Claimed for Their Use

by Ivy Barrett

  How Dare managed to speak at all, Rook couldn’t fathom. His mind was reeling from the implications of her unexpected request.

  She stroked Dare twice before answering, “It means I accept your claim.”

  The bed rocked and the walls vibrated as if reacting to her monumental statement. She said it so casually, yet the entire universe shuddered around them.

  “What the hell was that?” She turned her head sharply so she could see Rook.

  The ship suddenly dipped, throwing them forward. Dare tumbled across the bed, slamming against the headboard. Rook grabbed Jessica’s waist, holding her in place and anchoring his position.

  He activated general comms. “Command deck, report,” he shouted in Ventori.

  “We’re in trouble, sir.” Alarms and overlapping conversations transmitted right along with Gat’s anxious voice. “We just lost main power.”

  “Understood, we’re on our way.” Cursing Danswhal’s deplorable timing, Rook reluctantly pulled out of Jessica’s warm body. “We have to go, love,” he told her in English.

  “Why? What’s wrong?” She stopped stroking Dare and carefully rolled to her bottom so she could see both males.

  “I’m not sure.” He’d explain everything after the fake crisis had passed and the ship was on the ground. Right now he didn’t have time for a million questions. “Some sort of power failure.”

  “We’ll be back as soon as possible and we promise to make this up to you.” Dare quickly kissed her, then scrambled off the bed and headed to his bedroom so he could dress.

  “Leave the trainer in.” Rook put one knee on the bed and leaned forward, indulging in a fast, yet deep kiss. “We’ll be back before you have time to miss us.”

  “Too late.” She smiled. “I miss you already.”

  His cock bucked as he pushed off the bed and crossed to his closet. They were doing this so they’d have more time with her. She’d forgive them for the interruption once she understood what was going on.

  Dare was waiting in the common room by the time Rook finished dressing. The ship pitched several more times as they sprinted through the corridors. They climbed a maintenance shaft rather than waiting for an elevator. The command deck was in an uproar, understandably. Rook went immediately to the master control station where Gat stood, rattling off orders at those gathered around him.

  “What’s going on?” Rook demanded.

  “Power’s down, sir.” Gat stepped away from the console and clasped his hands behind his back. “Danswhal is trying to figure out why, but that doesn’t help us right now.”

  The ship pitched so badly Rook had to grab the console to keep from sliding across the deck. “Do we still have navigation?”

  “Just barely,” Gat admitted. He had his feet planted well apart and still struggled for balance. “Obviously, stabilizers are out.”

  “We need to land now,” Dare said, a bit louder than necessary.

  “I agree,” Rook said.

  “You’ll have to do it manually,” Gat warned. “Most of the computer’s automated functions are offline.”

  Rook looked at their navigator. “Find me a flat place to set down.”

  “New course locked in, sir,” the navigator said a few minutes later.

  Rook pushed his hands into the three-dimensional matrix and took control of the ship. Ventori ships were largely automated, so it had been a long time since Rook landed even a shuttle unassisted. He took a deep breath and let years of training and experience guide his hands.

  Treetops gave way to arid desert as Rook began his descent. He engaged reverse thrusters as gradually as possible, but the ship still shuddered and groaned. He struggled to keep the ship level to the ground, no easy task with the automated systems unresponsive. The ground rushed up to meet them, a blur of reddish-brown earth and gray-green scrub brush.

  “Do we have enough room?” Dare motioned toward the large rock formation directly in their path.

  “Think so.”

  “You think so?”

  Rook ignored the fear in his brother’s voice and focused on landing the ship. But Dare was right, they were traveling too fast to avoid the rock formation.

  Frantically altering course, Rook calculated a new trajectory. The ship banked sharply right then plummeted, hitting the ground much harder than Rook intended. They spun, sliding across the desert as momentum drove them onward. Dirt and displaced plants flew into the air, an earthen wake propelled by the wedge-shaped hull. Finally the ship rocked to an uneven stop and Rook exhaled.

  “Damage report?” Dare shouted over general comms.

  The department heads reported in one after another, listing minor damage. Each response allowed Rook to breathe a little easier. He hadn’t meant to make this ‘fake’ emergency quite so believable.

  “That was… interesting,” Gat muttered, clearly a bit shaken.

  Rook switched to a diagnostic screen and shook his head. “We’ve got life support and not much else. What the hells happened?”

  “Go talk to Danswhal,” Gat urged. “There’s not much you can do up here until he restores power.”

  Rook nodded and followed Dare off the command deck.

  “That was a little too close,” Dare said in a soft, urgent tone.

  “You’re telling me?” Releasing his tension with a sharp laugh, Rook shook the tightness from his hands.

  Danswhal and two of his engineers gathered around the main console. He glanced up as Rook and Dare walked into the power station, but kept right on delegating tasks to his team. Only after the crewmen departed did Danswhal turn his attention to his commanders.

  He walked over to where they were standing and lowered his voice. “My men are sharp. I’m not going to be able to stay ahead of them for long.”

  Rook nodded, not surprised by the warning. Their entire crew was well-trained and experienced, but the engineering team was exceptional. “Are you anticipating hours or days before they figure out what’s really going on?”

  “Two, maybe three days, at the very most. I’ll do my best to stretch it out.”

  “We know you will,” Dare assured him. “Do you need anything from us?”

  Danswhal shook his head. “Get back to your female. I’m living vicariously through you.”

  They thanked him one last time, then moved out into the corridor.

  “You know, if she really does let us claim her, all this might have been unnecessary,” Dare muttered as they made their way back to their cabin.

  Rook looked at him sharply, then realized he was right. The lingering tension flowed out of him and Rook started laughing.

  * * *

  Adjusting the belt on the borrowed bathrobe for the third time, Jessica fidgeted on the sofa. She’d left the anal trainer in place as Rook told her to, but the robe was more or less a rebellion. Dare hadn’t given her permission to cover her body. But then he hadn’t informed her that the punishment was still in place either.

  The trainer made her restless and the pressure intensified when she sat, so she stood and began pacing the width of the common room. That wasn’t much better. Each step she took subtly shifted the trainer, increasing her awareness of the unfamiliar fullness inside her body. She was dying to know what all the bumps and dips had been about. It felt almost as if they’d made an emergency landing, which meant it was likely something serious had gone wrong. Rook mentioned a power failure. How many systems were affected? She was pretty sure they were on the ground. Did they still need life support?

  Minutes passed with no alarms or disruptions, but she didn’t have enough information to guess about the situation beyond the cabin. Hopefully her mates would return soon and… and they’d expect an answer about whether or not she would accept their claim. She’d been so sure that bonding was what she wanted when she asked Dare to anchor the link. But now that her passion had cooled, uncertainty returned with a vengeance.

  She looked around, feeling helpless and useless. Would this be her life, sitting aroun
d waiting for her mates to return from battle, or whatever crisis came their way? When she’d brought this up before, Dare told her they’d work it out together. Well, it made more sense to work it out before they formed the link.

  The door slid open with a familiar swish. She turned around, expecting her mates, but Gat strode into the cabin.

  “I’m to take you somewhere safe,” he insisted, urgently motioning her toward the door.

  Trepidation tingled down her spine. Why wouldn’t one of her mates have come themselves? Protecting her was their top priority. “I’d rather wait here.” She looked around for some sort of weapon. Something about this didn’t feel right.

  Gat moved farther into the cabin and the door slid shut behind him. His gaze suddenly intensified, growing almost fever bright. “Fine. We’ll do this the hard way.” He pulled the pulse pistol from the bracket on his thigh. “I need off this ship. You’re insurance, as long as you behave. Try anything stupid, and I’ll take you with me so you can demonstrate everything they’ve taught you.”

  She didn’t believe a word he said. She saw hate in his eyes, not lust, and certainly not mercy. She held up both hands and tried hard to sound pathetic. “Don’t hurt me, please. I’ll do whatever you want.”

  His chuckle was anything but humorous. “So let’s start there. If they taught you how to obey, then show me. Get your ass over here!”

  Calling on all her talent as a performer, she made her lips tremble and summoned tears to her eyes. “Please. I don’t want to die like this.”

  “You’re not going to die if you cooperate.” He stomped toward her.

  She waited until the very last minute then pretended to faint. The instant she felt his hand grip her arm, she twisted wildly to the side and snatched the gun out of his hand. Praying the weapon was set to stun, she fired at the middle of his chest.

  Gat’s eyes rolled back in his head and he crumpled at her feet.

  A spontaneous scream ripped from her throat and her entire body started trembling.

  She heard the door open, but couldn’t take her eyes off the man on the deck. “I think I killed him,” she cried.

  Dare swept her into a protective embrace as Rook knelt to verify her worst fear. He nodded. “He’s dead. What happened?”

  She turned within the circle of Dare’s arms, still shaking uncontrollably. “I didn’t mean to kill him.” The moisture blurring her vision was genuine now. “He told me he wouldn’t hurt me, but his gun was set to kill.”

  “How did he get in here?” Rook wanted to know.

  “He just opened the door and walked right in.” Her voice still sounded shrill, so she took a quick breath before adding, “He told me you guys sent him to take me somewhere safe.”

  “This is the safest place on the ship. At least we thought it was,” Rook muttered, then framed her face with his hands looking her over closely. “Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”

  “No. I wouldn’t go with him, so he pulled the gun.” She handed the weapon to Rook, finally realizing she still held it.

  “You did good, baby,” Dare soothed. “How can we rescue you when you take care of bad guys all by yourself?”

  Semi-hysterical laughter bubbled up inside her. She’d just killed someone. It was so fucking surreal.

  “Take her in the bedroom,” Rook advised. “I’ll take care of this.”

  Dare led her into the bedroom, then set on the end of the bed and pulled her onto his lap.

  The position put extra pressure on the butt plug and she shivered. She’d actually forgotten it was still inside her. “I didn’t mean to kill him,” she whispered as she placed her head on his shoulder.

  “He got what he was prepared to give. You did nothing wrong,” Dare stressed. “Did you hear me?”

  She nodded. Little by little her muscles relaxed and she stopped shaking. She was safe. Her mates had returned. Nothing could harm her now. “But why did he come after me? Why did he suddenly need to get off the ship?”

  “He must have realized we were on to him.” Dare stroked her hair and the side of her face, his touch comforting.

  She raised her head and looked at him curiously. “‘On to him’?”

  “One of the officers sent an encoded message to Protectorate Headquarters. Our head of communications detected the transmission and told Rook. They’d narrowed it down to one of three. Gat’s actions indicate that he was our spy.”

  “But why would the chancellor need to spy on you? You’re both loyal to the high command.”

  “Not the chancellor. It’s much more likely Gat was working for one of the ministers,” Dare explained.

  The motivations still hadn’t clicked into place for her. “And why would a minister need a spy onboard this ship?”

  “It’s likely the minister is planning to challenge the chancellor. Gat was working for the minister.”

  She didn’t really care why the minister would want to overthrow the chancellor. Her mind was swarmed with issues more important than Ventori politics. Was the ship still in one piece? Had anyone been hurt by the emergency landing?

  Before she could ask, the bedroom door slid open and Rook strode into the room. She scooted off Dare’s lap and rushed toward Rook, hoping he would hug her. He obliged, but immediately pushed her to arm’s length.

  “Are you certain you’re all right?” he asked in a tight, yet compassionate tone.

  “I’m fine. What did you do with the…” She motioned toward the outer room not able to force the word ‘body’ past her throat.

  “His podmates will make the arrangements.” Rook told her. “It’s Ventori tradition.”

  “Do you think they were involved?” Dare asked as he pushed to his feet.

  Rook shook his head. “They were as horrified by his actions as by his passing. Both are still loyal.”

  “Good. They’re good soldiers.”

  “How did Gat get in here?” she asked, unable to let it go until she figured out that last detail.

  “He had to have our emergency override code,” Rook answered. “It’s the only way to bypass the biometrics. I don’t know how he got it, but I changed the code. This will never happen again.”

  She wanted to believe him, needed to believe him, but she still felt… invaded. Rather than dwell on her disquiet, she asked, “Is everything all right with the ship? What in the world happened?”

  “Privacy protocol 241,” Rook said before he began his explanation. “We arranged to spend a few more days with you, but we didn’t want to involve the crew in our deception.”

  “What deception?” She glanced at Dare again, then shifted her gaze back to Rook’s face.

  “We, with a little help from our head engineer, faked a power failure,” Rook told her. “There’s nothing wrong with the ship. We just made it appear that way so we can avoid the high command until things are settled between you and us.”

  And that might take longer than they realized. She hadn’t set out to mislead them, but she was no longer sure she could make a permanent commitment to them. So much about the situation was still undefined. And she’d nearly died! To be honest, sex of any kind was the farthest thing from her mind right now.

  Rather than blurting out what she was thinking, she asked, “What does the high command have to do with our relationship? You said Layhee pod transferred my contract to you.” Anxiety set her in motion. She shoved both hands into her pockets and took several steps away from him. “Were you lying to me?”

  “No,” Rook stressed, moving closer. “We are now in possession of your contract. However, the contract might not matter anymore.”

  Dare took up the tale when Rook paused. He moved up beside his brother, presenting a united front. “The high command knows all of you are genetically compatible with the Ventori. The survival of our race is much more important than the CCP. The high command needs to determine when and how, but each compatible female will go to her mates, not her masters.”

  “But you two are my mates,�
� she pointed out.

  “Not yet,” Dare reminded, “but we’d like to fix that before we report to headquarters.”

  A smile slowly parted her lips. She couldn’t help it. Even with all the emotional upheaval, their determination to claim her was flattering. Her band had enjoyed a steady fan base. But their superficial fascination was nothing compared to Dare and Rook’s devotion. Apparently, there was little they wouldn’t do to win her as their mate. “You downed your own ship, risked your careers, so you could bond with me?”

  “If you’ll allow it.” Rook’s gaze narrowed and his expression became fierce as he waited for her reaction.

  “Were you serious?” Dare’s expression became almost painfully hopeful. “Will you accept our claim?”

  She paused to lick her lips and choose her words. This was no simple decision. Either answer would change the course of her life for years to come, maybe many years to come. She didn’t want to admit that she still had doubts, so she took the coward’s way out and changed the subject. “Before I give you my answer, I want to check on the other females. Are they still in the same cabin? They had to be freaked out by all the turbulence.”

  Without argument, Rook activated the controls embedded beneath the skin on the inside of his forearm. She’d seen him use the panel before, but wasn’t aware of its exact capabilities. “This is Commander Fortar. Please activate visual.”

  It took a moment, but Nikki responded to the request and a life-size holograph formed a few feet away. Her face looked pale, dark eyes wide and luminous. “Is the ship still in one piece? It felt like we dropped right out of the sky.”

  “A problem with our central power station necessitated an emergency landing,” Rook told her.

  “An emergency landing where? Are we back on Earth?” The hopeful catch in her tone was unmistakable.

  “We’re in the middle of New Mexico, many miles from the nearest settlement. Fully equipped, crossing the desert would be challenging. You will never survive without provisions.”

  “That’s not why I asked,” she insisted.

  Rather than argue with her, he asked, “Were any of you harmed during the upheaval?”