This was not about Viken, this was about my mate’s disregard for the strong, honorable warrior who would love her. Regardless of who she chose, our mate would know the ways of her Viken warrior from the start.
3
Violet, Vero Beach, Florida
The condo felt like a mausoleum without my sister in it. Her room looked exactly the same, anime and K-pop posters lining the walls, leopard print bedding and a mess of erotic lingerie strewn about on the floor next to the scrubs she wore to work in the dentist’s office. Those were wild, too, bright green to rosy pink and covered in everything from little rubber ducks to sparkling tooth-fairies waving their tiny magic wands. If I took two steps I would trip over the oversized clogs she wore to work and she had left half-opened mail scattered all over her desk and the floor surrounding the trash can.
She hadn’t even bothered to pick up her freaking dirty laundry. And she did love her lingerie. She never wore a bra and panty set that wasn’t beautiful, lacy, and perfectly matched.
My room, by contrast, was organized and clean. My comforter was made from goose down, a pretty shade of green that reversed to a calming cream that reminded me of sand on the beach. The sheets and pillows were a reasonable, functional, white so I could bleach them whenever I wanted to. My shoes were neatly organized in hanging pockets on the back of my bedroom door. My desk was clear, everything put away in the proper drawer. My favorite pen and pencil lined up side-by-side on my desk. And I’d done all my laundry last night, so even my stupid hamper was empty.
Her room looked like she’d stepped out to run to the grocery store and would be back in ten minutes.
Mine looked like no one lived there at all. Which was just depressing.
Mindy lived life and I…organized.
Maybe I was the crazy one after all. Maybe going off-world to be mated to an alien was the best damn idea she’d ever had.
And I’d been more than willing to join her. Except I couldn’t. According to that uptight Warden Egara, I hadn’t been compatible with Trion. No. I got three men, not one, on some small planet I’d never heard of. Viken. What the hell was a Viken? What did they look like? Were they purple or blue or have huge horns coming out of their heads? I’d studied up on Trion, googled everything I could. Their men were dominant, into total control in the bedroom—which surprised the hell out of me with my sister’s tendency to be wild and impulsive—and looked like Greek gods on steroids. At least the photos included in the publicity details made them look like sex on a stick. No wonder she’d been so excited in her last text to me.
But Viken? Three males? What was that all about? And worse, I had no idea what they looked like because I’d been blindfolded in that dream, or processing, or whatever kind of mind-game Warden Egara had played with me. The dream made sense now. Sort of. What part of my subconscious—because I’d never consciously consider it—wanted three men? I knew of threesomes. Who didn’t? But three guys? And me? That was the part of the equation that kept stalling my brain. Me. With three guys. Vikens. Aliens.
Oh crap.
And now? I hated to admit it, but I was a coward. I didn’t dare look them up. I didn’t want them to be Greek gods on steroids—because then my mind might start agreeing with my body on the matter of whether or not to go claim my three mates. And if they were hideous with horns? Well, that would totally ruin the fantasy I still had running on a loop in my head, which was, quite frankly, the most exciting thing to happen in my sex life in months. And it had only been a dream, which was even more depressing.
I wasn’t a prude, but I didn’t do three men at a time either. I liked sex. God, if I was honest, I’d have to say I loved sex. But only if it was good. And finding a man who cared enough to take care of my needs was damn near impossible. At least it felt like it.
It didn’t matter. Viken wasn’t Trion. And Mindy was on Trion. So it didn’t really matter that my body still tingled every time I thought about that matching dream—which was about every five minutes. The fact that my pussy was still wet and aching and I’d had to masturbate last night just to get myself to sleep? Irrelevant. The dream that had tormented me for hours, being surrounded by three lovers, so close to orgasm but denied again and again? Irrelevant.
I slammed the door to Mindy’s bedroom closed and scowled at myself in the hallway mirror. “Shut up, Violet. You are not going to Viken, and that’s final.”
My cell phone buzzed inside the pocket of my robe. Mindy? I yanked it free as quickly as possible to find a text message from an unknown number. Not Mindy. Of course not. She was on Trion.
Miss Nichols, this is Warden Egara. Please do not be alarmed, but your mates have come to Earth to claim you. Per the legal accords signed between Earth and the Interstellar Coalition, they have thirty days to court you before you may officially reject their claim. As you did agree to the match, my hands are tied. Expect company. They are honorable warriors, Violet. They will not harm you. You have my word.
Oh. My. God.
Like an idiot, I looked down at myself. I’d brushed my teeth after breakfast, but that was about it. I still had on the lace trimmed, pink tank top and matching floral pajama shorts I’d slept in. My hair was a mess, pulled back into a twist just to get it off my neck. My feet were bare on the tile floor and I didn’t have on underwear. My toenails were painted a cheerful neon pink, but I had no make-up on. No jewelry. No perfume.
None of my usual armor. Nothing. I never went out of the house unless I was completely pulled together. Never.
But right now, I looked like I’d just crawled out of bed and thrown on my thigh-length, black satin robe over my PJs and sulked around the house like a vampire.
Because I had. Like, an hour ago. The shades were drawn. It was dark and cool and my personal bat cave this morning. And moping around sipping coffee and nibbling on toast didn’t exactly require a lot of effort—or fashionable clothes. Or shoes.
Taking a deep breath, I re-read the message, just to make sure I wasn’t losing my mind. I wasn’t. Same words. I texted back.
When?
She answered within seconds.
Now. They did not wish to frighten you.
Now? As in now, now?
Is this a joke?