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  Just as Euan was about to wrestle him from his treat so as not to erupt embarrassingly early, Nick released the suction around the shaft and swirled his tongue over and under the glans. He briefly stopped for a moment to reach up and cup Kira’s cheek, gently guiding her head towards Euan’s straining erection.

  ‘He likes it when you use your lips and tongue around the head,’ Nick whispered encouragingly.

  Euan watched unblinking as Kira licked her lips with that kitten tongue. He couldn’t wait to kiss her again, use his own lips and tongue to devour her and render her as listless and overcome as he was.

  When she stroked his shaft in a teasing, leisurely pull, Nick continued. ‘He also likes it when you lick up and down, and obviously suck it down as deep as you can. Ever deep throat, Pixie Pie?’

  Her gaze was fixed on his straining cock. An uncertain frown creased her brow. ‘How could anyone deep throat that?’ she asked skeptically.

  Two masculine chuckles filled the small bedroom. ‘Yeah, he’s a mouthful. But if you do it slowly, you can take him. I can show you,’ Nick told her.

  ‘Not this time, Nick,’ he spoke up, his voice hoarse. ‘Not gonna last that long.’

  It was Kira’s turn to smile, taking pride in Euan’s incapacitation, while Nick nodded in solemn understanding.

  He reached out and threaded his calloused fingers in Kira’s pale-gold hair, his hand tunneling through until he could use his fist to guide her. Slowly, she bent forward and took his cock into her mouth as deep as she was able.

  ‘Sweet Jesus,’ he groaned, throwing his head back at the overwhelming sensation. Kira was so brave, so beautiful, so beguiling.

  So fucking good at sucking cock.

  It had been a long time since he’d had a woman’s lips wrapped around the tip of his dick, rhythmically moving up and down the steel shaft with hungry abandon. They were different to a man’s—softer, gentler, but no less erotic or satisfying.

  He felt Nick’s hands on his abdominals, his thigh. Warm and reassuring, until he reached over and joined the foray by taking one of Euan’s balls into the heat of his mouth. Euan’s accompanying groan echoed into the room, and he reached down to grab handfuls of their loose hair. He needed the connection, to know they were here. This was reality. This was tangible. Real. Solid.

  ‘Christ,’ he swore as Nick left his sac to lick up the shaft where Kira was unable to reach. He couldn’t help looking down as Nick reached Kira’s lips, forcing her from her task to indulge him in a wet, noisy, tongue-filled kiss over the head of Euan’s cock. The crown slipped from one mouth to the next as they used it as a prop between them.

  God almighty.

  He was close. Watching Nick and Kira tease him between the heated, wet lips of the two most important people in his life had him holding his orgasm back by sheer defiant will.

  The tightness began at the base of his spine, crawling up through his gut to grab his balls in sweet agony. His muscles spasmed, his breath caught and his fists clenched.

  ‘Fuuuuuck.’ It was all Euan could utter before his orgasm crashed over him.

  It had been a long time. Too long. It stole his breath. The devastating wave of pleasure was almost painful to endure. He felt paralysed, even though every muscle quivered with the staggering sensations. His fists in their hair pulled too tightly; he heard Kira gasp, but was unable to loosen his grip. His knees were locked and his lips were pulled back in a silent snarl. He wanted to roar, bellow, or just cry like an overcome child.

  It was extraordinary. Maybe the most profound moment of his whole life.

  As he came down, he released his fingers. When he finally pulled together the mental capacity to open his eyes, he observed with bewilderment as Kira and Nick cleaned each other’s faces using their mouths and tongues.

  Euan gave an exhausted groan at their antics. ‘You two are gonna kill an old man like me.’

  Kira giggled. ‘Old man? You’re, what? Thirty-five, six? Nick?’

  Nick was taking the last of the spent seed from his cheek with his thumb. He lifted it to trace the slickness along Kira’s protruding bottom lip and she licked it off with a mischievous smile. ‘Don’t know, Pix. He won’t tell me. But I reckon he’s younger. It’s all the frowning that makes him look like an old man.’

  Something inside him broke, the tight band of steel he kept wrapped around his emotions flexing, stretching, before finally cracking. It was a strange concept, but even though he worked to keep Kira and Nick physically safe, suddenly he felt emotionally safe with the two of them.

  It was a feeling akin to the devastating orgasm he’d just endured.

  The muscles around his eyes eased and his lips tipped up. He felt boneless, replete, satisfied beyond what he could have imagined. He was shocked as a deep chuckle rumbled through his chest, his laughter resonating through the room as both sets of eyes turned to him to stare in wonder.

  It lightened his heart. And yet, it scared the shit outta him.

  ‘I like it when you laugh,’ Kira whispered, her gaze gentle, maybe a little loving.

  Could he ask for so much?

  Euan didn’t answer her with words, just left the smile to linger on his lips.

  When he met Nick’s fathomless jade-green eyes, the man’s gaze was awash in understanding and comprehension of the significance of the moment.

  ‘Not so old now, big man,’ Nick conceded, his own swollen lips tipping up.

  Euan was unable to pretend he wasn’t relieved when Kira’s stomach rumbled for her breakfast. It pulled him out of the mire of tangled emotions that battled for supremacy inside his chest.

  Even though Nick’s substantial erection tented the loose fabric of his briefs, he still capitulated to Euan’s false gruffness as he ordered them both from the room for breakfast. He pretended he didn’t notice Nick linger a few extra moments to ensure he was stable on his feet. He stalwartly ignored the look of gravity that passed between Nick and Kira as they feigned annoyance at their own gratification being delayed.

  He loathed feeling as though he was not in control and he had a feeling that it was about to become his new normal.

  Chapter 25

  Euan stalked carefully through the undergrowth, the morning sun streaming through the gaps between the leaves in the overhanging canopy. The wind was absent under the trees, and though the air was cool, his skin was slick with sweat.

  He had needed air. Once he’d ensured Kira and Nick were fed, feigning ignorance of their watchful gazes upon him and meaningful looks towards one another, he’d bade them to stay underground while he grumbled about needing to check on the animals.

  His emotions were a tangled mess of blind, twisting snakes, writhing inside his stomach unfettered. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so defenseless.

  It wasn’t just his emotional vulnerability that was keeping his body on high alert. The plans he’d made the night before needed to be solidified and implemented. It was a task only daylight could provide.

  The softening around the chrysalis of his emotions at first made him feel inferior, weak, inadequate. But as he wandered carefully through the dense forest, Euan began to understand that feeling joy, in whatever form that took, didn’t make him incompetent. It simply meant he could delight in the wonders of what he’d been given.

  It was a revelation, an unburdening one. When Euan felt the bubble of excitement fizzle through his stomach, instead of crushing it, he let it free. It erupted through his mouth, taking the form of a resounding chuckle. A deep, masculine rumble of laughter that reverberated through the trees, disturbing the birdlife warbling in the branches above.

  Kira had told him she liked to see him laugh. He could tell by the warm affection in her eyes that it lightened her heart to hear it, feel it, experience it along with him. He knew he’d do anything for that woman—kill, die, dismember, massacre in her name.

  That now included laughing.

  As he placed his boots unhurriedly into the undisturbed soil,
his heart and soul felt lighter, unencumbered. Who knew a fucking plague wiping out humanity could be so damn fortuitous for him.

  In his euphoric state, he almost missed it.

  He pulled a branch back to ease his journey and there it was.

  A boot print.

  A man-sized boot print.

  Its presence spoke to him in a language he could understand, even as he tried to block its speech from his senses.

  An impression in the earth that was singular and alone. It meant the bearer had taken the time to carefully, skillfully and successfully cover the remainder of his tracks. Likely the only reason it was missed was due to its hidden position. It had occurred recently too, within the last two days, otherwise the rain would have washed it away.

  It was large, the boot not as long as his own but most certainly bigger than Nick’s. It faced the direction of the homestead, and as Euan turned towards the house, he felt his last meal attempt to escape up his throat, the bile burning his insides.

  All their supporting equipment was visible from this viewpoint, away from the driveway and immediate eyes. The solar panels were on the north side of the sloping corrugated iron rooftop to take advantage of the sunshine. The chicken coop, greenhouse and now rabbit hutch were also on that side of the building. It was obvious that this was a house set up for survival. And a working one at that.

  But what was most disturbing was that, from this position, he could see directly to Kira’s cherished lavender garden, the one she constantly trimmed.

  The memories of the scourge of lice-ridden animals that inhabited Nirvana, the thought of Rodgers and Parker wandering the area, had the fluid inside Euan’s stomach churning with the force of a black hole. The light, the hope, the confidence that had been building inside his heart imploded, sucked into the vortex of the abyss. He shuddered through the implications of all the boot print represented.

  The undeniable dread crawled up his throat and incapacitated him. In that moment, he was as vulnerable as a newborn child.

  He bent. He hadn’t eaten breakfast, but the remnants of last night’s dinner erupted out of him like a geyser. He heaved, choked, coughed. His eyes watered.

  Oh Christ. Oh, fucking God. She had been seen. His beautiful, precious fairy.

  They knew she was here.

  As he spat the last of his regurgitated meal onto the mulch, all musings about his internal revelations were cast aside with the force of a tsunami. He’d been screwing around with thoughts of laughter and indulgences while the person who watched them was making plans to inflict whatever they wanted on his small family.

  Now he prowled through the small forest of trees with purpose. Even though he was a big, muscular man, he could be silent when he wanted to. His body could move like a big cat, graceful and focused, attuned to his surroundings. His mind was a mire of thoughts, but after his initial shock, he’d centred himself, demanded rational thought, methodical explanations, analytical hypotheses.

  His plans to fortify their home were now paramount. He wanted Nick to increase their surveillance capacity immediately. He wanted trip wires, alarms, automatic defense mechanisms. He wanted a fucking land mine he could bury right where that boot print was, tormenting him, and blow the motherfucker up.

  He turned his gaze towards the hills, hardly visible through the trees, in the direction of Nirvana. War was on the horizon. He would fight with everything he had to protect this place and the people who resided inside it. As he approached his home, he vowed he’d die to protect it and his family.

  ***

  When Euan re-entered the bunker, he used every ability he had in his internal arsenal to pull himself together. He smashed through the worry, chained up the uncertainty and battened down his concerns. He didn’t want to alarm Nick and Kira. Not yet. He only had ideas, hints, suspicions and theories, so he schooled his features and rammed his emotions back into their steel cage.

  Nick was standing by the kitchen counter making coffee. When he nodded stiffly to Nick, he immediately saw through the thin guise he had quickly tried to erect. He narrowed his eyes, taking note of the unusual uncertainty and trepidation that vibrated off Euan in waves.

  He held Nick’s gaze, a wealth of meaning passing between them. His voice was low when he finally spoke as he slid beside him. ‘I want you to sort out that trip-wire mechanism with an alarm in and around the house, maybe another one further out, in the trees if possible. I want us to set up an emergency evacuation procedure—prepacked bags, food we can take, shit like that. We need to look into an automatic defense system, as well as anything else you think might be able to protect us. Give an advanced warning if someone approaches. Shoot-to-kill anyone who tries to approach.’

  Nick nodded slowly, pressing his lips together as his green eyes flashed in understanding and concern. He glanced towards Kira who sat blissfully unaware on the couch, drinking a cup of warm tea, flipping through one of the car magazines Euan had left out. ‘I’ve already been thinking about it. Kira mentioned a while back that there’s a whole stack of wire in one of the storage rooms,’ he stated quietly. ‘Shouldn’t be hard to get something going around the house. I’ll work on the rest this afternoon.’

  ‘Need it ASAP, Nicky,’ Euan reiterated, placing a reassuring hand on the man’s shoulder and giving it a comforting squeeze.

  Nick’s mouth hardened in thought and his eyes darted towards the ceiling. As Kira was in the room, he would keep his concerns contained, but when the chance came, they’d talk.

  Euan moved towards her. She was wearing one his shirts, the dark fabric engulfing her petite body. The thought of her wearing clothes that had been close to his skin made his possessive instincts surge. His dominant nature prowled inside him, as lithe and muscular as a black panther, stalking the gate to his consciousness.

  When she tilted her elfin face towards him, a look of serene grace blessing her features, he was struck anew at how infinitely vulnerable she was. How without them, she’d been unprotected, unsafe for so damn long. Christ. The thought had his empty stomach heaving once again.

  ‘Everything okay?’ she questioned, her crystal-blue eyes so clear and bright they pierced his soul with the sharp tip of Cupid’s arrow and he was helpless before her.

  ‘Yeah, sweetheart,’ he told her as he settled his larger body down next to hers. He reached out and tunneled through her typically disheveled white-gold locks. His large fingers pulled through the fine strands, catching in the snarls, gently disentangling from the knots.

  ‘Euan?’ Her tone was questioning, uncertain.

  He looked back down at her face and caught her expression. His heart ached with what he had to say.

  ‘I’m gonna need you to stay down here for a while,’ Euan told her, regret lacing his voice.

  She studied him, those knowing eyes dipping into the untapped recesses of his soul and soothing the searing flame that burned within him.

  She shifted then, surprising Euan as she moved so her knees rested outside his thighs, her core pressed against his crotch. When she nestled closer, he felt the wet kiss of her panty-less nether regions dampen the fly of his jeans. She rolled her hips on him, using the friction of the fabric to give herself pleasure.

  He was shocked into a stupefied state by her brazenness, but when her lips parted and a small sigh escaped, he snapped out of his reprieve to grasp her fragile hip bones in his large hands, the vulnerability there solidifying his resolve. Even with all the turmoil boiling within him, he suddenly realised he wanted this. Needed it.

  They all did.

  The feeling of impotence evaporated. Left in its wake was a burning desire to experience and indulge in a small measure of hope that would trample the suffocating apprehension.

  But when he considered his own gratification, his chest tightened, a flutter of unease that debilitated the burn of passion between the three of them. He yearned to take control. The overwhelming sensation of all that had transpired was crashing down upon him, and the only way he fe
lt he could move forward was to traverse upon solid ground, earth he recognised and understood, a language that was as innate and embedded inside him as the instinctual need to breathe.

  Dominance.

  His focus shifted from Kira to Nick. The man leaned back against the laminate benchtop, his toned ass resting on the lip. His features were assessing, but his gaze was heated and Euan could tell that the nonchalant pose was as much of a ploy as the one Kira was using to distract him from his demons.

  ‘Come here,’ he commanded, his voice a distinct baritone, the urgency and desire audible, his intense gaze never leaving Nick’s.

  Those jade jewels flashed and he pushed himself off the counter. Euan’s focus moved back to the woman in his hands. Her hips shifted with the sinuous grace of a python, her spine curved and rolled with elegant ease. One corner of her parted lips was tipped up, and coupled with her scorching cobalt gaze, the colour deepening with lust, he knew she was purposefully tempting him.

  He squeezed his hands at her hips.

  ‘Take off the shirt.’ She understood it for the undeniable command it was and immediately did as she was bid. She was naked under the garment, her small breasts quivering with each breath, her pink nipples tightening with the cold.

  He had the sudden urge to bite her alabaster skin, to embed his teeth into her flesh and mark her body as his. He even bared his canines at the thought, but turned to Nick instead.

  ‘Hungry?’ he asked.

  Nick’s response was gruff, his lust easily understood. ‘Starving.’

  Euan’s answering smile was ferocious. ‘Help me turn her then.’

  Together, with lingering touches, they shifted Kira until she lay with her back to Euan’s chest and her ass in the cradle of his thighs seated on the edge of the couch. Her legs were spread wide and Euan’s booted feet were hooked around her ankles to hold her immobile.