“I don’t accept that.” Did their people have any idea what he’d done to protect their planet? All Coalition planets? He’d sacrificed and survived and he had been rejected? “Your mother?”
He shook his head, his gaze full of resignation and acceptance. The pain he felt was old, like a thick scar on his heart.
“If they don’t want you, then they’re a bunch of selfish idiots,” I said, wanting to pull up Ryston’s mother on the big TV and give her a piece of my mind.
“Maxim’s mother may be a little wary of the Colony, but she’s only worried for her son.” Ryston looked at Maxim. “She loves you. Wants you home. She’ll do anything to have you back, even say things that hurt you.”
“Your honor makes you stay,” Maxim said. Ryston nodded. “My honor keeps me from going.”
I saw the understanding cross Ryston’s face. “I will not give up what we have. You are my family now.” Maxim waved a hand between us. “I won’t give this up for my mother. She will have to understand. This is what I want. The three of us. Here, on the Colony.”
“But—”
“When we claim Rachel, then we can return to Prillon, but only for a short visit. And Ryston, you will come, too. I will not risk Rachel by traveling without my second to protect her. If my parents want to be a part of our lives, to watch their grandchildren grow, they will have to come to Base 3.”
I flushed hotly at the idea of making babies with them, but I remembered it was the way of the Prillon. It wasn’t as if I was a baby-making machine to Maxim. It was expected of all Prillon mates to conceive quickly after mating. The bond was too strong for anything less than around-the-clock sex. And if I wanted Ryston’s cock in my pussy, I had to get those eggs moving.
I imagined a little boy with Maxim’s dark scowl and warm eyes, a little girl with Ryston’s golden hair and fiery temper. It felt like a dream, something too perfect ever to be real. But I knew, if I stayed, I would have their children. And soon. We would become a family in truth. And I was shocked at how badly I wanted that future.
Maxim was adamantly opposed to going to Prillon Prime without Ryston. Ryston was adamant that Maxim reconnect with his family. They were both so full of honor. So full of sacrifice.
“You both give up so much for me,” I admitted, my voice soft.
Ryston went to stand beside Maxim. They looked at each other, then nodded. Their little argument, it was over with just a simple nod? Men.
“We may disagree on some things,” Ryston said. “But we will never disagree on you.”
“That’s right,” Maxim continued. “The first moment we saw you in that prison, we knew. You are ours. You are what brings us together. And when you allow us to claim you, it will not be in words or thoughts only. But you will connect our bodies as well.”
My body heated at the idea and I felt their arousal flood my system like melted caramel sliding through my bloodstream.
“You mean when you fuck my pussy and Ryston fucks my ass.”
“At the same time, yes,” Ryston added.
“The claiming will be complete when we come in you, fill you with our seed. Your collar will change color, will no longer be black. You will be ours. Forever.”
I heated at Maxim’s words. Not because they were arousing, they were, but because they filled a void in my heart, an emptiness I hadn’t known was there.
“What if I want that now?” I asked, then bit my lip.
Maxim’s shoulders went back. “Are you saying you accept my claim?”
Was I? Did I want to reject them and be paired with a different set of mates on the Colony? The idea of two other men, strangers, left me feeling empty. But making it permanent, like really, really permanent, was scary.