The Concord fitted all the inmates with translator implants—experimental tech, of course—and the translators learned the valo language through exposure. She didn’t even have to think about what language she used when she spoke. It happened automatically.
“If you are not bonded, that means you have not impregnated her yet,” Flin observed.
After the last hour of Flin asking inappropriate questions, many involving her bodily functions, she shouldn’t be shocked. “You can’t just ask someone why they haven’t knocked up their girlfriend yet,” she said.
“Why? Do you not want younglings?” Flin leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and chin in his hands.
“Maybe. Yes. Not today,” she sputtered out. Flin’s eyes were a calm saffron yellow, warm and soothing, and he watched her with such intensity. She couldn’t be upset with him for tactless questions. “It’s rude to ask people why they haven’t had kids yet.”
“Why?”
Why? Honestly.
“Because not everyone can have kids. You might hurt their feelings. Or they might not want kids,” she said.
“But you can have younglings, right?” Mishal asked.
Amber wanted to say that yes, she could have kids, just to get them to leave the subject alone, but their questions raised questions of her own. “What if I can’t? Does it matter?”
“Did you have younglings on Earth?” Flin asked.
“No. Oh my gosh, you guys. Stop. Just stop. I don’t have any children. I never wanted them or had a partner to have them with,” she said, irritation creeping in. She drained her tea. When Mishal pushed another mouthful of food toward her, she shook her head. Her appetite had vanished.
“Do you miss Earth?” Flin asked.
She sighed. The questions wouldn’t stop, but she welcomed the change in direction away from babies. “Sometimes. Not as much as when I first got here. I’d been away from home for a long time before we crashed here, though.”
“Back when you were a thief,” Mishal said with a nod.
She noticed he used the past tense—finally—so she let it go. She had been a thief. Facts were facts. “I miss my mother.”
“Was she a thief, also?” Flin asked.
“What? No! No. My mom was a sweet woman. Stupidly nice.” Amber often felt that her mother was too nice and let herself be taken advantage of. It didn’t matter. Amber had enough spirit to fight for both of them. “She was ill, and medical care was expensive, so I stole money. I worry.”
She worried then, and she worried now, knowing full well that she would never get back to Earth. Even if a rescue ship showed up tomorrow, Amber wasn’t sure if she wanted to go. Besides, her mother had been in poor health, and she was probably dead.
That sounded so hard, even in her head, but the harsh reality was she had no way of knowing how long they had been in that wormhole. It could have been minutes or years. Time got weird with faster-than-light travel and wormholes. Contemplating temporal phenomenon and astrophysics proved far more pleasant than thinking about her mother growing old alone, or the shock she must have felt when the Concord vanished, or what choices she’d be forced to make when the stolen money ran out.
Mishal placed her on his lap. He wrapped his arms around him in a comforting embrace. “You continue to worry.”
“You always worry about the people you love,” she said.
“You worry about me,” Mishal said, a grin on his lips. “You love me.”
“Don’t get all cocky.” She poked him in the chest with her index finger. Her grin matched his own. “You nearly froze to death. I needed you to carry heavy stuff for me.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You do not have to say the words. I know my heartstone belongs to you.”
Oh, wow. Were they ready to trade promises of love? Just a few weeks ago they barely knew each other and desperately tried to steal moments together. Two months ago, they didn’t know each other. When Pel propositioned her in the forest, she wanted something more than surviving. She wanted to be loved and to be cared for. The guys—her guys—definitely made her feel loved and cared for.
“I care for you,” she managed to say, grimacing. Cared for them? Lame. She might as well have gone for broke and added that she felt fondly toward them, like one does for a pet.
No. Her feelings for them were more than that. She loved them.
“I think I love you. This is new for me,” she said.
Mishal’s arms tightened around her. “I will accept that. For now.”
“Oh, will you?” She chuckled and glanced toward Pel and Flin. They watched her and Mishal with rapt attention.
“Do you think you love me?” Pel asked.
She nodded. “I feel that way about you.” Her gaze bounced between Pel and Mishal. Yes, she was sure that she loved them. Flin remained a mystery, as confused as he was in his newly awoke haze.
“Would you want to have younglings with us? Someday?” Pel asked.
“Someday.” Amber tilted her head back and sighed dramatically to the twin moons. She wasn’t against the idea of children, just not right at that moment. Someday, in the far future, once her life was settled and the new village was established across the river, and she had a roof over her head. The prison had implanted her with contraception so any kids would have to wait until it wore off. Then again, she assumed Lucie received the same implant, but it didn’t seem to have worked for her. Maybe whatever happened to Lucie in the lab counteracted the implant.
“Perhaps you do not know how younglings are made?” Pel asked, voice heated.
She blushed. “Are you serious right now? I know how babies are made.”
“Perhaps it is different on Earth,” Pel said. He moved closer. His fingers, warm but not too warm, skimmed down her neck and across her collarbones. “Perhaps we should show you how it is done.”
“I’m pretty positive it’s the same as on Earth.” The brief eyeful she caught of Brandi came to mind. Yup, pretty much the same.
“I suspect it’s different in interesting and nuanced ways. We should explore,” Pel said. His fingers brushed her lips. Instinctively she opened her mouth, her tongue darting out to lick.
“We should explore,” she said, voice husky with desire. The location wasn’t ideal, on the ground in a roofless ruin, but they had the stars and the two moons. She’d slept in worse places.
Mishal lifted her tunic, his hands sliding up her back. She leaned, enjoying his warmth. After the constant cold of the northern lands, he felt so good. Hell, who was she kidding? He felt good, period. Tunic removed, he lightly kissed the curve where her neck met her shoulder.
Pel licked the valley between her breasts, his hot tongue branding her.
Each touch was an examination of her humanness; a study in their differences. Such scrutiny should have made her feel awkward and unsexy because who liked to be examined under a microscope? Somehow their curious and inquisitive touches comforted her and assured her that she was more than a novelty. Their bodies were different, but she liked them for more than their bodies. She liked Pel’s loyalty and dedication, Mishal’s thoughtful, if broody, manner, and Flin’s endless curiosity.
Amber glanced at Flin, who was thoroughly engrossed by their display. His arms leaned forward on his folded legs.
His eyes held hers.
He didn’t look at Pel and Mishal, but rather studied her reaction to them.
Amber felt exposed and safe at the same moment, in a twisting, confusing rush of sensations. These were her men, and she wanted all of them. Every part of them.
Pel pulled away.
“Please don’t stop,” she said.
“We cannot,” he said. Crouched in front of her, his loincloth did nothing to hide his hardened cock.
Amber licked her lips. She’d had him in her mouth before, but she remembered how his seed sizzled on the wet ground. “When can we?”
“When we are bonded, little thief,” Mishal said, voice in her ear. His hands cup
ped and teased her breasts. Moaning, she pushed back against him. A thick, hard length prodded against her ass.
“Then what can we do?”
Mishal chuckled, low, throaty and unfairly sexy. His sexy laugh could be weaponized. “So many things.” His strong hands spread her thighs, setting one leg on either side of his. Opened wide, that position displayed her pussy for Pel and Flin. “Do you see how lovely our mate is?” Mishal asked.
Pel’s gaze fixed on her wet and needy pussy as he worked his cock.
Shit. This shouldn’t be hot. This should be awkward and weird but Pel had such a look of obsession on his face as he fisted that turgid rod that her fears of awkwardness vanished. Amber on Earth might have had cringe-worthy social skills and bad sex, but this Amber felt like the sexiest woman on the planet.
Mishal’s fingers dipped into her wet folds, spreading her desire. Hot and skin texture just rough enough, he teased her entrance. Her hips bucked, demanding more. As if to teach her patience, he removed his hand. Amber whimpered. Not fair.
With another sexy chuckle, he licked his finger.
“How does she taste?” Pel asked.
“Like the best thing I’ve had in a thousand years,” Mishal growled.
Amber’s breath caught in her throat at his words. She squirmed on his lap, trying to draw his attention back to her aching core. He growled with approval and complied, strumming her into a frenzy.
Her arm snaked behind his head and pulled him down to her. Greedy and demanding, her lips claimed his. Their tongues tangled against one another as she rode his hand.
She pulled away and gestured for Pel. Without hesitation, his lips crashed down on hers. His hot, searing tongue pushed its way in before pulling out, matching the rhythm as he stroked himself.
Flin watched, his eyes wide and mouth open.
Pel came, spurting as she jerked back her hands, and splashed onto the floor. She moaned at the sight, wanting nothing more than to taste him the way he’d tasted her.
Mishal pushed another finger in, stretching her. He made a come-here gesture and hit the perfect spot, sending her over the edge. She felt her core clamp down tight around his fingers as she cried out, back arched, and body alive with sensation.
Scalding hot liquid spread across her back. She thought nothing of it, enjoying the heat, then Mishal pushed her away with a curse.
Mishal
He stared in shock at what he had done. His control slipped. He spilled on her lower back, on her delicate skin. They had discussed this. They had agreed that their seed would be too hot until they were bonded. He knew this. but he was weak. The feel of her in his arms, riding his hand to the zenith of her pleasure...
“Water. Quickly,” he snapped. He grabbed a half-empty flask and washed away his seed.
Amber’s skin was a vivid, angry pink.
“How bad is it?” she asked.
“It is the wrong color,” he admitted. Shame over his careless, thoughtless actions flooded him.
“Is it blistering?”
“No,” he said. Flin returned to a bucket of cool water. Mishal tore a corner off the blanket, soaked it in the water, and applied it to the burn.
“That’s not so bad then,” Amber said, voice remarkably calm.
“Do not feel that you must be brave or stoic for me,” he said. His actions had harmed his mate. The last thing he deserved was her consideration.
“I’m not being stoic. It’ll probably hurt in the morning, but if I’m pink, then it’s just a sunburn. I’ve gotten plenty of those. A little aloe vera and I’ll be right as rain.” She lay flat on her stomach and rested her head on folded arms. “The wet cloth feels nice, though.”
“I am unfamiliar with this aloe,” he said.
“It’s a type of plant, used to make a salve.”
He checked the edges of the burn. Localized to just the area he splattered, the damage was at least contained. “I must beg for your forgiveness. I will fetch the healer.”
She touched his leg as he moved away. “No. Stay. It’s late.”
“You’re injured, and valos do not sleep,” he said. He did not anticipate a friendly reception from the healer, at any hour, but he would suffer Joi’s sharp tongue if it eased Amber’s pain.
“Let’s wait until the morning. If it’s bad, we’ll get Joi. Okay?”
He lowered himself to the ground next to her. “You are too forgiving, sweet one. I have injured you.”
“Yeah, but I knew the risks. Just lie here with me for a bit. It’s been a long day.” She yawned, lethargy creeping into her voice.
He would lie next to her but only to keep the cloth cool and damp. His mate had a forgiving heart, more forgiving than his own.
Flin sat next to him. He watched Mishal’s ministrations for several moments. “You care for her,” he said at length.
“Yes. Just as she cares for us,” Mishal replied.
“Not for me.”
“We walked to the northern lands to get you a new heartstone. Her journey had just as many steps as mine.” More, considering how her short human legs did not cover the same distance as his strides.
“Why have you not bonded with her?”
The question stunned him. “We waited for you. We would not take a mate without your consent.”
“Hmm.” Flin sat back on his heels. “We should bond with her before another triad steals her affections.”
“If she will have us after this.” He sincerely hoped her injury did not change her affection for them.
Chapter Sixteen
Amber
Last night’s pink welt turned into a proper burn by the morning. The splash zone across her lower back had blistered overnight. This was way worse than a sunburn.
Mishal stared at the blisters before reaching out with a long finger. Amber slapped his hand away. The pain was tolerable as long as no one touched it. “You are in pain,” he said, just before having a total meltdown. “I did this to our female!” He pounded on his chest with shocking force.
"Hey, it's all right." Amber grabbed his fist before he could do serious damage to himself. "We thought this might happen. Your body temperature is a lot higher than mine." Boiling, even.
“Human skin is too delicate,” Flin said, as if surprised by this revelation.
He didn't mind her delicate skin last night.
“It happens. One time I got a terrible sunburn, my shoulders blistered, and I couldn’t wear a bra for a week.”
Mishal and Flin looked at her with stunned horror, their jaws dropped. “You can burn from the sun?"
“Well, yeah. Did you notice I got all pink in the face when we went to E’Lek?”
“From the cold,” Mishal said.
“And the sun.” She had a smattering of freckles across her nose. They faded during her time on the Concord—no sun, after all—but came back in full force recently. “I just need some aloe vera or lotion. Something cooling.” Amber struggled to stand but stretching and flexing her lower back ignited a wave of pain. Clothes would be a major issue. She’d have to trim up her tunic, turn it into a belly shirt so the fabric wouldn’t touch her back. Walking might prove troublesome until she figured out how to move without stretching the blistered skin. She might have to walk hunched over, like an old lady. Then, the part of her brain that had no shame, added, hunched over because of all the sex with aliens.
“What have they done to you, human?” Joi asked from the door.
“Pretty much what you think.”
The healer took one look at Mishal and demanded, “What have you done? Did I not tell you to be careful? Did I not say you would not be able to control your temperature until you bonded? No one listens to me but what do I know? I am only the healer. Then they get burned, and it’s Joi, do you have a salve? Joi, my temperature slipped.”
Joi dismissively waved Mishal and Flin away before she examined the burn. “Hmm. Why did you not seek my aid immediately?”
“It was late,” Amber said.
> “I do not sleep. That is no excuse.”
“It is happening again! She’s growing red in the face,” Mishal said, voice growing louder with alarm.
Amber sighed. “I’m blushing. Chill.” Then, to Joi, she said, “He wanted to get you last night, but I asked him to wait until morning.”
“Foolish human. Now lay still.” Amber tensed at Joi’s tone but relaxed when she spread a cool salve across the burn. It had a pungent and familiar aroma, a bit like a freshly mowed lawn.
Satisfied at the application, Joi covered it with a bandage and wrapped it around Amber’s waist. “Do not wash it off. Reapply in the evening.”
“Thank you,” Amber said, accepting the pot of salve.
“Have you seen the new village?” Joi asked, gathering up her supplies.
“No. We went to the Forge immediately,” Mishal said.
Joi narrowed her eyes, as if he tried her patience. “I am saddened that the ferix prevent us from returning to this village, but perhaps a new settlement is best.”
“A new start,” Amber said. That theme seemed to appeal to a lot of people.
“It is worth the journey. Follow the dirt path to the river. You cannot miss the bridge. And you,” Joi said, jabbing a finger at Mishal, “No more sex until you are bonded. Do not touch her. Do not look at her.”
“Will looking at Amber injure her?”
“Yes,” Joi said.
At the same moment, Amber said, “No.”
Joi turned her scowl to Amber. “Do not tempt him. This one is weak.”
Mishal waved the healer away before adjusting the length of the tunic. Shortened, the cloth would not aggravate the bandage. “I am deeply ashamed of my actions,” he said.
Amber gave his hand a squeeze. “I knew the risks. Please don’t beat yourself up.” She smiled, and the fire in his eyes grew brighter. “Come on. I want to see this new village.”
Flin
He remembered this place. The stone buildings, long abandoned, spoke of the history of his tribe. Once the village had thrived and traded with far-flung tribes. He recalled the brightly colored fabrics his mother favored. The dye came from small sea snails, obtainable only from the Ghians.
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