by Ivy Barrett
Zilrath shook his head and made a face. “It was crude. I much prefer Tavorian simulations.”
“It was... stimulating,” Kellan admitted.
“What I did was similar, yet not quite so graphic. Men would use the internet to contact me, and I would move into whatever position they requested. I’d let them look at me while they pleasured themselves.”
“Did they ever ask you to pleasure yourself?” Zilrath wanted to know.
“Frequently.” Talking about this was making her restless and reigniting that familiar ache.
“But they never touched you?” Kellan still looked pissed.
“They never knew anything about me, not my real name, or what country I was in,” she assured him.
“You enjoyed how badly they wanted you,” Zilrath said.
It wasn’t a question, so she just shifted her gaze to Kellan’s chest, tired of the topic. “I am sorry for being cruel to you.”
“Is Jasmine your real name?” Kellan wanted to know.
Without looking up, she shook her head. “It’s one of my stage names. I used it when I volunteered for the Carnal Compensation Program, but the rest of my information was real. I kept waiting for someone to ask me about it, but no one ever did.”
“What is your real name?”
The demand in Zilrath’s tone made her look at him. His expression was just as grim as Kellan’s. Unsure why he was still angry, she told him the truth. “It’s Julia, but I prefer Jasmine. Julia was a naive, small-town girl who had never been more than fifty miles from where she was born. She had parents that did the best to support and provide for her. They just had very little themselves. The life I live now and the woman I’ve become feel much more like my alter ego. Julia died with her parents in that small Missouri town. I am Jasmine, strong, independent woman. I make my own decisions and am no longer afraid of my sexuality.” Some of the tension eased from his features, so she relaxed as well. “Can we please talk about something else now? Thinking about my past always puts me in a shitty mood.”
“Well, we don’t want that.” Kellan stood, drawing her to her feet with him.
“I have one more question before we move on,” Zilrath said. “Actually two.”
Kellan offered her an encouraging smile, then turned her to face the other male.
“Why did you become an internet performer, and why did you volunteer to be a carnal companion? Both seem counter to your basic personality.”
She sighed, wishing they had asked these questions while she remained clothed. The subject made her feel defensive without being naked. “I was working my way through college as a waitress, but I couldn’t keep up. Everything was so dang expensive. A friend of mine was a stripper, and she was making more money in one night than I’d make all week. She tried to convince me to try it.”
“Did you?” The disapproving tightness was back in Kellan’s voice.
“No. The club where Elaine worked was nearby, so many of the guys on campus had seen her dance. As usual, they treated her like shit, called her a ‘whore.’ Why is it fine for college boys to blow off steam at strip clubs, but the females who entertain them are treated like whores? It’s so hypocritical.”
“The double standard is even worse for pleasure givers,” Zilrath pointed out. “And it’s not just females. Lonely people are allowed to pay for sex, but the people providing the service are whores for taking their money. As you said, it’s the height of hypocrisy.”
She was impressed by his attitude. It was rare and surprisingly compassionate. “I agree completely. My friend stopped stripping and became an escort. She said if everyone was going to treat her like a whore anyway, she might as well make some real money.”
“So you did these performances strictly for the money?” Kellan prompted, sounding impatient rather than condescending.
“Yes. I was trying to get an education, to better myself, and create opportunities for my future. Higher education in America is incredibly expensive.”
“But the Skarilians obliterated your plans?” Zilrath moved closer and placed his hands on her shoulders.
“The Skarilians obliterated everything.” Emotion made her voice sound harsh and tears blurred her vision.
“I understand your pain,” Zilrath assured. “We both do.”
“I know.” His hands were warm, comforting rather than arousing. She wanted to melt into his arms and leave the past behind once and for all, but she hadn’t explained about her more recent decision. It was unlikely they’d let it go.
“And the CCP?” Kellan proved her right. “Why did you volunteer for the program?”
“There was nothing left for me on Earth but bad memories and regret. I wanted an adventure, something new and challenging.” Her nipples tingled and her core tensed. She shouldn’t tell them the rest. It would give them the perfect segue into courtship, but she wanted no secrets between them if they were going to continue along this path.
“I can feel the tension in your body,” Zilrath coaxed. “Tell us the rest.”
It was easier to share if she weren’t looking at them, so she lowered her gaze, and hurried through the explanation. “Lowering my inhibitions enough to perform revealed the true strength of my sex drive. It made me curious enough to gather information about other forms of pleasure, kinks that made most people uncomfortable. But my sexual exploration, like everything else, was interrupted by the Skarilians. Becoming a carnal companion gave me an opportunity to continue this journey in a relatively safe environment. Any Ventori that abuses a female faces harsh punishment, so I knew I’d be safe. At least physically.”
She glanced at Zilrath and then Kellan. They were grinning triumphantly. She knew this was how they’d react, but that was alright. She was more than ready to move on.
Kellan moved closer, standing at Zilrath’s side. The Tavorian shifted, so she stood in front of both. Kellan spoke first. “You’ll be much safer with potential mates than with males who want to use you for a few months then set you free.”
“Because you want to use me for a lifetime?” She softened the challenge with a smile.
“Oh, we’ll use you, completely and often, but we’ll also protect and provide for you.”
“We’ll respect and care for you,” Zilrath countered. “All we’re asking for is the opportunity to show you what it will be like as our mate. Will you let us court you?”
Not sure she could force words past the lump in her throat, she quickly gathered her discarded uniform and arranged it in front of them. Then she sank to her knees and slowly parted her thighs. Her heart was pounding so hard, her pulse echoed in her ears.
“We need to hear it,” Zilrath persisted. “I want there to be no confusion, no regret. Are you willing to share your body with us for the next thirty days?”
Was she? Could she free herself from a lifetime of shame and self-denial? Could she surrender completely to the magnetic attraction she felt for these two males? Her friends had found happiness within the strict structure of Ventori society. Was she brave enough to try something completely different from human norms?
“Yes, I want you to court me.” The words slipped out whisper-soft and shaky. Then she shivered, knowing the tempest she’d just unleashed.
“Look at me,” Kellan ordered, his tone snapping with authority.
Forcing down her uncertainty as well as her excitement, she gradually lifted her gaze to his grimly handsome face.
“Gather your hair and move it behind your shoulders.”
She did.
“Spread your legs.”
It took a bit longer, but she forced her body to move. Her knees slid outward until they could see more of her slit and the folds concealing her opening. An opening they would doubtlessly fill before they left this mountaintop. The ache between her thighs flared into a persistent throb.
“Now say it as if you mean it.” Challenge colored his tone and arched his brows. “Do you welcome our courtship, or should we return you to Camp Accord?”
She swallowed past the tightness in her throat and took a deep breath. “I welcome your courtship. I’m scared of the unknown, but I’m not afraid of you.”
“Glad to hear it.” Slipping his hands under her arms, he pulled her to her feet. Then he stared at her openly, taking his time to inspect each area. He even circled behind her, assessing her body from every angle.
Oscillating between humiliation and arousal, she glanced at Zilrath and found him looking just as brazenly. Kellan returned to his original place in front of her as Zilrath checked out her ass. She was theirs for the next thirty days. They now had every right to look, touch, and fuck whenever—and however—they wanted. A violent shudder shook her shoulders and jostled her breasts.
Drawn by the motion, Kellan cupped one of her breasts and teased the nipple with his thumb. “Cold?” His gaze narrowed as he watched the motion of his thumb and her body’s response.
“A little,” she admitted, but the cool air hadn’t caused the shudder. Knowing they could do anything they wanted unnerved, yet aroused her. It was a powerful combination.
Zilrath returned to the front as well. “Your breasts are lovely.” Zilrath cupped her other breast, his blue-gray gaze boring into hers. “Are your nipples sensitive?” He caught the tip between his thumb and forefinger, squeezing with increasing pressure until she gasped.
“Yes, very.”
“Have you ever come with nothing but breast play?” Kellan wanted to know.
She shook her head.
Zilrath bent and sucked her nipple into his mouth, the suction stopping just short of pain.
She gasped again, then arched her back, burying her fingers in his smoke-colored hair.
“You don’t have permission to touch him,” Kellan pointed out. “Lock your hands behind your head.”
Resenting the harsh command, she dragged her fingers out of Zilrath’s soft hair and raised her arms. She was tactile by nature and Kellan’s directive deprived her of enjoyable sensations. Reluctantly, she bent her elbows and interlaced her fingers behind her head. The position left her completely at their mercy, not that she hadn’t been before. But now all she could do was stand there and accept whatever they gave her.
“Let’s set some ground rules, shall we?” Kellan lowered his arm, but Zilrath continued to touch and suck on her breasts. “Who controls your body from this moment until the courtship ends?”
Erin had warned her that they wouldn’t allow her to say they made her do anything she didn’t want to do. Erin’s Ventori mate often made her beg him to punish her. Jasmine still couldn’t imagine herself begging for anything, but she knew the answer Kellan was waiting to hear. “You and Zilrath, Sir.”
“If we want to fuck your soft pink pussy, what happens?”
Her belly quivered and her breasts swayed as tension coiled even tighter in her core. “I let you.”
Displeasure arched one of Kellan’s slashing brows. “What happened to the ‘Sir’?”
“Sorry, Sir. I won’t forget again.”
“Hold your pussy lips open. I want to see your cunt.”
The crude word twisted the knot in her belly. She’d always hated that word, yet Kellan’s deep, slightly growly tone made her crave crude and nasty.
He reached back and slapped her still tender ass hard enough to make her yelp. “I gave you an order. I never repeat myself.”
Her face burned with humiliation as she moved her feet farther apart, then slowly lowered her hands between her legs. Kellan raised his hand in silent warning, so she parted her pussy lips, allowing them to see her flushed inner crease, her front opening, and swollen clit. All her body hair had been removed months ago at the induction center, so nothing separated their hungry gazes from the most private parts of her body.
Momentarily losing interest in her breasts, Zilrath bent to one knee and dipped his fingers just inside her. “She’s so hot and wet. We could easily fuck her now without any more foreplay.”
The thought sent another thrill through her body. Would they bend her over one of the rock formations and take her from behind or lay her down in the dirt and fuck her like animals? That couldn’t possibly be what she wanted, to be fucked like an animal. And yet she was seriously close to coming and they’d barely begun to stimulate her.
Zilrath moved his wet fingers to her clit, and her lungs seized, refusing to process air. He rubbed the puffy little nub in slow, yet firm circles. She moaned, her lungs releasing her pent-up breath. Lost in the rapidly building sensations, she started to let go.
“Don’t,” Kellan snapped. “Keep yourself open. I’ll tell you when you can move your hands.” Kellan knelt on her other side and pushed two long fingers deep into her aching passage. Zilrath kept up his teasing orbit of her clit, while Kellan slid his fingers in and out. She stood there open, exposed, fully accessible to their hands and gazes. It was shameful, yet thrilling, liberating in a way she’d never experienced before.
The tingling start of an orgasm tightened her inner muscles, and Kellan stopped moving. “You do not have permission to come.”
Zilrath pulled his hand back, and the sensations fizzled.
Oh, shit. They hadn’t forgiven her for last night. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Not yet, but you will be.” Kellan accented the claim with a cruel chuckle.
“Support her back for me,” Zilrath said, his voice soft and sensual. “I’m desperate to taste her.”
“We’ll take turns,” Kellan offered, “but she doesn’t come until after we’ve had our fill.”
“Agreed.”
Kellan moved behind her and wrapped one of his long arms around her middle. Zilrath draped one of her legs over his shoulder and then the other. Jasmine gasped, shocked by the position. Zilrath’s hands carefully supported her tender butt as she sat on his face. His mouth opened over her slit and he pushed his tongue between her folds. She squirmed against Kellan, not used to being this out of control.
“Relax,” Kellan urged. “There’s no escaping this. You might as well find what enjoyment you can.”
If they weren’t going to let her come, what enjoyment would there be? Wasn’t that the point of oral sex? But Zilrath’s lips were warm, his tongue even warmer and his exploration was slow and thorough. He gently squeezed her ass cheeks, his thumbs caressing her heated skin. Soon Jasmine’s head felt light and floaty, and the strength seemed to flow from her limbs.
The oil. This was how she felt when Zilrath used the oil in his fingers to calm her. “Are you... I don’t want... you said you wouldn’t.”
He pulled away with a final lick and looked into her eyes. “I’m trying not to, but the more aroused I become, the harder it is to prevent. The process is a natural part of Tavorian mating. Most females enjoy the way it makes them feel. I’ve been told it makes females orgasm harder.” His head dipped back between her legs and his mouth returned to her pussy.
God above, he was good at that. He easily brought her right to the edge of orgasm again and again. Tension built, along with her frustration, but the subtle intoxication kept her from going completely insane. She drifted with the sensory currents, content within the steady rise and fall.
After a very long time, Zilrath raised his head and smiled at Kellan. “Your turn, brother. Our mate is delicious.”
Chapter Four
Kellan lifted Jasmine into his arms, holding her securely against his chest. She curled into the warmth of his body, still intoxicated from Zilrath’s attention.
“Grab her uniform. We’re leaving,” Kellan told the other male.
“Fort Benning is closer than your ship,” Zilrath pointed out as he gathered her clothing.
“I can’t wait.” Kellan triggered the hatch with a terse voice command, then climbed onto the ramp with her still cradled in his arms. “I’ll mol-port us into my quarters. That’s instantaneous.”
“Molecular teleportation?” Zilrath looked horrified by the idea. “Is that safe?”
“Asks t
he male who arrived via the magic portal.” Kellan shook his head at the irony.
“I prefer we just take the shuttle,” Zilrath persisted.
“Mol-porting is much safer than shuttle travel. Do you have any idea how often these little deathtraps malfunction?” Zilrath’s eyes widened even farther, and Kellan laughed. “You’re much too easy.”
Kellan ducked into the ship, and Zilrath hurried up the ramp so that Kellan could secure the shuttle.
“Are you sure no one will see me?” Jasmine squirmed, obviously trying to hide as much of her body as she could against his chest. Of course, that only exposed more of her pink behind.
“No one will see you naked but Zilrath and me,” Kellan promised, then added, “unless you earn a public punishment.”
“Public punishment?” Zilrath asked, disapproval clear in his expression. “We need to discuss this privately.”
“Fine, but not right now.” Kellan’s voice dropped so low it growled. “If I don’t fuck her soon, I’m going to lose my mind!”
With obvious reluctance, Zilrath moved closer to where Kellan stood in the aisle down the middle of the seats.
“Relax. This doesn’t hurt a bit.” Then he used voice commands to contact the Elizian. He gave his clearance codes and destination, then let the computer on the shuttle work out the details with the Elizian’s master computer. A few moments later the molecular teleportation engine engaged and his entire body gradually went numb. He was used to the slight disorientation, but Jasmine cried out softly and clung to him. Zilrath gasped and held out his arms as if he expected to fall or to ward off an invisible attacker.
“That was... different,” the Tavorian grumbled as his equilibrium returned. His eyes were still wide, gaze cautious as he looked around the bedroom. As with all shipboard accommodations, it was compact and well-organized.
Kellan set Jasmine down on the side of the bed and reached for the front of his pants. Her face was pale and unsmiling, however, so he paused. “Are you all right?”
“I feel sort of sick,” she admitted, apology shining in her eyes.
