Raines, Elizabeth - Marooned [Wicked Missions 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (5 page)

And she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

Chapter 4

The first rays of light filtered through the canopy of leaves to hit Betinsa’s eyes, making her blink as she awakened. Breathing in, she recognized the scent of her mates and smiled. Then she saw Drake’s eyes were open as well, and his mouth had curved into a sensuous smile that made her insides do a delightful little flip-flop.

“How did you know?” Betinsa asked, whispering because she wasn’t sure if Matt was awake as well. She was sprawled on top of her partner, enjoying the contented lethargy that still permeated her being. Part of the night, she’d slept on top of Drake, part of it on Matt, and part of it nestled between their two strong bodies. For the first time in her life, she felt almost…loved. Well, cherished, at least.

She should probably feel awkward around them both now. She’d been so uninhibited, giving so freely of her body to the men, and they’d obviously held no shame or shyness with sharing themselves with her. Both Matt and then Drake had allowed her to claim them by sharing their blood, and both had claimed her as well. She’d never known humans could participate in the entire
comchi
ritual, that their teeth would appear when the right moment arrived. But both of her men had marked her as their mate, and neither appeared to be too shocked or revolted by the exchange.

Yet even after all that had happened in the night, she simply wasn’t uncomfortable. Everything about them—from the way they smelled, to the feel of their skin, to the touch of their hands—was now branded in her mind and on her heart. She couldn’t hide anything she felt from either of them. “About the
comchi…
How did you know?”

“Your mother,” Drake replied as he pushed up on his elbow from where he lay on his side next to her and Matt. His hand smoothed some of her mussed hair away from her face, and he made no move at all to cover his magnificent nudity. The man was a work of art. Chiseled face with a strong jaw. Lightly muscled without an ounce of fat. His chest was smooth, so in contrast to the soft hair on Matt’s.

Matt was no less attractive than the ambassador. Shorter, but bearing more muscle mass. His face was round and so youthful looking, she knew it would never reveal his true age. She loved that he kept his tawny hair so short because it added to his appeal just as Drake’s long brown hair complemented his.

Matt had been a tender and giving lover, Drake a forceful one. Something deep inside her flared to life at the erotic and satisfying memories.

Kazom
, but her mates were perfect.

“She contacted me right before we left on this trip, after you told her you were escorting me to your planet,” Drake explained. “She was concerned for you, worried that this trip back might be…difficult because of your age. She told me about the
comchi
and explained the importance because she figured I was an ambassador to other worlds and might understand. I had to promise her I’d bring you directly to her just as soon as we landed so she and your fathers could help you. I think they were hoping to choose your mates.” His smile forced one from her. “Obviously, we had a change in plans. So…you’re stuck with us.” A wink made her smile.

“Obviously,” Matt drawled as he trailed his fingers up and down her spine, sending more shivers racing over her skin. “Good morning, Tinsa.” His hot breath touched her face before he pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“Good morning,
saramie
.”

“
Saramie?
”

My love
. She would never tell him that’s how she’d thought of him for a long time, almost since they’d become partners. She chose to ignore his question.

Thankfully, Matt let the lack of translation pass. “Not that I’m complaining about last night,” he said, “but do either of you want to tell me what this
comchi
you’re talking about is?”

“A…change of life,” Betinsa replied, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder.

His responding chuckle rumbled through his chest. “Isn’t it kinda late for puberty and kinda early for menopause, honey?”

“
Comchi
is a transition to becoming…sexual,” she said, not knowing exactly how to explain the whole thing to him. Humans, she’d discovered, began to deal with sexual issues at a fairly early age. Fraiquans were told of the
comchi
when they were around ten, but only the bare details. No one had prepared Betinsa for the pleasure that could be found with her mates.

“Hence the virginity,” he said before kissing the top of her head. “Thank you.”

She pushed up to look into his gorgeous brown eyes that seemed to be able to see all the way to her soul. “Thank you? For what?”

“For sharing that amazing gift with me.”

“With
us
,” Drake added.

After what the three of them had done, Betinsa figured her body should be too tired to respond. But respond it did, especially to the scent of lovemaking that still lingered in the air around her and her mates.

Mates
. Just how in the hell was she supposed to handle
that
revelation? No Fraiquan was supposed to take mates of another species, although she knew it had happened on a few occasions. Her race tended to follow the old ways, believing in vengeance serving as justice and constantly preaching the necessity of keeping their blood pure. The few who had taken mates from other species were ostracized by other Fraiquans and often considered to be traitors.

Now, she’d taken two humans as mates—mates who were supposed to be by her side until their deaths. But Matt and Drake wouldn’t understand the significance of what happened between them, despite what her mother had told the ambassador. No, humans would use logic and see their exchange as a strictly biological function, her
comchi
being much the same as their species going through puberty and adolescence. They couldn’t possibly know just how deeply they were both now a part of her, especially how strong her love for them now ran. From this point on, her world should revolve around a life the three of them could build and share. Should they leave her—as she was convinced they would—her life would be nothing but emptiness, loneliness, and despair.

But Betinsa couldn’t ask them to be what she needed them to be. Sure, sharing their bodies with her would be allowed. She’d learned Earth’s culture and knew that sex to many humans was nothing more important than a “fun time.” Matt and Drake wouldn’t know that she couldn’t have sex with any other male for the rest of her life. Just her mates. They were both accomplished men who lived independent lives. Matt was an E.B.I. agent, Drake an ambassador. Neither would feel the need to settle down, nor would they have chosen her—a Fraiquan—to be the woman to settle down with.

Tears stung her eyes, stealing away all the contentment that loving her men had left behind. Even if they did understand, her life had been on borrowed time since she’d set the
Mirhala
down on Katenya. Too many things stood in the way of her
ever
having a future with her mates.

She tried to roll away from Matt, to put some distance between her and the guys. Matt’s arms squeezed her tighter.

“What’s wrong, Tinsa?” he asked, lifting his head to kiss her forehead, an act so tender and loving, she breathed in a shuddering sigh.

Not trusting her voice, she could only answer by shaking her head.

Drake’s hand settled on her shoulder. “Why are you upset?”

“I’m
not
upset.” The snap in her voice had to tell them she was lying. Both men chuckled in response, causing her to struggle harder to get away.

Then she heard it, the call so soft, she froze in response.

“Tinsa—”

“Hush!” she ordered, cutting off Matt. The sound grew louder. “Something’s coming.”

“I don’t—”

“Listen!” This time she had to silence Drake. The men really needed to learn to follow her commands as proper mates should.

The sound became a roar so strong and loud, both men’s eyes flew wide. Betinsa couldn’t contain a self-satisfied smile.

Another roar, loud enough to make some of the birds in the tree take flight.

“What the hell is
that?
” Matt asked.

“I believe, gentlemen, that the Charhock now knows we’re here.”

Drake could hear the fear in her voice and sat up so that he could hug her in comfort. Betinsa wouldn’t allow it, scrambling off Matt and grabbing her clothes. The three of them awkwardly dressed as her gaze darted over the side of their platform. “What does it look like?” he asked.

“I’ve never seen it. No one has ever seen it.”

“Then how do you know that’s what’s making that god-awful racket?”

“I can…feel it. My heart knows.”

His new girlfriend said the strangest things—one of the reasons Drake was attracted to her, an attraction he’d felt from the moment they’d been introduced more than a week ago. Matt and Betinsa had presented themselves and their credentials to consult with Drake about when he would like to accompany them and the terrorist they’d captured back to Fraiqua. Although he’d met more species than he could remember—some strange, some exotic— he’d been taken by her natural beauty and grace, hardly able to glance away from the iridescent sky blue of her flawless skin or the cerulean brilliance of her sparkling eyes. Her hair was a thick mass of black curls that made his mouth go dry. And when she first spoke, her voice contained such a husky sexuality, his cock had instantly hardened. Quite an embarrassing situation to not be able to politely stand when she left his office.

Girlfriend
. Was that was Betinsa was? According to the research Drake had done after her panicked mother had contacted him, Betinsa was a helluva lot more than that now.
Lover? Wife?

Mate?
That was the closest translation from Fraiqui. It implied that her family would be offended if he treated her as anything less than someone he’d chosen to spend the rest of his life with. How was he supposed to make a choice like that about a woman he barely knew?

Drake realized he’d had no alternative last night. Had he—or had Matt for that matter—denied her the release her body needed, her life would have been in danger. Of course, once she’d sunk those fangs into his skin, he couldn’t have refused her even if he would have wanted to. In that moment, every cell in his body had craved her with a desire that simply couldn’t be denied. Waiting while Matt claimed her virginity had seemed more than he could bear, and the moment Drake had planted his cock inside her, he would have indeed declared her his mate—forever more. Even this morning, the pleasure of the most intense release of his life still hummed through his body, but some sanity had returned.

Drake wasn’t sure where they would all go from here, but it appeared they’d have some time together to figure out whether this was going to be something more than simply a passionate interlude. Despite what Betinsa said about no one coming to this “sacred moon,” he didn’t believe the search for them would be abandoned just because they’d crashed someplace inconvenient. Matt’s and Betinsa’s statuses in the E.B.I. and Drake’s job would eventually bring people to Katenya, but it might take time—time the threesome could spend together, exploring their new connection. At least they could if whatever the extraordinarily loud Charhock was didn’t kill them all first. “What do we do, Betinsa?”

“We hide,” she replied as the men donned their clothing and shoes. “Follow me.” Wrapping her legs around the tree trunk, she slid toward the ground.

“What about the gremtils?” Matt called down as he slipped on his shoes.

“’Tis daylight. They’re back in their dens,” she shouted up. Another loud roar echoed through the air. “Hurry! We must hide.”

The men scrambled down after her as Betinsa scanned the area. Drake was having a hard time seeing anything but trees, especially since the suns hadn’t risen too high yet. “Where do we go?”

“There,” Matt replied, pointing toward a break in the trees.

“Where?” Drake asked because right now, all Matt looked to be indicating was a path. The agent didn’t answer. Instead, he grabbed Betinsa’s hand and sprinted toward whatever the hell it was he’d pointed at.

Betinsa snatched up Drake’s hand and dragged him along. About to ask again where Matt was heading, the entrance of the cave stopped him. He hadn’t even seen it until they were right on top of the thin break in the rocks that had been hidden by the lush trees. “I’m impressed. How’d you see that, Matt?”

He shrugged. “Found it yesterday when we were gathering wood.”