Matched and Mated: Interstellar Brides® Program - Book 16

by Goodwin, Grace

  10

  Miranda

  I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The room, if that’s what it could be called after these two had destroyed it, looked like a dumping ground for broken things. The table was smashed, the sofa torn in multiple places. Anything fragile or breakable was in pieces on the floor and both of the males I cared about were bleeding from cuts and scrapes all over their faces, arms and fists.

  No doubt, they were hurting and bruised on the inside as well.

  Idiots.

  I held Trist’s hand and leaned into him as the tension faded from the room. This was something I had never imagined happening. Not in a million, billion years. Never. I loved them both. Which sucked, because I could only keep one of them, and with Trist’s hand in mine, I knew who I would choose if I had to. His devotion to me, his care, his strength of will is what I needed more than I needed hot sex, nipple clamps and leather straps tying me to the table as Brax fucked me.

  Both would be nice. I wasn’t one to lie to myself. But that didn’t look like it was going to be in the cards for me. And I would be okay with that. I had to be.

  “What the hell do you two think you are doing?” I put my hands on my hips, felt the silken softness of the dark green gown beneath my palms. Trist had placed me in this gown earlier this morning. He’d taken his time, washing every inch of me in their strange shower tube, then ordered the dress from the odd black square S-Gen machine in the corner of our bedroom. Everything was different on a battleship. Smaller, more compact, except for the Prillon’s themselves. Then everything was bigger, including the size of the room itself. Our bedroom. Our bed. Something I’d never had with Brax, something I had needed to fill the empty ache inside me. Not the bedroom, duh, but the long-term sharing.

  I’d come here, to these guest quarters Brax had been assigned, to explain that to him. I wasn’t going back to Trion with him. I still loved him. I couldn’t help it. I’d given him my body without reservation and come to respect him as not just a lover, but as an honorable male. He was a doctor and a warrior, but I wasn’t ever going to come first with him. I’d made peace with that. Even gotten tested, matched and transported halfway across the galaxy.

  The care Trist had shown me since my arrival had gone a long way toward healing the wound Brax had left behind. The gown was soft and every bit as beautiful as anything I would have worn on Trion. I felt like a sex goddess for the first time ever. And it was because of Trist. I was familiar with the S-Gen technology. They had S-Gen on Trion as well, but I’d only ever used the one in the kitchens, and they were smaller, not designed for full body scans. Trist had pointed out that the color of the dress matched his collar, a small detail I had already noticed. In his own way, he was adorning me as a Trion would, marking me as his in front of the others, and I loved it. Loved that he was broadcasting his dedication and connection to me.

  Unlike the sober-faced fool from Trion who was crawling onto his hands and knees, attempting to stand. He must have been hurt more than I thought because he had to shake his head a few times before he pulled himself to his feet.

  Trist, however, seemed to get an extra surge of wrath. He was on his feet instantly, blocking my view of Brax completely. I had no doubt that Brax wasn’t going to get near me unless Trist allowed it. He was protecting me and even though I still had feelings for Brax, that one move, and the fierceness and protective rage I felt through the collar, gave me the confidence I needed to walk to Trist’s side and stare down at the male who had broken my heart. Trist was mine now. I still cared for Brax, but Trist had stolen an equal share of my heart, and I wasn’t going to give that up. He was mine. Brax would have to deal. He’d had his chance.

  “Do not even think about getting near my mate, Trion, or you will need someone to carry you to a ReGen pod.”

  “She’s mine, Prillon. She had no right to sign up for the Brides Program. She shouldn’t even be here.”

  Trist tensed at Brax’s words, and I felt the need to attack burning through him. I didn’t belong to Brax, but I didn’t want him to get hurt either. I placed my hand on Trist’s arm and held him still with that one small touch. He was so sensitive to my mood, my needs, that he quieted instantly and looked down at me.

  “Don’t hurt him, baby,” I said. Where the endearment came from, I had no idea, but there it was. Trist was mine. I’d never allowed myself to call Brax anything other than his name…or Master. But that didn’t count. And my ex back on Earth? He’d hated pet names. Called them stupid and childish, so seeing a huge Prillon melt at the term made me feel oddly powerful and completely adored. God help me, I was in love with Trist already. He was so strong. So noble. So safe. I let him feel it all and the final bit of anger left him as he stared into my eyes.

  “You still care for this male?” Trist asked the question, but there was no hurt coming from him, only confusion. “How? He’s the one who hurt you. He’s the source of the pain I feel from you, even now.” Trist looked from me to Brax and his gaze hardened. “Especially now.”

  Stepping in front of Trist, I reached for his arm and wrapped it around me so I could lean into his strength as I faced the Trion doctor who’d first mended my soul, then broken my heart. “Yes. I loved him.”

  Brax opened his mouth to speak, but I held up my hand to stay him. I didn’t want to hear what he had to say until I’d explained to my mate.

  Even though I looked down at Brax, I spoke to Trist. “I was broken when I left Earth for Trion. The man I was with on Earth was cold and mean-hearted and made me feel small and broken. Doctor Brax helped me heal.” I thought of exactly how he’d accomplished that and my body heated. Trist must have felt my desire spike because his constant need for me echoed back through the collars until my nipples pebbled under the gown and my pussy grew swollen and wet. His heat at my back, his scent, made me ache. But there was also Brax, staring at me with that look, the look my master had given me when he was reading me like a book, when he knew exactly what I needed. What I craved. What would make me whimper and beg and surrender.

  “I can feel your desire, mate.” Trist leaned down and whispered into my ear. “Is your need for me, mate? Or for him?”

  I couldn’t lie. “Both.”

  “Gods be damned.” Trist pulled me close so I could feel the hard length of his cock pressed to my back, even as he stared down Brax. “What the fuck am I supposed to do about you, Doctor?”

  “She needs me, Trist,” he said. “And I had her first.”

  That made me angry. I wasn’t a toy to fight over between two preschoolers. “Shut-up, Brax. I swear to God, if you say another word, I’m going to let Trist tear you to pieces.”

  Trist kissed my shoulder and I felt his grin. Sensed he was like a little boy who’d just won King of the Hill on the playground even as Brax’s eyes darkened with anger. And lust. I knew his looks just as well as he knew mine.

  “You had me,” I told Brax. “Past tense. You had me and made it perfectly clear that I wasn’t what you wanted in a mate.”

  He shook his head, winced. “You’re wrong.”

  “Shut up and listen to me.” When both males were quiet, I continued. “I asked you, Brax. I asked you when you were going to be ready to claim a mate. Do you remember what you said?”

  He closed his eyes for a second, then looked to me. “Yes, I—”

  I interrupted him. “You said you would continue to serve Councilor Roark for as long as you were needed. You also said you could not claim a mate while you served because the job was too dangerous and you would be gone for extended periods of time.”

  “Yes, but—”

  “No.” He was not going to talk his way out of this. I was right. “You even adorned me with temporary jewels and told me how good I would look when my future mate adorned me permanently.”

  He sighed. “I know. You are very beautiful, gara…”

  “Gara?” I practically yelled the word. “Gara!” I tried to pull free of Trist’s hold so I could go beat the crap
out of Brax myself, but he held me back without even shifting his feet. Damn it, he was strong. “Don’t you dare use that word when you speak to me. Not now.” That word was reserved for love matches. Mates in truth. Males who both treasured and adorned their mates. Like Roark did for Natalie. I had wanted to hear that word for so long that his use of it now made me freaking furious.

  Brax said nothing and long minutes passed in silence as I tried to calm down. Trist watched Brax and I wondered if he saw what I did in Brax’s eyes.

  Regret? Pain? Longing?

  Or was all of that just my overactive imagination?

  I could barely think for the rage that had exploded inside me, rage I had repressed until now. It covered the hurt, which was great, but I was having trouble breathing.

  Brax’s normally caramel colored skin faded to a pale yellow and he finally seemed to understand just how much his actions had hurt me. Trist remained silent as Brax dropped to one knee and bowed his head to me. “You are my heart, gara. I knew that night, when I adorned your body with green jewels, that I could not live without you.”

  I was shaking my head in disbelief, but he was staring at my feet, or the floor, or something. I couldn’t go anywhere because Trist held me in place. And thank god for that because his solid strength at my back kept me sane. I melted against him and let my mate feel my gratitude, my comfort, my complete trust in him. I allowed him to hold me and he allowed me to speak freely. “I don’t believe you, Brax. You had six months.”

  “That was supposed to be my last mission, Miranda. The day you snuck away without saying goodbye was the same day I resigned my commission with both the I.C. and Councilor Roark.”

  Trist tensed at the mention of the I.C., but I had no idea what that was—so whatever. Something to do with Brax’s secret missions, no doubt. But I didn’t care. Was past caring.

  “I waited for you, Brax. Idiot that I was. I waited more than a month. But you came back to Xalia City and didn’t contact me. I hadn’t seen you in weeks, and you came and went without one word.” That had hurt the most. That had been the moment I truly understood what I meant to him. Nothing.

  “I couldn’t bear to claim you and then leave your side. Roark knew I was done. The I.C. knew. I needed two days to finish debriefing on Prillon Prime. I was going to ask you to be mine forever when I returned.”

  Was that possible? The anger drained out of me and all that was left was the pain. But even that information wasn’t enough. Not anymore. “Trist is mine, Brax. I underwent testing and was matched to a Prillon warrior. I need him. I want him. I can’t go back to Trion, and I don’t want to.”

  At my declaration, Trist’s hand splayed over my waist in a blatant show of possession, but I didn’t object. It was exactly where I wanted to be… in his arms. Belonging to him.

  And if that wasn’t enough?

  I told that small, irritating voice to be quiet. He wasn’t the end of the line for me. No. I would have another mate, another sexy, dominant, alpha mate to love me. To adore me. To actually want to be with me. A second. And I wanted two warriors. I wanted to be overwhelmed and drowning between two dominant males. The thought made me so hot I could barely function. And I couldn’t have that with Brax.

  Brax raised his gaze, not to me, to Trist. “And where is your second, Prillon?” Brax looked around the room, making quite an exaggerated show of it. “Shouldn’t he be here? Protecting your mate from me?”

  “I have not chosen a second.” Trist went from relaxed to alert so quickly my mind spun with the rapid switch in his emotions.

  Brax held Trist’s gaze and rose once more to his feet. “I would be your second.”

  Trist pulled me back so that I was beside and a bit behind him. “Don’t even think about it, Trion. You are a doctor, not a warrior. You are small. Weak. You hurt Miranda. You are not worthy of my mate.”

  Brax’s smile was pained, the deep lines at the corners of his eyes and around his mouth new. “You are correct. She is priceless beyond measure. And I did hurt her, although that was never my intention. I was a fool. I am not worthy of her, Warrior. Neither are you.”

  Trist grumbled his agreement, but Brax continued.

  “I am neither small nor weak. While I am a medical doctor, I am a trained fighter, a former officer in the Coalition Fleet Intelligence Core. I have fought. I have killed. But know this, I would die for her, kill for her…” His gaze drifted to mine. “I would even share her, Captain, if that’s what she needs to be happy.”

  The idea of Brax being my second mate made my head spin and my heart race inside my chest.

  Was it possible? What would Trist say? He’d said before that I could choose a second, but I hadn’t wanted to try to choose from a spaceship full of strangers. But Brax wasn’t a stranger.

  The thought was in my mind now, and I couldn’t stop imagining myself naked, adorned and being taken by both of them.

  Jeez. Was I actually panting with need? That was embarrassing. I cleared my throat and tried to focus on the conversation the two males were having. I’d missed some of it already, my ears ringing. Was this panic? Shock? Fear? Was I losing my mind? Imagining things? Was this a dream?

  My body didn’t think so. Everything felt heavy. Heat reached my core and every beat of my heart was sending throbbing pulsations through my wet pussy. I was in pain from want. From need.

  Brax was talking… “Let me guess, Warrior. You were fucking her, filling her pussy. She was going wild, riding the edge, but just couldn’t come. Her orgasm remained out of reach, as if she needed something more.”

  “Oh, God. Stop talking.” I did not want to be here for this conversation.

  Trist, however, was powerfully interested in what Brax was saying. I felt his confusion, his intense curiosity, through our collars. “Continue, Doctor. Tell me what you know of my mate.”

  “She needs her lover to take control, take away her indecision. Her guilt. Her doubt. She needs to be set free from the fear of making the wrong choice, of trying to determine what her lover wants or needs. She needs to surrender completely. To submit.”

  Brax’s words made me shiver. Was that how he thought of me? Was I weak? Indecisive?

  I thought of my time with Trist, of how he’d pounded into me, my body on fire. Of how he’d grown frustrated, demanding I tell him what I needed. I couldn’t. Only when he’d held me down and told me to come, ordered me to let go, had I been able to ride my orgasm and give myself to him completely.

  Brax knew me. It was true. He’d created a monster in me, a monster who needed things I wasn’t sure Trist would be comfortable with.

  Trist’s next words shocked me, but not as much as the smugness coming at me from the collar. “I became aware of my mate’s needs last night. I assure you, Doctor, there are many worthy Prillon males on this ship more than capable of satisfying her desire for a dominant male, warriors who would be honored to join me in accepting her submission and surrender.” His voice was pure, molten heat. Sex. Raw and untamed.

  I clamped my legs together and rubbed my breasts against Trist’s side. Were they trying to kill me?

  “I want you. I want both of you.” The words left me before I thought to censor myself.

  Trist turned and looked down at me. I knew he could feel my arousal. I’d never been in this state before, at least not standing in a room, fully clothed. If one of them touched me now, kissed me, brushed against me? I was on the edge already. Ready to come.

  Ready to submit to both of them.

  Trist lifted a hand to my cheek and stroked me with such gentleness I swayed, ready to rip my clothes off. “You want this? Me? And him?”

  I nodded. I did. I still loved Brax. And I loved Trist. This was… well, I’d thought it impossible. But this was my nirvana. Heaven. A dream I’d never dared have imagined for myself. “Yes.”

  He stared into my eyes for long seconds and I didn’t hide anything from him. Not my need, my emotions or my fears—fears that he’d say no, that Brax would
leave again, that somehow, I would be hurt. Either way, I could be hurt.

  Trist turned his head and looked at Brax, who’d taken a step forward. “You will follow me to our quarters, Doctor. There, we will satisfy my mate together. But you are not my second. You will need to prove yourself worthy, and not just in my mate’s bed. Do you understand?”

  Brax nodded. “Yes.”

  I thought Trist was finished, but he added one more warning. “If you hurt her again, I will end you. Do you understand that?”

  “I won’t. I give you my word.” Brax set his hand over his heart.

  With Brax’s agreement, Trist turned back to me. “I will accept him into our bed for you, mate. Even if he pleases you well, he will have to prove himself to me in battle. Do you understand? He must prove he can protect you as well as pleasure you to be worthy.”

  I nodded. I understood. This might be a one-time thing. Trist would choose his second. Trist would decide whether or not Brax had proven himself worthy.

  And I was fine with that. Trist was my world now, he defined the safe space I reveled in. I surrendered to him in that way, and I was content. “Yes, mate. Thank you. I don’t trust myself when it comes to him.”

  Brax started to protest, but one sharp look from Trist ended it before he got a word out. “You will not speak to her of claiming. Do you understand. She is mine. You will either prove your worth to me, or you will return to Trion.”

  11

  Miranda

  This was insane. This was my dream. This was… reality? Brax really did want me. Enough to come after me halfway across the galaxy. And Trist, he wanted me, too. I’d never been fought over before and while it was completely ridiculous, it was hot as hell. Two guys staking their claim, beating their chests. My ovaries didn’t stand a chance. And my vagina?

  The way they were both looking at me with heated gazes full of blatant intent, it didn’t stand a chance either.

  “I brought something for you,” Brax said with his deep master voice. I’d called him that before because I had considered him one. But that had been when we were doing the friends with benefits thing. But now, calling him master meant something different. Something… more. I wasn’t ready to call him that yet, for I didn’t completely trust him. With my body, yes, but my heart?