Her hair hung over her shoulders and down her back in thick, wavy strands of golden brightness. It reminded him of the horizon right before the sun rose.
“Are you hungry?”
She swallowed, and lifted her hand to her throat. Yes, she obviously realized what he had done and that was the reason she understood him clearly. After a few seconds she shook her head.
She licked her lips and looked around. “You put a translator in my neck?” He knew the question had been rhetorical, but he nodded regardless. She still rubbed the spot he injected, but the small puncture wound had healed as soon as he removed the needle thanks to the healing gel that it emitted after insertion. She knitted her brows and finally said, “What now?” She dropped her hand back to the hide and tightened her fingers around it.
He gestured for her to have a seat in the sitting area. She eyed it, but didn’t refuse. Once she was seated he got her a mug filled with water and some Leena meat that they had dried into strips of jerky. She might have said she wasn’t hungry, but he didn’t know the last time she had eaten, and feeding his female pleased him. He went back to her, handed her the items, and once she took them he sat in the seat across from her.
“I inserted a translator so that we can communicate. I don’t think this pairing would have been very good if we couldn’t speak to one another.” She nodded, looked down at the mug, and then slowly brought it up to her mouth. “What are you called?” She took a sip and then licked her bottom lip, collecting a bead of water on the tip of her tongue. Good heavens, was that a hot fucking sight to witness. His cock jerked forward, all but cursing him for not claiming her right now.
“Tessa.” She said her name softly, and all Rylan could imagine was her whispering filthy things while he fucked her hard. He leaned back on the bench. “I am called Rylan.” Arms behind his head and legs kicked out in front of him, Rylan enjoyed just watching her. He couldn’t remember when he had ever felt this sensation inside of him. It was contentment at its finest, and he relished it. “You are here because you are to be my mate, my female, and the one that I will breed my young upon.” Her eyes widened, and he saw the pulse at the base of her throat jump. “But it isn’t just me you shall please and mother young to, but my brothers as well.”
Before she could say anything the sound of his brothers coming in from the entrance of the cave echoed off the walls. His female stood quickly, spun around, and stared at the twins, backing up with almost panicked strides.
“It’s okay, Tessa. Everything is okay.” Rylan stood slowly, moved close to her, and grinned down at her and the fact she didn’t retreat from him. She may have just come into his life, but there was an instinctual part of her that knew he wouldn’t harm her, and that she could be protected if in his presence. He was staring into her face when he sensed his brothers’ movements still. Rylan reached out and took her shoulders in his hands and moved her so he was behind his mate. She would soon be aware that it wasn’t just him that she was mated to, but the two males staring at her with hungry expressions.
Chapter Three
Tessa stared at the two huge, alien males in front of her. Rylan stood behind her and had his big hands on shoulders. Her flesh puckered from the sensation. He moved from behind her and went to stand with the other two males. She was to belong to all three of these fearsome looking males. She was way out of her element here. Ever since she had been born all she had known was living a very simple life with other humans. The only planet she had ever called home housed other species, of course, but her camp of humans had only ventured far enough to hunt for food or gather water. As a species that was on the verge of not existing any longer, they didn’t take risks, and sure as hell didn’t go looking for trouble. But here she was, standing before three males that looked like they wanted to devour her, and as much as she should run for her life, she knew the world that awaited her outside of this cave would not be forgiving if she ventured through it. But she also hadn’t been harmed, and in fact Rylan had allowed her to bathe privately, had given her food, water, and something to cover her body with. Even if their presence was intimidating, her instincts didn’t scream at her that this was a perilous situation. That was strange to her, but she had always trusted her instincts. The three males moved over to the sitting area after several moments of no one speaking.
“Are you sure the translator works? She hasn’t said anything since we entered.” One of the twins, whom she had heard been addressed as Soran, had his legs stretched out in front of him and a smirk on his face as he lounged in one of the seats. The fear she had initially felt had since vanished, because she knew these men didn’t mean her any harm. They could have easily harmed her a hundred times over by now.
“She is quite lush for a human.” The one named Zarek made no secret of it as he moved his black eyes up and down her body, and although she still wore the hide, Tessa felt completely bared to them. “Oh, she understands quite well.” Zarek grinned, and his sharpened incisors flashed like a wild animal about to attack its prey. “Speak, female. Let us hear your voice.”
Tessa swallowed, trying to push the thick lump that was lodged in her throat. “What do you want me to say?”
Rylan curled his fingers for her to come forward. She walked over to the chair farthest from the three of them and sat down, but it wasn’t nearly far enough away for her to not smell their intoxicating scents, or feel the intense body heat that came from them.
“Didn’t our brother tell you why you were bought?” Soran asked seriously, but she didn’t miss how he kept scanning her body with his eyes.
“I told her.” Rylan’s voice was far deeper than the other two. All of the brothers’ skin was the same shade of red, not too dark, but not too light either. It reminded her of the color that she would see when the sun started to set over the great mountains on her planet.
“You seem intelligent, for a human,” Zarek said, but he didn’t make it sound as though it were an insult. He said it almost curiously, but continued to eye her body, too. Where Rylan’s dark hair was longer, Zarek’s and Soran’s black hair was cropped close to their heads. All three had gotten rid of their long dusters, and now only wore leather pants. Their chests looked chiseled out of stone, hard and defined, and so very wide. They were hairless, and she had noticed wing-like marks etched into all of their backs before they had taken their seats. Despite them looking very different, Tessa found them exotically attractive, as she assumed they found her exotic in appearance.
“Tonight shall be very pleasurable indeed,” Soran said with a harsh, animalistic growl.
“Soran, please.” Rylan gritted out and stood. He made his way to the cooking area pouring four mugs full of pink liquid. Zarek grinned at her right before he stood and moved toward him, grabbed two of the mugs, and walked back toward them. He handed one to Tessa, who took it and eyed the contents. It smelled fruity. Rylan sat beside his brothers again, and she couldn’t help but feel like their prey as they watched her with hunger in their expressions. They leaned back as if in unison, brought their mugs to their mouths, and took hearty drinks, all the while keeping their gazes locked on her.
“Do you know anything about our kind, Tessa?” Rylan spoke clearly, but there was a harsh note to his voice, reminding her of a rusted blade. She shook her head. They had to know that the humans that were alive kept hidden. “Our kind hits a point in our lives where the need to find a female and breed with her becomes unbearable.”
“Darkness will overtake us if we don’t find a female,” Soran said slowly.
Tessa tightened her hands around her mug. So far she thought she had handled everything quite well, but knowing what they wanted her for, to carry their young, had apprehension filling her. For one thing their sizes were massive, and surely their children would be as well.
“This isn’t about fucking until there is nothing left to give, female. This is about claiming you, binding you to us because you are ours,” Zarek said softly, but he didn’t look as stern as the other two. “We don’t want a female to lie on her back and accept everything we have to give because that is her fate.”
“We want a companion, a female to bear us children and live her life with us. We don’t want a slave, Tessa. Well, not unless that pleasures you.” Soran grinned, but it wasn’t lecherous. How strange everything had turned out, so instantaneous and unbelievable, but then again wasn’t that how life was? She had been living one day at a time, and after twenty-three sun cycles she realized that nothing could be taken for granted, and the next day might never come. That was how she lived her life, enjoying the small things, and thanking the heavens that she had been able to see the next sunrise.
But then she had been taken, and these three males were her future now. She could run, jump to her very death over the cliff and end all of this, but she didn’t want to die. These males were offering her safety, affection, and a family. Hadn’t she always dreamed of children, of having a man that looked upon her like there was no one else? There might be desire in their dark eyes, but they also looked at her like they felt they were so very lucky to have her in their lives? Could they want her that deeply after only being in her presence for such a short time? Yes, she knew it was possible with any species. Lust and love were very different. And although she was only feeling one of those right now, she wondered if down the road she could possibly feel the other.