony, Dr. Seagram opened the access panel and proceeded with the three levels of biometrics required to open the doors. There was a tense silence, until they swished open. No alarms, no damage report.
So far, so good.
The lift was still working at least. Sheyla and Dedrick took half of the medical team up in the first trip, along with six patients. Though the elevator was industrial-sized, it was still a tight fit. Normally she’d be ready to claw someone’s face off over such enforced contact, but Dedrick’s solid weight at her back kept her violent impulses at bay. Returning to the surface seemed to take much longer than it had on the way down.
At last, the box shuddered to a stop and the doors fanned half-open and got stuck. She wasn’t close enough to see the problem, but Nurse Mills said, “There’s rubble we need to move.”
Sheyla maneuvered to the front and slid sideways, wedging her arms and legs against the doors. With all her strength, she shoved; at first, nothing happened. The others crammed in beside her, adding their might, and then the scraping sound of metal against stone said they were winning. A cracking sound, burst of masonry dust and a cascade of smaller bits of broken plaster rained down as the doors splayed wide, sweeping clear the damage that had blocked them.
She tumbled out into what used to be a corridor. It was more of a tunnel now with sloped walls and a fallen ceiling. The floor looked more like tectonic plates in the underworld than the hospital it used to be. Once she had her footing, she helped everyone else out. Getting the patients to safety was going to be like navigating a minefield. While the staff could scramble and crawl, their charges couldn’t, and there wasn’t nearly enough clearance to permit beds and life-support machines to pass.
Dedrick was already inspecting the damage. He turned to her as if she was in charge. “If we apply pressure here, we can widen the passage without bringing the ceiling down.”
“How do you know?” Mills demanded. “We should wait for Dr. Seagram.”
The truth was, there wouldn’t be room for everyone in this pocket just past the elevator doors. Inside the lift, the patients should be safe from harm. She joined Dedrick at the wall.
“Tell me what to do.”
“All hands here. On my mark.”
He counted it down and other shoulders joined theirs. Nurse Mills scrambled back into the lift. As with the doors, it took combined Animari and Golgoth might to topple the shattered wall. When it went down, the ceiling rumbled, but apart from another shower of dust, nothing more fell. Now there was a clear path and she could see daylight where one of the exterior walls had collapsed.
Sheyla hauled the first patient out of the lift, checking all his connections. “We don’t know how stable the structure is. Let’s move.”
She and Dedrick led the way, lifting the hospital bed when necessary. The guard stepped through the jagged hole she’d spotted to scout. “It’s a bit steep but I can manage.”
Over the past few days, she’d come to trust him, so she lifted on her end and with care, they worked the patient free. Pause and repeat. They made a good team, so the rest of the staff clambered to freedom and attended the patients already on the ruined lawn. Dr. Seagram was the last to pass through, only after the fourteenth and final bed landed outside. The building trembled then and Dedrick snatched her so quickly that she let out a surprised squeak.
Not a second too soon.
The walls and ceiling caved, dumping a ton of cement and sheetrock where she had been standing. Sheyla shivered against him as he smoothed her hair with a big hand. “Thanks,” she managed to whisper.
“Alastor would never forgive me if anything happened to you.”
“That,” said a familiar voice. “Is certainly true. And it applies to both of you.”
On unsteady legs, she stumbled to the demon prince. Thinner and with fresh lines on his face, he’d brought so many reinforcements, medical personnel, soldiers, equipment, that her entire body slumped in relief. With tender arms, he caught her and put his face in the curve of her neck. She barely noticed when the embrace evolved, and somehow he was holding two of them. Nestled between Alastor and Dedrick, she reveled in the warmth and the reassuring thump of their hearts.
“Thank you, my dear ones. For keeping yourselves safe. It was all that kept me sane, the past few days.”
Before either she or Dedrick could reply, the lead Noxblade joined them, but Alastor didn’t allow them to pull away. He fixed a gimlet stare on the assassin.
“Your princely reward?” Gavriel asked.
Alastor answered, “You’re in charge. If anyone needs me in the next twenty-four hours, tell them to take a number.”
Sheyla didn’t argue. She desperately wanted a break before considering her next move. The truth of what she needed to do scrambled furiously at the back of her head, but she quieted it like a bird cage covered with a dark cloth. Dedrick and Alastor traded news as the three left the ruins of St. Casimir. He updated them on various battles, the industrial sacrifice, Zan’s death, and how the remnants of Tycho’s army had sworn to him.
“I am so proud of you,” she said.
Dedrick echoed the sentiment. “Me too. But you’re making me feel guilty over the nothing I accomplished underground.”
“You healed and came back to me,” Alastor said. “I’d be a mess if I’d lost you too, friend.”
The guard dropped his gaze. “And Rowena?”
“Taken. We’ll save her when we liberate Golgerra.”
The unspoken if she’s still alive dimmed the mood, so they walked a bit in silence. Several blocks farther west, toward the ministry complex, their flat building was still standing. It seemed odd to let themselves in and find things relatively unchanged, as if the shape of the world hadn’t shifted. No power, the grid was decimated, but there was running water.
Sheyla took the first shower and then opened a tin from the cupboard and ate the contents cold. With the tension that had been keeping her alert dispelled, she wanted nothing more than to sleep. To her amusement, she found both Alastor and Dedrick passed out on the bed. They’d managed to bathe but not eat. She could’ve slept on the couch, but there was no working heater, and they felt like pride mates, so she slid in between them as she would have at home. Mmm. Crowded but cozy. Blearily she pulled up the covers and winked out.
She woke to Alastor’s lips on her neck and Dedrick’s arm across her waist. Since the prince was spooned up behind her, she felt the jut of his hard cock. That didn’t necessarily mean that all of him was up. Turning her head, she caught the jade shimmer of his eyes. Given what she’d observed about Golgoth modesty, she should’ve thrown some clothes on before getting in bed. Alastor seemed to think her bare skin existed for no purpose other than his seduction.
Silently, he teased her. With his teeth on her throat, his lips on her shoulder. His clever fingers skimmed the tops of her breasts, over her ribs, and down her belly, until her thighs quivered. Desire was natural after a crisis, and that intellectual awareness didn’t diminish her pleasure. There was also a spike of illicit excitement over being caressed with Dedrick nestled against her. If she didn’t keep quiet, he would wake and—
“Seems like I might be intruding. Should I go?” His voice was deep and raspy with sleep.
Too late.
Alastor replied before she could. “That’s up to you. And Sheyla.”
“You want me to stay?” Dedrick asked.
Her heart pounded with nervous excitement. The time she’d spent with the guard in the bunker piqued her curiosity about him rather than rendering her wary. When she was a cat, his hands had been so gentle; she wondered what it would be like, the three of them together. A frisson of excitement expanded inside her, so her breathing quickened. When she realized what she wanted, she said it aloud.
“I do.”
The prince eased against her. Now it seemed he felt he could answer honestly. “Right now, I want both of you, but it’s not a demand.”
Alastor had never shared anyone with Dedrick before. In Golgerra, it would’ve been impossible, as his favor would’ve marked some poor soul for Tycho’s attention, possibly leading to execution or a fate worse than death, life as one of his brother’s concubines. He could just about hear Ded considering the offer, but it truly was fine if he demurred. Patiently he waited, teasing Sheyla with luxuriant strokes, working ever closer to her cunt. She squirmed against his cock so deliciously that he almost couldn’t stop himself.
Eventually, Ded said, “I wasn’t looking forward to leaving a warm bed, stiff and aching.”
Alastor laughed softly. “If you do, it’s your choice.”
“Any boundaries I should know about?” He understood what Ded was asking, if he could touch Sheyla as well.
She’s not my property. Part of him ached over that thought because he wished with all his heart that he could claim her as his mate; she’d never consented to permanence. It had taken all his combined eloquence and charm to get her to agree to a brief affair, and now that Hallowell was secure and his health stable, she’d probably go home soon.
Time to soak up enough Sheyla to last me a lifetime.
He kept his tone light. “That’s up to the lady. You already know what I like.”
“I don’t think so.” She already sounded like sheer sex, her voice airy with desire. “If I don’t like something, you’ll know. I hope you’ll be honest too.”
“Promise,” Dedrick said.
Perfect. Now that everyone was on the same page, Alastor didn’t hesitate. Still stroking toward Sheyla’s core, he reached for Ded and kissed him. The scrape of his jaw in contrast to the softness of his mouth was lovely; Alastor knotted his fingers in Ded’s hair, slowly rocking against Sheyla’s ass. Between them, she was a wicked little fire; he could tell she was exploring Dedrick with her clever hands because of the gasps and groans he drank as they kissed.
Alastor pulled back when she whispered, “Here. Like this,” so he could watch Sheyla’s pleasure as Ded worked her breasts. He went in for more kisses, first Sheyla and then Ded, back and forth, until his head was swirling with heat. She felt so good against his cock that he could almost come like this, but that seemed like a waste.
Soft and tentative, Ded took Sheyla’s mouth, and her pleasure spilled into Alastor. His lips tingled, and he could just about taste his friend’s tongue. Yearning reached critical levels as he pictured Sheyla beneath both their hands and mouths. He was about to say, Ladies first, when Sheyla sat up, and as if she’d planned it in advance with Dedrick, they shifted as a unit and focused on him. So unexpected, he fell back against the pillows as she took his mouth. Ded went straight for his cock, and his mouth was liquid heat. Sheyla on his chest, biting and licking, sucking, her sharp nails scraping over him. Ded sucked him with gorgeous precision, knowing exactly how much pull and pressure he wanted.
They’re trying to make me come first.
He bucked into Ded’s mouth, each luscious glide better than the last. Alastor didn’t have the will to resist on his own, but he framed Sheyla’s face in trembling hands, begging her to see what he wanted. It shouldn’t be all about me. I’m not royalty in this bed. Her mouth was already glossy and bee-stung from all the kissing, her eyes lambent. Then her gaze swiveled to Ded, who had served his whole damn life, and was doing it still, even if he didn’t realize it.
Her lips curved into a feline smile; with full Animari strength, she tackled Ded and pinned him. Only raw physical power could control Ded like that, and he stifled a smile at his friend’s surprise. Alastor’s cock quivered in the cool air, already so slick with precome that he ached to finish the job, jerk it hard and quick, then spurt all over both of them.
None of that. I’m being good.
Now they had Ded at the heart of the action. Alastor settled on his left and his heart eased when Sheyla curved against his right side. Her bright eyes said she would follow his lead. Where he touched, she did—where he brushed his mouth, she mirrored. Until Ded was taut and quivering, his cock upright and throbbing. Neither of them had touched it. Finally, Dedrick broke, pulled their palms together and humped between them. Alastor showed Sheyla what Dedrick favored; they gave it to him, together. His cock leaked all over Alastor’s fingers, so he licked them, and he almost lost his mind when Sheyla did the same.
Shifting closer, he angled his cock and slid it across Ded’s. They rarely came this way, but Ded liked it as foreplay. One stroke, two, and then Sheyla cupped her hands around both their shafts, holding them lightly, so that there was a tease with each motion. When she grazed the underside of the head, first his, then Ded’s, they both jerked at the startling pleasure.
“Is it good?” he whispered.
Ded stroked his lower lip. “I’m losing my mind. Somebody fuck me. Please.”
Alastor smiled. “Ladies first.”
Sheyla straddled Ded immediately, and it was beyond sexy to see her pleasure spike as she sank down. Alastor tilted his head to take in the gorgeous picture of her body flowering to take Ded’s cock. Beneath her, Ded lunged upward in a couple of convulsive strokes, his hands clutching at the covers, as if he didn’t trust himself to be gentle. Alastor nudged closer, so Ded could dig his fingers in, bruise him with every delicious thrust. He raised his head and kissed Alastor roughly as Sheyla rode him, gathering speed. Since she liked it fast and hard, Ded wouldn’t be able to hang on long. He felt their orgasms building, echoed in the ferocity of Ded’s mouth on his.
In time, Ded couldn’t hold the kiss, his breath gusting toward helpless groans. Alastor fell into the urge to taste them. They both jerked over the soft friction he added to their rhythm with lips and tongue. Each time Sheyla raised up, he licked her clit. Her body shook with the need to come, and Ded was pulling her down on him so hard that there might be marks.
Their juices smeared his face. Ded shoved him back, a push forceful enough to topple him since Alastor’s knees were water anyway. The bounce angled him so Ded could grab his cock and pull it back to his mouth. Not selfless enough to stop him. Pleasure built in simmering hot waves, until he was full on fucking Ded’s face, conscious of each groan and grunt. Sheyla came first, and he felt it. Her wild tightening set Ded off and Alastor let go at last.
He tumbled back, admiring the sticky mess he’d made of Ded’s mouth. As soon as his heart settled, he kissed Sheyla and then licked Dedrick’s cock clean.
The guard shoved at his head. “It’s too soon, you bastard. You think I’m made of sex?”
“It’s after service, not an invite to round two.”
“Will there be a round two?” Sheyla asked, from the foot of the bed, where she was dangling, half upside down.
With pudding arms, he pulled her up, so the three of them were spooned into a tangle of satiated limbs. “Maybe,” he mumbled. “I hope you’re both clear on how precious you are to me.”
“I have some idea,” Dedrick said, around a massive yawn.
Sheyla rested her head on his shoulder. “Before we started, I wondered how I’d keep track of who should do what to ensure there was an equitable distribution of—”
Ded was laughing too loud for her to finish that sentence. Alastor had rarely seen his friend so relaxed and open. Sheyla had a way about her, once she unlocked her heart and let people in.
“What?” she demanded.
“Of fucking?” His friend finally got the question out between chortles.
Alastor laughed too; he couldn’t help it, and she was so adorably furious. “I’m glad you didn’t attempt to schedule us, love. Some experiences are better lived than directed.”
She narrowed her eyes in a look that worried him, slightly, considering he did know of her dominant tendencies. “Challenge accepted.”
“Feed us first,” Ded implored.
Regal as a queen, she left the bed. “Deal. Then we’ll see about round two.”