Settler's Mine 2: The Lovers

by Mechele Armstrong

  SETTLER’S MINE 2:

  THE LOVERS

  Mechele Armstrong

  ®

  www.loose-id.com

  Warning

  This e-book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. Loose Id® e-books are for sale to adults ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

  * * * * *

  This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable.

  Settler’s Mine 2: The Lovers

  Mechele Armstrong

  This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Published by

  Loose Id LLC

  1802 N Carson Street, Suite 212-2924

  Carson City NV 89701-1215

  www.loose-id.com

  Copyright © October 2007 by Mechele Armstrong

  All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared in any form, including, but not limited to printing, photocopying, faxing, or emailing without prior written permission from Loose Id LLC.

  ISBN 978-1-59632-552-4

  Available in Adobe PDF, HTML, MobiPocket, and MS Reader

  Printed in the United States of America

  Editor: Georgia A. Woods

  Cover Artist: April Martinez

  Chapter One

  Zelda’s ass rode up in the air as she peeked over her shoulder at the man behind her. Her folds dripped with her essence, with her desire. “Bren.” He’d been playing with her for an hour, not giving her what she wanted, and he knew full well what that was. Did she have to drive him home herself? She should have stayed on top. Her two orgasms hadn’t taken away the need, the want of her man inside of her. Only he could do that, but instead, he toyed with her as she’d let no one else do. Only Bren could get away with tormenting her in words and with his body like this. Good thing she enjoyed him or she’d have to kill him.

  He twisted up to his knees. “Something you want, Z?” A smile played on his lips. Why’d he have to be such a tease?

  “You know what the fuck I want.”

  “To be fucked?” He winked at her, knowing the truth of it. His cobalt irises danced with the mischief that he always exuded.

  She shook her head, rolling her eyes. He thought she’d forgive him anything. And he was right. Even now, so full of pent-up frustration. “What I have to deal with.” She pulled her body forward slightly as if to end their lovemaking session.

  His hands clenched on her sides, keeping her from moving out of reach.

  In one strong forward thrust, his cock surged into her pussy, filling her to the core. His large hands wrapped around her middle as he plowed himself forward and even deeper into her depths. “Deal with that.” His voice gritted tight from between clenched teeth. She didn’t need to see him; she could hear the tension in his guttural tone.

  Now, that move she could deal with. Her body went slack from the length of him stretching her, setting off all the beacons of nerves in her pussy and upward. “Oh, Bren.” Her breath wouldn’t move through her lungs for a moment, then spilled out in one great gasp.

  One of his hands stayed where it was, splayed against her stomach. The other pressed down over her abdomen to pluck his thumb over her turgid clit. That touch was all it took.

  She came gloriously again, only held up by him, as wave after wave of pleasure raced through her.

  He stilled, letting her orgasm rock her before it faded, leaving her a mewling pile of gelatinous goo. Then he moved, ever so slowly, in and out, creating a rhythm, before picking up the pace. Faster and faster, he thrust, ramming himself into her, the wetness easing the friction of the angle.

  His vicious thrusts slapped his balls against the back of her thighs. As his body arced upward, he lodged in her as deeply as he could. Hoarse cries escaped from the back of his throat, mostly her name poured forth with hot breath. His hot seed pumped into her as his hips continued to move against her and they became one.

  One body. One heart. One being.

  Joining with him was the most real thing she’d ever done. How glorious to be mated to him. Especially when he gave her times like this where she could go mindless in the grip of his passion.

  Warmth spread against her back from his heartstone, which hung on a hemp cord around his neck. She didn’t have to be facing him to know the stone glowed an iridescent blue, swinging about an inch or so away from her skin. She’d seen the light before. Many times since that first glimmer had united them as mates.

  Hers shimmered in answering light to his, same color, same shade, same pulse. Her heart pounded in her chest, both from what they’d shared and the answering of their heartstones.

  Her man. Her lover.

  It always set her breathing on edge, herself aflutter. Not much else made her that way in life. She treasured these special moments with Bren. The ones where emotion set the heartstones aglimmering. They were few and far between in the business of their lives.

  His big, tanned body moved from atop hers to snuggle in beside her. He never lingered with his weight on her, for fear of crushing her, but she never minded him on top. The pressure of his body reminded her of what they’d shared, always a good thing.

  “Z, you dealt with that well. We’ll see how you deal with round two shortly.”

  She snorted. “Feeling your grains today. I swear. It’s been…”

  The clearing of a throat, along with the snapping shut of a door, alerted them they weren’t alone. They’d been too into their satisfaction to hear the door open. How long had the stranger been there?

  Not long, or even in their passion they would have sensed him.

  “Who the fuck are you?” Zelda’s head came up to assess whomever stood before her. How dare someone come back into her private rooms? Those who came to barter or mine had orders to stay out of the small group of rooms she called hers and Bren’s. She kept her official office separate from where they slept.

  They never bothered locking doors because no one ever broke the rules.

  Until now.

  The boy flushed as her gaze met his. No, not a boy stood in her doorway, but a tall, lanky young man, not long past the cusp of his adulthood. His face would always have that youthful cast upon it, even when he was much older. He took a step backward, bringing her attention to his trim hips.

  The blush told her more than anything else. A virgin. No one heated like that unless they’d never fucked.

  The second clue to that conclusion was the absence of a heartstone around his neck. Anyone who’d found theirs wore it. The heartstone found the man, then found their mate.

  “I’m looking for Zelda.” The man, whose sharp angled features and muted clothes clearly marked him as Etruscan, cleared his throat again, shifting from foot to foot. His voice spiraled out self-assured, but he couldn’t hide his anxiety. His back straightened too much, hands shifting, as if he didn’t know what to do with them. He was old not to have a heartstone yet. And that was probably why he was here at Settler’s Mine.

  As she sat up on her raised bed of black silks and satins, moisture pooled between her thighs. “You’ve found her.” She could have covered up, tossed something over Bren as she did so, but as this man was the interloper, she
had no intention of grabbing her blankets. He could enjoy the show, if that appealed to him. She had nothing to hide. “Now get the fuck out.”

  The man’s eyes stayed down as he attempted not to look at her, but they skittered up any chance he got to peek.

  Bren shifted behind her, his calf brushing across hers. Neither she nor Bren had issues with nudity, unlike the obvious discomfort of the stranger. Etruscans were notoriously prim and proper. All hung up with their vows being their bond. They were even more peculiar than Natives, and that said a lot.

  “I…I’m sorry if I interrupted. But I need to see you.” He stood his ground despite his discomfort and her belligerence.

  That caught her interest. So many cowered in the face of confrontation or grew hostile. Rarely one possessed this measured patience.

  “If?” Bren let out a chuckle, stopping the man’s speech before he lay back with his head on the pillow. Bren’s leg flattened on top of hers as if it were his way of saying, “Get him.”

  She’d had the mine when Bren had come into her life. Most considered her the owner, listening to her better than Bren. Not something that made him happy, but something he’d learned to deal with, so except in times of danger, he deferred to her on the mine’s running. He’d assessed the man in front of them and hadn’t seen a threat, or he would have reacted much differently. The young man better be glad Bren hadn’t perceived him as a danger, or things would have gotten uglier than they were about to.

  Laws could either be upheld here in the outposts of space or be ignored. The laws of her realm would be those upheld.

  The man flushed deeper. “I need…I need to dig. I’ve heard Settler’s Mine is the best. The best at finding heartstones.”

  Zelda nodded. “It is. But you heed me right now. These are our quarters. No one trespasses here. No one.” Her voice dipped down as cool as frozen steel.

  He swallowed. He needed something from her, so now he was sweating that he wouldn’t get what he wanted. “I…apologize. But I must find my heartstone. Everyone says here is the best place to look. And that you, not your managers, are the best one to see to find my heartstone.”

  Must? Only one thing made a man, even one of his advanced age for finding a heartstone, in that much of a hurry ‑‑ well, besides the fact that he couldn’t fuck until he found it. But a woman back home, wherever home might be, must be making him eager to find his. A female that he wanted. Like heartstones cared about metaphysical shit like that. They didn’t give one fuck about matters of the heart. The stone had already picked the mate who would claim him eons before he’d been born. The heartstones were centuries in the shaping.

  “What did you say your name was?”

  “I hadn’t yet. It’s Amory.”

  “Amory.” She tasted the word and found it like cuttle, prepared just the way she liked it, fine and tasty in her mouth. “Amory.”

  Amory had a cold shock coming if he expected to waltz in, get his heartstone, and go claim the woman back home. Things never worked that way. He’d probably made some vow that he had to uphold to the woman at home. The races that held honor above all things could be pains in the ass.

  But her heart twinged, not something that usually happened when naïve searchers came to find their stones from her mine. “Don’t come in here again without permission.” The words were out of her mouth and not what she’d expected. Fuck, Bren must have rung her bell harder than she’d thought for her to go all soft on Amory. Something about him touched her deep inside. “Ever.”

  Bren went still beside her. She could feel his gaze burning into the back of her head, along with hearing his intake of breath. He’d expected her to lay stripes over the boy’s back with her tongue ‑‑ and not ones of pleasure.

  She grabbed Bren’s thigh from behind and squeezed to shut him up. No sense telling Amory she already had a soft spot for him, if he hadn’t noticed. As he didn’t know her from dickweed, it was not likely he had.

  Amory’s head bobbed up, staring her full in the face for the first time. “So I can start to dig?” His eyes were the color of moonbeams from Altera, or the color of gold from Patuas. They matched his dirty blond hair, which fell to his shoulders in a wave. A hopeful look lit his face.

  She licked her lips, leaning into Bren’s bulk. One of his hands splayed across her middle much like it had during their lovemaking. More juices seeped out of her sensitive pussy. Swallowing, she shook her head. “There are fees, Amory. You have to pay a down payment before you start.”

  Others could have handled this transaction, but going through her was popular among those new to mining, though this was the first one to barge in on her privacy like this. Even more reason she should have laid into him. This couldn’t become a habit of new visitors to the mine, or someone would pay.

  “I know. I brought…platinum.” Amory patted a pouch hanging about his trim waist. He wore faded brown leathers, which had probably been around the planet and back a few times. Odds were he didn’t have much platinum. A problem, if the digging took a long time. Running out of platinum for a hard-to-find heartstone was common. And so was being kept from digging due to lack of funds. Harsh, yes, but so was the world. The mine didn’t run on love; it ran on platinum, just like the galaxy.

  “Let Bren and me have a moment. We’ll take the fees and get you set up with a spot to dig. You have come to the right place.” Zelda waved a hand, her breast lifting with the movement.

  Amory’s eyes bulged at the sight.

  Something settled low into the pit of her stomach at his look. “Many find their heartstones here at Settler’s Mine. Perhaps you will.” But it will never do what you want it to. Amory would learn that in time. Her other hand squeezed Bren’s knobby knee.

  Sometimes the heartstone’s claim worked out to the fullest. Bren was proof of that. However, love never worked with any preconceived notions of who would be your heartmate. She’d seen a few come through the doors with pledges made and broken because the heartstone never picked the one someone wanted as a mate. Fate didn’t work that way.

  “I must find it. Quickly. I’ll be waiting outside.” Amory scurried out of the door, allowing it to swish closed behind him. Dust raised, shadowing the light beams.

  Bren pinched her ass before his hands lingered on her hips. “You didn’t make him eat shit or tell him to die. A little lusty, are you? Maybe we need that second round.” His finger delved between her thighs to part her folds and play in the wetness.

  A shudder raced along her spine. She squeezed her thighs together around that finger. Why had she reacted that way to Amory? “Second round later. Business first.”

  “Because it’s Amory.” He grimaced, pulling his hand from between her still-tightened thighs.

  Her hand reached up to ruffle his dark brown hair before gently cupping his face. “Because it’s business. That’s all. You’re…mine. I’m yours.” Her stone punctuated the words with a cerulean glow, lighting his. “We never know when or if we’ll find our third.”

  A man was fated to his heartstone from the time he was born, just as a woman was. And a heartstone chose a woman, or rarely, another man, based not on lust or love, but on some whim of fancy, of fate. Most did find their heartstone and their first mate. But some spent a lifetime searching, never reaching the goal of a pair, much less the well-desired threesome every family was meant to be. Not to mention those doomed to a life of celibacy, never finding the stone to claim them.

  Amory was a virgin, never having experienced anything sexual.

  Virgins were such a joy to be with. How new everything was to them. How unsure they could be with a woman. Her thighs clenched, remembering Bren when her heartstone had claimed him. She remembered how she’d introduced him to the joys of her body. Now, he knew her body as well as she did, when to give to her and when to let her do the work. The last hour was proof enough of that.

  “I am yours, Z. Completely.” He leaned his head down to kiss her lightly. “I’ll always be yours and belong t
o whomever else your heartstone chooses.”

  Not that that would happen. She considered herself lucky to have found her one mate. Two would be a gift from the Goddess she would likely never see. And Bren was all she could have asked for. “As I am yours.” She pushed to her feet, getting away from the mushy words she and Bren usually never said to each other. What had Amory done to them? “Come on. Let’s get the boy started so we can come back and finish out our day.” She grabbed his hand, yanking him from the bed.

  They slowly helped each other to dress before opening the door to the world they often tried to shut out.

  * * * * *

  Amory waited outside the door for the woman, owner of Settler’s Mine, and her man to come out. He looked up into the halogen lights attached to a power line in the ceiling of stone. What were they doing? He swallowed deeply, guessing what they were up to. After all, he’d walked in on them having sex, not anything he’d expected when he’d left straight off his shuttle to find Zelda. He’d ignored all her managers, preferring to speak to the woman herself. He’d already had schematics of the mine as he picked a dig site, so he’d known what section Zelda’s quarters were in.

  His mind drifted, setting the scene in the small, but homey, bedroom. Their huge bed had been full of satin and lace spreads. The mine must have made them wealthy. Not many had beds at all, much less one so large and made up. They’d looked so natural together. Were they having sex now?

  Her long mocha legs would be wrapped around the muscular torso of her lover as he thrust in time against her.

  His mouth dried.

  Gritting his teeth, he could still envision her butt in the air, rounded and juicy as the man had pumped into her from behind. Bren’s body had straightened as he’d hoarsely called Zelda’s name.

  Just because Amory didn’t have his heartstone yet didn’t mean he didn’t think about what it could be like to be with a woman.