Theyn came to her and gently took her burned hand in his. He looked into her eyes and asked, “Will you let me help you?”
She was distracted by the pain from the burn and snapped, “Get away from me!”
He released her and stepped back, a look of obvious disappointment and hurt on his face. She turned her back on him and ran more cold water over the coffee burn.
“Damn it,” she swore, and her frustrations cut through the maelstrom of her emotions, bursting like a dam. Tears began to fill her eyes, and she was unable to stem the flow. She wiped at her face with her good hand, embarrassed and annoyed. “Damn it!”
“Sera,” Theyn said softly.
It was the first time he had ever said her name. Beno had spoken it in her mind once, but there had been no weight on the word, no hidden meaning. Theyn said it almost with reverence, like a prayer.
He took her burned hand again, and he covered it with his own. His scales twinkled in the morning light, as if he was covered in diamond dust, or as if his skin was untouched new-fallen snow. He looked into her eyes, and then his hand, the one covering her burn, began to glow.
It was a soft golden glow that started almost imperceptibly at first, but it steadily brightened until it was almost too bright to look at. It reminded her of the way that Beno’s hand had glowed over Theyn’s chest in the hospital. Beneath his touch, wrapped in the glow, the pain in her hand was vanishing, the heat dissipating into nothingness. Her mouth fell open as he gently pulled away, revealing her skin untouched and flawless as if the coffee had never hit it.
“You’re a healer,” she said. “Not just a botanist.”
He nodded. “I am an empathic healer, to be precise. I am also the son of the Empress of Ylia, the late Kina.”
She took a deep breath. “That makes you Emperor now.”
No. Beno’s voice touched them both in their minds, and he was standing in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest. He was naked as a newborn, his heavy manhood hanging dormant against his muscular thigh. She couldn’t believe she was looking at his crotch and tore her gaze away. Beno knew that she’d been peeking, though, and he gave her a sly smile. Ylia is a matriarchy. There are no Emperors. The heir to the throne was Theyn’s sister, Thena.
“So you’re royalty,” she said. Theyn nodded. “No wonder you’re the pair lead.”
Beno spoke aloud. “I’m his bodyguard. That’s the true nature of our pairing. I was assigned to be his companion and protector for life. We were born in the same season, and our energy is compatible. That is why Theyn can trigger our merging.”
She thought about their lovemaking, when they had somehow joined their bodies together into one spectacular member.
“Yes,” Theyn said, nodding. “That merging.”
She blushed. “You must think I’m such a slut,” she said, pulling her hand back and drying it with a dishtowel. She looked away from them. “All I can do when I look at you is think about sex or look at your junk or… Jesus.” She tossed the towel onto the table, and Beno chuckled. “This is funny to you?”
“A little,” he admitted.
She ground her teeth in annoyance. “Thanks.”
Theyn smiled. “It’s perfectly normal for you to have those reactions to us. The energetic effects of the stunner that Beno used on you sometimes make females more receptive than they would otherwise be. That’s part of why those weapons are mostly banned on Ylia and rarely if ever used. Only the royal bodyguards possess them.”
“We do not kill,” Beno said. “Not if we can help it.”
“In the memory you showed me, you were carrying long weapons, like rifles,” she objected. “What are those for if not for killing?”
Theyn glanced at Beno. You showed her?
Beno only nodded.
Theyn sighed. “He was in the military while I was at school. I was protected by the palace guard at that time, and he was free to pursue his own education or interests. He chose to enter the Outer Guard, and he became one of our best soldiers. I believe you call them ‘special operators’ here.”
She chuckled. “You were the alien version of the SEALs?”
The brunet looked puzzled. “Seals are amphibious mammals,” he said. “I do not see the comparison.”
“SEALs. Sea, air and land. They’re one of my country’s elite military units.”
“Ah.” He smiled. “I wondered what you were talking about.”
Theyn chuckled. “Yes, he was our version of a SEAL, but not the kind that feeds your sharks.”
“You hope,” Sera quipped. “Anyway… you were in special ops…”
He nodded. Theyn continued. “They were on a deep reconnaissance mission in an unpopulated sector of space near our world, making sure that the area would be safe for us to send scientists into, when they encountered a ship that had been disabled. It was emitting a strong and disruptive frequency that interfered with their ship’s navigation systems, so Beno and his squad were sent on board to investigate the source of the transmission and to stop it if possible.”
Beno took up the story. “It was a trap. The ship had belonged to another population, one we had intermittent communication with, called the Evriag. We thought the ship was deserted. The memory I showed you was when we had isolated all biological traces to the cargo hold, and we were moving in to investigate.”
“The cargo hold wasn’t empty,” Theyn said. “It was where the Taluans where hiding behind the corpses of the crew.”
“The distress signal from the Evriag ship was a trap. They wanted to see who would come to offer assistance, because then they could determine if our bodies and our technology offered them the sort of elements they needed.” Beno sighed. “We did.”
“And so they came for us,” Theyn finished for him.
“Only because I told them where they could find us,” Beno said bitterly.
Theyn closed his eyes. “No. We have discussed this. Ylians are not equipped to withstand the sort of tortures that the Taluans have devised.”
It’s kind of you to make excuses for me.
They aren’t excuses, Theyn objected. It was clear that Beno wasn’t agreeing, and the blond clucked his tongue and sighed. You are the most stubborn creature…
Look who’s talking.
“You two argue like an old married couple,” Sera interjected, sitting down with a less lethal cup of coffee. The two Ylian men looked at each other, non-plussed.
“Good morning,” Joely said, walking into the kitchen from the other direction, coming in off of the porch. “Did you know – oh, hello!”
She was looking directly at Beno’s displayed genitalia, and her eyes were wide.
“Good morning,” he greeted, completely unfazed.
Sera put her head in her hand. “You should probably put on some pants or something.”
“I, uh…” Joely burst into a wide, naughty smile. “Don’t rush on my account.”
“Don’t encourage him,” Theyn advised. “He’s already egotistical about his body.”
“Do you blame me?” his partner teased, spreading his arms out to the side so everyone could get a good look.
“Nobody could blame you there,” Joely agreed.
Sera sighed. “Asa might not appreciate walking in here and seeing you like that. It might make him uncomfortable, and he’s our host, so…”
Go get dressed, Beno, you exhibitionist, Theyn ordered.
He turned to leave and cast a naughty smile over his shoulder at Sera and Joely, then sauntered back to the bedroom where his clothes were waiting. As he walked, there was a faint shimmer around his back, and his scars were invisible. He was concealing them somehow, perhaps with a variation on his camouflage ability. Apparently, there were some parts of his body he was not as eager to share.
As soon as Beno was gone, Joely slapped Sera’s shoulder.
“Lucky girl!”
Theyn chuckled. “Unfortunately, he has very good hearing. You’re only going to encourage him.”
He smiled. “I have no idea what it is. It smells very… strong.”
“It’s called coffee, and it’s one of the vital elements of life.”
Sera shook her head. “No, it’s not. It just feels that way once you start drinking it.”
Joely filled a mug and put it down in front of the blond. “It totally is. It’s the answer to life, the universe and everything.”
“That’s 42,” Sera said, stirring some sugar into her own mug.
Theyn smiled. “Ah. Douglas Adams.”
“You know about The Hitchhiker’s Guide?” Joely asked, astounded. “No way! So, is Earth really categorized as mostly harmless?”
He smiled. “Asa had the books in his car. I read them on the way here. They were… amusing. Unlikely, but amusing.” Tentatively, he took a sip of the black fluid in his mug, and he promptly grimaced as the bitter dark roast ravaged his tongue. “Oh! This is…”
“Horrible?” Sera helpfully supplied.
He took another sip and grimaced again. “Amazing.”
Asa’s voice reached them from the living room. “I hear you talkin’. Everybody up?”
“Looks like it,” Joely responded. She pulled out another chair and sat at the table with Sera and Theyn.
Asa strolled into the kitchen, scratching his short brown hair. “I don’t know about all y’all, but I’m starvin’.” He opened the refrigerator and poked his head inside. “And since ain’t nobody been livin’ here for an age, there’s no food. I think we’d better go to the store.”
“Good idea.” Joely winked at Sera. “I think you and I should go and let these three have a little privacy.”
“That’s not - ” Sera began.
Theyn interrupted smoothly. “That’s very kind, and much appreciated.” He smiled.
Asa snorted. “All right, then. Just don’t break anything, hear?”
“Yes, sir,” Sera said, embarrassed.
The cowboy pulled a pair of travel mugs out of a cupboard, filled one with coffee and handed the other to Joely. She poured the contents of her cup into the plastic container and snapped the lid back in place.
“Okay,” she said, smiling wickedly at Sera. “We’ll be back in a while. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Asa turned to Theyn. “Is there anything you need in particular in terms of food, or anything that you can’t have?”
The alien shrugged. “I have no idea. I’m just starting to get used to living here on Earth. As far as I know, we have no special requirements.”
“Good to know. You eat meat?”
“I don’t. Beno does.”
“Right.” Their host’s mouth twitched in a moment of barely-concealed judgment. Sera had heard him railing on against vegetarians in the past, as she would expect from a cattle rancher. He covered his disapproval and continued. “Well, we’ll bring a variety of stuff and hopefully there’s nothing that’ll make you sick.”
Beno rejoined them, fully dressed. He leaned against the counter, his hands on the countertop behind him. It seemed to Sera that every position he took must have been calculated to make him look as appealing as possible, because she had yet to see him look anything but devastating.
“What is that smell?” he asked.
Theyn offered him his mug. “Coffee.”
Beno took the mug and sniffed at it. He frowned and handed it back to his partner. “No thanks. That smells like used sanitation fluid.”
Sera chuckled, and Joely said, “You say that now. Wait until you taste it.”
The brunet Ylian smiled. “Then I can confirm that it tastes like used sanitation fluid?”
“Something like that.” Asa grabbed some keys from a wooden rack next to the door. “All right, Joe, let’s go.”
The two humans left the house, and Sera was alone with Theyn and Beno again. She fidgeted with her mug, then finished her coffee and put it in the sink. Theyn finished his own drink and did the same.
There was an awkward silence, and finally Beno broke it by saying, “Let’s explore. I want to see what this place is all about.”
“The ranch, or Earth?”
He smiled. “Maybe both.” He led the way to the door and held it open for her. “After you.”
Chapter Eight
They spent the day wandering around the ranch. Theyn was fascinated by everything, his scientist’s curiosity shining in his face as he examined every plant, every animal, and every insect he encountered. Beno also showed signs of fascination, but Sera was willing to bet that his interest was based more on what was or was not a threat to his partner than in any sort of scientific curiosity.
She enjoyed visiting with the horses and cows. She had been raised in the city, and her experiences with cattle rarely took place outside of steak houses. She had ridden a horse twice before, but she was not exactly proficient. Still, she was fascinated by the large animals with their long-lashed dark eyes.
The three of them were leaning against one of the whitewashed split rail fences that surrounded the pasture, watching the cattle roam and graze. She asked, “Were there large mammals like these on your planet?”
“Of course,” Theyn answered. “We had a very diverse biosphere. The creatures were different than what you have here, but in many ways, they were similar. It makes me believe that there are only certain forms that life is able to take to remain viable.”
Beno said, “Some say the similarities between lifeforms on different planets are because they were all created by the Burning One.”
“That’s your god?” she asked. He nodded. “Do you believe in him? Or her?”
“The Burning One has no gender,” Beno said softly. “We have a neutral pronoun in our language that is applied to the god. Here, I suppose we will have to use the masculine, due to your cultural expectations and the limitations of your language.”
She felt both amused and mildly insulted. “So sorry for our failings.”
Theyn chuckled. “That wasn’t a judgment. He’s just very, very blunt in his opinions.”
Their companion nodded with a slight smile. “I’m afraid I’m not as cultured as my partner.”
“Well, he is royalty,” Sera teased.
Theyn groaned. “I’m going to regret telling you that, aren’t I?”
“Most likely.”
They fell into a companionable silence. She stood between them, feeling the heat from their bodies enveloping her. Her skin tingled with their warmth, and she felt moisture building between her legs. She could feel her cheeks flushing, and she hoped that they wouldn’t notice.
Unfortunately, they were both very perceptive. Beno told her, You don’t need to be ashamed of your feelings. Your mating urge was triggered, and we bonded. We are meant to find one another enticing.
She put a hand to her forehead, a nervous gesture. “What do you mean, bonded? Did you do something to me?”
Theyn smiled. I think you’re well aware of what we did to you… and with you. Surely it was more memorable to you than that.
Now she was really blushing. Of course I remember.
When we were together that way, when our energies merged with yours, we bonded. This is a spiritual transformation, something that very few trios can ever experience, Beno explained. It is a sacred thing to us. You are sacred to us.
She frowned. This was getting very metaphysical, and that was ground that made her uncomfortable. I don’t want to be sacred.
Theyn’s quiet voice asked, What do you want, Sera?
The answer came before she could filter or contain it, something she was learning was a danger in this mind-to-mind communication. To be loved.
Theyn turned her face to his, his hand gentle on her jaw. “Then you have what you want.”
He kissed her, his lips burning hot against hers. She moaned, surprising herself with the depth of her immediate need for him. He
r mouth opened, and his tongue slipped inside, dancing against hers. Beno’s hands went to her hips, and he gently turned her body toward his partner, pressing against her back as he had before. His arms encircled her trim waist and Theyn’s hands cupped her face as he continued their passionate kiss.
She felt her knees turning watery, and she leaned against Beno, who held her up. She was trembling, heat suffusing her entire body. She wanted them beyond her capacity to think it through. Just like in the hotel, all of her caution and her thoughts were shattered, replaced by a desperate animal need to make love to them.
Theyn broke the kiss, his own face flushed, his eyes shining more brightly than before. She struggled to catch her breath and leaned into Beno’s embrace. The brunet kissed her ear, then whispered, “Let’s go inside.”
She could only nod. Beno gathered her up into his arms and carried her back to the house.
He took her into their shared room and sat on the mattress, holding her on his lap. Theyn stood before her and ran his hands through her blonde curls, looking into her eyes.
“You are beautiful,” he breathed.
She pulled him down so she could kiss him, and he went willingly. She could feel Beno shifting, slipping beneath her so that her legs straddled his thighs, her backside pressed to the growing hardness at his core. His hands cupped her breasts and squeezed gently, and she moaned into Theyn’s mouth. His lips quirked, as if he was trying to smile without breaking the kiss, and he took her hands in his.
Bonded, he told her. Let us complete our circuit again.
She nodded and groaned her consent. Tendrils of energy reached into her from both Ylians, their spirits extending to meet with hers. She could feel her own soul gathering them in, collecting these cords of energy and uniting them with her own. It was like melting in the most delicious way, body, mind and spirit working together to make them one. Beno’s desire was Theyn’s desire was hers, and the combination was impossible to resist.
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