by Jory Strong
“I would rather be naked. But the clothing fits as it is supposed to.”
Savannah laughed despite the knot in her stomach. “Yeah, well, you’d rather be naked and I’d rather see you naked. The only problem with that particular look is I’d have to arrest you as soon as we got to town.” She paused, seeing an opportunity to start her questions. “I’m assuming if you were following Krista, then you must have abandoned your car near The Dive. We could get close enough for you to retrieve it when we go into Reno today.”
Kye stilled. A jolt of excitement and nervousness spearing through his chest. Her mention of Krista providing an unexpected opportunity to see how she felt about sharing herself with two men.
He forced himself to mimic Savannah’s casual actions, smearing jelly on his bread as he tried to plot the course of their conversation. “You are correct. I was driving a car. But I am not alone here. My car has already been reclaimed by those I work with.”
Interest flickered across her features. “You work for someone? Or with someone?”
“In the past I have worked for clients outside of my…community. But presently I am working within it. That is how I came to be following Krista. To ensure her safety until my cousin and his partner could reclaim her.” Kye grinned despite how important the conversation was to his future…to their future. “I am still amazed by the spectacle of them walking her to her car and kissing her, of them allowing her to leave in the first place after a night in their arms.”
“You know about that?” Savannah’s eyes widened. “So are Lyan and Adan a couple?”
Kye jerked as though he’d been hit, the muffin he’d just taken a bite of suddenly choking him. Savannah stood as his face reddened but he waved her away. His choking turning to laughter, then tears. “By the stars, no! Lyan and Adan are not lovers. The V—no. It is not our way.” He wiped the moisture from his eyes and cheeks, scrambling to regain control of both himself and the conversation. “Krista told you she had been with both of them?”
Now he watched with interest as color moved through Savannah’s face and she shifted in her chair, suddenly finding great interest in the food on her plate. “Sure, women talk the same as men do. Obviously.” She glanced up at him and lifted an eyebrow. “You know, we have our fantasies too.”
Kye’s cock surged to life and pressed urgently against the uncomfortable Earth clothing. “I would like to hear more about these fantasies. About your fantasies.”
Savannah was surprised smoke wasn’t coming off her body. God! Her fantasy was sitting across the table. Now all she needed was to scrounge around in the truck for some of her ropes and leather straps. “I’m not sure you could handle my fantasies.”
“Try me.”
Oh yeah. Tie me. Savannah shook her head. “All I’m going to say is that ropes are involved, Batman. Any more and we’ll never make it to town today.”
Heat flared in Kye’s eyes and Savannah clenched her legs together. Damn. If she didn’t know where it would lead, her fingers would be on her clit and her nipples right now.
Kye closed his eyes briefly. The fork loaded with eggs halted midway between his plate and his mouth. She was killing him.
He dropped his hand to his lap, tempted to release his cock, but if he did so… They would indeed never make it to town.
Kye gripped his penis through the stiff fabric of his jeans. Cursing again the clothing he had been forced to wear since gaining an assignment on Earth.
It was a difficult feat but he forced his mind away from the painful erection and the erotic fantasies rushing through his thoughts, made himself concentrate on returning to their original conversation. Only this time he saw no reason for subtlety—which was just as well since subtlety was not a strong point of his clan-house. “Lyan and Adan will do all in their power to convince Krista to live with them as their bond-mate. Their shared wife.”
“That’s going to be a tough decision for her. She loves being a teacher. It’s all she ever wanted to be.” Savannah shook her head and took a sip of coffee before adding, “Even in San Francisco flaunting the fact she’s part of a threesome could make it difficult to keep her job—impressionable young minds and all of that.” She cocked her head and looked at him. “So they’re serious about her?”
“There will never be another for them.”
“That’s serious.”
Kye hesitated. Savannah had already proven herself to be intelligent and there were things he could not reveal to her, and yet he wanted to prepare her for his world. “Krista will be able to teach if she accepts Lyan and Adan’s offer and returns home with them. The sight of her with her new…husbands…will be cause for celebration among us, not censure.”
“Where’s home?” Savannah asked, pouncing as he’d feared she would.
Kye shook his head, his chest tightening when her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “We live apart.”
Her gaze dropped to his wristbands and the Ylan stones pulsed against his skin. “You’re part of a cult.”
A startled laugh escaped. Once her human ancestors had both worshipped and feared his! “No. But you have already commented on how difficult it would be for a woman to be part of a threesome. We live in a place where such a thing has come to be…expected. Even necessary.”
Holy shit. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? “So guys usually pair up when they want to settle down with a woman?”
“Yes,” he said, his face closing up. The sight of it causing pain to sear through Savannah’s heart—not because she wasn’t going to experience her favorite fantasy, but because the this might be all the time we have together desperation of his lovemaking finally made sense. He’d probably already agreed to be some guy’s partner in claiming a woman and couldn’t back out of it now.
Well, okay. She could deal with that. She hadn’t asked for promises. Hadn’t expected them. It had been fun while it lasted—but she wouldn’t be bringing him back to the cabin with her after they got to town.
Outside of a little rough and rowdy sex she just wasn’t into pain, especially emotional pain. And besides that, she needed to get busy trying to figure out what The Ferret knew. She wasn’t sure exactly how she was going to swing the captain’s cooperation yet, but once she’d argued her case—namely that she was obviously the one The Ferret wanted to talk to—then maybe the captain would relent. She couldn’t remain in hiding for the rest of her life
Savannah rose from the table, taking her dirty dishes to the sink. Kye rose and followed her. His heart thundering in his chest from witnessing the play of emotions on her face.
He stopped behind her, trapped her against the counter, her back to his front as he braced himself for her reaction, her rejection. “Does the idea of sharing yourself with two men repulse you?”
The dishes clattered the last few inches to the sink. “Aren’t you already taken?”
His hand went to her breast, cupping it through the clothing. “No.”
“There’s only one of you here.”
Kye dared to nuzzle against the deep red of her hair. To smile against her neck though every Vesti instinct railed against the necessity of sharing a mate. “And I could keep you satisfied without the aid of another, but the choice isn’t mine to make. Does the idea of sharing yourself with two men repulse you?”
“No,” she said, burning his lips with the hotness of her blood as it moved through her neck and across her cheeks.
“Good.” He gave her a sucking bite then retreated, caution urging him to take the conversation no further until he had spoken with Jeqon and knew his own fate. “I thought perhaps we could target shoot before leaving for town,” he suggested.
Savannah’s mind spun with questions. She wanted to ask if Kye had a third in mind to join them in bed. She wanted to believe he’d fallen as hard for her as she’d already fallen for him. As Krista had fallen for Lyan and Adan—and them for her. But for the time being Savannah was happy to gather up emptied aluminum soda cans and set them a short
distance from the cabin to serve as targets. To concentrate instead on besting Kye or at least equaling his ability as they fired a rifle in friendly competition.
“Perhaps when we return from town we can experiment with some rope play,” Kye teased a short time later, probably to distract her so her last shots would stray away from the target.
It didn’t work. Though it was a close call. Savannah grinned and lowered the rifle. “We’ll see, Batman. But just so you know what I’m thinking, I’m going to be the cowgirl and you’re going to be the rough stock that needs to be roped, thrown down and tied up.”
Kye laughed with easy masculine confidence. “Now that is a true fantasy. Even if I were to give you a handicap, there is no way you could do what you envision.”
“Hold that thought,” Savannah said, leaning the rifle against a tree and heading for the truck to get her lariat.
Chapter Nine
Even braced for the sight of Lyan, Draigon could not suppress the flash of anger he felt when he saw the Vesti emerge from the portal building. What had started out as childhood animosity had intensified, solidified over time, and it did not help that Lyan’s feelings mirrored his own, that Lyan bristled and glowered as soon as they were within speaking distance, causing Adan to jump in as he was often required to do, to say, “This is not the way to forge peace between our peoples.”
As it always did, it took several seconds for Adan’s words to penetrate, to break the staring contest that was habit when Draigon and Lyan encountered each other. But when it was done, Draigon turned his attention to Krista and felt his breath catch in his throat at her fragile beauty. She was delicate and exquisite. Soft and golden. Completely desirable.
He glanced at Adan. “I come to greet your new bond-mate and to tell her that soon her friend will join her on Belizair. The scientists have determined that the human female, Savannah, has the Fallon gene marker that matches mine.”
“To harm one of the Vesti is to declare war on all of us, Draigon,” Lyan said, drawing Draigon’s gaze and causing fresh anger to rush through him, Lyan’s words a confirmation that he knew his cousin had already mated with Savannah.
“There will be no war. In true Vesti fashion, your cousin took what did not belong to him, but my mate would be dead if he had not been there to interfere. For that reason and that reason alone, I will accept him as a co-mate.”
Draigon once again forced his attention away from Lyan and back to Krista, this time leaning forward and pressing his lips to Krista’s, a taunt to Lyan and yet a sharing with Adan. As Jeqon had said, Adan’s happiness and possessiveness of his bond-mate was easy to see.
When the kiss ended Draigon turned and strode past them, toward the portal, his steps light and hurried. He had reconciled himself to taking a human mate though he had never been drawn to any female other than those of his race, and the thought of a female with no wings had been a leaden weight in his chest. But the instant he saw Krista he understood why some of the Fallon had been fascinated by the women on Earth, why he had not seen any of the other human females brought back to Winseka. Their mates had yet to let them out of bed!
Draigon’s heart quickened and his cock grew hard in anticipation. Where before he had been resigned, now he was anxious to get to the task of securing his mate and bringing her home, breeding her so that his line would continue.
He entered the transport chamber, glad he had been granted permission to jump from the portal exit to where Kye and Savannah were, otherwise he would have been forced to endure endless Earth-hours using their primitive means of transportation.
Draigon grimaced. By all accounts, Earth was a backwater of a planet and he did not intend to remain there for long. He would secure his mate and return before the third sun rose and set on Belizair.
The stones in the chamber pulsed in a sequence of light and color and Draigon braced himself as the Ylan crystals in his wristbands pulled on the energy around them, preparing for the transmutation that preceded transport. The air becoming charged, and then before he could take a breath, he was on Earth.
He paused long enough to change into the clothing stored in a room adjacent to the transport chamber then he used the Ylan stones to both hide his wings and to transport him to Kye’s location. And for a moment Draigon could only stare in amazed disbelief at the sight before him.
I would stand and greet you properly but as you can see, I am tied up right now, Kye said, his amused voice jerking Draigon’s attention from the sight of a bound Vesti warrior lying on the ground to the human standing over him.
As if sensing his presence, Savannah turned toward Draigon and lust poured into him even as the breath was forced from his chest. He moved forward with only one thought, to claim his mate.
Holy fuck! Where had he come from! Savannah wondered as she scrambled for the rifle leaning against a tree and jerked the rope at the same time so the knot hogtying Kye’s wrists to his ankles like a calf in a rodeo event would pull free.
Whoever Mr. Red was, he was coming toward them fast. And though he wasn’t armed, he looked deadly enough without a weapon. She grabbed the rifle just as he got to where Kye had rolled over and was now sitting, freeing himself from the rope.
“Stop right there,” Savannah said, chambering a round and pointing the rifle at the center of the stranger’s chest, watching as his gaze dropped to the weapon, his face reflecting surprise and then amusement. But he did as she commanded, not taking his eyes off her even when Kye rose to his feet.
“This is Draigon d’Amato,” Kye said. “He means you no harm.”
Savannah’s eyes narrowed, not liking the way Kye’s body radiated tension. Not liking the way he’d phrased his comment. She didn’t lower the rifle.
“He might not mean me any harm, but what about you?”
Kye forced himself to relax, but by the stars, it was hard! When he had first seen Draigon he had assumed the Amato was now working for the Council scientists. He had assumed Draigon was to guard Savannah while he returned to San Francisco and spoke with Jeqon. But Draigon’s reaction to the sight of Savannah, his telepathically delivered announcement that he was her mate by Council law had very nearly devastated Kye. Of all the Amato who could have been matched with Savannah…to have it be this one…a man long at odds with his cousin Lyan.
Surely our mate does not intend to discharge that primitive weapon into my chest, Draigon said, sending hope flooding into Kye, disbelief. His thoughts caught on a single word—our mate.
You have accepted me as your co-mate? he asked, saying to Savannah, “He means me no harm either. I was expecting a third to join us. Though I had not intended to be caught in the position Draigon found me in.”
She lowered the rifle, suspicion still radiating from her, filling Kye with both pride and amusement. Did Jeqon tell you she has been trained to serve as a policewoman among the humans? Be warned, she is intelligent and observant. Very little gets by her. He paused, daring to ask the yet unanswered question again. You have accepted me as your co-mate?
Yes. The answer was a hostile growl but for the moment Kye was filled with relief and gratitude. Even happiness. Until Draigon said, Leave us.
The command was enough to bring the Vesti desire to hoard a mate roaring to life, burning through Kye’s veins with the same heat of the mating fever. He stiffened. Torn between the primitive urge to fight Draigon for possession of Savannah and the knowledge that he must share her with the flame-haired Amato.
Kye took a deep breath and forced a calm he did not truly feel into his body. He concentrated on the lessons he had learned in dealing with the Council members who looked on him with hostility and suspicion. It would serve no purpose to antagonize Draigon, though Kye had no intention of being a lesser mate to Savannah. For the moment diplomacy rather than challenge was necessary. I cannot leave. She must go to town in order to report to her captain. It would be safer for her if both of us were there to see to her protection.
Draigon’s face tightened. Every
cell in his body announced his desire to be alone with Savannah. But finally he gave a slight nod and some of the tension drained from both of them.
Savannah watched the play of emotions over Kye’s face and through his body. There was something going on between the two men—not sexually. But something. The air was practically vibrating around them.
The long hair and the bands on Draigon’s wrists said he was from the same place as Kye. And between the conversation she’d had with Kye over breakfast and him saying, “I was expecting a third to join us,” it would be logical to think…
Savannah grinned. Now that she didn’t have to worry about defending herself and Kye, she could salivate over Draigon’s hard-muscled body. Could even undress him mentally and imagine herself in bed with him.
Damn, close the paddock gate before the stud could escape!
Too bad it was time to head to town.
The thought triggered an obvious question now that she was over the surprise of Draigon showing up. How the hell had he gotten to the cabin without her noticing his arrival? Because now that she was looking, she wasn’t seeing any form of transportation, not even a bicycle. And while it was possible to walk in, he wasn’t covered in dust and sweat.
Savannah turned away and brought the rifle up, emptying the chamber by firing at one of the cans she and Kye had been using earlier for target practice. Satisfaction filling her as it tumbled and danced backward. “We’d better get going,” she said, lowering the rifle and unloading the remaining bullets as she walked past where Kye and Draigon were standing.
It took fifteen steps to come to the end of Draigon’s trail. Or what she assumed was probably his track since she and Kye had trampled the area around the cabin with their target practice and spontaneous roping event. Amazing. The trail just disappeared the same way Kye’s had done. How did they do that?
She swung around to face them, allowing her gaze to linger on the picture of Kye and Draigon standing together like a well-matched pair of stallions wearing identical expressions of wariness.
