Clan and Command (Clan Beginnings)

Chapter 22

Kila sat in his ready room two days after rescuing Piras, scrolling through reports with what felt like indecent enjoyment. It turned out the admiral had a phenomenal talent for codebreaking. Kila had been delighted with the level of infiltration they’d gained into much of Fleet Command’s communications. The High Command had done their damnedest to lock their former admiral out of the system, but Piras had snuck back in. They didn’t know he’d managed it as far as Kila could tell. At the same time, the destroyer’s computers were locked up tight to keep Fleet Command from returning the favor.

Kila’s greedy gaze drank in information of fleet movements, changes in High Command’s protocols, and the investigation launched against Fleet Security since the treachery of Banrid and the supposed treason of Piras. The Basma would be beside himself to have such intelligence. Not that they had any intention of sharing their ill-gotten information with Maf. As far as Piras, Kila, and the crew were concerned, they still belonged to the Kalquorian Empire. Hopefully, they’d be able to restore themselves to their home soon.

Kila mused over High Command’s findings of Diwal and his men’s misconduct regarding the harsh measures they’d taken against Piras. The squad had not tried to hide what they’d done at all, claiming they’d been justified as family and clanmates of those killed on Laro during the Basma’s fleet’s attack. To some extent, Kila could sympathize with those Nobeks. Their losses demanded some kind of reparation, no matter the circumstances. But the fact it had been Piras their ire had been taken out on still made him want to rip out throats.

No one hurt the Dramok of his heart. No one.

He found some measure of justice in the investigators’ recommendations that Diwal and his men be harshly disciplined and stripped of their ranks. No doubt they would bear the punishment with dignity and the belief their actions remained justified. Kila thought they’d quit the fleet once it came out that Piras had acted on High Command’s behalf. Necessary sacrifice would hold little water with those grieving warriors. At least they wouldn’t be likely to hunt Piras down when the war was over and his reputation regained.

But if any of them was so foolish as to demand satisfaction from Kila’s lover, he’d be there to keep him safe. The Nobek’s vow in that matter was as real as if he’d sworn it before witnesses.

As if summoned by Kila’s thoughts, the door opened and Piras stepped in, blinking in surprise. Kila hadn’t told him he’d keyed automatic access to his personal spaces.

The Nobek rose from his desk, seeing with pleasure how good Piras looked in a blue, black-trimmed uniform. The admiral had been smart to send a few of his belongings to the destroyer after the Basma had gone after Rokan and Haven Colonies. Though none of them had imagined events happening at such a furious pace, being prepared for anything had served the Piras well. He remained the consummate officer: primed for the worst and ready to act at a moment’s notice.

Kila bowed and motioned him to the chair in front of the desk. “Good to see you on your feet again, Admiral. I was pleased to get Medical’s assessment that you are healed enough for duty.”

Piras dipped a bow of his own, and Kila was satisfied that no grimace or any sign of pain accompanied the motion. As the Dramok took the proffered seat, he barked in his old, familiar way. “Status of our mission, Captain?”

Kila remained standing. “From all indications, our ruse worked. There has been no sign of pursuit, even before we changed course the first time. I believe we are in the clear.”

“We’ve changed course again, I understand. A third deviation was needed?”

Kila nodded. Of course Piras knew things before the captain told him. No doubt the wily codebreaker had been monitoring Kila’s programs from Medical. Kila felt his usual mocking smile deepen, impressed as always with this shrewd man. Yet he thought he might still have a surprise or two for Piras. “I spoke to Dramok Sitrel.”

Piras pulled a face, confirming that Kila’s scrambled and hidden coms were still out of his reach. “I imagine that was an interesting conversation. Are we out of the Basma’s good graces?”

“Far from it. While there is disappointment that he no longer has an informant within High Command, you still know enough of how they operate to be of use to the revolt.”

“Even without Maf discovering I’ve gotten access to the fleet’s daily operations. And he won’t find that out.”

“What you’ve done is enough to make him happy, especially the part that allowed Maf to get his hands on such a crucial piece of the border with Bi’is. It’s counted as a brutal blow against the Empire.”

Piras frowned, and his gaze lowered from Kila’s for a moment. The Nobek let him struggle with his guilt without judgment. It was something he could sympathize with, but in the end, it was Piras’s battle to fight.

When the mission succeeds, he’ll be all right. Except for him getting beat to hell, it’s going as well as could be hoped. We are going to make that bastard Maf pay for the blood that’s been spilled.

Piras sat up straight and put on his grouchy admiral look. “Did Sitrel say anything else? Like where we are to go next? I hope it’s not some bullshit assignment. The sooner I can get to Maf, the better.”

Kila grinned. “Bullshit assignment? For you, the Basma’s newest shining star? Oh, hell no. Maf is putting you in charge of getting control over the Haven and Rokan colonies. He still wants them and believes you’re the man to win them for him.”

Piras’s scowl disappeared. He looked at Kila with undisguised shock. “In charge?”

“Congratulations. We’re on our way to join up with that part of Maf’s fleet. You get to command our fellow Kalquorians and direct the Earthers who have sided with the Basma. Including the Holy Leader, Browning Copeland.”

Piras stared at him openmouthed. It was a ludicrous expression for the man some considered the terror of the fleet, but Kila could appreciate the admiral’s astonishment. He himself had made Sitrel repeat the assignment when they’d spoken. Twice.

Piras’s composure didn’t return for a full two seconds. When it did, his eyes lit with excitement to match Kila’s. “Ancestors. If we can get to both Maf and Copeland, bring them down—”

Kila laughed. “It would be a hell of a turn, wouldn’t it? We can put to rest all the crimes they’ve committed against Earth and Kalquor in one fell swoop.”

He sobered as he added the inevitable letdown. “That’s assuming Maf is with that group though. I’m pretty sure Sitrel is there, but that’s no guarantee his master is too.”

Piras waved off the concern. “You know, it may not matter much if Maf is in that location. As much as I’d love to be the one to blast his poisonous head off, he doesn’t have to be present to cripple his fleet.”

“What do you mean?”

Piras jumped up and started pacing the floor, the way he always did when he was thinking hard and fast. “We’ll have under our control the Earther ships that have swung the war in the Basma’s favor. We’ll be close to the man considered his right hand, Dramok Sitrel. We’ll be close to Copeland, the second head of this traitorous serpent deviling the Empire.”

He stopped and grinned at Kila, an echo of the Nobek’s smug leer. “Best of all, we’ll be able to get access to their communications net. Their codes. Everything that’s the highest priority. If Maf himself isn’t there, he’ll want to stay in contact with those two bastards. That will open doors for me.”

Kila caught his excitement. “Your ability to break codes and get past security protocols…hell, Admiral. You might find a way into everything. The Basma’s fleet and troops wouldn’t be able to make a move without you getting hold of it beforehand.”

“It will take time,”

Piras said, pacing again. “I’ll need to immerse myself in the situation. See where the weaknesses are. We’ll still have to play the traitors and fight for Maf for a period of time. But once I’m in…oh, how I’m going to fuck those assholes over.”

As he watched Piras light with a fire Kila hadn’t seen since the war with Earth, energy coursed through the captain. This was the Dramok he’d fallen so hard for. The man who enthralled him as no other. The man he’d die a thousand deaths to be led by in Kalquor’s civil war.

Chuckling at all the opportunity before them, he told Piras, “This is far better medicine than anything Medical did for you, isn’t it?”

Piras nodded. “If we can put a stop to Maf and Copeland, it will be worth each and every drop of blood I sacrificed on Laro. My conscience will not be as wounded as my body was.”

He looked at Kila, a startled look chasing the intentness from his eyes. “I did thank you and Lokmi for getting me out of headquarters, didn’t I?”

“Maybe. With all the excitement we were having at the time, I can’t quite remember.”

Kila shrugged. With his pulse thundering in his ears and eagerness filling his veins, his thoughts abruptly switched from the commanding Dramok he’d follow into hell to the other, equally rousing second persona that possessed the man in front of him. “I think perhaps a more substantial expression of your gratitude is in order…Piras.”

He spoke his name in a demanding rumble. Kila gave his lover a hot, searching gaze, blatantly sizing him up. Letting him know he liked what he saw.

In an instant, Piras’s aggressive demeanor softened into a yielding expression. Another surge of exhilaration tumbled through Kila as the Dramok’s head dropped, forcing Piras to look up at him subserviently.

He whispered, “Yes, Nobek.”

Just like that, power was handed over. Kila shivered with anticipation.

* * * *

Control shifting to Kila was a palpable sensation to Piras. It seemed to shake the floor beneath his feet as it marched from him to the man who commanded him during sex. Who commanded his heart always.

Piras relaxed, happy to surrender to the scarred brute who had saved him in more ways than just his life. The horror of Laro, the pain of torture, the worries of what yet lay ahead…all those were swept away under the Nobek’s burning stare. None of those matters were Piras’s to brood over right now. All that he needed to concern himself with was doing what he was told. To give Kila everything he wanted. The relief of surrender was incredible.

His shoulders sagged as the weight of responsibility slid from them. Kila came to him. His calloused touch cupped Piras’s chin, tilting his head back for a kiss. Piras moaned into his lover’s mouth as Kila’s tongue swept in, claiming him with delicious thoroughness. With every stroke of Kila’s tongue, with every touch as the Nobek explored his chest, stomach, back, ass, and groin, Piras submitted more completely.

He knew he was ready to give Kila everything, as he had given to no one else. It was easy to do so, because Kila wanted him the way he’d always dreamed of being wanted. Piras welcomed the opportunity to prove it.

Kila released him from the demanding kiss, leaving his lips tingling. Piras looked at the brutally handsome face in front of his and the small spark of hope he’d carried the last few days grew brighter. It became a true flame, filling him with warmth he’d thought he’d never feel again.

“What are you thinking?”

Kila’s low thunder of a voice penetrated his senses.

Being no Nobek, and at his core a man who could always speak the bald truth, Piras told him. “I love you.”

Kila responded with the slightest of tremors, a minute vibration that Piras would have missed if he’d blinked at that precise moment. “You mean that?”

“You’ve given me no choice, have you?”

“And Nobek Lidon?”

Piras waited for the pain to hit him. It did not. Instead, he felt a twinge of fondness, like for a long-ago childhood friend. Someone whose memory was precious, but not hurtful. A sweet and fading memory.

He smiled at the Nobek who he’d been meant all along for, the one for whom Lidon had kindly stepped aside so Piras could have a chance at real happiness. He said, “Nobek who?”

Kila’s grin widened. “Then tell me again.”

“I love you.”

“Thank you, Piras. With every bit of my being, thank you.”

It was as close to an admission to love a Nobek could offer another man without breaking the harsh warrior code. Piras laughed and pressed a kiss to Kila’s chuckling lips.

Kila grabbed Piras’s collar and tugged. The resealable seam opened with a subtle purr, parting all the way down to his groin. The Nobek growled as Piras’s cocks, hard and gleaming with readiness, sprang out of the opening. He stooped and caught up a foot, forcing Piras to hang onto his shoulders for balance as he tugged a boot off. He repeated the operation with the other boot. With a teasing lick to the Dramok’s primary cock that made Piras catch his breath, he stood up straight again. He stripped the uniform off, leaving Piras naked before him.

Kila’s fingertips rasped over Piras’s torso. The touch lit trails of fire over his skin, the heat spreading down to add to the avid sensations in his cocks. Both shafts jerked.

The Nobek traced over the still livid marks left by Fleet Security’s knives, his eyes narrowing. “You could never be anything but beautiful to me. Even marked as you are—”

He stopped. His body tensed, and he shuddered. A snarl trickled from his throat.

Piras caressed his clenched jaw. “Medical says it will all heal. No scars. It doesn’t even hurt anymore.”

Kila lifted his gaze to stare into his eyes. Equal parts fury and torment roiled within them. “I know why they did it. I might have done the same in their position, not knowing what was actually happening. Not knowing that those they lost died for a worthy reason. Also, I had to concentrate on getting you out of there and nothing else. But damn them, I needed to make them bleed for this. I still want to kill them for hurting you.”

He shook, emotion expressing itself in violent physical reaction. Piras wasn’t sure how to handle his lover’s fury. Would trying to comfort him insult the Nobek? Would not trying hurt Kila’s tumultuous feelings?

Piras was not forced to make the choice that might have ended in a mistake. Kila abruptly dropped to his knees, licking and kissing the healing skin of the Dramok’s torso, moaning as if he suffered the now-absent pain. Piras’s fingers tangled in the Nobek’s thick hair, holding on, feeling the strength of Kila’s devotion in the raw, wet kisses soothing his damaged flesh. Kila told him plainly with action what he could not put into words. Piras basked in the care of this fierce but dedicated protector.

I thought Lidon was worth the wait. I know for a fact that Kila is.

Yet Piras didn’t think this Nobek would make him ask for sixteen years. He was convinced he wouldn’t walk away in the end. Kila was no Lidon. For the first time, Piras found that to be a good thing.

Kila’s grip on his cocks shut down Piras’s ability to think. The strong hold on his vulnerable flesh tugged him down. “On the floor, boy. On your back,”

the Nobek commanded.

Obeying him was as easy as it was right. Piras felt the nubby but soft texture of the flooring under his shoulders and ass before he even thought about complying with the demand. He looked up at the big, gorgeous brute he planned to spend the rest of his life with. Kila looked down at him, his mouth twisted in that half-smirk, his eyes dark, his expression one of compassionate demand.

He put Piras through his paces, making the submissive Dramok prove his will to surrender. Those big, tight fists pumped his cocks until Piras couldn’t keep from writhing beneath the heady torment. His grin grew fiercer as Piras suffered beneath the demanding attention and begged for mercy.

“Don’t come,”

Kila insisted in answer to the sobbed pleas to be allowed to climax. “Don’t you dare, boy.”

Feeling those calloused paws working his sensitive flesh kept Piras on the brink of explosion. His complete surrender to his master kept passion bottled up, even as it drove him crazy.

“Good,”

Kila growled, watching him with increasing pleasure. “Give yourself to me. You have no will but mine.”

“Anything,”

Piras moaned, giving up on entreating his enthralling tormentor for relief. “For you, anything.”

In answer, Kila pressed one of his hard, bruising kisses to Piras’s lips. Then he straightened, still on his knees, and yanked his uniform open. Piras groaned as he exposed his thick, veined cocks, livid with arousal.

Kila smirked. He crouched over Piras’s face, facing the Dramok’s feet. His hips lowered, and Piras gripped the two rigid shafts at their bases. He guided the smaller of the two to his mouth first. Kila fed him the length until Piras choked hard on it, the way he enjoyed. His hips lifted, giving the Dramok’s head room to bob up and down, servicing him.

“That’s my obedient boy,”

Kila sighed as Piras fellated him, switching between secondary and primary to give them equal attention. “Suck those cocks. Suck them good.”

He returned the favor, mouthing Piras. The feeling of the Nobek’s raspy tongue sliding over his shafts, of the hot mouth enclosing them, of glorious tension as Kila drew on his flesh made Piras moan around his delightful mouthfuls. He kicked helplessly, pinned by the other man’s weight on top of him.

After several incredible minutes of mutual play, Kila rose up. Piras sucked hard on the primary cock drawing out of his mouth, as if to protest its departure. Propping his weight on his hands, Kila lowered his hips, sinking his full length into the hungry mouth. Piras strained against the cock choking him, gagging the way Kila liked best.

“Fuck yeah,”

the Nobek breathed.

He pumped several times, taking wondrous advantage of his control over Piras. The Dramok knew how well he pleased Kila as pre-cum spurted against his tongue with each stroke. He glowed with the delight of serving his master so well. Though his groin throbbed with the desperate need for release, no climax could have felt better than the joy that came from fulfilling Kila’s desires.

The Nobek used Piras’s mouth until his cocks were jerking, on the verge of eruption. Then he resumed licking and kissing Piras’s cocks, leaving the gasping Dramok to respond in kind.

Trapped under Kila, Piras gloried being sucked and his mouth vigorously fucked with demand. Kila growled with every harsh gag his long shafts dragged from Piras’s throat. Piras loved both kinds of attention equally. With each passing second, Kila told him he accepted Piras’s needs. He didn’t have to speak a single word to tell the Dramok his surrender was treasured.

With his aching cocks taut and overfull, Piras couldn’t quell a cry of disagreement when Kila rose from him, taking his mouth and shafts away. The Nobek grabbed one of Piras’s legs and lifted it to expose his ass for a harsh spanking. “You dare question me, boy?”

he snarled as he wore his ass out with smack after smack.

Piras yelped and cringed as brilliant, heady pain splashed against his backside, but he didn’t try to avoid the discipline. He wailed, “No, Nobek. I’m sorry. I’m sorry!”

“Not as sorry as you’ll be if I hear another complaint.”

The hand rose and fell with ruthless purpose, painfully reminding Piras of his place.

“Please, let me serve you,”

he gasped. “I’ll be good. I promise.”

Kila grunted and ended the punishment. “We’ll see about that. On your knees. Spread those legs.”

Piras wasted no time in obeying, putting his stinging ass in the air, right in front of Kila. He trembled all over, euphoric over the control the Nobek wielded with no hint of hesitation. His butt hurt, and he had never felt so happy in his whole life.

Still disgruntled, Kila made his ass take his primary cock with a determined, ungentle thrust. The burning of reluctant muscles forced to yield to the Nobek added to Piras’s excitement. Kila’s hands closed over his hips, and he hauled Piras back to take his driving shaft deeper still. An enthralling mixture of hurt and rapture bloomed deep within Piras, making his straining cocks jolt with exhilaration.

He was desperate to come, his stomach cramping with the need to let loose. However, he was Kila’s boy, his obedient slave. It fulfilled him to take the powerful fucking more than succumbing to mere orgasm ever could. So he suffered and reveled in his plight as the Nobek pounding hard against his still-tender ass.

Kila shifted slightly, and a blast of intense pleasure drove deep within Piras. A surge of the purest bliss shot halfway up his main prick. Piras screamed, almost unable to stop the climax fighting to escape. He pounded the floor with his fist.

“That’s the spot. Right there,”

Kila snarled. “Suffer for me, boy. Suffer and don’t come.”

He thrust again and again over the most sensitive part inside Piras’s passage, making the Dramok battle the disparate needs to orgasm and submit.

The hot stream of cum moved closer to escape. Piras’s control unraveled, losing ground inch by excruciating inch. He could not stop himself from climax. It was going to happen no matter how desperate his need to please Kila. The Nobek fucked him hard and fast, pushing him to disobey.

When a buzz sounded, ratcheting through the air like a great insect, Piras thought it another symptom of his losing struggle. However, Kila’s irritable curse made him realize it was something else. Someone was outside the ready room, triggering the door announce.

Kila didn’t pause for a single moment. “Fuck off, whoever you are,”

he called and continued to fuck Piras, driving the Dramok ever closer to the end. Climax was but a handful of thrusts away.

Lokmi’s amused voice rang out over Piras’s desperate gasps. “I could always trigger the door, you know. Chief engineers have all the codes.”

“Demanding asshole,”

Kila said, but there was breathless laughter in his tone. He stopped, remaining imbedded in Piras’s ass. He grabbed the Dramok’s primary cock and stroked it. “Do you want that insufferable dual-breed as well as me, boy? Don’t say anything; I can feel from that lurch that you do. Cocks don’t lie. Come in, Chief.”

The door opened to admit Lokmi and shut again as soon as he stepped inside. The Imdiko looked down at them, his expression delighted. “Well, this is better than what I’d hoped to see. Piras with his ass in the air…nice shade of red, by the way…looking desperate and well-used while you fuck him senseless. I am hurt that you didn’t invite me to your celebration though.”

Kila answered casually. “Oh, I thought you knew you had a standing invitation. My boy’s ass is your ass. His mouth too.”

“And everything in between?”

“Greedy Imdiko. But yes, of course. All of him.”

While they spoke, Kila continued to lazily fondle Piras. The slow pace of the caresses allowed him to find a little more control, to delay the threatened orgasm. He knew it wouldn’t take much to rob him of restraint, however. He was too damned close and Kila was too damned good at lovemaking. With Lokmi added into the situation, he was in deep trouble.

He couldn’t deny how happy he was to see the Imdiko, however. With lascivious demand settling over Lokmi’s features, the expression of a Dramok who expected to be deferred to, Piras was sure this was the one Imdiko in all the Kalquorian Empire who was perfect for him…just as Kila was the only Nobek fit to be his lover and clanmate.

Piras trembled with anticipation as Lokmi marched over to him and Kila, pulling the crotch of his uniform open. He knelt before Piras and tugged his engorging cocks free. “You know what to do, lovely man. By the way, I expect proper appreciation for letting you suck my cocks.”

“Thank you, Imdiko,”

Piras said. He opened his mouth for his second master’s enjoyment.

Kila didn’t resume his battering pace from before. Instead, he matched Lokmi’s more sedate rhythm so that the two men rocked in and out of Piras’s accommodating body in tandem. For his part, Piras enjoyed the slower lovemaking. It allowed him to enjoy the feeling of Lokmi growing harder against his tongue, the feeling and taste of the man’s first drops of natural lubrication that emerged from his cocks. He thought he could detect each vein standing out from Kila’s primary shaft as it slid in perfectly, as if Piras’s ass was its intended sheath. The Nobek’s secondary cock slid against the underside of Piras’s, creating another avenue of sweet friction.

Best of all, though arousal still clawed at his loins, Piras was no longer in immediate danger of coming against Kila’s wishes. His suffering was tremendous in that his cocks felt painfully heavy and overfull, but as long as the two men maintained their leisurely enjoyment, he could continue to serve them as they wished.

“So this is why men are so eager to clan in threes,”

Lokmi sighed after some time. “Always a willing fuck to be had, plus the added pleasure of watching.”

“Not to mention the potential to add a female mate,”

Kila reminded him.

“The best reason of all. A woman to care for.”

“Careful, Chief. Your Imdiko is showing.”

Lokmi chuckled. “Sometimes that part refuses to be ignored. Like now. I think this pretty man between us needs his reward. He’s groaning nonstop.”

“I’ve worked him pretty hard. I’m ready when you are.”

Lokmi drew his cock from Piras’s clinging mouth. “Don’t worry, I’ll let you keep sucking me. It’s time for a change of position though.”

Piras was confused to have the Imdiko lie on his back in front of him. The mystery was solved, however, as Lokmi squirmed beneath Piras. He ended with his head between the Dramok’s knees and his cocks waving in front of the Dramok’s face once more, but from below.

“Put that mouth back to work, Piras. Suck me off and swallow what I give you.”

Piras was happy to serve. He wrapped his eager mouth around Lokmi’s smooth stave, bobbing his head enthusiastically over the other man’s groin. He rubbed his tongue against the throbbing member and drew hard, moving the silky skin over the harder iron of desire. Lokmi groaned and thrust in time. Meanwhile, he grasped Piras’s primary shaft and pulled him down. The Dramok shuddered to feel himself enclosed in the wet, hot environs of Lokmi’s mouth. His hips dipped and rose, dipped and rose, the rhythm dictated by the pull of the Imdiko’s grip on his base.

As soon as they had established their play, Kila began to fuck Piras’s ass again. He shifted and adjusted his angle until Piras was once again assaulted by the lightning strike of luscious friction against his hotspot. As soon as Piras cried out, betraying the Nobek’s victory, Kila once more drove against him without mercy.

With that constant sensation of vivid rapture and the riveting pull of Lokmi’s mouth on his primary, Piras escalated to sensual overload within seconds. He fought off the sweet call of destruction with everything he had, but each moment brought him closer to the fall. He was running out of time and will to hold off.

As lightning heat streamed from his secondary prick into the larger, Lokmi cried out against his flesh. The next instant, he flooded Piras’s mouth with his spice-flavored passion. A millisecond later, Kila yelled out, tensing and slamming hard into his ass. Then it all spiraled away as Piras rocketed into heaving, exultant oblivion, his cocks jolting under the force of long-denied release finally set free.

One blinding pulse after another buffeted him, eclipsing knowledge of anything but rending, glorious cataclysm. Piras felt himself torn apart, a wondrous destruction that he didn’t care if he survived.

Of course, he did survive. The shockwaves quieted a bit at a time, tossing Piras less and less with the passing seconds. Moment by moment, he returned to himself, to the ready room, to the nubby floor where he lay sprawled with a groaning Lokmi on one side and glazed-eyed Kila on the other. The two men were just stirring to life when his vision cleared enough to note them.

Kila didn’t speak at first. He crawled to a cooling unit and withdrew three water bottles. He rolled two towards Lokmi and Piras, keeping one to drain in three huge gulps. He got himself another.

Lokmi opened one of the bottles sent their way and offered it to Piras with a shaking hand. The Dramok hauled himself up to sit cross-legged through sheer resolve. He tipped the water into his mouth, washing away the sweetish-salty flavor of the Imdiko with regret.

Lokmi bolted down his bottle, grabbed the two extra Kila lobbed at him, and slid over to sit close enough to Piras that their bodies touched. As he opened another water for the Dramok, Lokmi asked, “How do you feel?”

“Ridiculously happy.”

Piras grinned at him as he accepted the water and drained that bottle too.

“And you?”

Lokmi arched a brow at Kila. “You looked rather weak as you crawled over there, Captain.”

Kila snorted at him. “Maybe I came hard enough to knock the wind out of me, but I’m not the one who ended up lying under Piras, sucking his cocks.”

He grinned, his usual mocking expression back in place. “You looked a hell of a lot like a bottom for a little while there.”

“Fuck you. Of course a lunkhead Nobek wouldn’t know how to both control a man and give him pleasure at the same time.”

“Right. And you haven’t enjoyed a single second of the times I won control over you. Seems to me you’ve come nice and hard for me every instance.”

Lokmi scowled. “It’s true I like being in control. I never said you weren’t good at giving me pleasure though. You are talented in that regard. As am I, which you’d admit if pride would let you.”

“I’ve had no problem telling you I liked being under your control once you won it from me. Feel free to try to make me submit any time, Chief. Just be ready to fight for it.”

“My pleasure. I owe you for doubting my dominance over Piras.”

“All I know is that our lovely admiral prefers his lovers to exercise absolute control over him. I’m not so sure you managed it this time.”

Lokmi’s face turned red, anger brightening his eyes. Piras decided to end the argument before a real fight broke out. “I’m afraid I’ll have to side with Lokmi on this one. Not for one second did I feel dominant to him. Trust me, his hands and mouth had perfect control over me. I belonged to both of you, not to myself.”

“See? Don’t doubt abilities that are subtler than yours,”

Lokmi said. He looked pleased with himself.

Kila acknowledged him with a gracious nod. “Subtle is not my strong suit. However, if Piras is happy, then you can count me contented as well.”

The Nobek searched Piras’s face. “It makes me curious, though. Whose technique fits you better?”

Piras held his hands up in a warding off gesture. “No, we’re not doing that. I’m not going to compare the two of you. You each offer something I crave. You’re each perfect in your own way.”

Perfect indeed. Even with the rush of passion finished and his head cleared of wilder drives that could lead to ridiculous notions, Piras knew one thing was sure. He’d found everything he could ever want in the two men.

He took a deep breath, hardly believing he was putting his hopes on the line this way. A moment of terror swept over him at what he was about to do. Hadn’t he learned his lesson the hard way? Hadn’t he sworn to never do this to himself again?

He couldn’t help it. He had to try one more time.

“I want to ask you – both of you – if you would clan with me?”

Kila’s face lit. His mocking grin with that sly upturn of the corners of his mouth widened until his teeth flashed brilliant white in his dark face. He jumped to his feet and yelled, as if he’d run the winning play in a championship kurble match. As if he’d ripped a Tragoom’s head off its body. As if he’d singlehandedly won the war. He pumped both fists in the air, whooping like a wild man for a few seconds.

When he was finished with the outrageous display that made Piras and Lokmi gape, he marched over and lifted Piras to his feet. His arms wrapped around the Dramok in an almost painful embrace. “If that wasn’t clear enough, the answer is yes, my Dramok. Congratulations on figuring out what you should have a long time ago.”

Piras laughed at the crazy brute. “Which is?”

“That I’m the only Nobek for you, of course.”

“How right you are.”

Piras kissed Kila’s insufferable smile. “Welcome to my clan, my Nobek.”

He gazed into the coarse but still handsome features, searching Kila’s smug face.

Yes. This was right. He was where he was supposed to be, and who he was supposed to be with.

That left one answer hanging, and the silence from the man behind Piras was deafening. A small ache settled in the Dramok’s chest as he and Kila turned their attention to their companion.

Lokmi was getting to his feet. He wore a slight smile, but the overwhelming emotion on his face was one of confusion. It was followed by frustration. Then anxiety.

Piras felt an old, familiar throb of hurt, but he shoved it away with impatience. Lokmi was not Lidon. He most likely had no idea before this moment that he had landed on Piras’s radar as a potential clanmate. He’d been taken by surprise by the abrupt offer, an offer made before he’d gotten to know Piras properly. He and Kila locked horns on more than one occasion, no doubt adding to his reluctance. The invitation to clan had been made too soon, Piras realized.

But damn it, he knew Lokmi was right for him. The Imdiko had demonstrated he could handle Kila as well. Had Piras ruined the one opportunity to clan him by not giving him the time to realize those things?

Piras gave Lokmi an understanding smile and said in a light tone, “Of course we have to have a spoilsport. Way to wreck the celebration, Chief.”

The Imdiko hunched, his brow furrowing. “Damn it. If you knew how hard this is for me. Both to say yes and to say no. I’ve never thought I’d find men I’d want to clan with. I never wanted to find men to clan with, and you’re fucking that up.”

His words gave Piras a clue as to the biggest objection he fought against. The man was half-Dramok, after all. “I’m not interested in taking away your power, Lokmi.”

“You can’t help but try. Outside of sex, it’s the hallmark of a Dramok, particularly one as demanding as you.”

“No, trying to direct is what being a good Dramok is about. There’s a difference between that and bulldozing over others’ free will.”

Piras sighed and shook his head. “Your Dramok side was never honored, Lokmi. Never trained. It’s no wonder you confuse aggression for leadership. I can help you with that.”

Lokmi gave him a disbelieving look. “You’re not known for being democratic or diplomatic, Piras.”

Kila laughed. Piras gave him a shove, but he nodded to acknowledge the truth. “It’s true, to a point. I’m an overbearing leader outside the sleeping room. When I know I’m right, I don’t fuck around with diplomacy. That being said, I’m well aware of my shortcomings.”

“You’re tough, but you’re also hardest of all on yourself,”

Kila added. “Chief, I’ve known a lot of Dramoks. I can tell you with full assurance that you won’t find a better mentor than Piras. Don’t emulate his temper, but honor the rest he could teach you.”

Lokmi looked at Piras with want. It helped mitigate the reluctance that also flitted through his eyes. “I can’t see me bowing to your authority outside of duty. I can’t see you accepting my inability to do that.”

“I’ll teach you that part of being a real Dramok is knowing when to step aside to give others their chance to guide,”

Piras told him. “I’ve had to do it with superior officers my entire career. I’ve yielded taking the lead to other Dramoks of higher rank and possessing better sense than me. Dramoks give way to Dramoks all the time.”

The Imdiko blinked. “I never thought about it like that.”

“Even that is not the most challenging aspect of being one of my breed.”

“What would that be?”

“Mastering yourself.”

Lokmi snorted. “It sounds simple, which means it’s anything but.”

“Damned right about that. I’m still trying to figure it out.”

“Great. I’ve been following the wrong instincts all this time and need to be schooled. Meanwhile, I’ve also got to listen to you as an admiral.”

Piras grinned. “And Kila, as your commanding officer.”

“Don’t remind me,”

Lokmi scowled. “Tell me I don’t have to completely give way to someone who loves to order me around in my own department.”

“Well, I am the captain of this bucket of bolts,”

Kila defended himself. “Your department is in my ship. Which makes those engines mine.”

Piras continued before they could begin that old argument. “Lokmi, you must recognize by now that Kila and I listen to the opinions of those we trust. Neither of us are dictators when it comes to that. Even over those damned engines you and Kila are always fighting over…you’ve found compromises.”

Lokmi was quiet as he turned it over in his mind. “We have done well together these last few days, haven’t we? And yes, I’ve seen how you’re willing to work with us when it comes to accomplishing our mission.”

He gave Kila a suspicious look. “You haven’t said anything about how you feel about me being your clanmate.”

“Ugh. You want me to talk about my feelings?”

Kila made a face, as if he’d tasted something particularly disgusting.

“Don’t hurt yourself, Nobek,”

Piras sighed.

Kila huffed a grouchy breath. “You want me to tell you what I think? Fine. I have never met an Imdiko I could rely on to keep me in check as well as you do, Chief. You are one of the few I would even welcome the opinion of. And you’re damned sure the one man I wouldn’t kill for touching my engines.”

When he seemed ready to stop, Piras prodded him. “There’s more. Come on, Kila. He needs to hear it.”

The Nobek looked ready to knock them both on their asses. Instead, he clenched his teeth and muttered, “I trust you, Lokmi. I want to toss you out of an airlock most of the time, but before I do, I want you as my Imdiko. I can’t imagine being clanned to any other member of your breed.”

He turned on Piras then. “Don’t you ever make me do that again, my Dramok.”

“I won’t. Thank you, my Nobek.”

Piras gazed at Lokmi and watched the tormented struggle on the man’s face. Again, he cursed himself for moving too soon. Lokmi wanted them as much as they wanted him. Piras knew it. He also knew the Imdiko was going to say no. Despite the temptation and assurances, Lokmi was in the same shape Piras had been in not so long ago. He had too much baggage weighing him down.

Lokmi hunched unhappily. “I can’t believe I’m admitting it, but I want to say yes. I swear I do. I know I won’t find another Dramok and Nobek more likely to let me be myself. But the words are getting stuck in my throat. I can’t say them.”

He looked away, his face working with misery. Piras wondered if Lokmi thought he was losing his one chance at being with the men best suited for him.

He squeezed the Imdiko’s shoulder. “Then don’t answer yet. Turn it over in your head. In your heart. Live with us like a clanmate without the final commitment. Get to know us in that sense. Give yourself time to learn you’re safe to be who you are with us.”

He snorted and shot Kila a glance. “The ancestors know I’ve had plenty of experience in waiting for a man to clan with me.”

He didn’t miss the relieved expression that flooded Lokmi’s face. “Thank you for understanding…or at least trying to. I know I’m kind of difficult to figure out.”

“No harder than Piras is.”

Kila rolled his eyes. “I’m still trying to comprehend him.”

“I’m not for the faint of heart or the small of brain,”

Piras said in a lofty tone. “But you and I are clanned now, so I’ll have to overlook your shortcomings.”

Kila gave him a rude Earther gesture. “You’ll pay for that later.”

Piras suppressed a smile. He looked at Lokmi. “Are we good with our arrangement?”

Lokmi nodded, looking as sweet-natured as any full Imdiko with his face beaming. “I swear to you that I won’t keep you hanging the way Lidon did. I know how right we feel together. I just need a little longer to put old fears to rest. To unlearn what I thought being half-Dramok meant I should be.”

Kila scowled at him. “Make yourself a deadline to answer by, Chief. I’m not watching Piras suffer like he did before.”

Lokmi’s eyes narrowed as he gazed at Kila. He told Piras in a loud whisper, “He’s kind of pushy for a non-Dramok.”

Piras snickered. “No shit. Good thing there’s two of us to remind him of his place.”

They grinned at each other, the picked-upon Kila included. Piras felt their unconditional acceptance of him. He gathered its warmth around him like a comfortable blanket and basked in the sensation. He vowed that Lokmi would come to know the same feeling. He’d make it happen somehow.

Lokmi turned serious. “I’ll give you an answer within the year. I’ll take no longer to make my decision.”

A flash of impish mischief brightened his face again. “I’m inclined to agree to it, so both of you are on notice to not fuck this up. In other words, Kila, stay the hell off my engines.”

Kila folded his arms over his chest, bestowing a mock glower on the chief engineer. “You’d better start looking for another Imdiko, Piras. This one won’t live long.”

Chuckles broke out over the group. Though Piras still felt a twinge of disappointment that his choice for a second clanmate was to be delayed, he understood it was imperative for Lokmi’s well-being. He felt confident that in the end, the Imdiko would make the choice they all wanted.

And if not, he still had Kila. Ancestors be praised, he had his perfect Nobek.