Mated (6 page)

would exact his revenge.

41

Ria Candro

Natalie lay on the bed in her chamber, her body still trembling even though at least

an hour must have passed since she’d fled the greenhouse.

Holy hell, what happened back there?

When Leikos and Zafron had pressed themselves closer to her, she’d opened her

mouth to protest. She didn’t really know them, after all, even if they were amazing

specimens of beefcake. But then Leikos’ finger had slid insider her mouth and all reason had abandoned her.

Pure lust had washed through her as she imagined being thoroughly loved by two

hot studs. Any single woman would have been ecstatic to be in her position, pressed up between two unmistakably massive cocks as two sets of hands slid sensually across her body. But if she had an emotional connection with any of them, it was with Andros. His touch completely inflamed her. Made her forget her name.

He wasn’t upset to find me with Leikos and Zafron.

No, quite the opposite, in fact. It had aroused him to the point of almost breaking.

He would have no problem sharing her with his men, would in fact encourage it.

Would watch, even.

Natalie bit back a moan as she recalled the way his fingers had systematically

plunged in and out of her. The man certainly didn’t make love like someone who had

no women on his planet.

Does that make him a virgin?

What an astounding possibility.

Most shocking of all was that, the more she thought about it, the more she found

herself regretting not staying there with him.

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Mated

Less than twenty-four hours ago she’d been berating herself for failing to take any

risks. Wishing that she had more excitement in her life. But when she’d been presented with the opportunity, she’d turned tail and fled like a coward. And there hadn’t really been any reason for it. It wasn’t as if she was attached to anyone, and there were no grounds for her to fear Andros.

After all, if his intent had been harm, he could have done that at any time.

What was the least she could have gotten out of the situation?

Some really amazing sex.

With a frustrated sigh, she bounded up off the bed and headed toward the door.

She’d hidden in here enough. From now on, she was going to face every situation head-

on.

Though she certainly wasn’t ready to commit to what was being asked of her, she

needed to confront Andros, to discuss with him what expectations the men had of her.

Natalie hesitated a moment before moving toward the control room. The doors slid

open and she walked inside, looking around the room. She felt a brief twinge of

disappointment as she noticed that only Leikos was there, sitting at his control station.

The other seats were empty.

“Natalie,” he exclaimed, a grin coming to his face. “Come in, please.”

She walked toward where he sat but stopped several feet short of him. Though he

wasn’t Andros, this man also smelled of sex and danger. They were all hazardous to her sensibilities. She had to tread carefully here.

“I’m sorry, Leikos. I didn’t mean to disturb you. I thought Andros would be here.”

“No,” he replied pleasantly. “He is in the engine room with Zafron, performing

some inspections before our return. It is all quite routine. But please, stay awhile.”

She hesitated.

“Tell me about your family. About your childhood.”

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Ria Candro

Okay, that seemed innocent enough. Relaxing slightly, she leaned back against the

far end of his station as she faced him, telling him about her parents and her lonely childhood as the single daughter of two busy working parents. Her crappy job as a

junior secretary at a law firm where no one actually gave a rat’s ass about her.
Have they
even noticed I’m missing from work today?

She didn’t know why she was running from the mouth so suddenly. It was

something about Leikos. Though his presence was commanding, it was also comforting,

supportive. “What about you? Tell me more about your childhood.”

He smiled, his eyes glittering as he told her about growing up with his two

brothers. About all the mischief they’d gotten into while they were in school, cutting training classes so that they could sneak over to the lemony fields and spy on the girls as they did their sword training.

Natalie smiled, her mood lifting at Leikos’ obviously happy memories. “How long

ago did your females die?”

His smile faded, making her regret bringing up the subject. “Not long ago. It would

have been about ten years ago in your human years. Long enough that many men of my

generation had not yet been mated. Which made things easier for us in the long run. We did not have to suffer through witnessing our mates die.”

“So…” She hesitated, heat rising to her cheeks as she debated asking the question.

But she was really curious. “Have you never slept with a woman before, then?”

Leikos laughed. “Relax, female. We are not untried pups.”

Lord, I didn’t think that.
Not with the expert way they had aroused her.

“Although our females have died, there is a neighboring planet—Enduve—which

provides some women. But unfortunately, they do not make proper mates for our race.

We cannot reproduce with them.

“Worse yet, Enduveans do not form any emotional attachments. Their women

enjoy sex only for the material gain it can provide them. But a deep connection is

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Mated

necessary for us and we will only gain the true strength of our lifeblood once we have bonded with our life mate.”

“How will you know if someone is your life mate?”

“We will know,” he said, his eyes shimmering with unspoken promise.

Natalie took a deep breath, glad that she’d stayed to speak with Leikos after all.

Their talk was proving to be very educational. “Mistresses are a common thing in your planet, then?” She really didn’t think she’d be cool with that.

“For necessity only. In fact, neither I nor my brothers have been with an Enduvean

woman in quite some time. Though it is somewhat sexually gratifying, it still leaves

much to be desired.”

Which means you’ve saved up all your frustrated lust for me.

Though he didn’t say the words, they hung in the air, clear as if he had spoken

them aloud.

Her heart started to beat furiously in her chest as she felt an answering tingle

between her legs, moisture beginning to pool there once more. These gorgeous hunks

had her hormones on overdrive.

Leikos’ expression changed. He looked at her with his heavy-lidded eyes. “Come

closer,” he murmured.

She was torn by the desire to obey him and the instinct to flee. “I don’t think I

should.”

“I will not harm you,” he promised. “I swear it.”

It wasn’t harm she feared from him. But still, she drew closer, unable to help

herself.

Leikos surprised her by reaching up and tugging her onto his lap, her legs dangling

to the side as he held her tightly against his chest in a comforting embrace. He pressed a sweet kiss to the top of her head.

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Ria Candro

“You have had a very trying few days, Natalie. There is much you have discovered.

But I assure you, all will be well, my female.”

He made no move to kiss her, though his stiff arousal pressed firmly against her

hip, letting her know that he desired her.

For the first time in a long time, someone cared enough to make her feel warm and

protected. Cherished.

Natalie pulled her head back to look at Leikos and pressed a soft kiss to his full,

sensual lips. He groaned roughly, then coaxed her lips apart to plunge his tongue

inside. It was clear that he was firmly holding his desires in check for her, that he wanted her but was more than willing to let her make the first move. How

unexpectedly arousing.

Her hand fisted in his silky hair as she tugged his mouth more insistently to hers,

increasing the intensity of their kiss.

“By severn, Natalie, you are so enticing,” he groaned, keeping one hand on her

back as the other reached down to caress her breasts through the fabric of her blouse.

Then further down to the juncture of her thighs. His fingers firmly and expertly pressed against her mound, finding her clit through the damp fabric of her slacks.

“God,” Natalie cried out, breaking the kiss and burying her head in his neck as a

tide of sensations flooded through her. It felt so good. If he didn’t stop, she would come right now. She couldn’t lose herself again. Not yet. “Stop, please,” she panted.

Leikos immediately obeyed. The hand that had just so expertly stroked her dropped

down to her leg as he helplessly jerked his hips up with a rough groan, his stiff cock pressing harder against her hip.

“I’m sorry,” she gasped into his neck. She didn’t want to be a tease. That wasn’t her intent at all. She just wasn’t ready to accept this particular gift from this man yet. First she had to think things through.

“It’s okay,” he whispered after some time. “We will do things your way. For now.”

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Mated

“Thank you,” she said. She lifted off him on shaky legs and nervously rubbed her

damp palms against the fabric of her slacks. He kept his gaze off her, his breathing

ragged. She didn’t really know what to say. “I…”

“Perhaps it’s best you return to your chamber now,” he said, lifting his fiercely

glittering gaze up to her.

The look of stark desire on his face almost made her come right there. He was

divine.

“Female,” he added, “I’m afraid my control has reached its limit.”

She gave him a shaky nod. “Oh—okay.”

* * * * *

Leikos stifled a groan as Natalie rushed out of the control room, unable to remove

his eyes from the luscious curves of her ass, so temptingly displayed in her form-fitting slacks.

Lords, their female was enticing. Her moist sex exuded a delicious perfume that

was unbearably arousing. Something she obviously had no idea about, or else she

might have remained hidden away in her rooms, trembling in frightened anticipation.

Now that he’d tasted the alluring flavor of her mouth on his tongue, now that he’d

rubbed his fingers along her damp sex through the fabric of her slacks, it only increased his desire for her.

“By severn, female, do not make us wait overly long,” he muttered into the empty

room. Pushing the fabric of his loincloth up, he palmed his heavy arousal and moved

his fist up and down, closing his eyes as he imagined how her sex would feel on his

cock. The slickened feel of her sliding up and down as she furiously rode his eager rod.

His body jerked as he came with a tortured groan.

* * * * *

47

Ria Candro

It was already well past her normal dinnertime by the time Natalie summoned up

enough courage to leave her room once more. She sincerely hoped she wouldn’t run

into any of the men. Her libido simply couldn’t take anymore at the moment.

So say yes. Agree to become their mate, and they’ll drive you to orgasm after orgasm, until
you’re begging them to stop. As if that would ever happen.

But although she was sorely tempted, she still couldn’t wrap her brain around it.

Around the thought of giving herself over to not only one man—one alien—but all

three of them. She would have to carefully consider the possible consequences before

she made her decision.

Natalie walked to the dining hall and pushed into the room as the doors opened.

She stopped short.

Andros was there, sitting at the table with a glass of liquid in his hands. Clothed in his trademark loincloth, his powerful upper torso seemed to fill up the entire space of the dining hall. He exuded warmth and energy and raw sexuality.

In a word, he was trouble. Big trouble.

Looking up, he smiled over at her. “Come in, Natalie. I promise not to bite. Yet,” he added with promise.

Taking a determined breath, she walked in and made her meal request of the

materializer. If he was going to be sitting here while she ate, she needed fortification. So she requested more red wine and, once she had taken a large gulp, asked, “What do

you do on board the ship all day?”

He gave her a sexy grin. “When not manning the ship, we train. There is a large

training room on the lower level of the ship, near the engine room.”

Lower level, huh?
She hadn’t known there was one.

“Or we read books in the library. I believe you would enjoy that. There are several

books on Spygian history.”

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Mated

Ooh, that did sound interesting. To get to learn the history of a complete other race of people. She nodded at him. “Good. It would be nice to know that I’d have things to do if I remain on the ship. Otherwise, I can see things getting a little boring.”

He gave her a heated look that suggested he had already thought of a million ways

to keep her occupied, and none of them involved books. “I’m glad that you are

considering the mechanics of living on board this ship with us,” he finally said in a seductive voice.

Heavens help her, she actually was. Blushing, she asked, “What will you do once

you return to Spygia?”

He breathed in, then took a large gulp of his drink. “Train, mostly. Spygia is a

beautiful planet, Natalie. Similar to your own in many ways. But she was dealt a fierce blow when the epidemic struck and our women were lost. As with all Spygians, we on

board this ship must train to become stronger, so that we can protect our planet.”