They were very real. And now I was alone, except for Rager and Evon. We’d been friends for years. So close that we’d agreed to share a mate per the kings’ and queen’s wishes. With Bella ours now, we were a new family. My family. And I would allow nothing to separate us.
Our seed power ensured our new mate would want to remain close—and eager for us—so we would have time to woo her, to win her heart even as we conquered her body. Inside me, a small painful ticking tormented me without end. And I knew I would find no relief from this uncertainty until she accepted us officially and claimed us. Until then, she had thirty days to change her mind, to walk away from us. To leave us behind and choose another mate.
My stomach dropped at the idea and I reached out to stroke the curve of her hip. We were on our sides, facing one another, Rager spooned against her back. Evon had gone to the food unit for sustenance. The way her cheeks were flushing again, the way her eyes had that eager, needy look in them, we’d be wise to take sustenance now, to feed her and care for her before her body demanded more attention from one of us, or all of us, in turn.
While we had jobs to do, her arrival afforded us immediate leave. We had days, perhaps even a week to claim her before we would be forced to return to our scheduled shifts. I didn’t want to be parted from her, not even for a moment. Not yet. Too soon our duties as guardians of the Interstellar Quantum Communications Array would impede on this time we had together. I would be required to leave her side, to trust her care to another. I couldn’t fathom the idea, not yet.
“So, you were not a volunteer for the Brides Program? How did you end up here?” Rager’s hand slid down her arm and I watched as goose bumps rose on her skin. She appeared to be content lying between us, allowing us to explore her softness, her curves. She was not modest. I cupped her breast with my hand and she sighed, stretching with a grin on her face.
“I feel like a sleepy kitten.” When she snuggled back into Rager’s hold, his arm tightened around her waist and she rested her head on his biceps, looking up at me. “I don’t think I can move.”
I played with her hair, twirling the long black strands around my fingers, then splaying them over her bare breast. The effect was beautiful. Hypnotic. I could stare at her beauty for hours and never tire of looking. “What is a kitten?” I asked.
“A baby cat. They’re cute and fuzzy and have extremely sharp claws.” The last she said with a grin and I chuckled.
“And do you have sharp claws, mate?”
She arched a brow. “I used to. Now…” Her gaze wandered to the side and she raised a hand to my chest, petting me in turn. Her touch seared me to the depths of my soul like a brand and I knew I’d never get enough of her. “Now, here? I don’t know.”
Rager nuzzled the back of her neck. “So you did not volunteer to be a bride. Tell us how you got here. We must know everything about you.”
My thumb found its way to her plump bottom lip and I traced the soft curve. “Everything.”
She nipped the tip of my thumb, which did nothing but make my semi-flaccid cock roar back to life. But the greedy bastard would have to wait. We were learning our mate.
“I was in jail, facing two years on the inside and probation after that. I didn’t want to go through all that and deal with the same techie bullshit when I got out. Earth isn’t…it wasn’t…” She sighed and stretched her leg forward, tangled it with mine as her hand traced some unknown pattern on my chest. I’d let her write a tome about Earth customs as long as she didn’t stop touching me. “Earth wasn’t good for me.”
Evon came to sit at the bottom of the bed, placing a tray beside him. On it was a plate of sliced fruit, nuts and bread, a glass of water. “Do not fear, mate. What you did on your planet does not affect you here.” She looked down the bed to Evon. “You were a prisoner, yes? You broke one of your Earth laws?”
Ah, so that was it. She nodded in confirmation.
“Did you harm anyone?” I asked. She didn’t seem to be a cruel person and I doubted the testing would match us to someone with no conscience.
“Of course not. I…I hacked the CEO’s private network and published his personal files on the dark web. He was a liar, inflating subscriber numbers and lying about costs. I ruined his chances of selling his business. I cost him millions of dollars. I cost him money,” she added when we gave her a funny look about the word “dollars”.
“Intriguing,” Rager murmured. “What is a dark web?”
“What is hacking?” I asked.