by Ivy Barrett
Whipping her head toward Galzar, she continued her tirade. “The Protectorate isn’t any better. You used the guise of Carnal Compensation to manipulate human females until you found out some of us can produce Ventori babies. Suddenly every potential mate is taken into ‘protective custody,’ and the pretense of volunteering flew right out the window. So save your indignation for a less informed audience and work on respecting females!”
“No one would deny that this situation is fucked up,” Galzar said in a calm, rational tone. “But I can’t answer for the decisions made by Chancellor Savator and his ministers.”
She swung back toward Ram. “You don’t have that excuse. How do you justify treating human females like a commodity?”
If it weren’t for the stress they were under, she’d already be over his lap. Still, her verbal assaults were challenging his composure. “You disagree with my reasons because you are not Yashonty. Human traditions are just as confounding to me. Criticize our treatment of alien females all you like. I find the way humans treat children indefensible!”
“We are all agitated,” Galzar pointed out. “I suggest we postpone theological debates until bonding fever has run its course.”
Celeste remained tense and agitated but didn’t argue.
Galzar directed the conversation back to the original question. “If you did not agree to participate, how did this fiasco begin?”
Releasing his ire with a long breath, Ram explained, “Vikrin administered the injection without permission from anyone. It had already happened when I learned about it or obviously I would have stopped him. He will be punished as soon as I figure out who else is involved.”
“And this Pryar person? Is he in custody or at the very least under investigation?” Growing more restless by the moment, Galzar pushed to his feet as well. “Why the fuck did he do this to us?”
“Moxtel and my head of security are investigating. We will have answers to all those questions and more.”
“Pryar must disagree with Vikrin’s strategy,” Celeste said thoughtfully; her surging emotions seemed to be under control again. “It’s the only thing that makes sense. Vikrin probably coerced him into participating in the first place.”
“I’m reserving my conclusions until I have all the facts.” Her only response was a nod, so Ram moved on. He shared Galzar’s need for action and didn’t care if it was violent or sexual. He just needed an outlet for this building urgency. Ram looked from Galzar to Celeste, then back. If he harmed Galzar, Celeste would never forgive him, so it was time to move beyond the fact that Galzar was Ventori. He was Celeste’s other mate, which meant Ram needed to get along with him. Galzar had seemed likable enough before he went into rut. “Do you have a pod? Most Ventori do.”
“Both my podmates were killed in battle, one eleven years ago, the other two. I was just assigned a new ship and hadn’t had time to select new podmates or decide if I’d live without them for a time.”
“That brings up an entirely different set of complications,” Ram realized with a sigh. “We each command a ship. If we share a mate, it’s a logistical nightmare.”
“If?” Galzar challenged, facing him squarely. “I have no intention of severing my bond with Celeste. Are you thinking about severing yours?”
With a distressed sound, Celeste shot to her feet, and panic rippled across their fragile bond. He’d barely begun to claim her when they’d been so rudely interrupted. This wasn’t fair to her. She deserved more from her mate, from both her mates. “Celeste is and will always be my mate, so you’re right. There is no ‘if’ about it.”
Ram heard her relieved exhale and shifted his gaze to her flushed face. “Get over here, pet.” The rest could wait. All the complications would be worked out through determination and compromise. He would sacrifice much to make this female happy, even if it turned out that she could not bring forth life. His desire for her was more intense than any attraction he’d ever felt before, and he was looking forward to knowing her better. Even if all they shared was comfort, he would cherish his time with her. “We’ve got some catching up to do.”
“Not as much as you’d think,” Galzar assured him. “She was pretty upset once the worst of the fever subsided. We’ve done nothing but talk for the past hour and a half.”
Celeste walked to Ram and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I’m so sorry this happened. Well, I’m not sorry it happened, but I’m sorry about the way it happened. This was forced on all of us, and I really didn’t—”
He silenced her with his mouth, needing to kiss her much more than listen to her rambling apology. “We’ll work out the details once we solidify our bonds,” he suggested when he finally came up for air.
“Agreed,” Galzar said, his gaze narrowed and gleaming. “She says she’s sorry, but I know if my mate ran off with another male during the middle of our bonding day, I’d punish her harshly before I fucked her into oblivion.”
“Galzar,” she cried, but Ram saw the mischief in her bright green eyes.
“You’re right,” Ram said firmly. “She needs discipline before we continue fucking her senseless. Did you already take her virgin ass?”
“She’s never been ass-fucked before?” Galzar grinned wolfishly. “You fucked her pussy and mouth first. My cock should be the first to stretch her sweet little ass.”
“I could be persuaded,” Ram told Galzar. “But that ‘sweet little ass’ is going to be seriously sore on the outside while you dominate the inside.”
“Works for me.” Galzar threw her over his shoulder and headed for the bedroom.
Feeling savage and ravenous for his mate, Ram followed a step behind.
“None of this works for me!” Celeste kicked and yelled, pounding on Galzar’s back, but Ram heard no real terror in her voice. She was putting on a show, challenging her mates to subdue her.
Galzar set her down beside the bed and Ram untied her belt, opening the robe. “Take it off. Show us the beautiful body that now belongs to us.”
She shrugged out of the simple garment and stood before them naked, nervously licking her lips. “This is so strange. I was determined to save my sisters from the exact trap I’ve fallen into myself. And the worst part is I didn’t save either of them. How am I supposed to accept that?”
“I only saw Lorna briefly, but she did not seem unhappy,” Galzar insisted. “She now has mates, not masters.”
Celeste shook her head. “I’m not sure that’s any better. Ram’s my mate, and he still expects me to call him Master.” Little by little, her distress built.
“If I set you free right now, would you leave?” Ram nearly choked on the question, but this had gone on long enough. “Be honest. We’ll both know if you lie.” Were her sisters and bonding fever the only reasons Celeste was here? If she felt nothing but lust for Galzar and him, Ram would take her back to Earth. His pulse tripled, and he found it hard to breathe as he waited for her answer.
Her gaze searched Ram’s for a long, tense moment as guilt washed over him. She’d been kidnapped, imprisoned, genetically mutated, and abused, at least from the human perspective. Regardless of what she felt now, freewill was no longer part of the equation. She had been reshaped by circumstances far beyond her control. Nothing he could say or do would change the situation they now faced.
She dragged her gaze away from Ram and looked at Galzar, then shook her head. “It’s too late for running away. I sense you both too clearly now.” She took a quick breath, and her voice grew stronger as she went on. “This is where I belong, but I’m still conflicted. I knew who I was on Earth. I had goals and aspirations. This environment is so different, so strange. I’m not sure who I am up here.”
Ram stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers. “You’re my mate. Our mate,” he quickly corrected before Galzar could object. “Your sisters will still be part of your life, and you will discover new goals and aspirations as you explore your new environment.”
She was avoiding his gaze, and her arm
s crept up to cover her breasts. It was hard to see such a spirited female filled with doubt and indecision. He ached for her, had been hard and needful for hours, but this was more important than releasing the pressure in his balls.
“We can feel how much you desire us,” Galzar moved in close behind her, apparently agreeing with Ram’s decision to wait for physical comfort. “Why are you still so uncertain?”
“Your expectations of females are nearly opposite of what I’ve worked toward my entire life,” she admitted. “Humans try to be self-sufficient and independent, loyal to each other, but depending on no one but themselves. Those are the characteristics my culture values.”
“Are you sure?” Determined to interrupt her downward spiral of thoughts and emotions, Ram challenged her. “I’ve studied your archives and entertainment files. It seems to me that humans, especially Americans, value wealth, power, youth, and beauty over any of the things you mentioned.”
“Well, you want to turn me into a mindless puppet. A pet,” she objected, spirit erupting in her expressive eyes.
“Don’t confuse submission with subjugation,” Galzar countered, clearly understanding Ram’s strategy. Galzar stood behind her, hands lightly resting on her shoulders. “Anyone can force their will on another. You have been at Ram’s mercy ever since he brought you aboard. He could have turned you into a ‘mindless puppet’ at any time, and there was nothing you could have done to stop him. What we need from our mate is a mutually beneficial trade. We offer you strength and provision, affection and protection. In exchange, you give us comfort, obedience, and trust. And eventually, the possibility of offspring.”
Well put. Ram passed the thought to Galzar before continuing the lesson. “You have been deprived of male support your entire life.” Ram wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck and caressed her pulse line with his thumb. “You and your sisters had to protect and provide for each other. That is unnatural to us.”
She tensed, clearly disagreeing with the conclusion. “We did just fine until the Skarilians attacked.” She twisted away from his hand as she added, “Neither of your planets fared any better than Earth.”
“True.” Galzar pulled her arms down, baring her breasts then wrapped his arm around her waist. “This isn’t about the Skarilians. It’s about your fear of the unknown.”
“Unknown?” She laughed, but her anxiety surged rather than receding. “I know exactly what to expect. That’s the problem. You want to fuck my ass, and Ram wants to hurt me.”
Ram cupped her chin and tilted her head back until she looked into his eyes. “Which scares you more? Knowing that causing you pain arouses me or that being hurt arouses you?”
“Everyone knows you’re ruthless,” she said softly. “I’d be surprised if you didn’t want to hurt me. But I don’t want to be aroused by pain. That is not part of my personality.”
“No, it’s part of your physiology, or at least it is now.” He chose his next words carefully. She needed to face the reality of their situation, but he didn’t want her to shut down again. “I hate that this was forced on you, and the Tavorians will pay dearly for what they did. I can’t change what took place, and the mutation cannot be reversed. Prime Medic Noj confirmed that it’s too late. You have been genetically altered to be compatible with Galzar and me. I don’t know about your other mate, but pain is an inexorable part of sex for me.”
“With me, it’s more about control,” Galzar told her. “That’s why discipline is so important. There are many ways to control a rebellious mate. Pain is just one of them.”
Ram paused, hoping she’d say something, but she wasn’t ready to talk. “You were aroused both times I disciplined you. Do you deny it?”
She shook her head.
“Then why is this still an issue?”
“I don’t want to be aroused by pain,” she said vehemently. “It makes me feel dirty, perverted.”
“This is not Earth, and your mates are not human,” Ram said firmly. Allowing her to continue with these arguments was counterproductive. “You are not fully human any longer. You are a new being, with new needs and different desires. We will do everything in our power to make you happy, to keep you safe and satisfied. But you must let go of the past before your new life can begin.” Ram glanced at the Ventori and found him grinning from ear to ear. “You find this amusing?”
“No,” Galzar assured him. “You’re repeating the conversation I was having with Celeste for the past hour and a half. I agree with you completely. She isn’t human anymore, so she needs to stop thinking like one.”
“It’s not as simple as you make it sound,” she cried. “I still feel human, mostly.”
“Then we need to work on that.” Ram had indulged her arguments long enough. This conversation was focusing her mind on her fears, not helping her move beyond them. “Turn around. I want to see the rest of you, and so does Galzar.”
She rotated slowly, giving them plenty of time to look. Ram’s gaze gravitated to her rounded ass and then narrowed. There was no hint of redness from her earlier spanking. It had only been a couple of hours, and he’d thrashed her soundly with a belt. “Did you let her use the sonic shower to soothe the welts?”
“She was extremely upset. I used the shower to calm her down,” Galzar defended. “Healing the welts was unintentional. You must admit today’s circumstances are far from ordinary.”
Ram nodded. There was truth in the defense, but it still frustrated him. “If you discipline our mate, it will be your decision when and how any marks are resolved. I expect the same courtesy from you.”
“Of course,” Galzar said. “As I said, the disrespect was not intentional.”
Returning his full attention to their amazing mate, Ram said, “If Galzar is finished looking, bend over the bed. Rest your forearms on the mattress and do not bend your knees.”
She moved closer to the bed, then reluctantly bent from the waist and rested her forearms on the thick sleeping pad.
“Legs apart,” Ram directed. After another hesitation, she obeyed. “Whenever you are disciplined, your pussy and ass should be accessible and ready for use. Do you understand this expectation?”
“Yes, Sir.” The response was so muffled Ram barely heard her.
“Refer to me as Master, and call Galzar Sir.” Ram looked at the Ventori. “Unless you prefer something else.” He probably should have asked first.
“Sir is fine with me.”
Ram nodded and traced Celeste’s slit with his fingertips. “She is already slick,” he told Galzar. “Despite her protests, she enjoys this every bit as much as we do. Don’t you, pet.”
“I never said I didn’t.” She sounded stronger now, more defiant. Spirit was good, but defiance would earn additional punishment. “I said I didn’t want to enjoy it.”
“I can work with that.” Ram slapped her bottom, one cheek and then the other, leaving livid handprints on her ivory skin.
She gasped and tensed.
“It hurts worse when you clench.” To prove his point, Ram smacked each side again. “Has she grown any wetter?” Galzar needed to participate in her discipline. She needed to understand what it meant to have two mates from the very beginning. And they needed to operate as a team.
Galzar moved to the other side of her body and eased his middle finger into her pussy. “I didn’t feel her before, but she’s certainly wet now.”
“Too bad that eager cunt must wait until we’re both finished with her bottom.”
Galzar slid his finger in and out several times, then withdrew completely and stepped back.
“Am I getting the belt again?”
A strange catch in her tone made Ram ask, “Do you want the belt, naughty human? Do you secretly ache for blinding pain?”
“No,” she cried. “I don’t want you to hurt me that badly ever again.”
“You can lie to yourself, but your body disagrees. Strongly.” The scent of her arousal was growing steadily, making him more aggressive and eage
r. “Galzar, if you don’t mind, warm her up for me. I need to find exactly the right implement.”
“Gladly.” Without hesitation, Galzar moved behind her and spanked her upturned bottom with a few firm smacks.
She gasped and wiggled, then grew still and accepting again.
Ram watched until her smooth ivory ass cheeks had just started to blush, then quickly searched through the inset cabinets for a multi-stranded kilknor. It would fan out across her ass, covering her entire cheek with each stroke.
“Does every cabin on this ship have training tools?” Galzar asked.
Celeste’s head turned when Galzar stopped, so Ram quickly concealed the kilknor behind the cabinet door. He didn’t want her to know what was coming. In fact, he might blindfold her. “Senior officer cabins have dedicated training rooms. Junior officer cabins, like this one, just have a variety of training aids.”
“And the rest of the crew? How do they discipline their females?” Galzar wanted to know.
“There are communal training centers, and implements can be printed, of course. Many just use their hand, uniform belts, and so forth.”
Galzar nodded, then motioned toward the bed. “Is it possible to restrain her?”
“The training room in my cabin allows for any sort of confinement you can imagine, but I prefer that we not restrain her tonight. I want no question in anyone’s mind that this is offered, not taken.”
After a thoughtful pause, Galzar nodded. “I see your point and agree.”
Ram found a blindfold and held it out toward Galzar. “Put this on her, please.”
“Of course.” Galzar took the long strip of black material and crossed to the side of the bed.
Ram kept the kilknor out of sight until the blindfold was in place.
“I don’t need all of this... kinky stuff,” Celeste grumbled. “This is like a human wedding night. Can’t we just make love?”