by Renee Rose
Bayla clears her throat. “Ah, it turns out that Dr. Daneth has to tell you something important…”
Jax acts like she hasn’t spoken as he stares into my eyes. “You give us more energy to be successful at our jobs. Your advice helps us thrive and make better decisions. Your love and adventurous spirit during sex...” my cheeks redden, and I dart a glance at Lily and King Zander, before looking back to Jax, “makes us vecking enjoy life again.”
All three of them chuckle, and even King Zander stifles a grin.
Ronan pipes up. “Laughing with you, and making you laugh, lightening your worries, makes me feel useful. Then I’m stronger and more confident in my daily activities, knowing you rely on me. You’re so much more than just… this.” He presses his belly. “Besides, young are smelly and irritating. They are such a bother with their disgusting diapers all the time, and the incessant squalling. We will never have to worry about that. See, it might even be a benefit.”
“Um, Riya, I really think you need to let Dr. Daneth tell you—” Bayla starts.
“Young are dreadful,” agreed Tarren. “I shudder every time I see one.” He darts an apologetic look at Bayla. “I scare them with my face and never know what to say to one. And how do you even hold one without cracking it in half? The whole thing is a nightmare.” He shakes his head. “Besides, Ronan is so immature sometimes that he’s like a young. You will get the experience anyway.”
“Veck you, cousin,” Ronan starts, and Jax holds him back, smiling.
I laugh and cry at the same time, holding a hand to my mouth. “But no. You can’t. You are so strong and amazing. You need a better mate, someone who can give you…”
“No one is better for us than you,” snaps Tarren. “We’ve already bonded. You wear our crystals. That connection doesn’t tear lightly, Riya. Look into your heart. Is that bond gone? I think it’s still here, as strong as ever.” He stares at me.
“I just want…” I falter. “I want to do the right thing.”
“But there is no one right thing. We must all determine what’s right for us.” He touches my arm.
King Zander clears his throat. “Are you saying that the four of you want to continue on as a mated team?”
“Yes!” say all my Zandians at once.
“Riya?” King Zander looks at me.
“You’ll allow that? I can’t believe it. Yes. I do, more than anything!”
Zander nods. “In the future, you must not deceive me, or your mates again. And you should not make assumptions about what I will or will not do. Assumptions are dangerous and have started many civilizations on the road to failure. But yes, you have bonded with these three Zandians, and that is sacred. Once they punish you for your deceit and have forgiven you, then you may move on. Nobody said this would be easy. None of us should give up at the first hurdle. We are made of stronger stuff than that, human and Zandians both. If our planet cannot handle some fights and disagreements, some compromise, then we are doomed.” He smiles. “And we are not doomed. We are going to succeed.”
He adds, “And I own a part of improving the process for the future. I should have anticipated that humans would have worries and concerns like yours. I will ensure that there are guidelines in place that clarify.”
Dr. Daneth speaks up. “It turns out that human emotions are far more volatile than I could have predicted,” he says, “even with my best research. They often make rash decisions when angry or hurt and are rather unpredictable in group mating situations. We will need to… adjust our protocols accordingly. Change our training.” He gives me a look that is probably as close to sympathetic as he is capable of providing. “Perhaps we need to look into past histories more closely ahead of time, and work with each human to discuss potential problems and pitfalls.”
“I told you,” Ronan says to Jax and Tarren, a touch of superiority in his voice, “that it would be fine with King Zander. After all, there are far more Zandian men than humans. It is not a problem if the three of us do not have young.”
“Actually,” Bayla interrupts again. “About that.”
“What is it?” Jax turns to her.
“Well, it’s very interesting, because, Dr. Daneth has discovered that…”
“That what?” I blink. “Am I dying? What is it? Just say it.” I turn to the physician. “Dr. Daneth?”
He nods. “You’re six weeks pregnant.”
“I’m what?” My head spins. “Don’t mock me.”
“It’s no joke.” His voice is stiff. “Do not disrespect my profession by insinuating I would joke about something so critical. Your blood test shows an increase in HCG and your sonogram shows a healthy embryo with a heartbeat. Actually, two embryos. Twins. I did not tell you immediately when I saw it, because I wanted to verify they are healthy and well-formed by analyzing the data further. They are. Healthy and normal, that’s it.”
“I’m sorry, I mean no disrespect, but I can’t… this can’t be. You saw my reports, what they did to me. My fallopian tubes were fused shut, destroyed. It’s not possible. Right? Or was it something else?” I find a chair and sit, head swimming, and my mates surround me, their hands warm on my face, my arms, my hands. I squeeze and lean back, so grateful they are here.
“Maybe the Zandian sperm helped heal you,” Bayla suggests. “Or the planetary crystal. But right now, we don’t have a medical reason why your body would heal itself. It’s a novel phenomenon.”
I still can’t process this. “I’m really pregnant? For real?”
She nods. “That is why you are so sick,” she says. “Some women have very serious morning sickness; in your case, it’s severe. But I had a suspicion you were pregnant, based on the smell of your breath.”
“The smell of my breath?” I can’t comprehend this.
She nods. “It’s a very subtle thing that sometimes happens when humans are pregnant with non-human babies—their breath smells like apples. When we examined you… it became clear.”
I remembered Holla had mentioned my breath smelling like apples, too. Had she suspected?
“But… twins?” It’s boggling my mind.
Dr. Daneth interrupts. “I would like to research the breath situation,” he says. “I would like to get samples of Riya’s exhalations and run them through a CG to check which volatile compounds are responsible for the odor. It could be a useful addition to our diagnostic arsenal.” He coughs. “I still have much to learn about humans,” he admits.
Bayla adds, “You will need to stay on bedrest until the pain resolves and you regain enough weight. We need to be very careful. We don’t know why your tubes reopened, Riya, but you are still fragile. We need to treat your pregnancy very carefully, especially with twins.”
“The bigger one is probably mine,” says Ronan, touching my still-flat belly. “I bet mine will be huge.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” snaps Tarren. “They are both from the same Zandian. And the bigger one would be mine, anyway.” He puts his large hand over mine and squeezes. “And we will care for them regardless.” He gives me a guilty look. “We only said those things because we thought you couldn’t have one. Of course we, ah, are now very excited about this.” He’s nervous; I can tell from the way he shifts his leg and taps his foot. But something in his eyes shows deep excitement, too. He’s getting something he never though he could or should. A gift.
“We would have been more than satisfied without young,” Jax explains. “But this is clearly important to you, and I’m delighted. Either way we want you, Riya.” He caresses my head, massaging my scalp with his fingers, a soothing feeling.
“Have I told you how much I want young?” Ronan says. “So amazing! Remarkable creatures. I can’t wait to, ah, change diapers for you.” He blanches so that even his horns get paler, and I laugh so hard I gag, but I grasp his hand on my belly.
“I’m sure you will become an expert very quickly,” I tell him with a smile.
“We are going to start you on an IV infusion of vitamins and an
ti-nausea meds,” says Dr. Daneth. “And soon we expect you’ll be able to eat again and regain your strength.” He adds, “They could be identical twins, or fraternal. And I have to tell you that there is a chance they could be from two different fathers, if you both… penetrated her… in short succession, and she released two eggs. We won’t know until we do genetic testing, but I don’t recommend that until she regains strength.”
I don’t even care about that right now. All I can focus on is having my mates here. Tarren, Ronan, and Jax have forgiven me. They came for me. They want me, after everything that happened. It’s incredible.
“When can we take her home?” Tarren asks, and it sounds more like a demand.
“She’ll need to stay in a medbay for now,” the doctor answers. “Until we can get her weight up and assess the safety of the pregnancy. It may be just a few planet rotations, or possibly a few lunar cycles.”
“Then we will live in the pod with her,” declares Ronan. “And go to work from there. It will be smaller than the dome, but we will make it work.”
“You will do no such thing,” advises the doctor, rolling his eyes. “The pod room she will be in is for one patient only, but you may, of course, visit daily.” He eyes my mates with narrowed eyes, as if he doesn’t trust them to listen.
“You truly want me?” I need to hear it again, and again.
“Yes,” they all say, their voices blending into a symphony of tones, my favorite sounds in the world.
“I love you,” I whisper, looking at each one in turn. And it’s true. I love these Zandians as much as I love life itself. I touch my belly, and feel the most incredible joy possible, knowing that my past is truly in the past. Despite my mistakes, even after everything that happened, my future is bright and beautiful… full of everything I could have dreamed.
14
Tarren
Do you need more tea?” I hover over Riya, placing the soft fleece throw she likes over her lap. “Stay warm.”
She tosses it off. “Tarren, it’s like a hundred degrees in here, and with Zandian twins in my belly, my temperature is twice that.” She makes a face at me and laughs. Now that she’s past the morning sickness, color has returned to her face, and she’s glowing. To me, she’s never looked more lovely.
I grab her and pull her to her feet and kiss her, reaching back to smack her ass. “Don’t talk back, human,” I admonish her.
“Ow!” she whines, but then she sticks her ass out, as if asking for another swat. “You don’t have to punish me.” She stands on tiptoe to bite my neck, and then reaches up to squeeze my horns. “Unless you really want to.”
Jax comes up and cups her ass in his hands as she grinds up against my hips. “Dr. Daneth did give her all-clear for full activities,” he says. “And he did mean… full.” He raises his eyebrows. “Apparently, spanking a human during a Zandian pregnancy causes no harm at all, and the increased blood flow from orgasms is good for fetal development. And King Zander did say you required punishment.”
“Yes, he did,” I murmur, flicking her left nipple. She squeaks and pushes back into Jax. “Then we should probably be sure to punish her and veck her well… if it’s good for the babies.”
“We definitely need to take care of the babies, starting now,” agrees Ronan, stripping his shirt, his bare chest shining in the light. “Riya, get naked for us, so we can give you a good spanking.”
“It’s time to punish her for leaving us,” I say, making sure that my tone of voice shows affection.
“I came back, though,” she reminds me, reaching down to stroke my cock.
“True,” I admit. “But only because we came after you. If we hadn’t…”
“I said I was sorry.” She moans as I bite her neck in the place she loves.
“And now you can show us just how much,” I say, matter of factly. “Don’t you think that’s a good plan?”
By the scent of her arousal, I can tell that she does like the plan very much, but she protests anyway. “Don’t use the whip.”
“Mmm…” I pretend to think it over. “Probably just the strap and paddle, and an ass plug or two. And we’ll see if you need more after that.”
Her scent gets stronger, as it always does at the threats I make. Our human vecking loves playing rough with us.
“I might need more,” she murmurs, reaching up to rub my horns again. “I really was very disobedient, after all.”
“You were, and right now you’re making it far worse. Ronan gave you a command,” I remind her, narrowing my eyes and acting stern, trying not to pant and just toss her on the hoverdisk. “Are you naked yet, beautiful?”
She steps back and looks at herself in surprise. “Oh! I guess I’m not, am I? Well, I suppose I’ll have to take care of that.” She looks at each of us in turn and shoots a mischievous grin at me. “Watch carefully to make sure I don’t miss anything, please.”
She turns her back to us and drops the straps of her gown, revealing her creamy shoulders, and I catch my breath, cock twitching. Jax groans, and Ronan growls, “Veck,” as the gown falls, her gorgeous ass on full display.
“You’re not wearing panties?” I demand, my eyebrows shooting up. “Veck, Riya.”
“They’re too hot,” she murmurs, turning around. “Besides, don’t you like having easier access?”
Her breasts have become even fuller these past weeks, and her nipples, ruddy and large, stand at attention. The soft swell of her belly inflames me further, knowing I did that.
Those breasts need to be bitten,” I growl, striding towards her. “They’re perfectly red and ripe for my mouth.” I don’t waste time with more words, but close my lips around the left one, sucking and teasing with my tongue, until she squeals and grabs my hair, hard, yanking it.
“Tarren,” she gasps. “So good.”
I pop my mouth from her nub. “Who will be first to enjoy her pussy? Spread your legs, Riya, and keep them wide for your mates.”
“I volunteer,” Ronan says, and is there in a flash kneeling between her thighs, which he spreads wider by tapping her foot and adjusting her stance.
She shifts, and I can tell the moment that Ronan puts his tongue to her flesh, because she moans into me and jerks a little, as I continue to lick her nipples. Her body is so responsive, in pregnancy even more than before, and we enjoy teasing her and getting her desperate and needy before we let her come.
It’s only seconds before Ronan exclaims, “Veck, Riya, you’re so wet and creamy. I could lick you for hours. If human food tasted of your pussy, I swear, by the one true star, I’d eat every planet rotation.”
Riya makes a strangled sound, a combination of a laugh and moan of pleasure, because Ronan’s head goes back between her thighs. Then she lets her head fall back, murmuring little sounds of enjoyment, and I see her pulse beat in her neck, fast and strong.
“Come, Riya,” urges Ronan. “The first of a dozen, and I claim this one for me. Come on my tongue and shatter for me. Show me who owns you.” His voice is hoarse with desire.
Riya’s response is immediate. She cries out and stiffens, her whole body quivering, as she squeezes her eyes shut. I support her in my arms, watching in amazement as a fine sweat grows on her brow, loving the expressions she makes in her pleasure. It is a treat to watch her let go like this. I watch her peak and then slowly come down, her eyelids fluttering, murmuring little sounds, a smile on her face.
“Ronan,” she breathes.
“I’m here.” He comes out from her thighs. “And now I’d like you to return the pleasure, Riya.”
I bite her neck and mutter, “And then you’ll pleasure me next. This time I’m not vecking waiting for last.” I can barely hold out as it is—just hearing the sound of my mate receiving pleasure is enough to make me explode. I take a breath. “Go please Ronan while Jax whips your ass for your disobedience.” I can’t for the vecking life of me remember what she did wrong, nor do I care. I just want to see her ass turn red, hear her cry out with those little
breathy murmurs and whimpers as we stripe her and make her wet and needy.
She’s still shaky from her orgasm, so I scoop her up in my arms and carry her to the sleep disc. “How do you want her, cousin?”
Ronan
Riya’s taste is on my lips, the sweet honey of her orgasm driving me insane. Veck, how I love making her fly apart with my mouth and my fingers. But now I want to drive into her body and take her hard.
“I want to sink my cock into your sweet pussy,” I say, grasping my member and squeezing, a mix of pain and pleasure the sweetest anticipation. “Tarren, arrange her on her back, legs spread. Wide.”
She doesn’t need assistance—she opens her thighs and shoots me a smile. “Like this?” she reaches down to stroke her lips. “I’m still tingling. It’s so good.”
“You’re going to come again before I’m through with you,” I threaten, and she reaches out to stroke me as I kneel over her.
“I certainly hope so,” she murmurs, winding her fingers around me and rubbing the way I love.
“Jax can punish you later,” I add, because if I don’t get into her immediately, I won’t last. I reach down and slap her outer thigh, once and again, to make her squeal and moan—a few spanks I can do. “And I’m sure he’ll do a good job. Maybe you can think about that while I veck you, Riya. I’m letting you have your pleasure now, but you’ll pay later.”
Of course, the way we make her pay ends in pleasure for all, and at my words she arches her hips on the hoverdisk and gasps, her eyes going wide with lust and need. “Ronan.”
“Wrap your legs around me as I enter you,” I urge her, “and grab my horns. Veck me back, Riya. Fight me for the pleasure. Take it from me.”
I’m lost in sensation as I drive into her wet heat. She’s always so tight, her body fitting me to perfection, and there’s no better feeling in the universe than this.
