“Setzan. How bad is it?”
As he moved, more blood seeped through his fingers. His forehead shone with perspiration. Instead of the easy smile, his mouth was clenched in a tight line.
“It is nothing, but you need to go, mate. It’s too dangerous for you here,” Setzan said.
“More dangerous than being caged in a dank, dark cave in the middle of nowhere? And just how are you going to get out of here? Chew your way through the bars? Let me see Klaej.”
“Mate. You try my patience,” Rujali said, but he sighed and shifted so she could see his brother.
“Klaej, I’m sorry I did that to you. I…” Her voice broke and she couldn’t stuff any words past her tongue.
“All is well. I respect you were able to render me helpless. Not many are able to do that,” Klaej said.
She rested her forehead against the bars, trying to wrap her mind around the fact they didn’t seem mad with her for doing that to him in the first place.
“I don’t know why you all treat me so well,” she said, drawing the device from her waistband. “I hope this goes a little way to make up for it.”
Something wrapped around her ankle. She gasped, looking down. A thin, black cord had wrapped around her calf. There was a gigantic tug and she came down onto her stomach and was dragged backwards.
A hard grip on her wrist held her in traction. Setzan locked his hand next to Rujali’s on her arm. Together they tugged her toward them.
The cord on her ankle tightened, cutting into her skin. Pain zipped up her leg, white-hot and furious. She kicked at it but it only gripped her tighter and wound further up her leg. The tip of the cord waved, as though it was seeking something. As though it was alive.
She looked at Rujali and Setzan through blurred vision. “Let me go.”
“I will never let you go, mate,” Rujali said.
“It’ll rip my leg off if you don’t.” She threw the device into the cell and unsheathed the sword at her back. “I need two hands to cut it.”
Rujali’s lips peeled back to reveal gritted teeth. His eyes burned bright like supernovas as they impaled her.
“It’ll pull me in half if you don’t let go.” She groaned out loud as a fresh wave of pain slashed up her spine.
Rujali reached through the bars and ripped a blade from the arsenal she’d clipped into her waist. He pressed a button and the blade erupted with blue streaks of electricity. “This is strong enough to cut us free. When I release you, I will come for you. Trust us.”
Trust. Such a simple thing that was so hard. Something inside her gave away to a fuller emotion she had no name for. She only realized it was something worth fighting for.
“I do. You have to understand that I can look after myself. Now let go. Please.” Her tendons were stretched as far as they would go and pain rocketed through her body.
“I understand.” Rujali levelled a serious look at her before he said, “Ready, Setzan?”
“For anything.” Setzan’s voice was tight and low.
They let her go.
She was yanked along the ground and into the depths of darkness.
Chapter Fourteen
Setzan
Setzan understood why they had to let their mate go, but it was the hardest thing he’d ever had to do.
Riley’s face was scrunched in agony. She was barely holding on. Her body was rigid, tremors working through her with each tug of whatever had her in its grip. Riley slipped the analgesic device through the bars. It fell to the dirt at his feet.
“Ready, Setzan?”
Rujali grit his teeth, his whole body on edge. He didn’t have to like what was happening. He just had to get it done.
“For anything.”
Setzan forced his fingers to release her. One by one they came away with the willpower born from the warrior he was.
Riley disappeared into the darkness before he could even blink. Whatever had her was fast. Too fast.
With a roar, Rujali swung the weapon through the bars, the metal melting beneath the heat of the electri-blade. Nothing could stand in the way of Negari metal. Honed through the power of the crystal, it was even harder than the condensed metals of a sun-dried meteorite.
As Rujali cut through the bars, Setzan rammed the tip of the analgesic device into Klaej’s thigh, administering the Corrective. Klaej fought the effects, his body coming back to life with jerky movements.
“Get her!” Rujali yelled as he shoved to his feet.
Setzan was already bolting in the direction Riley had disappeared. The darkness was so thick, that once he was out from the weak light of the cell, he lost direction. Klaej stumbled next to him, holding the tip of the analgesic in front, giving their surroundings the tint of a blue light. Combined with the light from the electri-blade, they could see a few paces ahead.
“Can you smell her Klaej?” Setzan asked.
“I’m going to rip whatever has her into tiny little pieces.” A muscle ticked at Klaej’s jaw, and his limbs twitched as the effects of the analgesic wore away. He lifted the corner of his mouth and snarled. Setzan had never seen him this angered. This feral. He completely understood it.
Klaej bolted deeper into the tunnel system and they followed. The tunnel they ran through looked more like a borehole that twisted and turned in no apparent direction. It certainly wasn’t a naturally occurring tunnel. Something about it set his teeth on edge. The wall looked as though it had been chewed to create the tunnel.
A scream echoed around his ears. All three of them put on an extra burst of speed. He skidded around the next bend.
Riley was on her back, hacking at the black cord with one of their blades with everything she had. Towering above her was something from his worst nightmare.
Thousands of razor-sharp triangular teeth buzzed in concentric circles in a gaping maw that dripped luminous green saliva. Riley’s sword slashed into gelatinous folds of its enormous slimy black body. Black ropes extended from various sections of the creature and wrapped around her limbs. One arm was held immobile. The blade was ripped out of her hand by one cord, while other ropes writhed around her arm, holding her arms over her head.
She screamed, a sound of anger and rage rather than pain and fear. Their mate was a little warrior in her own right. She kicked into the rubbery body of the creature, but her boot scraped harmlessly over its skin because of the shining secretions.
Klaej roared. Setzan had never heard him make such a sound. It went straight into his gut and kicked him into action. There was a trail of weapons leading towards Riley. They must have come loose as she was dragged across the ground.
He scooped up a high-powered projectile and pointed it at the creature. How she’d come to be in possession of Rujali’s most prized weaponry was a question for another time. He was just grateful she’d had the foresight to load herself up.
He set the projectile to maximum setting and squeezed the trigger. A liquid blue stream of laser-heat erupted, slamming into the beast. It writhed as the laser cut a pathway across its skin. An eerie scream rent the air, almost making Setzan drop the weapon and cover his ears. A sharp, acidic smell of burning flesh filled his nostrils, and his stomach turned.
Rujali severed the black strands that held their mate down. The creature screamed again, writhing in pain as the ends of the tendrils oozed yellow fluid. They flapped around and drops of yellow splattered them all, reeking of rotting innards of the long dead.
Setzan kept up a steady laser stream while Rujali grabbed Riley’s outstretched hand and pulled her away from the beast. Klaej charged in, stabbing the creature over and over with the blue end of the analgesic device.
The creature erupted with another ear-splitting scream as parts of its body became more and more inflexible.
The analgesic was working.
Riley struggled to her feet and pulled a Blowgun from one of the many sheaths she had strung around her waist. Setzan gasped as he saw just how many weapons she had strung off her tiny body. Their mat
e was truly a warrior in her own right. She cocked the weapon—how did she even know how to use it?—pointed the end, and squeezed the trigger.
A steady stream of light-formed bullets sprayed the creature. Each bullet burst through its skin. It thrashed about and with a tremendous screech, twisted around and slithered away.
His weapon clattered to the ground, lost from his numb limbs. He stumbled to Riley, catching her arms in his hands, and checked for blood, bruises, injuries. To his horror, she was covered in them.
She swayed on her feet. She was pale, her lips chapped, hair matted and covered in blood—but she was alive.
“Are you gonna keep on turning me like a Christmas Turkey, or are you gonna hug me?” she asked, pushing a faint smile.
She wanted to be held. He was only too happy to comply. He crumpled her into his chest, wound his arms around her, and held her as tightly as he dared.
She tapped his shoulder. “Can’t. Breathe.”
He eased his embrace, but not so much that she could move away from him. He descended on her, devouring her mouth in one fluid motion. His heart pounded when she wrapped her arms around his neck, pushed close up against him, and kissed him back with as much fervor. His tongue swept inside her mouth, delving into her wet heat. Her taste exploded on his tongue. He moaned into her mouth and the feeling of completeness swept through him. Something inside him calmed, and then sparked with a burst of heat. His groin thickened with excitement, pressing against her belly. He couldn’t help the way his hips twitched, or the spark of desire that was quickly peaking.
“Setzan. My turn.” It was Klaej, his voice rough.
Setzan pulled back from the kiss, noting with satisfaction the glazed look in Riley’s eyes and her lips wet and puffy.
Klaej’s skin had become the color of emeralds as he stood watching Setzan kiss their mate. Klaej needed her as much as they all did. Setzan handed her over to Klaej, helping her wind her arms around his brother’s neck.
Klaej cupped the back of her head and devoured her mouth as his thick arms embraced her small form. Setzan couldn’t stop touching her. He came behind her, pressing his front into her back, needing that contact. He ran his fingers down the curve of her spine, fascinated by the delicate arc before both hands came to rest on her curvaceous backside. He kneaded the muscle there, captivated by how the plump cheeks filled his palms in just the right measure.
A hand rested on his shoulder, and he looked up at Rujali. He would also need their mate. Setzan went to move so that he could tend to Riley, but Rujali held him there.
“No. Stay there,” he said. “She needs to feel all of us.”
Klaej pulled back from their kiss and Rujali cupped Riley’s chin, gently turning her head towards him. Rujali bent, stroking his mouth against hers. Tension escaped Rujali’s shoulders. His tongue flicked out, tracing the soft pillow of her lips. His eyes flickered closed as he kissed her in the gentlest of ways.
“See how much we care for you, mate. See what you do to us,” Setzan murmured in her ear.
He slid the tip of his tongue around the shell of her ear, delighting when she shuddered with tiny little tremors.
His fingers of one hand delved between her backside, following the deeper heat that was between her legs. He rubbed back and forth, his middle finger roving so far beneath her that he only retreated back when he found the end of her slit.
His increased the strength of his touch, pausing when he reached her clit. She jolted when he circled that little nub and then applied pressure. She was in the cage of all of them, caught when she tried to move out from his touch.
“Now, now, mate. You need to take whatever we wish to dish out,” Setzan said.
“What are you doing, brother?” Klaej asked.
“I’m circling her little clit and it’s causing little electric currents to jolt right through her body. Isn’t that right, mate?” Setzan said.
Rujali intensified his kiss, latching onto her lips more fully, while his tongue dipped and explored her mouth. Her hands fluttered as she moaned, one finding Klaej, the other between him and Rujali, interlocking them all together.
“Is she getting wet, brother?” Klaej asked.
“I think so, but it’s hard to tell with all this material in the way. Let me check,” Setzan said.
Setzan slid his fingers beneath the waistband at her belly, her skin scorching his palm. His fingers slipped right through the wet heat of her intimate folds. She jerked as his fingers travelled all the way to her entrance where he entered her with the tip of his finger. He pulled back, circling her clit before stroking back down again. His fingers surged through her slick folds, which became wetter with each soft, slow stroke.
There was satisfaction in teasing her. Knowing that he had the power to build her up, to make her forget about everything so that her body could peak.
“She is sopping, brother. And getting wetter with each stroke of my hand. Do you think if I penetrate her with my fingers, she’ll find her crest?”
“There is only one way to find out,” Klaej said. “Do it, brother. Make her find her climax.”
Setzan didn’t hesitate. His fingers slid right through her slick folds and he skewered her with his long finger to his knuckle. She moaned and Rujali swallowed the sound. Setzan withdrew to allow two fingers to enter her with the next stroke. He pressed the heel of his palm into her clit, rubbing and stroking it with each pass of his hand.
Her body trembled and tensed. Her internal muscles rippled around his thick digits. She was close. So close. He increased the speed and the pressure, his palm grinding into her.
“That’s right, Riley. Let us release some of that stress,” Setzan said.
Her body was strung taunt like a bow for a moment before she screamed into Rujali’s mouth. Setzan eased his fingers in and out of her wet entrance, helping her ride out her orgasm until she sagged in the middle of all three of them.
He reluctantly slid his fingers out of her core before putting his middle finger into his mouth. Riley’s scent surrounded him, and her taste exploded on his tongue. She gasped and he caught her staring up at him. He withdrew his finger, licking off her essence while she watched.
“Delicious. I’ll never get enough of tasting you. I think I’ll have to eat you out every day. I’ll do it with my fingers, my mouth, my tongue.” He thrust against her backside, his rigid cock jammed between the cleft of her cheeks. “My cock.”
“You… that’s…” Her mouth bobbed open, but the words dried up. She couldn’t seem to find anything more to say.
“And that’s how I like you, mate. So satisfied that you can’t speak. It will be my mission to satiate you. As will we all. Now let’s get the hells out of here before that thing comes back. I’ll be happy if I never come across anything like that again in my life,” he said.
Rujali caught her chin. Her eyes slid up to his, compliant in her post-climactic state. “This time, mate. There will be no escape.”
Chapter Fifteen
Riley
She’d just orgasmed. Right after the battle of her life with a creature out of her worst nightmare. Riley had to admit, it was one hell of a way to release tension.
She could just imagine the SAS treating all their soldiers like this. Well, folks, you’ve just fought for your life, now go get yourself off and relieve some tension.
Yeah. Probably wouldn’t go over too well with the top brass. They weren’t prone to handing out handjobs to soldiers.
“Which wouldn’t have happened if I’d been able-bodied,” Klaej said. His eyes glittered as he peered down at her.
Guilt sent a swift reminder in the form of a kick to her gut. “About that… I’m sorry.”
This was her fault. If she’d used another tactic to get away, they might not be in this situation.
“Nonsense! I am proud that you fought. Not many men can say they have a brave warrior as a mate,” Klaej said.
He stared down at her, his expression pleased. A breath of air e
scaped her and she shook her head in astonishment. “What about you two?”
“Not many can bring Klaej to his knees,” Setzan said.
“And you brought him to his backside,” Rujali said with a grin.
Klaej growled and stared daggers at his brothers. She could hardly believe they were okay with her actions. If she was back home, her commanding officer would have had her up on charges so fast her eyes would have spun in their sockets.
“That may be so, but it’s a long trek back to the airport,” she said.
Rujali scowled. “Airport?”
“Yeah. The place with all those vehicles. Spaceships, I guess you could say. Where I first saw you,” she said.
“Ah. Helion 6 Spaceport,” Setzan said.
“We’ll be able to find another craft there,” Klaej said. “And then we will take our mate home.”
“Home? You mean… you’ll take me back to Earth?” Riley asked.
The pregnant pause said it all.
She huffed a cynical laugh. “Right. Your home. What I want doesn’t even factor into it, does it?”
Rujali stroked her cheek. Her first response was to lean into his touch, because if she was totally honest with herself, that touch was more like home than the bare barracks she called a place to sleep, but her control remained tight, the betrayal strong. They never had any intentions of taking her home.
“Mate… Riley. We have never heard of this Earth. We’ve never heard of your planet and we have no idea where it is,” Rujali said. The beads clacked as he bent his head towards hers.
“You’ve… never heard of Earth? I thought with spacecraft and being on another planet and everything, you would have heard of it,” Riley said.
Setzan shook his head, his expression tight. “Never. We’ve never even seen a female like you before.”
“A human? You’ve never seen a human? What about all of those space probes NASA sent blasting into the galaxies?” she said.
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