Chapter Thirteen
Rachel
“I… I want you. Both of you. I want it all. But today? Right now?” I shook my head. There was too much going on around us. I couldn’t think about happily ever after when a man I’d just met, a human, a new friend had literally just died in my arms. When the black sickness was spreading on Maxim’s body and I had no idea how to stop it. When the doctor was surly and watching me like I was the enemy. When the lab results didn’t add up.
My brain was crunching data like a computer. I could feel it, churning, thinking, putting the pieces together. This was what I did. I absorbed data, looked at the facts, and then I let them simmer in my head until my brain literally ached, until I became consumed with the puzzle. Until I solved it.
Ryston ran his fingers over the collar about my neck. “There are too many complications now. Too much chaos around us.”
I opened my mouth to protest, to assure him that I did want him, did need him, but I should have known. The collars connected us. I felt his empathy for me as clearly as he must feel my anxious need to get back to work. Something was wrong, and that fact made me want to alternatively cry and pull my hair out. But right now, I was too tired for either.
My mind, however, had no intention of allowing me to rest, and that was nearly as frustrating as the rest of it. On Earth, I’d often cheated my mind of its constant and insistent thinking with the use of a good sleeping pill. Here, I had nothing. I wouldn’t be able to rest. I knew it, and that was making me want to curl into a ball and whimper.
I needed a break. God, did I need a break. After ten hours straight, taking tissue samples, learning their stupid equipment, arguing with the doctor, and designing my own tests, I was ready to crash. But my mind? It was still running at full speed. Thoughts flashing through my head and disappearing like fireworks in a dark sky.
Ryston’s hand lifted to cup my cheek and I melted into him. I needed this. I needed to feel safe and surrounded by my mates, I’d never in my life felt more secure and protected.
“Let us take care of you, Rachel. You have done all you can for now. Captain Brooks, the testing, the mystery, it is bothering us all.” Ryston’s thumb smoothed over my bottom lip and I sighed as Maxim stepped closer.
“We have time. And we will not force you to choose before you are ready.” He moved behind me and placed his large hand at the small of my back, the heat like a brand and I wanted that heat on my bare skin. Standing between them, I let the stress of the day melt away as his deep voice whispered in my ear. “We will find out what is going on. And when you are ready, we will talk about the claiming ceremony.”
They understood. God, they always seemed to understand exactly what I needed. Were they too honorable? Were they sacrificing what they’d wanted all their lives, to have a claimed mate, because I was too weak? Was I being selfish?
“That doesn’t mean… I mean, I still want you,” I admitted.
Maxim looked to Ryston. Something passed between them. While I didn’t know the words, I felt a powerful flare of heat and dominance through the collar.
“And we want you. Remember, Rachel, to claim you, we must both fuck you at the same time, both fill you with our seed. You are not ready for that.”
“Maybe I am,” I argued.
Maxim turned my head and lifted my chin with a finger. “Yes, I sense you are ready to say yes, and it pleases me. Ryston, too. We can feel your desire. But your body is not ready. Ryston has been preparing your ass, stretching it, playing with it, but not enough. For now, we will take care of you. Your mind is like a storm. I can feel the tension in your body, see the way your eyes dart around. You need to let go, Rachel.” He lowered his head, placed the barest whisper of a kiss on my lips as Ryston’s hands dropped to my hips. “For now, we will take your mind off your troubles.”
My nipples hardened at the thought. “How?” I had to know. I wanted to hear him say it in that deep growl of a voice.
Maxim gave me a wicked grin. “You will ride my cock and Ryston will put a plug in your ass.”
The idea of taking Maxim’s cock with a plug in my bottom made me hot. The last time it had felt so good. I came unbelievably hard. I had no idea I’d like the dark, carnal act and at first I’d been embarrassed. But neither man thought less of me for liking it. The opposite in fact. It was the way of it with Prillon warriors. To be claimed, I had to take both of them together. Double penetration. And because of the testing, the match, I already knew I would like it. No, love it.
That reassured me just as much as how good Ryston’s play made me feel. And when it was time for his cock? I whimpered.
“Yes, I see you like the idea.”
“What about you?” I asked, looking to Ryston. “You need to come, too.”
“Yes, you can help me with that.” As he spoke, he began to strip. “In your mouth? I love when you suck me off. Or your hand? So light and gentle. You don’t have to be. I could even fuck your tits. Ever done that before?”
By the time he had tempted me with the possibilities, he was bare, his cock erect and dripping with pre-cum.
“Right now, it’s just us. No drug overdose, no testing, no analysis, no meddling mothers. This is life. The bad and the good. We know we must take the good when we can get it.” Maxim’s words hit me hard.
He was right. Even with death and destruction, sadness and heartbreak, even the frustration of being framed or wrongly accused, life moved on. We had to find happiness where we could.
I’d only said yes to transport so I wouldn’t die in prison. But now, on the Colony, I’d accepted my new life. I’d accepted these warriors as mine. Claiming wasn’t today, but they were mine just as much as I was theirs. Whatever happened, we would find comfort, joy, pleasure in each other.
Like right now. Grabbing the hem of my shirt, I lifted it up over my head. They watched me intently. It wasn’t a very sexy striptease, but I sensed they were pleased nonetheless. Ryston was stroking himself as he watched and Maxim took off all his clothes too, so we were all bare.
Maxim reached out a hand, tugged me over to a plush chair. He sat, then pulled me down so I straddled him.