by Lexa Lumos
She probably only meant to stop him from leaving, but her grip unbalanced him, and he toppled sideways right on top of her. Now he was lying nestled between her legs, her breasts smashed against his chest and his cock pressed against the heat between her thighs. He froze, staring into her wide eyes. Her mouth parted in an O.
He scented the air, smelling... arousal? She wanted him?
He opened his mouth to say... he didn’t know what. Hopefully something clever. Before he could string a few impressive words together, she was kissing him. Her tongue slid over his, short circuiting his brain as fire zipped through him. Her fingers tangled in his hair, tugging lightly. She moaned, grinding against him in a sensual request. He’d never wanted to be naked so bad in his life. All worries about disappointing her fell right out of his over stimulated brain.
“Wait.” She pressed him back. “You’re not going to turn into a dragon in the middle of... you know? I mean Erys didn’t but...”
She was clearly worried about it, so he rushed to assure her. “Of course not. We’ve got better control than that.”
Her grin was wicked. “Good.”
She tore at his shirt, ripping the fabric until it fell to the floor in tatters. He shivered as she skimmed fingers over his bare skin, dipping to tug at his pants. He shifted so she could undo the buttons of his fly. He let out a hiss when her fingers brushed the tip of his cock, nearly making him come in his pants.
“Did I hurt you?” she whispered.
“No, I just....” He cleared his throat. “I’ve never made love to a female before. I’m afraid I won’t last long.”
She grinned. “Sometimes hard and fast is good.”
That did him in.
He let out a primal roar, and before either of them could blink, he had her naked beneath him. What was left of her clothes joined his on the floor.
She gazed at him, heavy lidded. “Fuck me, Fen.”
He pushed her legs apart and up. A single thrust and he was buried to the hilt, balls slapping against her ass.
She arched into him, urging him deeper, clawing at his chest and leaving red streaks. Eyes rolled back, she let out a deep groan. Her inner muscles spasmed around his cock, and he broke out in a sweat.
“More.” Her voice was raw.
Far be it from him to deny his mate. He pulled back until nothing but the tip of his cock remained inside her, then he thrust again hard.
She keened, arching to meet him.
“More. Please.”
He was close, too close. If he thrust again, he’d come without pleasing her, so he toyed with her nub, playing with her, feeling her grow wetter with each touch. She let out another keening sound, and he couldn’t hold himself back anymore. He slammed into her over and over. It took everything in him to hold back until he felt the first ripple of her orgasm, then he let himself go. His orgasm washed over him as he came. Her body milked him as she begged him not to stop.
And he didn’t, not until they both lay heaving for breath.
Holy shit. Her voice was clear in his mind.
He smiled, ecstatic. The bond had snapped into place. You got that right.
Chapter 14
Anya sat bolt upright, completely forgetting she was stark naked. He was in her head, just like Erys. “What the fuck?”
Fen was busy staring at her boobs.
“Stop staring,” she ordered.
“Can’t help it,” he muttered. “Thinking about taking you again once I get my breath back. The books didn’t even get close to explaining how amazing sex with my mate would be.”
She gave him a little shove, fighting down a blush and the thrill his words gave her. “Pay attention, dragon boy. You were in my head!”
“Of course, as you were in mine. We’re bonded now. All you have to do is mate with Taryk, and we’ll be a fully bonded unit.” He smiled happily, sprawled next to her caressing her thigh. “This is natural between Kiyrians.”
“But I’m not Kiyrian. I can’t turn into a dragon.”
He laughed. “Neither could Kiyrian females. You have all the necessary biology to bond with us just as they did.”
She didn’t remove his hand. She kind of liked it there. “What the fuck?” she said again, though there was no heat in it. “Why did I just have sex with you?” One minute they’d been having a perfectly normal conversation, and the next she’d wanted him so bad. “That’s it, isn’t it? The rejuvenation thing made my hormones go wacky.”
He scowled, obviously offended it wasn’t his manly prowess. “You’d have to ask Erys about the specifics, but no. It wasn’t that. It was...we’re mates. That’s how it works.”
She snorted. “Puh-lease.”
He glared. “I suppose you consider me a mistake.”
Her heart made a strange little lurch at the thought. He’d saved her, like Erys and Taryk had. She grabbed his arm, that little zing humming through her at the contact. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. It’s just this crazy sex stuff. It’s not me.”
“What do you mean?”
She sighed. “I never enjoyed it much,” she admitted. “When my ex-husband lost interest, I was sort of relieved. I... I never had an orgasm before. With a man. And now I’ve had them with two.” Her face grew hot. Would Erys be jealous?
“It’ll be three once you bond with Taryk,” he said proudly. “Bet he gives you an amazing orgasm.”
Her face grew hotter, along with other body parts. “That’s what I mean. This sort of thing isn’t usual on Earth.”
He sighed. “Earth men have a lot to answer for.”
“They’re not all bad,” she insisted.
“Perhaps, but they have clearly brainwashed women to not enjoy sex as they should.” He eyed her. “I understand I wasn’t very good, being new at this, but if you’ll let me, I will try harder.”
She gaped at him. Not very good? “Are you insane?”
He frowned. “I don’t think so. My last psych eval showed remarkable stability, as is usual for the vizier of a triad.”
That almost made her laugh. “I didn’t mean it literally. You and Erys are the best I’ve ever had.” Thoughts of Taryk doing to her what the other two had done flooded her mind, exciting her all over again. She shoved those thoughts aside to focus on Fen. “It was quick but very satisfying.”
He grinned proudly. “Truly?”
“Truly.”
“Then why are you upset?”
She sighed. “I don’t even know. I’m very confused.”
“That is understandable. You come from a world with different rules and expectations. We can’t expect you to easily accept everything we ask of you. It is not fair of us. We must learn from you also.”
She was surprised he understood her so well. “I have hang-ups,” she admitted. “It’s hard for me to get close to people, to admit I enjoy sex, and the fact I’ve enjoyed it with two men, and you’re okay with that? It’s different. Hard to wrap my head around. And I’m expected to sleep with a third? Like I have to do it—”
“You don’t have to,” he said. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t wish to. But it would be best. We can’t be fully bonded until you do. I’m certain you will enjoy it.”
She’d just bet she would. “I’m trying. This is certainly better than life back on Earth, for me at least.” She realized it was true, and she wanted more. She wanted him. “Come here.”
She pulled him down against her, kissing him softly, sweetly, and then with increasing passion. She spread her legs for him, nudging his already hard cock into her entrance. This time it was slow, deep, and sensual. When she came, she felt him all around her, protecting her, embracing her body and soul.
FEN FELT A BIT SMUG as he helped himself to a snack in the dining pod. The dragon side of him let out a huff of contentment. He’d bonded with his mate in the best way possible, just like Erys. Only Taryk to go. Erys eyed him over a mug of steaming coffee, a habit he’d picked up from Earth. Fen preferred the sweeter chocoa
of his people.
“Last night went well, I see.” There was relief in Erys’s tone.
Fen dropped into a seat across from his triad brother. As with all triads, they were not genetically related, but they’d been together since they were young. “Very.”
Erys nodded. “Good.” His lips quirked. “She hasn’t made this easy.”
“No, she has not.”
“I don’t blame her. Things did not go as we would have wished.”
Fen cleared his throat and broached the uncomfortable subject. “We should tell her the truth. She deserves to know.”
“That her people sold her? Sold them all? Can you imagine the pain that would bring her? And what does it say about us that we went along with it?”
They’d had this argument many times. “That we’re desperate.”
Erys sighed and leaned back. “I hate this.”
“I know, but it’s necessary. You know this. We cannot keep the truth from her.”
Erys shrugged. “Do you think she’ll like Kiyria?”
“I hope so. It would be better if she bonded with Taryk before we get there.”
“I don’t know if she will. He’s the one who took her. She’s still pretty pissed about it.”
Fen took a sip of chocoa. The rich, smooth flavor coated his tongue and warmed his insides. “If the bond isn’t completed, it could still snap.”
Erys gave him a look. “You think she’ll choose another triad over us?”
Sharp pain stabbed somewhere in the vicinity of Fen’s heart. “It’s her right.” Although it would break them. Damage from which they’d likely never recover.
“We can’t force her.”
“I don’t want to force her.”
Erys reached over and squeezed his hand. “All will be as it should, brother. Have faith.”
Fen rubbed his face. “I can’t help but worry.”
Erys grinned. “As is your job as vizier. But it will be well. I can feel it in my gut.”
Fen raised a brow and gave him a little smirk. “You should have that looked at.”
Chapter 15
“Looks a lot like Earth, doesn’t it?” Jane stopped beside Anya, staring out the viewscreen at the planet looming large below.
Jane was wearing a shimmery, snug uniform, just like the rest of the crew. Interesting. Things with her and the captain must be progressing.
“A little,” Anya admitted, turning back to the view. “Greener, though.”
It was true. The oceans were smaller, the landmasses bigger, but there was almost no brown and zero pollution from what she could tell. White cloud cover swirled across the surface.
“The captain says it’s lusher than Earth. They fixed their deforestation and pollution problems millennia ago.”
She held back a grin, unable to resist teasing her friend. “Does he now?”
The two women had become increasingly close over the last few weeks of their travels. Jane also spent a lot of time with her Vane—hence the teasing—and Anya did the same with Fen and Erys. Taryk, on the other hand, was so busy she rarely saw him. Frankly, she wasn’t sure how much she wanted to. He was the one who’d taken her. The others were guilty by association, but he’d done the deed.
If she were truly honest with herself, she’d forgiven him long ago, and his continued absence frustrated her. Still, it was easier to pretend otherwise than to admit her pride was pricked. “Do you think Earth is safe from the Krull?” Anya voiced one of her deepest fears. Outside the messiness of her emotions, anyway.
The muscles in Jane’s jaw flexed. “Better be. If not, the Kiyrians will help. They’ve got a vested interest in our wellbeing.” Her tone was dry.
“When do you think they’ll let us off this ship?” If anyone would know, it was Jane.
“Vane said within the next twenty-six hours. That’s a standard Kiyrian day. We’re almost within range for the landing vessels.”
Anya rubbed one arm nervously. “What will happen to us?” It was only a semi-rhetorical question. Erys had explained to her that she would, if she wanted, live with them. The idea of living with a man, any man, was uncomfortable. But three? And one of them Taryk? The whole thing was a bit overwhelming.
“Unbonded women will be provided with housing and everything they need until such time as they choose bond mates.” Jane sounded like she was quoting a brochure.
“And we’re just going to pick husbands and pump out babies?” Anya couldn’t help the bitterness in her voice. Her ex claimed one of the reasons he’d cheated on her was because she didn’t want children. Something he’d agreed with until he got his bimbo secretary pregnant. Her comment startled a laugh from Jane. “God, no. I mean, yeah, we get to pick. They typically initiate the bonding process, but we have the final say about who we want as mates, if we want any at all. We also have final say in procreating. They don’t actually need us physically. Just our DNA. They’ve got artificial wombs and all sorts of gadgets. Those who don’t wish to be mothers can donate their genetic material, so the geneticists can grow babies to be raised by unmated triads or women who wish to remain unmated but would like to raise children.”
“Oh.” She thought about that. “So Erys was telling the truth. They don’t just want us as breeders?”
Jane shook her head. “They need us to keep their civilization alive. They’re matriarchal, remember? And there’s something about how the triads and mating bonds work. I’m not sure what, but it goes very deep. Without it their civilization would fall. Like ancient Rome or something but worse. The fact they’ve functioned without women for three decades is sort of a miracle, according to Vane.”
It matched what Erys and Fen had told her, but she hadn’t entirely believed them. How could a civilization completely crumble without women, other than as breeders? Well, she understood how, but she’d been utterly baffled that they had. Men generally thought they ruled the universe. That women were there to serve their greed and lust and nothing more. It was more than she could comprehend that there was a people who would embrace the strength of women. Not only embrace it, but encourage it. She smiled tightly. “I guess we’ll find out the truth in a couple days.”
Jane gave her a knowing look. “I guess we will.”
“Will you live with the captain?”
“Vane mostly lives on the ship. Usually his triad is with him, but their vizier was injured before this mission, so the other two stayed on the planet while he healed. I guess I’m gonna mostly live on this ship.” She grinned happily, as if bopping around the universe was a dream come true. Maybe for a former military woman, it was. “I’ll be checking out the planet though. Vane will have a few days leave before the next mission to Earth. They have a small cottage near the sea, he says. Can’t wait to see it.”
“I wonder what my triad’s house is like,” Anya wondered. It didn’t escape her that she’d used the possessive. She doubted it had escaped Jane either.
“Bet it’s nice,” Jane mused. “They’re highly respected, the Tauls. They’d have to be to be entrusted with this mission. It’s only the future of their entire race at stake. To the Kiyrians, the Tauls are heroes.”
Anya grimaced. “And to Earth, they’re villains.”
“What?”
“They kidnapped us, remember?”
Jane stared at her, eyes wide. “You don’t know, do you?”
Anya frowned. “Know what?”
“They sold us.”
“What?”
Jane folded her arms. “The US Government sold us to the Kiyrians.”
Something sick twisted in Anya’s gut. “I don’t understand.”
“When the Kiyrians first came to Earth and discovered we were genetically compatible, they approached the United Nations and asked for women to help them save their world. They were refused. They pointed out that Earth is overpopulated, dying. Something had to be done and soon if humans were to survive. A few hundred volunteers were all they asked for, and they were refused—even when
they offered cures for horrible diseases and technology that would end pollution.”
“They offered all that?” She shouldn’t be surprised that humans would be so short-sighted or that Kiyrians would be so generous, but she was.
“They were going to resort to threats. Not awesome, but they were desperate, so I get it. Anyway, the so-called American government contacted them and said they’d give them women, but they had to take only the ones specified and do it secretly. In exchange the government wanted not the cure to cancer or the end to global warming, but weapons.”
Anger pulsed at her temples. “Of course they did. Did the Kiyrians give them weapons?”
Jane laughed. “Of a sort. Non-lethal ones. Non-operational experiments that humans will never figure out. Plus a few that, when activated, will help with pollution whether the government wants it or not.”
“But why us? You and me, I mean. The others.”
“Because we were undesirable.” Jane sneered. “Past our prime. Unable to have children any longer. Outspoken, intelligent, everything human governments don’t want around.”
Anya all but growled. “I guess the joke was on them.” The rejuvenation pods had reversed all that.
“Yeah, it was. They have no idea the kind of tech the Kiyrians have, and the Kiyrians aren’t bothered by age. They want intelligence, strength, and compassion. Everything we were derided for on Earth.”
“But why us. Surely, we weren’t the only ‘undesirables’ on Earth.”
“I’m betting it’s because none of us have families. I was an only child, parents dead, never married, no one to bitch about me going missing,” Jane said. “We disappear, and no one notices.”
She had a point. Since her divorce and move to Oregon, she hadn’t had anyone either. “Why didn’t the guys tell me this?”
Jane shrugged. “Maybe they didn’t know it would make a difference. Or maybe they didn’t want to hurt you, knowing your own people sold you out.”
“Not my people,” Anya said staunchly. She refused to align herself with anyone who would treat women as if they were chattel and theirs to sell.