by Mary Wine
Craddock nodded his head, he didn’t care either way. “A cunt will be good.” If it wounded Ravid and Keenan while they were at it, so much the better.
* * * * *
“I am Greer.”
Zeva kept her eyes on the warrior. He was a memory viewer. Alcandian justice was swift because there was no chance of deception. Witnesses were not asked for their recount of events. They were expected to allow a memory viewer to see them firsthand through a psychic link.
A warrior like Greer was extremely rare. Most warriors could only link with their mate and their companion. Greer could link with any Alcandian and in many cases other races.
That was why warriors like Ravid and Keenan wore uniforms edged with black. Zeva looked past Greer to where Ravid and Keenan stood. They were extreme examples of perfection. Her eyes traced the wide shoulders as her belly gave a twist and Zeva looked back at Greer before she lost the meager control she still had.
“I have nothing to hide.” Greer gave her a half smile as he reached for the sides of her head. His amusement grew from the fact that she was not accused of any wrongdoing—this was an investigation into Earth’s actions. Zeva didn’t care for the invasion but she owed it to Cole. His help deserved testament so that he would not be branded an enemy.
Greer entered her thoughts and she shuddered as her mind returned to the moment she had shoved Jessica into the first portal a few seconds before she was dragged away from the link with her homeworld.
Humans had destroyed that gate as she watched, and laughed at her devastation.
* * * * *
The walls collapsed in on her.
Zeva struggled to breathe as she was slowly crushed. Not a quick death but one where seconds swelled into eternities that allowed her to wither in agony. She gasped as her heart pounded and her arms strained with every ounce of strength she had to push the restraining straps away from her body so that she could draw breath. A scream of desperation filled her mind as her tormentors clicked another set of bindings over her legs.
Trapped.
Death loomed over her as she struggled to fill her lungs and live for just another single moment.
“Zeva.”
She surged out of her nightmare and hit a solid wall. Large hands instantly captured hers as she sent her fists at her jailer. Instead of painfully jerking her arms in back of her, Zeva found her body captured in a solid embrace that simply held her instead of restraining her.
“It was a dream, shihori.” Her eyes popped open as the Alcandian endearment hit her ears. The room was lit with silver starshine and Keenan was a mere shadow. Zeva pushed against his chest even as her fingers took the moment to trace the hard ridge of muscles. His clothing frustrated her because it separated her skin from his.
Her bed shifted as two more hands found her back. Ravid’s body heat joined Keenan’s as Ravid sent his hands in long strokes down her back. Relief surged through her as her nightmare vanished. Zeva just couldn’t hold back the rush of pure delight their touch sent through her.
“I’m fine.” Zeva looked around the room as she tried to distract herself from the two warriors.
A male grunt hit her ears as the bed shifted and a large hand cupped her face. Keenan’s scent filled her senses as his fingers smoothed over her face. “I would guess you have felt better, yet Greer is just as exhausted if that grants you any satisfaction.”
Satisfaction. Her body leapt at that idea as she caught Ravid’s scent as well. A wave of need hit her brain and all she longed to do was shut off her thoughts. Right here there was sensation and longing and none of that required her to think—only to feel.
The room brightened a bit and it showed her too much. Her eyes caught the wide chest that she had looked past Greer to admire and this time there was no one to witness her admiration of the two warriors. The room was a small one, most likely a guestroom. A curtain was closed over the doorway and another one covering the wall facing into the center of the building. On Sinlar grounds, that wall would only be a half wall. It was tradition that ensured that females did not need to fear being above stairs with two warriors who surpassed her in strength. Any distress would be heard in the eating hall below. But being above stairs at all was a deviation from Alcandian tradition. She was still a maiden and should be sleeping on female grounds.
The hand cupping her face moved and brought her eyes back to Keenan. Blue electricity flashed across his eyes as her nipples hardened beneath her coat. “This is a witness room. Beyond the curtain is a half wall that overlooks our Judgment eating hall.
Keenan bent his head towards her and inhaled her scent. It triggered a harsh flood of need that burned through his veins. Zeva shivered in response and Ravid smoothed his hands over her arms from behind her. She froze as her body rejoiced. His hands felt amazing on her skin and the flesh hidden under her jacket lamented its confinement.
“I should go home.” Zeva shrugged but Ravid only stroked her shoulders again in response. He didn’t release her and little tingles moved over her skin like star points. She needed some distance from them before her resolve melted. Zeva gathered her strength and folded her knees under her in order to rise from the bed.
Keenan growled at her. A similar sound hit her back as Ravid pressed closer to her back. The hands moving down her arms stopped being soothing, instead they became confining. Keenan leaned down towards her neck and inhaled again. Her stomach twisted with excitement. But uncertainty shook her spine as she felt their body heat. She was keenly aware of being between their powerful bodies. But that growl echoed in her head because it spoke of an aggression that she had never been the target of before.
“Nay.” Keenan’s eyes opened and a flash of blue shimmered across them. Zeva shook her head but his arms held her in place. His chest rose as the warrior took a deep breath. That tiny sign of his strained control made her push against his embrace. Her own senses pulled the warm scent of his body into her lungs and she resisted the tremor shaking her belly.
“I will have a taste of you first, shihori.”
His mouth thrust her denial back into her throat. His kiss was firm but not hard. His lips traced hers before pressing her to open her mouth for him. He gently pressed her lips apart as the tip of his tongue stroked over the sensitive surfaces. A soft moan rose from her throat as Ravid found the column of her neck with his mouth. The contact was too hot as Keenan’s kiss remained slow and unhurried. The huge warrior took his time tasting her mouth. The tip of his tongue stroking her tongue as Ravid laid a trail of tiny bites along her neck.
Zeva couldn’t decide what to do. Her body pulsed with the need to move but she couldn’t figure out where she wanted to go. Her fingers curled into talons that gripped Keenan’s coat. Temptation urged her to yank on the fabric until she found the male skin she smelled beneath it. Pride demanded that she use that grip to shove the demanding warrior away from her body before he found the hard tips of her nipples.
“Shihori.” Keenan’s voice was rocky. Zeva trembled as she listened to the ragged sound from the half of the team that she had always viewed at the calmer male. His large hand had slipped into her hair and cupped the back of her head. The grip didn’t hurt but it was solid…just like Keenan. Her logic screamed against the heat flowing into her belly as Ravid caught the side of her head and turned it to accept his kiss.
Hard and determined, Ravid pushed deeply into her mouth. There was no tasting, only conquest. His tongue demanded entry and took it in the slim moment of hesitation her pulsing body allowed him. His body was hard and solid with intent as he stroked her tongue with his.
Zeva ripped her mouth away and shoved at their chests. “No! I must return home!” With one hand on each warrior, she struggled to push her body back onto the bed. Each warrior was on either side of it and she ducked under their arms and rolled right over her own shoulder and off the edge of the round sleeping surface.
Her feet hit the floor with practiced balance. The tiny sign of her endless training hou
rs gave her a spark of hope. Zeva pushed up and moved away from the dark forms in that bed. Her eyes tried to resist the image they made there. Part of her was delighted by the sight of aggression being aimed at her. In their eyes, she was desirable beyond any other female on the planet. It was more than the color of her skin or hair, Ravid and Keenan had caught her scent and somewhere inside both males…they approved of her. It was not something based on logic. Neither Keenan nor Ravid were thinking about it. This was reaction, pure and older than time, it moved through her bloodstream as her breasts ached.
Zeva shook her head. She was insane to even think about that. Ravid rose to his feet first and moved towards her. Even in the dim light, his body showed her a rigid stance, betraying his displeasure. His hand lifted towards her. “Come here, Zeva.”
The door curtain moved and more light shot across the room. An older female entered without asking permission. She blinked her eyes as she took in the scene, before a little smile lifted her lips. She walked right in between Ravid and Zeva as she took Zeva’s hand. “I am Elpida. Ravid is my son.”
Zeva was grateful for the dim light because her face burned with color. Elpida moved over to the wall and ended even that little blessing by increasing the light level in the room. She considered Ravid and Keenan with knowing eyes before she aimed a smile at Zeva.
“I cannot wait to introduce you to Milena, Keenan’s mother. She had given up hope that her only child would ever find a mate.” Elpida turned to look at Ravid and the warrior snapped to attention under her gaze. It was that same manner of control that every parent wielded over their offspring…even when the son was a warrior who towered over his mother by a foot and a half.
“Her distress summoned us, Mother.” Elpida nodded approval of Ravid’s reason before she turned to look at the little bed once more. She sent a naughty smile at Zeva before turning back to look at her son. “That is understandable. But you should go have words with her brother, he waits below.”
Ravid and Keenan couldn’t disobey that. There was strict tradition to observe between warriors and maidens. Because she was still a maiden, their presence in her bedchamber tested the limits of what would be tolerated by the rest of the clan. The rules were all held in place by honor. An Alcandian male wasn’t a warrior if he had no honor.
Ravid and Keenan nodded to her before they left. Zeva felt the parting deeply as she watched the curtain fall closed behind them. Her body lamented the growing distance and bitterly wailed at her to follow them.
Elpida laughed as she turned and aimed that naughty grin at Zeva once again. “That should remind them to consider your good name.” Elpida clasped her hands together before she ran her eyes up and down Zeva. “Your mother will have my hair hanging on her chamber wall if I fail to chaperone you under my own roof.”
That was certainly true enough. Zeva shook her head but smiled as she considered Paneil demanding Elpida’s hair. Among Alcandian women, disputes were sometimes settled with the mother’s hair being offered as an apology. Jett would never have left Zeva sleeping in a warrior’s hall if a mature woman had not given her word to look after her.
That was also the only way to end a binding. A female could send her hair to her mates and refuse to live with them. It severed their legal union but not the mind-bridge that bound them. On Alcandar, a female only cut her hair in dishonor.
“You must be hungry, Zeva. Let us go to the women’s hall for a meal. You should tell me what you like so that my son packs a good meal for your initiation supper.”
Her mind said no but it was out-shouted by her body. Zeva shivered as she thought about her brother sitting with Ravid and Keenan. There was no turning back and there were far too many little temptations running through her for it to be a mistake. Whispers of the way Ravid touched her, rippled down her body as she remembered the taste of Keenan’s kiss. Each male was unique and they were even more potent combined.
It looked like fate didn’t bother to ask…she dealt her whims when and where she pleased. Zeva hissed as she felt the weight of need moving through her body. Frustration ate at her but she wasn’t sure just why. Was it need for Ravid and Keenan or the desire to leave them behind?
* * * * *
“I care not if you like it, Jett.” Ravid gave in to his fury and didn’t care for the glance Keenan aimed at him to temper his words. Zeva’s taste clung to his lips and he wanted more. He needed to touch her, taste her…make her his.
“That was not my point, Ravid.” Jett shook his head as he sat heavily on a bench. “My mother does not need to lose her daughter so soon again. You should have let my sister have time before approaching her.”
“That was impossible.” Keenan’s voice was low but coated with determination. “Our minds had brushed, Jett, and her night-terrors summoned me as certainly as your own mate’s distress would have done. There was no ignoring it. In truth, I will not rest well until Zeva is under my protection.” Her nightmare still haunted him. Keenan frowned as her panic echoed in his head. He wanted to kill. Reach out and crush the throats of the men who had tried to break her sprit. They had no honor to practice their hate on a female. Even one they believed was from their enemy’s side. War was fought between warriors.
“Your mother will not lose her daughter.” This time Ravid spoke with a measure of soothing in his voice. Jett raised an eyebrow at him. Ravid didn’t say anything further because he did not know what he could say. Jett was correct to believe that it would soon be much harder for Zeva’s family to see her. That was a burden of his profession. It was something he and Keenan had accepted as the price for their dedication to Alcandian law.
Once you pledged your life to the Judgment ranks, mingling with other warriors became limited. As their binding mate, Zeva would have to follow them into that secluded form of Alcandian life. To remain in her current life could be dangerous. Ravid would not allow it, but it brought him no joy to see her fighting their union. He was proud of his dedication to duty—it defined who he was. Zeva’s resistance to meet him before her abduction hit him personally. Defending the law was his life.
“We will make her happy, Jett. You should be more understanding of this. Your mating was not an easy union. But it is not a matter to debate, we have touched her mind and you sat here while we did it.” Jett nodded and rose. He looked up at the half wall covered by a curtain and nodded approval. Everything was in order. He would have expected Ravid and Keenan to leave him in peace if it was his mind brushing with their sister’s. When a warrior found his mate, he did not need any interference.
“I need to take my sister home. It is for her to inform her mother.” Frustration tightened Jett’s face but he held his thoughts and aimed a harsh glance at Ravid and Keenan. “My mother will expect your invitation before sunset.”
Ravid growled. Keenan grunted in answer to the sound. Need burned through them both, setting them on edge. Life was never simple for a Judgment official but without Zeva, it would be impossible.
Keenan lifted his drink towards his companion. “Drink with me, brother. Soon, we will be complete.”
“Aye.” Ravid grinned as his body pulsed with need. Very soon he would feed the desire that twisted his thoughts. Keenan was correct, this was a moment to toast.
For tomorrow they would begin a new life that included a mate. For all three of them life would need to adjust and that would be the biggest challenge any of them had ever faced.
Chapter Four
“We will go to Zanfelar!” Zeva frowned, her mother was beginning to worry her. Paneil swept into her room at dawn with three of her friends and the women were turning the place upside down.
“And then on to Ramothia. Get moving, Daughter! The day is wasting away.”
Paneil stuffed things into a traveling case without even folding it. Her mother was normally so neat it broke her heart to see the careless way she handled things this morning.
It also made her furious to see the woman who had borne her, so frightened. Zeva stepped
out of her bath and pulled the case from her mother’s hands. Just wait until she got her hands on Ravid and Keenan. This was their doing!
“Mother, be at ease. You taught me to face my problems. I will not run. This is my home.” Paneil broke into tears in response. Zeva fumed as she hugged her mother. Yes, she had a few things to say to a certain pair of Judgment officials! They would not turn her life upside down and even if they managed that, they would not distress her mother. “I have spent a year trying to return here.” Zeva pulled a pair of pants on that her mother had missed and reached for the matching coat. It was her studio uniform and the clothing made her smile. Yes, she was home and she refused to leave. She would face Ravid and Keenan today and…well, she was not certain of exactly what would happen but her mother didn’t need to be upset.
Her nipples tingled, making her frown. Shaking her head, she tugged a brush through her hair a little too fast. Her strands of hair protested and the pain banished the little zips of pleasure from her nipples. Her body was so aware it was almost frightening. She knew that mating brought pleasure but no one had ever mentioned that separation caused pain. The idea that Ravid and Keenan were now part of her life clashed with the years of self-sufficiency she had spent building her own life.
“I am going to class,” she announced. “I will see you tonight, Mother. Tickle Sandor for me.” Her new nephew was her mother’s delight and Zeva smiled at her as Paneil gave her a long considering look. Her face broke into a smile as she clasped her hands together.
“You see? My daughter is made of solid confidence!” Paneil left with her friends as Zeva moved towards the doorway. Her bed shimmered and the wrinkled linens were gone with clean ones left in their place. Her body shuddered as the two dark shapes of her night visitors invaded her thoughts.
The visions refused to leave her alone. Her nipples rose into tight little buttons that begged for another night filled with the hard chests of her company. The aching tips yearned for the same hot kiss that her lips had tasted, and that desire spread down her belly until the little bud sitting at the top of her sex slowly pulsed with the same need.
