Mara stared at the alien who stood across the room from her, trying unsuccessfully to cover her naked body from his view. He looked… oddly human, except for the strange color of his skin. It was an ice blue that even washed over his dark brown hair, giving a tint to his locks that no human hair dye could create. And he was big, giant football player big. As he watched her, his eyes changed colors, moving from a deep blue to a brown.
Maybe he doesn’t look so human.
And he didn’t feel human either.
Her cheeks heated at just the thought of what she’d done to him, and the other two aliens. She had been completely out-of-control. It was like she was aware of what she was doing, but there were no thoughts to stop, or to point out how out-of-character her actions were. Her entire body and mind was consumed by a need to touch them. And be touched by them.
Even though their bodies were cold. Their flesh hard. All logic would say such things wouldn’t feel good, but they did. Their rough tongues against hers, the slight chill teasing her lips, her breasts, her—
She shook her head and locked gazes with him again. “What are we waiting for?”
His eyes narrowed. “Just making sure you’d gained control over yourself before I expose you to my bond-brothers.”
She huffed. “I was never… none of this was my fault. I’m not… just lead me to a shower and some clothes!”
After a minute, he shrugged his large shoulders and moved to the door. It slid open at his approach.
She followed behind him cautiously.
Out in the hall, the two other aliens lingered. Both looked up at her as she stepped out. Unconsciously, she felt her arms tighten as they wrapped her body.
“Are you feeling better?” The alien who spoke to her wasn’t quite as bulky as the dark-haired one, with blond hair that came down to his shoulders, and an air of intelligence.
The second alien I met. The one I dropped onto my knees and… no, don’t think about that!
She spoke, trying not to show her embarrassment. “Yes. Thank you. That wasn’t me at all.”
He nodded, as if what she said made perfect sense. “Then, let me be the first to welcome you to our ship, The Dark Night. And to introduce myself and my bond-brothers. I am Drustan. This is—“
“I can introduce myself. I’m Aedan.” The alien who stepped forward was the first one she had met. He had the same pale tint to his skin and hair, but beneath the tint he had deep auburn hair. He was slightly shorter than the other two, with deep dimples in his smiling face. “And, what was your name?”
It took her a minute to find her voice. “Mara.”
“Mara,” he repeated back, turning the word over slowly. His grin widened. “I like it.”
“Don’t get attached to her,” the dark-haired alien snapped at the other two. “She isn’t staying.”
Aedan winked at her. “That’s Bricus. Don’t worry about him. He’s not as grumpy as he seems.”
The alien named Bricus shook his head. “Time to clean off. The more we can cover our scents the longer it’ll be until she goes into heat again.”
He can’t be serious. “That’s going to happen to me again?”
Bricus glared. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”
“Logically covering our scents could help,” Drustan said, his tone thoughtful. “But chances are that we have little control over whether she goes into heat sooner or later.”
Her head was starting to hurt. I can’t worry about this right now. “Someone mentioned cleaning off and getting clothes?”
Bricus gave a curt nod. “This way.”
He led her down a short hall with plain, metal walls and a floor that was cold beneath her bare feet. At a simple metal door, he pushed a red button, and it slid open. She entered into a well-furnished bedroom decorated in rich blues and calming whites. The whole back wall was covered in windows that stared out at a star-speckled sky. A bed three times the size of hers back at home dominated the space in front of it.
If she hadn’t been naked and feeling so vulnerable, she might have stopped to stare. But with two large aliens behind her and one leading her in front, she didn’t slow. Bricus led her through an archway to the right and into a bathroom that looked similar to one back home. When he walked to a large glass enclosure, which was no doubt a shower, he opened the door and indicated she entered.
“Thank you.” She squeezed in as far away from him as possible, still angry and embarrassed by what he had done to her. How he had touched her.
How I let him touch me.
A second later, the space filled with warm water coming from every direction. She almost moaned. It felt so good. Soothing on her body that was still stiff from sitting in her prison cell for so long. Even her ear, which still ached from whatever the alien had stuck in her ear, felt a little better.
This is exactly what I needed.
Suddenly, she sensed someone behind her.
Whirling, she came face-to-face with a nightmare. All three aliens had come into the shower. And all three of them were naked.
Her gaze snapped up, her cheeks heating. “Wh—what are you doing?”
The angry one named Bricus’ glared. “What does it look like? Cleaning ourselves.” His gaze moved to her naked body.
Snapping back into reality, she crossed her arms over her chest and glared back. “Where I’m from people take showers alone.”
Aedan moved closer to her, mirth in his gaze. “You must have limitless water there, but in space, we always share. And there’s a time limit, so better hurry.”
He brushed past her, pushing a button on the wall. A green liquid squirted into his hand, and he began to rub it into his hair. Even though she told herself not to, her gaze moved down to his firm ass. His very, very firm ass.
Arousal uncurled hot and needy inside her. She swallowed hard. No, don’t think about that.
The blond-haired alien, Drustan, spoke close to her ear. “I’m sure all of this is very strange for you, but we will do our best to make you comfortable.”
A shudder ran through her body. His breath was so hot. His body big and warm and oh so close. She bit her lip, trying not to say, what would make me comfortable would be all of you leaving me alone.
And maybe getting off again.
Damn it! Mara, stop!
She stilled, nervousness and anticipation warring inside her. What would they do now that they had her naked and surrounded in a shower?
But very quickly, she realized the three men were doing their best to focus on washing themselves and not her naked body. Which is what I want, right?
Gritting her teeth, she pushed the button on the wall and hurriedly washed her hair and body. I just need to get out of here and dressed, then I can think clearly about what to do next. Just as she finished, the water suddenly went off, and the space filled with a warm blowing air. It felt pleasant but strange. She kept her hands covering herself as best as she could, and her gaze on her toes, while she waited to escape the small space.
When the air died down, she hurried to leave the shower before things got even more awkward, but then she couldn’t get the damn door to open.
“Allow me,” Bricus said in a mocking tone.
She ground her teeth together and tried not to swear. Why does he have to be such an ass?
They led her back to the bedroom where Bricus promptly opened drawers in one wall. He tossed her a massive shirt, then began to dress himself. She refused to stare at his gorgeous ass, or to inch a little to her left so she could get a better view of his… package.
I already know the other two aliens are packing some massive equipment. It doesn’t take a genius to know he is too.
But that doesn’t matter to you. You don’t want any of that.
Ignoring her conflicting feelings, she pulled the shirt on. “Do you have any pants or underwear?”
Bricus shrugged, wearing silky boxer-like underwear. “Not for a tiny, human woman.”
I guess this is a step up from being naked at least.
While the aliens finished dressing, she went to the window and stared out at space. Large, dark, and speckled with tiny lights. It was immense. And overwhelming. As she touched the cool glass, reality truly started to set in. She really was in space. With aliens. Far from home.
How in the world am I supposed to get back?
She rubbed her throat, surprised by how tight it felt. By how hard it was to breathe.
“Are you alright?”
She whirled to find the blond-haired alien, Dursten, staring at her with gentle pale blue eyes. He stood right behind her, his hands behind his back in a stance that looked both formal and relaxed.
“I’m fine,” she said, but the words sounded like a lie even to her own ears. “Fine might be the wrong word. In shock probably fits my current state better.”
He nodded. “I know your world is not… advanced. How much do you know of space, aliens, and The Universal Alliance?”
She frowned, shaking her head.
His eyes widened, and he turned to look at his brothers.
Aedan hurried to stand beside him. “It’s okay. You’re here with us now, so we can explain it to you. We’ve got plenty of time.”
“No, we don’t,” Bricus interrupted. “We have a delivery to focus on. Then, we’ll deal with her.”
Aedan raised a brow. “There’s no reason we can’t all get along and get to know each other while she’s with us.”
Bricus leveled him with a frank stare. “Yes, there is. And you know exactly why.”
What does he mean?
The tension in the room was so thick she could’ve cut it with a knife. And for some reason, the conversation made her nervous.
It took her a second to realize why. The dark-haired, angry alien was right about a few things. When they rescued her, life had gotten more complicated for them. They probably had a choice to make: keep her, abandon her somewhere, or maybe, just maybe, take her back home. If these aliens got to know her, even cared about her a little, maybe she could ask them to take her back to Earth… however far away that was.
Which is probably exactly why he doesn’t want them getting attached to me.
She decided she would become the perfect passenger. She would get them to care about her, at least as a person. And because Bricus was a jerk, she’d focus on the other two.
If I can get them to like me, maybe I can get a ticket home. It might not be the perfect plan, but it’s better than nothing.
As long as I can fight this strange attraction to them.
She forced a smile. “You guys are my heroes for rescuing me from that awful ship. Whatever I can do to make this easier for you, I will.”
Aedan and Drustan straightened, returning her smile, but she could feel Bricus’ eyes on her, suspicion in his gaze. Don’t flinch or he’ll see right through you.
After a quiet moment Bricus spoke. “You heard her. Time to focus on completing our mission and retrieving our mate.”
Mate? She stared at them, feeling confused. “You guys are going to get… your wives or something?”
Dursten’s handsome features tightened. “First, we are bonded-brothers, so we will share one mate. And secondly, we are not going to get her, we simply have all we need after this mission to acquire a mate.” Then, his voice lowered. “If we wish to do so.”
“Which we do,” Bricus added, his mouth drawing into a thin line.
Mara realized her mouth was hanging open. “Did you say you share one woman?”
Aedan flashed her a smile. “Is that not how it works on Earth?”
She felt her brows rise. “No… one woman and one man are… mates.”
Aedan looked at her in complete disbelief. “There’s no way a female could be satisfied by one male.”
She answered him without thinking. “Of course she can. What I can’t imagine is that one woman could handle three men at a time. I mean, how would that even work?”
Something wicked flashed in Aedan’s eyes. “Well, one of us holds her hips while the other one—“
She gasped, taking several steps back. “I don’t really want to know.”
That only made Aedan chuckle.
Bricus spoke, his mouth curled upwards ever-so-slightly. “Regardless, hopefully by this time next week we’ll have our mate. We simply need to drop off our delivery and deal with you.”
For some reason, his words stung, although for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why. “Of course.”