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  “Very good range of motion. We’ll evaluate further tomorrow. Now you should try to sleep.” He handed her the glass of water from before, and she swallowed it down, hoping the cold liquid would calm the rush of sensations in her body, not to mention the unwarranted sexual longing in her brain.

  “When will I leave?”

  Deklan and Leo shared another look, one she had no difficulty interpreting. Neither of them was going to tell her anything. “We’re not sure. That’s up to the commander. In the morning—”

  “Right, everything happens in the morning.” She couldn’t stop the sarcastic tone from creeping in her voice. She’d been kidnapped, beaten, brought to this strange place, met these alien men who sparked her dormant libido. Was it any wonder she might not be capable of filtering her thoughts?

  Deklan chuckled, sounding so unexpectedly human she stared at him. His gold eyes twinkled, and then he turned to Leo, who was frowning. “Shall I stay?”

  “No, you should go to bed. You’ll be chattering with her all night if you remain, and she needs to rest.”

  “Right, doctor’s orders.” Deklan tilted his head and looked her over with interest. Aura’s skin prickled. Not with discomfort, but more with an awareness of his curiosity, of many things left unsaid. “I’ll leave her to you until the morning.”

  With a special emphasis on the last words, he slipped out of the small room she was in, leaving the narrow door ajar. The other man, Leo, settled himself into a chair next to the bed, sighing and propping out his legs like his legs or feet hurt.

  “You’re staying in here?” She couldn’t stop herself from looking over his body. Broad chest covered by a tan tunic, thick arms crossed over each other, massive thighs under slim-fitting gray trousers. All the proportions matched human but were simply on an amplified scale.

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “In case you need something.”

  “But I’ll be sleeping. Hopefully.” Would she be able to sleep in such close proximity to an alien?

  “So will I. Hopefully.”

  Aura stared at him, unsure if this was Alphan humor or if Leontus was normally this terse. He stared back, gold eyes inscrutable, until she reclined on the bed, snatching up the blanket and favoring her shoulder. Once she was settled, he reached out and turned off the small light glowing from a pole by the bed. Darkness covered them, and as she attempted to calm her mind, she could make out the sounds of the golden-skinned man nearby, shifting in the chair, then the faint sounds of someone, perhaps Deklan, opening and closing another door. Instead of making her fretful, the presence of these mysterious folk around her calmed her. The muscular man seated nearby seemed as impenetrable as a wall. No Xyran would dare attack her here.

  Chapter Three

  Leo awoke with a start, instantly on alert to the unfamiliar sound. He’d been in a light sleep cycle, and Deklan was motionless at his side, unaware. They’d lived together so long and taken so many watches together they automatically traded periods of wakefulness through the night.

  He heard it again, a soft thump, coming from the woman’s room. Aura’s room. Trying not to use her given name when he thought of her wasn’t going to help him keep his distance. Not now, when she was in their home, sharing their meals, making halting conversation with them. Using their bathroom to clean off the grime of her journey. Being naked behind that flimsy door. This was her second night in their home and they’d decided she was stable enough to sleep alone, but it didn’t stop him from wanting to be nearer to her.

  Damn this situation. When he’d lain down prior to sleep that evening, just knowing she was so close had made his staff swell in mute demand, made his mouth ache with the budding of his tesak. Physical demands he was required to resist. Disquieting urges to talk with her, touch her, which he was forbidden to indulge.

  Deklan shifted, and Leo decided to try to quiet her so his bondmate wouldn’t be disturbed. As silently as he could, he rose from the bed and went to the door. He’d left it ajar that night, just as a precaution for an event such as this, so it was easy to open it noiselessly. He sensed she was nearby but was still shocked to find her on the other side of the now open door, her eyes wide in the darkness. Sliding the door closed behind him, he joined her in the small hallway, a tiny light from the living area casting the confined area in shadows.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I had a nightmare, a bad dream. Do you have those?” She kept her voice low, and the intimate tone crept into his ear, compelling him to lean even closer to her. She smelled sweet and musky, and for an insane moment he wondered if her pillow now smelled like her hair.

  He nodded, very familiar with the frustrating and frightening world of the sleeping mind. He sometimes relived incidents from past battles, always with the worst outcomes. Sometimes Deklan died in them, and he’d wake in terror, only to be soothed by his bondmate’s warm presence. “Go back to bed. Nothing is wrong.”

  He could make out her brief nod, and then she crossed her arms in front of her chest, just under her breasts. He wished his night vision wasn’t so good, so he could ignore how those soft mounds of flesh moved, so he wouldn’t have to wonder what they’d feel like under his hands.

  “There’s a noise, too.”

  On alert, a much different sort of alert from the one his stiffening staff was under, he stepped to her room. As soon as he stilled, he heard it, an erratic rattling just outside the narrow window.

  “It’s the air circulation unit for the barracks, nothing to fear.”

  “I don’t think I’ll be able to go back to sleep.” Aura’s voice was quiet and resigned. Neither he nor Deklan had ever spent the night in this room, so he had no idea how long the machinery might function and disturb her rest. He’d have to take a look at the mechanisms in the morning and perhaps tighten a few junctures.

  “You need to sleep. You won’t recover without it.”

  She sighed and tightened her crossed arms against her chest, fortunately covering her breasts more thoroughly than the thin shirt had. “I’ll sleep on that sofa in the other room.”

  “No, that won’t provide adequate support.” Even as he said it, something inside surrendered to the inevitable. He’d fought this impulse since the very moment he’d seen her, wanted it as much as every male in the ward had as soon as they’d caught this young woman’s sweet scent. Telling himself he was mature enough not to take advantage of her, that this would be a good test of willpower, he spoke.

  “Then come to our bed. There is plenty of room, and it’s quiet. We won’t disturb you.”

  “You share a bed with Deklan?”

  “Of course. We are bondmates. We share everything.”

  “Oh. In that case.” She eased out of the room and followed him to the bedroom where he found Deklan sitting up and blinking. Aura stopped short, still clutching her arms.

  “Bad dream and noise outside,” Leo explained tersely, not wanting to get in a detailed conversation in the middle of the night. Even in the dim light, Deklan looked ready for a discussion as was his wont. Instead, he flipped the covers back and gestured for Aura to come to the middle. She crawled in, giving Leo a glimpse of her raised buttocks, the thin material of her sleepwear pulled tight over the round muscles, and then she was lying down with a sigh. Deklan moved pillows to accommodate her and tucked the blanket close. His bondmate was practically radiating happiness, and with a sinking feeling, Leo knew he’d erred quite badly.

  “We sleep,” he growled out, an unspoken warning to Deklan not to engage in any touching or whispers with her. He’d repair the unit in the morning and Aura could return to her bedroom tomorrow night like this had never happened. Easing down on the other side of the bed, as far away from her as he could safely get, Leo commanded himself to fall asleep instantly, to not notice her little breaths, or the way her skin sounded against the sheets as she adjusted her position.

  ****

  Aura woke with a sense of unearned well-being. She wasn’
t hungry, wasn’t cold, wasn’t frightened. The absence of those ever-present burdens, even if it was merely temporary, made her smile before she opened her eyes. Contentment hummed through her like an electrical current. Feeling experimental, she stretched her legs under a light layer of warm blankets. Plenty of room. Room. Her own room or…

  With a start she remembered getting up in the night because of a dream, then that strange noise outside. Leo had brought her back to his bed. She never would have guessed the Alphans were homosexual, but learning they slept together had made it very easy for her to climb in between them early that morning.

  The bed coverings moved, and a warm weight pressed against her back. Rubbing her eyes, she glanced over her shoulder to find Deklan sprawled on his back, one warm and solid arm wedged next to her spine. He was asleep, the handsome planes of his face relaxed in the faint morning light creeping in from the narrow window above them. His horns gleamed like wet ink against the thick strands of his hair. She decided to indulge her curiosity and study the Alphan at her leisure. He was shirtless, just as Leo had been that morning, and the impressive muscles she’d glimpsed then were in evidence on Deklan as well. He had a tattoo on his shoulder, what looked like a winged serpent. With caution, she tugged the sheet lower, the better to see his abdomen, ridged with muscle under deep gold skin. Really beautiful. Her pussy heated and softened as she wondered what it would feel like to run her hands down his torso. Or her tongue.

  It was strange to wake up in a bed with an alien male, no, two alien males, she amended. She glanced over to see Leo was still asleep, sprawled on his belly, his head cradled on his bent arm. Lots of thick muscles under gleaming skin on display. They both looked so strong.

  She turned her head back to Deklan and jumped with surprise to find him watching her with half-closed, sleepy eyes.

  “Sleep well?” he whispered.

  She nodded. Deklan’s eyes crinkled at the corners. He inhaled and stretched his arms over his head with a sigh, inadvertently dislodging the sheet even further down his body. He was wearing dark pants so there wasn’t much more she could see, not that she should be looking any further. She couldn’t quite take her eyes off him, though. As he lowered his arms, the one closest to her nudged along her shoulder and coasted down her arm, his large hand finally coming to rest next to hers. He edged closer and watched her for a moment. She could feel the heat of his body.

  “Do I look very different?”

  “Different than what?” Aura whispered back, unwilling to disturb Leo when he’d been so kind to her.

  “A human male. I’ve never seen one in the flesh nor seen a human female until the ship landed.”

  “You look different. Bigger, stronger. Your skin is…” She trailed off, not quite sure how to put her newfound affinity for gold.

  “Is what?” Deklan rubbed his hand along his chest, bumping over swells of muscle, disturbing the fine black hairs tapering down his abdomen. His voice was rough, and the timbre of it vibrated some previously unknown part of her ear.

  “It’s beautiful.” Her honest assessment resulted in a disbelieving smile from the Alphan lounging next to her.

  “It serves its purpose. I’d never call it beautiful, especially compared to yours.” Deklan glanced at her face, then her shoulders and arms exposed by the borrowed tank she’d worn to sleep. She knew she was blushing since her face was so hot. In an effort to compose herself, she looked over at Leo to find he was still deeply asleep, unmoving from when she’d last seen him.

  A large hand sliding along her arm brought her attention back to Deklan to find he’d edged closer and turned so he was curving against her now. Maybe he was just affectionate in the morning, maybe—

  The sudden press of a hard cock against her hip made her shiver. At least, she assumed the hard, warm shaft she could feel through her thin clothing was a cock. Deklan was alien, so perhaps his equipment was different. Although why he’d be aroused in proximity to her was a mystery. Perhaps he was similar to a man and this was just the usual morning reaction.

  “Your skin is so smooth and soft,” he murmured as he ran his fingertips along her hip, then her belly, cloth bunching up under his fingers, exposing some skin at her waist. The slight parting of fabric made her shiver, made warmth spike into heat along her nerves. “Not frightened?”

  “No,” she whispered, caught up in the intensity of his gaze, the sheer sensual pleasure of having someone touch her. Her pussy didn’t know Deklan wasn’t interested in it. It tingled and swelled, and she shifted her thighs to clamp down on her betraying flesh. His big hand ventured under her shirt, resting on her ribs. Surely he could feel her breath panting in and out. Just to give herself something to do, she rested her hand on his forearm as he moved, his muscles twitching under her fingers.

  “How did you come to be caught up by the Xyran bandits?” His voice was pitched so quietly she shifted closer to him to catch his question.

  “I was waiting in a line. My neighborhood is poor, and the stores stopped stocking the shelves weeks ago. The government claimed they’d take over distributing food and water, but we were never sure what we’d get or when it would arrive.” Her neighborhood was worse than poor. It was practically a war zone since the police had stopped responding to emergency calls. She had no way to escape it since someone, the neighboring communities or perhaps homegrown criminals, had blown up the roads and bridges that might have allowed her to walk away. But to what? It was bad everywhere.

  Deklan narrowed his eyes and slid his thumb along her cheek, just under where she’d been injured. She jumped at the unexpected contact. “I’m sorry. From what I’ve heard, your planet is riddled with competing powers who care little for their citizenry but strive instead to hoard what little resources remain. Yet despite your shortages and infighting, your population still swells.”

  He sounded almost wistful, and with a start, Aura remembered hearing that the Alphan race was facing possible extinction. Something about women or fertility, she wasn’t sure what was true since the stories all ended with warnings that human women were going to be traded as living currency soon.

  “So Alpha is different?”

  He nodded and edged closer to her. She could feel his body heat and wondered if he noticed hers. “We learned long ago to cooperate, otherwise we would not be able to survive against all the aliens who aim to destroy us and take what is ours.”

  Aura wondered how Leo was sleeping through this strange conversation about intergalactic politics. She was too intrigued by the topic and the speaker to stop.

  “Maybe we humans will get our act together since encountering you and the Xyrans.” Or perhaps it was too late. After all, there weren’t many valuable resources left on Earth for either race to covet. Other than women. She made a fist and shook it near his cheek. He didn’t even flinch. “We know how to fight.”

  Her bravado, impossible to take seriously since she was lying down and helpless next to him, obviously amused Deklan, and he grinned at her. “Are you trained in combat then? We are from the time we are old enough to go to school. Then when we reach puberty, we enter the barracks life.”

  “Don’t you miss your family?”

  He drew in a breath and shrugged his massive shoulders. “Not as much once we find our bondmates. We want to travel the galaxy, fight for our king and planet. Collect the spoils of war.”

  Aura missed her mother, but not much else. She’d learned early on not to grow too attached to anything since someone stronger or cleverer would steal it away. Memories of past pain and loss filled her for a moment, and she felt tears burn at her eyes. Deklan’s hand, which had been steady and strong at her waist, slid up her body to cup against her chin as he studied her. She offered up a wobbly smile. He probably didn’t even realize how his gesture comforted her. In fact, these strong Alphans likely didn’t even know what tears were. She ran her fingers along his arm again, the warm friction evening out her mood and bringing her thoughts back to how she liked the pressure
of his body against hers. She shivered.

  “Do you mind me touching you? I’m a tactile learner.” Deklan posed the question with a serious tone, but Aura sensed more of that humor she was getting to know. “I’ve studied your physiology quite extensively, but I’ve never touched a human female before. This is quite an opportunity for me.”

  She knew she should be putting some distance between them, but the fuzzy contentment she’d felt upon waking was easing away all her rational objections. Even though he was an alien she’d just met, none of her alarms were going off. She must have hesitated too long, because Deklan nodded slowly and withdrew his warm hand from her chin.

  “I’m imposing upon you. Apologies.”

  She shook her head automatically and tugged his arm back. What harm would it do to be open with him? Allow him the opportunity to learn some anatomy? He’d been nothing but caring and gentle with her. The fact that she found him attractive wasn’t relevant to him. If she got too worked up, she’d just excuse herself to the bathroom to ease the tension. “You aren’t imposing, Deklan. I was just surprised. What would you like to see?”

  Deklan’s eyebrows shot up, and he rolled to his elbow to look down at her, the hand that had framed her face now resting on her hip. “Everything, if that doesn’t bother you.”

  Reassuring herself this was in the name of research, Aura pulled the bottom of her top up and drew the garment off over her head, grateful for a moment the cloth covered her face so she could adjust to the idea this male was looking at her now bare breasts. As the cooler air hit them, she felt her nipples harden, and she discarded her garment in the pillows behind her.

  Deklan was still leaning over her, but now he wasn’t smiling. Instead he studied her breasts with a slight frown.

  “Are they, ah, very different than an Alphan female?” She assumed he’d seen at least pictures of them, even if he wasn’t sexually interested.