by Lynn Tyler
“The flowers are so beautiful. Are they native to Helan, or are they collected from other planets you’ve visited?” she asked, fingering a fern leaf so softly it hardly fluttered.
His eyes caught on those fingers, and his mouth suddenly dried. He had to clear his throat a couple of times before he could answer her question. “Arboretums vary by the ship, actually. I believe this one contains only plants from Helan.”
Kim’s eyes became unfocused and a little misty. “What does it look like, Thantos? Seeing your world from above?”
Thantos could have slapped his head. Why hadn’t he taken her to the observation deck first? He took her hand and pressed her knuckles to his lips. “I’m sorry. I should have taken you to see Earth first.”
She shook her head. “It’s fine. The arboretum is fantastic, and I’m glad you brought me here.”
He smiled down at her. “I’m happy you enjoyed it, but let me take you to see your home.”
The hall and lift were deserted, which seemed a little odd. Then again, there were a lot of human females on board. Maybe they were keeping their Helan mates busy.
Luckily, the observation deck was as equally empty. Thantos remembered the first time he’d seen his own planet from space, and it had been an overwhelming experience. That was how Kerek had found him that first time they’d met.
Kim’s reaction was slightly different than his had been. She pressed her hands to the glass and stared at the blue-and-green ball beneath them. The window reflected her image back to him, and he rushed to her when he saw the tears streaming down her cheeks.
He gathered her close, cradling her to his chest without even thinking about whether she would welcome his touch or not. “Shh, lira. Whatever it is, I’ll fix it. Just tell me what’s wrong.”
She sniffled and rested her wet cheek against his chest for a brief moment. She was tiny and fit against him perfectly, her head fitting neatly under his chin. “Nothing’s wrong. It’s just overwhelming, you know? To see the planet you’ve lived on your whole life from space, I mean. It’s not something I ever thought I’d see for myself.”
The silence on the deck wrapped around them like a thick blanket, and he held her while she worked through her emotions. If only Kerek was here to hold them both.
Thantos knew Kerek was still conked out on their bed. Their mate bond was stronger than most Helans’, maybe because there was a defined submissive and dominant in their relationship instead of the inherent power struggle all other bonded males subtly engaged in. Whatever the case, while most bonded males could shield their mates from their thoughts and emotions, he and Kerek were connected at every level.
Still, it didn’t stop him from probing a little at their connection, just to make sure Kerek was okay. Thantos hated that he couldn’t help his mate through his motion sickness, and he worried about Kerek when the male was down and out.
Kerek was just sleeping, his stomach having totally settled.
Another stomach growled loudly, and Thantos snickered. “Hungry, Kim?”
She gave him a watery laugh and scrubbed her cheeks with the heels of her hands. “Starving, actually.”
He wasn’t surprised. It had been around one o’clock in the morning when they’d left Earth on the shuttle. At least four hours had passed since then, and if she’d eaten at the normal meal time for most humans, she probably hadn’t eaten for nearly twelve hours. He was surprised, however, that she was as awake as she was. She must still be flying from all the adrenaline her body had probably produced during the shuttle flight.
The dining hall was only a deck below them, and the chef had started serving several Earth dishes since the females had begun coming on board. By the time they got there, they were starting to serve breakfast.
The hall was packed with people, both bonded male couples who’d yet to choose their female mates, and a bunch of threesomes. The chatter, both in Helan and English, as well as a few other Earth languages, was distinctly different from the quiet of the observation deck.
It gave Thantos a thrill to see so many bonded triads. The news that Queen Jacy was pregnant had yet to work its way through the ship, as Kerek had not announced it here yet, but even just seeing this many people in love was wonderful. These females would do so much for Helan, and not just by bearing them the children they so desperately needed. They would provide that touch of softness, that femininity that Helan had been missing for so long now.
He made his way over to the counter where the chef took orders, towing Kim along behind him. This wasn’t his ship, so he didn’t know too many people, but they seemed to recognize him. He smiled at many of the women who grinned at him. The majority of them had probably attended one of his lectures in one form or another.
Suddenly, every single male in the room pounded his chest, right fist landing with a thud over their hearts. That could only mean one thing.
He turned to greet King Jaron and Consort R’oan with the same salute, although he didn’t pound his chest quite as hard as most of the other males. “Ambassador Thantos,” Consort R’oan said with a small smile.
King Jaron was more enthusiastic with his greeting. The king threw his arms around Thantos and gave him a hard hug. “It’s good to see you in person, my friend.”
Thantos hugged his friend back but pulled away quickly before R’oan could get that feral look on his face that he always got when someone else was touching his mate. “It’s good to see you, too, Jar.”
They chatted for a bit until the chef cleared his throat discreetly and nodded at Kim.
Shit. Kim was probably about to starve to death, and here he was blabbering on to his friend. “Kim, the menu says that scrambled eggs and bacon, pancakes, or majtai is on the menu this morning.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “The translator has no English word for majtai.”
The king leaned forward, his eyes twinkling merrily. “It’s a Helan dish. It’s creamy and sweet and quite nice to eat off your mate’s body first thing in the morning.”
Thantos burst out laughing. Every Helan male had tried eating the breakfast treat off another hard male body at some point. “It’s like oatmeal, but sweeter,” he explained to Kim.
She arched a brow at the king and turned to the chef. “I would like to try the majtai, please.”
The chef smiled and nodded, and Thantos glowed with pride. Not too many of the human women had tried a Helan dish their first day on board, at least not on his previous ship. “I’ll have the same. And if you wouldn’t mind sending some down to Chief Kerek when he wakes, I’m sure he would be appreciative.”
R’oan smirked as he gave his and Jaron’s order and invited them to sit at their table. The four of them sat at the largest table, reserved for the most important person on board.
Jaron reached out and captured Kim’s hand, and Thantos had to swallow the small growl that was rising in his throat. “We haven’t formally met. My name is Jaron, and this is my mate, R’oan. You must be Kim McManus.”
The urge to slug his friend got even bigger. Instantly, the chatter died away, and all eyes in the room were trained on Kim. The hostility in the room was clear, and Thantos took a deep breath. “That probably wasn’t the best thing to say out loud, Your Majesty.”
Jaron blinked a couple of times before understanding filled them. “Oh, crap. Sorry, Kim. But why is everyone acting so weird?”
R’oan sighed and reached out to stroke his hand over Jaron’s hair. “Liro, the men probably resent her for helping to hide the women from us, and the women…well, I’m not sure why the women seem so hostile.”
Kim smiled at the king and patted his hand. “Don’t worry about it. The women are probably worried that I’m going to condemn them for choosing to mate with Helans instead of joining the evacuation effort. But, I promise,” she said in a louder voice, “I’m here to learn about Helan culture, not to judge anyone.”
The hostility in the room seemed to ease marginally as everyone went back to their meals. Slowl
y, people began to talk again. Couples and triads began openly showing affection for each other, and the kitchen staff began sending out meals again.
Four bowls of majtai were delivered to their table, and Thantos watched eagerly as Kim sampled her first Helan delicacy. He almost came in his pants when her mouth closed around the spoon and she moaned. “Delicious,” she whispered, licking the corner of her mouth to capture a stray drop of the thick substance.
Thantos’s groan was echoed by both Jaron and R’oan. Kim flushed a little but continued to eat. “So, King Jaron, you and Thantos seem to know each other quite well.”
Oh, she was good. Her instincts for steering a conversation to where she wanted it to go were flawless.
Jaron beamed and scooped up a spoonful of his own breakfast. “Thantos and I went to school together. We’ve known each other since we were only knee high to a grasshopper.”
Thantos chuckled at Jaron’s use of the human phrase. “You need to stop watching so much Earth television, Jar. No one actually says that.”
Jaron stuck his tongue out at him before taking another bite. “Anyway, we’ve been best friends since we were about four seasons or so.”
Kim swallowed and gestured to Jaron. “You didn’t have private tutors?”
Thantos smiled. “Oh, he had tutors, but only because he couldn’t sit still in class and needed to catch up on all the stuff he ignored.”
R’oan squeezed his mate’s hand. “Only the high king is tutored privately. Lower kings are schooled in the general population.”
Thantos sat back as Jaron, R’oan, and Kim discussed the finer details of Helan society. She was curious, sharp as a tack, and was able to convey her thoughts and opinions in a nonconfrontational way. She would have made an excellent ambassador.
A twinge of awareness trickled through him. “If you will excuse me,” he said to the table, “Kerek is awake and needing me. Would you be able to bring Kim to our quarters when she’s ready for sleep?”
Kim pushed her bowl aside and stood up. “Actually, I’m ready now.”
Thantos resisted the urge to twirl his long red hair around his finger while he thought about a delicate way to explain to Kim that when he said Kerek needed him, Thantos meant that he was needed in a sexual sense.
Jaron and R’oan were no help. Jaron was waggling his eyebrows at him suggestively, and R’oan was trying to smother a laugh into his napkin.
Thantos pushed his hair behind his shoulders and saluted his king again. “Very well, Kim. This way.”
He guided Kim forward so that she was walking slightly in front of him and made a rude gesture at Jaron behind his back. Jaron’s hoot of laughter followed them out of the dining hall.
The closer he and Kim got to the quarters where Kerek waited for them, the more his body responded to the needs of his mate. His cock thickened in anticipation, and his nipples tightened. It had been longer than normal between their lovemaking sessions, and they were both feeling the absence.
The door to their quarters was open when they got there. Kerek was standing in the small living space, wearing nothing but a pair of loose silk pants. His arms were crossed over his chest, and he was supervising a couple of the ship’s crew, who were putting up a small bed. Kim’s bed. Thantos felt a moment of panic that she wouldn’t be joining him and Kerek but stamped it down. She was here to learn about their ways so that she could report back to her people, not sleep with him, no matter how much he would like her to.
Kerek dismissed the men with a wave of his hand and sidled over to them, winding his long body around Thantos’s like a giant cat. “I need you, talan.”
Thantos’s body skipped about ten levels of arousal and went straight into need-to-come-now territory. But before they abandoned Kim, he needed to explain things to her.
Kerek’s lips were trailing a blazing line over his shoulders, and Thantos shivered. “Kim, there’s something you need to know about the relationship between Helan mates…oh, Kerek, right there. Helan males are highly sexual and feel the need to orgasm several times a day. Bonded mates can’t find satisfaction without their mate.”
That would have to do. Thantos didn’t wait for Kim’s response. He twined his arms around Kerek’s neck and pulled the bigger man down for a kiss. “Take me to bed, talan.”
Chapter 7
Oh, sure. They expected her to sit here on this damn cot in the small living space, with her hands folded in her lap, waiting for them like an obedient little puppy while they did the nasty in the next room?
A soft moan drifted on the still air from under the closed bedroom door, and she bit her lip, feeling a little guilty about the thought she’d just had. She highly doubted there was anything nasty going on at all. It was clear to anyone who had eyes that Kerek and Thantos were deeply in love, so whatever was happening behind the closed door of their bedroom was probably beautiful and romantic.
Another moan wound around her, as soft and silky as satin ribbon. Her eyes drifted closed, and even as exhausted as she was physically, her body wasn’t about to let her sleep.
Not when there were two hot men making all kinds of lovely noises in the other room.
She tried counting sheep. Fail. She tried picturing a serene lake. Fail. She tried some deep breathing relaxation exercises. Epic fail.
In fact, the only thing she could see behind her closed lids was a whole lot of golden skin, tangled limbs, and hard cocks.
What would it be like to be in bed with so much masculinity? Her back arched at the sudden thought, and a rush of moisture gathered to coat the folds of her pussy.
Her clit throbbed, practically begging for attention, and the sounds of pleasure, getting increasingly louder and more frequent, were not helping. Flopping back on the mattress, she slid her hand down her belly until the very tips of her fingers rested just above her mound.
Did she dare?
“Kerek!” Thantos cried out for his lover, and Kim threw caution to the wind.
Fuck it. It wasn’t not like they were going to hear her own soft gasps through the noise Thantos was making. As if it had a mind of its own, Kim’s hand slipped the rest of the way down, and her index finger brushed over her straining clit.
A groan worked its way up her throat, and she applied even more pressure to the swollen little nub. Dear god, nothing had ever felt so good before. Not even her favorite purple vibrator on its highest setting gave her half as much pleasure as her single finger.
Was it something in the water? Okay, cancel that. She hadn’t had any water to drink. Something in the food then?
Whatever. All that really mattered was getting off right now.
Her pleasure ratcheted up higher, and she sped up the movements of her finger, stroking her clit in small, concentric circles in her effort to relieve some of the pressure that was building up inside her.
She groaned again, partly from pleasure and partly from frustration. None of the usual tricks were working, and her heart was racing faster than normal. Was it possible that her heart could beat fast enough to pound right out of her chest? God, she hoped her rib cage was strong enough to contain her heart because she was pretty sure her heart was about to explode.
“What the devil is going on here?” Kerek roared, breaking her out of the trance she had been in.
She jerked her hand back and blushed to the roots of her hair. “What are you doing out here?” she asked, pushing herself up and out of the bed so fast, she almost toppled over.
Kerek’s chest was pumping as he breathed, his huge cock pulsing rhythmically. “What have you done to Thantos?” he shouted, advancing on her with rage in his eyes.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she shouted right back.
Now that the bedroom door was open, Kim could hear Thantos’s desperate whimpers. “What are you doing to him?” she demanded, storming over to the door and peeking around Kerek’s massive body.
The sight that met her eyes took her breath away.
Thantos�
��s wrists were trapped by some sort of cuffs, which were attached to a ring in the wall. His head was tossing on the pillow, his long red hair spread out dramatically on the crisp white sheets.
Her eyes travelled farther down Thantos’s body, taking in the nipple clamps that seemed to be vibrating, and the black plug his spread, bent legs displayed.
His dick was leaking steadily, and if the pool of fluid collecting on his lower belly was any indication, it had been for some time now.
The expression on Thantos’s face was far from serene. He looked tormented. “Help him,” she said, rushing over to him.
“What the fuck do you think I’ve been trying to do?” Kerek bellowed. “I’ve been trying to relieve some of his need, but he can’t orgasm. Why is that?”
She would have shrugged, but Thantos’s earlier words came back to her. Helan mates are highly sexual and feel the need to orgasm several times a day. Bonded mates can’t find satisfaction without their mate. “He needs you to come before he can, right?”
Kerek blew out a sigh that sounded like pure frustration. “Yes, but the kicker is I need him to come as well. Bonded mates tend to have simultaneous orgasms.”
She failed to understand the problem. Kerek was hard as a rock, and the head of his dick was shiny with his own pre-cum. He looked like a single firm stroke could send him flying. “So just let go and come. He’ll follow you right over.”
“Shit, you just aren’t getting it.” Kerek ran both of his hands through his hair. At least he didn’t seem quite so enraged. “I saw what you were doing. You looked just as unsuccessful at finding your release as well. Somehow, I think you and Thantos have started to bond.”
No, that couldn’t be right. Except when she thought about it, she had realized that there was absolutely nothing she could have done to force her orgasm. Even now, despite her confrontation with Kerek and her confusion over what was going on, she was still as aroused as ever. More, even.
Crap. “What are we going to do about this?”
Thantos cried out, his cock jerking wildly, and he hitched his hips. The wave of pleasure rocketing through her, completely in time with Thantos’s distress, robbed her of any ability to think. It was so strong, she had to grab on to something solid to keep herself upright.
