by Jayne Ripley
It was because of these two males that she’d been able to do that. Yes, Nahkar’s intense attraction to her—the marianara vronish thingie—frightened her a little with its raw intensity. But it also thrilled her on a core level. Her body responded to it eagerly. Now Darkon was admitting his own attraction to her. It was all enough to melt her mind into goo. And enough to frustrate the hell out of her. Because she did not need the only two non-Earth friends she had killing each other over her.
That was the bottom line.
She took a deep breath, settled her hands on her hips again, and put on her best glare. Then she let them have it.
“Listen to me, both of you. I will not tolerate you two knuckleheads destroying this place fighting over me. I’m not the kind of girl who intends to be claimed, owned, won in a duel, mastered, tamed, or whatever.” She leaned toward them, narrowing her eyes. They both stared back in quiet surprise. Ha. She had their attention. “Now I forgive you if you have the wrong idea about me because some ugly lizard people kidnapped me and made me a slave. But I suggest you think again and hear what I’m telling you. I don’t want to end up back in the slave cells. And I don’t want this nice place trashed because you two rutting rams want to compare the sizes of your cocks.”
“Mine is bigger,” Nahkar said at exactly the same time Darkon said, “Mine is better.”
She glared at them. Then she burst out laughing.
Males. They were all the same.
Both of them began to grin, thinking they had distracted her from her wrath.
Well, they didn’t know her very well yet, did they?
“Oh, no, you don’t,” she warned them, raising a finger and pointing at each of them in turn. “Don’t think you’re going to charm your way out of this mess. You are friends. I expect you to act like it. Plenty of other people around here push us around, insult us, control our lives, hurt us. But in this room, I make the choices for me. I am not a prize to be won.”
“With all respect,” Darkon said quietly. “You are wrong there. You are an invaluable prize. To both of us. But I understand what you mean, Jennifer Smith.” He bowed to her. For a second, she thought he might be joking again with the bow, but it was soon clear he was not. He meant it as an acknowledgment or a sign of respect to what she’d said. But then, as always, that mischievous smile crept back onto his lips. “I hereby promise not to kick Nahkar in the head again.”
She eyed him skeptically, trying not to laugh. “Not for any reason?”
He frowned as if seriously considering the question. “If you insist. Not for any reason. Although life will not be as fun.”
She rolled her eyes and shook her head.
Turning to Nahkar, she continued. “And you. Your friend was trying to talk to you about something important to you both. I expect any man who wants to be in my life—be he human or alien—to behave in a civilized way.” She paused, suddenly struck by how she’d never expected to say that odd sentence in her life. She pushed on before she could think too hard about it and lose the rest of her mind. “You’ve already risked your lives for me. You’ll always have my thanks for that, but I’m not going to be the cause of you two killing each other. That would break my heart. I know this is difficult for you because of that mating thing. But I won’t make exceptions.”
“It is difficult for me, Jennifer Smith of Earth,” he said, honesty in his eyes. “I feel the need to make you mine. It is…hard to control my jealousy. But because you have made yourself clear, I will do so. For you alone.”
She took another deep breath and let it out slowly. Relief washed through her. She wasn’t the best at confrontations. She didn’t like them. But what else could she do when the equivalent of two male rhinos were charging each other and wrecking the entire place?
At least they seemed to be in a truce now. Although she didn’t know how long it would last.
Darkon was watching her closely, almost like a hunter. “You’ve spoken well. We’ve agreed. But you haven’t told us what you think of my suggestion. The da’katal.”
She felt her cheeks heating again. She couldn’t begin to imagine what sharing a bed with both of these males would be like. Although judging from how wet her pussy was getting right now, she certainly wanted to imagine it. Over and over again. But things weren’t that easy. Were they ever?
“I…I need some time to think. Just…give me some breathing room, okay? This is all so overwhelming. I need some time.”
Darkon bowed. “Then you will have it, along with my promise. Despite what happened here this morning, the three of us can learn to care for each other deeply. I have seen it happen hundreds of times, and I have faith in us.”
She nodded, not knowing what to say, her heart skipping more than a few beats at his words.
“You will have the time you need,” Nahkar told her, looking as if he didn’t want to be outdone by Darkon’s fancy words. “You have my promise. Whatever your choice is, uso jamisa, I will respect it always.”
Uso jamisa? What did that mean? The translator seemed to struggle with it, giving her vague conceptual phrases like “cherished diamond” and “precious gem.” She might be crazy, but she did like the sound of it.
Uso jamisa…
Long after the servants cleaned up the wreckage and brought new food, Jennifer finally had the chance to enjoy a moment to herself. She needed some time to herself to think. When she was around Nahkar and Darkon, thinking clearly was harder. Wild emotions and her body’s reactions to their presence only distracted and sometimes confused her. It kept her off-balance.
But she had taken a shower. That didn’t sound like a big deal, but it was. Now she felt far calmer and able to face what she had to face. Oh, had she described it as just a simple shower? More like it was a divine experience of hot-water heaven. The high-tech shower contraption seemed to caress her whole body in waves of warm water droplets, from every direction, at the perfect temperature and pressure. It had been like getting an entire-body massage…with hot water. She’d soon been mesmerized by it, letting go of all her worries and fears, all her aches and pains from her time caged up by the slavers. The slavers had hosed them down and sprayed them with chemicals, so no wonder she thought of this as stunning bliss. She hadn’t enjoyed a shower so much in years. That fancy shower might be her new favorite place in the universe.
Even the best showers couldn’t last forever, so now she was back in her room, standing at one of the big windows and looking out across the station city from the palace tower. One thing she would never get over was the incredible view outside these windows. This space station was nothing like the cramped, tiny space station over Earth. They should really call it a space metropolis because that’s closer to what it was. The city buildings, towers, and streets stretched far into the distance. The huge dome that protected the city from the void of space was higher than anything on Earth. It was a high-tech engineering miracle. She was in a skyscraper palace inside an enormous space station.
It blew her mind when she stopped to think about it. Beyond the dome, she could see the vast, dark expanse of space, the glitter of stars, and the huge, orange and yellow planet. The planet had to be as big as Jupiter. There were moons in orbit around the planet too. When this solar system’s sun hit them with rays of sunlight, the moons lit up in dazzling blues and greens and reds. She wondered if any other human had ever seen this anything like this before…
The thought of other humans being abducted and enslaved only soured her sense of wonder. Tears filled her eyes, but she blinked them away, swallowing a burning lump in her throat. Or at least, she tried to blink them away. A few of them might have run down her cheeks despite her efforts.
She wanted to go home. She missed her family, her friends, cheeseburgers, and pumpkin pie. She missed cat videos and her favorite music.
Being trapped in this penthouse palace or whatever they called it was better than being chained up in a dungeon somewhere, but she still wasn’t happy. Maybe she could never b
e happy again. She had never appreciated her freedom until she had lost it.
“Jennifer,” Nahkar said softly from behind her. “Are you well?”
She flinched and spun around, wiping at her cheeks. She didn’t know why she cared if he saw her cry, but part of her did. She didn’t want them to worry. She was just having a weak moment right now. Other than that, she was okay. She was fine…
No, she wasn’t.
But she wasn’t going to let them know either. She took a deep breath and composed herself. By sheer willpower, she took all those thoughts, packed them in a box, and hid them in her brain’s attic.
Nahkar stood in threshold to her room, watching her with golden eyes. He crossed his arms as he filled the whole damn doorway. He was so huge, it was intimidating. Nothing should be in that size range except an elephant.
Her mind betrayed her. Seconds ago, she’d been fighting tears while thinking about never seeing the people she loved again. She’d managed to get a hold of herself, but now her primitive, Id brain turned to something else. Something wildly inappropriate for the moment.
Sex.
Staring at Nahkar, marveling at how big he was, suddenly made her wonder what it would be like having sex with him. She was afraid she’d end up squished. And he was always making typical guy comments about his dick size being giganti-huge. Yeah, she’d heard that before, but this time she suspected it was true. His body was massive, so it made sense that all of him would be impressive. How would she ever get a huge cock inside her without a ton of lube? And even then, it was almost frightening. Would it even fit? Would she have to walk around bow-legged afterward?
She shook her head, scattering those foolish thoughts. She really didn’t need to be contemplating his cock size right now, thank you very much.
Nahkar still watched her patiently. Although, as she met his gaze, she realized she really couldn’t read his expression. She would have said it was guarded, but usually Nahkar was blunt and upfront with how he was feeling. He seemed to pride himself on being…direct.
“I should apologize,” he said suddenly in that deep, rough voice of his. It was a voice that reminded her of an avalanche, but she kind of liked it too. It was very masculine and even sexy…
She pushed those distracting thoughts away and focused on what he’d said. She raised one of her eyebrows at him. “Was that supposed to be the apology or just an acknowledgment that you should make one eventually?”
“Females always make things difficult,” he grumbled. “No matter what species they are.”
That got her fur up. “I hope you’re not comparing me to your imperial majestic princess Boobzilla the Third. Because I assure you, you haven’t seen me be difficult yet.”
“I believe you.” He watched her with those golden eyes, not coming any closer. She couldn’t tell if his agreement was another dig, but she decided to let it go.
She huffed and blew some of her hair out of her face. “Don’t just linger in the doorway if you mean to apologize. Come over and say what you want to say or keep on walking down the hallway.”
He smirked at her, still leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed. “You like to give orders.”
“I know, just like all females do.” She rolled her eyes. “Which makes them all difficult. And makes them exactly the same throughout the entire galaxy. I got it. I’m practically the poor slave version of your princess. We are indistinguishable except for skin color.”
He frowned at her. “You are nothing like her. You are far better.”
“And you know that how? I’m not sure you really understand anything about me.” She wiped a hand across her face, trying to sort through the pricker bush of emotions inside her now, sending thorns in every direction. “You have this mating thing you can’t control. If I was exactly like that spoiled, nasty princess, you would still feel the same about me, wouldn’t you?”
He paused, his expression troubled. “No.”
But he didn’t sound certain like he usually did when he spoke. She’d heard the slightest hesitation before he’d answered.
“But you don’t know for sure, do you?”
“No. I don’t. It shames me to admit that Darkon knew more about what happened to me than I did.”
She looked at him, suddenly feeling a pang of sympathy. He had grown up in the slums without a mother. In some ways, he’d had it as bad as her. Maybe worse. After all, she’d had a loving mother and a pretty good life. At least until she’d gotten lost that night…
“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I shouldn’t be taking this out on you. You’ve only tried to help me ever since you first saw me.” Her eyes filled up with tears. Again. “I guess we’re all in this boat together. I was just…feeling lonely.”
In two large strides, he was across the room and pulling her into his arms. She tensed at first, going rigid with surprise. She hadn’t expected that reaction from him, not an embrace. Not a comforting hug. He wrapped his strong arms around her and held her tightly. One of his large hands came up to her hair and stroked it. The touch…his touch was soothing.
She couldn’t help it. His display of concern—from such a big, fierce-looking alien—broke right through her hastily erected barriers. She began to sob, hot tears burning her cheeks. She was shaking all over, feeling the pain and loneliness come boiling out of her.
Nahkar held her against his big, broad chest as she cried. Then she felt another presence behind her. She peeked out from Nahkar’s chest and saw that Darkon had come into the room. He must have heard her crying and come to see what was wrong. That was so embarrassing. She didn’t like playing the part of the weak woman…but right now, she yearned for someone to comfort her. Maybe that was wrong, but that was how she felt.
Darkon slipped his arms around her from behind. He hugged her, gently but firmly, and kissed the back of her head. It was a tender kiss, not a passionate one. It told her that everything was going to be okay. It reassured her that her new friends were here. Together, the three of them would get by.
Somehow.
She let them hold her. Nahkar didn’t say a word, and neither did Darkon. Nahkar didn’t fight with him either, although she guessed it was hard to deal with his mating instincts and another male also comforting her. If she’d been in her right mind, she would’ve been proud of him for his restraint. He was making such an effort. Now though, she was just a comfort sponge, soaking up every drop they would give her. She needed it.
Needed it so badly.
Jennifer didn’t know how much time passed as they held her and she cried. Eventually, she stopped shaking. Eventually, Nahkar looked down into her blotchy, cried-out face and wiped her tears away with a gentle thumb.
“Better?” he asked softly.
She bit her lip and nodded. She knew she should feel embarrassed to have broken down in front of them…but she didn’t. Wasn’t that strange? She only felt closer to them than ever.
Gradually, she untangled herself from them. Part of her wanted to stay in their arms forever, but she knew she couldn’t. Besides, she probably looked like a wreck now, and her head ached from all the unexpected waterworks.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t break down like this. I’m sure you think I’m disgusting.”
“Jennifer,” Darkon said, the slightest note of reprimand in his voice. “Enough of that nonsense. Don’t be so hard on yourself. We both understand. Better than anyone, we understand.”
He cupped her cheek compassionately, looking into her eyes. She sensed Nahkar tense behind her, and her worries came flooding back. But then she felt Nahkar force himself to relax again. Nahkar didn’t say anything, didn’t push Darkon away or make threats, and Darkon didn’t kick him in the head again.
She considered that a win.
A half-laugh, half-sob burst out of her lips.
They were both watching her as if trying to understand the sound she’d just made. That made her laugh more. They began to grin too, and the heavy tension in the
air finally evaporated away.
“Thank you,” she said solemnly, first to Nahkar and then to Darkon. “What you did… Being here for me. It means a lot.”
“You don’t need to thank us,” Nahkar said. “We are your friends. This is how we care for each other.”
She opened her mouth to reply and then shut it again. There was such simple, elegant wisdom to what he’d said that she was blown away. All she could do was swallow the hot knot of emotion in her throat and nod meekly.
When tears of gratitude began to fill her eyes again, she knew she had to do something to break this cycle of crying. Otherwise, they’d be here all night, comforting her.
And would that be such a bad thing? her brain asked coyly.
No. It wouldn’t be bad at all.
She made a show of straightening her dress, wiping her cheeks, and then taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders again. Composed once more—or mostly composed—she cast around for something to say that would change the subject off her cry-fest breakdown.
“So,” she said brightly, “when is this next arena fight they keep talking about?”
Darkon cocked his hairless head and looked into her eyes, clearly trying to read her thoughts. “Why do you ask?”
She snorted and waved a hand. “Because I’m curious. I want to know how long we have here together. I want to know if I’m going to lose either of you. Because…”
Because she was coming to rely on them as friends and more? Because being in Nahkar and Darkon’s arms right now felt so good, so safe and comforting? Because she really just needed someone to love her for a while?
She didn’t know.
Her stomach felt like it had been attacked by excited butterflies. She felt exhausted, and she was trembling with nervous energy. She didn’t know what she wanted to do. There was only one thing she knew for sure. She was so glad she was here with them.