by Lee Savino
“She’s the one who stitched my wound,” I say, as if that explains things, touching the jagged line that crosses my cheek from the neck to the eye.
How will our future mate feel about the ugly scar it will leave? It must make me appear hideous. The king’s infant son burst into tears this morning when he saw it.
“And?” Jax prompts.
My cock starts to swell at the memory of her sweet human scent, her breasts dancing in front of my mouth as her slender fingers moved deftly with the primitive needle and thread. I wanted her then, and still do, now. “I may have...touched her inappropriately.”
Ronan barks out a laugh and Jax rolls his eyes. “What the veck does that mean?” Jax demands.
I stare in the direction of the med bay, my feet demanding I march down there right now and carry her back to our shared chamber so we can start the process of claiming her. All vecking night.
“She was standing so vecking close--straddling my leg. When she stuck me with the needle I grabbed a handful of her ass.” Then she rubbed her hot little pussy on my thigh. I don’t share that part with them. I’d rather keep the memory to myself for now.
“Over the tunic, right?” Jax asks doubtfully, like he’s trying to make this right in his mind so we can get past it.
I shake my head.
“Vecking excrement, Tarren! What in the stars were you thinking?”
I shrug. “I was thinking about her juicy ass. I’d already threatened to warm it for her if she left the shelter again. If you’d seen the way she blushed, you would’ve been fixated on that particularly glorious part of her anatomy too.”
Jax’s lips tug up. “I’m sure I would’ve been.”
“So what’d she do?” Ronan asks.
My own lips lift. “She apologized to me.”
Jax groans and adjusts his cock.
“And then I let her rub her little clitty all over my thigh while she stitched me up.”
“Oh please,” Ronan laughs, giving me a shove.
I grin back. I’m not about to tell them that it’s actually true. It’s too impossible to believe.
“So let’s go claim her,” Jax says, heading for the med bay.
Ronan follows without question.
I stare for a moment, but then I jog after them. I know that look in Jax’s eye. He’s the thinker in our group and when he’s made a decision, it’s usually a good one.
RIYA
There’s really nothing to do in the med bay. All the injured have been moved out to one of the pop-up domes the warriors set up this morning. It seems King Zander came to Zandia well-prepared for post-battle occupation of his planet.
I walk around the empty space, spraying sterilization mists on surfaces.
I’m hiding.
If I’m honest with myself, I’ll admit that’s what I’m doing. I’m afraid to go anywhere near a male Zandian right now because as far as I can tell, King Zander just declared it open season on human females.
I stop and stare at the cot where the giant warrior Tarren sat. I don’t usually think about males, but this one has dominated my thoughts from our first interaction.
He’s all height and muscles, and stars, the way they ripple as he moves! He ran out into the laser fire and dragged the injured in for me to treat all planet rotation. Scolded me when I went out myself.
I will bring them in. Leave again and I’ll warm your ass.
A strange tingling had flushed through my body at the threat.
A hear a step at the door, and I know immediately it’s him.
I turn, my lungs jamming up in my throat.
He’s not alone. With him stands two other warriors. There might be a resemblance, but I’m not sure. I haven’t known enough Zandians yet to pick out their similarities and differences.
He clears his throat. “Riya.”
I try to swallow and fail. “Tarren.”
One of the warriors beside him steps forward, lifting his fist at a 90 degree angle in the traditional Zandian greeting. “I am Jax, and this is my cousin Ronan.” He indicates the younger warrior on Tarren’s other side. “We are all three cousins,” he amends. “But you’ve already met Tarren.”
I take a step back but I’m already at the wall. “You’re here for me.” It comes out as a statement, not a question.
The males don’t advance, which I appreciate.
Jax tilts his head. “Does that frighten you, Riya?” There’s something both soft and threatening in his voice. Not scary threatening, though. More like thrilling. A dark promise that these males can be threatening, even if they’re not showing me the whip yet.
I curse the tears that spear my eyes. “I-I don’t want to be claimed.”
Tarren gives a soft expletive in Zandian, his look turning deadly. “You’ve been forced.” It’s not a question.
I can scarcely breathe but the question relieves me. I bob my head in the affirmative.
“By some being here?” Tarren barely keeps the question below a roar.
I’m trembling, but I’m not afraid. Not of him, anyway. Just of my own past. And of the future Zander just outlined. I shake my head.
Not here. It was Ocretion slave masters on the agrifarm. More times than I can count. They tortured me so many times with the shock sticks that I’m forever infertile now.
And I don’t know what will happen if King Zander finds out I’m useless as a breeder.
When these males find out.
Tarren’s hands open and close in fists like he wants to make my past tormentors pay.
“You’re safe with us, Riya,” Jax says. He’s as good-looking as Tarren is big. His eyes hold a calculating intelligence and his voice carries such assurance it’s hard for me not to believe him. “Better to be claimed by us, males you can trust, than by another group.”
My brows shoot to my forehead and a shocked laugh tumbles from my lips. “What makes you think I trust you?”
His lips curl with a smile that probably makes most females fall to their knees and worship him. If they had any females around here, that is. “You trust Tarren. And Tarren trusts us. So by extension, we all trust each other.”
This time I actually do laugh and all three of them move forward like it was an invitation. “That’s the most ridiculous--” I splutter, but stop when they arrive inches from me. So close I feel the heat from their powerful chests warming me.
Tarren puts a finger under my chin and lifts it until I meet his brown-purple eyes. “No being will hurt you again,” he promises.
And just like that, I believe him. Because who would argue with a seven foot tall horned giant of a male? I’ve seen the male in action. He’s a fearsome warrior.
Ronan picks up my hand and rubs his thumb over the pulse at my wrist. “You definitely want to be claimed by us, Riya,” he says.
I want to laugh again, but I can’t. The thrum between my legs is becoming too insistent. The tightening of my nipples too distracting.
As one, the three males inhale, nostrils flaring.
“She’s ripe for us,” Ronan observes.
I squeeze my inner thighs. “N-no I’m not.”
Tarren wraps a meaty hand around my nape, stroking it. “It’s all right to be aroused, Riya,” he murmurs. “We’re your mates.”
I give a shove to the closest chest, which belongs to Jax, but the males don’t fall back. They don’t fall back, nor do they advance. Three pairs of eyes watch me intently.
“Y-you’re not my mates.”
Not yet.
Already my body seems to know it’s an inevitability. Moisture gathers between my legs.
“Do you prefer another warrior?” Jax asks smoothly, like he already knows the answer will be no.
I shake my head.
He brings the pad of his thumb to the crease between my brows and rubs it away. “Then you’re ours.” He leans forward and kisses the place he’s just rubbed. “Don’t fight it. We’ll take good care of you, Riya, I promise.”
My min
d tumbles forward and I remember the way my two human friends Lily and Cambry are treated by their Zandian mates. Like princesses.
There’s a great deal of dominance, no doubt about that. The Zandians are a fierce, protective species. But my friends are quite happy with their mates.
Of course they only have one mate. And apparently I’m getting three.
And I never signed up for any relationship!
And there’s the problem of my infertility. But I’m loathe to confess it. Because I’m not sure what happens to human females who aren’t claimed for breeding. What use will King Zander have for us?
“Riya?” Lily calls through the doorway and all four of us spring apart. “Oh.” My human friend takes in the scene, seeming to understand immediately what’s going on. She clears her throat. “Ah, Dr. Daneth said he could use our help in the new clinic now.”
“Coming.” I bolt for the door, relieved when the warriors let me pass. Never in my life have I been more relieved at an interruption.
No, that’s a lie.
One small part of me is disappointed. What would’ve happened if I’d let those three warriors continue their over-the-top persuasion?
A shiver runs through my body as I jog across the marble toward the new dome. It doesn’t matter, because I can’t mate them.
As soon as they see my paperwork, they’ll know I’m not able to breed, and therefore, not eligible for the Zandian repopulation project.
And damn, why is that idea so devastating?
Night of the Zandians (Zandian Brides Book 1) by Renee Rose and Rebel West
The Zandians have taken back their planet. Now they need brides.
All human females have been assigned to mates. Yes, mates, multiple.
I've been given to three handsome males--cousins. Huge, purple and horned, they act like they want to eat me for breakfast.
After what I've been through with previous slave masters, I don't know how I'll survive this. But I have to. It's adapt or be sent off-planet, which would mean my death, considering I'm wanted for murder.
My mates cannot find out I'm not able to reproduce. I need to keep my secret, figure out a way to survive, stay focused. But when the Zandian warriors claim me, they make me forget my past and scream with pleasure.
I can't let myself fall for them.
If they learn my secret, I'll lose more than my life.
I'll lose my heart.
Coming March 14th! Preorder now!
About the Author
Lee Savino is a USA today bestselling author. She’s also a mom and a choco-holic. She’s written a bunch of books—all of them are “smexy” romance. Smexy, as in “smart and sexy.”
She hopes you liked this book.
Find her at:
www.leesavino.com
Also by Lee Savino
The Berserker Saga
Sold to the Berserkers – Brenna, Samuel & Daegan
Mated to the Berserkers – Brenna, Samuel & Daegan
Bred by the Berserkers (FREE novella available only by signing up to my email list) – Brenna, Samuel & Daegan
Taken by the Berserkers– Sabine, Ragnvald & Maddox
A Berserker Birth novella (available only by signing up to my email list)
Given to the Berserkers – Muriel and her mates
Claimed by the Berserkers – – Fleur and her mates
The Berserker Brides
Rescued by the Berserkers FREE – Hazel & Knut
Captured by the Berserkers – Willow, Leif & Brokk
Kidnapped by the Berserkers – Sage, Thorbjorn & Rolf
Bonded to the Berserkers – Laurel, Haakon & Ulf
Tamed by the Berserkers (coming soon!)
Owned by the Berserkers (coming soon!)
The Draekon Series (Exiles on the Prison Planet) with Lili Zander
Draekon Mate
Draekon Fire
Draekon Heart
Draekon Abduction
Draekon Destiny - coming soon
The Bad Boy Alpha Series with Renee Rose
Alpha's Temptation
Alpha's Danger
Alpha's Prize
Alpha’s Challenge
Contemporary Romance
Rescuing Regina
Her Marine Daddy