by Marie Harte
Selection—the time in a female’s life when she chose a mate or conceived a child. Thoughts of a child made his cock swell, and Z’s vision blurred at the beauty of their coming together. Hell, he hadn’t cried in thirty years. What the fuck was wrong with him?
He shook off the excess emotion and sought refuge in sleep. But the dreams that came were more intense than they’d ever been.
The emergency beacons flared. Several crew lay unmoving, bloodied and injured. Enemy vessels neared, the probability of survival lowering with each second that passed.
“Dammit, Adri, it’s too much. Pull back!” he yelled but received no answer in return.
To his horror, she lay behind him. Blood fell from her nose, eyes, and ears. Her entire body was covered in flames. Behind her, Val stood with a phaser in hand, his gaze silver-bright and locked on something behind Z. Then pain, a fissure of energy growing from his chest. He thought he heard her cry out, but then darkness consumed him…
He woke choking on a scream, Adri leaning over him in concern.
“Are you okay?”
He felt smothered and scrambled out from under her. “Be right back.” Racing to the lavatory, he shoved his head under the sink, easing from the heat burning his brain. But he couldn’t cool off. To his shock, his arms burst into flames, then his chest and legs. As he stared into the mirror, pinpoints of red grew in his silver eyes, overtaking his sight until he saw nothing but a raging inferno.
“Into the water with you. Come on.” Gentle hands pulled him into the shower and eased cold water over his body. The water and her hands cooled him down, and Z blinked to find Adri wet and naked and standing with him.
“Am I still dreaming?” He glanced around him, seeing, smelling, and hearing the humanity in the distance. Not Werfal 7 then. Not home.
“You’re with me and your brother in New Hattan, remember?” Adri rubbed some scented soap into his skin, her touch soothing his tension.
“Oh, that’s good.”
“Bend down. You’re too tall.” She stood on tiptoe to reach his neck, and he bent down, liking the fact he loomed over her. The woman needed to be dominated, caged, taken. But only by him.
The earlier delight he’d felt watching his brother take her vanished under extreme jealousy.
“Um, Zaret? Are you okay?”
Zaret. He liked her using his full name. “Where’s my brother?”
She shrugged and rubbed his neck, then massaged the soap over his shoulders and down his biceps. “In the other room, I guess. I don’t know.”
“Good.” He gave her a quick, hard kiss. “I don’t want you near him again.”
She blinked. “Um, why?”
“I—because I—shit. I don’t know.” Disoriented, he leaned back against the shower wall. “I’m sorry. This is so much, so fast. I mean, we don’t even know each other, and we’re mated. And you’re going to be hurt, and I don’t know how to stop it.”
She stared, wide-eyed. “Say that again?”
He swore. He knew better than to blurt out the future. Sometimes he did more harm than good. “I’m supposed to be the one taking care of you.” Tenderness swept through him. These bursts of emotions were making it hard for him to focus on any particular one. “Let me wash you.”
“Okay, I guess.” She leaned back and soaked under the spray of water. “You were hot before because of me. I’m sorry.”
He lathered her up, moving over her shoulders to her breasts and down. But he wanted his touch to be sensual, comforting, not sexual. He wanted to show he cared for her. How strange to suddenly feel for this woman. Yet he did.
“How was that your fault?” he asked, recalling what she’d just said.
“You somehow tapped into my fire. The ‘San Fal control fire. That’s our skillset. Our psychei is geared toward heat. But I’ve never heard of another Otra clan being able to harness such power.” She frowned. “My father and brothers are strong, but not as strong as me. And yeah, I’m bragging.”
Her smile stole his breath. “So the women are stronger?”
“Yes.” Her smiled faded. “Which is why our males are so set on finding and keeping ‘San Fal females. I was raised on Werfal 5, surrounded by men all the time.”
He stilled, not liking the tone of her voice. “You weren’t hurt by any of them, were you?”
“No way.” She looked him right in the eye. “I won’t tolerate abuse. Not from anyone.”
“Good. Because if I hear of anyone giving you any problems, they won’t live long enough to apologize.”
She opened her mouth and closed it, eyeing him with uncertainty. Her gaze moved from his wide shoulders to his large hands. “Yeah, I can see you not having a problem dealing with abusers.”
“No one hurts what’s mine.” He hadn’t meant to grit that out, but the thought of anyone harming her made him see red.
“Easy.” She covered his steaming hand with her own and looked at him with curiosity. “You really don’t like the thought of me in trouble, do you?”
“No.”
Her slow grin took him aback. An ache swelled in his chest, a need to comfort, to protect, to love her growing inside him. Spreading like a damn disease. “What are you doing to me?”
“What, Z? What am I doing to you?” She watched him with an expression he couldn’t read.
“I don’t know. I feel things. For you. I don’t know you, but I want to. I think… I need you, Adri. And not just for sex.” Did he sound as confused as he felt?
“Well, it’s mutual.” She sighed. “Can you rinse my hair?”
He hurried to take the rest of the soap from her, soothing her with a gentle touch that had her wavering on her feet.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “But I’m so tired. I just need to sleep.”
He turned off the water and found a few towels to dry them off. “Come on, baby. Let’s get you back to bed. The rest of this can wait until tomorrow.” Or later today, as the case might be.
He carried her back to bed and tucked her in. The poor woman was already asleep, and already moving toward him in the bed. He hugged her tight and closed his eyes. He didn’t dream, not at all.
8
The next morning, Z, Adri, and Val sat around the small dining table in the suite, feasting on Otra berries, omelets, and bacon, an Otra favorite. One thing the humans knew how to prepare.
He took a long swallow of caffeine. “Drink your coffee with the berries, baby. They’ll perk you up, some. You need the energy.” She looked tired.
After a few bites of his own meal, he noticed the silence and looked up. “What?”
Val grinned. “A little motherly this morning, aren’t we, big brother?”
“Fuck off— I mean, screw off, Val.”
Adri bit her lip, but he could see her smile. The gesture made him feel ten feet tall.
“You think that’s funny?” he asked her.
She shook her head and lifted the coffee to her mouth after taking a few bites of the energizing Otra fruit. “Not at all. Hmm. That’s good. Just what I needed.”
“Not all you need,” Val murmured, looking her over like a prized steak.
Z growled, “Watch it.”
Val blinked at him. “What’s up? We’re not done with The Testing yet. You’re kind of possessive all of a sudden.”
Z was, and he didn’t understand why. “I, ah. Sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
Adri sighed. “We need to talk about all this. If Val is your eda, and you’re in The Testing, then we really are iriu.”
Z frowned. “I didn’t know there was still a question about that.” He leaned closer and kissed her with possession in mind. “You’re mine, Adri. Say it.”
She glared back at him. “I just spent the last nine months trying to be anything but under a man’s thumb. We may be mated, but that doesn’t mean you can tell me what to do.”
Before Z could argue, Val cut in. “Explain that, Adri. Maybe it would help us all if we knew m
ore, like where you came from. What you’re running from.”
“I grew up on Werfal 5, like I told you. What I didn’t tell you is that my father is Tearn Rem.”
Zaret and Val shared a look. Z turned to her, his gaze incredulous. “Not Tearn Rem, the most wanted man on the Outer Colonies. That Tearn Rem?”
“Yes.” She sounded miserable.
Without thought, he pulled her into his lap and stroked her hair. “Oh man. Well, I guess it could have been worse. He could have been a human pirate. At least he’s Otra.”
“Better not let Mom or Roarke hear that,” Val murmured.
At Adri’s look, Z explained. “Our birth mother died a long time ago, and our father remarried a human. Shea Talson, our mom. My youngest brother came from her.”
“He’s half human.”
“Yes.”
She didn’t seem to have a problem with that. “But you seem to hold him in regard.”
“We do. Hell, we love our baby brother. Shea too. But they seem so unlike the other humans we’ve met. Roarke’s mate, Jamie. She’s human too. But so strong, so different from the ones we’ve come into contact with.”
Adri snorted. “I hate to tell you this, but most humans are like that. I have a feeling you’ve been dealing with the large underbelly of society. The humans who work shipping and the docks are usually aligned with the criminal classes on Earth. I’ve spent the last months working at the Shipping News, so I’d know.”
“Maybe.” Z liked how she felt on his lap. And Stars help him, but his cock couldn’t stay soft near the woman.
“Zaret.” She shifted and flushed.
Val raised a brow but said nothing about her embarrassment. “Your family,” he prodded Adri to continue.
“They mean well, but I was raised with all boys. They know little about Selection, or what girls want. My father loves me. My brothers do too.” She met Z’s gaze. “All six of them.”
Val had the nerve to laugh.
“So why did you run away?”
“Because my father thinks that marriage and children will make me happy.”
“But…” Z needed to hear what she desired, and he wanted to satisfy her.
“But I need more. I need to be on my own. To see new worlds and experience life. A little danger won’t hurt me.”
Remembering his dreams, he frowned. “It might.”
“And I might be hurt riding my hovercycle. The point is, for the last nine months I’ve been on my own, and I’ve never been happier.”
“Then I came along and you’re stuck with another male.”
“Another overbearing male,” Val added.
“You’re not helping.” Z shot his brother a rude gesture and turned to his iriu. “I wasn’t looking for this, but we’re tied. You feel it too, I know.”
“I do.”
He didn’t like her looking so glum. “Adri, I don’t know your family, but the Talsons, the ‘Or Fal, aren’t dictators. My mom lives side by side with my father. Roarke’s pretty little mate won’t bow to him.”
“Ever.” Val nodded. “That woman is going to give him fits, I can tell.”
Adri smiled. “I think more males need that.”
“Honey, most Otra are built to give our mates what they want and need. If we’re going to make a go of this, you need to know that.”
“So if I want to go offworld?”
“We’ll go. Adri, I run Port Nule, Wefal 7’s lane to New Hattan. From an Earth perspective, I live offworld.”
“Hmm, I guess you do.” Her eyes sparkled. “Do you have a newsprint there?”
Val shook his head. “We don’t, and we should have one. We could really use the added information on other shippers and galaxy trade, don’t you think?” Val glanced from Adri’s hopeful face to Z. “Think, Z. Your mate needs something you can provide. Speak, freak. Tell her what she needs to hear.”
“Yes, tell me.” Adri grinned at Val, who stared at her in shock.
“She can hear us?”
“Apparently.” Z wanted to frown, but his smile continued to grow. “You’re a troublemaker; I can feel it.”
“That’s not all you can feel.” She wiggled on his lap. “What about you, Zaret? What is it you want? Women and parties? Lots of sex? Currency?”
“I—” His blood centered between his legs in his erection. “Fuck. Stop moving, woman.”
Val sighed. “You have no discipline, Bro. So easy.”
“Shut up. You try having a conversation with her in your lap.”
Val’s eyes narrowed. “Hmm, good point.”
Adri sucked in a breath when Z’s fingers slipped between her legs. “Um, Z? I thought you were feeling possessive. As in, no sex in front of your brother anymore?”
“I was. But I changed my mind.” He pushed his hand between her legs and cupped her. “I need more. Val, finish what you started yesterday before I remember I don’t share.”
Val chuckled. “Finally. I’ve been waiting. The energy’s building again, and you feel it, don’t you?”
“Do I ever.” He and Adri said as one.
“Now finish eating, iriu. It’s time to get back to The Testing.”
“I thought we’d finished yesterday.” She wiggled again, putting a fire back in his cock.
“Your Selection, maybe. But I feel more distance between us. And that’s the only thing between us I won’t tolerate. I can handle arrogant ‘San Fal. Even Tearn Rem. But you not all the way linked with me won’t work.” His aggression levels rose, and he couldn’t stop himself. Z lifted her in his arms and carried her away from the table. “Now let’s finish this, Val. Once and for all.”
“Zaret, I need you, iriu.”Adri knelt on the bed, on her hands and knees, facing Val. Like Zaret, he had the brawn and strength of an ‘Or Fal warrior. But he was leaner, less intense than his brother. And he didn’t call to her the way Z did.
She cupped Val’s sac and licked the sides of his shaft. A glance up at him showed him clenching his teeth as he struggled to hold on. She tasted the seed at his tip and felt him on the edge of orgasm. The energy roiling in his psychei settled closer to hers and Z’s. But it wasn’t quite there yet.
Behind her, Z poised, his emotions crashing. Affection, lust, need, and a painful welling of what almost felt like love coalesced into a ball in his chest. For such a powerful warrior, he seemed to have no problem letting himself emote, though she could tell he wasn’t at all comfortable about his uncontrollable passion.
Val moaned. “Damn it, Z. Fuck her already. I know it’s a meaningful moment, but Christ, you two are killing me! I can feel everything from both of you, and I’m torn between crying and coming, so hurry up.”
But Z wouldn’t be rushed. The tease spread her legs wider and pushed his tongue over her clit, licking her pussy with slow strokes that drove her insane. Then, to her shock, he moved from her pussy up, rimming her anus.
“Oh, Stars.” She gasped as he toyed with her ass, the nerve endings overly sensitive to anything he wanted.
“I’m going to fuck you here too, baby. But not today. I don’t think Val has the patience to hold out that long.”
“Asshole.”
“Yeah. And a tasty one at that. You should see how tight she is. So hot and firm.”
“Shit. Come on.” Val groaned and thrust deeper into her mouth.
Adri worked not to gag. Her body would accommodate anything for her iriu, but his eda had to work with her.
“Sorry, Adri. I can’t help it. Your mouth is killing me. I need to come.”
“Not yet,” Z ordered. “Not until she’s creaming all over my tongue.”
Adri wouldn’t take long, not when he continued to play with her, his desire and affection growing with intensity. She felt her taste on his tongue, and felt the slight burn of penetration when his finger rimmed her ass. Dual sensations, in addition to the desperate need Val held on to, his psychei aching with it. She came hard, trembling under his touch. Yet she needed more.
“Please, iriu.” She knew how much Z liked her calling him that. But did he realize that in allowing him to claim her, she’d claimed him right back?
“I know, and I love it. You’re mine. And yeah, I’m yours, baby. All yours.”
She sucked Val harder, driven by this first instance of Z’s voluntary telepathy. Though she’d conversed with him before, this was the first time he’d answered, mind to mind. “Zaret? You’ll let me into your mind?”
“Honey, you’ve been in there from the get-go. Yesterday, last week, last month. Hell, the first time you invaded my dreams you stuck in there and wouldn’t go.” He leaned back from her, and then she felt his cockhead prodding her entrance.
“Then fill me up, iriu. Stop stalling.” She licked the underside of Val’s cock, feeling how hard he was, how he trembled under her touch. His energy whispered to hers with each pass of her mouth over his shaft.
“Yeah, cut it out,” Val added out loud, breathless. “Fuck her already. She needs it. Fuck that hot little pussy. Like I’m fucking those beautiful lips. Here it comes, Adri. All in you.” Val groaned and shot inside her mouth, his seed sliding down her throat with the press of power.
Z slammed home in one huge, hard thrust. “I’m going to fuck you so good, baby. Oh yeah. Fuck, Val. Give her more. So much light.”
Silver bands of psychei ran through her, from Val into Adri and deeper into Z. Z pulled back then rammed inside her again. Huge, hot thrusts with a rhythm that stole her breath. Right now, on her knees, with Val’s cock in her mouth and Zaret filling her pussy, Adri felt owned.
Possessed and domineered by the large warrior behind her. And she loved it.
She groaned and pushed back, but Z gripped her hips and pistoned into her with a hard, steady drive that marked her as his.
“That feels so good,” Val moaned, his cock hard again, as if he hadn’t just come.
Adri continued to suck him as she encouraged Z, drawing his plunging cock farther inside by subtly raising her hips. Z squeezed her ass cheeks, and the sensation of tightness increased.
