Love, Encoded (Selected Evolution Series Book 1) Read online

  On the bridge of the Umdya, Adam glanced at the control panel he stood behind as a blinking green light grabbed his attention. He smiled; Sarah had come aboard. Warm anticipation spiked through him as fate gave him the opportunity to hunt down his and Nick’s soul mate and begin phase one of her capture. And that would include taking a gamble and telling her exactly what positions he and Nick held in the Anaconian crew. They would not deny her all the information she needed to make her choice. No more secrets.

  The impatience riding him and Nick to make Sarah their own hounded them night and day and their determination to do all within their power to make her realise they were hers and she was theirs, lacked nothing.

  He glanced over at Kane. “I’ll be in engineering.”

  The transmorphic’s glance flicked up to him. “Good luck,” the other man murmured.

  Adam nodded and walked off the bridge. He and Nick knew Sarah tortured herself with the win/lose options before them. If she committed to a relationship with him and Nick, that would mean choosing between two paths. One, he and Nick abandoned the Anaconians to stay with her on Earth so she would not be parted from her brother. Knowing Sarah, the guilt of them not following their aspirations would weigh heavily on her—not conducive to a healthy relationship. Or two, she would go with them to Alpha Aquarii, which would mean leaving her beloved brother behind, no doubt breaking her heart.

  The other alternative was that she would refuse them and send them on their way with the Anaconians. As far as he and Nick were concerned, that was not an option.

  Never would be.

  They’d given her the space she’d needed to process the new reality of her life. Well, she thought they had anyway and that was the main concern. They’d practically driven Marnia insane with demands for updates on Sarah’s welfare. What she was doing, how she was coping, and ordering the ship’s chef to prepare all of Sarah’s favourite meals.

  He pulled in a deep breath, hardening his resolve. They could make her happy, if only she would let them. And they damn well intended that to happen.

  He reached engineering and walked quietly to the rear, corner recess. Sarah’s voluptuous form, covered in a body hugging teal-coloured jumpsuit, bent over a control panel, her back to him. The skin on his hands tingled with the thought of palming her pert ass and squeezing. But, damn! He and Nick wished she wouldn’t wear the one-piece curve-revealing uniform around the other protectors.

  Possessive anger stormed through him at the thought of the other men’s eyes roaming and appreciating what was his and Nick’s—despite the quiet word he and Nick had had to every man on board about whom she belonged. They’d staked their claim, now all they had to do was win her trust, and as soon as she accepted their love was real, every damn jumpsuit would be shredded.

  Well, maybe they’d keep one.

  He leaned a shoulder into a bulkhead and ran his hungry gaze over her.

  “Hello, my angel.”

  Her head lifted and she peered over her shoulder at him. He gave her a lazy, ‘I’ve-got-you-cornered-and-I’m-going-to-make-the-most-of-it’ smile. A sparkle lit her eyes and the welcoming tilt of her elegant lips seemed to swell every cell in his bloodstream with blazing heat. Oh yeah, he was definitely going to make the most of it.

  “Hi!” Her gaze roved behind him. “Where’s Nick?”

  “Working on something at home. You’ve just got me.”

  Heated interest flashed through her eyes before she lowered her lids. “I’m glad to see you.”

  The deep sincerity in her voice sent a storm of elated sensation prickling under his skin. “I’m really glad to see you too, angel. What brought you to the Umdya?”

  Sarah turned back to her work and he took a step towards her, unable to resist getting closer.

  “You and Nick. I also—”

  Me and Nick? His heart did a figurative air punch. He reached out and placed his hand on the small of her back. A shiver traced from her to him and scorched a line of fire straight to his cock.

  “—I’m, uh, I’m . . .”

  Adam moved his hand up Sarah’s spine then curved his fingers around her ribcage to dally just below her breast.

  “I’m . . .” Her short, choppy breath teased the volatile hunger lurking just below the surface of his control. “I’m . . .” He slid the tip of his thumb over the lower curve of her breast and wrapped his body around hers. “Adam! You’re not helping.”

  “Sure I am,” he murmured against her neck, delighted by the rush of goose bumps that prickled her smooth skin beneath his lips. He opened his mouth and flattened his tongue on the column of her throat. Her creamy taste tripped every raging instinct in him to claim her, bind her to him and Nick. Sensual heat flooded his cock, hardening him to primal readiness. He slipped his other hand around to her stomach and pulled her back against him, tucking her snug into his body. Her luscious butt cradled his thighs, the small of her back his aching arousal.

  “Adam, I’ve got—”

  “You’ve got me on the very edge, my angel,” he growled.

  She wriggled against him. Intense pleasure feathered his balls. A bead of liquid heat surged up his rigid shaft. His slipped his hand down her stomach and cupped her between her legs. Sarah’s gasp of pleasure lured him on and he gently massaged the lips shielding her clit, teasing her, drawing out her passion.

  “Adam, I need to—”

  “I know what you need, angel, let me give it to you.”

  “That’s not . . . what I meant. Agh! Tablet,” she squeaked, “call Nick.”

  The communications app on Sarah’s work tablet buzzed. He grinned; if she thought she would get help from that quarter she was very much mistaken.

  “Hi, baby!” Nick’s low baritone surged from the speakers. “What can I do for you?”

  Adam pressed the length of a finger into Sarah’s folds. Her muffled groan of desire almost undid him. “You can, oohhh, come and”— her voice broke into a pant—“get Adam.”

  “Oh? What’s he up to?”

  Adam leaned forward. “I’m implementing Plan A.”

  “You’re alone? What stage are you up to?”

  “Of course. Two.”

  “How’s she responding?”

  “Listen for yourself.”

  Sarah’s gasp and moan heightened his pleasure at holding their woman in his arms.

  “Nick!”

  “Yes, baby?”

  “Are you going to c-come—”

  Nick’s chuckle reverberated with lust. “I plan to, baby, but not before you.”

  “Oh, heavens.”

  She almost went limp in Adam’s embrace. “Taking you there, angel.”

  “Is our lady wearing the jumpsuit or the two piece?” Nick asked.

  “Jumpsuit.”

  “Open the Velcro tabs down the front.”

  Adam released his hold on Sarah’s sex, knowing he’d return to that sweet haven soon—and without the barrier of clothing. He wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted his other hand to the top her suit. Her small hands clasped his wrist. He gripped the Velcro tag and pulled. The tearing sound of the fastener releasing tightened the arousal coursing through his system. He straightened his and Sarah’s bodies and moved down to the next fastening. Pulled. Golden lace covered creamed-honey skin. His mouth watered.

  Adam grabbed the front placket of Sarah’s jumpsuit and wrenched it open all the way to her crotch. She leaned her back into him, her eyes closed. He pulled in a deep breath perfumed with the musky vanilla scent of her arousal. His cock twitched, tested the elasticity of his own suit.

  “Tell me what you see,” Nick demanded, his heavy breathing matching Adam’s own.

  “Luscious curves encased in threads of gold.”

  “Caress her stomach.”<
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  Adam laid his palm over the smooth skin of Sarah’s belly and rubbed a continuous, small circle. Her breath hitched and her shoulders pressed into his chest. A purr vibrated from her throat.

  The sound of rustling cloth whispered from the speakers.

  “Go lower,” Nick growled.

  My pleasure.

  Adam pressed a kiss to Sarah’s cheek and sent his all too eager fingers angling towards her curls. She arched into him, her hips thrust forward. He strained every bit of will power he had left and halted the advance of his hand.

  “Tell us you want this, angel,” he murmured into her ear.

  She opened passion-laden eyes and stared at him. “Yes.” Her breathy response and submissive expression ramped his arousal from hard to granite. He gritted his teeth, closed his eyes and willed his body not to fly apart.

  “Tell us you accept our love.”

  Her soft, rapid breath puffed against his jaw. Need dragged at his control, urged him to strip her bare, bend her over the console and sink so far into her sweet depths she would never believe he was not a part of her. He lifted a hand and captured one of her breasts. Her lush weight filled his palm. God he hoped she answered his demand in a loud voice or he’d never hear her over the pounding of his blood in his ears.

  Her breasts rose to a deep breath and she tilted her head to gaze at him. The soft look of complete adoration in her eyes almost took his knees out from under him. An intense shiver of need speared through his entire being. His arms contracted and held her closer.

  “I wanted to tell both of you,” she whispered.

  “Adam,” Nick’s growl sounded as exquisitely pained as Adam felt. “Show her how much we love her, how much we value her.”

  “Your our world, angel. Believe that wherever you are is where we want to be.” Adam pushed the heel of his palm into Sarah’s lower abdomen. Her mewl of encouragement almost dragged his every conscious thought into a whirlpool of instinct and desire. “If you want to remain on Earth”—his exploring fingers failed to encounter the expected band of silk—“sweet Jesus!” He swallowed hard and clenched every muscle in his body to control the surge of eroticism that threatened to explode from his balls. “Angel, where’re your knickers?”

  A groan burst from the tablet speakers.

  Sarah turned on him the sweet smile of an untried siren. “I was coming to see you both when I finished my work here.” Her eyebrows rose a millimetre, taunting him. “Is that a problem?”

  Adam closed his eyes and breathed through the red-hot waves of craving pounding at him.

  “Baby,” Nick growled, “if you’re aiming to have him come before you do, you’re heading in the right direction.”

  Sarah’s smile of wanton delight shredded the last of Adam’s control. He laid claim to her lips with a passion bent on domination and seduction. Need thundered through his body and he thrust his hand to the heart of her sex. Warm moisture slid against his fingers as he combed through her curls then delved between the silky-slick walls guarding her clit.

  She moaned into his mouth. A harsh gasp echoed from the speakers.

  “Bring her to the edge.” By the sound of Nick’s rough tone he was as close to exploding as Adam.

  Adam tapped Sarah’s swollen bud. She writhed and he strengthened the hold of his arm wrapped around her to keep her secure. He probed her mouth, starving for her taste. Moisture engulfed his fingers and he circled her clit, increasing the pressure as she moaned her pleasure. Blistering ecstasy plucked viciously at his balls, fighting his control to be free. His cock felt so damn engorged he’d be surprised if he didn’t spontaneously combust. Damn, he couldn’t even breathe evenly.

  “Bring our woman to completion.”

  How the hell Nick had enough air in his lungs to speak was beyond him. Adam pressed his thumb to Sarah’s clit and penetrated her core with two fingers. Her slick muscles gripped him. He squeezed her breast, her body quivered, riding his hand. Frantically he teased the wild passion building in her, urging it to break free. He curved his fingers, searching for the exact spot that would mirror and expand the pleasure swelling in her clit.

  Her breath caught and her body bowed. Her inner muscles pulsed around his fingers and a long, sensual moan rolled from her throat. He gazed at the abandoned beauty of their woman climaxing in his arms.

  Ours. No one else’s. Ours to cherish, ours to love.

  Sarah’s hand latched onto his upper thigh, her fingers dug into his muscle. Her thumb slipped between his legs and brushed his balls. Scalding pleasure spiked with no hope of containment. A stream of heated ecstasy surged up his cock, inflaming every nerve along the way with intense pleasure. His arms contracted, imprisoned Sarah to him as his hips pumped into her caressing hand. A half-strangled moan forced passed the passion clenching his throat. An echoing groan of completion resounded from the speakers.

  Adam drew in deep, heavy breaths and eased his binding grip on Sarah, marvelling at the profound and erotic heights she had taken him to. She filled his being to completion.

  Her breasts pushed against his possessive forearm as she inhaled.

  “Well that was far superior to my finger,” she murmured.

  He gasped at the image her words provoked. “You’re a wicked woman.”

  She turned her head and smiled up at him. “Why should I have all the fun?” Her gaze drifted to her tablet. “Nick, are you, um, okay?”

  “Baby, the only thing that would improve the way I feel is to have you in my arms right now.”

  A provocative smirk tilted her lips. “Perhaps next time I can have my wicked way with you while Adam watches.”

  Nick’s deep, relaxed laugh rumbled from the tablet.

  “Don’t tempt me, angel,” Adam warned. “Remember what we said about stamina?”

  She grinned at him and lifted an eyebrow. “I’m counting on it.”

  Adam growled at her. “Seductress. As it is I’m going to have to take you to our on board cabin and clean us both up. Don’t think I’m immune to the thought of stripping you down and washing you.”

  She chuckled and a delightful shade of pink infused her cheeks. “How are we going to get there without any, uh, embarrassing encounters?”

  He reached into a top pocket, pulled out a flat, egg-shaped device and held it up. “Remote site-to-site transport.”

  “Ah. Come prepared, did you?”

  He lifted a hand and cupped her chin in his fingers. “Not prepared enough for the effect you have on me. My only intent was to bring you pleasure, not find my own.” He grimaced. “Especially not in my own pants. God, I feel like a neophyte. You, my lady, are dynamite.”

  Her hand lifted and she palmed the side of his face, the look of love in her eyes started his blood pounding again. “Maybe, but you two are my fuse.” Her gentle smile lit his life. “Let me finish what I was working on before you interrupted me so delightfully.”

  Adam loosened his tight embrace, but kept a hand on the luscious curve of her hip. He plucked at the sticky material gluing itself to his lower stomach. Yuck. But it was worth the mild embarrassment to see the triumph glowing in Sarah’s eyes, knowing she could affect him so much.

  “Do you always do what Nick tells you?” she asked, tapping instructions into the control panel.

  “When we’re shipboard, yes.”

  “Oh?”

  And here it is. “He’s the Chief Officer.”

  Her head snapped up and she gazed at him. “I thought you trained to be pilots?”

  “We did, but Nick’s so good at telling people what to do, Draken said he wanted him as his second in command.”

  Her lids lowered and he could practically see the cogs working behind her eyes, assimilating that information, the import it would have for them.

  “And you?�
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  “I’m pilot prime.”

  She blinked. “You mean you’re the best pilot?”

  “Yes.”

  “You can rely on us, baby.” The absolute resolution in Nick’s voice reflected their total commitment. “Forever. That’s a solemn promise. We’ll be your rocks, your safe harbour in any storm.”

  “And you are not to go anywhere without at least one of us.” Adam couldn’t help adding that rider.

  They were so close to gaining a commitment from her, he could feel it. No way was he going to let anything in the Universe threaten the life they could have together.

  “Okay,” Sarah said, tapping a final command into the console and turning to him. “That’s done.”

  Adam stared down at her and ran the back of his knuckles down her smooth cheek. “I won’t come with you into the shower. I know I couldn’t resist you.”

  She wrapped one of her small hands around his forearm. “And I couldn’t resist you, but I’d like our first time to be all together.”

  He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist.

  “As my lady wishes.”

  Chapter 10

  Four busy days later, Sarah affixed the final connection to the penultimate batch of stasis chambers she was installing in the Umdya, and then checked their operation. Satisfied the microbial occupants remained secure in their stasis life, she patted the side of the capsule and took a step back. A bip-bip sought her attention and she retrieved her work tablet from a pocket and gazed at the information displayed. Ten minutes later she stuck her head around the bulkhead leading into Marnia’s shipboard quarters.