by Renee Rose
She obediently made a humming noise, affirming the translation worked.
Jakk nodded at him and slowly eased the plug free. “Good girl.” He gave her ass a light slap and took the plug to the washroom to clean and disinfect it. When he returned, he said, “Let’s give her a tour of the townhouse.”
Gav’n lifted her to her feet and stood, then picked her up by the armpits and settled her legs around his waist, like a child.
The surprise on her face was priceless.
“Well, you’re so small, pashika.” He gave her ass a squeeze. “And your body is so delectable. It’s natural for your master to want to carry you everywhere, especially when you’re naked.”
You can ride me, anytime, little human.
As if she guessed his lurid thought, she blushed, sliding her gaze away from his. Jakk led the tour, and he followed, carrying their new plaything.
“This house belonged to our sister,” Jakk said as he walked toward the girls’ room. “Her mate died of an incurable disease when Pritzi was just a baby—so he’s been dead six years, now.”
Mira’s face grew sober. “What are their names and ages?” she asked hoarsely.
“Darley is the oldest. She’s twenty-two. Jan is fourteen, and Pritzi is eight.”
Mira’s head twisted toward Jakk. “Twenty-two? Is she still considered a child? How old are you?”
“We’re sixty-seven. According to your file, you’re only twenty-nine but considered fully grown on Earth?” Jakk asked. “A twenty-nine-year-old is still in adolescence here.”
“Our planet takes 365 days to rotate around the sun. What is it here?”
“Four hundred,” Gav’n answered.
“How long is your average lifespan?”
“One hundred and sixty years.”
She whistled. “So about twice ours.”
His brother pushed open the door to the girls’ room. “This is where they sleep.”
Mira peered in at the three beds, her eyes running over every detail of the room as if they might quiz her on it later. “So they’re eleven, seven and four in Earth years,” she said softly. “Please tell me you’ll let me wear clothes when they come.”
Gav’n smirked. “If you behave.” He winked.
“And we sleep upstairs.” Jakk jogged up the flight of stair to the enormous master suite. Since the townhouse was a century-old building, wedged into Old Town, there were only the two bedrooms.
“We who?” Mira asked when he arrived at the top of the steps and set her on her feet to have a look around.
“It was Analie’s. There are only two bedrooms, so Gav’n and I share it now. You’ll sleep with us, and any punishments you earn will be delivered in private up here, after the girls come back from our parents.”
“Where will I sleep?”
He hesitated. “In the bed with us. Unless you’re naughty and we decide you don’t deserve the bed, in which case, you’ll sleep on a mat on the floor.”
She rolled her eyes.
Jakk’s hand snapped out and caught her chin. “Watch the eye-rolling, little human.” Damn, his brother could look stern when he wanted to.
He didn’t miss the shiver running through her. Good. She was already learning respect. Her lower jaw thrust forward. “So, am I your sex slave? Is that how Pra’kir deals with female convicts?”
Jakk winced ever so slightly and opened his mouth. Fearing his brother would tell her the truth—that they wouldn’t have sex with her without her consent, Gav’n cut in. “No, pashika. Our role is to condition you. If you hope for sex, you’ll have to earn it.”
Her nostrils flared, whether with anger or interest, he couldn’t be sure, but, a moment later, he scented her arousal, and a surge of victory pumped through him.
~.~
The master suite was beautiful. As large as the entire downstairs, it had a sitting area with a couch, a giant canopy bed, and an en suite bathroom. The best feature, though, was the wall of floor-to-ceiling windows with a view of the bustling street and shops below, and, farther out, the sparkling bay.
She wondered if they’d take her to the bay. How normal would her life be here? Being nanny to their nieces made it seem like they’d be like an old-fashioned nuclear family. But, so far, nothing they’d done to her had been even close to conventional.
Being stripped naked, spanked, and pleasured repeatedly wasn’t her idea of normal. And the worst part? She wasn’t even sure she hated it. The way her clit still pulsed and her muscles had gone slack had her remembering every moment of their mastery.
Gawd—she’d never orgasmed like that in her life! What about these two giant males had her both entranced and fearful at the same time?
She walked to the windows, hiding her naked body behind the curtain to look out. “It’s incredible,” she murmured.
Gav’n stood behind her. He seemed to be the warm and cuddly one, Jakk, the stern disciplinarian. And skilled pleasure-giver.
Her clit throbbed again, remembering the way he’d worked the double-penetration on her like a fucking pro.
Not that she had much experience to judge. She’d had few boyfriends during her college training—one in the space program, but he’d turned out to be a two-timing ass. She’d never had two guys at once. Until today, she’d been an anal virgin.
In the few hours since the men had picked her up, she’d received more male attention than she had in the last three years put together. More attention, period. As the youngest, plainest, least-interesting child of a family of five superstars, she hadn’t attracted much attention or praise. She’d joined the space program in an effort to prove she wasn’t as boring and mediocre as her family had ascribed.
Now, she’d never see them again.
Oddly, she’d thought it would hurt more than it had. She missed her shipmates more than her family. Where had Brinley, Blythe, Sarai and Lily been placed? Were they faring better or worse than she?
“What are you thinking about?” Jakk asked. He hung back a little, as usual, but that didn’t mean he didn’t pay as close attention to her as Gav’n. His mismatched eyes made him fascinating and sexy. She wondered if women threw themselves at his feet.
“My shipmates. Will I be able to see them soon?”
Both Jakk and Gav’n’s faces sobered. “No, pashika,” Gav’n said. “The council decreed you shall not be able to see each other. They feel it is best for your adjustment and for the safety of our species.”
Anger started slow but came on hot, simmering down in the pit of her belly. “What?”
“You heard him, Mira.” Warning rang in Jakk’s tone.
“That’s not fair!” she spluttered. “They are my friends. I need to see them. They’re like family to me—the only family I have!”
Jakk shook his head. “We’re your family, now. We know it’s painful, but you’ve been offered a chance to function in our society rather than be executed or remain in prison. But only if you follow the guidelines we provide you.”
Hot tears of anger sprang to her eyes, and she turned away, back to the window.
Gav’n tugged her around, and she expected rebuke, but he folded her into his strong arms and held her against his massive chest, stroking the back of her head. “You’ll adjust, little one.”
Part of her wanted to push against him and fight and argue, but she didn’t have the strength, and it felt so good to be held. She gave herself over to him, wetting his shirt with her tears. Almost immediately, warmth flanked her back, as well. Jakk stood behind her, closing the circle, or, rather, sandwiching her between the men. She felt small and helpless, like a child. But oddly protected.
We’re your family, now.
She had to get used to the idea. She cried until her tears ran out. When she finished, Gav’n showed her to the bathroom and gave her a bag of toiletries they’d purchased for her. It included a laser-powered tooth-cleaning device, a hairbrush, and makeup in colors she would never in a million years wear. She smiled to herself, picturing t
he two men trying to pick out the cosmetics. Such big, capable men wouldn’t have a clue what she liked. She wondered if they struggled that way with their nieces. Probably.
They’d said they needed her. Now that she was in their house and knew them a little better, she could see it was true. A trickle of warmth—the first tiny spark of hope she’d had since the crash—swirled in her chest.
Maybe she would find a place here. She’d never felt she belonged anywhere—not in her family of gorgeous super-geniuses, and not in college where she’d failed to make friends and build a social life like the rest of the students, choosing, instead, to stay locked away in labs working on the inventions she never brought to fruition. Getting the job with the colonization project had been the only bright spot in her murky career, but she and her shipmates hadn’t made it. Now they were all stuck here as fosterlings to paternalistic aliens.
With fingers as big as human cocks.
Chapter Three
When Mira emerged from the bathroom, Jakk picked up the tracking collar Gav’n had pilfered from the parole department at work. They’d had to resize it to fit her slender neck, but it allowed them to restrict her movements and track her at all times.
“Come here, little one. This is for you.”
She balked, stopping in place, eyes flying wide. “What is it?”
“Your collar. We’re going to have to leave you alone at times—possibly as soon as tomorrow, if Gav’n can’t get out of his morning meeting, and we have an obligation to protect Endermere’s citizens.”
Her lip curled. “Protect Endermere’s citizens?” Her hands flew to her slender hips, and one leg jutted out to the side in a clear notice of opposition. Damn, she was adorable. His balls were so blue they were purple from him studying every angle of her little naked body.
But he shouldn’t have used those words because their little spitfire was angry.
“So you still pretend we came here with the intent to attack Endermere?”
“Watch your tone with me,” he warned. “Of course we don’t believe that, but when you were given to our care, it was with the understanding we’d condition you to live in society. Leaving you alone to roam the streets on your first day out does not fit that agreement.”
“So—what? I’m like a pet? Is there a leash, too?” Her eyes narrowed at the titanium collar that hinged in the front and locked in the back with a key. “Is that a tracking device? Or a shock collar?”
Of course she’d guess—their little engineer was as bright as they came. The citizens of Earth wouldn’t send an idiot out on a colonization mission.
“Yes, both,” he admitted.
“Fuck you,” she hissed, hands clenching into fists as she backed up from him.
He stepped closer. “You’ve earned another consequence, Mira. This time it will be more than my hand.”
Gav’n closed in on her from the other side with a deceptively casual approach.
“No.” Her back hit the wall. Nowhere else to retreat.
Gav’n closed in, caging her between his two arms. “Punishment or collar first, Jakk?”
“Collar.”
Gav’n pinned her wrists behind her head and pulled her away from the wall.
Jakk stepped in and clipped the collar in place, locking it at her nape and dropping the key in his pocket.
“Do you want to punish her?” Gav’n asked.
“Your choice.” He and Gav’n rarely begrudged each other anything, operating almost from a single mind.
“I’ll hold her again.” His brother tugged her forward to the bed, where he sat and positioned her between his knees. “Bend over, like you did when Jakk removed your plug.”
Mutiny lodged in the set of her jaw, the hardness of her fixed gaze on Gav’n’s chest. His brother merely grinned. “Do you like to be forced, Mira?” Gav’n’s easy tone made it sound like the punishment was a mere game, a form of play between the three of them. Which, in a way, it was. But with genuine consequences for all if they failed to win her submission.
He couldn’t even think about her being taken from them. Already he’d grown attached—felt like she belonged to them. She was a gift in their lives. A once-in-a-lifetime chance for him to have everything he’d ever dreamed of. He sure as hell didn’t want to screw things up.
Confusion flitted over Mira’s face, and Gav’n grinned more broadly. “You do, don’t you?” He gripped her nape and pulled her head down to his lap, forcing her to bend at the waist. “It’s okay, pashika. I don’t mind taking control, if that’s easier for you. Until you’re ready to yield. But consider this—you’ll earn your little freedoms sooner if you submit.Fighting jonly makes us think we have reason to keep you locked up.” He wrapped his fist in her hair and turned her face so he could see it. “Understand, little one?”
Jakk couldn’t see her face, and he didn’t hear an answer.
“She’s ready,” Gav’n said, releasing her hair.
He unbuckled his belt and slid it from the loops. It was an old belt—a favorite—of wide leather grown supple with wear. He wound the buckle end around his fist until only around eighteen inches remained. “Spread your legs, Mira.”
She didn’t move.
He snapped the leather across her pink bottom, and she shrieked, lurching forward into Gav’n’s lap. “I asked you to spread your legs. I require your immediate obedience to all commands.”
“Go fuck yourself,” she growled, still dancing on her toes.
“No, no, baby.” Gav’n’s fingers threaded into her hair again. “You don’t want to pick that fight with Jakk. Not in the position you’re in. Open your legs and apologize for what you just said to him because it sounded like an insult to me.”
She didn’t move or speak. Jakk waited, sensing his brother was close to coaxing something from her, or he would’ve green-lighted Jakk to begin.
“I’m trying to save you a beating.”
The scent of her tears reached his nose.
“Or do you need this beating?” Gav’n’s soft-spoken words held only sympathy.
“I’m sorry, Jakk—Master,” she choked out.
He kicked her feet apart. “You’re forgiven. We know this is hard for you. Only twenty with my belt, and we’re through.”
He whipped her, going easy on the strokes. The balance of dominance with mercy would be crucial to win her surrender. He just hoped they hadn’t gone too far either way.
She jerked and danced with each stroke but didn’t cry out. He laid stripes up and down her ass and the backs of her legs, concentrating them in the place where her bottom curved into her thighs. When it was over, he dropped the belt and rubbed her ass, soothing the hot welts.
“Come here.” This time he didn’t want Gav’n to be the one to comfort her. He needed to do it himself. He pulled her up to stand, half expecting a fight. Her face was flushed, hair spilling over her eyes, jaw thrust forward at a sullen angle. “It’s over,” he murmured and pulled her into his arms.
She didn’t return the embrace, but she didn’t fight either. Her small body shook and trembled against his, spearing a new need to protect her that was foreign to him. The same need he’d felt in the prison, when threatening the guard. He had no doubt the guard had done exactly his duty, ensuring she ate enough food to maintain her health and well-being and punishing her when she refused, yet the idea of any other male touching her enraged him.
“Let’s put you to bed, pashika. It’s been a long evening. You’ll feel better in the morning.”
He released her, and she wobbled. She touched the collar around her neck with a grimace but turned and dutifully climbed up into the middle of the bed. Simply the sight of her lovely form, leggy and alluring, made his heart pick up speed. For the first time in his life, a female belonged in his bed.
A female who had just submitted to his discipline and received pleasure at his hands. He felt very lucky, even if she wasn’t happy with them at the moment. He walked around to the bed and pulled the covers ou
t from under her, waited until she climbed in, and rearranged them around her small body, tucking them in under her shoulders.
She curled up into a ball, her fists tucked up under her chin. He stroked a lock of hair from her face. “Gav’n and I still need to eat. Do you want me to wait until you’ve fallen asleep to leave?”
She’d been turned away from him, but now her sea-green eyes shot to his face. “Wha—? Um, no. Thanks.”
He bent and kissed her forehead. “Thanks, Master,” he corrected softly, not caring if she answered.
She closed her eyes and rolled away. “Thanks, Master.” Only a whisper, but she’d spoken the words.
He squeezed her shoulder, too choked even to mutter, Good girl.
~.~
She woke nestled against a massive, warm body. Not just nestled—intertwined. Her head lay on a muscled shoulder, her palm on a chiseled chest. She’d tossed one of her legs over the male’s hips and...oh God—yes, that was his very hard cock thickening against her bare sex. He wore some form of underwear. She still was naked.
She supposed she had to get used to nudity.
She opened her eyes. Which brother was it?
Jakk. For some reason, that surprised her. He hadn’t struck her as the cuddly type, not that he’d lacked affection. Did he snuggle women after sex? The thought sent an entire tsunami of ideas and images screaming through her head. What it would be like to have sex—no, to get fucked—by Jakk? He’d be hard and demanding. Hold her down and thrust so deep she saw stars, leave her sore and aching.
Her core clenched, and her hips thrust toward him before she could stop herself.
Jakk stiffened as his cock surged against her leg. He lifted his head and looked at her. “You’re awake, little one.” He certainly sounded fully awake, as if he’d been lying there, waiting. “I didn’t want to disturb you.” He unceremoniously tipped her off his body and climbed swiftly out of bed, padding toward the bathroom. He wore only a pair of small, fitted boxer briefs, and his cock tented the front with an alarming length.
