Eria's Ménage (5 page)

He picked up the jar, removed the top, and dipped his fingers inside. They came out coated with something that looked like salve. The look of concern returned to his face and he picked up her arm and smoothed some of the gel over her wrist.

It warmed her skin. Not hot, just gently warm. The stinging of her bruises flared for an instant and then subsided. He’d come with medicine to heal her from the harm she’d done by straining against her bonds.

Did the men of his world do this for their women as a matter of course? Maybe tying their mates up and possessing them on the first encounter was their custom, followed by tender touches and balm for what they’d hurt. An odd way of doing things, but the combination of a rough tumble and then atonement would endear the man to any woman.

Alice Gaines

Eria’s Ménage

- 33 -

She couldn’t help but sigh her pleasure as he reached across her for the other wrist and gave it the same tender treatment. More warmth, more healing, another sigh.

He rose, took the jar, and rubbed balm over her ankles too. Soon, her limbs felt as if they weighed nothing, as if she floated in water the exact temperature of her own body. She closed her eyes and let her mind drift free. Back to her childhood, lying on the bank of the lake as the light of the twin suns dried her after a swim.

His weight settled beside her again, and the jar clunked softly onto the table. He moved, and something pressed against the flesh of her inner thigh, high up near the crotch. Then, it was on her sex as he spread more salve over the lips there.

She opened her eyes. “What…”

He pressed his lips to her ear. “Shhh.”

“What are you…” she breathed. “Oh!”

Warmth spread there too, and it soothed the soreness. It did more than that, though. Her whole pussy grew warm and tingly. He kept moving his fingers, pressing the lips apart to cover all of her with the gel. Soon, her entire sex responded to his fingers as they rubbed the balm over every sensitive surface.

She lay there while he worked magic on her flesh, every bit as powerless to move as she had been the night before. After another voyage to the jar, he went back to stroking her pussy. Then, he slipped a finger inside her and ministered to the inner walls too.

She let out a groan of pleasure. If he wanted to take her now, she wouldn’t resist.

It all felt so damned good. His finger kept moving until he’d touched every sore spot and replaced the stinging with sweetness. Next, he’d part her legs farther, place himself between them, and drive himself home. He would even feel the effects of the salve on his cock.

He didn’t, though. He lay down next to her, pulling her body snug against his.

Deep inside her, the heat built. The walls of her pussy were no simple skin like that of her ankles and wrists. The moist flesh absorbed the medicine, her natural
Alice Gaines

Eria’s Ménage

- 34 -

wetness amplifying its effects. In a few heartbeats, the heat within her blossomed and grew. A sensation like none she’d ever experienced or could even have imagined.

The man beside her continued to make soft noises in her ear -- halfway between a hushing sound and a purr. Her heart swelled at the tenderness as he held her against his hard body. Gently, as if she might break.

Still, the sensations in her pussy grew stronger, signaling what would soon happen. She’d climax with nothing more but the tingle of the salve, his arm around her, and the sounds of his voice in her ear. Impossible and inevitable. Even now the fever rose, climbing, climbing to a crest.

Her heart hammered in her chest, and her sighs grew ragged. He kept right on crooning to her as she approached the peak, as though he felt what her body felt and he approved.

The orgasm burst over her. She shuddered as it took her, and a ragged cry tore from her throat. The contractions raced through her pussy, squeezing at her clit. She rode the wave through to the end with nothing to anchor her to reality except his body next to hers and his voice urging her on.

When it finally ended, she rested back again. Eyes still closed, her heart fluttering in her chest. No trace of soreness remained. Just warmth and peace and the certain knowledge that whatever pain life could send her way, this man could heal it.

Then, sleep closed in around her. She tried to fight it off, but suddenly she felt tired, so tired. He rose just enough to kiss one of her eyelids and then the other. She sighed one more time and surrendered.

A warm morning. The armory’s windows let in the sun. It gleamed off weapons, new and ancient. A fine collection. Some, Brath knew. Others, he’d learn.

His twin prowled the room. The man was jealous. Fool. Tad had fucked Eria, Brath hadn’t. He’d had the dancer. Not good enough.

Tad stopped. Stared at him. “I know what you’re thinking. What is he complaining about? He’s had her.”

Brath crossed his arms over his chest and sat.

“She thought I was you,” Tad said. “She wants you, not me.”

Stupid man. He’d let Brath use the honey balm on her. More important for bonding than the first fuck. She was his now.

“I don’t suppose it matters.” Tad sat. “We achieve our purpose whether she loves you or me.”

Love. It shouldn’t matter. She wasn’t his kind. One thing to want an outworld female. Different to love one. Eria reached him. Her softness. Her sighs. Her scent. He was still hard. Wanting her.

“Whether you or I, we’ve unseated the others,” Tad said. “None of them stand a chance.”

Yes. They’d connected at the first sight. Her curves fit him. Plush and large. The soft lips between her legs. She would have let him fuck her. His cock was ready. He’d done his duty, instead. Soothed her. It had cost him.

“Now, I only have to figure out how to keep her from sending us away,” Tad said.

Brath stared. His twin loved her too?

Alice Gaines

Eria’s Ménage

- 36 -

“Don’t look so surprised,” Tad said. “That body. All that lust. I want her every minute now. She’s a poison in my system.”

Poison, but sweet. His mate. His.

“Did you know she plans to be celibate after we give her a child?” Tad said.

“What a waste. I could fuck her for the rest of my life and never get enough.”

Yes. He had to have her. Even if he had to share. Love. Yes, love.

“Besides, she needs us.” Tad got up and paced again. “This planet isn’t defended properly. Her chancellor’s an idiot. She needs you to protect her and me to do her negotiating.”

He grunted. Agreed.

“We have to convince her to keep us here,” Tad said.

Brath growled a question.

“I don’t know how.” Tad stopped, put his hands behind his back. “Somehow, we need to convince her we’re an asset, not a threat.”

Two outworlders. Bigger and more powerful than she. That was why she’d send them away. If they let her. They wouldn’t.

“Dozens of planets have sent mates to the women here. All made powerful alliances, and all went home. How can we be different?”

Tad stopped, looked into space. “Our advantages. One, the riddle. Two, your kind’s fascination with females everywhere.”

Yes, his twin was a fool. Didn’t realize his own power. He’d fucked her well.

When Brath had found her this morning, she’d had a mated look. Soft eyes. Glowing skin. She’d reacted to the honey balm. Climaxed hard after a moment or two. Tad had left his stamp on her. If he was too stupid to realize that, Brath wouldn’t tell him.

“So, we have your sex appeal and my brains,” Tad said. “And she can’t tell us apart. That intrigued her. I’m glad I thought of it.”

Brath snorted.

“All right, all right, it was your idea for me to disguise myself as you,” Tad said.

Alice Gaines

Eria’s Ménage

- 37 -

He’d lost the chance at first claiming. Worth the loss. She had to want them both.

Together, they might stay. A team could win her. Neither could alone. Tad walked to him, bent, and stared into his face. “What goes on inside that head?”

Brath looked back.

“I know you can talk. Why don’t you?” Tad said.

Only children babbled. Words were important. He wouldn’t use them now.

“Damn you, I need your cooperation,” Tad said. “There’s a brain inside your skull. Use it.”

Instead, he used his hand. He made a gesture. Like stroking a hard cock.

Tad groaned and straightened. “All right. You want to plow her. Who wouldn’t?”

Want? He was past wanting. His body throbbed. Her smell clung to him. It surged in his brain. In his blood. His twin had had her. His turn.

Tad walked to his chair. Slumped into it. “Very well. Let me figure out how to get the maximum benefit out of the coupling, and you’ll have her.”

* * *

Both men appeared in Eria’s office in the late afternoon. They entered without so much as knocking. Kapt’s brows flew halfway to his hairline at the rudeness. “How dare you,” he said.

“Do we need an appointment to see our mate?” Tad answered. He wore his own clothes this time. She’d be able to tell them apart, at least for now.

“I haven’t said I’d mate with you yet,” she said.

“You entertained me well enough last night,” Tad answered.

Kapt’s mouth flew open. “Such insolence. Shall I have them removed, Excellency?”

Brath stiffened, and his hand went to the metal ornament around his arm. Tad had used that to make bonds of energy the night before. It might also serve as a weapon. She raised a hand in his direction to warn him off.

“They can stay,” she said. “For now.”

Alice Gaines

Eria’s Ménage

- 38 -

Kapt huffed. They’d breached protocol, and he lived for such niceties. He made quite a picture, nearly quivering with offense. Very amusing. She should have offended him long ago.

“I think we’re through now, Kapt,” she said. “You may leave us.”

He stiffened, but did as she’d ordered. The door closed.

She leaned back in her chair. “So, what was so important you had to come in here uninvited?”

“We have unfinished business,” Tad said. “Or rather, you and Brath do.”

“I would think he could speak for himself.”

“He could, but he won’t.” Tad approached the desk and rested his hands on it.

“If I hadn’t stopped him, he would have barged in here on his own and taken you however he wanted. Your chancellor could have looked on for all Brath cares.”

She glanced at Brath. He stood, tall and proud. Yes, he might have come to claim her, but after this morning, she knew him better. He’d played gently with her. His voice had murmured encouragement as his salve had teased her flesh to orgasm. He was no brute, no matter how much the two of them wanted her to think he was.

“He made a great sacrifice to let me know you first,” Tad said. “That isn’t his kind’s way.”

“Don’t lecture me on his way. I’ve experienced it.”

Tad straightened. “The honey balm. A man does that for his woman after hurting her on their first time. He didn’t get to enjoy your first time.”

“Neither did you,” she said. “I wasn’t a virgin.”

He smiled. “No, but I did hurt you.”

She could only stare at him. “You’re proud of that?”

He got that look in his eyes -- the maddening expression that said he could read her. “As long as I didn’t bore you.”

She ought to slap him. He had hurt her the night before. He’d fooled her. And now, he presumed she’d take him and his companion as mates even though she hadn’t
Alice Gaines

Eria’s Ménage

- 39 -

announced her choice yet. Even the expression on his face spoke of how he thought he could dominate her.

Instead of showing anger or any other kind of vulnerability, she smiled. “You must have thought you’d bore me, or you wouldn’t have dressed up as him.”

The remark hit its target. The smug curl to his lips disappeared. “I fucked you well enough to fool you.”

“Ah, but I haven’t tried Brath. If I had, I might be able to tell the difference.”

Brath chuckled. He’d stood in silence and watched the two of them spar. Now that the conversation had gotten around to the subject of the two of them having sex, his eyes sparkled with interest.

“Precisely the reason for this visit, Excellency.” Tad made a little bow. “My twin here would very much like to make your acquaintance.”

Her clit hardened at the thought. Her pussy still felt extra sensitive from the friction of the night before and the effect of that salve only hours earlier. She shifted in her chair. Instead of finding a more comfortable position, she only rubbed against the tender flesh. Moisture seeped between her thighs. She ought to feel sated now, but the two of them had only primed her to want more.

Brath’s expression hardened. His eyes grew wide as his jaw clenched. In another situation he might have signaled anger, but the raw lust in his eyes promised pleasure, instead.

“Yes,” she said. “It’s about time we dealt with each other, he and I.”

A hiss escaped from between Brath’s lips. A deep breath held too long before it forced its way free, as if he’d doubted she’d agree. No, more likely as if he’d only held himself in check through force of his will, and now had no more need for control.

She nodded to Tad. “You may leave us.”

“I’d rather stay,” he said.

“You want to watch?”

“I’d like to see your expression when he enters you. I’d like to learn your sighs. I couldn’t concentrate on you alone last night. Not with my cock deep inside you.”

Alice Gaines

Eria’s Ménage

- 40 -

“Fine. Stay.” Having a witness might be fun. If she chose them as her mates, she’d have both of them at once.

If? Why lie to herself? The moment she’d spotted them in the council chamber, she’d selected them. Still, she could let them work for the privilege.

Brath walked to her desk, rested one fist on the top, and used the other hand to cup the back of her head to pull her toward him. He’d kissed her tenderly this morning.