by Mel Teshco
After returning the plant to the floor, he placed one of the bowls in front of her, along with a knife and fork. “I procured these utensils for you too.”
“Thank you.” She smiled at him as he sat opposite, looking rather awkward on the chair. She stabbed a piece of meat with the fork and, waving it in front of her said idly, “Is this my birthday or something?”
Birthday…
She swallowed hard and closed her eyes, forgetting her hunger, her questions, as, like it or not, this latest memory swept her away…
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
She smiled at yet another unfamiliar face, only once again her mouth twisted into a grimace that was anything but joyous.
So many people—too many. She hated crowds but her husband had insisted on this mega party. A birthday bash to celebrate her twenty-fifth birthday.
All she wanted was to go home to bed and sleep forever, forget this life she’d married into, this woman she pretended to be.
A meaty hand encircled her forearm, twisting her around. She pasted on an even bigger smile and faced her husband.
“There you are.” His small eyes were sharp and bright as he looked her up and down as if she were some fine filly at an auction.
Her skin crawled. She resisted snatching her arm free. Now was not the time or place. Not without risking harsh consequences. “Yes, Roy. What is it?”
His eyes narrowed to sharp pinpricks, his free hand adjusting the red-and-black sash he and all his soldiers wore over one shoulder. “I’ve been looking for you.”
And he wasn’t amused. Not one bit. She could see that by his clenched jaw, his stiff spine beneath his heavy overcoat.
It appeared she’d be paying for her half-hour of freedom, after all.
“Well…now you’ve found me, what do you want?”
His hand tightened, burning her arm. Another bruise to cover. “I have a little surprise for you.”
The guests parted as he led her to a small stage at the end of the huge room, where chandeliers glittered overhead.
“Ladies and gentleman,” he announced into a microphone. “I want to thank you all for coming and sharing in my beautiful wife’s special day.”
The guests hung on his every word, falling for his apparent devotion to his wife.
Her stomach turned. If only they really knew what went on behind closed doors, what suffering she went through by staying married to this pig of a man.
“And now I’d like to share with you my wife’s delight at the gift she’s about to receive.”
In her peripheral vision, she saw two security guards step close. She closed her eyes on a ragged breath, acknowledging with sudden horrified perception what her husband was about to do. Some ladies close by let out startled gasps even before she felt the weight of the heavy necklace settle around her neck.
“I present to you, my darling wife, the jewel of La’chrite.”
When she opened her eyes the room was spinning. Bile rose in her throat. She wanted to scream, she wanted to sob with despair. But mostly she wanted to rip the blood-red ruby free from its gold links and throw it far away, right along with her wedding ring.
The La’chrite gem might well be priceless, but it was cursed too. Plucked over a century before from the throat of a murdered queen, it had brought nothing but pain and misfortune to those wealthy and foolish enough to obtain it.
Roy’s chuckle of sadistic amusement filled her ears. “You can thank me later.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Lillian, are you okay?”
She awoke to Dar’s astute stare. “I remembered something again,” she croaked.
“Your memories are becoming more regular.”
“Yes.” She looked down. Her fork had dropped onto the table, meat still skewered to its prongs. She hadn’t even noticed. She looked back up and said starkly, “And they seem to be lengthier, more detailed.”
He pushed his chair back and moved to stand behind her. She let out a sigh as his big, strong hands massaged the knots of tension in her shoulders, loosened the tightness of her muscles.
Her head drooped. “That feels wonderful.”
“I believe a rain check was owed,” he said huskily.
“I believe you’re right.”
When she was about as pliant as rubber, he leaned forward, pushed her hair aside and pressed a kiss onto her nape. “Better?”
“Much.”
“Excellent!” He moved back into the other chair. He grinned at her, and dazed, she grinned back. He pointed to her bowl. “Now, let’s eat.”
Once they’d finished the rather delicious caltronian salad, she followed Dar outside where crickets were chirping and little marsupials scurried in the undergrowth.
Dar swept a caltronian pelt onto the ground and she lay down with a contented sigh, loving the thick softness that was far more comfortable than any man-made mattress.
Her lover threw some more wood on the stack of logs already burning. Moments later he was moving fluidly onto the fur beside her. She settled her head onto his arm that curled around her. “You Carèche people sure don’t act like any aliens I’ve ever seen in movies or read about in books.”
“Mmm.” His mouth on her neck, her earlobe, caused goose bumps to break out all over her skin. His hand slid up and down her arm. “Then you were misled.”
“Yes.” She looked up into the heavens as he pulled her close against him, wondering where his world lay in the vast solar system. “Do you think I’ll ever get to see your planet?”
He stiffened and she turned to peer up at his face, the flames allowing her to see the skepticism in his eyes.
“Is that what you want, to leave your planet?”
Is it? “I’m not sure. There isn’t much here for me anymore.” She swallowed back sudden emotion—poignant memories that were just out of reach. She blinked away the threat of tears, her voice husky. “I’m guessing all my family and friends are dead. Everyone I’ve ever known.”
Dar’s face softened in the firelight and his words seemed chosen with care. “There is always hope for your female relatives. But the chances aren’t good.”
She chewed her bottom lip, hardly aware of the warm tear sliding down one cheek. But her voice was shaky as she admitted, “Deep in my heart I know my mother’s gone. I’ve accepted that now.”
Dar leaned down and pressed a kiss onto her mouth. “I’m sorry.”
“So…so am I.” He swiped a thumb over the wet trail of her tears. She released a shuddering breath, abstractedly running a hand over his lightly haired chest, his peaked nipples. “Dar, make love to me. Please.”
Chapter Six
No dreams left their mark on Lillian’s mind as she slowly woke. She was aware only of the blissful peace of a great sleep after Dar’s lovemaking and an all-over body rubdown.
Her throat dried at the still-fresh memory of Dar’s hands on her naked body, even as her eyes twitched at the certainty of another presence, a possessive gaze that swept her from top to toe.
She feigned sleep, her senses buzzing, her nipples hardening into points.
Damn trans-alien hypersensitivity.
“Relax, Ezra,” Dar murmured beside her. “You’ll get her all to yourself in a moment.” Dar’s voice sharpened. “Just imagine how that makes me feel.”
“Probably about the same as I do seeing her in your arms right now.”
She gave up on any pretense of sleep and flicked her eyes open. “I can hear you both talking, you know. You are speaking English.”
Dar’s chest rumbled in quiet laughter. “Guess we’ve gotten into the habit of speaking English. Except when instructing our men, we spoke only in your native tongue so that once we found you we could communicate without any trouble.”
Dar’s arms were still around her, his clasp loose but somehow possessive as she sat upright. “Well, all three of you have done amazingly well.”
She glanced approvingly at Ezra and then back at Dar. She bit her lip, flushing. Dar was lying on h
is back, nude—full frontal. He appeared unconcerned by the state of his arousal, his long cock hard like steel, his sac heavy beneath.
“Something wrong?” Dar asked her with a husky inflection.
A sudden image of her climbing aboard Dar and fucking him senseless as Ezra watched, waited for his turn, shot a hard spasm of lust through her cunt, already wet with Dar’s cum.
She scowled, resisting the urge to rub the hard nub of her clit and bring herself temporary respite. Instead, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, forcing control. “Not at all.”
The air was already cool on her skin, though her still-warm body made her aware the large eucalyptus trees hadn’t completely shaded her from the heat of the day. She was almost certain she’d never slept daylight hours before, and never for so many hours. It was as though her body clock had completely altered.
The fire was now embers and glowed faintly in the darkening sky. She sat up and cleared her throat. “I, ah…I’d better get dressed.”
Ezra’s jewel glinted as he cocked his pierced brow and held out her dress.
“Thanks.” She dragged the garment over her head, feeling the men’s hot eyes slide over her nakedness, and experienced pride in her dancer’s athletic body.
She tugged the dress down. It smelled of citrus and she wondered suddenly how it stayed so clean and fresh. Though it seemed impossible, she knew whatever the material was made from had to be self-cleaning.
As far as she knew, none of her men had a wardrobe of clothes. There didn’t seem to be any need.
Dar pushed to his feet, all fluid muscle and grace. He curled his hands over her shoulders, his stare searching. “Lillian, I shall see you at the bonding ceremony.”
She frowned at the sudden inexplicable tightening in her belly. “You never did tell me about the ceremony.”
Dar’s hands tightened. “I—”
Ezra stepped forward, interjecting, “Lillian, our time together grows short, and there is much I’ve planned.”
“Oh.” She allowed Ezra to escort her away from Dar and toward the silent, hovering mother ship.
She looked back. Dar stood frozen, his face tight as he watched them leave. He clearly didn’t want her to go, didn’t want to share her, but he had no choice. None of the brothers did.
She turned to Ezra and shivered delicately. He was so tall and broad, his build that of a warrior. “Just what have you planned?”
The snowy-white shields plunged from the craft above them. Ezra stepped onto the floor and she followed. He took her hand in his and lifted it to his mouth, his breath feathering her skin as the floor expanded beneath them. “It’s a surprise.”
Did she like surprises? If her last memory was any indication, she doubted it very much.
“Brace yourself,” he murmured.
She stepped into his arms, closing her eyes as the shield shot them upward and then suddenly slowed. Her eyes opened. They were suspended once again between the ground and the craft. “What’s going on?”
The ship made some noise, and began to move slowly through the air.
“Relax,” Ezra said into her ear. “The ship is taking us someplace new. It will only take a few minutes.”
She held on to him, moving awkwardly to the sway of the suspended shield. Ezra, on the other hand, looked as natural and at one with the motion as a pirate would on a lurching ship.
She clasped his shoulders and stood on tiptoe, ensuring he’d hear her as she said over the whine of the ship’s engines, “When I first saw your craft that day up in the mountain, the noise it made was ear-piercing.”
“That’s because we needed to be somewhere in a hurry. Our captain discovered his life mate on the other side of the country.”
“But…how.”
“We’ve been aware of some human activity. Our craft’s sensors detected Renate’s life mate the same day we found you.”
She frowned. “So why hasn’t he gone to her?”
“He will go to her after our bonding ceremony.”
Her frown deepened. Anything could happen to the woman in the interim. Little wonder Renate was short with her when he’d led her to Maddox. He probably blamed her for the delay! “The ceremony…it is that highly regarded?”
Ezra nodded. “Yes. Only a royal birth exceeds it.”
She shivered. Somehow she’d forgotten her purpose to these three men. Forgotten she was a woman they hoped to impregnate with their children. “Even if I am able to have your children, how will you know which of you,” she swallowed, “is the father?”
“The child will have the eye color and most of the traits of the father.”
“I see.” She stared into the distance, the future somehow overwhelming and a little bit frightening, even as it was exciting, exhilarating.
Ezra swiped back some hair from her face. “But who the father is won’t concern us. Our sons or daughters will be protected and loved by all three of us.”
She had no doubt about that. These men, though so different, all shared an amazing quality that went way beyond royal ties. They were loyal, selfless and passionate for their people, for her.
She leaned into his hardness, feeding off his strength. With one cheek pressed into the silky heat of his chest, she could see in the distance the Pacific Ocean, a ribbon of black azure with the rim of a full moon peeping from behind.
“We’re going to the beach?” she asked.
She didn’t need to see his face to perceive his smile. “We are. Your world has beautiful waters. I thought a change of scenery is just what you needed.”
She peered up again, the tender look on his face and the outspread weight of his hands on the small of her back making her feel cherished, valued, in a way she’d almost certainly never felt before she’d met the aliens. “You know me too well.” She frowned abruptly, feeling ill. “There won’t be—”
“No bodies, no,” he said, reading her too-open emotions. “I had my men scout ahead. It’s all clear.”
She shivered and pressed herself closer into his protective embrace. Though she had yet to recall the death of her people, the stark facts of her people’s demise couldn’t help but constantly taint this new life she’d embarked upon.
Ezra’s thumbs rotated over the small of her back, soothing her as he spoke. “It’s hard, I know. Hard not to feel guilty for being a survivor while almost everyone else lies dead.”
She jerked out a nod and then looked up at his grim face. “How did you deal with it—all the death?”
His eyes glittered in the moonlight, the shadows unable to hide the stark flare of pain. “I learned to take joy from every day I was given and made the most of my time, knowing grief wasn’t about to bring anyone back. Not ever.”
“You’re right.” Darkness had descended, but the moonlight caused the beach to gleam golden-white and inviting beneath them as she leaned back, an idea sparking into life. “But that’s no reason not to help the people who are still alive.”
She’d been denied true happiness, true love, from the moment she’d given up ballet and accepted a loveless marriage. She wouldn’t do that to someone else.
Ezra frowned a little, and she reached up to run a thumb over the jewel at his brow. “I want Renate to go to his woman as soon as he can—tonight—if possible.”
He looked almost comically incredulous. “What are you saying?”
“I want to reschedule my bonding ceremony to you, Dar and Maddox. I want the service held tonight, under the full moon.”
The whine of the mother ship above abruptly ceased. They hovered above the beautiful, pristine beach, the elongated shield awaiting Ezra’s command.
“I’m not sure you’re ready for that yet,” he murmured, but something shifted behind his stare. Respect? Admiration? Approval?
“Whatever it is you don’t think I’m ready for, I’ll tackle it head-on with you three by my side.”
He bent low, his mouth covering hers in a whisper-soft kiss that played havoc with her heart. He straigh
tened. “It will be done.”
He lifted her into his arms and held her steady as the shield abruptly shot them upward, straight into the bowels of the ship.
Minutes later, Ezra had carried her into Ak ‘ Bella, where Maddox patiently awaited their arrival. Ezra let her slide from his arms so that she could run into Maddox’s arms, breathing in his beautiful, earthy scent.
Maddox cupped her cheeks, bringing her gaze to his. “I can only presume from your early arrival and Ezra’s strong emotions, you want to move the bonding ceremony forward?”
“Yes.”
He was clearly puzzled but didn’t ask questions. Maddox apparently didn’t press for answers that would come to him all in good time. He nodded. “Then we will await Dar’s arrival.” He looked past her, his gaze locking on Ezra. “Our chosen are at the ready. Is the site clear?”
Chosen?
Ezra nodded. “Yes.”
They all three turned at the hurried tread of Dar as he approached. A green-spotted bird took noisy flight from its ground nest, which was made of woven, glossy blue-black feathers and almost hidden amongst tall, knotty-stemmed grasses.
“What is it?” Dar asked. He focused on her, all bristling energy and concern. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” She moved into his arms then and looked up at his taut face. “In fact, I’m starting to think I’ve never been better.”
Ezra and Maddox moved behind her. Dar looked startled as the two men linked arms before moving into position around her. “The ceremony is today?” he asked hoarsely.
Clearly this was some kind of ritual performed before the bonding ceremony.
Ezra spoke. “It is Lillian’s wish.”
Dar nodded at his brothers before he released her and stepped back, threading his arms with the other men’s. Silence reigned and she had the distinct impression that Dar was absorbing the other two men’s emotions. He studied her for the longest time. “Then it will be.”
She stayed in the circle as the surrounding men closed their eyes and began to chant in their lyrical language, voices pitching high and low in perfect harmony.