Alcandian Rage

by Mary Wine

  Zeva shook her head. Trust? She did not need to feel trusted by them. That emotion could lead to so many other…deeper ones. But the brain and the heart didn’t always agree and she felt her lips twitching up as Keenan nodded approval at his companion.

  “I can handle my own safety while jogging on the women’s grounds. I have never had reason to fear Sinlar ground and I am not going to begin. It is my home.” Sinlar was her family group. The Judgment grounds lay between four separate Alcandian clans. Warriors like Ravid and Keenan cast off their own family identity when they put on the maroon coats of their enforcement duty.

  “It was your home, Zeva.” Keenan stated the words in a hard tone that made her stare at him. He often appeared as the gentler member of their team but Zeva was learning that that was nothing but a clever ploy that allowed him to strike exactly when he wanted to. His prey never saw the predator until it was too late. Right then his eyes were trained on hers, just waiting for her to deny his claim that her home was now in his chamber.

  She could not deny the binding fever, it burned through her and across the morning air. She could feel the two warriors merging with her emotions. Nothing her logic wanted would change that fact. It was genetically encoded into her flesh.

  “If binding with you means becoming a frightened little bird, I will discover a way to live with frustration.”

  She had even stayed on Judgment female grounds just to not rub their pride. But it looked like her effort was completely lost. That didn’t raise her temper, instead a wave a lament crossed her. Maybe if there was some place in the middle that the three of them could meet… Zeva shook off the idea. Ravid and Keenan didn’t look like negotiation was a word present in their vocabulary.

  “A fool—” Keenan cleared his throat and Ravid snapped his lips closed on the word. Ravid considered her with dark eyes before he closed his fingers into a fist. “Once you wear our bracelet we can protect you, Zeva. Then you may run on the female grounds. Judgment female grounds. You need only stay in our home until our binding ceremony. We should have explained that to you last evening.”

  Ravid’s voice shook with the effort he used to hold his temper in. Zeva battled against her own because she wanted to scream at them in return. She would not be shackled like a prisoner!

  Not ever again.

  But she was sorry. Both warriors looked at her with eyes that denied her any discussion on the topic. They intended their will to be obeyed.

  “I have classes to teach.” Zeva turned to leave but Ravid caught her arm in a hard grip.

  “Release me, Ravid! My life is mine for the next two risings.” Anger flared in his eyes but Zeva tore her arm from his grip and left. Her emotions spun out of control. She didn’t want to fight with them but couldn’t swallow the dictates that would take away the life that she had just regained.

  Tears spilled down her cheeks and it made her even madder. She did not cry! Zeva wiped her hand across her face and stared at the shiny smears of water on her palm.

  Curse and rot it all! Only Keenan and Ravid could make her so emotional. The reason was so clear that it made another round of tears drop from her eyes. They touched her in a place that no one had ever reached.

  Her heart.

  * * * * *

  “Zeva, are you all right?” Her sister-in-law knew otherwise but Jessica hovered in the doorway and crossed her arms across her chest as she eyed Zeva.

  “Warriors are a pain, but you learn to appreciate the advantages of having them around sometimes.” Jessica grinned and Zeva propped her hands onto her hips.

  Jessica was a human Dylan had discovered on Earth. She was also Cole Somerton’s sister. Right at that moment, Jessica looked as Alcandian as Zeva. Twice a week she worked in Zeva’s studio’s office. Teaching defense arts was something Zeva was very good at. Writing the contracts that kept her studio doors open was another matter.

  So, she had hit Jessica up for help even before the human girl had decided to bind with her brother. She and Jessica shared a bond that went so much deeper than work. It was Jessica who York had been trying to keep on Earth when the humans destroyed the Alcandian gate.

  “Advantages? Well, maybe.” Zeva grinned at Jessica. Sharing a chamber with Ravid and Keenan had gone far beyond the word advantage. It was pleasure incarnate. Something women tried to explain to maidens but never could truly communicate.

  Her body still pulsed with little ripples of excitement. Her passage was sore but not painful. The little ache only reminded her of how she felt when the two warriors were inside her.

  Zeva shook her head and tried to remember what she and Jessica were talking about. Jessica laughed and rubbed her growing stomach. Zeva let her eyes drop to the coming addition to her family. “You didn’t wait very long.”

  Jessica sighed and shrugged. “No, Sandor is Jett’s son and even though Dylan loves him, I can see that he wants a child too.” Jessica considered Zeva with a thoughtful look. “I guess you’ll have to decide how long to wait yourself before long.”

  Would she? It both terrified and thrilled her. Both Ravid and Keenan would be expected to consider any child of her body as their offspring but it wasn’t at all uncommon for females to do exactly what Jessica was. Make certain that each warrior had a child.

  It was even possible that her belly was right at that moment cradling a new life. A silly smile threatened to break out on her face and Zeva bit her lip to keep her face smooth. The temptation that had been nagging her all day, gained amazing volume as she looked at Jessica’s rounded belly.

  She had two more nights before the binding ceremony. During that time, she was free to indulge her body. It was expected that she would have sex with Ravid and Keenan—in fact, it was encouraged. That was the Alcandian way of discovering if you could build a life together.

  Jessica laughed. “Oh Zeva, you need to go home.” Her sister-in-law giggled again and Zeva felt her jaw drop open.

  “I seem to remember you being rather set against binding.”

  Jessica’s smile grew brighter. “Yes, and I must admit that I enjoyed having my mind changed.”

  Zeva glared at Jessica and her happiness. Jessica laughed because she had rebelled against her claiming quite loudly.

  “Zeva, you need to take all that frustration out on your mates. The three of you will never work anything out while you hide here.” Jessica flung her hand up into the air and half turned towards the door. “You know Keenan once told me to ask for what I wanted from my mates. He had a very good point. You can’t get what you want out of a relationship if you don’t ask for it.”

  Jessica disappeared, leaving Zeva looking at the setting sun. Her instruction staff was teaching class and had looked at her in wonder when she had shown up for work today. They didn’t need her now. Guilt sailed right into her thoughts as she looked at the work she’d accomplished so little of.

  She was hiding. Her teeth crushed against each other as she faced her own cowardice. It was her pride that held her back. Her body would delightfully fling itself into the arms of the two warriors who had proven how well they could feed her desires.

  It was really rather ironic. How did you live in a body and not know the needs that drove it? Sure, she had often been curious about mating, how it might feel and what exactly climax did to a woman. Her lips still tingled today as her memory replayed Keenan’s kiss.

  Heat flowed over her skin, awakening each little nerve. Deep inside her passage she ached for that completion that Ravid had produced with his harder body. Her nipples drew tighter but they had never completely flattened out. Her body was twisting and pulsing with the desire to return to Ravid and Keenan. Maybe her brain had lots of reasons why she should force a separation but it wasn’t enough to banish the wave of need. It rose from places on her skin that she hadn’t considered very important. Like her hip. The way Keenan stroked his large hand over her thigh sent fluid rushing into her passage.

  It also sent two little tears into her eyes. The touch wa
s more than lust-driven. Even Ravid with his harder edges, tempered his touch to something that glided over her body, making her heart swell.

  Ask them?

  She just might do that. Her body gave a halfhearted lament and she smiled. Talking with Ravid and Keenan tended to lead to sleep with frustration, but if Jessica could find peace with the warriors who had abducted her from Earth and even learn to love them…

  It just might be possible to hold a civil conversation with her intended mates.

  Maybe.

  * * * * *

  Jessica finished her last task and grinned at the studio office. It was neat and organized…at least until she left it would be!

  Her baby kicked and she smoothed a hand over her belly. The windows rattled making her frown. She was alone in the studio, last class ending a half hour ago. Standing up, she looked across the mat but didn’t see anyone. A tingle ran down her neck as she hesitated in the office doorway. It might be the wind but the windows always rattled that way when one of the doors opened. She would have seen anyone coming in through the front door but the back one was hidden by the changing rooms.

  A hand landed on the front door and Jessica jumped. Jett aimed a puzzled look at her as she passed her hand over the lock control.

  “What troubles you?” Jett’s hand landed on her swollen belly as he claimed a kiss from her mouth.

  “Um…nothing.” Just her imagination. Jessica looked at the control panel and it showed both doors closed. It was nothing.

  Craddock wanted to laugh. He did enjoy beating his opponent. The studio security system didn’t even chirp as he opened the back door of the building. He pulled free the small circuit reroute he’d stuck into the door sensor before he left. A smirk lifted his lips as he looked around before moving off into the cover of some nearby foliage. Females would never be able to outsmart a warrior. He would go anywhere he liked and take whatever he wanted.

  But Zeva wasn’t in the studio. Craddock frowned as he moved across Sinlar land. The human didn’t interest him. Yet the day was not a total loss. Knowing your prey was the best way to hunt. Zeva’s studio was rich with information and ways to lure her away from Ravid and Keenan.

  * * * * *

  “Glaring at the door will not bring her here sooner, Ravid.” Amin was cheerful as always. Ravid grimaced and his sister-in-law smiled wide enough to display her teeth. She ended the expression with a loud kiss that she blew across the table at him. Keenan laughed at her.

  “Amin, you must have been born giggling instead of wailing.”

  Amin shrugged and had to catch her coat before one side slid off her thin shoulder. Ravid frowned as he reached for his arm control and pressed a command into the communications link. A platter of fruit appeared on the table and he pushed it gently towards Amin. The first frown he’d seen on her face that day was his reward.

  “Worry about your own mate, Ravid. I am fine.”

  Keenan huffed under his breath and Ravid gave the platter another little shove. “You are wasting away.”

  “What are a few pounds?” Amin toyed with a purple berry. “There aren’t any extra pounds on Zeva. Are you planning on plumping her up?”

  Keenan tossed a piece of fruit into his mouth before shaking his head. “Leaving her studio will affect her body but she can not continue spending her days off the Judgment grounds.”

  Amin’s eyebrows rose as she looked at Ravid for his opinion. The darker warrior sighed. “Helmut and Craddock are still alive.” Ravid felt his temper burn. It was a slow seep of anger that moved through him any time he thought about the deviants who had struck his brother down. There would be justice for the fallen Judgment officials someday. He and Keenan would not rest until it happened. “Zeva will have to spend her time within this hall once we bind. I wish it were within our control to insist she begin doing that now.”

  A soft hiss hit his ears and he turned. Zeva stood there with her fingers curled into fists as temper brightened her cheeks. Ravid stood up as he watched her teeth bite into her lower lip as she tried to keep her mouth silent. More anger poured through his brain as he watched her battle the urge to yell at him. Confining Zeva to protected Judgment grounds gave him no joy. Being forced to do it because of deviants enraged him.

  Yet he would do what was needed to ensure her safety.

  Keenan stepped forward with a heavy look on his face. “Best we retire now.”

  Zeva looked at him before nodding her head. “Aye.”

  Their chamber was set once again with little details that tempted her to melt. Tonight there were bowls of dried spices set out. The air was rich with delicious scents. Water flowed down a wall filling the air with its soothing sound and Zeva wanted to scream at fate. They held the right to demand her body in their bed, yet they planned her seduction.

  “We need to speak, Zeva.” Keenan used his soothing voice as Ravid stood back to allow him to take the lead. Zeva watched the ultrasmooth way they worked together. It was polished to perfection.

  Just as it had been last night when they loved her body.

  Zeva shook her head. She could not bend so completely to their will. Keenan watched her with his light-colored eyes and she lifted her chin to stare back at him. “Aye, we do if you think I will give up my studio.”

  “It is not on Judgment grounds, Zeva. You are unsafe there. Today was endless for us.” Keenan reached for her shoulder and she moved from his reach. His eyes flashed at her, confusing her, until Ravid captured her wrist and stroked the skin under her wrist with his thumb. Triumph flashed across his eyes and her body shivered with a little ripple of pleasure. Her passage filled with hunger as Ravid held firmly onto her.

  “Stop it, Ravid! I cannot think when you touch me.” The words left her mouth once more before she thought about them. Ravid’s mouth twitched up at the corners into a huge grin and Zeva groaned. “Either we are talking or not. But I cannot bind myself to warriors who do not accept me as I am.”

  Ravid growled at her. It was a harsh sound that made her step back from him. He snapped her forward with his grip on her wrist and clamped her body against his. “You will bind with me, Zeva! If I must wring the words from your body.”

  Dark promise lit his eyes making her jerk against his embrace. There was no hope of release. His body was twice the size of hers, surrounding her with hard muscle created by nature to help ensure the conception of the next generation.

  Ravid could hold her down but that wasn’t what frightened her the most. It was the simmering of desire blazing in his eyes that promised her he would do exactly what he said he would.

  Use her body against her will.

  “Ravid—” His mouth thrust the rest of her words back into her throat. He demanded entry to her mouth as his hand caught the back of her head, tilting her neck back as he thrust his tongue deeply into her mouth.

  Her nipples twisted into little buttons against his chest, almost like they were stabbing into the hard muscle as a form of communication. Ravid’s tongue thrust and stroked hers, making her clit clamor for the same treatment. She wanted so many things in that moment. Both touch and kiss and she wanted it to be as hard as the warrior holding her against him.

  Her hand moved over his chest as Keenan joined their embrace. His hard body moved along her back making a contented purr rise from her throat. His lips found her shoulder and gently bit her. Fluid coated the walls of her passage as his large hands stroked over the cheeks of her bottom. What had they promised her?

  Both of them.

  Zeva shook as Keenan reached for the drawstring of her pants. Ravid’s mouth lifted from hers as his dark eyes blazed into hers. His breath hit her wet lips sending another wave of sensation over them. Her hands tried to slide under his coat as frustration made her angry.

  Ravid smiled slightly. Just a little rise at the corners of his mouth but the expression didn’t reach his eyes. Pure determination still blazed there as he stepped away from her. Keenan bound her to his body with his thick arms, immob
ilizing her.

  “I like the look of you in my brother’s arms, Zeva.” Ravid opened his coat and pulled it down his arms. Each muscle was sharply defined as he reached for the waistband of his pants. “Yet your lips are swollen from my kiss and that is even more to my liking.”

  Keenan growled against her neck as his teeth nipped the tender skin. Ravid watched his companion as he stepped out of his pants and tossed them over a chair. Her eyes dropped to his cock and her breath caught in her throat.

  He was hard and swollen. Zeva shivered as Keenan’s erection pressed into her back. Her sheath ached to hold them. The sharply defined muscles coating Ravid’s bare form promised her a hard ride. No sweet seduction but the hard overpowering that she craved.

  Maybe she had always needed to be conquered. Zeva battled against the primitive thought but it sent a wave of excitement through her too. It shook her confidence to find an idea like that hidden deep inside her but at the moment she didn’t want to ponder her findings.

  She wiggled in Keenan’s embrace, not frantically, just a slow squirm that pressed against Keenan’s erection and his breath hissed next to her ear. A smile lifted her lips but she had forgotten that Ravid watched her face. The warrior shook his head as his fingers curled around her chin to lift it to his eyes as he stepped closer.

  “Maybe you do not understand yourself, Zeva.” His eyes considered her before his head dipped to her neck and he inhaled her scent. More fluid coated the walls of her passage because her body wanted him to know she was wet and ready for his possession. His eyelids lifted to display pure desire burning in his eyes. “Yet, possibly you understand far more than I think you do.”

  Confidence brightened her eyes and Ravid groaned. He might want to indulge in the idea of capture but Zeva just might rise to meet his challenge. His nostrils flared slightly as his blood surged through his veins. His cock jerked as he savored the hot scent of her arousal.