Fallon's Flame

Chapter Seven

Olivia ached from her toes to the top of her head. The insane thought she'd had when Gunnar had offered to help instruct her had been one of relief. She worked out, and she'd had defensive training. How hard could it be to keep up with a super Circ? Even after witnessing Kisho's incredible karate skills, she'd been prepared for some defensive tutoring, even looked forward to it.

Two days later, she felt so stiff, she could barely move. Her sluggish brain did little more than suggest ways to rest so she'd experience less pain, but she didn't have the energy to turn over.

Gunnar had shown her ways to incapacitate men. From grabbing and twisting testicles to grabbing and twisting thumbs. Wrist locks, knee kicks, and the nose smash. Timing, Kisho had added, was everything. A woman of her size had an advantage, but she couldn't hope to defeat a man as large as the Circs training her. From what she'd read in the folder, Montaña's men would be tough to beat. Most of them had trained in his select mercenary camps, and those who hadn't had done time in South American prisons. Just the people she didn't want to run into in the middle of the jungle.

As if suffering extreme exhaustion weren't enough, she hadn't seen Jesse since his altercation with Jules. It felt as if every time she gained a foothold in her tentative relationship with the man, something else stopped her from seeing him. She'd been playing it cool, wanting him to come to her. And then Jules had put an end to that.

“Probably for the best,” she murmured. This mission demanded her full attention. In just three more days they'd fly south, where she might actually end up running for her life in the heart of the jungle. I am insane for even contemplating going.

But the thought of leaving Jesse and the others in the hands of untrustworthy men, possibly enemies, made her ill.

A knock sounded on her door.

“Come in.” She didn't bother to sit up. Clad in the same workout clothes she'd worn since the afternoon, when Kisho had put her through the wringer, she lay on her bed.

Gunnar poked his head around the door. If she weren't mistaken, he pulsed with disappointment. “Hell, I was hoping to find you naked and in the tub by now.” She grinned. “If I had the energy, I would be.”

“Jules wants to see you.”

“Now?” She groaned and sat up. And suddenly Gunnar was right there.

He knelt next to the bed, almost at eye level with her.

“You are huge.”

He grinned, and she noted how handsome he actually was. Whenever she was near Jesse, everyone else paled by comparison. “You have no idea.” She shouldn't have, but she glanced down at his crotch. To her shock, he looked very happy to see her.

Her cheeks heated. “Um, I'm not sure…”

“Come on.” He stood and picked her up as if she weighed nothing.

“Oh.”

“You're a sexy little thing. No wonder he's so hot for you.”

“Jules?” First Jesse, now Gunnar and Jules? Had she entered a dream state where everything seemed surreal?

“No, Fallon. Guy's had a hard-on for you since you walked into the damned house. He's a pain in the ass about it too. Nearly choked me when I mentioned we should hit it.”

“Hit what?”

He rolled his eyes. “I said we should screw, what else?”

“Good Lord. You talked about me like that?”

“Honey, you're sexy. You could be starring in your own porno. Your smooth skin and bright eyes? That long black hair? You have killer tits, lips made for blowing—”

She clapped a hand over his mouth. He chuckled and licked her palm, and she ripped her hand away.

“Okay, I won't say it. But you can't deny you're hot.”

“Thanks, I think.” Talk about bizarre. She had the odd notion Gunnar's compliments were sincere. As if she should thank the barbarian for likening her to a porn star. “Where are you taking me, exactly?”

“Jules's room. Fallon's waiting there too.”

She settled down at news of Jesse. But this close to Gunnar, she could feel every bit of his excitement. Arousal and anticipation raced through his veins.

Unnerved, she squirmed in his hold. When one of his hands crept too close to her breast, she smacked his chest.

“Then stop moving,” he growled.

The low timbre made her shiver, not with fear, but with a foreign desire.

Alarmed, she wondered what she felt: her emotions or his?

“Do Circs feel with a greater intensity?”

“I don't know. Depends on what you mean by intensity.”

“Do you guys get hornier more than most?” She tried again, going for blunt.

“Oh, that. Sure. We're hard all the time.”

“For God's sake.”

“You asked.” He hefted her in his arms and walked down the hallway and across into the men's wing without incident. To her relief, they didn't pass by anyone. “And here we are.” He pushed through the door and kicked it closed behind him.

Fallon and Jules waited within, both tense and unhappy.

Jules nodded. “Good.”

“Where's Kisho?” she asked, half hoping Gunnar would turn around and take her right out the door. While she secretly delighted in seeing Jesse again, the uncomfortable notion she was the cause of the unrest between the men made her want to flee.

“We don't need Kisho for this,” Jules answered.

“We don't need you either,” Jesse spat back at Jules and clenched his fists.

She couldn't be sure, but it appeared as if his skin had grown darker since she'd last seen him.

“Oh boy. I've been looking forward to this,” Gunnar murmured in her ear. The brute had yet to set her on her feet. He vibrated with amusement, more so when Jesse's gaze lingered on his hand over her belly.

“Let me down,” she whispered.

“No,” he whispered back and kissed her on the mouth.

She heard Jesse's roar, as well as the sound of blows. But Gunnar caught and held her attention. She didn't want him. That is, her affection for Jesse held. Still, an alien part of her clamored for Gunnar's attention, which made little sense.

Perhaps it was his innate wildness. Whatever the case, she leaned into his kiss and caught the scent of cedar. Cedar, not the mint she associated with Jesse. She stiffened and broke from his mouth.

“No.”

“Yes.” He walked to Jules's bed and tossed her onto it. To her shock, he stripped down to nothing. He'd said he was huge, and seeing him now, she couldn't disagree.

Her gaze shot from Gunnar to Jesse, who still fought with Jules.

“You want out of here, fight for it.” Gunnar smiled. His lips curled to reveal two large, sharp canines.

“What the hell?” Despite her aches, Olivia scrambled back on the massive bed. She alternated her gaze from an approaching Gunnar to Jesse, struggling to free himself from Jules.

He caught her panic and swore at Gunnar. “Tersch, you fucking touch her, and I'll rip your head from your body.”

“Promises, promises.” Gunnar gripped his cock and began stroking himself, the sight vaguely upsetting, because instead of horrifying her, Gunnar aroused her. “Come on, Olivia.

Lean closer and put those lips around me. You know you want to. Circ cum can be addictive.”

“Like you'd know,” she rasped.

“Actually I do. Fallon's is sweet, but then, they all are.”

Stunned, she stared from him to Jesse. “You…you and Jesse…?”

“And Jules and Hayashi. We're a real close team. When the mating heat hits, there's not a lot we can do but find satisfaction in a Circ. But if we've finally found a female…” He paused, and she recalled what Jules had asked her the other day.

“I'm not Circ!” she cried. “I'm fully me. Normal. A regular girl.” Who really shouldn't have asked for a break in the cycle of boredom dragging me down. Oh my God. He has fangs! A glance at Jesse and Jules showed them with fangs and claws as well.

“Tersch, hold on to her,” Jules said with a grunt as Jesse rolled over him and punched him fully in the face.

Expecting to see a broken nose around so much blood, Olivia watched in shock as Jules wrenched his nose back into place and wiped the blood away. The swelling ceased as if Jesse hadn't hit him.

“Wh-what… You… He didn't…”

Gunnar caught her in his arms and stripped her, immune to her struggles. Naked, every place they touched her lit her on fire. He growled and leaned closer to sniff her. “I can't tell. She still smells like Fallon.”

Jules sat on top of Jesse and leaned close. “Enough. We're going to settle this right the fuck now.” He levered off Jesse and pulled him to his feet.

Poor Jesse looked beat, but when he looked at her, hunger darkened his gaze.

“That's right. You want your mate, Fallon. You know what you have to do.” Jesse shook his head, but he didn't protest when Jules stripped him of his clothes.

Gunnar had said they all enjoyed one another. And right then Olivia could believe it. The aggression in the air turned to lust between one heartbeat and the next. Gunnar held her back to his chest, but she could feel his steely cock against her backside. He cupped her breast and tweaked her nipple as they watched Jules handle Jesse.

Jules mirrored Gunnar's stance, putting Jesse's back to his front. “If you're a part of us, then you're really a part of us,” Jules said clearly, his silver gaze glued to Olivia's. “Can you handle that, Olivia? Can you be what Fallon needs you to be?”

Jesse didn't seem to mind Jules's hold. The feral light in his gaze made his eyes look almost yellow. To her astonishment, his pupils narrowed and lengthened as she'd seen them do once before. His cock bobbed, long and thick, and she licked her lips, remembering the sweet taste of him.

“Watch. This is what he needs. A Circ to touch him.” Jules encircled Jesse's cock with a large fist.

The sight of such a manly hand around Jesse aroused her, and she squirmed in Gunnar's grip.

“Her scent's stronger now. Less him and more her. It's really faint, but it's there,” he said to Jules.

“Good.” Jules smiled, the hint of his fangs there to see. Was it her imagination, or did he look a few inches taller than he normally did?

She wanted to follow that line of thought, but Jesse's hunger captured her. She couldn't look away, especially not when Jules led him toward her.

“Suck on her breast,” Jules ordered in a raspy voice, his scent strong, dominant.

Yet she didn't want him. She wanted the male made for her. The one closing in on her, fighting to protect her, to covet her.

Jesse closed his mouth over the nipple Gunnar held for him. A thick cock slid between her buttocks, not penetrating but pushing, while Jesse sucked her nipple, bringing her on a shockingly fast climb to orgasm. The incredible situation grew more bizarre when Jules stripped out of his clothes. Fascinated, she watched him masturbate a monstrously large cock, slick with a lubricant she hadn't seen him apply.

He stepped behind Jesse and pulled him back. “Watch, Olivia. I'm in charge. Your Jesse answers to me; you answer to me.”

“No.” Oh wow. He looked like he was going to do Jesse right in front of her, and Jesse seemed to want it.

“Yes,” he hissed, then bent Jesse over the bed right next to her and proceeded to fuck her lover up the ass. “He takes what I give him. This Circ belongs to me.”

She stared, enraptured by the sight of two handsome alpha males engaged in taboo pleasure. Jules reamed him with dominance in mind; he all but seethed with it. Jesse grunted as he took it, but she could feel his devotion, his acceptance of his leader, for whom he felt such respect.

Jules slowed and turned them, so that she faced Jesse head-on. So close, she could feel his breath fanning her flesh.

“Isn't it hot?” Gunnar breathed in her ear. “We normally don't do it this way unless we're changed, but we're making an exception for you. Jules doesn't want to overload you. Seeing the beast might send you screaming,” he teased and toyed with her earlobe.

His hand continued to knead her breast, while his other, which had caged her ribs, slid down to her mound. “Spread your legs. Let Fallon smell your sweet pussy.” The normal Olivia would have been embarrassed to be in such a situation. But the unreality of the moment, the sheer eroticism before her, awoke something long dormant within.

She shifted her feet and spread her legs wider, moaning with pleasure when he grazed a finger over her slick clit. He spread her folds and held her wide, exposing her for Jesse.

Jesse stared at her pussy and licked his lips.

Jules continued to ram into him. “Suck it, Fallon. Take her need and make it better. Then be prepared to share.” Jules groaned and shuddered, and she watched as he came inside the man she wanted with her last breath.

She couldn't make much sense of anything anymore. Jesse's lips found her clit, and he sucked hard.

Gunnar groaned and pulled her back, angling his cock to rest between her thighs, coated with her arousal. He slid back and forth as Jesse continued to eat her.

And then suddenly they landed in a human sandwich. Gunnar lay beneath her on the bed, while Jesse covered her on top.

Gunnar shifted and prodded her backside, but before she could protest, he pushed a thick cock into her ass. It should have hurt. That it didn't warned her all was totally off-kilter, especially when the burn paled next to the sheer pleasure of Jesse's mouth over her pussy. He thrust, first one finger, then two, into her channel.

“Damn, that's sexy,” Jules commented from behind Jesse. “Look at her eyes. She's Circ.

This changes everything.”

Olivia didn't care. She wanted Jesse inside her. Now. “Jesse, please.” He didn't stop. The teasing, his arousal and need, stoked her own. She blinked up at him and felt as if she saw him for the first time. His passion flamed around him: colorful, vibrant, so alive. His eyes, his fangs, the beastly part of his nature they referenced, drew her in a way no amount of petting or touching could.

“I want you inside me.” Not want— need. She ached to feel his seed spreading inside her.

Had to know that he would join her always. Gunnar helped fill her, but he couldn't sate her desire for Jesse, her mate. She instinctively glanced at Jules, relieved when he nodded his blessing. He radiated approval and lust, waiting for her to make her move.

She glanced back into Jesse's fiery gaze. My mate. Mine. “Now,” she growled.

“Oh yeah. Fuck, yes.” Jesse sighed and removed his fingers. He mounted her carefully, stretching her with a delicious burn as he filled her, sliding against the thin layer of flesh keeping him from Gunnar. “So tight. God, I won't last.”

Gunnar arched under her, his strength a thing of beauty as he flexed inside her. She should have cried out, stretched and bruised from such a large intrusion through her virgin flesh. Yet she didn't feel anything more than pleasure as they took her.

Time had no meaning as Jesse worked himself deeper, fucking her with more than physical movement, but with a mental penetration that sent him deep into her psyche.

“So tight. I love this. Can't get enough.” She heard the words clearly inside her head.

Waves of affection and something more, possession and a claiming, settled over her body and mind, now a part of her she could no longer separate.

Gunnar's hands held her hips and reached for Jesse's. Jules came forward and stroked Jesse's back. She could feel it. Joining Jesse, she now experienced everything he did, and the magnified desire unleashed a torrent of ecstasy.

She cried out at the beauty and sheer heat filling her. The utter rapture of belonging took her to another plane entirely.

Dimly aware of Gunnar grunting as he stiffened and came inside her, of Jules's encouragement as he stood behind Jesse, she centered only on her mate and waited for him to join her.

“Mine, baby. All mine,” he agreed as he surged one final time and shuddered. Pouring his seed, he didn't stop, coming inside her until his cum spilled over her and onto Gunnar, who shifted and groaned again. He pulsed inside her as Jesse withdrew and milked the rest of his passion over her belly.

When he finished, he gently kissed her and pulled away, taking her with him. Gunnar left her body, and she moaned as the emptiness returned. Jesse shifted to stand behind her, still caging her with his heat.

And then Jules was there, kissing her, nipping at her breasts.

“Accept me, accept him,” Jesse murmured, stroking her hair as Jules laid claim to the body the others had used.

Soothing warmth filled her as Jesse's leader became hers. Family, friends, brothers, and lovers. Indefinable by mere words, Jesse's relationship with these men would never cease, and Olivia recognized and accepted their importance.

She relaxed into Jules's hold, allowing him to lay her back down.

He fit himself inside her, pistoning with greater and greater speed. So thick, so hard. But before he came, he lifted his head and stared down into her eyes. His command unnerved her, and she glanced away, right into Jesse's loving eyes.

“That's it. Show him your throat,” Jesse said, his voice guttural with need. She saw his clear arousal, his cock once again hard and wet.

“Good girl,” Jules whispered. His breathing increased, and he pulled out, groaning as he jetted over her belly, leaving a huge mess all over her. Gunnar leaned close and jerked Jules's cock until he was fully spent.

Then, to her astonishment, both men kissed her and left the room.

Jesse pulled her to her feet and carried her into the adjoining bathroom. He turned on the shower and kissed her, no words necessary between them.

At that moment, right then, she understood.

She'd become one of them. And Jesse was elated. She didn't know how to feel, or even if she could, because the needs that had bound her to three men centered around one man. To her surprise, desire bloomed anew.

They stepped into the shower and started all over again.

Olivia ignored her doubts and fears. Instead she purred with pleasure as her lover showed her why he deserved her complete surrender.

“Holy shit.” Tersch leaned against the wall outside Jules's door. “They're going at it again.”

“Mates. A female Circ.” Jules couldn't begin to describe his deep satisfaction with the events that had just unfolded. “You realize what this means?”

“No wonder the other Circs were so damned possessive about their mates. That woman nearly killed me.” He stroked his now-flaccid cock. “I came so hard in that fine ass, Jules. You don't know.” He groaned when Jules covered his hand.

“I do know. If she hadn't belonged to Fallon, I would have coated her womb with my seed.

I think Sharpe somehow knew about this.”

“No way.”

“Come on. Even you can't be that dense.”

Tersch glared.

“Olivia isn't a linguist. This mission in Brazil should have gone to Doc's men up north.

Why the hell do you think we have it?”

“Fuck Circe's Recruits. We're good to go on this. Why should they have all the fun?”

“Think, Viking. They're solid. All mated, all stable. They'd be in and out of the lab without worrying about a civilian. Do you honestly believe I'd take Olivia with us if Hayashi hadn't seen it? I don't care what Sharpe says. I'd never take an innocent woman into harm's way, no matter how many languages she speaks. We've always made do before. We could function without Olivia on this one.”

“True,” Tersch said slowly. “So you think Alicia maneuvered this whole thing to see the fireworks between Olivia and Fallon?”

To Jules's surprise, Tersch sounded worried. “What's wrong? I thought you liked Olivia.”

“I do.”

“If I'm right about this, Fallon won't suffer from the mating heat anymore. I don't know about you, but holding it back has been taking its toll.” Tersch nodded. “I didn't want to admit it. Hayashi seems okay.”

“He's not. He's been having some bad dreams.”

“That why he's not here today?” Jules looked at him, and Tersch colored. “Oh come on. I know chicks aren't his thing. But he'd be here for Fallon if needed.”

“I know. But he wasn't needed. Olivia submitted to me. She now knows her place.” Tersch frowned. “So why was I there?”

Jules had him by the throat in seconds. He ignored the Viking's gasp. “So you know your place. Olivia belongs to Fallon. You play with her when he says so. Not on your own,” Jules growled to make certain Tersch understood the warning. The large male had a problem with anger, which occasionally led to problems with authority. With a squad as small as theirs, Jules's leadership stood out, but the remaining three members played on an equal field. Sometimes Tersch forgot that fact and tried to take over.

“Shit, Jules. I get it,” he rasped. “Can I have my throat back?” Jules let him go. “Just think. If Sharpe did this, she might be able to find women for the rest of us.”

“Except for Hayashi,” Tersch grumbled.

Jules narrowed in on the anxiety he could see around the large Circ. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing. Just don't expect me to be thankful for trouble I don't need. I don't want a mate.

I'm happy with the way things are.”

“You like being fucked up the ass?” Jules asked drily.

Tersch flushed. “Hell, most of the time, I'm the one doing the fucking. You're the only one who demands I bend over for you.”

“So maybe you and Kisho—”

“Fuck you.” Tersch scowled.

Jules grinned. “I didn't think so. But sex with normal women doesn't scratch the itch, my friend. You need more. And the mating heat won't get any better. The other Circs thought it might help finding females. But you've seen how jealous they get about sharing their mates. Hell, you saw how Fallon challenged me for the woman. Olivia's bound to him and him alone.” He couldn't help feeling glad for Fallon, but a part of him hungered for a mate to call his own.

“Maybe. Even in the old days, Fallon had a thing for threesomes.” Tersch's sly grin returned, and Jules's unease vanished. “I have a feeling his Olivia may just be into some kink.

Woman liked me inside her while homeboy rode her. I'll give them some time, then try again later.”

He left and disappeared into his own room.

Jules stood naked in the hallway, knowing he needed to talk to Mrs. Sharpe again. The woman could deny it all she wanted, but his gut told him Fallon had her to thank for Olivia. The question then remained: What would Olivia say when she understood her new place in their Circ-ordered world? And how could they risk a precious female on a mission that had the potential to go so very, very wrong?