Page 71 of Caged By the Ruthless Thief

“Come here, Sunshine.” His trademark smirk sits in place. He devours her with his eyes. She jumps into his arms, wrapping her legs around his back. Steadying her with one hand, he guides her hips against his cock. He turns, and I expect him to put her on the bed, but he hands her to me. Her hands are in my hair. Each swipe of my tongue in her mouth has her pulling me closer. Her heels lock around my butt, and I’m granted a personal show when she grinds herself against me.

I break our kiss. A few more gyrations from Belle, and I’ll lose myself on her stomach. I jump up on the mattress and carry her to the middle, placing her there tenderly. It’s just better to start in the middle. I’m still standing, my left foot tangled up in the blanket, when Nico joins us.

“Hold on there. Just stop.” Eros raises his voice. “Hands in the air, Sunshine.”

“No,” Nico says. He has one hand on Belle’s breast and the other around her neck. Her head tilts back, lips parted. She’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. She’s mine. Ours.

“This is important. This is our time. It’s our moment as a pod.” Eros stands at the bottom of the bed, his cock sticking straight out. “We need to see that mark and relish it.”

“Nico.” Belle’s breathy voice is a cross between a sigh and a moan.

“Annabelle.” A warning.

I drop to my knees next to her. I know what Eros is trying to get at. This is important. This time together, with her mark almost complete, it means even more than when we mated Belle. This is going to make us a pod.

“Please,” she asks.

Nico growls and rolls to his side.

“Hold your hand up, Belle. Show it to us.” When she does, my skin lights up. I’m on fire. I want to devour her, and yet she’s too pretty to touch. I’m an overflowing well in a desert during the rainy season. She has changed everything for me. For all of us. Her hand forward, she turns her wrist, showing each of us, and then looks at it herself. She stares at it for a long time, and tears slowly roll down the sides of her face.

“Hey. Are you okay?” I kiss one of her tears away. She’s still focused on the mark on her hand.

“I wish I’d known my mother. Like, I have vague memories of her. I know that’s hard. You didn’t know your mother either.” She reaches for me and then Nico. Then turns to Eros. “Your mother is lovely.”

Eros nods, and for fucking once, the smirk is off his lips.

“I just... I don’t know. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a mother. I know that’s not something that happens here. Not with the issues here. I always thought of myself as lucky that I lived in a time where I could choose to have children or not.”

I grab her hand and kiss her palm. “If you don’t want to have children, we won’t. We’ll figure something else out. We can leave together. Or stand up to the governor council.”

“Little Krill, I’ve taken enough from you. If you don’t want to have podlets, then we don’t have podlets.”

Tears are streaming faster now. “No, yes. I’m not sure. I think I do want children—podlets. But I’m not sure I’ll be a good enough mother.”

“That’s...” Eros shakes his head and then crawls up the bed faster than a sailfish. He blows a raspberry on her belly. Her hands snap to his dark hair. He does it again, and she’s laughing, the tears still flowing. “Simply not true. You will be the most amazing, patient mother. Look at what you’ve had to put up with.” Eros inclines his head to Nico and then me. But she’s smiling, and I don’t care what he does or says now. Her eyes sparkle in the afternoon light. “You’re in charge, Sunshine. What you want, we’ll do.” Eros lowers his head and licks up her core.

She turns to me, and I nod in agreement. Then she turns to Nico. He nods too. I lean in, and before I capture her lips, I whisper, “Anything.”

Nico grunts, “Anything,” and pulls her nipple into his mouth. “But enough talking for now.”

“Agreed.” She arches her back as Eros works her clit. The rest of us are along for the ride—Nico at her breasts, me suckling along her neck, focusing on the tender spot behind her ear that I know she likes so much. No, this is where I want to be for a really long time.

33

CASTOR

I’m acting like a podlet. The best thing for me to do would be to make a proposition to Saraphina from Braesen. She’d be the best thing for my political career. I’d learn to love her. I’ve known for a long time that following through on the pact with Nico wasn’t something I would do.

The memory of them on the mattress during Vividaria isn’t something I will ever forget. Yes, I’ve been in Annabelle’s pod bed. But seeing them go at it without me has left me spinning, chasing my tail. I can’t stop thinking about her.

The package in my hand is burning hot. This isn’t something I should have done without asking Nico and Holter. Or Eros, damn him. I’ve heard nothing from any of them since Vividaria. My gut twists. Not how Nico’s healing or how Annabelle is doing after Eros mated her without her talking to the others. Nothing. I only know how Alder is doing because I make it a point to go and see him and Muster every day at Mother’s. The two of them are trying to figure out what they should do. But mostly I’ve seen the two of them just staring at each other, which Dad says is progress. Two days ago, Alder was just throwing things at Muster.

I push the button for the seabed. I need to get back to Athens. I can’t delay it anymore. The company needs me, and I need to train one of my brothers as a replacement. It’s going to take a lot to pull one or two of them up to speed.

The door slides open three floors after mine. It’s Pertusio, the doctor who saved both Nico and Alder. “Castor.” He steps on and gives me a nod.

“Pertusio.”

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