It was a little late to be worried about the details, but I just couldn’t imagine bringing a daughter into this crazy mess, ever, if she was going to be treated like property. Of course, I wasn’t going to be having children. I wasn’t here to be a mate. Not really. I had a job to do. I needed to remember that. I had barely finished the thought when Grigg’s next words almost made me smile.
“The question is irrelevant. Any male who looks at our daughter will be eliminated.”
Rav chuckled, but actually answered my question. “If all the warriors of a clan are killed, any remaining females are allowed to choose from the remaining warrior families for protection and belonging. No one is ever left alone. That is the primary reason all Prillon brides on the front lines are honored with two mates. Should Grigg or I be killed, you will have the protection and love of your surviving mate to take care of you and any children.”
“And then what? I get another second mate?”
“Generally, yes. If your surviving mate is still active in combat, you will be allowed to choose another second.”
I stared at the seemingly benign strip of black ribbon in my hand and forced air in and out of my lungs. I’d been so damn cocky agreeing to this assignment.
Go out into space? Sure.
Go through an alien bride-matching program? No problem.
Fool my new mate into trusting me and then send intel back to Earth? Not looking so easy.
And maintaining a clear head? Professionalism? Staying calm and in control?
As the mind-blowing orgasm I’d just experienced had proven, I was fucked. In more ways than I cared to admit.
Rav watched me closely, as if trying to read the play of emotions running through me. If they had a gadget to test my arousal level, I had to wonder if they had something that could read my mind too. If they did, Rav wasn’t waving it in front of me.
He couldn’t tell that I felt anger, frustration, regret. Guilt. That one shocked me. I’d known these men for a ridiculously short time and already I was feeling guilty for my inevitable betrayal. And why? Because they made me feel beautiful? Feminine? Because the orgasm was out of this world—literally—and now I was going to be a slave to my urges? An idiot who couldn’t control her emotions or her body? I’d been through too many levels of hell out in the field to surrender my sense of self so quickly.
At the same time, I had two gorgeous men who obviously wanted me. They knew just how to get me off without a clit sucker thing. What woman was stupid enough to deny myself what these men could give me? Hot, holy-fucking-hot orgasms. I could get the intel and get laid at the same time. Maybe I owed it to all women on Earth to get all the threesomes I could get while the getting was good.
Rav nodded at the collar. “Your choice, Amanda, but I promise you, we won’t make it out of the medical station without challenge if you are not wearing it.”
“But I was only matched to you. Why would any other warriors want me?”
Grigg rolled his shoulders, as if preparing for battle. “Because you are beautiful, Amanda. And an unclaimed bride. Women are rare out here. They would be more than willing to take their chances with you, and eager to take you to bed to convince you.”
Wanting to reclaim a bit of control, to push back, as they’d just pushed me on that exam table, I asked one more question. “What if I don’t want to put it on?”
Rav, gentle Rav’s honey-gold eyes turned a dark, dusky shade of amber. “Then Grigg and I will fight every warrior between here and our private quarters if necessary.”
I scoffed at that, but Rav’s face was completely devoid of humor. I twisted in Grigg’s arms to see he bore the same grave expression. They were serious.
“A death match?” I asked.
“I am not aware of how it is on Earth, but the mating process is serious. Crucial. Elemental. We have an advantage, because you have been matched. We know that you are perfect for us,” Rav clarified.
“We will kill any warriors who try to take you from us,” Grigg added. “You are ours.”
What, exactly, had I gotten myself into? In order to leave the room, I had to put on the collar. If I didn’t, all hell was going to break loose. While I’d never had men fight over me before, this didn’t sound like a bar brawl. The term “death match” seemed pretty self-explanatory and I didn’t wish anyone to come to harm. I’d wear the collar, keep people alive and get to work. Perhaps get laid while I did so.
At the same time, I sensed this was important to Rav and Grigg. This wasn’t me just putting on a necklace. This was a symbol of their…ownership of me. It was important to them and wearing it for false reasoning seemed to diminish that. Again with the damn guilt.
Shaking now, I lifted the collar to my neck and wrapped it around, as I’d seen them do. The ends sealed together on their own and it felt like the ribbon grew warmer, wet, as if it were melting into my skin, fusing to me—
Seconds later I gasped as my mind and body were flooded with feelings that were not my own. Lust. Hunger. A primitive urge to hunt. To protect. To claim.
Emotions and need filled my mind and I couldn’t process it all. “What is happening?” I was going to vomit. The room was spinning. I was drowning. I covered my mouth with my hand.
“Breathe, Amanda. I’ve got you.” Grigg’s voice became an anchor and I clung to it desperately to still the whirlwind of emotion rolling through me as Rav spoke.
“Lock down your emotions, Grigg. You’re drowning both of us.”