Viken Command

by Grace Goodwin

  “We will always see to your needs, Whitney.” He brought the dress over, laid it on the bed, then turned to kiss me on the lips, his touch so gentle it was barely there, then gone, like a whisper of heat in a cold breeze. “Now, instead of letting me tug that sheet down and taste every inch of you, get ready, and I will take you to meet the queen.”

  Queen Leah was not what I was expecting. While she had red hair like Alarr, she was not what I imagined from a royal. All I could envision was Queen Elizabeth with her white helmet of hair and her handbag. Leah was not ninety years old. Not even forty. Hell, she looked so good I had to wonder if she was even thirty. Maybe it was all the Seed Power? Whatever, she looked damned good.

  And I wasn’t nervous or wowed by her. I didn’t feel like I needed to curtsey. Was it because she was from Earth? Maybe because even after just one day of relying on the NPU to translate everything for me, hearing her speak in my language—our language—was comforting? Maybe it was just because she was a woman, from home, and I was in freaking outer space?

  Whatever the reason, I liked her instantly.

  And, like me, she had three mates which definitely made us BFFs. Except her guys were twins—no—triplets. Identical triplets.

  Good lord. It was like a romance novel or a porno, where a well-endowed chick got three identical hotties to do all kinds of naughty stuff with her, spurting their cum all over her body and then she’d fake scream how it got her off. But in real life on Viken, she probably did get off. That Seed Power stuff was crazy.

  “How do you tell them apart?” I giggled. I couldn’t help it because I’d just thought of the queen’s mates in a porno. That wasn’t something I was going to share.

  I had three mates, one of whom was staring at me with his intense blue eyes from across the room, where the queen had banished both Oran and the king who’d stayed to watch over her. Drogan, she’d said.

  These alien males took protecting their women to a whole new level.

  But then, maybe I simply didn’t understand the dangers out here in space, on this new world. Or maybe, it was an alien thing. Instinctive.

  Whatever the reason, I liked the way Oran watched me. His gaze followed my every move, noticed everything I did—just like when I’d first transported, and he’d seen me shiver, ordering someone to bring me a cloak. I pulled that same black cloak around me now, the thin, cream-colored gown I wore beneath wafting around my ankles as fresh air from the windows blew into the room. Viken wasn’t cold, but the clothing wasn’t all that warm. The two dresses I’d donned were something I’d wear on Earth in July when the temperatures were scorching. The air here was slightly humid, a soft breeze consistently blowing, like the trade winds in Hawaii. I would acclimate because I loved the dress Oran had brought me, wanted to wear it.

  It fit well, my full breasts lifted and on display. The waist was fitted, almost like a corset, but the bottom was made up of layers and layers of the softest material I’d ever felt. Softer than silk. The cream color made my dark skin look luminescent. I felt beautiful. Truly beautiful.

  I wasn’t sure yet whether the lack of undergarments was a cultural norm, or if Oran just liked knowing I was bare beneath the gown. He’d brought me soaps and oil for my hair, waited patiently as I showered and readied myself in the bathroom. The bathing room, they called it.

  He’d been with me for just a few moments, but he noticed everything.

  Alarr made me feel safe. Secure. He felt like home. Not home as in New York City, but a place I’d always longed for. Teig made me feel playful, like I needed to let go and have some fun.

  But Oran and his ice-blue eyes? He made me feel like a siren. A dirty-minded, needy, sexual goddess who wasn’t wearing any panties. And he’d only kissed me.

  Queen Leah was talking, telling me about her daughter, and how she’d met the three kings. How each of them was from a different sector, just like my three mates, and that their mating had united the planet.

  Wow, that was a lot of pressure, their mating being the thing that brought peace to an entire world.

  She had to think of every Viken. All I could think about was what Oran would do to me later when this meeting was over.

  He watched me now like he needed to study every move I made. It was intense, and his attention made me hot. God, Oran was hot.

  “Whitney?”

  “Hmmm?” Oran’s head was turned as he spoke to King Drogan, and I studied his lips. Oran’s, not Drogan’s. They were firm. How would they feel on my—

  “Earth to Whitney.” Queen Leah laughed out loud as she waved her hand back and forth in front of my face, and I finally dragged my attention from Oran to focus on her.

  “God, I’m so sorry, Queen Leah. I’m a mess right now.”

  Leah’s smile was full of feminine understanding. “A mess? In lust, more like it.”

  I felt my cheeks heat, but I didn’t tell her she was wrong. Lying to the queen probably wasn’t good.

  “You can call me Leah. There are only a few Earth girls here, and we all stick together.”

  That was nice. First name basis with the queen of a planet. And she seemed really, really nice. “Thanks. It’ll be great to have friends from home.”

  She reached over and placed her hand on my knee. “Exactly. And don’t feel bad. You arrived last night, correct?”

  I nodded. “Yes.”

  Her eyes glazed over, and a small smile tugged at her lips. “Their Seed Power is something else, isn’t it? Totally blew my mind. I had no control. None.” She leaned in, whispered, “For weeks.”

  That got my attention. So, this burning, out of control, need to fuck would fade? “It goes away?”

  “Not completely, no. But it does get a bit less intense once your body gets used to it. When I arrived, they had no idea that human biology would be so sensitive to their... you know.” She blushed, her fair skin turning a cute shade of pink.

  “Oh, yeah. I know.” We smiled at each other in mutual understanding, and I swallowed past the relief that I wouldn’t be a crazed addict forever. Not that wanting my mates was bad, but I felt out of control at the moment. I hated being out of control. Hated that even when I wasn’t with them, all I could think about was getting Alarr and Teig to take me again. And I hadn’t even had Oran yet. Or his Seed Power. Like I needed to be more desperate for sex than I already felt.

  And I hadn’t had all three of them together. Yet.

  “So, Whitney, I’m guessing this was more than you expected. It’s so intense with three of them.” She must be a mind reader. She leaned back with a sigh, and her gaze wandered to her own mate. King Tor and King Lev were in another room meeting with Alarr and Teig on some kind of official guard business, which left King Drogan and Oran watching over us. “But then, you know that, don’t you?”

  “Being with all three of them at once?” I shook my head. “No. Not yet. I was with Alarr and Teig last night.” My gaze moved over Oran’s short blond hair, his thick shoulders. Oran. I wondered what he tasted like.

  “What?” I felt the queen’s shock, and I turned to look at her. “Where was your third mate?”

  “Oran?” My attention jumped between the queen and the mate we were discussing, and I felt the insane need to defend him. “He had to go on patrol.”

  “You mean, Oran went to work after you transported? They are claiming you in the new custom of three, right?”

  I nodded again.

  She leaned forward so the guys couldn’t hear. “But they didn’t take you together, all three of them, in a formal claiming?”

  “No. I didn’t know there was a formal claiming.” I knew my confusion was all over my face, and my raised voice brought forward two of the nearest guards who were supervising us in addition to King Drogan and Oran.

  Apparently, three kings for mates wasn’t enough of a protection detail. Leah also had additional security. Armed security. The weapons at their sides something I’d never seen before, their space guns much larger and more menacing tha
n the small weapons I’d seen my mates wear. I narrowed my eyes at the nearest guard, who appeared to be drawing his weapon.

  “Put that away, please.” Queen Leah waved her hand at the guard, and he stepped back, but the scowl on his face was still firmly in place, and he was now watching me almost as intensely as Oran had been moments ago. He glanced to King Drogan, who nodded. Only then did the guy stand down.

  Wow.

  “Your guards are jumpy. And what’s with those guns? They look like they could take down an elephant.”

  She sighed and leaned back, straightening the folds of her own multi-colored skirt around her. The gown was an interesting collage of black, dark brown and steel gray. I had only been here one day, but I already knew the three colors represented the three sectors. That she wore all three together told me there was a lot more I needed to know about the politics on this planet. Not that the color combination didn’t work. It was artfully done. But not something I would want to wear. I liked the soft pool of cream covering me like frosting.

  Frosting for Oran to lick off me as soon as the queen and I were finished…

  Jeez. I needed to get a grip. The queen was talking, so I focused on her. Hard.

  “There have been multiple attacks on my life since my arrival on the planet. Many on Viken were not thrilled when my mates decided on peace. And when our daughter arrived?” Her frown was not sad, but fierce, like a mother bear protecting her cub. “They have tried to kill Allayna more than once. So, my mates petitioned Prime Nial to allow the guards at Viken United—that’s our capital—to carry Coalition Fleet issued weapons.”

  “I’m so sorry. Is your daughter all right?” The thought of militants or rebels trying to kill a baby girl made me want to call Oran over and thank him for watching over me so closely. So, maybe they weren’t overly protective after all. Maybe this place was a bit dangerous.

  The idea made my pussy clench as I imagined Oran fighting off a legion of bad guys and then lifting my dress, shoving my ass up against the wall and making me come all over his hard…

  Leah waved her hand once more. “She’s fine, little sprite. I think she actually loves all the extra attention. She has every guard on the island wrapped around her little finger, not to mention her three fathers. She so much as frowns, and they’re all stumbling over one another to please her.”

  I couldn’t help but smile at the image, thankful for the distraction.

  “She will rule Viken one day?”

  Nodding, Leah continued. “Yes. She is the one true heir destined to unite the planet once more. You see, she’s not from one sector. She’s the only one on the planet with DNA from all three sectors. Remember, my mates are identical triplets. Their DNA is the same.” Leah’s gaze turned dark again as she inspected the large weapon strapped to another guard near the door. “And those ion cannons aren’t designed to kill elephants, but they’ll take down a shuttle or a small military craft with one hit.”

  “Shit.” That was a lot of firepower to be carrying around in what amounted to a tea parlor.

  “Exactly. Which is why they are illegal outside of the Coalition War. It’s like in the US where assault weapons in the wrong hands can be used in bad ways.”

  She didn’t have to explain the mass shootings back on Earth to me. They’d only gotten worse since she left the planet.

  “My mates were very insistent, which is why they were given special permission from Prime Nial himself to use them to protect our daughter and me.”

  That was a sobering thought. Maybe I did need three mates to protect me. Maybe Viken wasn’t the peaceful utopia I’d dreamed of. Sure, this pleasure resort—as the guys had called it—looked safe enough, but outside?

  The queen cleared her throat. “Forget about all that and explain to me why your three mates have not claimed you together. That is highly unusual.” She leaned her head to the side, tilted at an odd angle as she whispered so low that only I would hear her once again. “Did you deny them, then? They can be a bit intense, so I would understand if you wanted to work your way up to three slowly.”

  That would have made me laugh out loud if I hadn’t suddenly been wondering why Oran had chosen to work last night. He was a guard, as were Alarr and Teig. Surely in a place of this size, there had to have been someone to cover his shift for him last night.

  “No, that wasn’t it.”

  “Hmmm.” Her raised brow and curious gaze moved to my mate and stayed there. “Interesting. I wondered why my mates gave in to my request to come here so easily.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Her gaze shifted from the king back to me, and she leaned forward, motioning with her finger for me to do the same so she could whisper. “They are always trying to protect me, but I have my own network of females all over the capital city.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “There have been a lot of illegal weapons turning up in areas outside of Coalition control. They tracked the smugglers to Viken. With your mate working last night, and their meeting with the kings, I am beginning to think they have tracked the illegal weapons to this area. Maybe even this resort.”

  My blood cooled as the implications of that sank in. I looked to Oran whose intense eyes were focused on something the king was saying. He did not look amused or happy. He looked… like a special operations soldier in the middle of a mission. Shit. “You think my mates are trying to capture these arms dealers?”

  When I asked Leah that question, Oran turned to look at me at once, as if he’d been listening and was shocked at what he had overheard. Could he hear our conversation?

  Queen Leah leaned back, and I did the same, her body language a clear signal that we’d been too close for too long. She smiled at me and adjusted her skirt, even though it didn’t need it. “I don’t know, Whitney. But be careful. Whoever is doing it, they’re very smart and very dangerous. I overheard Lev talking with my other mates earlier. They seem to believe the bad guys are on the inside. Maybe even part of the security team at this resort.”

  “An inside job?”

  She nodded. “Maybe even the commander, but they aren’t sure yet. Some guy named Clive.”

  Shit. “Okay. I’ll be careful.” I forced a smile on my face, more than ready to move on to a new topic that didn’t include my mates not claiming me the way they should have or the idea of arms dealers running around my new paradise. All of it made me uneasy, and the fact that Oran had chosen work over this formal claiming made me wonder if I were lacking somehow. I wouldn’t have thought so after what Alarr, Teig and I did the night before. But after years of feeling less than perfect, and now having talked with the queen?

  Did Oran really want me? Or was he using work as an excuse?

  No. Not going there.

  I cleared my throat. “So, how old is Allayna?”

  Leah’s eyes lit up, and she pulled a small tablet from a delicate satchel on the floor. “I have pictures. I don’t want to be one of those bragging moms, but she’s so darn cute.”

  Of course, she was.

  Success. Leah forgot all about my mates’ seemingly unusual sexual behavior and focused the rest of our visit on telling me about her family, about the history of Viken, and of the wild adventure she’d had being claimed by all three of her mates within minutes of her arrival.

  She’d been blindfolded so she wouldn’t know which one of them touched her.

  The idea sounded all kinds of kinky and fun to me.

  With all three of my mates. Not two. Not one. Three.

  Maybe the three of them weren’t as set on being a family as I’d assumed. Maybe they weren’t into getting naked and getting it on with me all together? I hadn’t asked, just taken them at their word in the transport room. What did I know about Viken claiming? And after that? Well, there hadn’t been much talking going on.

  But the dream I’d had in the testing matched what the queen said.

  Something wasn’t right. I’d fix that today, starting with Oran.

/>   As if on cue, King Drogan and Oran came over. We spent a few minutes exchanging pleasantries before the king looked at his queen with a growl. The kind Teig made when he’d pushed my thighs apart and licked my pussy for the first time.

  “Enough, mate,” King Drogan said. “It is time to take you to a few of the huts and make use of this brief reprieve. Tor and Lev await our arrival. They have plans.”

  If I’d thought the queen had blushed before, she looked, well, overheated now. And eager. She smiled at me in apology. “We are friends now, Whitney. You are welcome to come to Viken United anytime. Okay?”

  “Thank you.” It felt good to have a friend, and I could tell by her tone that she meant it.

  The king looked at me. “You will be welcomed with open arms, Whitney. Should you have need, we will answer. I will alert the palace guards and put protocols in place for your protection. One comm call, and you will have immediate assistance and direct transport approval.”

  “We can protect our mate, King Drogan,” Oran said, his voice icy. He’d been insulted.

  King Drogan looked at Oran, dipped his head in respect. “Of course. Do you then refuse my assistance should there be a need?”

  The king had trapped my mate. I found it amusing, for denying the king meant denying my safety. “No, my king. I meant no disrespect.”

  The king, obviously annoyed, turned his gaze to me. “You are Leah’s friend. Your presence on Viken has made her very happy. If she is happy, we are happy.”

  I assumed he meant all three of her mates.

  “You are welcome at the palace at any time, Whitney,” Leah added. “You don’t need to call first.”

  “Thank you,” I murmured.

  King Drogan nodded and turned to my new friend, who winked at me when the king growled again. “Now, female, or I’ll allow Lev to bind you in place until you beg us to stop making you come.”

  Oh, the look on her face. There wasn’t an ounce of guilt or repentance there. “With leather, my king? Or silk?”