Mated
Authors: Ria Candro
Mated
When Natalie awakens on a spaceship manned by three gorgeous and adoring
hunks, she’s convinced she’s dreaming. It’s up to Andros, Leikos and Zafron to prove to her she’s not. And that she’s the perfect mate for all three of them.
Spygian alpha males travel far and wide in search of their perfect partner. And then
share their mate in the most delicious, pleasurable ways they can imagine. But for
Natalie, loving these red-hot aliens means leaving Earth. Is she willing to take a chance on a love that’s out of this world?
An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication
Mated
ISBN 9781419931741
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Mated Copyright © 2010 Ria Candro
Edited by Raelene Gorlinsky
Cover art by Syneca
Electronic book publication December 2010
The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing.
With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.
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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
MATED
Ria Candro
Trademarks Acknowledgment
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the
following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
Star Trek
: Paramount Pictures Corporation
Ria Candro
The front panel of the ship’s control room slid open, exposing a view of space
through the clear, impenetrable shield.
“We are approaching Earth now,” said Leikos, Andros’ second-in-command.
Silence filled the control room as Andros and his men stared at the round globe.
Bright blue oceans eclipsed the images of land with a certain beauty that made him
think of home.
“It looks somewhat like Spygia,” said Zafron, the third and final member of
Andros’ pod.
Andros grunted in assent. The planet did resemble their own, although their oceans
were more of an orange hue. But still, it wasn’t the planet itself that had drawn them to this part of the galaxy, so far from their very own. No, they had been drawn to what
was on this planet. Or rather, to
who
.
Our mate resides somewhere on Earth.
His Spygian homing instinct had led him here, to this alien planet, so that he could
discover the one woman who was meant to be theirs. Now he had but to find her and
get her back to this ship. Not an easy task. But compared to what they had gone
through to get here, compared to the many weeks of travel, it was no great hardship.
Now that they had found the planet, they must search for their woman.
And pray she would consent.
* * * * *
Natalie stormed from the lush lobby of her office building out onto the cool street,
her fists clenched so tightly that her nails bit into her skin. She’d been passed over for promotion. Again.
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Mated
Even though she’d worked at Brooks and Waters for the past six years, she was still
a lowly junior secretary. Despite having the intelligence, she didn’t have a college
degree. And at an uppity firm like Brooks and Waters, that meant she was on the slow
train to nowhere.
It was so frustrating.
For the millionth time, Natalie wished she was brave enough to quit, to do
something else with her life. But it seemed she’d taken after her parents in that regard.
They had never done anything risky.
And where had they ended up?
Dead before the age of fifty, that was where. Killed in a car crash by a drunk driver.
She’d only been seventeen at the time, and had quickly discovered that her parents
had no life insurance, no real savings to speak of. That was probably the only risky
thing they’d ever done—assume that they’d be alive to pay her way through college
with the money they earned from their high-paying jobs. But since things hadn’t
worked out that way, she’d had to give up her dreams of college and get the first decent job she could find right out of high school.
Enter Brooks and Waters, the law firm where she’d spent the last six years of her
life slaving away. She’d worked her way up from copy girl to junior secretary, and had actually entertained hopes of going further. But after six years, she now realized that was no longer likely.
“That’s it. I’m smarter than half the secretaries in that place. Tomorrow I’m going to waltz in there and demand the promotion I deserve.”
But could she really do it? Could she really speak up after all these years?
It was so much easier said than done.
After walking the several blocks from her office to her run-down apartment
building, Natalie made her way upstairs to her tiny, one-bedroom apartment. It wasn’t much, but it was all she had. Since she’d put in yet another late night at the firm—again 7
Ria Candro
for no recognition, not even a thank you very much—it was way past dinnertime. Her
grumbling stomach kept reminding her of that. She headed into the kitchen and opened
the refrigerator, taking inventory. Not much in there. “Guess it’s Chinese food again.”
With a sigh, she turned around to look for her cell phone. And froze.
Standing in the entranceway into the kitchen, right in front of her, were two tall,
barely clothed men.
What the fuck
?
This wasn’t the safest neighborhood, but she had never expected the possibility of a
home invasion.
Oh my god, what am I going to do?
“What the hell is going on? How did you get in here?” she yelled, hoping that
maybe one of her neighbors was home and would hear her.
The two men looked at her with perplexed expressions, turning their heads to
exchange a quick glance before turning back to her. “Using the transporter,” said one of them, raising his hands and stepping back slightly in a gesture of conciliation. “We
mean you no harm, female.”
What?
Natalie reached her hand behind her back to feel around the counter for a knife,
before remembering she’d dirtied them all and had placed them in the dishwasher
before leaving for work this morning.
Shit!
She drew back, her gaze searching out her cell phone. Which was of course in her
purse.
On the dining table just outside the kitchen. Along with her pepper spray.
Double shit!
Turning her attention back to the men, she adopted her most brusque tone, hoping
they wouldn’t hear past it to her fear. “What the fuck are you two doing in here?”
One of the men, who had eyes the color of amethyst, turned a questioning gaze to
the other, golden-eyed man. “Andros, this is our female?”
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Mated
The man with the golden eyes sniffed in Natalie’s direction. His face betraying no
emotion, he said, “I believe it is, Leikos. I’m having some difficulty with her
colloquialism, but I do not believe she meant ‘fuck’ in a good way.”
“Ah, what a shame,” Leikos replied.
Natalie looked back and forth between the two men. “What the hell are you two
talking about?”
She fidgeted, hoping they wouldn’t notice as she searched the kitchen with her
peripheral vision, looking for something—anything—she could use as a weapon.
“Listen, this place has thin walls. My neighbors can hear every scream.” If they
were home, which wasn’t likely. Larry worked nights and Eva spent more time at her
boyfriend’s apartment than she did at her own.
Again the two men exchanged glances. Then Andros turned his gaze back to
Natalie. “Female, come with us.”
She drew back.
Great. Just my luck. Two raging psychos.
“I’m not going anywhere. I’m warning you, assholes. Stay away from me.”
“You will not come with us of your own free will?” said Andros.
“Fuck you!”
The man called Leikos turned to his partner in obvious confusion. “Is she
consenting to the mating?”
“What?” Natalie exclaimed, looking back and forth between the two men in alarm.
What the hell are they talking about?
Andros sighed. “Alas, if only. I do not believe her words have the meaning we
would hope.”
Then, before she could scream or even blink, he came close to her, mere inches from
her face. He touched her cheek gently and a strange feeling of well-being washed
through her. Almost as if she’d been drugged simply by his touch. She felt…safe.
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For the first time, Natalie noticed how good-looking the man in front of her was.
His perfectly symmetrical face, accented by high cheekbones and lush, firm lips, framed beautiful golden eyes.
Feeling as if she was in a daze, she looked over at the second man, taking in the
obvious similarities between them. They both stood over six feet tall, and were of broad, muscular build. Both men had long, silky black hair that fell straight down to mid-back and gorgeous honey-toned skin. Their large, almond-shaped eyes were framed by dark,
slanted eyebrows.
But the most striking thing about them was the way they were dressed. Or rather,
undressed.
The only clothing each man had on was a small white cloth covering his groin.
Loincloths. They had gold cuffs on each of their arms. Other than that, they had
nothing. No shoes even, she noted as her gaze traveled down to take in their perfectly shaped toes.
Overall, they were stunning specimens of the male gender.
When Natalie finally returned her gaze to the golden-eyed man in front of her, his
lips curved as if in approval of the frank appreciation in her eyes. His fingers fluttered over her cheek once more, his voice soft as he said, “Sleep.”
“Wha—?” Amazingly, before she could even finish her thought, she felt her vision
begin to spiral, and her world begin to go dark.
* * * * *
Leikos looked over at the woman lying unconscious in Andros’ arms. “She seems to
be a fiery one.”
Andros nodded in agreement. “That is good.”
She would have to be fiery and bold of heart if she were to become a Spygian mate.
As Andros looked down at the woman, his chest tightened even as his loins grew heavy
with arousal. She was lovely, with her long hair the color of the Spygian moons—they
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Mated
called it “blonde” here. She was tall for an Earth woman. The top of her head had
reached his chest.
She would be the perfect height for lovemaking. Her body would fit perfectly to his.
And his men’s.
“We have traveled long and far to find you, female,” he murmured to her soft,
sleeping face. His hard cock jerked in acknowledgment of his words, as he fought the
urge to take her then and there. It had been so very long since any of them had been