by Ivy Barrett
A slow, sexy smile rolled across his black lips as his face gradually lowered toward hers. She thought he was going to kiss her, and her heart leapt with the oddest combination of joy and dread. This was the one intimate act she’d experienced often. She enjoyed kissing, loved how she felt when a human man held her close and gently slid his tongue into her mouth. Would it be different with an alien? His lips brushed against hers for a millisecond. She held her breath and waited for the demanding thrust of his tongue. Was it black like his lips? She’d never paid attention, tried not to look at the Ventori. Eye contact invited interaction, and she didn’t want to interact with them.
All he did was nip her lower lip and whisper, “Come for me. I love watching you come.”
His hand covered her sex and one of his fingers found her clit. Arousal pulsed through her core with the first circular stroke of his fingertip. She’d done this for herself many times, had even allowed one of her admirers to try to get her off. It hadn’t worked. She’d been too afraid that someone would catch them groping each other in the coat room of the luxurious hotel where the charity ball had been held. Her bodyguards never left her alone for long.
Charity balls and bodyguards were part of her ‘princess’ life. The dream began to fade as images of that life came surging to the surface.
“Stay with me.” The sudden sharpness in Urrya’s tone drew her back into the moment, back into the dream. “Think only of me, and how good this feels.” He stroked across the entrance to her body, pushing against her hymen, making her aware that the barrier would soon be gone. Her inner muscles rippled, more than ready to squeeze his thick shaft as he thrust in and out of her neglected core. He slid his fingers back up to her clit and continued their smooth, rhythmic orbit of the sensitive nerve cluster. Each rotation built the tension inside her, made her need more demanding.
Unable to just stand there any longer, she rocked her hips, rubbing her pussy against his fingers. If she stood there and took the abuse, she was a victim. This made her a participant. She wanted this, needed his touch and the pleasure he would give her.
You need this almost as badly as you needed the spanking, her conscience mocked.
“No,” she cried out. She would not become that sad, pathetic thing her aunt had been by the time she finally broke free of her husband’s influence.
“Yes,” Urrya countered and caught one of her nipples between his lips. He sucked gently, lulling her with the soft pull, then caught the peak between his teeth, carefully applying pressure until she cried out again. A sharp sensation, half pleasure, half pain streaked from her breast to her pussy. His teeth released long enough for him to say, “Come,” and then he bit her again.
The coil released with such force Erin’s entire body shook. She cried out as flashes of light burst before her eyes. Her inner muscles clenched in on nothing, and she sobbed helplessly. Blinded by the intensity, she squeezed her eyes shut. This felt amazing, and yet it made her desperate for something else, something more. She wanted him, deep inside her, filling her, stretching her, making all her fantasies brutally real.
Warm hands pressed against her flushed face and she reluctantly opened her eyes. Oseth, the third male stood in front of her now, neon green eyes filled with compassion. “You’re so beautiful when you come.” Like the emotions in his gaze, his voice was soft, caressing her ravaged senses. His lips pressed against hers and he inhaled deeply. “And that smell.” He inhaled again and groaned. “Nothing smells like our aroused kitten.”
There was that pet name again. She licked her lips and whispered, “Don’t call me that. I’m not a child.”
“We’re well aware of that happy fact.” He cupped one of her breasts and smiled. “Who do you want to fuck you first? You’ve waited a very long time to feel a cock deep inside you. We’re willing to let you choose.”
She shook her head, hair swishing against her shoulders. “I don’t want any of this.” But she did. She wanted it all, couldn’t wait for him to stop talking and make it happen. “Just let me go.”
“Go where, sweetheart?” He kissed her again, the merest brushing of his mouth over hers before he pulled away. “Tell me where you want to be and I’ll take you there.”
But Oseth didn’t give her time to answer. His mouth settled over hers, warm and insistent. He caressed her mouth with his, gently tracing her lips with the tip of his tongue. A moan escaped her and he took it as assent, easing just past her lips. His taste was strange, spicy and unique. Intrigued, she touched his tongue with hers. He pushed in farther, answering her tentative invitation.
He was patient, yet unyielding, advancing slowly as she accepted each new level of intimacy. She opened her mouth for him, breathing in his scent and filling her mouth with his exotic taste. His arms wrapped around her, pressing her soft body against his much harder one. He was the smallest of the three and yet he made her feel tiny, fragile, and intensely feminine. His hands slid up and down her back, coming closer to her ass with each pass.
She rubbed against him, returning the kiss with accelerating hunger. The ache was back, or maybe it never left. The orgasm had just masked it for a short while. Suddenly his mouth left hers and she mumbled a complaint, but he only bent and caught the backs of her thighs. He picked her up and urged her legs around his waist, carefully avoiding her still sore behind.
Then he was kissing her again and she was rubbing her pussy against his hardened cock. They were separated by his uniform pants, but it didn’t seem to matter. The friction, and the knowledge that he was so close to where he belonged, soon had her gasping and grinding as she searched for the elusive spark that would set her world on fire.
Fire. Massive pits of churning flames, marching along like an arrow pointing toward hell. The stench of burning flesh, and gusts of wind filled with ash. The flash of memory shattered the dream. Like shards of glass, the past cut through her mind, slicing away the protective haze. Grief and horror tore through her composure as event after event rolled through her mind, the deafening boom of sonic blasts, endless devastation, screams and smoke, so much smoke. Then the putrid stench of burning bodies. Literal mountains of dead waiting for the fire pits.
It was gone. The life she’d once known, her family and most of her friends, obliterated by an enemy that wanted nothing but destruction.
The pain was too much to bear, so she eagerly sank into the darkness until she felt nothing at all.
Chapter Two
“Have you lost your fucking mind?” Urrya jerked Azra off the side of the bed and dragged him into the hallway. He slammed Azra’s back against the wall hard enough to rattle the pictures. “Were you trying to terrify her? How in all of creation were those images supposed to ease her fears? It was like a showcase of everything she’s dreading.”
Clearly unimpressed with Urrya’s aggression, Azra had the nerve to laugh. “Apparently we’ve both misjudged our mate. I did very little. Nearly all of that was Erin. Despite her inexperience and the caution with which everyone treats her, she is not afraid of sex. In fact, she’s quite curious. She didn’t even seem to be afraid of me. That shocked the hells out of me.”
“Then why did she take off on the skimmer?” Oseth asked from directly behind Urrya. He couldn’t see their podmate, but he could hear the concern in his voice.
“Good question.” Urrya eased his hold on Azra’s shirt.
“I don’t know,” Azra admitted. “She’s conflicted and confused. Fear was present, but it was far from her strongest emotion. I need more time with her to understand—”
“Let her rest. Even I could sense her devastation at the end.”
Anger sparked in Azra’s gaze and he shoved Urrya back. “Do you honestly think I’d go back in there and continue the session? Of course she needs rest. I had not intended to continue until morning. But thanks for the vote of confidence.”
He stormed off down the hall and Urrya cringed. “Sorry,” he called.
Azra flipped him the middle finger. Oseth had p
icked up the gesture from the human females, and Azra had learned it from Oseth. Urrya thought it was rather childish when Oseth did it, but seeing Azra do it made him smile.
“He’s probably exhausted. Not only was he ‘guiding’ her, he was maintaining the link with her mind for us,” Oseth pointed out as he moved into the hallway and carefully shut the bedroom door.
“I’ll take a tray to him later, though it’s doubtful he’ll eat anything. He’s been particularly moody since Erin arrived.”
“I wonder why?” Oseth rolled his eyes. “It’s not like this is the only chance he’ll ever have at claiming a mate or anything.”
“I think we need to spar.” Urrya swung at him playfully, giving Oseth plenty of time to duck the blow. “It’s been much too long since I beat the living shit out of you.”
“Hello?” Erin’s tremulous voice penetrated the door and both men froze.
Why was she awake? Had Azra released her from the healing thrall without telling them? Urrya dismissed the possibility. There was no reason Azra would have done so.
“I heard you talking. I know someone’s out there.”
Oseth shoved him toward the door. “Go talk to her. You’re the only one she recognized. I’ll go get Azra.”
Reluctantly, Urrya reached for the latch. His hand actually trembled. Oseth was a better choice for first contact. He was nonthreatening and much better at casual conversations than either Azra or him. He started to call the younger male back, but she called out again, and it sounded like she was crying. He’d never been able to resist a female’s tears, so he rushed inside, slowing his pace as he neared the bed.
She was sitting, clutching the sheet to her breasts. “Oh, it’s you.” She looked around, clearly disoriented. “W-where am I?”
That was a rather long story, so he said, “You’re safe. No one will harm you here.”
Her gaze narrowed and she scooted toward the edge of the massive bed. The sheet slipped to her waist and she gasped. “Why am I naked?” She jerked the sheet back up as a deep blush colored her pale cheeks. “Please tell me where I am and how I got here?”
“I found you in the wasteland and my podmate brought you here. You were very near death. If Azra hadn’t been one of my podmates, you would be dead.”
She was silent for a moment, her expression thoughtful. How much did she remember? Did she remember the dream? “Is Azra the technicolored one or the one made out of smoke?”
The descriptions made him smile. He’d expected to deal with a hysterical ingénue. Instead, he found a feisty little kitten. Urrya and Oseth had used the word as an endearment in the guided dream. It seemed even more appropriate now. “The smoky one,” he told her, taking another step toward the bed. “Clearly you remember our images. What else do you recall?” Her spirit brought out the predator in him. He wanted to crawl onto the bed and press her down into the mattress. He’d kiss her mouth until they were breathless, then slowly lick his way down her squirming body.
Her eyes widened as he approached, but she didn’t shrink back into the headboard. Another sign of her inner strength. If she wasn’t emotionally fragile, why did everyone treat her that way?
She just stared back at him in tense silence, so he prompted, “Do you remember Protectorate Headquarters?”
“Of course.” She sounded a bit impatient, but it got her talking. “Now that you mention the wasteland, I know I went out there on a skimmer.”
If he pushed too hard, he knew she’d shut down. But her actions made no sense. “Surely the wasteland wasn’t your destination. Where were you attempting to go?”
“Waco,” she admitted. “I have cousins who live there.”
He nodded. Waco, Texas was approximately sixty miles from Protectorate Headquarters, which had once been known as Fort Hood. “The wasteland is vast. It would have taken many days to cross on a skimmer.”
“I know. I thought I’d anticipated every problem. Clearly I was wrong.” A sigh of frustration escaped her as she added, “I’m not sure how I expected to survive.”
He sat on the edge of the bed and looked into her eyes. She was well within his reach, but he didn’t touch her, knew once his fingers made contact with her soft skin he wouldn’t be able to stop. “I’m not sure you did.”
“Expect to survive?” Now she sounded insulted. “If I meant to kill myself, there are certainly less miserable ways of doing it. Have you ever gone without water for three days?”
He’d found her on the fourth day after her departure, so her question made no sense. “You didn’t load water onto the skimmer?”
She glared at him. “You think I’m an idiot, don’t you? The water pack rubbed against something sharp as I traveled. I had no idea it was leaking out. By the time the battery ran down the first night, I was out of water.”
“Why didn’t you return to Protectorate Headquarters as soon as the batteries recharged, or turn on the emergency beacon?”
She bowed her head and her hair swung forward, blocking his view of her lovely face. He glanced toward the doorway to the hall. What was taking Oseth so long?
He thought she’d chosen not to answer, until her voice came from behind her hair. “The water from the pack caused a short that took out automatic navigation. It must have fried the emergency signal too. I remember turning it on, but no one ever came.” The last phrase came out in a forlorn whisper.
He gently tucked her hair behind her ear, so he could see her face. “I came, Erin. I did not stop searching until I found you.”
Her eyes were filled with tears when she finally looked at him. “I don’t want to die. I’m confused and unsure, but I’m not a coward.”
“Suicide is not always cowardly,” he said carefully. He didn’t want to start an argument, but he’d heard that stereotype far too often. “Sometimes people are genuinely so overwhelmed they don’t know what else to do. Other times, they believe they’re making things better for those they leave behind. And occasionally, it is born of rage, not despair.”
Her arched brows drew together over her tiny nose. Gods, she was beautiful. “Why do you know so much about suicide?”
Sadness shaped his smile and darkened his mood. The answer was intensely personal, an event in his past he preferred not to share. Besides, a generalized response was just as valid. “I’m part of the Protectorate. I don’t know anyone who has survived the Skarilians and hasn’t at least thought about joining their loved ones in the hereafter.”
She nodded and they shared a brief moment of mutual grief.
When Oseth returned a short time later, Azra was not with him. “He roused long enough to tell me to leave him alone and then fell right back asleep.”
“Azra?”
Oseth flashed his boyish smile. “Sorry, doll. My name is Oseth.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Oseth, but I meant were you talking about Azra?”
“Yeah, guiding you through the—shit.” His gaze flew to Urrya as he realized it had taken a millisecond to nearly speak about the one subject he was forbidden.
“Guiding me through what?” Her suspicious gaze shifted from Oseth to Urrya and back.
Oseth cleared his throat and tried another smile. “Guiding you through your delirium and back to reality took a ton of energy. He’ll likely be sleeping until sometime tomorrow.”
She looked at Urrya again. “Why don’t I believe him?”
“You’ve been unconscious for twelve days,” Urrya told her, knowing it would shift her focus. “Your memory is bound to be fuzzy.”
Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. For a long time, she just stared at him blankly. “Twelve days?” Her shock was understandable. Anyone would have reacted this way. “Oh, my God, does Kyla know where I am?”
“You’ve been really sick,” Oseth told her. “We weren’t sure you’d make it, so we tried not to make things worse.”
“How could you possibly make things worse?” Gathering the sheet around her naked body, she carefully slid off the side of the
bed and stood so she could see them both. Her legs were still a little wobbly, so she wisely stayed near the bed. “Has Kyla thought I was in the wasteland this entire time? She must be frantic by now.”
The males exchanged guilty looks before Urrya admitted, “It’s worse than that, love. One of the other search teams found your skimmer before I could dispose of it. Obviously, they didn’t find you, but Kyla thinks... the worst.”
“My best friend thinks I’m dead.” She shook her head, then sank onto the edge of the mattress. “And you just let her? Why would you do that?”
“We didn’t want to give her false hope,” Urrya explained. “We had every intention of telling her as soon as Azra was sure you’d survive. Today was the first time he’s been comfortable making that call.”
“Then go tell her,” she insisted. “Go tell her right now.” She pointed toward the door.
Urrya clasped his hands behind his back. Once she was fully recovered she would learn that it was not her place to order him anywhere. He would consider any respectful request, but her current attitude would likely earn her a firm spanking. “I cannot return to Earth without Azra’s assistance and Azra is incapacitated at the moment.”
“You can’t ‘return’ to Earth? We’re on a different planet?” She hustled over to one of the chamber’s many windows, but couldn’t figure out how to activate the setornef, a Tavorian shield with morphing properties. They were popular as window coverings, interior doorway coverings, and room dividers.
“Lort bolis,” Urrya said, the Tavor command turning the opaque shield transparent. “This is the Okatin sector of the planet Tavor. It’s our podmate’s home world.”
She gazed out across the lush, rolling hills of Azra’s ancestral estate. “It looks like Earth.”
“Much of this sector does,” Oseth agreed. “Others, not so much.”
