“Fuck, that’s harsh.” Chloe’s boot picked up the pace, tapping faster and faster as her lips thinned in disapproval. “You’re making a huge mistake, Commander.”
I glanced from Kaed to Commander Chloe Phan. So much power in such a small body. She was human, like my mate. Like Prime Nial’s mate, Jessica. Lady Jessica Deston, mate of Nial and Ander, was also from Earth. And she wore the Prime’s collar. She was well known throughout the entire Coalition Fleet for being calm and calculating under pressure. Most Prillon warriors who met her, adored her. And she had the undying loyalty of every single warrior banished to The Colony. She’d fought and won the right for them to have mates of their own.
Surely Prime Nial’s mental agony could rival mine or Kaed’s?
If so, it would seem females from Earth were stronger than they looked. Surely this would be true for Erica as well.
But I would not argue with Kaed in front of this female, Chloe Phan of Earth. She was not mine. She was not family. “I’ll report to Core Command,” I offered.
Chloe looked up at me, an assessing gaze I’d not seen from her before. “Fine. But before the shit hits the fan out here, and one of you gets yourself killed, you two better set things right with your mate.”
That got Kaed’s attention. And mine.
“Our mate is well and has been properly cared for, I assure you,” Kaed said. I held my tongue, waiting for the explosion I knew was coming. Commander Chloe Phan did not dr
op that kind of warning without something of substance behind her words.
“I believe she would disagree.”
Boom.
“What?” The commander was in full form now, leaning forward, his status as a caring and honorable Prillon warrior being challenged by the petite human female. Me? I was not surprised. I had not challenged Kaed’s decision to spare Erica the mental anguish of wearing our collars, but I also knew our mate well enough already to know she would not be satisfied with such an arrangement.
“She’s right, Commander Karter.” We shouldn’t have touched her last night. Fuck, that would have been almost impossible, but we could have done it. Instead of fucking her to exhaustion, we should have let her go, given her to another who would not hesitate to bond himself and his second to her in a full claiming. I couldn’t believe the words flew from my mouth, but they were true. I deliberately called him by his command name, and not his nickname. That name was for family. Something neither of us had any business wanting.
Kaed held up his large hand, blocking my face from his view as he stared at Chloe. “Explain. Now.”
“She wants your collar, Commander. She was tested at the Interstellar Brides Processing center, just like every other bride gifted to Prillon warriors. She already knows what it’s going to feel like to have a collar around her neck when you claim her, how all of your emotions and needs and lusts will bleed together into one glorious, overwhelming explosion of pleasure.” As Chloe spoke, her eyes practically rolled into her head as memories of being claimed by her two warriors must have filled her mind. “She won’t accept less. And if you can’t give her everything, you should give her to someone who can, before she loves you any more than she already does.”
“She loves me?”
Chloe opened her eyes, the softness and desire I had witnessed there fading so quickly I questioned whether or not I had actually seen them.
“She loves you both, idiots. Earth women don’t go carnal and submissive unless they want you, and trust you. Being naked, taking you inside our bodies, it’s an act of trust. Commitment. She said she could already be pregnant. She’s all in, giving you everything, and you’re not living up to your end of the bargain. You are not giving her what was promised.”
Karter stepped back as if in shock, or insulted by her words. “I was tested years ago. I was new to my command. I had no idea what kind of life I would have as commander of this Battlegroup.”
“Day late and a dollar short.”
I frowned. “What does that mean?”
She sighed and looked at me as Karter lowered his hand. “It means, it’s too late. From the testing, she knows what it feels like to have a collar around her neck and be claimed by two males who are delirious with desire and love and need. She’s felt it before.” Chloe walked toward the door, and I didn’t have the heart to stop her. I’d heard enough, my heart aching as if she’d stabbed me with a rounded blade from the dining room.
But she wasn’t done with us. Not yet.
She spun about to face us. “She’s felt it all, just not with the two of you.” The door slid open and there stood our dissatisfied mate, Bard at her side, serving as escort. She looked beautiful in a brown Prillon gown. Curved. Soft. Perfect. She smiled in greeting, but the light didn’t reach her eyes, and I knew Chloe had spoken the truth. Erica was not happy, even with all the pleasure we’d given her. She would not choose to stay with us if we didn’t surrender everything.
I broke, my insides cracking and withering to dust at the idea of losing her and I wanted to pound Kaed into dust for forcing this situation upon her.
She could have me. All of me. Heart. Mind. Soul. I’d lay my sins at her feet and beg her to heal me with her soft touch and wet heat. She was light to my darkness. I didn’t want to exist without her, not now that I’d tasted her, known bliss, the slide of her hot pussy over my cock, her scent, the sounds of her pleasure, the way she’d clung to me in sleep. Mine.
That fast, I knew I would do anything to make her happy. She belonged to me. And if she wanted to feel my desire, feel the need burning through my veins like lightning, I would not deny her. I would resign from the Fleet if I had to, take her home to Prillon Prime and spend my days chasing children and my nights making her scream with pleasure. I’d served my time. I’d fought and bled and suffered for years… for her.
Fuck. I couldn’t lose her.
If Karter didn’t want to give her everything, I’d name a second and keep her for myself.
Commander Karter