Ecstasy Bound

by Kerce, Ruth D.

  Or maybe she simply wondered if he wanted her to be one of the three involved. Or wondered how her mate would react. Or wondered how Brianna would react. They hadn’t exactly kept their growing relationship a secret. Or maybe her discomfort stemmed from something different entirely.

  A woman’s thoughts were usually a puzzle to him. Xylon women weren’t any different in that respect, he’d quickly learned. He expected her to say something further that might reveal her feelings about the situation but Laszlo spoke instead.

  “We do have a problem.”

  “What’s that?” Sam asked, his attention switching immediately to the man. He felt a surge of tension in the room. If Leila and Laszlo looked uncomfortable, something serious was definitely up.

  “All the women here are Branded and you’re not a Warrior,” he said.

  Brianna groaned. “Oh goodness. That’s right.”

  “Meaning what?” Sam asked.

  He’d noticed the marks on the back of each mated woman’s neck and Brianna had explained the significance of a Brand in general but hadn’t gone into detail. For an advanced civilization, he’d thought the concept of branding women more than a bit archaic, though he hadn’t expressed that feeling aloud.

  “A Branded woman cannot engage in sex with a non-Warrior,” Laszlo explained.

  “The Brand, in part, was originally intended to protect our females from the Egesa, but in theory, any sexual contact by an alien will trigger a release of poison into your system as long as you have sweat glands. Without the ability to self-heal at a rapid rate, the poison could be deadly. Definitely deadly for the Egesa, regardless. Even a Xylon male who is not a Warrior would be at risk, depending on his chemical makeup and levels of protection.”

  “I don’t have the necessary equipment down here to test if you’ll be susceptible to the poison,” Leila added. “It would be too dangerous to take the chance.”

  Brianna let out a heavy breath and her eyes held a tentative look. “So, I guess that means—”

  “Yes,” Laszlo answered before she finished. “Not generally a problem for most Xylons but possibly a problem for the Colonel.”

  “Excuse me,” Sam interrupted, wondering why they believed their Branded women were an issue when another option existed. “What about the other female? The unmated one? Josella.”

  Laszlo shook his head. “She has no Xylon blood. We have no way of knowing how these altered chemicals will affect her.”

  “Wait. You said the tests on females were simple to conduct to find out if they’d have complications or not,” Brianna offered.

  “On full-blooded human females,” Laszlo responded. “And that was with the regular Initiation chemicals. These are different. They will react differently from what we’re used to in the systems of all involved. A full-blooded Xylon won’t consciously notice the differences. Josella could be affected severely. Even after Briggs goes through the rite, the protections and breeding preparations for him won’t be exactly the same as a Xylon Warrior because of the differences in the chemicals. But from the preliminary tests we’ve run, it should be sufficient for what we need.”

  “We can try testing Josella,” Leila offered. “We do have the equipment to examine those results. I just don’t have what I need to test poisons. Since Josella doesn’t have mixed blood, the results shouldn’t take that long to ascertain. We might get lucky.”

  After a tense moment in silent thought, Laszlo’s furrowed brow eased. “Fine.” He waved in a dismissive manner. “If you want to do the tests, see to it quickly while I finalize the other details. But if it takes too long or if the results are inconclusive, we’ll have to use an alternate. We do have a time factor to consider.”

  As Leila rushed from the room, Laszlo paced, a look of concentration marring his face. Finally he came to a stop in front of them. “Even if Josella can attend, we still need a third.”

  “Initiations have been done many times with two.” Confidence laced Brianna’s voice. “We can proceed the same.”

  “With so many unknowns, it would be risky. We need a backup to make certain we’re covered. Or in case this doesn’t work with Josella. At least one, preferably two of the male Warriors will need to volunteer.”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Briggs took a step backward. “The men? I do not swing that way. At all.”

  “Swing?” Brianna questioned.

  “It’s an Earth term, I believe,” Laszlo explained. “They are very repressed sexually, for the most part, especially the males.”

  “Hey, I’m not repressed. I will fuck any woman you choose. Any way you choose.”

  Brianna cocked an eyebrow at him.

  He cleared is throat and did his best to avoid her suddenly pointed stare. He needed to stay focused. “I don’t fuck men and no man is fucking me.”

  “Any male Warrior would only engage in an emergency.”

  “It’s not happening.” He glared at Laszlo for what felt like an eternity. Laszlo returned the glare full force. When it became apparent neither of them was going to back down, Briggs knew this was an issue best solved in private—man to man.

  “Brianna, could you give Laszlo and me a moment alone?” he asked, finally meeting her gaze. He couldn’t imagine her thoughts right now.

  A surprised look crossed her face at his request but then she simply said, “Of course.” She looked to Laszlo and when he nodded, she left the room.

  Briggs waited until he felt assured no one was around, then he turned toward Laszlo. “I’m not taking some Warrior’s dick up the ass. I don’t care what I agreed to or what my duty is.”

  The fierce look on Laszlo’s face slowly faded and he actually chuckled. “You Earth people do amuse me. You will not be forced to do that. There are other ways.”

  “I’m not interested in any way with a male Warrior.”

  “If Josella agrees and is physically able to handle the chemicals, the ladies should be able to satisfy you sufficiently. The male Warrior, if only one is needed, will be here to help out mostly with the needs of the women, so do not stress so much.”

  Should? Mostly? Sam didn’t like the sound of those words. He didn’t like the sound of the whole thing. In more ways than one.

  There was no way he would stand by and watch another man fuck his woman.

  He paused in his thoughts. His woman? Well, hell. He supposed that’s exactly how he had come to think of Brianna, whether he had the right or not. This was going to get very complicated, very quickly. But there was no point in denying his feelings any longer. Not to himself anyway.

  Worry hung over him like the threat of a pending storm. He tried to stay calm and think all this through. Could he basically sacrifice his soul if he had to, if none of the women besides Brianna could participate in the rite?

  If some male tried to touch him sexually, he knew he’d punch the guy in the face.

  He wouldn’t be able to stop himself.

  “You will need to take a dildo up the ass—to use your words,” Laszlo continued.

  “Brianna can do it. It is the only way to protect you internally so it must remain part of the rite.”

  “I’m not happy about that either.” Though, if given a choice, he’d rather take the dildo than a cock. He remembered Brianna wanting to use a dildo on him in the Lair.

  She’d never gotten the chance.

  “Get over it, Colonel. This Initiation will be a transitional rite to create what we will need for the rest of your military. We have to follow certain steps for this to work.”

  Sam pulled at the neck of his uniform. The air seemed thin to him. Must be the tension. Or maybe the strange scent was affecting him. “And what if this doesn’t work?”

  Laszlo’s eyes burned into his. “Life as you know it on Earth will be destroyed.

  Forever.”

  * * * * *

  On his way back down to the sublevel from one of the relief rooms, Braden ran into Erik. “Hey, what’
s up?”

  “I’m done with the transport-connector and the vid-comm.”

  “Already?” Before he’d returned to working on the orbiters, he’d filled Erik in on what had happened with Halah and Kam and also about the possible power drain. He hadn’t asked about the progress of the transport-connector at the time, thinking the programming would take a lot longer.

  “It wasn’t that difficult once I got going, since the TC was already set up for multiple transport. That part only had to be tweaked a bit. The computer had the coordinates I needed for the settings. And programming a pulse relay was pretty easy.”

  He handed Braden the vid-comm. “Do you want me to explain to Alexa the plan and how to use the device?”

  “We’ll both do that. Since you’re done with this project now, after we speak with Alexa, I’m going to head to medical and check the computer network’s security files for evidence of the traitor. You and Pitch can continue securing the ships and finish the programming. You know the coding as well as I do.” After thinking over Torque’s words and now finding that Erik had finished with the transport-connector and the vid-comm, he’d decided the change was a good idea.

  “Pitch is much better at figuring out security files than any of us.”

  “Yeah, but I’d feel better if I were the one protecting Alexa and the babies. I don’t want to do that down on the sublevel. I don’t want them near the ships while they’re being worked on. Just in case there’s another overload. It’s too dangerous. I can’t let anything happen to my family, Erik. Now that I know Frost could show up, I want to be with them as much as possible.”

  Erik nodded. “I understand. I’ll take care of the orbiters and make certain everything is set.”

  “Thanks.” Braden appreciated Erik’s understanding and cooperation, without him having to make it an official order. “We can let Pitch know what’s going on after we talk to Alexa about the transport-connector. Then we’ll get her and the babies moved to medical.”

  They headed down the corridor. Braden’s thoughts raced. If everything didn’t work perfectly, they could all be in real trouble. It scared him shitless, though he’d never admit that aloud. Erik must have sensed his stress, for he didn’t say anything more, only kept in step beside him.

  Erik had always been a good friend. He and Erik and Kam used to be practically inseparable. They’d gone on too many missions together to count. They’d raised a lot of hell, fucked a lot of women and achieved great military success.

  Bygone days.

  Within moments he and Erik reached his and Alexa’s quarters. He punched the button and the door slid open. Pitch stood with his weapon in hand. He lowered the disruptor when he saw who stood in the corridor.

  “Where’s Alexa?” Braden asked him, stepping inside.

  “She’s in the back with the babies.”

  “Hang outside the door. Erik and I want to talk to you but we need some privacy with Alexa for a few minutes.” He didn’t want to announce to Pitch, or any of the others really, that they’d come up with an emergency exit plan for his mate and children but not for anyone else.

  Pitch nodded and stepped into the corridor.

  Braden motioned for Erik to follow him into the back. “Alexa, it’s Erik and me. Are you decent?”

  Alexa turned toward them as they approached. She planted her hands on her hips.

  “You’re supposed to ask that before you come in.”

  “Ah. Yes, dear.” He’d seen her image in one of the reflectors before entering the room but he loved to tease her.

  Erik chuckled.

  Braden kissed Alexa on the cheek, then immediately went to hover over his children, who were lying on the bed, wide awake and looking around. He touched each one tenderly on the cheek and swore the girls smiled at him, even though Alexa had told him they were too young for that.

  Erik came up beside him and grinned down at the triplets. “When are you two going to name these little ones?”

  Alexa smiled. “We have some names in mind but we’re waiting for the right time to tell everyone.” Her expression turned serious. “Now, what are you guys doing here?

  Somehow it doesn’t feel like a social call.”

  The two straightened up. Braden cleared his throat. “We want to talk to you about getting out of this shelter.”

  “Okay.”

  “Lots of things could go wrong, Alexa. We want you and the babies to have the best possible chance of surviving. So we’ve come up with an emergency plan.”

  “Emergency plan?” She shook her head. “I thought we were pretty much out of options except what’s currently in motion.”

  “Not quite.” Erik took out the transport-connector. “We have this.”

  Her brow furrowed. “A transport-connector? You said those were useless.”

  “Yes,” Braden answered. “We can’t use it to dematerialize up to a ship without being in contact with the vessel to make certain it maintains coordinates. But there’s a relatively safe and stable location, near enough, that you and the babies can dematerialize to in an emergency.”

  “Where?”

  “It’s an old repair station that’s orbiting Xylon,” Erik answered. “It’s abandoned, so nothing and nobody’s there. But it has an atmosphere and temperature regulation. It will be a safe haven until someone can rescue you.”

  Braden pulled out his vid-comm. “If you use the transport-connector, I’ll receive notification through the VC. In case our internal connections go screwy again.”

  Erik pointed to a button. “All you have to do is power it up, then push this button and you’ll dematerialize out. It’s already programmed. Remember which button. Don’t make a mistake. Also be certain you’re holding the babies or they won’t go with you.”

  “All three?”

  “Get them in your arms or on your lap somehow. You’ve got to have a hold on them. I know it’ll be difficult but it’s the only way.”

  “What about everyone else?”

  Erik shook his head. “The device isn’t strong enough for any additional people. I could only program this for two adults. Or for one adult—you—and the babies.

  Nobody can help you. Don’t let them. If more than you four try to dematerialize out at the same time, none of you will survive.”

  Her eyes widened.

  At her reaction, Braden swore to himself. He hated to frighten her but she had to know the dangers. “Keep this emergency plan to yourself, Alexa. We don’t think anyone would actually object, given the circumstances. Not after what Laszlo related to us about the Reign of Three. But no reason to cause any additional tension down here.

  Just in case.”

  “Okay. Um, if we have to go, we’ll be all alone up there. What if something goes wrong? What do I do?”

  “Nothing will go wrong.” When a wary look crossed her face, Braden again felt bad, understanding just how scary this must be for her. “I know it’s a lot to take in.” He put his arm around her. “Try not to worry. You might not even need this. In fact, you probably won’t. It’s a just-in-case option.”

  “My head is spinning.”

  “It’ll be all right, Alexa,” Erik said. “It’s a simple plan and will work if you need to use it. As long as you follow our instructions.”

  “If you do dematerialize out, you’ll need a survival pack,” Braden continued. “I’ll make one up for you. I want you to have it with you at all times so you’ll be ready.

  We’ll fit it into a Xylon jacket.” He reached down and pulled a disrupter from his boot.

  “I want you to take this too.”

  “Where’d you find that?” Erik asked, his eyes widening.

  “In one of the ships.”

  Alexa pushed it away. “No. You need that. Whoever is going to Earth will need a firearm. I can’t take it. It wouldn’t be right.”

  “We have Warriors on Earth who can arm us,” Braden told her.

  “N
ot enough for everyone. Earth will need every advanced weapon they can get.

  You’ve already said so.”

  “Do you remember everything I say?”

  “When necessary.”

  He felt a scowl cross his face and worked hard to force it away. “One weapon, more or less, isn’t going to make any significant difference.”

  “I’m not taking it, Braden.”

  “Alexa…”

  “I’m not arguing with you about this. No one is on this spaceport place. No one will know I’m there, right? If someone other than a Warrior does come, I’ll just hide until he leaves. Besides, I hate those disruptors. I’m not trained to use one. It would be too easy to have an accident.”

  Braden felt reluctant to leave her unarmed, though her words made sense. She looked scared to death. He knew she would feel much safer armed with something she could effectively use to protect herself and the babies.

  “Braden will send help as soon as possible,” Erik said. “It might not be right away, depending on our situation, so use your supplies well.” A small smile appeared on his face. “I’ve brought a little something extra for you. I think it will make everyone feel better.”

  “Something extra?” Braden looked at Erik in surprise. “What do you have?”

  Erik pulled out a pain inducer—a small handheld weapon for close-range use. It induced compliance or punishment, in prisoners mostly, and delivered a wide range of shocks when applied to the skin. It was also very easy to use. No training was necessary, just a basic instruction session on its functionality. It would be virtually useless in their battle against the Egesa on Earth but was perfect for Alexa’s situation.

  “Where’d you get that?” Braden asked.

  “Leila. She always carries one. She told me it’s gotten her out of a jam more than once. It’s not as good as a disruptor but quite effective in a pinch. Just don’t let anyone know you have it, Alexa, because you can only use this directly against skin. If you get into a tight situation, pull it out when you see a chance. I’ve got it set on max. Push the red button and hit your target. It’s not going to kill whoever you zap unless they have some sort of advanced heart condition. But it’ll give you ample time to get away and hide. It’s reusable, so keep it with you. Just don’t fiddle with the settings. And don’t touch the pad after you’ve activated it. Once the target is hit, it will automatically shut off, so you have to hit the red button each time. The charge is strong. You don’t have to worry about it giving out.”