by Rachel Clark
He glanced at Trey, realizing just how far gone his brother really was. The beautiful doctor had bewitched him with her loving heart, her passion for medicine, and her willingness to help as many people as she could. He was even G’trobian enough to admit to himself that she’d worked her way under his skin as well.
He’d told Trey that they should have sex with her just to get her out of their systems, but the whole time he’d been lying to his brother—and himself. Yes, he wanted her, but he wanted far more than a quick mating and a fond memory. He shook his head in disgust. She was human. How many times did he have to remind himself that humans mated in pairs, not trios? The relationship that both he and Trey would want was most likely abhorrent to her. He rolled his shoulders in irritation. Goddess, maybe he and Trey should head home. Space life sure was messing with his head.
Chapter Three
Tee-ani crawled onto the medical bed, too tired to make it back to her quarters. She’d spent more than twenty hours administering medications and training people to help the ill in the village. She’d lost two of the children. She’d been too late and they hadn’t responded to the treatment she’d provided, their young bodies too badly damaged to recover from such a virulent infection. Her heart had wept for the loss, but her training had kept her moving, kept her helping those she could.
Fortunately, some of the children had responded well to her aggressive antibiotic treatment. By the time they had packed up and were ready to head back to the ship, several of them had regained consciousness and asked for food. Jordan had quickly arranged another shuttle delivery of emergency food supplies and had organized some of the ship’s crew to work with and train the natives in the best ways to cultivate and harvest enough food to support the village indefinitely. He’d also provided several bio-shelters to protect the most ill from the worst of the planet’s weather.
She’d passed on as much information as she could to the volunteers who had stayed on the planet, and the rest of the ship's crew was going on another acquisition hunt. They’d head back to pick up the others in a few days.
Tiredly, she closed her eyes and let the sorrow come. No matter how many patients she saved, she always found the loss of a child hit her the hardest. So much life to live, so much unrealized potential, snuffed out way too easily. Tears threatened to escape and she let a few fall before she tried to control her emotions. As much as she loved being a doctor, she really hoped that nobody would need her for a day or two. Her body and her soul were both crying out for rest.
She was almost asleep when she heard Ben’s voice. She tried to open her heavy, sticky eyelids, but gave up when she felt herself lifted into the air and then cradled against his hard chest.
“Go back to sleep, doc,” he said gruffly. “I’m just taking you back to your cabin so that you can rest on a real bed.”
Tee-ani nodded gratefully, snuggled closer, and rubbed her face against the solid warmth of his chest. She sighed softly as she listened to his heartbeat, so similar to that of a human, but somehow uniquely his. When she felt a large hand smooth her hair away from her face, she realized that Trey was with him and relaxed even more. Feeling almost boneless as their warmth and comfort spread through her heart and mind, she finally slipped into sleep.
* * * *
Ben walked through the corridors, trying not to stare at the woman in his arms. She fit perfectly against him as she sighed quietly and fisted her small hand over his heart. Her eyes were red-rimmed and she looked tired and vulnerable, but all he could see was the woman who’d worked herself into exhaustion helping people she hadn’t even known existed just a few days ago. He’d never met such a woman, never seen such devotion to strangers. If she represented a typical female of her species, then maybe the G’trobian people could learn a thing or two from human example.
He held her tighter as he again considered his and Trey’s future. Trey was right. They needed to return home, check on their fathers, and find out what had happened to their intended mate, G’baena. Once they knew the situation, then they could make some serious decisions. As things were at the moment, even if they wanted to pursue a relationship with Tee-ani, and even if she did accept the idea of two lovers, they really had nothing to offer her.
They were just two pirates among many. Not exactly a stellar offering.
Trey looked at him speculatively, but turned to unlock the door to Tee-ani’s quarters without saying anything. Ben stepped into the barely furnished cabin and headed straight for the bedroom. He stood out of the way as Trey pulled back the lightweight covering that was standard issue on this ship and then lowered her to the mattress.
Her arms locked around him as he tried to stand.
“Please stay with me. I don’t want to be alone anymore.”
He glanced at his brother as pain twisted in his gut. Trey nodded once and turned to leave the room and Ben closed his eyes against the anguish he could feel radiating from him. Goddess, help them. They’d both fallen for this human female, and now that she’d chosen him over his brother, he felt nothing but misery.
“Trey,” she said softly. “I need you both. Please, can you both just hold me while I sleep?”
Ben opened his eyes as relief poured through him. She wasn’t choosing. She wanted them both to stay. Careful not to jostle her, he lowered himself onto the bed and lifted her slightly so that he could settle her in the middle of the bed. She rested her head on his shoulder as Trey lay down behind and spooned against her back.
They held her carefully as he considered his plans for the future.
* * * *
Finally, he held her in his arms. Trey wondered how he’d ever lived without feeling this amazing woman’s heartbeat…and then rolled his eyes at his ridiculously sappy thoughts. Geez, he knew the attraction he felt for her was messing with his head, but seriously, he was supposed to be a pirate, a warrior, and a prince, for goddess’ sake, not some sentimental, romantic fool. He’d been spending way too much time in the company of humans.
He lifted his head to glare at his brother when he heard a quiet chuckle.
“Don’t start on me,” he whispered angrily, trying not to wake Tee-ani. “You’re as messed up as I am.”
“I know,” Ben acknowledged easily. “Question is, what are we going to do about it?”
“We need to go home,” he said as his arm tightened around Tee-ani. His head seemed to tell him one thing, but his body sure was saying another. His cock stirred as she pressed more heavily against his groin, and he swallowed a groan that would’ve been sure to wake her.
“Home is here.” Ben glanced at the woman cuddled to his side before he looked back at his brother. “I don’t want to leave her and I enjoy what we do here. The way Jordan runs this ship now, that’s what we were looking for when we left home. We both wanted more and now we can help others who really need it.”
“Agreed, but we need to sort out our past before we can have a future.”
Ben nodded again, but Trey could feel his reluctance. Was this the same man who only days ago had planned the “mate with her and leave her” approach to this woman? Trey shook his head slightly as he grinned at his brother for a moment.
“We’ll talk about it after we’ve gotten some rest. Things might be clearer then.”
Trey lay back on the pillow and held Tee-ani as she slept.
Chapter Four
Tee-ani woke slowly, enjoying the solid warmth surrounding her. For the first time in more months than she cared to count, the nightmare was absent. She didn’t wake with a scream on her lips or the uncomfortable pounding of her heart or the shaking of her adrenalized system.
“Hello, beautiful.” Soft lips pressed against the back of her neck as muscular arms tightened around her waist.
“Good morning,” she said, snuggling closer against the taut body behind her. She should be embarrassed, should be completely mortified that she’d begged them both to hold her all night, yet somehow, she couldn’t find the energy. She’d just ha
d her first real sleep since her abduction by slave traders, and no way would she waste this wonderful feeling on awkwardness.
She rolled slightly so that she could press a soft kiss against Trey’s lips.
“Thank you.”
“What for?” Trey smiled into her eyes. He seemed happy to be holding her but unsure why she would need to thank him.
“Just thank you.” She lifted up again to brush her lips against his, just a soft touch, but he followed her as she pulled back, seemingly unable to resist the smile that curved against his own. He kissed her upper lip, then ran his tongue along the seam of her closed mouth, urging her to open. She sighed as his questing tongue swept into her moist recess, deepening the kiss and groaning as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
She felt Ben stir behind her, felt him gather her hair and move it over her shoulder so that he could press nibbling little kisses against her neck and shoulders.
“Hmm,” he breathed against her neck. “This is a very pleasant way to wake up. Good morning, g’bani.”
“Good morning, Ben,” she said as Trey lifted away from her and scowled at his brother. She rolled over so that she could press her lips to Ben, as well. A tiny voice inside her screamed at her not to do this, but it got lost in the incredibly heady feeling of being the center of attention of these two amazing males.
Ben lifted from the bed, his tongue eagerly seeking entrance to her mouth. She felt Trey move behind her as his cock thickened and pressed heavily against her ass. She moaned into Ben’s mouth as his hands roamed the length of her body, touching, caressing, both soothing and inflaming the needy ache at the same time.
“Tee,” Trey moaned against her shoulder. She felt him swallow twice before he pulled away from her and gently pried her away from his brother. “Tee, we need to stop. You don’t understand what you’re starting here.” He brushed the back of his knuckles against her cheek as he spoke the words quietly. She could feel Ben breathing deeply behind her.
“He’s right,” Ben said, his voice sounding strained. “G’trobian mating is not what you are used to. We don’t want to hurt you.”
Tee-ani’s heart seized, squeezing tightly when they’d both pulled away, but it had kick-started back into a gallop at the care and restraint they showed. Despite her churning emotions, the practical doctor in her came to the forefront.
“Humans and G’trobians are very similar in a medical sense. We have all the same parts, put together in the same ways, only the G’trobian brain is a little more advanced. And well, there are some, but not many, humans who have the empathic skills endemic to your race. And…” Great, now she was babbling.
She opened her mouth to continue her clinical dialogue on the physiological similarities between the species when Ben laughed softly. She glared at him as her irritation flared briefly.
“G’bani, that is not what I meant.” He leaned forward to brush his lips over hers, just a feather-soft touch, and then he pulled away once more. “G’trobian females accept both brothers’ love at the same time. Humans usually mate in pairs. We don’t.”
“I know.” She said it quietly but almost laughed out loud at the identical comically-confused expressions they both wore. “You’re not the first G’trobians that I’ve met.” They exchanged a strange look, one filled with so many emotions that she really couldn’t identify any of them, but they made her a little nervous just the same.
“You understand the mating habits of our people?” She hid her smile as Trey tried to rearrange his face to hide the incredulity, but it didn’t really work. She nodded, careful to keep a neutral expression on her face. She couldn’t figure out whether her knowledge of their species made them happy or not.
“Have you mated with G’trobians before?”
She shook her head carefully, at the same time that her heart rate kicked into overdrive. Before? Did that mean there was going to be a now? The empty aching feeling in her groin increased so quickly that she moved her legs restlessly, rubbing her thighs together before she could even try to stop herself.
“But you understand what is involved when G’trobian brothers claim their mate.” Trey’s voice sounded more musical than she’d ever heard it. She nodded again. He leaned over her, taking her lips in a searing kiss, his tongue darting into her mouth, pressing into her over and over.
Trey moved away and Ben quickly took his place. He kissed her more thoroughly than she’d ever imagined possible. By the time he lifted away from her, they both gasped for breath.
“Tee?” Trey asked as his large hand wrapped around her chin, lifting her gaze to his. “G’bani, will you let us claim you?”
“Yes,” she said slowly. She wanted this, she wanted them both to make love to her, but she felt just a little bit nervous. Knowing where everything went was a far cry from knowing what it would feel like.
“I can feel your nervousness,” Ben said as he cupped her face in his large hand. “You do not need to do this.” His eyes were so soft, so caring, that her heart squeezed again as her throat clogged with emotion.
“I want you both to love me,” she said huskily. Swallowing hard, she reached up to wrap an arm around Ben’s neck. “Please, I need you to make love to me.”
Ben groaned as he lowered himself onto her body, his knees pressing against her thighs so that he could fit between her spread-eagled legs. He pressed his heavy erection against her fully-clothed body as he kissed her lips and then found the zipper to her jumpsuit. She hadn’t even realized until that moment that they’d all been on her bed fully clothed.
The sound of the zipper lowering rasped loudly in the quiet room. Trey smiled and then leaned forward to press his lips against hers. The kiss quickly morphed into a heated dueling of their tongues as Ben helped her out of the form-fitting jumpsuit.
Her body thrilled at the first touch of his tongue on her belly as his mouth followed the path of her zipper. Little by little, he exposed more flesh as his brother ravished her mouth. She undulated against them both as her arousal grew. Her thighs grew damp as her juices flowed from her throbbing pussy.
Ben inhaled deeply, his nose tickling her thigh as he pushed her legs wider and licked the sensitive flesh at the seam of her leg. She moaned against Trey’s mouth as Ben’s tongue pushed into her heated flesh.
“Oh, g’bani, you taste like heaven.” She felt his fingers pry her swollen labia wider, one of his thumbs doing a wicked dance around her clit as his tongue pressed into her over and over in the same rhythm as his brother kissed her. Tee-ani’s flesh was on fire. Trey’s hand smoothed down her naked shoulders, caressing her skin, burning a trail of desire everywhere he touched.
His hand found her nipple, pressing, squeezing, rolling the little nub until it stood hard and she cried out in ecstasy. Tee-ani’s muscles coiled tighter, her breathing became faster, her body bucked against the twin assaults, and then she was flying, her body shaking violently as her orgasm whipped through her. Ben continued to thrust his tongue into her cream, lapping at the sensitive flesh as she tried to push his head away from her.
Trey laughed quietly against her neck as he sucked her flesh into his mouth. He sucked hard, probably marking her skin while he grabbed her hands and held them still against her stomach.
“No, g’bani. Let Ben show you how truly amazing a woman’s body can be when the right man comes along.”
“No,” she panted breathlessly. “I can’t…too…too much.”
Trey laughed softly again as Ben doubled his efforts below.
“Yes, g’bani, you can. Come for us now.”
He pinched her nipple relentlessly at the same time that Ben sucked hard on her throbbing clit. Tee-ani’s breath caught and her bottom arched off the mattress as her body erupted in sensation. Her vision blurred, every muscle shaking as she screamed her release.
It seemed to go on and on. Her muscles clenching, liquid heat rippling through her, but slowly, eventually, Tee-ani relaxed against the bed, replete and completel
y exhausted. She swallowed convulsively as she tried unsuccessfully to control her breathing.
Ben climbed up and over her body to press a quick kiss against her mouth. Her tongue darted out to lick across her bottom lip and she tasted herself.
She lay there trying to catch her breath. Every muscle in her body seemed to have turned to jelly and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to do anything more strenuous than breathe. Ben smiled into her eyes at the same time that he pressed his thick erection against her dripping slit.
“When did you get naked?”
He laughed gently as he lowered his mouth to her ear. “Same time you were screaming my name.”
He pressed harder against her. Her exhaustion suddenly forgotten, Tee-ani pressed back, angling her body, trying to press onto his hard cock. He bit her ear and chuckled quietly.
“First I am going to fuck you, and then Trey is going to fuck you, and then we will both claim you.”
She shivered at the words, the purring sound of his voice doing strange things to her insides. He grinned down at her as he pressed his solid length into her body. She tried to squirm, tried to increase the frustratingly slow pace, but Trey held her pinned to the bed, holding her still as he licked and sucked her nipples. Ben gathered her hands in his own, placed them on the pillow beside her, and held them still as he entered her slick channel.
“Tee-ani, you’re so tight. I don’t want to hurt you.” His arms shook with the effort it took to restrain himself and tears misted her eyes at his caring words. He stilled a moment when he saw the shine, and she blinked several times to hold the moisture back.
“You’re not hurting me.” She smiled as she tried to lift her hips off the bed. “Please, I need you.”