Destiny Found (Epsilon Chronicles Book 1)

by Beth Valentine

  “Yes, you may come back. With my blessing.”

  They were making their way back when a ship moved out in front of theirs from behind a nearby moon.

  Natalie squinted, unsure if her eyes were actually registering what she was seeing or if she had manifested it by herself. When the other ship hailed her, she jumped up and answered, this time on the view screen.

  On the screen, Ben and Kayla sat with wide grins on their faces. Kayla was bobbing up and down in her seat like she couldn’t sit still.

  Natalie collapsed into the seat and just stared at them.

  “Don’t just sit there silently, woman. Tell us you’re okay!”

  Natalie shook her head in shock, feeling a smile tug her mouth.

  “I’m okay! When did you guys get here? Why didn’t you answer my hails? I was worried you didn’t get there in time, or you died or something.”

  Kayla snorted. “I see your imagination has done you wonders. We got here early and did a bit of exploring. By the way, can we meet this hunky man you were telling us about? He sounded yummy.”

  Natalie blushed as she looked over her shoulder and saw that Taavi’s eyebrows were raised.

  “Uh. Sure.”

  Come here, and don’t be an idiot. First impressions are lasting impressions.

  Taavi winked as he made his way over to her, sitting down beside her, and peered into the view screen.

  “Hello, Ben. Kayla. I’m Taavi.”

  Kayla’s eyes were bulging, her mouth open in shock. Clearly she wasn’t expecting all that Taavi was.

  She pulled herself together and smiled slyly.

  “Well, hello there. I’m Kayla,” she purred. “Well, aren’t you a good-looking man. Maybe if you get sick of Natalie, we could play sometime.”

  Natalie fought to keep her face blank as she watched Taavi’s eyes widen. He shot her a startled look that transformed into anger.

  That’s who you call a friend? A sister?

  He turned back to Kayla and spoke. “I will never be sick of Natalie. And if she were to ever get sick of me, I would pine for her. You call her your friend, and yet she told you she is with me, and you are flirting? That isn’t a friend at all.”

  “Taavi.” Natalie chuckled, putting her hand on his bicep. She looked at Kayla, who was smiling wide, and Ben who had a thoughtful look on his face, and explained. “She was kidding. She was teasing you, and testing you. She does that a lot to everyone, so it’s normal for her. Plus, you passed her test, so that’s good.”

  Taavi looked confused between Natalie and Kayla.

  “Easy, big guy. I would never ever try and take someone away from Natalie. She’s my little sister, for Pete’s sake. I would never do anything to hurt her. I was teasing you. I wanted to see if you could withstand my seduction test – you know me so well Natalie – and you did pass. So you have Kayla’s stamp of approval.” She looked over at Ben and nudged him. “However, I think you still need to prove yourself to big brother Ben here. I’m a pussycat compared to him.” She winked, smiling again.

  “Ben,” Natalie called.

  Ben blinked and focused. “Right. Sorry. Okay. Where do we go from here?”

  “Follow me to Tarlon. We’ll land on their base, and go from there. I’m just really excited to hug you guys.”

  “Likewise. Okay, lead on and we’ll follow. Out.”

  Taavi shook his head in wonderment.

  Your friends are odd – a good odd – but odd, nonetheless.

  They may be odd, but they’re mine, and you’ll love them.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  When they landed in the hangar, Natalie rushed from the ship, ran to the other ship, and waited for the door opened. When she saw Ben and Kayla, she jumped on the both of them.

  Kayla was screaming, Ben was laughing, and Natalie was crying. They were a hot mess, and loving every minute of it. They were talking over each other, just too excited to stop.

  Clearing throats from behind Ben and Kayla made them get out of the doorway.

  A petite blonde with curly hair and blue eyes stood there, a grin on her face and a white lab coat on.

  “I take it this is the infamous Natalie. It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Gracelynn, but you can call me Grace. I’m the doctor on board.”

  Natalie shook her hand and, one by one, met the other seven people aboard their ship. There were two scientists, three engineers, an officer, and a nurse.

  They got them settled in their private floor before taking Kayla and Ben to Ty’s chambers to discuss the treaty.

  Ty walked over to the table where they had first met, and gestured for everyone to have a seat. Ty sat down and folded his hands, focusing on Ben and Kayla.

  “Natalie has told me you were able to contact your government and that you would be acting as an intermediary until someone from your planet is able to make the trip. Should we begin?”

  Ben nodded. “I have been given the task of acting on behalf of my planet. We are informally accepting your offer to make this planet our home. After someone more official is able to come with the proper papers, there will be a formal treaty. For now, it’s my job to make sure that when we start relocating, that there will be a place for my people to live. Meaning we need to start finding places for them to live. Though I will say that the council has decided that they would like to send some people over for a year, just to see how everything goes, before setting up a massive relocation plan. Would that be okay?”

  Ty nodded. “That should be fine. I will speak with the Elders and let you know for sure, but at the end of the day I have the final say, and I think it should be fine. Now, you must be tired, so I will let you get some rest. It was nice meeting you both. We’ll discuss more when you’re more accustomed to the planet.”

  Ben, Kayla, Natalie, and Taavi made their way back to the private floor the humans were staying on. When they walked into the living room, Tali was sitting on the couch, surrounded by the males of the group, listening to Gracelynn speak.

  Taavi cleared his voice and they watched Tali jump.

  “Dear brother, you didn’t tell me you were back.” She pouted a little. “I had to wander here myself.”

  Taavi scoffed. “Tali, you’re more in the know than I am most of the time. I swear you have spies everywhere.”

  “I am good, aren’t I?” She wandered over to their group, first staring at Ben, then Kayla, stopping at Natalie. “I take it this is your family? Ben and Kayla?” At Natalie’s nod, her face split into a wide grin, gave a small hop and hugged Ben. “It is so wonderful to meet you! Natalie has told me so much about you. She never said how handsome you were though.”

  She winked at Ben as she pulled away.

  Turning to Kayla, she scrutinized her, tilting her head to the side.

  Natalie wasn’t sure what she was doing, and was a little concerned by her silence.

  “So, you’re Natalie’s sister, huh?”

  Kayla squinted her eyes right back. “Yeah. I am. And you are?”

  Tali studied her for a moment longer before smiling again.

  “She’s my sister, too. Meaning, that makes us sisters.” She grabbed Kayla and pulled her into her arms.

  Kayla stared at Natalie over Tali’s arm, widening her eyes comically before smiling and winking.

  She pulled out of Tali’s arms and looked her up and down.

  “Dang. You’re a hottie, aren’t you?” She looked over at Natalie and smiled. “Definitely girl crush material right there.” When Tali just stood there, stunned, Kayla laughed. “You’re welcome.”

  Tali’s face cleared and she smiled back. “Well, aren’t you sweet? We’ll get along very well, I think.”

  Taavi took a step forward and grabbed Tali, dragging her to the door.

  “Well, we’ll leave you all to catch up with one another.” He stopped and took a few steps back to Natalie, grabbed her and kissed the life out of her. Satisfied he had staked his claim, he pulled back. “I’ll be back in an hour. Have fun.” />
  Natalie stared longingly after Taavi, jumping when Kayla sidled up to her and nudged her.

  “Shit, babe. That was seriously hot. He’s seriously hot. What else have you done with him?” When Natalie blushed, Kayla laughed. “No freaking way! You did the dirty? I’m so proud!” She gave a fake sniffle. “My baby is growing up.”

  Ben groaned. “Kayla, will you not do that in front of me? I don’t want to know about Natalie… about that. Or you for that matter, but you don’t ever shut up.”

  “Hey,” Kayla complained, her bottom lip sticking out. “You’re mean.”

  “Whatever.” Ben walked to Kayla and Natalie and slung his arms around their shoulders. “I’m just glad I have both my girls here with me.”

  Natalie rested her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arm around his waist. They went and sat on the couch like that, snuggling in.

  Natalie looked around at the other people in the room, and even though she didn’t want to talk about herself in front of them, she knew it was important to do so.

  “Okay, so here’s what’s happened that you should know.”

  And then she told them the whole story of the Nezleans, the war, the Earth myths, the purists groups and the soile-miena’s. After she was done, she looked around the group waiting, for the questions to start.

  “Wait, so you have a bond with this sexy man. Like a telepathic bond? That’s insane. I want one,” Kayla joked. “But seriously, that’s actually pretty cool. Also, congratulations, and I’m excited for this bonding ceremony.”

  “So am I. I wanted to wait for you guys to be here for the ceremony, so he agreed to wait.”

  “Awe, that is so sweet. There aren’t that many good men out there.”

  Grace spoke for the first time, a sad look in her eyes.

  Kayla and Natalie shared a look, knowing there was a story there.

  “Well, I can’t speak to that, but he is very sweet for sure. Most of the men and women, I’ve met here have been friendly and helpful. I think you’ll find it fairly easy to make friends.”

  “I want more than friends, babe. Some of those men were downright yummy. That man with the scar and blue eyes? The king? Basically anyone we’ve met has been major eye candy. Me likey.”

  Ben sighed. “You’re too much, Kayla. You need to focus.” He turned to Natalie. “So, will these Nezleans be a problem?”

  “I don’t think so. We’ve tried some of the Tarlons experimental weapons, and they pack a serious punch. The Nezleans have been staying away since that weapon was introduced. But I can’t say for sure, one way or another. All I can say is that I hope they all die. Especially Imhal. He was evil.”

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you, Nat.” Ben looked at her through sad eyes. “I shouldn’t have let you go out there alone.”

  “Stop. Ben, that wasn’t your fault and you know it. Nothing serious happened, and I only have minor scarring. I’d call that a win. It’s over, let it go.”

  Ben nodded, obviously still angry with himself.

  Well, he’ll just have to let it go. I have. Well, mostly.

  “Okay, well I know you all have a lot of questions, so get to it. We only have a short while before Taavi will be back, and if you have questions that you think might be offensive, I would ask them now.”

  After another half hour of answering everyone’s questions, Taavi returned.

  “You ready to go? Or do you want more time?”

  Natalie got up, hugged Kayla and Ben, and walked over to Taavi.

  “I’m ready.” She grabbed his hand and when he tugged her out of the door, she grabbed the doorframe and peaked her head back in. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow. Get some sleep.”

  “How’d that go? Nice to have them back?”

  “Oh, Taavi. It was wonderful. I keep catching myself thinking this is a dream and they aren’t really here. But then I’ll pinch myself, and I know it’s actually real. I’m so happy! And now that they’re here, we can have the ceremony right on time. Just think, in two days, I’ll be Mrs. Taavi Larn.”

  “I like the sound of that. It suits you.”

  “Actually, I’m in such a good mood, I think I’ll use our bet tonight. I have a surprise for you.”

  “You do? Well then, let’s hurry up. I want to see this surprise.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  When they got back to the apartment, they went straight into their room, shutting and locking the door. They moved around the room, taking off their clothes, going into the washroom, and getting ready for bed.

  When Taavi was lying naked on the bed, Natalie went to the closet and reached onto the top of the shelf to grab a box. She brought it back to the bed and set it down beside Taavi.

  He picked it up and looked at Natalie.

  “What’s this?” He jiggled the box, his brow creasing in concentration.

  Natalie laughed, excited to see his face when he opened it. “Open it.”

  He carefully opened the box, throwing the top to the floor, and took it out.

  His face was comical, a mixture of confusion and arousal.

  Natalie laughed when he looked at her with a silly grin on his face.

  In his hands, he was holding the vibrator Kayla had given her that first day. A long, thick metal vibrator that looked funny in his beautiful hands.

  She smothered a smile, watching his face as he studied it. She thought it was time to use it, and what better way than to have Taavi use it on her.

  “You want me to use this? On you, right?”

  “No, I want you to use it on yourself. Of course it’s for me. Duh. I thought it would be a fun little treat for us. I’ve never actually used one, so we’ll have to play it by ear.”

  Taavi looked back at the long shaft in his hands, examining it from tip to tail. He found the buttons at the end, and pressed the first one. It started vibrating in his hand, startling them both. They laughed as it continued to emit a buzzing noise.

  Taavi looked back at the buttons and said, “I think this is the lowest setting. Watch this.”

  He pressed the second button and the buzzing got faster and louder. He pressed it a third time and Natalie’s eyes widened.

  She hoped they didn’t use it on that setting; it was almost out of control.

  “We are not putting it on that setting. No way. Look at it go. Shut it off.”

  “Whatever you say, alaila. This is your show tonight.”

  She walked over to him and lay down beside him, shoving the rest of the box onto the floor.

  “I’m ready if you are.”

  Taavi grinned and sat up, leaned over her and kissed her gently. He sucked on her bottom lip, gently probed his tongue into her mouth, and when she opened, he took full advantage. Their tongues dueled and danced, twirling around each other and then retreating. He pulled away and rubbed his nose along hers, giving her a small kiss before sitting up.

  Do you want me to start with this?

  He held up the vibrator in one hand.

  Or these.

  He held up his other hand.

  Natalie huffed a laugh.

  Both. Either. I don’t care. You choose. Surprise me.

  I will. Just lay back and enjoy.

  Taavi moved to her neck, kissing, biting, and licking his way down to her chest. When he took her nipple into his mouth, he switched on the toy and touched it to her clit.

  She jerked and cried out, surprised he had done that. Then she moaned as she became overloaded with sensation.

  Taavi turned it up one more level and with firm pressure, rubbed it up and down.

  Natalie jerked, gasping and moaning; writhing beneath him as he switched his attention between both her nipples. When he tugged on one, and bit down on the other, Natalie cried out as the small pain sent her over the edge.

  Taavi, oh gosh! Taavi.

  She repeated his name like a prayer, over and over again until she came back down.

  Taavi brought the metal toy up and wiggled it.
>
  “I like this thing. That didn’t take long at all.”

  Natalie gasped in mock affront, “It’s not my fault you suck at your job. This little thing put in a good effort, and I rewarded it by finishing quickly.”

  His eyebrows rose as he growled, “Hey, I do my best. And you love it.”

  “I know, I was teasing, you big baby.”

  “I’ll show you who’s going to be crying for mercy.”

  Natalie laughed as he fell on her, gave her a quick kiss, and slithered between her legs. She watched as he used the vibrator to part her, rubbing it up, down, and sideways, getting it lubed up from her release.

  When it was ready, he turned it back on, rubbing it up to her clit and down to her opening, gently inserting it inside, before doing the circuit over again.

  He did this many times, teasing her, laughing when she begged and nipping her when she threatened.

  Taavi, I swear I will never ever have sex with you if you don’t do something NOW! Please, you have to do something or stop right now.

  He chuckled.

  Patience, alaila. I’ll reward you. Just hang on a little longer.

  Natalie huffed, annoyed and sexually frustrated.

  Every time she felt she could come, he backed off, bringing her back down again. To say she hated him in that moment wouldn’t be a lie. Just when she was about to get off the bed, he inserted the vibrator and thrust inside.

  Yes! More.

  As you command, you little dictator.

  Not yet I’m not. But when it’s your turn, I will be.

  He turned the toy as high as it would go, forcing a squeal out of Natalie as he thrust it into her.

  “Taavi. Do it faster. Harder.”

  She could feel herself swept up in sensation, going higher and higher, faster than she ever had before.

  He bent his head, still thrusting, and sucked her clit into his mouth.

  She screamed loud, and she screamed hard, the orgasm hitting so unexpectedly it almost hurt. When she was coming back down, expecting a sweet reception from Taavi, she realized that he kept going, thrusting the toy between her legs and sucking on her clit.

  Just like that, she could feel herself grow aroused again, but she was more sensitive from her recent releases and all too soon it grew to be too much to bear.