Forbidden

by J. J. Lore

  “What ails you? Did we do something wrong?” Deklan’s concerned tone touched her. He drew away from her and pressed his fingertips against her injured shoulder as if to check its condition. “Intercourse with you was a more vigorous activity than I’d anticipated.”

  Aura shook her head, still aching for Leo. “Why did he leave? Is he angry with me?”

  Deklan frowned and sat back on the bed, his cock thickening. Despite her worry, she wanted him again, her stimulated clit swelling as if she’d been touching it for several minutes. She could feel her face heat, and her heart beat more rapidly.

  “He’s bothered by … what he did.” Deklan’s gaze was unfocused, and Aura wondered at how deep this connection between the two men was. He rose from the bed, and she was treated to the sight of his round ass and strongly muscled back, the golden skin stretching across it bisected by thin, grey scars. He’d been terribly injured but displayed no sign of it. Aura fell back against the rumpled sheets after Deklan left the bedroom, her body still glowing with delight but her mind whirling with unformed thoughts.

  ****

  Leo felt like he was falling, almost as bad as loss of artificial gravity on a doomed ship. He’d thrown all his principles away for a few moments of shared pleasure with his treasured bondmate and a woman he barely knew. There were good reasons sexual intercourse was forbidden to warriors. He’d always assumed it was a way to compensate for the lack of Alphan women as well as a way to keep men focused on making war, but he’d discovered it was a far more personally meaningful act. He’d never felt as uncontrolled, lost in sensation and gratification, as he had a few moments before. Watching Deklan strain and thrust into Aura’s pliant body, watching her climax as she’d stared at him, so clearly wanting him as part of her release, had shattered his hasty resolution to only watch, perhaps satisfy his arousal with some quick pulls against his engorged shaft.

  No, as soon as he’d seen her body, watched her shiver as she guided Deklan into her fragrant quonum, he’d wanted her, too, needed her with a primal ferocity that frightened him. When she’d so quickly mounted him, his staff easing into her hot grasp, he’d thought his heart would stop. But she had so clearly reveled in his penetration, gasping and moving with such open need, he hadn’t been able to restrain himself, had come in such a heated blast he’d felt tilted off the planet’s axis for a moment.

  He’d left the bed as soon as he could walk, so he wouldn’t join in with more caresses as both Deklan and Aura were clearly inviting him to do. Standing in the cabin’s bathroom, he looked at his reflection in the mirror. His staff’s tumescence increased as he thought about what Aura and Deklan might be doing just a few meters away, what he could be doing if he would rejoin them.

  The door to the bathroom opened, and he jumped, startled to see Deklan enter, his eyebrows raised.

  “What’s wrong? Why did you leave?”

  Leo swallowed and shook his head, wishing he could come up with an easy lie. “It was wrong. We shouldn’t have touched her.”

  “What do you mean? Aura wanted this. She wanted us both, Leo. What are the chances of that?”

  Leo shook his head and closed his eyes, aching with remorse. “That’s exactly the problem. She’s clearly suited to be a bondmate, could make some lucky warriors the happiest of men. But not us, Deklan. You know that.”

  Deklan closed his mouth and narrowed his eyes. His bondmate knew they couldn’t have her, that they’d never be authorized to make her a permanent part of their household. They were too old, unfit for combat, unable to defend her in a challenge. She could have a life on Alpha, volunteer to present herself as a willing mate. Considering her beauty and adaptability, she’d have her pick of prime males, high ranking and influential warriors eager to claim her and strengthen their bonds.

  “She chose to have intercourse with us, Leo. Would you have denied her?”

  Leo sighed and gave his head a quick shake. A few hours ago he could have agreed without hesitation, but all his ideals had crumpled at the first glimpse of her beautiful breasts, her full and succulent sex, the need she’d so honestly expressed. “No, she was impossible to resist. Which is why we need to stop. Before we get attached, before she goes away.”

  Deklan shook his head. “You and I know this was for pleasure. She enjoyed herself, I think. We aren’t seeking a bondmate, and neither is she.”

  “She doesn’t even understand what that entails. We mounted her before we could discuss anything.”

  “Then we explain now. She thinks you’re angry with her, that she didn’t please you.”

  Guilt assailed Leo. Of course she thought that. He’d fled and rejected her, left her lying there still flushed from his attentions, had surely left her aroused and unfulfilled by his rapid completion. Everything he’d read indicated human women required extensive foreplay and stimulation to achieve a climax. He and Deklan had simply thrust away like animals. A hot pulse of lust rippled along his nerves, and his semi-hard staff swelled further.

  “I want to have intercourse with her again, before I go to work. She does, too, and nearly cried when she thought you would not return.”

  Leo knew Deklan was manipulating him into relenting, if he was any judge of his bondmate’s now erect staff. Was he going to deny Deklan’s urge, and his own, truth be told? “We need to discuss this with her, before we touch her again.”

  There was a shuffling sound at the door, and there stood Aura wrapped in a sheet, her long blonde hair tangled. Distress radiated from her pleading eyes, and her full pink lips trembled. Unshed tears glittered along her lashes, and she sniffed.

  “I’m sorry I was such a disappointment,” she whispered, her shoulders sinking. Deklan immediately swept her up in his arms, but she craned her head to keep her gaze on Leo, clearly wanting his reassurance. This brave woman, who had accepted his rough and untutored thrusts into the soft sweetness of her body, looked to him, needed him.

  Deklan quietly praised her, kissed her cheek and mouth gently as he tried to put things right between them. Leo didn’t know what to say, didn’t know how to make her happy. All the control he’d utilized as a warrior facing death in battle, working to recover from his injuries, adjusting to his new life, wasn’t going to be of use in quieting the fragile emotions of Aura. He put himself in her position, recently kidnapped, nearly killed, suddenly in the company of alien men who seduced her. They should never have touched her, but even as he told himself that, he was reaching for her.

  She willingly untangled herself from Deklan and stepped to him, close enough that her breasts brushed his chest, his fully erect staff standing between them. Taking a breath to steady himself, he lifted his hands to cup her cheeks, embarrassed that they shook against her soft skin. Her deep blue eyes softened, and her lashes fluttered as she leaned into his embrace.

  The warmth of her body pulled him in, and he lowered his head to press his mouth to hers, hoping his gesture in the human mode would not go amiss. He’d never kissed, so he was sure his effort was lacking, but Aura rose up in his arms, her soft mouth opening as she traced her tongue along his lips. The sensation was electrifying, and he returned the gesture. These humans had good instincts.

  She shivered in his arms as he explored her. Renewed desire heated his blood, and his staff surged, pointing at her belly, seeking shelter. He felt the soft fabric of the sheet move against the sensitive underside of his erect member, and then Aura pressed close, her bare skin cradling him. He caught her scent, mingled with the aroma of his and Deklan’s seed. The realization that they’d marked her and she’d marked them filled him with pride. Bowing to the inevitable, he drew back, ready to talk.

  “I want you again, Aura.”

  A tentative smile wreathed her mouth even as she reached down and grasped the corona of his staff in her shaking hand. “Yes, I’m ready.”

  “As am I. But we have some matters to discuss. Matters we should have reached consensus on before any of this happened.” He gave Deklan a warning look, wh
ich his bondmate took as an invitation to proceed.

  “Aura,” Deklan began as she half turned from Leo, her hand still grasping him as she reached out to stroke his bondmate’s chest. Deklan’s staff jumped, obviously eager for attention. “Alphan warriors earn the right to bond with a woman. Earn it through honors won on the battlefield, high rank, and exemplary behavior.”

  “But what about you and Leo?” She glanced between them, a confused frown marring her lips.

  “My bondmate and I are not of rank, are not warriors any longer. We have no right to bond with a woman.” Deklan drew in a long breath. “But we still wish to seek pleasure with you, while you are here.”

  Aura was still as she contemplated this, all while gently squeezing his staff. “Why aren’t you warriors any longer? You’re very intimidating.”

  Her open expression belied any idea that she was frightened of them in any way.

  “We are too scarred for the rigors of battle. We would falter and endanger our cohort.” Leo rumbled, somehow overcoming his reluctance to reveal a weakness. Deklan was undoubtedly surprised he’d opened up that much. Aura stared at him with a small frown.

  “Where were you injured?”

  “My back is partly immobile from a laser lash. Leo’s feet are damaged.” Deklan answered, relieving his bondmate from the recitation of their flaws. Aura ran her hand to Deklan’s back and stroked him a few times, then glanced down at Leo’s feet. He wished he was wearing socks, something to conceal the dark purplish red gashes that marked all the repairs made to his bones and ligaments. A small smile emerged, and she nodded once. “You certainly didn’t falter with me. I think I understand what you need. This will just be between us, while we can.”

  Relief flooded through Leo, and he allowed himself to concentrate on her manual use of him. Her hand was small and pale as she stroked his red shaft. Deklan crowded closer, and she reached to grasp his bondmate’s equally engorged member. Rhythmic caresses soon had him breathing hard and bracing one arm against Deklan’s solid shoulder as his bondmate mirrored his grasp.

  Aura abruptly stopped touching them and grabbed a towel from a hanger, folding it into a pad and sinking to her knees in front of them. She pushed them until their hips were touching, then looked up through a tumble of long, blonde hair.

  “Who’s first?”

  He had no idea what she was proposing, so he was grateful when Deklan volunteered. In the military it was never wise to step forward, but with Aura it wouldn’t have been an error. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Deklan’s dark red corona, then opened her mouth to circle her lips around. Deklan let out a gasp. She suckled at him even as her hand reached out to cup Leo’s culls. He shivered at the unexpected contact, unable to tear his gaze from the mesmerizing sight of her mouth stretching to accept more and more of Deklan’s length. With a wet sound, she released Deklan’s staff then turned her head to measure his own length. She glanced up at him, her eyes a cloudy blue, licked her reddened and swollen lips then opened her mouth, encircling his corona. Her soft tongue roughened the underside of his staff as she sucked him inside the wet heat of her mouth, and Leo though his heart might shatter from his chest. Deklan cried out, and he looked to see she was stroking his bondmate’s culls just as she had his, and he couldn’t hold back a groan of triumph.

  Awareness sizzled in his nerves, a haunting echo of the sensations both Deklan and Aura were apparently feeling, compounded upon his. He knew Deklan was close to extremis, could sense how aroused she was from having them in her mouth and knowing she was pleasing them. His bondmate’s anguished moan brought Aura’s full focus, and she withdrew her hand from the base of his own shaft where she’d been circling it, to brace against Deklan’s bucking hips. Leo watched Aura suck hard on his bondmate’s slippery staff, her cheeks hollowing as she swallowed. A small trickle of white seed appeared at the corner of her mouth as Deklan sighed deeply and buried his fingers into her tangled golden hair. She released his corona with a noisy kiss, then licked up the bit of escaped fluid from her lips. With a contented grin, she leaned up and kissed Deklan’s lower abdomen as his bondmate struggled to catch his breath.

  Aura shifted her position so she was directly in front of Leo, glancing up at him with smoky blue eyes as she ran her tongue along the underside of his throbbing staff. Leo noticed a sheen of moisture on Aura’s upper thighs and realized she was aroused, probably nearly as painfully as he was.

  Helping her to her feet, he turned her to face the cabinet, placing her hands on the edge to brace her, then moved into position behind her. He’d seen an illustration once, and now, in such close proximity to her and with the scent of sexual release heavy in the air, he wanted her this way. She glanced over her shoulder at him as she spread her legs wider and tilted her hips. He could see her damp curls and the gleaming pink folds of her quonum nearly concealing the slit of her entrance. She stood stock still as he guided his corona to her, the bulbous tip sliding in with a clench of wet heat. He wanted to watch, enjoy this primal joining, but Aura quivered and pushed her round buttocks back, enveloping half his staff with one gasping thrust. She was breathing hard, and he ran one of his hands down her back to soothe her even as he used the other to grip her hip and push home.

  A pleased cry left her, and she shifted her legs even further apart. Tension filled him as he thrust into her sheath, her tight muscles gripping his shaft with every move he made, her body pulling at him, demanding his seed. Leo flexed his bare feet against the slick floor, willing his damaged extremities to hold fast for the next few minutes. His focus was shaky, but he was aware enough of her needs to reach around and search for the tight nub he knew would bring her pleasure. With a gasp, she reached around and pressed his fingers against her wet body, then slapped her hand back on the counter to brace herself from his deepening thrusts.

  “Right there,” she said in a throaty groan, and he took it to mean not only was he touching and moving in the right way, but she was close to her own release. Coherent thought deserted him as his nerves tightened and his culls drew up. In a hot blast, he erupted, desperately pushing his pulsing shaft inside her body, his instincts directing him to deliver his seed as close to her womb as he could. She shuddered against him as their cries of shared satisfaction echoed in the small tiled room.

  He was capable of holding her shaking body up, but not much else for a few moments. She rubbed her hands along his arms, keeping her hips pressed tight to him. Finally sighing, she rose up, dislodging his softening shaft from her body. He loosened his grip as she turned in his arms, pressing a few kisses to his chin and cheek before calling to Deklan. His bondmate approached, a tranquil smile on his face as he accepted his share of kisses from Aura. She was flushed and looked between them with heavy-lidded eyes.

  “I had no idea it would be like this,” she whispered, leaning her head to rest against Deklan’s shoulder as she straddled one of his own thighs. She so clearly wanted to touch them both at the same time. Unbidden, he imagined her on Alpha, surrounded by desperate warriors as she made her selection. “I’ve wondered before, but this was amazing.”

  “It was.” Deklan agreed with her. Leo knew he wasn’t capable of expressing anything coherent, so he stayed silent. Deklan nuzzled her hair and gave Leo a questioning look. The last hour had shifted his perspective on many things, and he knew himself well enough to know he’d have to take some time to come to any conclusions. Despite the deep passion he’d just discovered, he was uneasy.

  Chapter Five

  Deklan let out a frustrated breath as he watched Turn, a young warrior with a big attitude and newly repaired knees, slack off on his leg lifts.

  “Correct your angle and repeat it ten more times.” He decided to watch the young man closely and count out loud, both to keep Turn accountable and to distract himself from thinking of another body and the lovely legs attached to it, the delicious dimple of flesh between them. If Aura was before him he’d lift her knee and slide his mouth…

  “D
eklan!” His bondmate’s call shook him from his lurid fantasy, and he turned to see Leo striding his way, a folder clutched in his hand. “Have you completed your tasks for the day?”

  Turn let out an exaggerated sigh and allowed his limbs to collapse on the exercise mat. “I hope so. I’m exhausted.”

  Deklan turned back to the young man with a frown. The injured warrior’s naked body was barely sweating. “If you lack commitment to your therapy, you’ll never regain full use of your knees and you’ll fail your fitness test. Restorers can only do so much. You have to put in the effort after their work is done.”

  He knew his tone was far curter than it should be, but losing track by fantasizing about Aura, combined with memories of his own debilitating injury, made him short tempered. Turn blinked once and returned to his leg lifts, completing the repetitions with no more complaints and leaving the mat only when Deklan excused him. He and Leo wiped down the equipment and collected used towels for the laundry, then left the small rehabilitation room to walk to their cabin. Leo set a slow pace even though it was raining, and Deklan realized he wanted to talk without Aura overhearing them.

  “Deklan, I’m having my doubts about this … arrangement.”

  “What doubts?” All Deklan wanted to do was get home and see Aura, but the distress in his bondmate’s voice made him halt and take shelter under a nearby eave. Leo joined him and leaned against the side of the building.

  “Are we taking advantage of her? She’s been through trauma, has lost her world, and we have to be overwhelming her. Would she have been able to say no to us if she wanted? She weighs half as much as one of us alone, and the two of us together is a very unfair advantage.” Leo sighed and stared out at the rain puddles.

  Deklan knew they were valid points, but he had a hard time reconciling such a thought with the way Aura had enthusiastically participated in their sex acts. She’d been alone all day, though, and her intentions might have cooled. The thought chilled him more than the rain dripping down his back.