He nodded once. “I understand that. Respect it, even. But you placed the needs of others above those of your mate.”
“You are correct. That is why I’m here. I’ve resigned. Walked away from it all. For her. She comes first now.”
“Yes, she does,” the captain vowed. “But not with you. I will not see her hurt.”
“I want to talk with her. Apologize. Remind of her of what we share. What she needs from me.”
“She doesn’t need anything from you,” he snapped. “She has a mate.”
“She needs my touch. She craves it. The feel of a clamp on her clit. The shimmer of jewels on her pebbled nipples. The tightness of my bindings about her wrists as I fuck her.”
He charged then, but I was expecting him. I pivoted to the side and missed the punch of his right fist, but I was caught by the grab with his left. We slammed into the windows, and I gave him an uppercut to the stomach.
A whoosh of air escaped his lungs, but it did nothing to incapacitate him. He was large, sturdy. Fucking solid. A formidable opponent. Because he was taller, I bent down, charged and wrapped my arms around his legs, tipped him over like a leafy tree on Viken.
He hit the floor with a thud, the small table by the couch shoved out of the way. A light fixture dropped to the floor with a crash.
On his back, his hand shot up, struck my ribs. “You had her, Brax. She was yours and yet she was so unhappy she left you behind. If you were an honorable male, you would walk away.” The words were fierce, but so was my punch. I hit the socket of his eye, my knuckles aching from the strike.
“I’m not farking honorable. Not when it comes to protecting her.”
He hissed, and gritted out, “She is mine. You can’t contest the accuracy of the matching protocols. Go back to Trion!”
He pushed me up and off of him. I flew across the room and landed on my ass, but I was instantly back up. I caught my breath, wiped my nose with the back of my hand. The bleeding had lessened to a trickle.
He climbed to his feet and glared at me. “She is mine. She is a Prillon bride. Go home, doctor. She doesn’t belong to you. Not anymore.”
I shook my head, spit blood out of my mouth onto the floor. “No. l love her and she loves me. Two days with you doesn’t change that fact. She is mine. Her heart is mine. Her body is mine. This isn’t Viken, warrior. I won’t share her with two others. She’s mine and will go back to Trion with me.”
He shook his head. “She will not go to Trion. She is mated to Prillon Prime. To me. She wants two mates. Not three.”
“Then where the fuck is your second? Is he with her now? Fucking her as we fight?” I pointed to the door. As if conjuring her up, the door slid open and she appeared. Behind her were the two guards from earlier, although when she came into the quarters, they remained outside.
She took in the room, the mess we made, my bloody nose, the warrior’s eye, which was quickly turning black from the strength of my punch.
“What the hell are you two doing?”
We both turned to face her. Fark, she was more beautiful than I remembered. Her dark hair was long down her back, a dark green gown fit her like a glove. Her face, wh
ile angry, had a glow to it. She looked soft and flushed, as if she were… content.
“We are fighting,” the warrior said.
“Are you going to whip your cocks out next and measure?”
My eyebrows went up at her question. “Do you wish to compare our cocks?”
She gasped, eyes focused on me with utter disgust. Disdain. Rage. And… hurt.
“Mate, look at me,” Trist said.
Miranda instantly responded to the command and turned to face him, her gaze softening, her eyes growing glazed with emotions she didn’t try to hide from him. Not me. Him.
Fark.
“I know the question was one of those Earth terms that do not process, but the literal reference is what we understand. Do you wish to compare our cocks?”
He asked the same question as me and I gave him a quick glance. I couldn’t read him, but it seemed the two of them were having a conversation through the collars.