“Don’t hurt him, baby,” I said. Where the endearment came from, I had no idea, but there it was. Trist was mine. I’d never allowed myself to call Brax anything other than his name…or Master. But that didn’t count. And my ex back on Earth? He’d hated pet names. Called them stupid and childish, so seeing a huge Prillon melt at the term made me feel oddly powerful and completely adored. God help me, I was in love with Trist already. He was so strong. So noble. So safe. I let him feel it all and the final bit of anger left him as he stared into my eyes.
“You still care for this male?” Trist asked the question, but there was no hurt coming from him, only confusion. “How? He’s the one who hurt you. He’s the source of the pain I feel from you, even now.” Trist looked from me to Brax and his gaze hardened. “Especially now.”
Stepping in front of Trist, I reached for his arm and wrapped it around me so I could lean into his strength as I faced the Trion doctor who’d first mended my soul, then broken my heart. “Yes. I loved him.”
Brax opened his mouth to speak, but I held up my hand to stay him. I didn’t want to hear what he had to say until I’d explained to my mate.
Even though I looked down at Brax, I spoke to Trist. “I was broken when I left Earth for Trion. The man I was with on Earth was cold and mean-hearted and made me feel small and broken. Doctor Brax helped me heal.” I thought of exactly how he’d accomplished that and my body heated. Trist must have felt my desire spike because his constant need for me echoed back through the collars until my nipples pebbled under the gown and my pussy grew swollen and wet. His heat at my back, his scent, made me ache. But there was also Brax, staring at me with that look, the look my master had given me when he was reading me like a book, when he knew exactly what I needed. What I craved. What would make me whimper and beg and surrender.
“I can feel your desire, mate.” Trist leaned down and whispered into my ear. “Is your need for me, mate? Or for him?”
I couldn’t lie. “Both.”
“Gods be damned.” Trist pulled me close so I could feel the hard length of his cock pressed to my back, even as he stared down Brax. “What the fuck am I supposed to do about you, Doctor?”
“She needs me, Trist,” he said. “And I had her first.”
That made me angry. I wasn’t a toy to fight over between two preschoolers. “Shut-up, Brax. I swear to God, if you say another word, I’m going to let Trist tear you to pieces.”
Trist kissed my shoulder and I felt his grin. Sensed he was like a little boy who’d just won King of the Hill on the playground even as Brax’s eyes darkened with anger. And lust. I knew his looks just as well as he knew mine.
“You had me,” I told Brax. “Past tense. You had me and made it perfectly clear that I wasn’t what you wanted in a mate.”
He shook his head, winced. “You’re wrong.”
“Shut up and listen to me.” When both males were quiet, I continued. “I asked you, Brax. I asked you when you were going to be ready to claim a mate. Do you remember what you said?”
He closed his eyes for a second, then looked to me. “Yes, I—”
I interrupted him. “You said you would continue to serve Councilor Roark for as long as you were needed. You also said you could not claim a mate while you served because the job was too dangerous and you would be gone for extended periods of time.”
“Yes, but—”
“No.” He was not going to talk his way out of this. I was right. “You even adorned me with temporary jewels and told me how good I would look when my future mate adorned me permanently.”
He sighed. “I know. You are very beautiful, gara…”
“Gara?” I practically
yelled the word. “Gara!” I tried to pull free of Trist’s hold so I could go beat the crap out of Brax myself, but he held me back without even shifting his feet. Damn it, he was strong. “Don’t you dare use that word when you speak to me. Not now.” That word was reserved for love matches. Mates in truth. Males who both treasured and adorned their mates. Like Roark did for Natalie. I had wanted to hear that word for so long that his use of it now made me freaking furious.
Brax said nothing and long minutes passed in silence as I tried to calm down. Trist watched Brax and I wondered if he saw what I did in Brax’s eyes.
Regret? Pain? Longing?
Or was all of that just my overactive imagination?
I could barely think for the rage that had exploded inside me, rage I had repressed until now. It covered the hurt, which was great, but I was having trouble breathing.
Brax’s normally caramel colored skin faded to a pale yellow and he finally seemed to understand just how much his actions had hurt me. Trist remained silent as Brax dropped to one knee and bowed his head to me. “You are my heart, gara. I knew that night, when I adorned your body with green jewels, that I could not live without you.”
I was shaking my head in disbelief, but he was staring at my feet, or the floor, or something. I couldn’t go anywhere because Trist held me in place. And thank god for that because his solid strength at my back kept me sane. I melted against him and let my mate feel my gratitude, my comfort, my complete trust in him. I allowed him to hold me and he allowed me to speak freely. “I don’t believe you, Brax. You had six months.”
“That was supposed to be my last mission, Miranda. The day you sneaked away without saying goodbye was the same day I resigned my commission with both the I.C. and Councilor Roark.”
Trist tensed at the mention of the I.C., but I had no idea what that was—so whatever. Something to do with Brax’s secret missions, no doubt. But I didn’t care. Was past caring.
“I waited for you, Brax. Idiot that I was. I waited more than a month. But you came back to Xalia City and didn’t contact me. I hadn’t seen you in weeks, and you came and went without one word.” That had hurt the most. That had been the moment I truly understood what I meant to him. Nothing.